Because she really did have her memories wiped and Tav would be taking advantage.

I like it. Shadowheart is a little broken from losing her memories. I can't imagine it is easy to build trust. So while the other companions are more able to trust you implicitly and jump in the sack Shadowheart uses the time to get to know you more personally so she can build that trust.

It's sweet.

Does having amnesia make you incapable of giving consent?

Apparently that's why roofies are illegal outside Scotland.

Awareness=safety.

Memory loss=irrational thoughts.

It adds up. We could get a very confident Shadowheart once her memories are restored. Which is likely where her personal quest line in BG itself is going.

I know psycology. I could get into the "nitty gritty". But basically, people have trust issues for a reason. People relate to shadowheart because it feels familiar to be flawed. However, keep in mind that mistrust is still harmful. She makes things difficult more then they need to be. "Working for it" is one thing, assumptions and confusion is another. Her lack of confidence factors into not even knowing herself. What might happen then once she finds out? Hmm...

Or maybe she just was not in the mood for a one-night stand? Perhaps she wanted a candelit dinner at a restaurant with at least 2 stars first.

She has ambient diologue with Astarion where she says she perfers one night stands, but that was probably the brainwashing talking

Words and actions MAKE mood. Just got to know how.

For context someone told me they weren't that up for doing things with me. And yes, I do mean sex.

About 1 minute later? They're melting. I know how to play them. And I'm saying that as a sub. I know both sides of the fence.

It's all about control, direction and flow. Lae'zel knows this much better then Shadowheart. Bit basic with the dom stuff. But eh, I overlook that because she's supposed to be inexperienced. It's kind of a gith thing to be in control (as well as drow). She at least has confidence.

I could probably get into Shadowhearts... well, heart. But do I want too with that thick a skin? Nah. On the other hand if I challenged and debated with her then maybe. She needs to be challenged and she knows it. She'll respect you if you pull it off. As will Lae'zel. Lae'zel will sleep with you right away though. Shadowheart needs the appreciation more. Frankly, with her trust issues, it's been lacking. But it's her own grave when she pushes people away that easily.

You see the dilemma. She'd get more appreciation if she LET people near her. Campfires are always good for that. It's why she likes it. Leaves room for multiple outcomes. And the warmth is good too.

I am aware. Think she has a similar line with Gale.

Though I do find it interesting that she turns down wyl’s flirtations on the ground she does not want to play second fiddle to the others he flirted with.

Oh yeah i might have been thinking of the one with gale

Maybe, or maybe she's afraid she will forget or whole feelings thing could collide with her Godess goals and so on
I guess she is more pretending experienced than she really is. She disapprove Abdirak having little fun with PC and after her comments there I have the impression that she cares about the PC more than she is ready to admit.

Overcomplication. Some people have it in their own lives and do not want to meet it in the game, some don't.

But you can't even have the cute date scene with her if you side with the goblins because she drinks herself into a stupor.

And now I know what the truly evil character will do, of course - perfect opportunity to take advantage.

It is strange to shy away from that path if the character is evil (although it is ok to take numerous lives and remain a good person by the game's definition, it would seem). Hypocrisy rampant.

Shadowheart outright tells you herself she worships a goddess of LOSS.

Yes. It conflicts. She will have to decide which is more important in the end or otherwise find some way to balance the two.

It's not that she WANTS to be alone. It's that she's USED to it. Buuuuuut, if you never give up on her, even if she's the most hostile toxic person on earth, maybe, just maybe she'll come around.

I face "Darth Vader" events daily. I'm Luke Skywalker. Like him, I never give up. Ever. Once I care, it's for life. Turn on me? I'll try to understand. Then I'll make sure we have fun doing what you want. But I'm the one getting you to want to do it.

That's what Shadowheart really needs. Support. She's lost, she's confused. She can't even remember herself. That's a lot of pressure on anyone interested in her. You have to REALLY show you're capable. Same with Lae'zel, except where Lae'zel already knows the "signs of being capable", Shadowheart is less aware and misses this. You basically have to be her teacher.

Well, if I have to support every shite Shar wants, then it not gonna last long. An allergy for gods toying with mortals.

You tell her man

You don't have too. Shadowheart isn't Shar.

Just do with Sahdowheart what no one else would do. Be there for her. Shar will start to look a lot less attractive if she isn't doing anything for Shadowheart. Either she accepts both, or see ya Shar.

Just because an atheist marries a christian doesn't mean they have to share the same beliefs.

I like the version of Shadowheart we have right now a lot, but I still think we have a very limited version of her right now, even when compared to other companions, because even she doesn't have full access to her memories. We don't even know how much of her memories are missing. For all we know, she doesn't even know her real name. This means there is a lot of potential here, but it also means it could go terribly wrong.

I do enjoy the bits we do get out of her right now, and I'm hoping it will pay off down the line

Right?

I don't mind someone believe something in real life, because people need hope. But in FR gods exist and mess with mortals as much they can.
I would like to turn SH from Shar but down the line it might ends very badly for her as Shar is all but unforgiving. And the quest is named "the chosen od Shar", beautiful weapon, huh.

Maybe she's a virgin and she's only willing to give a little kiss when she's drunk, even though she sounds cocky during the day to save appearances next to all the horny companions.

A fixer uper huh? Not really my taste but it is better than a dominatrix, an old lady, and a literal hellspawn. I wish romances in the game didn't revolve around one person or the other but instead something more complementary. I guess that's because the mc does not have a backstory.

Yeah, I agree. Threesome are also excellent.

Pathfinder kingmaker and potentially Owlcats new game Wrath of the rightous has threesomes. I don't like threesomes. I'm a one on one kind of guy.

I think baldurs gate might have cheating I think. I saw at a glance a video titled romancing both astarion and gale, but I didn't watch it so I don't know.

She still remembers a fair amount of her life, though.

damn, this game gets more horny by the moment

I really think that the romances are just unfinished, which is also why they feel so sudden.

Probably for the same reason why Larian gave us so many '' evil '' companions, they're testing things out.
It kinda makes sense to have something a bit different then to see how people will react to it too.

Or they took "pick me" route. Choice like in one of Deux Ex games, press 'button' of your choice.

Sorry to bring real life into a fantasy discussion but the pacing doesn't seem sudden or rushed to me. You hang out with someone for a while, you share some significant moments and you make a pass. I get why it might seem too modern if people are hoping for a medieval courtly romance but I found the pacing refreshing natural.

Sex after battle is reasonable but they could add some more scenes like Gale's weave. Still, prefer SH route. Maybe when they add new companions we get more even greater range of options than bang or kiss

Gale's romance is the only one which felt rushed to me, but that's because I like to choose the relatively tame, "Hey, wanna go on a date type activity some time?" option during the Weave scene, and he basically responds with, "Let me put you off for a week or so and then we'll bang, okay?" Uh, that's... that's not quite what I was going for, Gale. And there's no option to bring it up with him.

Astarion and Lae'zel, though? I didn't have a problem with their behavior at all. It'll be interesting to see how things go with Wyll.

I kinda agree with you, the reason why I say that it feels sudden is because it all happens at the same time even with characters you haven't tried with.

Some people will make you work for it. Others won't be difficult right off the bat.

Seems perfectly natural to me. I can state with 100% confidence that some people "just give". It's nice when they don't worry and just make good things happen with you. Don't need someones life story to have good times. Information and awareness is only important in regards to safety and pushing past closed minds. If someone is distant with you, like Shadowheart, then they're a bit more "close minded" for example. You have to prove their irrational fears are unfounded.

Meanwhile, the vampire will sleep with just about anyone. Probably makes it easier to snack on them too. Just a nibble. Promise.

Wyll is like... impossible. Seriously, people have tried and tried and tried and can't figure him out. That might have been because his romance arc is unfinished though. Dunno if you can with him currently.

This means we have variety in all dynamics. Some people make it easy. Others need to open up. Others still are just plain stubborn (Wyll). Then you have to talk about how actions change feelings and stuff. Seriously, that's how it works. We don't have enough of those kind of conversations.

I'd feel the same way if I knew for a fact this is what was happening in the EA, as it is now I think people are unsure if this is a casual liaison brought about by the party or if this is what we're to expect the relationships to be like in the game.

It was especially jarring for me because it was maybe the third time I'd had any real conversation with them and they were all ready to jump my bones and made comments about our time together like we'd been at it for a while.

No, the OP has a good point about Shadowheart. Trust is generally an important element for a healthy romance, and Shadowheart is the type of character who needs to trust someone before she... "opens" up to them, since she does not remember anything about herself.

Or maybe she just left her whips and chains in her other armor....

There was one thread with such armors.

Hey now, whips and chains require extra trust. You don’t go all Venus in Furs with just anyone.

I can assure you that as someone that knows D/s and BDSM that there are many many people that "just play". Desperation for fun does that. I settle for no illusion personally.

Personally I need to know someone very well, unless they show ZERO concerns or hesitation (rare but it does happen). And I get it done quickly to boot. Unless someone is more close minded. It's a matter of being direct and upfront. Getting straight answers. Being observant. Trust only goes so far. Hell, I don't even need a persons trust. I have facts and logic and get them to change their minds. Ask why too much. This applies across the board btw. Not just D/s. Communication is key.

See, here's the thing. People tend to operate with what they DO know instead of what they DON'T know. Due to Shadowheart's memory loss she's latching more onto what she knows. Anything unknown is more "scary" and "alien" to her. Has she even admitted that? This is like dealing with someone that wants THEIR preferences and wants to do THEIR way of doing things. Without exploring YOUR way. Without compromise. People that explore outside of their own comfort zones alone are more likely to find happiness. Because those people stop assuming the worst of what they don't know or understand. They stop generalising. They learn to coexist.

So going by this... Shadowheart worships Shar. Who deals with loss. So Shadowheart is used to being let down. Which makes me wonder about her past. This is where it gets interesting. All we can say for sure is that Shadowheart is afraid. Gets scared easily. So what happened to cause this? Other then her memories, what did Shadowheart lose? Perhaps something that caused her to remember something painful to the point she wanted to forget?

I think it's largely because I planted a big sloppy wet one on her before the hidden helmets mod.

Eh, I see her more emotionally closed off/cautious than Tav being considerate; Tav can ask questions with very clear innuendo, and she very clearly shuts those innuendos down. Shadowheart isn't a fair maiden that needs protecting, she's an emotionally strong character that knows what she wants, even if her memories are patchy at best.
You can disagree if you want, of course. It's not like disagreeing will break anything.

I seen a conversation shadowheart had with Astarion that she prefer's one night stands. Though she doesn't join in one with the player character after the party like everyone else. Course don't know if that's the tadpole in her head speaking or that is how she truly thinks.

Or she could be lying that she's only into one night stands when she actually just wants a serious relationship. Which is why she doesn't join in after the party.

Or she's interested in the player but doesn't want it to be a one time thing that she wants an actual serious relationship with the player.

Or our player character is just not her type

Why on Faerun would anyone want to bang any of those companions, you all can't be that hard up seriously, please some taste people..

Even Shadowheart blaarrg.

Also shadowheart is the most attractive companion as they go.. so its highly likely the devs closed her off because of some agenda, like bioware did in DAI.. It happens..

lol

Exactly someone sexy and tasteful like Sazza, shes got spunk and grit.. and is way way better a character than those companions we already have to deal with.

Also Gnomes and Halflings are sexy as.

Shadow heart is almost as easy as Gale to have a fling with at the party, all you have to do is get her to confess her shar worship and answer who she worships is irrelevant, then its easy at camp using insight or persuasion, for her to open up about her shar worship, then ask her to tell her about herself, and and then tell her she needs to point out the orchids.