Hi everyone,
Here I would like to share my thoughts of Halsin's development. Ye-ye, here we go again... I had already sent a word via Larian's feedback form some time ago, but since I have finally finished my first playthrough and have got some time to think of it - there's more I would like to say. So, here is the second edition, corrected and enlarged =)
First of all, I want to express my gratitude to Halsin's writer John Corcoran and his actor Dave Jones. May Silvanus bless you! Thank you both so much for bringing such an amazing character to life! Halsin's my absolute favorite so far (and that's the only reason I'm sharing my thoughts about him here in public). I love everything about the character - his wholesome and mature personality, his view on life and relationships, his golden heart and deep connection to nature, his voice and poetic manner of speaking, his sense of humor and an aura of horniness surrounding him. Honestly, I've never adored a fictional character that much before. It seems I might even start drawing again, and the last time I drew something was about fifteen years ago. What have you both done with me?! xD
Second, I would like to share my feelings about some aspects of Halsin’s character design. I don’t want to stretch my feedback too much, so I’ll try to concentrate on the most debated things. I'm sorry if it looks a bit chaotic. I could write them in certain threads here on forum, but I don't want my opinion be divided, so I'll put them all down below.
As I’ve said before, I adore the character! My first thought when I finally met him was like ‘Those druids were right. The man does indeed have the presence of a bear’. But it wasn’t his impressive physiques that eventually got me. His big heart did.
Halsin's got wholesome, mature personality and, despite his intimidating stature, a gentle temperament. Wise, considerate and open-minded, he doesn't approve of unnecessary violence and always takes care of both people and nature. He doesn’t like being in charge, but takes responsibilities without a second thought if it can help people around him. Alongside with Jaheira, he’s one of the most reasonable persons at my camp full of weirdos.
Children call him ‘Daddy Halsin’... 100% fanservice, but this is so cute and suits him so much! The man likes honey and whittles ducks in his spare time. Aww, he is so sweet! But he’s also a freaky bear in the sheets, and that is… Dammit, you can’t just put completely different things together and make them work perfectly. That’s nearly impossible… Yet here we are, with a character in which such contradictory features come together and it somehow works! And, as if this wasn’t enough, Halsin’s probably the most meme game character ever! Those bear jokes make me laugh out loud every time I recall them!
…When I learned about Halsin's relationship preferences, I was like 'ok, let’s see how it goes…’ and, surprisingly, it went just perfectly! Well, excluding the part where we didn’t get enough intimate scenes with him… But the general flavor of his romance line is fantastic! He's just an unbearably hunky bear! The man is hot as hell and yet so caring and tender to his partner. Let alone he’s definitely got proficiency in smooth-talking. But it’s not like he just wants to f*ck you as some might think. Not like that at all. You’re extraordinary in his eyes. You always try to help people. You found the time to rescue Thaniel, to help him with the Curse despite a deadly threat hanging over you. You helped not only him - the land itself. Halsin has true feelings for you. Special feelings. But for him, any kinds of restrictions are unacceptable. He’s just so… elvish about it. He doesn't want you to dedicate your body and soul to him. Instead he asks to share in your heart. He values you as a person, with your own view on life, beliefs and desires. He encourages you to live your life, to experience things, to explore. When he mentions his many lovers, he doesn’t mean he fell in love with each one of them. He means he had a good time with them. He loves sex, he loves to share pleasure with others. And if it makes him happy, it makes me happy as well! I know there’s enough place for everyone in his big heart. Halsin is a giver, after all. In life and in love alike. I can see it from every word, every move and every decision he makes. If you can accept his nature and share his beliefs – he is the man you can always rely on and who will never let you down. And the only thing he asks in return is a little place for him in your heart.
The ending of the romance was great as well! It does have a bitter taste when Halsin leaves you but that's how a good romance like this should be finished. It is sweet bitterness and nothing good lasts forever. Besides, he always puts others' needs above his personal desires. This man belongs to the whole world and you have no right to bond him to yourself. But you can keep good sweet memories of your journey together, and it is surely not a farewell! Yet, the new line is good! Some want to follow him immediately, and giving them an option to do so is only fair.
Unfortunately, few people here feel about Halsin's romance the same way. Some want to see him monogamous... I think that trying to make a manicured garden of a wild forest is the worst idea of all. Some keep talking about bad representation of polyamorous relationships, while his romance’s been never intended to be like this. None of it suits him. People believe they can fix him, put him into the narrow grids of human concepts of 'healthy' relationships by persuading Larian and John to rewrite him. They refuse to admit that there are other ways to love... They forget Halsin is not even a human. He is a wood elf. Not only that it is common amongst elves to freely engage or cease relations with new partners, he is also a druid with the connection to nature so deep that he sometimes struggles to keep control over his inner beast. Halsin lives by nature laws, and our human society rules and definitions of love and relationships are alien to him. ‘The bear roams free’, he says when he confesses his feelings, and asks if we are like him or not. 'More fluid, more founded on the principles of nature', he adds later. He explains it so beautifully, yet few listen… Not on human society rules, on nature laws! That's why I stand by the point Halsin's not even poly. He is so different and so much more. For him, sexual freedom is only natural. There's no place for possessiveness or jealousy between you two. He cherishes your and his own liberty. He doesn't ask you to dedicate yourself to him and neither should you. He's a grown man, he knows exactly who he is and makes no bones about his relationship preferences. If you can't tolerate his nature and his beliefs, just... don't romance him. It's that simple. You have seven(!) other companions with more traditional view on relationships. Accept him the way he is and share his view on life and love, or don't - that's your right. But please, please don't try to 'fix' him appealing to bad writing... Because that is not true. Halsin's personality is truly well-written. John had done an excellent work with him. That’s us players who didn’t get it. Yep, I misunderstood Halsin’s romance at first too, though in a different way. I solved the puzzle when I read about Elven culture in D&D. John didn’t make it all up out of nowhere. It’s all written there, in D&D lore. Elven culture and his deepest connection to nature and to his inner bear are the things that made Halsin the person he is. That’s the carcass of his character. So simple and beautiful… I wouldn’t like to see anything about him changed. Neither Halsin nor his romance line need to be rewritten or reworked. He is not 'half-baked' - he just needs some more content, that's it.
...It may be an unpopular opinion, but I love the dialogue about Halsin's old misadventures in the Underdark. It fully gets along with his personality and perfectly reflects his view of life. Unlike others, I don't think there's been any sexual trauma at all. It seems that people are trying to treat him as a ‘civilized’ person, while he obviously isn't. Halsin is a wood elf who lives by nature laws. He literally sees things very differently than ordinary people do. By his own words, he missed his freedom. The fact that he was sexually abused… He doesn’t even consider it like that. That's a label we, soft civilized people, put on him. For Halsin sex is just... sex, a good way to spend time. Yet again, that’s elvish thing. Besides, it happened roughly around 250 years ago. Just imagine the number! It's about 3 times of humans’ lifespan! Even if there was something traumatic – though I still believe it wasn’t like that - he outgrew it long, long ago… It explains why he talks so chill about his enslavement. He got his freedom back, he learned the lesson and moved further. And I can do nothing but respect Halsin for his mental strength and the ability to adapt and survive under difficult circumstances. Furthermore, I can't get why people are taking it so seriously. Let us not mix up real life and games, eh? It's not nearly the same, and a fictional character doesn’t have to react or feel the same way as a real person would… Besides, there are already more than enough sexually traumatized characters in the game. Please, stop making another Astarion of him, people! Their characters are so different, and they have so different mindsets. And that's not about what you or I or anyone else think of it. If Halsin doesn't consider himself a victim of SA - there's no need to play therapists and make him feel so. Give him some respect please. Making a victim of him is just so unfair to him, and looks so out of his personality. But we must give the people what they want, mustn’t we… I hope that at least old dialogue options will be available along with the new ones…
Third, while I'm fully content with Halsin's personality at its current state, there are, however, some moments in his development I find flawed or incomplete. I'll try to break them down below.
? Halsin joins the party too late. He should've been available for recruiting right after the celebration night. It would look much more natural for the story. At the moment, he promises help with our journey to Moonrise Towers, but joins the group only when we're about to rescue Oliver, and it feels a bit... unsatisfactory. Though I completely understand that would take like A LOT of work to write and implement all those lines and banters for him and other companions and npcs in significant parts of Act 1 and Act 2, I sincerely ask Larian team to consider this possibility. It would feel so much better if Halsin could join us earlier. He might guide us through the Underdark and the mountains, he knows those places. He might even be familiar with the Myconid tribes we find underground, since, as he says, he's been to the Underdark many times. It would be great to learn more about an intelligent side of him! I mean, Halsin's hot as hell and all, but he's also a healer and a scholar, who knows a lot about nature and its creatures, and unfortunately this part of his character is not shown enough. Like, he might tell us about fauna and flora of the Underdark (those explosive mushrooms, brrr). He might know something about Baelen’s mind disease and medicinal properties of the Noblestalk. It would make him less of a bear joke and more of a respected party member for those who doesn't like him much at the moment.
? Halsin's romance line feels incomplete. It desperately requires more content. It has to be expanded! One intimate scene, even as hot as it is, is quite not enough. Especially when the player doesn't romance anyone else. Especially considering how many scenes we've got with other companions... Of course we can sleep with others, and Halsin doesn't mind and even happy for us, but those scenes are not exclusive for his romance. I mean, when Halsin announced he's (kinda) poly I was expecting some sort of erotic journey with him. Unfortunately, all I got was one black-screened scene and two dialogues. The dialogues were good, but speaking of content, his romance turned out to be a bit disappointing. I personally would love to have an option to invite Halsin to participate with Mizora and Haarlep. To explore together, as Halsin would say. It would better reflect our relationships and be definitely fun to see. For me, going to have fun with them with no option to invite Halsin was like – ‘what the hell, I know he would love to join!’ We could also ask unromanced companions to share a night. I think of Lae'zel, with her believe in ‘carnal pleasure’, though there might be other options. I can imagine another scene to be more… wild, compared to the sweet and gentle first scene (a piece of furniture up to the challenge? lol), and one is probably more of a talkative type. Just please, don't make him strictly monogamous from the beginning! It doesn't suit him at all. The only possible way I can imagine with him being involved into exclusive relationships is where he breaks up with his partner in the end. Halsin is a free spirit, and dedicating himself to one person would mean to betray his own nature. Yet, if you romance only him, without Shadowheart or Astarion… then, closer to the end, Halsin might suddenly realize that you’re probably thiramins - soulmates. Whatever happens next between you - keep your relationships open or make them exclusive - is up to the player to decide. It might be a good ending for everyone aboard I think. I understand that learning about Halsin's preferences so late, when you had already rejected all other possible love interests just to be with him, is frustrating. It was a surprise for me too, though not such an unpleasant one. Letting players know about it earlier in game - if not by Halsin's words, then via books or notes about wood elves culture and bears habits - so they could still pick someone more traditional, would be great!
? The recently datamined dialogue between Halsin and Minthara feels… lazy, yes. I understand that Halsin takes it mighty personal. That's ok he doesn't care for Minthara at first - she tortured him and was about to destroy his grove, and he's not a saint after all. More than that - she’s an ex-servant of Lolth, and Halsin knows exactly what Lolth followers are capable of… But he usually tends to give people a second chance. He gives it to Kagha (in a parallel universe xD), and he even somehow tolerates Durge Tav when he learns that all of it was originally their idea! Moreover, he still can have relationships with Lolth-Sworn Drow, if I’m not mistaken. But giving Minthara a second chance while no actual harm has been done by her yet - no? Just ‘no’? That doesn’t sound like him… You know, we could persuade him to stay and at least try to get along with her. Maybe he’ll understand she’s not that bad, that she’s been brainwashed for her entire life by both Lolth and the Absolute - just like Durge and Shadowheart. He might try to teach her to value others’ lives, be a better person. It would be much more like him... Yep, I get that writing all those dialogues between Halsin and Minthara for entire Act 3 is not a little deal… but, Larian, you set such a high quality bar yourselves, and we players expect nothing less of you =))
Some more suggestions:
? Let Halsin lose control over the bear once in a while. It would bring some chaos and fun to have him in group, and it perfectly gets along with his character! For example, he might turn into the bear in a fight when he takes especially hard hit or several hits in a row (just as it works with Wild Magic Sorcerers). Or when he's upset about how refugees are treated in Baldur's Gate city (charge us or put us behind bars for bringing large animals into the city!)
? Halsin might whittle his precious ducks or smoke his pipe by his tent rather than just stay there. I wonder what exactly he smokes - can we ask him please?
? Why can't we give him honey? That's a crime! You know how much he likes honey!
? Bear hugs! Bear hugs! Bear hugs!
? When Halsin convinces Oliver to reunite with Thaniel, he’d better get down on his knees to make eye contact with him. While his words are only perfect, towering over the child like this is a bit… too much, don’t you think? =)
? His Cave Bear form is still weak compared to the owlbear. It still lacks a mass attack, and its multi-attack is only available once per fight, which makes it nearly useless.
? A [Baldurian] tag Halsin has is weird. The man doesn't even know what a 'clown' is and yet the game thinks he's a citizen…
? There's something wrong about his (and others!) weight. A man of his stature just can't have 75 kilos, that's ridiculous. It's supposed to be about twice as much, if we consider him having about 2,1 meters of height. I address the same question about other companions as well. At the moment it's only Karlach with her engine who is adequate in that case (90kg). Our Tavs also should have different weights depending on their race, body type and gender. That's a little and insignificant detail, but that's where the devil hides, right? ;-)
? No lines for Halsin when we lick the spider in Act 2 or become Bhaal's champions. No lines for anyone after a night with the Emperor either. If these are not bugs - it kinda sucks =/
? There should be post-Haarlep dialogue with Halsin if we romance him…
? Halsin might ask to replace Tav as an option to avoid fighting Haarlep in case if we don't romance him and don't want to cheat on our partners. Two shapeshifters - what a scene it might be, hah (even if black-screened)! And I'm pretty sure those two would come... to an agreement without selling body and soul to the incubus ;-)
? That’s not exactly my thing, but I know there are a lot of people playing as Druids who would love to have an option to wildshape in the bear sex scene xD
? Additional lines for Halsin talking about/with Scratch and the owlbear cub, perhaps? ^_^
? That ‘still rattled by what happened at the Emerald grove, they'll need time to recover before they'll be ready to talk’ line is nice… nice plug =_=
? Some of Halsin's voicelines in Act 1 sound VERY different from the others. They were probably recorded earlier than most, and they feel quite... out of turn? Recording them again would be great to make them sound smoother and along with his other lines.
? Love the 'new' kissing animation! It suits Halsin so much! The only thing that bothers me is that my Tav somehow becomes taller than she actually is. On uneven ground in the grass it seems ok, on flat surfaces... well, not ok, at least for human normal bodytypes. Even if my Tav gets on tiptoes behind the scene, she still wouldn't reach him like that. Is there a way to make it better? Letting Halsin lift us up for a kiss would be fantastic - though it'll take a bit more effort to make the animation I guess =)
Ok, I probably should stop here, otherwise I’ll talk about him endlessly…
I hope you didn’t get bored too much going through that sheet of text, and apologies for my simplified English. If you agree with me on any point - you’re welcome to share your feelings! If you don’t… well, you’re welcome as well! Thank you all for reading!
