Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - Story & Character Discussion What are some unique romances you have enjoyed? (Spoilers)

I'm thinking of starting my (thinks) 6th run, and wondering what things I can do to make it unique. I love looking for rare interactions/exchanges, and looking for some fun ideas. For example, I've seen lines for the Cleric of Selune and Shadowheart. I'd love to know of any unique romance options you've found. Does Shadowheart interact with Laezal? Can God Gale cure Karlach? Can Ascended Astarion 'cure' her? and so on, and so on. Thank you for your time!

Gale has a few individual lines for the other origins. For example every origin has a line about envisioning harmony during his magic lesson tailored to them (just like they each have a special line in Shadowheart's wine scene) and he has at least for Astarion and Shadowheart-Avatar lines that compare them to Tara. He also has modified epilogue dialogue for romanced Avatar-Astarion, Karlach and iirc Wyll.

Avatar-Karlach has chunks of Astarion's romance modified for her.

I haven't done it, but since God Gale assents a partner who encouraged godhood enough, that should effectively cure Karlach or Astarion. Apparently he can't cure them
Romancing Astarion when playing as Karlach is supposed to be pretty unique, since they can't touch right away.

God Gale does cure Unascended Astarion and Karlach, video inside a spoiler if you want to see it:


Ascended Astarion can't cure Karlach, he will break up with her after attempting to do that unless you go to the final boss without long resting right after completing his storyline.

Personally, I really like Ascended Astarion with Minthara, because she is the only companion in the game who approves of his ascension and encourages him to seize the power. She also wants to dominate the final boss, and both her and romanced Ascended Astarion have new animations (in patch 6) when you decide to do so. In the epilogue, even if you go for the good ending they're still portrayed as a wicked power couple, working in tandem to become shadowy rulers of Baldur's Gate. Another thing they can bond over is knowing what it's like to live in the shadows and finally having one loyal person they can trust after a lifetime of hardships. Sadly, Larian keeps neglecting Minthara and she doesn't have much content in the game.

Astarion and Lae'zel are also a very interesting couple, seeing how they get together during the party if you don't sleep with either of them. She also admits somewhere that she's not opposed to the undead, considering she worships the Lich Queen. In the epilogue, if she leaves to fight in the Astral Plane alone she also has a unique line for Astarion. The last patch made it possible to leave Faerun with her, if you're not gith yourself, so it's also an extra way for Astarion to avoid sun damage if you don't ascend him. It's rather cool storywise too, since if you play as him she helps you free you of your master and then you can return the favour and help her fight for the liberation of her people. In the Astral Plane you also don't have to worry about the passage of time, so you can stay together forever even if she doesn't become a vampire herself. Ascended Astarion wouldn't mind the adventure either, seeing how he's open to test his new powers in Avernus if he goes with Karlach - I think the logic here would be the same.

Shadowheart and Gale can have a nice dynamic too. You can ascend to godhood with him and stick it to Shar or play as Gale and settle down in a cosy cottage, having an idyllic family life as a contrast to his previously reclusive existence. From the origin companions, Shadowheart seems to be the best candidate when it comes to fulfilling Gale mother's wish of becoming a grandma too.

It’s not something special about a specific romantic pairing, but I’ve appreciated that BG3 doesn’t force us to pick and focus on one Iove interest but instead can have a unique romantic arc for a character with changing relationships with companions over time, responding to events in game and helping flesh out the roleplay. It’s not perfect, as I know some users have experienced many party members all hitting their first romance triggers at the same time, but I’ve been fortunate in that they have been more spread out and felt quite natural. The game does tend to have the same dialogue after having broken up with a character as never having romanced them at all, so some imagination and ignoring of things that don’t fit is required.

For example, my chaotic, endlessly curious, commitment-phobic halfling jack-of-all-trades character, Sophy, would say yes to almost anything but stick with nothing. If I recall the sequence of events correctly, she slept with Astarion at the post-grove party, then sometime after that Lae’zel propositioned her, she had a couple of fun interludes with her but then Lae’zel got too intense so had to be let down gently, then Astarion suggested a second round but it came off in the context as clumsy manipulation so she turned him down too (though later in the game they became good friends). Then Wyll tried his luck but went completely overboard with the grand romance and Sophy beat a hasty retreat (I think Wyll might have been buggy at that point as she hadn’t been flirting with him, but as it happened it did feel that it fit with her story). She then struck up an easy-going relationship with Halsin whose attitude to relationships seemed to fit better with hers, and was even curious enough to experiment with some mindflayer sex. But there was no happily ever after, unfortunately, as she ended up as a mindflayer herself, failed some wisdom saving throws at the epilogue party and ended up eating Halsin’s brains

The thing I was surprised is when your character has settled with their main squeeze. Openly kissing each other, but sleep alone not together.....