Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - Story & Character Discussion Disappointment with the end of Halsin's romance

Out of curiosity, I checked out the endings of Gale's romance and there are a lot of options that Tav can choose from. There's even the option to travel the world, with a wizard who hasn't moved from his tower for years. The ferocious druid Halsin has one settled down option. Sad. Well, I don't think there's anything to add, I've expressed my pain Nothing will change, because Larian will not rewrite this character, the game is closed.

I totally agree, the epilogue saved my romance. It doesn't make sense, for example, the words you have with him before the final fight and how he behaves in other conversations, but the epilogue makes sense. And she is super sweet throughout the party with the hugs and kisses, a very good ending

Also agree. For me, the epilogue was the only thing that saved this romance from the massive ACT 3 disappointment. Ending made me really happy.

Granted, it saved the romance, but not for those who didn't want to have one option to be stuck in an orphanage. Also, I have the impression that Halsin is 100% focused, even fixated on the children, and the conversation revolves around them over and over again. In the friendly version, it is even more visible. Oddly enough, he didn't show such strong impulses to be a babysitter during the course of the game.

I am curious. I love Gale's adventuring endings (both in his romance and his Origin) partly due to the game acknowledging that it is an unusual step for him to take, and Gale even comments on how it was good for him to leave Waterdeep. Does Halsin's romance in any way address this change in attitude in relation to his partner?

Edit: Halsin somehow seems to be obsessed with a task, when he has one. First the curse, then the orphans.

Halsin's romance ends in a way I never thought it would end during the game. It was a shock to me because Tav had hooked up with an extremely independent, self-attaching guy. In the end, he gets extremely tied down with responsibilities with the children, who also has trouble leaving them for one night. It's not even healthy. Right, Halsin went from one obsession to another.

Thank you, Anska, for providing an explanation for this mess. I don't know how I could not have noticed it while playing. True, Halsin lives by obsession. After all, it was impossible to start an affair with him until he lifted the curse, he was completely absorbed in this task for 100 years and even admits that he had no relationships because of it and that people point out that his work consumes him completely. At the end, in the first version of the romance, he leaves us because he has a new purpose and everything else is unimportant.People were shocked by this and felt heartbroken that she was leaving the relationship and going with the kids. The disappointment of fans probably resulted in the epilogue, where Tav has the option to join or go into the world alone. Halsin is still obsessed with children, only now with Tav by his side.Compared to our other companions, he seemed to be the healthiest, but that's not true. Halsin, like everyone else, has his problems.

Halsin is the obsessive type, which is a bit at odds with his stories of wild adventurers in his youth. But people can be complex; I know I have fond memories of somehow surviving my youthful adventures without wanting repeat them. My feeling at the end is that he is finally doing something HE wants instead of what is expected of him. And as a druid, he is devoted to serving nature as much as a cleric serves their god.

I'm a fan of character agency, so I don't feel Tav should be able to talk him out of his desires. (**see below) There are other companions where Tav basically decides what they will do, and I find it icky. But it would be ideal if Tav could talk to him at the party about spending more time out of the community, getting some time in the wilderness together. Especially if Tav is a druid. I am 99% happy with the end but I realize no ending can please everyone.

In Karlach origin romance with Halsin, he says that his community may grow able to stand without him and then he would join her. So he isn't necessarily planning on being there forever.



**One thing of note in the datafiles:
There is an impossible to reach dialogue where Tav says they will join him right away and Halsin is surprised Tav would even want to come with him. It's another reflection of Halsin's self-esteem issues.
"Devnote: Taken aback/doesn't dare to hope the player is serious"

My Tav was a priestess of Corellon and no one was interested in what she wanted to do with her life in this romance finale. Live in an orphanage because it is your partner's new calling, or leave. Also, I don't think it's the calling of a druid to build an orphanage. Wildlife conservation is probably more appropriate here. Especially since, as I've written before, there's nothing to suggest that Halsin will end up like this. When I heard that suddenly the children from the city were his duty, I fell out of my chair. Throughout the game, I felt like I had found a soulmate for Tav while talking to him. The guy has thrown off the handcuffs of permanent commitments, he is finally free on the road under the stars. In the Tav option, not Karlach, there is not even a word about the fact that one day maybe we will do anything else. It seems to me that a character with a shaky self-esteem will be more likely to listen to his partner's idea of life. Unless, of course, Halsin still treats the relationship loosely, as something secondary to his new responsibilities.

If you have Halsin in your party in Act 3, he is horrified at the poverty in the city, especially for children, and how no one is doing anything about it. His ending follows from this. I think it is a noble ending for him, looking after the orphans and others who have no where to go!

I don't think the ending is in any way bad (though I can understand the dissatisfaction with having to run an orphanage) but all its development happens off screen. You can learn about how anguished he is when he is in your party, but unless you romance him, you don't even know THAT he is has adopted orphans from the city. When it comes up in the epilogue, it's the first time you hear about it - although your character seems to be aware. The connection is missing. It could have been a nice quest for him in Act 3, possibly involving the tiefling children from the Grove whom Mol has abandoned.

I think a big part of why his ending is the way it is is because Larian diddnt expect anyone to be solomancing him seriously. He was made to be the third party in an already established romance, to be tossed aside when hes nonlonger convinient for sex. Why WOULD anyone wanna go be with Halsin when they can go be with SH or Astarion if theyve chosen the nonmono route? And why wouldnt you do the nonmono route? Thats his role they made for him, even though thats not really what the people who wanted him added were really asking for.

I don't want to be misunderstood, I also think that saving children is noble. I'm just very disappointed that it's the only option given for Tav. I did not interpret Halisn's complaint about poverty in the city as an announcement of the creation of an orphanage. It didn't cross my mind. I saw ending with him as LI as a departure into the wilderness, and nothing else came to mind based on the conversations in Act 1 and 2. Ok, I understand that was the writer's will, but it's worth writing your comments, maybe in the future someone will take it into account.There simply wasn't enough options for Tav. In other romances, you have more control over what life together will look like in the future. Everyone got their epilogue. Halsin could have been given two options for the future, in a conversation in the post-fight room, where Tav could say something about her dreams, how she sees life going on.

He does have a good bit of commentary specifically about the children you encounter around Baldur's Gate and how badly off they are, and wonders who's going to take care of them. He also has conversations about what a terrible place the city is and what can be done to fix it - something he obviously wants to tackle if he can. So the writers did try to telegraph the ending in a few ways; some of it is easy to miss, though, and he definitely doesn't outright mention adopting a bunch of kids or running an orphanage.

If you pick a long-lived race to romance Halsin with, you can certainly imagine that the Daddy Halsin phase only lasts 100 years or so and then you're off on other adventures (this is basically what I did in fanfic).

I treat the game as a finished work, like a movie or a book, and I don't tend to add my own story after. However, I can imagine that these children will grow up and Halsin will do something else. But he might as well want to take orphans from the streets of Baldurs Gate for the rest of his days;) However, during the second playthrough, Tav will be looking for happiness with Gale, although before the epilogue, I thought Halsin would be the only romance option for my Tav forever.