@Niara,
Yes, I realized after your previous response that I did make it seem very black and white; as if men must always act like stereotypical men and women must always act like stereotypical women and as if someone must come across a certain way based on their sexuality and gender choice. You are absolutely right. For all I know, Larian's intention could be that Wyll is, in fact, sexually a woman who appears to me and sounds to me like a man. I might get the "vibe" that he's a man but later find out that he is not one sexually. Likewise, Gale could be a woman who looks to me like a man, or maybe he's a man who does prefer both men and women or is homosexual. How would I ever really know? It's not like they would announce that to everyone or act a certain way to indicate it.
When I first started commenting on romance in this game, I suggested that Larian make it so the player is the one to initiate romance with the characters and make it so that all characters are available to be romanced regardless of sex, race, etc. In that way, if you are bisexual, homosexual, heterosexual, or you choose a human or dwarf or halfling or whatever, YOU, the player, decide who you want to pursue so that everyone can be happy with the romance aspect of the game.
What I don't like is having Wyll or Gale hit on my MC when my MC is a male. That is my preference. It was weird to me, and it made me immediately shy away from their characters. I liked them until they hit on me and went from bro to... well... uncomfortable. I can only imagine that this is how others feel when they don't receive the preference they are looking for.
So, in the end, I'll retract my entire post and go back to my initial suggestion for romance. There should be two paths you can choose for each character. One path is close friend and one is romantic interest. Based on your dialogue choices, you can either increase your friendship with each party member or you can increase your romantic interest in each. THEN, in that way, if I am increasing my relationship with Wyll as a friend and want to, on celebration night, just have a few drinks and laugh and joke with him, I can. If I want to romance him, I have that choice as well based on the dialogue options I selected. In that way, whether I'm male or female or whatever my preference, I can build a relationship with these characters however I see fit. I'm in control as opposed to the characters soliciting me.
Yes, the true issue I have is that they are all the same. They ALL solicit my MC if I've built up the right relationship score. That's what messes with me. None really want to just be good friends. Therefore, it feels very generic. That was the main reason I said they should all have their own set preferences regardless of who the player is. It feels like none of them have any preferences and they are all just generic love interests.
So, I say, either:
a. Make it so the player chooses who they romance and who they are just friends with
or
b. Make it so that each character has their sexual preferences and the player must get to know them to learn what those preferences are. If the character is going to hit on me and initiate the romance, then that character should have an established sexuality and set of preferences (race included because yes racism is real in D&D and our world - for yes, Lae'zel would not sully herself with anyone but a Gith unless that person REALLY rocked her world).
Last edited by GM4Him; 25/08/21 05:26 PM.
