Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - General Companions and Romantic Dynamics in Relation to M/M Pairings

Thanks for the responses! It's definitely interesting to see the varied perspectives and thoughts, and obviously a lot of it comes down to 'we're not sure yet'. I suspect I'll probably try to play it slow the first couple of days until people grind through it all then hopefully get an answer. I really do hope it isn't as simple as replacing the female models with the male; that's far more lazy than I tend to expect of Larian. At the same time I don't really expect every character to have options, as much as that would be the 'ideal', to sort of forge your own dynamic. As much as it probably shouldn't be, at least in my experience there's a decent bit of weight behind either top/bottom societally, and those dynamics sort of play out and inform relationships in various ways. Obviously this isn't 100% of the time, but it has been 100% of the time for MY experiences, which is part of why this thread was made--it makes a difference, character wise, in how they're presented or how I view them, and it's difficult to self-insert or get invested in a character if the dynamic simply ends up being one that I wouldn't have.

Truthfully I hope we see quite a few dynamics across the spectrum. The game doesn't need to be NC-17 levels of kinky or anything, but some hints towards d/s or alternative lifestyles and such are always welcome. Proper poly pairings would go a long way, as well, as so often it's just an open relationship/people not minding, which isn't quite the same thing.

I suspect worst case is just the player being on bottom regardless, second worst might be being on bottom regardless except for Astarian. Which is nothing against him (or bottom leaning folks), but as he "looks" to lean that way the most it'd be a bit problematic, writing wise. Zevran had similar issues, really, and it's good to buck trends and try to get away from the stereotypes. Of course I will hope that all of the characters can express themselves and end up on either side, but *gestures* Unfortunately M/M representation in games is rarely good or well handled, especially in the more explicit sense. I appreciate we're slowly becoming more inclusive, but I still don't expect much because the industry has taught me not to.