Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - Story & Character Discussion Halsin Romance, Expectations and Obligatory Poly

I've seen this discussed in other areas so thought I would make a thread on the official forums for it, which is perceived flaws and tonal misfires in Halsin's romance.

This is not intended as a disparaging of polyamory, but rather a discussion of whether, intentionally or not, Halsin constitutes a good representation of such, if his romance content fits his previous characterisation and behaviours and reads as a healthy and positive relationship between equals.

An emerging discussion regarding Halsin, especially from those of us who championed him as a romance since early access, is whether his attitude towards Tav and romance gels with his previous demeanor and I would absolutely argue no. Throughout acts one and two, he denies all your advances based on duty and responsibility. His entire vibe is that of a dutiful, middle aged community leader and stable group dad married to his responsibilities. But when you get to his romance all the way in act three, after many of us who were intent on him will have turned down everyone else, it's rather unexpectedly and abruptly sprung on you that Halsin has near contempt for monogamy, follows his hedonistic urges and romantic whims as a bear would, despite being an adult man with a far more complex brain than an animal. goes into explicit detail about some of his conquests and then insists that this is the only way he can engage in romance with Tav without any input or discussion about Tav's wants or needs. No strings, no expectations, no rules. If you agree, this leads immediately to sex, after which if you ask Halsin about how he sees the relationship. he tells you he views relationships as 'fluid' and doesn't want to define the relationship - again Tav cannot respond to this or provide any input. There is no option for a single Tav to discuss their beliefs or values - it's act three Halsin's way or oops, you've just rejected every romance only to unexpectedly learn that Halsin doesn't do commitment or monogamy.

Suffice it to say that this came as a surprise to many people who chose Halsin and left them with either no romance or one that left them with a bad taste in their mouth. To many, Halsin does not sound like a polyamorous person speaking to someone they care about in these interactions. He sounds selfish, close-minded, inconsiderate and like a manipulator using thin polyamorist 'nature' arguments to get Tav into a no strings, nebulous sexual relationship he can leave on a whim with no personal responsibility and still claim emotional maturity - very ufortunate after being a source of maturity and respectability in the camp. If any of this had been telegraphed earlier, it could have been a character moment and discussion, but it really wasn't. The end result is uncomfortable and disappointing coming from the act 1 and 2 Halsin and not what I'm sure a majority of people wanted from romancing the stable, responsible group dad. There was a way to write Halsin as poly while still making him seem like a committed, responsible partner who is receptive and cares about a monogamous Tav's ideals but that isn't what exists and given how sweet, responsible and emotionally mature the character has come across beforehand and how popular he was, it seems a shame to leave his romance in a state that a lot of people are finding uncomfortable and unsavoury.

It seems an odd choice to acknowledge the popularity of the character by giving him full romance and companion status, only to then enforce a polarizing condition on his relationship and one that seems in direct contrast to what people found attractive about him, which I'd then argue is written so as to be a poor representation of poly people, giving off a vibe that I'm sure the writers didn't intend. This is in addition to a lack of build up in acts one and two, presumably a result of him being added later, but the end result is uncomfortable, unsatisfying and perhaps would have been better off being left out. Larian has clearly put so much passion and work into this game that I hope that post-release additions and rewrites aren't off the table for things such as this.

You'll find a number of long-time Halsin simps on this forum, myself included. I haven't seen any of the others offer their opinion on his romance yet; here's mine.

Like you, I was disappointed to find myself in that either/or situation - either accept non-committed non-monogamy (from him) or abandon ship. But I also have to say: I was basically expecting this. It's very much part of Forgotten Realms lore around elves, especially wood elves (and also very much a feature of bears - which he's closely identified with). From a more meta perspective, since he was a late addition and his romance takes so long to kick off, I can see why they worked things this way; it causes the fewest conflicts.

Fortunately for me, I have plenty of headcanon to use in working around issues like this, and I mostly enjoyed the romance. As a dyed-in-the-wool monogamist, I'd be interested in hearing opinions from folks with a different perspective on relationships. Based on what I've seen elsewhere, some enjoyed it, some had issues.

Lore ? Agree its lore friendly the way is Halsin written. !!! BUT !!! You can form most of your companion fate/belive especially when it comes romance. So the option to Ask Halsin to try to be faithfull while you live and if you not an elf its could be realistic. Plus maybe just one option would make a HUGE difference if u could tell him you will go with him in the end, so he wont need to be wait for PC.

I would like to hear Icelyns opinion on this topic, since she is our number one Halsin fan.

Glad to have found a thread about him - there is also discussion on Tumblr about the same topic.

I was hoping for a monogamous option with him too but seeing that wood elves tend to be poly I can live with him being poly. But as already beautifully said in the OPs post, it is about how his romance is written.

I really don't want to sound ungrateful, it is awesome that they added Halsin as romance to the game. It just could have been amazing for everyone - for those who just want to bed him and for those who were waiting and hoping for him as romance partner, not just lust object.

Even wood elves marry from what I have read. Especially with races that are not very long lived but also with other elves, but seeing that elves live a long time (high level druids especially with the timeless body feat, also I am not sure if this can be willingly controlled by them so that they can but not have to live longer) it is kind of understandable that they are hesistant to commit to a life long marriage. Also even if married, it is not like you are chained to your partner, I think they could break up later too as people might change or fall out of love so I don't really get this let's not marry, I don't know if I will still love you 500 years from now...

Marriage option with Halsin would have been amazing but even without it you can write characters as being in a serious and meaningful loving relationship with another.

But with Halsin you don't even know where you stand. Sometimes it sounds like he is really in love with Tav (at least at the moment) with knots in his stomach, his heart stirring, his romantic lines... but then again it is like he doesn't want to admit it is a romantic relationship at all, he doesn't even want to call it a relationship. Like always shying away from admitting that it is really something deeper.

I mean I guess who just wants to have sex with him no strings attached will be very happy indeed. But for those who hoped for more it is very disappointing. You can't even go with him in the end - not like Tav really has other things do to, why can't we tell him we would like to accompany him and helping him starting a new settlement, helping the people and raising the children? And then he comes again with the romantic lines that he will think about you...

It is like he had his fun with Tav, he is happy if you visit him to have temporary fun again but please nothing serious or longer lasting. Like he only wants some one-night stands or short timed sex relationship and nothing more. For a man with 350 years of experience and his many lovers that he already had you might think he would now start to calm down and look for something stable. But then you have the Dryad scene and him talking like he is really in love with Tav, that he only wants Tav - that just doesn't really fit, it is so inconsistent. Or maybe I see it wrong and it is just Halsins issue that he has trouble forming stable relationships despite being in love? It just doesn't feel like you can have a serious love relationship with him.

Or why do you have to do a foursome with him and the drows to find out, that he was chained 3 years in the underdark to a bed chamber? The scene itself (what you read) is also written to be funny and then you get this dialog afterwards... if you do not do the foursome you will never find out that about him (and that while people who like him surely want to know as much as possible about him) and if you do it doesn't feel good to have this traumatic experience after this just funny sex scene (also it doesn't come across like this when he speaks about it, more like it was a adventure of some sort). I mean, I just wish there had been a different approach to that. And having an option to decline the sex telling Halsin that you prefer to be just with him.

I am enjoying the game a lot so far but making my way a bit slowly through it. Other than a few flirt options at the party, I haven’t gotten to any of the romance content yet, and he is just at camp currently and not even in my party! I would have liked it if he could be added to the party as soon as he is at camp, but maybe he was added as a companion too late for them to have time to do that.

Going by what other people have posted, I would definitely appreciate a monogamous option along with the poly option for people who want it!

I was so happy learning Larian actually introduced Halsin as romancable companion, since I've also been championing the idea since 2020.

But alas the way the romance is introduced really makes me question the emotional (and general) maturity of the writer in question (sorry Larian).

It somehow manages to come accross as the mockery of romance and the "in your face parody" of what people (including me) were originally asking for in a sense of "careful what you wish for, you might just get it". Obviously someone at Larian really misunderstood when we asked for male counterpart to Minthara "romance".

Really hope the writers rethink this part - IMO in it's current state it would simply be better to just leave out the "romance" alltogether or call it what it is.

Sorry to be blunt but I don't really see many people raving about this "romance" online, so I'm quite sure it's not just a "me" issue.

EDIT: and before someone lectures me on druid code let me just point out romanced Jaheira TOB ending which to me is true to the druid code on the other hand Halsin is simply being kind of a douche.

Here is Larian’s feedback form in case anyone wants to send politely worded feedback to Larian: https://larian.com/support/baldur-s-gate-3#modal

You're so precious Icelyn

I wasn't aware of any druid code that came into play here - does Jaheira mention one in the original game(s)? But yes, I agree with you, Jaheira's ending was excellent, and also very lore-friendly in terms of how elves behave when they do form committed relationships (though of course she's a half elf, not an elf). I've always liked the lore around elven communion and elven bonds, but that stuff is probably way too obscure to ever hope to see in a game like this.

Well maybe code was an overstatement but in the hierarchy of the druid circle I suppose there isn't much space for marriage and exclusive relationships https://dungeonsdragons.fandom.com/wiki/Druid

I would have to agree that there are noteably mixed messages -- from what I've seen -- and incidents that play into (false) stereotypes.

However, I can believe that the time we've known Halsin is too short to be more than a fling to him. Once again, that could have been a legitimate story beat if only Larian implemented an actual, complete ending.

I was curious about Halsin but lost interest mid playthrough and ended up romancing Wyll who actually has a pretty interesting story now, much better than how he was in EA.
Can't say much about him aside from the fact that I was expecting Halsin to have some skeletons in the closed regarding the whole situation with Ketheric...


But unless I've missed something I was completely wrong about this and he's just a bit boring, lol.

There's a strange irony how Halsin being such a flawed romance also makes it one of the most realistic, albeit not a very satisfying or happy one. If we take away the fantasy trappings, I've seen many poly and even mono relationships go this way. I just doubt it was intentional.

I am really glad that someone posted this over here and hopefully Larian will notice this post as well - they are a number of posts regarding people's disappointments on Halsin's romance on Reddit as well.

Please Larian can we at least just get an ending with Halsin where Tav and him can be together as the current ending just feels like Halsin doesn't even care about Tav after Tav had to go through so much to romance him.

I hope people feeling this can voice out their frustrations on this as well.

Thank you.

A few extra lines of explanatory dialogue might help. He says his heart isn't easily moved (seems legit, given it takes 2/3 of the game and saving everything dear to him for the romance to start), but almost in the same breath talks about his many past lovers. Did they all also move his heart? Does the protagonist stand out from the crowd in any way at all? How long is it likely to be before someone else moves his heart and he's off?

An option to stay together at the end would really help too. It almost feels like he doesn't actually want us around anymore.

As I understood it, he's poly and not... a serial monogamist. It's not the romance I would have liked from what I've known in early access. That knowledge aside... You should have had a real talk near the ending. Made real decisions. SH has that. SH tolerates Halsin. You talk about *your* future.

Halsin... doesn't. It's not him being poly that's the problem. It's that whoever handled it had neither a sensitivity reader nor worked around the lack of an explicit ending. There's a lot of funny lines that imply Larian very much included jokes made by the community (i.e. daddy Halsin). At the same time, it just doesn't work. Like Karlach, it feels cruel. I'm still salty about Astarion, but really, you know what's going on in his ending. That's more than Halsin or Karlach ever got.

I didn't mean to imply the latter, just that once he becomes interested in someone else as well, his focus is going to be... divided. You'll no longer be the only subject of his romantic attentions, whether you like it or not. It would be nice to have some idea of how long your current status is likely to last (a few months? a few years?).

Yeah, not all relationships necessarily have the same depth. Him being poly doesn't mean you can't marry, just as one outcome. The lack of communication is grating.

Dear topic starter, thank you! You wrote exactly what I would like to say. The most disappointing romance in the game, 60+ hours to start a relationship with Halsin, for the sake of one-time sex without commitment....
I have never felt so helpless in a video game as in this terrible dialogue before sex scene
Or are you just a casual partner for a couple of times until Halsin gets bored and as the game showed, he got tired of Tav very quickly or you can leave away.
The subsequent scenes with the dryad seemed just a mockery. What kind of love are we talking about? Tav answers about Halsin, but Halsin is not interested in Tav at all. It doesn't know anything to us and doesn't want to know.
They'll tell you about a bunch of his random sexual partners, was the idea really that the player wouldn't feel alone on this long list when he was dumped (very soon)?
We saved Halsin from goblins, found Tariel, lifted the curse, we went to this romance most of the game, for what? To be rejected again ...
I liked this character from early access, I even liked when he rejected us at a party. All these ambiguous phrases and hints.
I'm an ordinary girl and I don't want to share my boyfriend and I don't want my boyfriend to share me. I'm an ordinary girl, and I don't want to share my boyfriend with anyone, and I don't want my boyfriend to share me. But this option is not available. And it's incredibly sad and kills most of the positive emotions from a great game.
Most of my friends who play this game and wanted to romance Helsing do not like this development of the plot.
I just don't know a single person who would like it.
In general, it resembles a video when they put any garbage in the gift box, in the place of the gift.
(Sorry if something seems rude, I use google translator. And maybe somewhere my sincere sadness may seem too emotional.)

I know most comments are going to be from females romancing Halsin, for the simple point of demographics being that gay men make up 4% of the population.

But as a same-sex male/male relationship, I must say the valuation of this romance is even worse and damaging.

First, this seriously reinforces negative stereotypes about male sexuality, especially gay male sexuality. That is, of the few male options where you could have canon gay relationships (Gale is obviously bi, constantly rambling about Mystra, and Wyll eyes Karlach), the single remaining option for a full gay male character is a detached, theoretically promiscuous guy with commitment issues.

Second, it's outright nonsensical for a druid. Druids revere nature. Nature overwhelmingly represents bonding as longlasting pair bonds, because the alternatives are usually predatory low investment male mating where the mating happens and then the male moves on to another female and leaves the burden of raising offspring to the female exclusively. The exceptions here are lifelong pair bonds where there is equal parental investment.

So Halsin suddenly favoring a non-commital fling mentality which is rarely reflected in nature, especially in the emotional sense, feels completely at odds with the concept of natural order.

Then there is the issue of quality vs. quantity.

I get he was a late addition and only happened by fan demand.

The fact is, though, that we did not get quality to compensate for the severely poor quantity.

You rescue this guy since ACT 1. He tells you to be patient. You think there will be a payoff for that patience since the romance only starts by Act 3, nearly the end of the game. But there is no backloaded romance. It's the most barebone of romances! And the guy walks away from you in the end, he just goes his own way and tells you he will think of you and tell people of the hero of Baldur's Gate.

Like, what? I'm freaking Faithwarden of the druid circles. We are both druids. In what world is it incompatible for us both to work for the balance of nature together? This was such a bitter pill to be given by the writers, I'm sorry. Extremely disappointed and disrespectful not only of my character, but for the one good aligned strictly gay same sex male relationship available in the canon.

I think all companions are bi/pan and not player sexual. And Halsin had both male and female lovers ("elf maidens").



Well he explains it with following the way as bears do, seeing that bear is his favourite wildshape and he is build like a bear, having much with his favourite animal in common. And wood elves are known to be poly too. I wanted him to be monogamous too but I can understand that they went with him being poly. Him being poly isn't the main issue - sure disappointing for those who hoped for monogamous Halsin, but the romance could still be written in a good way showing they have a loving, serious relationship with both Halsin and Tav/Player feeling content.

If you are also in a romance with Astarion, then Astarion will say "I am sure it would be quite a harmless affair" regarding Tav being with Halsin too. So at least Astarion (not sure about Shadowheart) doesn't see Halsin as a serious romance for Tav but instead just for the sex. I don't think Tav can even really express what the "romance" with Halsin is - only to the other partner (by breaking up or saying e.g. to Astarion that what they have together is unique) but not really to Halsin. Maybe Tav only wants him for the sex - maybe Tav really is in love with Halsin. And Halsin will react the same to both situations. So Halsin being inconsistent in his romance is like being written for both parts (only sex or real love) but merged together (or wrong dialog for the current situation played). I don't think it is just a bug with wrong dialog flags, just that he was meant to be written for both paths and then they ran into time restraints and just thought - ok better than nothing.

As someone who is poly, this kind of bothers me a little bit. My Tavs end up pursuing someone else, and I don't play wood elves sir it's not something I'd follow with because of lore.

Idk. I don't feel I needed my relationship preferences represented in the game somehow I guess.

After some thought, I think my issue with the Halsin romance isn't that he's poly, it's that the romance feels incomplete. A lot of it is played for laughs (which I find jarring, considering how studious Halsin is and how serious some of his backstory is). I get some humor for sure, like the "daddy Halsin" joke was great, but overall the romance feels half-baked. And being poly shouldn't mean that he's just ready to say peace out at the end, especially since he genuinely seems to care for Tav. There should have been a better option to discuss a potential future with him and what that might look like. Otherwise, it does feel a little unbalanced, like does he really love Tav, or are they just a fling?

Edit: my impression is that they wanted to make a Halsin romance and have poly options, so they just kind of merged the two and because of lack of time/resources, the combo didn't turn out in the most satisfying way. They obviously didn't want the origin character romances to conflict or override each other, thus why no origin romances are poly with another origin.

This is so well said. I am still very disappointed and salty with Halsin's romance. I was so excited to romance him and willing to reject other companions' advances just to be with him but this is all we got?

With all the upcoming patches and updates, I really do hope we get to see some changes on this. This is literally my first ever game from Larian Studios so I am not sure if they are willing to ask Halsin's VA back to record additional lines. Any thoughts on how far Larian will go for this based on all the other games they have released previously?

It looks like there is a heterophobe and a misogynist in this chat. 4% of the population should be more tolerant, or this applies only to the female population, we should normally treat the fact that our love interests had male lovers, and this offends you in relation to women. Or does being called gay allow you to do whatever you want?

I'll be posting some of Halsin's untriggered epilogue flag, read at your own risk. here you go; https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1toM2E_7-cpiCvpvXQMjKt_Brh2ChhL2o
[spoiler]Halsin addresses a player to whom he's romantically linked in a private room in the Elfsong tavern. They discuss what comes next. This scene occurs shortly after the final victory over the absolute, a day or so after the battle. Player and Halsin are implied to have spent the night together.

Halsin:"When we joined battle for the last time, I did not want to presume we would survive. To feel your touch again seemed like a distant dream. That made last night all the sweeter.

PC: "Not to mention exhausting. I don't know where you get your energy from."

Halsin: "Do not be so modest - you gave as good as you got."

PC: (a)What comes now?
(b)Why do I get the feeling you're about to say goodbye?
[/spoiler]

There's a lot to shift through, its really sweet, one thing that caught my eye was
[spoiler]Halsin:"At last count, there were nine whole wagons of children in tow. They are my duty now. 'Daddy Halsin', they call me. Who am I to tell them otherwise?"[/spoiler]

This is in the game, but apparently it's the only line from this whole epilogue that made it in the game. This means this whole thing is bugged then since this is the only flag that got triggered.
The game doesn't acknowledge that you're in a romance with him, nor does it have his romance flag triggered throughout the ending. Definitely needs to be patched up much like Minthara.

What in the fresh hell are you on about? Hoping you're not talking about me.

I've also not noticed anything of the sort here.

Ignore Irritir. They strongly remind me of a troll we had. Not saying they are one or the same individual, but the risk is there

They mentioned using google translate in a previous post, so assume there is some language barrier, because you're right, almost everyone in this thread has said similar things "Not digging the romance".

Huh. Some hope for patch 2

She directed it to me. I just follow the rule of not replying to people who say stupid things, because it will lead to time waste and a stupid discussion you will gain nothing from other than a migraine at the bad faith displayed by some people. She's just mad I mentioned that some gay men would like a same sex romance that doesn't have a guy constantly pining for and rambling about his fling with some other woman, and in this case a goddess, and Halsin happens to be that alternative, but is undercooked.

I see.

I could get that. I know there were other games with gay/lesbian only partnerships, some were bi, others straight.

Then the inclusivity brigade came. As I mentioned, I'm poly, but didn't much care for it in game.

For me, it's about respecting players and giving them choices. Obviously, the characters need to be playersexual or we get Cyberpunk-style complaints of someone getting the short stick with the single romance option they got (in the case of Cyberpunk, the male romance options were all side characters not tied or participating in the main quest, and accordingly got pretty crappy romances compared to the females). I'm OK if they decided to make Halsin open to poly. But he should also give the player the choice for the committed monogamous relationship. And given how long his romance takes to activate all the way to Act 3, it should have been much more substantial when we do get it to trigger.

And I sure as hell should have the option to go with him and do druid things together on our travels. Hell, even his dialogue all throughout Act 3 doesn't acknowledge my Druid tag even though he did on Act 1 and Act 2. He wants to be putative father to the refugees? OK, give me the option to tag along. We can start our new druid circle of refugees together.

People keep throwing out Halsin as polyamorous, but he isn't really amorous at all. He just seems down to fuck after he gets to know you a bit. He isn't intetested in any real relationship.

It makes sense to me that some characters are more or less interested in long term relationships.

I haven't played with the 'dark' version of one of the characters yet since I convinced them to be good. It's my understanding that they become almost impossible to romance if they become dark. Their priorities just shift as a person.

I understand feeling let down by the situation though. There are quite a few different character relationship endings that personally leave a hole in my heart, but that also make sense from a narrative perspective.

I do find it interesting how the other romance options recognize Halsin for the fling he is, and don't mind you spending time with him. Especially strange are those who otherwise are seeking to keep you for themselves.

Astarion may , which is altogether amusing and depressing

Yes on one side he is clearly written just as a fling but then again - if this is all Larian intended for him, then why do you need to wait until act 3 before you can have the sex/romance scene with him? The shadow curse weighs so heavily upon him? So in all this time during the curse he never had a lover? And was never going to take one unless the curse was lifted? That is some dedication, especially if it is just sex - can't be then much of a distraction to him.

If it is just about sex with him they could have had a sex scene at the camp celebration and maybe later just a fade to black so they don't have to animate multiple sex scenes. Would not be much of Halsin content but at least then it makes sense. He is just there to have fun with and that's it.

But then again if you look at his dialog and what they did include like a romance ending (even if it is crap) and the dryade scene that you can have with all love interests, and that he is not a sex option from the start but waits to be with Tav (if he is only interested in sex, why wait? If he hopes for a romantic relationship it makes more sense that he waits to get to know Tav better) and that he speaks about his stirring heart and that it doesn't stir lightly.....

He has quite the romantic dialog lines but then it comes all crushing down when you play because he backs out again...

So it really looks like he wasn't just written to be a fling but a romance option too but somehow it is mixed right now.

I understand that they didn't had much time because he was included late (and it is amazing they did include him at all). But it wouldn't take too much effort to fix it at least a little bit. A little dialog change in the end that the player can go with him would already be a start. Maybe him telling that he never was one for lasting relationships but with Tav he wants to try.

IF they have more time then more fixes would be nice like to be able to speak with him about that time he was held as a sex slave in the underdark and maybe helping him working through that (he sounds ok with it now but maybe that is even the reason he has issues with relationships? Even if it was just 3 years, that must have been traumatic).

And when he says his heart doesn't stir lightly you can give a response that it seems it does (stir lightly) and he will again tell Tav about his lovers (elf maidens, pirate and that he had been multiple time to the underdark) - I am sorry but that doesn't make sense to me. It is implied he has now feelings for Tav and then he tells about his lovers and adventures (sexual?) in the underdark and that is the explanation that his heart doesn't stir lightly? That he already had so much lovers?

And a clear separation between "just let us have sex no strings attached" and "I am in love with you" would be really nice.

Do you have certain things you would like to have included if there were to be a fix for him?

i wont lie, i was open to the idea of the poly relationship with him ( i would have prefered monog personally, but hey. it is what it is), but it was written... (dare i say it) almost lazily. Like he was quickly added for the fans pleasure but not with much thought or planning put into it. He basically spends most of act 2 in your camp refusing to join you - for whatever reason. When he finally does, hes often hating about the city and wanting to be back in nature (which is fine), but i would have liked to have seen more tender/bond forming moments between him and tav. The ending as well left me a bit cold in the sense I didnt even get to stay with him, he just left with vague promises to meet again some day. I mean, i wasnt expecting a marriage proposal, but maybe something a bit more personal and special would have been nicer. Maybe making plans to return to the grove 'together' and help with the orphans there with him. I get his nature is to not be monogamous, but to just abruptly be like 'hey, thanks for the fun times, im off. ciao' left a bad taste in my mouth.

So when are we getting an alternate ending for Halsin + Tav?

They mentioned that Karlach will be getting an alternate ending in Patch 2. We need one for Halsin too.

[quote=iloverainbow]So when are we getting an alternate ending for Halsin + Tav? :(

They mentioned that Karlach will be getting an alternate ending in Patch 2. We need one for Halsin too.[/quote]

well, good news, the writer of halsin has been fully aware of all critics about him considering he's been reading posts about him.
https://twitter.com/mrjohncorcoran/status/1693433654519677218

guess we play the waiting game now. i, as well as other halsin fans have been asking larian, swen, and the game director to add more content and a better romance ending for him on twitter..
i still advise you guys to submit feedback via the ticket thingy. if you say nothing, then nothing will change

That criticism he commented on mentions nothing about Act 3, just his joining time and development in Act 2. I really hope the Minthara and Karlach stans don't eclipse Halsin romance getting a rewrite that doesn't have him dumping you, or at least offers you to come with him.

In the case of Halsin even his spells are bugged. Call Lightning is not part of his spell book, but a passive spell on the left pane, so it's stuck at lv3 slot and you can't upcast it.

Similarly, his healing word is a passive spell in the left pane instead of a spell in the spellbook. It's a lv1 Healing Word, can't be upcasted. Worthless, basically stuck at lv1 healing for 1-7 heal total.

Halsin has those spells normally in his spellbook in my playthrough. He has the brown bear shape on the left side.
Everything else is messed up about him though. The creepy way, he comes at you when you never encouraged him has to be changed.
I can say much about the romance since he is mostly in camp and I'm not doing the romance. But he is very barebone imo. So far, he doesn't really has anything going for him in act 3. I mostly use Jaheira, since her story is much more involved ( plus it's Jaheira and she is so well done).
There should be a reason, he stays at the group in act 3 , so far my reaction to him telling me, how well the grove was, was basically 'Soo, when do you plan to go back and do your duty as first druid?:

Just a reminder to avoid spoilers out in the open when discussing this topic, folk. The fact Halsin was a poly romance option was publicised beforehand, so it's fine to talk about that, and about your impressions of the romance, but try to make sure actual plot points or significant character development points are in tags so folk don't come across them by accident.

If you look at the comments below that Tumblr post, people were commenting on the romance and character arc of Halsin in the game. Hopefully he did see those comments as well.

Yes thanks for sharing this. I will definitely send in my feedback as well.

I doubt this scenario is different for other gneders, as the game cleverly avoids the issue of your gender most of the time. The times you're actually being referred to as a man or woman are *very* limited. I have not even a clue as to how they interpret the third option, but even my dudes and gals are oftentimes referred to as them, even when alone. And, i get it - that's thrice the dialogue to record right there. I also think it's fair to say that not one ought to receive special treatment over the other. And, by that token, I have no qualms about having to fend off Gale and Wyll even on my manly Berserker Dwarf multiple times.

Regardless of that issue. There's hardly more romance content for other characters, either. Yes, Halsin's very limited, but not much more than the others. They advertised the romances to be 'more organic' and 'not just do their quest and bang' .Well. That's right, just progres the story, and say yes. After which you can either end that, or ask how they feel about it. Well, great.

That is a really well written critique on Halsin's character. It'd be nice to see some character growth in his story. It's sad that the game forces him to remain in this state of pushing others away because of his own doubts and fears. Poor guy deserves to overcome his demons and have a happy ending just as much as Karlach does.

That critique is actually spot on. And that would really be a point to address in the game. The player could help him overcome his problems and become a better leader for the grove. Sadly that was never really addressed and Halsin just chills in the camp as if nothing is wrong. And yes, the harpies were always a big gripe for me too. No one can tell me, that the druids never walked down to the beach and encountered them. Even if they were extremely laissez-faire, there should at least be a warning sign.

I'm not bothered by the harpies - as far as I know, they're as much a part of nature in the Realms as any other predator, and I don't think the druids had any reason or responsibility to chase them off. Obviously at least some of the refugees were informed about their presence, otherwise the boy wouldn't have been in that spot.

I am a little bothered by the hag down the road, though. She seems to be up to some unnatural shenanigans, and she can be found just sort of casually hanging about. Too bad we can't mention her to Halsin.

Swen tweeted something yesterday on inviting the actors back to the studio. Hopefully one of them is Halsin's VA.

Hopefully so! It would be great to have some more content for Halsin!

halsin's writer replied to swen's tweet with a eye emoji and a writing one. looks like they're already beginning to get started on patch 4 or maybe 5. i'm sure patch 3 will have that withers wardrode thing. i'm keeping a close eye on halsin's va too, he loves to tweet whenever he's in larian's studio

If they are actually adding a full-blown epilogue, I assume all the companions will have some lines in it, which requires both more writing and more voice acting.

C'mon, Larian, give me one more chance to convince Halsin to take me my character with him. Make it a high difficulty persuasion roll (which I'll cheat the heck out of).

Oooooohhhh that looks promising!

I am also buying the game on PS5 and I will probably romance Gale in this playthrough and hopefully we won't have to wait long for the new Halsin content!

Finally got to the Halsin romance!!!

The start of the romance was pretty rough. Hopefully they will add more dialogue options so that poly isn’t the only option!!!

I liked the scene with Halsin and the dryad in the carnival! It is really sweet!

I just hope the sound quality is a bit better than some of the other lines.

Like, it sounds like the rerecorded some of them and the volume and compression levels are off.

Yes hopefully they fix the sound quality too.

I just pre-ordered the game on my PS5 and the deluxe version comes with free avatar for your PS5 profile. They have avatar for all the companions except Halsin and Minthara

I watched the end of Halsins romance on Youtube - I didn't find it so bad? That is a good ending in my book for a romance in BG3

I agree with most of the sentiments in this thread and am looking forward to seeing what additional content they cook up for Halsin's romance.
I was listening to a compilation of the cut/datamined companion banter audio and I have to say,

To be honest I think that Larian misinterpreted what people wanted from Halsin. In EA some folks were making memes and sex jokes about him which led to Larian making him into a 'meme' character.

When I look at Halsin (now) I only see a sex pest and not a druid with a traumatic past (Isobel/Kethric thing), everything about him revolves around 'Can I join?' and 'I can not commit to you because I want to enjoy the natures beauty' (I'm not even going to mention the bear thing)

I was never a fan of polyamory so I wouldn't mind if Larian removed that option entirely and if its that important for his character, have him mention it as something that was part of his past but have his romance be one of commitment.

I've been blasting through my playthroughs trying to see as much as I can story and romance wise and Halsin next to Minthara just feels like a last second addition to the companion roster where they decided to shove all the missing choices/options (poly, kinks etc.) into his story so they can say 'See we have it all!' (In my opinion it kinda ruined his character and other companions that are tied to it also)

larian reads their own forum posts, so im curious on if any of you older forum members recalled seeing thirst posts about Halsin? Were there posts equally asking for him to be proper romance option instead of a one night stand?

There were lots of folks saying, "I want to romance Halsin", me included. I can't speak to what they meant by that, only what I meant, which was not: "I want to bang him a couple of times, then maybe show up at his place every few months or so and bang him again." But I'm a dyed-in-the-wool hopeless romantic who digs stories about true love and soulmates and all that jazz. Many video game romances just aren't written to have that kind of ending.

Well, I'll be!

I was wondering as to why a character like Shadowheart that spends her entire story rejecting opening the relationship and being against sharing suddenly after finishing her quest changes her mind and acts out of character/contradicts everything she says.

Her and Halsin have the same writer.

The whole rejection of a mono relationship and not giving players a happy ending with Halsin, the whole out of character behavior from Shadowheart, the whole (my apologies for the language) fucked up emotional manipulation of Astarion, they all make sense now! lol


I really do hope these things change. (I still haven't decided what my main character or their romance is going to be but these three despite being on the top are dropping fast because of a unnecessary fetish being showed in)


I honestly think that the majority of people prefer stories that are like that. Saving the day and having your happy ever after and not the 'mature' you get cheated on/cant commit/we are breaking up etc. kind of ending.

That's a somewhat strange thing to say considering how Astarion reacts if you're emotionally interested in other people. He's not happy at all. He's extremely insecure and *also* sexually traumatised.

I don't think there were fetishes involved. I just get the impression that whoever did Halsin desperately needed a sensitivity reader. Best case, the writer wasn't aware how much ended on the cutting room floor.

As someone who knows people extremely horny about vampires, I don't think that's the deal with Astarion, either. First red flag: no mention of the fangs for way too long. No real vampire enthusiast can shut up this long about the fangs. Second, the blood drinking is described as painful and not pleasurable. If you are aware of the historical and psychological nuances, this is a no-go. Third, the framing of the whole ascension situation is too tragic. It as an actual tragic framework, not "sad". I sense an imposter. This person is as horny about vampires as stale bread.

Astarion is exactly why I only trust people with a fetish for vampires to get vampires right. Otherwise, you're going get a story where somebody happens to be a vampire and it's a bad thing! Imagine that! You're not supposed to be thinking for one minute: this character would be so much cooler, if only they weren't thirsty for my blood! If this game were less weird and more horny, there'd be fewer plot holes, less manipulation and more happy endings.

You don't get the best out of Astarion unless you play a good Durge. Halsin is as good as terminally bugged, with the last "romance scenes" being conceived explicitly for when NO romance flags were triggered. SH, I won't ever complain about SH. She and Lae'Zel were clearly Larian's favourites and I'm salty.

I see things differently so I think you and I would disagree. You say more horniness would've been better but to me that said horniness is what's making these character worse. For all of Larians posturing about the game being 'mature' and having intimacy professionals the games writing and its romances just come of as someone's poorly written fan fiction.

I don't think its strange to say that the game treats Astarion and his trauma poorly. Like you said he's been used and abused for hundreds of years by Cazador so his willingness to share is not really there. He is still insecure and doesn't want to get hurt. The whole idea of sharing and opening the relationship leans into that without a version of him saying no. The whole thing is being treated as a funny thing because Astarion is 'cute when he squirms/is uncomfortable' (same as his ending where it turns into a ha ha he's burning in the sun)

Karlach has the same problem. If you decide to sleep with Mizora she goes ballistic. She cries her heart out but if you just say sorry all is forgiven and forgotten. You'd think this character would break up on the spot for betraying her in such a way.

Shadowheart has it the worst in this regard. Throughout her entire story she is adamant that she's against sharing/opening the relationship/polyamory, she straight up says on multiple occasions with multiple companions (if you try it) that she doesn't want to be your spare lover and that she doesn't want to be shared and play a second fiddle to someone. (she is even sad if you pursue someone else at the same time and thinks its over between the two of you) And yet if you go out of your way to visit the drow twins that suddenly changes. She flirts with Halsin during that scene while ignoring the MC. Same thing happens with Mizora.

It feels as if Halsin was the writers pet in this case and for his character other already established character and their stances should change.

And finally Halsin, I already made my stance on his released game version. The depth and the development is not there and if it was there it's gone now. His main defining trait is that he's a sex pest which is rather disappointing.

So yeah I can say that the writing when it comes to Halsins/Shadows writer feels like a poorly disguised fetish because one of his characters is a meme that focuses on zoophilia (ha ha sex with bears) and the other is a out of character behavior for the sake of a poly relationship.

There are promiscuous/poly/hook up etc. companions in RPGs that I like but this one just isn't it. Everything in this game just has this weird feeling about it the deeper you get into it.

But maybe its just me, maybe my idea of having the typical fantasy story where your character saves the day and ends up with their partner without some twist is not meant to happen in this game.

Either way I think the derailment of this thread has gone long enough. I tried to stick to just voicing my issues with Halsin and the needed improvement to his story but the irritation (if you can call it that) with the rest of the writing got the better of me.

^you're completely valid, i always hope the devs see these strong critiques and act accordingly for any future content...
from what I see, people are calling halsin the romance where you fuck a bear, its frustrating, considering in the final stretches of EA, i saw halsins potential as a romance option rivaling that of alistair from dragonage orgins.

Halsin deserves better. He should be more than “the romance where you fuck a bear”.

I’ve never really cared for the sex aspect when it comes to romance in video games. It’s the bonding and emotional side that I really enjoy. Unfortunately, I found Halsin’s romance is severely lacking on both those fronts.

I hope they are able to change his character for the better.

The drow stuff especially, is really uncomfortable. I didn’t know it was a thing when I played because I didn’t partake in the drows.

I seriously don’t think a topic like that should ever be played off as this “light thing”. It wasn’t written or portrayed respectfully, and it leaves a sour taste in my mouth thinking about it. I was so disappointed when I saw how those lines were handled. I don’t care what gender or race somebody is. I don’t care if it’s fictional or not. SA should never EVER be a light topic. It’s extremely traumatizing and triggering. How that got green lit, I cannot fathom nor can I understand….

I don't disagree that the game gives people too many opportunities to be sexual to not harm the story telling. Mainly because of the time and place. I would not necessarily personally equate that to being sexualised nor horny.

E.g. vampires -- prime example. Can be incredibly horny, but not explicit. Some would even argue that is the *point* of vampires. During a time when lesbian relationships were taboo, you found extremely horny yet innocuous vampire stories -- exclusively featuring women. With vampires, you find the least expected being sexualised. It's a horniness that transcends the flesh.

You can also be extremely and weirdly horny about the dumbest vanilla shit. Even write the least horny sex scenes imagineable. I would enquate "not horny" to "unethusiastic about the subject", yet in Larian's case "mixing it with sex all the time". Arguably, your gripe with SH is an example of that. Larian does not believe in anything other than spiciness. The "spicier, the hotter" is a poor philosophy and probably why you assume this is the author's poorly disguised kink... and I the author's poor attempt at writing what they *perceived to be* kink. Because they were not sufficiently enthusiastic. Not about SH's rather default romance, not Astarion's hangups, nor even Halsin being consistently anything. It's an exercise in wanting too much and offering too little, in losing your identity.

This whole thread exemplifies why I like


I don't really have a lot to add about halsin in particular because you guys already said it all!

The way sex is handled reminds me of today's shitty hookup culture.

Ugh.

Agreed, lol. My latest play through, I have romanced nobody because the characters that interest me have romances that go nowhere and have no emotional investment or growth.

Like sure, sex is nice and all. But like, do you know what’s really nice? A healthy relationship where two people truly love each other and are willing to overcome life’s difficulties to remain together.

Maybe I’m the outlier here, I don’t know.

That is honestly, why I like the Shadowheart romance - first date, drinking wine, talking all night and at the end a kiss. Then some sweet scenes throughout act 2 and at teh end of act 2 or beginning of act 3 is a sex scene, that is also handled tasteful.
I don't like companions jumping at me like sex maniacs tbh.

I mean, tbh, when Halsin asks you for sex, you know him for a while, so I think, that is not so much out of the blue, but I do think, this whole poly/sex driven side of him is out of character. It doesn't really fit with his personality.

Not surprising really. The entire hype and marketing of BG3 is based on sex and giving thirsty people their waifus. Those people are also what is keeping up the BG3 hype and prevents all the problems of act 3 to become mainstream as they are shouting down everything thats not horny meme pictures.

Thats also why multiple interesting characters got rewritten into mallable waifus/husbandos.
In the end Larian knew exactly what their customers wanted. Only that many of the customers dont care about BG3 as a game and instead just want well animated waifus/husbandos they can fantasize about.

I want to give my 2 cents as someone who is:

- afab, but queer
- poly themselves with over 10 years of poly relationships
- over 30, and a parent
- European

Because I feel like a lot of this criticism is very... Hmmm... How do I put it... From an Anglo-American, non queer, very much not poly standpoint. And I get, that you don't feel this romance is handled how you want it to be, but uhm... You might not be the target audience for once?

I like the Halsin Romance. I see your critique. There's a few things you've missed (he does state some of his views if you're reading between the lines), but that doesn't mean it couldn't get more obvious.

So what do I like about the romance?
He's very open about his feelings. No playing games. He's not promising you the stars, either. He's open about his lack of jealousy, although he states in some variants (e.g. when you get it on with Mizora and then tell him you'd wish he was there with you) that he wants to have a lot of awesome moments with you. He wants to share your laughter, your joy, your pleasure. He wants you, he wants Tav, to be *happy*.

What could be better?
I think if he would mention his state of thinking earlier, maybe with a nod to Jaheira who was married(!), that would solve a lot of the issues you guys have.

Tav: "You say there were lovers, but were you committed to one of them? Married like Jaheira maybe?"
Halsin: "My heart commits to each of them on their own, but I would not want to promise something nature has not intended for me. I respect Jaheira for her choice. It is not mine. While some animals may bond forever, it's not what I can do. It's always sad when a relationship has to end because I can't give them what they want. I can assure you: my love for them will not end just because I cannot provide the type of bond they wish. I will stay a true friend for them as long as they want me."

And maybe even another dialogue later:

Tav: "Is there ever a time where your... appetite... gets lower, and you might look for someone else?"
Halsin: "I have quite the large appetite, in and out of bed. You're not telling me I've put on weight, do you?"
Tav: (1) "I meant more between the sheets. Or leaves in our case."
(2) "Maybe."
Halsin: (answer to 1) "No. But feelings can change, like the seasons. We met during a crisis. You're constantly in danger of losing your sense of self. I... who would I be to deny you anything? And maybe you'll find that I am not what you're looking for once this danger is averted. I dream of rebuilding this land... When we solved your tadpole problem... that's when you can make a decision. Until then, I just want to cherish every moment with you, my love. It that too much for you?"
Tav: (1) "I'd like to be cherished like this some more." (Leads to another sex scene)
(2) "Thank you for your understanding. It's rough." (Leads to Tav putting their head on his shoulder, and he puts an arm around you, before he kisses your forehead)

And then he should totally ask you to come with him later!

I would add another scene for when you're in the city and rest there. Have them share a bath, and Halsin washes your back with a sponge. Let them talk about what they want to do in the future. Maybe Tav can talk about wanting kids, not wanting kids, if they're a druid they can plan to make their own circle, have them talk about a marriage for a short time if Tav is a short lived race, Halsin tells a story about his childhood, or his parents, and then the scene fades while showing a wooden ducky he carved.

It doesn't take much!

Since both Astarion and Shadowheart are also okay with sharing, a scene in which the companions talk things out could be beneficial. For example:

- Astarion and Halsin talk about how A doesn't like sex as much, but he wishes Tav to be happy, and H checking in if sharing is really okay for A. And then A saying they are more afraid of loosing Tav emotionally to H, since he has problems to commit. Ending in a bear hug from H, which makes A relax.

- Halsin checking in on Shadowheart after her quest is done, asking how she's coped within the temple. She actually mentions sexual relationships were encouraged in her quest, so she could re-iterate this. Then they could talk how SH feels like she can choose for herself now, and since Tav has given her the freedom to choose, she feels like she doesn't have to monopolise them anymore. H could then talk about his feelings of it being unfair to make them choose between himself and SH, but that he also wants to enjoy his time with Tav. They come to an agreement, that nobody loses out here, and they can make it work.

Those scenes would tie the romance together with the poly options, promoting a healthy way of polyamoury.

Talk to your metamours.
Make your boundaries clear.

Maybe Tav should get an option to say "I can't share. I know you do, but I want exclusivity." and that ending the romance.

It would be fair for everyone.

So what do you guys think?

Folks, if you have issues with romances/sex in BG3 more generally, can you add them to the thread at https://forums.larian.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=889296? Or if you have a critique of other specific romances, feel free to create a separate thread for them. (I've seen one for Wyll's romance, but not sure if there are others.)

Let's keep this one focused on Halsin's romance, so we don't just end up having the same conversation in multiple places and derailing this thread.

Any further posts that I think would be better over there, I'm going to just move to keep this thread on topic. But I'd be very grateful if you could save me the bother!

It’s nice seeing input from somebody who is poly.

I don’t have an issues with Halsin being Poly myself. It’s not my cup of tea, but I am not against it. I think the issue mostly stems from the fact that his character fears and avoids commitment, and there’s no way in game to help him past it. So in the end, the poor guy is just stuck with this unhealthy coping mechanism of running away from any form of commitment.

The current relationship feels more like friends with benefits IMO. At least that’s how I see it.

Also the drow stuff is not addressed in a very healthy manner either.

[/quote] this whole poly/sex driven side of him is out of character. It doesn't really fit with his personality.[/quote]

This.

I think we can have an additional quest where Tav and Halsin can have a deep conversation regarding their relationship near the end of Act 3 before the ending and help him overcome his fear of commitment.

In this way people who want to have a poly relationship with him can just avoid the quest and still have that poly relationship with him.

I don't see any fear of commitment with him. I think that's a bias from mono people here.

Monogamy is just not for him. That's a very poly story to be honest. A lot of us just find out we fall in love with multiple people, and trying to just be with one doesn't work out. We would feel unhappy.

And it's not about the sex. Halsin wants you to follow your heart. It can be with him, without him, or with him and someone else.

At the same time he's sex positive. Everything is fine as long as all partners consent. He also seems to stay sex positive after he endured things others (like Astarion) would have felt as assault.

It's not shallow just because he's wired differently.

Apparently an outlier. As mentioned, I am poly but didn't need to see it in a video game. Halsin feels like tacked on fan service.

And to the queer European who's name I forget in this thread, I'm also European, this has nothing to do with European culture, nor American culture. Larian isn't American but is definitely influenced by the US, and hookup culture is quite strong in many western countries, not just Europe.

I'll leave my general argument elsewhere but Halsin just feels wrong to me.

(I promise Red Queen its only the first part :D)


This part makes me smile because I've seen this argument/observation recently and as a European I would have to disagree. Majority of people in the EU are monogamous and unless I missed the memo about those 2pm group sex meetings at the town square where we call Americans puritans I don't think much has changed.

Either way I was never someone who discriminated or cared about other peoples private/sex lives as long as those relationships were between consenting adults.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


We will disagree on this but to be honest, my perfect outcome for this whole kerfuffle would be the removal of poly options from Astarion/Shadoheart. Even now you can ignore/reject the drow twins/sudden poly/Mizora scenes and nothing will change and no contradictory statements will be made.

Only one issue remains and that is the party banter one, both character have one party banter during their romances where Halsin makes a move ('Can I join?' I'm honestly starting to hate that) and instead of rejecting him they end up flirting with him (and this goes back to my statement that Halsin feels like the writers pet - character changing and doing things that they would never do but suddenly its okay because its Halsin)

Its obvious that being poly is a big part of Halsins character and I don't want that to be taken away from people that enjoy it but unlike you said in your other post where you see him as 'sex positive/having a healthy poly outlook' I only see a guy that hits on everything that walks, talks and baaas. Sure he has conversation where he establishes his boundaries but then he proceeds to act like the main character in some cheap erotic visual novel. So yeah I do see him as rather shallow.

I don't want to go through a romance with Halsin where he talks about respecting boundaries, opening his heart to my character and his love for her, even the break up scene (what does he say? I don't want my heart being toyed with) only for him to start making moves on other companions/npc in front of my PC and doing the same shit he claims he doesn't like.

And again I want his character fleshed out. His story outside of the ha ha I was a submissive sex slave of a drow matriarch and I like bear sex consists of - Healer in prison, tells you about Moonrise towers, Thaniels quest and nothing else unless I missed something or it bugged out.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Also I do agree with this.


Yeah the writing in this game and especially the romances seem to strictly follow this philosophy. 'Colse your eyes, imagine the weave, grab my dick' like holy hell. I miss the Judy romance from CP2077. (I promise I'm fully sticking to the Halsin discussion from now on)

Sooo... Is it only flirting when you're into it?

I love this incel question. It makes you think.

The relationships in poly culture I witnessed are playful enough to have your metamours flirt with each other, or have some banter. Those people share a partner after all - you'd hope they get along.

Some poly couples (primary partners) share a partner. Unicorn hunting isn't well received in the community, but that's not what Halsin and Tav are doing. Tav is having another partner.

Some primary partners expect to be asked before more than a hug happens. Some partners want to know details. Some don't want to know anything about their partner's affairs, relationships, and whatever.
It's up to each couple within a polycule to define the rules. Make sure they work for everyone else in a polycule.

Usually the "don't tell me anything" people are the ones who will become trouble in the future. Hickeys happen. And not being able to share that someone you're seeing is making you happy (more details aren't necessary) is a strain on a relationship. That's like "I don't want you to talk about your sister with me". Uhm, this person is important to me?!

Where do Halsin, Tav, Shadowheart and Astarion falling on that scale?

I'd say Astarion and Shadowheart want to be primary partners. They want a committed relationship with Tav.
Halsin seems to be a relationship anarchist, someone who does not want to label relationships as primary and secondary. Therefore he would describe his relationships as... fluid. Which he does.

There is no contradiction between someone being poly, and someone being a relationship anarchist. There's a difference on the commitment level.

The problem for some folks lies in here. He's non committal. But that doesn't mean he's a sex offender, holy cow! All the companions do is offer, none of them moves anywhere without being told to. Full control in the hands of the player (where it belongs, and yes I wasn't keen on Harleep, btw).

For the type of poly person Halsin is portrayed, his reactions make sense.
For people who are into committed relationships, that sucks.

What I wish would be an option to get into a relationship with someone post Act 2. Some romances could be re-kindled. That would make more sense for people who wanted Halsin, but don't feel like his view on relationships is their cup of tea.

There have been several times in my life where I had to break up with someone because their poly wasn't compatible to my poly. Or their wish for committment doesn't work with mine.
Most have stayed friends. You can love someone, and still aren't relationship material.
There's an inherit sadness when that happens. Still, not even rare to happen.

PS: I know of several polycules who meet for stuff, swinger clubs, kink bars etc. If you didn't find your town square fuckaroo group, you aren't looking hard enough /joke

People drifting apart and relationships changing due to altered feelings/circumstances/etc. isn't a poly thing. It's universal. Even committed relationships/marriages end. This is why all of Halsin's talk about hearts being free sounds a bit strange to me - none of my characters are casting permanent compulsions on their romance partners. Maybe the relationships will end someday. Maybe not. That's life.

I don't at all expect them to make Halsin not poly, but I'd at least like an option to go off together with him when the game is over, like we get with all the other love interests. Sure, some conversation about what happens if/when he finds someone else would be nice - do we just not talk about it? does our relationship turn into "just friends" for awhile? - but that's not as necessary, I can headcanon all that myself. (And if you assume that my headcanon would involve him just happening to never fall for someone else again - you would be correct. )

LOL, and here I thought I was having a conversation with a grown ass 30+ woman and not a reddit user.

Throwing insults and implying people are incels because someone disagreed with you, come now.

Maybe its the poly outlook that you are used to/hold that doesn't allow you to see this but the problem doesn't come from people flirting with others, it doesn't even come from people flirting and experimenting in open relationships. It comes from companions flirting while in established mono relationships and mono mindsets. Both Astarion and Shadowheart don't talk or mention any of their willingness to share outside of those Halsin/Mizora scenes.

It is as if there are two version of those characters. One that exists in the main timeline where you are doing their story/romance and the other that rears its head when the game needs a spicy poly option despite that other version clashing with the already established story.

Again if a character isn't willing to open their relationship with anyone and are fully against it suddenly change their mind for this one character I'm going to point out that its contradictory, poorly written and full of implications that this character is a writers pet (OC please do not steal - look how cool and better my character is)

edit. To make my stance even more clear and my irritation as to how it was written. What is your opinion on this - You ask a character about their opinion on sharing and they say they are against it, you ask this character about opening you relationship and they say no they are not into it, you flirt and become intimate with someone else and this character immediately starts a conversation how they don't like it and that the relationship cant continue because they are not into opening the relationship but then a scene that is no way, shape or form connected to their story and your characters relationship with them shows up they say they are down with it and they were always a fan of poly relationships. Because to me that is a bit contradictory is it not?

And no, Halsin and his writer have leaned deeply into the degeneracy (not polyamory) during this games marketing and writing. He's not an romance anarchist he's just a poorly written character that people had hoped would have more depth than just being a thirst trap.

As someone who has experienced the hook up culture and had my fair share of partners I can say without a doubt that I have many issues when it comes to poly people and their dogma of repeating the same lies of respecting others boundaries despite being selfish and emotional abusers most of the time. (maybe you are different and that makes you unique)

I understand being emotionally tied to a character (everyone has been at some point) that offers you something that other games don't and the criticism of others has maybe made you combinative. If we could continue this discussion somewhere else I would love to (preferably without it turning into a insult fest - I'm okay with disagreements) but I think at this point the Red Queen is going to jettison our asses out of this thread.

He was added because of community feedback, though, so I was hoping his target audience would be everyone.

And he was, I'm pretty sure that he wasn't going to be a companion originally. But my question is are you satisfied with what was given or do you find his character lacking (compared to other companions)?

I do think I made my stance clear on him, but he just feels like a kink character and not a fully fleshed out one.

You're wrong with Astarion and Shadowheart though.

Shadowheart mentions in her quest, if(!) you loot a specific book, that relationships between other Shar worshippers were encouraged. That she liked that. There's an implication, that they kinda had orgies or at last changing partners. She mentions how she liked that about her upbringing.

It's not a cutscene. Maybe that's how it can be overlooked?

Astarion is okay(-ish) with sharing you with Mizora. It doesn't sound like he's too keen on it, either, and I think he could be poly, but is just too traumatized to really make an informed decision, but that's an entirely different can of worms. My point stands: Astarion does not only share with Halsin, he also shares with Mizora, so there is a pattern of him sharing Tav.

You're calling poly people selfish and emotional abusers, liars, and bring them towards hook up culture, which is very different from consensual non-monogamy. I don't like those pseudo-poly folks who are using the "I am in an open relationship" lie to fuck around without their partner finding out either!
They aren't poly, thought. They are cheater!

I think you're reading things in his behaviour that were not intended. Or maybe I am.

If Larian wants to clarify part of his romance, or adds additional scenes, I am all for it!

I do like having him as a companion, so I am very happy about that! It would be great if they could add a nonpoly option to his romance as well as letting you recruit him earlier!

Maybe it bugged out for me, but it sounds similar to what she say after she catches you with Mizora. But I took that as more of a casual sex thing/orgies between initiates opposed to a poly relationship (I know some people might loose their minds that a 50 year old woman had previous partners but I don't care about that my main issues is with the writing)

I already wrote in my previous post edit that the issue comes from how her romance is portrayed (reject Shar and before that) - she is against poly in it is she not? (she rejects any attempts to open the relationship and says that she's against it) So when Mizora/Halsin thing shows up it feels as if its out of left field. If they went with making Shadowheart poly only in her accept Shar version then it would at least make sense since she's fully into the being a Sharan, 'exploring her sexuality' and not being tied down because her main interest is with Shar. (like you said hook ups from her past)

(A quick question tho - I know you are poly but imagine yourself in a mono relationship. How would you react if your mono partner in your mono relationship started flirting with others? That's what I was trying to say, if a character is poly and flirting I don't care as long as they make sure their partner is okay with it but if they say they are in a mono relationship....eh not as cool now is it)


I do agree that there is a possibility for Astarion being the 'share' type but the way it was done just rubs me the wrong way


With this I can agree with, it's been fun talking to you.

Thank you, I do enjoy a discussion, even when we don't find a compromise. It's good to get another point of view. So thank you for discussing with me.

SH only has this ending when she rejects Shar, and to me it makes sense. She defines which parts of her life she wants to keep, and which she wants to change. If she now feels safe enough to share Tav, that's great! It means her insecurities aren't a bother to her.

But! I'd like for her to talk things out with Tav, and with Halsin. I think a healthy conversation about *her* boundaries, and Halsin being respectful to her about them, would help a lot. As I posted before:
Communication is key.

She, as well as Astarion, should have an option to ask "What if I don't want to share? Who would you pick?" or something like that. We poly folk try to avert this. An ultimatum is never a good thing. They *are* common, thought. Inexperienced poly people will ask where they stand. They *need* this conversation. "What happens if you fall in love with a third person?" is another typical question. As well as "What about me? If I find someone for myself, would that be okay?"

Someone who could get in a relationship with them when Tav rejects them, that would be amazing. Let them have their own love life! Heck, let it be Halsin if Tav does not romance any of them! Astarion is into the Hunk (he makes a flirty comment about Halsin once he joins the camp)! Wouldn't that be hilarious?!

To your question about jealousy and flirting:
I can't.

I have never, in my life, been jealous. For years I thought something is wrong with me. I am supposed to not be okay when my partner flirts with someone else, not tell them how pretty their flirt is, and please use protection. I was afraid of not being enough for my partners before, but I never felt betrayed by them flirting.

People have cheated on me. I don't tolerate that. But flirting? Eh. Even kissing was never a problem for me. Kiss away!

Hence him asking if he can join is totally harmless and playful for me. He's fine with a No.

I think there lies a big secret:
You can only really accept something if you are allowed to say No.

And it doesn't feel like Tav can have the sex without accepting the open relationship. That's the issue, right?

There are ways to change this. For example he could ask Tav if they want exclusivity. And maybe if Tav wants that, he can offer exclusivity until the tadpole crisis is averted, with a talk about it later. Maybe they will break up in the epilogue, or find a compromise ("Sleep around when I'm away, and don't tell me"). Maybe Tav will have an option to be okay with it.

Player agency there would be nice. But it's also fine if he says no to casual sex even when he's poly, and you're not, because it could mean too much for him emotionally.

So many ideas for great cutscenes...

Unfortunately, it looks like Larian either never had much or too much for Halsin planned. As I've said before now, there's speculation

Halsin was never planned as companion.
That only changed because some people constantly thirsted for him, so Larian made him into a "anything goes" sexdoll.

Hence the lack of content.

Sadly I have to kind of agree with that. I don't get, why he is still there - go home, pal and take care of your grove. There is literally nothing going on with him in act 3.
He either needs more content or they should go back to Helia. And I'm not even talking about romance, just storyarc, involvment.

[img]https://media.istockphoto.com/id/1183191895/photo/mature-japanese-man-drinking-tea-and-looking-out-window-in-kyoto-japan.jpg?s=1024x1024&w=is&k=20&c=XV9FHMLjK5B18h9Q6VMnUrQlvallZ-R_wWAfLO9Sp7c=[/img]
quite literally me right now reading these latest posts. we always knew that halsin was pretty last minute, just, i don't know. my character had a little moment with gale once we found his cat, he was discussing having dinner with my character, keep in mind though, i only brought gale along with me because i wanted to see his reaction to his own cat. seeing that interaction though, that's what i feel halsin is missing. he's missing little moments where he connects with our character, moments where all the orgin characters have these moments with our character. i really hope they'll add more halsin content in the definitive edition. there's no way for them to get it all done in a month, this is something they'll need to rework and redo which will definitely be in the spot of their final version of the game. halsin as is is barebones, this is where i feel the majority of our frustrations lie. he has no content.

I want to make clear, that I'm not hating on Halsin or his fans. I just wish, we would have more story with him, otherwise, it might have been better to stick to the planned Helia. He is just so barebone atm. And Ifeel sorry for you Halsin fans. I just leave him at camp and don't care much about him, but I get, that people, who really wanted him as a companion, can't be really satisfied with what they got.

The problem, again, is that he isn't only written as a fling and casual sex option but as romance option too. But both paths are mashed together so that it isn't clear what is going on. If he was only meant as fling, then it should be clear from the dialog in game that this is all he wants and Tav can go for it or not. They could even had all origins being ok with him but they decided it would only be ok for Astarion and Shadowheart. Astarion even says that Halsin isn't something serious, so Astarion basically is only ok with sharing Tav because he sees Halsin as a fling. And as other people pointed out, Shadowheard and Astarion are only ok with non origins (like Halsin). This further shows that it is only ok for them if they share when there aren't feelings involved, if it is only about sex and not love.

But now we have Halsin written like a fling but also as a romance option. And have him talking romantically about his stirring heart and so on. This doesn't fit. If he is for sex only, this should be clear and then I wouldn't expect him talking about his feelings like he is totally in love with Tav. And Tav needs to be able to make it clear that it is only for sex too. But right now it feels like Halsin is in love with Tav, but doesn't really want something serious (I am not talking about marriage or commiting on one partner) and the other see Halsin as a fling and Tav can't even really respond and tell Halsin what Tav wants their relationship to be.

I am not poly but from what I understand there are two ways to approach this - one is the open relationship where you love your partner but it is ok to have sex (without feelings) with others and there is the way that people fall in love with other people and are basically having multiple romantic relationships with each other. So basically not just sex, but really being in love, just with multiple people at the same time.

But with Halsin I am missing the seriousness in the relationship - as already mentioned, even if you are married it is possible that your feelings change or you fall in love with someone else. This happens. Halsin can be poly but would still be able to marry and settle down with Tav for as long as they love each other. And if that changes, it changes. He might fall in love with someone else and maybe Tav would even be ok that they all live together. Or they separate. Who knows. But the seriousness that they want to see if it still works after their adventure when the daily routine kicks in is missing - and the option for Tav to accompany Halsin is very important in this regard.

Saying that this issue about him being poly is very narrow minded. Because while it is a deal breaking to some, him being poly is mostly not the issue. The issue is that it is in fact because he is a porr and limited representaion of such.

Now, polyamorous relationships come in many forms, but the successful ones include actual relationships, commitment and dedication - things which Halsin's romance does not depict at the moment.

Two real life examples of healthy polyhamoury:

1. A married couple, who has a pulycule with a third person. In addition to this they have swinger elements to them. They have clear agreements as to what is acceptable and not acceptable, and when the others are needed to be involved in a decision. This varies from time couple to couple and changes with the time. They live in the same house, and all parent their three children. Key here is; commitment, dedication and compromise

2. These are multiple polycules - to make this "simple" we will follow one person. This person has three people living in their frst household. They were with their lover since they were young, and now shares their home with their partners second partner. They also have another partner, and for half the week they live with them, and their other partner. These relationships also have swinger elements to them, but again: They have a relationship contract for what is acceptable and not acceptable, for how and when the partners have a say on new permanent partners.
In addition to this they have schedules and date nights to make certain that no partner is left out and that all have their individual needs met and adressed.

Being in a healthy polyamorous relationship (stresseing the relationship part) takes a huge amount of commintment, dedication and comrpomise - thease are all things that Halsin's romance does not encompass. In some cases he will flat out deny it.

Adverstising him as a poly relationship is actualy borderline false advertising.



Halsin is a walking midlife crisis, if you're unkind.

A friends with benefits if you're kind.

A sexual trauma victim, who as a result as a "depraved" sexuality and commitmentissues (which some banter actually suggests) if you're being very dark about it.

At worst a person, who sees your in love with him, uncompromisingly tells you what you need to be in order to be with him, has you around while you're fun, while manipulating your emotions ("You are all I want" then starts to hit on anything that moves for example). And then leaves you hanging in this "hook" situation entirely on his terms with no discussion.


I am not saying, which ones of these are the right one, but I am saying that his "poly-relationship" is not a fair despiction of something that is already under a lot of stigma. And in addition, the way some of his content is gated and presented, makes a mockery for some sexual trauma victims, and make Tav an unknowing link to a traumatic sexual experience.


All of this might have been fine, if not for the fact that it gives you serious whiplash. It's a romance that starts as an adorable slow burn, and then transforms into a friends-with-benefits trope, where Halsin wants to suddenly hump anything that moves.

i haven't seen halsin attempting to flirt with random people in my playthrough...thank goodness. may i ask who does he want to hump as he's in a 'relationship' with tav?
the closest i've come across are the drow twins, but even there, its implied the drows chose to watch him and your tav go at it