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.)