Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - Story & Character Discussion Shadowheart Romance and the Hidden Fetish - (Spoilers inside)

Bro, I cannot fathom how you are convincing yourself of this. Words are not actions but they do convey INTENTIONS. Also, considering she dreamt about her interaction with Halsin, already suggests an 'action'. Even if she wants to do that 'Action' she cannot unless they have coded that in the game, so the closest thing we can get is her dreaming of Halsin, and her intentions based on what she is saying. So even if they are just Words, they are all that we can rely on to move forward in the story, showing the intentions of the characters, and what they actually want to do. So no, its also not a "premature conclusion based on some comments" thing, because we know what happens in the game: she dreams of Halsin, disapproves when you do not let them sleep with each other, flirts with Halsin even after her romance is completed. Shadowheart dreaming of sleeping with Halsin, and wanting to get with him is BTW a form of EMOTIONAL CHEATING. I do not know if you have heard of this considering, you may be into this ShadowCuck thing.

But also, the fact that you approve of Shadowheart making "few flirty jokes" to other companions while you are in a romantic relationship with her is just... disgusting. And no her disapproval is just not her getting bad vibes from you, because you are being possessive. At that point of the story, you have already explored her romance and know that you have each other as romantic partners. Let me tell you, it is normal for people to be possessive of each other when they are in a romantic relationship. Shadowheart demonstrates this 'possessiveness' when you try to romance other companions and you are already with her, and will even end your romantic relationship, as she does not want to share you. So bottomline is, she is not disapproving of you because of "bad vibes", wtf that is so shallow. And no she should not be disapproving of you because you are being possessive, that should be normal as the MC and her is in a relationship in game. BOTH Halsin, and her disapprove of you at the same time, because you disagree with them getting together, simple as that, and it is so clear to see. Open your eyes.


WTF... hahahah I do not know what to say anymore.



As Rotsen has written in the original post, and as I have also written in my earlier post, regarding this Shadowheart threesome and people complaining. Larian could have made it so that for people who really wants to have threesome moment with Shadowheart, they could make it so that she will agree with this kind of thing if she takes the Evil or Shar Route in game, that way her character background would actually be more fitting- as Shar is into doing evil acts, so I would agree if she would not mind having threesomes or orgies, or poly romances. However, they could also have made it so that if players choose the Selunite Shadowheart or the good Shadowheart route, then she will be more possessive of the MC, given everything that she has been through, and would not want to share the MC with others. I think this is the best option Larian could have made.

Dreams aren't intentional, I have no control over what happens in my dreams. What I do when I am awake and conscious is what I can control. What I am saying is that sexual thoughts and fantasies aren't a betrayal as long as you leave them at that.

Whether sexual activities between consenting adults are "evil acts" is a matter of personal belief which is a discussion that I don't think anyone wants to get into. I'll just leave it at that I don't agree that it has anything to do with being evil or not.

If your partner gaslights you about being possessive/don't trust me, it's over.

Don't know why we're arguing about real relationships when Shadowheart is fictional.

Hey man! She is real! lol XD

Stories and fictional characters have always been the source/topic of a many debate/discussions because they invoke certain emotions and responses from people. And seeing how this is a discussion about romances it is expected for the real world to seep in from time to time.

But as high as my disgust/dislike is for what the writer did with Shadowheart it is good advice to remember that its still fiction.

I do hope that people keep talking about it and why they dont want these kind of things in their games so that maybe Larian in the future ends up changing it. (Some future patch or Definitive Edition) You know, the whole make noise thing.

As selfish as it sounds, I do expect games to cater to the main character and not work against the player. And if this thread is any indicator so do the others.



(simplified version of my post - Hey man this is a game and I play games to have fun, I don't want those games to lie to me and try to cuck me. Also I would appreciate it if you kept your self inserts/fan-fics to yourself when making/writing stories for general audiences.)

Okay that's fair, and you're entitled to your feedback on the game. I was more speaking to the general meta-discussion going on regarding the ethics of relationship dynamics, which I felt threatened to derail the focus of the discussion being within the game world and our experience of it, as opposed to beyond the game world and our judgments of actual relationships. To reiterate, I have no horse in the race because I will never have this problem with Halsin, who stays in camp (where he belongs).

Gotcha!

You might not wanna hear this but that plan with Halsin staying in camp doesn't really work. I think I already mentioned this/used this example but it doesn't matter whether you find out the truth or not Kagha IS working with the shadow druids and the same applies to Shadowheart.

She is longing for Halsin despite you not going to the brothel, (which I didn't, my introduction to this shit show came from the unavoidable banter) that scene just shines the light on the whole situation.
That's why I keep saying its devious and malicious. It makes no sense for the character and it honestly servers as an insult to the player.

Its in bad taste to write a romance that not only contradicts the rest of the characters story but also to basically say you are wasting time romancing this character because they are reserved for another.

Maybe try killing him in the goblin camp to evade that, but then again removing that shit entirely would be better.

Shadowheart: I love you.

Tav: [detect thoughts]

Shadowheart: Shit.

*

Bad writing, you say?

I don't know. Is this bad writing, or is the writer making some sort of commentary about the nature of women?

jk

i kid, i kid

i'll see myself out

Marriage is like a Paladin Oath. Adultery violates your oath. Welcome to divorce court. However there are no marriages in this game, so nobody is under oath yet.

I'm usually not active on social media and forums. But, for some reason, this thread and others have become a laughing stock on facebook bg3 groups by a community that calls itself inclusive and welcoming. So, since any words of criticism were called incels' crying and kinksshaming, I decided to add my two cents too. To get the whole picture, three facts need to be stated. First of all I was really looking forward to the release of this game and had a great time until the third act.I don't remember the last time I was so interested in anything. Secondly, I decided to romance Shadowheart only because I saw another thread about her not agreeing to polygamy. And finally, my ex-wife cheated on me over 2 years ago. When I finished the Shadowheart quest and saw her banter with Halsin, I thought it was strange but I didn't care much about it. Unfortunately, as fate would have it, when I met the drow twins, I had Halsin on my team. You must understand that the game absorbed me so much that after completing the conversation, I often reloaded to see what other dialogue options looked like. For some unknown reason when Larian decided to throw it in my face that even my fictional in-game character wasn't enough to satisfy the person he was involved with, the trauma, fears and insecurities I thought I had overcome resurfaced. Fortunately, only for a moment. But I was so embarrassed by my reaction that I didn't even check if others were also bothered by it.Two weeks have passed and I still can't bring myself to play the game again. For me, games have always been a safe haven that allowed me to break away from the gray everyday life. It seems those days are over. Even though I probably won't finish the game, I wanted to thank you all for deciding to raise this topic, thanks to which I could accidentally end up here. Knowing that even people without life baggage found this scene disturbing is... easing. Since there are people here who decided to give very enlightened advice about relationships, I will also give you one. If you are ever in a relationship and your partner starts behaving in a similar way, not as primitive as here, I don't know how shameless you would have to be to do as the writer presented it, but if you start to feel that you are a third wheel in conversations and your partner starts talking too much about who they like. This is not a flag but a horn from hell that this relationship is over and your partner is simply too much of a coward to face you. I don't wish anyone to feel this indescribable feeling when you are betrayed by the person you loved the most and I'm sorry you had to read yet another post from a crying incel.

There's a BG3 group clowning forum posters? Not to our faces? COME OUT YE COWARDS AND FACE ME. I BECKON THEE; NAY, I SUMMON THEE. YOU THINK YOU CAN MOCK US LIKE SOME VILLAINS IN THE DARK? COME OUT OF YOUR PRECIOUS LITTLE ECHO CHAMBER AND FACE ME LIKE THE WARRIOR I KNOW YOU ARE INSIDE!

Anyway, I don't want to be dismissive of your life experiences, CryingOnion, but I think you may need to talk to someone, like a professional, about what's going on in your life. I know talking to a professional has become somewhat stigmatized, but there is no shame in it, and if it helps you through something then it can only benefit. Your feelings are real and valid, but they may have less to do with Baldur's Gate 3 the video game, and more to do with what you feel inside not having an outlet. I've gone through tough times and sought professional help before. If something is causing you pain this deep, perhaps you just need help getting picked up off the ground.

I really don't want to come of as insensitive and I do appreciate you sharing your thoughts with us, about the game and real life but I think you need to take a good break my dude.

If what you say is true and the cheating you have experienced has shaken you so much that any reminder of it leads to those hurtful memories resurfacing I think it might be a good time to do something about it. Do remember that this is still a game, you might dislike the said fiction but it should never affect you so.

As for Facebook, lol. No one should concern themselves with what a bunch of balding cuckolds, fat bronies and zoophile degenerates have to say. Oh no! Not the 'kinkshaming' lol.

Either way, take care of yourself. And if you are trolling 4/10.

edit. Seems Zerubbabel was faster, but yeah if what you say is true do listen to his advice.

^hey @cryingonion, i'm going to suspect the people not taking this matter seriously were alike like me, i thought the scene was bugged and that the game detected a halsin romance flag along with shadowheart, but, that is not the case.

Gale quite literally gets cucked. Before i post his scene i have to add that gale and wyll are compltely only monogamous. halsin can ask you to ask them if they are willing to share, but they will say no. keep this in mind, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3Cf7ryl_XA
at 4:!7

Halsin injects himself and asks to join, similar to how shadowheart's scene was, and gale says a half heartly "sure" then proceeds to stay back and watch as your character goes down town with halsin. it's absolutely crazy though what shadowheart choose to say if this was 100% intentional. with no romance flags of halsin triggered, she admits that she's been dreaming of halsin. i still think it's odd though, i'm now 50 on this being bugged, and 50 of it being intentional thanks to gale's drow scene

Okay folks, it’s past my bedtime and I don’t have time to fully read this thread but on an initial glance there’s far too much going on about “cucks” (which I confess is a term that I find icky) as well as some other posts that are pushing it when it comes to civil, constructive engagement.

Let’s tone it down and try to use less loaded and emotive terminology when discussing topics that can impinge on very personal parts of people’s real lives.

After reading this Im glad Halsin completely bugged out for my first playthrough, SH was my MC's sole romance and I enjoyed that process while rejecting all else.

I am once again challenging Facebook Group lurkers to single combat.

My only opinion on this topic is that poly should be something actively pursued by the player, not the default setting. I mean this in no way as a judgment on people who partake in this type of life; I simply think most people would prefer the mono setting as standard with the option to switch to poly.

I think that if the player is romancing both of them, okay, no problem at all with the banters, scenes, etc. Heck, it's a great option for those who like it. (Although I still think that SH is not the best option for this from what we have learned about her until then) However, the moment it's forced down as something that is beyond player choices and makes them uncomfortable it shouldn't be allowed, simple as that.

I'm doing a new run because I really love Shadowheart, so to "fix" this issue, I'll just kill Halsin once I meet him as he really doesn't add anything useful for me, since I don't care about the bear joke, AND I cannot deny him joining my camp after the party, which I find ridiculous and absurd. Heck, you can deny anyone from joining you or going to your camp, but you can't deny him, tsc. At least I tried all the lines in my last game and none led to saying no, I don't want you to follow me. Unless I'm missing something there.

Well, if you remove everything where the player isn't actively pursuing or suggesting some form of sexual experimenting, the only thing that occurs are three lines of banter between SH and Halsin. Given that all of the companions seem horny most of the time and unashamedly brings this up at every opportunity (I am looking at YOU Gale, take a hint!), I don't feel that the writing really wrestled the reins out of the player's hands on this one. Everything stays the same between the main character and SH for the rest of the story as long as you don't pursue something, so I would say that the relationship is monogamous by default.

If my partner took me along to a pair of sex workers and initiated a discussion about exchanging sexual favours, I'd take that as a pretty strong hint that they are up for some sexual experimenting, and I would consider it a pretty underhanded move to then guilt me about going along with it.

Haven't gotten this banter because Halsin never leaves camp.
It sounds like the problem isn't poly, but that the game is terminally horny. Which has been a focal point of irritation in many other threads on different issues in this game, from companions to dialogue options to event triggers to NPCs to banter.

I never got the banter either, because I didn't remove the shadow curse, so Halsin had to stay behind. Just going with the statements given in the thread.

I do like my companions slutty and horny all the time, but I can see where it may not be everyone's cup of tea