I've been thinking about how people feel about this character (though I admit that I haven't read everything - it's a long discussion already smile ).

I actually had no idea that Halsin as a romancable character wasn't an original idea but a fan request. It makes more sense to me now why people feel let down. It's uncomfortable to wish for something, then kind of get it, but with an unpopular twist. Writing Halsin as a poly seems a risque approach from that background.

I jumped on board only recently and thought that Halsin was written poly from the start. While I'm still happy to see a presentation of an orientation that I can't remember ever seen in games, I believe I understand the disappointment better now.

I've discovered a few things that I personally feel would make the poly story arch better:

- Him telling about it earlier.
While I don't think that real people should out themselves untill they feel comfortable with it or the relationship develops to a point where it's fair for the other to know, Halsin is a game character. Games revolve around mechanics, so it would help the player to decide how they want to approach the available romancable characters.

- Have conversations about the subject (even before the player can romance them)
It's true that currently Halsin mostly lectures. It might be better if the characters could have more realistic conversations back and forth: ask questions, tell how they feel, get better explanations than just The Nature.

- Discuss the rules of the relationship (when entering the romance)
Things like do you want to know about others, when and how you want to know, what's okay to do with others, how do you prioritise your time, how do you talk about difficult emotions like jealosy. The things that poly people actually talk about.

- Simply more content
More time together, more intimacy, more just them being them. To make it feel like a real relationship. And maybe just a bit less lectures about nature. :'D

I don't know if you'd be interested in that kind of content, but I think it'd be interesting, because I've never seen that in games.

Of course there is always the possibility of simply re-writing him as not poly (and maybe just open to different arrangements). I'd miss the current version, because as I said, there simply never is presentation of polys.

One thing that I'm actually happy about current writing is that he isn't willing to have a mono relationship. I understand that's what bothers so many, but that's the core of being a poly person. Poly is not a description of a relationship arrangement - it's who they are. Being forced into a closed relationship is as ill-fitting for them as is forcing into an open relationship for a mono person. I know those kinds of arrangements happen in real life, but it's a really, really heavy and sad price to pay just to be with a person you love. It's a situation where you give something of your core self away. It's different than people who are open to try different arrangements. If we talk about Baldur's Gate, Halsin is the only poly character there, while Astarion and Shadowheart clearly are not - they seem content in different kinds of arrangements. So if Halsin was re-written so that he would settle for a closed relationship, then I'd hope that he wouldn't be a poly at all, but something else (but, as said, I hope they keep this rare poly in the game).

I hope I was able to write this somewhat coherently. It's getting really, really late this side of the globe. smile