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

Agreed, and though I'm definitely not an expert, I think PTSD doesn't necessarily "get better" with time alone. I've also never seen anything about FR elves being less affected by trauma just because they live longer (if anything they seem to get sadder and spend a long time trying to deal with it). And because Halsin does have this trauma in his past, it then puts all his behavior into a different light: is he like this because it's truly "his nature," or is it because he's afraid of being trapped again in some way? Not the best basis for a poly character IMO, at least not without addressing it with the weight the subject deserves.

This necessarily doesn't have to do with his trauma from the underdark but I remember when Halsin shares that his line perished a long time ago, he even says the wounds don't heal but over time they get a bit more bearable. So I like to think it's still there his sadness about it and whatever else he's dealing with.

Also maybe off topic but last night I decided to visit the drow twins on a different save (completely avoided the brothel in general at all costs in my actual playthrough) and when you probe him a bit about his trauma in the underdark, he says something that bad/traumatic experiences can be turned into cherished memories??? I can't remember what he exactly said word per word but it really rubbed me the wrong way. In Act 2 with his family/line perished, he seemed to be vulnerable about it and accepting he hasn't healed from it, but with this in Act 3, he's seeing what he went through as something to be a happy about to reminisce from time to time?? Make it make sense because I can't at this point.

The more I think about it, the less sense it makes.

I thought that in Realms lore, elves made terrible slaves because of how much they valued freedom. I also thought that surface elves had bad reactions to spending much time in the Underdark, or even just in deep caves, because their ties to the upper, natural world were so strong. And on top of that, drow society is a nasty, evil, vile thing which a goody-two-shoes like Halsin should be revolted by. Am I totally wrong about the lore? Was Halsin very different when he was young? It's so bizarre. And to say it's a cherished memory now is a new level of bizarre.

On the upside, I'm developing some interesting headcanon about how my drow and Halsin might have met once in the Underdark, long ago....

Ooohhh... my mind is already creating it now <3

But yes. This specific thing was the ultimate deal-breaker, because it made everything else in his relationship views not seem like a choice, but a trauma response with no way for us to help resolve or at least start the healing.

I checked the dialog in the game files and found some dev notes (mostly used for voice actors etc. how to pronounce or the cinematics team what to do) regarding Halsins dialog.


This one is without dev notes - there are different checks for flirt events - it seems that exhausting the dialog at the party or asking for his age counts already as flirting:

Developer notes regarding flirt events

Devnote - "core belief"

Devnote - regarding other romance break up

Devnote - regarding being to the underdark many times

So I think he is written as intended. Not like I would have liked it but I doubt the writer is going to change him to be honest. Maybe we get at least the ending adjusted.

Well, he came off exactly like his writer wanted him to. I don't think that was ever in doubt. But to add him as fab service and then decide to make him reduced to horny and non-committed was a downright stupid decision.

Also, that his writer has so much focus on him being horny that he goes along with hurting someone else's feelings is shitty.

There is no love there, just horny.

Ah yes, my favorite flirt/pickup line 'How old are you?' right up there with the 'What do you think of this weather?

In all honesty I'm not surprised, I mean it was obvious that it was intentional for Halsin to be this way. This writer has a style and it seems he's sticking to it with all of his characters.

Que será, será

I like the "self-insert" theory. I just wish they would address it. Instead they're being quiet about it. Probably just hoping it will blow over.

"I do as nature does..."

How convenient for you that you can find examples in nature that validates pretty much every whim you may have. Dolphins rape other dolphins, so I am ok with it, how can you question it?

Narator - 'You suddenly feel a warm, thrusting sensation. As you look down you see Halsin humping your leg'

Tav - ' Halsin WTF are you doing? I did not consent to this!'

Halsin - *throws leaves in your face* 'I do as nature does' *runs away while barking*

I sort of hate that this made me laugh.

Also, my headcannon is that after the experience with the drow he just forces all his sexuality into his bear aspect to protect himself from trauma.

Yeah, screw this writing and their toxic fictional sex-hostage situation! It is your own game and story to enjoy, you have my full support in re-writing your own story any way you want!

I will write it, share it, and my tiefling ranger will have a happy ending, respecting Halsin's sexuality AND hers! (Demi-sexual)

Also, I finally found and article that wasn't just bear sex: https://www.themarysue.com/the-curious-case-of-halsin-the-bear-man-of-baldurs-gate-3/

(Thanks btw. Your comment made me feel better <3 )

Yeah, it just seems like all the people in the public sphere writing articles, making videos and commenting have only played and experienced Halsin through the straightforward consensual romance path.

They aren't aware of the problematic writing around consent and communication because their angle was to explore what happens when you romance him, not what happens when you reject him. And it also takes a while before the true ugliness comes out when you reject him, it all seems relatively fine with him simply responding that of course he will respect your decision and not pursue it further (though with some problematic implications of victim-blaming, but it's easy to look past if you assume that that's the end of it). You need to keep playing and continue the story for a while before the whole toxic shitshow comes full circle.

I hope some of them lurk around these forums and find out about this, it's pretty hard to miss as it currently dominates a lot of the most active discussions.

I haven’t run into any issues rejecting him while not having any other romances. In that case it just doesn’t come up again like with any other companion whose romance you reject (although I know some have run into bugs with the romance flags of other companions as well).

It actually gets toxic, if you have a relationship with someone else, because he tries to worm himself into the relationship via your partner, despite you already said No. It is very uncomfortable tbh.

Yes, it only happens when you are in a romance with certain companions. But still, I would like to be able to choose to be in a relationship with whomever I want, and able to reject Halsin without being harassed about engaging in sexual encounters that I do not consent to. Is it supposed to be some form of punishment that I have to endure for choosing a certain romance option?

I was messing around again with different dialogue options and I know when you asked about whether he had family/friends in Act 2 and reject his whole "My heart does not stir lightly, but it does now" speech he doesn't believe you at first either. I think he says "Truly? I was so sure we had a connection. You seemed more than curious to know about my current love life- for one."

When you ask about the family/friends thing, and he doesn't answer about having a lover or not, you can confront him about like "you didn't mentioned having a lover though" or just move the conversation to something else. I didn't ask about the lover's part again so not sure why that dialogue was said from him. But then again I don't think there are much options from his dialogue tree node thing to break down what was said or not.

Also below is off topic again but it's just my experience of other characters coming onto my Tav out of nowhere and not taking the rejection well

Could the problem come when you reject him pointing at your partner? There are two lines there, asair. First "Will not lie, I did think about it but I am with someone else" and second - "No, I am not interested."

I chose second straight away, and did not run into any problems. (Well, he did insist I was asking him about his private life, but that was a clear bug). Maybe if you chose the first answer, the game labelled you as "thinking", even if you say "no" at the end.

Not saying it's good, but kind of fits his general kink?

I chose no right away, and he actually started arguing whether or not that could be true.