Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - Story & Character Discussion Problems with Halsin's character, advances, LI and general character interactions, etc.

I have played the game multiple times without Shadowheart saying a single word to or about Halsin so yeah I think you are grossly misinterpreting the relationship between the player and Shadowheart. You put way too much stock into an optional fade to black scene that was put in the game for fanservice.

Yeah I think John doesn't have his priorities in order, but I'd like to think it was an oversight to cater to the perpetually horny rather than malice.

We have talked about these problems in the Halsin thread at length: either the character turns out to be a controlling manipulator worthy of being chosen for perdition or he seems to be written by two different people, with different purposes at different times. The epilogue takes a very nice turn by the way.

Regarding the problem that the OP mentions, there was also the added problem that even if you finally rejected having a relationship with him, the flags continued to indicate that there was romance and he went ahead with everything. In my last game with Astarion, to avoid problems, I had to leave him without speaking anything and without leaving the camp until he was kidnapped. When you rescue him, he returns to his normal self without sexual harassment. The fact that he has to set up a strategy to reject a character indicates that he needs fixing and that having him kidnapped does not affect the game at all (and as a Halsin fan, admitting this is bullshit) indicates that the character clearly needs depth and content in the third act other than looking for the meme or the crude sexual joke.

Let's hope he fixes it because I imagine that the more players reaching those points in the story, the more complaints there will be.

That is not due to a writer's preference, it is how Larian approached the EA feedback regarding characters in general.

Shadowheart's entire character was adjusted as fanservice in EA, her first version was not so nice towards the player. Her old character is still visible in her interactions with Lae'zel, since that remained unchanged. Funny enough they have mellowed her towards a githyanki protagonist, so now she just hates Lae specifically. As a result her character (like some other companions) is now a bit of a patchwork, includign her romance. Which I'd describe as playersexual, because while Shadowheart has her own preferences, she doesn't really state them unless in reaction to whatever the player does.

Larian have done the same with Halsin (most players wanted him in the party because they wanted a good aligned companion, but Larian instead went with the sex meme), and Wyll (they rewrote his story so that Mizora is basically there to offer sex to the protagonist, and you cannot throw her out of the camp).

Definitely off topic but Wyll got shafted real bad by Larian

They all got the short end of the stick. I actually liked their old versions, and would have been ok with them in the full game as they were.

On a side note, I think the reason why Halsin has no late content (except as another romance option) is not because they only intended him to be that, but because his actual content got cut. In EA he was responsible for Isobel's death, as you could find out from his journals.

Oh! I have turned so many stones to find out what Isobel died of and nobody seemed to know. What happened?

Also totally off topic, but there is some tea that requires spilling.

Might be an unpopular opinion but if Halsin had no alternative content for the game he should not be in act 3.
Right now it’s just a bad situation for everyone.

Originally Halsin killed Isobel under unknown circumstances. It seems there was a meeting of druids and Thorm family and something had happened.
You can read it here (there are two parts) - https://www.tumblr.com/merrinla/735363165683089408/lift-the-shadow-curse-cut-content-part-i

This story looks VERY interesting and very promising, very dramatic. Halsin would've had depth in his character, plus Act 2 would be a bit longer. But Larian decided they don't need it.

The game should at least give us an option to leave him in Act 2.

I think this is all a consequence of releasing the game early as much as Larian doesn't want to admit it. Who knows how different the game would have been had they put more time into it.

Well… he is great at being kidnapped.

I also find it really funny how Kagha wants to close the grove the moment Halsin leaves. Like she's had enough of his shit too.

He is - his kidnapping ensures, that my valued party members stay with me and teh cat doesn't get killed, so he serves a higher purpose. But it is strange, that you can refuse every companion, but not Halsin. I just call him Halsin Sue nowadays, because he is a classical Mary Sue.

Maryzora, Halsin Sue, Mary K ... a lot of that bunch. I'd prefer to leave him behind because I do like Halsin until the point when he starts having questionable impulse control, so leaving him behind would leave his character intact - and my designated Orin victim tends to be Yenna.


... I hadn't connected those dots yet to give Kagha a tragic backstory. Kagha would have made more sense as a companion, exiled from her Grove on a path of maybe-redemption or not.


Thank you for the link that is interesting and it might have given Isobel a bit more to do as well.

Tbh, I never let Yenna get abducted, because then Grub gets killed and I like Grub. I think, Halsin is the best possible abduction victim, even without my dislike for him: we already have a druid (who is more awesome in any way), we need a wizard and a fighter more than a second druid and Lae'zel and Gale have potential their storylines still before them. I'm not doing the House of Hope heist without my gith pal, since I do it for her benefit in the first case and she wanted to kill Raphael even back in act 1. And Gale and his counterspells are just too useful throughout act 3 for me. If Yenna gets abducted, poor Grub dies and that can not happen - no animal dies in my games, that is a rule (well apart from those attacking, looking at you spider matriarch and family)
And yes, Halsin and Mizora can open a Mary Sue self care group - Halsin Sue and Maryzora, the perfect duo.




Kagha would have certainly made for a better companion, though they only doubled down on races and classes liek that with Halsin Sue, because people are thristing for him. I would have hoped for a certain halfling bard instead or maybe a dwarven paladin or a gnome artificer (given the involvment of the artificer class, that class should have been in there and given the involvment of gnome artificers to the main plot, a companion from the Iron Hand for example would have been great)

Is Mary K Karlach?

Also, if you let Orin take Yenna, she turns Grub into shashlik.

I haven't tried it, but you could try killing Halsin and then ask Withers to watch over him. This I think should remove him from the party, leaving only a glowing ball at camp. At least in theory, before the patches Laezel had a tendency to raise from the dead for her cutscenes.

Should work for everyone except Gale, whose game over mechanics didn't seem to take into account where his body was left. Or maybe they have patched this.

Naturally. She is basically a textbook example: The cute girl that everybody of the cast likes, who has no traits that are portrayed as flaws - or are at least they are cute and funny flaws, who cannot do wrong, who dies because she is just too good for this world and everybody is so very, very moved by it. Also, of course, she is pined for by the hot guy as exemplified by her - and only her - Origin having both Astarion's Act 1 and Post-Ascension Romance modified especially for her.


I like Grub too but otherwise (unless my first save was bugged) Yenna dies, unmentioned and unmourned off screen. And since the kidnapping usually takes place sometime between meeting the Gur and dealing with Cazador, Astarion's comment about her kidnapping nicely ties the actual main plot back into the emotional main plot - dealing with the companions' loose ends. Probably makes more sense for Spawn-Astarion though.


Telling them to go find a bush together would also be a satisfying way to deal with them - though I might love an option to threaten them with the orb even better.


More variety is another reason, why I hope Minthara will work properly soon. I am also very surprised they didn't add a bard companion, sure they do make fabulous main characters but they are also very handy to have as companions because you cannot buff yourself bardic inspiration.

Yenna never dies for me, when Halsin get abducted. And I rather have Grub alive than a comment from Astarion, pets trump companions, sorry, I don't make the rules, I just play by them

I don't count Minthara as variety, since she is just another elf (yes, drow are just painted elves for me). And there was supposed to be a halfling werewolf bard companion named Helia - and I'm still mad, she didn't made it. Though I love playing bards myself, currently a forest gnome feylock/swordbard.

I don't think Karlach that much of a Mary Sue - not like Halsin or Mizora tbh. They probably thought to make her a bit more special, because she doesn't have that much content as a late addition, so I think, it gets balanced out. And given how special every companion is, I can live with Karlach being more likeable and liked by all. I would think, she has to have special scenes with most romances,e specially the ones with sexual content in act 1, like Astarion and Lae'zel, since she can't touch them. So I wonder, does she have a different scene with LAe'zel too? And maybe addressing Shadowhearts kissing scene?