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'm going to disagree here, simply because there are now 3 threads discussing the character, 2 of which are huge threads, so I don't think the Halsimps who wanted him romantically from EA saw more in him than what was there. Plus when you take into consideration his cut content in Act 2, he was going to be a bit more intricately involved with at least the Act 2 stuff. Halsin changed a lot from what they were planning to do with him.

There's no official survey asking people if they wanted the hornified and sexualized version of Halsin or not, so we can't know. But engagement in the forum threads complaining about what we didn't get isn't necessarily a measure of where the majority of Halsinfans stand on this issue, since the ones who are happy with the version that is in the game don't have as much of a reason or commitment to start and engage in threads about it (and a lot of the threads are dominated by a few very active voices who echo each other).

I also don't think the forums are the main source of feedback and engagement that Larian looks at. To them the engagement in social media, fanart and fanfiction are probably much more important in terms of marketing as it is these conversations that draw fans and players in and keep them engaged. I think if you cast a wider net outside the forum and look at other platforms, there was certainly a very sexualized and horny thirst for Halsin and I think there was and still is a much larger audience of "horny shitposters" than what you would think from just looking at this forum.

To be clear, I don't dismiss the disappointment that a lot of Halsin romancers here feel about the final version of Halsin, and I am happy that at least you got an epilogue and a few patches and updates that makes it easier to play your romance with him the way you want it. But I am not surprised about the direction Larian took with him and I don't think it was a mistake from the perspective of marketing and appealing to the wider audience.

I did want to give him a second chance and I genuinely thought it was a bug so I did test it as I did have one bugged campaign where I couldn’t pat the owlbear cub in camp but can in every other one.

There was a post on Reddit asking if the banter was a bug because they thought it was locked behind Poly.

Some players don’t want a poly relationship with Halsin but like him so they keep him around thinking they are on the friendship path only to get blindsided by the banter.


i don’t seriously feel like shadowheart only with tav because she wants to bang Halsin.

Though I am genuinely creeped out by Halsin after the act2 situation so he became the orin bait/ sacrifice.

It's been said. In the thread about sexualizing the game.


Well, that would be a much more “normal dude” for those who don't romance him. Just like they could make it so that he only shows “attention” to those who want it, not everyone else, so that players wouldn't be forced to try to do everything they can just to avoid his presence.


Yeah, likewise. I related to him well up until the second act too. Moreover, when you immediately turn him down because it's impossible to say normally that you're already in a relationship without the extremely unpleasant implication of that line, which implies that despite that, you kind of might as likely to agree, afterwards he actually accuses you: “Why did you ask me about love then?”. In my case, it's even a bug (or a response not accounted for by the game) because I specifically did NOT ask him that, ignoring the relevant question in my dialog with him. I wanted to avoid any hint of flirting, so as not to provoke him, even at the cost of skipping some piece of plot and telling about his past lovers. The game doesn't even take that into account, and Halsin rebukes me for something I didn't do in the first place.

Honestly, I would respond to such a “nice guy” with such “nice words” with a hint of possible “nice consequences” if he doesn't back off, that he would have a real reason to blame and take offense. But the game thinks that we all, as “discord shitposters”, just love this kind of “attention” to ourselves and enjoy it. It's a very sad situation with Shadowheart, as you described, it's not just unpleasant as in the case of heterosexual women, it really hurts.


Yes, there is such a thing, but it also cheapens the quest with Orin a lot. If all companions evoked friendly feelings, this quest would be tense, I would like to free the companion as soon as possible, to tear them out of her clutches, the fight with Orin would be for sure more difficult than in the final, before the battle with the brain. Even if this companion was so not particularly interesting, just an ally in the quests, well, more boring than the others, well, would sit in the camp mostly, but still it would be a pity for him, still would like to free him, even if not to run headlong, but certainly not to postpone on purpose until the last. And so - snap!, a bear-shaped plug for Orin was inserted, and ran away satisfied to do interesting things. And all this building up of tension, “there's a doppelganger among us”, etc. turns out to be nonsense as a result, “a way to get rid of Halsin so that he doesn't strain you in the camp”. It seems to me that in quests like this, the game, on the contrary, should make the player fear for the kidnapped companion.

That's fair enough.

For me Im speaking as someone who had no prior knowledge of the game before I bought it. Halsin caught my eye in Act 1. So when I figured out how his romance really was, and how it wasn't like the others it was a huge dissapointment. The new epilogue made it more tolerable, but the stain is still there. There are some really great things about him I like that I do think work well, had he not been tainted by the influence of "horny shitposters". Theres no getting around that that is what happened.

If you have a link to a credible source saying it was part of the lore originally, I would love to see it.

@autistichalsin

Unfortunately, I didn't look for sources on this topic, but learned the information from another player. Well, at least I wouldn't want anyone to think that I made it up in my imagination. Yes, you're right, without sources it can't be considered reliable information. Thanks for the constructive criticism, next time I will be more careful and not repost information if there is no source.

I would definitely be wary, because back in September there was an entire meme around convincing newcomers that Astarion had once had a wife named Octavia. Some fans enjoy confusing/misleading others, unfortunately. (Not saying your friend necessarily tried to do so/had bad intent but things happen.)

Maybe someone saw all the daddy-Halsin memes during EA and misread the context

Yes, I haven't looked for information on Halsin myself before, I didn't find anything about his wife and child, yes, but I found curious information that he used to have a deeper and more interesting history. Perhaps this has been written about on the forum before, I don't know, but I found it curious.

Article

He may have had a different motivation for following Tav in this case, such as wanting to right past wrongs. Too bad for the character, I think he was robbed of such a story for nothing.

Yeah, I've posted/reposted some of that info in the other Halsin thread recently (+ some other unrelated Halsin stuff).

But, I also just found out from here: https://www.tumblr.com/teeldaa/7463...s-story-was-changed-twicein?source=share
(and the reddit source) that the "Halsin killed Isobel" element was scrapped back in July 2021 (Patch 5) to where Balthazar did it and then framed Aylin (So not quite release version, but closer).

This, also scrapped, plot might be also where that dialogue tree originates from?

Its really sad to see how much Larian simplified the game during EA to arrive at the bad fanfiction level of storytelling we have now and even sadder is that they have success with it thanks to thirsters which is not a good sign for the quality of future games.

Thanks for the interesting link!

It could also be that the glaive Sorrow, which lies in the Druid's treasury, was supposed to be the same glaive that Halsin used to kill Isobel, which is why he gave it that name. The weapon's name was left that way, removing the backstory. I personally think that the story of Isobel's death at the hands of Halsin would be a very interesting option - it would add drama and depth to Halsin's story, and it would be interesting to see how he would react to the resurrected Isobel.

I even have a changed opinion of Halsin as a result - he's not a bad character who fell victim to bad fanfics and Discord posters. It's sad that in order to please one part of the audience, an RPG game is ruined for those who wanted to play an RPG and not a novel like this. Narrowing the audience to some “their circle” in a AAA class game is simply unfair. There are erotic novels - their own genre, great, but how simplistic and spoils the story when that genre becomes romance in an RPG game.

I'm sure we can expect more of that in the future games. Fun times ahead.

Which is why I won't buy anything from Larian at release anymore, but will wait months so that I can judge how bad it is.

This is part of the dissapointment. I was looking forward to an RPG with romance and erotic elements, especially since I get so extremely immersed when I play. But I feel like its sort of turned into one of those early 2000s doll dress up games combined with a dating sim.

I had a feeling the story started to wane a bit in Act 2 but couldn't place my finger on why. Act 1 is so much more cohesive.

I totally understand you, I'm always very immersed while playing too. BG3 contributes to this even much more than other games - because of the mocap, beautiful voice acting and overall great graphics. I wasn't even expecting anything special from romance, I just saw how beautiful the game itself was in the video review, and the fact that it's BG3... But I clearly did NOT expect to see what I saw (and let's just say, not in a positive sense of the word) specifically in romance.

Act 1, yes, I too find it the most diverse, plot strong and thoughtful.

I think that's the double edged sword with EA. You get a goated early game, but you end up having stuff like this.

It gets really bad in Act 3 as well.

I get wanting to give players options. I also get putting silly little things in for funsies. But the tonal shift, particularly with the sex, in Act 3 gives me complete whiplash. It's made kind of worse because it hits you almost all at once when you first get to Act 3. BAM hookers. BAM Mizora. And a little bit later BAM Harleep. Its too much too soon in a short timespan.

I wish it was less about sex, and more about romance and eroticism between you and your LI if that makes sense. I dont think what we got was entirely bad, but it did go toward a more, idk 'novelty' route in many ways. Especially for Halsin.

The possibility of choice for the player, including the availability of good lines suitable for roleplaying - this is very important. Including in romance, otherwise instead of RPG you get a novella, immersion and belief in what is happening on the screen is broken. I have all the problems with this game are in the 3rd act. By the way, also BAM Emperor (I don't remember exactly where he got in between all the others, but he tries to "participate" too).


Absolutely, if instead of all this there were more good romantic interactions between you and your LI, the game would probably be a masterpiece. It's also annoying that a lot of content and replicas (some of these replicas and reactions help to better reveal the LI's character) are only available in case of cheating or in a situation of choosing between the two. For monogamous relationships, in which Tav remains faithful to one chosen one, no fidelity reactions are provided, and as a result the player receives less content. The quality of the resulting romance depends among other things on the chosen LI, with some players the game has treated better, some worse. The problem with Halsin specifically, in my opinion, is that it is too actively imposed, you could say that it is simply pushed through and "advertised" to the player, without paying attention to whether the player wants it or not. I don't think Halsin's fans would be too upset if Halsin only paid attention to them and not everyone else. Besides, he's also encroaching not only on you, but also on the person most dear to you - your LI. The very dialog with Halsin, when he proposes a relationship, is constructed in a rather disrespectful way towards your LI. You can't even say that you love the other person and are faithful to them without any ambiguity. As a result, the character is hated by a certain part of the audience, while he himself, in fact, does nothing wrong if you immediately reject him, simply because of his behavior. The game should consider all players, not just "thirsty", fanfiction and ahem...discord posters.