Let's talk about Minthara

[Archaick]

In your opinion, what is the best way you have romanced her!? So far I hear lloth-sworn noble durge is one of the best way to go about romancing her, but what about a seldarine noble durge!? I welcome other suggestions too! What was the most fun/natural way to do it for you guys?
Personally when I try it, I was leaning towards a seldarine noble durge that kinda just overcomes the urge instead of leaning heavily into it, but unsure of how that will go since I think Minthara would be all about embracing the urge lol

[seeker1]

I've romanced her with both male and female Tavs. None were ever drow. None were ever Durge (don't play Durge).

I always talk her out of taking over the world. I always succeed. Sometimes she talks me into going into Menzo and killing her Mom and restoring her house. But I always veto her idea to rebuild the Steel Watch and take over the city. No, sweetie, we're not gonna do that.

She is one of my favorite romances as her love is fierce and protective. She pledges to turn anybody who harms a hair on your head into fertilizer. Who could ask for more?

[fenlander]

I killed her, just like the rest of the goblins.

[wtiger27]

İlk olarak seeker1 tarafından gönderildi:

I've romanced her with both male and female Tavs. None were ever drow. None were ever Durge (don't play Durge).

I always talk her out of taking over the world. I always succeed. Sometimes she talks me into going into Menzo and killing her Mom and restoring her house. But I always veto her idea to rebuild the Steel Watch and take over the city. No, sweetie, we're not gonna do that.

She is one of my favorite romances as her love is fierce and protective. She pledges to turn anybody who harms a hair on your head into fertilizer. Who could ask for more?

I would ask for a lot more from a relationship. But it would be stuff she can't provide. My char's interest, desires and personalities is too different from hers.

But I generally rescue her from Moonrise Towers, because I do like the extra unique comments she makes. But I never care in the least if she disapproves of anything I do.

[seeker1]

So, I've tested this out. With Polyamory mod, you can get two romance endings. (and possibly more, but I only tested with 2.)

It's strange. First I woke up next to Shadowheart, lying next to me, and we talked about our future together.

Then I woke up next to Minthara, and proceeded to do the same thing. It felt a bit odd. Which one of them was I lying to? Would they both accept this Mormon-style "Big Love" polygamous arrangement? Maybe I bed with SH on Mon, Wed, Fri and Minthy on Tue, Thu, Sat? (Oh yeah. I forgot. Faerun has "tendays," not "weeks," LOL.)

Also, both acted at the Epilogue Party as if we were committed together, not acknowledging the relationship with the other.

I felt like too much of a cad doing this, so I won't probably ever do this again. We know FR accepts all kinds of unusual relationships, but I think only the kings and nobility can get away with polygamy.

As I've said, I've romanced all four ladies, and two of the guys, and those are the only ones I'm interested in. I'm never gonna try romancing Halsin or Astarion, don't care about those. Gale and Wyll I romanced with female Tavs as I feel less awkward RPing a female Tav than a gay Tav, since IRL I'm "straight but not narrow".

[seeker1]

I like endings to stories, including romance stories in which I can imagine I am the protagonist. Yeah. Maxima mea culpa.

It's fun to imagine I have just triumphed over a cosmos-threatening brainy evil.

Why not also imagine I get an additional happy ending, being a Duke of the BGC Council. married to the Grand Duke? Or imagine that me and my drow princess are busy restoring the power of her noble house?

It's all imagination. I like to imagine doing more than just killing. As Aragorn said at the end of LotR, it's what men do to rebuild in the times of Peace that really define them. I like to imagine the Grand Duke and I are rebuilding the city, remaking it into a place that welcomes the poor, refugees, and the helpless. A place Halsin could be proud of.

[seeker1]

Because I want to see the ending where my character becomes a Duke (that would be her title, in the city, not a Duchess). And I want to see the ending where my character becomes a goddess. Can only get those from romancing Wyll or Gale.

Also, I frankly enjoy, when playing a female Tav, looking at her naked, and watching her kiss other ladies. It's weird, when she and Gale or Wyll are kissing, I kind of mentally switch and imagine I am Gale or Wyll doing the kissing.

Of all the Origins, I think I identify with Gale the most. He's a nerd like me. And like him, I am a professor. (IRL!) I'm fond of chess; in Faerun, they call it Lanceboard, and he's an aficionado. Alas, I've never ♥♥♥♥♥♥ down with a goddess. But I've never done a complete Origin playthrough with Gale or anybody else. I HAVE used mods that unlock and let you see some unique Origin content, so, for example, I can get Gale's Tressym Tara to show up in camp.

It's weird BTW how people can RP a different species, a different "alignment," or many other characteristics, but people somehow can't RP a opposite gender character. Why not? I do it all the time. And since I want to see the romance ending for two of the guys, it feels less awkward for me doing this. I'm not LGBT myself, but I consider myself a LGBT supporter and ally; "straight but not narrow".

[Mike Garrison]

It's interesting romancing Minthara. IIRC we ended up essentially running a possibly-criminal syndicate that allowed her to satisfy her thirst for power without, you know, slaughtering everyone.

However, fully developing the romance is stunted by the fact that you don't have her in your party or your camp for most of the game.

I still think maybe none of these BG3 romances are as interesting as Viconia in BG2, where you have to dance a *very* delicate dance between looking weak (which will turn her off) and betraying her trust in *any* way, which will simply end the romance. Even when she is trying to drive you away because she is scared to trust anyone, you have to never let her succeed at it.

I suppose from what I hear about it that Astarion's romance comes closest to that, but I can't stand Astarion, so I'll probably never do that one.

[Mike Garrison]

İlk olarak seeker1 tarafından gönderildi:

when she and Gale or Wyll are kissing, I kind of mentally switch and imagine I am Gale or Wyll doing the kissing.

When I romanced Gale, it was easy for me to feel like I was actually Gale romancing my Tav.

However, when I romanced Wyll, it never felt like that. We did both end up as Dukes of Baldur's Gate, though. (And Wyll remained human, because Karlach got the chop.)

[seeker1]

Yes, but my male Tavs show her that males of other species besides Drow are not the useless slaves that they serve as in Drow culture.

Frankly, I view her romance as me basically deprogramming all the ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ that's been programmed into her by her culture; it's as difficult a task as deprogramming all the Sharran BS out of SH's mind, or all the Vlaakith BS out of Lae'Zel's.

Drow society is an example of a matriarchy which is not much better than an Earth patriarchy. Equality doesn't mean men should in turn be considered expendable, slaves, or just breeding material and nothing else. Minthara has already rejected Lolth and so that's a good start, as Lolth is the source of so much sickness in drow culture.

But my Tavs feel up to the task. It could take years, but everything that happens after the game's ending/epilogue is my headcanon. If Viconia could be "reformed" in BG2/ToB (even if the canon of BG3 is that it never "took place"), then anything is possible.

[seeker1]

As I said, I am a college professor. IRL. I enjoy thinking. Thinking is good for you, and beats the not-thinking so many people do, when they just react on emotions, or worse, being manipulated by malevolent propagandists out to manipulate those emotions. Frankly, I prefer games where I do more of it. Like this one.

What I like about mods is I feel I have more power over turning this story into my story, as well as the story the developers wrote. It becomes a bit of both. So far I can't rewrite the endings altogether, but I've explored how to change them up a bit.

[wtiger27]

İlk olarak Mike Garrison tarafından gönderildi:

I still think maybe none of these BG3 romances are as interesting as Viconia in BG3, where you have to dance a *very* delicate dance between looking weak (which will turn her off) and betraying her trust in *any* way, which will simply end the romance. Even when she is trying to drive you away because she is scared to trust anyone, you have to never let her succeed at it.

You can romance Viconia in the game? Without mods?

Not that it matters, I always kill the evil ♥♥♥♥♥. She does drop a awesome shield.

[seeker1]

You could romance Viconia in BG2, and by the end of ToB, even totally change her alignment away from evil, which was quite an achievement. (It was also possible to romance Jaheira in BG2, she was much younger then, and the third female option, Aerie, the wingless Avariel, could bear your child. The sorta awkward aspect to the Jaheira romance is her husband Khalid had JUST died, and she also was sorta kinda your (not-blood) "auntie" while you were Gorion's ward.

The Viconia in BG3 canonically was never reformed, and presumably never romanced Abdel Adrian (the canon Bhaalspawn protag of BG2).

Oh. This reminds me! There's another cool mod I've found called "Codex Gigas" which lets me summon Imoen as an NPC. Unfortunately, she's unvoiced, but she has the cute pink hair and even pink colored spell attacks. It would be so cute if she would just go "It's me, Imoen!" ... in SOMEBODY's voice. Alas. Granted, technically, by the time of BG3 she should be dead, but eh, whatevs. LOL.

[Mike Garrison]

İlk olarak wtiger27 tarafından gönderildi:

İlk olarak Mike Garrison tarafından gönderildi:

I still think maybe none of these BG3 romances are as interesting as Viconia in BG3, where you have to dance a *very* delicate dance between looking weak (which will turn her off) and betraying her trust in *any* way, which will simply end the romance. Even when she is trying to drive you away because she is scared to trust anyone, you have to never let her succeed at it.

You can romance Viconia in the game? Without mods?

Not that it matters, I always kill the evil ♥♥♥♥♥. She does drop a awesome shield.

That was a typo. I meant "in BG2".

Viconia was the most interesting romance in BG2.

Jaheira was OK.

Aerie was the waifu, who would even have your baby (who you had to carry around in inventory!). Although she might also get into a triangular affair with Haer'Dalis.

Amoen was the only romance partner for female CHARNAMEs, and he was (rightly) considered boring.

The EE versions added a few more options (including homosexual and bisexual options). Neera was by far the best of those IMO, although I know a lot of players couldn't stand how much she talked. I thought she had the most actual personality, except for Viconia.

If you wanted to romance Viconia you had to accept a lot of verbal abuse -- Viconia didn't trust anyone and tried to be as prickly as possible to keep people away. In some respects she was the Lae'zel of BG2, but for different reasons. Lae'zel is like that because she is young and insecure, but trying to mask it. Viconia was like that because she was intensely vulnerable but HATED being vulnerable, so she built a shell around herself.

[Gaius]

The best way to romance her is obviously as a halfling or a gnome.

And win the roll so she submits.

[wtiger27]

İlk olarak Mike Garrison tarafından gönderildi:

İlk olarak wtiger27 tarafından gönderildi:

You can romance Viconia in the game? Without mods?

Not that it matters, I always kill the evil ♥♥♥♥♥. She does drop a awesome shield.

That was a typo. I meant "in BG2".

Viconia was the most interesting romance in BG2.

Jaheira was OK.

Aerie was the waifu, who would even have your baby (who you had to carry around in inventory!). Although she might also get into a triangular affair with Haer'Dalis.

Amoen was the only romance partner for female CHARNAMEs, and he was (rightly) considered boring.

The EE versions added a few more options (including homosexual and bisexual options). Neera was by far the best of those IMO, although I know a lot of players couldn't stand how much she talked. I thought she had the most actual personality, except for Viconia.

If you wanted to romance Viconia you had to accept a lot of verbal abuse -- Viconia didn't trust anyone and tried to be as prickly as possible to keep people away. In some respects she was the Lae'zel of BG2, but for different reasons. Lae'zel is like that because she is young and insecure, but trying to mask it. Viconia was like that because she was intensely vulnerable but HATED being vulnerable, so she built a shell around herself.

Ahh. Ok. Thanks for responding. You had me thinking there was something else I did not know we could do in the game. Lol.

She does not sound like anyone I would romance in a game anyway. And sure as hell, not in real life. The only ones I had to tolerate verbal abuse from in my life, was the Drill Sargent's when I was in the Army. They where very verbally abusive back then. It was to be expected. Suppose to teach you how to be tolerate and thick skinned. Many young today, would never make it thru basic training back then.

I only played BG1 and not much of it. At the time, it actually did not click with me. Only played it because the son bought it and wanted me to try it out. He still lived at home back then.