.niamh.

oh yeah, one more thing - i don't think maerwald is inherently evil or violent, he was just sooo unfortunate as to -

I realize it's a month late, but since I'm slow at playing through PoE and haven't found these answers when I was searching here it goes>> (will not list rewards, coz it's been already stated in this thread but only choices, consequences and my interpretation)

@Namutree thnx so much! i'm supershy when it comes to forum posting but i actually think this aspect of rpg can go a long way (with proper incentive and patience) toward less fanservice half-baked teen romance and more compelling complex and intriguing mind blowing twists. coz when a character betrays you out of nowhere it gets personal. or it gets really messed up if it turns out that everything you did had the complete opposite effect of what you wanted to achieve. my personal favourite twist is the faustian way of making the devil seem "part of the force that yearns for eternal evil, but ends up doing good instead" (free translation) and vice versa.

I'll say that GM is the best written companion of the group. Eder has alot of heart in his character but the quality of writing in GM's dialog and interactions is a whole 'nother level. I hope -when- they put in romances Chris Avellone writes at least one. Considering Chris Avellone's stated opinions on romances I don't think they would turn out the way you would want... "So if I were to implement a romance subplot in Eternity - I wouldn’t. I’d examine interpersonal relationships from another angle and I wouldn’t confine it to love and romance. Maybe I’d explore it after a “loving” relationship crashed and burned, and one or both was killed in the aftermath enough for them to see if it had really been worth it spending the last few years of their physical existence chained to each other in a dance of human misery and/or a plateau of soul-killing compromise. Or maybe I’d explore a veteran’s love affair with his craft of murder and allowing souls to be freed to travel beyond their bleeding shell, or a Cipher’s obsession with plucking the emotions of deep-rooted souls to try and see what makes people attracted to each other beyond their baser instincts and discovers love... specifically, his love of manipulating others. You could build an entire dungeon and quest where he devotes himself to replicating facsimiles of love, reducer a Higher Love to a baser thing and using NPCs he encounters as puppets for his experimentations, turning something supposedly beautiful into something filthy, mechanical, but surrounded by blank-eyed soul-twisted drones echoing all the hollow Disney-like platitudes and fairy tale existence where everyone lives happily ever after." Those sound like pretty cool ideas to me :D And he did the Alpha Protocol romances so he's capable of it if ordered to do so. So there's hope for off the wall stuff and traditional romances from him! source -> http://www.gameranx.com/features/id/10388/article/an-interview-with-chris-avellone-on-project-eternity/ those are pretty cool ideas. so this topic has been on my mind for quite some time now, alas all the previous "romance in rpg" topics are closed off so i apologize in advance if this is not a proper place to say this - feel free to edit or remove this post, no hard feelings. and i do apologize for the length. as for PoE - it's fine as is. don't mind anything. could it be better? everything can be better. personally i'd like more in-depth controversial npc development. not finished yet, so will revise on this when i do. why is it such a stress factor? i figure, unless you're an own-the-world kind of irl person, gaming is the only world you can make an impact to. with or without romances. anyways here's my point of view: i don't care either way, it usually is an irritating add-on to the gore and bloodshed but imho romance can be a brilliant plot device, not a crutch, but a perfidious design in a rpg coz it yields so many untapped possibilities like betrayal or separate endgame scheming. someone somewhere said it eventually can "burn the house down". hell, yeah, that would be amazing in certain contexts, for example: i see romance in rpg as 2 things - the way of getting to know the npcs better and as a fun way to plot a surprise. romance can be delivered in such a way where you actually get to know your companions much better - accept them for who they are or try and change them to ultimately, alienating them and add flavor to hours of hacking and slashing - no flirting, kissing, sex or ilovezyous included - just figuring out the characters that you're working with, getting them to trust or betray you, and at the end of the game if there is such a non compulsory option - isn't it a win/win for everyone? instead of 20 unappealing flirt cut scenes - make a few personal ones where you state general opinions about that character and vice versa and at the end make 2-3-4 versions of ending. cuts the costs, but needs deviant amount of planning and careful unfolding of the story. so my point being, DA/ME does this really poorly. but since it's a reoccurring analogy i'll use it for illustration purposes. what would be fun (hopefully without lame wheel conversation options) on DA:I example that after paying attention, meeting some predetermined requirements and being pals with npcs you get them to tell you their secret agendas. or the game has a system that rewards you for paying attention and confronting the npc in question with the discrepancies you noticed (system devised so that taking 61% or more of time questing with that npc enables the option). or better yet, overlook them completely and be utterly taken unawares. what epilogue one wants from there - it's cool. does not ruin a thing. gives you a feeling of accomplishment for paying attention to the story. is it so inconceivable to formulate it this way? if you are actually trying to accomplish having the profound trust or ultimate manipulation of your companions however shady, virtuous or downright evil or mad they are and get them to rely/ be manipulated/ manipulate your character - or to change your complete perception of a given situation or give you an option of changing their opinion - now that would be cool imho. sucker punch being dark souls plot resolution. so back to point no. 2 - fun plot surprises. so when i'm thinking rpg romance i'm aiming for that unexpected moment that you don't instigate but deal with npc love interests and consequences (aribeth nwn) - if you refuse advances of a potential LI that npc due to different circumstances goes bersek and ends up going from a valiant knight to a psychotic maniac. or instead of joining the hoards of your arch nemesis you and selected npc actually devise a subterfuge destabilization plot for the future - applied to DA:I - i'd definitely love a character that goes for an endgame that destabilizes orlais, ferelden, chantry, inquisition itself, whomever while propagating the protection of those same things. so that specific potential but not obligatory LI character and your pc just disappear from the inquisition destabilizing it, since it's now a political institution and different ppl will undoubtedly vie for power - and ride into the sunset waiting for your plan of sabotaging a rising military force that will eventually only serve itself and a corrupt monarchic system of good-for-nothing aristocrats to unfold while strenghtening the peasant/elf rebellion. add options that surprise in a different, darker, more twisted and challenging way. so, there, romance in rpg could be a system for delivering the story via choosing one npc above all that you indisputably trust and instead opting for lame flirtations deliver the endgame sucker punch to the plot. if the two kiss or share a sack of mead or make friendship bracelets or turn on each other at the end of the game makes little difference but adds flavour? no?

so.. this is my first post here ever and just wanted to share that i find myself sincerely grateful for this game. for some reason isometric never did sit well with me, even back in the day, what kept me playing bg franchise was the story not the visuals - an i was sceptical as to weather to invest or not. did not regret it, i really think this game looks great. as for gameplay - it's fun. (period) as for comparison - don't really think DA series is comparable, but visually/gameplay wise in terms of future wishful thinking i'd go with whatever engine DOS utilized, especially with unlocked camera mode. for PoE sequel that would be grand (and i'd stop ceaselessly trying to change camera angle to no avail). @luzarius - so, yeah, agreed.