Marquess Cornwallis

Toned-down romance elements may make sense to a certain degree even in an RPG like P:E, provided they're toned down and used sparingly, and I have nothing against that in principle. It's the kind of completely out-of-proportion, shallow, mechanical and exploitative use of romances championed by Bioware and the ecstatic response of a large portion of their audience to that kind of fan service that makes people shudder and refuse the idea completely (and might I add, for a good reason -- give a man inch, he'll take a yard). What I find really kind of hard to understand, though, is why would anyone insist on having such an insane degree of focus on romance in a game like P:E? If that is what you're interested in in your RPGs (as opposed to a standard dating sim), why not ask for a full-on Jane Austen inspired game where the mechanics would supposedly revolve around the theme and could be explored in real depth? Or does anyone actually enjoy the feeble-minded gift-giving minigame in DA:O?