Official Characters and Romance Thread (Spoiler Version) Part Two

[CENIC]

I prefer 'Unbridled Capitalism' over the ****ed up Caste system and what basically adds up to slavery that is the Huana regime.

There's a quest in The Gullet (the slum area of Neketaka where the Roparu live) where you speak to a Roparu elder about the food shortage and how to resolve it.

 

One of the possible resolutions is to convince the Queen/Prince to take responsibility for the results of the caste system. If you manage to convince them to do so, you get a special ending slide for The Gullet talking about how the situation there has been improved.

 

I also remember talking to Queen Onekaza about Neketaka, and she suggests that living in a city is unnatural for tribal people and asks what I think. The option I chose was something along the lines of, "I've seen the bottom of this city, and what I saw wasn't good." That seemed to give her something to think about.

 

All of the other cultures in Eora have done horrible things to advance. Most of them have the benefit of hindsight now. Why take the Deadfire away from its native people just because they haven't advanced as far? That's my take, anyway.

 

My favorite ending is siding with the Huana and asking Eothas to inspire kith by exposing Engwithan ruins throughout the Deadfire. I also like to keep the VTC around (under Castol) but RDC and pirates can **** off.

[gkathellar]

I felt really sad about what happened to Pallegina after I sided with the Huana. I didn't like the Vailian Republics because they're a bit too symbolic of unbridled capitalism and corporate exploitation...but Pallegina deserved better.

 

The Republics always struck me as referential to the mercantilist city states of late-medieval and Renaissance Italy, which were very powerful in the Mediterranean in their heyday (we're talking, "competed with the Ottomans" powerful). I think there's also strains of Colonial Europe in there. Together, the two influences start to look a lot like the very ugliest form of state-sponsored international capitalism.

 

 

I prefer 'Unbridled Capitalism' over the ****ed up Caste system and what basically adds up to slavery that is the Huana regime.

 

Both are bad, but the Huana culture is theirs to fix and Tekehu makes noises that suggest he'd want to do that. Supressing their culture and replacing it with another, especially one that actively supports slavery including slavery of the Huana, doesn't seem a whole lot better and depleting a natural valuable resource for profit can ultimately be more destructive in the long run. I think if slavery is one's main focus, one would have to pick the RDC or Aeldys.

 

 

Pretty much. It would be one thing to provide support for Huana attempting to change their own society for moral reasons, but it is another thing entirely to show up on their beaches, cannons loaded, and tell them, "hey so we're in charge now, the good news is we don't give a damn about your caste system except as a tool to exploit, demean, and enslave you, the bad news is that we are here to exploit, demean, and enslave you."

 

Because realistically, colonists don't dismantle caste systems. They just make the caste systems reliant on their presence, usually by inverting them or by constructing new ones out of thin air.

Edited May 28, 2018 by gkathellar

[rheingold]

Yeah, while I despise caste systems, the alternatives are just as bad if not worse. And when you take into account that Deadfire is really the Huana's home as opposed to the other factions then I reckon it's actually pretty simple to support them. And colonization either at the point of a gun or by banking never seems to turn out well for the original inhabitants and as someone has mentioned already, there are signs that they might come right. They deserve a chance.

[Astrolabe]

 

 

The number of Tekehu's ex girlfriends we run into tends to become overwhelming lol.

Heh, yeah. When I got to the ending slides in my Tekehu run and saw "He has work to do in the Deadfire, but his heart - and, he insists, the rest of him - is yours," I couldn't help a sneaking feeling of disbelief. Are committed relationships even a thing with the Huana? The game seems to imply they're not.

Committed? I can believe it... MONOGAMOUS? I’m very dubious lol. They just seem to love everybody... particularly if they are looking at them at the time.

 

 

So maybe I'm biased if you can't tell my pic...but I definitely interpreted Tekehu's character as being able to be monogamous. The game does go out of its way to show tha he's a casanova, but it also doesn't imply in any way that he cheats. It just seems like the Huana are really easy-going towards coupling for the purpose of sex, especially Tekehu. But also, his entire arc of romancing you is specifically about how he's searching for a very specific kind of love/person/relationship. I feel like he serial dates towards that goal and in between sleeps with whoever because he likes sex and other people like sex so why not?

 

But he doesn't suggest sex with you right away (although he's liberal with the innuendos lel). He just tells you about these particular people...and eventually what it is that they didn't have that made it so it didn't work out. And how your specific kind of love is freeing because it doesn't possess the same feeling of veneration/constraints and there's a sense of parity.

 

...He's my favorite. LOL.

[Slotharingia]

But he doesn't suggest sex with you right away (although he's liberal with the innuendos lel). He just tells you about these particular people...and eventually what it is that they didn't have that made it so it didn't work out. And how your specific kind of love is freeing because it doesn't possess the same feeling of veneration/constraints and there's a sense of parity.

 

...He's my favorite. LOL.

I love Tek too. He's my favourite character in the game. However, I find the whole arc of him not having sex with you and prattling about his other encounters instead really strange. This could be stretching out for a year or more while you travel around and are meant to be in a relationship with him lol. I also don't like it when games provide romances where you can tell the person you want to end it in every single interaction.

[bugarup]

My favourite as well. The fact that he has a lot to say, has expansive and well done character development arc and personal quest tied to the main plot (which is "Who controls the Deadfire Archipelago". Eothas who?) helps tremendously. As for him doing anyone with a pulse, more power to him. Fidelity is overrated. 

 

I was also delighted with the fact the Watcher isn't even his first choice -- if you have Gina in your party, he hits on her before saying 'hello' to you.    Oh, and his writer managed to sneak into the romance conversation something like this: "his eyes like stunned tuna's". Tried imagining that, went     

 

[Yria]

I love Tek too. He's my favourite character in the game. However, I find the whole arc of him not having sex with you and prattling about his other encounters instead really strange. This could be stretching out for a year or more while you travel around and are meant to be in a relationship with him lol.

 

Yeah, it did feel strange that for a very long time we had, like, three romance-related conversations where he spinned stories about his previous mates, and nothing beyond that, yet the game somehow implied that we were a couple. But I think it has more to do with how unbalanced the timeline of the game is in general than with Tekehu's arc specifically. It looks even more ridiculous in relation to the main quest where Eothas tells you he'd be heading to Ashen Maw and you should follow if you want to talk, and yet you can ignore him for over a year merrily sailing across the Deadfire while he is... doing... something I guess? I feel bad for the fire giants who had to accommodate him for all that time I spent exploring the islands and completing side quests.  

Edited May 29, 2018 by Yria

[Slotharingia]

 

I love Tek too. He's my favourite character in the game. However, I find the whole arc of him not having sex with you and prattling about his other encounters instead really strange. This could be stretching out for a year or more while you travel around and are meant to be in a relationship with him lol.

 

Yeah, it did feel strange that for a very long time we had, like, three romance-related conversations where he spinned stories about his previous mates, and nothing beyond that, yet the game somehow implied that we were a couple. But I think it has more to do with how unbalanced the timeline of the game is in general than with Tekehu's arc specifically. It looks even more ridiculous in relation to the main quest where Eothas tells you he'd be heading to Ashen Maw and you should follow if you want to talk, and yet you can ignore him for over a year merrily sailing across the Deadfire while he is... doing... something I guess? I feel bad for the fire giants who had to accommodate him for all that time I spent exploring the islands and completing side quests.

 

Indeed. The only way you can make it make sense is if you delay the main quest until you've done everything else, and convince yourself you don't know where Eothas went. I wish they'd have made him run out of soul energy and his minions replenish him or something that would actually explain him hanging around there for ages doing nothing. After Hasango there's the urgency of Eder's quest as well. That still won't fix our beloved fish babbling about his previous sexual exploits instead of getting on with it though xD

[Yria]

That still won't fix our beloved fish babbling about his previous sexual exploits instead of getting on with it though xD

 

It might get a bit better if they fix the rate at which the player gains reputation with him (as well as other companions). So that the whole romance arc doesn't look like "Proposes to date right after saying hi, tells all the three stories in rapid succession, shuts up for a year, than suddenly asks you out".

 

Aloth, on the other hand... I'm not sure if having only two conversations and leaving the rest to the player's imagination can be easily fixed.

[Slotharingia]

Aloth, on the other hand... I'm not sure if having only two conversations and leaving the rest to the player's imagination can be easily fixed.

Do you mean his romance only has 2 conversations? I admit I could only trigger it by using the console, so it only actually happened right before the end quest, so I put it down to having missed most of it. Edited May 29, 2018 by Slotharingia

[Astrolabe]

Do you mean his romance only has 2 conversations? I admit I could only trigger it by using the console, so it only actually happened right before the end quest, so I put it down to having missed most of it.

 

 

I think there are literally only two conversations. It felt rather abrupt...you kind of just admit your feelings and kiss and that's that. There's very little focus on your relationship at all. I found it kind of...flat.

[E.RedMark]

 

 

Viv isn't shallow. She's a master of "the game" (DAI's version of Deadfire diplomacy). You never really know what she thinks and the feeling I got from Viv was that she's trying to manouever mages into a position of power and influence, but doesn't agree with the revolution approach. The emptiness is her facade, which she maintains very well.

 

Pallegina does remind me more of Cass, minus Cass' more "cute" aspects, though I see similarities to Viv too.

*shrug* i find her extremely shallow . I think I have the right to think that if I want to . I hated her , and only was forced to talk to her due to Sera romance and to do her quest..(cose XP junkie  ) . 

 

Anyway , that aside...

 

Anyone notice 'seem like , look like , have the personality of ' the arishok in deadfire ? I'm curious....

[Slotharingia]

 

Do you mean his romance only has 2 conversations? I admit I could only trigger it by using the console, so it only actually happened right before the end quest, so I put it down to having missed most of it.

 

I think there are literally only two conversations. It felt rather abrupt...you kind of just admit your feelings and kiss and that's that. There's very little focus on your relationship at all. I found it kind of...flat.

 

Guess I didn't miss anthing after all. Meh.

[MortyTheGobbo]

I've been told that after the first conversation with Maia I've locked myself away from other companions' romances. Can anyone confirm? I haven't bought Ishiza shark meat yet, and I still get the option to break it off. So it'd feel kind of odd.

[Aridea]

 

Aloth, on the other hand... I'm not sure if having only two conversations and leaving the rest to the player's imagination can be easily fixed.

Do you mean his romance only has 2 conversations? I admit I could only trigger it by using the console, so it only actually happened right before the end quest, so I put it down to having missed most of it.

 

Its... not really that there are two conversations, its that its extremely low key.

Its adorable though, if anything I prefer it over Tekehu's (and I love Tekehu with all my heart). Since its so not "in-your-face" it compensates with quite a bit of ambient dialogue from Aloth which is only romance-related, as well as changes in his reactions to certain places and situations. The last conversation in Ukaizo is unbearably sweet.

Idk its definitely not Bioware scale or even Tekehu/Xoti in terms of content and flirts, but it fits his character, and if you like his character its good enough imho. If anything it revolves completely around your PC.

Of course there could always be more content everywhere, but I thought its worth having even as is.

But then I am biased towards long-term companion friednships and history so Aloth will always be default for my character. If you are looking for more written content then it could seem underwhelming.

 

I've been told that after the first conversation with Maia I've locked myself away from other companions' romances. Can anyone confirm? I haven't bought Ishiza shark meat yet, and I still get the option to break it off. So it'd feel kind of odd.

If you tell her you are interested in her then yeah, you are automatically locked with her until you break up. She shows interest in +1 disposition convo as far as I remember.

Edited May 29, 2018 by Aridea

[Astrolabe]

I wish Obsidian had Bioware's resources...I went back and listened to all the companion banter for Inquisition and there's something like 5 hours worth between 9 different characters. I imagine it was an incredible amount of work to write and record, but it was nice because there was room for each companion combination to have their own relationship arc. Many of them were like Pallegina's and Tekehu's where you had difference or conflict and then character growth or resolution or at least understanding.

 

I would've liked to get to know some of Deadfire's companions more...maybe I would like them more than I do.

[gkathellar]

I wish Obsidian had Bioware's resources...I went back and listened to all the companion banter for Inquisition and there's something like 5 hours worth between 9 different characters. I imagine it was an incredible amount of work to write and record, but it was nice because there was room for each companion combination to have their own relationship arc. Many of them were like Pallegina's and Tekehu's where you had difference or conflict and then character growth or resolution or at least understanding.

 

I would've liked to get to know some of Deadfire's companions more...maybe I would like them more than I do.

 

Yeah, IIRC, back in BG2 Jaheira had something like 40+ conversations in her romance line? And like three quests? It was ****ing amazing.

 

It's also just not reasonable to do, unfortunately. BG2 sort of established a tradition of trying to have an absurd amount of content in CRPGs, so much that not even Bioware can really ever replicate it.

 

But we can dream, can't we?

[MortyTheGobbo]

 

 

Aloth, on the other hand... I'm not sure if having only two conversations and leaving the rest to the player's imagination can be easily fixed.

Do you mean his romance only has 2 conversations? I admit I could only trigger it by using the console, so it only actually happened right before the end quest, so I put it down to having missed most of it.

 

Its... not really that there are two conversations, its that its extremely low key.

Its adorable though, if anything I prefer it over Tekehu's (and I love Tekehu with all my heart). Since its so not "in-your-face" it compensates with quite a bit of ambient dialogue from Aloth which is only romance-related, as well as changes in his reactions to certain places and situations. The last conversation in Ukaizo is unbearably sweet.

Idk its definitely not Bioware scale or even Tekehu/Xoti in terms of content and flirts, but it fits his character, and if you like his character its good enough imho. If anything it revolves completely around your PC.

Of course there could always be more content everywhere, but I thought its worth having even as is.

But then I am biased towards long-term companion friednships and history so Aloth will always be default for my character. If you are looking for more written content then it could seem underwhelming.

 

I've been told that after the first conversation with Maia I've locked myself away from other companions' romances. Can anyone confirm? I haven't bought Ishiza shark meat yet, and I still get the option to break it off. So it'd feel kind of odd.

If you tell her you are interested in her then yeah, you are automatically locked with her until you break up. She shows interest in +1 disposition convo as far as I remember.

 

 

But I can break up with her and pursue some other romance, right? I mean, "break up" isn't the right phrase, I guess...

[gkathellar]

 

 

 

Aloth, on the other hand... I'm not sure if having only two conversations and leaving the rest to the player's imagination can be easily fixed.

Do you mean his romance only has 2 conversations? I admit I could only trigger it by using the console, so it only actually happened right before the end quest, so I put it down to having missed most of it.

 

Its... not really that there are two conversations, its that its extremely low key.

Its adorable though, if anything I prefer it over Tekehu's (and I love Tekehu with all my heart). Since its so not "in-your-face" it compensates with quite a bit of ambient dialogue from Aloth which is only romance-related, as well as changes in his reactions to certain places and situations. The last conversation in Ukaizo is unbearably sweet.

Idk its definitely not Bioware scale or even Tekehu/Xoti in terms of content and flirts, but it fits his character, and if you like his character its good enough imho. If anything it revolves completely around your PC.

Of course there could always be more content everywhere, but I thought its worth having even as is.

But then I am biased towards long-term companion friednships and history so Aloth will always be default for my character. If you are looking for more written content then it could seem underwhelming.

 

I've been told that after the first conversation with Maia I've locked myself away from other companions' romances. Can anyone confirm? I haven't bought Ishiza shark meat yet, and I still get the option to break it off. So it'd feel kind of odd.

If you tell her you are interested in her then yeah, you are automatically locked with her until you break up. She shows interest in +1 disposition convo as far as I remember.

 

 

But I can break up with her and pursue some other romance, right? I mean, "break up" isn't the right phrase, I guess...

 

where's the god damn concurrent romances mod damn it

Edited May 29, 2018 by gkathellar

[CENIC]

The other day I talked to the alcohol vendor in Neketaka with Aloth in my party and he rolled his eyes when she gave us her sales pitch.

 

It made me think of Slotharingia's signature. :D

[Yria]

Yeah, IIRC, back in BG2 Jaheira had something like 40+ conversations in her romance line? And like three quests? It was ****ing amazing.

 

It was also bugged to oblivion, I remember using cheat console a lot. When it didn't help, and the romance got borked anyway, somebody on a BioWare board told me "Well, what did you expect, it was your first try with Jaheira! Perhaps you will have better luck next time". It was hilarious and frustrating at the same time, but all the more rewarding when I finally managed to make her questline work as intended. 

 

Though I always had a minor gripe with all BG romances being very linear. In most conversations you had like three options that could be roughly summed up as 

1. I'm listening and being all supportive, please continue.

2. *something mean that breaks the romance*

3. Can it wait? Let's talk later (which, in Jaheira's case, also breaks the romance lol. Nobody tells Jaheira to wait till next time, she wants your ear now!).

Not much room for rp, but the romance arcs themselves were good enough to compensate for that. 

[Slotharingia]

Its... not really that there are two conversations, its that its extremely low key.

Its adorable though, if anything I prefer it over Tekehu's (and I love Tekehu with all my heart). Since its so not "in-your-face" it compensates with quite a bit of ambient dialogue from Aloth which is only romance-related, as well as changes in his reactions to certain places and situations. The last conversation in Ukaizo is unbearably sweet.

The last convo and the one that starts the romance are only ones I got, since I was trying to trigger his romance legit and all that was left to do was Ukaizo. Trying again with my new character but don't have high hopes.

 

The other day I talked to the alcohol vendor in Neketaka with Aloth in my party and he rolled his eyes when she gave us her sales pitch.

 

It made me think of Slotharingia's signature. :D

Glad I'm not the only one to harvest disapproval from Aloth without even doing anything. He did that to my last character multiple times xD Edited May 29, 2018 by Slotharingia

[Aridea]

I wish Obsidian had Bioware's resources...I went back and listened to all the companion banter for Inquisition and there's something like 5 hours worth between 9 different characters. I imagine it was an incredible amount of work to write and record, but it was nice because there was room for each companion combination to have their own relationship arc. Many of them were like Pallegina's and Tekehu's where you had difference or conflict and then character growth or resolution or at least understanding.

 

I would've liked to get to know some of Deadfire's companions more...maybe I would like them more than I do.

 

Its interesting because its not the romance content that makes me like the companions, its actually the other way around.

I am in a large minority here as I prefer Obsidian's "romances" (as unfinished, small, and bug-ridden as they are) to Bioware's, because I prefer Obsidian's characters to Bioware's. I just find them more interesting, idk they click with me better. So any romantic content, even as short as we are getting, is a nice addition. Yes, I even liked the "Old Owl Well" Casavir. The guy had so much potential, if only he didn't have his quest cut.

Edited May 29, 2018 by Aridea

[Noctoi]

 

 

Do you mean his romance only has 2 conversations? I admit I could only trigger it by using the console, so it only actually happened right before the end quest, so I put it down to having missed most of it.

 

I think there are literally only two conversations. It felt rather abrupt...you kind of just admit your feelings and kiss and that's that. There's very little focus on your relationship at all. I found it kind of...flat.

 

Guess I didn't miss anthing after all. Meh.

 

I have to admit that's a little disappointing after all the talk about 'deep and meaningful' relationship system, which by extension should include the romances. I'd think that someone as complex as Aloth and his history with the Watcher would have had a more complex and meaningful relationship/romance buildups at the very least. 

 

Such a missed opportunity! I could imagine plenty of scope for tiptoeing around, then discovering 'feelings', then admitting them, then acting on them ala Alistair in DA:O. More than most of the others he pretty much had a pre-made framework for a *truly* meaningful relationship and romance arc 

Edited May 29, 2018 by Noctoi

[Astrolabe]

Its interesting because its not the romance content that makes me like the companions, its actually the other way around.

I am in a large minority here as I prefer Obsidian's "romances" (as unfinished, small, and bug-ridden as they are) to Bioware's, because I prefer Obsidian's characters to Bioware's. I just find them more interesting, idk they click with me better. So any romantic content, even as short as we are getting, is a nice addition. Yes, I even liked the "Old Owl Well" Casavir. The guy had so much potential, if only he didn't have his quest cut.

 

 

Yeah, I'm not sure if I was unclear but I just want *more* content. Not particularly romantic content between the Watcher and the companions. I feel the companions are different enough that there were lots of interesting veins that could've been explored had there been time for more fleshed out conversations. Like maybe Aloth's troubled family situation and Tekehu's probably very pampered upbringing. Or Aloth and Serafen and how they individually suffered. Like for Aloth and Serafen, most of them talking is just a lot of snark from both sides. But it would've been really cool to see them getting a deeper understanding of why each is the way they are. And maybe not become best friends but have a begrudging acknowledgement for each other's pasts. 

 

I think the writers did what they could w/ the resources they were given. But maybe another hour of conversations would've been great lol.