Players can now romance multiple partners in Baldur’s Gate 3 if they use a special polyamory mod created by a fan. In Larian Studios’ RPG, characters can often only romance a single companion – while there are one-time romance partners in Baldur’s Gate 3, developing a meaningful relationship with a companion is often limited to monogamy. Some characters will allow players to have a one-time fling with certain romance options, while others seem somewhat more possessive about their lovers. Lae’zel, for instance, breaks up with the player if they romance with Mizora. Alternatively, some want to have the player for themselves before allowing them to take on any other partners.
There is polamory natively in the game, but it is not widespread. Some companions like Shadowheart and Halsin continue with the player if they decide to have one-time romances with other characters, but that is not the rule of thumb. For players invested in the romance options of Baldur’s Gate 3, that could be bad news. Multiple playthroughs are required if players want to see at least one of the romance scenes from each companion. Nevertheless, a mod created by a fan allows for full polyamory in the game, meaning players can get simultaneously involved with Astarion, Lae’zel, Shadowheart, Karlach, Gale, Wyll, Halsin, and Minthara, for instance.
All The Best Romance Options For A Baldur’s Gate 3 Durge Playthrough, Ranked
There are romance options for everyone, and there are some particularly good choices for players who play as Dark Urge in Baldur’s Gate 3.
Mod Allows Polyamory In Baldur’s Gate 3
With the No Romance Limit (Polyamory Mod) created and then shared by user Wilhelm on Nexus Mods, players can romance their companions freely, regardless of quantity or the order they want to. This means that, if players start off romancing Lae’zel in Baldur’s Gate 3, they can still get involved with Shadowheart further on – the fact that they are rivals should not interfere with this. Of course, this applies to other romance options in the game as well, be they Gale, Karlach, or the fan-favorite vampire, Astarion. The description of the mod is quite simple, as it states players can date “any number of companions […] without getting dumped.”
Polyamory Mod In Baldur’s Gate 3 Is Prone To Limitations
While the polyamory mod allows players to essentially cheat on their partners in Baldur’s Gate 3 with anyone, it is somewhat prone to a few limitations and errors. As reported by the mod’s creator themselves, some romance cutscenes can simply not trigger because they require certain maps. There are also prerequisites with each character, so it is not necessarily possible to speed things up with some partners – Shadowheart, for instance, has a very long romance development, and that will not cease to be true, but players will be able to trigger it while also romancing other companions without the risk of a breakup.
Some other prerequisites are core to the game itself. To be able to romance Minthara in Baldur’s Gate 3, for instance, players often have to side with the Goblin Camp and attack the Emerald Grove. There is a more difficult way of recruiting Minthara without attacking the druids and the tiefling refugees, but the truth of the matter is that, if Minthara does not become a companion, she simply cannot be romanced with the polamory mod. In addition to the obvious and understandable limitations that are imposed on players through regular gameplay, some bugs may make the polamory mod defective.
As registered by a few users on the mod’s page on Nexus Mods, there are a few bugs that can affect the gameplay experience in Baldur’s Gate 3. Some users report that the romance cutscenes are not being triggered, which may be related to what the creator alerted players to or to a lack of an update to the Script Extender. Others mention that they are unable to uninstall the mod, while some players cite that installing the mod cuts out the conversations that companions have with each other on the road. Installing mods can be complicated, especially in a game like this.
There is a deep complexity to the narrative branching structure of the stories, from the overarching main campaign, and how even tiny decisions in Baldur’s Gate 3 can have a big impact. Depending on how a few side quests are played out, they can also have an effect on companions, which further highlights the delicately intertwined nature of the player’s relationship with companions and the progress through the campaign. The polyamory mod can open up some new and interesting possibilities for players looking to explore as many romances as they can in a single playthrough, but they should be wary of the possible errors and bugs it generates.
Romance In Baldur’s Gate 3 Stimulates Multiple Playthroughs
The many romance options in the game are one of the factors that stimulate the replayability factor. Combined with other decisions that can steer the campaign in a drastically different direction and several gameplay options offered by multiple races, classes, sub-classes, and party combinations, there are plenty of reasons to replay Baldur’s Gate 3. Larian Studios is consistently launching patches to further enhance the gameplay experience and this often includes updates to romance scenes and mechanics. Lae’zel became a little bit harder to romance following the release of Patch 4 in November, for instance. Another example is the new set of kissing animations with romantic partners.
The recent addition of Patch 5 also added new romance scenes with Astarion, and that should be the case as the game progresses further into its lifespan. The game is still due to be released on Xbox Series X/S consoles, which means that the game can still adapt and change a bit based on the feedback from a whole new pool of players. The polyamory mod for Baldur’s Gate 3 allows players to tackle most of their romantic desires and curiosities in fewer playthroughs, but players on consoles and those who want to play it safely on PC should instead opt for multiple campaigns.
Other than romancing alternative companions, there is much to discover and find when playing the game for a second or third time, so there is no shortage of reasons for players to extend their dozen-hour-long playthroughs into the hundreds. The different endings, the possibility of playing the risky Dark Urge, and taking on an evil-aligned playthrough can add to the fun when romancing characters as well, as it deepens the roleplaying experience provided by Baldur’s Gate 3.
Baldur’s Gate 3
- Franchise:
- Baldur’s Gate
- Platform(s):
- macOS, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 5
- Released:
- 2023-08-31
- Developer(s):
- Larian Studios
- Publisher(s):
- Larian Studios
- Genre(s):
- RPG
- Multiplayer:
- Larian Studios
- ESRB:
- M
- Summary:
- Baldur’s Gate 3 is a long-anticipated sequel to Baldur’s Gate 2, released in 2000 from BioWare and now being handled by Larian Studios. Set 120 years after the events of Shadows of Amn, Baldur’s Gate 3 puts players in the role of a customizable protagonist who has been captured and infected with a parasite that will turn them into a mind flayer. Before the process is complete, the ship they are on crashes, leaving them on a quest to cure themselves as they meet up with other survivors. Gameplay is turn-based and can be played co-operatively online or tackled alone in a single-player campaign with NPC allies.
- How Long To Beat:
- 50 – 100 hours
- Prequel:
- Baldur’s Gate 2
