Romances: are they worth the effort?

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In my last-but-one trip through the game, I finally completed the Jaheira romance, thanks no doubt to various Baldurdash fixes. Then when it came to the Bodhi showdown, I lost Jaheira. Haer'Dalis, of all people, had to take her place as the vampire-killer-wearing-the-Amulet-of-Power, along with Minsc armed with the Improved Mace of Disruption. Meanwhile, my Cavalier PC had to cower most unheroically at the back, feebly tossing Azuredge into the fray and trying to not to get level drained for his pains (I didn't know then that Paladins could wear the amulet). Worse, Jaheira missed out on around 150000XP (all the vampires, Bodhi, recovering Imoen's soul, freeing your beloved from the vampirism taint). Now, I'm no powergamer but losing 150000XP for no benefit whatsoever (apart from a campfire animation while you're supposedly getting it on) strikes me as a raw deal. Never again, even if it means telling Jaheira to get lost! What do other people think?

 

The only thing is that, by that stage of the game, you're probably pretty close to the XP cap (assuming you haven't removed it, or aren't planning on going on to ToB), so IMO the XP lost is not that important. Having said that, your comments make me almost glad to have my current Jaheira problem that I've explained elsewhere in this forum.

 

Doesn't a certain someone walk up to you near the end of the romance and gives you a lot of xp?

 

Indeed they do.

But from the numerous times I've played through, I've found that you never really miss the experience. IIRC when you get your loved one back they have had an experience boost anyway, not as much as you'd probably like, but it helps in it's own little way.

 

No, they just add hassle to the fun.

 

Jaheira is always the first character to reach the XP cap, so don't worry about it. Besides 150,000xp is a drop in the bucket when you've got 2.95 million.

Besides, there's a perk at the end. Jahiera is the only romance where you get something for your trouble.

PS: Isn't it kinda creepy that you're romancing someone that probably bathed you as a kid? I mean, she was good buddies with Gorion and all.

 

jaheira's romance is definitely worth it - lots of little incidents, some side quests to spice things up, very long, and nice little bonus near the end...

viconia's is ok - but less interesting

flag aerie's

 

I don't think the Jaheira romance is worth it at all. All she does is whine about her dead husband and criticize just about everything you do. When it comes to Baldur's Gate 2 romances are really only exciting if you're interested in stuff like hearing someone character talk about how their cat Fluffy died when they were a kid. They need more spice, IMO. As a woman, I'd rather romance someone like Minsc, Haerdalis, Safana, Alora, or Tiax.

 

SPOILER
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You guys are talking about Terminsel, right? Well, when I successfully romanced Jaheira he never bloody well showed up. I was going all over the map and resting in wilderness areas but no poncy Terminsel. My last time through the game, when I didn't romance her (my PC was female), Teminsel showed up in the Temple District just after I'd taken Celestial Fury from the Slave Lords (thanks be to Baldurdash). No XP bonus, but a nice magic item.

 

Hi,

seems that some of you are a bit confused about the so called benefits for romancing Jaheira.

In fact, there are no XP-rewards and that special item is neither a reward. You get the same things without romancing her. Her quests are all the same, only this ambush after sleeping outside is a romance specific quest.

 

The PC gets x number of XP points for being the romance intrest of Lady Jah.

 

@mystras chosen

Hi,

believe it or not, I 've got the same XP (100.000) and the Harfner Pin without romancing her. You get this as a reward for Jaheiras Harfner-Quest, which is a quest by it's own. It has nothing to do with the romance. Baron Ployer is another Jaheira quest. It has nothing to do with the romance also.

You are going to mess things up. Believe it or not. You definately get no rewards for romancing her, neither for any other romance.

 

That's really odd, because the last time I did the Harper Hold quests, I didn't romance Jahiera and didn't get the 100,000XP, even though I got the Harper Pin.

 

What's a Harfner?

I thought 10,000 exp either depends on reputation or whether or not you romance her, I'll check.

 

It's the reputation, not the romance.

 

Actually - I think reputation affects whether Jaheira gets the harper pin and experience. However I think that with a Romance you get more EXP, but I'm still not sure.

 

My bad.

 

I think you have to have 12 reputation to get the Pin.

 

You get the XP bonus for an ongoing romance with Jaheira, but the pin is based on reputation. If you're in a romance, 10+ gets the pin, non-romance is 15+. Terminsel does take forever to spawn, though, which is rather irritating.