Evaine Dian

You mean the part about contraceptives? Even though he is a paladin, Ajantis is old enough to know where babies come from. Even if your average paladin really doesn't know about contraceptives, Ajantis seems like the type of man who would find out, because he is so very considerate and dutiful. On the one hand, he knows that <Charname> is on an important mission and that a pregnancy would make her too vulnerable; on the other hand, he loves and desires her very much, he wants her to feel happy and loved, and he also sees it as the duty of a husband to sleep with his wife. I can very well imagine that Ajantis would ponder quite a lot on their situation and go to some lengths to find a compromise. About not talking about the herbs, I just reread the LT in question: I think Ajantis is a bit embarrassed (notice the frequent coughing, blushing and harrumphing), but he thinks it is his duty to address the issue no matter what. He certainly didn't choose the ideal moment to talk about contraception, as he kind of spoilt the romantic mood for me, but that seems also very much in character. After all, Ajantis is a bit clumsy in that respect.

The new beginnings romance is very nice, but also a bit too short for my taste. I guess this is because it is just too much work to write three separate paths and keep each of them fresh, entertaining and different enough from each other. I really loved the conclusion in hell, it's very unusual to see such a beautiful lovetalk in that dreadful area, and it makes it worth your while to play through the entire game just for the romance. Now, the engaged path is my favourite. There where so many funny moments - the PC could say and do hilarious things to Ajantis, and seeing his cute and sometimes a bit clumsy reactions made me laugh quite often; I think he is written very much in character, and he's just like I imagine a paladin. There were also many little things I didn't expect, like what happens when Ajantis says something stupid in the Underdark, and the ensuing struggle once the party gets back to the surface. I had a look at the readme before I played, and I thought there might be too few lovetalks for the engaged path, too, but in fact, it is MUCH longer than I thought! There were a couple of situations that I thought would be of interest to him, being a paladin and so very much in love with <Charname>. In some cases, he reacted right away (the PC's dreams, the slayer change); in some cases he didn't say anything at first (Keldorn's quest) and I was a bit disappointed, because I thought he didn't have anything to say at all. It turns out I was wrong, though, because after a while, banters about Keldorn's situation popped up, addressing just what I had in mind. It seems Ajantis has something to say about anything which is important to <Charname>'s life, but still he doesn't force her out of the spotlight. Very well done! I also liked the quests very much. I was surprised that you can play the core of the engaged romance path without restrictions to the very climax of the romance (in most other romances, the plot only continues after the slayer change/Bodhi abduction), but even if you do that in chapter 2/3, there is still a lot of content to see afterwards. I'm very much looking forward to the ToB part!

Of course you don't suck! I just love happy endings, that's all, and the non-bonded path was cheerful enough for me. I can promise that I'll weep at the end of ToB, I always do. Some SoA scenes of Ajantis's engaged path sound like good crying material, too, don't worry. (Crying out of joy is ok, weeping bitter tears of grief isn't.)

I had a look at your forum at Rosenranken. The ideas you and Annalena posted in the concept thread sound so lovely (I think Ajantis is the type who wants to bathe with <Charname>, though!). I hope you'll have time to include everything you wanted to see, especially in the "engaged" romance path. I've always wanted to take a loved one through all of BG1 and BG2 (without crying). Best of luck to you!

Yay! I'm looking forward to Ajantis.

Hi Mrs Cake, great portraits! I'm sure they will fit into the game and represent the characters perfectly. I prefer the brunette Rizdaer, I think he looks much more natural than the blond one. I do have some suggestions, but only if you want to hear them.