Halsin/Romance

Halsin can be romanced. He is a polyamorous, a relationship anarchist, and the only character with whom you can have two committed partners, as long as your first partner is either Shadowheart, Astarion, or Karlach.
==Storyline==
Halsin cannot be romanced until Act Three, due to his desire in the first two acts to only focus on breaking the Shadow Curse. However, the player can flirt with him in certain dialogues and in his camp conversation of Act Two; doing so has no impact on existing romantic relationships.
=== Act 3 ===
Halsin's romantic scene can be accessed with high enough approval and/or by camping in the Lower City only if the player has successfully completed before embarking on the Road to Baldur's Gate.
While he is eager to be intimate with the player character after losing the burden of the Shadow Curse, he will always encourage them before this scene to speak with their partner for consent if they are already in a relationship. agrees enthusiastically and asks to hear how it goes, consents as long as the player character affirms they are still happy with him as well, and is skeptical but supportive of the player character's desires. , , and always decline, however, and a player character romancing one of them is required to either leave their partner for Halsin or reject his advances.
If the player character accepts Halsin's offer for a night together and has either stayed single, broken up with their partner, or obtained Shadowheart/Astarion/Karlach's consent, they will meet up with him by a secluded tree during their next long rest. Any choice but the last can be selected for the first two dialogue prompts to progress a scene where Halsin strips and the pair shares their first kiss, but eventually, when the player character strips, Halsin accidentally turns into a bear out of excitement. If the player then selects "I'm flattered I have that effect on you. Now come here" on the next prompt, Halsin maintains his normal form and gives the player character oral sex (if nudity is turned on) or resumes making out against the tree with a fade to black (if nudity is turned off). Otherwise, if the player selects "Don't apologise. I like it", followed by either of the first two options in a fourth prompt, Halsin will turn back into a bear and begin mating the player character as a squirrel living in the tree watches in shock. The player character then sleeps in camp as normal either way.
After either version of this scene, the player character and Halsin will immediately be in a "relationship", though he tells them the following morning that he prefers for what they share to be fluid and non-exclusive. If the player character asks to kiss him while is in the party, she may jokingly commend the two for their bravery because she gets bad breath after assuming her own Wild Shape forms. Additionally, kissing Halsin in front of Shadowheart while not also partnered with her has her tease their relationship with a hint of envy, as her consent dialogue in her own romance implies she has a crush on Halsin as well.
Like the other romance options, Halsin and the player character can take love test together at the Circus of the Last Days, and he can even be asked to take the test while not yet partnered. His response is positive if the player answers two or more questions correctly.
'Listen. Think. When is he most comfortable?'
# While in the form of a bear, clad in nothing but fur. ★
# After a supper large enough to induce hibernation.
# Comfort doesn't come naturally to him - he's restless and roaming. ★
# At his study in the grove.
'We strive to do our utmost - to prove ourselves worthy. Tell me - of what is Halsin most proud?'
# His physique. Who can blame him?
# Saving his friend Thaniel and banishing the shadow curse. ★
# Protecting his grove from those who threatened it. ★
# An impressively-notched bedpost. 
'Life is full of victory and loss. You cannot have one without the other. Halsin - what is his greatest failure?'
# Appointing a fanatic second-in-command at the grove. ★
# Allowing the shadow curse to blight nature for a hundred years. ★
# That he somehow let some scrawny goblins capture him.
# Rejecting an amorous she-bear's affections.
=== Epilogue ===
If the Netherbrain is defeated while the player character is only partnered with Halsin, the two will be seen spending the night together, where Halsin shares that he needs to return to realm, help the residents and nature heal, and care for the hundreds of displaced children there. The player character can offer to travel with him and help him rebuild, but if they choose to stay in Baldur's Gate, go to Avernus with Karlach, live with non-Sharran Shadowheart, or adventure with spawn-vigilante Astarion, it is implied they maintain a long-distance relationship.
If the player character chose to stay in Thaniel's realm with him, he asks at the Reunion Party if they are sure about their choice of a quiet life over an adventurous one and expresses concern over whether the children will be safe, as this is his first time leaving his duties since the Netherbrain fight. If the player character only romanced Halsin and did not stay with him or go to Avernus, it is possible to receive invitations to the Reunion Party with him and still enter the Campsite as a couple (due to a glitch that sometimes skips the romance wrap-up above if he was not in the party against the Netherbrain); otherwise, the player character enters with Karlach (if they went to Avernus) or alone. Other than being able to ask for kisses, Halsin's dialogue then remains largely the same as if they were friends or exes: he shares about his efforts in the realm, asks the player character what they have been up to for bedtime story ideas, gives them permission to visit and tell the story themselves, and offers the as a parting gift. However, players who romanced Halsin can joke he will need to save some stories for when they are older, and he responds he can at least easily teach the children about "the birds and the bees" when the time comes.
== Romance Mechanics ==
=== Unique Dialogue ===
==== Greetings ====
Players who romance Halsin have a few unique greetings that are unlocked after Act Three's romance scene:
* "My heart soars just to look upon you. What do you need?"
* "What word, my love?"
* "You wish to speak? I am here for you."
* "All of nature's bounty pales next to you. Do you need something?"
* "Speak to me, lover."
* "Nature has been most kind to let me share in your heart. What do you need?"
==== Party/Camp Interactions ====
Following his love scene in Act Three, Halsin will have the following unique dialogue options that are always available when interacting with him both in camp and while he's in the player's party.
# The player can ask Halsin how he is feeling about everything. ("I just wanted to see how you were faring.")
# The player can ask about the relationship status, and Halsin will reaffirm his open-ended view of relationships and encourage the player to share their love with others. ("How do you see our relationship?")
# The player can ask for a kiss, and Halsin will happily oblige. ("May I kiss you?")
# The player can break up with Halsin. ("I think our relationship has run its course.")
#* The player has a chance to back out of breaking up with Halsin if this option is chosen.
If the player breaks up with Halsin, these options will no longer be accessible.
=== Romancing Other Characters ===
Being polyamorous himself, Halsin will never be mad at the player character for sharing their heart with other people, but he may react to (or participate in) certain encounters.
* Romancing / - Halsin will always eagerly offer to join the foursome with the drow twins at Sharess' Caress, even if he has not been romanced. If Halsin participates, he will be heard turning into a bear and carrying the player character around, much to the shock and amusement of the twins. If the player character romanced and had intercourse with a Wild Shaped Halsin, an additional options appears to inform the drow twins of the high frequency with which Halsin and the player engage in this practice, much to the surprise of Nym who wonders "how does it even fit?".
**If the player character is also dating Shadowheart and both she and Halsin are in the party, the player can choose to have a fivesome with both partners and both twins. This version of the scene plays out the same as a foursome with only Shadowheart; however, she admits that she has fantasized about Halsin as well, and he says that the pleasure of a woman is one of nature's greatest gifts. The player character can also have a fivesome with the twins, Halsin, and Astarion (if has been completed), in which case Halsin compliments Astarion's body as a beautiful work of nature's powers and Astarion teasingly asks Halsin if he's comfortable being kissed "with teeth". After a shared encounter with the twins, Halsin confides in the player character that he spent several years when he was younger as a sex slave in the Underdark.
* Romancing - When triggered in Act 3, Mizora will acknowledge the player character's relationship with Halsin but still instigate sex with them anyway. If the player character accepts her advances, the love scene triggers as normal; however, the following morning, Halsin walks in on them and teases the player character for not fearing "adventure of any sort". He senses regret in the player character but comforts them if they confirm this, saying he is proud of them for being comfortable enough to love freely and explore more of their desires without him.
* Romancing - The player character's love scene with the Emperor is the only one in which Halsin appears to have discomfort if he is present. However, since the Emperor wipes the memories of those who walked in on them, Halsin never mentions it, and there are no implications on the player character's relationship with him.
* Romancing - The player character's relationship(s) upon entering the House of Hope have no effect on this option triggering, and going through with it does not have any implications on their romance with Halsin or any other partner afterward. If the player character vows their body to Haarlep and later moans when he uses it, Halsin teases them that such sounds are usually welcome but not at the moment.