The Veilguard’s Romances Compare to Baldur’s Gate 3’s

Posted by By our-little-miss-is-home November 30, 2024 44 Views 5 Min Read
The Veilguard's Romances Compare to Baldur's Gate 3's



Prior to its release, Dragon Age: The Veilguard drew comparisons to fellow RPG Baldur’s Gate 3 due to both games featuring a large cast of romanceable companions who can be paired with any player character regardless of race, class, or gender identity. There are definitely some similarities, particularly when it comes to the fact that both Dragon Age: The Veilguard and Baldur’s Gate 3 often require the player character to make crucial, life-changing choices for their partner. However, the romances are also very different in terms of their timing, structure, and focus on intimacy.



Veilguard Warriors Shield Collage

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Both Games Ask Players To Make Big Choices For Their Partner

Both Dragon Age: The Veilguard and Baldur’s Gate 3, as vast RPGs with multiple paths and endings, focus heavily on choices – and romance is no exception. Both games feature romances that end with a major choice for the character being romanced, that ultimately affect how things end up for the pair. While the companions do not need to be romanced to make these choices, they often have unique consequences that only appear on a romance path. Some examples are:


  • The Veilguard’s Emmrich can choose to become a lich or remain mortal. If he is a lich, there is unique dialogue with a romanced Rook about his concerns of outliving them.
  • Baldur’s Gate 3’s Astarion can remain a vampire spawn or become the Vampire Ascendant. If he ascends, he can turn the player character into his own spawn.
  • The Veilguard’s Lucanis and Neve can become Hardened depending on decisions made relating to their city. Hardening Lucanis locks out his romance entirely, while a Hardened Neve can still fall for Rook.
  • Baldur’s Gate 3’s Karlach must decide whether to succumb to her overheating infernal engine, become a mind flayer, or travel to Avernus to seek out a cure.

Baldur’s Gate 3’s Romances Have A Larger Focus On Physical Intimacy

In Dragon Age: The Veilguard, players do not consummate their relationship with their love interest of choice until the very end of the game, shortly before the final battle. These scenes are primarily implied and very little is shown – the game has a “nudity” filter, but players have noticed that it has little effect regardless of which setting is chosen.


Baldur’s Gate 3, on the other hand, puts a greater focus on physical intimacy. Players can become intimate with some partners – such as Lae’zel and Astarion – multiple times, and can seek intimacy outside of relationships by visiting Sharess’s Caress or hooking up with the devil Mizora or incubus Haarlep. These scenes are also much more visually detailed compared to their Dragon Age counterparts.

Both Games (Mostly) Require A Single Commitment

The greatest similarity between the two games is in how the path of the romances is structured. You can start out by flirting with multiple companions early in your journey but, at some point, will be asked to commit to a single partner. (The sole exception is Baldur’s Gate 3’s Halsin, who is polyamorous and will happily share the player with Astarion or Shadowheart.)


From there, another major divergence point occurs. In Baldur’s Gate 3, non-romanced companions may flirt with one another, but no companion-companion romances occur. This disappointed some fans who enjoy the interactions between Karlach and Wyll or Lae’zel and Shadowheart, or feel that it is out of character for Halsin not to pursue anyone if not chosen. In The Veilguard, those who are not paired up may seek to pursue one another instead. Neve can end up with Lucanis, Taash with Harding, and Emmrich with Strife, an NPC from the Veil Jumper faction. Ultimately, this is probably the biggest difference between how romance is handled in the two games.

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