My Romances - Part 2

My Computer Game Romances, Part 2: He has horns...
Neverwinter Nights: Hordes of the Underdark
Valen Shadowbreath

Valen and I have been to hell and back together--literally. We met in the depths of the Underdark, where I was bound by a geas to kill the evil drow ruler, the Valsharess. As an ally of the Seer, whose goal was also to defeat the Valsharess, Valen joined me as I attempted to gather an army to face off against the Valsharess's forces. But it turned out that the Valsharess was not the worst of our enemies; the she had summoned the archdevil Mephistopheles, foolishly thinking that she could control him, but he killed her, banished Valen and me to a plane in Hell, and began carrying out his plans to demolish our world Toril. However, through perseverance and a lot of luck, we were able to escape from Hell and defeat Mephistopheles.

Being half tanar'ri, Valen was once conscripted to battle on the side of the demons in their never-ending Blood War against the devils. In the Blood War, he witnessed unspeakable horrors and saw the darkest side of himself; he doesn't just have demons--he is one. Though those memories will never go away or become untrue, he has reached a new chapter in his life, where he spurns his demonic urges and fights for good. With me. Like many tieflings, Valen has horns and a long pointed tail, but I can't complain, since as a Red Dragon Disciple, I have two leathery wings! Besides, the horns and the tail are kind of a turn-on. And he sure is a master at using that flail of his. Hot!

Give me a moment to regain a modicum of self-respect.
...
...
Okay.

In my first play through NWN: HotU, I did not pursue the Valen romance. Unlike my previous romantic experience in BG2, the HotU romance didn't pop up on its own. To get the Valen romance, I had to initiate the conversations with Valen myself, and there were no reminders that I should do this (in some games, you'll get a "[NPC] has seemed a little distant lately, maybe you should try talking to him" message). So this first playthrough, I was totally oblivious to the Valen romance, and the Knower of Names towards the end of the game told me that my one true love was the Sleeping Man. The bald green guy snoozing in Hell until his true love (apparently me) comes along to wake him. Now, granted, he does have pretty, fluffy white wings, and at the end of the game he took my character off to his heavenly home plane to live in pure bliss for all eternity. But there was no build up to that "romance", so it hardly counts.

My second playthrough, I did get the Valen romance. And I gotta say, I was a little put off by it. But it was an "it's not you, it's me" kind of situation; Valen's dialogue as things started to get romantic between him and my character uncomfortably mirrored the words of a friend of mine (in real life; "Broken Heart #2" in my Romances - Real Life post) who had recently asked me out and I had turned down (that's another story for another day). Silly real life tainting the in-game experience. What's with that?

Read about my favorite computer game romance in my next post.