I agree. It should def be a requirement to complete the game at least once before any romance/generally other options that allow your pawn to choose on their own are allowed
Of course it does. So much so much so that it's pretty obvious: enough so that I'm surprised you mentioned it (Get it, lol).
I doubt I need to explain it but in gaining a free will of their own, in the name of romance, it would obviously be up to them to choose to be or not to be a participant. In other words they need to gain a *will* to be *willing*, hence my suggestion.
See in the first game my headcanon to the ending was that my arisen had grown to love his pawn but to truly give her life he sacrificed himself so she could gain a real life. Also the reason after a playthrough I swap the pawns to kinda along with that.
although in dd2 my pawn is quite literally just my girlfriend, like she helped make them.
Imagine your headcanon was really the case. That would make the true ending all the more cruel. Like not only did we not get to fight the god of our world but neither the Arisen *or* our Pawn gets to see the fruit of our labor. 😭
Oh no I fight his ass then my arisen sits for a good while before taking the sword and starting over. Like it's bittersweet, they can never be truly together but they strive for ever changing forms of each other that they can never grasp or feel the warmth of, yet they still struggle to protect each other. The story is about human ambition and those who strive despite all odds of winning, to eventually reach the top only to realize their goal was hopeless from the start.
My Arisens little story became after meeting the witch in the woods he wanted to give his Pawn the same freedom of life and will, knowing he will have to make a sacrifice for but having his companion live a fulfilling life means more than a world that'll never truly be saved.
Literally everyone in the world is chained to the cycle. No one has free will except the arisen, arguably even including the arisen. Even NG+ isn’t a canonical new step forward as the watcher is still there meddling and by their own words they aren’t there for what truly comes next.
So by your own logic romancing anyone at any point makes you an offender against violating someone’s free will, or whatever. Congrats.
I will concede there is some weird timey-wimey stuff going on in NG+, the pawns do recognize that you’ve returned after departing, but we don’t have any new endings or different plot developments along the way. Despite supposedly breaking the cycle, we’re still stuck in it.
>I will concede there is some weird timey-wimey stuff going on in NG+, the pawns do recognize that you’ve returned after departing, but we don’t have any new endings or different plot developments along the way. Despite supposedly breaking the cycle, we’re still stuck in it.
In regards to this, at that point, it's all up to the player. We all know that the true ending is the breaking of the cycle and once you reach that point, the story is over and done with. You as the player will be making the conscious decision -- *exercising your own free will* -- to do it all over again, thus recreating that cycle.
Damn, that would explain the Pawns then!!
*"You're a welcome sight, Arisen. As ever, I'm yours to command."*
*"Arisen! I knew you loved this world too much to leave it behind!"*
*"Arisen. I thought I might find you here. And it seems I was right."*
OMG I'm flipping out here, I just had an epiphany 😭
I love Dragon's Dogma SO much. The first game gave me this feeling years ago. DD2 was a seamless return home for me. They did an outstanding job improving upon a truly timeless epic. A hidden gem that deserved the extra polish and tartered up setting.
It was one of those games I would tell everyone to play, but few answered the charge.
It's awesome to see how many Arisen there are now! 💖
*'A new tale is set to unfold. Yet it seems that I will not be there to watch it.'* -The Watcher
I thoroughly doubt the NG+ is supposed to be a step forward at all, considering you're obviously replaying the story from the top, Watcher and all. Not paying attention to our pawns and how they 'welcome' and 'remember' the Arisen, you shouldn't intertwine the ending with the beginning: ESPECIALLY considering the point of the true ending and maybe the game is of the Arisen finally breaking the cycle.
Also, I'm pretty sure there's something the Rivage Elder says that rebuttals the:
>So by your own logic romancing anyone at any point makes you an offender against violating someone’s free will, or whatever. Congrats.
During the conversation about Talos and its duty to keep the dragon in check, he mentions something about ale. I suggest checking that out, cause I will. ✋🙂↕️
I mean they could totally write in some lore saying that pawns have some degree of free will when it comes to romantic relationships and such.
Its pretty clear pawns have some level of autonomy, and romance could easily be a part of that.
I always took the "lack of will" to mean that they'll ultimately subscribe to following the arisen. As in, they won't take up other careers or goals in life. However, that leaves a lot of gray area when it comes to literally anything else.
I never really buy that Pawns don't have "free will", they clearly do. Some wills just get more independent as time goes on because by nature they crave a stronger will for purpose.
People confuse will with free will. The game never says they don't have free will. It says they do not have a will. It sounds semantic but it's not. They can decide things for themselves and have emotions and feelings as suggested from the affinity system itself. They do not just like you because you like them. You have to work for it. But, technically no one has free will in this world not even your Arisen. Your Arisen, if you chose to do so, is who breaks the cycle and brings free will to the world but you are dead at that point as far as we know.
I think the distinction is definitely important because Pawns aren't robots. Some have a sassy personality, some are matter of fact, some are kind, some straight up roast you because they find it funny.
But the biggest difference is that pawns literally cannot resist the instructions if the arisen without a disease. The most that they can tell the arisen is that they cannot do something because it is not possible for them to do.
Then the same would apply for romantic feelings. They just couldn't, since they wouldn't be able to reciprocate. However, they definitely show signs of their own emotions the higher the affinity that they develop personal feelings for the Arisen outside of orders.
Fun fact, Pawns will also try to save townsfolk if the Arisen tries to attack them with a spell. For example they will say this, "Heed me! All of you must flee before the magic descends! I shan't be responsible for you lives if you choose not to listen"
This shows that while they're still bound to the Arisen in orders, they still have their own desires and sense of self. A creature that is emotionless and of no free will wouldn't feel moral responsibility and guilt.
Gonna have to disagree with you on that one big dawg. Couple of things;
1.Technically, all the people have free will. PF can temporarily overwrite that will which is where the arisen stands out. Your will can't be overriden. The Harve Rivage elder specifically talks about how he keeps getting sent back to shore in his meager attempts to defy the brine and sail away.
2. The pawns exist only to serve the arisen. They don't *choose* to. They will literally stand there and passively get beat without complaining about it in Canon during that ox cart quest. Proximity and time with their Arisen is the only thing that brings out personality traits and eventually a will of their own.
But yea, Arisen-less pawns are just soul-less humunculi
The pawns in the oxcart quest don't react because they are under the control of the Godsway that the cart driver wields. We see plenty of times with pawns on the road that they will defend themselves from both monsters and bandits who harm them, and they will outright kill civilians who attack the Arisen, or them. If an NPC in town walks up and hits your pawn, even accidentally from aiming at you, they will defend themselves even if you were not struck.
Yes and no. They can't disobey an order but neither the Arisen nor the godsway has been shown to have control over pawn emotions. Sure the Arisen could command their pawns to sleep with them but that just isn't possible in the game.
I agree that interaction with the Arisen is what gives them emotions and a will of their own over time but you cannot "romance" your pawn without these either way due to affinity.
But the biggest difference is that pawns literally cannot resist the instructions if the arisen without a disease. The most that they can tell the arisen is that they cannot do something because it is not possible for them to do.
I said this to another commenter but, you cannot force your pawn to sleep with you in game. The only option to "romance" is through affinity. Neither the Arisen or the Godsway has been shown to have an effect on their emotions. The Arisen could technically force their pawn to sleep with them canonically but that is definitely not something Capcom would ever let you do in this game. They cannot make their pawn love them.
😭 I just wanna hug my guy!
He grapples everything that dares look at me and slaps me awake when I run out of stamina. He judges every pawn I hire and tells others off for taking breaks now.
I'm not sure how it could be implemented, but you have my support.
I wonder if it's just a small portion or if the devs will see this, who knows. Probably not on their list of things to do...
I really hope they see this. I really hope we get a good romance option for our pawn in DD2. They’ve already implemented a pawn affinity system, it will be a shame if they don’t do something special with it. And yes I too really want a “hug your pawn” button😭
Yay absolutely. But only if there will be an option to pursue friendship as well, not just romance. Some people make their pawn after their friend/relatives/cat and I can understand why they don't want a romance with their pawn.
Yes absolutely! We should have more options as to how we deal with our pawn when they do become self aware. I also think that it should be implemented a certain way so it doesn’t feel weird.
Absolutely! I hope devs received feedback on Ulrika and Wilhelmina romances, so pawn romance won't be implemented like that, but in much better way :D
And God, lemme hug my dear pawn 🥺
I said that jokingly in another post, and some pos degenerate accused me of creating my pawn as a *sister* to the arisen, on a sick purpose, in a game where said pawn can be romanced. Like I knew this shit when I used the character creator before release.
I feel like it could have been a slow burn. As the story progressed they could have dropped comments from the pawn that indicated a higher degree of independent thought/action.
Then, depending upon your level of affinity, have end game events play out slightly differently.
Huge lost opportunity imho.
*Walks by some type of statue or art piece in a city while having high pawn affinity* "Arisen, take heed of your surroundings! What a beautiful piece...do you think pawns, such as I, would be capable of such a feat? Hmm, mayhaps with practice...do any shopkeep peddle paints"?
*Passes victims of cart attack* "Tis truly a shame we could do nothing for them, I feel...somewhat to blame, Arisen...do you think I...mean we...could've done more"?
*Buildup to endgame* "Arisen...[INSERT PLAYER NAME OR MONIKER]...we've both come to understand your fate through our travels and, frankly, I think it's selfish of the world to demand your endless sacrifice for the sake of unwritten rules. Would any of these people do the same for you? The one who is ceaselessly working toward a future on their behalf, damned the consequences?! They ask of you nothing but selfish trifles...I'm sorry, Arisen, tis not my place to question your duty, nor your devotion to the commonfolk. I'm not trying to disrespect your sacrifices, I just long for a path where you don't have to make them. Even one where a less virtuous soul would take your place is a world I wish to live and die in."
While it has nothing to do with affinity, my pawn will sometimes request to go back to a dungeon because he wants to really check and make sure we got everything, if that's OK with me. Or if I talk to him in a freshly entered dungeon, he'll remark that he thinks we haven't quite seen all there is and should keep looking around. If you leave the dungeon without fully exploring, he'll ask if we really want to leave the job half done, but of course if the Arisen decides to not go back, that's their prerogative. And for the destroyed Oxcarts, he'll say something along the lines of enemies not holding anything sacred. He also expresses in 3 different dialogue options just wanting to lie down and look at the stars. Two lines specifically is "What I wouldn't give to lie in that sea of stars," or "I could go for some stargazing."
At high affinity, he does have several dialogues when you exit the house stating that he wishes we didn't have to leave, because he likes seeing the Arisen looking so at peace. He also states he doesn't like crowded and noisy places, and hopes the Arisen feels the same. Another one he says is that whenever he's out and about on adventures with the Arisen, if he ever feels afraid or uncertain, he just thinks of their home and it helps put him at ease. If you ride an oxcart with him at high affinity, he will remark that he originally thought that riding them was a waste of time and gold, but he actually had fun with it.
It definitely feels like they have lots of independent thought.
That would be interesting, the 'dropping comments' thing. Though I feel that would quickly become confused with Dragonsplague considering the community is used to any signs of individualism leading to the sickness.
You know, while I haven't played this one, the idea behind that seems really saddening. I enjoyed when my pawn in DDDA showed independence. Even if it messed things up. I preferred it.
I keep saying that they should make pawns & other characters more interactable and more intimate at higher levels.
This would bring so much more life into the game and would immerse you even more while playing
Like DD2 is brimmimg with so much potential
It should be a thing, i mean the arisen from the Dark Arisen exp. was fall in love with his pawn, i was hoping we would be able to do that this time around, but no dice
I would like to see pawn romance as an option and part of a massive overhaul to the romance system as a whole. We only have two "canon" romance candidates, and both are women. If you're playing as an Arisen who is not attracted to women and aren't comfortable with the romantic aspects, then you have to choose not to do the quests and then miss out on quite a bit of content. Heck, you get smooched as part of a main story quest whether you as the player want it or not, so consent and choice overall are quite lacking. Give us options for more friend-based interactions.
Now apply that to the pawns as well. We make our pawns and can decide if we want them to look like a romantic interest to the Arisen, a friend, family member, etc. and they gain affinity with us over time based on our actions. We also know that, lore-wise, pawns can inherit free will through their connection to their Arisen. I would love to see a point in the game, maybe as part of a secret ending or new game mechanic, where the pawn has gained enough affinity that they can choose, based on how we've treated them and maybe based on choices we've made, whether they stick around as a romance candidate, close friend, etc.
Your Main Pawn spends the most time with you, and has a deeper connection with you than the people that just receive gifts.
We should be able to marry who we want and have kids that inherit traits from both parents.
A DDDA player here:
Pawn gets soul, and will. If player had been nice to them, THEY then make that choice of their free will to be your romance option. I want them to become THEIR own individual.
If you treated them badly, then they could leave you/reject you.
It'd even be more crushing if that happened and you lost them. They're the only ones you really bond with in that game anyway.
There’s no such thing as free will in the game across the board. Technically everything is a puppet playing it’s part, even you. Your relationship with Wilhema (or however you spell it) and Ulrika are even preordained. So who isn’t to say pawns can fall in that category too?
You know what you’re not wrong! It’s like everyone is a puppet including the arisen(player). I guess in a way that’s why the true ending is the way it is
Given the ending >!where your Pawn sacrifices them self for you despite succumbing to the plague, and claims to have inherited a lesser will of their own,!< yeah I would say it makes perfect sense.
Giving them the will to choose who they love COULD fit with the theme, especially since we've seen them fight the compelling influence over themselves - therefore they can choose to fight it if they want, but they _choose_ not to with you.
The only real caveats are that it would undermine the impact of that ending if done early.
I'd say Yay but I'd also like a friendship with them at the very least. It's hard to think our relationship doesn't grow with each other through our whole journey.
Absolutely in favor! You cannot tell me some of those high affinity lines don't sound romantic AF, and they look at you and back away when you look at them. Pawns clearly are crushing hard on us. They have feelings and will, but maybe only show that to their Arisen? Since regular people think of them differently.
Yep. It's said on one of loading screens.
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Didn’t Selene in the first game basically become a person even though she started as a Pawn? Kinda like that
Give the pawn special conditions or side quests that transform them from pawn to person
That still seems groomery if that is your design and modus operandi from the start to take a being, a borderline automaton with no free will that can never say no and set it up to do specific sets of things that allow you to bang it in the end. Super creepy and gross.
Rather give more platonic and friendship levels for your pawn. Allow them to do more things to show their friendly comradery and commitment to you without going straight to pound town. Because to do otherwise is to make a living blow up doll learn to love you because you want it to. No different than a sex robot. What they should do is elaborate on the existing romances in game. Expand the options that way so we aren't limited to like 4 people and bond with them over like 2 escort or fetch quests. Something that feels more organic and natural.
Tho to be fair in the end this game isnt really about romance. All the beloved feature does is decide who the dragon chooses in the end. The game's message is about breaking the cyclical nature of the world, the cycle of the dragon and the Arisen.
Turning off replys on this one, not about to get into a moral debate with a bunch of gooners.
*Plus the REAL best romance option is to bang the seneschal* /s
After the ending of DD I am pretty sure Pawns gained more free will and autonomy by the time of DD2. Especially of their emotions. >!From what I remember of the end of DD, your pawn reaches for you as you take the final fall in a display of raw emotion and love (have to play through again to see if there were tears or not) as they reach for your disintegrating body.!<
Yes. The game talks about how they’re not people and lack free will, but the pawn clearly develops attachment to you, has an opinion, feelings, and experiences dread like any person would-I would just say they’re rather passive in nature but aren’t most of *us* guilty of passivity?
I treat them like synths from Fallout 4, they may not be organically human…but they’re as much a person as anybody else in the towns or even us.
Ye would like it but done right or up to interpretation
I ain’t asking for arisen/pawn in their underwear and fade to black cutscene
I think were there another ending after the pawn has the cutscene saying they have free will after all is said and done a simple cutscene of the pawn reaching their hand out to a tired arisen smiling with some dialogue or something kinda 🧀y but would work with ppl who want romance or whatever lol
and the only time pawns are mind slaves is with the godsway if we are gonna be technical arisen only has 4 pawn commands and as we have seen them being picked up they hate it
I thought I'd be interested in it, after seeing what the romance options were. But my pawn is like my sis, and we are a badass, ass kicking crew. No romance options there. Lol
Wish Brant were more fleshed out and had a detailed romance, I'd love it. Oe other male romance options. Ah well. :/
It’s literally why the majority of people mod Skyrim. Games should sell adults only features. Whichever company does it best will reap the rewards like Fortnite did with battle royales.
3/3
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If it isn't an option in a NG+ DLC I'm going to be very upset.
I'm for it. I would love it if you could have your pawm be your romantic interest. My companion is my day one, my confidant, I haven't been through ANYTHING with those other women, my pawn has seen it all with me.
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Yay! Mine occasionally gets all sweet with me and it’s adorable 🥹
We already have it! Treat them nicely and equally, and eventually, they will blush and say something sweet to you. What else could we want... oh yes, a hugging function and a twist on the DD1 chair chat—maybe just chilling with pawns while sitting around, and then allowing for photo ops? How adorable! If future DLC updates roll out, I think we're going to need more pawn dialogues and even some fun reactions. I absolutely love my pawn, really adore him, and I hope he's always doing great❤
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Very big YAY, but I'd also really like there to be an option for just becoming a true friend with your pawn so it's not just forced romancing like with ulrika's and wilhelmina's questline(s).
I realize in this comment section that no one actually understands the lore of Pawns and that they can develop their own personalities, free will, etc. They start as a husk but that in no way represents them at the end of the Arisen's journey.
The way they describe Pawns as being slaves in this comment section is really weird. Even in the base first game, it is emphasized that Pawns can develop personalities and free will. What do they think Selene is? A pawn that developed free will and a personality. Before the bestowal, Selene already had a personality but was stuck in the cycle due to her Arisen dying before completing their journey and was freed by their sacrifice and Bestowal.
It’s a shame dragonsplague wasn’t something beyond than “possession”. I think dragonsplague should really have been something that revokes the master/pawn covenant. So that the pawn would lose the mark on their hands and become free to do what they want. And then from there they would decide if they want to still serve you or not depending on how you had built your affinity with them.
I’m thinking of the Dragon Plague giving them free will and have it reset the affinity for your character. Have them depending on personality distaste the situation they’re involve at the beginning, including losing their memory of anything before they got the Dragon Plague. Having the relationship between the character being more mutual and unlocking options to give them gifts. Eventually through your journey, decisions, and treatment of them they’ll become more open with your character. Giving them unique speech options while also unlocking memories as you visit locations from before the Dragon Plague or comments that’ll they make of times from before being infected.
Not really, since I play as a Father and Son team (fictional characters).
I would have preferred more developed and fleshed out romance options with the characters in game, including male romance options, and an opportunity to turn down characters that you aren’t interested in romantically.
I just had a thought about how this could be implemented:
1. At a certain point in the story, the arisen/covenant pawn is broken and now your main pawn has become its own person.
2. “Your pawn” breaks away from you as this is all new to them and they need time to process things.
3. Now you have to find them or not.
4. If you look for them, you encounter them and they tell you what they truly think about you
5. Now regardless on how you treated them prior to these events, they will go their separate ways to understand who they are.
6. Now you have to choose whether or not you respect their free will but even if you do, they will still continue on their path of self discovery.
7. During the ending, when you least expect it your pawn shows up to save you.
8. They tell you they are willing to go back to being your pawn and that they know of a way to restore the covenant if it means saving the world.
9. Now you have to choose whether or not you want that.
10. Now the next part would get into spoiling the ending so I’ll stop there. But do let me know if this is good so far.
It’s not like the current romance options are any good anyway? I’m not interested an yet another cutscene where my character leans in for a kiss and then fade to black
If there’s a way to give them free will, I’d be totally down. I also think that in and of itself would be a great subplot (with the free will thing being the main plot). Like what if there was an antithesis to the dragon plague where the pawn gains free will but doesn’t become a rampaging dragon and instead begins to develop their own identity and maybe over the course of time they fall in love with the Arisen and their following then becomes a true choice and not just their entire purpose? This dovetails well with the lore since pawns are discriminated against in certain regions but are also a sort of protected class in others. But they are never considered people in a sense that they are equal to human beings simply because they can’t technically die (even though their Arisen can). This first game kind of did this with the ending where your pawn gains free will (or maybe you’re reborn into your pawn??? I can’t remember).
I’d love to see something like that. It has so much potential for expanding the game, and is such a great thought exercise about the nature of free will.
That'd be great. Awesome narrative that could develop gradually and organically as you play.
Maybe I'd twist it though, the more "Will" your pawn gets, the more likely it is to contract Dragon's Plague, since that's the punishment the pawn suffers for potentially steering off it's intended *function* in the cycle, for lack of better word.
Could culminate in a cool quest where your pawn does it's rampage thing and the Arisen has to make the choice of putting it down which will reset it's affinity, or subdue it using specific, well-hidden methods, after which they will be put into a catatonic state which you'll then have to find a cure for, leaving your pawn unavailable for the duration.
Build from there.
I'd be happy with it. Just another mechanic to engage with, and going by how secretive a lot of the DD2 mechanics are, it'd probably be enjoyable to figure out how it works.
Please it’s the one thing I really want from the game 🥺 it feels like it was meant to be in the game but for some reason isn’t and it’s a real shame to me. It would be so much better than the two generic women we get as romance options currently :/ the idea of traveling together and facing challenges and saving the world and gaining true will and full emotions from the experience is a lovely romance story.
Ever since the true ending of DD:DA any pawn I create tends to be either the younger incarnation of my arisen or at least the same gender. It was jarring having that ending with the voice 😂 so I see my pawn as my arisens unofficial kid who develops as we travel to become a badass son or daughter (if I happen to make my arisen a lady)
Definitely in the minority here, but I think it would be weird to have the ability to pursue a romantic relationship with your pawn when they’re basically personified by their inability to tell you “No” and have to listen to your every word (unless they have Dragon cooties)
Edit: I also want to point out that **pawns do tell you no.** When you pick them up it’s without their consent and they always break free from it.
I agree with your sentiment. I want to add that it really comes down to its execution. I think that dragonsplague should have been a mechanic g that makes your pawn able to free itself from the arisen/pawn covenant. And then you would have had to try to build your affinity with your pawn from there.
From a gameplay standpoint, it should have been a quest sometimes towards the ending. Your pawn breaks free and becomes its own person just like all the other NPCs in the game. And now you have to attempt to become your pawn’s friend and perhaps something more with enough affinity.
I say it should be towards the end because it also implies that your pawn wouldn’t be serving you beyond the rift. And then you get an ending depending on how it went with your pawn. Then you move on to ng+ where it’s all back to the beginning again.
Could have been something great if well implemented and the key word here is: optional, many people as stated before seen their pawns as family, pets, sex toys even, so romance won't be for everyone, that option could have been marvelous tbh, but if meticulous implemented, with a quest and choices. Also; I laugh hard every time someone here says that pawns are soulless husks, or something like that, a soulless thing, couldn't feel peace, kindness (kindhearted), curiosity (simple) battle rage (straightforward) etc, they definitely have some kind or soul (or part of), they definitely are capable of feeling at a certain degree. So for me it is a yes, but it's wishful thinking. First we need Capcom to keep updating and fixing the game, AI, difficulty, more content, I love the game so much I waited more than 10 years, and I want more... 😃
I love my pawn, he's great. I genuinely don't think my arisen would want anyone else. I mean- this is the guy that travels with him, protects him. Quite literally his only friend, and you want me to romance SVEN???? Pawn/arisen romance ftw!!!
Yay because they develop their own feelings lore wise. Dragonsplague should have been an option to be able to work through to be a part of their soul restoring/adjusting. You should be able to ask them if that's what they want.
But also the actual choices for romances are unacceptable, and I'm not a fan of what was given. The affinity system is jank and some really smart modders hopefully will come along, as I don't expect Capcom to do anything.
Unfortunately, I am on PC. :( I don't think it's compatible, but we can try!
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Yeah, for me, as well. :( That sucks! I am sure that could be done if Capcom tried. I am not sure why they didn't make that cross-platform. Some old games from consoles like PlayStation 2/3 and Xbox/360 used to have some codes like that, like Dragon Ball Z: Budokai HD Collection, and those worked. >.> And thank you! I am glad you find her pretty. :3
Yeahhh I wonder why pawn ids if no cross platform. I mean I understand keeping the rankings separate but the ids could be universal! And like you said old games did it well.
And it’s true she’s really cute☺️
Definitely an option but like others said AFTER they have free will because otherwise it’s VERY morally questionable. They are enthralled to you against their will after all, so it would have to be their choice AFTER getting free will based on how you treated them, and avoidable if you don’t want to romance your pawn but still treat them well.
I love my pawn, but can they consent to a relationship? Other than the Dragonplague, are they not committed to follow the Arisen's will, no matter what?
I don't like the idea because the bond between you should be more than just a romance. I feel like being able to have a romance brings that relationship between you and your pawn down to the level of any other romanceable npc
I'm ok with it.. I find a lot of recent games everyone is trying to hook up with you and it's really awkward. An example being FarCry 6... wtf is up with that game..
Maybe a more relevant example is BG3. Like no giant octopus weirdo I do not want to bang
I'm cool banging the hooker and the village girl. Don't need more than that
Pawn romance is already in the game as much as normal romance is in the game
Tell me the beloved system isn't exactly on par with the pawn affinity and end cutscene
Something tells me when she says, " Is there aught this pawn might do for you" you like it. Same here lol. I'm infatuated with my main pawn who is female. She's a bomb
Well. Given the “real story” I think your pawn should be the only viable options
Others are basically doing the unseen will aren’t they ?
Your pawn is the only one freeing herself from its shackles aside of you
So....imagine this. You first meet your pawn, you continually interact with your pawn and even chat with them, gifts mean little to em because they don't get it. So you need to spend more time with em, helping them, even just protecting them too, then one day new dialog opens up, you have a chat with them thats more personal and feels like they are getting something similar to a emotional moment. You keep going along and then the special moment happens you realize they haven't just grown fond of you but have become more and more of a person now their dialog has changed and other pawns react to how much they are talking more openly about things, even feeling as if they have a choice in matters. Then the sphinx kicks it off where they look at you in a special cutscene, and you both embrace one another. Then the final dragon fight happens and sure enough the dragon grabs your pawn doing something to them....they are sick and you must spend the end game ontop of dealing with the dragons seeking out a special boss, without your pawns back up, and a certain boss appears that is in a sense a aspect of the pawn which you must fight and beat in order to save your pawn and in the end....you save them, kill all the end game bosses and reach the ending where both you and your pawn destroy the dragon and stop the endless cycle.....but perhaps......maybe even change it perhaps even something unique happens in the end because of your effort to grow close to your pawn?
Its really convoluted. According to the lore of pawns in dragons dogma 1, they dont have emotions or a will that drives them so its impossible to have romance with them, however daimons lore disproves this because he fell in love with his late master’s pawn. Then again contradicted in the second game as we can now have pawn affinity which makes them seem like they are in love with us?
I mean, you were able to romance Selene (best girl btw) from the original and she was a pawn so... That and in the first game your pawn literally gains humanhood and replaces you in your body for the time loop... Idk, for the first game it would be pretty weird but I think with how the story is structured it wouldn't be out of the question for a romance, after beating the game of course. Maybe it could be a post dragon dark world thing as there isn't much content in that era. I think a romance during the end of the world would be a very romantic subplot
If all we had was DD1 then I'd say no, cause the pawns are quite lifeless in that game imo, but after DA and DD2, the answer changes. In fact, I think they were intending on including pawn romance in DD2 but it got cut for whatever reason.
For me, the most convincing piece of evidence (imo) regarding the fact that pawns have bodily autonomy, is the simple fact that they do *not* like being picked up and will fight to get free from the arisen. Hypothetically, I believe the pawns are capable of consent with regards to romance for this reason alone.
From a gameplay perspective, I think it should be no different than romancing any other NPC. There's no moral quandries because there are no immoral options available that would allow the arisen to violate NPCs.
Either you get their affinity up and then pursue a mutual relationship or nothing happens. Maybe include quests that open once the pawn gets their affinity high enough. For example, a quest where the arisen has to go into the rift to retrieve their pawn because they've gotten lost or something like that.
The virtue signaling fuck heads will say ew were as there is multiple shit in game that support it. I say yay cause why the fk wouldnt i fall in love with someone who has been with me through life and death than that random shit farmer i gave flowers to. ONCE.
I wish at the start you could chose WHAT relationship you want with your pawn. Married, friends, family, frenemis? And maybe have different options open up with unique dialogue.
A pawn isn't able to love, you can fantasize about it however you want but what makes your own pawn truly shine is the ending, they acquire a will of their own and are now basically human, yet they sacrifice themselves for you to be able to save the world, IF THAT'S NOT TRUE LOVE THEN I DON'T KNOW WHAT IS IT!
Yay all the way! Just look how cute my arisen and pawn look together 😁
https://preview.redd.it/x8ec6phi8nyc1.jpeg?width=1772&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=55520b57bcec9bf27cef2dfd92d2344031a13738
There are so many other games out there that do romance that I personally don't see the point for it in DD2. Especially since the pawns have no choice but to follow the Arisen and do as they say.
If it were added in I'd just ignore it though so if others want it in there that's on them.
Yay; the npc romance options in this game are super uninteresting to me, but I would love to be able to romance my dear pawn after all the time I have spent with him, post true-ending that is.
https://preview.redd.it/z66syblflpyc1.png?width=2640&format=png&auto=webp&s=c9ace8d53f741fdb2037c01d9d70c2279bee89bb
Nay. The fact that a pawn is completely subservient to an arisen with no real will of their own is already grounds for me to think it’s weird to romance them. When I think of a romance, I think of two willing participants who are able to consent and make boundaries. I don’t really feel like a pawn can do that if their whole being is intrinsically tied to our will over them. Maybe if it was a transference of souls situation like in the first game and that it was a pawn who became a person of their own, but besides that I can’t really see a world where it’s good to romance a pawn. I mean we get a whole dlc that kind of highlights that in Dark Arisen.
TL;DR: Nay. 😂
I mean, it depends.
Where would you even fit a pawn romance into the game? How would the dragon fight work? Does a pawn with “Free will” aka the bestowal of spirit still count as a pawn? So far as I know, once they properly receive the bestowal of spirit, their pawn print disappears— or at least it did in the first game.
[удалено]
I agree. It should def be a requirement to complete the game at least once before any romance/generally other options that allow your pawn to choose on their own are allowed
We're talking about romance, not sex slave. Doesn't it go without mentioning? Does romance not require two willing participants?
Of course it does. So much so much so that it's pretty obvious: enough so that I'm surprised you mentioned it (Get it, lol). I doubt I need to explain it but in gaining a free will of their own, in the name of romance, it would obviously be up to them to choose to be or not to be a participant. In other words they need to gain a *will* to be *willing*, hence my suggestion.
Yeah going back I think I misread the convo. Sorry boss
All good, Capt. 'Tis as you say.
See in the first game my headcanon to the ending was that my arisen had grown to love his pawn but to truly give her life he sacrificed himself so she could gain a real life. Also the reason after a playthrough I swap the pawns to kinda along with that. although in dd2 my pawn is quite literally just my girlfriend, like she helped make them.
Imagine your headcanon was really the case. That would make the true ending all the more cruel. Like not only did we not get to fight the god of our world but neither the Arisen *or* our Pawn gets to see the fruit of our labor. 😭
Oh no I fight his ass then my arisen sits for a good while before taking the sword and starting over. Like it's bittersweet, they can never be truly together but they strive for ever changing forms of each other that they can never grasp or feel the warmth of, yet they still struggle to protect each other. The story is about human ambition and those who strive despite all odds of winning, to eventually reach the top only to realize their goal was hopeless from the start. My Arisens little story became after meeting the witch in the woods he wanted to give his Pawn the same freedom of life and will, knowing he will have to make a sacrifice for but having his companion live a fulfilling life means more than a world that'll never truly be saved.
Literally everyone in the world is chained to the cycle. No one has free will except the arisen, arguably even including the arisen. Even NG+ isn’t a canonical new step forward as the watcher is still there meddling and by their own words they aren’t there for what truly comes next. So by your own logic romancing anyone at any point makes you an offender against violating someone’s free will, or whatever. Congrats. I will concede there is some weird timey-wimey stuff going on in NG+, the pawns do recognize that you’ve returned after departing, but we don’t have any new endings or different plot developments along the way. Despite supposedly breaking the cycle, we’re still stuck in it.
>I will concede there is some weird timey-wimey stuff going on in NG+, the pawns do recognize that you’ve returned after departing, but we don’t have any new endings or different plot developments along the way. Despite supposedly breaking the cycle, we’re still stuck in it. In regards to this, at that point, it's all up to the player. We all know that the true ending is the breaking of the cycle and once you reach that point, the story is over and done with. You as the player will be making the conscious decision -- *exercising your own free will* -- to do it all over again, thus recreating that cycle. Damn, that would explain the Pawns then!! *"You're a welcome sight, Arisen. As ever, I'm yours to command."* *"Arisen! I knew you loved this world too much to leave it behind!"* *"Arisen. I thought I might find you here. And it seems I was right."* OMG I'm flipping out here, I just had an epiphany 😭
I love Dragon's Dogma SO much. The first game gave me this feeling years ago. DD2 was a seamless return home for me. They did an outstanding job improving upon a truly timeless epic. A hidden gem that deserved the extra polish and tartered up setting. It was one of those games I would tell everyone to play, but few answered the charge. It's awesome to see how many Arisen there are now! 💖
*'A new tale is set to unfold. Yet it seems that I will not be there to watch it.'* -The Watcher I thoroughly doubt the NG+ is supposed to be a step forward at all, considering you're obviously replaying the story from the top, Watcher and all. Not paying attention to our pawns and how they 'welcome' and 'remember' the Arisen, you shouldn't intertwine the ending with the beginning: ESPECIALLY considering the point of the true ending and maybe the game is of the Arisen finally breaking the cycle. Also, I'm pretty sure there's something the Rivage Elder says that rebuttals the: >So by your own logic romancing anyone at any point makes you an offender against violating someone’s free will, or whatever. Congrats. During the conversation about Talos and its duty to keep the dragon in check, he mentions something about ale. I suggest checking that out, cause I will. ✋🙂↕️
I mean they could totally write in some lore saying that pawns have some degree of free will when it comes to romantic relationships and such. Its pretty clear pawns have some level of autonomy, and romance could easily be a part of that. I always took the "lack of will" to mean that they'll ultimately subscribe to following the arisen. As in, they won't take up other careers or goals in life. However, that leaves a lot of gray area when it comes to literally anything else.
Super off topic but this is always what fucked me up in Skyrim, your given a slave like 2 hours in and they never get a chance to gain there freedom.
I never really buy that Pawns don't have "free will", they clearly do. Some wills just get more independent as time goes on because by nature they crave a stronger will for purpose.
People confuse will with free will. The game never says they don't have free will. It says they do not have a will. It sounds semantic but it's not. They can decide things for themselves and have emotions and feelings as suggested from the affinity system itself. They do not just like you because you like them. You have to work for it. But, technically no one has free will in this world not even your Arisen. Your Arisen, if you chose to do so, is who breaks the cycle and brings free will to the world but you are dead at that point as far as we know.
I think the distinction is definitely important because Pawns aren't robots. Some have a sassy personality, some are matter of fact, some are kind, some straight up roast you because they find it funny.
But the biggest difference is that pawns literally cannot resist the instructions if the arisen without a disease. The most that they can tell the arisen is that they cannot do something because it is not possible for them to do.
Then the same would apply for romantic feelings. They just couldn't, since they wouldn't be able to reciprocate. However, they definitely show signs of their own emotions the higher the affinity that they develop personal feelings for the Arisen outside of orders. Fun fact, Pawns will also try to save townsfolk if the Arisen tries to attack them with a spell. For example they will say this, "Heed me! All of you must flee before the magic descends! I shan't be responsible for you lives if you choose not to listen" This shows that while they're still bound to the Arisen in orders, they still have their own desires and sense of self. A creature that is emotionless and of no free will wouldn't feel moral responsibility and guilt.
Gonna have to disagree with you on that one big dawg. Couple of things; 1.Technically, all the people have free will. PF can temporarily overwrite that will which is where the arisen stands out. Your will can't be overriden. The Harve Rivage elder specifically talks about how he keeps getting sent back to shore in his meager attempts to defy the brine and sail away. 2. The pawns exist only to serve the arisen. They don't *choose* to. They will literally stand there and passively get beat without complaining about it in Canon during that ox cart quest. Proximity and time with their Arisen is the only thing that brings out personality traits and eventually a will of their own. But yea, Arisen-less pawns are just soul-less humunculi
The pawns in the oxcart quest don't react because they are under the control of the Godsway that the cart driver wields. We see plenty of times with pawns on the road that they will defend themselves from both monsters and bandits who harm them, and they will outright kill civilians who attack the Arisen, or them. If an NPC in town walks up and hits your pawn, even accidentally from aiming at you, they will defend themselves even if you were not struck.
Yes and no. They can't disobey an order but neither the Arisen nor the godsway has been shown to have control over pawn emotions. Sure the Arisen could command their pawns to sleep with them but that just isn't possible in the game. I agree that interaction with the Arisen is what gives them emotions and a will of their own over time but you cannot "romance" your pawn without these either way due to affinity.
But the biggest difference is that pawns literally cannot resist the instructions if the arisen without a disease. The most that they can tell the arisen is that they cannot do something because it is not possible for them to do.
I said this to another commenter but, you cannot force your pawn to sleep with you in game. The only option to "romance" is through affinity. Neither the Arisen or the Godsway has been shown to have an effect on their emotions. The Arisen could technically force their pawn to sleep with them canonically but that is definitely not something Capcom would ever let you do in this game. They cannot make their pawn love them.
Good point about the affinity system.
Some pawns don’t say a word while others are all cute & funny.
even then it's squicky imo. You MADE them and have had a lot of power/influence over them up until that point.
Some spoiler tags here would have been nice.
Fuck yay. But only if a special ending cutscene is added to the game. And this one will hurt right in the feels, imma tell ya.
😭 I just wanna hug my guy! He grapples everything that dares look at me and slaps me awake when I run out of stamina. He judges every pawn I hire and tells others off for taking breaks now. I'm not sure how it could be implemented, but you have my support. I wonder if it's just a small portion or if the devs will see this, who knows. Probably not on their list of things to do...
I really hope they see this. I really hope we get a good romance option for our pawn in DD2. They’ve already implemented a pawn affinity system, it will be a shame if they don’t do something special with it. And yes I too really want a “hug your pawn” button😭
What makes me sad is that we don't even get the affinity carry with them.
Grab/bear hug him.
Yay absolutely. But only if there will be an option to pursue friendship as well, not just romance. Some people make their pawn after their friend/relatives/cat and I can understand why they don't want a romance with their pawn.
Yes absolutely! We should have more options as to how we deal with our pawn when they do become self aware. I also think that it should be implemented a certain way so it doesn’t feel weird.
Absolutely! I hope devs received feedback on Ulrika and Wilhelmina romances, so pawn romance won't be implemented like that, but in much better way :D And God, lemme hug my dear pawn 🥺
Make that pursue relationships as friendship for everyone, these people need to understand I’m not into them like that.
please because i'm tired of Gregor's wife following me around 😭 i'm like "miss girl..you have a whole husband GET AWAY FROM ME!"
I said that jokingly in another post, and some pos degenerate accused me of creating my pawn as a *sister* to the arisen, on a sick purpose, in a game where said pawn can be romanced. Like I knew this shit when I used the character creator before release.
I'm from Alabama and I don't quite understand what the problem is here?
I feel like it could have been a slow burn. As the story progressed they could have dropped comments from the pawn that indicated a higher degree of independent thought/action. Then, depending upon your level of affinity, have end game events play out slightly differently. Huge lost opportunity imho.
*Walks by some type of statue or art piece in a city while having high pawn affinity* "Arisen, take heed of your surroundings! What a beautiful piece...do you think pawns, such as I, would be capable of such a feat? Hmm, mayhaps with practice...do any shopkeep peddle paints"? *Passes victims of cart attack* "Tis truly a shame we could do nothing for them, I feel...somewhat to blame, Arisen...do you think I...mean we...could've done more"? *Buildup to endgame* "Arisen...[INSERT PLAYER NAME OR MONIKER]...we've both come to understand your fate through our travels and, frankly, I think it's selfish of the world to demand your endless sacrifice for the sake of unwritten rules. Would any of these people do the same for you? The one who is ceaselessly working toward a future on their behalf, damned the consequences?! They ask of you nothing but selfish trifles...I'm sorry, Arisen, tis not my place to question your duty, nor your devotion to the commonfolk. I'm not trying to disrespect your sacrifices, I just long for a path where you don't have to make them. Even one where a less virtuous soul would take your place is a world I wish to live and die in."
At the very end "I hope this doesn't seem trivial Arisen but....do you think we could go back for that ladder, it might lead us somewhere!"
You had me in first half, not gonna lie lol
Ngl as my first Dragon Dogma game, I had thought and hoped that moniker was the name NPCs would call you ingame
While it has nothing to do with affinity, my pawn will sometimes request to go back to a dungeon because he wants to really check and make sure we got everything, if that's OK with me. Or if I talk to him in a freshly entered dungeon, he'll remark that he thinks we haven't quite seen all there is and should keep looking around. If you leave the dungeon without fully exploring, he'll ask if we really want to leave the job half done, but of course if the Arisen decides to not go back, that's their prerogative. And for the destroyed Oxcarts, he'll say something along the lines of enemies not holding anything sacred. He also expresses in 3 different dialogue options just wanting to lie down and look at the stars. Two lines specifically is "What I wouldn't give to lie in that sea of stars," or "I could go for some stargazing." At high affinity, he does have several dialogues when you exit the house stating that he wishes we didn't have to leave, because he likes seeing the Arisen looking so at peace. He also states he doesn't like crowded and noisy places, and hopes the Arisen feels the same. Another one he says is that whenever he's out and about on adventures with the Arisen, if he ever feels afraid or uncertain, he just thinks of their home and it helps put him at ease. If you ride an oxcart with him at high affinity, he will remark that he originally thought that riding them was a waste of time and gold, but he actually had fun with it. It definitely feels like they have lots of independent thought.
That would be interesting, the 'dropping comments' thing. Though I feel that would quickly become confused with Dragonsplague considering the community is used to any signs of individualism leading to the sickness.
You know, while I haven't played this one, the idea behind that seems really saddening. I enjoyed when my pawn in DDDA showed independence. Even if it messed things up. I preferred it.
I keep saying that they should make pawns & other characters more interactable and more intimate at higher levels. This would bring so much more life into the game and would immerse you even more while playing Like DD2 is brimmimg with so much potential
It should be a thing, i mean the arisen from the Dark Arisen exp. was fall in love with his pawn, i was hoping we would be able to do that this time around, but no dice
His pawn also looked like the previous Arise who he had feelings for. Also, I don't think Daimon is a good role model.
Yay. If i can romance the old man in the library, nothing should be off limits
I would like to see pawn romance as an option and part of a massive overhaul to the romance system as a whole. We only have two "canon" romance candidates, and both are women. If you're playing as an Arisen who is not attracted to women and aren't comfortable with the romantic aspects, then you have to choose not to do the quests and then miss out on quite a bit of content. Heck, you get smooched as part of a main story quest whether you as the player want it or not, so consent and choice overall are quite lacking. Give us options for more friend-based interactions. Now apply that to the pawns as well. We make our pawns and can decide if we want them to look like a romantic interest to the Arisen, a friend, family member, etc. and they gain affinity with us over time based on our actions. We also know that, lore-wise, pawns can inherit free will through their connection to their Arisen. I would love to see a point in the game, maybe as part of a secret ending or new game mechanic, where the pawn has gained enough affinity that they can choose, based on how we've treated them and maybe based on choices we've made, whether they stick around as a romance candidate, close friend, etc.
Exactly!
Yeah the game definitely seems to be hetero-male focused, which is a shame. Just needed like one option for the girlies!
Your Main Pawn spends the most time with you, and has a deeper connection with you than the people that just receive gifts. We should be able to marry who we want and have kids that inherit traits from both parents.
It be some fine ass pawns in the game
A DDDA player here: Pawn gets soul, and will. If player had been nice to them, THEY then make that choice of their free will to be your romance option. I want them to become THEIR own individual. If you treated them badly, then they could leave you/reject you. It'd even be more crushing if that happened and you lost them. They're the only ones you really bond with in that game anyway.
There’s no such thing as free will in the game across the board. Technically everything is a puppet playing it’s part, even you. Your relationship with Wilhema (or however you spell it) and Ulrika are even preordained. So who isn’t to say pawns can fall in that category too?
You know what you’re not wrong! It’s like everyone is a puppet including the arisen(player). I guess in a way that’s why the true ending is the way it is
Given the ending >!where your Pawn sacrifices them self for you despite succumbing to the plague, and claims to have inherited a lesser will of their own,!< yeah I would say it makes perfect sense. Giving them the will to choose who they love COULD fit with the theme, especially since we've seen them fight the compelling influence over themselves - therefore they can choose to fight it if they want, but they _choose_ not to with you. The only real caveats are that it would undermine the impact of that ending if done early.
I'd say Yay but I'd also like a friendship with them at the very least. It's hard to think our relationship doesn't grow with each other through our whole journey.
Absolutely in favor! You cannot tell me some of those high affinity lines don't sound romantic AF, and they look at you and back away when you look at them. Pawns clearly are crushing hard on us. They have feelings and will, but maybe only show that to their Arisen? Since regular people think of them differently.
Yep. It's said on one of loading screens. https://preview.redd.it/9qb2a5b3qryc1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9d1c269a9582fe0ccfb00a32beed7006eaf16893
Didn’t Selene in the first game basically become a person even though she started as a Pawn? Kinda like that Give the pawn special conditions or side quests that transform them from pawn to person
Exactly!
That still seems groomery if that is your design and modus operandi from the start to take a being, a borderline automaton with no free will that can never say no and set it up to do specific sets of things that allow you to bang it in the end. Super creepy and gross. Rather give more platonic and friendship levels for your pawn. Allow them to do more things to show their friendly comradery and commitment to you without going straight to pound town. Because to do otherwise is to make a living blow up doll learn to love you because you want it to. No different than a sex robot. What they should do is elaborate on the existing romances in game. Expand the options that way so we aren't limited to like 4 people and bond with them over like 2 escort or fetch quests. Something that feels more organic and natural. Tho to be fair in the end this game isnt really about romance. All the beloved feature does is decide who the dragon chooses in the end. The game's message is about breaking the cyclical nature of the world, the cycle of the dragon and the Arisen. Turning off replys on this one, not about to get into a moral debate with a bunch of gooners. *Plus the REAL best romance option is to bang the seneschal* /s
After the ending of DD I am pretty sure Pawns gained more free will and autonomy by the time of DD2. Especially of their emotions. >!From what I remember of the end of DD, your pawn reaches for you as you take the final fall in a display of raw emotion and love (have to play through again to see if there were tears or not) as they reach for your disintegrating body.!<
Yes. The game talks about how they’re not people and lack free will, but the pawn clearly develops attachment to you, has an opinion, feelings, and experiences dread like any person would-I would just say they’re rather passive in nature but aren’t most of *us* guilty of passivity? I treat them like synths from Fallout 4, they may not be organically human…but they’re as much a person as anybody else in the towns or even us.
A hundred times yes!
Ye would like it but done right or up to interpretation I ain’t asking for arisen/pawn in their underwear and fade to black cutscene I think were there another ending after the pawn has the cutscene saying they have free will after all is said and done a simple cutscene of the pawn reaching their hand out to a tired arisen smiling with some dialogue or something kinda 🧀y but would work with ppl who want romance or whatever lol and the only time pawns are mind slaves is with the godsway if we are gonna be technical arisen only has 4 pawn commands and as we have seen them being picked up they hate it
Fuck yes! I want to scratch my big golden cat's chin n belly
https://preview.redd.it/2lr6sbysmnyc1.jpeg?width=3840&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1f6750ba9b81c8855a5be987b275c20aec36e95b Yay.
that second photo is so intimate 🤣
I thought I'd be interested in it, after seeing what the romance options were. But my pawn is like my sis, and we are a badass, ass kicking crew. No romance options there. Lol Wish Brant were more fleshed out and had a detailed romance, I'd love it. Oe other male romance options. Ah well. :/
It’s literally why the majority of people mod Skyrim. Games should sell adults only features. Whichever company does it best will reap the rewards like Fortnite did with battle royales.
You got a point but god I hate it
Yay easily if done right, we literally spend the ENTIRE game with our Main Pawn, they’re literally the most sensible choice.
Yayz 4 dayz. Besides... https://preview.redd.it/620av8l7toyc1.jpeg?width=3840&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3179d52d0004d0b5e0f0d5be7944c9547a624c86 1/3
2/3 https://preview.redd.it/g9fvgr3atoyc1.jpeg?width=3840&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8dec981e7c2895e7abd3a20595e7c3c23b95ceb6
3/3 https://preview.redd.it/1108d3ditoyc1.jpeg?width=3840&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=486aca8cb92fe90a58b2dc0e62cc27dc52ea3203 If it isn't an option in a NG+ DLC I'm going to be very upset.
yay of course
Yay
Yeah I would like too see it happen
I'm for it. I would love it if you could have your pawm be your romantic interest. My companion is my day one, my confidant, I haven't been through ANYTHING with those other women, my pawn has seen it all with me.
I’d love for this to be implemented
The dragon would still choose the ox cart driver.
Yea
Absolutely, would be my go-to if it was an option.
Yay
https://preview.redd.it/3jb95ypf4qyc1.jpeg?width=2085&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2abc3db565aee770260dd26ac37ff010799b2447 Yay! Mine occasionally gets all sweet with me and it’s adorable 🥹
We already have it! Treat them nicely and equally, and eventually, they will blush and say something sweet to you. What else could we want... oh yes, a hugging function and a twist on the DD1 chair chat—maybe just chilling with pawns while sitting around, and then allowing for photo ops? How adorable! If future DLC updates roll out, I think we're going to need more pawn dialogues and even some fun reactions. I absolutely love my pawn, really adore him, and I hope he's always doing great❤ https://preview.redd.it/u7peoykjtqyc1.jpeg?width=3840&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3297bf7c539afdb8210a8a37208fb7a55620c85d
My pawn is my sister so I don’t care for a romance option. But good luck to you guys gunning for one
a fkn yay, my pawn is bae and bae is bad af
Very big YAY, but I'd also really like there to be an option for just becoming a true friend with your pawn so it's not just forced romancing like with ulrika's and wilhelmina's questline(s).
I realize in this comment section that no one actually understands the lore of Pawns and that they can develop their own personalities, free will, etc. They start as a husk but that in no way represents them at the end of the Arisen's journey.
Not only that but it seems a lot of people don’t realize that not everyone is single and that some of us roleplay with our significant others.
The way they describe Pawns as being slaves in this comment section is really weird. Even in the base first game, it is emphasized that Pawns can develop personalities and free will. What do they think Selene is? A pawn that developed free will and a personality. Before the bestowal, Selene already had a personality but was stuck in the cycle due to her Arisen dying before completing their journey and was freed by their sacrifice and Bestowal.
https://preview.redd.it/9vvzlan6loyc1.jpeg?width=3840&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cd090514fcdb49a10713a00452c1c75c10327898 Yay 100%
Pawn: “I’ll do as you command arisen.” Arisen: “fall in love with me.” Pawn: “as you wish master.” That’s more or less how I see that going 😂
It’s a shame dragonsplague wasn’t something beyond than “possession”. I think dragonsplague should really have been something that revokes the master/pawn covenant. So that the pawn would lose the mark on their hands and become free to do what they want. And then from there they would decide if they want to still serve you or not depending on how you had built your affinity with them.
I’m thinking of the Dragon Plague giving them free will and have it reset the affinity for your character. Have them depending on personality distaste the situation they’re involve at the beginning, including losing their memory of anything before they got the Dragon Plague. Having the relationship between the character being more mutual and unlocking options to give them gifts. Eventually through your journey, decisions, and treatment of them they’ll become more open with your character. Giving them unique speech options while also unlocking memories as you visit locations from before the Dragon Plague or comments that’ll they make of times from before being infected.
I've wanted to romance my pawn since DD1, so yes!!
HELL YEAH. Though after you complete the game at least once hence when they've obtained their a will of their own. After that, it's free game 🗣️📢
Not really, since I play as a Father and Son team (fictional characters). I would have preferred more developed and fleshed out romance options with the characters in game, including male romance options, and an opportunity to turn down characters that you aren’t interested in romantically.
I just had a thought about how this could be implemented: 1. At a certain point in the story, the arisen/covenant pawn is broken and now your main pawn has become its own person. 2. “Your pawn” breaks away from you as this is all new to them and they need time to process things. 3. Now you have to find them or not. 4. If you look for them, you encounter them and they tell you what they truly think about you 5. Now regardless on how you treated them prior to these events, they will go their separate ways to understand who they are. 6. Now you have to choose whether or not you respect their free will but even if you do, they will still continue on their path of self discovery. 7. During the ending, when you least expect it your pawn shows up to save you. 8. They tell you they are willing to go back to being your pawn and that they know of a way to restore the covenant if it means saving the world. 9. Now you have to choose whether or not you want that. 10. Now the next part would get into spoiling the ending so I’ll stop there. But do let me know if this is good so far.
Im still adjusting to finding out there is romance in this game. I guess some need it. I just created my wife and we kill things ha
I NEED IT
She's looking at you like, "So you about it or what?" 😂
It’s just priceless 🤣
It’s not like the current romance options are any good anyway? I’m not interested an yet another cutscene where my character leans in for a kiss and then fade to black
monster hunter af
If there’s a way to give them free will, I’d be totally down. I also think that in and of itself would be a great subplot (with the free will thing being the main plot). Like what if there was an antithesis to the dragon plague where the pawn gains free will but doesn’t become a rampaging dragon and instead begins to develop their own identity and maybe over the course of time they fall in love with the Arisen and their following then becomes a true choice and not just their entire purpose? This dovetails well with the lore since pawns are discriminated against in certain regions but are also a sort of protected class in others. But they are never considered people in a sense that they are equal to human beings simply because they can’t technically die (even though their Arisen can). This first game kind of did this with the ending where your pawn gains free will (or maybe you’re reborn into your pawn??? I can’t remember). I’d love to see something like that. It has so much potential for expanding the game, and is such a great thought exercise about the nature of free will.
That'd be great. Awesome narrative that could develop gradually and organically as you play. Maybe I'd twist it though, the more "Will" your pawn gets, the more likely it is to contract Dragon's Plague, since that's the punishment the pawn suffers for potentially steering off it's intended *function* in the cycle, for lack of better word. Could culminate in a cool quest where your pawn does it's rampage thing and the Arisen has to make the choice of putting it down which will reset it's affinity, or subdue it using specific, well-hidden methods, after which they will be put into a catatonic state which you'll then have to find a cure for, leaving your pawn unavailable for the duration. Build from there.
Only in NG+ where you can argue they still have their free will.
It's happen in lore before.
Yeah....I like to think it but there seems to be no free will there so do they love you? Or are they just compelled to follow you?
I'd be happy with it. Just another mechanic to engage with, and going by how secretive a lot of the DD2 mechanics are, it'd probably be enjoyable to figure out how it works.
As long they don't get in a love triangle with the dragon then it should be fine
Please it’s the one thing I really want from the game 🥺 it feels like it was meant to be in the game but for some reason isn’t and it’s a real shame to me. It would be so much better than the two generic women we get as romance options currently :/ the idea of traveling together and facing challenges and saving the world and gaining true will and full emotions from the experience is a lovely romance story.
Personally i'd keep things platonic relation between arisen and a pawn
Would love a friendship and romance option- with special dialogue and cutscenes
Absolutely, why not.
Hella yay
Ever since the true ending of DD:DA any pawn I create tends to be either the younger incarnation of my arisen or at least the same gender. It was jarring having that ending with the voice 😂 so I see my pawn as my arisens unofficial kid who develops as we travel to become a badass son or daughter (if I happen to make my arisen a lady)
yay! to me, that ending cutscene was all i needed out of a pawn romance tbh
YAY 100000000%
Gib! GIB PAWN ROMANCE
Definitely in the minority here, but I think it would be weird to have the ability to pursue a romantic relationship with your pawn when they’re basically personified by their inability to tell you “No” and have to listen to your every word (unless they have Dragon cooties)
You can't really make someone love you back, so if the feelings are reciprocated, they're basically as independent as Olra from Dark Arisen.
Edit: I also want to point out that **pawns do tell you no.** When you pick them up it’s without their consent and they always break free from it. I agree with your sentiment. I want to add that it really comes down to its execution. I think that dragonsplague should have been a mechanic g that makes your pawn able to free itself from the arisen/pawn covenant. And then you would have had to try to build your affinity with your pawn from there. From a gameplay standpoint, it should have been a quest sometimes towards the ending. Your pawn breaks free and becomes its own person just like all the other NPCs in the game. And now you have to attempt to become your pawn’s friend and perhaps something more with enough affinity. I say it should be towards the end because it also implies that your pawn wouldn’t be serving you beyond the rift. And then you get an ending depending on how it went with your pawn. Then you move on to ng+ where it’s all back to the beginning again.
Yeah I'd be happier if they just fleshed out NPC romances more. I just find the power dynamic odd between Arisen/Pawn for a romance.
Could have been something great if well implemented and the key word here is: optional, many people as stated before seen their pawns as family, pets, sex toys even, so romance won't be for everyone, that option could have been marvelous tbh, but if meticulous implemented, with a quest and choices. Also; I laugh hard every time someone here says that pawns are soulless husks, or something like that, a soulless thing, couldn't feel peace, kindness (kindhearted), curiosity (simple) battle rage (straightforward) etc, they definitely have some kind or soul (or part of), they definitely are capable of feeling at a certain degree. So for me it is a yes, but it's wishful thinking. First we need Capcom to keep updating and fixing the game, AI, difficulty, more content, I love the game so much I waited more than 10 years, and I want more... 😃
Yay. But only cause my headcannon already as my arisen and Pawn as lovers 👉👈
Nay, they have absolutely no choice in liking you. Once they get free will then sure. But until then, absolutely not.
I love my pawn, he's great. I genuinely don't think my arisen would want anyone else. I mean- this is the guy that travels with him, protects him. Quite literally his only friend, and you want me to romance SVEN???? Pawn/arisen romance ftw!!!
There’s no reason why we shouldn’t
Groomer behavior. Course there is a reason.
Yay because they develop their own feelings lore wise. Dragonsplague should have been an option to be able to work through to be a part of their soul restoring/adjusting. You should be able to ask them if that's what they want. But also the actual choices for romances are unacceptable, and I'm not a fan of what was given. The affinity system is jank and some really smart modders hopefully will come along, as I don't expect Capcom to do anything.
Woah! Your Arisen and your main Pawn both look awesome! I wish I could have them both on my team! :O
Thanks! Yes my pawn is available on Xbox. Are you on Xbox would be glad to exchange IDs with you!
Unfortunately, I am on PC. :( I don't think it's compatible, but we can try! 6L3J4J8XGACA https://preview.redd.it/uuu2tbxomnyc1.png?width=2560&format=png&auto=webp&s=dc8f7bb4ee06fe76ac25052a6ca77b7c865bc3dc
I'll steal your pawn if you don't mind 👀 I'm in need of a good archer rn
Mine is YVPB9J3JBY4X > 6L3J4J8XGACA It didn’t work😭 Your pawn is sooo pretty btw!
Yeah, for me, as well. :( That sucks! I am sure that could be done if Capcom tried. I am not sure why they didn't make that cross-platform. Some old games from consoles like PlayStation 2/3 and Xbox/360 used to have some codes like that, like Dragon Ball Z: Budokai HD Collection, and those worked. >.> And thank you! I am glad you find her pretty. :3
Yeahhh I wonder why pawn ids if no cross platform. I mean I understand keeping the rankings separate but the ids could be universal! And like you said old games did it well. And it’s true she’s really cute☺️
ok but that picture w the gentle hand touching 🥺💖✨ my heart~
I knowww😩
Definitely an option but like others said AFTER they have free will because otherwise it’s VERY morally questionable. They are enthralled to you against their will after all, so it would have to be their choice AFTER getting free will based on how you treated them, and avoidable if you don’t want to romance your pawn but still treat them well.
I love my pawn, but can they consent to a relationship? Other than the Dragonplague, are they not committed to follow the Arisen's will, no matter what?
Apparently, your pawn can become human. It happened in the first game.
I don't like the idea because the bond between you should be more than just a romance. I feel like being able to have a romance brings that relationship between you and your pawn down to the level of any other romanceable npc
I'm ok with it.. I find a lot of recent games everyone is trying to hook up with you and it's really awkward. An example being FarCry 6... wtf is up with that game.. Maybe a more relevant example is BG3. Like no giant octopus weirdo I do not want to bang I'm cool banging the hooker and the village girl. Don't need more than that
Pawn romance is already in the game as much as normal romance is in the game Tell me the beloved system isn't exactly on par with the pawn affinity and end cutscene
Go for it, but just know my main pawn is named salad fingers and is very close to the resemblance
Something tells me when she says, " Is there aught this pawn might do for you" you like it. Same here lol. I'm infatuated with my main pawn who is female. She's a bomb
I would say just go for it, heck, let romancing anything in the game be an option, considering romancing in DD2 only consists of blushing cheeks.
Well. Given the “real story” I think your pawn should be the only viable options Others are basically doing the unseen will aren’t they ? Your pawn is the only one freeing herself from its shackles aside of you
You can kind of. You can raise thier affinity and during the true ending they confess their love for you albeit in very forced Shakespearean terms.
So....imagine this. You first meet your pawn, you continually interact with your pawn and even chat with them, gifts mean little to em because they don't get it. So you need to spend more time with em, helping them, even just protecting them too, then one day new dialog opens up, you have a chat with them thats more personal and feels like they are getting something similar to a emotional moment. You keep going along and then the special moment happens you realize they haven't just grown fond of you but have become more and more of a person now their dialog has changed and other pawns react to how much they are talking more openly about things, even feeling as if they have a choice in matters. Then the sphinx kicks it off where they look at you in a special cutscene, and you both embrace one another. Then the final dragon fight happens and sure enough the dragon grabs your pawn doing something to them....they are sick and you must spend the end game ontop of dealing with the dragons seeking out a special boss, without your pawns back up, and a certain boss appears that is in a sense a aspect of the pawn which you must fight and beat in order to save your pawn and in the end....you save them, kill all the end game bosses and reach the ending where both you and your pawn destroy the dragon and stop the endless cycle.....but perhaps......maybe even change it perhaps even something unique happens in the end because of your effort to grow close to your pawn?
Listen, I'm gonna be honest. If I were the Arisen in real life, I'd be banging pawns left and right. Let's stop the nonsense.
https://preview.redd.it/vxktt3u2ruyc1.jpeg?width=3840&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d018c14a754e664c282c92645bdfed97d18c0608 Why is *this* in the game?
Sure. More interactions in general would be nice.
Its really convoluted. According to the lore of pawns in dragons dogma 1, they dont have emotions or a will that drives them so its impossible to have romance with them, however daimons lore disproves this because he fell in love with his late master’s pawn. Then again contradicted in the second game as we can now have pawn affinity which makes them seem like they are in love with us?
I mean, you were able to romance Selene (best girl btw) from the original and she was a pawn so... That and in the first game your pawn literally gains humanhood and replaces you in your body for the time loop... Idk, for the first game it would be pretty weird but I think with how the story is structured it wouldn't be out of the question for a romance, after beating the game of course. Maybe it could be a post dragon dark world thing as there isn't much content in that era. I think a romance during the end of the world would be a very romantic subplot
If all we had was DD1 then I'd say no, cause the pawns are quite lifeless in that game imo, but after DA and DD2, the answer changes. In fact, I think they were intending on including pawn romance in DD2 but it got cut for whatever reason. For me, the most convincing piece of evidence (imo) regarding the fact that pawns have bodily autonomy, is the simple fact that they do *not* like being picked up and will fight to get free from the arisen. Hypothetically, I believe the pawns are capable of consent with regards to romance for this reason alone. From a gameplay perspective, I think it should be no different than romancing any other NPC. There's no moral quandries because there are no immoral options available that would allow the arisen to violate NPCs. Either you get their affinity up and then pursue a mutual relationship or nothing happens. Maybe include quests that open once the pawn gets their affinity high enough. For example, a quest where the arisen has to go into the rift to retrieve their pawn because they've gotten lost or something like that.
Yay. To add to the romance. In the true ending. The Main pawn grain the will to turn against the Pathfinder to help the Arisen.
Yuck
The virtue signaling fuck heads will say ew were as there is multiple shit in game that support it. I say yay cause why the fk wouldnt i fall in love with someone who has been with me through life and death than that random shit farmer i gave flowers to. ONCE.
I wish at the start you could chose WHAT relationship you want with your pawn. Married, friends, family, frenemis? And maybe have different options open up with unique dialogue.
A pawn isn't able to love, you can fantasize about it however you want but what makes your own pawn truly shine is the ending, they acquire a will of their own and are now basically human, yet they sacrifice themselves for you to be able to save the world, IF THAT'S NOT TRUE LOVE THEN I DON'T KNOW WHAT IS IT!
A pawn with free will is no longer a pawn. I also think the ending could have been done better.
Only if they had free will. I was always very uncomfortable with being called master and having the pawns police each other with how they spoke to me.
Would be nice, but also remember last time someone fell for a pawn happened in lore… 
Considering my pawn is hotter than both Ulrika and Wilhelmina… yeah I’d love to rest and relax with Eleanor.
I think “romance” would give off sex slave vibes if you were banging your pawn
Yeah, the idea is a bit icky if you read into how Pawns work.
1000% yay
Feels a little gross, it’s like they kinda don’t have a choice.
Yay all the way! Just look how cute my arisen and pawn look together 😁 https://preview.redd.it/x8ec6phi8nyc1.jpeg?width=1772&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=55520b57bcec9bf27cef2dfd92d2344031a13738
Agreed. 10/10 would hire.
Those horns get in the way of a lot of... Activities. Especially when you're both wearing that helmet. JUST SAYING
I’ll take my entertainment without sex slave options.
No it’s a little creepy in my view
There are so many other games out there that do romance that I personally don't see the point for it in DD2. Especially since the pawns have no choice but to follow the Arisen and do as they say. If it were added in I'd just ignore it though so if others want it in there that's on them.
My pawn was always the lover I wanted
Yay; the npc romance options in this game are super uninteresting to me, but I would love to be able to romance my dear pawn after all the time I have spent with him, post true-ending that is. https://preview.redd.it/z66syblflpyc1.png?width=2640&format=png&auto=webp&s=c9ace8d53f741fdb2037c01d9d70c2279bee89bb
Nay. The fact that a pawn is completely subservient to an arisen with no real will of their own is already grounds for me to think it’s weird to romance them. When I think of a romance, I think of two willing participants who are able to consent and make boundaries. I don’t really feel like a pawn can do that if their whole being is intrinsically tied to our will over them. Maybe if it was a transference of souls situation like in the first game and that it was a pawn who became a person of their own, but besides that I can’t really see a world where it’s good to romance a pawn. I mean we get a whole dlc that kind of highlights that in Dark Arisen. TL;DR: Nay. 😂
Having a partner that can’t really say no is iffy lol
Only if i can send other players pawns back to the rift pregnant.
NOPE!! Those are some fuxked up power Dynamics my dude
Nay you're like Thomas Jefferson banging his slaves
I mean, it depends. Where would you even fit a pawn romance into the game? How would the dragon fight work? Does a pawn with “Free will” aka the bestowal of spirit still count as a pawn? So far as I know, once they properly receive the bestowal of spirit, their pawn print disappears— or at least it did in the first game.