anomen romance: much maligned - but really that bad?

[F. Gottwald]

i wonder why everyone seems to hate him and his romance... imo he´s one of the best-crafted characters in the game.
to his character: he´s very insecure and tries to hide it behind fake arrogance and exaggerated boasts - understandable if he was never really accepted by anyone (not by his father and grudgingly at best by the order). as the romance progresses, he opens up quite a bit and remains courteous and well-spoken... what is there to hate about him apart from a little covered-up insecurity? the romance is also the fullest in the game, allowing you to influence him to a large extent... whether he becomes what he always stived to become or he rejects the ties that always held him down, his character really grows as the story progresses.

all romance options are somewhat less than pleasant to be around with in the beginning; i really didn´t find anomen any more annoying than any of the girl options:
aerie whines and whines and whines.
jaheira can´t keep herself from bossing people around.
viconia can´t keep herself from hurling crude insults at everyone.

[ 05-09-2002, 11:39 AM: Message edited by: F. Gottwald ]

[Daniel_M]

Yes i agree, with you tho ive never tried Anomans romance before, he is a good baclup fighter/cleric with an annoying attitude to start. But he just grows on you

[Jerr Conner]

Originally posted by F. Gottwald: i wonder why everyone seems to hate him and his romance... imo he´s one of the best-crafted characters in the game. to his character: he´s very insecure and tries to hide it behind fake arrogance and exaggerated boasts - understandable if he was never really accepted by anyone (not by his father and grudgingly at best by the order). as the romance progresses, he opens up quite a bit and remains courteous and well-spoken... what is there to hate about him apart from a little covered-up insecurity? the romance is also the fullest in the game, allowing you to influence him to a large extent... whether he becomes what he always stived to become or he rejects the ties that always held him down, his character really grows as the story progresses. all romance options are somewhat less than pleasant to be around with in the beginning; i really didn´t find anomen any more annoying than any of the girl options: aerie whines and whines and whines. jaheira can´t keep herself from bossing people around. viconia can´t keep herself from hurling crude insults at everyone.

I agree. In fact, I can relate.

When you're not accepted, you tend to cover it up by exaggerating so that you can get accepted. It's just pure psychology with every character. Too many people seem to zero in on one thing and end up hating that character because of that one thing.

[Charean]

WOW!! I never thought ANYONE would ever agree with me on this one!!

I wrote a thread.. Many moons ago... in praise of Anomen. I got shot down in flames. He has some terrific Cleric abilities and does really well when he becomes a knight. The tricky part is getting him not to pound on that guy who killed his father (who totally deserved in IMO!)

But you are right... he is well fleshed out and I thought one of the most COMPLETE characters in the game. He can be annoying, but he does chill out and things progress... sad that folks have no patience for a guy who can walk up to a vampire and make it blow up.

[Helspanth]

I strongly agree with everyone else!
Anomen is one of the best defined characters in the game.I think that this is the reason why you get so extreme reactions about him.
And yes his romance along with Jaheira's are the best

[Morgeruat]

I also agree, I just finished SoA less than a month ago and I really liked the romance and am enjoying the turn it takes in ToB, nothing too grand, but nice still, and BTW I saw your previous post praising him and would have agreed had I had the time, I think the biggest turnoff is his speech-set, who wants to hear "what is it" everytime, but then hearing aerie whine about being tired all the time because of being tired (low con, and she casts restoration for me whenever i need it), is just as bad, however some of the best loved characters have incredibly funny things to say, like Jan or minsc, that help people not hate them right away.

[Jerr Conner]

Originally posted by Morgeruat: I also agree, I just finished SoA less than a month ago and I really liked the romance and am enjoying the turn it takes in ToB, nothing too grand, but nice still, and BTW I saw your previous post praising him and would have agreed had I had the time, I think the biggest turnoff is his speech-set, who wants to hear "what is it" everytime, but then hearing aerie whine about being tired all the time because of being tired (low con, and she casts restoration for me whenever i need it), is just as bad, however some of the best loved characters have incredibly funny things to say, like Jan or minsc, that help people not hate them right away.

I think that's the real problem. All of their speech sets aren't always so diverse. I like when Aerie screams: This is going to hurt you a lot more than it hurts me!

The problem with Anoymen for me is that truly roleplaying my characters does not allow me to keep him in the party. My Half-Elf female Kensai just wouldn't put up with his egotistical rubbish. Therefore, he's out!

[Faye]

As everyone is saying, he's a decent fighter with good character development, getting a lot less self-righteous in the end.

The only problem with him is that no matter how much he develops, there's always going to be somebody a little more interesting and useful than him.

[Tanoch Thas'ala]

Well, like IRL, I tend to stay away from people who are annoying. Think about it, your current boy/girl friend might be the most Beutiful person in the world, have agreat body, or a body type that you prefer, nice smile, intelligent..etc...but what would you be thinking of that person if all they did was whine and boast?

Sorry, anemone is too annoying to be around, hence he got dumped in favour of Aerie...Hell even she was less annoying to me than Anemone