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I never played a female as main character, so I sort of got to limit myself to commenting on the choice of females available to romance.

Possible spoilers follow. Though I am trying to change its colour;-)









But, they are all ... damaged and unstable... is there no more normal girls around as adventurers to romance. The same goes for the friends you pick up, the most normal one seems to be Keldorn, who just neglects his family. It is as if Bioware has envisioned some profound personal problem to all adventurers. Viconia is bitter and unbalanced with severe issues resulting from her abandoning her Drow heritage, Aerie is, I am sorry to say, full of self-pity over loosing her wings. Both are understandable, but TBH, I would see neither as potential GF though I have had some unbalanced ones and though I am an adventuresome viking fighting re-enactor. Minsc is crazy and talks to hamsters (I like Minsc, but he should be in a mental institution), Anomen is an arrogant a*se full of himself and likely because of his own family trouble. Valyagar is unbalanced and haunted by his family's past. Nalia feels she has to atone for her wealth by doling out alms, etc... where are the normal people? I mean, my friends are mostly Viking Re-enactors like myself, and some have a few small issues, as do I, but to keep such an entourage as the one available in SoA and to even fall for such a one... is pure madness. Yes people with issues often go further than others because they need strength to deal with the issues and can use that in other ways to push limits, but...

Any thoughts? Any idea why Bioware has thought it necessary to have the adventurers *so* unbalanced?

It's the same reason people like myself write and read fiction about and with characters who are "damaged goods"--they're interesting. A party that included Miss Mary Sue Average and her brother John, who talked incessantly about their happy family, and life working for a baker...wouldn't you find that boring? I know I would. I would also question whether such a person might actually choose to wrench themselves free of it and take up the dangerous career of adventuring. Typically, even in the realworld, mercenaries aren't the best psychologically adjusted people. The abandoned, borderline sociopaths, murderers on the run, the obsessed, those who have suffered great loss, or seek revenge: these are the people I would expect to find looking for companions on the road. And their stories would be interesting. The Canterbury pilgrims had very ordinary lives, but the tales they told on the way to their shrine were of fantasy heroes and villains. No one likes hearing about the average guy.

For the rest, the walking wounded that rise above their situation often find some kind of strength that lies outside the person who works 9-5 at a shoe store, however courteous and intelligent the latter may be. Just my take on it.

If you've ever met anybody in real life with no issues whatsoever, you're either very unobservant or they're very good liars.

I'm talking about when you really get to know somebody, not just casual relationships.

Any thoughts? Any idea why Bioware has thought it necessary to have the adventurers *so* unbalanced?

I think Fable sums it up pretty well.
For my own part, much as Klorox also alludes, I have yet to encounter somebody who turned out to be "normal."
Everyone I have ever met has experienced trauma of some kind or another. Moreover, in my view, we are shaped by our experiences. Sure, it is indeed possible to move on, and I think many people do that with considerable success; however, the fact remains that the scars we carry within are a fundamental part of who we are.
Personally, I feel there is no such thing as "normal," only varying degrees of emotional/psychological balance.

My two cents anyway

I think the only 'normal' characters who you can meet in virtual world are those from the Sims.

It is not that I disagree on the base, as should be obvious in the original post, just the magniyude...

Personally I would, and sometimes have, undertake "adventures" (and almost died in the process of one), and most of my friends have and would. And indeed most of us have some "bagage", but the magnitude of bagage in BGII is so stunning. You would spend more time dealing with it then fighting for your life...