They have already said that there will be bind on legacy items - I would assume this would be the happy medium. I think the most powerful items in the game really shouldn't be able to be given to all your alts, but having a pretty darn powerful one would be pretty cool.

I'm not sure it would be as hard as your making it out to be there. The companion responses could be in line with your characters current alignment leaning (and could come from their already populated voice catalog of responses). As stated by the original poster and many since, the alt you "companionize" wouldn't be earning xp so its not really a quick leveling scam. I would imagine your skill options would pull from either your most used skills or defining character skills (my sawbones main would primarily have his healing skills, my vanguard would primarily have his taunt based skills). I actually think allowing the companion to have access to all their skills would make it unreasonable to coordinate as a companion, but allowing them access to their higher level skills would reflect the nature of the relationship between the companions (e.g. if my smuggler was level 50 and my trooper was level 20 the smuggler should still have his ship callin skill even when he's acting as a 20th level companion). I like it, its simple (relatively) and really gives the legacy system a feeling of family implementation. You could then have that epic family moment when Darth Vader turns on the Emperor to save Luke. Now really, now amazing would that be?

Actually what would be especially cool would be if your alt reacts to a situation as you've defined them (if you're main is a super do gooder and your alt is a baddie they could argue a little bit - we could call those moments "Thanksgiving Dinners").

Brother, I'm 31 work for a top 30 Forbes 500 Company working with over 300 client companies where I meet with their CEOs. I'm not saying its 100% but I would tell you that roughly 70% could stand to lose roughly 50% of their body mass. Sorry our life experiences are out of whack on this one. Also, I'm not arguing that the "best" CEOs are in shape, I'm arguing that the average CEOs are butterballs. The best of anything usually has more things going for them.

I think you are thinking of TV CEOs. I know many who if you tripped them they could roll in any direction for they are human beach balls.

Networking and money management combined with cunning social engineering. Have you ever seen the shape of most CEOs?

But didn't you just tell a great story? What if same sex relationships were demonized in the empire, wouldn't that make a companion character revealing to you that they were indeed homosexually oriented that much more meaningful? Wouldn't your reaction in either choosing to out your character and lead to his or her shame and or imprisonment or execution make for a powerful moment in storytelling? Wouldn't it make the choose to engage in a relationship that defies the conventions of the Empire or Republic that much more meaingful? Wouldn't that make you feel something which is essentially what this game is about? Bioware has more or less created the early lore of star wars so to say that a homosexual story hasn't been told yet equates to meaning that one can't be told or that it must mean homosexuals don't exist would mean we can't have any expansions with new races, ideas, or lightsaber colors (and wouldn't that get the nerds twitching).

The issue is choice not homoerotica. The easy question to ask yourself is if the ONLY option was same sex relationships would you have a problem with it? If so its hard to defend a position that only heterosexual relationships are kosher. It also has nothing to do with being lonely. My fiance and I play this game together, both of us play lightside characters and both of us have fun in playing someone other than ourselves and seeing the relationships that unfold based on the choices we make. In Dragon Age 2, which was a game with a lot of flaws, there was a great story moment when you have the option of turning down Anders when he makes a pass at your male character. This led to a moment of great storytelling where I felt awkward with the character. My point being that it made me feel connected to my decisions and my characters. I am a straight man arguing for the inclusion of these options because it opens up story arcs that can be very emotional and interesting. Also, I believe that only including one option cheapens the illusion of choice in the game. Not including the option in my opinion is (beyond any issues of potential homophobia or bigotry) simply bad storytelling as it ignores the opportunity to tell a great story and that is where I am most deeply disappointed in Bioware.

I'm going to tell you a story. One day a man ran across a busy street, pushed an old lady over. Completed a major merger at work, went home and beat up his kid before going out to dinner with his wife and giving her a Million dollar diamond ring. My problem is that to focus on same sex relationships is like reading that story and saying, "OMG! He jaywalked!!! That is UNACCEPTABLE!!" I believe we are looking at the statement saying that same sex relationships need to be kept out of the game (dramatically stated) "For the Children!!!!" That is bull in a game that is clearly not marketed to children, and offers content FAR more questionable again than in game story flirtation and consenting adult relationships between members of the same sex. So yes, that is a fairly reasonable response to the poster that brought up the argument in the first place.

Believing that your method of doing things is right and alternatives are wrong and that outside parties should cater soley to your persuasion is pretty much the definition of intolerance. Would you be okay if only homosexual relationships were offered? I'm guessing no, so yes... that would make one a hypocrite at best a bigot at worst. Please explain it to me in simple terms if I am misunderstanding the reason you think specific people's way of life should be banned from a game.

If you are of the mind that homosexual and heterosexual relationships are equal than the opportunity for "children" to see the emotional relationships unfold in one or the other should bother you equally (or not at all). If you are homophobic it would present a problem as the game wouldn't be furthering your personal beliefs (which it has no need to do). Same sex relationships are coming in a future patch, its already been confirmed by Bioware, so for all the parents that are TOTALLY fine with their child role playing someone who would kill a woman's husband, deliver his head back to her, and then have sex with her while making your slave watch but would be aghast at the prospect of Adam and Steve or Erin & Eve talking about their feelings for each other can go look for a game that caters to them.