I have been having problems posting new threads on the site, I would like to continue the conversation from where it was left off.

the last question was.

does having 5 or more "loyalty" missions sound reasonable for a character to fully open up to you as the player, opening the door for any and everything that you could encounter with them?

What else might help getting the romance to be more ..... appealing?

Romance has no place in video games IMO. As a reward for a loyalty mission: I'd rather have a bonus power unlock, a new piece of armor, tech upgrades, and 30000 credits to spend at my favorite store on the Citadel.

What is a loyalty mission?

As far as romance, it depends on how well it is done. In Skyrim it felt like it was tacked on. In contrast, In Final Fantasy 7, it almost broke my heart to see Cloud dealing with Aeris being killed.

Loyalty mission/quest = a quest/mission of a personal nature to the quest giver that upon successful completion by the player will increase the quest giver's disposition towards the player.

You mean like doing stuff for a Jarl so he/she likes you enough to buy property and become a Thane?

1 thing that romances should require is continued acceptable behaviour like in FO4 where even after you've started the romance it can still get broken off if you do enough things the character dislikes

A loyalty mission would be like, having a warrior in your army/party/team and he/she just learned that the little brother/sister is sick with something.

the mission could be just to see the kid before they die, added effect if you have a mage with you, they know whats wrong and need a single herb to cure the kid.

if you just visit the kid and they die, you get +10? points to greater loyalty.

help save kid you get +25? points to greater loyalty.

the mission doesnt actually help the player much in games like Mass Effect or Dragon Age, its a personal thing for X character, but it can add depth to the characters and also improve their personal relationships with the player.

in the same games, if you do the loyalty mission, anyone that can be romanced by the player, will become fully available.

my thoughts is that just one mission feels a little cheep, that having 5 or more, would result in true loyalty and friendship, maybe more if you play your cards right.

think of a game like the sims where you have a friendship bar, if there was a second bar that indicates loyalty, the characters could not be friends with you but still loyal, in that they didnt like what you did, but understand you have your reasons kind of mentality.

I always liked the idea that romance, depending on the world you are in, should not be so typical, that there are other kinds of them of every spectrum possible with all the pros and cons within reasons.

Ahh ok. I get it. Thanks for explaining!