Beloved

"And now again, the choice is yours, Arisen." This article provides information and/or facts that contain spoilers. Please read with caution or refrain from proceeding further.

...actions have consequences

The beloved is the Arisen's romantic interest or closest companion in Dragon's Dogma - the gifting of the Arisen's Bond is intended to signify the choice of beloved.

"Offer up the life of your beloved, here and now, and you shall live as sovereign of this land." - Grigori

Overview

The term "beloved" is used to describe a significant other in two quests : The Final Battle, and The Great Hereafter.

In the quest The Final Battle, "beloved" refers to the person kidnapped by The Dragon and held ransom.

In the quest The Great Hereafter, the "beloved" is the person who first meets the metamorphosised pawn on the beach at Cassardis.

Potential beloveds

Almost every character besides the Edmun Dragonsbane, the The Dragonforged, and any pawns can be kidnapped and become the Arisen's beloved.

Several key characters are more likely to become beloveds, as their questlines tend to maximise affinity if completed - they are Selene, Quina, Aelinore, Madeleine, Mercedes Marten, Reynard, Julien, and Valmiro.

To attempt to set a choice for beloved raise affinity as much as possible, preferably by gifting an Arisen's Bond. Potential conflicts can be settled by lowering other's affinities, possibly even resorting to the use of a Liquid Effluvium.

The choice

The "beloved" is chosen at the beginning of each quest that concerns the beloved. This choice is based on which person the Arisen has the highest Affinity with at that point. If multiple people share the same amount of affinity then the last person to reach that point is chosen.

• It is also thought that Aelinore is the default beloved, if the Arisen formed no lasting bonds with any other during the main quest.
• A Beloved is not chosen based on gender and it is entirely possible for your beloved to be the same gender as the Arisen.
• Though effective in greatly raising affinity gifting an Arisen's Bond does not absolutely guarantee that a person will be chosen.

Notes

Dragon's Dogma - Court Jester Romance (Ending Spoilers)

..someone has a lot of 'japes' to look forward too.

• Some characters as beloved can actually help greatly; for example, the traders Fournival, Reynard, or Mathias will move to Cassardis and make their sale items easier to access.
• The ease of gaining Merchant and Innkeeper affinity was greatly reduced as part of the changes made to the Dark Arisen version of the game to prevent Arisen accidentally entering into long-term relationships with people like Asalam and Caxton.