Yeah, I'm not doing the magical hypnosis bullshit that suddenly turns the MC into an irresistible harem lord or sex god or whatever. He's going to do it the old-fashioned way - by being a good person and actually caring about people.
You've set multiple challenges for yourself, Panda, but I think this one is the biggest:
building a realistic harem. There are very, very few Devs that pull this off successfully. Most harem games on this site use one of two boring plot devices:
- the magical (penis, stone, etc.)/deux ex machina/hypnotism scheme, where the MC has some special power, or fantastic ally, that allows him to contort the minds of various females; or
- the wildly implausible parallel relationships route, where none of the female NPCs ever meet each other, despite all carrying on relationships with the MC.
The common problem that leads Devs to adopt these approaches is
not making the PC appealing to multiple women by being a good person (that's relatively easy), but creating a convincing story that allows multiple female characters to share the PC in ways that comport with their personalities. I'm not saying that poly-amorous relationships can't happen, of course... just that convincing the player that a well-written, strong female character like Maria would be open to them is extremely difficult without some sort of (dumb) magic trick/penis that ruins the erotic tension.
Literally the only game I know of that has well-written, strong female characters AND a plausible harem is _Now and Then_. And that only works because of the very close pre-crisis relationship between the two female principals, and the stresses/necessities of the post-apocalyptic world. And even then, the PC must make a careful effort to balance the time and attention he offers the women, or consequences potentially ensue.
At any rate, Panda, I'm really curious how you intend to tackle this challenge.