I'm sorry - yes, bonded path means a tragedy. There are ToB-only NPCs, though: Iylos is fun, Irenicus(mage!) is exotic, Sarevok is... well... Sarevok.
As for a half-elf, it was never intended in the first place: I wanted to show a pair who belong to the same race, are bonded and meant to live a lifetime together(and cannot! Or, if they can, they have to go through a separation first - see non-bonded path). When I asked Domi if I could join BG1 NPC project with Xan Romance, she said yes and asked me to add a half-elven option(and, later, Domi added a few dialogues into the mod; without her, it would never be complete), so Xan romances half-elves in BG1.
In BG2, however, there is another way: friendship. You become closer and closer and closer, until one day, in ToB, you realize you are more than friends - you are each other's halves. There is romantic content, though not as much as in a "full romance".