An Impromptu Witcher Lets Play - now with the Witcher 2!

[porous_shield]

Another good read. I'm glad to see you're sticking with it.

FYI: don't get your hopes up about anything coming of that broken bridge. The dentist is around in the next chapter and I remember dropping off some teeth to him.

That location was my favourite. I just love running through the fields and I like the rural feel of it...though running from one end of it to the other got annoying towards the end of my stay there.

The anti-drowner charm makes them run away from you which I found useful since drowners seemed to die even when I whiffed with the sword and fighting them was annoying. However, making them die or not respawn would have been preferable since sometimes you can't do certain actions when there are enemies nearby.

I think you should just go after Alvin since that quests takes a little while and you can maybe avoid some unnecessary running around.

 

[Bara_no_Hime]

I think you should just go after Alvin since that quests takes a little while and you can maybe avoid some unnecessary running around.

Righto.

However, upon booting up the game, I realized it's midnight, and I haven't yet established a free Rest Point to skip to morning.

So instead, I head to the field to kill monsters until morning. Ah, fun monster murder. And herb picking. Oh, look, some Wraiths. I need to kill a few anyway and - HOLY SHIT THE WILD HUNT! I haven't mandraked the candle yet and... I'm dead. Fuck.

....

Why no Auto-Saves at night?! Arg, I just lost half an hour of gameplay (killing random monsters and collecting herbs). Crap.

Okay, this time I pointedly save when entering the Fields. Sadly, the pack of Devourers I killed last time didn't respawn this time, so no XP or loot for me. Also, I'm annoyed, so I skip most of the herbs.

I take an alternative route to the druid circle, killing some Wyverns on the way, and save again. This time, I carefully kite two of the Wraiths away from the druid circle and kill them first. I save again, then run forward, past the other wraith, and click on the Shrine. One mandrake root on the candle!

I kill the last wraith, and the next wave, and the Wild Hunt arrives with the third wave. I down a swallow potion - and then a instant vitality potion - and kill all the wraiths. I keep trying to kill the Wild Hunt, but damn, it seems to have nigh-infinite HP. It slowly walks away while I keep hitting it and doing little/no damage (as far as it's HP indicator says). Anyway, the Wild Hunt buggers off, and the quest is listed as successful. Woot. I loot the dead wraiths and go see the Hermit, who offers me a choice of rewards.

A book (which I've read, so no), his hut (which is kinda tempting), and a mysterious key item. I take the key item. He also gives me anti-spirit salt which I equip in my second ring slot.

Anyway, it's morning, but since I'm still rolling on Swallow potions (and hallucinating red flickers from toxic overload) I decide to use my Regen to kill some more random critters, including a giant centipede and some more Noonwraiths, who seem to be very blase this early in the AM. Whatever, I kill they ass.

Back in the town, I stop by the Inn to drop off some loot and pick up that head the village chief wanted. Also the allip fangs. I head to see him first and turn in the loot. Yay Xp. Yay Level!

Then I go see Alvin. Alvin is... Alvin. Also, how is this place nicer than Triss's townhouse? Kid has weird standards.

I ask the bride-to-be to rest in her house, chuckling at the potential scandal. I level up and make a ton of potions. I'm now level 29 - one more level to get Gold medals!

Anyway, I now have three quests telling me to talk to some NPC at the inn, so I guess that's where I'm heading next.

... next time, as it happen.

 

[Bara_no_Hime]

Update.

Okay, so I headed to the inn, taking a long route to kill some centipedes. I bump into a bridge builder who needs some Grigs gotten rid of and asks me to ask the medicine woman.

When I get to the Inn, oh holy crap everyone wants to talk to Geralt!

First off, Celina, Alina's sister (so where are Belina, Dulina, and Elina?) is upset because her sister is getting married to Julian and he gave her a big diamond ring. Okay. And she says she'll fuck Geralt right here on the ground if he gives her a better ring.

As it happens, I still have that diamond ring that Triss turned her nose up at. One unsatisfying sex scene later, she tells Geralt that revenge is certainly not best served cold. Um... okay? Should I be concerned that she just referenced Khan? What, does that make Alina into Kirk? I don't think I can -

Alina: [HEADING=2]KHANN!!![/HEADING]

... this family frightens me.

Anyway... Dandelion is there too. Yay. He needs to talk to me about Alvin Apparently Alvin is supposed to be wearing a magic absorbing necklace, but Dandelion forgot to give it to him. Great job Dandelion.

And... my quest to check on Julian appears to have completed itself. When? Never mind, it was a dumb quest anyway. I stop in to see the medicine woman about the grigs, and it's Abigale! For some reason? Why isn't Alvin with her...? Oh whatever. She wants those devourer teeth (just need to find a few more) and says that I need to get a cat harness from the crypt. Righty oh.

First things first, though. I head to see Alvin, but he's gone and Alina's there. I reassure her about her crappy relationship and then ask about Alvin. Oh, he's out playing by those ruins.

You know, the ones with the [font color=hotpink]D[/font][font color=red]E[/font][font color=orange]A[/font][font color=green]D[/font] [font color=blue]B[/font][font color=darkblue]O[/font][font color=indigo]D[/font][font color=purple]Y[/font]!!!

**backhands Alina across the face**

... no, not really. Sadly, this isn't the Persona 4 comic fandub.

So I run to the ruins, getting attacked by THREE GIANT CENTIPEDES at once! Holy crap! Fire, burn them faster than they kill me! Yikes. Anyway... I SAVE after that, because damn. Also because I just got enough Centipede bits for the Elves. Yay!

Ahead, is... a Ghost. And Alvin. That's... not good. But the ghost is friendly! He just likes to play dice. Well, that's okay then. Can you come haunt somewhere less monster infested and play dice there?

Oh, wait, no, Geralt doesn't say any of that. He tells the ghost to fuck off. Okay Mr. Grumpy Pants, jeez. The ghost offers to gamble on Alvin.

....

Sure, why the hell not?

So it is Dice Time! I win two out of three with four of a kind on the last match. Also some minor coin. And the ghost goes off in a huff.

And then Alvin starts freaking the fuck out and talking funny while I get that necklace on him. And then he's fine. Except for talking creepy about some dream he has about Alina. Very creepy. Kay.

Apparently I now need to warn Julien. About... what exactly? Alvin's creepy dream? Apparently so, because when I get there, Julien says that Alina has gone missing in the thirty minutes since I last saw her (30 min real time, several hours game time, fine).

Alvin's dream tells me she's in the fields. So is the crypt with the harness. And so are devourers, since night has fallen. And I can take the field as a "short cut" to the shore where the elves are to drop off these centipede bits.

Yeah, let's go there next.

I head in and... Alvin is there. Wasn't he supposed to go home? He repeats his vision and my quest updates - apparently I can only find her when it's light out. Sure, that makes... sense. To the crypt!

I kill some devourers on the way and pull their teeth. Now I have enough for that quest too! Yay!

And Alvin is still following me. Damn it, kid, go home! Go to Abigale's! Go somewhere other than where I'm attempting to kill monsters!

Alvin waits outside the crypt. Fucking lovely.

Inside... holy shit undead. LOTS of undead. And Allips. LOTs of Allips. ... wait, are Allips undead in this world? They mostly look like succubi.

I grind up most of a level in here, killing the undead. I even find a unique undead and take his head. Awesome! I go through a couple of potions too, because DAMN Allips can get nasty. They have some sort of stun ability that has Geralt standing there while the enemies naw on his face. Ouch!

Anyway, I kill undead, loot them and their lootable objects, and move on to the actual plot. I find the grigs, prepare myself for battle... and nothing. They just stand there and watch as I take back the harness. OKAY. I was expecting a battle, but they don't seem to give two shits.

That was easy. On the way out, I get attacked my respawn allips and undead. DAMN these guys hit hard. I went through a ton of potions in there. But, I also leveled! Need to find somewhere to rest.

Once out of the crypt, Alvin is there again. Lovely. We head to the shore (killing monsters on the way) drop off the centipede bits with the elves, and then head back to the town. I stop in and see Abigale, and she takes the devourer teeth (I have spares now) and tells me to put the harness in another shrine near the bridge. Sure. I head that way, get attacked by more centipedes, and drop the item off (and get a clover). Goodie? I guess I'll give that to the mason when the sun rises.

Speaking of which, I head to town (killing more devourers on the way) and arrive just as sunrise is approaching. I find the village chief and turn over the unique undead head I found. Nice reward. I'm halfway to another level! HOwever, her won't let me sleep for free. Boo.

I go looking for someone who will, but Alina is missing, Alvin is still following me around, and Celina is no where to be found either (and her dad is in her bed... for some reason....)

Oh well, screw it. I'll level later. Now I'll head back to the mason and then to find Alina.

... next time.

 

[Norrdicus]

I'm kinda wondering how they'd frame the whole "Alvin/kid follows you around" in Witcher 2 if they tried doing the same thing again. He just kinda is there with you no matter how hard Geralt objects during Chapter 4, they didn't seem to put put much effort into properly explaining it, though it might have just been a while since I played

 

[porous_shield]

I'm kinda wondering how they'd frame the whole "Alvin/kid follows you around" in Witcher 2 if they tried doing the same thing again. He just kinda is there with you no matter how hard Geralt objects during Chapter 4, they didn't seem to put put much effort into properly explaining it, though it might have just been a while since I played

The Witcher world is pretty infested with monsters but I don't think to nearly the same extent as the game (it's been awhile since I read the books so I could misremembering) because everyone would be dead if that were the case so Alvin following you around is less stupidly suicidal than it seems.

 

[Bara_no_Hime]

Update: Well, this is gonna be a biggie. Let's get started.

So I picked herbs until the Mason got there. Then I gave him the clover. Chose the cash since I already read that book and I don't need another idiot kid following me around.

Then I headed into the Fields to find Alina. With Alvin, because... who the fuck knows, really. And I head to the spot indicated and...

Alina is fucking UNDEAD.

Er... I mean that Alina has become an undead. Not that she's having sex with a group of them. Although I don't think that would have been any more shocking.

Just as I'm What-The-Fucking post cut scene, I see two figures. It's Celina and Adam. Adam is chasing Celina! So Geralt will leap to the resc--

NOPE! Geralt just fucking STANDS THERE while Adam knifes Celina, the woman he had sex with yesterday, to death.

What the shit grilling fuck, Geralt?!

Celina respawns as a Wraith, like, instantly, and Adam runs off. And Geralt stops to chat with undead Celina.

I guess I know what happened to Belina, Dulina, and Elina. They were FUCKING MURDERED.

Anyway, after talking about putting Alina to rest (what about putting Celina to rest?!) I head after the murdering douchebag and... catch him! Wow, wasn't expecting that. And Geralt... chats with him. And then lets him go.

WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU GERALT?!

Geralt, you are a Witcher. That man just killed a human and created a monster. Your job is to KILL HIM. But no.

I go inform Julian about his fiancee being undead and his future sister-in-law being fucking MURDERED RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME WHILE GEARLT STOOD AND WATCHED. By the guy who was probably banging his now undead fiancee.

Julian is like "oh yeah, we should probably arrest Adam." NO fucking shit guy! What the hell is wrong with this town?!

Anyway, my rage aside, I'm supposed to talk to an expert about how to put her to rest (because, apparently stabbing her to death didn't work?) so I checked with Abigale. Apparently Alina owned a Nehelenia Mirror.

Sure, why the fuck not. Her mirror is broken. And transforming into angry glass clones probably. Apparently I need to go pick up the pieces. Sure, let's do that.

So off I go. And holy fuck, there really ARE clones of her (Alina) defending the mirror shards! So now I'm in an episode of Sailor Moon. Not that I'm complaining. At least in Sailor Moon, the heroes don't stand around while people get murdered a few yards away.

Speaking of which, where is Celina's wraith? I mean, it's day, so obviously she's not out at the moment, but I assume I need to find her later, and there's no quest icon for finding her. Or Adam, come to think of it, since no one is bothering to arrest him.

I collect the shards, and then I need to get someone to fix them. Blacksmith? Sure thing.

I head to see the Blacksmith. Then, since everyone who used to let me rest is fucking UNDEAD, I collect herbs for a few minutes until the mirror is fixed. I end up talking to the Blacksmith's wife. She wants me to give her some dust to get rid of a succubus. The Blacksmith wants different dust to fake his wife out.

I'd side with the wife, but... she offers me a book I don't need, whereas he offers me red meteorite. Crap. Meteorite it is. Sorry Mrs. Blacksmith. I also take this opportunity to upgrade my Silver Sword. Two Moon Runes and another Rune gives me +30% damage and +30% Silver Damage. I assume that's awesome. I lose some crit abilities, but gain +75% to another.

Back to the raspberry patch to show the mirror to Alina and... nothing. I need to talk to someone else now.

The game has no suggestions about whom.

And it's evening. I've been doing this all in-game day.

I stop off and see Julien. And, with his wedding called on account of DEAD BRIDE, he will finally talk about fish people. He wants me to kill Dagon. Oh goodie.

So, since I have nothing better to do until morning when I can ask people about Alina's ghost, I decide to go to the Island.

I speak with the Lady of the Lake, who offers to make peace if I bring her the right gifts. Also, SHE knows what to do with Alina - have Dandelion read her poetry. Kay. I go talk to the Fishman priest and, after looking at the altar, I ask for his gold bracelet. Then I find Julien and ask for a statue. I take them both back to the Lady of the Lake, and she rewards me with a drop of blood and a vague promise of a gift someday.

On to Dagon.

I summon Dagon. Dagon summons minions. And I can't... hit... Dagon.

OH. This is one of those "kill the minion" battles, eh? Which is fine, the Dagon minions go down easy, except that my attack keeps targeting Dagon instead of the minions. The camera is not being cooperative. I take a Swallow potion and keep going. Finally I kill the last minion and Dagon dies. Awesome.

I get a special Dagon alchemical item. But I have no potion recipe to use it. That kinda sucks. Any ideas about where I could get one?

I loot the many, many other corpses, kill some wyverns for kicks, and then head to see the Lady. She rewards me with what I eventually figure out is a Silver Level Up Coin. Yay!

So... that's the end of that quest. Peace restored.

Back to the Inn. I talk to Dandelion and he agrees to write a poem and meet me this evening.

It's... dawn.

I have no other current quests.

... maybe I should go kill some undead in the Crypt? Or check out the Barrows?

Or... does anyone know where I can find Celina's Wraith or Adam? I'd love to take care of those issues while I'm waiting on Dandelion.

Let me know.

 

[Norrdicus]

... maybe I should go kill some undead in the Crypt? Or check out the Barrows?

Or... does anyone know where I can find Celina's Wraith or Adam? I'd love to take care of those issues while I'm waiting on Dandelion.

Celina's wraith appears after you've dealt with Alina, and Adam gets arrested off screen the moment you tell Julian that he killed Celina.

To progress in the main quest, I believe you must talk to Lady of the Lake. Whether there are other requirements beside that, such as completing other quests, I don't know. I pretty much got the next main quest right after getting my reward from her

 

[Bara_no_Hime]

Update: Crap crap crap crap.

So, I went to the crypts to kill the afternoon and made the undead there my *****. Good times.

Then I met Dandelion by Alina. He made me make up poetry, which was hilarious! ^^ And then Celina showed up and Alina went to rest. Awesome! And Celina started to wander off to her fate, but I ran over to her and gave her that thing I got from the Druid earlier. Ah, so that's what it was for! Neat. Now they're both at rest.

I let Julian know. End of that quest. And then the Fisher King wants to talk.

OKAY then. Sure.

Oh, while I was killing time earlier, I also chatted with the druid about knights and learned that the Fisher King is A) immortal and B) apparently King Arthur. Weird. So when I talk to him, first thing I do is ask about that. And he talks! Mostly taking insult at the fact that Geralt called him an idiot. Ah well. The Lady wants to see me again. Reward time!

I head over there and she gives me Excalibur (it has a different name, but it's Excalibur). Except that this means that my newly upgraded sword ends up IN THE FUCKING WATER where I can't pick it up again. Damn it! I guess I should have saved those runes.

The plot quest seems... confused. It wants me to talk to the Lady, but she's gone now. Oh well, maybe talking to Alvin will help?

I head to the boat and - Berringer's here! And he confesses everything. And then he wants to fight. Okay. So I kill him and loot his corpse. That was simple. No more dealing with his bullshit.

I head back to shore and there are a bunch of Rose Knights here to kill the elves. The elves I've been helping, who know me from before.

I click on my People Sword and try to attack. I only get "talk" as an option. What the Fuck?! Why can't I just deal with these jerks? Because the plot wants me to follow it obviously. Fine. Let's do this.

I head to town and Dandelion fills me in. They have Alvin. Great. So can we kill the knights already? I keep offering to help, Geralt keeps being wishy-washy, and when he finally says "let's do this" - the Knights attack on their own. And Alvin gets scared and FUCKING TELEPORTS AWAY. Grr.

I kill the knights and loot their bodies. And... where is Tourval, the nice elf woman I got the bread for. I don't see her anywhere... is she fucking dead? Damn it! Stupid fucking Knights.

Okay, to the shore. The... knight commander is there, whining about them leaving against orders. I make sure to rub her nose in it a bit, because I'm hoping she'll start a fight so I can kill her. No such luck, she just mopes more.

I meet up with Dandelion and the Fisher King and we head off. And... and is that fucking Siegfried leading another attack on the town?! Turn the fucking boat around! I just saved that damn town - DAMN IT!

So... back to Visima. Which is on fire. I sit back and hum Fire Water Burn. I guess I can finally go to the swamp to fight the last boxer now. Get his tooth. Speaking of teeth, I can finish that quest too. Goodie.

Dandelion is kind enough to offer me storage at the shore, so I store everything I can - that I don't think I might need first off - and then I save.

Did I just finish Chapter 4? I didn't see it say "Chapter 5" but it certainly felt like the end of a Chapter.

 

[Bara_no_Hime]

Some random thoughts:

I quite liked Chapter 4, as many predicted. I'm sad to see it go (and I'm glad I did another run through the crypt - there're a lot of fun encounters down there). Also, the barrows turned out to just be those five graves. Anyway, I wasn't really happy to find myself back in Visima again. Are we going to continue using the same maps ad nausium? Or are we abandoning the old maps and getting some new ones?

The whole Arthur thing took me rather by surprise. So far, this has been very much a fantasy world. And then, suddenly, Arthur, the Lady of the Lake, the Holy Grail. The Hermit even provided the Di'Vinci Code version where the Holy Grail is actually the royal bloodline (a concept I have always loved). I'm not sure how I feel about the inclusion of real Earth legends in a fantasy world that works so hard to make itself Not Earth.

People said it was a huge aside from the plot, but I disagree. It was Beringer's chapter. He was the guy we were looking for, but it turns out he was the traitor who betrayed us in the first place. His actions set this whole series of events in motion. Him dumping the Fishpeople/Human conflict no me was the final symptom of that.

The wedding... I have no idea what that was. THAT part was an aside, I'll grant. It felt like it was going to be a big deal about the marriage, but then everyone got murdered and... yeah, that was that. Nice bit of sleight of hand on the part of the authors there.

I will say that I felt rather cheated about Adam. I didn't get to see his arrest, or see any evidence of it before the plot shoved me forward. I really wanted to kill him myself. **sigh**

Also, the same goes for the Rose Knights. I would have preferred to just take a Swallow potion and tank the mother fuckers right there on the shore.

For that matter, that last glimpse of a second group of Rose Knights apparently going to murder the Elves AND villagers I just saved (if that's what that was supposed to be) really kinda pisses me off. Way to make that whole chapter moot. It doesn't matter what I chose if everyone dies anyway.

Oh, which brings me to a confused point on choices.

So, when I used Dandelion's poem to de-curse Alina, I got a random flashback to saving Abigale in Chapter 1. As if doing that had some sort of effect on this quest. And, true, Abigale did give me some advice. But not about THIS part. The Dandelion plan was 100% the Lady of the Lake's idea. If Abigale was dead, I'd still have talked to the Lady and I'd still have done this with Dandelion. Why bring up my saving her NOW of all times?

I've noticed that about some of the "these are the decisions you made" flashes. They seem kinda... random. And often pointless. Again, what does it matter that I saved Abigale when the Rose Knights are going to murder her in a few hours?

After having a blast all through Chapter 4, I'm feeling a little... depressed. I've left Fun Land and am back to the annoying city. At least I can go to the Swamp now and box the Master Boxer and get his tooth, but still... more running around the city. Woo fucking hoo. **waves a sarcastic flag**

Unlike the last three chapters, where winning opened up new areas, this one is taking one away and putting me back in the old sandbox that I am already bored with. It feels like a step backwards.

Unless I'm gonna be restricted to Old Vizima and the Swamp. That would at least be semi-new. Still teh same old swamp, but at least I mildly enjoy the swamp - particularly now that I have the anti-drowner charm.

Oh, that. The anti-drowner charm. I like getting a big group of drowners who can't attack me and then killing them all with one fire spell. Very quick and easy. So that's nice.

I'm into the 30s now, on level, so I've been spending Gold medals on (so far) Silver sword techniques. I guess it's time to learn some Steel sword ones too.

Anyway, thus ends my random musings. Feel free to reply to any or all of the above. I'd love to hear some thoughts on these many ponderings.

 

[Norrdicus]

I head to the boat and - Berringer's here! And he confesses everything. And then he wants to fight. Okay. So I kill him and loot his corpse. That was simple. No more dealing with his bullshit.

Actually, you won't fight Berengar if you act sympathetic towards him. He's a bit thin-skinned though, I made him angry almost by accident. I wanted to scold him, berate him, but not kill him

Did I just finish Chapter 4? I didn't see it say "Chapter 5" but it certainly felt like the end of a Chapter.

Pretty much yes

Are we going to continue using the same maps ad nausium? Or are we abandoning the old maps and getting some new ones?

It's new maps, even the swamp is different, although were in same general area. The most similar area would be the burned down version of the Temple Quarter, but even that's turned into a linear combat section (debris covering up roads and whatnot).

The whole Arthur thing took me rather by surprise. So far, this has been very much a fantasy world. And then, suddenly, Arthur, the Lady of the Lake, the Holy Grail. The Hermit even provided the Di'Vinci Code version where the Holy Grail is actually the royal bloodline (a concept I have always loved). I'm not sure how I feel about the inclusion of real Earth legends in a fantasy world that works so hard to make itself Not Earth.

The Witcher universe always seemed to take so much inspiration from Germanic folklore and Middle Age habits that I didn't find the inclusion of King Arthur legends too weird. Then again, it never seems to take such large chunks of Earth legends ever again in the Witcher game series, so we can maybe chalk it up to the writers not being very experienced at this point.

Well, except that one random joke in Witcher 2 that reveals that Lord of the Rings, either as fiction or fact, exists in that universe.

Also, the same goes for the Rose Knights. I would have preferred to just take a Swallow potion and tank the mother fuckers right there on the shore.

For that matter, that last glimpse of a second group of Rose Knights apparently going to murder the Elves AND villagers I just saved (if that's what that was supposed to be) really kinda pisses me off. Way to make that whole chapter moot. It doesn't matter what I chose if everyone dies anyway.

Oh, which brings me to a confused point on choices.

So, when I used Dandelion's poem to de-curse Alina, I got a random flashback to saving Abigale in Chapter 1. As if doing that had some sort of effect on this quest. And, true, Abigale did give me some advice. But not about THIS part. The Dandelion plan was 100% the Lady of the Lake's idea. If Abigale was dead, I'd still have talked to the Lady and I'd still have done this with Dandelion. Why bring up my saving her NOW of all times?

I've noticed that about some of the "these are the decisions you made" flashes. They seem kinda... random. And often pointless. Again, what does it matter that I saved Abigale when the Rose Knights are going to murder her in a few hours?

Rose Knights murdering the village? Now, while I find your different perspective interesting, you continually ignore the details that'd imply that the Rose Knights are occasionally on higher moral grounds than the Scoia'tael. The village is a hostage, and White Rayla was sent to the village not demolish it, but to rescue them with minimal casualties. Hence why the initial stealth approach. You help the Scoia'tael and that village might remain a battleground. The blood is on their hands.

Edit: I found an LP where the player sided with Scoia'tael, and I'll now admit the conversation with Rayla (and whichever faction chooses to speak to you before the conflict) had VERY different tone. Makes the The Order look more bloodthirsty, while also making the Scoia'tael look more self-righteous and hypocritical

 

[Bara_no_Hime]

Hmm, sadly I'm a bit late in joining this thread. It's been a good read though.

Thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying it. ^^

It's new maps, even the swamp is different, although were in same general area. The most similar area would be the burned down version of the Temple Quarter, but even that's turned into a linear combat section (debris covering up roads and whatnot).

Oh good. I don't mind similar, but chapter 3 reusing chapter 2's maps 100% was a bit annoying. Particularly since most of the NPCs had relocated anyway, so the Temple district was mostly empty of people with things to do (aside from Carmen).

The Witcher universe always seemed to take so much inspiration from Germanic folklore and Middle Age habits that I didn't find the inclusion of King Arthur legends too weird. Then again, it never seems to take such large chunks of Earth legends ever again in the Witcher game series, so we can maybe chalk it up to the writers not being very experienced at this point.

Well, except that one random joke in Witcher 2 that reveals that Lord of the Rings, either as fiction or fact, exists in that universe.

Inspiration is one thing. If there was a legend about a Holy cup and knights trying to find it, fair enough. But this was far more direct. Like I said, they even went into the san gréal bit. And the Lady of the Lake (who isn't part of the Holy Grail legend, but IS key to Arthurian legend). And even a couple of the knight names were the names of knights associated with Arthurian legend. Obscure ones, yes, but still. Also, it's implied that the Fisher King IS Arthur, made immortal by the Lady of the Lake (which was supposed to be the deal). Is he going to end up the King of Vizima at the end of the game?

A joke would have been easier to deal with - that would have had a tongue-in-cheek, just kidding quality. The main plot of this chapter hinged on the characters from Arthurian legend. It was just... strange. Not even bad, necessarily, but jarring.

Rose Knights murdering the village? Now, while I find your different perspective interesting, you continually ignore the details that'd imply that the Rose Knights are occasionally on higher moral grounds than the Scoia'tael. The village is a hostage, and White Rayla was sent to the village not demolish it, but to rescue them with minimal casualties. Hence why the initial stealth approach. You help the Scoia'tael and that village might remain a battleground. The blood is on their hands.

Edit: I found an LP where the player sided with Scoia'tael, and I'll now admit the conversation with Rayla (and whichever faction chooses to speak to you before the conflict) had VERY different tone. Makes the The Order look more bloodthirsty, while also making the Scoia'tael look more self-righteous and hypocritical

Yeah. Seriously, she says "the villagers harbored the elves - they're traitors and will die (or be put on trial) along side them."

The Rose Knights heading towards the village at the end there is a LOT more sinister with that prelude.

However, since you bring it up, I wonder how much the story really does change depending on who you side with. Since I sided with the elves, they've been shown as mostly sympathetic. Yes, they do some extreme stuff, but they're fighting for their lives (and freedom). Whereas the Rose Knights come off as psychotic racists.

However, from what you've just said, apparently that isn't the case if you side with the Rose Knights. The game dialog apparently adjusts depending on who you've sided with.

Interesting. Very interesting. And rather impressive programming, I must say.

 

[Norrdicus]

A joke would have been easier to deal with - that would have had a tongue-in-cheek, just kidding quality. The main plot of this chapter hinged on the characters from Arthurian legend. It was just... strange. Not even bad, necessarily, but jarring.

I can understand being slightly confused by the inclusion of the Arthurian legen. It makes more sense than people deciding the game is very tongue-in-cheek due to the use of "et cetera" in a sentence. Yes, that has happened

Yeah. Seriously, she says "the villagers harbored the elves - they're traitors and will die (or be put on trial) along side them."

Well to play devil's advocate and assuming that Rayla didn't pull that "harboring" thing out of her ass, Scoia'tael turning on the village after being protected, and killing several people to see what'll make The Order to stop their chase, it really makes Scoia'tael out to be an extremely teacherous sort of group.

However, since you bring it up, I wonder how much the story really does change depending on who you side with. Since I sided with the elves, they've been shown as mostly sympathetic. Yes, they do some extreme stuff, but they're fighting for their lives (and freedom). Whereas the Rose Knights come off as psychotic racists.

However, from what you've just said, apparently that isn't the case if you side with the Rose Knights. The game dialog apparently adjusts depending on who you've sided with.

Interesting. Very interesting. And rather impressive programming, I must say.

The events themselves won't change, in fact they're pretty mirrored, but the dialog and therefore much of the context most definitely changes. In Witcher 2 however, things change. Different quests, areas, characters, major side-plots and even themes (I do hope you'll cover that too in this thread some day )

I think several pages ago, when I compared Scoia'tael to monsters to explain why The Order keeps hunting them, it apparently came from Chapter 4, when a nameless Order soldier confronts you and asks you to side with them right before re-entering the village. He "put it in terms a witcher can understand"; from the viewpoint of a witcher with no strong positive feelings towards the squirrels, comparing their actions to that of a desperate, hungry and cornered monster in the midst of innocent people makes a surprising amount of sense.

 

[Bara_no_Hime]

It makes more sense than people deciding the game is very tongue-in-cheek due to the use of "et cetera" in a sentence. Yes, that has happened

...? Why would the use of a perfectly normal word like et cetera be a joke? I feel that I'm missing something.

Well to play devil's advocate and assuming that Rayla didn't pull that "harboring" thing out of her ass, Scoia'tael turning on the village after being protected, and killing several people to see what'll make The Order to stop their chase, it really makes Scoia'tael out to be an extremely teacherous sort of group.

I'm pretty sure she did pull the harboring thing out of her ass. When I got there, the villagers certainly weren't 'harboring' anyone - they were prisoners.

Also, there's the issue of the Commander (who just showed up from the city) and Trouviel, who was trying to leave the battle. It seems pretty clear that Trouviel just wants out and was taking a group of what amounts to refugees away from the fighting - and doing so peacefully. Whereas the Commander (who doesn't get any other name) is a giant douche who led the Rose Knights to the town, took the hostages, killed the villagers, etc. HE's clearly a jerk. Trouviel just seems like she's trying to leave the war behind, but keeps getting drawn back into it.

I wanted to kill the Rose Knights to protect her and her refugees, not because I liked commander Ass-Hat.

Also, when I looked her up on the Wiki to remember how to spell her name, I saw that she has a sex card. Since it kinda seems like she died, I'm a bit sad that Geralt didn't get a chance to romance her. Oh well.

The events themselves won't change, in fact they're pretty mirrored, but the dialog and therefore much of the context most definitely changes.

Just having the cut scene dialog be different is pretty impressive. Most modern games don't bother - they just try to make the cut scenes as generic as possible so it doesn't matter what choices you've made. I remain impressed.

In Witcher 2 however, things change. Different quests, areas, characters, major side-plots and even themes (I do hope you'll cover that too in this thread some day )

It'll have to go on sale first. As much as I'm enjoying this one, I'm not ready to pay 20 bucks for the Witcher 2 yet. I might see if I can add it to my Amazon wishlist and see if someone else is willing to pay for it for me.

Otherwise, I've got it on my GOG wishlist. When it goes on sale again, I'll pick it up.

I think several pages ago, when I compared Scoia'tael to monsters to explain why The Order keeps hunting them, it apparently came from Chapter 4, when a nameless Order soldier confronts you and asks you to side with them right before re-entering the village. He "put it in terms a witcher can understand"; from the viewpoint of a witcher with no strong positive feelings towards the squirrels, comparing their actions to that of a desperate, hungry and cornered monster in the midst of innocent people makes a surprising amount of sense.

...? I didn't get that scene. No guard confronted me and said that stuff. Did I go to town the wrong way? Or maybe that only happens if you typically side with the Rose Knights? Or are neutral?

Anyway, for whatever reason, I didn't get that bit, so I can't really comment on it.

Oh, minor aside, I went just a BIT further. Not enough for an update. I mostly did it to level up at the Fire next to the King (the other King, I mean, from the mirror).

 

[porous_shield]

I'm pretty sure she did pull the harboring thing out of her ass. When I got there, the villagers certainly weren't 'harboring' anyone - they were prisoners.

Also, there's the issue of the Commander (who just showed up from the city) and Trouviel, who was trying to leave the battle. It seems pretty clear that Trouviel just wants out and was taking a group of what amounts to refugees away from the fighting - and doing so peacefully. Whereas the Commander (who doesn't get any other name) is a giant douche who led the Rose Knights to the town, took the hostages, killed the villagers, etc. HE's clearly a jerk. Trouviel just seems like she's trying to leave the war behind, but keeps getting drawn back into it.

I wanted to kill the Rose Knights to protect her and her refugees, not because I liked commander Ass-Hat.

Also, when I looked her up on the Wiki to remember how to spell her name, I saw that she has a sex card. Since it kinda seems like she died, I'm a bit sad that Geralt didn't get a chance to romance her. Oh well.

You'll have to remember that Rayla is a bit of a headcase and a extremist so it wouldn't surprise me with they pulled the harbouring out of their ass. Also, it was the elves that tortured her and cut off her hand if I'm not mistaken so there is a bit of a grudge there.

When I played through I was under the impression that the Squirrels taking the village was an act of desperation that turned into a massacre and I ended up not siding with either one of them. Side with the elves and there is a massacre, side with The Order and there is a massacre.

I think several pages ago, when I compared Scoia'tael to monsters to explain why The Order keeps hunting them, it apparently came from Chapter 4, when a nameless Order soldier confronts you and asks you to side with them right before re-entering the village. He "put it in terms a witcher can understand"; from the viewpoint of a witcher with no strong positive feelings towards the squirrels, comparing their actions to that of a desperate, hungry and cornered monster in the midst of innocent people makes a surprising amount of sense.

...? I didn't get that scene. No guard confronted me and said that stuff. Did I go to town the wrong way? Or maybe that only happens if you typically side with the Rose Knights? Or are neutral?

Anyway, for whatever reason, I didn't get that bit, so I can't really comment on it.

Oh, minor aside, I went just a BIT further. Not enough for an update. I mostly did it to level up at the Fire next to the King (the other King, I mean, from the mirror).

I sided with The Order and I remember that guy, maybe you just missed him.

 

[Norrdicus]

...? Why would the use of a perfectly normal word like et cetera be a joke? I feel that I'm missing something.

Don't worry, everyone else except the person who brought it up were very confused.

Just having the cut scene dialog be different is pretty impressive. Most modern games don't bother - they just try to make the cut scenes as generic as possible so it doesn't matter what choices you've made. I remain impressed.

Well, having a huge amount of fully voiced dialog is definitely impressive for a studio's first game.

...? I didn't get that scene. No guard confronted me and said that stuff. Did I go to town the wrong way? Or maybe that only happens if you typically side with the Rose Knights? Or are neutral?

Anyway, for whatever reason, I didn't get that bit, so I can't really comment on it.

I was fairly Order-aligned at that time, which undoubtly was the condition for his appearance. He came to me on the road between the shore and the village, unavoidable encounter

On the other hand, I didn't get the Scoia'tael soldier saying that they used the bank robbery money to arm their troops and that "We must make a stand here! Toruviel is a symbol, yadda yadda yadda" speech

When I played through I was under the impression that the Squirrels taking the village was an act of desperation that turned into a massacre and I ended up not siding with either one of them. Side with the elves and there is a massacre, side with The Order and there is a massacre.

I went with the logic "Run away and there'll definitely be a slow, messy massacre. Side with a faction and you might be able to make the odds so uneven that there might be survivors"

I was somewhat right, the villagers ended up okay.

 

[Bara_no_Hime]

Chapter 5 Begins

Okay, so after dropping off some stuff with Dandelion, I talked to the King and Carmen, but neither has much to say. I fought some Rose Knights with my dwarf friend, then I stopped to rest and level up (and make some potions). For some reason, even though Dandelion was supposed to stay with the King while the dwarf friend came with me, now Dandelion was back in my "party" and entered the city with me. OKAY. Whatever.

At this point I got the official Chapter V screen. And...

The King of Vizima (not that other King who I talked to outside) is riding around Old Vizima and gets ambushed by elves. And then the Rose Knights save him.

Okay... here's the thing. The Elf snipers were kicking ass. Why did they drop bows and go in melee? They could have sniped the King and been done with it. I'm just saying, bad strategy from the Squirrels on that one.

Anyway, Geralt shows up and gets hauled off to the Palace. Where I learn that - MOTHER FUCKER ADDA IS A FUCKING STIRGA AGAIN! ^^;; You guys must have been pissing your pants laughing at me when I stated reminding everyone about Adda being a Stirga in the short story, since it's in the damn game. Kudos to all of you for not spoiling that for me. **tips non-existent hat in your direction**

So, I'm supposed to talk to Velerad, Count Asshat, and Triss about this. I talk to Triss first to let her know about the Alvin situation. I also tell her I love her, because I think that Triss/Geralt is cute. She is generally supportive, but she also gripes at me about the Squirrels for... some reason? I'm not sure why, honestly, as she doesn't explain it. She almost sounds jealous, which makes no sense at all.

I talk to the Rose Knight next, and then Velerad. I learn stuff that I already knew but that Geralt had forgotten, so there's that. Also that there appears to have been foul play in her re-transformation. No shit Sherlock. Anyway, the King wants to see me again, so I head there. He wants me to save Adda (this old tune) and destroy the Salamanders (always happy to do what I was going to do anyway but for money). I tell him I'll do my best and head out.

First things first, however - I need to escort some Squirrels to the hospital. Which I do, incinerating Rose Knights on the way.

And here either my computer or the game itself has some issues. With all these Rose Knights and Squirrels and other crap on the map, the game gets really laggy during combat, making it practically impossible to land combos. I've tried pausing to let the game catch up, but it only kinda helps. However, what DOES work is Igni. By spamming Fire attacks at the Rose knights, they burn to death pretty well even if I can't land combos due to lag. Or due to Squirrels getting in my damn way, causing Geralt to stand there in confusion while the AI decides if it wants to walk around the Squirrel to attack the Rose Knight or just wait for me to do something else.

This only happens in Rose Knight vs Squirrel battles, mind. Other battles are fine (I ran into some Gravers later on).

Anyway, after slogging my way through some very slow combat, I get the refugees inside the hospital. There Shani has words for me. Bitter, grouchy words about trust. I wish there was an option for "it wasn't an issue of trust, Shani - it was an issue of competence" - which would have pissed her off all the same, but at least it would have pissed her off for the proper reason.

All this makes me wonder how Shani would have dealt with the situation in Chapter 4. How would Alvin have gotten to the swamp? Etc.

Anyway, first things first, Adda has been sited, and all quests demand that I deal with her first. So sure, I'll do that. I wade through some slow combats and make my way towards the quest icon. And when I get there - a "mutant" attacks. I kill it, and Kalkstine pops up to tell me that it wasn't Adda. Or a Stirga. Yes, I know, my GUI told me that already. Kalkstein explains... so basically I just killed a failed Witcher experiment created by the Salamanders? Great. Well, it went down like a punk, so I'm not too concerned.

I decide that this is an excellent time to follow up on that Blacksmith that my dwarf friend mentioned. I check in with him, and he's heard of this famous armor! And he can make me some... if I do HALF A DOZEN fetch quests for him.

Sure, why not. It's not like I dislike fetch quests when they involve delving dungeons. And it seems that all of these dungeons are in the Swamp. I guess I need to get to the swamp then.

I'm also supposed to head back to the hospital, and when I do (stopping to pick up some new contracts from the post outside) it is under attack from Rose Knights who want to kill all the wounded elves and dwarves (and Shani for aiding them). So I murder them. Again, fire seems to work best (once again, I got game slow-down). I switched to strong style for the boss Rose Knight and that seemed to help. I could at least get one combo before the game started getting stuck and denying me the second click.

Anyway, I loot the corpses, Shani thanks me for my aid, I loot upstairs just to be sure, and then head outside. And Touviel is there! She's alive! And has another squad of Rose Knights on her. This Rose Knight asks that I stick to "honorable" steel.

Fuck honor and fuck him. I set his smug ass on fire. Repeatedly. And strong style him while his minions burn.

Afterwards, Touviel asks me to come with her. She leads me to a hide out and then... Geralt is apparently looking at her funny. What follows is the BEST SEX SCENE IN THE WHOLE GAME. I will attempt to quote from memory.

Touviel: "Gearlt! Is this really the time? I can't believe - really, now? - the world is ending and all you can think about is sex? ... oh fuck it. Strip."

**GIANT GRIN**

I'm so glad Touviel's not dead. She's the best character in the game.

Her sex card is as stupid as the rest. Why is she outside by a tree? We were inside a building, in a burning city. Never mind.

For some reason, the game automatically took me into Meditation mode. So I made some potions to use up the random alcohol in my inventory.

And that's where I left off. The Squirrels want me to lead an attack on the Rose Knights, and it just so happens that I have all of the quest items for a "Druid" who is on the other side of said Rose Knights. Win fucking win.

Question: Since there's no inn, where do I go to drop off and pick up items? The Dike (where Dandelion may or may not still be)? I have the stuff for at least two more quests, but it's in storage.

 

[Norrdicus]

This only happens in Rose Knight vs Squirrel battles, mind. Other battles are fine (I ran into some Gravers later on).

Your computer has problems with loading the amount of fear on Order Knights' faces when they see you coming at them with bloodlust.

Anyway, after slogging my way through some very slow combat, I get the refugees inside the hospital. There Shani has words for me. Bitter, grouchy words about trust. I wish there was an option for "it wasn't an issue of trust, Shani - it was an issue of competence" - which would have pissed her off all the same, but at least it would have pissed her off for the proper reason.

All this makes me wonder how Shani would have dealt with the situation in Chapter 4. How would Alvin have gotten to the swamp? Etc.

Some quests involving Alvin would have changed in Chapter 4, and Shani prefers that Geralt go the neutral route instead of picking a side.

I decide that this is an excellent time to follow up on that Blacksmith that my dwarf friend mentioned. I check in with him, and he's heard of this famous armor! And he can make me some... if I do HALF A DOZEN fetch quests for him.

Sure, why not. It's not like I dislike fetch quests when they involve delving dungeons. And it seems that all of these dungeons are in the Swamp. I guess I need to get to the swamp then.

The series of quests to get the armor is crappy, but that armor is seriously good and will even transfer to Witcher 2 if you've got the completed save file with the armor in possession.

Question: Since there's no inn, where do I go to drop off and pick up items? The Dike (where Dandelion may or may not still be)? I have the stuff for at least two more quests, but it's in storage.

Either Zoltan or Dandelion at the dike, or maybe Shani too. Not too sure

 

[Bara_no_Hime]

The series of quests to get the armor is crappy, but that armor is seriously good and will even transfer to Witcher 2 if you've got the completed save file with the armor in possession.

It transfers to the Witcher 2?!

Oh yeah, I'm doing these quests. I want that armor.

Is it too soon to prioritize the armor quests? Is this going to be like the Tower in Chapter 2 where things dove-tail, or can I just put aside all this Princess/Elf stuff and go questing for magical armor whenever I want? Because, the sooner I get it, the more use I'll get out of it.

Either Zoltan or Dandelion at the dike, or maybe Shani too. Not too sure

Okay then. I'll need to stop by the Dike soon and do that.

Is the Dike still how I get to the Swamp? Or do I have to go through the crack in the wall?

 

[Norrdicus]

Is it too soon to prioritize the armor quests? Is this going to be like the Tower in Chapter 2 where things dove-tail, or can I just put aside all this Princess/Elf stuff and go questing for magical armor whenever I want? Because, the sooner I get it, the more use I'll get out of it.

You can't finish the quest before dealing with Adda, but make sure to finish it before you finally assault the Salamandra. After that, there's no turning back. Grand finale, baby

Is the Dike still how I get to the Swamp? Or do I have to go through the crack in the wall?

I think it's the crack in the city wall

 

[porous_shield]

Anyway, Geralt shows up and gets hauled off to the Palace. Where I learn that - MOTHER FUCKER ADDA IS A FUCKING STIRGA AGAIN! ^^;; You guys must have been pissing your pants laughing at me when I stated reminding everyone about Adda being a Stirga in the short story, since it's in the damn game. Kudos to all of you for not spoiling that for me. **tips non-existent hat in your direction**

When you talked about it it was a little funny and I'm glad no one spoiled it for you. So I guess you can see why she wanted some monster meat?

And here either my computer or the game itself has some issues. With all these Rose Knights and Squirrels and other crap on the map, the game gets really laggy during combat, making it practically impossible to land combos. I've tried pausing to let the game catch up, but it only kinda helps. However, what DOES work is Igni. By spamming Fire attacks at the Rose knights, they burn to death pretty well even if I can't land combos due to lag. Or due to Squirrels getting in my damn way, causing Geralt to stand there in confusion while the AI decides if it wants to walk around the Squirrel to attack the Rose Knight or just wait for me to do something else.

My computer had trouble loading that section as well and the thing I did, at least I think, to counter it was to angle the camera a little at the ground so that game wasn't loading so much scenery. A section coming up was particularly bad for me.

Afterwards, Touviel asks me to come with her. She leads me to a hide out and then... Geralt is apparently looking at her funny. What follows is the BEST SEX SCENE IN THE WHOLE GAME. I will attempt to quote from memory.

Touviel: "Gearlt! Is this really the time? I can't believe - really, now? - the world is ending and all you can think about is sex? ... oh fuck it. Strip."

**GIANT GRIN**

I'm so glad Touviel's not dead. She's the best character in the game.

Her sex card is as stupid as the rest. Why is she outside by a tree? We were inside a building, in a burning city. Never mind.

For some reason, the game automatically took me into Meditation mode. So I made some potions to use up the random alcohol in my inventory.

It was so good he had to meditate afterwards? My Geralt had sex with her in a cave in the last section but I was fairly order aligned. Yaevin and Touviel ranks are a little strange in this game. In the story Tourviel is actually a little higher ranked than Yaevin but it's the opposite in the game and I wonder why they did that.