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pik_d
Feb 24, 2006

follow the white dove





TRP Post of the Month October 2021

Palpek posted:

I feel like she has the right to see her biological dad before he dies (later in that choice) so Roche has to go.

This is the worst decision.

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Palpek
Dec 27, 2008


Do you feel it, Zach?
My coffee warned me about it.


pik_d posted:

This is the worst decision.
It's somehow funny that the single decision of letting Roche live or die decides about the lives of a few important people but also about the fate of the war, the fate of the empire and quite a few kingdoms and the future of your daughter. I know there are other choices involved and other ways to achieve those outcomes but in that particular path your love for Roche decides about Geralt's whole world.

CAPTAIN CAPSLOCK
Sep 11, 2001



Roche spinoff. Buddy comedy where Letho shows up just to annoy him and Ves.

Palpek
Dec 27, 2008


Do you feel it, Zach?
My coffee warned me about it.


CAPTAIN CAPSLOCK posted:

Roche spinoff. Buddy comedy where Letho shows up just to annoy him and Ves.
In the ending of one of the episodes Letho says "I hate portals" and winks at the camera and there's a long laugh track while the show's credits roll over the freeze-frame.

Tacky-Ass Rococco
Sep 7, 2010

by R. Guyovich
Having read the books after playing the game, Ciri puts so much internal emphasis on being a witcheress that I will never, ever take her to see her biological dad again on replay. All she wants to do is pirouette. :unsmith:

Fishstick
Jul 9, 2005

Does not require preheating

Palpek posted:

It's somehow funny that the single decision of letting Roche live or die decides about the lives of a few important people but also about the fate of the war, the fate of the empire and quite a few kingdoms and the future of your daughter. I know there are other choices involved and other ways to achieve those outcomes but in that particular path your love for Roche decides about Geralt's whole world.

When that decision comes to see Emhyr, you almost have to coerce her into it. She really does not want to go.


Also, replaying the soothsayer quest ]I didnt recognize it because it's like 50+ hours later, but replaying it now The white wolf heads into a solitary tower in a blizzard, and the swallow ignores the Wolf's heeds or something to that effect - goddamn.

The Sharmat
Sep 5, 2011

by Lowtax

Palpek posted:

I feel like she has the right to see her biological dad before he dies (later in that choice) so Roche has to go.

On the contrary, she has the right not to. Her biological dad (who she doesn't remember, for the most part) murdered her mother, destroyed her country and everything she loved, and nearly killed Geralt and Yennefer in the process of trying to abduct and rape her.

Pellisworth
Jun 20, 2005
In case there was any confusion, there are multiple tiers of Witcher gear sets in NG+ and I really was not exaggerating when I said it's basically just the regular game +30 levels.

There is Legendary Witcher gear, which comes in the same tiers as in the regular game. So you'll pick up schematics for Legendary Cat gear - Enhanced and Legendary Cat gear - Superior etc.

The materials look the same as in the base game so crafting them should be easy. But you'll need to do the scavenger quests again.

Fishstick
Jul 9, 2005

Does not require preheating

Pellisworth posted:

In case there was any confusion, there are multiple tiers of Witcher gear sets in NG+ and I really was not exaggerating when I said it's basically just the regular game +30 levels.

There is Legendary Witcher gear, which comes in the same tiers as in the regular game. So you'll pick up schematics for Legendary Cat gear - Enhanced and Legendary Cat gear - Superior etc.

The materials look the same as in the base game so crafting them should be easy. But you'll need to do the scavenger quests again.

Yeah - and the Legendary gear does not require mastercrafted beforehand. It's literally just the same progression of basic/enhanced/superior, except now it's Legendary, has bigger stats, and is level-scaled. In White Orchard you can once again find the serpentine swords. Depending on your build though, the mastercrafted might still be better than at least the base Legendary. All the diagrams are in the same place as they are in normal.

Manatee Cannon
Aug 26, 2010



If they're level dependent, would you be better off just not picking up the diagrams until the end game in NG+?

Fishstick
Jul 9, 2005

Does not require preheating

Manatee Cannon posted:

If they're level dependent, would you be better off just not picking up the diagrams until the end game in NG+?

When I said level-scaled I meant that the 'base' legendary armors are basically +30 levels from the normal run. ie - the white orchard serpentine swords now require level 31, and the griffin school diagram hunt quest suggests level 41 - but I'm assuming the base armor is anywhere from 38 to 41 if its really just +30. Witcher gear is always gated at specific levels, and it looks like its normal + 30 in NG+. The "Go to skellige" quest was 16 in normal, it's 46 now.

So you wanna pick em up when you get em (or don't, i guess), but the basic legendary stuff might still be outclassed by your mastercrafted gear outside of some exceptions.

Spite
Jul 27, 2001

Small chance of that...

Jack of Hearts posted:

Having read the books after playing the game, Ciri puts so much internal emphasis on being a witcheress that I will never, ever take her to see her biological dad again on replay. All she wants to do is pirouette. :unsmith:

Also her biological dad is a terrible, terrible, terrible human being and the game doesn't really show you how ruthless and terrible he is. There is a reason he's basically the only person Yennefer defers to in the game. He's probably one of the only people she's actually wary of.

also Given what I recall of the books I don't believe for a second he'd actually abdicate the throne.

The Sharmat
Sep 5, 2011

by Lowtax
He's not doing it by choice.

Manatee Cannon
Aug 26, 2010



Fishstick posted:

When I said level-scaled I meant that the 'base' legendary armors are basically +30 levels from the normal run. ie - the white orchard serpentine swords now require level 31, and the griffin school diagram hunt quest suggests level 41 - but I'm assuming the base armor is anywhere from 38 to 41 if its really just +30. Witcher gear is always gated at specific levels, and it looks like its normal + 30 in NG+. The "Go to skellige" quest was 16 in normal, it's 46 now.

So you wanna pick em up when you get em (or don't, i guess), but the basic legendary stuff might still be outclassed by your mastercrafted gear outside of some exceptions.

Ah, alright. Thanks for the clarification; I appreciate it.

Spite posted:

also Given what I recall of the books I don't believe for a second he'd actually abdicate the throne.

Yeah that's what I thought as well going in. I didn't trust him at all.

Gooch181
Jan 1, 2008

The Gooch

The Iron Rose posted:

Phoneposting so I can't link it but it's called Active Learner on the witcher nexus

Thanks!

Supreme Allah
Oct 6, 2004

everybody relax, i'm here
Nap Ghost
Question about Bloody Baron/Family Matters quest

I went the route that saves the orphans. Anna dies and obviously the baron goes kaput and his rear end in a top hat men take over. In the other outcome, where the baron leaves with his wife, do the rear end in a top hat men still take over? Seems he's out of the picture either way.

MrJacobs
Sep 15, 2008

Supreme Allah posted:

Question about Bloody Baron/Family Matters quest

I went the route that saves the orphans. Anna dies and obviously the baron goes kaput and his rear end in a top hat men take over. In the other outcome, where the baron leaves with his wife, do the rear end in a top hat men still take over? Seems he's out of the picture either way.

yep.

Supreme Allah
Oct 6, 2004

everybody relax, i'm here
Nap Ghost

Good, makes me feel better that some bad crap happens either way.

Fishstick
Jul 9, 2005

Does not require preheating
Man, replaying this game lets me see a lot more detail I wouldn't have otherwise noticed. In Towerful of Mice, if you distrust her and bring the fisherman to fyke isle, the early conversation with him as it shows his Annabelle shrine, there is a literal noose swinging in the background as you talk to him I didn't get a shot during the actual conversation because I only just noticed it, but it's really there:




He really loved her, built a creepy shrine, and was prepared to kill himself over it - so maybe either outcome here is a happy ending?

Fishstick fucked around with this message at 00:56 on Aug 26, 2015

Beeez
May 28, 2012

Fishstick posted:

Man, replaying this game lets me see a lot more detail I wouldn't have otherwise noticed. In Towerful of Mice, if you distrust her and bring the fisherman to fyke isle, the early conversation with him as it shows his Annabelle shrine, there is a literal noose swinging in the background as you talk to him I didn't get a shot during the actual conversation because I only just noticed it, but it's really there:




He really loved her, built a creepy shrine, and was prepared to kill himself over it - so maybe either outcome here is a happy ending?

Well, it sounds like the outcomes are ultimately pretty similar. He just has slightly more warning in one than the other. Good catch.

Spite
Jul 27, 2001

Small chance of that...

The Sharmat posted:

He's not doing it by choice.

Sure, but it still doesn't fit his character to me. He went through a lot to get the throne, and I'd think they'd have to kill him before he left it.

Also why would Nilfgaard accept his absent daughter who hangs out with witchers and sorceresses as empress? Ciri's great, but she is really not cut out to be the leader of Nilfgaard. She's way too nice, for starters.

They also don't mention the whole "wanted to father Ciri's child" thing at all in the game, which is kind of an important point.

Manatee Cannon
Aug 26, 2010



Spite posted:

Sure, but it still doesn't fit his character to me. He went through a lot to get the throne, and I'd think they'd have to kill him before he left it.

Also why would Nilfgaard accept his absent daughter who hangs out with witchers and sorceresses as empress? Ciri's great, but she is really not cut out to be the leader of Nilfgaard. She's way too nice, for starters.

They also don't mention the whole "wanted to father Ciri's child" thing at all in the game, which is kind of an important point.


Another weird thing about it is that he marries a lookalike impostor of Ciri in the books. Him bringing back the real deal now and naming her his heir would surely bring a ton of problems about. Though yeah, his plans for Ciri in the books is pretty important information to leave out and I figure they just did it so people are actually willing to bring her to him.

edit: tho I suppose you can just make your own assumptions about anything that isn't explicitly referenced from the books since they are willing to retcon when they feel the need. I just assume the books stay true unless stated otherwise, but it's valid to assume they don't when you don't want them to.

Manatee Cannon fucked around with this message at 01:37 on Aug 26, 2015

Cirosan
Jan 3, 2012

I finally found the time to go back and replay the earlier Witcher games, and I have to say there's a surprising amount of foreshadowing and thematic connections bridging the first game in the series to the last. You'd be surprised just how many of the events of TW3 were foretold way back in TW1's Temeria. So being the friendless loser that I am, I decided to sit down for an evening and make a list of all the connections - narrative, symbolic, and thematic - that connect TW1 to TW3.

NB: I've never read any of the books, so this is all just game continuity. I also made a post way back clarifying how TW2 leads into TW3, so you may want to read that too if you haven't already. As usual, if I haven't been vigilant enough with spoiler tags, let me know. Now without further ado, let the neckbearded analysis begin.

* Did TW3's epilogue quest "Something Ends, Something Begins" sound oddly familiar to you? It should. That very phrase actually appears at the end of TW1, during the epilogue, in two different places - in the journal, and in conversation with Dandelion just before the credits. If Geralt picks the dialogue choice that says he feels like his life is just beginning, he recites that phrase verbatim in reference to the lifecycle of a Witcher from job-to-job. Further, recalling that TW1 is the only game where the journal is written from Geralt's perspective (2 and 3's are written by Dandelion), the final objective that Geralt writes in his journal after reclaiming the stolen secrets is simply, "Something ends, something begins." This technically makes it the final words of the game, and its use as the title of TW3's epilogue quest brings Geralt's journey full circle.

* Radovid actually appears in all three games, and his actions in later games are all but telegraphed during his appearance in TW1. When Geralt first speaks to him, Radovid mentions in passing that he wants to see the mages "put in their place" one day, foretelling his literal witch hunt in TW3. Further, when asked about his marriage to Adda, he speaks entirely in terms of what the economic benefits would be, demonstrating his deep pragmatism. But the best example of how Radovid is a man to watch out for actually comes much later, and was mostly lost in translation...

* Towards the end of TW1, Foltest asks for Radovid's help in driving out the rogue Order of the Flaming Rose. In response, Radovid says that he will "embark on a mission of fraternal assistance" - a choice of words that makes Foltest strangely angry. The nuance of this exchange was unfortunately lost in translation: way back when the Soviets were still a thing, some countries - including Poland - tried to break away by voting for reform. The reform vote was successful, but the Soviets weren't about to take any of that poo poo and just marched in and put down any reformers. Their excuse? They were going on a mission of "fraternal assistance", because not EVERY Polish person wanted to leave the Soviet Union (even if they were in the minority) so obviously the Soviets just had to step in and help them out. It wasn't an invasion or anything, honest. The point is, invoking the phrase "fraternal assistance" has deeply ominous connotations in Polish, for obvious reasons. In English, that connotation is lost. Indeed, Radovid using that phrase in his negotiations with Foltest was a calculated move: he's using an emotionally loaded phrase to gently caress with Foltest and remind him who's really in control here. In this context, Foltest's sudden outburst of anger makes a lot more sense - he's calling Radovid out on being so brazen with his threats. This small exchange - coupled with the examples above - forewarn Radovid's ambition and cunning long before he becomes a major player.

* The Wild Hunt is mentioned as early as TW1's prologue, and Ciri's involvement is hinted at just as early. In the prologue, Vesemir and co. explain that they found Geralt after a "magic storm" and that the Wild Hunt showed up soon after. Eskel even wanted to chase after them, but getting the unconscious Geralt back to safety was a bigger concern. Coupled with what we know from TW3 and Ciri's involvement in Geralt's escape from the Wild Hunt, this "magic storm" was likely a mini-version of what happened when Ciri tried to teleport in Skellige, coupled with the Wild Hunt's usual weather shenanigans.

* Similarly, a specter of the Wild Hunt appears to Geralt during a sidequest in Act 1 of TW1, and asks if Geralt believes he truly has free will. At first blush, it's a bog standard method of asking the player if they believe in destiny. Knowing more of what we know from later games, the scene takes on a completely different meaning. Think about it: a representative of the Wild Hunt - Geralt's former captor and the group responsible for driving his adoptive daughter away - is asking if Geralt thinks he's free. So, while forced into the middle of another quest that draws Geralt into another web of political intrigue that he wants no part of, Geralt's former jailer and the guy hunting the child that is connected to Geralt by destiny... asks if Geralt thinks he's truly free. Again, the specter is loving with Geralt - if you answer that you believe in free will, the specter is all but bursting into laughter. He may even summon the spirit of a redshirt from the prologue just to rub it in.

* Remember the table that Uma was connected to during the ritual to restore his form? It actually showed up once before, in the opening cinematic of TW1 - Geralt is hauled back to Kaer Morhen by Vesemir and co. on a cart. If you look closely, you'll note that it's actually more of a table - the very same one used in Uma's ritual two games later. This throws Geralt's comment about "Why haven't you thrown that thing [the table] away already?" into a whole new light: it represents the two points in Geralt's life in which he was most vulnerable. Once as a child during his own Trial of the Grasses; and once when he had to be carried back to Kaer Morhen, half-dead, in front of all of his friends.

* Speaking of Uma, did the quest title "Va Fail, Elaine" seem weird to you? It should. A quick glance at the wiki reveals that it's Elder Speech (the one that elves use). "Va Fail, Elaine" actually translates to "Goodbye, Beautiful" - a clearly sarcastic quip about curing Uma's condition. It's a long way to go for such a stupid joke, but hey, that's The Witcher series for you.

* At the end of the prologue of TW1, Geralt throws his sword in a last ditch effort to kill the Professor. He's right on the mark, but the Professor steps through Azar Javed's portal before the blade can connect. Two games later, Ciri throws her sword at the final crone during the boss battle with them - again, she's right on the mark, but the crone transforms into a murder of crows and flies off before the blade can connect. Finally, during the bad ending, Geralt uses that move again - successfully this time, killing the crone before she can flee. He retrieves Ciri's amulet from her and effectively commits suicide. This simple act - throwing the blade at a fleeing target - bookends Geralt's journey from rebirth and back to death, and the actual act of Geralt throwing the blade is something of a "farewell to arms", if you will.

* An inkeeper in Act 4 will tell Geralt the story of his life with Yennefer and Ciri, but only refers to them as "the witcher", the "sorceress," and "the princess," respectively. Geralt even remarks that making "the princess" (Ciri) a witcher AND a sorceress AND a princess is overkill and detracts from the story. Neither the innkeeper nor Geralt realize the significance of the story, given that Geralt still his full plot amnesia at this point.

* Triss is speaking with Keira Metz via megascope at the beginning of Act 3 about the turmoil in Foltest's court, although Keira is never mentioned by name.

* Similarly, both Thaler and Vivaldi both mention Dijkstra by name long before he'll become relevant. You can even meet Dijkstra's former second-in-command, though it's such an obscure easter egg most people never found it. I know I sure didn't on my first go.

* A redshirt dies during the prologue of TW1 and is given a pyre funeral. The funerary rites are identical to those performed after Vesemir's death in TW3.

There's quite a few more but I have to get up early and I've already put far too much effort into this. Hopefully someone will get something out of my rambling observations.

Palpek
Dec 27, 2008


Do you feel it, Zach?
My coffee warned me about it.


Supreme Allah posted:

Question about Bloody Baron/Family Matters quest

I went the route that saves the orphans. Anna dies and obviously the baron goes kaput and his rear end in a top hat men take over. In the other outcome, where the baron leaves with his wife, do the rear end in a top hat men still take over? Seems he's out of the picture either way.
There's another secret way to do this. If you free the spirit before even going to the Crones for the first time they won't kill Anna for that when you finally go to them so you save the kids but don't get the worst outcome for Baron's family.

OatBoy
Nov 18, 2004

What can I say, it's my nature
I'm playing on NG+ on DM and I'm finding it really easy. Maybe my alchemy build just scaled up well, I don't know.

Palpek
Dec 27, 2008


Do you feel it, Zach?
My coffee warned me about it.


Another question about the ending: if you kill Radovid but side with Roche and Ciri becomes a witcher/Emhyr dies then what becomes of Northern kingdoms? They're back to the situation before the war or does somebody else take over them?

Also regarding the Crones: it sucks that you have to have Ciri die in order to get the sequence where you kill that last one that survived.

Manatee Cannon
Aug 26, 2010



Palpek posted:

Another question about the ending: if you kill Radovid but side with Roche and Ciri becomes a witcher/Emhyr dies then what becomes of Northern kingdoms? They're back to the situation before the war or does somebody else take over them?

Also regarding the Crones: it sucks that you have to have Ciri die in order to get the sequence where you kill that last one that survived.

Ciri's ending doesn't take Reason of State into account at all. Emhyr's does (if Nilfgaard loses and Ciri doesn't become the empress, he dies) but Ciri's ending doesn't even mention that stuff. Basically the fate of the north depends entirely on how you play out Reason of State: if Radovid lives, Nilfgaard loses; if Radovid is dead and you side with Djikstra, Nilfgaard loses; if Radovid is dead and you side with Roche, Nilfgaard wins and Temaria is restored but becomes a part of Nilfgaard.


I like that the last Crone only dies if Ciri does, since they don't really have much reason to chase after her otherwise. Unless Ciri is really missing that pendant, I suppose. There are monsters as bad or worse out there.

Palpek
Dec 27, 2008


Do you feel it, Zach?
My coffee warned me about it.


Manatee Cannon posted:

Ciri's ending doesn't take Reason of State into account at all. Emhyr's does (if Nilfgaard loses and Ciri doesn't become the empress, he dies) but Ciri's ending doesn't even mention that stuff. Basically the fate of the north depends entirely on how you play out Reason of State: if Radovid lives, Nilfgaard loses; if Radovid is dead and you side with Djikstra, Nilfgaard loses; if Radovid is dead and you side with Roche, Nilfgaard wins and Temaria is restored but becomes a part of Nilfgaard.


I like that the last Crone only dies if Ciri does, since they don't really have much reason to chase after her otherwise. Unless Ciri is really missing that pendant, I suppose. There are monsters as bad or worse out there.

Ah ok I thought that Emhyr not having a descendant would mean that he gets killed because of internal affairs and Nilfgaard loses while the Northern Realms end up not having either Radovid or Dijkstra rule over them so I was curious what happens there but it makes more sense that whether Emhyr has Ciri or not doesn't influence his fate if he easily wins the war against kingdoms lacking a ruler before having a descendant even becomes an issue.

Palpek
Dec 27, 2008


Do you feel it, Zach?
My coffee warned me about it.


Cirosan posted:

*TW1-TW3 references*
Also I just wanted to let you know that I read all this and it's very cool and interesting so your work is appreciated and if you want to write more I'll definitely read that too.

GrossMurpel
Apr 8, 2011

Cirosan posted:


* Did TW3's epilogue quest "Something Ends, Something Begins" sound oddly familiar to you? It should. That very phrase actually appears at the end of TW1, during the epilogue, in two different places - in the journal, and in conversation with Dandelion just before the credits.


It's also the name of a non-canon short story in which Yen and Geralt marry, so it had some significance before that.

quote:

* Radovid actually appears in all three games, and his actions in later games are all but telegraphed during his appearance in TW1. When Geralt first speaks to him, Radovid mentions in passing that he wants to see the mages "put in their place" one day, foretelling his literal witch hunt in TW3. Further, when asked about his marriage to Adda, he speaks entirely in terms of what the economic benefits would be, demonstrating his deep pragmatism. But the best example of how Radovid is a man to watch out for actually comes much later, and was mostly lost in translation...

I always felt like Radovid was kind of pragmatic but through the events in the last act of W2 he just got pushed into complete madness.

quote:

* Similarly, a specter of the Wild Hunt appears to Geralt during a sidequest in Act 1 of TW1, and asks if Geralt believes he truly has free will. At first blush, it's a bog standard method of asking the player if they believe in destiny. Knowing more of what we know from later games, the scene takes on a completely different meaning. Think about it: a representative of the Wild Hunt - Geralt's former captor and the group responsible for driving his adoptive daughter away - is asking if Geralt thinks he's free. So, while forced into the middle of another quest that draws Geralt into another web of political intrigue that he wants no part of, Geralt's former jailer and the guy hunting the child that is connected to Geralt by destiny... asks if Geralt thinks he's truly free. Again, the specter is loving with Geralt - if you answer that you believe in free will, the specter is all but bursting into laughter. He may even summon the spirit of a redshirt from the prologue just to rub it in.

This will always be hilarious to me. If you only play W1 and don't read the books, this King of the Wild Hunt guy appears like some ominous specter who knows about your future.
Then when you read the books or W3 it turns out he's just some Elf who's trying to get into your head.

Have CDProjekt ever said why they didn't include Ciri in W1 but made up Alvin which is mostly the same character?

fspades
Jun 3, 2013

by R. Guyovich

GrossMurpel posted:


Have CDProjekt ever said why they didn't include Ciri in W1 but made up Alvin which is mostly the same character?

Alvin later becomes Jacques de Aldersberg, the primary antagonist. So they are obviously occupying a very different position in the story.

10 Beers
May 21, 2005

Shit! I didn't bring a knife.

The Iron Rose posted:

also I really wish there was a feature in this game like starbound - where you can have the visual effect of one armour while enjoying the stats of another.

Wouldn't make much narrative sense but I'd enjoy it.

I'd really like a dye option. Especially for Witcher gear.

Also, still disappointed Viper School swords don't have wavy blades.

Manatee Cannon
Aug 26, 2010



Alvin is a pretty obvious reference to Ciri's son, not Ciri herself. Her son is actually the one meant to stop the White Frost and conquer the world or something. Prophecies stating as such set the books in motion and Ciri's just the means to that end for the antagonists of the books.

fspades
Jun 3, 2013

by R. Guyovich

Manatee Cannon posted:

Alvin is a pretty obvious reference to Ciri's son, not Ciri herself. Her son is actually the one meant to stop the White Frost and conquer the world or something. Prophecies stating as such set the books in motion and Ciri's just the means to that end for the antagonists of the books.

Witcher 3 pretty much forgot that part; there is no mention of Ciri's heir and she is the one who "defeats" the White Frost by doing... something? Actually, the ending is confusing to me. Why was there a conjuction of the spheres? Why couldn't Ciri just teleport to that world like usual? And if Ciri could stop White Frost that easily why were the Aen Elle were being dicks and searching for an exit from their homeworld? Just let Ciri fix it.

They just really botched the final quests. It's like a different group of writers came up with it.

fspades fucked around with this message at 13:25 on Aug 26, 2015

The Sharmat
Sep 5, 2011

by Lowtax
Alvin is dimestore Ciri with a TWIST and Triss is dimestore Yennefer in TW1. I wouldn't think about specific characterization too hard.

Also keep in mind the prophecies regarding the Elder Blood are vague as hell and can be wrong. Emhyr was objectively wrong, for instance. It's unlikely that Ciri's son is the person that will do this stuff when full access to Elder Blood traits involves a sex linked gene. Philippa and co assume it's her daughter that's important. But they can be wrong too.

Ending spoilers Even with the White Frost gone, Eredin will still want Ciri to regain the Aen Elle's full mastery of inter-sphere travel so he can invade and pillage poo poo. He's into that kind of thing.

Spite posted:

Sure, but it still doesn't fit his character to me. He went through a lot to get the throne, and I'd think they'd have to kill him before he left it.

Also why would Nilfgaard accept his absent daughter who hangs out with witchers and sorceresses as empress? Ciri's great, but she is really not cut out to be the leader of Nilfgaard. She's way too nice, for starters.

They also don't mention the whole "wanted to father Ciri's child" thing at all in the game, which is kind of an important point.


The only reason they accept it is Voorhees' family pushes for it because marrying Ciri makes HIM Emperor. If that doesn't happen and Emhyr doesn't get a victorious war, he's just killed.

But yeah it's a bit forced. Empress ending is by far the worst written one.

Edit: Oh and they do mention the "wanted to father Ciri's child" bit in the game, but only in an easily missed letter on Yennefer's desk in Vizima, and in such an oblique way that you'd have to have already known about it to get it. Fringilla Vigo's correspondence to Yennefer mentions that she's glad that Emhyr's current desires for Ciri are more "mundane".

The Sharmat fucked around with this message at 13:27 on Aug 26, 2015

Silentgoldfish
Nov 5, 2008
I'm replaying a normal game and just did the Novigrad Dreaming quest.

This time I evicted Sarah(/?) the godling from the house. I read somewhere that she winds up hanging out with Johnny in the swamps. Did I miss one of those little narration videos about it or does she crop up later? I remember the first time I played through and she wound up in the house with Corrine Tilly there was a video about it.

The Sharmat
Sep 5, 2011

by Lowtax

fspades posted:

They just really botched the final quests. It's like a different group of writers came up with it.

They pretty obviously ran out of time and money so nothing in the ending gets fleshed out to nearly the degree the quests in the rest of the game did, I think. Nothing in the ending is inherently unsalvageable, it's just rushed and receives little explanation.

The Sharmat
Sep 5, 2011

by Lowtax
Oh, and something I saw pointed out on another forum you guys might find interesting.

Ending SpoilersThe Weavess stealing Vesemir's medallion and escaping is potentially very bad. You see in the Return to Crookbag Bog quest what the Crones can do if they have something of importance to a person, and the Weavess is the one that makes the dolls. If they got a lock of Ciri's hair while they had her in Velen, then...

Sequel hook?

Manatee Cannon
Aug 26, 2010



fspades posted:

Witcher 3 pretty much forgot that part; there is no mention of Ciri's heir and she is the one who "defeats" the White Frost by doing... something? Actually, the ending is confusing to me. Why was there a conjuction of the spheres? Why couldn't Ciri just teleport to that world like usual? And if Ciri could stop White Frost that easily why were the Aen Elle were being dicks and searching for an exit from their homeworld? Just let Ciri fix it.

They just really botched the final quests. It's like a different group of writers came up with it.

Yeah I think Ciri's kid being important was just written out entirely, with that thread of the plot being collapsed into Ciri herself. As to the rest, I think they just wanted to wrap up everything at once and rushed a finale for Ciri. The White Frost stuff at the end is kinda lame and doesn't make much sense. It's straight out of nowhere, too. I wish they'd have just dropped that stuff and focused more on the Wild Hunt itself, but oh well.

And, yeah, the Aen Elle want her for her ability to teleport anywhere at will. Though the games make it seem like they can do that anyway? I dunno, that part of the story is a little weird to me. They seem to have way more control than Avellac'h does at least, what with them popping in and out wherever and whenever they please several times through the story, so I'm not sure what they actually need Ciri for. They're supposed to be worse at teleporting than she is, but the game does a poor job of showing that.

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The Sharmat
Sep 5, 2011

by Lowtax
The Aen Elle can't teleport large numbers, the previous game makes that clear and this game is consistent about it. If they could have just brought the entirety of the Dearg Ruadhri over Geralt and co would never have stood a chance. Ciri can apparently help them open the Gate of Worlds so this is no longer a problem for them, and they can move armies and civilizations all at once like they did ages ago.

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