The Witcher FAQ/Curiosities

This FAQ is intended for the fans who have enjoyed, played and finished at least once, and are now wondering what quests, and other goodies they may have missed. In short, the FAQ is written for those that want to get more out of the game!
Note: I am assuming you more or less know how the game works, i.e. you learned the basics from playing . If you want to be informed of things that go beyond "just winning the game", keep reading.
The FAQ makes extensive use of The Witcher Wiki, mainly highlighting things of note. Should you miss specific details, feel free to check with the wiki, it is quite content complete.
== Favorite character Quotations? ==
During the long hours playing you may have witnessed many comments from your side-kicks, here is a collection of some favorites:
Geralt – Kaer Morhen, Prologue
: Comments on the murals on the walls near the entrance doors:"Witcher have always been better with a sword than a paint brush."
== Read the Encrypted document? ==
Ever wondered what the Encrypted document you got from Roland Bleinheim actually said? Alas, even with the Key to Salamandra code, the document stays illegible, and Declan Leuvaarden never tells you.
:see the decrypted document
== What is up with the Doghouse? ==
In Chapter I, the doghouse of Odo's dog does leave room for speculation in what way it might be interacted with. Apparently there is actually nothing behind this object, it is just decoration.
== Geralt's Darker Moments? ==
There are a few situations when playing a more darkly inclined Geralt is possible:
Chapter I:
* Let the thugs rape Vesna near the gates of the Outskirts inn, or save her, but then let her run into her doom trying to return home at night (on a path littered with bloodthirsty barghests).
* Do not defend the innocent Abigail against the angry mob.
Chapter II:
* Kill the peaceful (innocent) dogs for their Dog tallow, just to finish The Dogcatcher of Vizima quest, instead of simply buying / collecting enough dog tallow otherwise.Tip: The thugs that attack at night in the Temple Quarter also carry dog tallow.
* Let Gramps in the Swamp (a cannibal) live, just to take advantage of his knowledge.
Chapter III:
* Force the Blue-eyed lass to marry someone she does not love by helping her brother Patrick de Weyze, slaying the innocent Queen of the Night. Or actually slay both her brother and the vampires.
* At the beginning of the Chapter you will encounter Carmen standing near the landing in the swamp, about to look for a cure for her beloved. Do not help her, let her walk into her swampy death.
* Let down Carmen by either directly killing her werewolf lover Vincent, or at least do not try to cure him.
Chapter IV:
* Don't turn in Adam for murdering Celina.
* Or worse force Adam into a suicide.
* Help neither Celina nor Alina make peace in the afterlife.
Chapter V:
* When Adda turns into a striga again, choose the easy path and simply slay her.
* During Mud and Velvet, you can truely pull a fast one on your employer Antoinette, rather than fulfilling her wish keep the money for yourself and then murder her fiancé Jean-Pierre after refusing to give back the money.
== Speculations and Musings? ==
Here a few game related speculations:
* Grand Master and Alvin
:At the very end of the game, after killing the Grand Master (Jacques de Aldersberg), Geralt finds an artifact (Dimeritium amulet) on the dead man's body, something Geralt also gave to Alvin. Alvin may have traveled back in time and actually turned into the Grand Master. Also see Speculations about Alvin.
* Incomplete Quests
:There are two missing quests that yield an interesting insight into what was planned at some point, but had to be dropped. One quest Skullhead in the Sewers centers on a headhunt in the sewers, the other Coup d'État foreshadows the central theme of .
== Curiosities? ==
Mildly strange things to note:
* Searching the Reverend's house in the Outskirts not only reveals abundant food on the table, but also quite a bit of alcohol stashed away in the cellar. This from a man who supposedly prays without "sustenance". A sly dig from the developers, it seems.
* When you enter the Swamp for the first time in Chapter II, a Nosy dog will follow you around, after a while the dog almost becomes a family member. There seems to be nothing quest related pertaining to this animal.
* One of the druids in the Swamp may whistle the first few notes of the Star Wars anthem. Other characters may also whistle that tune in the game. Probably a little Easter Egg.
* At the end of Chapter I you learn about the Reverend's crime of abandoning his daughter, who becomes a prostitute in Vizima. In the Epilogue you learn from the Novice nun (in the refugee hut) that Carmen was in fact that daughter.
* In Chapter V when saving Princess Adda in the cemetery crypt: The saved Adda is in her underwear, once you leave the crypt she is in her party dress. After talking to Velerad, should you meditate at the campfire for a while (18h), the princess will still be standing front of the crypt gates, but now in her underwear again. A wardrobe bug apparently.
* There are several words in the game that are German, or somewhat derived from them:
** Burgomeister was probably transliterated, the German word is Bürgermeister and means mayor.
** Zahin Schmartz the name of the dentist, is derived from Zahnschmerz meaning toothache, quite a fitting name.
** Hildegard Zollstock the name of a widow. Zollstock means ruler or more literally "inch stick".
see The Witcher Easter eggs
== Curious Characters? ==
There are few, explicitly named NPCs, who are not quest related, but do tell a story by their very existence:
 
Pious woman (near Chapel, Outskirts)
* You will find here praying at the village shrine most of the time, and she seems to be the only person who actually survives the "Beast" massacre, that killed almost everyone at the end of Chapter I. She is not part of any quest though.
Macus and Ida Vertz (Temple Quarter, Vizima)
* You will first encounter this couple living near the Merchant Street in Chapter II. Then in Chapter III they have moved into a house in the Slums. Though they are not related to a quest, they do tell a story of progressing poverty forcing inhabitants of Vizima to move from "better" quarters to worse ones.
* Another tidbit: In Chapter II, Ida and Marcus Vertz lived in Angus' house, and they have since moved to a house in the slums. So one might speculate that the drug dealer and his shady friends forced the Vertz out of their "nicer" home.
== What is up with the Cow? ==
If you play Ripples by looking for a peaceful resolution in Murky Waters (abiding to the wishes of the Lady of the Lake), you may hear of and see the Prize-winning cow named Strawberry. But nothing more will come of this encounter. The cow only takes main stage if you side with the friendly vodyan priest, who asks you to "kidnap" the cow.
== De Wett and the King's Signature? ==
When you encounter Roderick de Wett in Foltest's throne room in the beginning of Chapter V. He will ask Geralt to influence King Foltest to not sign the letter to disband the Order of the Flaming Rose.
:This sounded quite promising, and could have been a pro-Order path quest with interesting repercussions. Alas the quest and any ramifications have been removed from the final game.
== Killing in Old Vizima? ==
When playing the Order path, Zoltan Chivay will be quite upset about "Geralt's Order" at the start of Chapter V on the dike, and tell Geralt that he should look into the matter of indiscriminate killing of innocents in burning Old Vizima.
Though Geralt will see a lot of killing this "suggested quest" does not yield anything. Seems be some dialogue underlining the urgency for Geralt to "bring peace" to Old Vizima, or it might have been another quest dropped from the final game.
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