The Witcher 3 Easter eggs/Literature

:A virtual Easter egg is an intentional hidden message or feature in an object such as a movie, book, CD, DVD, computer program, or video game. The term draws a parallel with the custom of the Easter egg hunt.
This article catalogues Easter eggs and pop culture references in . For easier viewing, this page has been broken up into sub-pages based on the topic.
== A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man ==
* In the Blood and Wine expansion, an artist pays Geralt to model for his latest masterpiece in A Portrait of the Witcher as an Old Man. This is a reference to the title of the novel A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce.
== Alice's Adventures in Wonderland ==
* The book Travel Between Worlds contains references to this book where "Ecila" is simply "Alice" written backwards and she fell down a rabbit hole.
== Anna Karenina ==
*In the , Geralt can comment in the von Everec estate on a portrait depicting Olgierd and Iris together, stating "Happy families are all alike, every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way", quoting the first line of Leo Tolstoy's famous novel Anna Karenina.
== Antek ==
*A notice board posting talks about how to cure a girl's sickness, the parents were given the advice to stick her in a fired oven. This is a direct reference to the short story by Bolesław Prus.
== Asterix ==
*During the quest The Truth is in the Stars, the Old Sage will at first say he got his gift as a child wen he fell into a cauldron of magic brew. This is how Obelix gained his superhuman strength in the comics.
*The quest Paperchase is based on the 7th task of The Twelve Tasks of Asterix.
== Black Beauty ==
*If The Ghost in the Tree is freed during The Whispering Hillock, the black mare's body they take over is named after this book and its titular character.
== Blindsight ==
*During the quest The Mystery of the Byways Murders, Geralt has to track and kill the old vampire named Sarasti, who is a reference to one of the main characters of the novel by Peter Watts.
== Calvin and Hobbes ==
* In the , a letter can be found at a guarded treasure right of the Trading Post titled Orders for Calvin and discusses a panther named Hobbes, a reference to the comic.
== Captain Blood ==
*Captain Wolverstone and his ship, the Atropos, are direct references to Rafael Sabatini's novel.
== The Count of Monte Cristo ==
* In the quest The Great Escape, the character Abbé Faria is a reference to the priest that Edmond Dantes meets in the book. Also, how Abbé Faria in the game escaped from prison is similar to how Dantes escaped in the book.
== Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right ==
* In the quest Defender of the Faith, Religion is the Opium of the Masses is attributed to Karl Marx's manuscript Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right.
== The Dark Tower series ==
*The character Gaunter O'Dimm is a reference to Stephen King's character Walter O'Dimm, who is a powerful wizard in the series.
== DC Comics ==
* During the Cabaret quest, Dandelion acts as a hero using the moniker "Crimson Avenger". This is an alias used by 3 separate DC Comic characters: Lee Walter Travis, Albert Elwood, and Jill Carlyle.
* The quest name Swamp Thing is a reference to the comic book character of the same name.
*In the , the quest The Last Exploits of Selina's Gang mentions three robbers: Selina, Bruce (her lover), and Robin. This is a reference to Catwoman (Selina Kyle), Batman (Bruce Wayne), and Robin.
== The Deluge ==
*Olgierd von Everec is a direct reference to Henryk Sienkiewicz's novel character, Andrzej Kmicic, from his noble status to being a commander to also being a thug.
**Olgierd's appearance strongly references Daniel Olbrychski's portrayal of Kmicic in a 1974 film adaption. He also uses taunt lines from the movie when fighting Geralt.
*Iris von Everec's maiden name, Bilewitz, is a reference to Kmicic's fiancée's maiden name, Bilewicz.
== Don Quixote ==
There are multiple references to one of the most famous episodes of Don Quixote contained in Miguel de Cervantes' The Ingenious Nobleman Sir Quixote of La Mancha, which tells a tale of the encounter of the wannabe knight with a windmill, which he attacks after having mistaken it for a giant:
* The in-game book Emhyr var Emreis: A Biography mentions an eccentric knight's proclivity to charge at windmills.
* In one of the first scenes in the , Guillaume de Launfal is seen charging a windmill. Unlike with the original Don Qixote however, an actual giant named Golyat (a biblical reference on its own) erupts through the windmill here.
* Also in the , on a notice board on Castel Ravello, Antoin Liss requests the knights of Toussaint to cease attacking windmills due increasing maintenance after the attacks.
== Dune ==
* During the main quest Through Time and Space, the sandcrabs (while much smaller in size, so that Geralt can deal with them) sensing vibrations in the Ddiddiwedht Desert is a possible reference to the sandworms on Arrakis.
* A list of prisoners that can be found during the main quest The Great Escape, has a "Sardukhar" entry primarily named after a moderator on the CD PROJEKT RED forums, but also with a description in clear reference to the Sardaukar.
* In the , during the main quest La Cage au Fou, a transcript in Tesham Mutna Ruins, the contents of which are eerily similar to how Erasmus (of Legends of Dune trilogy) behaves towards his human experimental subjects.
== Dziady ==
*The Forefathers' Eve quest is a reference to both the ancient Slavic feast that commemorated the dead ancestors and to the poem Dziady by Adam Mickiewicz, where it directly quotes part of this poem during the ritual.
== Edgar Allan Poe ==
*The title of the quest The Fall of the House of Reardon references Poe's short story, The Fall of the House of Usher.
**During the same quest, one can find Humbert's remains, who was entombed alive behind a brick wall. The whole setup is a reference to Poe's short story, The Cask of Amontillado.
== Fifty Shades of Grey ==
* One of Dandelion's lovers, Marabella, liked Dandelion to call her "Anastasia" while she called him "Christian", referencing the book's main characters.
== Fight Club ==
* During Fists of Fury: Novigrad, Geralt can fight a man called Durden the Tailor, a reference to Tyler Durden.
* At a guarded treasure south of Fort Astre Ruins the note Codex of Loth Halfbreed's hanse can be found that references the Fight Club's rules.
== Fist of the North Star ==
*The achievement Fist of the South Star is a reference to a 1983 manga.
== Friedrich Nietzsche ==
*In the quest Defender of the Faith, Overman may reference Nietzsche's novel Thus Spoke Zarathustra, especially when "Friedrich of Oxenfurt" is mentioned.
**In the same quest, God is Dead is a quote attributed to Nietzsche from his book The Gay Science (also known as The Joyful Wisdom).
== The Good Soldier Švejk ==
*During the quest Count Reuven's Treasure, it is mentioned that one of the customers that visited the bathhouse was a "Josef Schveik, brewer", a reference to the main character of Jaroslav Hašek's unfinished satirical novel.
== Harry Potter series ==
* During the quest Open Sesame! in the , one of the glass cases at the Borsodi Brothers' Auction House contains an artifact named the Goblet of Fire.
== The Hobbit ==
* It is possible to come across a party of 13 dwarves near Novigrad.
* Many halflings, when you keep talking to them, will suggest that you don't call them "Bagginson".
* The blacksmith Willis in White Orchard mentions a dragon sleeping in lots of gold during the quest Twisted Firestarter, possibly referencing Smaug.
* In the unmarked quest, Farting Trolls, the three rock trolls could also be a reference to the that captured .
== The Horse Whisperer ==
*The in-game book The Horse Whistler is a reference to the 1995 novel The Horse Whisperer by Nicholas Evans.
== How to Avoid Huge Ships ==
* An in game book titled How to Avoid Colossal Vessels is a reference to this 1992 book by Captain John W. Trimmer.
== H.P. Lovecraft ==
* On Kaer Almhult, a mysterious note can be found with a line that references The Call of Cthulhu.
* Necronomicon, a fictional book in H.P. Lovecraft's works, appears as an in-game book.
* With the , Liber Ivonis appears in the Witch of Lynx Crag's hut and is a fictional book in H.P. Lovecraft's works.
== The Island of Doctor Moreau ==
*In the , the quest Turn and Face the Strange involves a Professor Moreau, whose name is a reference to the character Dr. Moreau from the 1896 science fiction novel by H.G. Wells.
== John le Carré ==
*In the , the name of the quest Tinker, Hunter, Soldier, Spy is a direct reference to Carré's 1974 spy novel, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.
*In the , the quest The Inconstant Gardener is a reference to Carré's 2001 novel, The Constant Gardener.
== Jules Verne ==
*The game book Journey to the End of the World is a reference to Jules Verne's various adventure novels, like Journey to the Center of the Earth.
*The quest name, Around the World in... Eight Days, is a direct reference to Around the World in Eighty Days.
== Little Red Riding Hood ==
There are multiple very obvious references to the tale of Little Red Riding Hood:
* The contents of the in-game book A Few Remarks on Basilisks and Cockatrices.
* The secondary quest Little Red, in which the Little Red character references both the girl and the wolf.
* In the main quest Beyond Hill and Dale...: Grandma's home occupied by the Big Bad Wolf, Little Red Riding Hood herself, and her hood worn by Syanna to reenact a scene from the tale.
== Lolita ==
*In the quest, The Fall of the House of Reardon, the names of the siblings Dolores and Humbert are references to the main characters of Vladimir Nabokov's novel.
== The Lord of the Rings ==
* Hugo Meiersdorf will say the line "Don't dare call me Bagginson!" when interacted with at Honeyfill Meadworks, a possible reference to J.R.R. Tolkien's character, Baggins.
* In the Beastiary under the description for Forktails it states "A blow from this weapon can slice an oaken shield in two- along with the arm that is carrying it " Oaken shield a possible reference to Thorin Oaken Shield from the Hobbit.
== Moby-Dick ==
*There's a notice board posting where an Ismael claims that the white whale is his and he'll kill anyone who dares to hunt and get it first. His name and the note are clear references to Herman Melville's book.
*During the quest The Sunstone, one can meet Eyvind, who's been hoping to see the white whale his entire life.
== The Odyssey ==
*In Velen, not too far from the village of Heatherton, there is a cyclops guarding a treasure while a herd of sheep are nearby, referencing the epic poem attributed to Homer.
*During The Lord of Undvik, Hjalmar's crew ended up on Undvik in a similar way like in The Odyssey, where the helmsman clogged up his ears to protect himself from the sirens' singing but then couldn't hear his crew warning him that they were getting too close to the shore and subsequently crashed.
*The bestiary entry for a cyclops also makes a reference to The Odyssey about sharpening a wooden stake and poking the cyclops' eye out.
== The Perks of Being a Wallflower ==
* In the , the quest name The Perks of Being a Jailbird is a reference to this coming-of-age novel by Stephen Chbosky.
== The Sad Tale of the Brothers Grossbart ==
*The quest The Sad Tale of the Grossbart Brothers is a direct reference to Jesse Bullington's fantasy novel The Sad Tale of the Brothers Grossbart.
== Solaris ==
*During the quest Through Time and Space, when visiting the Ddiddiwedht Desert, Avallac'h describes a living sea that was once there, a direct reference to Stanislav Lem's book where Solaris is a living, sentient ocean.
== Time of Contempt ==
*Near Oxenfurt, Geralt may find a man who has a wyvern in a cage. The swindler claims that the wyvern is in fact a basilisk, and Geralt may call him out on the fraud. This encounter harks back to a scene from in which Ciri meets a man trying to pass off a wyvern for a basilisk in Gors Velen.
== Twilight ==
* During the quest Message from an Old Friend in Novigrad, you can pick up a book entitled Moribundia: The Vampire's Last Likeness. The text describes a lovers' exchange between Isabella and a vampire named Edward, and refers to an unnamed werewolf and Isabella's pregnancy, like the main plot of Twilight.
* In the a book titled Katakans: A Monograph references how the vampire Edward's skin glistens and glows when struck by sunlight rather than being harmed by it.
== Waiting for Godot ==
*The name of the side quest Waiting for Goe and Doh is a reference to Samuel Beckett's play.
== The Wealth of Nations ==
*Should Geralt spare the doppler during the quest Contract: An Elusive Thief, Sylvester Amello refuses give him a reward, to which Geralt says "there better be one, or you'll feel the invisible hand of the market smack you so hard you won't be able to sit down for a week". This is a reference to Adam Smith's 1776 book The Wealth of Nations.
== William Blake ==
* In the Palace Gardens, there will occasionally be a showing of a tamed leopard. A noblewoman spectator will say "Focused, fearful symmetry..." when talked to.
== William Shakespeare ==
*During The King is Dead – Long Live the King, one can try to place a skull in the statue's hands, but it doesn't do anything. Geralt will comment "Guess you're no indecisive prince", a reference to Shakespeare's Hamlet.
*The quest The Play's the Thing's name is also a reference to Hamlet, where Hamlet says "The play's the thing wherein I'll catch the conscience of the King." In Hamlet, the prince arranges a play so that it has a hidden message for his uncle, Claudius, similar to the hidden message for Dudu in the quest.
*A notice board in Cunny of the Goose advertising dancing at the local inn ends with a couplet referencing a song in Much Ado About Nothing - "Then sigh not so, but let them go/And be you blithe and bonny/Converting all your sounds of woe/Into hey nonny, nonny".
*On a notice board in Toussaint, the poet Le Papillon accuse a man named William of Stratford to "steal rhymes". This is an obvious reference to the old debate over whether Shakespeare, born in Stratford-upon-Avon, was indeed the author of his plays and poems or stolen from others.
*During Reason of State, Dijkstra plays 2 parts from "Vakmeth", act one, scene seven. This is a reference to Shakespeare's Macbeth, where both parts are from act one, scene seven.
== Winnie-the-Pooh ==
* In the , halfway between Dulcinea Windmill and Coronata, you can encounter a bear wearing a ragged red shirt; a reference to Winnie the Pooh.
== The Wonderful Wizard of Oz ==
* The book Travel Between Worlds contains references to The Wizard of Oz. Zo is Oz backwards as it is mentioned in the book wit a similar.
* In the , during the quest Beyond Hill and Dale... , you can walk on a yellow brick road.
* Also in the , one can find an unknown character squashed by Little Red Riding Hood Grandma's home and is wearing ruby slippers.
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