Fedorekd plays The Witcher 3 - The Masked Man

big dog | Mythic Inconceivable!
 
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Difficulty: Blood and Broken Bones
Character Level: 21

Main Quests
Prologue
Kaer Morhen
Lilac and Gooseberries
The Beast of White Orchard
The Incident at White Orchard
Imperial Audience


Act I - In Ciri's Footsteps
Velen
The Nilfgaardian Connection
Bloody Baron
Ciri's Story: The King of the Wolves
Family Matters
Princess in Distress
Ciri's Story: The Race
Hunting a Witch
Wandering in the Dark
Ladies of the Wood
The Whispering Hillock
Ciri's Story: Fleeing the Bog


Novigrad
The Pyres of Novigrad
Novigrad Dreaming
Broken Flowers
Ciri's Story: Visiting Junior
A Favor for Radovid
Get Junior
Count Reuven's Treasure
The Play's the Thing
A Poet Under Pressure
Ciri's Story: Breakneck Speed


Skellige
Destination: Skellige
The King is Dead - Long Live the King
Echoes of the Past
Missing Persons
Nameless
The Calm Before the Storm


Act II - Uma's Curse
Ugly Baby


Act III - Wild Hunt
N/A


Side Quests
Spoiler
Following the Thread
Master Armorers
Black Pearl

Collect 'Em All

White Orchard
Spoiler
A Frying Pan, Spick and Span
Missing in Action
Twisted Firestarter
Precious Cargo
On Death's Bed

Velen
Spoiler
Funeral Pyres
Ciri's Room
An Invitation from Keira Metz
Lynch Mob
Bitter Harvest
At the Mercy of Strangers
The Fall of the House of Reardon
Fool's Gold
Hazardous Goods
Wild at Heart
Magic Lamp
A Towerful of Mice
A Favor for a Friend
For the Advancement of Learning
Forefathers' Eve
Return to Crookback Bog
Fists of Fury: Velen

Defender of the Faith
Races: Crow's Perch
Gwent: Velen Players
The Truth is in the Stars

Fake Papers

Novigrad
Spoiler
Fencing Lessons
Haunted House
The Dwarven Document Dilemma
An Eye for an Eye
Redania's Most Wanted
A Matter of Life and Death
Now or Never
A Deadly Plot
A Dangerous Game
Honor Among Thieves
Cabaret
Carnal Sins

Gwent: Playing Innkeeps
Gwent: Big City Players
The Volunteer
Of Swords and Dumplings
Fists of Fury: Novigrad
High Stakes

The Gangs of Novigrad

Skellige
Spoiler
In Wolf's Clothing
The Last Wish
Possession
Master of the Arena
Brave Fools Die Young
The Family Blade
The Lord of Undvik
Stranger in a Strange Land
Cave of Dreams
King's Gambit
Coronation
Shock Therapy

In the Heart of the Woods
Fists of Fury: Skellige
Gwent: Skellige Style
The Heroes' Pursuits: For the Goddess' Glory!
Practicum in Advanced Alchemy
Taken as a Lass
Abandoned Sawmill

Witcher Contracts
Spoiler
Devil by the Well
Woodland Beast
Jenny o' the Woods
Shrieker
Muire D'yaeblen
The Phantom of Eldberg

Missing Brother
The Beast of Honorton
Oxenfurt Drunk
The Creature from Oxenfurt Forest
The Merry Widow
Mysterious Tracks
Swamp Thing
The Mystery of the Byways Murders
An Elusive Thief
Doors Slamming Shut
Deadly Delights
Lord of the Woods
Strange Beast
Here Comes the Groom

Treasure Hunts
Spoiler
Temerian Valuables
Deserter Funds
Dirty Gold
The Things Men Do For Coin
Blood Gold
Freya Be Praised!
Not Only Eagles Dare

Scavenger Hunts
Spoiler
Viper School Gear
Griffin School Gear
Cat School Gear

So I finally got around to buying this game. GOTY edition was on sale for £13.99 on Steam so I thought, "Why not?"
This game has been on my radar for a long time now and I've been putting it off for several reasons. I'm not too big into fantasy settings - not that I dislike the genre or anything, I just struggle to get invested in most of them. I was also fearing that with all the praise surrounding it that I'd be giving myself really high expectations of the game that it wouldn't be able to achieve. And there's the fact that the game is apparently very long, and I wasn't prepared to commit to such a lengthy game in a series I wasn't familiar with.

However, seeing the game on sale I decided to go ahead and buy it. I've heard way too many positive things about this game that I can't ignore it any longer, and it seems like the kind of thing I'd have to play at some point. So here we are. This'll be a Verbatim-style playthrough thread, although I haven't decided if I'll be delivering it through text, videos, or a mixture.

I'm going in mostly blind although I am aware of some general plot aspects and vague spoilers, and I'd prefer to keep it that way, so no spoilers please. I'm not familiar with how the character-building works so I may update the OP with a tracker once I find out what it's like.

I should be able to start soon, once I find a decent break from my projects.
Last Edit: October 09, 2018, 02:27:22 PM by Fedorekd


Mordo | Mythic Invincible!
 
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Yennefer a Thot, Triss is /ourgirl/.


big dog | Mythic Inconceivable!
 
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Update 1 - Witcher Training



Upon starting a new game I was treated to a nice cinematic where the protagonist, Geralt, and his companions are on the trail of some woman with magical powers. After a while our hero falls asleep and it seems that we've jumped back in time. Geralt is relaxing in a bathtub while a the same woman from before, now naked, reads a book. Some weird bug creeps into the tub and... does something... that makes Geralt wake up. The woman, who I assume is his wife or some lover of his, tells Geralt that he'd promised to train Ciri today, and so Geralt gets up and decides to go out. Thankfully there's an in-game codex where I could lookup who Yennefer was. I appreciate it when games like this include these and the way it's presented is very concise and helpful for new players such as myself.

My first task was to find the key so that I could unlock the room and get out. For this I was introduced to Geralt's Witcher Senses, which highlight objects of interest, although the key was large enough to find without. There were some minor things to interact with, which is nice.

Going downstairs I found an old man sleeping with an open book. He was meant to be teaching Ciri but fell asleep while Ciri ran away to practice her sword training. The old man, Vesemir, was unhappy with Ciri's behaviour, but I tried to calm him down. From what little I've seen so far, the dialogue system seems to do a decent job of telling you what each option will say without it being a word-for-word repetition of the voiced line, something games like Mass Effect and Fallout 4 struggle with. I'm not sure about Geralt's voice itself right now. His delivery seems rather flat and bored so far.

Anyway, Geralt went down to see Ciri, who was training with some weird pendulum contraption, hitting it with her sword and jumping around it on top of a fence. Geralt gives her some advice and tells her off for leaving Vesemir. After that, Ciri and I decided to race down to the courtyard, at which point I was given a tutorial on movement mechanics.

Reaching the courtyard, Ciri apologises to Vesemir and reveals that she had read the material he was teaching her. Now it was time for some combat training. I was expecting the combat to be your generic Assassin's Creed-style system, but from the looks of things it appears to have a tiny bit more depth than that.



Once I had finished the tutorial, Ciri decided to run away as Geralt and Vesemir shouted after her. Geralt looked at a training dummy that Ciri had slashed and noticed a piece of cut fabric sticking out of the head. Peeling it back, he found a human face behind it, bloodied and lifeless. When Geralt turned around, there was suddenly a monstrous ship floating at the walls of Kaer Morhen, and a villainous figure standing beneath it with Ciri. The thing raised its sword, and slashed down at the girl.

Geralt wakes up, back in the present. He discusses his dream with Vesemir, as well as a letter Yennefer had left him. They decide that it's time to get moving again, but before they can go anywhere the two of them are attacked by ghouls. These are taken out rather easily, and once the fight is over we get on our horses and ride off.



As far as video game tutorials go, this one was very good. It doesn't overstay its welcome at all, and it does a nice job of keeping it within the context of the story. Things are looking good already.


 
Elai
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big dog | Mythic Inconceivable!
 
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big dog | Mythic Inconceivable!
 
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Mordo | Mythic Invincible!
 
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Make sure you get on top of crafting gear fairly quickly, especially on higher difficulties. Starter gear only lasts for a couple quests before the game starts punishing you for it.


 
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big dog | Mythic Inconceivable!
 
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Update 2 - White Orchard

Something that's pretty cool about this game is that when loading in you are shown a brief cutscene explaining what is happening in the story right now. That was a really nice touch from the developers.



Vesemir and I came across a helpless wagon driver who had been attacked by some winged creature. They tried to attack the beast, but it flew away after injuring Vesemir. The man, Bram, thanked the two Witchers, and offered a reward. I declined; this guy had just lost his horse and whatever he was transporting, I didn't want to take more from him. However, we did ask him if he had seen the woman they were looking for, and he pointed us in the direction of an inn owned by a relative of his.



Vesemir rode to the town and entered the inn. One of the patrons there scolded the innkeeper, Elsa, for hanging a Temerian  shield on one of the pillars, and briefly argued with one of his friends about whether it should be there. As the Witchers entered, the men voiced their displeasure at the new arrivals. However, the innkeeper welcomed us warmly. We asked her about Yennefer, but she didn't seem to know anything.



I asked some of the villagers in the inn whether they had seen Yennefer. For some I could use my powers to influence them to talk, and found out that a woman matching Yennefer's description had passed through the village. Aldert Geert, a professor from Oxenfurt Academy, believed Yennefer's presence to be little more than a fairytale. I asked him what he was doing here, and he said that he was intending to chronicle the ongoing war. I encouraged him to continue, but to represent it accurately. He didn't respond very well, but he did offer to teach me how to play Gwent.

I'm not really a fan of card games in video games, so I can't see myself playing more of Gwent. I did beat Aldert, although I assume the game ensures that happens in the tutorial. I left Aldert and went over to speak with another of the patrons. He offered me a drink, but I refused. Elsa brought over two drinks for us anyway. The man revealed that he knew of Yennefer, and told me to check with the local garrison for information.



As I was exiting the tavern, I was confronted by three men who told me to leave, that my kind wasn't welcome here. I used my persuasion powers to convince one of them to back off, but the other two accused me of witchcraft, and attacked. I beat them both down fairly easily.



Upon reaching the Nilfgaardian garrison, the guards initially didn't let me in, but when I told them that I was a Witcher they were more welcoming. Seems like they have work for me. Inside, the Commander told me that there was a griffin in the area - the best I saw earlier - and told me to kill it. Only then would he give me more information. He told me to go see a hunter, Mislav, and a herbalist, Tomira. And with that, I was on my way.


 
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I DONT GIVE A SINGLE -blam!- MOTHER -blam!-ER ITS A MOTHER -blam!-ING FORUM, OH WOW, YOU HAVE THE WORD NINJA BELOW YOUR NAME, HOW MOTHER -blam!-ING COOL, NOT, YOUR ARE NOTHING TO ME BUT A BRAINWASHED PIECE OF SHIT BLOGGER, PEOPLE ONLY LIKE YOU BECAUSE YOU HAVE NINJA BELOW YOUR NAME, SO PLEASE PUNCH YOURAELF IN THE FACE AND STAB YOUR EYE BECAUSE YOU ARE NOTHING BUT A PIECE OF SHIT OF SOCIETY
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Dietrich Six | Mythic Inconceivable!
 
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Yennefer a Thot, Triss is /ourgirl/.

I've never before been as angry as I am right now.


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big dog | Mythic Inconceivable!
 
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Update 3 - Search for the Griffin



As I rode back to the village, I came across an old woman trying to get into an abandoned house. She told me that her frying pan had been borrowed, but never returned, and she was sure that the thief was inside the house. Not the most urgent of problems, but she did tell me that she had no other pans. I can sympathise with her, I suppose. It's not good when a flatmate someone borrows your pan and forgets to wash it up return it.

I broke down the door to the house to find a dead man sitting up against a wall. In the kitchen, I found the missing frying pan. Turned out that the man had only wanted the soot from the pan to make ink, so that he could write some letter. There were also some burned documents in the room. I returned the pan to the woman and explained what had happened, as well as telling her to bury the man's body. She thanked me and we parted ways.



Farther up the road, I stopped to talk to a man named Odolan about a well that was haunted by a wraith. I volunteered to deal with it, although I probably wouldn't do it just yet.



I reached Mislav's home, but it looked like he was out. I used my Witcher senses to track him down. I found him out hunting wild dogs that were causing trouble for the village. I helped him kill them, and in return he led me to the place where several Nilfgaardian soldiers had been killed by the griffin. From there, I followed some tracks through the woods to a griffin nest. There, several mangled corpses lay, including that of a female griffin. After inspecting the area, I headed back towards the village.



My next stop was talking to the Tomira about buckthorn. When I found her, she was tending to another of the griffin's victims, Lena. She told me what I needed to know about buckthorn, and then we turned our attention to Lena. The girl was certain to die, but there was the possibility that one of Geralt's Witcher potions could save her. Unfortunately, there was also a risk that the potion could also leave her in immense pain as Witcher potions don't work the same way on normal humans. Right now she was fairly peaceful, soothed by Tomira's own methods, so for now I left the two of them, heading to the river. Diving to the riverbed, I was able to find some of the herb I needed.



As I passed back through town, I stopped by the noticeboard to look at some of the quests available, seeing as I would probably need more experience before going after the griffin. I came across a short blacksmith whose workshop had been burned down. He suspected that it was due to him working for the Nilfgaardians, although he didn't have much of a choice. I agreed to find the arsonist for him, and started by following a trail of footprints behind the workshop. They led me to the river, where I was attacked by some weird blue creatures. They were pretty tough, although them being Level 4 that wasn't much of a surprise. Thankfully the guards were there to help me defeat them.



Back on the trail, I eventually came across Bram, the merchant who Vesemir and I had saved earlier. Again, he was thankful, and offered to trade. I declined, and kept following the footprints until I came to a house. Sure enough, inside was the suspect, Napp, whose hand had been injured by the same beasts that had attacked me earlier. He tried to bribe me into forgetting about the arson, but I wasn't having any of it. He didn't like that, and was about to start a fight, but I was able to calm him down and bring him to the dwarf. Napp tried to apologise, but Willis beckoned some guards over, who took him away to hang him. Harsh, but the guy was a dumb, drunken pyromaniac.



FatherlyNick - fuck putin | Mythic Inconceivable!
 
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big dog | Mythic Inconceivable!
 
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FatherlyNick - fuck putin | Mythic Inconceivable!
 
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only if you donate
Okay fedora man, I shall donate to your broadcast.
Have the wallet ready.

When you streaming next?


big dog | Mythic Inconceivable!
 
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Okay fedora man, I shall donate to your broadcast.
Have the wallet ready.

When you streaming next?
soon


 
Hahahaha very funny Zonda
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That guy who told you about Yennefer. Don’t forget about him. Keep him in mind.


big dog | Mythic Inconceivable!
 
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Update 4 - Ghost in the Well



Back at the White Orchard Inn, I updated Vesemir on the griffin. Now wasn't the time to go after the griffin yet; I still wanted to do some side quests and level up again. One of the notes I picked up from the noticeboard earlier was written by a peasant looking for their brother, who had been missing ever since a battle some time ago. I met the peasant, Dune, in a nearby village, one that had been burned to the ground. He gave me more information about his brother, Bastien, and the two of us set off together to find him. At the site of the battle, Dune told me that Bastien had been carrying a Temerian shield, and so we set out to find any corpse with one.



On the battlefield, we were attacked by ghouls feeding off the dead. After killing them, we were able to find a few Temerian shields among the many corpses that littered the field, but none of them belonging to Bastien. After a while, Dune's dog caught a scent and ran off. He led us to a shack, where Bastien and a Nilfgaardian soldier were holed up. It turned out that the two had both been injured, but helped each other to safety. Dune told Bastien to come with us, but Bastien didn't want to leave the other soldier, Rhosyn, behind. I encouraged Dune to take Rhosyn in, and he soon agreed. He thanked me for me help, and I was on my way.



I headed down to the well, that was apparently haunted by some creature. I found out that it was likely to be a noonwraith, tied to the area for some reason. Inside the well was a skeleton hanged by a rope. Its left arm was missing - I found out that it was likely a bracelet keeping the noonwraith tied to this place. I jumped into the well and found the missing arm at the bottom, with the bracelet attacked. Returning to the skeleton I found, I burned it and the bracelet together to summon the wraith.



This was a long fight - I suppose that's my fault, because I didn't prepare for it at all and was just hitting it with a sword, but eventually I put the wraith down. I returned to Odolan and gave him the good news. I told him not to bother with a reward, and save it for his daughter instead. He gave me something anyway.



maverick | Legendary Invincible!
 
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You’ve inspired me to try the game again. Sonyou should update the thread to “Maverick and Fedorekd plays the Witcher”.


 
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Geralt with beard>Geralt without beard


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Geralt with beard>Geralt without beard

Geralt with slicked back hair and chops is best geralt


big dog | Mythic Inconceivable!
 
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Update 5 - Finishing the Job

I spent some time exploring the area, doing small tasks like clearing areas of monsters and deserters, as well as drawing power from some strange stones, a few of which were guarded by higher-level creatures.



Later, I met Vesemir again in a field by the stream. It was here where we would draw the griffin and finally put it down for good. We set up our ambush and waited for the monster to arrive. Once it swooped down, Vesemir gave me a crossbow that he'd won gambling. The two of us then went to take on the griffin.



This fight was pretty fun. I should have prepared a bit more, but the griffin presented a nice challenge and I didn't feel like it dragged on for too long. The crossbow was useful for downing the beast whenever it took off. There was a rather funny moment where the griffin glitched out a bit and decided to fly straight into a nearby windmill. Once I had killed it, Vesemir told me to meet him at the inn after I had taken the head to the Nilfgaardian captain.



A nice touch I liked was that when I took the griffin's head, rather than it simply magically appearing in Geralt's inventory, the thing was actually shown strapped to my horse. Not a big thing, and some other games do similar things, but it's cool when games show certain inventory items on the character rather than having them disappear into a bottomless pit in the character's pocket.

On my way to the garrison, I found a treasure chest underneath a bridge, which contained some Temerian military orders suggesting that there were some valuables at a site nearby. I headed to the old mill where I had fought the griffin previously, and found a room full of chests underground with some useful new gear among other things. It seems that even the side activities in this game are given some context within the world, which is cool when compared to games like Assassin's Creed and Fallout 4 where you just do this thing because it's a thing to do.



Returning to the garrison, I found the captain punishing some guy and being more of a dick than he was before. I gave him the good news, and in return he told me that Yennefer had gone to Vizima, a day's ride away from here. He also gave me some money for my work.


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sad geralt is best

go stag


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GOT THEIR ERSES WHIPPED LIKE A NOVIGRAD WHOORE