Witchers, songs and characters.
I finally beat The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings on Roche's path. I'm not sure if words can truly describe the experience I went through. To sum it all up, it's been a thrilling ride with so many emotional and memorable moments that I doubt there'll be another game quite like it that will capture my imagination in the same way this game did. I think I'll postpone playing through Iorveth's path until I get patch 1.3 which will help stabilize some of the issues in the game (finally fixing that annoying NVidia 3D Vision related bug, whoo, so hopefully that'll make the game more playable!) and introduce a new, mysterious quest to act 2.
But it'd be anticlimactic to leave this stuff to the above sentence, wouldn't it? So, I'll try to briefly explain my feelings over the endgame content.
First of all, the third act is indeed too short even if you go through all the possible sidequests. The area itself is surprisingly small, too, which was a shame, but I suppose the developers ran out of time or something. Still, it doesn't mean it's a bad thing; they still managed to make the end content interesting and make sense once you think about it. And guess how surprised (and pleased) I was to see Aryan La Valette alive after all these chapters. I thought the guy had perished, and he was a likable character, so it was nice seeing at least one friendly face in the crowd. I missed Iorveth and Philippa, though...
The things that really stole the show, however, were main plot related things. First I'll talk about the sadistic choice which you'll have to make on Roche's path: you find out that your lover Triss is held captive in the Nilfgaard camp, and at the same time you hear that King Foltest's daughter Anais is held captive in the Kaedweni camp. You can't save both of them, so you have to choose whether you'll save the life of your beloved or the life of a future queen without whom Temeria will fall into chaos (or the greedy hands of other monarchs).
Needless to say, I had trouble deciding which path Geralt should choose. On the one hand he owed Foltest for failing him, so rescuing Anais would be paying the fallen king back and salvage what was left of Temeria. However, Geralt obviously loved Triss and had come all this way to save her, so could he really ignore her? I have a feeling that Geralt would've personally chosen Triss over Anais, but maybe I was an ass or a realist because I chose the good of the kingdom over the good of one person. What I did was like a punch in poor Triss's face, sure, but I felt Geralt still owed Foltest and Temeria for all the chaos Letho had sown there. This decision still haunts me, and it didn't help that things soon got out of hand big-time.
It turned out another king, Radovid of Redania, was interested in us saving Anais. He promised to turn Temeria into Redania's protectorate and he'd marry Anais to unite the two kingdoms and make them strong enough to oppose Nilfgaard. However, despite his seemingly sincere and sympathetic goals, I felt he was only using his political means to take over Temeria to increase his own power.
With that in mind, Roche and I went to free Anais. After a fierce and fun fight against a legion of soldiers (gotta love big battles against a mob), we located the imprisoned princess. But first we had to deal with Dethmold, the sorcerer who had kidnapped her and who had also been responsible for killing Roche's men earlier in the game.
Seeing Dethmold ready to fuck his manservant was somewhat surprising even though I knew he was gay from having read his backstory. The act where he's grooming himself and talks idle chatter was so charming that he once again proved to be a surprisingly human villain to me, and I did feel sorry for him when Roche executed him in a very messy way. I was expecting at least an epic boss battle, and yet the poor sorcerer went out without a bang (both literally and figuratively). Why is it that this game makes me feel sorry for even the vilest of villains? Why didn't the game let me save Dethmold from Roche? It would've been an awesome twist, and yet I was forced to watch an understandably loathsome villain die (but who I still felt sorry for). At least Loredo had an excuse because I had to fight him, but I only got to spar with Dethmold once, and I was hoping for a rematch (instead I beat up his apprentice during the bigass soldier battle in the Kaedweni camp).
Anyway, we freed Anais soon after, and I realized I would have to make another choice. Roche wanted to honour his word and hand the girl over to Radovid, whereas Geralt suspected (like I did) that Radovid had less than noble ideas in mind. After all, Anais's bro Boussy had died under mysterious circumstances, so Radovid might've been behind it (a long stretch, I know, but still...). So... I had to decide whether to hand her to Radovid or the Temerians. Each argument had its pros and cons: possible enslavement vs. civil war. It was choosing the lesser of two evils, but in the end I wanted to honour Foltest's legacy and hand Anais over to the Temerians even if it'd break Roche's word to Radovid.
And guess what? We were soon after ambushed by Radovid's men who had been ordered to kill us if we didn't hand Anais. That pretty much proved my point; Radovid, despite having some noble characteristics (and whom girls say is hot, which I guess I should agree on from a straight guy's POV xP), was still as ambitious as the other monarchs. Perhaps I had made the right choice after all, but I had also gained a new enemy from Radovid who wouldn't forgive my treachery, and the barons wouldn't necessarily acknowledge a bastard (a literal bastard I mean) like Anais to the throne without a war. Damn, the life of a witcher sure ain't easy in the world of politics when no matter what you do, you screw up...
Anyway, Roche, Anais and I attended the mages' summit in the amphitheatre where the kings and mages would decide the fate of the Northern Kingdoms. Thanks to my actions, Henselt attended the meeting (even though he had less say than I had hoped), and I presented Anais as a trump card to the Temerians who now wouldn't have to be a punching bag of the other kingdoms.
As things finally seemed to turn out for the better (even the kings seemed to consider the mages' proposal), I knew I still had to deal with the treacherous Sile somehow. Before I could act, Shilard (the awesome villainous Nilfgaardian politician) presented another trump card: Letho, seemingly captured, who "confessed" that Sile and a Lodge of Sorceresses had been behind the deaths of Demavend and Foltest. This obviously enraged the other monarchs (perhaps a bit too easily, though) and they ordered every mage in Loc Muinne captured to be questioned in order to root out this conspiracy. I think this scene should've been handled a bit better, because it felt iffy that the monarchs would just believe a Nilfgaardian and a captured assassin so easily.
Anyway, Sile wouldn't let herself be captured now that her plot had been ruined. She summoned a frickin' dragon (the very same one shown in the prologue; I knew I'd meet that beast again someday!) to save her and kill anyone who tried to stop her escape. It was up to Geralt to deal with the treacherous sorceress and find a way to defeat the fearsome (and beautiful) dragon. I really liked Sile's deep voice of demonic taunting as Geralt tried to reach the tower where she was performing a spell to teleport out of the area. It was kind of like a sick twist of the ordinary fairytale where the dragon keeps a princess imprisoned in a tower; this time the woman and the beast were working together for a nefarious end while "prince charming" climbed up the tower to kill 'em all. I knew this was it: the final battle was drawing near, and I'd finally unravel the kingslayer plot.
After some hectic dragon dodging, I reached the upper level of the tower where I heard from Sile that Letho had played us all for fools and had in fact been working for Nilfgaard all along, framing sorceress along the way and sowing chaos in the Northern Kingdoms in order to keep them weak to let Nilfgaard invade with ease. This was all part of Emperor Emhyr's convoluted plan. And apparently he kept Yennefer (Geralt's seemingly lost lover) as his prisoner. When Sile was about to leave after saying some nasty words, she nearly exploded because one of her trinkers malfunctioned. This was my chance to pay back in full what Sile had done to me, but instead I chose the more "noble" path and fixed the crystal, thus letting her live. She seemed pleased that I was still friendly despite her betrayal and parted with final words of advice.
It was time to beat the snot out of the dragon. After a fierce and epic fight, the dragon was defeated. Once again I showed a soft heart and let the dragon live even though it was quite injured. I just couldn't see it in a witcher's code to kill a sentient being, even if it was under a spell from evil sorceresses to do their bidding. And killing perhaps the last dragon in the world would've been nasty.
And so I returned to Loc Muinne where Roche told me all the chaos that had gone on while I was away: kings had turned on each other, mages were slaughtered, raped or captured, Nilfgaardians had escaped. Apparently Letho's plan had worked perfectly. The Lodge would likely never recover from this massacre, but even if one evil was away, other evil, Nilfgaard, was already crossing the river in the north, ready to invade at long last. Roche and I beat Radovid's angry soldiers who wanted my head for handing Anais to Temerians, but we killed them quickly.
Before all was said and done, there was one final thing to do: Letho was waiting for me in the Redanian camp, eager to talk. I went to see him, and I was surprised to find out that he had saved Triss from Nilfgaardians. I sent Roche and the relieved Triss away and went to confront Letho who finally revealed all his secrets and motives... and even offered me vodka twice.
After I learned Letho's motivations (he worked for Nilfgaard for a chance for a new tomorrow for witchers and to rebuild the witcher school) and that Yennefer was in fact in Nilfgaard, I had to make a decision. Kill the kingslayer or spare him? He was an old friend, had saved Triss, had cared for Yennefer, had somewhat noble motives for his actions, and had been courteous enough to reveal everything... although I only had his word for it. But what purpose would it serve to lie to me now, anyway, unless he wanted to spare his life? Then again, if he was bluffing, he was quite good at it, because he seemed sincere. And he had saved Triss from certain death and protected her in the ensuing chaos...
I may have made a bad choice, but I spared Letho. Even though I was itching to avenge Foltest, I didn't think it was in witcher's code to kill other witchers no matter their actions. And Letho had been a friend and done good things for me... I felt that if anyone should judge him, it would be the monarchs, Nilfgaardians and the sorceresses... or Anais whom I heard swear that she'd avenge her father's death (she might be pissed off if she ever found out I let Letho walk away, but whatareyagonnado?). He'd be a hunted man for the rest of his life, and that should be big enough punishment for him. Killing him wouldn't solve anything; I'd only rid the world of yet another witcher and another old friend (after the tragic deaths of Serrit and Auckes). It just felt better to let him go whether he manipulated me or not. I guess I was too soft for all the villains, but I just felt it wasn't my job to judge them; let others do it for me and remain neutral.
Then came the bittersweet epilogue and ending (gotta love the ladybug symbolism which shows Geralt will go after his true love Yennefer). So now these points are clear: Nilfgaard's invasion is imminent and war will begin, Geralt will definitely try to save Yennefer (but will he choose his old flame Yennefer vs. his new flame Triss, or can they live in a threesome? I'd hate to break either woman's heart, really, because both mean so much to Geralt...), and the mysterious King of the Wild Hunt will definitely be involved somehow. I assume Witcher 3 will take place in Nilfgaard or near the border, and we'll get to witness the full extent of the emperor's plans... and hopefully we'll get to meet him because he's quite close to Geralt. ;) ;) ;)
What bugged me about the credits was that the images looped way too soon. Also, I expected to see more events from the game portrayed in it. It would've been cool to see your choices reflected in the credits, thus helping you relive the story as a final "thanks for playing" from the developers. Alas it was not meant to be. Here are the things I would've wanted to see in credits from my playthrough (SPOILERS):
-Geralt sparing Aryan/carrying him in La Valette dungeon)
-Foltest's death in the hands of Letho
-Reunion with Zoltan and Dandelion
-Defeating the Kayran with Sile's help
-First duel with Letho
-Beating Loredo
-Choosing Roche over Iorveth
-Geralt/Triss sex scene
-Geralt/Ves sex scene
-Beating Draug
-Defeating the assassins
-Roche's men getting killed
-Siege of Vergen/Sparing Henselt
-Saving Anais/Giving her to Temerians
-Sparing Sile
-Sparing dragon
-Sparing Letho
-Some nice endgame pic
Also, the after the credits vid was weak. It'd be awesome to see some stinger of the emperor with Yennefer, or king of the wild hunt observing the scene while muttering something ominous or something like that. It would've been a great buildup for the next Witcher game but oh well. It was still a great experience, and I can't wait to play through Iorveth's path.
I discovered a nice song called "Hand of Sorrow" from the band Within Temptation. Although their song is apparently about Fitz from the Farseer trilogy (a nice albeit bittersweet fantasy series), I also realized this also fits Geralt of Rivia (Witcher) and Razoul (tGA) well. All three men are people with dark pasts, personal tragedies, and lives mingling with nasty politics. Anyway, I'll just focus on the song's importance to Geralt alone:
Within Temptation - Hand of Sorrow
The child without a name grew up to be the hand
To watch you, to shield you, or kill on demand
The choice he'd made he could not comprehend
His blood a grim secret they had to commend
Well, Geralt was nameless until he chose his witcher name. He grew up to become a monster slayer after going through serious mutations which few survive. He takes jobs in line with his morality, sometimes not understanding why he ends up doing more bad than good despite his intentions.
He's torn between his honor and the true love of his life
He prayed for both but was denied
Pretty self-explanatory, really. The love of his life is just as easily Yennefer as it is Triss. His honour is his loyalty to the kingdom whose monarch was murdered and who he owes, and it also refers to his witcher's code which often gets him in trouble (not killing humans except in self defense etc.).
So many dreams were broken and so much was sacrificed
Was it worth the ones we loved and had to leave behind
So many years have passed, who are the noble and the wise?
Will all our sins be justified?
Geralt has sacrificed A LOT, and dreams of a happier life were shattered by Ciri leaving and Yennefer going missing after the Wild Hunt episode. He also had to leave Yennefer and Triss behind for various complex reasons, a decision that will haunt him for years to come. As he's grown older, he realizes things aren't black&white and that some monsters may not have fangs. He's sinned a lot, as has Letho, but were Letho's sins justified because of his noble motives?
The curse of his powers tormented his life
Obeying the crown was a sinister price
His soul was tortured by love and by pain
He surely would flee, but the oath made him stay
Being a witcher is both admirable and hated profession. People loathe them but need them to slay monsters. It's an odd love&hate relationship. Letho had to obey the crown of Nilfgaard, thus sacrificing his morales. Geralt likewise "obeyed" several crowns during the game, which led to various tragedies. Geralt experienced much pain from his decisions (both emotional and physical), and he's torn between his love for Triss and Yennefer). He would've wanted to flee from all this nastiness, but he had to clear his name (and/or avenge Foltest) by capturing the kingslayers.
He's torn between his honor and the true love of his life
He prayed for both but was denied
So many dreams were broken and so much was sacrificed
Was it worth the ones we loved and had to leave behind
So many years have passed, who are the noble and the wise?
Will all our sins be justified?
See earlier explanations.
Please forgive me for the sorrow
For leaving you in fear
For the dreams we had to silence
That's all they'll ever be
Still I'll be the hand that serves you
Though you'll not see that it is me
Kinda applies to Letho and Geralt. Both did some questionable things to their friends, but ends justify the means... or do they? Their dreams were shattered by the harsh reality of their actions.
So many dreams were broken and so much was sacrificed
Was it worth the ones we loved and had to leave behind
So many years have past, who are the noble and the wise?
Will all our sins be justified?
That's about it. A beautiful and bittersweet song which perfectly fits the plot of the Witcher 2. =)
As for tGA and some recent character development, I never expected Razoul to get this much screentime. It's all thanks to my friend's surprisingly sweet posts which provide some breath of fresh air from all the politics and fighting. A tragic love story is in the air, folks, and if my friend lets me, I'm going to milk it for all it's worth. Poor, poor Razoul... and yet I also feel happy for him. He's been kinda two-dimensional (with shades of grey like his bittersweet talk to Khalid after Ismail's death which was my tribute to a wonderful scene from Kingdom of Heaven) so his growing friendship with Rain will help me to soften his edges a bit and explain his motives. I've found the conversations between him and Rain very sweet, and yet I feel sad because I already know the path he must take. I have already written said post, and it really breaks my heart every time I read it, but I know it's necessary for the sake of story and continuity.
Will this sudden character development dissuade me, though, or will Razoul serve the story faithfully to the end? I look forward to finding that out, but he's really growing on me no matter what happens. This is another benefit of RPing: sometimes you discover a new side from your character thanks to others' interaction. Without Rain Razoul would've been dealt with QUITE differently, lemme tell ya. And yet this humanization makes my path all the more unbearable. I guess I should blame myself for investing too much of myself in my characters, suffering their hardships and enjoying their fleeting moments with them. Razoul is no exception.
Speaking of character interaction, guess what? The post I had been waiting for three years is finally here! Behold the reunion of Refan and Omaroch! Those who know me well also know that when I set out to do something, I'll suffer until I get said thing done. That was the case with this post. I wasn't sure HOW it would play out, but I knew it NEEDED to happen. Father and son had been separated under rather tragic circumstances, so their reunion after all these years (of both RP world time and IRL time) had to pack a punch, so to speak. I know a few tGA people who actually were looking forward to this scene, as much as the idea baffles my mind (I didn't know someone else would actually be invested in Omaroch and Refan's little subplot, but I guess that means I did something right with their characterization during the Great War and Godslayer RPs?).
And let me tell you that I'm unsure of the end result. Did it live up to my expectations? I suppose so... and yet I feel the post lacks something. Don't get me wrong; it has the scene of utter emotional breakdown on Omaroch's part, the horrible feeling of seeing Refan turning more and more sinister (even if he has SOMEWHAT understandable reasons for acting that way; because demonic side represents your repressed feelings and all that jazz, and Omaroch was kind of a douche in the past), Ronove's rather complex and conflicting motivations, and Malphas's utter satisfaction of the near patricide level of violence we see (even if it's only briefly mentioned).
I've really enjoyed the whole dark!Refan storyline and how it connects to the overall Northern Horde plot. The complex game of deception played in Malphas's court is just so thrilling: who's manipulating whom? What are everyone's true goals? What parts will every actor play in the overall scheme? What'll end up being the connected trio's (Omaroch, Refan, Ronove) fates?
Sadly I don't want the story to get too convoluted (and my focus is elsewhere as it should be) so I can't delve deeper into that particular plot even though I wanted to. Part of me wants to start writing down a sort of side story dealing only with the machinations in the Northern Horde but it's just a crazy idea. And wouldn't it do the whole plot disservice in the end?
Still, I know the Vanna and Alent plotlines will reconnect someday depending on a few circumstances. I do want to see the reactions of other characters to Refan's change of heart. I do want them to face their issues with Ronove. How far can I go with Refan's corruption without it going against his character? Or are we finally seeing his true character? All I can say is that I've found RPing him so sweet but I also know that no matter how much I care for him and his plot, I can't let him dominate the story. He must remain in the sidelines, and the easiest way is to keep him with the villains for now. I don't know if I'll be able to dig deeper into his plot anytime soon, but I doubt that unless it benefits the story as a whole. It's a shame, but once again story flow is what's more important. If the plot gets too convoluted with personal side stories of a character who shouldn't be the focus, it'll become less interesting. Thus Refan's story will have to be sacrificed for the greater good...
In any case it's been amazing how many of the planned posts I've managed to write. I pretty much have three more "must" posts in mind, the most important of which will likely be the one concerning Razoul. I've read through that prewritten post many times, fixing it, changing words here and there, hoping to turn it into an interesting and heartfelt experience. I don't know if I'll ever get to post it depending on where the story takes us, but writing it has been an indescribable experience. I've only had a couple of such scenes in the RP where everything clicked perfectly (people might know those scenes already because they've told me they liked those scenes when they'd read them). Of course the biggest problem of the Razoul scene is that it's helluva long; possibly my longest tGA post ever. I know I have to cut stuff out from it if I ever have a chance to post it, but it's like amputating your limbs; you can't bear to take anything away when everything works so well together.
But if you've ever had the awesome "flow" experience of just writing to your heart's content and making it all seamlessly work in a marvellous way in a surprisingly painless way, you'll understand what I'm talking about. I guess I could let people proofread it and suggest cuts, but would that make the post any better? Every moment, every word, every description, every gesture leads to the inevitable conclusion which is kind of like the preset catastrophe waiting to happen in the most emotional Greek tragedies. Can I really do it, to clip out things, which will make the experience cheaper, to take out so much of the sorrow which the post entails?
I guess I should paraphrase a nice sentence fitting to this situation. Choosing what to do with the post about Razoul is like "To have love and lost or to have never loved at all"... whether that makes sense to any of you isn't under my power so think of it as you will.
Yours,
Mikko
But it'd be anticlimactic to leave this stuff to the above sentence, wouldn't it? So, I'll try to briefly explain my feelings over the endgame content.
First of all, the third act is indeed too short even if you go through all the possible sidequests. The area itself is surprisingly small, too, which was a shame, but I suppose the developers ran out of time or something. Still, it doesn't mean it's a bad thing; they still managed to make the end content interesting and make sense once you think about it. And guess how surprised (and pleased) I was to see Aryan La Valette alive after all these chapters. I thought the guy had perished, and he was a likable character, so it was nice seeing at least one friendly face in the crowd. I missed Iorveth and Philippa, though...
The things that really stole the show, however, were main plot related things. First I'll talk about the sadistic choice which you'll have to make on Roche's path: you find out that your lover Triss is held captive in the Nilfgaard camp, and at the same time you hear that King Foltest's daughter Anais is held captive in the Kaedweni camp. You can't save both of them, so you have to choose whether you'll save the life of your beloved or the life of a future queen without whom Temeria will fall into chaos (or the greedy hands of other monarchs).
Needless to say, I had trouble deciding which path Geralt should choose. On the one hand he owed Foltest for failing him, so rescuing Anais would be paying the fallen king back and salvage what was left of Temeria. However, Geralt obviously loved Triss and had come all this way to save her, so could he really ignore her? I have a feeling that Geralt would've personally chosen Triss over Anais, but maybe I was an ass or a realist because I chose the good of the kingdom over the good of one person. What I did was like a punch in poor Triss's face, sure, but I felt Geralt still owed Foltest and Temeria for all the chaos Letho had sown there. This decision still haunts me, and it didn't help that things soon got out of hand big-time.
It turned out another king, Radovid of Redania, was interested in us saving Anais. He promised to turn Temeria into Redania's protectorate and he'd marry Anais to unite the two kingdoms and make them strong enough to oppose Nilfgaard. However, despite his seemingly sincere and sympathetic goals, I felt he was only using his political means to take over Temeria to increase his own power.
With that in mind, Roche and I went to free Anais. After a fierce and fun fight against a legion of soldiers (gotta love big battles against a mob), we located the imprisoned princess. But first we had to deal with Dethmold, the sorcerer who had kidnapped her and who had also been responsible for killing Roche's men earlier in the game.
Seeing Dethmold ready to fuck his manservant was somewhat surprising even though I knew he was gay from having read his backstory. The act where he's grooming himself and talks idle chatter was so charming that he once again proved to be a surprisingly human villain to me, and I did feel sorry for him when Roche executed him in a very messy way. I was expecting at least an epic boss battle, and yet the poor sorcerer went out without a bang (both literally and figuratively). Why is it that this game makes me feel sorry for even the vilest of villains? Why didn't the game let me save Dethmold from Roche? It would've been an awesome twist, and yet I was forced to watch an understandably loathsome villain die (but who I still felt sorry for). At least Loredo had an excuse because I had to fight him, but I only got to spar with Dethmold once, and I was hoping for a rematch (instead I beat up his apprentice during the bigass soldier battle in the Kaedweni camp).
Anyway, we freed Anais soon after, and I realized I would have to make another choice. Roche wanted to honour his word and hand the girl over to Radovid, whereas Geralt suspected (like I did) that Radovid had less than noble ideas in mind. After all, Anais's bro Boussy had died under mysterious circumstances, so Radovid might've been behind it (a long stretch, I know, but still...). So... I had to decide whether to hand her to Radovid or the Temerians. Each argument had its pros and cons: possible enslavement vs. civil war. It was choosing the lesser of two evils, but in the end I wanted to honour Foltest's legacy and hand Anais over to the Temerians even if it'd break Roche's word to Radovid.
And guess what? We were soon after ambushed by Radovid's men who had been ordered to kill us if we didn't hand Anais. That pretty much proved my point; Radovid, despite having some noble characteristics (and whom girls say is hot, which I guess I should agree on from a straight guy's POV xP), was still as ambitious as the other monarchs. Perhaps I had made the right choice after all, but I had also gained a new enemy from Radovid who wouldn't forgive my treachery, and the barons wouldn't necessarily acknowledge a bastard (a literal bastard I mean) like Anais to the throne without a war. Damn, the life of a witcher sure ain't easy in the world of politics when no matter what you do, you screw up...
Anyway, Roche, Anais and I attended the mages' summit in the amphitheatre where the kings and mages would decide the fate of the Northern Kingdoms. Thanks to my actions, Henselt attended the meeting (even though he had less say than I had hoped), and I presented Anais as a trump card to the Temerians who now wouldn't have to be a punching bag of the other kingdoms.
As things finally seemed to turn out for the better (even the kings seemed to consider the mages' proposal), I knew I still had to deal with the treacherous Sile somehow. Before I could act, Shilard (the awesome villainous Nilfgaardian politician) presented another trump card: Letho, seemingly captured, who "confessed" that Sile and a Lodge of Sorceresses had been behind the deaths of Demavend and Foltest. This obviously enraged the other monarchs (perhaps a bit too easily, though) and they ordered every mage in Loc Muinne captured to be questioned in order to root out this conspiracy. I think this scene should've been handled a bit better, because it felt iffy that the monarchs would just believe a Nilfgaardian and a captured assassin so easily.
Anyway, Sile wouldn't let herself be captured now that her plot had been ruined. She summoned a frickin' dragon (the very same one shown in the prologue; I knew I'd meet that beast again someday!) to save her and kill anyone who tried to stop her escape. It was up to Geralt to deal with the treacherous sorceress and find a way to defeat the fearsome (and beautiful) dragon. I really liked Sile's deep voice of demonic taunting as Geralt tried to reach the tower where she was performing a spell to teleport out of the area. It was kind of like a sick twist of the ordinary fairytale where the dragon keeps a princess imprisoned in a tower; this time the woman and the beast were working together for a nefarious end while "prince charming" climbed up the tower to kill 'em all. I knew this was it: the final battle was drawing near, and I'd finally unravel the kingslayer plot.
After some hectic dragon dodging, I reached the upper level of the tower where I heard from Sile that Letho had played us all for fools and had in fact been working for Nilfgaard all along, framing sorceress along the way and sowing chaos in the Northern Kingdoms in order to keep them weak to let Nilfgaard invade with ease. This was all part of Emperor Emhyr's convoluted plan. And apparently he kept Yennefer (Geralt's seemingly lost lover) as his prisoner. When Sile was about to leave after saying some nasty words, she nearly exploded because one of her trinkers malfunctioned. This was my chance to pay back in full what Sile had done to me, but instead I chose the more "noble" path and fixed the crystal, thus letting her live. She seemed pleased that I was still friendly despite her betrayal and parted with final words of advice.
It was time to beat the snot out of the dragon. After a fierce and epic fight, the dragon was defeated. Once again I showed a soft heart and let the dragon live even though it was quite injured. I just couldn't see it in a witcher's code to kill a sentient being, even if it was under a spell from evil sorceresses to do their bidding. And killing perhaps the last dragon in the world would've been nasty.
And so I returned to Loc Muinne where Roche told me all the chaos that had gone on while I was away: kings had turned on each other, mages were slaughtered, raped or captured, Nilfgaardians had escaped. Apparently Letho's plan had worked perfectly. The Lodge would likely never recover from this massacre, but even if one evil was away, other evil, Nilfgaard, was already crossing the river in the north, ready to invade at long last. Roche and I beat Radovid's angry soldiers who wanted my head for handing Anais to Temerians, but we killed them quickly.
Before all was said and done, there was one final thing to do: Letho was waiting for me in the Redanian camp, eager to talk. I went to see him, and I was surprised to find out that he had saved Triss from Nilfgaardians. I sent Roche and the relieved Triss away and went to confront Letho who finally revealed all his secrets and motives... and even offered me vodka twice.
After I learned Letho's motivations (he worked for Nilfgaard for a chance for a new tomorrow for witchers and to rebuild the witcher school) and that Yennefer was in fact in Nilfgaard, I had to make a decision. Kill the kingslayer or spare him? He was an old friend, had saved Triss, had cared for Yennefer, had somewhat noble motives for his actions, and had been courteous enough to reveal everything... although I only had his word for it. But what purpose would it serve to lie to me now, anyway, unless he wanted to spare his life? Then again, if he was bluffing, he was quite good at it, because he seemed sincere. And he had saved Triss from certain death and protected her in the ensuing chaos...
I may have made a bad choice, but I spared Letho. Even though I was itching to avenge Foltest, I didn't think it was in witcher's code to kill other witchers no matter their actions. And Letho had been a friend and done good things for me... I felt that if anyone should judge him, it would be the monarchs, Nilfgaardians and the sorceresses... or Anais whom I heard swear that she'd avenge her father's death (she might be pissed off if she ever found out I let Letho walk away, but whatareyagonnado?). He'd be a hunted man for the rest of his life, and that should be big enough punishment for him. Killing him wouldn't solve anything; I'd only rid the world of yet another witcher and another old friend (after the tragic deaths of Serrit and Auckes). It just felt better to let him go whether he manipulated me or not. I guess I was too soft for all the villains, but I just felt it wasn't my job to judge them; let others do it for me and remain neutral.
Then came the bittersweet epilogue and ending (gotta love the ladybug symbolism which shows Geralt will go after his true love Yennefer). So now these points are clear: Nilfgaard's invasion is imminent and war will begin, Geralt will definitely try to save Yennefer (but will he choose his old flame Yennefer vs. his new flame Triss, or can they live in a threesome? I'd hate to break either woman's heart, really, because both mean so much to Geralt...), and the mysterious King of the Wild Hunt will definitely be involved somehow. I assume Witcher 3 will take place in Nilfgaard or near the border, and we'll get to witness the full extent of the emperor's plans... and hopefully we'll get to meet him because he's quite close to Geralt. ;) ;) ;)
What bugged me about the credits was that the images looped way too soon. Also, I expected to see more events from the game portrayed in it. It would've been cool to see your choices reflected in the credits, thus helping you relive the story as a final "thanks for playing" from the developers. Alas it was not meant to be. Here are the things I would've wanted to see in credits from my playthrough (SPOILERS):
-Geralt sparing Aryan/carrying him in La Valette dungeon)
-Foltest's death in the hands of Letho
-Reunion with Zoltan and Dandelion
-Defeating the Kayran with Sile's help
-First duel with Letho
-Beating Loredo
-Choosing Roche over Iorveth
-Geralt/Triss sex scene
-Geralt/Ves sex scene
-Beating Draug
-Defeating the assassins
-Roche's men getting killed
-Siege of Vergen/Sparing Henselt
-Saving Anais/Giving her to Temerians
-Sparing Sile
-Sparing dragon
-Sparing Letho
-Some nice endgame pic
Also, the after the credits vid was weak. It'd be awesome to see some stinger of the emperor with Yennefer, or king of the wild hunt observing the scene while muttering something ominous or something like that. It would've been a great buildup for the next Witcher game but oh well. It was still a great experience, and I can't wait to play through Iorveth's path.
I discovered a nice song called "Hand of Sorrow" from the band Within Temptation. Although their song is apparently about Fitz from the Farseer trilogy (a nice albeit bittersweet fantasy series), I also realized this also fits Geralt of Rivia (Witcher) and Razoul (tGA) well. All three men are people with dark pasts, personal tragedies, and lives mingling with nasty politics. Anyway, I'll just focus on the song's importance to Geralt alone:
Within Temptation - Hand of Sorrow
The child without a name grew up to be the hand
To watch you, to shield you, or kill on demand
The choice he'd made he could not comprehend
His blood a grim secret they had to commend
Well, Geralt was nameless until he chose his witcher name. He grew up to become a monster slayer after going through serious mutations which few survive. He takes jobs in line with his morality, sometimes not understanding why he ends up doing more bad than good despite his intentions.
He's torn between his honor and the true love of his life
He prayed for both but was denied
Pretty self-explanatory, really. The love of his life is just as easily Yennefer as it is Triss. His honour is his loyalty to the kingdom whose monarch was murdered and who he owes, and it also refers to his witcher's code which often gets him in trouble (not killing humans except in self defense etc.).
So many dreams were broken and so much was sacrificed
Was it worth the ones we loved and had to leave behind
So many years have passed, who are the noble and the wise?
Will all our sins be justified?
Geralt has sacrificed A LOT, and dreams of a happier life were shattered by Ciri leaving and Yennefer going missing after the Wild Hunt episode. He also had to leave Yennefer and Triss behind for various complex reasons, a decision that will haunt him for years to come. As he's grown older, he realizes things aren't black&white and that some monsters may not have fangs. He's sinned a lot, as has Letho, but were Letho's sins justified because of his noble motives?
The curse of his powers tormented his life
Obeying the crown was a sinister price
His soul was tortured by love and by pain
He surely would flee, but the oath made him stay
Being a witcher is both admirable and hated profession. People loathe them but need them to slay monsters. It's an odd love&hate relationship. Letho had to obey the crown of Nilfgaard, thus sacrificing his morales. Geralt likewise "obeyed" several crowns during the game, which led to various tragedies. Geralt experienced much pain from his decisions (both emotional and physical), and he's torn between his love for Triss and Yennefer). He would've wanted to flee from all this nastiness, but he had to clear his name (and/or avenge Foltest) by capturing the kingslayers.
He's torn between his honor and the true love of his life
He prayed for both but was denied
So many dreams were broken and so much was sacrificed
Was it worth the ones we loved and had to leave behind
So many years have passed, who are the noble and the wise?
Will all our sins be justified?
See earlier explanations.
Please forgive me for the sorrow
For leaving you in fear
For the dreams we had to silence
That's all they'll ever be
Still I'll be the hand that serves you
Though you'll not see that it is me
Kinda applies to Letho and Geralt. Both did some questionable things to their friends, but ends justify the means... or do they? Their dreams were shattered by the harsh reality of their actions.
So many dreams were broken and so much was sacrificed
Was it worth the ones we loved and had to leave behind
So many years have past, who are the noble and the wise?
Will all our sins be justified?
That's about it. A beautiful and bittersweet song which perfectly fits the plot of the Witcher 2. =)
As for tGA and some recent character development, I never expected Razoul to get this much screentime. It's all thanks to my friend's surprisingly sweet posts which provide some breath of fresh air from all the politics and fighting. A tragic love story is in the air, folks, and if my friend lets me, I'm going to milk it for all it's worth. Poor, poor Razoul... and yet I also feel happy for him. He's been kinda two-dimensional (with shades of grey like his bittersweet talk to Khalid after Ismail's death which was my tribute to a wonderful scene from Kingdom of Heaven) so his growing friendship with Rain will help me to soften his edges a bit and explain his motives. I've found the conversations between him and Rain very sweet, and yet I feel sad because I already know the path he must take. I have already written said post, and it really breaks my heart every time I read it, but I know it's necessary for the sake of story and continuity.
Will this sudden character development dissuade me, though, or will Razoul serve the story faithfully to the end? I look forward to finding that out, but he's really growing on me no matter what happens. This is another benefit of RPing: sometimes you discover a new side from your character thanks to others' interaction. Without Rain Razoul would've been dealt with QUITE differently, lemme tell ya. And yet this humanization makes my path all the more unbearable. I guess I should blame myself for investing too much of myself in my characters, suffering their hardships and enjoying their fleeting moments with them. Razoul is no exception.
Speaking of character interaction, guess what? The post I had been waiting for three years is finally here! Behold the reunion of Refan and Omaroch! Those who know me well also know that when I set out to do something, I'll suffer until I get said thing done. That was the case with this post. I wasn't sure HOW it would play out, but I knew it NEEDED to happen. Father and son had been separated under rather tragic circumstances, so their reunion after all these years (of both RP world time and IRL time) had to pack a punch, so to speak. I know a few tGA people who actually were looking forward to this scene, as much as the idea baffles my mind (I didn't know someone else would actually be invested in Omaroch and Refan's little subplot, but I guess that means I did something right with their characterization during the Great War and Godslayer RPs?).
And let me tell you that I'm unsure of the end result. Did it live up to my expectations? I suppose so... and yet I feel the post lacks something. Don't get me wrong; it has the scene of utter emotional breakdown on Omaroch's part, the horrible feeling of seeing Refan turning more and more sinister (even if he has SOMEWHAT understandable reasons for acting that way; because demonic side represents your repressed feelings and all that jazz, and Omaroch was kind of a douche in the past), Ronove's rather complex and conflicting motivations, and Malphas's utter satisfaction of the near patricide level of violence we see (even if it's only briefly mentioned).
I've really enjoyed the whole dark!Refan storyline and how it connects to the overall Northern Horde plot. The complex game of deception played in Malphas's court is just so thrilling: who's manipulating whom? What are everyone's true goals? What parts will every actor play in the overall scheme? What'll end up being the connected trio's (Omaroch, Refan, Ronove) fates?
Sadly I don't want the story to get too convoluted (and my focus is elsewhere as it should be) so I can't delve deeper into that particular plot even though I wanted to. Part of me wants to start writing down a sort of side story dealing only with the machinations in the Northern Horde but it's just a crazy idea. And wouldn't it do the whole plot disservice in the end?
Still, I know the Vanna and Alent plotlines will reconnect someday depending on a few circumstances. I do want to see the reactions of other characters to Refan's change of heart. I do want them to face their issues with Ronove. How far can I go with Refan's corruption without it going against his character? Or are we finally seeing his true character? All I can say is that I've found RPing him so sweet but I also know that no matter how much I care for him and his plot, I can't let him dominate the story. He must remain in the sidelines, and the easiest way is to keep him with the villains for now. I don't know if I'll be able to dig deeper into his plot anytime soon, but I doubt that unless it benefits the story as a whole. It's a shame, but once again story flow is what's more important. If the plot gets too convoluted with personal side stories of a character who shouldn't be the focus, it'll become less interesting. Thus Refan's story will have to be sacrificed for the greater good...
In any case it's been amazing how many of the planned posts I've managed to write. I pretty much have three more "must" posts in mind, the most important of which will likely be the one concerning Razoul. I've read through that prewritten post many times, fixing it, changing words here and there, hoping to turn it into an interesting and heartfelt experience. I don't know if I'll ever get to post it depending on where the story takes us, but writing it has been an indescribable experience. I've only had a couple of such scenes in the RP where everything clicked perfectly (people might know those scenes already because they've told me they liked those scenes when they'd read them). Of course the biggest problem of the Razoul scene is that it's helluva long; possibly my longest tGA post ever. I know I have to cut stuff out from it if I ever have a chance to post it, but it's like amputating your limbs; you can't bear to take anything away when everything works so well together.
But if you've ever had the awesome "flow" experience of just writing to your heart's content and making it all seamlessly work in a marvellous way in a surprisingly painless way, you'll understand what I'm talking about. I guess I could let people proofread it and suggest cuts, but would that make the post any better? Every moment, every word, every description, every gesture leads to the inevitable conclusion which is kind of like the preset catastrophe waiting to happen in the most emotional Greek tragedies. Can I really do it, to clip out things, which will make the experience cheaper, to take out so much of the sorrow which the post entails?
I guess I should paraphrase a nice sentence fitting to this situation. Choosing what to do with the post about Razoul is like "To have love and lost or to have never loved at all"... whether that makes sense to any of you isn't under my power so think of it as you will.
Yours,
Mikko