An Impromptu Witcher Lets Play - now with the Witcher 2!

[Bara_no_Hime]

Hey, in Bioshock infinite Elizabeth has the same reaction if your draw your weapon or not in a certain scene. According to this logic this must mean that the developers are saying that women always react this way

One person reacting a particular way is a character.

Two characters, both female, having identical reactions in two different locations is a pattern.

It's lit theory. One data point means nothing, but two is a trend.

Did you miss the part where Geralt also wants to settle down? You are squeezing blood from a rock here. Geralt essentially wanting "out" is also a big component of the Witcher 2.

No, I didn't miss that. If you read my other comments on this, you'd have seen that. I actually quite liked Geralt's character development on those lines.

What I don't like is the fact that they are acting like all women must have children in order to feel whole.

Moreover (see below):

To answer your question, yes, Triss is in the novels. She's somewhat of a minor character. I'm guessing they maybe based a lot of Triss on Yennifer and the same with the bard.

Ahh. I guess I'll have to read Triss in the novels then. Still, if you're making that assumption, then it is likely true.

To Ryotknife, in one of my other comments, I suggested that my real beef was with Andrzej Sapkowski, original author of the Witcher stories and his incredibly sexist portrayal of Yennifer. Yennifer is far worse than Triss in the game, but they are similar enough - particularly since, for Triss, this came out of fucking NO WHERE without any previous characterization in that direction - that it pissed me right off.

However, it is more likely that game Triss is, at least in part, an Expy of Yennifer. In that, the game designers did manage to improve her. However, they also lifted several very sexist aspects from Yennifer and crammed them into Triss with the rest. At least THIS Triss (in the Witcher 1 - I can't say about 2).

Yennifer is pathetic and shallow. I disliked her in the stories, so seeing her bad character traits crammed into Triss - a character I really like - is upsetting. Triss is a better character than Yennifer in every way, and she's one of my favorites in the game, so when she suddenly stops everything to play mommy (and demands that Geralt do the same) it is just... wrong.

Why are you exaggerating like that, there really is no point to it, where was it stated that Triss regretted anything, she doesn't actually,

As noted above, that's Yennifer, not Triss. Yennifer directly states that regret. However, since Triss is now doing the same basic song and dance, it makes it seem like Triss regrets it too.

Now, that may just be Expy issues (ie, unintentional subtext due to lazy copy/paste character arc). I hope so.

Another thing about ''implies all women want children'', in fact in Sapkowski's universe Witchers are sought of by women for the very reason that they're sterile, might explain a few things, hence the ''no five feet without fuck'' in this game, everyone loves sex and witchers are basically walking dildos in some women's eyes, no commitment.

Yes, but sleeping with a witcher doesn't make YOU sterile. Wanting some casual, risk-free sex (witchers are also immune to disease, so no STDs in addition to no pregnancy) has nothing to do with not wanting children with someone else. That's why some of Geralt's partners are married - they've had or will have their children with someone else.

Actually, the women lining up to have guilt-free sex with Geralt is one of my favorite aspects of the universe. Women taking control of their sexuality is an example of female empowerment. It is anti-sexist.

This game has a very weird habit of swinging back and forth between very sexist aspects (the cards, Triss weird character arc) and very empowering, non-sexist aspects (women controlling their sexuality, women being seen as equals in positions of power). It has some great stuff for women - and some bad things. It's kind of all over the place.

It makes me wonder if the game writers weren't trying to update the world some while they made the game. So far, Andrzej Sapkowski's world has not been this pro-women. Most of his stories (all three that I've read so far, so grain of salt) have either been neutral or sexist.

Of course, he's an older author. The game world seems more pro women, but it (mostly through Expy characters) has brought over a lot of Sapkowski's issues with it.

Some of my frustration is born of the polarity this creates - the game seems to jerk back-and-forth between empowering and sexist at random and very strongly - sometimes within the same scene.

In fact, here are a few more (minor) Jeers and Cheers for sexist or empowering moments.

Non-celibate priestesses. - Cheer! I really like that the Nurses at the hospital, how wear obvious Nun habits, aren't celibate. I know this for two reasons. One, one of the nurses complains that she wishes the plague was over so she could go party. The way the dialog is handled, it is clear that party = get laid. Secondly, while looking for my avatar pic, I came across a card that I assume Geralt can pick up here (although I have no triggered any such activity).

Vampire Prostitutes - Cheer and Jeer. The Jeer is because Vampires have often been a way to vilify sexually active women, bisexual women, or lesbians. It is pretty clear that this very unfortunate trope is what inspired this bit. However, a Cheer because the writers also subverted the trope by making the Vampires the "good guys" in this scene. Yes, you can kill them anyway, but they make it fairly clear that the Rose Knight/brother is the one in the wrong. Oh, and another minor Jeer for making all of the vampire prostitutes (other than the madame, who is an off-pallet Carmen) have identical character models to the blue-eyed girl.

Carmen's Werewolf Boyfriend - Cheer! It's nice to be rescuing a cursed man for a change. Also, it is implied that they have a serious relationship going on, which is sort of sweet. I was a bit turned off by her dialog where she called him her "man" - it sounded off - but I liked the characterization behind that bit of awful dialog.

Princess Adda - Cheer...ish. Her writing is pretty interesting and clever. She's playing political games and seems very in control of herself and her situations. Good female character all around.

The ... ish comes from the fact that she is entirely off-character from the story. She's supposed to be a simpleton, not a cunning politician. I teased about her being a former monster back at the beginning of the chapter, but it is really creepier that she's supposed to be - forgive the term - a "retard". And with good reason - she was dead for 7 years and a monster for 7 more, so she was basically an infant at 14 years old. I get the impression that the authors just threw that part of here character on the trash to make someone more interesting and... that I applaud. Even if it still kinda creeps me out that Geralt had sex with her.

Anyway, the point of that was this: I don't mean to imply that the whole game is sexist. It isn't. It has some great moments for the female audience.

But it ALSO has some very sexist aspects. Sometimes mixed right in with the awesome, and sometimes elsewhere. It makes the ride very jarring sometimes. I'll be enjoying the female empowerment, only to crash back down to earth thanks to some casual bit of sexism. I still find the cards annoying - particularly since it means that the game can get away with having little or (in some cases) NO cut-scene prior to the sex.

I don't get this.. They're cards--what's the problem? It's not like you collect a bunch of women only to keep in your trophy room..

I explained it on page 1. And you quoted one of the better explanations.

If you mean "it's not like he kidnapped a bunch of women and locked them in a trophy room" then yes, that would have been worse and also non-nonsensical.

You have heard the term "objectifying women" yes? Well, collecting cards of one's sexual conquests objectifies women by reducing them to a collectable quest. It literally reduces them to objects - cards - to be ogled and stared at for your male-gaze pleasure. And by "your" I mean the (assumed to be male) player.

 

[exxxed]

@Bara_no_Hime

Enjoying our little debate, there's a simple explanation to the whole back and forth ''thing'' you seem to notice and opiniate on, Europeans tend to not give a damn regarding these things, entertainment is just that, entertainment, things like this tend to affect 'us' (I don't speak for everyone, but a good majority of the people I know and interact with seem to just let it fly and have fun) if they happen in real society not in some game or movie/tv show.

As for the ''card collection'', I really don't see those sexy portrayals of in game characters as cards, even less so as a a collection, if you check your Journal you can easily see that every character you interacted with until that point has a nice description and a picture, as for women Geralt had intimate relations with (à la Sapkowski) have an extra sexy picture, I really don't see the big fuss about it, it's not like there's a section called ''Card Collection''(as far as I recall) where you can just scroll through sexist cards as you would some Pokemon card collection, like I said, probably (assuming you're not form anywhere near Europe hihi...) different worlds...

Looking forward to your next update, HA! LETHO IS DEAD!!! about time too, I can now start over and see the full implications of my decisions (sometime this week if I play my cards right, pun intended of course).

Best of luck to you!

 

[Bara_no_Hime]

Europeans tend to not give a damn regarding these things, entertainment is just that, entertainment, things like this tend to affect 'us'.

**raised eyebrow, pursed lips**

Really? You're going to pull the "Americans are Prudes" card? I'm a sex-positive bisexual woman who has happily talked about her open marriage and group sex encounters on this very site. I am not a prude.

Like I said, it isn't the sex that's the issue. It's the stereotyping.

Also, I don't know what gender you are, but male is a fairly safe guess. I've noticed that most of the Europeans who say "oh, this doesn't bother me" are men. No shit - it doesn't bother most American men either. That doesn't make it any less sexist.

When I hear it from some European gamer women, then I might be willing to discuss the America/Europe thing. Otherwise, it just sounds like a cop-out.

As for the ''card collection'', I really don't see those sexy portrayals of in game characters as cards, even less so as a a collection, if you check your Journal you can easily see that every character you interacted with until that point has a nice description and a picture, as for women Geralt had intimate relations with (à la Sapkowski) have an extra sexy picture, I really don't see the big fuss about it, it's not like there's a section called ''Card Collection''(as far as I recall) where you can just scroll through sexist cards as you would some Pokemon card collection, like I said, probably.

First off, many games make Journal entries a "collectable mini game" quest. Even in the Witcher, many of the books you read only add to your Journal, enriching the game. Same for games like Bioshock, Assassin's Creed, or Mass Effect. Just because the cards are physical doesn't mean they're not a collectable.

Secondly, the viewable sex cards in the Journal feel like a "reward" for having sex with the women in the game (even if the artwork on the cards is often dubious at best). It says "here is your reward for in-character sex - a picture of boobies for you to jerk-off too". It's creepy, exploitative, and objectifying.

Looking forward to your next update, HA! LETHO IS DEAD!!! about time too, I can now start over and see the full implications of my decisions (sometime this week if I play my cards right, pun intended of course).
Best of luck to you!

Thanks!

I try not to come off as too grouchy. Honestly, I sometimes find the "aww, why do you have a problem with this" complaints more annoying than the stuff in the actual game.

Perhaps it's this - just because there's sexist crap in a game doesn't mean I dislike the game. Several of my favorite games have some sexist elements. Case in point, Planescape: Torment. I love that game, but it has several very sexists moments. However, it also has a great plot and good characters and makes up for that fact.

I tend to be critical of things I like. I could go on for hours about the problems with Xenogears (my favorite game of all time) because it is a very flawed game. But it is also the best game I have ever played. I have put more hours into Xenogears than any other game I have ever played.

I tend to complain the most when something is GOOD but FLAWED. The Witcher has proven to be much better than expected - better gameplay, better story, less sexist than I expected. But that means, when it goes and disappoints me, I complain. Loudly. Because the game has shown me how good it COULD be, but occasionally fails to live up to itself.

I mean, I bitched for several posts about no Fast Travel system, and most of you just laughed and said "yup, it sucks that way." You recognize that is a major flaw in the game, but you love it anyway. For me, the sexism is the same thing - it's a flaw that pisses me off because I'm enjoying the game so much, and it adds a level of frustration to an otherwise enjoyable experience.

I never expected to like the Witcher as much as I am. It isn't breaking my Top 10 yet, but it's certainly doing well. I'm having more fun with the Witcher than I did with Dishonored or Lollypop Chainsaw, releases from the past year or so that I played prior to it. Not bad for a game I didn't want to play that I bought for a dollar.

 

[exxxed]

**raised eyebrow, pursed lips**

Really? You're going to pull the "Americans are Prudes" card? I'm a sex-positive bisexual woman who has happily talked about her open marriage and group sex encounters on this very site. I am not a prude.

Like I said, it isn't the sex that's the issue. It's the stereotyping.

Also, I don't know what gender you are, but male is a fairly safe guess. I've noticed that most of the Europeans who say "oh, this doesn't bother me" are men. No shit - it doesn't bother most American men either. That doesn't make it any less sexist.

When I hear it from some European gamer women, then I might be willing to discuss the America/Europe thing. Otherwise, it just sounds like a cop-out.

I'm not one for cop-outs, I was just explaining how I perceive things from where I stand, and your assumption is correct I are man.

All joking aside, now I fully see where you're coming from, quite curious though why you feel so strongly about it, it's not like they're diminishing anyone's view of real women right?

And if anyone takes examples from video games about real women... then that's fucked up as far as I'm concerned, as for pushing for more serious views of women in media and entertainment, I'm all for it, I actually love strong independent women and they need to be more properly exemplified, but getting all worked up about these ''little'' mishaps in older games is not the way to go about it ...probably... but I'm fairly sure it ain't.

First off, many games make Journal entries a "collectable mini game" quest. Even in the Witcher, many of the books you read only add to your Journal, enriching the game. Same for games like Bioshock, Assassin's Creed, or Mass Effect. Just because the cards are physical doesn't mean they're not a collectable.

Secondly, the viewable sex cards in the Journal feel like a "reward" for having sex with the women in the game (even if the artwork on the cards is often dubious at best). It says "here is your reward for in-character sex - a picture of boobies for you to jerk-off too". It's creepy, exploitative, and objectifying.

That's funny, but it also depends on how you view things, it's up to the respective individual on how he/she perceives these ''sex cards'' (yea I gave up), so is it really a game fault that some may find them offensive and others don't?

And about your first part, yeap... yes, like most things in most games, just that this one emphasised on the fact that Geralt gets laid allot.

I try not to come off as too grouchy. Honestly, I sometimes find the "aww, why do you have a problem with this" complaints more annoying than the stuff in the actual game.

You don't, more like feisty than anything and I can see why you would find them more annoying, so I do apologize for mine, I'm just new to this shite (never cared much to be honest), so do excuse my ignorance on the matter.

It's good to criticize things you don't get along with, same as myself, I tend to be vocal about everything I hate or annoys me, or things I have a poor understanding of and wish to be enlightened on, like in this case.

Have a good evening, still very much curious on how you will deal with things that come.

Cheers!

 

[Zantos]

I'm struggling to follow this Let's Play. Apparently me and Bara are making the entirely opposite choices. I am wondering though, if events of later will change anything with regards to some of the sexism issues with the game. I think some of the later events offer a more alternate viewpoint.

I really liked the game. I found it a bit difficult to follow sometimes, others I didn't really agree with what they were trying to do, but overall I enjoyed playing it and look forward to starting on the next one. If people think they're good I might get the books too, although they will just be joining a disgustingly large back catalogue of things to read.

 

[Bara_no_Hime]

Sorry everyone, it's been a busy work week so far (and it's only Tuesday). However, I have finished up (for now) so I am going to play the game. A real update will follow.

If people think they're good I might get the books too, although they will just be joining a disgustingly large back catalogue of things to read.

I'd suggest starting with some of the short stories. The Sword of Destiny collection has me reading (when I have time, which I haven't lately) stories of a generally manageable length. They're a good way to get a taste of the novels.

 

[Zantos]

Sorry everyone, it's been a busy work week so far (and it's only Tuesday). However, I have finished up (for now) so I am going to play the game. A real update will follow.

If people think they're good I might get the books too, although they will just be joining a disgustingly large back catalogue of things to read.

I'd suggest starting with some of the short stories. The Sword of Destiny collection has me reading (when I have time, which I haven't lately) stories of a generally manageable length. They're a good way to get a taste of the novels.

Oooh, short stories are right up my alley. As tempted as I am to pick up The Sword of Destiny in French, I can't actually remember the last time I spoke French and I think I may have forgotten the entire language. Or at least forgotten the passable portion of the language I once may have known. I'm thinking The Last Wish may be more suited to my linguistic pitfalls.

 

[BathorysGraveland2]

Oooh, short stories are right up my alley. As tempted as I am to pick up The Sword of Destiny in French, I can't actually remember the last time I spoke French and I think I may have forgotten the entire language. Or at least forgotten the passable portion of the language I once may have known. I'm thinking The Last Wish may be more suited to my linguistic pitfalls.

There are fan translations of the books and remaining short stories. How accurate they are, I do not know, but it's better than nothing (and to be honest, the English translations are taking a fucking epochal amount of time, and they completely skipped over Sword of Destiny short stories). I plan on reading Sword of Destiny myself soon on here.

http://en.thewitcher.com/forum/index.php?/topic/20967-our-community-fan-translations/

 

[Zantos]

Oooh, short stories are right up my alley. As tempted as I am to pick up The Sword of Destiny in French, I can't actually remember the last time I spoke French and I think I may have forgotten the entire language. Or at least forgotten the passable portion of the language I once may have known. I'm thinking The Last Wish may be more suited to my linguistic pitfalls.

There are fan translations of the books and remaining short stories. How accurate they are, I do not know, but it's better than nothing (and to be honest, the English translations are taking a fucking epochal amount of time, and they completely skipped over Sword of Destiny short stories). I plan on reading Sword of Destiny myself soon on here.

http://en.thewitcher.com/forum/index.php?/topic/20967-our-community-fan-translations/

Excellent! Yes as I understand the publisher skipped on Sword so they could get on with publishing novels instead. At least according to The Witcher Wiki. Still, even if it isn't professional quality, I can imagine I've read a lot worse than a dedicated fan translation.

 

[Bara_no_Hime]

Ah, yes, the translations were what I was talking about. I almost threw in a link myself, but it's been posted earlier in the thread, so I thought you might have seen it there.

But yes, excellent fan translations. If I continue to enjoy them as much as I have so far, I'll probably pick up the English published books.

 

[RhombusHatesYou]

What I dislike is that the game is saying (via mechanics) "all women just want to have babies" - which is bullshit. Or that all women, no matter how casual about sex now, are secretly trying to get you to give them that ring. It's like the other side of the sexism coin from the card collecting. Hell, it even sends the message (again, with mechanics) "if you sleep with the same woman twice, she'll nail you down with a kid and insist on a ring".

Methinks you might be ignoring the possible influence of a certain reality bending orphan.

 

[Bara_no_Hime]

Methinks you might be ignoring the possible influence of a certain reality bending orphan.

....

That sounds like a major Spoiler to me. So far, all Alvin has done is talk to dead people (or demon spirit dogs, close enough). He hasn't shown any ability to alter reality. Yet.

Hmmm... I think I'll put my thoughts on that in a spoiler tag.

Spoiler: Wild Guessing

If it turns out that Triss has been brain-fucked by Alvin and that entire "get me a ring and be a good influence on Alvin" bit was horrible mind control, then I will immediately forgive the writers since in that case Triss was supposed to be acting out of character.

 

[Bara_no_Hime]

Update: Finally! Okay, let's do this.

I went to see the merchant guy and handed over the papers (why is the party still going on? it's been weeks!). He told me to come back later.

Which I did, after slaughtering spiders in the streets and ghouls in the graveyard to kill time. I need to sneak into that - oh, that map spot I couldn't get to. Neat! But I have to wait until Midnight.

It's... 3 AM in game. FUCK.

Triss is still at the never-ending party, so I teleport to the Swamp Tower and sleep there. Yeah, this sounds like a failing marriage to me. I sleep until noon, then teleport back and go shopping. I use my current 2000 gold to buy the remaining Monster and Plant books, and then run around town collecting all the herbs I can now identify. I'm also ready to fight Genies, in case it comes up.

After collecting all possible herbs, I go see Triss (who is home now), assure Alvin that I'll get him a dog (which is damn practical, so I don't know why Triss is worried about me spoiling him - I won't train him with a sword and I won't give him candy, but I will promise him a dog, which can GUARD him while he sleeps, which seems like a good idea when Triss spends every evening at the inn partying). Ahem. Anyway, I sleep until 11 PM. Then, on my way to the sewer, I collect herbs again from whatever plants have respawned (and kill a few spiders).

In the sewer, I head to the indicated spot and the guards give me a ladder up. Neat. I end up in a random courtyard and (after making sure that there's no loot) I head in the only door.

For once, Geralt actually spies on people. Good for him. Eventually someone hears him, though, so it's battle time. These guys actually do some decent damage to me - I'm impressed. I use one of my new Rubido-heavy instant Vitality restore potions. Now, in addition to an instant heal, I also get increased Regen. Brilliant!

The mage proves troublesome, but eventually I kill his ass. And then the looting commences. I make sure to loot first and talk to mirror man second. Mirror man is involved with Adda. Oh, wow, is Adda actually going to feature into the PLOT of the game? I thought she was just around for a quick reference and some T&A.

Anyway, I'm supposed to go talk to Triss and the merchant guy. Fair enough. I head downstairs first and kill some more Salamanders, but only get like 10 gold for my trouble. Psh.

Outside... cut scene. With a werewolf! A werewolf who seems fully in control of his actions, which is impressive. In fact, this werewolf appears to be Batman, killing Salamanders for great justice. There's an extended chase scene thing and then dialog. The werewolf immediately identifies himself as Vincent, the guard captain guy. Well... that was easy.

I offer to cure him, since I'm pretty sure he's Carmen's boyfriend, but he likes being Werewolf Batman. And there's no other dialog choices to continue the discussion, so I pick "why should I spare you" as the least likely to end with me killing him. I'm not quite sure why there's no "Carmen asked me to cure you" dialog option, but whatever. I am able to let him go, so good enough. And then....

Then I'm trapped in a section of the map with no apparent exit, and no marker telling me where to go. And one guard on the other side of an impenetrable wall trying to kill me for no apparent reason. I spend like 10 minutes wandering around and trying to use my force spell to break an exit before I realize that there's a VERY difficult to see doorway under an awning. Well shit.

I head through the Old Forge, into the sewer, and out into the Temple district. By now it's morning, so I head to the brothel to see Carmen. After some discussion, I give her some Fools Parsley and she tells me to come back later. I pick some herbs, rest (at the Dentist's) until noon, and return. Apparently she has tried the Fools Parsley in the meantime and it didn't work. Lovely. And...

....

And what? The quest says "try another method" but it doesn't say what the method is. True love was a method, I remember, but I guess that doesn't work since Carmen apparently loves him. I don't remember what the other method was. Crap.

I spend some time running around, but don't get far. Also, I leveled up, so I head back to Triss's to rest and level. Except she isn't there. ... of course, she's at the Inn full time now waiting for me to return with plot. Crap. Well, the easiest place to rest from Triss's house is to teleport to the swamp tower, so I do that and - Kalkstien has plot advancement! Horrah!

Now HE needs time. And he won't let me rest now. Fuck. Okay, fine.

I spend a few in-game hours killing monsters in the swamp. And picking herbs. Then I head back to the tower. Kalkstine needs... a virgin's tear. From an actual virgin.

... does Geralt know any virgins?

I check with the druids to see if they have any, but none of them have dialog, so I head back to the tower and teleport to Triss's again.

And that's where I'm at. I need to find a virgin. In the Witcher. That's like trying to find a virgin at Ohtori Academy. I'm screwed (pun intended).

Edit: And, I just realized, I never did rest and level up! Crap!

 

[Ryotknife]

What I dislike is that the game is saying (via mechanics) "all women just want to have babies" - which is bullshit. Or that all women, no matter how casual about sex now, are secretly trying to get you to give them that ring. It's like the other side of the sexism coin from the card collecting. Hell, it even sends the message (again, with mechanics) "if you sleep with the same woman twice, she'll nail you down with a kid and insist on a ring".

Methinks you might be ignoring the possible influence of a certain reality bending orphan.

while it would be cool if you choose Shani you go through the whole "family" thing and if you choose Triss they instead form the Tag Team Monster Slaying Champions of the World, unfortuntaly this would happen instead.

NO PEEKING BARA! MAJOR SPOILER

Spoiler

 

[exxxed]

Ah, that party... I think they get together every day to fuck around while the king is away, at least that's how I explained it to myself.

And thanks for the laugh about werewolf Batman, yea got lost in that section too, I effectively erase the tedious bits from my memory so I forgot about it on my second and third playthru' so it kept happening to me hehehe.

As for Adda, she as a bigger part in this whole mess you'll see.

Have fun!

 

[Bara_no_Hime]

NO PEEKING BARA! MAJOR SPOILER

... okay. **pout**

Ah, that party... I think they get together every day to fuck around while the king is away, at least that's how I explained it to myself.

I misread that the first time and thought you were implying that Triss was sleeping with the merchant guy. That is not an image I needed in my head (he wasn't very attractive).

And thanks for the laugh about werewolf Batman, yea got lost in that section too, I effectively erase the tedious bits from my memory so I forgot about it on my second and third playthru' so it kept happening to me hehehe.

That dot for the entrance to the old forge was really misleading. I kept going where the dot seemed to be and not finding a door. I had to rotate the camera JUST right to get my cursor to change to the Door one so I could go through.

Also, I was very bitter about not being able to loot all those Salamandra that Vincent killed.

Speaking of Salamnders... if I can't sell their badges to anyone (and I can't seem to) is there anyone I can sell their drugs too? I have 16 units of drugs and no more quests (as far as I know) where I can get rewarded for them. My Inn Inventory is on it's second page now - I need to sell some of this useless crap.

 

[exxxed]

I misread that the first time and thought you were implying that Triss was sleeping with the merchant guy. That is not an image I needed in my head (he wasn't very attractive).

I'm never gonna see Triss from The Witcher 1 the same again, thanks.

Speaking of Salamnders... if I can't sell their badges to anyone (and I can't seem to) is there anyone I can sell their drugs too? I have 16 units of drugs and no more quests (as far as I know) where I can get rewarded for them. My Inn Inventory is on it's second page now - I need to sell some of this useless crap.

And the real funny part is, I never used the inn inventory system... ever, what the heck are you clogging it up with?!

You can throw those badges away they're useless after that quest as far as I know, as for the drugs you can sell them to Coleman (same dude I remember you mentioning a package for), oh but I bet you helped the Scoia'tael back when you were supposed to guard Haren Brogg's shite on the riverbank so Coleman was killed by the very same Scoia'tael fuckwads who mislead you (the dude struck down by arrows in the temple district inn when you first enter it).

Try Kalkstein he usually dabbles about with questionable substances or someone of his caliber.

 

[Bara_no_Hime]

And the real funny part is, I never used the inn inventory system... ever, what the heck are you clogging it up with?!

Well, I can't open the game menu to give you a full accounting, but...

My meteor sword (since I have better now).

150 Drowner Brains, 100 Drowned Dead Tongues, 50 Cadaverdine, 50 Gantz Acid, 50 Ghoul Blood, 50 Hellbore, 50 White Mirtle, ... 50 of any other alchemical components I had more than 50 of (whenever an alchemical component fills one stack and starts another, I drop the stack of 50 off at the inn). Also, some other alchemical components like mistletoe, cockatrice feathers, or similar where I only have a small number and can't easily acquire more. This is to make sure that I never have to discard an important component when finding a new one in the field.

Also, I have at least one of every food item stored - usually more than one. I have a stack of 10 pears, grapes, chickens, chicken sandwiches, cows milk, raspberries, raspberry juice, etc. After I get a stack of 10, I start selling the items to the Inn waitress.

I also store any non-strong alcohol. I have stacks of each kind of beer and wine (so weak and medium) alcohol. I save the weak stuff for when I have to drink with an NPC so avoid passing out as quickly.

Oh, and I have a stockpile of gifts. Various flowers, including three kinds of roses. Red shawl and matching gloves. A diamond, a sapphire, a ruby. And a ton of rings. Remember when I went to give Triss one? I pulled four different kinds out of my Inn inventory to see which one she liked (she ended up going for the ruby silver signet instead of the gold and diamond or gold and sapphires which cost more).

Also, I have about 6 stacks of 10 flint in there. I've sold a few stacks, but I'm loathe to sell more in case the next chapter has me in the wilderness and relying on campfires more.

Two stacks of fisstech, and 4 stacks of Salamander badges. Two stacks of Barghest skulls. Two stacks of wolf pelts.

WHY do I have all this stored? Well, because it makes NPC fetch quests easy. NPC X wants a bottle of mead? I have 7. Triss wants a ring? What kind - I have more types than the jewelry merchant. The dentist wants Barghest skulls? I've been carrying them since chapter 1. NPC Y wants a red shawl? I have one. Wait, no, she wants red gloves? I have those too. NPC Z wants cow's milk? Got some waiting.

In theory I could sell all this stuff off for a tidy profit, but I'm worried I'd have to re-buy items for quests. My storage habits have already allowed me to get through several quests very easily, so I don't really plan to change. It's mostly items that have no further use - like the Salamander badges - that I'd like to liquidate.

And yes, in case it isn't obvious, I'm the kind of RPG player who hates to use an Elixir while fighting the final boss in case there's another, tougher boss hiding behind that boss. Even if I have 99 Elixirs in my inventory.

 

[exxxed]

You are not a sane person are you?

I am joking of course, wow you really didn't have to type all that, I already figured it out since that stuff occupied my inventory and then ended up on the ground in my first two playthru's then I never bothered stacking them because you don't really need them all in the end (well maybe in some cases you need that extra juice, in which I always end up on the wrong side of and have to struggle, but it's fun).

Well then, you won't have any difficulty problems regarding your preparation that's for damn sure hehe, like I always say, always better to have more than less.

Cheerio' and have fun!

 

[Bara_no_Hime]

wow you really didn't have to type all that.

It amused me. And that was only the stuff I could remember.

I am well aware that I am a Video game item hoarder. If I can squirrel away items for future use (that will likely never come) I will.

It comes from playing some of the Final Fantasy games where it was difficult to obtain certain items, so if you could grind for them, you SHOULD grind for them... and then never use them, because you might need them for the Bonus Boss or something.