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    Default Just got The Witcher. Help?

    So The Witcher was on sale this weekend, so I figured I'd grab it. Can someone please explain combat to me? It seems like all you do is hold down the left mouse button and wait until you kill the guy. No blocking, no other choices, just...hold down the button and wait. Am I missing something? Tell me it gets better? I quit the tutorial because it was just too boring. I just want to open the darned gate, and I keep having to stop and hold the button down while I wait for people in front of me to die.

    Am I missing something here?
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    Default Re: Just got The Witcher. Help?

    Holding down the button... is a really, really inefficient means of killing enemies. You have to click, wait until the sword cursor-icon is glowing in flames, and click again, repeat. You have to get the timing right to continue the combo.
    This in itself, might not be a terribly deep combat technique, but there's different styles, magic, and the alchemy system to keep things interesting.

    Oh, and the tutorial is super lame, compared to the rest of the game. Super lame. I'd even say it doesn't really start to get good until you get inside Vizima. But it is really good once you do.
    Last edited by Science Officer; 2012-11-22 at 09:13 PM.

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    Default Re: Just got The Witcher. Help?

    Oh. I'd been just clicking (without holding it down) and nothing seemed to be happening. I only seemed to do damage when I did hold it down. Hmm.

    Edit: Does he always hold the sword over his head like that? That keeps annoying me just from how foolish it seems from both a defensive and a battle fatigue point of view...
    Last edited by Muz; 2012-11-22 at 09:18 PM.
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    Default Re: Just got The Witcher. Help?

    Yeah a bit, the way combat works in the Witcher (I'm going on the assumption that you're playing the first game not the second since I haven't played that one) is that you click on an enemy once to initiate an attack. You don't have to hold the mouse button down just a click will do. When that series of sword swings is about to end you'll hear a swishing sound and see a flame around your mouse sword icon if you're not on hard. When you see that click again to chain together the second set of swings which will do more damage. Rinse and repeat until target is dead.

    As a whole though the combat in the Witcher is pretty slow, more about preparation and getting into a rhythm than 'visceral combat.' Once you've played though the intro a bit you'll unlock three different fighting styles which different opponents will be weak towards as well as some magic. Leveling will give you more steps in your sword swinging chain. Overall combat's a bit slow and takes some getting used to, never really being the highlight of the game which goes to its storytelling aspects.

    *and ninja'd*
    Last edited by Farix; 2012-11-22 at 09:19 PM.

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    Default Re: Just got The Witcher. Help?

    Quote Originally Posted by Muz View Post
    Edit: Does he always hold the sword over his head like that? That keeps annoying me just from how foolish it seems from both a defensive and a battle fatigue point of view...
    It's a real battle stance. Actual swordsmen used it. Different styles look different though, if I recall correctly.

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    Default Re: Just got The Witcher. Help?

    Quote Originally Posted by Tengu_temp View Post
    It's a real battle stance. Actual swordsmen used it. Different styles look different though, if I recall correctly.
    Really? Seems like your arms would get tired really quickly. But I'll take your word.
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    Default Re: Just got The Witcher. Help?

    Oh, and if you don't have it yet, download the Enhanced Edition. It is, basically, a giant official mod. More character models, shorter loading times, actual AI for the gambling... a lot of good things.
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    Default Re: Just got The Witcher. Help?

    Quote Originally Posted by Eldan View Post
    Oh, and if you don't have it yet, download the Enhanced Edition. It is, basically, a giant official mod. More character models, shorter loading times, actual AI for the gambling... a lot of good things.
    This isn't Witcher 2.
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    Default Re: Just got The Witcher. Help?

    Quote Originally Posted by Jade Dragon View Post
    This isn't Witcher 2.
    There's an enhanced edition of the first game.

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    Default Re: Just got The Witcher. Help?

    Quote Originally Posted by Muz View Post
    Really? Seems like your arms would get tired really quickly. But I'll take your word.
    The Witcher actually gets a lot at least sort of right about sword combat, at least from a high level abstraction point of view.

    While your arms would tire eventually in an overhead guard like that, as a rule you don't spend long stretches of time not moving. You generally don't have to hold it very long, and just use it as a starting point for powerful descending cuts at the face and torso.

    The lack of blocking is also actually a fairly reasonable abstraction of longsword combat IMHO. Most historical longsword techniques operate at a very fast tempo that doesn't use separate movements for defense and attack. Crudely, your defensive move should double as an offensive one, so you have a chance to take the initiative back and press your own attacks.

    And in case you were wondering, that finishing move where Geralt flips his sword around and kills a dude by impaling them with the crossguard has historical antecedent. I'm unaware of that particular move having a source, but Germanic longsword technique certainly taught the use of the sword as a total weapon, including using the blade as a handle and striking with the guard and pommel.


    The fast and strong styles are also not completely unreasonable. Germanic longsword certainly did teach different techniques for fighting unarmored and armored (which is mostly what Strong Steel is for) foes. The actual moves are wrong, but the idea is right.

    The group style is pure fantasy though.

    For all that I can't say the combat in the Witcher ever gets great. That's not really why one plays the Witcher though. You play the Witcher for the hot paintings of naked ladies the story.
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    Default Re: Just got The Witcher. Help?

    Yeah... combat in The Witcher is really about having the right preparations and not dropping your rhythm.

    You do need to time your clicks correctly to combo, but in the tutorial and early game, it's a bit hard to even see that you're doing the combo, since you haven't learned the extra animations yet.
    It always amazes me how often people on forums would rather accuse you of misreading their posts with malice than re-explain their ideas with clarity.

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    Default Re: Just got The Witcher. Help?

    I must say the combat animations were my favorite part of this game. Story is okay, and um... the trading cards are... interesting.
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    Default Re: Just got The Witcher. Help?

    First, yes, they asked and motion-captured real modern swordfighters (now with real modern swordfighters! That sounds like something from the 80s) who I assume actually knew a thing or two about fighting, so that's that. Even things I thought were unrealistic, like Geralt frequently grabbing his blade when killing folks have been done

    Second, keep in mind that Geralt is also a mutant with enhanced reflexes and stamina (it's certainly not his looks that get him the ladies) so he doesn't tire as quickly as normal people.


    But yes, combat in The Witcher (1) is about preparing the hell out of important fights, and then trying to get these combos going. You basically watch your cursor and click whenever you see a burning sword. You'll get the hang of it soon, even if the tutorial doesn't prepare you at all, aside from "let's fight!".

    I agree with Avilan AND with Warty, I liked both the combat animations, because at higher levels, end especially with the fast style, the White Wolf just goes crazy on his enemies, and the story/world/characters/cards because I found them engaging and the choices challening.
    Last edited by GolemsVoice; 2012-11-23 at 03:37 AM.
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    Default Re: Just got The Witcher. Help?

    There's a combat rebalance mod for the game which makes the combat a lot more tense and varied, requires occasionally breaking your comboes and switching to different ones, combining styles, using the special abilities (4th rank in each style), alchemy & co. and so on. But if you're just learning the normal game, it might be too difficult off the top. I definitely prefer it tho.

    This is the mod in question, for the interested. But yeah, the combat in the Witcher wasn't awful even by default; the comboing was kinda gratifying once I got a hang of it and the different styles (and the fact that you could subvert the preplanned "this style works against this enemy"-idea quite well) and alchemy is really well done.


    Btw, tip on alchemy for later (I didn't figure this out until my second playthrough which is why I'm pointing it out now):
    Some alchemical ingredients contain a secondary substance. Primary substances determine what Potion you can make out of those substances. Secondary substances add an additional effect to the Potion if all the ingredients contain the same secondary substance.

    A potion containing the secondary substance of:
    Albedo (white) reduces toxicity of any potions you drink afterwards.

    Nigredo (black) increases your damage by 20%.

    Rubedo (red) increases your regeneration.
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    Default Re: Just got The Witcher. Help?

    Quote Originally Posted by warty goblin View Post
    And in case you were wondering, that finishing move where Geralt flips his sword around and kills a dude by impaling them with the crossguard has historical antecedent. I'm unaware of that particular move having a source, but Germanic longsword technique certainly taught the use of the sword as a total weapon, including using the blade as a handle and striking with the guard and pommel.
    Talhoffer. Murderstroke.

    Combat in the first Witcher game is actually fairly realistic, beyond things like the stun finisher where you jump on someone's shoulders and do horrible things to their face with a sword. (For example, the high guard is for a heavy shot to the head/torso/potentially legs, using the weight of the sword to damage through armour - also useful against cavalry - and the knife-fighting stance is actually pretty good. Tried it at a few re-enactment events and did fairly well. Has a decent amount of defense, though isn't so great for the offense.)

    But, yes. Combat varies up a lot when you get different styles and fight more complicated enemies (bloedzuigers, for example, which explode on death... or large numbers of Strong-style opponents at once), and until the Vizima-ish area it's not great. The story is the important part of the game. Story and immersion.

    How it tends to work - click once, when the sword icon turns into a flaming sword or the weapon trail goes orange, click again. Blocking isn't a thing. To be honest, if you ramp up the Igni sign enough, you can almost play the game without using a sword at all. If you find yourself bogged down, there's bombs that will cause fear and so forth.

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    Default Re: Just got The Witcher. Help?

    Quote Originally Posted by Lorn View Post
    Talhoffer. Murderstroke.
    Ayup, pretty much. Although I had always thought of Talhoffer's murderstroke as a descending strike targeted at the head and face of a standing adversary. The move I was referencing in the Witcher is a finishing move delivered against a prone target, which is why I did not call it the murderstroke. It's pretty clearly based on it though.

    Combat in the first Witcher game is actually fairly realistic, beyond things like the stun finisher where you jump on someone's shoulders and do horrible things to their face with a sword. (For example, the high guard is for a heavy shot to the head/torso/potentially legs, using the weight of the sword to damage through armour - also useful against cavalry - and the knife-fighting stance is actually pretty good. Tried it at a few re-enactment events and did fairly well. Has a decent amount of defense, though isn't so great for the offense.)
    It's one of the things I like about it, it uses a very simple system to build something that both looks and flows pretty realistically. The attack timing thing is a nice way of keeping the player involved while focusing combat on the high level need to hold initiative through control of tempo and timing, without getting bogged down in details.

    Also I still love the fact that stunning and knocking somebody over doesn't just give you +5 to hit or whatever, but lets you kill their ass straight dead. Which is how it should be.

    I actually think I like the first game's combat better than the second.

    But, yes. Combat varies up a lot when you get different styles and fight more complicated enemies (bloedzuigers, for example, which explode on death... or large numbers of Strong-style opponents at once), and until the Vizima-ish area it's not great. The story is the important part of the game. Story and immersion.
    I liked Vizima outskirts, although the final boss fight for that area is really bad. I love CD Projekt to death, but dear god do they need to stop making boss fights, because they suck at it.
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    Default Re: Just got The Witcher. Help?

    Quote Originally Posted by warty goblin View Post
    I actually think I like the first game's combat better than the second.
    One thing the second game definetly gets right in terms of combat is the lack of a "group style". In Witcher 1, it's sort of silly, the way Geralt can sweep aside whole groups of enemies, especially since the Strong and Quick styles look pretty realistically, like it's been said. Apart from that, I'm not sure which combat model is really better.
    I do agree that Witcher 1 takes its time to pick up speed... I liked the Vizima outskirts, myself, but the tutorial does get tedious.
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    Default Re: Just got The Witcher. Help?

    Quote Originally Posted by Morty View Post
    One thing the second game definetly gets right in terms of combat is the lack of a "group style". In Witcher 1, it's sort of silly, the way Geralt can sweep aside whole groups of enemies, especially since the Strong and Quick styles look pretty realistically, like it's been said. Apart from that, I'm not sure which combat model is really better.
    I do agree that Witcher 1 takes its time to pick up speed... I liked the Vizima outskirts, myself, but the tutorial does get tedious.
    That's what I like the combat rebalance mod for, it makes group style into basically "sweeping moves to push/keep a bunch of enemies away to buy a bit of time to do something about them" instead of "oh, I'm surrounded by 8 enemies? Guess I kill them much faster than a single enemy!"
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    Default Re: Just got The Witcher. Help?

    Quote Originally Posted by Morty View Post
    One thing the second game definetly gets right in terms of combat is the lack of a "group style". In Witcher 1, it's sort of silly, the way Geralt can sweep aside whole groups of enemies, especially since the Strong and Quick styles look pretty realistically, like it's been said. Apart from that, I'm not sure which combat model is really better.
    I do agree that Witcher 1 takes its time to pick up speed... I liked the Vizima outskirts, myself, but the tutorial does get tedious.
    Yeah, the loss of the brain-hurting group style is for the good. The reliance on rolling around like a hyperactive armadillo, not so much. I'm aware you could dodge-roll in the first game, but it was basically unnecessary, unlike the sequel where you can't go more than thirty seconds in combat without a roll or two.

    And while the tutorial is tedious, it does have two significant upsides:
    1) It really does set up the story, and things you do then actually matter later on.

    2) Triss gets naked. Then there's a visual joke involving a cat.

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    Default Re: Just got The Witcher. Help?

    Quote Originally Posted by Eldariel View Post
    That's what I like the combat rebalance mod for, it makes group style into basically "sweeping moves to push/keep a bunch of enemies away to buy a bit of time to do something about them" instead of "oh, I'm surrounded by 8 enemies? Guess I kill them much faster than a single enemy!"
    I haven't played with this mod. I've heard of it, but I'm not sure how it'd interact with the Polish version. It does sound good, though. Keeping enemies at bay, killing one and so on sounds better than simply murdering them with sweeping strikes.

    Quote Originally Posted by warty goblin View Post
    Yeah, the loss of the brain-hurting group style is for the good. The reliance on rolling around like a hyperactive armadillo, not so much. I'm aware you could dodge-roll in the first game, but it was basically unnecessary, unlike the sequel where you can't go more than thirty seconds in combat without a roll or two.
    That's true. It does get better with various updates, though, I think. At least I remember that when I played it for the second time, months after the release, it was easier to fight without rolling around. I have yet to play the Enchanced Edition, however.
    Both the group style and armadillo dodging are ways to deal with the fact that in a real combat scenario, getting jumped by eight guys means you'd better hope you're faster than they are.

    And while the tutorial is tedious, it does have two significant upsides:
    1) It really does set up the story, and things you do then actually matter later on.

    2) Triss gets naked. Then there's a visual joke involving a cat.

    Why yes I do play the Witcher as a complete and utter manwhore, why do you ask?
    Combat aside, cutting down on the rampant sex was a very smart move on their part in Witcher 2.
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    Default Re: Just got The Witcher. Help?

    Quote Originally Posted by Morty View Post
    I haven't played with this mod. I've heard of it, but I'm not sure how it'd interact with the Polish version. It does sound good, though. Keeping enemies at bay, killing one and so on sounds better than simply murdering them with sweeping strikes.
    I'm fairly certain the creator of the original mod uses the Polish version so it should be perfectly compatible. I also found there are different language versions of it now.
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    Default Re: Just got The Witcher. Help?

    The amount of sex you get in Witcher 2 is book-accurate. The amount of sex you get in Witcher 1 is Gotta Catch'Em All.

    I like the combat system of the second game, because it's fast, brutal, skill-based and highly satisfying. A few fights can get tough, but my old dad managed to finish that game on high difficulty, so in my book the general complaint that the game is too hard is caused by most RPG fans being too used to the typical difficulty level of video game RPGs, which is to say none whatsoever.

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    Default Re: Just got The Witcher. Help?

    Yeah, the loss of the brain-hurting group style is for the good. The reliance on rolling around like a hyperactive armadillo, not so much. I'm aware you could dodge-roll in the first game, but it was basically unnecessary, unlike the sequel where you can't go more than thirty seconds in combat without a roll or two.
    If you go the swordsman route, much can be done via actual parrying, but yes, you roll around rather a lot.
    This isn't too unrealistic, if you consider that Witchers are agile fighters more than strong fighters, and with heightened reflexes, they can make the best out of their agility.
    It does get silly sometimes, though.

    And I liked the group style, for the fact alone that Geralt goes CRAZY on his enemies. CRAZY
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    Default Re: Just got The Witcher. Help?

    Quote Originally Posted by Eldariel View Post
    I'm fairly certain the creator of the original mod uses the Polish version so it should be perfectly compatible. I also found there are different language versions of it now.
    That's good to know, if rather late. I've already played Witcher 1 three times, so I'm not sure if I feel like doing so the fourth time, especially since I still want to try out the Enchanced Edition of Witcher 2. But we'll see.
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    Default Re: Just got The Witcher. Help?

    Quote Originally Posted by Morty View Post
    That's good to know, if rather late. I've already played Witcher 1 three times, so I'm not sure if I feel like doing so the fourth time, especially since I still want to try out the Enchanced Edition of Witcher 2. But we'll see.
    I have the same problem, honestly; after having played the game through two times vanilla and once with the progenitor of the Combat Rebalance mod, "Hard Mode" I'm just hurting for the motivation to actually play through it a third time with that mod (I played myself halfway through Vizima Confidential); if only there were more than 3 paths in the story
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    Default Re: Just got The Witcher. Help?

    Quote Originally Posted by Morty View Post
    That's true. It does get better with various updates, though, I think. At least I remember that when I played it for the second time, months after the release, it was easier to fight without rolling around. I have yet to play the Enchanced Edition, however.
    If armadillo dodging does decrease, it's not to a great degree. What does happen is that you get more familiar with the timing of combat, and so need to a bit less. Sadly this still means a lot of the time you fight by rolling, hitting a dude once, rolling, hitting another dude once, rolling, hitting the third dude once, rolling...

    Both the group style and armadillo dodging are ways to deal with the fact that in a real combat scenario, getting jumped by eight guys means you'd better hope you're faster than they are.
    The thing is that the idea of a group style isn't bad, because you don't fight multiple people the same way you fight one. If the attacks say forced enemies back, or forced them to abort their strikes, it'd be cool. Causing more damage based on the number of guys you hit in a swing is kinda dumb.



    Combat aside, cutting down on the rampant sex was a very smart move on their part in Witcher 2.
    I liked the crazy amount of sex you could have in the first game. If nothing else it was a nice antidote to the usual RPG sexuality - sex with one person ever plus prostitutes. Sex in the Witcher seemed like something people did because it was fun and they were horny, not some weird way to transcend their shattered past through Magical PC Groin Power.

    Quote Originally Posted by Tengu_temp View Post
    The amount of sex you get in Witcher 2 is book-accurate. The amount of sex you get in Witcher 1 is Gotta Catch'Em All.
    It's totally over the top, but so is the amount of combat in the first game compared to the books. At least in the ones they've translated to English, Geralt is seriously threatened by three or four guys, which in the games something you handle what, three minutes into the tutorial?

    Also, the cards are way hotter.

    I like the combat system of the second game, because it's fast, brutal, skill-based and highly satisfying. A few fights can get tough, but my old dad managed to finish that game on high difficulty, so in my book the general complaint that the game is too hard is caused by most RPG fans being too used to the typical difficulty level of video game RPGs, which is to say none whatsoever.
    I can't say I found it too hard, excepting the occasional boss fight. I found the controls a bit weird, mostly the way your selected enemy would change at seeming random, and Geralt's accompanying habit of charging off at some dude forty feet away and then missing. These aren't particularly huge though.

    Really, my complaints with the Witcher 2 though are pretty much all about the inventory. Obsessive looting of every thing not nailed down and tedious crafting really don't fit in that sort of story-heavy game. Either you get shafted for not playing a kleptomaniac do-it-yourselfer, or you get to watch any sort of narrative flow and urgency wither and die under the weight of 37 planks and 42 nekker brains.
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    Down like a dog on the highway,
    And he lay in his blood on the highway, with the bunch of lace at his throat.


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    Default Re: Just got The Witcher. Help?

    Quote Originally Posted by warty goblin View Post
    It's totally over the top, but so is the amount of combat in the first game compared to the books. At least in the ones they've translated to English, Geralt is seriously threatened by three or four guys, which in the games something you handle what, three minutes into the tutorial?
    Nah, he usually handles three or four guys at once with no problem, unless they're total badasses. The games represent Geralt's power fairly well - he's a really dangerous opponent, but it's because of his skills and mutations, not because he has super-strength or super-toughness.

    Quote Originally Posted by warty goblin View Post
    Also, the cards are way hotter.
    Eh, they didn't do much for me. I wish you could give them to Dandelion to get rare items in exchange. You know that'd totally happen if this game was made in Japan!

    Quote Originally Posted by warty goblin View Post
    Really, my complaints with the Witcher 2 though are pretty much all about the inventory. Obsessive looting of every thing not nailed down and tedious crafting really don't fit in that sort of story-heavy game. Either you get shafted for not playing a kleptomaniac do-it-yourselfer, or you get to watch any sort of narrative flow and urgency wither and die under the weight of 37 planks and 42 nekker brains.
    Yeah, inventory management was the worst part of that game by the long shot. At some point I stopped bothering with all but rarest components, which bit me in the ass later when I barely could scrounge up the stuff needed to get the best weapons and armor.

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    Default Re: Just got The Witcher. Help?

    One thing I hate about the Witcher 2 is that that they place so much importance on preparing via potions (the classical Witcher move) and then decide to either just throw you into fights unexpectedly, or force you to go through a cutscene which, if you actually want to hear it, will make your potions and oils run out.

    Or they just place you right in front the Draugr's godawfully huge sword, so that he almost always get's a free swing at you. Thanks!

    Aside from that, Witcher 2 is great, really, really great.
    Last edited by GolemsVoice; 2012-11-23 at 07:59 PM.
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    Default Re: Just got The Witcher. Help?

    Quote Originally Posted by Tengu_temp View Post
    Nah, he usually handles three or four guys at once with no problem, unless they're total badasses. The games represent Geralt's power fairly well - he's a really dangerous opponent, but it's because of his skills and mutations, not because he has super-strength or super-toughness.
    You're probably right here, it's been a while since I read them. Either way the rolling is annoying, and a deeper parry system would be far more interesting.

    Eh, they didn't do much for me. I wish you could give them to Dandelion to get rare items in exchange. You know that'd totally happen if this game was made in Japan!
    Nah, see that moves into genuinely creepy territory. I never got the sense that the 'cards' were supposed to be actual objects in the game, but a depiction/reminiscence of past flings. Actually trading naked pictures of other people without their consent crosses the line from fun and sexy into just plain wrong. Geralt as a guy happy to take a roll in the hay with any interested and interesting women he encounters is fine. Geralt as amateur stealth pornographer? Not so much.
    Blood-red were his spurs i' the golden noon; wine-red was his velvet coat,
    When they shot him down on the highway,
    Down like a dog on the highway,
    And he lay in his blood on the highway, with the bunch of lace at his throat.


    Alfred Noyes, The Highwayman, 1906.

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    Default Re: Just got The Witcher. Help?

    Speaking of the cards... Am I creepy for preferring the witch one?

    Seriously though, I think the Goblin is correct, I think they symbolizes memories and are not physical objects.
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