Talk: Guide for illiterate witchers

Options for Illiterate Witchers

So there are all these conversations Geralt has long after I buy him books that seem like they should update the journal with bestiary, ingredient, and/or formula entries. I'm curious (and at least a bit nuts) so I thought I'd try to play through without reading any books to see how many of those exchanges do indeed update the journal.

So far, the game is in the middle of Act V, ready to head to the Old Manor. I'm doing the Order path ... because I'd never done it before, never wanted to, and this run through the game is all about stuff I wouldn't normally do ... but I still couldn't bring myself to let them kill Abigail. I also killed the Striga rather than saving her ... because she was dealing with Salamandra and wanting to kill me when she wasn't a striga, so no third chance for her. I only ever saved her to get the snazzy curvy steel sword anyway.

(Yes, I realize there are plenty of free books and books I can buy to get the entries. But once I have the entries, I can't tell for sure if later conversations unlock them.)

I've completed all the quests in Acts I-IV except for The Alghoul Contract and The Graveir Contract because I couldn't get bestiary entries for either monster before I finished Act III. In Act V, I cannot complete The Bloedzuiger Contract for lack of a Bloedzuiger entry to get their blood, nor can I complete The Wraith Contract without cheating. (I have death dust in storage from Noonwraiths in Act IV, but technically, upon reaching Act V and losing storage access, someone new to the game would have no way to use existing Death Dust to complete the quest. Then again, the game does that on purpose with Won't Hurt a Bit and Devourer teeth.)

Entries I have:

• Prologue entries:
  • entries for Swallow, Thunderbolt, Tawny Owl, White Gull, and Cat from the Prologue.
  • entries for the Frightener and his parts from the Prologue.
  • entries for Blizzard, Necrophage Oil, White Honey and Bindweed (because I messed up and read two of the free scrolls in the Prologue and Act I.)
• Act I entries:
  • all the plant and critter entries from the Old women and Old townswomen in the Outskirts. (Balisse, Beggartick, Hellebore, Berbercane, Celandine, Sewants, Verbena, White myrtle, Wolf's aloe, Ectoplasm and Werewolf fur) (Drowner, Ghoul, and Echinops)
  • Crinfrid Oil from the Dwarven blacksmith and Specter Oil from Abigail.
  • Hellhound from reading Berengar's notes that Abigail loaned me (gah, yeah, I know - shouldn't have read it.)
• Act II entries:
  • Cockatrice from talking to Siegfried in the sewers.
  • plant entries from the Brickmaker's wife in exchange for honey (fool's parsley and crow's eye)
  • Drowned dead entry from Shani during Old Friend of Mine.
• Act III entries:
  • Kikimore warriors and Kikimore workers from the Armored Guardsmen in the Trade quarter.
  • Basilisk, wyvern and archespore from the Townswoman at the New Narakort.
  • Devil's Puffball recipe from the New Narakort waitress.
  • Dragon's Dream recipe from the NN Innkeeper.
  • I could have an entry for Willow from the swamp Druids, but I intentionally avoided it to check a possible source in Act IV.
• Act IV entries
  • Han, Mandrake root, Honeysuckle, Bryonia, Ginatia petals and Hop umbels from Elves and various Murky Waters residents (multiple sources for some of those herbs. I'm confident the source that gives Ginatia and Honeysuckle would give Berbercane too if I didn't have it already.)
  • Noonwraiths from a Peasant in Murky Waters.
  • Vodyanoi warrior from the female innkeeper.
  • Vodyanoi priest from an Old Peasant at the inn.
  • I could have a Garkain entry from a Peasant Woman in Murky Waters, but I intentionally reloaded a save and avoided her so I can check other Garkain sources in Act V.
  • Alps from an Old peasant woman in Murky Waters
  • Devourers from agreeing to help the Blacksmith in Temptation.
  • Bruxa from a Peasant woman
  • Cemetaurs from a Peasant
• Act V entries
  • Getting all the potions from The Green March unlocked their formulae (the ones I was missing, and given how it works, I'm fairly confident the Druids would unlock the ones I already had.) I did not have to drink the potions they gave me to get the formula.
  • A "Diseased man" in the hospital gave me Garkains in exchange for food. Giving him (and the various copies of him) more food at later points in the storyline doesn't get anything beyond "Thank you."
  • I could still get Barghest, Ghoul, Graveir, and Drowner from Monster Lore. That's been the same throughout the game. I'm holding off until the epilogue just to be sure. I doubt I'll ever bother to waste a bronze talent on that one again.
  • I got Ifrits from a Nurse.
  • I messed up and read The Double Cross of Alzur, not realizing it gave bestiary entries, so I have Koshchey and Skullhead.

Notable Entries I'm missing:

(I'm missing more than this. These are just the really noticeable or troubling ones.)

• still no entry for Bloedzuiger
• no entries for Alghoul or Graveir, and failed both contract quests for them upon starting Act IV. At times, speaking to the neutral City Guards and City Guard Commanders in the Temple Quarter during the day, they'll remark about how last night's watch encountered the living dead, but I haven't found any of them that offer a dialog about it. (They could simply be referring to the Ghoul that hangs out by the Cemetary Gate at night.)

the Graveir entry is obtained when you get the Monster Lore Intelligence upgrade Game widow 16:54, 1 August 2008 (UTC)

• still no Wolf or Green mold entries, although I can get plenty of Wolf pelts (I'm particularly fond of Beast Liver and/or Green mold in potion making - the only harvestable Rebis/Rubedo items - and it's a pain not having them.)
• no entry for Feainnewedd, the only other "Unknown Herb" I run across besides Green Mold. I did confirm Yaevinn does not unlock it during a chat in Act III and the Echoes of Yesterday quest.

I can also confirm that this entry is not unlocked by chatting up that snarky huntress either Game widow 15:44, 1 August 2008 (UTC)

• no entry for Wraiths.
• no entry for Giant centipedes, but I can harvest their carapaces for the contract without their entry.
• no entry for Nightwraith, even though there's an Old peasant that talks about dreams of them.
• no entry for Dagon, even after fighting him, but he left loot anyway.
• no entry for Argentia, and WOW do I ever miss my pink sword sometimes.

Don't forget Lunar Shards for Rebis/Rubedo either ;) Game widow 10:06, 17 July 2008 (UTC)

Bah! Only a few to be found here and there throughout the game and WAY too pricey to buy. I'll do without or cheat.  ;) All those fancy, rare alchemical ingredients that I find get sold to Abigail or Kalkstein. Albar's Crystals get 40 orens each! Gotta love those Bloedzuigers! Licensed Luny 10:13, 17 July 2008 (UTC)

Sources that still need checking

• Does Yaren Bolt give the Beggartick entry at the start of Flowers and Gold? (really seems like he should)
• Does giving beer to one of the Old women in the Temple Quarter a second time unlock Drowners or Drowned dead?
• It'd be nice to confirm for sure that the Brickmaker's wife gives a Beggartick entry along with Fool's Parsley and Crow's Eye, but I'm pretty sure she would.
• It'd be nice to confirm that Alina's mother, the Old peasant woman, gives an entry for Berbercane along with the other two herbs she unlocks. It'd also be nice to see if she unlocked Perfume or some other potion with the herbs, even though she doesn't unlock Willow. It'd be nice to see if she actually unlocked White Honey in exchange for the shawl, but getting that far through the game without ever using any White Honey will prove tricky.
• What's this about Shani giving a Fleder entry???

Shani sometimes gives that entry when Geralt asks for a monster anatomy lesson after giving her the celandine at the hospital. other times, it's drowners. Game widow 18:06, 1 August 2008 (UTC)

• There's a Grandma-style "Refugee" in Old Vizima that asks for food and tells me to listen to her tale of Cemetaurs, for it could save my life. I already had Cemetaurs from a Peasant in Act IV, but I'm fairly sure she'd have unlocked it if I didn't. Multiple copies of her do this. After the first time one mentions Cemetaurs, they'll still ask for food, but just say thanks. So I don't think they unlock anything else.
• There are Gramps and Grandma style diseased people and refuges that say, "Help someone who's suffered due to war," (wants 5 orens) and "Help a leprous woman," (wants 1 oren.) I always give them money and none have ever said anything besides thanks. I'm not sure if they unlock anything, as the other sources at least mention a monster the first time (Garkain, Ifrit, Cemetaur) even if you already have the entry.
• The "Wounded knights" cluttering up the street and moaning will sometimes have an empty cutscene when I click them - one of those times where the screen flashes black like a dialog is about to begin but just goes back to normal because they don't really have anything to say (anymore, at least.) I've seen that same flash effect with other npcs when I've already had dialogs with them. I haven't the faintest idea what those knights said in the first place, as they always do that to me even the first time I click one.

I have always meant to do exactly this little investigation. Thanks Luny! :) and i think this deserves a full-fledged page of its own 09:44, 12 July 2008 (UTC)

I appreciate the encouragement, thanks! As for a page of its own ... perhaps, once it's done. Although I'm really hating how Alghouls and Graveirs are missing, but I just couldn't find anyone to talk about them.  :( Finding all these takes a long time - think about all the Outskirts reloads required to get all the herb entries from those Old women, then multiply it by reloads to speak to everyone after each phase of each quest - Halfway through Act I and you're beyond the point of being short on money, so it's WAY EASIER to just buy the few books you don't get for free. A list by act of absolutely required books, helpful/timesaving books, and books you shouldn't ever bother to waste money on would be nice, including scrolls. I actually buy/gather all the books in this game; I just don't read them. Licensed Luny 07:54, 17 July 2008 (UTC)

Update: I've started ... check this out: Witcher library guide, feel free to edit, whatever, but it's a start. Game widow 18:04, 1 August 2008 (UTC)