The Witcher Trilogy

The Witcher

=== Setting and characters ===
Set in the Continent of the Witcher franchise, the player assumes the role of Geralt of Rivia, a wandering genetically enhanced monster hunter for hire. The game takes place around five years after the events of The Lady of the Lake. Geralt is accompanied by his longtime allies and fellow witchers, Eskel, Lambert, and instructor Vesemir, as well as sorceress Triss Merigold of Maribor and the field medic Shani. In addition, characters in the game originally from the books include Geralt's companions Dandelion the poet, the dwarf Zoltan Chivay, King Foltest of Temeria, his daughter Princess Adda (who was previously cursed into the form of a striga, but was cured by Geralt), King Radovid of Redania, and the spectral King of the Wild Hunt, a conqueror from another world. Characters original to the game include the boy Alvin, the sorcerer Azar Javed, the mercenary Professor, and Jacques de Alderberg, the Grand Master of the religious faction Order of the Flaming Rose.

Plot

Geralt awakens at the School of the Wolf's mountain fortress Kaer Morhen, with no memory of who he is or how he arrived there. He is taken in by his witcher brothers as well as Triss Merigold, who seeks a remedy for his mysterious condition. Kaer Morhen is suddenly attacked by an unknown group of assailants, who escape with the School of the Wolf's key mutagens and formulae that detail how to create witchers. Pursuing this faction, Geralt travels to the Temerian capital Vizima. On the way, he saves Alvin, a magically gifted peasant child. Triss determines that Alvin is a Source, a genetic magic prodigy similar to Ciri, Geralt's foster daughter. The player has the choice of leaving Alvin in the care of either Triss or Shani, a Redanian medic and Geralt's friend. Alvin is given a magical amulet meant to keep his abilities in check while he learns magic.
Geralt pursues several leads on the group which attacked Kaer Morhen and learns that they are known as Salamandra, and ostensibly led by the foreign mage Azar Javed. To further complicate matters, tensions are high in the city due to the conflict between the religious fanatics the Order of the Flaming Rose, and the elven terrorist faction the Scoia'tael. With the help of various allies in Vizima, Geralt assaults a Salamandra base in Vizima and kills the Professor, a dangerous mercenary in the employ of the criminal syndicate, but is then betrayed by Princess Adda and is teleported to a village on the outskirts of the city by Triss. The previously peaceful hamlet becomes a battleground when armed conflict breaks out between the Order of the Flaming Rose and the Scoia'tael. Geralt is forced to choose to support either faction, or make enemies of them both. Alvin is frightened and, using his Source abilities, magically disappears.
When Geralt returns to Vizima, he finds that Temeria's regent King Foltest has also returned while Adda has relapsed in her curse and is in striga form once more. Under Foltest's direction, Geralt either assists the knights or the elves to restore order to the city as well as deals with Adda. Geralt then storms the Salamandra headquarters and kills Azar Javed, only to find that the gang's true leader is Jacques de Aldersberg, the Grand Master of the Order of the Flaming Rose. Foltest hires Geralt under a contract to slay Jacques to end the Salamandra threat. Geralt confronts Jacques, who explains that due to his Source abilities he has seen the eventual extinction of humanity because of the world-ending White Frost, and was attempting to engineer a genetically enhanced superior race of humans to survive this apocalypse. Geralt is also confronted by the King of the Wild Hunt, who warns him of an impending conflict.
After Geralt defeats and slays Jacques, he notices the Grand Master was wearing the same amulet as Alvin, revealing that de Aldersberg was actually the village boy he saved earlier, who traveled back in time by accident. After Geralt returns to Foltest with news of his success, the king is attacked by an assassin. Geralt defeats the assassin, who is revealed to be another Witcher.

The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings

=== Story ===
The player controls Geralt of Rivia, who is one of the few remaining witchers – enhanced and trained humans with special powers who hunt monsters for a living. The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings contains different paths and storylines, along with multiple endings.

Prologue

At the start of the game, Geralt is in prison under suspicion of assassinating Foltest, the king of Temeria. The head of the Temerian special forces, Vernon Roche, interrogates Geralt and learns the story that led from Geralt being Foltest's right-hand man to a prisoner. Prior to and during the events of The Witcher, Foltest had a secret relationship with a baroness named Maria Louisa La Valette, which led to two children, Anais and Boussy. Some time after Geralt saved Foltest from a witcher assassin, Foltest attempted to claim his children and bring them to live with him in Vizima. Maria was not willing to give up the children, and Foltest waged a war to claim them. Geralt succeeded in escorting Foltest to his children, but an unknown assailant kills Foltest before disappearing, leaving Geralt the only suspect. After the interrogation, Roche decides that Geralt is innocent and aids him in escaping the prison. The two, along with sorceress Triss Merigold, go in search of the kingslayer.

Chapter 1

The trio arrives in the trading town of Flotsam and is ambushed by Iorveth, a rebel elf. It appears to the group that a witcher, believed to have assassinated King Demavend of the neighboring country of Aedirn, is in league with the rebels. Geralt saves his old friends, the bard Dandelion and the dwarf Zoltan Chivay, from being hanged in the city square. With the help of sorceress Síle de Tansarville, Geralt kills a kayran, a giant monster that is disrupting the town's trade routes. Geralt discovers that Loredo, the ostensibly Temerian commander of the town, is intending to sell the town to King Henselt of Kaedwen. He also discovers that the kingslayer, a witcher known as Letho, means to betray Iorveth and convinces the elf of the truth. As Geralt and Iorveth confront Letho, Roche arrives with an armed force. The player chooses between assisting Iorveth or Roche, thus setting the path of the second chapter. Regardless of the choice, Letho kidnaps Triss and forces her to teleport both of them to Aedirn.

Chapter 2 (Iorveth)

If Geralt assists Iorveth, the pair sail to upper Aedirn. There, they become embroiled in a rebellion against King Henselt of neighboring Kaedwen, and they assist the rebel forces. Geralt completes three missions: formulating a poison antidote for rebel leader Saskia, determining Triss's whereabouts (captured by spies from the empire of Nilfgaard and taken to Loc Muinne), and lifting a battlefield curse that is preventing the rebels from defending Vergen, the rebels' base of operations. The rebels defeat King Henselt's army, and Henselt is forced to acknowledge Saskia's terms. Geralt discovers Saskia is a dragon taking human form, but she is under mind control by her advisor, the sorceress Philippa Eilhart. When Philippa teleports Saskia and herself to Loc Muinne, Geralt and Iorveth follow.

Chapter 2 (Roche)

If Geralt assists Roche, Roche has Geralt assassinate Loredo for treason. Geralt and Roche sail to upper Aedirn. There, they also become embroiled in the rebellion against King Henselt, but assist the king instead of fighting against him. Geralt discovers an insurgency in the Kaedweni army: loyalists who are convinced Henselt is conspiring with the empire of Nilfgaard. Geralt completes three missions: determining Triss's whereabouts (captured by a diplomatic delegation from Nilfgaard and taken to Loc Muinne), lifting a curse on King Henselt, and lifting a battlefield curse that is preventing the king from marching on the city of Vergen. Geralt defends Henselt from two witcher assassins, and assists Dethmold, a mage and royal advisor to King Henselt, in a necromancy ritual to discover they are in league with Síle de Tansarville, who has already fled to Loc Muinne with fellow sorceress Philippa Eilhart and entranced rebel leader Saskia in tow. Roche is revealed to be plotting against Kaedwen, and Henselt executes most of Roche's men in retaliation. As Henselt assaults Vergen, Geralt defeats Henselt's personal guard, and either allows Roche to murder Henselt in revenge (which causes a civil war in Kaedwen) or convinces him to spare the king. Geralt and Roche then go to Loc Muinne, on the trail of Triss and Philippa.

Chapter 3

Geralt arrives at Loc Muinne with either Iorveth or Roche, depending on whom he assisted previously. The mages have called a meeting to establish a new magical ruling body known as the Conclave, and all royal leaders are at Loc Muinne. Philippa Eilhart and Síle de Tansarville intend to use the meeting to establish their own power, with the still-entranced Saskia as leverage.
If Geralt arrives with Iorveth, he must choose between rescuing Triss or rescuing Philippa, who is the only person capable of lifting the spell from Saskia but who was captured and blinded by the king of Redania. If Geralt arrives with Roche, he must choose between rescuing Triss or rescuing the kidnapped Princess Anais of Temeria. Depending on the choice, the mage-royal meeting is interrupted when Nilfgaardian forces arrive with Letho, who reveals the sorceresses' entire plot, or if Triss is rescued – regardless of whom Geralt assisted – she reveals the sorceresses' plot instead. The meeting is interrupted again by Saskia in dragon form, who is still under mind control by Philippa. Geralt chases down Síle, who attempts to use her megascope (a magical teleporter) to escape. However, Letho had sabotaged the megascope, in which Síle becomes stuck. Geralt can either rescue Síle or do nothing, in which case Síle is torn to bits. Finally, Geralt duels Saskia, after which he can kill her, let her live, or (if he rescued Philippa earlier) break the spell over Saskia's mind.

Epilogue

If Triss was rescued, the Conclave is restored and the mages work to seal Loc Muinne. If Triss was not rescued, a bloody pogrom of magic users occurs in Loc Muinne and throughout the Northern Kingdoms. Geralt finally confronts Letho, who reveals a Nilfgaardian plot to destabilize the Northern Kingdoms. After hearing Letho's story, Geralt can either let him go or duel him to the death. Geralt then reunites with Triss and either Iorveth or Roche, and sets off south. A concurrent plot of the game is Geralt's attempts to recover lost memories from his previous life, learning more about his beloved Yennefer, and the mythical Wild Hunt. The post-credit scene reveals a wood gathering peasant witnessing a Nilfgaardian invasion, setting the stage for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

The Witcher 3

=== Setting ===
The game is set in the Continent, a fictional fantasy world based on Slavic folklore. It is surrounded by parallel dimensions and extra-dimensional worlds. Humans, elves, dwarves, monsters, and other creatures co-exist on the Continent, but non-humans are often persecuted for their differences in the northern realms. The Continent is caught up in a war between the empire of Nilfgaard – led by Emperor Emhyr var Emreis (Charles Dance), who invaded the Northern Kingdoms – and Redania, ruled by King Radovid V. Several locations appear, including the free city of Novigrad, the Redanian city of Oxenfurt, the no man's land of Velen, the city of Vizima (former capital of the recently conquered Temeria), the Skellige islands (home to several clans who resemble Norse-Gaels), and the witcher stronghold of Kaer Morhen.

Characters

The main character is the Witcher, Geralt of Rivia (Doug Cockle), a monster hunter trained since childhood in combat, tracking, alchemy and magic, and made stronger, faster and resistant to toxins by mutagens. He is aided by his lover, the powerful sorceress Yennefer of Vengerberg (Denise Gough), his former love interest Triss Merigold (Jaimi Barbakoff), the bard Dandelion (John Schwab), the dwarf warrior Zoltan Chivay (Alexander Morton), and Geralt's witcher mentor Vesemir (William Roberts). Geralt is spurred into action by the reappearance of his and Yennefer's adopted daughter, Ciri (Jo Wyatt). Ciri is a Source, born with innate (and potentially vast) magical abilities; after the apparent death of her parents, she was trained as a witcher while Yennefer taught her magic. Ciri disappeared years before to escape the Wild Hunt, a group of spectral warriors led by the King of the Wild Hunt: the elf Eredin (Steven Hartley), from a parallel dimension.

Plot

Geralt and his mentor Vesemir arrive at the town of White Orchard in search of the former's long-lost lover, Yennefer. After slaying a griffin terrorizing the area, Yennefer approaches Geralt and takes him to meet Nilfgaardian Emperor Emhyr, who orders him to join their search for his daughter Ciri—Geralt's adopted daughter—the last heir to an ancient elven bloodline that allows her to manipulate space-time, for which the enigmatic Wild Hunt pursues her. Geralt learns of three places Ciri was seen: the war-ravaged province of Velen, the free city-state of Novigrad, and the Skellige Isles.
In Velen, Geralt discovers that Ciri battled witches before finding refuge with the Bloody Baron, a warlord ruling the province. Investigating the witches, Geralt stumbles upon the sorceress Keira Metz, who is in hiding following the events of The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings, and learns from her that the witches Ciri fought are the Crones, three malicious sisters who watch over Velen, and that Ciri has a mysterious elf companion. Approaching the baron, in exchange for finding his missing family, the warlord reveals that he sent Ciri to Novigrad.
Arriving at Novigrad, Geralt reunites with several old acquaintances, including his ex-lover Triss, and uncovers that Ciri sought out his friend Dandelion, but they ran afoul of Novigrad's crime bosses while seeking to cure a curse. Working together, Geralt and his friends rescue Dandelion, who explains that Ciri teleported away to escape pursuit.

Sailing to Skellige, Geralt reunites with Yennefer, whose investigation reveals that Ciri first came to the isles with her companion but got separated when the Wild Hunt attacked, which is how she ended up in Velen. They also discover that, following her escape in Novigrad, Ciri teleported to the Skelligen village of Lofoten, where she and her companion reunited. However, the Wild Hunt attacked again, forcing them to flee by boat. When the boat returned to shore, its only occupant was Uma, a deformed creature that Geralt saw with the Bloody Baron.
Deducing Uma is the curse victim Ciri sought to cure, Geralt takes him to the witcher school at Kaer Morhen. Working with Yennefer and his fellow witchers, Geralt breaks the curse and restores Uma's true self: Ciri's companion, Avallac'h, who explains that he placed her in an enchanted sleep on a magical island to safeguard her from the Wild Hunt. Traveling there, Geralt reunites with Ciri and learns from her that Hunt's leader, Eredin, wants her powers to save his homeworld from a magical force known as the White Frost, which moves between the worlds and turns them into frozen wastelands. Returning to Kaer Morhen, they are pursued by the Hunt and face them upon arrival, but are outmatched, resulting in Vesemir being killed and causing Ciri to unleash her uncontrolled power, prompting the Hunt to retreat.
Taking the fight to the Wild Hunt, Geralt and Ciri ambush and kill Imlerith—Vesemir's killer—at a Witches' Sabbath hosted by the Crones; two Crones are also slain, but the third escapes. Meanwhile, Triss and Yennefer reform the Lodge of Sorceresses to aid their fight, and Avallac'h prepares a trap for the Hunt by luring them to Skellige. In the ensuing battle, Geralt personally faces and slays Eredin. However, before he dies, Eredin claims that Avallac'h plans to use Ciri's power for his own ends.
After the Wild Hunt is defeated, the White Frost suddenly begins encroaching on the Continent. In the chaos, Geralt and Yennefer pursue Avallac'h, only to find Ciri alive and well, and she reveals that Avallac'h only ever intended to fight the White Frost. Ciri then faces the White Frost and destroys it, with her survival depending on the player's choices throughout the game.
Depending on whether Ciri survives, three different endings are possible:

If Ciri survives and Geralt previously took her to meet Emhyr, she will become empress of Nilfgaard.
If Ciri survives but did not meet Emhyr, or Nilfgaard lost the war, Geralt helps her fake her death, and she becomes a witcher.
If Ciri dies, Geralt hunts down the last Crone before quietly mourning her.