CD Projekt Red dropped The Witcher 3 just as I hit 18, and, let me tell ya, it hit me and every other fantasy RPG nerd like a ton of bricks. This game had, uh, a bit of everything: open-world—you know, the kind where you actually feel like making choices means something. But, yeah, those choices? They kinda screwed me over in my first go-round.
See, even though I love decision-heavy fantasy RPGs (shoutout to Dragon Age: Origins), I jumped into The Witcher 3 with zero clue about the backstory. I hadn’t played the earlier ones, just heard whispers of “magic, swords, monsters!” I mean, all I really cared about was playing this guy named Geralt, on a mission to find his not-really daughter Ciri, with my sorta-girlfriend Yennefer telling me off—and for some odd reason, I found that, I dunno, charming? So clueless me ended up somewhere I probably shouldn’t have… in the arms of Keira Metz.
[Ed. note: Spoilers ahead for the Keira Metz shenanigans in The Witcher 3.]
Keira’s part of this secret club, the Lodge of Sorceresses, which, I guess, meddles in magic stuff and advises Northern Kingdoms’ royalty. But by the time Game 3 rolls out, Keira’s ditched the palace life—well, not voluntarily. King Foltest of Temeria lost faith in her or something, so she ended up as the witch-next-door in Velen. She’s itching to get back to cushy living though, even if it means some… questionable decisions.
So about those choices… Keira decides she can win over King Radovid of Redania by weaponizing some plague cure notes. He’s like the worst dude, hates magic, all of it. She thinks impressing him would get her a castle gig or something. It’s a bit dramatic, trading off people’s lives for royal cushiness. But, I dunno, I sorta got it—who doesn’t want to avoid bed bugs? Not saying it’s right, but hey.
Anyway — or wait, where was I? Oh right, my terrible decision. Picture this: 18-year-old, no-save-before-major-decisions me, trusting Keira with her harebrained scheme. I thought, “She’ll woo Radovid, no problem.” So, I merrily went on my 30-hour adventure, forgetting about Keira entirely.
Fast forward to Novigrad, during a quest called Final Preparations. Yeah, turns out, I made a colossal mistake. Triss, another magic lady in the game, drops the bomb that Keira’s plan didn’t fly, and well, she ended up, literally, toast.
Man, I was heartbroken, seriously. Missing Keira felt like a punch in the gut—it only hit harder when Triss and I had to sneak her… um, remains… out of sight. Witcher 3 nails even minor character exits, making them feel heavy, like, really heavy. It’s why I keep coming back to it.
Learned something crucial: trust beautiful women know their stuff 99%, but save your game, because missing one can mean a character bites the dust. Jeez.
