Reason of State – Witcher 3 Quest

This guide is a walkthrough of a side quest in the Witcher 3 for the area of Novigrad. The guide is composed of a map, map legend, and walkthrough to show readers exactly where to go and what to do to complete the quest.

Map Legend

1 – Dijkstra’s Bathhouse
2 – Dijkstra’s Warehouse
3 – Radovid’s Boat
4 – Bridge
5 – Theater

Background

You’ll trigger this quest during the quest Blindingly Obvious (#1), provided that you A) bribe Dijkstra with information after corralling Philippa (rather than pushing him down and breaking his leg), and B) have previously completed the quests A Deadly Plot, An Eye for an Eye, and Redania’s Most Wanted.

Walkthrough

While bribing Dijkstra, you’ll realize that both he and Phillipa want Radovid dead. The three of you will then speculate that you might be able to lure Radovid off his boat by using Philippa as bait, which would put him in a position where he’d be more vulnerable to an assassination attempt.

To work out the details for the assassination, you’ll need to visit Dijkstra’s warehouse by the Novigrad docks (#2). After knocking on the door and gaining admittance, when you go upstairs you’ll find Dijkstra, Thaler, and Vernon Roche sitting around a table. With the quorum complete, Dijkstra will reveal his plan: if you tell Radovid that you’ve found Philippa’s hideout, then he’ll be sure to follow you there, and if you use that excuse to lure him onto the bridge to Temple Isle, then you’ll be able to ambush him easily.

When you exit the warehouse, you’ll be confronted by Philippa, who will admit that she was eavesdropping on your plan. She’ll be worried that Radovid won’t believe your story, and so she’ll give you Vizimir II’s Ring — a ring that Radovid will recognize as having been in Philippa’s possession.

You’ll find Radovid’s boat moored at the Novigrad docks (#3), rather than in Oxenfurt where it was before. To get on board, you’ll need to talk to the Redanian Soldier standing next to the gangplank. When you talk to Radovid, he’ll tell you that he’s become skeptical of stories about Philippa — and he’ll take great pleasure in describing what he does to people who lie to him about her — but when he sees Vizimir II’s Ring he’ll believe you, and he’ll gather together all of his men and head for the bridge.

At the bridge (#4), Radovid will announce that you’re an “annoyance” who “irritates” him, and he’ll leave a few of his soldiers behind to kill you while he takes the rest of his men to deal with Philippa. But before Radovid’s soldiers can attack you, Roche and his men will show up, and the fight will be on. You’ll then have to battle your way to Radovid with Roche and Ves helping you out. However, when you reach Radovid, Philippa will make an appearance. She’ll blind Radovid and stab him in the heart, and then she’ll transform into an owl and fly away.

With the deed complete, when you go to the theater (#5) to rendezvous with Dijkstra and Thaler, you’ll earn 25 xp, but then Dijkstra will announce that he’s going to take over Redania for himself. You’ll have two ways to respond:

• You can stay out of the matter. Dijkstra will let you go, but he’ll kill Roche, Ves, and Thaler.
  
• You can interfere with Dijkstra’s plan. You’ll have to kill Dijkstra and his men, but Roche, Ves, and Thaler will survive.

The decision you make here will have an effect on the game’s ending.