In a perfect world, the work of a Witcher would be simple. You see a monster, you kill it. Not all monsters are created equal, however, some are unintelligent pests that are always hazardous to humans, while others are intelligent enough to live peacefully among humans. A gray area exists in the case of a Rock Troll whose home was encroached upon by some Redanian soldiers, and in its newfound fervor for a war effort it only vaguely understands, ended up unintentionally living up to the worst stereotypes about monsters. Decide the Rock Troll’s fate in the quest The Volunteer in The Witcher 3.
Quest Objectives¶
| Quick Search |
|---|
| Starting The Volunteer |
| Talk to the Rock Troll |
| Defeat the Rock Troll |
| Find the Paint the Troll Needs |
| Paint for the Troll or Let the Troll Paint |
Starting The Volunteer¶
There are two ways to start this quest; either head to the White Eagle Fort signpost on the southern end of an island just west of Oxenfurt to find the remains of the fort - now occupied by a Rock Troll (Lv13) or read the Notice Board in Oxenfurt and grab the notice Beware of Trolls!. In the former case, this quest will start when you talk to the Rock Troll, while in the latter case it’ll begin as soon as you read the notice. Getting the notice is completely optional, however, and doesn’t affect the quest in any way save providing you with a search area - you still need to go to White Eagle Fort to talk to the Rock Troll.
(1 of 3) Grab the notice “Beware of Trolls” to start this quest,
Talk to the Rock Troll¶
Approach the Rock Troll and you’ll overhear it singing a misremembered soldier’s song, one of many mannerisms it apparently picked up from the soldiers that once encamped here.. Talk to the Rock Troll and it’ll tell you what happened here, and the takeaway is that the confused monster apparently thinks it was conscripted into the Redanian military, and isn’t the least bit upset by this development. In fact, the creature is downright patriotic! Not patriotic enough to refrain from consuming the remains of its fellow soldiers, whom the Rock Troll accidentally slew, but you can’t let the perfect be the enemy of good, especially in times of war.
In any event, now you have to decide how to handle this misguided Rock Troll, which is obviously a danger to humans - however unintentionally. If you respond to the Rock Troll’s story by saying “Eating soldiers - makes you dangerous.” you’ll pick a fight with the Rock Troll, while if you say “Got it. Wartime rules.” you’ll let the troll live and worse, persist in its delusions of being a Redanian soldier. Killing the Rock Troll leads to an inferior reward, even if it’s arguably the right choice to make as a Witcher.
(1 of 2) Talk to the Rock Troll, after which you can loot the camp to find a chest containing the Diagram: Enhanced Griffin Armor.
Talk to the Rock Troll, after which you can loot the camp to find a chest containing the Diagram: Enhanced Griffin Armor. (left), After your chat you can choose to exterminate the troll for being a threat to humans. (right)
Defeat the Rock Troll¶
If you pick a fight with the Rock Troll, you’ll have to defeat the monster (Lv13), which is insulted at your ingratitude in the face of its singing. A single Rock Troll is a deceptively easy foe to defeat, just use a strong attack and immediately dodge away afterwards. Repeat until victorious. Use Quen if you want an added layer of security, but otherwise the only things you have to watch out for is when the Rock Troll raises its forearm, which will cause it to block incoming attacks (just wait until it drops its guard before you resume your offensive) and the boulders that Rock Trolls can throw (when it reaches behind its back, be prepared to dodge the incoming projectile). Defeat the Rock Troll and you’ll complete the quest, earning 50 EXP in the process.
Find the Paint the Troll Needs¶
If you spared the Rock Troll, it’ll take this as evidence that it is, in fact, a Redanian soldier, and moreso that it’s in a position of authority, prompting it to demand you get it some paint. You can presumably safely travel to Oxenfurt, whereas the Rock Troll cannot, so this seems like a fair enough request. If you don’t have a Transit Pass or Letter of Safe Conduct, check out the walkthroughs for Thou Shalt Not Pass, Fake Papers and Contract: Woodland Beast, which cover how you can obtain such a pass, which you’ll need to access Oxenfurt. It’s also worth noting you’ll get a Letter of Safe Conduct if you advance the main quest Family Matters far enough. Or you could just swim through Drowner-infested water (Lv10) to the east to reach Oxenfurt Harbor. Real top-notch security there, guys.
(1 of 2) If you spare the Rock Troll, seek out a merchant along the northwestern edge of Oxenfurt,
If you spare the Rock Troll, seek out a merchant along the northwestern edge of Oxenfurt, (left), and buy some paint from him. (right)
However you manage to get into Oxenfurt, make your way to the Oxenfurt Harbor signpost on the western end of the island and make your way northeast to the Notice Board. From here, seek out a merchant with a green headwrap to the northwest. Aside from playing Gwent, he’s not a terribly interesting merchant, generally selling junk, but mixed with the rest of his wares you’ll find some Paint, which will set you back 16 Crowns. Buy it, then return to the Troll.
Paint for the Troll or Let the Troll Paint¶
When you get back to the Rock Troll another complication will arise - the troll isn’t confident in its artistic prowess, and will ask Geralt to paint the Redanian insignia for it. Pick “I can try.” to consent or “It’s better if you do it.” to force the troll to paint its own heraldry. The decision you make here doesn’t really matter, but you will end up with two different paintings depending on who the artist is. The troll is happier with Geralt’s terrible painting, but miserable about its own, arguably superior effort.
(1 of 2) You can then have Geralt attempt to paint the Redanian coat of arms, which makes the Rock Troll happy,
You can then have Geralt attempt to paint the Redanian coat of arms, which makes the Rock Troll happy, (left), or force the Rock Troll to do its own painting, which it is overly critical of. (right)
Either way, the quest will now end, and you’ll gain 50 EXP, the Diagram: Gven’nel, Diagram: Axeman’s Gauntlets, 10x Goat Hide and 5x Deer Hide. Say what you want about this Rock Troll, but it does know how to reward a Witcher for a job well done.
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"Another MUCH easier Gwent challenge can be found in the form of a Merchant, who can be found loitering north of the notice board."
You can buy Paint from him now so you don't have to go back later.
"More interesting, however, is the Merchant who congregates at this fork…"
If you cannot find it, then you have arrived here at night, meditate until the morning, and he will appear. It's hard to miss him.
Near the entrance to the "Bandit Camp (Level 9)" there is a priest of the Church of the Eternal Fire, who asks you to clear the camp and the mine under it (quest "In the Eternal Fire's Shadow"). As I understand it, this is from next-gen content, which is not mentioned here. The quest is quite difficult at this stage, I think it should be mentioned here about getting it and then completing it in the future.