The story surrounding the Bloody Baron and his family setsThe Witcher 3’smorally ambiguous tone early on. From the outset, the Baron is far cry from morally upright. As a first introduction, his men terrorize one of Velen’s many villages while Geralt looked for Hendrik. When met in person, he comes across as an irresponsible drunk who forces Geralt to search for his family while dangling his knowledge of Ciri’s whereabouts like a trail of breadcrumbs.

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Family Matters is a continuation of that, covering Geralt’s search for the Baron’s missing wife and daughter while revealing their relationship with him.

A Favor For A Favor

Family Matters begins after meeting the Bloody Baron for the first time and being told that Ciri had visited the warlord not long ago inCiri’s Story: The King Of Wolves.The Baron ends the story on an aggravating cliffhanger right when the story was getting good.

He makes it clear that he will tell the rest of the story if and when Geralt finds Anna and Tamara,his missingwife and daughter. You will have no choice but to oblige.

Geralt crosses his arms and gives a bemused glare to a man just barely out of shot inside a manor.

Geralt asks tosee the family’s roomsto begin his investigation, something that the Baron begrudgingly obliges. He brings Geralt to his bedroom to begin searching for clues.

Searching The Baron’s Bedroom

At first glance, the room has been kept tidy without any obvious messes. Geralt is not so easily fooled.Use Witcher Sensesto find three clues inside the bedroom.

There is a broken candlestick on the table,missing a part.

Vase of Flowers

The Baron hasprepared a vase of flowersfor his wife’s return. Geralt notes that it is fresh.

Discolored Wall Section

A large, rectangular part of the wall ishighlighted with Witcher Senses.It is lighter than the rest of the wall as if a painting had once covered it.

You will need tointeract with the discolored part of the wallto continue the quest. Geralt will notice that a nearby painting,highlighted in Witcher Senses,matches the section’s dimensions. He moves it to discover ahole in the wall, going into a cupboard.

A close up of Geralt taking a painting off a wall inside a dark room.

You will have to go around the wall andinteract with the cupboardfor the next clue,the candlestick’s missing piece.Inspect the candlestick again topick up the scentof expensive wine, creating a trail to follow.

There is awooden talismanat the end of the trail. Bring it back to the Baron. He will suggestlooking for the Pellar,a wise man that Anna had likely visited. With that, Geralt has a lead to follow.

A screenshot of the game, showing a broken candlestick glowing red with a prompt to investigate floating above it.

Now would be a good time to complete the questCiri’s Room.It is also in Crow’s Perch and lets you meet Gretka, a girl Ciri rescued from the swamp.

Meeting The Pellar

Geralt will have to travelnorth of Blackboughto find the Pellar’s hut and agang of the Baron’s men trying to break in.Geralt steps in to question the Pellar before the old man comes to harm, riling up the thugs and placing him in a precarious situation that you canescalate or defusewith the following options.

Use Axii

You will need to haveDelusion at level twoto use this option. It willdefuse the situation,allowing Geralt to speak to the Pellar without further trouble.

Offer Help

Geralt will be able todefuse the situationbyasking the gang why they are angry.Doing so will unlock a dialogue option that has Geralt give them advice on making their friend better.

Attempting this if youkilled the Baron’s menat the Inn at the Crossroads duringThe Nilfgaardian Connectionwill immediatelyescalate the situationand force you to kill the men.

A screenshot of the game, with a vase full of flowers highlighted in red with an interact prompt showing.

Geralt canattempt to bribe the men.It will not work.

Kill Them

A gang of thugs is no match for a witcher. Geralt can simply choose tokill the lot of them,removing the immediate threat.

The Pellar had foreseen Geralt’s arrival and was waiting for the witcher. He recognizes the talisman and explains thathe made it toprotect Anna.He agrees to use his magic to find her ifGeralt helps him find his goat, Princess.He cannot complete the ritual otherwise.

A screenshot showing a large section of a wall glowing red with an interaction prompt on it.

This starts the questA Princess in Distress,a short break from this overarching storyline.

With the goat returned, the Pellar conducts the ritual. He concludes thatAnna had miscarried,with the fetus turning intoa botchling.It could be the key to finding where Anna and Tamara are. Geralt returns to Crow’s Perch toconfront the Baronandfind the botchling.

A screenshow showing a painting glowing red with an interaction prompt.

Crow’s Perch Aflame

Geralt gets back just in time to see Crow’s Perch on fire. The residents aretoo afraid of the Baronto try andsave the building.You will have to make a snap decision betweenrescuing a trapped stablehandorleaving him to die.

This decision hasno effect on the quest.That said, choosing tosave the stablehandwill get youa small reward.You will also be able to loota chestto theleft of the ladderused to enter the burning stable.

A screenshow showing the end of a path created by a trail of alcohol

With the fire sorted out, Geralt turns his attention to the Baron. The witcher is furious enough to start the conversation by waterboarding the warlord in front of his men. You will need todefeat the Baron in a fistfightto continue the quest.

Fight well. Geralt willdie if he loses the brawl.

Geralt stands outside a house, surrounded by a gang of heavily armed bandits.

Which Decision To Make With The Botchling

With the truth admitted and frustrations vented, Geralt and the Baron discuss their next step. The only way for them to find Anna and Tamara is touse the botchling.Geralt outlinestwo potential outcomesto the situation before the pair look for the abandoned fetus at midnight. You will get to choosewhen Geralt encounters it.

Lifting The Curse On The Botchling

Geralt is confident that the curse on the botchling will be lifted ifthe Baron completes a ritual.The Baron prefers this option.

Killing The Botchling

The botching is a sight causing sore eyes. Geralt can kill it andbring its blood to the Pellarto find the women.

The decision you make here will have astrong effect onhow the rest of the quest plays out.

A screenshot of a conversation that lets the player choose between saving a man trapped in a burning stable in the background or ignoring his plight.

Lifting The Curse

The Baron will take it up in his arms andbring it back home.You will need todefend himfrom attacking wraiths whilecasting Axii on the Baronat several intervals. While individually weak, the wraithscome in numbers.They will try tooverwhelm youin a difficult battle.

Wraiths rely on their ability toturn intangibleto avoid being hurt and tostrike when you least expect it.This advantage is nullified bybringing them into the Yrden signand throughthe Moon Dust bomb. Specter Oilwill also work on them.

Geralt sends the Bloody Baron crashing to the ground with a burning building in the background.

The Baron will struggle with the task but ultimately succeeds, naming it Dea and granting it peace with Geralt’s help. With the ritual complete,Dea becomes a Lubberkin, a benign and helpful spirit. Geralt asks her tohelp him find Anna and Tamara.She floats off, leaving you to follow along.

Dea brings Geralt to a fisherman’s hut, where the branching paths converge. It is covered further below.

The botchling isdeceptively dangerous.It will transform into alarger formshortly after the battle begins, becoming powerful enough to pose a serious threat. It relies on the following attacks.

Melee Attacks

It will use its claws toshred Geralt,dealing heavy damage through rapid strikes.

Summoning Wraiths

While not deliberate, the botchling will summon wraiths into the fight. They willattack Geralt,diving in to harass the witcher, and providing a distraction for the botchling.

Grow Spikes

It willgrow spikes like an Alghoulafter taking enough damage. Youmust use Axii on itto lower the spikes as soon as possible because itregenerates health when in this state.

Once the botchling is defeated, Geralt will take a sample of its blood which must begiven to the Pellar.He willconduct a ritualto find the Baron’s family through supernatural means.

You will be in acircular arenawiththree fires on the perimeter.All three fires will have tostay lit during the ritualfor the Pellar to receive the necessary visions. Of course, you will beattacked by wraithsduring the ritual because it would be too easy otherwise.

With the wraiths attacking, your stamina will likely be pushed to its limits, making it difficult touse Igni on the fires.You caninteract with them instead,lighting them without casting a sign.

The Pellar will go through a series of visions before the ritual is completed. He tells Geralt that the two women hadtaken refuge at a fisherman’s hut,merging with the route that involved saving the botchling.

Investigating The Remaining Leads

At the fisherman’s hut, Geralt learns thatonly Tamara escaped safely.She has fled to Oxenfurt with the fisherman’s relative.Anna was dragged away by a monsterand has not been found.

Geralt can return to the Baronafter meeting the fisherman.He will tell Geralt about another of Ciri’s adventures inCiri’s Story: The Race.He willwithhold the conclusionuntil he learnswhere Anna and Tamara are.

Depending on how youhandled the other main quests,you might be able tocomplete the quest immediately.

You will have tocomplete a different storylineto discover Anna’s fate. This storyline is told through the questsHunting a Witch,Wandering in the Dark,Ladies of the Wood,andThe Whispering Hillock.

Meeting Tamara

As Geralt will point out, he only needed tofind where the two women are,not bring them back. Youdo not have to meet Tamaraand can ignore the objective entirely if you have grown tired of this family’s squabbles. You would be missing out on a large part of one of the game’s best quests, however.

Telling the Baron that you aremeeting Tamarawill make this part of the quest more interesting. Heasks Geralt to give Tamara a doll,which affects the subsequent conversation, and provides aletter to cross the Pontar,providing one solution to the questThou Shalt Not Pass.

Finishing Family Matters

This sagawill lurch toward its endonce the Baron is informed of his family’s whereabouts. He will have a final conversation with Geralt, giving what might be the most honest account of his family life since the first meeting.

He will also tell Geralt why Ciri left Crow’s Perch and where she was headed inCiri’s Story: Out Of The Shadows.The quest will end, with an optional conclusion in the questReturn to Crookback Bog.

Next:The Witcher 3: Complete Guide And Walkthrough