Oftentimes Geralt must use words, and the occasional Axii Sign, to coerce people to provide the information or items he needs.
When opening dialogue with someone who has more to say to the witcher, beyond a noncommittal insult of his mutation, you are presented with dialog choices. Read your options carefully to determine the tone of the response you’re about to choose before committing to it. Depending on what you say, you can either start a fight or maintain a peaceful conversation. If you’re speaking with a merchant, you’re given choices based on what services they provide.
Any time a conversation contains critical information that can move the plot forward, those choices are highlighted in yellow. Lastly, choices that end a conversation are marked with a special icon that clearly denotes this. Be careful about choosing these as they can potentially lock you out of certain Secondary Quests, or cause you to miss extra information.
Occasionally, Geralt can choose to use Axii to muddle the mind of the individual to whom he’s speaking. This can prevent fights from starting or allow you to convince someone to do something they otherwise would refuse to do. This ability does require you to spend points in Delusion on the Signs Character Ability tree in order to ‘convince’ people who possess resistance to suggestion.
A Witcher Works for Money
Witcher Contracts found on Notice Boards often start by speaking with the issuer of the request. Sometimes they offer a reward that Geralt does not feel the need to debate. Other times, you are given the opportunity to squeeze more out of the deal. This takes a bit of finesse. Some people react poorly to demands for more money, others will accept Geralt’s services at a much higher price. Everyone has their limits; it’s just a matter of careful prodding and poking to find out what those limits are.
When negotiating, a meter displays how annoyed the person paying for the witcher is by the requests. Be careful not to annoy them too much or it could cost you more money than it’s worth to press the issue.