The Witcher 4: Unleashing Skellige's Deadly Nithing Curse

In The Witcher, Geralt faces complex scenarios when it comes to curses. These curses often prove to be more intricate than they initially seem, unearthing scandals, old family secrets, and truths about those involved. As a result, they are the most captivating quests and plotlines in the game. One of the most prominent curses is the Curse of the Black Sun, which affects girls born during a solar eclipse. These girls were treated as if they were cursed and were thought to bring bad luck to their families. Geralt encounters many of these women during the series, and their tragic lives raise questions about inherent evil versus being shaped by one's surroundings. Despite being rejected by their families and shunned by society due to superstitions, women like Syanna in The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine and Renfri are used as proof of the curse's effects.

The Nithing Curse on Skellige

In The Witcher, curses come in all shapes and sizes, with even the smallest ones having a profound impact on Geralt. The Nithing is a prime example of this, as it features a family suffering the effects of a curse from a Nithing pole. These poles are made of horse skulls and are used to curse individuals by writing their name on the pole and pointing the horse's head in the direction of their home. In this particular quest, Geralt encounters a Nithing curse directed at the child of Lothar, a man in Skellige who fears his son will die within a month.

The Impact of Curses in The Witcher

After investigating, Geralt uncovers that Jonna, Lothar's former partner, is responsible for the curse. She holds a grudge against Lothar for leaving her after being together for a decade, and is now seeking revenge by directing the Nithing at Lothar's son. Jonna demands that Lothar abandon his family and come back to her in exchange for lifting the curse. Lothar explains to Geralt that if he complies, his wife and child will suffer from poverty and shame, leaving Geralt in a difficult moral dilemma.

The player is faced with a difficult decision in this part of the game - to either redirect the curse onto the caster Jonna or to convince Lothar to return to her. The former option would result in Jonna's death but would spare Lothar's son and keep the family together. On the other hand, convincing Lothar to return to Jonna would mean that the curse would be lifted, but it would also mean breaking up his current family.

Choosing between the lesser evil, Lothar's return to Jonna would spare lives but at the cost of tearing his family apart and leaving his wife and child as outcasts. In The Witcher, such conundrums reveal the player character's personality, values, and the world they inhabit. The messy and ambiguous nature of curses make for great storytelling tools, and incorporating more of these elements from European culture would only strengthen the series in The Witcher 4.