Iorweth

"I am who I need to be."

Iorveth (Polish: Iorweth) was an Aen Seidhe elf, a well-known hater of humans, responsible for burning many human villages and civilian deaths, and was the commander of the last Scoia'tael commando to be broken during the second war with Nilfgaard.

He was not just an extremely skilled bowman but a swordsman as well. He defeated the commanders of many special forces of the North, including someone from the Order of the Flaming Rose, except for the Blue Stripes captain Vernon Roche. His other skills included playing the flute (or, more precisely, the recorder).

Even though he was always extremely proud of his race, Iorveth's clothes were a combination of elven and human clothing. He didn't acquire them all at once but rather stack it up with useful pieces from armors of humans he killed.

Iorveth and Isengrim Faoiltiarna were supposedly the only two who survived the massacre of the Vrihedd Brigade at the Ravine of the Hydra, following the peace of Cintra.

Second Northern War
Throughout the entirety of the Second Nilfgaard-Nordling War, Iorveth was allied with the Nilfgaardian Empire and led a Scoia'tael commando with which he constantly caused trouble to rear of Northern Kingdoms' combined forces in the Pontar valley.

One of the elves under his command was Echel Traighlethan who was captured by the Redanian Secret Service and brought to Drakenborg to be hanged.

When the peace of Cintra was signed between the North and Nilfgaardians on 2 April 1268, all of the Vrihedd Brigade officers and Scoia'tael leaders were rounded up to be executed in line with what was agreed at negotiations.

Iorveth somehow managed to escape and survive long enough to assemble a new commando from elves dissatisfied with the outcome of the war. One by one, Iorveth and his guerilla fighters defeated most of the Northern special forces with the major exception being the Blue Stripes of Temeria.

Assassins of Kings and Saskia
Sometime around November 1270, Iorveth was approached by a mysterious individual claiming to be a friend of nonhumans with an offer: the man wanted to kill kings for his own inscrutable reasons and would like Iorveth's help in the form of the elf's knowledge of secret trails and weapon stashes. To back his claim, this man showed Iorveth the head of Demavend, King of Aedirn, Lord of Dol Blathanna and Sovereign of the Pontar Valley.

Six months later, Geralt, Triss, and Vernon Roche met Iorveth. Roche quickly showed that he knew the elf and they were quite hostile to each other, hinting at less-than-pleasant past experiences. Shortly afterward, it became clear that Iorveth managed to rebuild the commandos he lost during the war, as elves attacked Geralt and company on his orders.

He was pushed by circumstances to the very edge of society, painfully aware that the Scoia'tael have been used in the war with Nilfgaard and have been ruthlessly sacrificed during peace negotiations. He was also determined not to let that happen again. He enjoyed a fierce loyalty from his men. None of them would ever betray Iorveth and this speaks volumes in his favor. Indeed, he was a skilled commander and as cunning as a fox.

Considered a mass murderer and terrorist, even by Saskia, he had nonetheless come to understand that the ways of the Scoia'tael are doomed to fail, hence the reason he did not join Yaevinn and instead chose to fight side by side with humans and dwarves led by Saskia to secure the foundation of an independent state in Upper Aedirn, with a capital in Vergen. A state with egalitarian laws between elves, humans and dwarves.

Later life
No matter the outcome of the conflict, Iorveth had already left Aedirn by the spring of 1272. He took his Scoia'tael with him, departing for unknown reasons. Unfortunately, his departure significantly reduced Vergen's military capabilities. Though it's not confirmed where he went to, he was alive and safe there at least the remainder of the year.

Journal entry
Chapter I:
 * They say all elves are beautiful, that they are born thus. In Iorveth's case someone set out to change this, marking his face with an ugly scar that the elf partially hid beneath a crimson headscarf. Iorveth was a living legend, the elusive leader of a Scoia'tael unit whose members gave no thought to laying down their arms and continued their war against humans. Stories of his deeds, of his deep hatred of dh'oine, painted him as more akin to a vengeful ghost than to an individual made of blood, bone and flesh. Certain sources claimed that Iorveth was the kingslayer's ally and thus involved in recent events, yet Geralt's first meeting with the elf brought few answers and ended with Scoia'tael archers laying down a deadly barrage. Indeed, it seemed at the time that the elf would only ever answer the witcher with arrows.


 * In the eyes of some people, like Loredo or Roche, Iorveth was a common criminal, his hands stained by the blood of innocents. Indeed, the list of those he had cut down in his "fight for freedom" could easily rival the number of ballads, romances and ditties in my repertoire.


 * The elf was certainly a dangerous individual. He was not, however, a bloodthirsty monster. Ever cautious and aware of the game he was playing, he jumped at the chance of testing Letho's loyalty, becoming Geralt's ally, at least temporarily.


 * If Geralt does not give him his sword during Chapter I: The Assassins of Kings:
 * We can safely assume that Iorveth long remembered both the wallop Geralt gave him and the witcher's sudden turn, though the elf's pride probably hurt a lot more than his head.


 * If Geralt gives him his sword during Chapter I: The Assassins of Kings:
 * Fighting side by side certainly helps dispel distrust. The witcher kept his word, which Iorveth appreciated, and the path to further cooperation stood open.


 * The Scoia'tael leader had a vision, and his pursuit of it put him in an altogether different light. Grand as it was, the plan could either be considered incredibly ambitious or purely insane. Whatever the case, he needed allies, though if he found none he was more than prepared to forge ahead alone.


 * If Geralt chooses Roche's Path during the end of chapter I:
 * Yet Geralt ultimately decided not to work with the Scoia'tael leader, choosing Vernon Roche's help instead. Thus the paths of the witcher and Iorveth began to diverge.


 * If Geralt chooses Iorveth's Path during the end of chapter I:
 * Iorveth was loyal towards those who placed their trust in him, and he returned their trust. This was undeniable. His respect for Geralt grew after they freed the prisoners, and the elf would not hesitate to repay the debt he had incurred.


 * The relations between Vernon Roche and Iorveth were certainly complicated. The Scoia'tael openly hated the Blue Stripes' commander, and doubtless wanted his death. Yet one could see in him a shadow of respect for the Temerian's abilities and tenacity. The fact that the elf could give even a hated enemy his due was, I think, to his credit.


 * Iorveth had been living in hatred and shedding human blood for years, and the question of whether he still knew what he was fighting for remained an open one. Even those who had known him longer had their doubts.

Chapter II:
 * When Iorveth chose to fight for a free Pontar Valley, when he swore an oath of allegiance to Saskia, he stood alongside the humans defending Vergen. Few trusted this sudden shift in this uncompromising enemy of the Dh'oine, an elf responsible for more than one razed village and the tears of more than one mother over a slain son. The Squirrel commander had Saskia's full confidence, however, and that put an end to all discussion.


 * (Unknown) Possibly if Geralt sides with Iorveth but did not give him his sword during Chapter I: "The Assassins of Kings":
 * Yet Iorveth put his resentment aside as he spotted the opportunities that an alliance with the witcher might afford. Though much time would pass before his mistrust dissipated completely, he and Geralt now shared a common goal.


 * (Unknown):
 * Iorveth and Geralt's meeting near Vergen was less than cordial. The Scoia'tael commander did not conceal his resentment and would have given much for the chance to bury the witcher alive in an anthill. Geralt could only ascribe the elf's decision not to act on that desire to his loyalty to Saskia. For elves are not known for respecting the immunity of envoys, if not on a whim.


 * (Unknown):
 * Iorveth might well have expected Geralt to turn up near Vergen, so he was not surprised to see the witcher. But he did seem disappointed that Geralt had chose other allies. Still, he gave safe passage, allowing the witcher to meet Saskia without further impediment.


 * If Geralt chooses to aid Iorveth during Chapter II: "The Siege of Vergen":
 * Though the fall of Vergen marked the ruination of the Scoia'tael commander's dreams, the fact that Geralt appeared during the battle must have been a pleasant surprise for him. Elves tend not to express their emotions effusively, but Iorveth's behavior indicated that the witcher's aid was not without meaning to him. However the two finally parted ways, and that short meeting was their last, at least where this story is concerned


 * If Geralt chooses Roche's Path and aids Iorveth during Chapter II: "The Siege of Vergen" but did not give him his sword during Chapter I: "The Assassins of Kings":
 * Iorveth neither forgave nor forgot, thus he had trouble accepting the fact that Geralt assisted him in battle after what had happened in Flotsam. So the proud Scoia'tael clenched his teeth and quashed his anger, saving it for future battles. However the two finally parted ways, and that short meeting was their last, at least where this story is concerned.


 * When Iorveth disappeared after the poisoning of Saskia, nobody expected to see him again. Some whispered he had been behind the poisoning, or that he had simply lost the will to fight. Nobody believed his talk of elven archers. Time would show what his promises were worth.


 * The Scoia'tael doubtless had a sense of dramatic timing. His reinforcements could not have come at a more appropriate moment, and the emotion felt by all the defenders, including yours truly, was pure euphoria. Iorveth proved himself a person who does not waste words or abandon allies in need. If I had had any doubts about him, they dissipated together with the smoke which hung over Vergen.


 * Iorveth was determined to save Saskia and settle the score with the sorceresses. He and Geralt set out to Loc Muinne to close the final chapter of this story.

Chapter III:
 * There they had to split up – Iorveth went to search Philippa's quarters and Geralt didn't hear from him for some time. It's a fair guess the Scoia'tael leader was not idle in the meantime.


 * If Geralt chooses to help to save Philippa in Chapter III:
 * Iorveth, as he was wont to do, appeared as if from nowhere – just in time to help escort the sorceress to her quarters. On the way he made it clear to her that, if not for the circumstances, their meeting would have been far less pleasant to her.


 * If Geralt chooses to help to save Saskia in Chapter III:
 * The elf helped Geralt recover the dagger needed to lift the spell from Saskia. Though Iorveth could only hope that Geralt would do his best to not kill the dragon, the Scoia'tael took the risk and placed his trust in the witcher. They had already been comrades-in-arms for good or ill for some time.

Associated quests

 * The Assassins of Kings
 * A Rough Landing
 * Where is Triss Merigold?
 * At a Crossroads: Scoia'tael
 * The Floating Prison
 * Prelude to War: Aedirn
 * A Matter of Life and Death
 * Royal Blood
 * Vergen Besieged
 * The Siege of Vergen
 * The Spear of Destiny
 * With Flickering Heart
 * Hunting Magic
 * For a Higher Cause!
 * The Spellbreaker
 * A Summit of Mages
 * Enter the Dragon

The Witcher Battle Arena
Iorveth returned as one of the playable heroes in the now defunct MOBA set in universe of witcher.

Hero Presentation

 * Iorveth, much like Letho of Gulet, is a well known hero to all those who played The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings. An elven rebel and the leader of the Scoia'tael commando, Iorveth is an unmatched archer who excels in teamfights, but still can be very dangerous in 1 on 1 situations. His abilities allow him to slow down groups of enemies and focus heavy damage on just one target. His passive skill, Focused Senses, effectively changes his resource from mana to Focus. Focus is being used to fuel Iorveth's skills, but at an expense of normal attack strenght. [sic] It can recharge quickly, but players need to decide if they want to deal damage with skills or auto-attacks.


 * Driven by Hatred is Iorveth's primary skill for dealing damage. The hero releases a volley of three consecutive shots, each stronger than the previous one. Driven by Hatred is a skillshot, which means that you have to lead your target to land a successful shot.


 * Squirrel's Mark is an Area of Effect (AoE) attack, which works in two phases. First, Iroveth marks all the opponents in a given area. After roughly 3 seconds of delay, a hail of arrows falls from the sky, damaging and slowing down all enemies in the influenced area. It's worth mentioning that the damage will sum up if the marked targets are close to each other.


 * Vendetta is Iorveth's special skill. The hero disappears for a short while, only to reappear near the enemy and deal a powerful blow with his two scimitars, stunning them a second. If Iorveth manages to kill an enemy with Vendetta, then the cooldown of the skill is reduced by half. There is one more thing to this unique ability - since it basically makes Iorveth teleport to a spot (he only attacks if there is an enemy in range) he can use Vendetta as an escape tool, too.

Iorveth does not physically appear in The Witcher 3. However, he was originally planned to be one of the main characters. CDPR originally stated that he would appear, in a 2013 interview with Game Informer. See the cut content section below, for more information.

In the final game, Iorveth and Isengrim are mentioned by their fellow Scoia'tael warriors, in a camp outside of Novigrad. These lines may perhaps be the remnants of the cut content. He also has a Gwent hero card. Marcin Momot later confirmed that Iorveth is alive and well but that he would not appear in the game. On 4 July 2016 short comic strip named Where is Iorveth? was released.
 * Have you heard the latest rumors about Iorveth?
 * So riddled with arrows he resembled a hedgehog. I tell you, Iorveth is dead. Deireadh.
 * Dead? No, he's been spotted in Novigrad.
 * If it's true, then what are we waiting for?
 * Rubbish. They also said Isengrim had escaped.
 * When in fact he's been worm food for years.

The Witcher 3 Cut Content
Iorveth was involved in the large Nilfgaardian centric subplot which centered around an outbreak of the Catriona plague. This quest line had its own set of writers and designers, and remnants of the quest line exist in the form of: Eye for an Eye, Blood Ties, and Contract: Patrol Gone Missing. This quest line was also the original implementation of the, before it was cut and completely redone for the expansion pack.

Iorveth would have appeared in Velen searching for a cure for the Catriona plague which was ravaging Velen and most of the southern part of the Continent, including Mahakam. Geralt would have to form a sensitive alliance between Iorveth, Roche, Ves and Thaler in order to obtain this cure from a rogue Nilfgaardian scientist called Martin aka Hector Kraft Ebbing. This questline was also meant to explore the Nilfgaardian's impact on the area, showing that they were not always the most enlightened group of people, and would go to extreme lengths in the name of law & order.

A playable build of this quest line existed, and was cut very late into production due to allegedly not fitting in well with the rest of the game, and requiring too many resources to complete.

Early leaked materials
A model was worked on internally, and a render of his character was set to be included in the Prima Guide. The original plan would have involved Geralt meeting him in Novigrad, along with other Scoia'tael.

He would have had a role in at least 6 quests: Pyres of Novigrad, Get Junior, sq305-Scoia'tael (which later became Woodland Beast), a cut side-quest called sq309-Investigation, The Battle of Kaer Morhen and Final Preparations.

Not much is known about SQ309-Investigation, but it would have involved a scene with Iorveth hiding in a basement of a house in the non-human district. He would have been playing his flute, using the same song, Stella Splendens, from The Witcher 2. This quest would have also featured an Elven Portal, although it's not specified what it would have been used for.

SQ305-Scoia'tael would have involved other Scoia'tael commanders, such as Isengrim Faoiltiarna, Vernossiel, Gronostaj and Yrlissa. This quest was significantly reworked, and made it into the game as Woodland Beast. Vernossiel made the cut, but none of the other characters did. This quest was also mentioned in the preliminary Prima Guide.

At the beginning of Pyres of Novigrad, he would have helped Geralt find Triss, and they would have gone to her house together. This would have made a lot of sense depending on your choices in The Witcher 2, as Triss can save his life in the epilogue. He would also have had connections to the criminal underground, knowing both The King of Beggars and Cleaver. There are mentions of other dialogue scenes, between Roche, Iorveth and Geralt, at the docks in Novigrad. A bug report from an Alpha build states that the writers needed to fully explain the relationship dynamic between them, and why they wanted to kill each other, because of events in the past.

He would have taken part in the Battle of Kaer Morhen. The dialogue scenes between Roche, Letho and Ves were originally meant to be between Roche, Letho and Iorveth. File names for these cutscenes, in the retail product, reference this original plan:

"quests/part_2/quest_files/q403_battle/scenes/q403_10_letho_vs_roche_iorweth.w2scene"

"quests/part_2/quest_files/q403_battle/scenes/q403_11_roche_iorweth.w2scene"

"quests/part_2/quest_files/q403_battle/scenes/q403_34a_roche_iorweth_after_battle.w2scene".

Character descriptions for both Iorveth and Isengrim Faoiltiarna were also going to appear in the preliminary Prima guide.

Developer comments
Comments about Iorveth from the CDPR developers Jan Bartkowicz (Story Writer), Artur Sliwinski, (Story Writer), Arkadiusz Borowik (Story Writer) and Jan Marek (Concept Artist) taken from the "Dev Diary 3":

"The main hero who decided to lead the Scoia'tael elves is one: Iorveth. The elf Iorveth, who's leading a Scoia'tael unit, is, in my opinion, a cool example of how we approach classical fantasy archetypes. Here's an example of the classical elven archetype, found in fantasy, like in Tolkien's books. All elves are born beautiful, they are noble and usually have ornate, complicated armour. These sort of things. People are used to such stereotypes. We, however, have a world that somehow leaves it's stamp on characters. Including Iorveth, whose natural, innate beauty was taken away from him, who was terribly disfigured.

He's an elf fighting in guerrilla units. Actually, he doesn't have a legendary mithrill armour or something like that. He's got a donkey jacket he stole from someone, armour looted piece-by-piece from humans he killed…

I won't speak much of Iorveth - he was best described by Vernon Roche at the beginning of the game: "a simple son of a bitch.""

Trivia

 * The physical description of Iorveth in the journal entry is a direct quote from the physical description of Isengrim Faoiltiarna in.
 * Iorveth's dream was the only Elven spoken sequence within the game which was not translated.
 * The tune he plays is a medieval Marian hymn known as "Stella splendens in monte", drawn from the Red Book of Montserrat.
 * Iorveth makes a series of references to The Lord of the Rings during the course of the game, such as calling something a "piece of lembas" instead of a "piece of cake".