The Witcher Cheapskate's Guide

Are you a tightwad? Does that extend to your behaviour when you play The Witcher? Well it does for me, so in keeping with that philosophy, here are a few tips on saving orens in the game. They are especially useful in the first 3 chapters (or acts). After that, you'll have pretty much all the cash you need.

Never pay to sleep
Never pay to sleep somewhere unless you have no alternative. Inns are a rip-off, some even more so than others. There is almost never any reason to pay for accommodation in the game, someone will always put you up for free. Occasionally, some of your would-be hosts stray from their homes, but usually someone is home at any given time.

Sleep for free in Act I

 * Abigail's place
 * the Reverend's place
 * Odo's house
 * Haren Brogg's house

Sleep for free in Act II

 * Kalkstein's place
 * Shani's place
 * Thaler's house
 * Vivaldi's house

Sleep for free in Act III

 * Triss' place (although she comes home pretty late and is not always there)
 * the Gamblers' Den
 * Shani's (unless you choose to leave Alvin with Triss!)

Sleep for free in Act IV

 * Adam's place
 * Alina's place
 * the Fisher King's hut

Sleep for free in Act V

 * Foltest's Castle (while you are there, speak with the chamberlain)
 * Kalkstein's place
 * the refugee caves in the Swamp cemetery

and of course, there are always campfires (except in the Trade Quarter).

Buy as few books as possible
You can get most of the information regarding plants and monsters by giving gifts or bribing old women. There are also some very useful morsels of information gleaned from more major characters: for example, the gardener, Shani, some guards, etc. Basically talk to absolutely everyone before you contemplate buying a book. The entries you still can't get using these tips still have to come from books, but this eliminates about half the books you buy.

Free books in the Prologue

 * The Frightener

Free books in Act I

 * Against Nonhumans
 * Basics of Alchemy
 * An Invitation to Magic
 * Ithlinne's Prophecy
 * Monstrum, or a Portrayal of Witchers
 * Recent History
 * Swamp Monsters

Pick up and sell everything
Well OK, not everything, some things you'll need to keep. But you get the idea. Raid all containers (and I do mean ALL) and once you've decided what to keep, sell everything else.


 * If you run out of space in your inventory, go to a merchant or an innkeeper, make more room (by selling or storing stuff) and start again.
 * If you must choose between two items, take the more expensive first. You can always go back for they less expensive items if you are really strapped for cash.

Never pass up an opportunity to raid a corpse/remains
Pretty self-explanatory. See the section above.

Play alot of poker
Play poker. Lots of poker. Save before each game, and if you lose, restore. In Act II, Thaler will play as long as you want to, as will Chireadan in Act IV. Velerad is a reckless bettor (even if he won't play more than a couple games at one sitting).