The Witcher Cheapskate's Guide

Are you frugal? Thrifty? Economical? A miser? A tightwad? Alright, a cheapskate? 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.

Maximize your harvests
Make sure you have all the bestiary entries you need for any given chapter. This way you'll get the most out of your kills, whether that means quest items, ingredients for potions or just stuff to cash in, it's worthwhile. Of course, this does cause some consternation when trying to buy as few books as possible, but it can be done. Just take your time when you first get to a new area and speak to only minor NPCs, don't initiate conversation with any of the major characters until you've exhausted all the freebies available without advancing the plot.

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

 * Detective Raymond's place
 * Eager Thighs Brothel
 * Gramps' hut, if Geralt doesn't kill him
 * Kalkstein's place
 * Shani's place
 * St. Lebioda's Hospital
 * Thaler's Place
 * Vaska's place
 * 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 at least half the books you'll have to buy.

Free books in the Prologue

 * The Frightener
 * Monstrum, or a Portrayal of Witchers

Free books in Act I

 * Against Nonhumans
 * Basics of Alchemy
 * The Book of the Tawny Owl
 * An Invitation to Magic
 * Ithlinne's Prophecy
 * Recent History
 * Swamp Monsters
 * The Tome of Fear and Loathing, volume I

Free books in Act II

 * Against Nonhumans
 * Ain Soph Aur
 * Basics of Alchemy
 * The Book of the Kiss
 * Cults and Religions of the Nordlings
 * The Flower and the Flame
 * A Guide to Vizima
 * The History of the World
 * Ithlinne's Prophecy
 * The Kingdom of Temeria
 * Lara's Gift
 * Shadow People, or the story of His Majesty's Secret Service
 * Specters, Wraiths, and the Damned
 * The Story of Lara Dorren and Cragen of Lod

Free books in Act III

 * The Conjunction of the Spheres
 * The Kingdom of Temeria
 * Monstrum, or a Portrayal of Witchers
 * The Rivian Pogrom
 * Samum
 * Secrets of the Southern Masters
 * Sorceresses and Sorcerers
 * Swamp Plants

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 the less expensive items if you are really strapped for cash.

Additionally, and especially in Act III, any areas that were accessible in previous acts that remain accessible have been restocked. So you can have a second look around the Temple Quarter and the Swamp making sure to check all the containers again.

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

Play a lot 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). see Dice poker players for a list of possible opponents.