The Play's the Thing

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The Play's the Thing

The Play's The Thing is a main quest in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. The quest starts after Geralt and Triss finished dealing with Menge and chasing down Whoreson Junior. You need to go update Priscilla on Dandelion's situation. A cut scene will start where you explain to her Dandelion is being held in a dungeon on Temple Isle, awaiting the order of his execution in Oxenfurt. You will have the option to help her write a play in order to communicate with Dudu, a doppler in hiding, whose help you need to free your friend.

Note: If you did not already do A Walk on the Waterfront, then it will no longer be accessible once this quest starts.

Walkthrough

Go to the Kingfisher Inn to talk to Priscilla about finding Dudu the doppler. You both come up with the idea to create an entirely new play to lure Dudu out of hiding. Priscilla is ecstatic and gets started right away. Geralt's creative input goes as far as the name and genre. Choose whichever name you like. To have the most successful play, for both experience and crowns, you'll want to make the show a comedy. If it is a drama, a riot will break out. At the end of the conversation, you'll earn 300

Take the script to Irina Renarde

After helping Priscilla write the play, she instructs Geralt to take the script to Irina Renarde. Before you can enter, you have to talk to the ticket seller sitting at the table. One option is to pay 50 to enter. You will also get 5. Alternatively, it's possible to climb in from the back of the theatre via the walls. Proceed inside and speak with Irina. Geralt informs Irina that he wants to stage a play to draw out Dudu. Irina says that she needs ushers and a method of spreading the word about the play. She sends Geralt out to hire ushers and find "The Puffins" or street performers.

Hire Ushers

Proceed to the docks and talk to Sofus the Bull. You will have two options, pay him 70(7) for just him or fight Hal and Sofus to get both. Sofus makes you pay 140 (14) initially before you fight him and Hal but don't worry, if you win, you will get your crowns back.

Recruit the Puffins

Enter the room where the Puffins are and you will enter a cutscene. At first, the Puffins will take Geralt for another thug that they assume has been hired by their landlord to get coin from them. They inform you that Fatso's gang has been troubling them so they are unable to help Geralt publicize the play. Geralt agrees to deal with the gang, and in return the Puffins will help Geralt.

Head towards the marker on the map and you will find 3 thugs. Engage in conversation with them and Geralt will quickly find out how nice these guys actually are. Geralt will have 3 options here, fight the thugs, pay them 50 or, provided your Axii level is high enough, charm them. If you charm them with Axii, Geralt will gain 40. Sadly, one of the thugs will see through your Axii and will fight you anyway. Geralt need only kill one of them before they other two give up. The Puffins gladly thank Geralt for his help and agree to help Geralt's play for free. At this point, 150 is obtained. Recruit the Puffins to increase the amount of Crowns and Experience earned.

Talk to Irina Renarde and start the play

The Doppler's Salvation script

Go back and Talk to Irina Renarde. Geralt and Irina will now choose the actors for each of the roles. For the Princess you will be given the choice between Irina or Priscilla, for the Doppler you will be given the choice between Abelard or Maxim. To get the best result choose Priscilla and Abelard.

Once you are done, the play will begin.

Geralt will have a few choices of dialogue. Choosing the correct options will yield the most experience and crowns during the play, but Dudu will always show his face in the end. Successful lines will total 500. During a cutscene, Geralt tells Dudu about Menge, and informs him of their plan to free Dandelion.

Journal Entry

As you surely recall, Geralt knew Ciri had been in Novigrad, that she had contacted Dudu and me and that afterwards all three of us had plummeted straight into a writhing snake pit of trouble. The last person to have seen Ciri was yours truly, but I, too, had disappeared without a trace. Geralt accurately surmised that Dudu would be the easiest of our ill-fated trio to find. He went to the one person who could help him do this - Priscilla.

It should be noted that Priscilla counted an incomparable ingenuity amongst her many virtues. Barely had Geralt explained the problem when she hit upon a solution. Dudu had taken on some unknown form and gone into hiding. Their only hope of luring him out - a clear sign from his old friends in Madame Irina's mummers' troupe.

Priscilla thus decided to put on a play - one Dudu would be sure to attend and that would clearly convey it was safe for him to reveal himself. Geralt agreed to the plan and the two got down to work.

The play was a success. Although not the finest spectacle to ever grace the Butchers' Yard, it more than sufficed for Priscilla's purposes - Dudu attended the play and revealed himself at its end. Geralt quickly pulled him behind the curtain and began questioning him about me and Ciri. This is how the witcher learned that I was a prisoner of the Church of the Eternal Fire.

Objectives

• Tell Priscilla what you've learned about Dudu.
• Take the script to Irina Renarde.
• Head to the docks and hire ushers for the play.
• (Optional) Recruit jugglers from the performing troupe called the Puffins.
• Ger rid of the thugs lurking outside the Puffins' house.
• Defeat the strongmen from Metinna.
• Talk to Irina Renarde and start the play.
• Talk to Dudu in Irina Renarde's room.

Notes

• For a visual into the theatre without paying, see these images.
• Witcher Lines
  • "To slay beasts most foul"
  • "Perhaps 'midst the guests he hides, in fear?"
  • "Seems men's hearts can love for changelings foster!"
  • "But a base heart "
  • "No monster is he whose shape can shift."
• Rewards for
  • Picked witcher lines
    • All correct - 150 50
    • Almost all correct - 125 20
    • Almost all incorrect - 110
  • Chose Abelard (not drunkard) as prince - 110 30
  • Chosen princess
    • Irina - 25 10
    • Priscilla - 25 20
  • Recruited Puffins - 25 30
  • Recruited ushers - 50

Trivia

• The name of the quest comes from a line in William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”.