Family Matters | The Witcher 3 Wiki

Family Matters is a Main Quest in The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt. Main Quests are the main storyline of the game that can have a major effect towards the endings. Some of these quests may have dialogue choices that will alter the ending of the game.

In this quest, Baron Phillip Strenger asks Geralt to assist him in locating his missing wife and daughter in exchange for knowledge about Ciri's whereabouts. A seemingly straightforward task turns out to be extremely lengthy and requires Geralt to go throughout Velen and briefly into Oxenfurt.

The baron turned out to be a tough negotiator who knew O the full value of the information he possessed. He agreed to tell Geralt about Ciri on one condition: Geralt had to find his wife and daughter first. The women had mysteriously disappeared a short time before. Though the baron had moved heaven and earth to find them, all his efforts had proved fruitless.

The Witcher 3 Family Matters Objectives

1. Follow the Baron
2. Find the Pellar
3. Defeat the Baron
4. Follow the Lubberkin
5. Kill the Botchling

Rewards for Family Matters in The Witcher 3

• 200 EXP
• Letter of Safe Conduct

Walkthrough for The Witcher 3 Family Matters

The Baron is a tough negotiator and won't give you any more information about Ciri until you locate his wife and daughter. Your first port of call is the bedrooms as they went missing in the middle of the night.

You'll be told you can search two rooms, though you only need to search one, the Baron's chamber. Use your witcher senses to find the following clues:

• Broken candlestick
• Moved painting
• broken bottle of wine
• candlestick stem in the wardrobe

Once you've found all the clues, you'll be able to follow the scent of the wine down to the middle of the stairs where you'll find a talisman hidden under a floorboard.

Take the talisman back to the Baron who will tell you that his wife has been worried of late and bought it from a Pellar for protection. Head to Blackbrough and find the Pellar, however when you approach his house there will be several of the Baron's men outside. If you have deception you'll be able to get them to leave without incident, however chances are you'll probably have to kill them all.

Either way, once you go into the hut and speak to the Pellar he'll recognise the talisman and say that he can cast an incantation which will help you find the missing women. However, to do it, he needs his goat back. Guess who has to go and find a goat now? That's right, Geralt. This triggers the A Princess In Distress sub-quest.

Once you've returned Princess to the Pellar he will tell you that Anna was pregnant and had miscarried, owing to the abuse she'd suffered at the hands of the Baron. The quest resumes as you're to head back to Crow's Perch to confront the Baron. As you approach you'll see that there's a fire raging and people panicking around the area. When you reach the portcullis you'll be told that there are horses and a stablehand trapped in the stables. First you need to climb the ladder on the side of the barn, this takes you to a hay loft with a chest. Once you've grabbed the loot head through the smoke and you'll find the scared stablehand and the horses. He'll tell you that the roof has caved in and he can't open the stable door. Head back outside and open the door from the outside to save the man and his horses. You'll get a reward a little later for saving him.

Find the Baron and confront him. Depending on your dialogue choice you may end up having to fight him as he staunchly denies that he ever laid a hand on Anna. Once the sequence plays out he'll come clean and you'll get a cutscene where he explains everything that happened, including the miscarriage and hidden burial of his stillborn child. The child will come back as a Botchling and is the key to finding his wife and daughter.

Time skips ahead to midnight. Follow the Baron as he leads you to the grave where he buried his child. Another cutscene will play out where the botchling comes into view and you are given a timed choice: kill the botchling or lift the curse.

 
Lift the Curse

If you choose to lift the curse, the Baron will pick up the botchling and you'll be tasked with protecting him all the way back to the threshold of the manor. Follow the baron as he carries the creature and at three separate occasions, the botchling will start to wriggle and a collection of wraiths will ambush you. They're easy enough to deal with, but make sure as soon as you've taken care of each group you cast Axii on the botchling, otherwise it will kill the baron.

When you reach the threshold, another cutscene will play out as the Baron names the child and Geralt takes him through the incantation to lift the curse.

When the curse is lifted you'll now see the Lubberkin rise as a spirit from the grave. It'll shoot off to lead you on the trial of Anna and her daughter. Follow it. Don't worry about it getting too far away or you getting stuck in a fight, it will wait for you to follow. The first place it will lead you is a smoke house. Use your witcher sense to investigate the area and you'll find clothes, hoof prints and a bracelet. The lubberkin will then lead you to the next area, which just so happens to be an eviscerated and decapitated horse. Anna's horse. Investigate the corpse and listen to the grim conclusion about what could have done this. The lubberkin will then lead you to a fisherman's hut. Enter the hut and talk to the people inside. They'll tell you that Anna never turned up, having been attacked by a beast on the journey up, but her daughter is safe and well in Oxenfurt.

Once this sequence has been completed, the lubberkin will disappear. Return to the Baron and tell him what you've found out. He'll give you a document that will allow you to pass into Novigrad easily to find his daughter. A deal is a deal though and he'll then tell you more about Ciri which launches the Ciri's Story: The Race quest.

Once that little flashback is complete, the Baron will say that he'll tell you the rest once you've finished the task at hand. At present all you can do is find Tamara in Oxenfurt, so leave his presence and head there. As you leave the building he'll give you a cloth doll to give to Tamara.

When you get to Oxenfurt, follow the marker on the map to find the house she is hiding out in and speak to her. She'll tell you more about her reasons for leaving and the life that she has had at the hands of her father. She is adamant that she won't go back to him and instead has organised a band of mercenaries to go and find Anna and save her if possible.

At this point you have no clues which will lead you to Anna, so explore the area and carry on with other quests.

The Witcher 3 Family Matters Notes & Trivia

• Notes, Tips, Other Trivia for Family Matters.