The Witcher Q&A

RPGVault.hu has published a Q&A with CD Projekt’s Rafal Nowocien, Michal Kicinski, and Joanna Kobylecka about their upcoming Aurora-powered RPG, The Witcher. Check it out:

Q: Geralt can use some magical gestures, so-called “signs”. Please tell us how many and what kind of signs will be in the game. Is it possible to modify them somehow?

A: Signs are a manifestation of the supernatural powers of the witchers. In short, they can be described as a type of simple but effective spell. We anticipate that the witcher will be able to use 5 different signs, of differing effects. For example, the most basic sign, Aard, is a kind of psychokinetic punch, which knocks the opponent over and can break through weak barriers, whilst Axii affects the opponent’s mind. The strength and function of Signs can be developed along with the increasing levels of experience, in the same way as sword-fighting skills we have five levels of Signs strengths, and the difference between the first and the last levels is quite significant. In addition, we can configure the additional effects of Signs as we wish, and even make fairly radical modifications to the way they work. For example, the Axii sign can change an enemy into a friend, but also cause panic in a group of opponents, and Aard can be configured to widen its field of effect (from a narrow area just in front of the player even to the whole hemisphere before him), or can also be used to break down doors, knock down or knock out opponents, or to knock weapons out of their hands. Each of these functions is a separate speciality within one Sign, which can also be further strengthened, for example by increasing the coverage of a certain speciality or the amount of time the Sign is effective (upgrade), as mentioned earlier. These increased powers not only raise the level of available skills, but also broaden their possible functions. For example, one of the increased functions of the Aard sign (the kinetic punch) allows us to use it in a new way to knock a door off its hinges, which is particularly useful when we find we’ve forgotten our keys :).