Dead Man's Party Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Quest
Suggested level: 33
Group: Main Quests (Hearts of Stone)
Location: Novigrad
You will receive this quest when you complete the "Evil's Soft First Touches" quest. One of Olgierd's wishes will be that you please his deceased brother.
As Master Mirror forewarned, Olgierd von Everec asked Geralt to perform several tasks for him. One of these was to show his brother, Vlodimir, the time of his life. As I know from many pleasant personal experiences, the witcher, grim as he may sometimes seem, is more than capable of arranging a fantastic night out. Yet in this case, there was one particularly tricky catch: Vlodimir was dead. As a first step to overcoming this obstacle, Geralt decided to go see Shani, who, as a Redanian subject, an Oxenfurt resident and a woman of great learning, might just have some information about where Vlodimir is buried.
Related points of interest
Garin Estate
Velen / Novigrad
Shani's Clinic
Velen / Novigrad
Von Everec Estate
Velen / Novigrad
Von Everec Family Crypt
Velen / Novigrad
Brunwich
Velen / Novigrad
The Alchemy
Velen / Novigrad
Prior quests
To begin Dead Man's Party you must first complete Evil's Soft First Touches.
Quest stages of Dead Man's Party
1. Talk to Shani about the von Everec family crypt.
Go to Shani's Clinic in Oxenfurt and talk to your friend. Explain to her what you want to do and she will decide to help you.
Shani had been a diligent student – she not only had heard of the von Everec family, but also happened to be in the possession of a tome indicating the location of their family crypt. She and Geralt decided to journey there together. Shani was to bring a censer with her, which Geralt intended to use to perform the ancient ritual of Blood Summoning to bring forth the ghost of Olgierd’s dead brother.
2. Meet Shani in front of the von Everec family crypt.
Go to the von Everec's estate. Shani will be waiting for you there and give you a censer. She'll also offer you to go with her to her friend's wedding. It doesn't matter whether you agree or disagree.
3. Enter the von Everec family crypt. / Defeat the wraiths as they appear.
Get to the crypt. Shani will wait outside. When you enter the main chamber, you will be attacked by wraiths (33).
4. Use your Witcher Senses to explore the von Everec family crypt.
There are many sarcophagi in the crypt that you can examine. You're interested in the one with the sabre next to it.
5. Spread incense in every room in the crypt.
Use the censer and just walk around the crypt rooms so that the smoke fills them all.
6. Light the main votive to continue the ritual.
Ignite the brazier in the center of the main chamber and you will start the ritual. As a result of the ritual, the spirits of the family members will come out of the tombs but Vlodimir will not be among them. You will start talking. They will be curious where you took the blood needed to perform the ritual and eventually you will be attacked by them.
7. Defeat the wraiths of dead von Everecs.
Defeat the ghosts of the von Everec family and then Vlodimir will finally appear. Geralt will tell him about Olgierd's wish, which he will like very much. Vlodimir will come up with an idea of what to do to be able to enjoy the pleasures of the flesh and he will possess your body which will cause you to lose consciousness.
After a while, Shani will wake you up. With some problems, but you'll eventually explain what happened to her. Shani will offer you to go to the wedding feast so Vlodimir can have fun there. Her plan will be accepted. Then Shani will go to change for the wedding and you and Vlodimir will stay in the crypt. Vlodimir will ask you what the relationship between Shani and you is.
If you told Vlodimir that you and Shani have something in common - "Cared for Shani deeply once.":
Thanks to the Blood Summoning (which, as is the norm during witcher adventures, did not go off without certain complications), Geralt was able to summon the ghost of Vlodimir von Everec. Vlodimir, delighted at the prospect of enjoying a “cracking good time,” stated that to do so, he would need a body… and then promptly possessed the witcher’s, despite the latter's heated resistance. From that moment till Vlodimir had had his fun, Vlod’s ghost accompanied Geralt everywhere the witcher went. And it so happened on that day, he was going to a wedding, where he was to meet Shani. Vlodimir was thrilled at this, for he had taken quite the liking to the young medic, but, learning that she meant something special to Geralt, he promised to keep his hands off her. Yet something about his manner left room to doubt he’d keep this promise…
...or, if you told Vlodimir that Shani and you are just friends - "Only ever been friends.":
Thanks to the Blood Summoning (which, as is the norm during witcher adventures, did not go off without certain complications), Geralt was able to summon the ghost of Vlodimir von Everec. Vlodimir, delighted at the prospect of enjoying a “cracking good time,” stated that to do so, he would need a body… and then promptly possessed the witcher’s, despite the latter's heated resistance. From that moment till Vlodimir had had his fun, Vlod’s ghost accompanied Geralt everywhere the witcher went. And it so happened on that day, he was going to a wedding, where he was to meet Shani. Vlodimir was thrilled at this, for he had taken quite the liking to the young medic. It seemed they were all in for a night to remember.
8. Meet Shani by the farm where the wedding will be held.
Note: From now on, until the quest is over, you won't be able to use fast travel or get too far away.
Go to the village of Brunwich where the wedding is held. Once you get there, Vlodimir will dress you properly for a wedding and give you a haircut and shave.
Once Geralt and Vlodimir arrived at the wedding, the ghost jumped into Geralt’s body and threw himself headlong into a whirlwind of merriment, mirth and amusement.
9. Follow Shani and meet the newlyweds. / Talk to the newlyweds.
10. Take part in the wedding activities until midnight.
Four of the activities are mandatory while others are optional. Whenever you do something that is mandatory time will progress. Once you do all of them the clock will hit midnight.
Note: If you participate in all activities you will earn the Let the Good Times Roll! achievement. To do this, complete all minor activities before completing the last of the mandatory activities.
Mandatoryt activities are:
- Play Gwent with halflings.
- Fish Shani's shoe.
- Find Fire swallower.
- Drive the pigs into the pen.
To play Gwent, talk to the halflings sitting at the table. If you lose the game, then you will lose 5% of your money and have to wear ass ears.
10.1. Fish Shani's shoe out of the lake and give it to her. / Give Shani the shoe you fished out of the lake for her.
Walk up to the people standing by the lake and talk to them.
Then dive in and find Shani's shoe. A total of three different shoes are lying at the bottom, if you collect them all, you will get less XP.
10.2. Use your Witcher Senses to find the fire swallower. / Escort the fire swallower back to the wedding. / Protect the fire swallower from the "bear" / (Optional) Inform the bride's mother about the fire swallower's fate. / Juggle to amuse the wedding guests.
Talk to the bride's parents you'll find in the middle of the village. They'll tell you that the groom's dog chased the fire-eater they arranged for the wedding. You will offer them your help.
Examine the traces near the dog's house and follow them into the woods.
On your way, you'll find the fire-eater's hat.
You'll eventually get to the tree where the fire eater has found shelter. You can use axii to calm the dog down (25 XP), or chase the dog away with a stick.
When the fire swallower comes down, you can give him back his hat if you found it. You can tell the him to go back to the wedding ("Let's go. You can sober up on the way.") or ask him how you swallow the fire ("Fire eating - what's the trick?"). In the latter case, you will offend him and he will want to walk away. You can then use Delusion (1) or pay him an extra 50 crowns to stay.
On your way back to the village, you will be attacked by a boar (34), and you will have to kill it. When you return to the village you will be able to enjoy his show (104 XP).
If you have not managed to bring fire swallower back, then you can offer your services to the parents of the bride ("Perhaps I can be of service?"), and perform as a juggler (78 XP). In the worst case, when you do nothing, you will receive 26 XP.
10.3. Drive the pigs into the pen. 0/2 / Defeat your opponents.
You have to chase 2 pigs into the pen. To complete this task you have to make the pigs run away from you in the direction of the pen. If you manage to do it without using Axii then you will win the King of Swineherd's crown trophy (15% Bonus gold).
Then Vlodimir will try to prove to Shani that he is able to pick up any girl, which will end in a fight with three brothers (33) of the girl he will try to hook up with.
10.4. Talk to Master Mirror at the wedding.
At one point of the wedding, Vlodimir will take Shani to the dance, during which Gaunter O'Dimm will appear and dedicate the next song to them.
When you're done dancing, approach the table where Gaunter is sitting and talk to him. It won't be a pleasant conversation for Vlodimir.
11. Go to the barn for the capping ceremony.
When the midnight comes, go to the barn for the capping ceremony. You may or may not make a speech, then Vlodimir will write a letter to Olgierd where he describes how much fun he had and ask you to give it to his brother.
Vlodimir will not want to keep the deal and leave Geralt's body, but then Gaunter will appear and get rid of him in a somewhat cruel way. Shani, who apparently had slightly different expectations of your wedding trip, will get into a bad mood and you will get a new quest - A Midnight Clear.
Hearing Geralt recount that night's festivities, I realized it was a great shame I had not been able to attend. Not only would I have graced the guests with a performance worthy of the occasion, but also I would have witnessed its wonders first-hand, the better to now convey them to you, dear reader… Yet I consider my chance to craft an epic nuptial ballad merely delayed, not missed, for Shani caught the garland during the capping, meaning I will surely be a guest of honor at her wedding in the near future. Vlodimir, I hear, enjoyed himself tremendously, though he was forced off the stage and into the netherworld in a rather unpleasant manner by Master Mirror at the end. Before that happened, he wrote a letter to his brother in his own (that is to say, Geralt’s) blood, thus providing proof that the witcher had fulfilled Olgierd’s wish.
12. Inform Olgierd the task has been completed.
Go back to Olgierd, who you will find in The Alchemy Inn in Oxenfurt and inform him that the task has been completed. At first he will not want to believe you, but he will change his mind when you show him the letter written by Vlodimir.
As the witcher had suspected, Olgierd would not simply take Geralt’s word for it that Vlodimir had not only risen from the dead (temporarily, at least), but had also had a splendid time. Yet the letter Vlod wrote in blood effectively resolved all Olgierd’s doubts. The task was deemed completed.
After completing Dead Man's Party you will get or will be able to get A Midnight Clear and Scenes From a Marriage (1 of 2).