DLC #? A River Runs Through It
I think the river journey between chapt 1 & 2 has potential. A couple of DLC adventures would fit in either Roches or Ivoreth's paths-since you leave Flotsam on a boat either way.
1) Boat travel on large rivers is difficult, there are constantly moving sandbars, snags, eddies and so on. You have to hire a local pilot. So something kills the pilot the captain picked up in Flotsam. Wounds on the body point toward some kind of vampire. Refusing to continue without a local pilot the captain puts in at a small village to hire another. The quest could involve finding a new pilot (perhaps resolving some problem he/she has that's preventing them from leaving the village), Finding out what killed the first pilot (talking to villagers, visiting a nearby monastery for research, then a dungeon crawl to deal with the monster). And there has to be a tavern for fighting, dicing and arm wrestling. Maybe a craftsman as well. It would be pretty easy to tack on a number of side quests here.
2) The boat runs aground on a sandbar and has to be repaired. Geralt and Roche/Ivoreth decide to do a little exploring and foraging(or search for suitable trees for repairs). They could encounter bandits, poachers, monsters, frantic villagers, Nilfgaardian scouts, maybe poke around some ruins.
3) A local lord has strung a chain across the river and is collecting/extorting tolls illegally. A furious Roche/Ivoreth decides to sort him out. The lord has too many men for a full on assault so some careful planning is involved: stealth recon of the castle and its defenses, some ambushes to whittle down the opposition, enlisting local aid(the villagers detest the lord-a captive maiden rescue mission could come into play), a commando raid to take the lord captive. Or the lord could capture Geralt and or Roach/Ivoreth (I know that's a bit of a stretch with those two badasses but everyone makes dumb mistakes sometimes). This would lead to rescue/breakout missions. A plot complication might be having the lord scheming with Nilfgaard or maybe some remnants of Salamandra.
4) Take the helm! A storm comes up and the helmsman is swept overboard. Geralt must steer the boat through rapids, avoid snags, etc. In the middle of a raging downpour.
5) Some fun quest, like a fishing contest. Maybe a QTE setup would work. Or while trying to land the biggest fish, Geralt hooks something really big and nasty. But there would be some good treasure in its stomach.
6) Solve the mystery: The boat puts in at a small village for supplies. But the village is completely empty. No people, no animals, uneaten food left on tables. And one word scrawled on a door..Croatoan
Or there are signs of violence everywhere,-mutilated bodies, burned huts and strange occult symbols painted in blood..they look like Vodyanoi writing but the Vodyanoi prefer more open water not rivers. Something isn't right
Post edited July 14, 2011 by seekerpat