Utilisation of silver swords

[DeadByLag]

So I've been reading a couple of explanations about why only witchers carry silver swords. They seem to boil down to the salient points

1. Silver is expensive; not everybody can afford one.
2. Silver is soft metal and only a witcher knows how to use one?
3. Monsters are witchers' job anyway, just hire them instead of training one's own anti-monster tactics and swordsmanship.

But then throughout the game I get the impression that witchers are far and few; so many (if not most) cases still seemed to be dealt with by regular humans, with steel weaponry. i.e. Temerian and Order soldiers regularly clashing with monsters.

I mean, Seigfreid wonders around the sewers alone. Either he is highly skilled and experienced, or he is a fatally over-confident combatant. I would've expected if the Order of the Flaming Rose can afford to supply him a full suit of armour, why not add a silver sword along plus some training to increase his odds for success (and survival) against monsters/?

Or is there an irrefutable law that dictates silver swords demand a level agility and dexterity only witchers possess? Like how only Jedi really wield light sabres? So even the most skilled human veterans cannot gain even the slightest of advantages with silver? I have not read Andrzej Sapkowski's books before so I do not know if this has been explicitly written down to cease any debate.

[Ragnarök]

Only certain monsters in The Witcher lore require a silver sword. The game doesn't represent this. The game also doesn't portray the amount of monsters that inhabit the world accurately, there are far, far fewer and most cling to the outskirts of civilized society.

There are some that crop up close to civilization as the result of man's wickedness and the Order deals with those. Siegfried is armored, he's just not in full plate. The only thing that would have served him better was a helmet.

Why doesn't everyone have a silver sword? Because it's a specialist weapon that's both expensive and easily damaged and carrying more than one sword is a huge inconvienience.

[DeadByLag]

Ah so in the saga most monsters are still dealt with like regular wild beasts. The mantra monsters = silver, humanoid/animals = steel, is a pure gameplay mechanic.

[Ragnarök]

Most monsters aren't dealt with at all. The peasants opt for the "Don't wander off into the woods alone." adage. Sometimes a Witcher is legitimately needed, but Geralt spends a lot of time lamenting that it's getting harder and harder to find work in the books and that he's forced to take jobs he'd rather not, to be able to feed himself. Jobs like hunting werewolves who haven't harmed anyone.

[DeadByLag]

Originally posted by Ragnarök:

Most monsters aren't dealt with at all.

No I am referring to monsters who'd dare venture near a population. Not those far off in the wilderness.

[Rattle&Hum]

I think another reason as to why only witchers (and other monster specialists ie royal huntsman) carry silver swords comes down to numbers. Witchers and specialists hunt monsters on their own and having a weapon that deal motral blows faster and easier than a standard weapon would be cruicial and the the investment of cash, skill and care more than worth it.

When regular soldiers or mercenaries are ordered/paid to despatch monsters they go at it as a group. So less effective weapons in high volume compensate for the lack of silver weapons.

[DeadByLag]

Originally posted by Rattle&Hum:

(and other monster specialists ie royal huntsman)

Oh did the royal huntsman carry silver weaponry too?

[Rattle&Hum]

He boasts about how much he gets paid for killing mosters and you can be rewarded with a silver sword he carries after you impress him enough.

So he is a monster hunter that carries a silver sword. Makes sense.

[DeadByLag]

Originally posted by Rattle&Hum:

He boasts about how much he gets paid for killing mosters and you can be rewarded with a silver sword he carries after you impress him enough.

So he is a monster hunter that carries a silver sword. Makes sense.

Oh that Moon Blade sword iirc? I did not get it from him when I played; only managed to earn Aerondight. Seems like there a % drop chance to acquire that loot from him, not guaranteed.

I wonder what's the game design philosophy behind these random gifts. Like encouraging one to reload to complete quest over and over until the item drops.

[Ragnarök]

The Moonblade isn't random, you just need to complete all his trophy quests throughout the game.

[Rattle&Hum]

Originally posted by Ragnarök:

The Moonblade isn't random, you just need to complete all his trophy quests throughout the game.

I wasn't being very specific so as to avoid spoilers as this is a lore discussion. But yeah as Rag said, if you complete this questline you can choose the Moonblade (silver) or the Sihil (steel) as a reward.

Going back to the lore am sure I read in the books that certain monster are immune to steel and only a silver blade would harm it. I think in those cases, the monsters are ancient and/or very recluse so only witchers would ever come into contact with them.

I also think with most monster cases (common or rare) the local militia/guards try their hand at it first and when they fail the hire a witcher. But for monster cases in the more rural areas the authorities don't care very much (or don't have the resources) to do anything about it and it's up to the local population to hire and pay a witcher.

[DeadByLag]

Oh was that the case? I made sure I went out to hunt down the named monsters he mention, as per side quests mentioned by gamepressue.com.

Is the wiki page accurate? http://witcher.wikia.com/wiki/Moonblade

It states Moonblade is a possible reward, not guaranteed. The other weapon he might reward is G'valchir but I got that from Zahin Schmartz instead after handing him all the teeth of interest.

But at the end of the day, I've completed the game and am now focusing on Witcher 2 so won't be revisiting the older game just for that silver sword.

[Ragnarök]

He gives you the option to pick one or the other when you get the reward.

[DeadByLag]

All I got from him per trophy was money. I must have missed out on another monster. :-/