(Spoiler) CD Project Red, can you answer a question, please?

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(Spoiler) CD Project Red, can you answer a question, please?

Spoiler, talks about things in Witcher 1

Ok, it has been a litte over 6 years since Witcher released. There is speculation that Alvin is Jacques De Aldersberg. Can you now tell us if Alvin is Jacques De Aldersberg or not?
 
Whetmore said:
My particular thought is that Jackes is not Alvin, however he is like Alvin, I mean he has the same kind of visions and has a similar amulet to stop them.


Well the ending speech from him is based on the stuff you said to Alvin. The King of the Wild Hunt tells you that you knew Jackers under a different name if you give him over to The Wild Hunt, but doesn't tell you what that name is. There is a lot of evidence that he is Alvin, but not beyond a shadow of doubt.
 
ryannberg said:
Well the ending speech from him is based on the stuff you said to Alvin. The King of the Wild Hunt tells you that you knew Jackers under a different name if you give him over to The Wild Hunt, but doesn't tell you what that name is. There is a lot of evidence that he is Alvin, but not beyond a shadow of doubt.

This is indeed the strongest evidence: the platitudes that Jacques throws back at Geralt are the ones the Grandmaster said he heard from Geralt, and they are the ones spoken by Geralt to Alvin in Act 4.

The dimeritium amulet is something that other magicians might wear, and the King's speech is vague. There are hints all over Act 4, not so vague but not conclusive. If you play the neutral path, you can get Triss to talk about Jacques, and it's not inconsistent with Jacques being Alvin.

But Geralt hearing his private conversations come back at him is the clincher. It leaves no equally plausible explanation.
 
ryannberg said:
Ok, it has been a litte over 6 years since Witcher released. There is speculation that Alvin is Jacques De Aldersberg. Can you now tell us if Alvin is Jacques De Aldersberg or not?
If they haven't told that in the last 6 years I doubt they will now.

Besides, I think it's fun if a game has some sort of mysteries that manage to fascinate people for many years :p
 
ryannberg said:
Spoiler, talks about things in Witcher 1

Ok, it has been a litte over 6 years since Witcher released. There is speculation that Alvin is Jacques De Aldersberg. Can you now tell us if Alvin is Jacques De Aldersberg or not?

You are not supposed to know for sure. It's very likely he is though.
 
I love the mystery of it, and hope it is resolved in TW3, but veer towards they are one & the same.
 
I remember that moment in the end("That sword is for monsters.") as well as all you had chosen to say to Alvin only to be interpreted, twisted and repeated by Jacques de Aldersberg. And finding the worn dimeritium amulet. I had a very strong reaction to that end. I truly love Witcher 1.
 
Spoiler, talks about things in Witcher 1

Ok, it has been a litte over 6 years since Witcher released. There is speculation that Alvin is Jacques De Aldersberg. Can you now tell us if Alvin is Jacques De Aldersberg or not?

Who else could he be? What other explanation can possibly be as plausible as that this is just one guy, first as a child, and later as an adult? I sort of saw it as a whole point of the game, and not some hidden thing only hinted at.
 
Who else could he be? What other explanation can possibly be as plausible as that this is just one guy, first as a child, and later as an adult? I sort of saw it as a whole point of the game, and not some hidden thing only hinted at.
Hey it could be just some dude Geralt met at one of his many missions in his forgotten past. Geralt met a lot of crazy people. Even though the developers placed a lot of things with the clear intention to strongly imply Jacques = Alvin, they don't absolutely prove the case. I think they wanted to leave both possibilities open, and i prefer it that way (though IMO Jacques = Alvin).
 
I don't really need or want any conclusive follow-up on this issue. It was a great ending, maybe the best part of all of TW1 because I never saw it coming. But I am fully convinced that they are the same person. I understand if others would like more of that explained, but I think that the way TW1 ended was totally enough for me to draw the connection between the two.

From just a writing stand-point, it would seem pretty weird for the writers of TW1 to just abandon the character and unresolved story arc of Alvin disappearing. Alvin just vanishing forever without any kind of follow-up or conclusion would be a really weird way to end the entirety of Alvin's arc.
 
There's a lot of evidence that Jacques and Alvin are not truly the same person. The only thing that attests to a connection between them is his stating back to Geralt what he says to Alvin on those occasions and what the King of the Wild Hunt says before you kill Jacques. He tells you that you knew Jacques de Aldersberg's soul by another name, not Jacques himself. I think that some kind of reincarnation explanation is most likely. They are both a source (the result of being the same soul perhaps, though this idea of reincarnation isn't much explored in Witcher lore in general), but to me Alvin looked up too much to Geralt and Jacques is too condescending toward him for them to be the actual same person. It's possible that Jacques reiterating Geralt's points to him is some nagging hint in his being from being the same soul. However, it's just as likely that Jacques's unrivaled magical abilities let him simply look into Geralt's mind and know what Geralt told Alvin. The entire Ice Plains sequence is an illusion Jacques conjures up, and he's clearly flat out lying to Geralt. He talks about it being the future, and yet there are skullheads. According to the bestiary entry, skullheads are an extinct animal, but Jacques is claiming they are the end result of human baseness in those who survive the frost.

He is obviously trying to pull the wool over Geralt's eyes, or he actually thinks he is an idiot, not sure. In either case, it obviously doesn't work.
 
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There's a lot of evidence that Jacques and Alvin are not truly the same person. The only thing that attests to a connection between them is his stating back to Geralt what he says to Alvin on those occasions and what the King of the Wild Hunt says before you kill Jacques. He tells you that you knew Jacques de Aldersberg's soul by another name, not Jacques himself. I think that some kind of reincarnation explanation is most likely. They are both a source (the result of being the same soul perhaps, though this idea of reincarnation isn't much explored in Witcher lore in general), but to me Alvin looked up too much to Geralt and Jacques is too condescending toward him for them to be the actual same person. It's possible that Jacques reiterating Geralt's points to him is some nagging hint in his being from being the same soul. However, it's just as likely that Jacques's unrivaled magical abilities let him simply look into Geralt's mind and know what Geralt told Alvin. The entire Ice Plains sequence is an illusion Jacques conjures up, and he's clearly flat out lying to Geralt. He talks about it being the future, and yet there are skullheads. According to the bestiary entry, skullheads are an extinct animal, but Jacques is claiming they are the end result of human baseness in those who survive the frost.

He is obviously trying to pull the wool over Geralt's eyes, or he actually thinks he is an idiot, not sure. In either case, it obviously doesn't work.

There is something you are missing here through. Triss told Geralt in the Eepilogue That "Alvin can be anywhere in time and space." This is a direct hint that he could have time traveled into the past or the future. And why was Salamandra always after Alvin? For what reason and how did they know his name when no one ever told them his name? Reason being is that PROBABLY Alvin as the Grand Master wanted to fill his own head with what he now believes in order to gain something that I can't even come up with. Seriously Alvin is the Grand Master.

In science there is a saying, if it happens more than three times there is no coincidence. There are over 50 references in the game hinting to Alvin being The Grand Master. Those who dismiss this are lying to themselves. Also try playing through the good line (through he orders path) and then the evil line (through the elves path). You actually find out that he is in fact Alvin with direct statements. Like "You taught me to..."
 
I don't really need or want any conclusive follow-up on this issue. It was a great ending, maybe the best part of all of TW1 because I never saw it coming. But I am fully convinced that they are the same person. I understand if others would like more of that explained, but I think that the way TW1 ended was totally enough for me to draw the connection between the two.

From just a writing stand-point, it would seem pretty weird for the writers of TW1 to just abandon the character and unresolved story arc of Alvin disappearing. Alvin just vanishing forever without any kind of follow-up or conclusion would be a really weird way to end the entirety of Alvin's arc.

Registered just to reply to this post. This is exactly the reason why I believe Alvin is Jacques De Aldersberg. It is very strange and unexpected indeed if you think in that way, that a MAJOR character (the 2nd most important character?) disappeared suddenly without a trace and Geralt would " never see him again".
It makes you think what the point of Alvin in the story is then? When you realise who he is, it is very understandable and not strange at all. He did not disappear, since he is RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU! The point of Alvin is to make you understand why De Aldersberg is who he is. If they are not the same person, then there is no reason for Alvin to exist in the story.

I love those little subtle hinting throughout the game...one of the reasons I love TW1 more, other than the atmosphere.
 
Registered just to reply to this post. This is exactly the reason why I believe Alvin is Jacques De Aldersberg. It is very strange and unexpected indeed if you think in that way, that a MAJOR character (the 2nd most important character?) disappeared suddenly without a trace and Geralt would " never see him again".
It makes you think what the point of Alvin in the story is then? When you realise who he is, it is very understandable and not strange at all. He did not disappear, since he is RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU! The point of Alvin is to make you understand why De Aldersberg is who he is. If they are not the same person, then there is no reason for Alvin to exist in the story.

I love those little subtle hinting throughout the game...one of the reasons I love TW1 more, other than the atmosphere.

EXACTLY, Also Jacques De Aldersberg says in all play throughs and all endings to Geralt "you taught me to..." in three different mentions. How could Geralt have taught him if he isn't Alvin?

you know we are supposed to in the expansions of the witcher 3 have all characters that are essential in TW1-TW3 that Geralt mention have an ultimate ending if they didn't already get one. We are supposed to look at the three of these games as single book according to CDPR. So that would mean that Alvin is either a cousin of Cirilla or is a child of Cirilla. The latter not really being possible since shes 19 years old in TW3.

If you take a look at the wall in The Witcher 3 and you look at the top of the list Alvin is listen in a different branch up there next to Cirilla's mothers name in a different branch. (you do know there are 6 branches of the elder blood line right?).
 
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