[Duskey]

I just finished playing The Witcher through for the 2nd time because I lost my saves in a harddisk crash and I want to import a save for The Witcher 2 Enhanced Edition.

I got to thinking over the plot of Jacques. In essence, he's a source of incredible power which enables him to wield magic, teleport through places and time and be haunted by dreams and visions despite wearing a dimeretium amulet. He sees the ice covered lands in the far future, much like Ithilenne (Sp?) probably did.

So he sets out to prevent that from happening. He starts by forming The Order of the Eternal Fire, then he hires Azar Javed, The Professor and Savolla to form Salamandra (pusing into the Fisstech market to earn gold) and assault Kaer Morhen to steal the Witcher's secrets of mutation. His plan is to create an army of Big Brother's who can lead their way south to warmer lands where, according to him, they'll be able to escape the coming ice age. As far as I can work out.

Now something that's not fully explained is: Does he intent to conquer his way through Nilfgaard? Or merely ensure a large enough escort to go through mostly unharmed? Wouldn't he need a MASSIVE amount of Big Brother's to safely escort the people of the north through Nilfgaarde? I'm having a hard time believing that Nilfgard would see it any other way than an act of war and mobilize their entire army to stop such a journey through their lands.

I don't quite get the last part if I'm honest.

[Risue]

I get the feeling the devs intended his plan to be flawed. The rash plan of a man driven mad by the visions that he lost the ability to control. If I had to guess I'd say he would have tried to get enough Big Brothers to fight far enough into Nilfgaard to be safe and then use them as defense. The way I understood his plan was that he was going to be traveling south while the freeze already came. This would make people dependent on him because he provided the only way to survive. so I would assume any Nilfgaardians would have gone away to escape the freeze as well or at least be very weakened so traveling would be a bit easier that way.

[Frithu]

There are several possibilities:

1. Nilfgaard is in the south, but not all of the south is Nillfgaard.Maybe the southeast is without any occupation. (Because it has no ressources to harvest or so.)
2. Nilfgaard needs to move south as well, because it is a MASSIVE ice age, so they're not thought of as enemies.
3. The Order+Salamandra is big enough that they really have enough big mutants to trample through everything.
4. The Order as a more or less religious group is as well established in Nilfgaard as in Temeria - at least when the ice age comes, so they are either not perceived as enemies or have enough support to trample down any resistance.

I don't think he has flawed plans. After all, he made no mistakes in The Witcher 1. He could have Geralt have killed at several points, he simply wanted to convince him until the very last moment.

[Corylea]

Nilfgaard wasn't mentioned much in TW1 and is kinda shadowy in TW2, though I imagine that we'll spend much of TW3 there. It's possible that the plan didn't include what to do about Nilfgaard because the GAME didn't include much Nilfgaard at that point.

Or it could just be the whole megalomaniac thing.

[Bloth]

I always wondered about this. The long winter will come and only a few shall survive in that frozen wasteland, but it will not come soon. The world grows colder every year, lush elven paradises are now desolate refuges where nothing grows. So Jacques has time enough, in a number of ways.

He has centuries to form a nation whose iron backbone is the mutated supersoldiers of his great army. With the ice drawing close, will the human nations gather together and seek mere survival? No they will maneuver for advantage and take what they can with the sword if needs be. But Jacques armies will be stronger with each passing day while his enemies are felled by that fierce old general winter.

It leaves me thinking that it's not a mission of mercy he's undertaking, but a really long term power play. It's disgustingly cynical but all the logical pieces seem to fit, and with the benefit of hindsight Jacques is uniquely equipped to take advantage of a weakened and fractious humanity. With the very creatures that were made to protect them no less.

[Duskey]

Was The Flaming Rose as popular in Nilfgaard as in the northern kingdoms? I can't imagine the Emperor would've allowed it.

[Emberstrife]

Greater Brothers were supposed to have the combat prowess of witchers, with even greater physical strength and lesser sensitivity to pain. An army of witchers with no free will, immune to fear and incapable of doubt, is something that even Nilfgaard's legions would have reason to fear - their own soldiers are merely human.

Not to mention that the coming of the Ice Age would drastically rearrange priorities of every man and every nation, most likely toppling the current political order. The massive army of fearless, blindly loyal supersoldiers would be able to safeguard the Order's survival mission against any military powers - whether it would be the armies of the Northern Kingdoms, Nilfgaard, or whatever ragtag armed groups still fighting for power while the world transforms into a frozen hell.

The Witcher 1's ending is a funny one. After you finally defeat the game's chief antagonist, you're left wondering whether you just saved the world or doomed the entire human race.

[Schmooples]

De Aldersberg was a wacko, his methods evil, execution extremely bloody and coldblooded. I'm sure nobody wants that kind of leader and saviour.

He could have garnered support from the Lodge of Sorceresses for example and start from there to prepare for the ice age.

[frontovika]

De Aldesberg had to seize the initiative and do things his way. The constant political intrigue and bickering amongst the Northern Kingdom and the Lodge of Sorceressess would've hampered his plans.

[Bloth]

I'm not sure whether I agree or disagree with Jacque, the white wolf is not haunted every night by dreams of the coming ice age, and he does not possess the powers of a source. He simply went too far for my Geralt, his goal was not evil in and of itself, but his methods went so far beyond the pale that the witcher could not allow him to succeed. If there had been a way to stop him or persuade him away from that course of action, then I would have taken it.

Most of all though my Geralt blames himself for failing Alvin, and wonders whether it was his intervention that turned Alvin into the grandmaster.

[vonGraudenz]

Just like any other meglomaniac he just understand why others don't see the absolute correctness of his plan. He probaby assumes that the Nilfgaard Empire will just come around to his point of view, and/or any resistance will be minimal. It is this same reasoning why he doesn't have Geralt eliminated from the start, aside for sentimental reasons. He really wants him to join the Order and help him guide it. He doesn't comprehend that his vision is flawed, and that others will resist. Of course the fact that his vision is based upon an Elven Prophecy which brings into question his whole plan.

[mariobros777]

The grandmaster was a genius. Well, as it happens with many a geniuses, he is borderline insane borderline logical. Instead of the bloodshed, he could have the priests "brainwash" people into following him. But he chose to spread chaos and mayhem, to drag them in by offering food and shelter. Such a man is dangerous. And in a position of leadership, MOST dangerous.

He couldn't have foltest's army surrendered to his whims, so he covered the city in blood, and provoked the elder races into skirmishes to force them cover from their part the city in flames. What he was trying to avoid from ice age, he himself inflicted upon innocents; death and torment.

I believe the King of the Hunt wanted his soul because he was special as a human, plus a source. I did not let him have it however; i finished him myself and grabbed vapors of the hunt in the process. From my point of view, the order except for sound exceptions such as siegfried, is rotten and evil to the core. Fanatics, hypocrites, murderers; criminals of war, tools of madmen. Tis only fitting they now lick radovid's boots, the cruel and ruthless bastard he is. Yet no one can blame him; had a hard childhood and many tough situations to either cope with or overcome.