Radovid V the Stern

Radovid V, The Stern is a Character/NPC in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. He is the King of Redania and son of Vizimir II, The Just. His early years forged him into a strong and unforgiving monarch, a characteristic that earned him the moniker "The Stern".

"It did not take long for King Radovid of Redania to prove himself a hard and ruthless ruler. one fully deserving to be styled "the Stern." His father, King Vizimir, was murdered when Radovid was quite young, and his mother, Hedwig of Malleore, and a Regency Council ruled in his stead.

Young Radovid soon seized power in his own right. however. and wrought vengeance on those who had treated him with disrespect. He took to forcing all his potential political opponents to swear allegiance - or face death.

He waged war not only against Niltgaard, but also against mages. whom he saw as the root of all evil. Radovid also made every effort to gain control over the Free City of Novigrad. whose fleet and treasury could tip the scales of the ongoing conflict towards Radovid's victory.

Geratt's meeting with Radovid confirmed the rumors circling around the king's mental state. The Redanian king was a dangerous madman trapped in his own world of disturbing visions. This did not make him one jot less intelligent or cunning, however.

Despite his mental afflictions, the young king was manipulating his opponents like an adroit puppet master.

Radovid bumed with particularly intense hostility (first kindled in his earliest childhood days) for the sorceress Philippa Eilhart. Rumors spoke of how he had prepared a special torture regimen just for her - and while the two dozen points they mentioned were surely an exaggeration, they accurately conveyed the general scale of his hatred."