Radovid V the Stern

"You know too much. You impede me too often. And I find your arrogance an annoyance... I've had men killed for less"

- Radovid V

Radovid V, The Stern is a major character in video games the Witcher and the Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings and becomes a major antagonist in the Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

Background
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. Geralt'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."

The Witcher (video game)
Radovid is first seen collaborating with the infamous criminal organisation called "Salamandra" which Witcher Geralt was on the hunt for, his investigation eventually lead him to Radovid who quickly explained that it was a minsunderstanding and that his alliance with Salamandra was a short lived one when he discovered they were involved in criminal activities. Satisfied Geralt left him alone before deducing his identity as King of Redania in which Radovid congradulates him before bidding him farewell.

Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings
Radovid appears near the end of the game where he recognises Geralt from past events. If the witcher took side of Iorveth, Radovid reveals his dark side when he orders his men to gouge Philippa Eilhart's eyes out when she refuses to bow before him. (Eilhart was a mage and former adviser to Radovid's father and a tutor of Radovid). If the witcher took side of Vernon Roche, Radovid offers them both a deal - he will stop chaos in Temeria by taking over the nation if they save princess Anais from Dethmold and lead him and leave her under his care. If that happens the king recruits Vernon Roche as new leader of his special forces.

Depending on player's choice he can share Temeria with king Henselt, take over whole Temeria or gain nothing.

Radovid then orders the purging of mages and magical beings which starts a worldwide massacre successfully outlawing the use of magic.

Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Radovid appears once again in a more antagonistic role in which he orders Geralt to find Philippa Eilhart who has escaped from Radovid's custody, at the same time the player may choose to conspire with an underground resistance movement to assassinate the mad King. If Geralt chooses to cooperate in the plan then he returns to Radovid saying that he found Philippa but is unable to drive her out of her current hiding place without the Kings help, Radovid agrees and Geralt lures him away from his protected ship to a location in which they plan to execute Radovid.

When at the location Radovid suddenly betrays Geralt by sentencing him to death as he seeks to tie up loose ends before setting out to find Philippa, however backup for Geralt arrives and they manage to kill Radovid's soldiers and corner the king himself, Radovid desperatly claws at a nearby door to escape however, surprising everyone, Philippa opens the door and blows a smoke of burning magic into Radovid's face before sliding a knife between his ribs, killing him and succesfully paying him back for her imprisonment and torture and also for the deaths of her fellow mages. Philippa (who knew of the plans to assassinate Radovid by eavesdropping on their meetings) apoplogizes to Geralt as she "couldn't deny herself of the pleasure" of putting an end to Radovid's tyrannical reign herself before she vanishes.

If the assassination sidequests are ignored by the player then Radovid remains very much alive and successfully drives Emhyr var Emreis's invading forces out of the north, however the purge gets worse and even healers and pellars are targeted. Year after end of the war witch hunting ended.