You're wandering through the soggy, miserable marshlands of Velen. The mud is thick. Your boots are probably ruined. Then, you stumble upon two peasants bickering near some ruins about a deity they call the "Allgod." This is the start of The Witcher 3 All God quest, and honestly, it’s one of the best examples of why CD Projekt Red is so good at writing side content. It isn't a world-ending threat. It’s a guy in a basement eating too many potatoes.
Most players find this quest naturally while exploring south of the Wastrel’s Manor. You see these poor souls offering up their meager food supplies to a stone altar, praying for an end to a famine that’s clearly killing them. They think they’re talking to a divine being. Geralt, being a professional cynic with cat eyes, knows better.
The Truth About the Allgod in the Basement
When you use your Witcher senses, the "divine" voice starts sounding a lot less like a god and more like a guy with a bad head cold. You follow the scent of wine and find a hidden trapdoor under some debris. Down there? It’s not a god. It’s a Sylvan named Allgod.
Sylvans are rare creatures in Witcher lore. They look like a cross between a man and a goat—horns, hooves, and a very large belly. This specific one has been living under the temple for years, tricking the locals into bringing him the best cuts of meat and the finest spirits while they starve on the surface. He’s fat. He’s lazy. He’s also kind of hilarious in a jerk-ish way.
Why The Witcher 3 All God Choice Actually Matters
You have three main ways to handle this. Most people just want to know "what's the best reward?" but in Velen, "best" is a relative term.
Option one: You kill him.
If you decide that a monster preying on starving peasants deserves a silver sword to the gut, you can kill the Sylvan. Geralt isn't exactly a fan of parasites. Once he's dead, you go back up and tell the peasants their god was a fraud. They don’t thank you. In fact, they’re devastated. You’ve taken away their hope, even if that hope was based on a lie. From a gameplay perspective, you get some loot from his corpse, but you lose the chance for a "happier" ending for the village.
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Option two: The "Fair" Compromise.
You can talk to the Sylvan and basically tell him to lower his standards. You threaten him. You tell him if he doesn't stop demanding the good stuff and start accepting humble offerings, you’ll come back and finish him. He grumbles, he complains about "peasant food," but he agrees. When you tell the villagers, they’re relieved. They get to keep their faith, and they get to keep their better food.
Option three: You just leave him be.
You can tell the peasants their god is real and just walk away. This is arguably the "worst" ending because the cycle of exploitation continues, and those people will likely starve to death while the Sylvan gets even fatter.
The Subtle Worldbuilding You Might Have Missed
The Witcher 3 All God quest isn't just a funny diversion. It mirrors the larger themes of the game—specifically how people in Velen cling to anything to survive the war between Nilfgaard and the North.
Think about the Crones of Crookback Bog. They are objectively evil, but they provide a twisted kind of "protection" for the people of the marsh. The Allgod is a low-stakes version of that. He isn't eating children, but he is stealing their dinner. Does the lie of a god provide more value than the harsh truth of a monster? CD Projekt Red loves asking that.
If you choose the compromise, it's worth coming back to the site much later in the game. Sometimes, you’ll see the peasants are still there, still praying. It’s a small detail, but it shows the lasting impact of Geralt’s "lesser evil" philosophy.
How to Find the Hidden Entrance Easily
If you're struggling to find where the Sylvan is hiding, look for the wine bottles. The scent trail Geralt picks up leads to a pile of rubble that looks impassable. You need to use the Eye of Nehaleni (which you get from Keira Metz during the "Wandering in the Dark" quest) to dispel the illusion.
- Location: South of Wastrel’s Manor, North of the Orphans of Crookback Bog.
- Required Item: Eye of Nehaleni.
- The Loot: Mostly generic monster parts if you kill him, but the real "reward" is the XP and the narrative closure.
Honestly, the Sylvan's dialogue is the highlight here. He calls Geralt a "mutant" and acts like he’s doing the peasants a favor by listening to their "boring" prayers. It’s a classic subversion of the "holy quest" trope found in other RPGs.
Actionable Strategy for Your Playthrough
If you want the most "Witcher-like" outcome, force the compromise. Killing the Sylvan feels justified, but in the bleak world of Velen, removing a source of hope—even a fake one—usually leads to more misery for the commoners.
- Don't rush the dialogue. Listen to the Sylvan's excuses; they are genuinely funny and give insight into how monsters view humans.
- Check your inventory. Ensure you have the Eye of Nehaleni before heading there, or you'll be staring at a wall of rocks with no way in.
- Visit after "The Whispering Hillock." This quest hits differently depending on what happened to the orphans and the village of Downwarren.
The Witcher 3 All God quest serves as a reminder that being a Witcher isn't just about killing things that go bump in the night. Sometimes, it’s about being a mediator in a world where gods are just hungry goats in basements.
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To wrap this up, take a second look at the ruins above the basement. There are some minor loot chests scattered around the perimeter that most players miss because they're too focused on the trapdoor. Grab those before you head out to your next contract.