Rotfiend
| Rotfiend | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Species | Necrophages |
| DLC | Base game |
| Oil | Necrophage Oil |
| Signs | Igni |
| Location |
|
The Rotfiend is a Necrophage that looks like a rotting human body with no skin. Rotfiends are a common sight in Velen.
Lore
"Course it reeks. Think they're called rotfiends because they smell like roses?" So said Vesemir, witcher of the Wolf School. A rotfiend gives itself away with the overwhelming stench of rot, and that smell gave it its name.
Rotfiends were once rare. In this age of endless war and violence, they have become a plague. They gather around battlefields and in places struck by disease. Devourers are an especially dangerous kind of rotfiend, with an endless hunger for human flesh.
Behaviour
Rotfiends mainly eat carrion, but they sometimes attack the living too. They feed in large groups, which makes them a danger to lone travelers. They are also fast enough to outrun a horse at full gallop. Rotfiends feed at dusk and through the night, and they are far more dangerous then than by day.
A rotfiend's rotting body is full of gas. The gas is poisonous even to witchers, who shrug off most other toxins. It also catches fire easily. Any spark, even a careless Igni, can set off an explosion. This is most likely right after a rotfiend dies, while its body shakes out of control.
Weaknesses
Coat the silver sword with Necrophage Oil. Rotfiends fight much like drowners, but they have one deadly trick. A badly wounded rotfiend starts to shake and then explodes. The blast hurts everything around it. Back off the moment the shaking starts.
The blast can also be turned against the pack. Wear one rotfiend down, then lead the others close to it as it starts to blow. The blast wounds them, and they start to explode too. A chain reaction like this can clear a whole pack.
A rotfiend that has been knocked down can be finished with a single stab.
Contracts and Quests
| Quest | Quest Giver | Location | Reward |
|---|---|---|---|
| A Towerful of Mice | Keira Metz | Fyke Isle, Velen |
|
| A Favor for a Friend | Keira Metz | Hangman's Alley, Velen | 200 XP |
| Bitter Harvest | Albin Hart | Battlefield near the Border Post, Velen |
|
| Return to Crookback Bog | Bloody Baron | Crookback Bog, Velen | 100 crowns |
| Don't Take Candy from a Stranger | - | Southwest of the Prophet Lebioda Statue, Toussaint | - |
Rotfiends turn up in several quests in Velen. In A Towerful of Mice, they lurk with drowners and ghouls on Fyke Isle, between the shore and the cursed tower. In A Favor for a Friend, the sorceress Keira Metz asks for help finding a merchant's lost wagon. A rotfiend waits beside a body along the wagon's blood trail.
The secondary quest Bitter Harvest takes place on a battlefield in Velen. Looters are robbing the dead there, and they need protection from the monsters. Waves of ghouls attack, and the third wave brings a rotfiend with it. Rotfiends also join the drowners and water hags in Return to Crookback Bog.
In Toussaint, a group of rotfiends gathers around a dead body in the treasure hunt Don't Take Candy from a Stranger. The spot lies southwest of the Prophet Lebioda Statue.
Drops
| Name | Image |
|---|---|
| Rotfiend Blood | 
|
| Monster Bone | - |
| Monster Brain | 
|
| Monster Heart | 
|
| Monster Liver | 
|
| Monster Saliva | 
|
| Monster Tongue | 
|
| Monster Tooth | 
|
| Necrophage Hide | - |
| Greater Rotfiend Blood | - |
| Necrophage Skin | 
|
All Monster Categories
All Necrophages
| Name | Image | Variant of | Oil | Signs | Bombs | Location | DLC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abaya | 
|
Water Hag | Necrophage Oil | Northern Wind | Skellige | Base game | |
| Alghoul | 
|
- | Necrophage Oil | Axii | - | - | Base game |
| Devourer | - | - | Necrophage Oil | - | - |
|
Base game |
| Drowned Dead | - | Drowner | Necrophage Oil | Igni | - |
|
Base game |
| Drowner | 
|
- | Necrophage Oil | - |
|
Base game | |
| Foglet | 
|
- | Necrophage Oil | Quen | Moon Dust |
|
Base game |
| Ghoul | 
|
- | Necrophage Oil | - | - |
|
Base game |
| Grave Hag | 
|
- | Necrophage Oil | - |
|
Base game | |
| Ignis Fatuus | 
|
Foglet | Necrophage Oil | Quen | Moon Dust | Velen | Base game |
| Mourntart | 
|
Grave Hag | Necrophage Oil | - | - | Base game | |
| Mucknixer | - | - | Necrophage Oil | Igni | - |
|
Base game |
| Rotfiend | 
|
- | Necrophage Oil | Igni | - |
|
Base game |
| Scurver | 
|
- | Necrophage Oil | - | - | Toussaint | Blood and Wine |
| Spotted Wight | 
|
- | Necrophage Oil | - | Toussaint | Blood and Wine | |
| Water Hag | 
|
- | Necrophage Oil | Northern Wind | White Orchard | Base game | |
| Wight | 
|
- | Necrophage Oil | Axii | - | Toussaint | Blood and Wine |
