Life isn't easy for all the inhabitants of the world of The Witcher 3. Geralt spends a better part of the game looking for Ciri without knowing for certain where she is or whether she's even still alive. However, the Wild Hunt isn't the only threat in the game. So are the witch hunters, various monsters roaming the land, or simply armies and wars that continue to rage on.
Because of all this, death is something Geralt and his friends and allies are very familiar with. Depending on the players' choices, multiple heroes can die in The Witcher 3 which is sometimes heartbreaking for both the characters and the fans of the game.
Crach Loses Both His Children
Crach an Craite, one of the jarls of Skellige, had already lost his wife and he loves both his children - Hjalmar and Cerys - dearly. However, if Geralt refuses to help them during the coronation feast, both Hjalmar and Cerys will later die.
Crach will mention it to Geralt and he's understandably upset by losing his children. Crach himself will then die fighting the Wild Hunt.
Letting Keira Metz Go To Her Death
The sorceress Keira Metz has three possible destinies in the game. The best-case scenario is sending her to Kaer Morhen where she'll join the fight against the Wild Hunt. Alternatively, Geralt can kill her in a fight. And finally, Geralt can let Keira go to Novigrad to see King Radovid who's famous for hating all witches.
If Geralt lets Keira go, he'll later discover her body impaled on a stake in the Novigrad's main square. Triss will be upset by Keira's death and she'll persuade Geralt to help her recover Keira's body and give her a dignified burial. This quest ends with sad Triss cradling Keira's broken body in her arms.
The Bloody Baron's Baby
As Geralt learns more about the Bloody Baron and his family, he discovers the baron's wife Anna was pregnant but miscarried. The child, a girl, then turned into a monster called botchling. Geralt has the option to turn it into a spirit called lubberkin.
If he chooses to do so, there's a touching scene in which the child briefly recognizes her father and tries to touch his face before it dies. The baron is subsequently sad about the loss of his daughter and the fact that she never got the chance to live.
Iris Stays Alone In Her House
Iris von Everec is one of the most tragic characters in The Witcher 3. She loves her husband Olgierd deeply but Olgierd becomes a stranger to her after making a fateful pact with the demonic being Gaunter O'Dimm.
Olgierd's heart turns to stone and his love for Iris vanishes. He first kills her father and then leaves Iris alone, trapped in their house, where she dies of sadness and heartbreak.
Emhyr Learns His Daughter Is Dead
Whether this separation is devastating can be a moot point for some. In the case that Emhyr wins the war and Ciri goes to become a witcher, she'll persuade Geralt to tell Emhyr that she had died. As Ciri is Emhyr's only child, it hits him hard.
Emhyr var Emreis isn't the best person or father but he still seems to care about his daughter. In the books, for example, he initially wants to kill both Yennefer and Geralt but when he sees that it saddens Ciri who cries for them, he lets them be and leaves.
Betraying His Friends
If Geralt and his friends decide to assassinate the insane king Radovid, Dijkstra will then betray Geralt, Vernon Roche, Ves, and Thaler. Geralt has the option to either help his friends or let Dijkstra and his men kill them.
Considering how many things they've been through together, it's a harsh separation if Geralt chooses to just walk away and let Roche, Ves, and Thaler be murdered. Especially since they helped him fight the Wild Hunt at Kaer Morhen.
Geralt Breaks Yennefer's Heart
Once Geralt arrives in Skellige to look for Ciri, Yennefer asks him to help her find a djinn. It turns out she wants to cancel the magical bond between them to find out if they will still love each other afterward.
After defeating the djinn, if Geralt chooses to say to Yennefer the magic is gone for him, he will break her heart this way. It's clear from Yennefer's expression when she hears the news how deeply Geralt hurt her by saying it. Because despite her character faults, there's no denying that Yennefer loves Geralt.
Tamara Loses Her Mom
The story of the Bloody Baron and his wife is messy and complicated. The baron beat his wife Anna and she cheated on him and tried to kill him. The only innocent side in all of this is their daughter Tamara.
Tamara loves her mother deeply. If the player makes the choice to save the spirit in the old tree, Anna will die in front of her daughter's eyes which will devastate Tamara.
Vesemir Sacrifices Himself For Ciri
During the battle at Kaer Morhen, Vesemir will always die battling the Wild Hunt. Unlike other cases, it's impossible to avoid his death. Vesemir will sacrifice himself to stop the Wild Hunt from capturing Ciri. He will stab Imlerith who will then snap Vesemir's neck.
That causes Ciri to lash out and kill a lot of members of the Hunt with her magic. When Geralt and Yennefer reach Ciri later on, they find her crying and holding Vesemir's body. Since he was like an uncle to Ciri and like a father to Geralt, it's devastating for both of them.
Ciri Dies
By far the worst separation is Ciri's (presumed) death. If the player makes wrong dialogue choices at certain points of the game, Ciri dies when she goes to fight the White Frost.
Geralt, grief-stricken by the death of his daughter, then finds the last surviving Crone and kills her - before supposedly dying too. Geralt's despair is palpable in the sequence and it makes for a chilling ending to the base game.