The Nilfgaardian Empire is the great power of the South, a sprawling realm built on conquest, discipline and a frankly terrifying bureaucracy. Its heart is the City of Golden Towers, its banner is a golden sun, and its soldiers wear black armour, which is why Northerners simply call them the Black Ones. Provinces and vassal states stretch out from the capital in every direction, and the duchy of Toussaint is one of the many places that bend the knee to the Emperor while trying very hard to pretend it doesn’t.
Nilfgaard in The Witcher 3
By the time of The Witcher 3, the Third Northern War is in full swing and Nilfgaard is winning it. Temeria has fallen, imperial soldiers hold White Orchard and Vizima, and the front line runs through the ruined lands of Velen towards Redania. Emperor Emhyr var Emreis himself summons Geralt to the royal palace in Vizima in Imperial Audience and gives him the job that drives the whole game: find Ciri. Officers such as Morvran Voorhis lead the imperial war effort, and small garrisons like the Nilfgaardian Garrison show up across the map.
Who wins the war?
The fate of the empire is settled in Reason of State. If Radovid survives, the North under Redania pushes Nilfgaard back. If Radovid is assassinated and Dijkstra takes control, the North also holds. Only if both Radovid and Dijkstra are out of the picture does Nilfgaard conquer the North. Our Witcher 3 endings guide walks through every combination.
In The Witcher 2
Nilfgaard is the shadow behind the Kingslayer affair. Letho ultimately works for the Emperor, and the chaos left by the murdered kings is exactly the opening Nilfgaard needs to march north again. The game ends with imperial forces crossing the border.
In the books
In the saga, Nilfgaard sacks Cintra in the First Northern War but is stopped at Sodden Hill by the mages of the North. It comes back in the Second Northern War, backs Vilgefortz‘s coup on Thanedd, overruns Aedirn and Lyria, and is finally beaten at the Battle of Brenna, which leads to the Peace of Cintra. Cahir, the knight in the winged helmet, is one of the most famous Nilfgaardians in the books, and Emhyr’s own secret is tied directly to Ciri’s bloodline.