Toad Prince

The Toad Prince is the first boss of Hearts of Stone and the monster behind the contract that starts the whole expansion. A note on the notice board by the Seven Cats Inn sends Geralt to Olgierd von Everec, who explains that his cook was killed by a monster in the sewers of Oxenfurt. She had gone down there looking for a prince who had been turned into a toad.

In Evil’s Soft First Touches, Geralt climbs down a well at the Oxenfurt market into the sewers. He meets Shani tending a dying soldier, finds the key to the lower tunnels and works his way past drowners. The bodies tell him the creature likes alcohol, so he uses booze on a corpse to lure it out.

The story twists at the end. When the toad is nearly dead, it turns out it really was a prince, cursed into that shape. Geralt slits its belly and is knocked out by the toxic slime, and Ofieri soldiers arrive to find their prince dead and drag Geralt off to answer for it. That’s how he ends up in a cell aboard a ship bound for Ofir, and how Gaunter O’Dimm comes back into his life.

Combat strategy

Don’t let the “first boss” label fool you. This fight sets the tone for the expansion’s difficulty. The toad hops around a lot and knocks you back, lashes at you from range with its tongue and spits venom, sometimes lobbing it like artillery. Even dodged venom can leave poisonous fumes behind. It also has a huge health pool, so plan for a long fight.

The cutscene before the fight refills your potions and bombs, so don’t hold back.

Drink Golden Oriole. The superior version even turns its poison into healing.
Use Yrden over and over to pin it in place, then rush in with strong attacks or Whirl.
Northern Wind works too, but its charges run out in such a long fight.
Cursed Oil is the matching oil. It’s more useful for defense with Protective Coating than for damage.
Archgriffin decoction shortens the fight a lot. With Acquired Tolerance, pair it with another decoction.