Fake Papers is a secondary quest in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. It may be started southeast of the Border Post in Velen by approaching and talking to the shady merchant here.
Walkthrough
Due to the war, King Radovid V has closed off all the borders into Redania and is only allowing those with a pass through. Naturally, these passes aren't easy to obtain and thus the shady merchant has made some counterfeits for those willing to pay for them. You can do the following:
- pay the full 100
(earning 10 
) - ask for another way then use Axii (requires Delusion level 1, earning 30 ). This will lower it to 50 and earn 5 when paid for
- ask about the other way and he'll ask you to help his brother-in-law, Albin Hart
If you buy the pass outright, the quest will end here. However, if you inquire about the other option, you'll need to go do Bitter Harvest to get the price dropped to 25 . Important: If you go this route, make sure to keep Albin alive. If he dies and you report this to the merchant, he will refuse to deal with you and will cause the quest to fail. That said, if he did die, you can opt to simply not mention his death and pick one of the other above options instead to obtain the pass.
If you went and helped Albin and he survived, the merchant will sell the pass to you for 25 , earning 2. Regardless, as long as you obtained a pass, the quest will then complete.
Journal entry
- During the war that pitted the Northern Realms against Nilfgaard, the border along the Pontar river was closed. Whoever wanted to cross at the border posts had to show a pass issued by the Redanian high command. Or, barring that, one of the convincing counterfeits sold by the shady Redanian who hung about near the river crossings.
- If Geralt buys the false papers:
- The false papers proved as good as real ones. Once Geralt had acquired them, he could cross the border at will.
- If Albin Hart dies:
- The conterfeiter made Geralt an offer he couldn't refuse: a falsified pass in exchange for helping the man's brother. Geralt eagerly agreed to the exchange, but didn't hold up his end of the bargain. The conterfeiter's brother died, and Geralt had to find another way of securing transit papers.
Objectives
- See what the counterfeit pass seller's brother-in-law needs.
- Return for the discounted pass.
Notes
- If Albin dies before you can buy a pass from the merchant, you can still do Contract: Woodland Beast or continue the quest Family Matters to the point of learning where Tamara is to obtain one.
- If Albin dies but you don't tell this to the merchant and buy the pass another way, the journal entry won't update with the outcome.
- Even if you already have a pass from another source (like from Family Matters) you can still do this quest. However, you'd have to buy the fake pass to actually complete this quest.