So, at the end of the game, Foltest is dead, and the various powers are trying to figure out what to do about Temeria. Boucy is dead, and everything seems to hinge on Anais.

Um, but what about Adda? I used a saved game in which I saved Adda, so she's definitely alive. Married to Radovid, but alive.

Foltest said something in the Prologue about the nobles not wanting a monarch who's married to the king of another country, but things are a little different after he's dead, the country is splintered, and Nilfgard threatens to take over the whole damned place. I'd think even Adda would look pretty good then.

Henselt said that he'd never agree to put a former striga on the throne, but I got the sense that he was looking for excuses to take over Temeria himself, and besides, who gave HIM a vote? He's not Temerian. And in my game, by the time it comes to a decision, he's dead. Roche killed him, and I didn't stop him. So he's not alive to object to Adda as queen of Temeria.

So, why does the game seem to be pretending that Adda can't possibly succeed to the throne of Temeria? She's not the most stable personality going, but she's got to be better than a terrified little girl, especially considering that they need a ruler NOW.

Did the whole thing about pretending that Adda doesn't exist make any sense to you?

1. She is queen of Redania
2. She is a product of incest
3. She used to be a striga (and may potentially relapse, at least in the eyes of the commoners)
4. Most of the nobility of Temeria only knows her as either "Crazy nympho who tried to overthrow the nation", "Radovid's wife", or "Striga"

So yeah, REALLY bad choice.

Plus, there is the political issues. Even if she has a strong claim, it would never be agreed to by the other Kings since it would be Redania absorbing Temeria without a fight. Henselt gets a vote because he has an army that might take offense to such an easy deal.

... you make it sound so... bad.. :)

Throughout history, lots and LOTS of heirs to the throne have been really bad choices, and they inherited, anyway. People have inherited who've been crazy, mean, weak -- everything but Martian, really :-). Being a bad choice has rarely been that big an impediment to actually inheriting the throne. Neither has being a foreigner. Being a striga has never happened in history, to my knowledge :-), but then, Adda isn't one, anymore.

As for Adda's being a bad choice, if I were a Temerian, I'd like her a hell of a lot better than I'd like the Emperor of Nilfgard ... and if Termeria isn't united behind a single monarch, that's who they'll have.

Except that this was largely being decided by the nobility and foreign powers.

So if you get the excuse of "Holy crap, she is crazier than a cactus in january!", everyone is going to agree. The nobility will see it as an excuse to rise to power, the foreign nations will see it as an excuse to install a puppet.

And you do mention some knowledge of history: So why the hell do you think it matters what the commoners want? :p

If there were no bastards, Adda would have been used. But when there is a non-Striga (or, more importantly, non-"Married to Radovid") option, everyone pushes for the option they can control.