Dandelion of The Witcher series is well-known for being a wily bard-type. His silver tongue and roguish good looks make him both an asset to Geralt and, if Dandelion so chooses, a bit of an inconvenience. Dandelion is flighty and has the heart of an artist. While he can frequently talk his way out of situations he gets himself into, he also probably shouldn't have gotten into those situations in the first place.
He's gotten himself into trouble with his mouth a few times, both making promises he can't keep to Geralt and picking fights with the wrong people. Let's take a look at how this character can be a true friend and a helpful companion, and also maybe a bit of a liability.
10 Great Friend: He's Got Tons Of Objective Achievements To His Name
Dandelion is generally regarded as someone who can get stuff done for you, thanks to his wide array of friends and companions. That being said, sometimes Dandelion might not achieve these through the noblest of means. He is, however, a well-known theatrical actor and musician, knows tales of all of the greatest heroes and has staged many very successful plays.
9 Annoying: He's A Bit Of A Narcissist
While Dandelion isn't undeserving of praise, he also plays up his own achievements constantly, talks highly of himself consistently, and really can't go six words without talking about himself. He seems to have an exploit of his own to mention in every conversation regardless of if the conversation is on someone else. He loves the spotlight, which we suppose is in the nature of a bard so it's not as if it doesn't make sense, it just definitely gets to be very excessive.
8 Great Friend: He Knows That Geralt Outweighs Him In Importance
While Dandelion won't ever just shut up, whether he's talking about himself or talking about someone else, he knows that he'll always play second fiddle to Geralt. In fact, it only makes sense that he's the faithful narrator of The Witcher 3. He explains to us everything that befell both Geralt and Ciri, in a way that generally casts Geralt in a very positive light. In the introduction to the story, while he describes himself, he also tells us that while he's also deserving of praise, the true hero is Geralt, and he'll sing songs of him until the day he dies.
7 Annoying: He's Still Looking Out For His Best Interests
While Geralt isn't the best at keeping out of dangerous situations, Dandelion is. Or rather, he is if there's an obvious way to avoid them. It's not that Dandelion is a coward or anything, but he's definitely a "Work smarter, not harder" kind of person.
If there's a way to weasel out of a situation without fighting, that's the option Dandelion's going to take. That only makes sense for someone whose main skills are flattery, deception, and deflection of questions.
6 Great Friend: He Has Eyes And Ears Everywhere
Dandelion has been employed as a spy for certain rulers, as a traveling minstrel that the crown is using to gather information, or just as someone who knows how to question people and get them to divulge information that they may want to share. This can also work against them however especially if they're somehow opposed to Geralt. He's always willing to share whatever information he has with Geralt, even if eventually it proves to put him at odds with his previous informants.
5 Annoying: He Doesn't Always Associate With The Best People
Dandelion was caught colluding with Whoreson Junior, one of the biggest crimelords in Novigrad after he realized that Ciri needed help fixing a phylactery that was capable of either putting curses on people or removing them.
The price that Whoreson Junior requested to find someone who could restore the phylactery to its former glory was that he needed to steal the treasure of Sigi Reuven. Sounds easy enough, but unfortunately Sigi Reuven was a rival crimelord. Needless to say, the situation was botched and Dandelion was captured.
4 Great Friend: He's Always Ready When Geralt Needs Him
Dandelion would gladly help Geralt in any situation that required his help, strangely enough even if that means sacrificing his own life and limb. That's why when he made the terrible mistake of trying to make an arrangement with Whoreson Junior, he did everything he could to protect Ciri, even allowing for his own capture so that she could teleport away, escape, and continue on her quest, even if Geralt didn't really know what was going on with her. He was also more than willing to tell Geralt what happened.
3 Annoying: Except When He's Been Captured
Dandelion was promptly captured when trying to help Ciri, which really isn't the best way to go about being readily available to help out one of your friends. If Dandelion was truly as smart as he paints himself to be, he probably wouldn't have associated with such shady people in the first place. The issue was that due to the ban on sorceresses and magic in general, the only place he could really turn was to the criminal underground.
2 Great Friend: He Waited Faithfully For Rescue
After being captured, Dandelion knew that Geralt would be there to save him. Although Geralt isn't usually the most sentimental of witchers, let alone people, we think that there was probably some brotherly love that motivated Geralt, and not just the fact that the trail Ciri had left behind had gone mostly cold. While Geralt assumed that it was one of Dandelion's spurned lovers that had caused an ill fate to come to him, he realized very quickly that Dandelion had gotten himself mixed up with the wrong crowd.
1 Annoying: He Almost Got Ciri Killed
While Dandelion was only doing his best to help Ciri, fraternizing with Whoreson Junior or Sigi Reuven or any of the other two crimelords in Novigrad was an absolutely terrible idea. These aren't just common thugs or anything. When you're investigating Whoreson Junior's house later in the game, you realize that he had a penchant for murdering and butchering young maidens. If she had been captured because Whoreson assumed that Ciri and Dandelion had made off with his treasure, this would have likely become her fate. It's unclear if at that point Dandelion would have very much time left to live for this article to have a basis in the game because Geralt can be more than a little vengeful.