The Witcher - Geralt of Rivia / Characters

Sir Geralt of Rivia

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/geralt_of_rivia_tw3.png

"Either leave on your feet or die on your back."

Voiced by: Doug Cockle (English), Jacek Rozenek (Polish)^{additional VAs}

Portrayed by: Michal Zebrowski (The Hexer), Henry Cavill and Liam Hemsworth (Netflix series)

"You send assassins after me, conjure up beautiful words, threaten to kill me. But you're scared to death and simply postponing the inevitable."

The protagonist (or co-protagonist) of all the media set in the Witcher's world. He is a, if not the witcher — a mutant created through alchemy and black magic to create an ultimate killing machine, he was in fact such a success compared to the other boys who underwent the Changes that he was subjected to additional processes that bled his hair white and took the pigment from his skin, but the benefits in return were many-fold. Geralt is the epitome of a professional monster-hunter, courteous, meticulous and devoid of emotional hangups. At least, he'd love to assure you and to be assured of that last bit. He made his name removing the Striga curse from the Temerian princess, Adda, and over the years, his visage has became legend in the Northern Kingdoms.

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A - K

Accidental Adultery: In The Lady of the Lake, thinking that Yennefer has betrayed him (when, in fact, she was held as a prisoner in Stygga Castle and subjected to constant torture), he bedded Fringilla Vigo. It was mentioned that whenever they lay with each other, Geralt have a habit of calling Fringilla — Yen. When it was revealed that Yennefer never once betrayed him, he hightailed out of Toussaint to go after her, but not before bedding Fringilla Vigo one last time, presumably to trick her into believing his lie about Vilgefortz's true location.
Adaptational Attractiveness: Downplayed in the games. In the books, Geralt is described as "ugly" in a sense that women will not be easily attracted to him. While it's still present in the first game, Assassins of Kings and Wild Hunt portrays him as a Hunk. Played straight in the Netflix TV series, courtesy of Henry Cavill.
Adaptational Badass: Downplayed but present in the CD Project game series. In the short stories and saga Geralt was hardly a pushover to start with, but he wasn't immune to being seriously injured during jobs or even losing a few fights. In the games, he regularly fights against very powerful monsters or against significant numbers of humans or creatures, and Wild Hunt has him taking on extremely powerful foes in single combat including the King of the Wild Hunt and at least one higher vampire and winning. The reason this is downplayed is that the games put the risk of failure in the player's hands by having fairly difficult combat (especially early on). The player is expected to be a Combat Pragmatist using all of the witcher's abilities and techniques to gain the upper hand.
Adaptational Heroism: Possible in the CD Project game series depending on the player's choices. While still very much an Anti-Hero, the games give opportunities to have Geralt act more compassionately than his literary self.
Albinos Are Freaks: Witchers are already widely considered freaks as it is, but being as his mutations left him with no pigmentation in his hair only makes Geralt stand out even more to the prejudiced population.
Almighty Janitor: The guy is a professional monster Hunter yet is routinely dragged into conflicts that ought to be well above his pay grade and usually outside his area of expertise. No Witcher in history has ever had half the adventures the White Wolf has.
Amateur Sleuth:
- The entire second act of the first game is practically one big mystery story, in which Geralt runs around the streets of Vizima, tracking down clues and trying to determine which of the many suspects on his list are involved in The Conspiracy.
- Much of the Bloody Baron story line in the third game revolves around this aspect.
- Due to his Experienced Protagonist status and Witcher Senses, he can uncover the lies that certain quest-givers tell him. Like how the spirit in the quest "Towerful of Mice" is lying about certain things and calling her out on it leads Geralt to discover her true nature as a Plague Wraith, or how using the Witcher senses in the quest "Missing Patrol" would let Geralt discover that the patrol isn't a patrol at all, but a Death Squad, sent to kill unarmed prisoners.
- Many contracts and sidequests involve people hiring Geralt specifically for his tracking abilities to help them find missing people. There's at least 4 contracts named "Contract: Missing X".
Amnesiac Hero: During the first game. He recovers many of his memories throughout the second game, and in the third game he has all of them back.
Animal Motifs: Wolves, of course. He was trained by the School of the Wolf, wears a wolf-shaped medallion, and is known as the White Wolf due to his white hair and pale complexion.
Anti-Hero: Geralt would prefer to just detach himself from human problems and simply kill monsters for money as he was trained to do, but his conscience and the murky morality of his world make that impossible.
Atheism: Dandelion says in one short story that Geralt doesn't believe in gods. He's still respectful enough to those who do believe and aren't zealots though.
Audience Surrogate: Geralt assumed this role in the first game. His amnesia gave him the same sense of unfamiliarity with the world as the players who hadn't read the books would have,^note which would justify why he would act as The Watson towards people and subjects he would otherwise know about.
Badass Bookworm: Like all witchers, he has a broad and comprehensive knowledge of a wide variety of monsters and their origins and weaknesses, gleaned from old tomes and manuals as much as personal experience and word of mouth. Several characters end up being surprised by how well-read he is.
Badass Longcoat: You can get a leather coat◊ for him in the third game.
Bag of Spilling: After being wounded at the hands of Vilgefortz at the end of Time Of Contempt, he loses most of his equipment, including his sword, which Vilgefortz destroyed. This trope can also apply between the games with the arrow deflection skill, as it is learnable in each game, but has to be relearned in each one even if the player is using an Old Save Bonus.
Battle Couple: With Yennefer, when facing Vilgefortz and many other skirmishes in between.
The Berserker: Under the influence of his combat-enhancing elixir, Geralt's instincts and reflexes are far sharper, but he also becomes more dangerous. Its effects give him a mixed sensation of euphoria, battlelust and fury. He actively warns friends and bystanders to keep away when he's under its effects, as he can't promise he won't attack them if they come too close.
Blue Is Heroic: His Iconic Outfit for each game in the trilogy features prominently blue clothing.
Bolivian Army Ending: In the ending where Ciri dies, Geralt finds and kills the last Crone who took Ciri's Witcher pendant. We see him sit clutching the pendant inside a shack, as many drowners begin to swarm the house. Notably, this is the only ending in which Geralt has no epilogue.
Breaking the Fourth Wall: In the conclusion of Blood and Wine, when Regis says they both could use a rest, Geralt agrees, and smiles at the camera, because the final DLC is over.
The Butcher: Jerkass behavior left him with this sort of reputation in many places. Ironically, while he is certainly a Jerkass in this regard, the specific incident that actually acquired him the title of "Butcher of Blaviken" had extenuating circumstances (hence the title of the story: The Lesser Evil).
Carpet of Virility: Only in the first game. It was greatly reduced in the second and third games to just a thin patch running from his sternum to his belly button.
Characterization Marches On: In the original Witcher story, Geralt is much more ruthless than in any of his other appearances and doesn't seem to be concerned for anything other than doing his job and collecting the reward. His heroic tendencies only appear later.
Cheshire Cat Grin: Geralt's wicked smile, which usually appears only when he's scheming, mocking or preparing to fight, is outright described as "hideous" in the novels. When a mimic copies his form, Geralt realizes with discomfort how unpleasant his smirk really is.
Chivalrous Pervert: He is typically a gentleman to women, but is not above helping himself if a proposition is made.
Chronic Hero Syndrome: Lambert puts it best in Wild Hunt.
Lambert: You know, Vesemir's right, you do poke the damn hive. Almost always.
Combat Pragmatist: Shown very well in the Cinematic Launch Trailer of the third game, where he poisons his blood (counting on his Witcher toxin tolerances to endure it himself) in order to kill a vampire. In especially the latter two games, using dirty tricks and exploiting weaknesses isn't just an expedient way to kill enemies, it's often needed to just survive a clash with them. Witcher training doctrine emphasizes this necessity in their line of work. In the books, this is seen in the breadth of tools and tactics he uses to carve his way through foes. Silver chains, brass knuckles and adding the Yrden sign to the inside of a tomb slab are how he captures the striga instead of engaging it in a straight up fight.
The Comically Serious: In both the books and games, Geralt gets thrust into a lot of silly situations, has to deal with even more crazy people, and is always stuck as the Straight Man to Dandelion's Wise Guy. Which makes his jaded and stoic demeanor all the funnier.
Covered with Scars: His body has a lot of nasty-looking ones all over in the games. He also had a noticeable (if moving) scar on his face in the TV series. Surprisingly, the famous scars across his neck/throat he received from the Striga job never appear in the games.
Crazy-Prepared: Comes hand-in-hand with being a witcher. Geralt has an array of weapons, potions, and other tools which he can use to give him an edge over any sort of conceivable enemy. While he loses most of these tools during the initial quest to rescue Ciri, by the time of the video games he's once again toting a Hyperspace Arsenal of armaments suitable for slaying dozens of different kinds of monsters.
Creepy Shadowed Undereyes: In the second and third game, he's always depicted as having dark rings around his eyes. When he drinks potions or has a high toxicity level, they become more pronounced and give his face a more skull-like appearance.
Cynicism Catalyst: When Geralt first set out on his own as a fully-fledged Witcher, he found a man and his daughter being harassed and assaulted by bandits. After a brief speech, he made quick work of the thugs. He had expected recognition for his heroism, but when the dust settled, the father had run off in fear of him and the girl was in hysterics from the blood bath. It was then that Geralt decided to quit the heroics and stick to his job, because no amount of gallantry was going to endear him to normal humans.
Dance Battler: Witcher-taught swordplay was apparently described in the stories as dancelike, what with the multiple mentions of Pirouettes and such. The third attack in the first game's Group Style can easily be described as Death Ballet. Completely justified, since witchers make a living fighting monsters that can easily slaughter trained soldiers clad in full plate armor, they have to be able to dodge whatever is thrown at them.
Deadpan Snarker: Geralt's experiences as an oftentimes discriminated witcher has given him a jaded worldview and a very dry sense of humor.
Death Seeker: In one story, when faced with a choice between losing Yennefer to another suitor, killing his rival and losing her favor forever, or being killed by his rival, Geralt deliberately attracts the attention of some thugs while unarmed and suffers a beating. Once the assailants realize he's a witcher and he could have dispatched them with ease, one scolds him, suggesting Geralt should just hang himself rather than dragging others into his suicide, a sentiment he takes to heart and repeats to someone else the very next day.
Dented Iron: Geralt's fight with Vilgefortz leaves him with a bad knee that causes him no shortage of pain and discomfort for nearly the remainder of the saga, and which seriously affects his fighting ability.
Despair Event Horizon: Clearly crosses this in the Witcher III ending where Ciri dies. After single handedly killing the last Crone who took Ciri's witcher pendant, he just sits down, clutching it to his forehead, as many drowners surround the shack he's in. Notably, this is the only ending in which he has no epilogue.
The Dragonslayer: Subverted in the short story The Bounds of Reason. He goes along with an expedition to hunt a Golden Dragon with everyone fully expecting him to attempt to kill it. But he won't hunt sentient monsters, at least as long as they present no direct threat to humans. Because of this, the dragon in question considers himself the dragon equivalent of a witcher. Played straight in the second game where he can opt to slay Saskia, though he is not happy to do it.
Dropped a Bridge on Him: He and Yennefer appear to have died near the end of the books. Sapkowski has said that the two did survive, which is something he revealed after the first game came out.
Everyone Went to School Together: Oxenfurt Academy, although he didn't study for the degree, but for skill and knowledge. It's even implied that he taught there.
Experienced Protagonist: Geralt is nearly a century old when the saga begins, giving him plenty of time to master his craft, make connections across the Northern Kingdoms, and attain a healthy amount of cynicism.
Face of a Thug: Touched upon. For one thing, the minute Geralt is pegged as a Witcher, he automatically seems that much more imposing and dangerous to most humans. Even without that stigma, Geralt is eerily pale, white-haired and scarred, with narrow yellow eyes that become intense and catlike when he's had his elixirs. His most frequent expressions are scowling, grimacing and smirking, and even he is taken aback by his face is when he sees it mimicked identically by a doppelganger.
'What a hideous smile I have,' Geralt thought, reaching for his sword. 'What a hideous face I have, and how hideously I squint. So. Is that what I look like? Damn.'
Famed In-Story: To the point that tales of his adventures are played in puppet theaters. Being best friends with the world's most renowned bard and having several songs written about him certainly helps. Still, not every person he meets recognizes him, as befitting a society lacking in visual media. And as shown in several flash-forwards, the events of the Saga grow in the telling and become a matter of legends, too.
Fan Disservice: His extreme scarring causes this for some.
The Fettered: How much exactly tends to vary, but he has his principles and he does stick to them most of the time.
Folk Hero: Courtesy of bards — such as Dandelion — retelling Geralt's exploits at taverns, theaters and castles, the witcher has become quite well known in the North. Though the stories tend to become more glamorous on the way, compared to the events that really took place.
Fragile Speedster: Not Geralt himself, but his silver sword, which he uses to fight supernatural foes. Silver is very delicate and fragile relative to steel, and the monsters he uses it on are often exceptionally dangerous at close range, and so his fighting style with the silver sword relies on agility and technique over raw power.
Genius Bruiser:
- Part of witcher training involves years of formal education in chemistry, biology, animal behavior, history, magic, and other subjects, and Geralt apparently did exceptionally well. He's more than capable of having a surprisingly eloquent intellectual discussion when the situation calls for it.
- As for Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness, there were jokes circling around that he started to use big words in an attempt to impress a certain sorceress. This does not mean he isn't smart on his own, though.
- Rumors notwithstanding, it's been mentioned numerous times that he did attend Oxenfurt Academy, the most prestigious university in the North, and actually numerous times, though as a non-degree guest student, and it was implied that he even taught there at times.
Good Scars, Evil Scars: Discounting the nasty-looking ones on his body, his are the fairly classic rugged hero scars, the most prominent being one that crosses over his left eye.
Guest Fighter: Geralt was included in Soulcalibur VI as the first guest character. He and several Witcher-themed gear and monsters were included in Monster Hunter: World, bringing about a more aggressive fighting style for the sole playable mission he's in.
Handicapped Badass: He had his left forearm and his right femur shattered by Vilgefortz and spent 36 days receiving treatment. While he made a complete recovery, he still walks with a limp and is implied to have arthritis due to the means which his bones were healed.
Happily Married: With Yennefer in one of the non-canon short stories. He can end the third game like this with either her or Triss.
Has a Type:
- As Geralt's dwarven friends remark, he seems to have quite a thing for sorceresses.
- In The Witcher 3, Phillipa Eilhart makes an observation Geralt has slept with nearly the entire Lodge of Sorceresses.
Healing Factor: Albeit a small one, which can be further boosted with potions.
Helicopter Parents: Towards Ciri. The bad endings in the third game are caused by him being too protective and not trusting her to make her own choices. However, even when he does give her freedom, he clearly gets antsy whenever she's in trouble.
Phillipa: Don't you think it's time you stopped interfering in Ciri's life?
Geralt: No.
Phillipa: Surely you realize we are not a pack of wolves you can drive away with a sword.
Geralt: Sure you are. And yes I can, if the need arises.
Hell-Bent for Leather: His usual outfit. With lots of justified silver trim.
Heroic Neutral: Despite being a good person overall, Geralt makes a big deal out of being neutral. He will fight monsters if somebody pays for it and he will jump into the inferno for his loved ones, but other than that he makes no effeort to bring any kind of change to the world and stays out of conflicts if it's possible (which very often isn't). In a world of Grey-and-Grey Morality, it is probably a reasonable stance.
Hero with Bad Publicity: Due to being a Witcher. No matter what, his decisions will end up ticking off someone.
Hidden Heart of Gold: Geralt's demeanor is often gruff and seemingly uncaring, but deep down he can be a very hindhearted person who's willing to risk his life to protect both the innocent and those he cares about.
Hypocrite: In Lady of the Lake, Dandelion decides to stay in Beauclaire, where he has the, uhm, sympathy of the local ruler for the time being, rather than continue on the journey. Geralt is both bewildered and angry after hearing those plans and chews his friend out on this, calling him a fool for making such a decision. That is mighty hypocritical of Geralt for several reasons. Firstly, Geralt is no stranger to leaving his friends and loved ones behind, as he did so with Yennefer on at least one occasion. Secondly, he is basically going on a Suicide Mission, meaning that he takes way more risks than Dandelion, who probably is safer staying. Finally, he initially discouraged Dandelion from accompanying him, to the point where he openly demanded for him to leave at one point, so blaming the bard for not wanting to carry on makes Geralt not very consistent on this matter. He even acknowledges it shortly afterwards.
I Just Want to Be Normal: While he isn't very open about it, Geralt is heavily implied not to enjoy being a witcher on multiple occasions and resolves himself to quit several times, despite not having the skills to do anything else. In The Last Wish, Yennefer guesses that being human is Geralt's deepest desire, moreso than glory, riches or immortality.
Implausible Fencing Powers: Specific abilities made possible by witcher mutation include parrying crossbow bolts. Geralt's motion capture for the games is flashy and stylish to contrast with the more practical and realistic movements of heavy knights.
Ineffectual Loner: He tries to go after Ciri by himself, but people are so drawn to him that he ends up assembling a hanse who share an Undying Loyalty to him and all end up giving their lives to save Ciri.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: By the nature of their mutations (they tend to paralyze higher emotions, or so they claim), all witchers are supposed to be jerks. The fact that he's not annoys him constantly. Word of God jokingly states that being Jerk with a Heart of Gold is the case for many witchers, but only Geralt tends to angst because of that. Consequently, other witchers regard him as a bit of a drama queen.
Kavorka Man: Described in the books as "ugly", mutant with multiple scars on his body, although many women find him attractive, especially sorceresses.
The Kingslayer: He's framed for killing Foltest in the second game, and he spends most of it trying to clear his name. That being said, while he never physically attacks any kings over the course of the series, he can potentially be a willing participant in some of their deaths, most notably Henselt and Radovid.
Knight Errant: He's technically this in the later books, having given up The Path to find Ciri after the Thanedd incident, with several characters noting this about him. This is especially true when he's knighted for his efforts at the Yaruga. In Blood and Wine, he can take on several Knight Errant contracts around Tussaint.
Knight in Shining Armor: Despite his surly attitude, pragmatic nature, and usual lack of any shiny armor, you can play him as this in the third game, where he is compassionate to the downtrodden, generous to those in need, honorable in his convictions, wise in his actions, and valorous against all evil. Unlocking Aerondight is proof that he has all the chivalric values, certainly more than the other Toussaint knights.
Knight in Sour Armor:
- Under his bad guy facade hides someone dangerously (to himself) close to Chronic Hero Syndrome. As for the knight part — he gets briefly knighted, ironically, by his claimed native kingdom of Rivia, but almost immediately deserts his commission to continue his search of Ciri when the queen tries to order him around as other knights.
- Yennefer sums him up thus:
  Yen: He'll lose his way, start to philosophize and pity himself, then he'll do something heroic but pointless and get killed, presumably stabbed in the back.
- And as the quote already mentions, he's also quite the angster. He reaches wangsting peak around the Saga's third book, when he's even called on this at one point.

L - W

Last of His Kind: Some sixty or eighty years ago the Old Sea Fortress of the Wolf School witchers, Kaer Morhen, was besieged and its occupants slaughtered by an angry mob incensed by some demagogue (suspected to be a rogue sorcerer). Equipment, laboratories and elixirs required for creation of the witchers survived, but everybody capable of utilizing them in the castle was killed. As the process required a skilled magic user, and the sole survivor of the staff was Vesemir, a fencing teacher (away at the time), no new witchers were created ever since. Thus Geralt is one of the last witchers on the continent left. It's somewhat ambiguous, as the Wolf School of Kaer Morhen is not the only witcher base in existence. There are other schools, and we even get to meet some of their "graduates" in both the books and the games. However, none are said to be fully functional, and whenever one's state is explicitly mentioned, it's more or less defunct.
Legacy Character: Not him, but his horse. He named every single horse he's ever owned Roach.
Living Legend: The legendary witcher, he becomes that more or less.
Locked into Strangeness: Total loss of hair pigmentation. Possibly due to his unique heritage, he received minimal side effects from the Trial of the Grasses. His teachers decided to subject him to additional experiments, which he survived, with the most noticeable results being his white hair.
Magic Knight: Witchers are created through magic, and thus have some affinity to it, giving them an ability to use simple combat spells called "signs" in battle. This is generally it, but Geralt, being the son of a druidess and inheriting The Gift, had the requisite ability to take up magic in full, but refused, and was even called out on it, albeit by a lunatic. This trope becomes more literal at the end of Baptism Of Fire when Geralt is knighted by the queen of Rivia.
Magnetic Hero: He gathers quite a few comrades about himself. By the third game, he's able to call on the help of a number of them in his fight against the Wild Hunt.
Manly Facial Hair: Usually, he's portrayed as clean-shaven or with Perma-Stubble, but some artistic depictions give the witcher a beard. The third game in particular portrays Geralt as a bearded warrior in all official material just to make him look even more rugged and dangerous, and that design has since become CDPR's trademark look for him. That said, the player can opt to maintain a clean shave on Geralt.
The Masochism Tango: His relationship with Yennefer is stormy at best.
Master Swordsman: Considered quite rightly to be the best swordsman in the Northern Kingdoms. Only Vilgefortz could challenge him, and then only by using magic to boost his speed to ridiculous heights. In the games, it seems like he lost some of his technique due to his amnesia (Serrit, one of the witchers who attempt to assassinate King Henselt, writes in his journal that Geralt's swordsmanship makes him laugh, but also mentions that Geralt still manages to be a fearsome opponent regardless). It is assumed that Geralt recovered most — if not all — of his former skill with a sword by the end of the second game.
Meaningful Rename: The "of Rivia" part of his name was added by picking out of a bundle of sticks with different city names written on them. Initially, Geralt chose Geralt Roger Eric du Haute-Bellegarde as his first choice for the name, but Vesemir "explained" it'd be awfully cheesy (though the story is likely Geralt bullshitting to get a rise out of Cahir and Regis, both of whom come from backgrounds where names like that are pretty common, and neither of whom is particularly amused). The point of all of this was to make his name sound more impressive, which eases contacts with important employers.
Metaphorically True: Yennefer asks him in the last book if he had even been with other women during their breaks. He says no, and then explains that he only ever thought of her. The games instead have him deflect by asking her what it matters if she was the only one on his mind, which she doesn't buy for a second.
Mistaken for Romance: In part because they're not actually related, and because in most respects she fits his established "type", several characters in the third game assume Geralt has romantic intentions toward Ciri, given his drive to find her. He vehemently denies this whenever the topic arises.
Mr. Fanservice: The games give Geralt a ruggedly handsome appearance, chiseled physique, and enough Shirtless Scenes for anyone who doesn't mind the scars to enjoy. There's also the infamous bathtub scene.
Mystical White Hair: He went through an additional round of mutations after the Trial of the Grasses that were designed to further enhance his abilities beyond that of normal Witchers. While he did survive, it came at the cost of essentially making him an albino by leeching all of the pigment out of his skin and hair. His white locks are a dead giveaway for who he is on top of being a sign to other Witchers that he is a force to be reckoned with.
Neutral No Longer: In the third game, Geralt, who hates politics, is reminded of by Dijkstra of Radovid's monstrous reign being a danger to Triss and Yennefer because of the witch hunts and the witch-burning pogroms they carry out—meaning as long as the psychopathic Radovid's in power, the hunts go on and the two sorceresses Geralt is close to are in danger. When the time comes to take out Radovid, Geralt can side with Dijkstra, Thaler, Roche, and Ves to do so. Dijkstra, potentially, finds this goes both ways when he tries to kill Roche, Ves, and Thaler as well; Geralt knows a witcher's "neutrality" doesn't mean he couldn't have been targeted as well — four can die as easily as three, so he can aid Thaler, Roche, and Ves against Dijkstra. On the other hand, it's also possible for Geralt to walk away and let Djikstra kill them.
Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Geralt's actions will often come back to bite him (or someone else).
Nice Mean And In Between: His relationship with Eskel and Lambert, his two fellow witchers from the Wolf School can be summed up as this, Geralt being the "in between" of the three.
The Nose Knows: His mutations gave him a keen sense of smell, which gives him ample opportunity to follow scent trails. Unfortunately he also has to deal with the stench of monsters, which he can comment on when entering combat.
Not So Above It All: For a mutant killing machine supposed to have all human emotion removed, Geralt can get surprisingly insecure, giddy, or jealous when it comes to Yennefer.
- He even engages in a macho pissing contest with a sorcerer Yen had feelings for, comparing sexual exploits and trading passive aggressive insults before both parties agreed to a duel. In fairness, they were each vying for Yennefer's monogamy, and both regretted their pettiness afterwards, but it was all a rather theatrical affair for what is expected of a witcher.
- With the player able to make decisions and control his behaviour in the games, its easy to indulge in this; at one point in the third game, if the player wants, Geralt can get drunk with Lambert and Eskel, which leads to them drunkenly stealing Yennefer's clothes and prank-calling the Church of Eternal Fire's head priest with her megascope.
Not So Stoic: Geralt is quite capable of showing and expressing emotion, especially when Ciri is involved. When he finds her on the Isle of Mists and believes her to be dead, he breaks down in tears and nearly has a Pietà Plagiarism moment.
Older Than They Look: Well, he doesn't look young, but certainly not like almost reaching a hundred.
Once Done, Never Forgotten:
- Geralt sleeping with both Triss and Yennefer has led to him becoming the butt of jokes, especially amongst his fellow witchers. Yennefer herself throws it in his face when they have an argument, and despite understanding that he had amnesia, is clearly still angry about it. In the third game, the option exists to romance (read: sleep with) both Triss and Yennefer, which leads to a side-quest in which the two women take their revenge, at which point any romantic ending options for Geralt are placed out of reach.
- On a darker note, the way he handled the whole Blaviken situation came up more than once in the books as the reason for his nasty reputation.
One-Man Army: Geralt is easily able to bring down large groups of well-armed, well-trained men without any help. With certain builds in the third game, he can mow through entire hordes of enemies like a white-haired chainsaw.
One True Love: Both Geralt and Yennefer have many lovers, but the saga makes it clear they are this towards each other.
Papa Wolf:
- Towards Ciri. He gets to the point where he sees Ciri in any hurt girl, only to wonder later how could he not notice the difference. Once swore that he would kill anyone who dares threaten Ciri — to Phillipa Eilhart and Keira Metz, that he would kill them mercilessly if they think to threaten her.
- That said, the bad ending in the third game can be caused by being overprotective; if Geralt doesn't make her feel loved while at the same time nurturing her independence, then she will not believe in herself when she goes to face the White Frost, and she will die.
- Shown if Geralt decides to kill Whoreson Junior in Witcher 3.
"I am looking for this woman, because she's like a daughter to me. And that's why I just can't let this go."
Parental Abandonment: A prerequisite to becoming a witcher. Sapkowski published a later short story about his parents and his mother made a brief cameo in one of the short stories.
Perpetual Poverty: Geralt has a hard time finding work in a world that has little need for monster-slaying anymore, and the few people who do need his services have little to offer in terms of payment. This leads to Geralt having barely enough money to stay fed and properly armed. However, due to Gameplay and Story Segregation, in the games it's pretty easy for the player to amass a small fortune, and especially in Blood and Wine, where he gets his own vineyard to spruce up into a possible retirement home.
The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: For a witcher, a profession which explicitly entails monster-slaying, Geralt doesn't spend as much time killing monsters as you would assume, especially in the short stories. More often than not, his adventures involve chasing off, curing curses from, befriending or even protecting various creatures and entities which he had originally intended to kill. Justified, as his definition of monster is far stricter and more specialized than that of the general populace, and his Code of Honour prohibits him from killing anyone or anything for money if he doesn't consider it to be irredeemably monstrous. The stories often allude to him slaying monsters, and his reputation for creature-slaying precedes him, but the tales themselves are often contemplations on what exactly constitutes a monster.
Pre Ass Kicking One Liner: Given that virtually everyone on the Continent with any martial training knows that "cat eyes, two swords, and an animal head medallion" means "witcher", which in turn is understood to mean "emotionless and highly efficient professional killer", the sheer number of people who try to bully, intimidate, or threaten Geralt is absurdly high. He makes his feelings on the matter clear during a confrontation with Cleaver's men in the third game.
Geralt: Two things only the greatest fools do. Throw stones at hornets nests, and threaten a Witcher.
Previous Player-Character Cameo: Since Thronebreaker is told from Queen Meve's perspective, Geralt's hanse's Big Damn Heroes moment from the end of Baptism of Fire occurs late into the game, including a cutscene of Geralt's Knighting.
Psychic Dreams for Everyone: After Ciri goes missing, he starts having prophetic dreams about her.
Punch-Clock Hero: Certainly tells others (and himself) this a lot, reinforced by him collecting payment for most of his jobs. When push comes to shove however, he will always act on behalf of his conscience, not his purse.
Punch-Clock Villain: Geralt does what he can to avoid falling into this, but circumstances sometimes force him into working for more villainous characters like Henselt, Radovid, or Gaunter O'Dimm.
Really Gets Around:
- Although it seems an unfair stereotype that all 'witch-men' are licentious to the extreme, the third game mentions that witcher mutations do actually increase libido and Geralt is only too glad to prove this facet of mutant psychology true; ^note so he is rather popular with the ladies as a result. The first game takes it to brilliant but nigh farcical heights of Geralt perhaps laying three or four women in one day! And they aren't even courtesans!
- It gets toned down to a more realistic level in the second and third games, where the sheer amount of his romantic encounters are cut down drastically. Albeit, primarily to two (potentially three) staggeringly hot sorceresses.
  Townsman: A witcher! Hide your women!
Real Men Wear Pink: What with the excessive mentions of pirouettes in some books, and the very dance-like Group Style in the first game, it's implied that Ballet may be required learning for witchers. Justified because it can be really good for keeping his physical condition up; professional dancers tend to be in incredible shape (not to mention Jean-Claude Van Damme attests to the difficulty of learning Ballet), and, as mentioned above, he needs to be quick on his feet to take on the type of prey he does.
"The Reason You Suck" Speech: Gives these on a regular basis in the novels. However, since the people he gives these too aren't Strawman Political characters, Geralt often gets on the receiving end of a speech himself, or brushed off completely.
Red Baron: Known as the White Wolf in the Nordling Kingdoms, also Gwynbleidd (Elvish for White Wolf) among the Elder Races and in Nilfgaard (where they use the Old Speech), the Butcher of Blaviken, and others. The Other Wiki lists "Hater Of Portals" as one of his nicknames.
Retirony:
- In the novels, he intended to retire when the Rivian pogrom happened. In the games, the siege by Foltest on the La Valette Castle could have been the last day of Geralt's service to Foltest, after which he'd be free to pursue his fortunes on his own (plus Triss), if not for the actions of a certain kingslayer...
- He can finally retire in the third game, should he rekindle his relationship with either Triss or Yennefer.
Scarily Competent Tracker: Part of the witcher's typical job involves finding the dangerous monster they've been hired to slay. The third game's Witcher's Path provides, however, in the form of Super-Senses and an encyclopedic knowledge acquired through study. In the third game, this is a frequent gameplay mechanic in the form of "Witcher Senses".
Silver Fox: His white hair and rugged looks give him a grizzled but handsome appearance that is appreciated by a lot of women in-universe.
Spanner in the Works: He has a tendency to get in the way of other people's convoluted plans, then slash his way out.
The Stoic: Geralt rarely expresses emotion outwardly and approaches every problem as a calm and non-judgmental professional. He even claims that witcher mutations deprive him of feeling emotion, though it's clearly not true for him or any of his kind.
Supernatural Gold Eyes: Like all witchers, his eyes became yellow and cat-like as a result of his mutations.
Supporting Protagonist: Geralt is the main viewpoint character and pivotal to the story but ultimately, Ciri is The Chosen One.
Super-Reflexes: Can parry arrows, crossbow bolts, and even echinopse thorns with his sword. Hit a rat in the dark with a thrown fork and match beings of such strength and speed that they would make mince-meat of a squad of fully plated guardsmen.
Super-Soldier: Created to fight monsters, though, not people. But oftentimes, there's no difference to him. The games expand on his additional mutations from the one-off experiments he was subjected to after surviving the Trials with flying colours. Exposure to moonlight enhances reactions in the brain, increasing magical potency while the rays of the sun increase the already rampant circulatory and homeostasis controls witchers are a capable of, causing him to heal much faster. He can instantly metabolize the prior effects of potions in his body, detoxify with an hour's worth of meditation if he wants to periodically stack different elixirs and take more potent concoctions than his brother witchers. He is also undoubtedly faster and possesses a greater enhanced range of his six senses.
Super-Strength: Again, a lesser example, but strong enough to outright cut fully armored men in half.
Super-Toughness: He can survive fifty foot falls without breaking bones or tearing ligaments^note, though potions may be required. Not only did he survive a full human’s weight landing on him from a height without major injuries, he also managed to escort said human (Keira Metz) to safety afterwards. Also, even though he usually spends weeks convalescing afterwards, he has often endured near-fatal wounds like getting his entire throat slashed open.
Tainted Veins: If Geralt has high toxicity, he will have this along with Creepy Shadowed Undereyes.
Terse Talker: Geralt speaks in to-the-point, abridged sentences, which enhances to his gruff, no-nonsense personality.
Tin Man: He frequently insists that the witcher mutations stripped him of higher emotions. Despite this, he's prone to dramatics, particularly whenever his tumultuous feelings for Yennefer come to the fore, displays great loyalty to his friends, is very protective of Ciri, and is certainly capable of displaying emotion, albeit in very understated ways.
Tranquil Fury: Doesn't raise his voice when he gets angry. He does, however, become a lot more eager to threaten, beat, or outright kill the target of his rage.
Unresolved Sexual Tension: With Tomira, the herbalist he meets early in the game. It doesn't go beyond light flirting, however.
Verbal Tic: In 3, he has a tendency to drop the pronoun subject of his sentences. For instance instead of "I want the money you owe me", he'd say "Want the money you owe me".
Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: He really doesn't like using portals, knowing they can easily kill the teleporter if they malfunction. They also have a nasty habit of tossing him way off-target when he exits the terminus. It can get rather egregious in the games, where he follows up each and every mention of portals or teleportation with some variant of "I hate portals."
Wrestler of Beasts: In the "Fists of Fury" quest of Wild Hunt, Geralt must defeat various NPCs in boxing matches. The last opponent he faces is the island's champion Olaf... who happens to be a bear.

Characters / The Witcher - Geralt of Rivia

Sir Geralt of Rivia

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