History Characters / TheWitcherMonarchs

[[WMG: Monarchs]]

The rulers of the Northern kingdoms both during and after the main series. While not an especially political series, their machinations and feuds play a great role in the conflicts of Geralt's life.

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:King Demavend]]
[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/demavend_iii_tw2.png]]

The king of Aedirn. He is the first monarch to be targeted by the Kingslayer which kicks off the plot of the second game.
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* AdaptationalVillainy: See below. Also double with AdaptationalWimp.
* AdiposeRex: Is pretty on the hefty side.
* TheAlcoholic: Is said to do more drinking than ruling.
* AssholeVictim: He's known to be a very cruel person who especially harbors a hatred against elves. He's also the first king to be assassinated by Letho.
* CharacterDeath: Dies in the ''Witcher 2'' trailer meant to show badass Letho is.
* NobleBigot: Despite his antipathy against elves, he is willing to tolerate Dol Blathanna as an independent protectorate under Francesca Findabair.
* OffWithHisHead: Letho cuts off his head. With a dagger. It takes two gruesome butcher chops, even with Letho's sheer strength.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: As opposed to what the Lodge says, in the books he is a capable and strong ruler, who rallies a strong defense for his country and who also sues for peace rather than continue senseless fighting.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:King Foltest]]
[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/king_foltest_of_temeria_by_arthusokd_d4bqduq.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''"For Temeria, men! To die for Temeria is to die a good death!''"]]
->'''Geralt:''' The king unconditionally orders the witcher to be beheaded? \\
'''Foltest:''' The king does not know. But the witcher should bear such an eventuality in mind.

->Voiced by Philip Hurd-Wood (''The Witcher'') and Antony Byrne (''Assassins of Kings'')

The "arrogant, sister humping, warmongering" king of Temeria, as well as a whole bunch of other places he beat into submission. A major presence in the first game, and his death starts the plot of the second.
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* AFatherToHisMen: His popularity among his people varies, but his ''soldiers'' adore him, and he not only recognizes a common soldier from a battle fought near four years ago, he promptly promotes him upon hearing of his hardships in the years since.
* ALighterShadeOfGray: He's an "arrogant, sister humping warmonger". He also lives in a world where Kaedwin is ruled by [[UsefulNotes/JosefStalin Fantasy Irish Stalin]], Redania is ruled by someone who's basically a [[UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler Hitler]] stand-in and [[TheEmpire Nilfgaard]] is ruled by ''another'' Hitler stand-in with a Chessmaster streak. So not only is he one of the least morally repugnant leaders in the game, he's one of the most benevolent of the major monarchs in the series. [[TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth Which might explain why he eats it early in the second game.]]
* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: Though his exact level of skill is hard to place, he certainly is no amateur with a blade.
* BerserkButton: Calling his children bastards, even if it is accurate.
-->'''Foltest:''' They're my ''children''. If I hear the word "bastard" one more time, ''someone'' [[PapaWolf will die!]] ''Painfully!''
* BigGood: He's more morally ambiguous than outright good, but he serves this role towards the end of the first game since he's in charge of the forces trying to restore order to Vizima, and thus opposes the Knights of the Flaming Rose, Scoia'tael, and Salamandrans who are fighting in the streets.
* BlingOfWar: Averted in the first game with some eminently practical platemail. The sequel then takes it to the extreme without becoming tacky or [[http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110218143658/witcher/images/9/95/W2_Foltest.jpg impractical]]. Yes, it looks like it could be used as a loot for a dragon's horde, but is sturdy and well packed for a war.
* BoisterousBruiser: In war.
* PapaWolf: He has many flaws, but it should be noted: he genuinely cares about all of his children.
* PetTheDog:
** His meeting with his bastard children shows a soft side to a man many claimed was forged of steel.
** He does this a fair bit throughout the prologue of the second game. He comforts a soldier who was seriously disfigured in battle, and recognizes a loyal arbalist he fought alongside him years ago in Brenna, whom he promotes on the spot.
* ReallyGetsAround: He never married, and is famous for his libido. [[NeverLiveItDown Infamously]], one of his conquests was his own [[BrotherSisterIncest sister]], though he claims that [[PetTheDog he truly loved her.]]
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: It's hinted this isn't always the case, but he likes and respects Geralt, and is willing to at least humour his opinions.
* RousingSpeech: Not so much a speech as total affirmation.
-->'''Foltest:''' Where the hell are we going!?\\
'''Soldiers:''' To battle!\\
'''Foltest:''' What the fuck do we want!?\\
'''Soldiers:''' Victory!\\
'''Foltest:''' This I like!
* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: Enjoys a good war and leading his army into battle.
* ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem: He intends to make his bastard children his heirs, laws of succession be damned.
-->"Piss on the laws! I'll change them if need be. Above all, I'll not allow a band of treacherous barons to use my children as their banner."
* SirSwearsALot: Everyone does in ''The Witcher'' of course, but Foltest stands out by being a king. Amusingly, his pet name for his capital city is (rather appropriately) "the Whorehouse".
* SuddenSequelDeathSyndrome: [[spoiler:His assassination is what kicks off the plot of the second game]].
* WarriorPrince: With great enthusiasm.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:King Henselt]]
[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/henselt_tw2.png]]

->'''Voiced by:''' Peter Egan (''Assassins of Kings'')

The ruler of Kaedwen, the largest of the Northern Kingdoms. Plans to conquer the Pontar Valley, which he claims to be his birthright, but first he has to defeat the resistance led by Saskia the Dragon Slayer.
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* AFatherToHisMen: He's quite popular among his soldiers for the most part. [[spoiler:Not enough to prevent an attempted coup, however]].
* {{Acrofatic}}: Despite his bulk, he is rather agile and an accomplished swordsman.
* AdiposeRex: He is quite bulky.
* AssholeVictim: He's either killed by Roche in the second game, or by Radovid before the third one begins. Either way, he deserves it.
* BaldOfEvil: It's hard to tell under his crown, but yeah, he has a shaved head under there.
* BeardOfEvil: It's remarked in ''The Witcher 2'' that his beard makes him look more like a thief than a king.
* BloodKnight: He prides himself on being the strongest king of the North, and won't hesitate to invade a country again and again if he thinks he can win.
* DroppedABridgeOnHim: He dies offscreen in between the second and third games, assuming he wasn't killed beforehand.
* EntitledBastard: Already in the books, he quarrels with Demavend over his lands, and even has the audacity to call his men 'liberators' when all they've done is RapePillageAndBurn.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: Despite being a ruthless and manipulative individual, he was absolutely disgusted by Sabrina Glevissig's decision to cast a powerful fire spell on the battlefield of his previous campaign on Aedirnian ground, slaughtering a large number of soldiers, both friend and foe alike.
* FantasticRacism: Has no respect whatsoever for non-humans.
* FluffyTheTerrible: King Henselt of Kaedwen, last of the line of the {{Unicorn}}. Of course, in Medieval myth, unicorns were dangerous beasts that only a maiden could approach safely. Henselt's lineage probably refers to the badass old school unicorns.
* RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil: [[spoiler:What he did to Ves.]]
* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: He's politically active, warmongering, and insists in fighting on the front lines, though unlike most cases of this trope, it doesn't make him even remotely heroic.
* SmugSnake: Really makes you want to let [[spoiler:Roche kill him]] just to wipe that smile off his mug.
* UngratefulBastard: [[spoiler:Even though Geralt and Roche saved his life and Geralt freed him from Sabrina Glavissig's curse, Henselt orders Roche's men executed, without a trial, for being part of a conspiracy they knew absolutely nothing about (only Roche was part of it), and tries to kill Geralt as soon as he meets him on Vergen, even though he had all but taken over the town already and Geralt was not fighting for either side.]]
* WellIntentionedExtremist: Invoked by himself when [[spoiler:Geralt and Roche]] call him out on his villainous acts. Indeed, barring a few exceptions, everything he did was meant to benefit his kingdom in some way.
* YouGotSpunk: He almost says this word for word to Saskia (just replace "spunk" with "balls") for her willingness to stand up against his superior force. It makes her a far more enticing target for him to rape, of course.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Queen Calanthe]]
[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/queen_calanthe_by_faustissima_d5lmfbs.jpg]]
The queen of Cintra, [[TheKingdom a kingdom]] lying to the south of Yaruga river. Once upon a time, she hired a certain witcher to solve a troublesome affair involving her daughter and a knight suffering from [[BalefulPolymorph a powerful curse]], which ultimately ended in the curse being lifted, the witcher making the request of the Unexpected Child, and the resulting tangle of the fates of everyone involved. Although she was a tough political player (nicknamed "the Lioness of Cintra"), she nevertheless could not prevent Nilfgaard from overrunning Cintra, and committed suicide to avoid falling into Nilfgaardian hands shortly after issuing a final edict to carry her granddaughter to safety. The girl eventually found her way into the custody of the same witcher who requested her years before.
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* BetterToDieThanBeKilled: By jumping out of the window of her palace.
* IronLady: A strong queen who earned her nickname.
* TheMagnificent: The Lioness of Cintra.
* ManBehindTheMan: Her attempts at being [[SheIsTheKing the supreme ruler]] were defied by the nobility of the realm, as by Cintran law, the ruler had to be a man. She thus settled for the second-best thing, getting a husband who [[HenpeckedHusband wouldn't interfere]].
* ManipulativeBitch: When Urcheon shows up to claim Pavetta's hand in marriage, Calanthe tries to instigate a fight between him and other suitors. When this tactic fails, she tricks Urcheon into revealing his transformed face, in hopes Pavetta will reject him.
* PosthumousCharacter: For most of the cycle. The Saga takes place entirely after her death. The short stories cover the period both before and after.
* ScreeningTheCall: She struggles twice against the Law of Surprise. First, she tries to stop Pavetta from marrying Urcheon. Later, she threatens Geralt to discourage him from taking Ciri away to become a witcher.
* TheUnfettered: She has shades of this. She is ready to use every trick in the book to achieve her goal: a marriage treaty between Cintra and Skellige. She shows no remorse over her lack of honor and dirty tactics. When her manipulations fail, she is ready to simply murder the man standing in the way of her plans and yields only when a better solution is presented to her.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: King Radovid V]]
[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tumblr_lxyt0wzl7r1qem9aoo1_500.jpg]]
->Voiced by Martin Sherman (''The Witcher'') and Nico Lennon (''Assassins of Kings'' and ''Wild Hunt'')

The King of Redania, and one of the last Kings of the Northern realms in the wake of Letho's regicides and the Nilfgaardian invasion. After the events of the previous game, he is obsessed with hunting down and taking vengeance on his TreacherousAdvisor, Phillipa Eilhart, and to this end he has empowered the Church of Eternal Fire and their Witch Hunters, leading to a sharp increase in prejudice and discrimination against mages and nonhumans.
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* ANaziByAnyOtherName: Certain statements about him invoke Hitler.
* BaldOfEvil: He started out morally ambiguous, but by the third game, his state-sponsored witch hunt places him in this category.
* BetterTheDevilYouKnow: The North's basic opinion of Radovid. They prefer him to Nilfgaard despite the fact that he's ''also'' invading the majority of their lands to add to his Empire.
* BitchInSheepsClothing: In the first game, he presents himself as a friendly ReasonableAuthorityFigure, though his connections to the Church of the Eternal Fire and its subsidiaries in the Order of the Burning Rose and Salamandra imply he's been making power plays on Temeria. The sequels show his true face.
* BurnTheWitch: His general opinion of magic.
* TheCaligula: Is a weird example of the trope as he engages in horrific tortures, executions, and pogroms but is entirely competent as a military command as well as strategist.
* CharacterDerailment/CharacterDevelopment: Whether you assume his SanitySlippage is justified or not.
* TheChessmaster: Invoked and defied. Radovid is a student of chess but he says the game is a grossly inaccurate representation of real war.
* ColdBloodedTorture: What he intends to inflict on every single mage involved in the conspiracy against him.
* DarkMessiah: Invokes the idea that he is the only possible savior of the North against Nilfgaard. [[spoiler:There is another, but he's ALSO a ruthless bastard.]] He's also the patron of the Eternal Fire church.
* DisproportionateRetribution: His modus operandi. Radovid is prone to handing out horrific punishments left and right to people who offend him.
* FantasticRacism: Triss believes that he is racist against nonhumans as well as sorcerers. This is an InformedAttribute, though. He ''is'', however, filled with an immense hatred of mages. Although given the fact that the Eternal Fire goes out of their way to kill nonhumans as well as mages, she's not completely wrong.
* FreudianExcuse: In short, he had a horrible life. His father was assassinated when he was a boy, then he and his mother were mistreated and used as puppets by Philippa Eilhart (who is throughout the story heavily implied to have been involved in his father's death) and Dijkstra, and then had to bear a ''lot'' of responsibility when he became king being little older than 18 years, especially after getting involved in a war with the world's mightiest empire, which caused his definite SanitySlippage.
* FromNobodyToNightmare: "Nobody" being a boy forced to assume the throne after his father's death. At the end of ''Lady of the Lake'', we get a glimpse of what's going on in his head, and he promises himself to go hard on everyone who wronged him and his family. It is then mentioned the future will know him as "the Stern".
* TheHighKing: What he portrays himself as. Yeah, no.
* KickTheSonOfABitch:
** If Henselt survives the events of the second game, then Radovid betrays his alliance with Kaedwen by launching an unexpected attack on it and killing him.
** Gouging Philippa's eyes out and (depending on the choice) having Sile tortured to death also qualifies, given how much harm the two have caused.
* KillEmAll: Barely conceals his plans for all magic-users once he rules the North.
* TheManBehindTheMan: [[spoiler:Although never stated outright, it's heavily implied that he helped cause the rise of Salamandra and Jacques de Aldesberg in the first game.]]
* OhCrap: He makes the most priceless expression ever in the "Head of State" quest when [[spoiler:he all but runs into Philippa after being cornered by Geralt, Roche, and the rest of the assassins.]]
* OutGambitted: Has made an enemy of Sigi Reuven, Vernon Roche, Geralt, Triss Merigold, and Phillipa Eilhart. Any ''one'' of these people is a dangerous enemy to have, even for a king.
* ProperlyParanoid: Averted. Phillipa Eilhart and the Lodge of Sorcerers ''really were'' plotting against the Kings of the North. They killed his father and caused thousands of deaths. [[NotMeThisTime They also have nothing to do with his current problems.]]
* RealMenLoveJesus: Radovid's belief in the Eternal Fire seems sincere. At least to the point of giving the Order of the Flaming Rose land and supporting their massive pogrom against witches.
* RevengeBeforeReason: The mages were instrumental in defeating Nilfgaard during the Second War. During the Third? He orchestrates a massive witch-hunt of them ''while there's a war with Nilfgaard going on.''
* SanitySlippage: He's gone from a stern, proud warrior king to a withered, gibbering lunatic. [[spoiler:It gets even worse if you side against him.]]
* SmugSnake: Fully expects Geralt to tow the line with him, even when he has no reason to do so.
* TookALevelInJerkass: In the first game, Radovid was able to at least look like he was a friendly and reasonable sort. In the sequel, he's shown to be much colder and his ruthless side really shows through, even though he still acts comprehensible. By the third game, he's an all-out crazy tyrant.
* UngratefulBastard: Potentially this to Geralt if you do his bidding.
* TheUnintelligible: His first conversation with Geralt has a number of segments where he's speaking in complete crazy.
* TheWonka: Is obviously mad but remains perfectly capable of complex, intelligent, and rational plans plus sustained military strategy. This is TruthInTelevision as many insane individuals have periods of stability followed by outbreaks of irrationality.
* XanatosGambit:
** He is actually quite good at these despite the fact he's prone to gibberish statements about chess, war, and murder. Managed to conquer the largest nation in the North, fight Nilfgaard to a stand-still, and [[spoiler: wins the war if he's not assassinated.]]
** Is also responsible for the Witch Hunt in Novigrad, which kills 170 out of 200 or so magic-users in the city, by making use of the local authorities rather than his own men. This is a {{Subverted}} example as while highly effective, it does the war effort no good and turns his kingdom against him.
** Also subverted with his plan to take out the criminal alliance ruling the city from behind the scenes (since the Eternal Fire would side with him against Nilfgaard--and thus bring Novigrad under his control). All it does is convince them they can't remain neutral any longer [[spoiler:and potentially leads to his death]].
* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: Radovid's modus operandi. He has killed or betrayed everyone that has helped him once they've stopped being useful, became a liability, or both. He helps take down Salamndra once they've destabilized Temeria. He abandons Whoreson Jr. after he broke up the alliance of crime lords that prevented him from taking Novigrad. The members of the Order of the Flaming Rose(without whom he'd never have been able to control all of what's left of the north) that didn't want to become witch hunters were sent to the front lines of the war to die and had their assets seized. Once Geralt tells him where Philippa is, he tries to have him executed. It could be inferred that he does this to Adda if he married her, since Foltest is dead and he doesn't need her anymore, and the mages of the new Conclave if he wins the war.
* YoungerThanTheyLook: Radovid looks like he's in his 30s, but by the third game, the oldest he could possibly be is 20. Being a king during wartime, not to mention his traumatic early life and mental instability, has obviously not been great for his health.
[[/folder]]

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* PetTheDog: His meeting with his bastard children shows a soft side to a man many claimed was forged of steel.

->Voiced by Peter Egan (''Assassins of Kings'')

YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: Radovid's modus operandi. He has killed or betrayed everyone that has helped him once they've stopped being useful, became a liability, or both. He helps take down Salamndra once they've destabilized Temeria. He abandons Whoreson Jr. after he broke up the alliance of crime lords that prevented him from taking Novigrad. The members of the Order of the Flaming Rose(without whom he'd never have been able to control all of what's left of the north) that didn't want to become witch hunters were sent to the front lines of the war to die and had their assets seized. Once Geralt tells him where Philippa is, he tries to have him executed. It could be inferred that he does this to Adda if he married her, since Foltest is dead and he doesn't need her anymore, and the mages of the new Conclave once he wins the war.

* AFatherToHisMen: He's quite popular among his soldiers for the most part. [[spoiler: Not enough to prevent an attempted coup, however]].

* RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil: [[spoiler: What he did to Ves.]]

The King of Redania, and one of the last Kings of the northern realms in the wake of Letho's regicides and the Nilfgaardian invasion. After the events of the previous game, he is obsessed with hunting down and taking vengeance on his TreacherousAdvisor, Phillipa Eilhart, and to this end he has empowered the Church of Eternal Fire and their Witch Hunters, leading to a sharp increase in prejudice and discrimination against mages and nonhumans.

* FreudianExcuse: In short, he had a horrible life. His father was assassinated when he was a boy, then he and his mother were mistreated and used as puppets by Philippa Eilhart (who is throughout the story heavily implied to have been involved in his father's death) and Dijkstra and then had to bear a ''lot'' of responsibility when he became king being little older than 18 years, especially after getting involved in a war with the world's mightiest empire, which caused his definite SanitySlippage.
* FromNobodyToNightmare: "Nobody" being a boy forced to assume the throne after his father's death. At the end of "Lady of the Lake", we get a glimpse of what's going on in his head, and he promises himself to go hard on everyone who wronged him and his family. It is then mentioned the future will know him as "the Stern".

* TheWonka: Is obviously mad but remains perfectly capable of complex, intelligent, and rationale plans plus sustained military strategy. This is TruthInTelevision as many insane individuals have periods of stability followed by outbreaks of irrationality.

** Also subverted with his plan to take out the criminal alliance ruling the city from behind the scenes (since the Eternal Fire would side with him against Nilfgaard--and thus bring Novigrad under his control). All it does is convince them they can't remain neutral any longer [[spoiler: and potentially leads to his death]].

* BunnyEarsLawyer: Is obviously mad but remains perfectly capable of complex, intelligent, and rationale plans plus sustained military strategy. This is TruthInTelevision as many insane individuals have periods of stability followed by outbreaks of irrationality.

* FluffyTheTerrible: King Henselt of Kaedwen, last of the line of the {{Unicorn}}. Of course, in Medieval myth, unicorns were dangerous beasts that only a maiden could approach safely. Henselt's lineage probably refers to the BadAss old school unicorns.

* FreudianExcuse: In short, he had a horrible life. His father was assassinated when he was a boy, then he and his mother were mistreated and used as puppets by Philippa Eilhart (who is throughout the story heavily implied to have been involved in his father's death) and Dijkstra and then had to bear a ''lot'' of responsibility when he became king being little older than 18 years, especially after getting involved in a war with the worlds most mightiest empire, which caused his definite SanitySlippage.

* YoungerThanTheyLook: Radovid looks like he's in his 30s, but by the third game, the oldest he could possibly be is 20.