The Witcher - Other Characters / Characters

Other characters

Geralt and the others met many people, not all of whom were hostile. Some of them were. Others were friendly. Others yet were both or neither, clashing or cooperating with the heroes for their own reasons. For other characters in the saga, go here.

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Church of the Eternal Fire

Caleb Menge

Commander Caleb Menge

Appears in: Wild Hunt

Voiced by: Richard Hawley (English)^{additional VAs}

The fanatically ambitious commander of the Church of the Eternal Fire's Temple Guard. He is the individual who is handling the persecution of witches, sorcerers, and alchemists in Novigrad.

Bald of Evil: A classic example thereof.
Bullying the Dragon: Torments an armed Geralt with his lover's screams while sitting across from him in a small room, guarded by a single man. Said lover is one of the most powerful magicians alive. Either way, it doesn't work out for him; Geralt either snaps and paints his office and the rest of the barracks red, or Triss holds out, breaks free of the torture restraints, and kills him herself.
Burn the Witch!: His modus operandi. It can be turned back on him.
Cold-Blooded Torture:
- He has his torturers remove the fingernails of witches in order to interrogate them. He can also subject Geralt to listening to Triss being tortured as they talk.
- He also intends to have Dandelion broken on a wheel and flayed alive as a warning to other entertainers and intellectuals questioning the Church's rule.
Conspiracy Theorist: According to Dudu, he sincerely believes there is a massive Doppler conspiracy against him personally.
Corrupt Church: Informs a bunch of looters that the sorcerers they murdered have had their property seized for the Church. He has also been spending Sigi's money for his own benefit.
Dead Person Impersonation: Becomes a victim of this when Triss and Geralt attempt to rescue Dandelion.
Dirty Coward: He is smug and cocky all the time, brutally exerting power that he has over human (and non-human) life and is obviously convinced that his position makes him untouchable. However, when he finally stands face-to-face with very angry (and unrestrained with dimeritium) Triss Merigold, with nobody around to defend him, his smug demeanor drops immediately and he seems to be on verge of both wetting himself and begging for mercy.
Fantastic Racism: He considers Dopplers and other intelligent beings to be monsters worthy of execution, and obliquely refers to Geralt as a "thing" for being a witcher. He also considers any and all magic-users to be less than human.
Good Scars, Evil Scars: Has a very prominent one across his face.
Karmic Death: Either killed by Triss in revenge for subjecting her to above-mentioned torture or cut down by Geralt when his and Triss's ruse gets blown and steel is bared. Regardless of his immediate cause of death, he gets burned posthumously with all of his followers in their headquarters... just like so many victims of his pogroms.
A Nazi by Any Other Name: Is masterminding the genocide of both supernatural nonhumans and magic-users in the city.
Oh, Crap!: He has a look of utter terror on his face at the end just before Triss buries a knife in his brain.
Sadist: According to Dudu, taking Menge's form for too long fills him with an outright compulsion to start torturing witches and non-humans.
Smug Snake: Gets up in Geralt's face to tell him he's watching him and then attempts to psychologically torture him as they talk. He also thinks he can handle Triss Merigold without effort. Either individual proves easily able to kill him and, potentially, all of his followers.
We Hardly Knew Ye: Is introduced as a big recurring threat in Novigrad but is killed quickly by either Geralt or Triss in the second quest to involve him.
The Witch Hunter: The leader of them in Novigrad.

Nathaniel Pastodi

Reverend Nathaniel Pastodi

Appears in: Wild Hunt

Voiced by: Tomasz Borkowski (English)^{additional VAs}

A priest of the Eternal Flame who serves as supervisor of the Novigrad city morgue.

And This Is for...: Geralt can invoke this if he decides to kill Nathaniel, noting that the women Nathaniel's tortured and abused over the years is more than enough reason to kill him.
Nathaniel: I've unfinished business with Sweet Nettie. After all, I paid in advance.
Geralt: Then you'll pay again. For her, for all the other women you've tortured.
Asshole Victim: His death is well deserved, and the Concerned Citizen could not have picked a better man to take the fall of his murders.
Bad Boss: The coroner Hubert Reijk, one of Nathaniel's subordinates relates an incident where Nathaniel once stabbed him in the back with a scalpel for leaving the mortuary unlocked.
Early-Bird Cameo: Gets one in a flashback of Dandelion's when Ciri knocks him flying while she and Dandelion are trying to escape Temple Isle.
Explain, Explain... Oh, Crap!: When confronted by Geralt, this is Nathaniel's reaction when he realises who's set him up to take the fall for the Concerned Citizen's crimes.
Geralt: Who knew you'd be here?!
Nathaniel: Strangely enough, I don't announce these outings far and wide. There's only one person who could... but that's impossible. He treats even corpses with kid gloves.
Geralt: The coroner.
Jerkass: As a fanatic, mysoginistic sadist this is a given.
He-Man Woman Hater: He really hates women. Pastodi goes to whore houses and pays a ton just so he can torture prostitutes to his heart's content.
Karma Houdini: Should Geralt decide not to kill him as he is innocent of the murders, Pastodi continues to gleefully torture women with no consequences.
Obviously Evil: His sadism and religious fervor make him a prime suspect to be the Concerned Citizen. He isn't, but Geralt can decide to kill him anyway. Dandelion fully agrees with him if he does so.
Sinister Minister: A priest of the Eternal Fire who oversees funerals... and tortures women in his spare time for his own amusement.
Tempting Fate: Gloatingly tells a bound and gagged prostitute he's about to torture no one will hear her screams... and then an extremely pissed off Geralt walks in.
Nathaniel: No one will hear you, bitch! Not a soul!
Geralt: You though, whole town will hear you in a minute.
Torture Technician: Before becoming a priest he was a torturer for the Eternal Flame. According to Joachim von Gratz, Pastodi specialized in torturing women.
Would Hit a Girl: Given Nathaniel was a torturer who specialised in harming women, and still gets off on it, that's a given. He also orders the Temple Guard to kill Ciri when she's cornered on Temple Isle.

Order of the Flaming Rose

In General

Appears in: The Witcher, The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

An Order of Knights that defend the Church of Eternal Fire. They are very racist towards anybody who isn't human.

Church Militant: A religious Order of knights.
Expy: They are very clearly based on historical Roman Catholic religious orders Knights Templar and Knights Teutonic. Like both these orders, they are tasked with defending the religion and even their coat of arms looks very simillar. Some knights even have simillar names to real life knights from those two Orders.
Fantastic Racism: They hate anybody who isn't human.
The Remnant: Fallen Knights in the Hearts of Stone DLC of the third game. The order has been disbanded but a small minority of knights still fanatically loyal to Jacques de Aldesberg become criminals who target human civillians.
Token Good Teammate: Siegfried of Denesle. If in the first game you side with the Order, he becomes the new Grandmaster and seemingly reforms the Order into something more moderate and more true to its professed ideals. If however you side with Scocia-Tael elves, he becomes just as fanatical as the Order and dies.

Jacques de Aldersberg

Grand Master Jacques de Aldersberg

"You return, Sire. I trust you are not too late... Your kingdom, is in need."

Appears in: The Witcher

Voiced by: Andrew Wincott (English)^{additional VAs}

"Our objective is a new world, a new order that will come after the White Frost. A world in which all will get what they merit, not by birth or through connections. A world where the strong help the weak and crime is duly punished. A world of clear principles and ideals!"

The founder of the Order of the Flaming Rose and its current Grand Master. Fanatically opposed to nonhumans.

Big Bad: Of the first video game.
The Chessmaster: See Xanatos Gambit below.
The Chosen One: A letter in The Witcher 3 reveals he believed he was destined to stop the White Frost. Which makes him the Unchosen One since Ciri is the one who ultimately stops it. He had already failed at this point, however, and was trying to figure out a way to help humanity survive.
Dark Messiah: Truly believes himself to be the savior for the people of the North. Geralt soon puts a stop to that.
Evil Counterpart: To Ciri. See Foil at Alvin's sheet.
Fantastic Racism: What else do you expect from the leader of the human-supremacist group?
Freudian Excuse:
- If he is Alvin, which the game all but spells out, his hatred of elves is very likely motivated by the fact that the inhabitants of Murky Waters, the village he and Geralt were staying in, were held hostage by Toruviel's commando unit before he teleported away.
- In The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, a letter reveals he's already tried and failed to destroy the White Frost. Hence his plan in the first game. He's been driven insane by the knowledge the world is doomed due to him not being strong enough.
Karmic Death: Geralt kills him with the silver sword, which is better-suited for killing monsters.
Knight Templar: This describes the Order of the Flaming Rose in general. However, he in particular takes it to its logical extreme.
Magic Knight: The first thing we see of him is a person in plate mail throwing a fireball.
The Man Behind the Man: He is the one secretly pulling the strings behind Azar Javed and Salamandra.
Used to Be a Sweet Kid: The first game implies that he's Alvin as an adult. A letter found in a side quest in the third game confirms it.
Utopia Justifies the Means: All of his actions are meant to allow humanity to survive the White Frost.
Visionary Villain: The man has big plans for the salvation of all humanity.
We Can Rule Together: Would very much like Geralt to join him and the Order of the Flaming Rose (which makes an exception for its hatred of nonhumans regarding witchers just for him) so he can lead the exodus away from the Wolf's Blizzard.
Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: Bad childhood? Check. Being a mage of such power that drives him mad? Check. Seeing how cruel can non-humans be? Check? Trying to save the world from the White Frost but failed? Check. Trying to make his plan of exodus with people to South while crossing many lines? Check! Our villain, ladies and gentlemen!
Xanatos Gambit: Is funding his order of holy knights with money gained by selling Fisstech on the black market. This allows his knights to operate without hitting people up for money and get better PR. Then he starts rousing up the nonhumans to riot so he can cause chaos, which is designed to force King Foltest to either hand over power or look weak. In the latter case, his daughter is also cursed to be a Strigga again so Jacques can seize the throne for himself. This is all so he can become King of Temeria and lead its people in a mass exodus South when the White Frost hits so he can save them all.
Your Soul Is Mine!: After Geralt defeats him, a spectral projection of Eredin appears to claim Jacques's soul. Geralt can either let the King of the Wild Hunt take it or refuse, in which case he has to fight the King of the Wild Hunt. When Eredin questions why Geralt opposes him, given they both want de Aldersberg dead, Geralt retorts he has his own reasons for killing Jacques, and he certainly doesn't owe the King of the Wild Hunt any favours.

Siegfried of Denesle

Appears in: The Witcher | Assassins of Kings

Voiced by: Wayne Forester (English)^{additional VAs}

A knight of the Order of the Flaming Rose. He is one of Geralt's contacts in the first game. A well-meaning knight who just so happens to be terribly misguided.

Belief Makes You Stupid: Subverted if you side with the Order. He is very suspicious of his Grand Master's motives, and doesn't hesitate to fight knights that side with him. Played straight in the other paths.
Bus Crash: If you side with Order in the first game, Siegfried survives and has a minor role in the second game. However when Nilfgaard attacks the North between the second and the third game Order is said to be destroyed and made to be part of Witch hunters. In Blood and Wine it is comfirmed that Siegfried perished with the Order.
Celibate Hero: Which makes him as rare as a unicorn in this setting.
Continuity Nod: With a dash of Spin-Offspring. He is a nod to a scene from the books, where a knight tries to take on a manticore in lieu of a witcher and gets unceremoniously killed. (Geralt came along as it was trying to get to the meat.) A less heroic story than what little Siegfried was told about his father's demise.
Everyone Has Standards: If you side with the Order, it becomes clear that Siegfried and the Knights under him do not approve of the Grand Master's schemes and when Siegfried ultimately succeeds Jacques as the Grand Master, he promises to change the Order for the better.
Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Blond, noble, chaste, and a knight.
Knight Templar: A milder example.
Meaningful Name: Siegfried bears the same name as another selfless warrior of the north.
Nice Guy: While he isn't without flaws (see Took a Level in Jerkass), he's otherwise remarkably nice, given the setting.
Officer and a Gentleman: As a gallant officer of the Order.
Reasonable Authority Figure: As a frequent battler of the paranormal, he will listen to even the oddest of stories and requests from Geralt and help as best he can. Even more so when he takes over as the new Grand Master, and promises to change the Order for the better.
Took a Level in Jerkass: When siding with the Elves or even on the neutral path. He is no longer the idealist and Token Good Teammate. He becomes fanatical and xenophobic and even insults Geralt as a "nonhuman".
Virgin Power: He has taken a vow of celibacy.
Wide-Eyed Idealist / Well-Intentioned Extremist: The Order of the Flaming Rose is a xenophobic military Order of which Siegfried is an enthusiastic member. Subverted however in that Siegfried is both a Nice Guy and carries no ill will towards any race in particular.

Witch Hunters

Graden

Appears in: Wild Hunt

Voiced by: Alec Newman (English)^{additional VAs}

A witch hunter stationed in Oxenfurt who has more morals and decency than many of his compatriots. He recruits Tamara Strenger into the Church of Eternal Fire and trains her as a witch hunter.

The Mentor: To Tamara. He trains her as a witch hunter to ensure she would be prepared for the rescue mission into Crookback Bog.
Reasonable Authority Figure: While initially weary of Geralt due to believing he intends to force Tamara home, once Geralt declares he has no intention of doing so Graden becomes friendlier. Upon meeting Geralt and the Bloody Baron in Crookback Bog, Graden is more than willing to work with them to rescue Anna Strenger and notes to Tamara that her father does seem to have changed and genuinely desires to atone. He even thanks Geralt for helping them out.
Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: Instead of burning any books on black magic that they find, Graden and a few other witch hunters read them so they can be prepared for supernatural situations they might encounter. Geralt notes that the Hierarch would hardly approve, but Graden's reply indicates he could not care less what his superiors thought.
Token Good Teammate: Out of all the witch hunters Geralt meets, Graden and Tamara seem to be the only decent ones who do not share the same extremist mentality with their coworkers.
Verbal Tic: Has a small cough that shows up pretty frequently, indicating that he is not in the best health.
The Witch Hunter: He is quite good at his job too, at least when it comes to battling monstrous entities. Unlike other witch hunters, he actually thinks reading the books they are supposed to be burning is a good idea, as they will help inform him what he will be dealing with.

Tamara Strenger

Appears in: Wild Hunt

Voiced by: Laura Rogers (English)^{additional VAs}

The daughter of the Bloody Baron who ran away with her mother. She ends up joining the Eternal Fire as a Witch Hunter.

Action Girl: Tamara joins in the fight to free her mother from the Crones. The other Witch Hunters even note they don't have to train her in combat because she already knows how to fight.
Abusive Parents: From her perspective, her father was a horribly emotionally neglectful drunk. From his, he tried to give her anything she might have wanted.
Boyish Short Hair: Keeps her hair cut short. Probably a practical choice given her chosen profession.
Daddy's Girl: The Bloody Baron considers her one. She has a considerably less rosy picture of the subject.
The Fundamentalist: Subverted. Tamara is sincere in her faith by all accounts. She doesn't show any sign of being prejudiced against Geralt or magic in general, regarding her faith as comfort and protection along with duty. This is a sharp contrast to the citizenry of Novigrad. Her mentor in the faith is similarly reasonable.
Horrible Judge of Character: She declares the witch hunters to be the most honorable and good people she has ever met. While this may be true, considering her upbringing, the only witch hunter who is anything approaching a worthwhile human being is her mentor. The rest are psychotic thugs who are only different from her father's goons in that they at least pay lip service to higher ideals.
Nice Girl: Probably one of the most fundamentally decent people in the game. The poor fisherman who helped her and Anna escape from Crow's Perch did so because when Tamara had learned his son was sick, she brought food and medicine to help just because it was the right thing to do.
Real Men Love Jesus: Joins the Eternal Fire when she reaches Oxenfurt.
The Smurfette Principle: The only female witch hunter seen in the game.
Token Good Teammate: Out of all the witch hunters Geralt meets, Graden and Tamara seem to be the only decent ones who do not share the same extermest mentality with their coworkers.
Tragic Keepsake: Subverted. She throws away the doll which symbolizes the few happy memories of her father she had, feeling he was trying to bribe her affection back.
The Witch Hunter: Becomes one after she joins the Eternal Fire.

Salamandra

Azar Javed

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/azar.jpg

"Allar Zarh Bin Talla!"

Appears in: The Witcher

Voiced by: Stanley Townsend (English)^{additional VAs}

"Before I kill you, you must know... Triss Merigold is being dragged to the laboratories as we speak. Torture will follow. Everyone breaks sooner or later. It's merely a question of time. What say you, witcher? Still the indifferent tough guy?"

A powerful Zerrikanian mage and leader of the criminal organization known as Salamandra. It's his attack on Kaer Morhen and subsequent theft of the witcher's secret stash of mutagens that sets the plot of the first game in motion.

Badass Boast: Before their final battle, Javed warns Geralt that, in fighting him, the witcher has just pissed into a tornado. Vilgefortz said something very similar when fighting Geralt in the books.
Big Bad: In the first game. After his death, however, it turns out that he’s just Jacques de Aldersberg’s Dragon.
The Brute: He could run for Mr. Olympia with a physique like his.
Carpet of Virility: He clearly has lots of hair on his muscular chest.
Curb-Stomp Battle: Triss learned the hard way (albeit off-screen) how powerful he is. Also, it is a very bad idea to expose him during Chapter 2 before luring him to the Tower. He'll kill Geralt with a single blast.
Combat Pragmatist: Runs away from direct confrontation when things stop going his way, and on a number of occasions even completely avoids entering combat himself. Geralt (mistakenly) takes this to mean he's a coward with little actual fighting ability.
Disk-One Final Boss: A rather late example, but one that still qualifies. Geralt spends the bulk of the game hounding him and the organization he leads. It's only after he's defeated in the game's penultimate chapter that we learn that he was acting on the orders of Jacques de Aldersberg.
The Dragon: To Jacques.
Fetish: It apparently involves fire. Considering his violent nature, one can only imagine what that means for whatever poor woman that had the pleasure of sleeping with him...
Functional Addict: Geralt only learns about his fisstech consumption by proving Vincent's innocence. Azar himself never shows any signs of an addiction, yet he is fond of using the substance for a neigh untraceable method of gruesome murder.
Genius Bruiser: A mage with the body of a barbarian warrior. His plot to obtain Alzur's Treatise in Act II can go off without a hitch if Geralt spurns to look deeper and it takes the collection of some very obscure pieces of information to rumble his scheme to pin his crimes on other suspects.
- He's also something of an actual scientist. Those mutants you fight every so often throughout the game are his creations.
- Turns out he even went to college, although he had to flee from the school after he was caught practicing forbidden magic and killed his teacher to keep it quiet.
The Heavy: He's the most active villain in the first game and the one who Geralt is most preoccupied with.
Kill and Replace: He murders the detective who’s working with Geralt and uses his identity to make Geralt do his dirty work. It solely depends on the player if his plan works or not.
Mad Scientist: He uses the stolen mutagens to create an army of mutated soldiers for De Aldersberg.
Magic Knight: Even though Geralt (thankfully) nullifies his power in both of their fights.
Meaningful Name: His name means Eternal Fire in Persian. Considering who he works for, it's pretty clear foreshadowing.
Playing with Fire: His specialization is fire magic. Notable in that he uses it without suffering mental degradation of any kind.
Rank Scales with Asskicking: Not only is he the leader of the Salamandra, he’s also the most powerful mage and fighter in the whole organization.
Visionary Villain: Believes in and is something of an understudy of Jacques' final solution for a better future even if the means required to achieve it are utterly monstrous. His chief justification being because any other group either in or vying for power on the Continent does much the same. They're just not willing to get their hands dirty and leave underlings to commit their crimes.
Azar Javed: All is aligning with the Grand Plan. Should you demonstrate wisdom, you'd see it realised.
Geralt of Rivia: What if I refuse? Witchers are simple and sentimental.
Javed: Who are you fighting for? Foltest? A monarch with more sins on his conscience than Professor has words in his vocabulary? Foltest impregnated his own sister and let his offspring eat the city's inhabitants for years. Furthermore, during the war, he allowed Nilfgaard to plunder and torch neighboring allied kingdoms.
Geralt: Your point?
Javed: If not Foltest, then who? The Lodge of Sorceresses? You know not what those bitches do to influence postwar treaties. The resettlements, deportations, the unresolved matter of the Scoia'tael, and others...
Geralt: Your dazzling conclusion?
Javed: Salamandra is not evil. Not more than those willing to shape their own fate.
Geralt: If Salamandra is not evil incarnate, then what of Javed? Amorality, rape, murder, treason... What would you call this creature?
Javed: The future. Evolution or destiny.

The Professor

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/professor.jpg

"Your time nears its end, witchers. Enjoy things while you can!"

Appears in: The Witcher

Voiced by: Steve Perring (English)^{additional VAs}

"No doubt your life will end soon and how useless it's been! You'll die knowing you were an aberration..."

A sly assassin and Azar's right hand, participated in the raid of Kaer Morhen.

Arrow Catch: Yup Professor, witchers can parry bolts in mid-flight.
Bow and Sword in Accord: Has both a crossbow (sometimes wrist-mounted) and a sword as part of his weaponry.
Cardboard Prison: Shows off his power and influence by walking out of prison scot-free right under Geralt's nose.
Composite Character: While his name and description match a minor character from the books (see Expy below), he also shares many attributes with another, being the main lackey of a powerful sorcerer, a Smug Snake and a Dirty Coward with tendency to flee through teleports. Namely, Rience.
Cruel and Unusual Death: Gets half-devoured by a Kikimore Queen. For extra gory detail: his left leg (and a good deal of his lower torso) is ripped clean out of his arse and swallowed whole by the massive insectoid, then his screaming form is thrown with such force that every remaining bone and organ in his body is likely liquefied when he lands at Geralt's feet.
The Dragon: To Azar Javed.
Evil Sounds Deep: In the German dub.
Expy: Of Ralf Blunden, also nicknamed the Professor, from The Time of Contempt.
Fantastic Racism: Detests witchers, constantly referring to them as freaks, relics of the past etc.
Faux Affably Evil: Has a highly sophisticated choice of words, and spouts witty comments, but is little more than a sadistic slime-bag.
Four Eyes, Zero Soul: Spots a pair of smoky-shaded round spectacles. You can acquire them in the third game and wear them yourself.
Groin Attack: On the receiving end by both Triss and Shani, off-screen.
Hannibal Lecture: Tries this several times with Geralt, prompting the latter to just shut him up.
Hero Killer: Murders poor Leo during the raid of Kaer Morhen with a crossbow bolt to the gut.
Kick the Dog: Murdering Leo in front of Geralt.
Last Ditch Move: When Geralt finally corners him he tries for an underhanded shot from his wrist-mounted crossbow. When that fails he uses his last arrow to pierce an industrial alembic brimming with a reactive element. Exposure to oxygen ignites the substance and blows the floor out from under them. The fall fails to kill Geralt and, unfortunately for him, the Professor; he might find himself wishing in the last few seconds of his life that the impact with the cavern below had ended him first.
Only Known by Their Nickname: Everybody just calls him The Professor, there is no mention of his real name anywhere.
Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness: Not that much in the English dub, but in the original, mirroring Ralf Blunden from the books.
Serial Killer / Professional Killer: Is a well-known professional killer who has ended seventeen lives and is wanted for murder in Redania, Temeria and Kaedwen.
Smug Snake: Way too full of himself for his own good.

Scoia'teal

Toruviel

Toruviel aep Sihiel

"I'd gladly kill you from up close, stare in your eyes... But you reek, human."

Appears in: The Last Wish | The Time of Contempt | Baptism of Fire | Lady of the Lake | The Witcher

Voiced by: Anastasia Travers (English)^{additional VAs}

"It's at times like this, I almost believe we can end the spiral of hatred between our races."

Toruviel aep Sihiel is a free elf from Dol Blathanna and a subject of Filavandrel. After capturing Geralt and Dandelion during the events of Edge of the World she acted with cruelty towards them, to which the witcher (despite being in bonds) responded with equal cruelty. Later, after the creation of the anti-human Scoia'tael commandos under Emhyr, she joined the fight against the Northern Kingdoms, even taking part in the Battle of Brenna. Abandoned by a shattered Nilfgaard's Centre Army and fleeing the battlefield, she and her unit nearly starved to death but she received food from merciful humans, which had a profound impact on her attitude.

Action Girl: Survived both Shaerrawedd and Brenna but both times her race was further destroyed and she had to rely on the pity of both Sylvans and humans to keep her alive.
Heel–Face Revolving Door: Fantastic Racism makes her morally complex.
Hidden Depths: Breaks Dandelion's lute into splinters because she doesn't think much of human decency, let alone human artistry. But after the Queen of the Fields disapproves of their murderous intent, she gifts the bard an even better, more ornate lute that he uses throughout the first and second game.
Killed Offscreen: If you pick either the Neutral or Order path in the first game, she will die. Though the Order path has her end much more horribly by being gang-raped by White Rayla's men then lynched; the lurid description of her struggle from Rayla is more than enough to turn your stomach.
Small Role, Big Impact: See Unwitting Instigator of Doom. She doesn't have a big role in it, but if not for her, the plot of the first game might very well have never happened.
Unwitting Instigator of Doom: By taking the Murky Waters villagers hostage, she insights the racism in elves that Alvin would harbor all the way to adulthood. Not only that, but the incident frightens the boy so much that it causes him to teleport out of the present, split off from Geralt, and through a Stable Time Loop, form the Order of the Flaming Rose, which would go on to wage war against the Scoia'tael and put Toruviel into the situation where she would have to take hostages in Murky Waters to save her unit. Damn!
Would Hurt a Child: In order to deter Rayla's Special Forces extermination squad, she takes the village of Murky Waters hostage and threatens to kill the peasants' children unless she and her unit are allowed free passage.

Yaevinn

Lieutenant Colonel Yaevinn

Appears in: The Time of Contempt | Lady of the Lake | The Witcher

Voiced by: Jay Simon (English)^{additional VAs}

A lieutenant in Toruviel's Scoia'tael commando. He eventually came to control his own unit in the swamps west of Vizima. He has more of a penchant for flowery words and metaphors than even most elves, perhaps rivalling Dandelion alone in his prose. Yaevinn participated in the second war with Nilfgaard. During the Battle of Brenna, he was Lieutenant Colonel of the Deithwen division and participated in numerous war crimes.

Break the Cutie: According to him, he once tried to live peacefully among humans. The humans would have none of that and made his life miserable. He eventually got fed up with human ignorance and decided to rebel.
Cultured Badass: A cultured warrior poet.
Fantastic Racism: As an example, Druids are convinced most of the Scoia'tael have become indistinguishable from their oppressors.
Jerkass: He likes to Kick the Dog. Although the game shows that there is a heart of gold hidden somewhere.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: In the game, either when siding with him (when he seems to consider Geralt to be his friend) or on neutral path, when he can be convinced there is enough violence already and that he became no better than humans he fought against (he will agree, leave civilians alone and will start to think about more peaceful ways of achieving his purpose).
Kick the Dog: Twice in the novels:
- Killing an unarmed messenger despite Toruviel's warnings that doing so would only draw unwanted attention.
- Attempting to kill the wounded at a Northern field hospital during the Battle of Brenna. He only hesitated upon seeing that the wounded being treated within belonged to both sides of the battle and were being treated equally by the medics.
Pay Evil unto Evil: His philosophy.
Warrior Poet: Which contrasts with his often cruel deeds.

Iorveth

"King or beggar what's the difference? One d'hoine less."

Appears in: Assassins of Kings

Voiced by: Mark Frost (English)^{additional VAs}

"Yet race is the very reason we fight. We have pointed ears, yours are rounded. We are few yet long lived, your kind multiplies like vermin - though thankfully expires quickly."

An infamous elven terrorist, with a burning hatred of humans. Pushed to the fringes of society by the slow death of their race, he and his unit are responsible for the razing of many human villages and countless civilian deaths. He was the commander of the last Scoia'tael commando squad to be broken during the second war with Nilfgaard. One of the elves under his command was Echel Traighlethan who was captured by the Redanian Secret Service and brought to Drakenborg to be hanged. During the armistice, he was one of the only two who survived the massacre of the Vrihedd Brigade at the Ravine of the Hydra, following the peace of Cintra. His survival left him hideously scarred and near death but he resurfaced years later as the leader of an unrivalled Scoia'tael band that won guerilla warfare victories all over the Northern Kingdoms. From the dense forests surrounding the trading post of Flotsam, he aided the Kingslayer with his resources; until he gained the attention of Vernon Roche...

A Lighter Shade of Gray: In spite of his dreaded reputation and his collaboration with Foltest's assassination, he is actually one of the more progressive members of the Scoia'tael, especially in contrast to the books. He hates humans in general, but is very strict on the position of attacking unarmed humans within the newly reformed Pontar Valley. He is willing to fight alongside and let the humans stay in the Pontar Valley, so long as they treat non-humans with equal rights.
Ascended Extra: His name is dropped a few times in the books, but it's not until the second game that he finally makes a physical appearance.
Back-to-Back Badasses: With Geralt on Chapter 1.
Big Damn Hero: If Geralt holds the walls of Vergen and gives him the time to gather reinforcements while he makes the cure for Saskia, he will return at the defenders' darkest hour with countless gathered units and rain arrows on Henselt's bottled-up army until the king is forced to surrender.
Bodyguard Crush: Implied with Saskia. "Bodyguard" is a little bit of a stretch, though. He's closer to being an agent.
Bodyguarding a Badass: Saskia can kick plenty of ass, but that doesn't stop Iorveth using his skills to defend her.
Cultured Badass: Plays a flute and recites poetry.
Dark and Troubled Past: Alluded to on several occasions (the Hydra Valley), though it's kinda in the job description.
Defrosting Ice Queen: Iorveth mellows out a lot throughout the second game, at least towards Geralt. Once they meet again after Geralt defeats the dragon, the usually grumpy Iorveth greets his friend with a friendly pat on the shoulder and a smile (arguably the first time he smiled genuinely in the entire game).
Escape Artist: He got out of every trap the Temerian special forces (and Roche personally) set for him.
Expy: Even though based on a rarely-mentioned character from the books, he looks and acts a lot like Isengrim Faoiltiarna, another prominent Scoia'tael.
Eye Patch Of Power: His standard headgear consists of a headwrap that lowers down over his right eye, though you can notably talk to him without it during chapter 2 and see that there is no right eye in his head.
Eye Scream: Someone took a knife to him and left a massive curving red scar from the corner of his lip to his eye. They didn't leave him the eye itself, though.
Fantastic Racism: He's an elf and he does little to hide his hatred again humans.
Fighting for a Homeland: That's what he made Scoia'tael do, instead of just fighting, period.
Genre Savvy: Issues several references to The Lord of the Rings.
Good Scars, Evil Scars: Being as the entire right side of his face is a stretch of scar tissue with an empty eye socket, they look like evil scars, but he is more along the lines of morally ambiguous.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Iorveth is not the most approachable individual, acting very mistrustful and hostile to anyone outside of his Scoia'tael unit. He is also very vocal about his prejudice towards humans on top of being a ruthless, remorseless killer. However, he cares deeply about the elves under his command and, compared to someone like Yaevinn from the first game (who wants to flat out overthrow the humans), he has a much more reasonable and grounded goal: he simply wants a place where elves can live in peace, far away from the discrimination that non-humans have to face in places populated by humans. Also, for all his prejudice, he's fair: when Geralt accuses one of his best swordsmen, a young elf named Ele'yas, of murdering innocent humans on Vergen, Iorveth demands proof. Should Geralt find it, Iorveth will seek out Ele'yas to punish him personally.
Man in a Kilt: He wears a kilt.
Master Archer: He's a brilliant archer. He's no slouch with knives or sword, either, defeating the relentless Blue Stripes Commander in single combat if he's given his weapon by Geralt.
Mr. Fanservice: Tall, dark and elf-y - if you can get past the facial scarring.
Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: While it might be a stretch to call him a hero, Iorveth nonetheless played a part in the weakening of the North by helping Letho assassinate a king, heralding Nilfgaard's invasion and rendering everything he set out to accomplish in the second game moot.
Noble Bigot: He's openly racist against humans, but he'll still make sure they're given fair justice, and he's willing to create a country where humans, elves, and dwarves can live side by side in peace.
Older Than They Look: Comes with being an elf.
Sarcastic Clapping: When mocking Geralt.
The Friend Nobody Likes: The townies of Vergen have this attitude towards him and the Scoia'tael. The only reason they're allowed anywhere near is because they're crack archers volunteering for the cause and there's an enemy army looming over them.
The Power of Friendship: To Geralt: "You're the most honorable human I know." Geralt responds by pointing out he's not human, which is one of the very few times you'll hear Iorveth laugh, and snarkily act grateful for the reminder because "My hatred for the species abated for a moment."
The Rival: To Vernon Roche. While a murderous rivalry, it's not entirely based on hatred as they both respect each other as enemies. Iorveth also doesn't seem to mind the idea of being killed by Roche when they duel in the forest. This doesn't stop them from trying to insult or kill each other every chance they get, mind.
Well-Intentioned Extremist: Sees himself as Necessarily Evil, though how much so is up for debate until he starts helping Saskia.
What Happened to the Mouse?: Iorveth just disappears after the second game. The only thing you hear about him in Wild Hunt are conflicting and unconfirmed rumors that can't agree where he currently is or if he's still alive. Though he get's a little more of a closure in the comic Matters of Conscience, released alongside the first DLC of the third game.
- Word of God says he was supposed to show up in Wild Hunt, but the quest he was involved in had to be cut.

Isengrim Faoiltiarna

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/isengrimm.jpg

Appears in: Baptism of Fire | Lady of the Lake

A former prominent leader amongst the Scoia'tael and a key player during the Thanedd coup. During the second Nilfgaardian invasion, he fought alongside the Black Ones, only to be turned over by them as a scapegoat after the battle was lost. He escaped his execution and then fled the country alongside Sigismund Dijkstra and Boreas Mun, fugitives for their own reasons.

Decomposite Character: An interesting example, as most of his attributes are transferred upon Iorveth in the games, who was mentioned in the novels, but not described in detail.
Fantastic Racism: As expected by a Scoia'tael leader, though he is far from being the most extreme example.
Gratuitous Foreign Language: Isegrim is a poetic German term for "wolf"; faoiltiarna is slightly broken Irish for "wolf lord".
Nightmare Face: His face is horribly mutilated as a result of his quarrels with humans.
Putting on the Reich: A non-traditional example: His division, the Vrihedd brigade, has an emblem consisting of 3 silver lightning bolts, resembling the Schutzstaffel.
Red Baron: He is called the Iron Wolf.
The Unfought: For Geralt. He was one of the leading aggressors during the Thanedd coup and ordered to kidnap Ciri, though it didn't come to that and Geralt and him never met face to face.
Well-Intentioned Extremist: Fights for the freedom of his people.
You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: On the receiving end by Nilfgaard after the war is lost.

Spies and Criminals

The Rats

The Rats: Asse, Giselher, Iskra, Kayleigh, Mistle, and Reef

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/20_11_2015_i7zd_375068.jpg

Appears in: The Time of Contempt | Baptism of Fire | Tower of the Swallow

A group of highwaymen that takes Ciri in, who, captured by local authorities after her jump through the portal at Tor Lara, found herself imprisoned together with one of them and helped with the escape. Separated from her friends and stranded in a foreign land, she finds company among them.

The Ace: What they think they are. In reality, they are a gang of arrogant youths whose successes have gone to their heads and believe themselves invincible. They do not take Hotspurn's warning seriously and are ultimately slaughtered by Leo Bonhart.
Asshole Victim: They all become this to Leo Bonhart after picking a fight with him they clearly can't win. Ciri is the only one who truly mourns them.
Birds of a Feather: The group had already banded together in three separate pairs before they all stumbled upon each other one night during the holiday of Lammas. The narration describes how all of them had been beings "created by the time of contempt" and that was what drew them together. They later accept Ciri among their ranks, rightfully suspecting that she's been through similar trauma.
Blood Knight: They don't kill for something as mundane as survival. They kill because they enjoy it.
Dangerous Deserter: Gishelher deserted from the Nilfgaard army after getting flogged and very quickly fell in with a gang. He went on to become the leader of the Rats. Reef as well, although he technically didn't desert, but was Left for Dead by the band of Nilfgaardian marauders that he was a member of.
Equal-Opportunity Evil: Say what you want about them as a group of thieves and killers, but they're not prejudiced in whom they accept as a member of their True Companions. Species, nationality, gender and sexual orientation, none of it makes a difference to them.
Even Evil Has Standards: Giselher assures two noblewomen his group is robbing that they don't fight or harm women. Ironic, considering three of his comrades are women.
Everybody's Dead, Dave: Every single one of them is killed by Leo Bonhart, with the exception of their newest member, Ciri.
Freudian Excuse: All of them have a tragic past that set them on the road to thievery. The text even describes them as beings "created by the time of contempt."
Handsome Lech: Kayleigh is described as handsome, but he has a dark look in his eyes and makes creepy advances on women. Not only does he try to take sexual advantage of Ciri, he also hits on a young girl his band's robbing.
Honor Before Reason: An ally of the group, Hotspurn, warns them that Bonhart is hunting for them and is close by. Despite knowing Bonhart's reputation, when Hotspurn mentions how he dispatched a more impressive gang than them, the Rats are insulted and decide to confront Bonhart directly to prove they're the toughest gang around. To say this would be a mistake would be to put it mildly. Ciri's figures out too late that Hotspurn deliberately did this to arrange their fight with Bonhart.
Hypocrite: Mistle scares off Kayleigh, who attempted to force himself on an emotionally drained Ciri... only to then do so herself. Also, see Hired Guns below.
The Highwayman: The group robs and occasionally kills merchants and travelers. As a whole, the group are not a romanticized example of the trope, since the books make it quite clear that, even if they're True Companions, they're still a murderous, greedy band of youths with serious psychological issues. In-universe, however, some of the peasantry view them romantically due to the Rats' habit of giving away whatever spare loot they have on them, but even that is depicted more like the Rats basking in the praise they get rather than any genuine altruism.
Hired Guns: Ciri is slightly disheartened to find out, despite the Rats' claims of living for themselves and freedom, they occasionally carry out robberies and assassinations for the Guild of Merchants.
Interspecies Romance: Giselher, a human, is romantically involved with Iskra, an elf.
Just Like Robin Hood: When you are a robber, there is only so much to do with the cash. After having wasted enough on luxuries, you may as well give some away.
Karmic Death: After spending the last book terrorizing people (often for no good reason) and picking a fight with someone they knew was Eviler than Thou, they get wiped out. Add in what Mistle did to Ciri, and it's no wonder they go unmourned (with the exception of Ciri).
Last-Second Chance: Hotspurn warns The Rats they've drawn so much attention to themselves that they're now being hunted by an extremely competent and deadly bounty hunter. He then explains that all the Rats need to do to ensure their survival is lie low and wait for Emperor Emhyr's blanket pardon following his wedding. They refuse, choosing to go after the bounty hunter instead. All of them except for Ciri die as a result.
The Leader: Giselher is the leader of the group.
Left for Dead: Reef was a Nilfgaardian soldier who was wounded and abandoned by his comrades.
A Lighter Shade of Black: The Rats are highwaymen who rob and kill because they enjoy it. However, everyone in the group has a traumatic past, they truly do love and care about each other, they took in Ciri when she was alone, and they even give away some of their loot to poor villagers, albeit for good publicity rather than out of altruism. As a whole, the Rats are saints compared to Leo Bonhart, the bounty hunter pursuing them, and their collective death at his hands is portrayed with some sympathy.
Lovable Rogue: Subverted. They have this reputation among some peasants and it's how they view themselves. In reality, however, they have very few redeeming qualities.
Mauve Shirt: They are given enough characterization and description for reader to start care about them, even evoke some sense of sympathy, only to be then brutally killed by Bonhart.
Meaningful Name: "Iskra" is Polish word for "spark", fitting her temper.
Moral Myopia: The Rats view themselves as Lovable Rogues with a Scoundrel Code and therefore different from all the other murderous gangs terrorizing the local populace when they aren't. When Hotspurn warns them they've made a powerful enemy after robbing a nobleman's daughter, The Rats ignore the mental trauma they put her through and see this as No Good Deed Goes Unpunished because they didn't rape her.
Mysterious Past: Iskra was abandoned by her elven mates for mysterious reasons.
Odd Friendship: All of them really, but a standout is Reef and Kayleigh, considering the former was a soldier who participated in a massacre that the latter was a survivor of. When Reef's comrades left him for dead, Kayleigh healed him instead of finishing him off.
Off with His Head!: After killing them, Leo Bonhart saws off their heads so he can collect the bounties on them. He forces Ciri to watch.
Outlaw Couple: Mistle forms one with Ciri, and Giselher with Iskra.
Pay Evil unto Evil:
- The Rats are introduced wiping out the Nissirs, a mercenary gang infamous for raping and pillaging — not for moral reasons, but because the Nissirs captured a comrade of theirs for the bounty. They also kill the Trappers, a similar gang of ruffians who captured Ciri, while they're at it — again, not out of heroism, but merely because they were in the way.
- Later on, the group's on the receiving end of this when they're slaughtered by Leo Bonhart, who's far more evil than they are, but is only interested in the bounties on their heads.
Perpetual Frowner: Both Giselher and Kayleigh are described as having faces twisted in a permanent grimace.
Pragmatic Villainy: When Ciri kills off a criminal from a rival gang for insulting her sexuality, Giselher pays them blood money to make them square rather than risk a feud.
Ragtag Bunch of Misfits: They came from all parts of society — soldiers of opposing armies, peasants, nobles, even an elven exile.
Rape and Switch: Mistle, in her backstory, after she was raped and left for dead by bandits.
Riches to Rags: Mistle came from a wealthy, noble family in Thurn but was forced to flee because of the rebellion there. After being kidnapped and raped by bandits, she's become a bandit herself.
Scoundrel Code: Deconstructed. Although they do operate by a set a rules, all this really means is that they've found a way to justify their actions while deluding themselves into believing they have the moral high ground when compared to other gangs.
Sole Survivor: Mistle was the only female from her old group that survived being raped and then left in a ditch by bandits.
- Ciri is the only member of The Rats who survives the encounter with Leo Bonhart.
Tattooed Crook: At one point the gang holds a tattoo artist captive and so several of them can force him to give them cool tattoos. An ally of theirs points out that they're just giving themselves more identifying marks by doing so.
True Companions: Cruel as they are, they are nevertheless a tight-knit group of outcasts who surprise the authorities by being one of the few criminal bands whose members stay together and never betray one another.
The Unpronounceable: Aenyeweddien is quite a mouthful and proven too much for Giselher, so now she goes under Iskra - "Spark". Considering her real name means "Child of Fire", it also qualifies as a Meaningful Rename.
Villain with Good Publicity: They're popular with some peasants due to their habit of giving away some of their spoils. Their distinctive, flashy clothing have also become extremely fashionable with the wealthy youth in Thurn. Mistle's haircut is even popular among girls in Thurn.

Codhringer (and Fenn)

Codhringer and Jacob Fenn

Appears in: The Time of Contempt

A legal adviser and detective of renown. At a price, he can find out any secret — or conversely, befuddle any investigation, remove incriminating evidence, or arrange for any person to disappear. Geralt hires him to perform research on Ciri's heritage and find out who is after her.

Amoral Attorney: While everyone knows he runs a private eye agency, Codhringer is also a trained attorney and actively uses his knowledge in law for all sorts of shady deals. In fact, the agency is officially registered as a law firm.
Brains and Brawn: Downplayed. Codhringer doesn't exactly engage in any physical activity nor is some sort of Dumb Muscle, but he still provides front for the firm and his malformed partner. Fenn plays his part straight, being wheelchair-bound "research department".
Character Death: They are both brutally killed by Schirrú and Nazarian in The Time of Contempt.
Deadpan Snarker: Codhringer could give Raymond Chandler a run for the money when pulling the hard-boiled detective snark.
Genius Cripple: Fenn, who does actually exist. He's a legless midget who does most of their book research.
Go-to Alias: Codhringer often goes as Mikael Glomb. It might or might not be a Punny Name, since it sounds almost like "głąb" in Polish - a blockhead.
Gutted Like a Fish: How Schirrú kills Codhringer.
He Knows Too Much: Both of them are killed for digging into Rience's past at Geralt's request.
Incurable Cough of Death: Codhringer's cough is implied to be killing him.
Invented Individual: In a form of a Running Gag, everyone keeps talking how Codhringer just invented Fenn to fake a partnership and thus qualify for tax exemption. Geralt is surprised when he finally meets Fenn.
Knowledge Broker: Fenn is this for his partner, who in turn works as "world-renowned investigator", providing informations for those willing to pay his rates.
Private Detective: Codhringer often plays this role. Presumably, he hires or bribes other people rather than do the legwork on his own, but then he and Fenn still put the pieces together on their own.
Right-Hand Cat: Codhringer has a pet black-and-white tomcat.
Secretly Wealthy: Upon one of his visits in the office, Geralt notes that for someone unfamiliar with how much the equipment stored there is worth, Codhringer must appear to be some sort of pauper, as he doesn't display his wealth in any way. All while one of his looking glasses is worth more than a small village.

Boreas Mun

Appears in: Tower of the Swallow | Lady of the Lake

A tracker out of Fort Rocayne hired by Stefan Skellen to hunt for Ciri. Despite the company he finds himself in, he's not really that bad of a person.

Affably Evil: Mun's a fairly pleasant individual who's not really malicious in any way. He doesn't hold a grudge against Ciri for what happened on Tarn Mira, and even seems sorry for her when she willingly turns herself in at Stygga Castle. When Geralt spares his life during the assault on Stygga castle, Mun repays him by giving him directions on where Ciri's being held.
Everyone Has Standards: Even though Ciri cut down his friends on Tarn Mira, Mun stays in the courtyard because he doesn't want to see or hear any of what Vilgefortz plans on doing to Ciri.
Just Following Orders: The reason he doesn't desert in Tower of the Swallow is because he has his orders and it's his job to stick to them. In Lady of the Lake, he finally decides he doesn't have to just follow orders and bails on his employer.
Only in It for the Money: And after certain point not even that can silence his consciousness.
Punch-Clock Villain: Mun never really does anything terrible even when he's working alongside psychos like Vilgefortz, Bonhart, and Rience. He's just a guy doing his job, and finds himself disturbed by the company he keeps.
Run for the Border: He's last seen teaming up with fellow fugitives Sigismund Dijkstra and Isengrim Faolitiarna to escape from the Northern Kingdoms.
Scarily Competent Tracker: Mun is reported to be such a good tracker that he can "track fish through water." It's why he's hired by Skellen.
Screw This, I'm Out of Here!: During Geralt and company's assault on Stygga Castle, Mun tells Stefan Skellen that he's going to get some crossbows only to use the opportunity to bolt on horseback. It ends up saving his life.
Token Good Teammate: He and "Kenna" Selborne are the only people in Skellen's group that aren't stone-cold killers for hire or outright psychos. Mun shows consciousness over all the evil acts and clearly resents working for those people, but he simply needs the money they pay. Eventually he simply can't stomach any more his employer and "coworkers" and bails on them.

Ofir

A kingdom to the south of Nilfgaard that, outside of trade, rarely has much contact with the Northern Kingdoms of the continent. It is currently ruled by Maliq Nibras, who is seeking to establish new connections with other nations.

Aamad

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/aamd_tw3.jpg

Appears in: Hearts of Stone

The Most Gracious Crown Mage of the court of Malliq Nibras of Ofir. Aamad was sent by Nibras to Oxenfurt to find and cure his son of a terrible curse that turned him into a monstrous man-eating frog. He arrived just in time to see Geralt of Rivia slay the beast, and he captured the Witcher in order to bring him back to the King and face punishment for regicide.

Bald of Evil: His goal may have been to rescue his prince, but Aamad's tactics show a clear disregard for anyone who might hinder him in the slightest while punishing all the wrong people for the incident, as he seemingly does not care about investigating any further.
Blow You Away: He is a wind mage and uses multiple wind based attacks against Geralt.
Collateral Damage: His powerful wind spells can in fact kill his fellow Ofieri guards during his fight with Geralt if the player maneuvers correctly. Considering how much of a Jerkass he shows himself to be, this might be a intentional case of being a Bad Boss
Jerkass: Despite Geralt having no way to know the Frog Prince story was true and not deserving to face punishment for regicide, Aamad throws him in chains to bring back to Ofir for execution anyway. He also decides to bring the local guide he hired back to Ofir to face punishment and trial for failing to get them to the prince in time.
Magic Staff: Wields one during his duel against Geralt.
Minor Major Character: He is one of the most powerful people in Ofir, yet in Geralt's story he is but a minor footnote, albeit quite the dangerous one.
Outside-Context Problem: The last thing Geralt was expecting when dealing with a giant toad was for it to turn out to be an actual prince and being arrested by a powerful court mage for regicide.
Sadist: Geralt might be guilty of regicide, but it was 100% accidental and and unknowing case. Therefore, Aamad didn't need to sound as gleeful as he did about Geralt potentially facing a Cruel and Unusual Death for his "crime". He even admits to outright wanting to see the spectacle himself.
Squishy Wizard: He can melt Geralt's HP like butter with his wind attacks even on Story, but he's just about as durable as the average human enemies.

Supernatural

Gaunter O'Dimm, Master Mirror

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

"Shani, darling... would you ask an eagle how it knows how to fly?"

Appears in: Wild Hunt

Voiced by: Alex Norton (English)^{additional VAs}

"I'm no cheat. I give folk what they want, nothing more. That they oft desire unworthy things - that is entirely the fault of their own rotten natures."

A "traveling merchant", who offers his help to Geralt in exchange for the witcher doing a job for him. In reality, Gaunter is some kind of magical creature who comes to collect when the witcher crosses paths with Olgierd, and is the main ally NPC of the Hearts of Stone questline.

Actually Pretty Funny: If you help him claim Olgierd's soul and asks for 'a bottle of alcohol that's never empty', he will chuckle while remarking "now that's a wish I can understand", and grants you the Bottomless Carafe.
Affably Evil: Gaunter tends to switch between this and Faux Affably Evil but in general tends to be fairly benign or at least neutral towards normal people he hasn't set his sights on, or who haven't offended him in any way. Just make sure you're not in those categories, other wise...
Almighty Janitor: He presents himself as "a mangy vagrant" and a traveling merchant, but is the most powerful being ever to appear in the series, surpassing even Ciri's Elder Blood.
Anthropomorphic Personification: Perhaps the closest we ever get to a substantial theory of his true nature is that he's, somehow, an interactive avatar of the very concept of "Evil" itself. It also suggests that he may've visited our own world at times in the past, and that he gave birth to Earth legends of the Devil.
Arc Villain: He's the main antagonist of the Hearts of Stone expansion.
As Long as There Is Evil: Gaunter O'Dimm can be beaten in specific cases and made to go away. However, as the anthropomorphic personification of evil, he can't be permanently defeated so long as there are conscious minds in the multiverse capable of free will and the choice to be evil. He points this out to Geralt (in three foreign languages) after being beaten and (seemingly) leaving him alone for the time being.
At the Crossroads: Apparently, a deal has to be made with him at crossroads.
Beat Them at Their Own Game: The only way to nullify a deal made with him is to defeat him in a duel of wits with your soul at stake.
Be Careful What You Wish For: His modus operandi is to tempt his victims with a wish that will seemingly solve all their problems, then burden said wish with ironic twists and catches. He demands such a high price (the wisher's soul) that they invariably regret ever meeting him.
Benevolent Genie: May be part Pragmatic Villainy considering he appreciates Geralt's value, but if Geralt sides with him in collecting Olgierd's soul, he offers Geralt a proper reward with no strings attached, despite the sheer potential of twist and abuse in Geralt's wish.^Examples In fact, when Geralt asks him to tell where Ciri is, he outright admits he can't help Geralt directly, but will offer very sage advices to save Ciri's life.
Berserk Button: Gaunter is very polite and charming in most situations, but absolutely hates it when people are rude to him and will often respond excessively - See Disproportionate Retribution below.
Black Speech: When Geralt finally defeats him, he shouts at him in a mixture of languages (Antillean Creole French, Georgian and Ossetian) in a deep and forboding, demonic-sounding tone before disappearing. The rough translation of what he says is:
O'Dimm: "You are a rooster, and on a pile of shit the rooster is king. You think you've defeated me but you are wrong. I can't be killed, I will be back."
Blood Magic: Making a pact with him involves a blood offering.
Blue-and-Orange Morality: Gaunter is capable of some pretty horrible stuff and he does take sadistic glee in toying with people, but in spite of being called evil incarnate he's relatively toned down compared to what he's supposed to represent, and he is very insistent about his status as someone who never lies or cheats. At various points in the game, he can be found cursing nobles for their rude treatment of him, giving housewives cooking tips, driving overly-inquisitive researchers to madness, and giving Geralt advice for how to cheer up a depressed ex-girlfriend. Much like his nickname implies, his behavior tends to reflect the moral values of the people he deals with; people who are rude or make selfish wishes tend to meet unfortunate ends, whereas people who are polite and fulfill their obligations come out fine, and may even receive some valuable advice.
- Tellingly, he acknowledges traditional moral values in others (correctly describing Olgierd as "a degenerate monster" for all the things he's done in his immortal pursuit of thrills), but never addresses the morality of his own actions in great depth.
Can't Kill You, Still Need You: The main reason he's willing to tolerate Geralt being obstinate, and the reason he refuses to explain his true nature to him. He needs Geralt alive to complete his mission, and even after Geralt (possibly) succeeds, O'Dimm is so impressed that he leaves Geralt alone because his services would be useful again in the future.
Chekhov's Gunman: He first appears in the game's prologue, has an odd conversation with Geralt, and gives him a lead on Yennefer's location. He returns as a major character in the Hearts of Stone expansion.
Chess with Death: CCG with Death, rather. When Geralt offers to play against him for Olgierd's soul with Geralt's own at stake, he sarcastically asks if they should play it over a game of Gwent.
Color Motifs: On many occasions, but in particular when he first approaches Geralt on the Ofieri ship, O'Dimm is awash in orange-red lighting, making his skin look reddened and providing visual reference of his evil.
Deal with the Devil: His actual business.
Disproportionate Retribution: Sticks a spoon through a drunk's eye, killing him, for merely interrupting him.
- When his first request for Vlodimir's ghost to stop possessing Geralt's body is ignored, he forces the ghost out and torments it until it agrees to return to its eternal rest.
The Dreaded: One of his many names is Evil Incarnate.
Early-Bird Cameo: Geralt first meets him in a tavern early in the main game, where he provides some advice about where to look for Yennefer.
Evil Is Petty: While showing off his time freezing powers, he takes the opportunity to put a fly in a man's soup. See also Disproportionate Retribution above.
Eye Scream: At the Alchemist, some rowdy drunk had the misfortune to disrupt his meeting with Geralt and gets a spoon in the eye.
Evil Sounds Deep: Not normally, but he can do a very menacing growl to emphasise that he's not one to be messed with. See also Black Speech above.
Exact Words: He adores tricking people by way of ambiguous wording that can be interpreted however suits him. For example, his contract with Olgierd said that it could only be collected when he and Olgierd "stand together on the Moon." Naturally, Olgierd thinks this makes him quite safe. Until he finds himself standing with O'Dimm on a mosaic of the moon, which counts for the contract. Another of his contracts mentions the condition "when the sun rises over Rivia under the dark of the night". And then Rivia is conquered by Nilfgaard, whose symbol is a sun.
Faux Affably Evil: More often than not presents himself as a jolly fellow, discussing recipes with old women and even giving Geralt helpful advice on several occasions. That being said, he can turn cruel and ruthless when he is even mildly annoyed.
The Fair Folk: While his species is never explicitly revealed (he's believed to be a demon), he shares several traits of traditional fairies such as aiding mortals with contracts riddled with fine print. Whether he's totally evil or simply has different values is ambiguous, but he can be genuinely helpful. If you beat Hearts of Stone before the main quest he won't be able help you find Ciri, but he'll tell you everything you need to do in order to save her.
Fair-Play Villain: While he will make it difficult for you, the man himself claims he never cheats, and it shows. If Geralt decides to help Olgierd nullify his pact, there are oh so many ways Gaunter could make the game actually Unwinnable, but he never did so. And he always, always stays true to the letter of his contracts, if not spirit.
Go Mad from the Revelation: When Geralt asks O'Dimm what his true name is, O'Dimm warns him that everybody who has found out what it was is now dead or worse. In addition, one scholar who had been studying O'Dimm's true nature became blind from reading forbidden texts, then became convinced he would die upon leaving his protective wards. He is absolutely right about the latter.
Graceful Loser: Upon being found and banished, while he curses Geralt in Black Speech, he begrudgingly claps in congratulation for Geralt doing it and accepts defeat.
Grand Staircase Entrance: At the finale of the DLC, he made his entrance this way... except that there's no staircase, and he's stepping down from the sky.
Greater-Scope Villain: In the GWENT: Master Mirror expansion trailer, he implies that he had a hand in the Usurper's rise and the cursing of Duny. That is to say, the cursing of the identity of Emhyr when he was in forced self-exile because of his hedgehog curse, before he reclaimed his family's throne from the Usurper, and when he met Ciri's mother. Meaning he had an indirect hand in Ciri's birth and the continuation of the Elder Bloodline. To put it simply, the chain of events that would kickstart the entire plotline of The Witcher series began with him whispering in someone's ear.
Humanoid Abomination: He may look human, but he's not.
Humans Are the Real Monsters: Gaunter seems to imply this when he explains that he never cheats and always gives people what they ask for (though not what they actually want) and that it's their fault for wanting such unworthy things. While he takes sadistic pleasure in the misery of those he contracts with, he is correct that sacrificing a relative for the wealth needed to marry a rich lover isn't something done by the morally upstanding. To his mind, everyone who seeks him out and chooses to make a deal with him deserves whatever they get.
Hypocrite: For all his judgments and remarks about human cruelty and pettiness, and claim that he is merely a mirror for others' morality, he is actively unrepentantly cruel and petty himself, visibly taking sadistic pleasure from it as well, with a penchant for Disproportionate Retribution. Two of many such examples being his blinding, terrorizing, imprisoning, cursing and eventual murder of Professor Shakeslock merely for trying to investigate him and learn his true name, along with cursing Marlene de Trastamara to a Fate Worse than Death as a spotted wight just for being rude and turning him away from her home, with him being the one instigating their fates, which have nothing to do with willingly making a deal with him as those like Olgierd have. And even in the case of said deals, he actively preys on desperate, troubled people and encourages them into making the dirty deals, to the point it's possible the bad circumstances that lead them into making the deals may even be his doing.
Iconic Item: He has a thing for spoons. He snaps a wooden spoon to mark his pact with Geralt. He kills a man who interrupted him by stabbing him in the eye with a spoon. He also snapped a spoon to curse a noble in Toussaint and made not using spoons a condition to break the curse. He also makes allusions to cooking, both gingerbread and yes, soup.
- This may be a subtle allusion to his true nature: An old proverb runs, "He who sups with the Devil should have a long spoon".
I Have Many Names: Different cultures have different names for him. In-game, he's known as Master Mirror, the Man of Glass, and Evil Incarnate.
Inexplicably Awesome: O'Dimm demonstrates power above and beyond any other character in the setting, and he loves to show it off. Where he came from, and how he got so powerful, is never explained other than to say he is Made of Evil.
Jerkass Genie: His wish fulfillment always comes with a twist. By default, he makes sure the wish comes true in a way that doesn't give you what you want, as Olgierd found out.
Karma Houdini: If Geralt allows O'Dimm to collect on his deal with Olgierd, then he claims Olgierd's soul and goes on his merry way.
Kick the Dog: His incredibly mean-spirited treatment of Vlodimir, from "The Reason You Suck" Speech he dumps on the ghost to the way he cruelly tortures and banishes him once his time is up. He also kills a random peasant in the Alchemist for interrupting him by putting a spoon handle through his eye while time is stopped.
Leitmotif: He has his own musical theme. Notably, it plays during Blood and Wine as Geralt recounts the origin of Marlene's curse, further indicating who cursed her.
Louis Cypher: Inverted. Despite being a Satanic Archetype, his initials spell "God" as mentioned in Meaningful Name below.
Make an Example of Them: In Blood and Wine, his influence is still felt. He once appeared at a certain Toussaint noble lady's feast as a beggar pleading for food. The custom in Toussaint is to allow travellers and beggars hospitality. The noble lady, a beautiful woman, ignored the custom and refused O'Dimm any food. His reply was a curse: "None shall sit and dine with you at your table, no spoon you have shall sate you, never again shall you wish to spy your reflection in the mirror". The woman was turned into a hideous and violent wight that collected spoons, desperately hoping one would allow her to eat, to no avail. She abducted people and tried to make them eat with her, but all ended up dead in one way or another, and she smashed all the mirrors in her manor. Her family was forced to flee and her home fell to ruin. Her curse can be lifted if Geralt deduces how; otherwise he can only cut her down.
Meaningful Background Event: He actually appears through most of "Heart of Stone", lurking in the background (Sometimes under disguise) to keep tabs on Geralt. CD Projekt Red actually ran a contest to have people find all his appearances, and no one could find all of them, so the winner was chosen from those "close enough". Examples include:
- He's disguised as one of the guards that answer the alarm during the DLC's heist mission.◊
- He's at the auction Geralt attends earlier in the same quest◊.
- He's in the background when Geralt meets the mercenary posting Olgierd's notice at the Seven Cat Inn◊.
Meaningful Name: He's the world's version of Satan, and he has godlike power. That said, his initials spell G.O.D..
- His name is also derived from 'gaunt' meaning grim-looking, and 'dim', a synonym for dark. "O'" in names is usually short for 'of', so Gaunter O'Dimm is a grim-looking thing of darkness.
Mundane Wish: If you ask him to make you rich as a reward, he'll remark what a 'banal' wish it is, but grants it regardless. And let's face it, cold hard coin is downright mundane when compared to impossible items such as neverending flask of alcohol or cornucopia.
Neverending Terror: This is a favorite tactic of him, the closest analogue the series has to the Devil. Gaunter thrives on misery, so his deals are carefully constructed so that they cause as much torment for the person who made it as possible, until they're desperately searching for a way to end or reverse their deal, only to learn that there's no way they can. The best they can do is make the stipulations for collecting their soul so convoluted, and to actively avoid the Exact Words of the agreement, to draw out how much time they have for as long as possible. But don't worry, O'Dimm is very patient and will still tauntingly remind you that he'll get you someday.
- In another instance, a woman was cursed by O'Dimm so that she not only slowly turned into a hideous monster, but so that she would remain hungry no matter how much food she eats. Once she realized how badly she was cursed, she spent years desperately searching for a cure to the predicament, and losing any family or allies who could help her. O'Dimm made her curse so convoluted, with wording so vague, that failing even one step typically resulted in the death or poisoning of the person trying. By the time you find her in-game, she's a monstrous wight who's been cursed for over a century and you can still fail to free her.
- In yet another instance, O'Dimm placed a protective circle around a man who had been studying O'Dimm's true nature. He gently explains to the man that the circle is meant to protect him from any harm from evil, but his tone makes it clear that it's a thinly-veiled threat. Said man becomes terrified of leaving that circle for ANY reason whatsoever and thus became trapped in one spot for years, where his academic prowess and knowledge goes to waste (aside from aiding the local mage hunters, whom he despises). After he gives Geralt information how to beat O'Dimm, a trap is triggered which causes the man to accidentally fall out of the circle, where he bashes his head against a pile of books and fatally breaks his neck.
O.O.C. Is Serious Business: If Geralt asks O'Dimm of Ciri's whereabouts, he answers Geralt with a tone he never uses beforehand: apologetic and sympathetic. He tells Geralt that there's things beyond his abilities to grant, but then proceeds to give Geralt genuine, heartfelt advice on how to deal with Ciri in the future. Seeing him be so graceful and sincere after all the shit he pulls beforehand is shocking, to say the least.
Outside-Context Problem: Gaunter is a being of immeasurable power beyond anything Geralt has ever encountered before, who nobody can even begin to comprehend without going mad, and who isn't even of the Witcher world in the first place.
Pet the Dog: If Geralt sides with him in the end, he will grant Geralt anything he wants. If Geralt asks where Ciri is, O'Dimm will tell him that he can't do that, as even he has his limitations. He does go on to tell Geralt what he needs to do to avoid the Ciri dies ending.
Physical God: After intervening to save Geralt, he theorizes that O'Dimm is a mage, or possibly a djinn or demon. O'Dimm can, among other things, float in the air, conjure up wind and storms, freeze time, banish ghosts, create dreamworlds of demonic entities, manipulate probability, and seems to be nearly omniscient. In fact, his only obvious limitations seem to be that he cannot see into otherworldly places like the Isle of Mists and that he is vulnerable to the same rules as his own pacts, so that as long as someone abides by the limitations of a pact he made with them, he can't touch them.
Pragmatic Villainy: His Pet the Dog moments, particularly when he helps you find Ciri can be interpreted as this. It's possible he has greater plans for Gerald/Ciri and wants them alive so he can use them in some way. Further implied by the fact that he'll tell Geralt everything he need to know to save Ciri, because in the ending where she dies, so does Geralt.
Reality Warper: While it seems obvious by the way Gaunter can appear anywhere, stop time, summon storms, and the fact that he can get seemingly any item no matter how difficult it should be to obtain there are more subtle and sinister clues to the true nature of his powers and what he can do. When Geralt supposes to him that Gaunter is a mage, Gaunter expresses disdain saying he cannot abide spells and calling standard magic mere "hocus-pocus" while saying it isn't interesting to him. He later tells Shani that his ability to know things and perceive the supernatural is an inherent ability posing her the question "would you ask a bird how it knows to fly". Lastly, when he stops time he mentions that it's something he likes to play with and that he taught himself how to do it. All of this leads to the Fridge Horror that, while Gaunter may be able to use magic and magical effects, it's not the source of his abilities and he is, in fact, altering reality by will alone.
Sadistic Choice: Apparently enjoys subjecting people to painful dilemmas. In order to seal an agreement with Olgierd, he forced the man to either sacrifice his wife or his brother. Olgierd chose his brother, who was dead the next day.
Satanic Archetype: He cannot be killed, when defeated he's simply banished to wherever he came from, he's immensely powerful, he fulfils wishes in exchange for souls, he has Faux Affably Evil tendencies and he's referred to as "Evil Incarnate". He is, by all appearances, the closest thing in the Witcher universe to the orthodox devil. Further foreshadowing of this is that both times after he uses his Time Stands Still powers, somebody says the word "devil" in a sentence once time restarts.
Shipper on Deck: He senses Geralt's lingering feelings for Shani and, for whatever reason, encourages him to get together with her.
Shout-Out:
- Possibly to Randall Flagg. Flagg is an ambiguously demonic villain who went by the pseudonym Walter O'Dimm. Flagg is also portrayed as being the embodiment of evil.
- Needful Things has a similarly ambiguous deal-spinner with the surname Gaunt.
- The deal between Gaunter O'Dimm and Olgierd von Everec draws heavily from "Pan Twardowski," the Polish version of the Doctor Faustus story.
Small Role, Big Impact: Possibly combined with Greater-Scope Villain. According to the Gwent Game he disguised himself as a Nilfgaardian officer in the same regiment as the Usurper and encouraged and aided him to seek his 'full potential'. Leading to the Usurper overthrowing Emperor Fergus var Emreis, killing him, torturing, cursing and banishing a young Emhyr, ruling the Empire for over twenty years, destroying the School of the Viper, and essentially setting many of the events of the series into motion. At least in game canon.
The Spook: Not much is known about his true nature, and the fact that he can seemingly (at least with his time-freezing ability) appear out of nowhere anytime and vanish into thin air at will couldn't make him any more terrifying than he already is.
These Are Things Man Was Not Meant to Know: Woe betide to those who discovered his true nature, like Professor Shakeslock. O'Dimm himself warned Geralt that those who learned of his true nature are either dead or have met an even worse fate.
They Look Just Like Everyone Else!: O'Dimm looks more like any other "mangy vagrant" Geralt comes across during the game than he does the incarnation of evil. Word of God is that this was intentional, O'Dimm was designed to blend into the background and eagle-eyed players can find several scenes where O'Dimm is hidden in plain sight monitoring Geralt with the witcher being none the wiser.
Time Stands Still: Among his powers is stopping time altogether.
The Unfought: Geralt never faces him in direct combat because it's unlikely Geralt would stand a chance against him. Instead, if Geralt challenges him to save Olgierd's life, O'Dimm transports Geralt to a nightmare world where Geralt must survive the dangers within and solve O'Dimm's riddle before time runs out.
Villainous Virtues: While O'Dimm may be evil and sadistic with literally no act of depravity beyond his capability or enjoyment, he has a few qualities that keep him from being baby eating, chaotic, and mustache twirling bastard. To wit:
- He always keeps a bargain and always abides by the rules of a pact (though he will twist the wording to screw others over as much as possible).
- He is always polite provided others are equally polite. He tends to overreact to those who aren't, though.
- He usually doesn't mess with anyone who isn't involved in his schemes. He can have perfectly civil interactions with common people, many of whom see him as charming.
Villains Never Lie: In his own words, O'Dimm never cheats. He's entirely, one hundred percent honest with his business partners. To him, it's his victims' fault that they leave so many glaring loopholes in their contracts and make such poorly formulated requests that give him room to screw them over. Notably, in the bad ending, he will gladly grant Geralt any of a series of rewards he asks for, with no strings attached, save for immediately telling him where to find Ciri.
Villains Out Shopping: He tends to partake in a lot of casual and mundane activity when he's not dealing with devilish business, like drinking schnaps in a bar or discussing gingerbread baking with an old woman.
Villain Respect: If you finish the DLC and allow O'Dimm to win, he will gleefully state that he wants to work with Geralt again someday and, if he has any further trouble collecting a debt, will call upon a Witcher.
You Do Not Want To Know: When Geralt requests that he wishes to know of his true nature.
O'Dimm: No, Geralt, you don't. This one time I shall spare you and not grant your wish.

The Lady of the Lake

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lady_of_the_lake_tw3.png

"Must I tell you my desire? Or can you divine it?"

Appears in: The Witcher | Wild Hunt

Voiced by: Anna Apostolakis (English)^{additional VAs}

"I am a goddess, you are the sword of destiny. Death has followed you for years."

An enchanting mystical Water Nymph or Vila, of such harmonious moral character and attunement to spiritual peace that she is revered as a Goddess of the land, of both water and earth surrounding the southern shore of Lake Vizima. Once, hosts of knights in shining armour defended her honour against other mystical forces in the world but now, only the Hermit and the Fisher King remain as the last of her loyal servants. Through her presence the fruit and fields are always in abundance, the people are content and happy and all around the year, summer reigns eternal.

Big Good: To both the residents of Murky Waters, as well as the Vodyanoi, who (initially) despise each other but will tolerate and even make peace with one another through her wishes alone.
The Bus Came Back: She returns in the second DLC of the third game, delivering Geralt Aerondight (again).
Godiva Hair: As befitting one who is completely in touch with nature, her only clothing is her thigh-length luxuriant locks. Though it should be noted that she does sometimes wear clothes, if you consider her statue and this excerpt from the Hermit.
Geralt of Rivia: Who is the Lady of the Lake?
The Hermit: I know her to be a Goddess. At times I see her dressed in white, traversing the fields in morning fog, her bare feet stepping lightly over the dewy grass...
Knighting: If you make peace with all sides, she will dub Geralt as her last knight and reward him with the sword she knights him with.
Nature Spirit: She embodies a similar personification to that of Dana Méadbh, the Queen of the Fields, who was embodied in a mute peasant girl called Lille in the region of Lower Posada.
Not So Above It All: Geralt can enjoy a submerged romp with her... As long as he chooses the right dialogue option, brushes up on his Grail lore with the Hermit, makes sure to choose the next right dialogue option and follows up all this by making a positive comment about her posterior!
Geralt of Rivia: M'Lady! I have had a revelation and wish to embark on a mission!
The Lady of the Lake: Geralt, I'm warning you...
Geralt: The Hermit helped me come to an understanding.
The Lady: Tell me.
Geralt: Soon I will depart. I don't know if I'll find my Grail, but I must.
The Lady: I shall not keep you.
Geralt: I do understand your sorrow. Your solitude. If I can do anything...
The Lady: Cease treating me like a Goddess. I have enough worshipers. I lack one who sees me as other than the object of a cult.
Geralt: M'Lady, simple folk, they — don't understand.
The Lady: I judge them not. But let's return to your desire to help. Begin by paying me a compliment.
Geralt: Hmm... I'm no good at this... M'Lady, um, your - wisdom is - inferior only to your goodness.
The Lady: Enough. I choose not to believe you don't find me attractive. Rather, I blame your famous scruples.
Geralt: M'Lady, your - eyes are like stars glimmering in the night sky.
The Lady: Distant, and cold. Weak, witcher.
Geralt: Your ass puts others to shame.
The Lady: (laughing) None has ever paid me such a compliment. My brave knights only praised my soul, though I knew where their eyes fixated...
One-Steve Limit: Her title is deprived from Nimue, the 'Lady of the Lake' from the books, but the two have actually very little in common.
Physical God: She can give Geralt an enchanted ruby made from her own blood and she also manifests herself from the water of the lake, before becoming one with it once more.
Power Echoes: Her voice has a slight reverb effect for that added dash of the supernatural.

The Ladies of the Wood

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ladies_of_the_woods__witcher_3_fan_art__by_vilko_yote_d7xpz99.png

"A word once given we never break..."

Three sisters, Weavess, Brewess and Whispess, also known as the Crones, who reign over the southern marshlands of Velen unchecked and are worshipped as goddesses by the local populace.

Abhorrent Admirer: They make sexual advances towards Geralt, making no secret of the fact that they kill and eat their lovers, not even accounting their hideous appearance. That said, they are capable of appearing in the form of three incredibly attractive young women (though that dents their danger-factor not a bit).
A.I. Is a Crapshoot: One possible origin. The somewhat dubious "She Who Knows" tome describes them as having initially been created as golem-like servants by a druidess, who were corrupted after they slew their own creator (who in turn had begun to destroy Velen in bouts of madness).
Ambiguously Bi: They are sexually "interested" in men, no question. However, they also make very lewd comments about women (particularly Ciri) and, during the Witches' Sabbath, they only allow the comeliest lasses and the most strapping men to come visit them. What exactly happens to the women is unknown, as the only corpses we see in their lair are male.
Bad Boss: Their servant is rightfully frightened of them; they're quick to punish her for the slightest mistake or transgression.
Bad Samaritan: They take Ciri in after finding her unconscious in the swamp. And then plan on hacking off her feet and eating them before they hand the rest of her over to the Wild Hunt.
Blood Magic: Their enchantments seem to require blood sacrifice at the Witch's Sabbath. Whispess's collection of severed human ears is implied to allow her to hear what their owners hear as well.
Bullying a Dragon: The Three Crones pretty much laugh off Geralt's threats to avenge the children they've murdered by coming back with Ciri to kill them. Then he does.
Burn the Witch!: According to the lore notes on Chuchote Cave in Blood and Wine, Whispess was subjected to this. She refused to provide aid to a knight after peering into his black heart, and in retaliation, he burned her alive. She survived, however, and got her revenge by driving him to madness and suicide by constantly whispering into his ear. How much of this legend is true, though, will forever be a mystery.
Creepy Crows: They use ravens as their servants. The Weavess in particular is able to turn into a whole flock of them.
Deal with the Devil: They will gladly lend you their assistance if you seek it out, and will always honor their word, but with everything that entails and always at a steep price. Anna came to them wishing to lose the child she conceived. They granted it by weakening her body so much she miscarried, and then forced her into becoming their slave.
Ear Ache: Their preferred method of payment for services rendered is a freshly-severed ear.
Even Evil Has Standards: They are not pleased when they find out Geralt has freed the spirit from the tree, claiming that he has unleashed an ancient evil who will bring even more death upon the world.
Exact Words: They never break a promise, but rarely fulfill it in a way that is beneficial to the recipient. They seem reluctantly impressed if you follow the suit in your dealings with them.
Expy: Weavess and Brewess are visually based on two of the witches from Roman Polanski's Macbeth.
The Faceless: Two of them hide their faces behind masks, suggesting that they are even more hideous than the third.
Facial Horror: The Weavess has an irregular series of holes in place where her eye is supposed to be, and has flies perpetually buzzing around her head, implying they nest in it.
The Fair Folk: Inhuman beings who follow alien morality and make a life living hell for those who cross them. They even have a name they prefer (the Ladies of the Wood) and one they dislike (the Crones of Crookback Bog), and using the latter to their faces will get you chastised for rudeness.
Fat and Skinny: Brewess is fat and the other 2 are skinny.
Faux Affably Evil: The sisters feign politeness, are willing to express gratitude in the most twisted ways, and always keep their word. They also do absolutely nothing to disguise how murderous, gluttonous and depraved they really are.
A God Am I: They demand worship and total obedience from the people living within their sphere of influence, tormenting those who don't comply with curses that range from mischievous to A Fate Worse Than Death.
God Guise: An ambiguous example. They may be actual deities of the woods or they may be something else. And however great their power, they defer to the Wild Hunt and can be killed by Ciri, a Physical God herself. Their strongest powers are largely unseen – they cast lasting curses, can help plants grow and cure diseases, they have control over both humans and creatures in Velen and know everything that's happening around – they just aren't as powerful in direct, face-to-face combat.
The Hecate Sisters: They're all hideous and elderly, but they do have an age-based hierarchy and different roles in their little "pantheon" indicated by their names. Weavess is the youngest and the only one to show her face, while her job is to weave the hair they collect from every boy's first haircut into useful things. Brewess is plump and tends the most toward friendliness (or what passes for it among the Crones), and she brews potions and broth for her sisters. Whispess is the eldest and the one who collects human ears so she can listen to what happens in Velen, and seems to keep her sisters focused on what's happening while coldly threatening those they meet.
I Am a Humanitarian: They get their sustenance, and possibly some of their powers, from consuming human flesh.
I Gave My Word: "A word once given we will never break." They will give Geralt the information he seeks, even if he upholds his deal with them in a very loose way. Particularly since they're prone to doing the same thing.
Karma Houdini: It initially seems so, when they laugh off Geralt's unambiguous promise to return and kill them. While two of the sisters unavoidably end up upon Ciri's sword during the course of your playthrough, Weavess runs away with Vesemir's medallion and is not seen again. In the ending where Ciri dies, Geralt himself hunts her down and slays her. In the endings where Ciri lives, the fact that she has her wolf medallion again implies that she hunted down Weavess herself.
Older Than They Look: They are able to disguise themselves as a youthful, attractive and very naked trio of women to do... something to the young people offered at the Witch's Sabbath.
Our Ogres Are Hungrier: Their exact species is not revealed, but they have a lot in common with mythological ogres.
Path of Inspiration: Their religion in Velen is devoted to providing them human sacrifices to eat. What do they give in exchange? Magic acorns. They're legitimately magical and everything, promoting good harvests and curing disease, but the sisters never give even close to enough for the whole of Velen.
Post-Final Boss: The Weavess will be the last thing you fight and kill in the game's Downer Ending.
Power Echoes: All of them speak with a slight echo to their voice, that sounds deeper and more distorted.
Prophecy Twist: Whispess says "One shall die, but it shan't be one of us" when Geralt says after he finds Ciri the two of them will be back to kill the Crones. She's right: Ciri kills two of them.
Really 700 Years Old: They're implied to be very, very old. At least old enough that they refer to Geralt - no spring chicken himself - as "young man" and "boy" by comparison.
Schmuck Bait:
- Their entire racket works by enticing their servants and targets into performing their bidding for them. The Crones usually use Exact Words, Understatements, Lies of Omission and Metaphorical Truths to paint a brighter, happier picture of what's actually happening. For example, at one point they ask Geralt to receive "payment" from the ealdorman of Downwarren (meaning the man has to cut off his ear) and one night of every year, the ladies allow three people the "honor" of visiting them (at which point, the person drops down into a pool of blood while the women prepare a pot to cook their dismembered corpse in).
- Also, for the Witches' Sabbath, someone who isn't picked to visit the Ladies but wants to go anyway has to undergo a "test" to do so. Every single step of the test is fatal; first, there's the part you're told about: there's a drop into murky water to retrieve a coin (Defier's oren), which is almost impossible to actually accomplish. Then, there's the parts you aren't told about: the water is full of drowners, and once you're out, a Fiend awaits you. If you get past that, the test-giver doesn't even bat an eyelash and happily tells you that you are to keep the coin and present it to the guardian beyond the gate. Except the guardian instantly recognizes the coin as "a death sentence" and attacks on sight.
Smug Snake: All three are very old and very powerful, so they have every reason to be smug. The problem is that they don't realize whom they're dealing with in Geralt and Ciri.
Squishy Wizard: Relatively. They wield great magic that grants them almost godlike power across all of Velen and leaves them nearly untouchable. However, when the Ladies are physically cornered and forced to fight, they're not particularly skilled against more accomplished warriors like Ciri and Geralt.
Time Abyss: Are said to be older than the oldest tree in the swamp and having been present when the elves first came from over the sea. And there's rumor that their creator somehow still exists.
Villainous Glutton: Much of their motivation stems from simply securing more humans to feed on. They attempt to take Ciri's feet, even when they know they're supposed to give her to the Wild Hunt, because the taste of her Elder Blood was just too tempting for them to ignore.
Villain with Good Publicity: Every peasant in Velen who knows about them absolutely adores them, and blindly allow themselves to ignore all of the warnings of how evil and monstrous they are. However, this is also because every dissenting voice has been either killed or suffered a Fate Worse than Death at their hands.
The Weird Sisters: They are daughters of a woodland spirit who went insane, protect the wilderness of Velen from their mother's spirit and offer other services while demanding reverence and tribute, including human sacrifice (which they use to maintain illusions of eternal youth and beauty).
Wicked Witch: They draw heavily from the imagery of Baba Yaga, the quintessential wicked witch of the Slavic folklore, and like her, they are inhuman ogre-like creatures with unclear but enormous power over nature. It is also entirely possible that they were, in part at least, inspired by the three witches of Shakespeare's Macbeth or the Graeae, Grey Sisters, from Greek mythology.
Wolf Pack Boss: They are fought together in a fight that's designed to test everything you've learned about Ciri's fighting style.

Other characters

Borch Three Jackdaws

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/2018_10_30_112815.png

Appears in: Sword of Destiny, Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales

A wandering, good-natured knight, accompanied by two female Zerrikanian bodyguards, who comes across Geralt while the witcher is on a contract to slay a basilisk. He and Geralt continue on to join the entourage of a king who is hunting a green dragon in the nearby mountains, for his own particular reasons.

All Myths Are True: Geralt argues with Borch that golden dragons don't really exist. Guess what colour his dragon form turns out to be.
Bodyguarding a Badass: Borch's two guards, Tea and Vea, are really guarding a golden dragon. And while he's no slouch in battle, the pair do end up saving his life.
Cat Like Dragons: The way he sits is described as being very feline.
Dragon Hoard: He joins an expedition that is all about hunting down the dragon to kill it and take its hoard, though he shows no interest in it himself. Mostly because he's got his own hoard.
Foreshadowing The fact that he's a golden dragon is heavily foreshadowed in his conversations with Geralt, as well as in his bodyguards.
- Geralt notes that Borch has no interest in money and spends his wealth very freely. Being a dragon with his own hoard has its perks.
- Both of Borch's Zerrikanian bodyguards are deeply devoted to him, with one telling Geralt that Borch is "the most beautiful." Later on, a wizard notes that Zerrikanians worship dragon idols.
Good Is Not Soft: Borch is a very friendly fellow and will gladly go out of his way to protect a stranger's belongings from looters... but draw a blade against him while doing the aforementioned looting, and you'll lose your head. And he'll happily crush anyone who tries to murder his mate.
Humans Are Special: He's one of the rare dragons who thinks that humans are interesting and unique and doesn't hate them, though he's still honest about human tendencies toward violent expansion and cruelty.
Meaningful Name: His real name, Villentretenmerth, translates into "Three Black Birds," which are depicted on his coat of arms and why he uses the last name "Three Jackdaws."
Mr. Exposition: He serves as the writer for the human history section of ''The World of the Witcher" guidebook.
Mutant: When Geralt his insisting that golden dragons don't exist, Borch suggests one might have existed due to a mutation.
Narrator All Along: The end of Thronebreaker reveals that he's the one who's been telling the story.
Papa Wolf: His motivation throughout the story is to protect and adopt Myrgtabrakke's child, who would grow up to be Saesenthessis, or Saskia the Dragonslayer.
Single Specimen Species: He implies himself to be a one-off mutant.
Some Call Me "Tim": Since Villentretenmerth is both hard to pronounce and would give away that he's a dragon, he just goes by "Borch."
Telepathy: His dragon form can't talk due to a forked tongue and communicates with telepathy. It's thought he might be able to read minds but never confirmed.
Were Dragon: Golden dragons can take any form they wish, human in this case.
Worthy Opponent: In his dragon form, he quite cheerfully challenges opponents to fight him, thanks them for the challenge, shows mercy to his enemies, and allows them to be taken from the field.

False Ciri

Appears in: The Time of Contempt (mentioned) | Lady of the Lake

False Ciri was a girl of roughly the same age and somewhat similar appearance as Ciri. Because of this, she was abducted and taken back to Nilfgaard. Though the emperor was obviously unhappy with not getting the real one, he nevertheless gradually warmed up to her and eventually took her as his wife.

Adaptation-Induced Plot Hole: Her existence potentially quite messes up the third game's plotline of Emhyr and Ciri. She was originally supposed to appear in the game somewhere in Skellige (presumably in the final act when Nilfgaard is preparing to invade) but was one of several characters cut from the story.
Becoming the Mask: She ends up casting aside her old identity in favor of her new one and insists that she is the real Cirilla.
Closest Thing We Got: The initial idea of Nilfgaardian agents. Emhyr was not content with this approach, to say the least, which in the end became quite ironic.
Identical Stranger: She's a complete stranger who bares a close resemblance to Ciri.
Irony: It’s stated that the only surviving portrait of Ciri many years later is in fact one of her.
I Just Want to Be Special: It's implied this is part of the reason why she wants to continue impersonating Ciri rather than return to her old life when Emhyr offers to fulfill one wish for her.
A Match Made in Stockholm: She's abducted and forced to pretend that she's the real Ciri, but grows to view Countess Stella Congreve, who trains her on court etiquette, as a maternal figure, and asks that Emhyr allow her to remain with the Countess as her one request.
Morality Pet: For Emhyr. She's one of the few people he shows his human side to.
Rags to Riches: Virtually nothing is known about her past except that she was an insignificant orphan that no one would miss. By the end of the novels, she becomes the Empress of Nilfgaard and inherits the throne of Cintra since everyone thinks she's the real Ciri.
Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Subverted; Cerys an Craite began life as the cut False Ciri character but besides being in the same age range and bearing vague similarities in their names as well as scars on their cheeks, Cerys and Ciri—let alone False Ciri—are nothing alike.
What Happened to the Mouse?: Despite her role in the books and her position as the Empress of Nilfgaard, she does not show up the third game.

Jarre

Appears in: Blood of Elves | Lady of the Lake

Jarre is a sixteen years old monk and is studying to be a scribe at the Temple of Melitele in Ellander. He is one of the very few males at the temple, possibly the only one in residence. He is secretly in love with Ciri and has a crush on Triss Merigold.

An Arm and a Leg: His left hand got mutilated during the Battle of Brenna and had to be taken off.
Cannon Fodder: Wanting to help defend his country from Nilfgaard, Jarre enlists. Since his literacy skills are useless for the army, he ends up in Poor Fucking Infantry.
Earn Your Happy Ending: After being rejected by his crush, running from safe temple to enlist in army almost getting robbed in process, being used as a Cannon Fodder in brutal, sensless war, getting crippled and thrown afterwards without any compensation he met a girl he finally married, had children and grandchildren and became renown historician.
Geek Physiques: Described in detail as an example, he nonetheless features prominently in the jokes the temple acolytes throw at each other simply because he's the only male of their age in general vicinity.
Heroic Second Wind: While barely holding in single piece and having his own arm smashed into bloody pulp, Jarre transported his commander all the way to the field hospital. This also probably saved his own life, as he was treated there by a priestess coming from the same temple.
My Country, Right or Wrong: Despite being a scrawny scribe with utter contempt toward the way how things are run outside the temple, he still enlists to the new unit of the Temerian army, the PFI. Which is more widely known as Poor Fucking Infantry.

Nenneke

Mother Nenneke

"Thank not me, thank Melitele."

Appears in: The Last Wish | Blood of Elves | Lady of the Lake

Nenneke is a priestess of Melitele, and the indisputable head of the Temple of Melitele in Ellander. She's known Geralt since he was young, treats Dandelion with fond contempt and has met Yennefer on several occasions.

Death by Adaptation: She is brutally murdered in the TV series, which led to a serious uproar.
Good Shepherd: Her literal job.
Good Is Not Soft: She's a priestess of a cult that can be best described as a Fantasy Counterpart Red Cross, but don't you ever assume she's a naive old lady ready to be abused.
Out of Focus: She's pretty important character for Geralt, but is barely present outside the Framing Device of The Last Wish. When she eventually returns in the final book of the saga, she's just having a tiny snipperts of narrative, separated from any other events. Even other characters from the temple she's leading have more presence than Nenneke.
The Medic: One of the most knowledgable herbalists and a pretty good doctor. It's impled she patched up Geralt more than few times from serious injuries.
The Mentor: To the students, priestesses, and monks in training at the Temple, including Ciri during her brief time there.
Parental Substitute: She is the closest thing Geralt ever had to a mother figure in his life, and she has a fond place in her heart for him.
Reasonable Authority Figure: One of the few characters in the entire setting shown to be carying for all people, indiscriminately of anything.
Sacred Hospitality: She's not above using and outright abusing her religious privilidges and temple's sanctum to provide care and shelter to everyone.
We Help the Helpless: Partially because of her creed, but mostly because she's simply a good person.

Milo "Rusty" Vanderbeck

Appears in: Lady of the Lake

A halfling doctor and surgeon who commands a field hospital during the Battle of Brenna.

All for Nothing: After spending few hours tirelessly operating wounded soldiers and saving their lives, group of elves from Vrihedd Brigade storm the medical tent and starts putting down all the men Milo saved. While he's terrified of dying, he's even more infuriated about all his work and effort being denied.
Category Traitor: The Scoia'tael view him as one for treating wounded human soldiers during the battle, dismissing him as a slave to the humans.
Go Through Me: Despite being terrified, Milo places himself in front one of his patients and Iola when they were about to be stabbed by a Vrihedd soldier and demands they leave the medical tent. That despite being half the size of everyone present.
I Need a Freaking Drink: After the Nilfgaardian troops are pushed back out of the camp, Rusty is in stupor due to being this close of being executed. When he finally gets hold of himself, he finds nearest orderly and asks him for vodka.
"And don't tell me you don't have any. I know you bastards always do"
The Mentor: Becomes one to Shani, who learns quite a bit about medicine from him.
No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: A year after the battle he traveled to Maribor with Iola to help victims of the Catriona Plague, despite there being no known cure. He perished from the plague in Iola's arms, and she died four days later.
Oh, Crap!: He is terrified and begins shaking with fear when he realizes that it is elves of the Vrihedd Brigade that have entered the medical tent, after first dismissing the threat of the hospital being overrun. He puts on a tough face and continues the operation he's in the middle of.
The Stoic: When Vrihedd Brigade managed to break the lines and enter encampment in which Rusty's hospital is located, everyone panics and runs for their lives. Everyone but him, calmly continuing the operation and making sure his surgical team stays by the table, too.
This Is Gonna Suck: Upon realising it's not just Nilfgaardians, but specifically elves from the notoriously cruel Vrihedd Brigade enter his field hospital.

Galahad

Sir Galahad of Caer Benic

Appears in: Lady of the Lake

Sir Galahad of Caer Benic met with Ciri, after she left Yennefer and Geralt on Malus Island, in a glen called Cwm Pwcca, at the foot of Y Wyddfa, mistaking her with the Lady of the Lake. He says he is son of Sir Lancelot du Lac and Elaine daughter of King Pelles lord of Caer Benic, a knight of King Arthur's Round Table. At the end of the Lady of the Lake novel he leads Ciri to Camelot at the court of King Arthur.

Genre Refugee: He's an authentic Knight in Shining Armor from Arthurian mythology whose found himself in the Witcher universe.
Knight in Shining Armor: A rarity in the series, but unsurprising considering where he originates from. Galahad is a chivalrous, courteous and selfless knight.
Wrong Genre Savvy: Since he's from Arthurian Myth, when he first sees Ciri, Galahad assumes she's a member of The Fair Folk and expects that, as the Lady of the Lake, she'll bestow her sword upon him for being worthy and might even become romantically involved with him. Ciri sets him straight on all counts, though she does ponder to herself the possibility of at least a tryst with him.

Characters / The Witcher - Other Characters

Commander Caleb Menge

Reverend Nathaniel Pastodi

Order of the Flaming Rose

Grand Master Jacques de Aldersberg

Siegfried of Denesle

Witch Hunters

Graden

Tamara Strenger

Azar Javed

The Professor

Toruviel aep Sihiel

Lieutenant Colonel Yaevinn

Iorveth

Isengrim Faoiltiarna

The Rats: Asse, Giselher, Iskra, Kayleigh, Mistle, and Reef

Codhringer and Jacob Fenn

Boreas Mun

Aamad

Gaunter O'Dimm, Master Mirror

The Lady of the Lake

The Ladies of the Wood

Borch Three Jackdaws

False Ciri

Jarre

Mother Nenneke

Milo "Rusty" Vanderbeck

Sir Galahad of Caer Benic

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Characters / The Witcher - Other Characters

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Commander Caleb Menge

Reverend Nathaniel Pastodi

Order of the Flaming Rose

Grand Master Jacques de Aldersberg

Siegfried of Denesle

Witch Hunters

Graden

Tamara Strenger

Azar Javed

The Professor

Toruviel aep Sihiel

Lieutenant Colonel Yaevinn

Iorveth

Isengrim Faoiltiarna

The Rats: Asse, Giselher, Iskra, Kayleigh, Mistle, and Reef

Codhringer and Jacob Fenn

Boreas Mun

Aamad

Gaunter O'Dimm, Master Mirror

The Lady of the Lake

The Ladies of the Wood

Borch Three Jackdaws

False Ciri

Jarre

Mother Nenneke

Milo "Rusty" Vanderbeck

Sir Galahad of Caer Benic

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Index

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