The Witcher/Characters

Leading characters
These are the primary protagonists of The Witcher saga: the unlikely family of witcher Geralt, sorceress Yennefer, and their adopted child Ciri.

Geralt of Rivia
The protagonist (or co-protagonist) of all the media set in the Witcher's world. He's a witcher - an artificially created mutant, a monster-hunter devoid of emotion. At least, that last part is supposed to be true, too. He made his name removing the curse from Temerian princess Adda, and over the years became a legend in the Northern Kingdoms.

"He'll lose his way, start to philosophize and pity himself, then he'll do something heroic but pointless and get killed, presumably stabbed in the back."
 * Anti-Hero: Type II/III.
 * Audience Surrogate: A possible way to justify his memory loss in the game, seeing as though the games are more popular than the books in areas other than Poland. It would feel weird for someone who came into it starting with the games that Geralt is already good friends with someone the player never knew of before (plus, it gives glimpses into the series lore).
 * Badass
 * Badass Abnormal: Thanks to his mutations.
 * Badass Long Hair
 * Boring Invincible Hero: Subverted, hard. Sapkowski noted once it got him tons of angry Fan Dumb letters.
 * The Butcher: A kind of Jerkass behavior left him with this sort of reputation.
 * While he is certainly a Jerkass in this regard, the specific incident that actually acquired him the title of Butcher had extenuating circumstances (hence the title of the story: The Lesser of Two Evils).
 * Carpet of Virility: In the first game. Omitted in the second.
 * Covered with Scars: His body has a lot nasty-looking ones all over.
 * Deadpan Snarker
 * Expy: Probably of Elric of Melnibone.
 * He has one of Elric of Melnibone's epithets as well, "The White Wolf". Word of God states that he isn't based off of Elric, though.
 * Famed in Story: Though not every person he meets recognizes him (obviously, as befitting a society lacking in visual media).
 * Genius Bruiser: Part of Witcher training involves years of formal education in chemistry, biology, animal behavior, history, magic, and other subjects, and Geralt apparently did exceptionally well. He's more then capable of having a surprisingly eloquent intellectual discussion when the situation calls for it.
 * Good Scars, Evil Scars: Discounting the nasty-looking ones on his body, his are the fairly classic rugged hero scars, the most prominent being one that crosses over his left eye.
 * Guttural Growler: His English voice in the games.
 * Happily Married: An Alternate Universe short story is completely devoted to the wedding with Yennefer.
 * Hell-Bent for Leather: His usual outfit. With lots of silver trim. It's all Awesome Yet Practical, since it is essentially his protective worksuit. Particularly the silver, considering the kinds of creatures he deals with.
 * Heroic Albino: "total loss of pigmentation". As the result of the mutations and experiments that made him a witcher.
 * Implausible Fencing Powers: Though this is just a part of being a witcher.
 * Jerk with a Heart of Gold: By the nature of their mutations (they tend to paralyze higher emotions), all witchers are supposed to be jerks. The fact that he's not annoys him constantly.
 * Knight in Sour Armor: Under his bad guy facade hides someone dangerously (to himself) close to Chronic Hero Syndrome. As for the knight part - he gets briefly knighted, ironically, by his claimed native kingdom of Rivia, but almost immediately deserts his commission to continue his search of Ciri when the queen tries to order him around as other knights.
 * Yennefer sums him up thus:
 * Yennefer sums him up thus:


 * Last of His Kind: Some sixty or eighty years ago the base of the witchers, Caire Muirehen castle, was attacked and destroyed by an angry mob incensed by some demagogue (suspected to be a rogue sorcerer). Equipment, laboratories and elixirs required for creation of the witchers survived, but everybody in the castle was killed. As the process required a skilled magic user, and the sole survivor of the staff was Vesemir, a fencing teacher (he was away at the time), no new witchers were created ever since.
 * Technically, it's more like "one of the last of his kind", because other witchers still exist.
 * Magic Knight: Witchers are created through magic, and thus have some affinity to it, giving them an ability to use simple combat spells called "signs" in battle. This is generally it, but Geralt,, had the requisite ability to take up magic in full, but refused, and was even called up on it.
 * Master Swordsman: Considered to be the best swordsman in the Northern Kingdoms. In the games, it seems like he lost some of his technique due to his amnesia (Serrit, one of the witchers who attempt to, writes in his journal that Geralt's swordsmanship makes him laugh, but also mentions that Geralt still manages to be a fearsome opponent regardless). It is assumed that Geralt recovered most - if not all - of his former skill with a sword by the end of the second game.
 * Meaningful Rename: The "of Rivia" part of his name was added by picking out of a bundle of sticks with different city names written on them. Initially, Geralt chose Geralt Roger Eric du Haute-Bellegarde as his first choice for the name, but Vesemir "explained" it'd be awfully cheesy. The point of all of this was to make his name sound more impressive, which eases contacts with important employers.
 * Mr. Fanservice: YMMV whether he qualifies, but it seems to be what the devs were going for in the second game, as he loses his Carpet of Virility from the first game and was given plenty of shirtless scenes to show off his chiseled physique.
 * Fan Disservice: On the other hand, his extreme scarring causes this for some. Even one of his nipples has been torn out!
 * Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Geralt's actions will often come back to bite him (or someone else.)
 * Papa Wolf: Towards Ciri. He gets to the point where he sees Ciri in any hurt girl, only to wonder later how could he not notice the difference.
 * Parental Abandonment: A prerequisite to becoming a witcher. Sapkowski published a later short story about his parents and his mother made a brief cameo in one of the novels.
 * Psychic Dreams for Everyone: After Ciri goes missing, he starts having prophetic dreams about her.
 * Really Gets Around: He seems to be rather popular with the ladies. Though it has to be noted the game exaggerated it quite a bit.
 * Red Baron: Known as the White Wolf in the Nordling Kingdoms, also Gwynbleidd (Elvish for White Wolf), the Butcher of Blaviken, and others.
 * Spanner in the Works: He has a tendency to get in the way of other people's convoluted plans, then slash his way out.
 * Super Soldier: Created to fight monsters, though, not people.

Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon
A Cintran princess, the Unexpected Child, Child of Elder Blood, and a stepdaughter of Geralt, Ciri is an unassuming girl who is a notable nerve, even more notable political asset, and a descendant of a really unique legacy. She appears first in the short stories, but becomes a co-protagonist in the Saga. She's but a child during her first appearance, but the events of the Saga lead (and force) her to grow up.


 * Action Girl: Due to the witcher training. She's not really modified or augmented, just trained and given some drug courses, but it still made her more than an equal match to most of the fighters in the series.
 * Little Miss Badass: Sixteen at the end of the series.
 * Bratty Half-Pint: Acts like this when Geralt first meets her in Brokilon.
 * Break the Cutie: You've got to admit the girl has her reasons. Let's count: Orphan? Check. Princess in Rags? Check. Being hunted? Check.
 * The Chosen: She's supposed to be the one to prevent The End of the World as We Know It. Ironically, it's heavily implied that she failed because backed off from the squickiest moment in the whole series.
 * There was what could have been a second, marginally more appealing chance, but she turned it down (roughly) on her own.
 * In a different way, witchers intentionally tried to invoke the forces of Destiny to this end, believing that such a child might become their equal even without using Super Serum.
 * Doom Magnet: Even if it's just a side effect of her MacGuffin-ness, by the end of the Saga, she begins to believe it's fate.
 * Embarrassing Nickname: Yennefer is fond of calling her "my ugly one", probably because she's aware that Ciri is envious of her looks, and that she has absolutely no need to be.
 * Everything's Better with Princesses: She's the princess of the border kingdom of Cintra, and, through her father,.
 * Kick the Dog: At one point, lost and deprived of her surrogate parents, she joins a band of highwaymen and lets off the frustration by dog kicking.
 * Last Of Her Kind: Double -- as a last of the royal house of Cintra, and as a descendant of a long line of Elven eugenic experiments, designed to open the pathways between the worlds.
 * Living MacGuffin: Due to her aforementioned legal, prophesied, and genetic status, she is a critical part of at least two or three gambits.
 * Mars Needs Women: As a result of her genetic background, at least two people explicitly need her for breeding purposes. The third one needs just her placenta.
 * Meaningful Name: Cirilla is a corruption of "Zireael", "the Swallow".
 * New Powers as the Plot Demands: Again, her genetic background gives her various dormant powers (of whose magic talent is just a beginning), which she explores throughout the Saga.
 * Oracular Urchin: Like her mother, she's given to the periodical bouts of prophesying.
 * Parental Abandonment: Initially more like parental death, but we later get to know
 * Princess in Rags: After Cintra gets conquered and her grandmother, Queen Calanthe, commits suicide.
 * Romantic Two-Girl Friendship: Her first (and, as far as we know, the only one consummated) romantic involvement in the novels is with a fellow Rat, Mistle.
 * Tangled Family Tree: See the entry above about Elven genetic experiments. This Troper needed two pages to trace her basic lineage from the explanation by a knowledgeable background character in one of the books.
 * Technical Virgin: The issue of her, ahem, purity has caused one of the dumbest flame wars in Polish fandom.
 * Tomboy and Girly Girl: She is the girly girl to Mistle's tomboy. Despite the fact that she is better with the sword than her.
 * Waif Fu: Geralt arranged her (heavily modified) witcher's training, and it pays off.
 * She hasn't received any heavy magical or chemical modifications, required for full witchers, because witchers lacked the skills needed for that, and it was probably a good thing, too, as a) these modifications were designed for boys, not for girls, and b) survival rate was about 10% even with the skilled operator and care.
 * White-Haired Pretty Girl: Of platinum blond variety.
 * Wife Husbandry: No, not by Geralt. He backed off from it, though.
 * With Great Power Comes Great Insanity: During the desert incident. She was warned not to play with Fire magic. However, that was due to the nature of Fire magic, and her other powers did not have an impact on her psyche.

Yennefer of Vengerberg
A sorceress whom Geralt loves. They met each other long ago, and afterwards had a truly legendary string of breakups and makeovers, as befitting a moody killer and a strong-willed sorceress. Though they are in separation at the beginning of the Saga, at Triss' advice Geralt asks her to help with Ciri's training, and so she becomes stepmother to Ciri.


 * Bi the Way: According to her, it's a natural consequence of being Really Seven Hundred Years Old -- after a century or two, you will have tried everything.
 * She's not even a hundred yet, though, only 93 (98 in the game).
 * It is heavily implied that their Love Triangle with Geralt and Triss, her best friend, is actually Type 8, although it doesn't save them from the intense jealousy.
 * Dysfunctional Family: She had a rather abusive father (or stepfather).
 * Her own relationships (including the one with Geralt) tended to be less than smooth too.
 * Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette
 * Half-Human Hybrid: She's a quadroon, or a quarter elf.
 * Happily Married: In an Alternate Universe short story.
 * I Was Quite a Looker: Inverted. She's a looker right now, and has been ever since becoming a sorceress.
 * She uses magic to make herself look beautiful.
 * Law of Inverse Fertility: Most magicians are infertile, but Yennefer qualifies by being really dissatisfied with this fact.
 * Making Love in All the Wrong Places: Including Zero-G Spot and on the back of a stuffed unicorn.
 * Mama Bear: Towards Ciri.
 * Mind Over Manners: This is quite common among wizards; in this case, she tends to let her telepathy loose after orgasm.
 * Purple Eyes
 * Tsundere: Their breakups and makeovers with Geralt were legendary in the North, and the rumor was that Geralt survived only by being a witcher.
 * Vain Sorceress: Even if a good character, she's still a sorceress, y'know.
 * Your Favorite: How they've met with Geralt. He needed a sorcerer to help Dandelion, injured by a jinn, but stopped to bring her apple juice to help with her hangover.

Geralt's hanse
In his search for Ciri, Geralt gathered around himself a small party. Whether these people joined him out of old friendship, romantic confusion, or other reasons, it was perhaps best described by Angouleme: "you just can't not follow him". In the end, they stood by him for good and for bad.

Dandelion
A famous bard and Geralt's old friend. He was a character introduced back in the short stories, and appears in the Saga as well, following the witcher in his quest despite cowardly tendencies and a lack of combat abilities.

"Dijkstra: "You are almost forty, look like almost thirty, think you're twenty, and behave like you're not even ten.""
 * The Chick: A male variant.
 * Ironically, his original Polish nickname is Jaskier -- or Buttercup in English.
 * The Dandy: Which is only natural in his line of work.
 * Everyone Went to School Together: Unsurprisingly, as Oxenfurt Academy was the best and most prestigious university in the North, so it's only natural that many significant characters studied here, including him.
 * Knowledge Broker: Not above some little spying on the side to augment his troubadour income.
 * The Load: Dandelion is of pretty much no use to the party, on the occasions his connections or talents could help, they don't by external circumstances or the problem is solved in a different way anyway.
 * Lovable Coward
 * Non-Action Guy: He's most definitely not a fighter, despite his associations.
 * Older Than They Look: About forty despite looking like he's in his late twenties.
 * Older Than They Look: About forty despite looking like he's in his late twenties.


 * Really Gets Around: He has a reputation for this in the games (and in the novels, too). Whether he's as bad as Geralt is unknown.
 * Spoony Bard: A fairly literal example.
 * Wandering Minstrel: Hey, he's the Bard in their world, easily the most popular and famous poet, musician, and writer of his time -- and beyond.

Milva
A young woman with great bowmanship skills, acting as agent of forest-dwelling dryads among humans. She joins Geralt after his visit to Brokilon forest. Despite her tough, no-nonsense exterior, she is softer inside than she would like.


 * Action Girl
 * The Archer
 * The Big Guy: She's contributing mostly by shooting up the baddies, so I guess she qualifies.
 * Not really. She's most definitely not a Chick, but just isn't buff enough to tank it.
 * She has enough strength to One Hit KO a grown, strong man, and her expertise at range makes her the second most useful party member (after Geralt) in a fight.
 * Braids of Action
 * Comic Relief: Being an honest and down-to-earth commoner in a team of sometimes stuffy characters can bring rather unexpected consequences.
 * Important Haircut: Cuts off her braid after.
 * The Ladette
 * Real Women Never Wear Dresses
 * The Ladette
 * Real Women Never Wear Dresses

Cahir Mawr Dyffryn aep Ceallach
Young Nilfgaardian knight under orders to capture Ciri. After his failure and to escape the inevitable punishment, he joins Geralt's party, who only reluctantly accepts his company. But his dreams prove that there is more to that than simple life debt, and that meeting the Child of Elder Blood leaves a mark on individuals.


 * Black Knight: He's not that bad; most of it is the color of Nilfgaardian armors and the fact that they're the bad guys.
 * Dark Is Not Evil
 * Heel Face Turn: See above; he was not outright evil, only serving the bad guys.
 * Insistent Terminology: He's not Nilfgaardian, he's Vicovarian. In the Empire, only those born in the Empire's heartland call themselves Nilfgaardians, and... (the party stops listening).
 * I Owe You My Life: This is the reason why he joined Geralt's party; Geralt unknowingly saved him from You Have Failed Me.... Later he admits other reasons beyond that, though.
 * The Lancer: In line with Five-Man Band standards, he's the hanse's second melee fighter, and the younger, more optimistic counterpart to older, angsty Geralt.
 * Love Before First Sight: He fell for Ciri, after seeing her once as a child (and fueling her Black Knight nightmares ever since), and a second time in combat (she almost killed him). Both times he was under orders to capture her.
 * Psychic Dreams for Everyone: He has the same dreams of Ciri as Geralt, proving Destiny has him more than a mere background.

Emiel Regis Rohellec Terzieff-Godefroy
A medic and herbalist who joins Geralt's party, supposedly, because he was already planning to go their route. Though friendly, he is an enigmatic individual, a man of intellect who lives in the middle of nowhere and has a share of habits someone paranoid might consider very suspicious.


 * The Alcoholic: A part of his backstory is that he got out of his addiction.
 * Cowardly Lion: He calls himself a coward. If not for that, you'd never think of him as one.
 * Evil Smells Bad: Subverted, inverted, zigzagged or whatever. He smells of all manner of herbs and perfumes (as befitting a herbalist and medic)
 * The Medic
 * Minored in Asskicking
 * : There are several kinds
 * Pet the Dog: He saves an innocent girl from burning.
 * Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness: Granted, he's quite aware of it and is playing the Smart Guy stereotype up for his own reasons.
 * The Smart Guy
 * Sophisticated As Hell: As much as he is prone to Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness, later he grows quite fond of specific expressions used by Street Urchin Angouleme.
 * Unusual Euphemism: Occasionally delves in it when talking about.
 * The Smart Guy
 * Sophisticated As Hell: As much as he is prone to Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness, later he grows quite fond of specific expressions used by Street Urchin Angouleme.
 * Unusual Euphemism: Occasionally delves in it when talking about.

Angouleme
A young girl, around Ciri's age, who joins Geralt's party on his request as a part of his deal with local Nilfgaardian authorities to locate and remove a band of highwaymen to which she once belonged. Though Nilfgaardian law is harsh, she is granted parole - the local governor saw Geralt through, and knew better than the witcher himself that he would not leave without her.


 * Jive Turkey
 * The Nicknamer: It's usually "unca" or "auntie". Possibly related to her speech patterns.
 * Princess in Rags: Not a princess, but somewhat surprisingly, she was a girl of relatively decent upbringing but ended up on the street during the Nilfgaard invasion of Cintra.
 * Refuge in Vulgarity: Most of her sense of humor revolves around this.
 * Replacement Goldfish: It is implied that Geralt requested her parole because she reminded him of Ciri.
 * Sixth Ranger: She only joins around the fourth book of the Saga.
 * Street Urchin: Eh, she's close enough.

Villains
Whether for her political status, or her other qualities, capturing Ciri was a crucial part of these people's nefarious plots. Their actions are behind many of the Saga's events.

Vilgefortz of Roggeveen
One of the most talented magicians in the world, very young (less than one hundred years, which is barely out of childhood in the wizarding world), but incredibly talented and powerful, traits which also won him a seat on the governing body of Northern Kingdoms' magicians. His participation in the coup during the magicians' symposium on Thanedd Island revealed his Nilfgaardian backing, but his real motives are more sinister.


 * Bishonen: Described as "classically beautiful". Later, though,.
 * Catch Phrase: "You have pissed against the wind".
 * Or "you've mistaken the stars with their reflection in the pond".
 * Evil Genius: Easily the most smart and powerful wizard in the North, and he let it get into his head.
 * Evil Plan:.
 * Hidden Agenda Villain: His motives aren't what they seem at first.
 * Mad Scientist: An almost textbook example, magic in their world being pretty scientific in nature, but see Magic Knight below.
 * Mad Scientist Laboratory: He has several, before he goes into hiding. When one of them, deserted, is found, cue Vomiting Cop.
 * Magic Knight: He was the only human to soundly trash Geralt in a one-on-one fight. Though magical enhancement is subtly implied.
 * Mission Control: For Rience, whom he constantly sends out to run his errands.
 * Politically-Incorrect Villain: He's a sexist.
 * Squishy Wizard: Averted with flying colors.
 * Stalker with a Test Tube: This example is even more sinister than you think it is; even the other baddies are squicked. He finds it distasteful, and gives them a "you're Not So Different" rant.
 * Take Over the World: Basically, he wants to be able to say "A God Am I". Though he hangs a lampshade, saying he's a little ashamed to admit such a close-to-earth motivation.
 * Voice with an Internet Connection: When playing Mission Control for Rience, through an artifact that's basically a magical walkie-talkie.
 * Take Over the World: Basically, he wants to be able to say "A God Am I". Though he hangs a lampshade, saying he's a little ashamed to admit such a close-to-earth motivation.
 * Voice with an Internet Connection: When playing Mission Control for Rience, through an artifact that's basically a magical walkie-talkie.

Rience
Vilgefortz's Dragon and errand boy, a wizarding school dropout expelled for theft and taken in by Vilgefortz to do the things not really suitable for respectable sorcerer. His background shows he was up to no good from the start, but as merely a servant, he pales in comparison to the rest of the villains.


 * The Dragon: He's actually Co-Dragons with Schirru the half-elf, but the latter gets less screen-time.
 * For the Evulz: He loves his job, what's to say.
 * Good Scars, Evil Scars: He has a huge burn on his cheek, from Yennefer's fireball and Vilgefortz's refusal to heal it.
 * : During the battle on ice in the penultimate book. Made doubly awesome by the way it was done --.
 * Smug Snake: He loves to gloat at his victims and generally be a jerk, knowing that his boss will always support and cover him.

Leo Bonhart
A bounty hunter tasked with eliminating Ciri's highwaymen friends and capturing her herself, what he does efficiently and without any incident. He then brutalizes her throughout one or a half of a book. As a good fighter and an intelligent man, he is a true professional, but the key to his choice of profession is something very different indeed.


 * Badass
 * Badass Normal: He claims to have killed three witchers, despite having the advantage of neither their mutations nor any magical abilities.
 * Bounty Hunter
 * Deadpan Snarker
 * For the Evulz: His main motivation. He's a psychopath and proud of it. When a psychic scans him once, she compares the experience to putting her head into a freshly opened grave.
 * Good Eyes, Evil Eyes: Empty, fishy eyes.
 * Implausible Fencing Powers: A staple of witcher series' fans' Epileptic Trees is how would he fare in a fight versus Geralt.
 * Psycho for Hire: As he claims, he's lucky like nobody, save perhaps certain whores. He's paid for work he truly enjoys.
 * Villainous Crush: He develops one on Ciri, after witnessing her fighting skills. While probably not averse to sex, he may even be Asexual as what really turns him on is fighting and killing. It means he'd like to impale her on his sword on an arena and feel her die, though raping her before or afterwards would be nice as well.
 * Villainous Valor: The people he kills, he tends to kill in combat.
 * Wicked Cultured: Though not exactly in the sense of refined taste, this trope (or its cross with Genius Bruiser) does appear in that Bonhart is actually quite intelligent.

Emperor Emhyr var Emreis
Emperor of Nilfgaard, an expansive power from the south. His invasion of Cintra pretty much starts the whole Saga, and even after that he's the driving force behind many of the events.


 * Affably Evil: He's a ruthless evil emperor and he's fine with it, but it's important to note he's not The Caligula either. Though he avoids Complete Monstership only by a sudden change of heart at the last moment.
 * In fact, he considers Geralt his friend and is still grateful to him for his role in . It still doesn't stop him from his machinations and conquests, though.
 * : Geralt helped him then.
 * The Emperor: Of the Evil Overlord type (though more in image than in actual brutishness). Yeah. Out of the bad guy collection, the only one who's not an irredeemable Complete Monster is the Evil Overlord. Talk about GRIMDARK.
 * Gambit Pileup: What happens when everybody (and their little dog too) have plans upon the plans, and are determined enough to see to their completion.
 * Luke, I Am Your Father:
 * Morality Pet: is this for him.
 * Noble Demon: Cruel, despotic, and ruthless as he is, he still has some basic decency left in him.
 * Overly Long Name: Emhyr var Emreis Deithwen Addan yn Carn aep Morvudd. It's more of an overly long title/nickname, though. Doubles as Names to Run Away From Really Fast, as it means something along the lines White Flame Dancing on the Barrows of His Enemies.
 * White Flame Dancing on the Barrows of His Enemies is actually his title that is supposed to be added after all of the previous names. It's never really explained in relation to Emhyr but if you read the explanation Cahir gave on the topic of Nilfgaard nobles names Deithwen is most likely the name of his mother while aep Morvud stands for son of Morvud and somewhere in there should be also the name of his grandfather though your guess is as good as mine as to which one it is.
 * Well Intentioned but morally questionable plan: A rather squicky spoiler:. However, Even Evil Has Standards (the SNAFU mentioned above notwithstanding), so he backed out of it, ironically, dooming their world to death and destruction...
 * Wife Husbandry
 * Well Intentioned but morally questionable plan: A rather squicky spoiler:. However, Even Evil Has Standards (the SNAFU mentioned above notwithstanding), so he backed out of it, ironically, dooming their world to death and destruction...
 * Wife Husbandry

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.

Yarpen Zigrin and Zoltan Chivay
Two dwarves, each with his own merry company, with whom Geralt travels at different points of the story. They meet each other only much later (or more like are shown to, as they appear to know each other well), but are put here together due to playing a similar role in the story.

""Let me tell you something, witcher. Once we lead a group of women and children through a war-torn land. They slowed us down. We had to feed them, protect them, and we had to hide in the woods to pee instead of pissing by the road. In short, they were a burden, and ungrateful at that. Know why we helped them? It was the right thing to do.""
 * Ascended Extra: Zoltan is given an upgrade to The Big Guy in the two games.
 * Characterization Marches On: Their paths diverge in the games. Zoltan becomes a full-on Lancer or Big Guy, while Yarpen is a side character in the second game.
 * Cool Sword: Zoltan gives one to Geralt.
 * Knight in Sour Armor: Zoltan strongly encourages this mindset, especially in the first game. As he says (reminiscing events of the Saga):


 * Our Dwarves Are All the Same
 * Sophisticated As Hell: Zoltan. While it's a case with many of the main characters, his Warrior Poet tendencies blending with his blunt manner of speaking stand out the most.
 * Veteran Instructor: In The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings, Zoltan takes the job of training the recruits in Vergen.

the Rats
A group of highwaymen that adopts Ciri, 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 a company among them.


 * Just Like Robin Hood: When you are a robber, there is only so much to do with the cash. When you've wasted enough on luxuries, you may as well give some away.
 * Ragtag Bunch of Misfits: They came from all parts of society - soldiers of opposing armies, peasants, nobles, even an elven exile.
 * True Companions
 * True Companions
 * True Companions

Count Sigismund Dijkstra
The spymaster of the Kingdom of Redania, and later its regent after the death of the king. His duties make him occasionally clash or cooperate with the protagonists, and even later he remains a background character important not only to the world, but also the story itself.


 * Acrofatic: Often described as a walking mountain of fat, he's nevertheless implied to be surprisingly agile for his bulk.
 * Badass Arm-Fold
 * Foil: He's somewhat of a foil to Geralt, also a man from outside the system (Dijkstra received the title of Count for practical reasons) having to mingle with highborn and deal with worldly affairs.
 * Genius Bruiser: He is described as a polar opposite of stereotypical cloak-and-dagger small-crooked-guy spy, yet he runs an extensive spy network and serves as an actual ruler during the Redanian regency.
 * Isengrim Faoiltiarna, an Elven spec ops commander from Dol Blathanna, a man of considerable fighting prowess (he once bested Geralt himself), was visibly relieved when he found that Dijkstra is non-hostile during their encounter in less fortunate times.
 * I Did What I Had to Do: Despite his job, which includes things like a gulag-like (or at least that's how other characters react to it) prison, he is a rather decent guy in person, even with a Cincinnatus streak.
 * Man Behind the Man: Of the Redanian government.
 * Don't forget.
 * Mission Control: For Dandelion, sometimes.
 * The Spymaster: Obviously.
 * Stout Strength: An extremely obese man, but his strength was legendary, up to the point that hardly anyone dared to test it.

Filippa Eilhart
A scheming sorceress and a former lover of Dijkstra, whose machinations tend to occasionally propel the plot.


 * Animorphism: She can assume the form of an owl. Perhaps it is not a coincidence that Ciri later nicknames her Miss Owl.
 * The Conspiracy: She starts one, with the standard objective.
 * Does Not Like Men: She did like them, only she switched to lesbianism and decided to start up an all-female magicians' conspiracy. On the other hand, she is not hostile towards men, she just thinks that women (read: her circle) would make better rulers.
 * Enigmatic Minion: More like an Enigmatic Ally, since she tends to cooperate with the heroes, but she always has her own agenda.
 * : In the second game.
 * Man Behind the Man: She through Dijkstra (it's usually more like friendly deals and cooperation than manipulation, though), also her co-conspirers through similar or less voluntary means.
 * Out-Gambitted: For a scheming, power-behind-the-throne, conspiratorial sorceress, quite a number of people managed to trick her out.
 * Spell My Name with an "S": The novels call her Filippa, while the game uses the Anglophone spelling Philippa.

Characters expanded in the games
Some of the story's characters were carried over to the video games. While they appeared in the books as well, they were there mostly minor or background characters, and their roles in the games were more pronounced than in writing. That does not mean the characters mentioned above don't appear or have no role in the games - what matters here is the difference in notability between their role in novels and in games. Triss Merigold is a specific example - she is an important character in the Saga, but her role in the games is a lot more important to their plot.

Triss Merigold
Another sorceress, a friend of Yennefer and former lover of Geralt (mostly during his breakups with Yen). She makes the witchers realize they can no longer just keep Ciri hidden in their castle, and thus has her hand in starting the events of the Saga. Later she also becomes a member of the Lodge of Sorceresses. Triss is a good friend to the main protagonists, and is always there to help when they need it.


 * Ascended Extra: In the video games.
 * Beauty Is Never Tarnished: In the books, she mentions boasting some impressive burnmarks on her body that prevent her from wearing low-cut dresses. There isn't an inch of her body that the second game doesn't show, and there isn't even a hint of this visible.
 * Chickification: Suffers one badly in second game.
 * Cool Big Sis: To Ciri, whom she befriends during her visit to Kaer Morhen.
 * Green Eyed Red Head
 * Hello, Nurse!: In the games, her beauty is often lampshaded. In the first game, there's a guest in Leuvaarden's party who wants you to know that "Triss Merigold is the most beautiful woman in the world". In the second game, Zoltan compliments her appearance, Cedric flirts with her, a troll falls in love with her, and Philippa Eilhart says that she "looks nice" when they chat via megascope.
 * The Lancer: In the first game, especially on the Neutral route.
 * Ms. Fanservice: In the second game especially, though elements of this were present in the first as well.
 * Mundane Utility: Uses a spell to remove her clothes in the second game's sex scene.
 * Promoted to Love Interest: In the games.
 * Reports of My Death Were Greatly Exaggerated: She fought in a battle during the Nilfgaardian invasion of Cintra, got wounded and disfigured, and nobody recognized her before her name got carved on a memorial. It kind of weighs on her.
 * Took a Level in Badass: At some point during the Rivian pogrom.
 * Reports of My Death Were Greatly Exaggerated: She fought in a battle during the Nilfgaardian invasion of Cintra, got wounded and disfigured, and nobody recognized her before her name got carved on a memorial. It kind of weighs on her.
 * Took a Level in Badass: At some point during the Rivian pogrom.

Shani
A female doctor and one of Geralt's old friends. In her first appearance, a student of medicine; later, a veteran of the Battle of Brenna, where she served in a field hospital. She appears as well in the first game, where she is one of Geralt's contacts and a potential love interest.


 * Action Girl: She may lack the mutations of a witcher and the spells of a sorceress, but she can still hold her own in a fight.
 * Clingy Jealous Girl
 * Doting Parent: To Alvin if Geralt chooses her over Triss to take care of the boy. In contrast, Triss has more strict views on parenting.
 * Fiery Redhead
 * Hospital Hottie
 * Plucky Girl
 * Redhead in Green

King Foltest
The 'arrogant, sister humping, warmongering' king of Temeria, as well as a whole bunch of other places he beat into submission. A major presence in the first game, and his death starts the plot of the second.

"Foltest: Where the hell are we going!? Soldiers: To battle! Foltest: What the fuck do we want!? Soldiers: Victory! Foltest: This I like!"
 * Authority Equals Asskicking: Though his exact level of skill is hard to place, he certainly is no amateur with a blade.
 * Bling of War: Averted in the first game with some eminently practical platemail. The sequel then takes it to the extreme without becoming tacky or impractical. I mean, it looks like it could be used as a loot for a dragon, but sturdy and well packed for a war.
 * Boisterous Bruiser
 * A Father to His Men: His popularity among his people varies. His soldiers, on the other hand adore him, and he is quite capable of recognizing a common solder from a battle fought near four years ago.
 * Papa Wolf: He has many flaws, but it should be noted: he genuinely cares about all of his children.
 * Pet the Dog: His meeting with his bastard children shows a soft side to a man many claimed was forged of steel.
 * Really Gets Around: He never married, and is famous for his libido. Infamously, one of his conquests was his own sister, though he claims that he truly loved her.
 * Reasonable Authority Figure: It’s hinted this isn’t always the case, but he likes and respects Geralt, and is willing to at least humour his opinions.
 * Rousing Speech: Not so much a speech, as... well... OH HELL YES.


 * Royals Who Actually Do Something
 * Sir Swearsalot: Everyone does in the Witcher of course, but Foltest stands out by being a king. Amusingly, his pet name for his capital city is ‘the Whorehouse’.
 * Warrior Prince: With great enthusiasm.

Iorveth
Leader of the Scoia'tael commando on Flotsam. He aided the kingslayer with his resources.


 * Ascended Extra: His name is dropped a few times in the books, but it's not until the second game where he finally makes a physical appearance.
 * Badass
 * Back-to-Back Badasses: With Geralt on Chapter 1.
 * Cultured Badass: Plays a flute and recites poetry.
 * Big Damn Hero: He has one on chapter 2
 * Bodyguard Crush: Implied with Saskia. Bodyguard is a little bit of a stretch, though.
 * Dark and Troubled Past: Alluded to on several occasions, though it's kinda in the job description.
 * Defrosting Ice King: Iorveth mellows out a lot thoroughout the second game, at least towards Geralt. Culminates in a Crowning Moment of Heartwarming when, once they meet again after Geralt, 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: Got out of every trap the Temerian special forces (and Roche personally) set for him.
 * Eyepatch of Power
 * Fantastic Racism
 * Noble Bigot: He makes no efforts to hide his hatred of humans, but he is willing to fight to create a country where humans, elves, and dwarves can live side by side in peace.
 * 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: 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 very much cares 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 is fair: once Geralt accused one of his best swordsmen, a young elf named Ele'yas, of murdering innocent humans on Vergen, Iorveth demanded proof.
 * Mr. Fanservice: Oh yeah.
 * Older Than They Look: Comes with being an elf. Has apparently been fighting humans for close to 100 years.
 * The Power of Friendship: To Geralt: "You're the most honorable d'hoine I've ever known... my hatred for the species has abated for a while".
 * Well-Intentioned Extremist: Bordering on Necessarily Evil.

King Henselt
The ruler of Kaedwen, the largest of the Northern Kingdoms. Plans to conquer the Pontar Valley, which he claims to be his birthright, but first he has to defeat the resistance led by Saskia the Dragon Slayer.


 * Acrofatic: Despite his bulk, he is rather agile and an accomplished swordsman.
 * Adipose Rex
 * Bald of Evil: It's hard to tell under his crown, but yeah, he has a shaved head under there.
 * Beard of Evil: It's remarked in The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings that his beard makes him look more like a thief than a king.
 * Blood Knight
 * Even Evil Has Standards: Despite being a ruthless and manipulative individual, he was absolutely disgusted by Sabrina Glevissig's decision to cast a powerful fire spell on the battlefield of his previous campaign on Aedirnian ground, slaughtering a large number of soldiers, both friend and foe alike.
 * Although it has to be remembered that Sabrina's spell also cost him the victory, which probably influenced his decision.
 * Fantastic Racism
 * A Father to His Men
 * Fluffy the Terrible: King Henselt of Kaedwen, last of the line of the Unicorn.
 * Of course, in Medieval myth, unicorns were dangerous beasts that only a maiden could approach safely. Henselt's lineage probably refers to the Badass old school unicorns.
 * Royals Who Actually Do Something
 * Smug Snake: Really makes you want to let just to wipe that smile off his mug.
 * Ungrateful Bastard:
 * Well-Intentioned Extremist: Invoked by himself when call him out on his villanious acts. Indeed, barring a few exceptions, everything he did was meant to benefit his kingdom in some way.

Dethmold
A powerful sorcerer who serves as King Henselt's advisor during the events of the second game. Has little in the way of morals, but is devoted to his king.


 * Jerkass
 * Names to Run Away From Really Fast
 * Necromancer
 * Obviously Evil
 * Off with His Head:
 * Smug Snake
 * Names to Run Away From Really Fast
 * Necromancer
 * Obviously Evil
 * Off with His Head:
 * Smug Snake

Síle de Tansarville
A sorceress from the kingdom of Creyden who is known for her reserved nature. In the second game, she was sent to Kaedwen and tasked by King Henselt with finding a cure for his infertility.


 * Absolute Cleavage: It's actually not *that* crazy like most examples, but it stands out because of her amazing tits and the tattoo she's got on her chest, which was no doubt put there to draw the viewer's attention.
 * Pimped-Out Dress
 * Ship Tease: With Geralt in Flotsam, assuming the player chooses the correct dialogue choices. Also overlaps with Defrosting Ice Queen.
 * Tall Dark and Bishojo
 * Vain Sorceress: For being known as the "Koviri Loner" and infamous as a reclusive ice queen, she sure does seem to spend a lot of time taking care of her appearance. Her habit of wearing heavy make-up and Pimped-Out Dress had Bernard Loredo comment that she looks like "a whore on parade day".
 * In fact, she puts on makeup for the fight with . Geralt snarks at this, saying that cannot see in color.
 * Ship Tease: With Geralt in Flotsam, assuming the player chooses the correct dialogue choices. Also overlaps with Defrosting Ice Queen.
 * Tall Dark and Bishojo
 * Vain Sorceress: For being known as the "Koviri Loner" and infamous as a reclusive ice queen, she sure does seem to spend a lot of time taking care of her appearance. Her habit of wearing heavy make-up and Pimped-Out Dress had Bernard Loredo comment that she looks like "a whore on parade day".
 * In fact, she puts on makeup for the fight with . Geralt snarks at this, saying that cannot see in color.
 * In fact, she puts on makeup for the fight with . Geralt snarks at this, saying that cannot see in color.

Notable video game-only characters
And finally, the video games couldn't run solely on canon characters, and these were created for the purposes of the adaptation.

Jacques de Aldersberg
The founder of the Order of the Flaming Rose and its current grandmaster. Fanatically opposed to nonhumans.


 * Fantastic Racism: What else do you expect from the leader of the human-supremacist group?
 * Knight Templar: This describes the Order of the Flaming Rose in general.
 * Magic Knight: The first thing we see of him is a person in platemail throwing a fireball.
 * Used to Be a Sweet Kid:
 * Utopia Justifies the Means
 * Knight Templar: This describes the Order of the Flaming Rose in general.
 * Magic Knight: The first thing we see of him is a person in platemail throwing a fireball.
 * Used to Be a Sweet Kid:
 * Utopia Justifies the Means
 * Utopia Justifies the Means

Alvin
A young boy whom Geralt rescues from Barghests right in the outskirts of Vizima. By all appearances, he’s a perfectly normal child, but he is also a Source, and has great potential for magic and especially a thing for seeing into the future.


 * Cheerful Child
 * Chekhov's Gunman: He's introduced as some random kid rescued from certain death by Geralt.
 * Child Mage
 * Creepy Child: Whenever he has one of his premonitions.
 * Does Not Like Shoes: Goes barefoot everywhere.
 * Hair of Gold
 * Heartwarming Orphan
 * Hero Worshipper: He sees Geralt as a role model, and takes a lot of what he says to heart.
 * Oracular Urchin
 * Spear Counterpart: He's a rough male equivalent to Ciri, being a powerful Source child who Geralt serves as a father figure to.
 * Tagalong Kid: Especially in Chapter IV, where he follows Geralt around, even in hostile territory.
 * With Great Power Comes Great Insanity: His Source power put him in danger of this trope.
 * With Great Power Comes Great Insanity: His Source power put him in danger of this trope.

Letho of Gulet/Kingslayer
A mysterious Witcher from the School of the Viper who murders kings. Geralt seemed to know him, before the loss of his memory.


 * Bald of Evil:
 * Big Bad: Of the second game.
 * Career Killer: One that’s only after kings.
 * Dumb Muscle: Subverted. But he looks like he's one and knows how to use it to his advantage.
 * Good Scars, Evil Scars: He has a rather large, deep, and ugly V-shaped one on his forehead.
 * Knife Nut: He has a pair of daggers that we never see him use in the game proper. The animated introduction in the Enhanced Edition, however, shows that he's no less dangerous when he uses them.
 * Lightning Bruiser: Compared to humans, all witchers are very strong and fast, but Letho stands out for being, in Geralt's words, "a mountain of meat", and yet he is every bit as agile as his fellow witchers, who are a lot smaller and leaner by comparison. Letho's speed is even lampshaded in more than one occasion, first by
 * Magic Knight: He's a Witcher, after all.
 * Manipulative Bastard:
 * Mirror Boss
 * Mr. Exposition: At the end, he'll happily explain to you the reasons for his actions, finishing up the Backstory and cluing you in on what's really going on in the grand scheme of things.
 * Sleeves Are for Wimps
 * Lightning Bruiser: Compared to humans, all witchers are very strong and fast, but Letho stands out for being, in Geralt's words, "a mountain of meat", and yet he is every bit as agile as his fellow witchers, who are a lot smaller and leaner by comparison. Letho's speed is even lampshaded in more than one occasion, first by
 * Magic Knight: He's a Witcher, after all.
 * Manipulative Bastard:
 * Mirror Boss
 * Mr. Exposition: At the end, he'll happily explain to you the reasons for his actions, finishing up the Backstory and cluing you in on what's really going on in the grand scheme of things.
 * Sleeves Are for Wimps
 * Sleeves Are for Wimps
 * Sleeves Are for Wimps

Vernon Roche
Commander of the Blue Stripes, a temerian special forces unit tasked with handling nonhuman threats. Helps Geralt break out of prision in the Prologue under the condition that he'll help Vernon capture the kingslayer.


 * Affably Ruthless: Roche commands a brutal and ruthless death squad, and has personally killed more than a few innocents and ordered the deaths of countless others. Despite this, he's a genuinely friendly and likable guy, treats his soldiers well, and is extremely loyal to those he considers his friends. Even if Geralt starts actively working against him, he simply acts hurt rather than angry.
 * Anti-Hero: Type IV/V
 * Badass
 * Berserk Button: Several, but specially hates being called a "whoreson" because of his Dark and Troubled Past
 * Big Damn Hero:
 * Covert Pervert: While carrying a RRoD'd Triss, he takes solace in the fact that he'll die holding a nice ass, despite her protests.
 * Also, you might see him walking around in the background when
 * Fantastic Racism
 * A Father to His Men
 * He Who Fights Monsters: One of the reasons why Iorveth hates him so passionately is that Vernon, unlike his predecessors, becomes increasingly more vicious and accomplished the longer he leads the Temerian special forces division. There are even rumors that Vernon feeds on Elven ears.
 * Hot-Blooded
 * Jerkass Woobie With a Heart of Gold: He's a brutal spymaster in a Crapsack World. But he genuinely cares for Geralt and his men. He later gain a woobie point when
 * Kick the Son of a Bitch: His main primary goal. It could be said that his route is composed entirely of this.
 * My Country, Right or Wrong
 * Nice Hat: His chaperon.
 * Parental Substitute:
 * Rated "M" for Manly
 * Reckless Sidekick: Verily
 * Undying Loyalty: Even their deaths won't sever his loyalty to those who managed to earn it.

Ves
The Blue Stripes' second-in-command. She was rescued by Vernon from a gang of elves when she was a teenager and has been working for the Blue Stripes ever since.


 * Action Girl
 * The Archer
 * Bifauxnen: Doesn't fool anyone, though.
 * Butt Monkey: First she is used as bait by the Blue Stripes to then she has to deal with discrimination on Kaedwen's camp for being a female soldier, and finally she  And then there's her backstory.
 * Fantastic Racism: Subverted. Even though she hunts non-humans and suffered a lot at the hands of elves in the past, she claims that she does not begrudge the race as a whole and that she simply kills who she is ordered to, and that she makes no distinction between human and non-human targets.
 * Only Sane Woman: Arguably the most stable-minded member of the Blue Stripes, Vernon included.
 * Rape as Backstory: She was held captive for years by a gang of elves. The leader took a liking to her. Vernon and the Blue Stripes rescued her eventually, but unfortunately the damage had long been done.
 * The Smurfette Principle: The only female member of the Blue Stripes.
 * The Stoic
 * What Happened to the Mouse?:
 * What Happened to the Mouse?:

Saskia the Dragon Slayer
Leader of the Aedirnian resistance. She dreams of a land where humans and nonhumans can coexist in harmony.


 * The Ace: She is a beautiful, brave young woman who is just as smart as she is charismatic, and rumor has it that she killed a dragon single-handily.
 * Badass Normal
 * The Extremist Was Right
 * Founder of the Kingdom: Of Upper Aedirn.
 * Hair of Gold
 * Hot Chick with a Sword
 * Incorruptible Pure Pureness
 * Interspecies Romance: Geralt can be implied to ship Saskia/Iorveth through one dialogue opinion in one of the endings. Saskia notes that she had heard many lewd things said about the two of them, but finds dwarves most interesting. She does put some thought into the idea, though.
 * Jeanne D'Archetype
 * Lady of War
 * Morality Pet: For Iorveth, who is fiercely loyal to her.
 * Rebel Leader: Self-explanatory.
 * Red Baron: Also known as the "Virgin of Aedirn".
 * Virgin Power: What a lot of people seem to believe she has. Since as Triss correctly notes, virgins are a dying breed in the Witcherverse, it isn't that crazy an argument from a peasant's POV.
 * Lady of War
 * Morality Pet: For Iorveth, who is fiercely loyal to her.
 * Rebel Leader: Self-explanatory.
 * Red Baron: Also known as the "Virgin of Aedirn".
 * Virgin Power: What a lot of people seem to believe she has. Since as Triss correctly notes, virgins are a dying breed in the Witcherverse, it isn't that crazy an argument from a peasant's POV.
 * Red Baron: Also known as the "Virgin of Aedirn".
 * Virgin Power: What a lot of people seem to believe she has. Since as Triss correctly notes, virgins are a dying breed in the Witcherverse, it isn't that crazy an argument from a peasant's POV.

Siegfried of Denesle
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.


 * Adorkable
 * Badass
 * Belief Makes You Stupid
 * Celibate Hero
 * Fantastic Racism
 * Hair of Gold
 * Knight Templar
 * Wide-Eyed Idealist

Yaevinn
The leader of Vizima's Scoia'tael. Like Siegfried, he is one of Geralt's contacts in the first game. He wants to overthrow the humans because he believes the world would be better off under the leadership of the elves.


 * Badass
 * Badass Long Hair
 * Cultured Badass
 * 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.
 * Can't Argue with Elves
 * Fantastic Racism
 * Not So Different: Claims to be this to Geralt in an attempt to lure him to his side.
 * Warrior Poet