The Witcher is considered by many to be one of the greatest video game series of all time, and there's no other person to thank other than Andrzej Sapkowski for creating such a brilliant and lived-in world that feels like the prime dark fantasy setting everyone wanted to know about. The Continent is a dark and unforgiving place... but it's definitely full to the brim with some truly lovable and colorful characters who have become household names due to their presence in the books.
One such character who is perhaps the most valuable member of the game's cast is none other than Geralt of Rivia himself. This character has been featured front and center when it comes to some of the most important moments of The Witcher — whether it be the books or otherwise. That being said, there are several things Geralt has been featuring in when it comes to the books that most video game fans are completely unaware of. Here are ten such things that only book readers know about the famous Geralt of Rivia.
Updated on February 19th, 2022 by Ritwik Mitra: Fans of dark fantasy games should look no further than The Witcher. The series is full to the brim with amazing characters, brilliant stories, and beautiful landscapes to explore. At the heart of this series is Geralt of Rivia, a powerful witcher who never has a dull moment as he embarks on some truly engaging adventures indeed. Here are some things about this character that people unfamiliar with the books have no clue about.
15 For The Longest Time, Geralt Thought That His Child Of Destiny Was A Boy
While going back to Queen Calanthe to discuss the tenets of the Law of Surprise he had negotiated a while back, viewers found out something interesting about the witcher. He was under the assumption that the Child of Destiny was a boy.
Calanthe did nothing to dispel this notion when Geralt mentioned it to her. It was only after a chance encounter with Ciri in Brokilon Forest that Geralt found out about her actual gender.
14 His High Resilience Led To Him Receiving More Experimental Treatments
The Trial of the Grasses is something that most prospective witchers are subjected to, with children ingesting potions to mutate and transform into these monster-hunting mutants. While the survivability of this trial is pretty low, Geralt shocked everyone by showing an unnaturally high resistance towards these mutations.
This led the witchers to select Geralt for more experimental treatments to increase his strength and resilience even further. While Geralt could've died as a result of these treatments, he thankfully survived and embarked on the journey to become a witcher.
13 The Origin Of His White Hair
Unlike most of the other witchers, Geralt's trademark white hair is distinctly unique. In fact, its origins come from the experimental treatments that are discussed above.
During these experiments, Geralt's hair lost all its pigmentation and turned white. This led to Geralt gaining the nickname of 'White Wolf' as well.
12 Geralt Was Forced To Kill His Best Friend In A Farcical Tournament
During his time as a prospective witcher, Geralt made many friends along the way that have appeared in the games as well, such as Eskel. One such person was Gweld, whom Geralt considered to be his best friend. Both students faced off against each other in a witcher-only tournament.
However, this tournament was nothing more than a ploy to wipe out the witchers of the Wolf School. While Geralt and Gweld knew about this farce, a druid forced a powerful mind-control spell on the latter that sent him into a murderous frenzy. With no choice, Geralt had to kill his best friend before running away.
11 The Name He Uses For His Horse Isn't Really Unique
Roach is a legendary horse, whose name has been steeped in gaming history. However, most fans of The Witcher's games would be saddened to know that this mount isn't exactly legendary.
In fact, Geralt gives this name to every horse he's ever had. Since they died frequently, Geralt did away with the notion of naming each horse individually and settled on a common name for all of them — Roach.
10 Geralt Isn't Exactly Good-Looking In The Books
Given how Geralt has been portrayed in the games and the Netflix adaptation, one would assume that Geralt was quite an eye-pleaser in the books as well... but that isn't even remotely the case.
Rather, Geralt is actually quite an evil-looking witcher, with hollowed-out eyes, pale skin, and a face that's marred by scars. However, that's not even the worst part of his features...
9 His Smile Is Disgusting To Look At
The one thing that the book version of Geralt would also agree with is the fact that his face is nothing short of an absolute mess... but twisting these grotesque features into a smile makes him look even more terrifying.
It's a smile so horrifying to look at that Geralt himself ends up taking a double-take when a mimic he's fighting ends up twisting its features to resemble what can only be described as the ugliest smirk known to man.
8 He Isn't As Strong As The Games Make Him Out To Be
One has to admit that Geralt's combat skills in The Witcher games are nothing short of incredible, allowing him to take on imposing monsters and mobs of humans with the greatest of ease.
However, in the books, Geralt is nowhere near that powerful. He's been handed a resounding beating in some normal fistfights, and the mage Vilgefortz managed to best him in combat without even using his magic!
Speaking of which...
7 His Knee Was Permanently Damaged After His Fight With Vilgefortz
After figuring out that Yennefer was trapped and being tortured in Stygga Castle, Geralt embarked on a quest to save his love and even managed to do... although not before facing off in a battle against Vilgefortz.
The mage was so powerful that he didn't even use any magic in his fight against Geralt, choosing to use his staff instead to lay a vicious beatdown upon Geralt that ended up damaging his knee so bad that it ended up being a permanent hindrance throughout the rest of The Witcher series.
6 He's An Atheist
Given the fact that Dandelion and Geralt are fast friends, it goes without saying that the bard would be more than aware of most nuances of Geralt's character... including the fact that he doesn't believe in a god.
That being said, he doesn't impose his beliefs on most people and respects their faith. Although — given the supernatural and magical elements of The Witcher — one has to admit that Geralt is definitely the odd one out for not believing in a higher power that governs all this madness.
5 He Actually Studied — And Taught — At Oxenfurt Academy
Oxenfurt Academy is one of the most reputed educational institutions in the world of The Witcher, boasting several reputed alumni such as Shani and Dandelion. However, what most people don't know is that there's another person who studied in this academy — namely, Geralt of Rivia himself.
He never studied for a degree, however — rather, it was his zeal to learn and attain special skills that drove him towards this institute. In fact, he even served as a teacher in the Academy!
4 Triss Used Love Potions On Him To Make Him Fall For Her
Given the love that Triss and Geralt can possibly share in the games, players would be surprised to know that the romance between both these individuals was rather short-lived — and somewhat disturbing — in the books.
While traveling together, Triss used to spike Geralt's drinks with a love potion that made him develop feelings for her — something that she used to her advantage throughout her travels.
3 He Slept With Fringilla Vigo Out Of Spite
In Lady of the Lake, Geralt is led to believe that Yennefer actually betrayed him, which definitely messed up his emotions quite a bit. This led him to sleep with Fringilla pretty much out of spite... although he did call her Yen in bed more often than not.
All of this changes when he finds out that Yennefer had never betrayed him in the first place — in fact, she was actually being brutally tortured during her imprisonment in Stygga Castle!
2 He Realized Early On That Heroics Wasn't Going To Help Him Win Over The Common Folk
After embarking into the world of the Continent as a fresh witcher for the first time, Geralt ended up stumbling upon a man and his daughter who were being targeted by a band of hooligans.
Geralt did what he assumed to be the right thing and took out all these hooligans in swift fashion... only to see that the man had run away and his daughter was in hysterics after witnessing this bloodbath. Only then did he realize that trying to win over the common folk was a futile endeavor.
1 Both Him And Yennefer Have Probably Died By The End Of The Books
The first Witcher game starts after Geralt was heavily wounded in the infamous Rivian Pogrom... although one has to admit that the book's continuity indicates otherwise.
Given the visions Ciri had seen and the prophecy Yennefer had been told, it was clear that both had died during the Rivian Pogrom. After all, no person can survive being impaled by a pitchfork.
While Sapkowski has stated that Geralt has survived around the time when the first game had come out, one has to wonder whether this was said only to make sense of the game's events continuing on from the books.
The Witcher 3 was released on May 19th, 2015 and is available for PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.