15 Interesting Facts About Geralt of Rivia
Anybody who has played the Witcher series of games is familiar with our hero the super-powered monster killer Geralt of Rivia. Throughout the games, Geralt makes several references to his past adventures, but much of his history remains shrouded in mystery. We dove deep into Geralt’s past to find the fifteen most interesting bits of trivia about the character that you probably didn’t know.
15. Geralt is stronger and faster than other Witchers
Geralt's skill lets him kill more dangerous game than other hunters
All young witchers go through a mutation process called The Trial of the Grasses. This process involves giving them powerful poisons that break down their physical and mental traits, and then giving them powerful potions that build them back even stronger than they were before. Though many potential witchers do not survive this, for some reason, Geralt was made stronger, faster, and more sensitive than other witchers who had gone through the Trial successfully
14. The medallion Geralt has in the games is not his first medallion
Geralt is a member of the Wolf School, known for their bravery and ferocity in battle
All witchers wear a medallion that identifies them as a witcher, lets other witchers know what school they’re from, and vibrates whenever they are in the presence of magic. Toward the end of the book The Tower of the Swallow, Geralt’s medallion is given to a mage. When the antagonist of the story orders the mage and his possessions burnt, Geralt’s medallion is tossed in the fire. For a while, he carries around a weak replica of a witcher medallion made by a sorceress friend, but Ciri eventually gives him a spare Wolf School medallion she took from an evil bounty hunter.
13. Geralt’s eye scar was added by CD Projekt Red
Not that Geralt didn't have enough scars already
The distinctive scar over Geralt’s eye is never mentioned in the books. CD Projekt Red, the developers behind The Witcher games, confirmed that they added the scar when designing Geralt’s character model to make him seem more interesting. In the third game, Geralt mentions that he got the scar while completing a contract on a cockatrice. This conflicts with the canon of the books; Geralt doesn’t have the scar at the end of the series, and the game picks up almost exactly where the books leave off.
12. Geralt is MUCH older than he appears
He should probably invest in some good skin cream
In addition to giving him advanced reflexes, strength, resilience, and silver white hair, The Trial of the Grasses also gave Geralt a much longer life-span than a normal human. At the beginning of the Witcher 3, Geralt mentions that he is in his 90s, and closer to 100 than not. Nobody is really sure how long witchers can live for, because as the old witcher saying goes, “No witcher has ever died in their bed.” Interestingly, Geralt’s silver-white hair is not a result of his age, but a side-effect of the mutations he went through.
11. Geralt’s accent is not his natural accent
Geralt is also fluent in Troll
Many players have noted that despite everyone else in the world sounding vaguely European, Geralt speaks with a deep, gravelly, American accent. The reasoning for this is simple. Witchers are encouraged to take on a last name to appear more trustworthy to clients. Geralt chose the name Geralt of Rivia, and adopted a Rivian accent to make it seem more believable.
10. Geralt has used the alias Ravix of Fourhorn
Sir Ravix of Fourhorn stands alongside a brave knight of Toussaint
During a contract where he was supposed to attend a fancy gala undercover, Geralt went by the fake name Ravix of Fourhorn. To avoid any kind of suspicion from the other guests, Geralt’s client used their connections to actually record Ravix of Fourhorn’s existence as a knight in the royal records. They also gave ‘Ravix’ his own coat of arms; a woman sitting on top of a bear. In the Blood & Wine expansion to The Witcher 3, Geralt is given the option to use this alias again when he enters the grand tournament.
9. The first time Geralt used his witcher training did not go as planned
The Killing Monsters cinematic trailer was inspired by Geralt's first encounter with a "monster"
In the collection of short stories, The Last Wish, Geralt tells his friend Iola of the first time he killed a ‘monster.’ Shortly after leaving the witcher stronghold of Kaer Morhen, Geralt came across a bald man with rotting teeth attempting to rob and murder a merchant and rape the merchant’s daughter. Geralt leapt off his horse and attacked the man, killing him in two strokes. When he went to help the young woman up, she vomited at the sight of him drenched in blood before fainting. Looking around, Geralt noticed that her father and the attackers had all run away at the sight of him. It was then that Geralt realized that the rest of the world would always view him as a freak, and that there was a reason witchers carried two swords: One is for monstrous beasts, and the other is for monstrous humans.
8. Geralt is one of the last Witchers in the world
Geralt's skill in combat and unnatural longevity has meant that he's seen many friends die before him
Long before the beginning of the games, witcher strongholds, including Geralt’s home of Kaer Morhen, are attacked by terrified mobs who believe that there is an evil witcher conspiracy. Though the brave and skilled witchers manage to fight off these attacks, many of the strongholds are all but destroyed, and the knowledge of how to turn children into witchers is lost forever. Geralt and his friends are thus some of the last witchers in the world. Having seen how painful the trial is and how difficult the lives of witchers are, Geralt accepts this and is glad that nobody will have to endure what he and his companions have.
7. There’s no such thing as The Witcher’s Code
Gotta get paid for my work. Witcher's Code and all that.
Throughout the games and the books, Geralt frequently refers to a mysterious document known as The Witcher’s Code. Notable tenets are that a witcher cannot work for free, or that a witcher needs to stay neutral in political affairs. However, The Witcher's Code is just something that Geralt and the other witchers have made up to use when they don’t want to get involved with something. The reality is that witchers are free to make whatever decisions they please according to their own sense of morality and justice.
6. Geralt’s mother is a sorceress
Geralt's mother, Visenna, was a powerful druidess and healer
Though never seen in the games, Geralt’s mother, Visenna, is a powerful sorceress and druid. Interestingly, most sorceresses in the game are infertile due to a side-effect of acquiring their magical powers. This is also true of witchers, who are rendered sterile through The Trial of the Grasses. However, some sorceresses are able to use powerful magic to reverse their infertility, and we can assume that is what Visenna did. Geralt’s father, Korin, was a brave warrior who helped Visenna kill a koshchey, a powerful creature created by magic.
5. Geralt’s signs don’t actually require magical ability
Fireball! Fireball! Fireball!
Though Geralt is able to cast some simple spells using a witcher ability known as “Signs,” these signs don’t actually require witchers to have any magical ability. By using different hand gestures and a large amount of concentration, Geralt is able to summon fire, cast a protective shield, and use other basic spells. The reason that witchers can do this and humans can’t is because of the increased focus and concentration that The Trial of the Grasses and his witcher training has given him.
4. Geralt is considered a non-human
Geralt's status as a witcher often gets him into hot water with unfriendly locals
Despite being born a human to human parents, Geralt is considered by many of the governments and characters in the game to be a non-human. However, non-humans, such as elves and dwarves, generally consider Geralt and other witchers to be human. This leaves Geralt in the uncomfortable situation of often having to protect non-humans from humans, as well as protecting humans from non-humans, while being respected by no one as either.
3. Geralt has been knighted
Geralt's armor at the Toussaint Tourney bears the crest of Rivia
During his adventures before the games, Geralt and his friends stumbled across a battle that was already in progress, finding themselves standing in the middle of a bridge between two sides. Thinking quickly, Geralt and company defended the bridge from the attacking Nilfgaardians, holding their position in fierce and bloody combat. When the battle was over, Geralt was taken to Queen Meve of Lyria and Rivia. For his bravery in combat, she knighted him Geralt of Rivia, making his surname official.
2. Geralt’s voice actor never played a Witcher game before Witcher 3
Geralt's voice actor, Doug Cockle, growling in the studio
Though he had voiced Geralt for nearly a decade, voice actor Doug Cockle had never actually played a witcher game before the third. In fact, he describes himself as not much of a video game player, having had to go out and buy a PlayStation 4 system for him to play the game that he starred in. For his outstanding performance, Doug Cockle has been nominated for and won several voice acting awards.
1. Depending on the player’s choices, Geralt can get a tattoo
It's a good thing he's got a job where presentation doesn't matter...
During the events of Witcher 2: Assassin of Kings, Geralt is presented with the option to go out drinking with some rowdy soldiers. If Geralt chooses to do this, he wakes up hungover and naked except for his boxers the next morning, with an aching pain in his neck. Upon further inspection, Geralt finds out that in his drunkenness, he was convinced to get a tattoo. If the player imports a save from the Witcher 2 to The Witcher 3 and has made that choice, Geralt will appear in the game with the same tattoo on his neck.
Geralt is a fascinating character who has been through a lot in his near century of being alive. Even though CD Projekt Red has moved on from the Witcher series, we’re sure that there are plenty more stories of Geralt and his bravery to be told.
