#The witcher show full#
#The witcher show professional#
#The witcher show series#
#The witcher show tv#

The short stories introduce characters like Dandelion/Jaskier and Yennefer, and they do take place first, but these episodic adventures-many of which are essentially dark fantasy parodies of fairy tales-can be an acquired taste. Whether you begin with the short stories or the saga is a matter of taste. Season of Storms is set in the middle of the short story period of Geralt's life rather than at the absolute beginning, and it ends with an epilogue set well after them. If you're thinking the prequel might be a good place to start, think again.

#The witcher show series#

Sapkowski created Geralt and his world for a series of short stories collected in two books called The Last Wish and The Sword of Destiny, then expanded from there into a saga of five novels followed by a prequel called Season of Storms. To begin at the beginning, Andrzej Sapkowski's books about a 'Wiedźmin', as witchers are called in the original Polish, are the OG source for everything that comes later. Highlights: It all builds to a poignant finale in The Lady of the Lake (opens in new tab), but it'll take some reading to get there.

#The witcher show full#

Reading order: Here's our full guide on where to start (opens in new tab). According to elves, this is also how humans arrived.īest for: Getting an understanding of the politics. The Conjunction of the Spheres - A cosmic cataclysm 1,500 years in the past that caused a merging of worlds, and is supposedly the reason why creatures like ghouls exist in The Witcher's world.It may be a bumper harvest, a new puppy, or even a child. The Law of Surprise - A boon granted for a life saved, the first thing the debt-ower finds at home they don't expect.There are few witchers in the world, and they're often viewed as freaks.

Witchers are put through intensive (and cruel) training from childhood and exposed to mutagens that change their bodies, making them stronger, long-lived, and have cat-like eyes.

#The witcher show professional#

Witcher - A professional monster-slayer who fights with swords and minor magical tricks called signs.

Fearsomely independent, but allies with Cintra.

Skellige - Basically the Ireland of the Witcher world, an island kingdom off the coast of the Northern Kingdoms.

The bad guys, though it's never quite that simple.

Nilfgaard - The south is controlled by the sprawling Nilfgaard Empire.

Geralt is not actually from Rivia, but took the name as an easy reference for those skeptical of witchers.

Rivia - A small Northern kingdom best known for the 'of Rivia' that appears after Geralt's name.

Cintra - One of the Northern Kingdoms, invaded by Nilfgaard during the first Northern War.The islands of Skellige are off the coast to the west. The insert in the right shows the territory to the south owned by the empire of Nilfgaard, while the main map shows off the Northern Kingdoms, where most of the stories take place. Here's a basic map (though wars that play out over time will change the political boundaries).

#The witcher show tv#

The Witcher TV series takes place across a large fantasy world, and the books and games focus in on different countries and regions. Present in: All three games, the novels Baptism of Fire and The Lady of the Lake.

Zoltan - Several garrulous hard-drinking dwarves serve as Geralt's companions temporarily, including Zoltan Chivay, a mohawked war veteran.

Triss - Another sorceress in love with Geralt, Triss helps raise Ciri and is something of a sister to her.

Jaskier's his name in the original Polish and the Netflix series, Dandelion in the games.

Dandelion/Jaskier - A poet, bard, and dandy who is Geralt's traveling companion and frequently the reason he gets into trouble.

Present in: The books, the show, the third videogame.

Yennefer - A short-tempered sorceress who is the love of Geralt's life, though they're apart as often as they're together.

Ciri - A princess whose destiny is tied to Geralt's, and becomes his foster daughter over the course of the saga.

Geralt - A monster-hunting mutant who is hated by the world he protects, except for its beautiful sorceresses who seem to frequently adore him.