You forgot one major thing about them, I think. Their superhuman abilities and magics are not enough to be able to deal with their main designated enemies by themselves, they merely level the playing field. The witcher actually gains the upper hand by their intelligence and education: Figuring out what the target really is, knowing its weaknesses and how to exploit them. Geralts story arc in episode 3 is a great example of this (remaining vague due to spoilers): By investigating previous victims he finds out what the monster really is (as hearsay from regular people is not reliable enough, as they have neither the advanced senses nor the knowledge of the different beasts) and is then able to find out what he has to do to get rid of the monster without killing it and taking precautions to help him achieve that goal immediately as he get that information.
I'm sure you are fully aware of this already but you make the best high-fantasy, high-quality content on TH-cam. Thank you! Cannot wait for the day I get a push notification for you and the wheel of time!
I absolutly agree - though *_Alt Shift X_* and *_Tolkien Untangled_* (if we include channels dedicated to just one specific universe as is the case with the latter) are up there as well, at least in my opinion.
Can a zoologist comment on that? I would have expected creatures with fast movement and sharp senses to have fast heartbeat (and metabolism), like birds, bats, or mice - and on the other hand, creatures with slow heartbeat (and metabolism) to be slow-moving and sleepy, like sloths, koalas, or turtles. Then again, maybe the science isn't really what the witcher's world is all about?
Ingo Schwarze well a fast moving creature with a slow heart beat would bleed more slowly no? Obviously there is magic in this world but I liked that little bit of logic. Also, when Geralt moves fast he is under the influence of drugs mostly which some how don’t increase his heart beat. Or maybe do but not so much he doesn’t still have an advantage. When the drugs wear off his slow blood flow gives him more time. Must be rubbish for healing though.
@@IngoSchwarze You can have slower heartbeat if you have thicker arteries. Volume of blood pumped per second is what's important, no matter how you achieve it. It's not going to be much help against bleeding (same volume), but it will make your stamina better. And your heart will last longer I guess.
There are two more official signs. Both are mentioned in books Sign of Somne - causes a person to fall asleep and mild amnesia hence why not many people know about it. Second one is called Heliotrope - sign absorbs energy both physical and magical. This sign is highly demanding on the user, hence is not used often except direst of need.
Difficult to think of Geralt as a "monk" -- warrior or otherwise. He never seems to lack intimate female companionship. It's that swagger. As an added benefit, no risk of accidental pregnancy.
I'd hesitate to use the term "monk," primarily because Witchers don't espouse some kind of religious or philosophical doctrine. Individual Witchers might, but as an organization they're more like mercenaries.
Thank you for covering Andrzej’s works Robert this made me happier than you can imagine. Looking forward to more lore videos! Hopefully the next one is on the conjunction of the spheres, always have been a bit vague on how it happened
When you’ve read 6 Witcher books, played all the games ( playing the DLC now in fact ) and have watched the Netflix series more times than you can count but see a video “ What is a Witcher” and hit play immediately just because it’s by Robert
It’s also never stated that it did anything other than make his hair white. Which is extra sad since there were others who passed the trials only to die doing them again for no discernible benefits.
@@Football-Steve 😪 im not familiar but there is an extra thing witchers can do called trials? And Geralt is the only one to do it? No one knew what powers they would recieve and many died trying to gain it but turns out, as far as we know, it just makes them white haired?
Moshope Akinwale they didn’t know there would be no extra benefit. They just saw that Geralt’s age group had a lot more boys than usual pass the trials, so they decided to see what would happen if they went through them again.
@@Football-Steve That’s not entirely true. It did more than make his hair white, as his eyes are much more pronounced than other Witcher’s eyes' which are more dull in colouration. So it can be assumed that the shared abilities that all Witchers from the various schools share are likely enhanced to a certain degree, as he himself stated that he could see perfectly in what was pitch darkness, whereas other Witchers require the use of a Cat potion to see that well. I know you use a cat potion to see in the dark, but I attribute it to a gameplay mechanic more than concrete evidence to the contrary, as Geralt isn’t one to lie about or exaggerate things unless he’s trying to deceive someone.
The Law of Surprise wasn’t a Witcher only thing though. Duny (not Donnie like I said before) wasn’t a Witcher. It’s a world thing Destiny in this world is real.
There are not five, but six novels written by Sapkowski. The last one he wrote, "Season of Storms", can be located roughly in between the short stories and the other five novels. It is also a very interesting one.
Hi Robert, good video as always. However, there is one point which is not quite correct. You keep saying that we experience the story mainly through Geralt's eyes. That is certainly true for the first 2 books of short stories, but not for the main saga in the novels. In the novels we experience the story through many different characters, mainly Ciri and Yennefer, but others as well. It's what makes the whole series so rich!
Question: Even though the school of the Wolf at Kaer Moran no longer had the knowledge of how to make more Witchers, couldn't they go to the other "Schools" to get the information? I know that they stopped making new Witchers due to the declining Monster population, but wouldn't they still have the information available to them?
We don't know from the books, but we can assume that other schools are also ether destroyed or basically fallen as Kaer Morhen (as is the case in the lore created by the games).
@DUMMIE So, I assume that was just show nonsense about trying to make Ciri a Witcher when they discovered she had Elven blood? It did strike me as ...odd, y'know? Not right.
@DUMMIE Well, I thought it had something to do with the plant that came up where her blood was spilled. But, as I surmised, this was just a show thing so not really important or relevant. It was just a side question. Thanks.😊
You missed out on 6th sign "Somne" still in the books. Also what was interesting is way how witchers judges if there is a job for them in villages. If there are builded up for defence they go in if they are open witchers usually pass as they don't like to be among people for unecessary reason.
The Witcher schools training of the children is very reminiscent of an anime called Claymore, absolutely awesome show which really deserved/deserves more episodes. There children are given a small amount of demon flesh, if I remember correctly, and it has much the same affect as the Trial of Grasses creating a super human being in those that survive. The Claymores are named after the swords they carry and all start as girls. It's an excellent series and I highly recommend watching it.
I just finished watching 2 episodes of this show on my Smart phone a couple of hours ago. After that I accessed TH-cam on my desktop PC and I get this suggested video about the Witcher. I've never had a Witcher video suggestion before. Pretty scary stuff
I was under the impression that Witchers came about not long after the "Conjunction of the Spheres" when the monsters started showing up, to combat them, but not as far back as human history in the stories.
I you had payed attention, you would have noted that humans came after or with the conjuction of the spheres. Elves, gnomes and dwarves were the original inhabitor of the continent.
@@yamitsukikarasu8857 "IF" you weren't being a contentious prick you would have realized that your comment doesn't even address my statement fully about the witchers. And "IF" you had paid attention to your own comment and weren't so quickly trying to be said contentious prick you would have easily noticed your tiny mistake there while trying to point out a mistake of someone else. I didn't mention anything about humans coming to the continent, and timeline wise it doesn't specifically say that humans started existing in the world then only that they started showing up on THAT continent around then and more so later. Any decent person would have simply mentioned that Witchers came about later on and maybe pointed to a reference as to not come off like some edgy teen. But good job necro'ing a post over half a year old from a set of books I had read probably more than 5 years previous, and the hundred or so I got a few details mixed in since then. Maybe you should go ask you mother for a cookie for your accomplishment of remember a detail about a set of books/games that is probably some of the only you've read between humping your dakimakura.
There are actually more than five novels. I’m not sure of the total number, but the English version of the sixth novel, Season of Storms, was published in 2018. I just got my copy for Christmas.
Dandelion and Geralt talk about witcher's origin and mission in the Voice of Reason: “You’re reading Roderick de Novembre? As far as I remember, there are mentions of witchers there, of the first ones who started work some three hundred years ago. In the days when the peasants used to go to reap the harvest in armed bands, when villages were surrounded by a triple stockade, when merchant caravans looked like the march of regular troops, and loaded catapults stood on the ramparts of the few towns night and day. Because it was us, human beings, who were the intruders here. This land was ruled by dragons, manticores, griffins and amphisboenas, vampires and werewolves, striga, kikimoras, chimerae and flying drakes. And this land had to be taken from them bit by bit, every valley, every mountain pass, every forest and every meadow. And we didn’t manage that without the invaluable help of witchers. But those times have gone, Geralt, irrevocably gone.” … “Upriver we saw their towns, as delicate as if they were woven from the morning mist out of which they loomed. It seemed as if they would disappear a moment later, blown away on the wind which rippled the surface of the water. There were little palaces, white as nenuphar flowers; there were little towers looking as though they were plaited out of ivy; there were bridges as airy as weeping willows. And there were other things for which we could find no word or name. Yet we already had names for everything which our eyes beheld in this new, reborn world. Suddenly, in the far recesses of our memories, we found the words for dragons and griffins, mermaids and nymphs, sylphs and dryads once more. For the white unicorns which drank from the river at dusk, inclining their slender necks towards the water. We named everything. And everything seemed to be close to our hearts, familiar to us, ours. Apart from them. They, although so resembling us, were alien. So very alien that, for a long time, we could find no word for their strangeness.” Hen Gedymdeith, Elves and Humans" … “You cannot comprehend the ideas of brilliant people! Such as Idarran and Alzur, his teacher, who were graced with genius and extraordinary talent! Who invented and created great works, meant to serve humanity, without taking profit, nor taking base mammon into account, not recreation nor diversion, but solely progress and the commonweal! But what can you apprehend of such things? You apprehend nothing, nothing, nothing, not a scrap!” “And indeed, I tell you further,” Ortolan panted, “that you have dishonoured the work of your own fathers with this imprudent murder. For it was Cosimo Malaspina, and after him his student Alzur, yes, Alzur, who created the witchers. They invented the mutation owing to which men like you were bred. Owing to which you exist, owing to which you walk upon this earth, ungrateful one. You ought to esteem Alzur, his successors and their works, and not destroy them!” Season of Storms
i think, this is the best breakdown channel. Arachir did some really good work, but you can tell his heart is not in it anymore, all due respect. All Love.
Me, who have no clue what a Witcher even is, let alone what the heck is going on, these videos will be important! Now, I will begin to find out and understand what all the buzz is all about! Make more of these please! New subscriber!
Everyone should watch these videos before they start the witcher tv-series and if they haven't played the games before. I've known about the witcher games, but never played any of them, and whole season 1 was so confusing to me and i still dont understand many things. But i've watched every episode that is on netflix and i love the series. i watch a new episode and it just keeps on getting better.
Makes me want to go back and play the third game again (the other two being quite dated, wish they would remake those in at least the 3rd engine), such an amazing game... and I somehow managed to miss the Roach quest in the last DLC, probably the worst to miss in a near 100% run.
I wasn’t interested. “It’s a tv show based on a video game” (my brain defied). Then someone said they were books. What?! No. Now there’s the promise of literature and Henry Cavill. I watched over a few weeks, and listened to the audio books. ....then along comes Robert.....I’m in sci-fi Geek Heaven. I have this image of a man with a pile of D&D guides, and lot of dice and an old Selectric typewriter. It doesn’t take away from his creativity, in fact it fixes a lot of logistics and allows for more creativity. Add a large dose of Jung’s specific field of study and it’s a best seller. At least in America. I understand it didn’t do as well in Poland. Great story. Looking forward to this topic.
I hope we get a legit witcher rpg in the future, witcher 3 was awesome. But it would be cool if it took place back when monsters were more plentiful and you get to make your character and pick your school.
Silver is for monsters. Steel is for men. Fists are Jaskier. Notebooks are for flies. Napkins are for spiders. Harsh words are for exes. You get the idea.
So in this show, Henry Cavil plays a super-powered man who came into his world as an orphan and is bound to do good while being misunderstood by those he protects? Wow, what a new experience! ;) ;)
Thanks so much for another great video!!😊👍 I've noticed that alot of the viewers have read the books and or played the game 🎮 on PlayStation! Well I'm going backwards in a way... My Son has the games/game and showed it to me ie; the awesome graphics and characters in the games , he's went through the books 📚, all of them, so I am going to get started with the books , but I cant play the game 🎮 on PlayStation!, I'd be terrible at it!!😆 so thanks again for another great video! Keep them coming!! 👍✌🌟
_They shall be my finest warriors, these men who give themselves to me. Like clay I shall mould them and in the furnace of war forge them. They will be of iron will and steely muscle. In great armour shall I clad them and with the mightiest guns will they be armed. They will be untouched by plague or disease, no sickness will blight them. They will have tactics, strategies and machines such that no foe can best them in battle. They are my bulwark against the Terror. They are the Defenders of Humanity. They are my Withcers and they shall know no fear_ ...Oh wait, haven't we seen this somewhere before?
I am so embarrassed to find out that one the characters in a fantasy series I'm writing is similar to a witcher, and I did not intend for him to be. Although the character doesn't have to go through a bunch of experiments to get his powers, he has them naturally through genetics, the backstory is similar. Thanks for this, now I can be warned and not write a Witcher rip-off unintentionally.
Don't be discorage, inhuman/ enhanced warrios aren't a new concept nor is it unique to the Witcher universe You may want to check the manga Claymore as it's has a very similar mutated Warriors concept
@@MmMm-yd4rn Or the Halo games, or Warhammer 40,000, or Captain America, or Wolverine, or (sorry for spoilers) even Stranger Things. The super-soldier trope has been done a LOT, I wouldn't worry too much about having some similarities to one of the dozens of other times it's been done before.
Only got into the TV show recently and so far enjoyed it. I was resistant, initially, due to both the way the show was sold as 'grim and gritty' (it is more than that) _and_ the name. I somehow assumed a 'witcher' was a witch-hunter and that seemed a bit nasty for my liking. Only later did I discover that it's a new and pretty literal translation from Polish to English for a masculine witch (much like how in English a widower is a male widow). More conventionally we'd say 'warlock' but hey, there's already a movie under that name. :)
I'm pleasantly surprised that I haven't read a single comment about how Zach McGowan should have been cast in the series. We all know he should have and that Netflix made a horrible mistake, no need to keep grumbling about it for years...
Really surprised you missed their education, specifically Geralt’s at the temple of Melitele. Their knowledge of beasts, history, spells and alchemy are not of your everyday human as well.
The Witchers remind me of the eponymous Claymore warriors from that manga, and also the Spartans from Halo. Both involve regular humans put through a mutation process to become stronger and faster in order to fight monsters/aliens. Claymores can also heal any wound and reattach severed limbs, even limbs salvaged from other Claymores. And like how Witchers get their medallions and silver weapons, Claymores get a big iconic sword - a claymore of course - made from a unique alloy, while Spartans get their highly advanced powered armor. So now I'm thinking Claymore was just a ripoff of The Witcher... But manga are full of feudal settings with superhumans enhanced by magic and whatnot, so probably not.
Yes, it is, but it is a standalone novel. The action takes place somewhere between the short stories of the 2nd book, Sword of Destiny. It is not connected with the main saga of the other 5 novels (books 3-7). The author wrote it because of pressure from his publisher. But because he considers the end of Book 7 to be the end of the whole story he refused to write a sequel. Instead, he wrote what he termed a 'side-quel', a story that happened some time in Geralt's life before he met Ciri.
Is the potion of cat not required for the pupil dilation? Just out of curiosity: have you played the video games in addition to reading the books, Robert? Your content is appreciated, as always.
Just like cats they can see in low light but not in pitch blackness. You still need a tiny source of light to be able to see (moonlight/ stars/ far off city lights). So lets say they're in a cave where there is no light at all, that's where the cat potion comes in
Witchers' schools were destroyed (not just stopped making new witchers) by the Kings, who were afraid of the sorcerers to use the army of sword masters to take control of their land.
Can you explain (beyond good old-fashioned sexism) why girls can't be trained as witchers before Ciri? Are there "justified" reasons in the books/games?
I know I'm nit-picking here, but is anyone irritated by the pronunciation? "Ger" has the soft "g" sound, "Gerald, gemstone, gerrymandering, judge" The author, himself, even says this in the second book. He even says "Geralt, or Gerald if you wish." I don't like the books but I think the series is good.
Why do they hunt monsters? Is it an internal drive, can they fight it? Why has no witcher tried to Master magic and then change shape to fit in? Why is there no witcher who rules a city? They have free will, but all they do is fight monsters! Why?
You forgot one major thing about them, I think. Their superhuman abilities and magics are not enough to be able to deal with their main designated enemies by themselves, they merely level the playing field. The witcher actually gains the upper hand by their intelligence and education: Figuring out what the target really is, knowing its weaknesses and how to exploit them.
Geralts story arc in episode 3 is a great example of this (remaining vague due to spoilers): By investigating previous victims he finds out what the monster really is (as hearsay from regular people is not reliable enough, as they have neither the advanced senses nor the knowledge of the different beasts) and is then able to find out what he has to do to get rid of the monster without killing it and taking precautions to help him achieve that goal immediately as he get that information.
their intelligence and education goes far beyond that, though. some, like Vesemir, are effectively scientists. that shows up in season 2.
Excellent Analysis thank you
As someone who values education and physical fitness, That's wat like about the Witcher series. Witchers are strong but well educated as well.
I'm sure you are fully aware of this already but you make the best high-fantasy, high-quality content on TH-cam. Thank you! Cannot wait for the day I get a push notification for you and the wheel of time!
He could be a professional narrator.
@@robswitzer8334 could and should! Check out his channel, he's got some fantasy he actually reads. Fantastic stuff.
@@robswitzer8334 He's certainly got the voice for it.
I absolutly agree - though *_Alt Shift X_* and *_Tolkien Untangled_* (if we include channels dedicated to just one specific universe as is the case with the latter) are up there as well, at least in my opinion.
Witcher’s heart beats are really slow. I like the science of that. They bleed out much more slowly.
Can a zoologist comment on that? I would have expected creatures with fast movement and sharp senses to have fast heartbeat (and metabolism), like birds, bats, or mice - and on the other hand, creatures with slow heartbeat (and metabolism) to be slow-moving and sleepy, like sloths, koalas, or turtles. Then again, maybe the science isn't really what the witcher's world is all about?
Ingo Schwarze well a fast moving creature with a slow heart beat would bleed more slowly no?
Obviously there is magic in this world but I liked that little bit of logic.
Also, when Geralt moves fast he is under the influence of drugs mostly which some how don’t increase his heart beat. Or maybe do but not so much he doesn’t still have an advantage.
When the drugs wear off his slow blood flow gives him more time.
Must be rubbish for healing though.
The combination of science and magic
@@IngoSchwarze You can have slower heartbeat if you have thicker arteries. Volume of blood pumped per second is what's important, no matter how you achieve it. It's not going to be much help against bleeding (same volume), but it will make your stamina better. And your heart will last longer I guess.
But withou thicker arteries you would heal more slowly and tire more quickly, wouldn't you? Any other consequences?
There are two more official signs. Both are mentioned in books Sign of Somne - causes a person to fall asleep and mild amnesia hence why not many people know about it. Second one is called Heliotrope - sign absorbs energy both physical and magical. This sign is highly demanding on the user, hence is not used often except direst of need.
Cool!
Difficult to think of Geralt as a "monk" -- warrior or otherwise. He never seems to lack intimate female companionship. It's that swagger. As an added benefit, no risk of accidental pregnancy.
Not all monks live in celibate. Monks because they fight with little emotions, its nicely described during Ciris training
I'd hesitate to use the term "monk," primarily because Witchers don't espouse some kind of religious or philosophical doctrine. Individual Witchers might, but as an organization they're more like mercenaries.
@@AdmiralAwsm True, fair point
There are many kinds of monks with many beliefs.
And no risk of STD's
Thank you for covering Andrzej’s works Robert this made me happier than you can imagine. Looking forward to more lore videos! Hopefully the next one is on the conjunction of the spheres, always have been a bit vague on how it happened
When you’ve read 6 Witcher books, played all the games ( playing the DLC now in fact ) and have watched the Netflix series more times than you can count but see a video “ What is a Witcher” and hit play immediately just because it’s by Robert
Geralt actually is unique among Witcher's, as he's the only one we know of to have gone through extra trials, which is why his hair is white.
It’s also never stated that it did anything other than make his hair white. Which is extra sad since there were others who passed the trials only to die doing them again for no discernible benefits.
@@Football-Steve 😪 im not familiar but there is an extra thing witchers can do called trials? And Geralt is the only one to do it? No one knew what powers they would recieve and many died trying to gain it but turns out, as far as we know, it just makes them white haired?
@@Football-Steve
What the hell? Why did they put kids through extra pain if there was no benefit?
Moshope Akinwale they didn’t know there would be no extra benefit. They just saw that Geralt’s age group had a lot more boys than usual pass the trials, so they decided to see what would happen if they went through them again.
@@Football-Steve That’s not entirely true. It did more than make his hair white, as his eyes are much more pronounced than other Witcher’s eyes' which are more dull in colouration. So it can be assumed that the shared abilities that all Witchers from the various schools share are likely enhanced to a certain degree, as he himself stated that he could see perfectly in what was pitch darkness, whereas other Witchers require the use of a Cat potion to see that well. I know you use a cat potion to see in the dark, but I attribute it to a gameplay mechanic more than concrete evidence to the contrary, as Geralt isn’t one to lie about or exaggerate things unless he’s trying to deceive someone.
I know perfectly well what a witcher is; I came to enjoy listening to Robert explain it 😌
nice comment, better name/pic
8:33
Sword is just happy to be there!
"
Did you know? Queen Calanthe was also, Maggie the Frog?
Omg. Knew she looked familiar!
As Quinn's Ideas calls her, "Hot Maggie". In the books she resembles a troll lol
This ain't a song of ice and fire
Yes
The Law of Surprise wasn’t a Witcher only thing though. Duny (not Donnie like I said before) wasn’t a Witcher. It’s a world thing
Destiny in this world is real.
Duny :)
berlineczka A listener not a reader. I’ll change it.
Destiny is real and it does NOT like being ignored, Geralt and Calanthe.
In all fairness I don't think he worded it in a way that implies only Witchers have the Law of Surprise.
Destiny is real, but it's not that important like the stupid netlfix show made it out to be
Yay, more Witcher content 🗡
These are always a pleasure to watch. Thank you so much Robert 🔥 🐉
There are not five, but six novels written by Sapkowski. The last one he wrote, "Season of Storms", can be located roughly in between the short stories and the other five novels. It is also a very interesting one.
Dude you give the best commentary!!!
Thanks Robert! Hope you keep going with The Witcher!
Ahh, I'm glad you've made this video, thank you! 👍
Hi Robert, good video as always. However, there is one point which is not quite correct. You keep saying that we experience the story mainly through Geralt's eyes. That is certainly true for the first 2 books of short stories, but not for the main saga in the novels. In the novels we experience the story through many different characters, mainly Ciri and Yennefer, but others as well. It's what makes the whole series so rich!
I would love to see a video on the conjunction of the spheres!
Question: Even though the school of the Wolf at Kaer Moran no longer had the knowledge of how to make more Witchers, couldn't they go to the other "Schools" to get the information? I know that they stopped making new Witchers due to the declining Monster population, but wouldn't they still have the information available to them?
iirc, at that point most of the other schools were defuct or in hiding due to various reasons.
We don't know from the books, but we can assume that other schools are also ether destroyed or basically fallen as Kaer Morhen (as is the case in the lore created by the games).
@DUMMIE So, I assume that was just show nonsense about trying to make Ciri a Witcher when they discovered she had Elven blood? It did strike me as ...odd, y'know? Not right.
@DUMMIE Well, I thought it had something to do with the plant that came up where her blood was spilled. But, as I surmised, this was just a show thing so not really important or relevant. It was just a side question. Thanks.😊
I knew you would cover it. Just happy you came around. Thanks
So happy you are covering this content!
You missed out on 6th sign "Somne" still in the books. Also what was interesting is way how witchers judges if there is a job for them in villages. If there are builded up for defence they go in if they are open witchers usually pass as they don't like to be among people for unecessary reason.
Would love to see you cover Stormlight Archives. No one who currently does brings the quality or insight you can.
This is actually the second TV show based on the books.
There was one on Polish TV in the early 2000's called "The Hexer"
It wasn't very good.
Neither is this one.
Omg I love your videos and now you’re finally doing the Witcher!! Can you do videos for Wheel of Time when it comes out please????
Thank You so much because I just started this and I was confused on what’s going on. Now I can watch it again and know what’s going on!!!
Amazing as always ROBERT! Thank you!
The Witcher schools training of the children is very reminiscent of an anime called Claymore, absolutely awesome show which really deserved/deserves more episodes. There children are given a small amount of demon flesh, if I remember correctly, and it has much the same affect as the Trial of Grasses creating a super human being in those that survive. The Claymores are named after the swords they carry and all start as girls. It's an excellent series and I highly recommend watching it.
Ivhighly recommend you read the manga too cuz its pretty, especially the end
Claymore is the shizz
I just finished watching 2 episodes of this show on my Smart phone a couple of hours ago. After that I accessed TH-cam on my desktop PC and I get this suggested video about the Witcher. I've never had a Witcher video suggestion before. Pretty scary stuff
I was under the impression that Witchers came about not long after the "Conjunction of the Spheres" when the monsters started showing up, to combat them, but not as far back as human history in the stories.
I you had payed attention, you would have noted that humans came after or with the conjuction of the spheres. Elves, gnomes and dwarves were the original inhabitor of the continent.
@@yamitsukikarasu8857 "IF" you weren't being a contentious prick you would have realized that your comment doesn't even address my statement fully about the witchers. And "IF" you had paid attention to your own comment and weren't so quickly trying to be said contentious prick you would have easily noticed your tiny mistake there while trying to point out a mistake of someone else.
I didn't mention anything about humans coming to the continent, and timeline wise it doesn't specifically say that humans started existing in the world then only that they started showing up on THAT continent around then and more so later.
Any decent person would have simply mentioned that Witchers came about later on and maybe pointed to a reference as to not come off like some edgy teen. But good job necro'ing a post over half a year old from a set of books I had read probably more than 5 years previous, and the hundred or so I got a few details mixed in since then. Maybe you should go ask you mother for a cookie for your accomplishment of remember a detail about a set of books/games that is probably some of the only you've read between humping your dakimakura.
@@yamitsukikarasu8857My head canon is that humans came from Earth.
Excellent! You give good geek.
There are actually more than five novels. I’m not sure of the total number, but the English version of the sixth novel, Season of Storms, was published in 2018. I just got my copy for Christmas.
Dandelion and Geralt talk about witcher's origin and mission in the Voice of Reason:
“You’re reading Roderick de Novembre? As far as I remember, there are mentions of witchers there, of the first ones who started work some three hundred years ago. In the days when the peasants used to go to reap the harvest in armed bands, when villages were surrounded by a triple stockade, when merchant caravans looked like the march of regular troops, and loaded catapults stood on the ramparts of the few towns night and day. Because it was us, human beings, who were the intruders here. This land was ruled by dragons, manticores, griffins and amphisboenas, vampires and werewolves, striga, kikimoras, chimerae and flying drakes. And this land had to be taken from them bit by bit, every valley, every mountain pass, every forest and every meadow. And we didn’t manage that without the invaluable help of witchers. But those times have gone, Geralt, irrevocably gone.”
…
“Upriver we saw their towns, as delicate as if they were woven from the morning mist out of which they loomed. It seemed as if they would disappear a moment later, blown away on the wind which rippled the surface of the water. There were little palaces, white as nenuphar flowers; there were little towers looking as though they were plaited out of ivy; there were bridges as airy as weeping willows. And there were other things for which we could find no word or name. Yet we already had names for everything which our eyes beheld in this new, reborn world. Suddenly, in the far recesses of our memories, we found the words for dragons and griffins, mermaids and nymphs, sylphs and dryads once more. For the white unicorns which drank from the river at dusk, inclining their slender necks towards the water. We named everything. And everything seemed to be close to our hearts, familiar to us, ours. Apart from them. They, although so resembling us, were alien. So very alien that, for a long time, we could find no word for their strangeness.”
Hen Gedymdeith, Elves and Humans"
…
“You cannot comprehend the ideas of brilliant people! Such as Idarran and Alzur, his teacher, who were graced with genius and extraordinary talent! Who invented and created great works, meant to serve humanity, without taking profit, nor taking base mammon into account, not recreation nor diversion, but solely progress and the commonweal! But what can you apprehend of such things? You apprehend nothing, nothing, nothing, not a scrap!”
“And indeed, I tell you further,” Ortolan panted, “that you have dishonoured the work of your own fathers with this imprudent murder. For it was Cosimo Malaspina, and after him his student Alzur, yes, Alzur, who created the witchers. They invented the mutation owing to which men like you were bred. Owing to which you exist, owing to which you walk upon this earth, ungrateful one. You ought to esteem Alzur, his successors and their works, and not destroy them!” Season of Storms
I love your videos man. Found them looking at LotR stuff but they are all very enjoyable listens! Your hard work shows.
i think, this is the best breakdown channel. Arachir did some really good work, but you can tell his heart is not in it anymore, all due respect. All Love.
Me, who have no clue what a Witcher even is, let alone what the heck is going on, these videos will be important! Now, I will begin to find out and understand what all the buzz is all about! Make more of these please! New subscriber!
Great vid. Elric has always been my favorite Witcher, though.
Thank you! Your videos are already The Best! More Witcher content please? 💕
Excellent presentation and information. Thank you.
Very happy ur creating Witcher content...Would love to see a video on the conjunction of spheres!
I could listen to this man talk about the intricacies of drying paint and I'd still be in a good place
Already knew everything you said but your voice is so calm and soothing I didn't mind hearing it all over again. Thank you for the content
Brilliant narration
Everyone should watch these videos before they start the witcher tv-series and if they haven't played the games before. I've known about the witcher games, but never played any of them, and whole season 1 was so confusing to me and i still dont understand many things. But i've watched every episode that is on netflix and i love the series. i watch a new episode and it just keeps on getting better.
Good stuff bro, subscribed.
Keep them coming!!!
Great video Robert. I had no idea you were covering the Witcher now 👍
Makes me want to go back and play the third game again (the other two being quite dated, wish they would remake those in at least the 3rd engine), such an amazing game... and I somehow managed to miss the Roach quest in the last DLC, probably the worst to miss in a near 100% run.
I wasn’t interested. “It’s a tv show based on a video game” (my brain defied). Then someone said they were books. What?! No. Now there’s the promise of literature and Henry Cavill. I watched over a few weeks, and listened to the audio books. ....then along comes Robert.....I’m in sci-fi Geek Heaven.
I have this image of a man with a pile of D&D guides, and lot of dice and an old Selectric typewriter. It doesn’t take away from his creativity, in fact it fixes a lot of logistics and allows for more creativity. Add a large dose of Jung’s specific field of study and it’s a best seller. At least in America. I understand it didn’t do as well in Poland.
Great story. Looking forward to this topic.
Can you make a video on the conjunction of the spheres?
Im gonna take a guess and say some other dimension collided or opened up within our own and let in a buncha monsters/demons.
@@forho2 Yea but what makes it interesting is the details...
I hope we get a legit witcher rpg in the future, witcher 3 was awesome. But it would be cool if it took place back when monsters were more plentiful and you get to make your character and pick your school.
RPG? Rocket Propelled Grenade?😅😅😂
@@Rumkitty2000 "RPG" as in "role playing game".
Oh shit, witcher content cheers Robert, I’ll 👍 and share now for u
Very enjoyable video!
Silver is for monsters. Steel is for men. Fists are Jaskier. Notebooks are for flies. Napkins are for spiders. Harsh words are for exes. You get the idea.
Yes, dive deep geek, dive deep.
Don't the Witchers age more slowly I could have sworn I remembered something in the book saying that they age slowly and can live a very long time
So in this show, Henry Cavil plays a super-powered man who came into his world as an orphan and is bound to do good while being misunderstood by those he protects? Wow, what a new experience! ;) ;)
There is also a very good Polish movie series based on the books. I like it way more than Netflix’s “pop” version
In Deep!
Thanks so much for another great video!!😊👍 I've noticed that alot of the viewers have read the books and or played the game 🎮 on PlayStation! Well I'm going backwards in a way... My Son has the games/game and showed it to me ie; the awesome graphics and characters in the games , he's went through the books 📚, all of them, so I am going to get started with the books , but I cant play the game 🎮 on PlayStation!, I'd be terrible at it!!😆 so thanks again for another great video! Keep them coming!! 👍✌🌟
_They shall be my finest warriors, these men who give themselves to me. Like clay I shall mould them and in the furnace of war forge them. They will be of iron will and steely muscle. In great armour shall I clad them and with the mightiest guns will they be armed. They will be untouched by plague or disease, no sickness will blight them. They will have tactics, strategies and machines such that no foe can best them in battle. They are my bulwark against the Terror. They are the Defenders of Humanity. They are my Withcers and they shall know no fear_ ...Oh wait, haven't we seen this somewhere before?
I am so embarrassed to find out that one the characters in a fantasy series I'm writing is similar to a witcher, and I did not intend for him to be. Although the character doesn't have to go through a bunch of experiments to get his powers, he has them naturally through genetics, the backstory is similar. Thanks for this, now I can be warned and not write a Witcher rip-off unintentionally.
Don't be discorage, inhuman/ enhanced warrios aren't a new concept nor is it unique to the Witcher universe
You may want to check the manga Claymore as it's has a very similar mutated Warriors concept
@@MmMm-yd4rn Thanks for the encouragement!
@@MmMm-yd4rn Or the Halo games, or Warhammer 40,000, or Captain America, or Wolverine, or (sorry for spoilers) even Stranger Things. The super-soldier trope has been done a LOT, I wouldn't worry too much about having some similarities to one of the dozens of other times it's been done before.
Only got into the TV show recently and so far enjoyed it. I was resistant, initially, due to both the way the show was sold as 'grim and gritty' (it is more than that) _and_ the name. I somehow assumed a 'witcher' was a witch-hunter and that seemed a bit nasty for my liking. Only later did I discover that it's a new and pretty literal translation from Polish to English for a masculine witch (much like how in English a widower is a male widow). More conventionally we'd say 'warlock' but hey, there's already a movie under that name. :)
More witcher lore vids! Plz an thank you!
Liked the game , caught a glitch 140 hrs in 😚, stopped playing . Series is excellente. Game too , long as u don’t catch a glitch .
Glad I found your channel lord of rings hobbit Witcher I can't get enuff info on them always love hearing new videos on them
I'm pleasantly surprised that I haven't read a single comment about how Zach McGowan should have been cast in the series.
We all know he should have and that Netflix made a horrible mistake, no need to keep grumbling about it for years...
Please do more Witcher content!!!!
Really surprised you missed their education, specifically Geralt’s at the temple of Melitele. Their knowledge of beasts, history, spells and alchemy are not of your everyday human as well.
Awesome videos !!
Loved the vid.
The Witchers remind me of the eponymous Claymore warriors from that manga, and also the Spartans from Halo. Both involve regular humans put through a mutation process to become stronger and faster in order to fight monsters/aliens. Claymores can also heal any wound and reattach severed limbs, even limbs salvaged from other Claymores. And like how Witchers get their medallions and silver weapons, Claymores get a big iconic sword - a claymore of course - made from a unique alloy, while Spartans get their highly advanced powered armor. So now I'm thinking Claymore was just a ripoff of The Witcher... But manga are full of feudal settings with superhumans enhanced by magic and whatnot, so probably not.
I thought a claymore was a scottish longsword
You forgot to mention the show The Hexer.
Robert, isn’t “Season of Storms” the 8th book?
Yes, it is, but it is a standalone novel. The action takes place somewhere between the short stories of the 2nd book, Sword of Destiny. It is not connected with the main saga of the other 5 novels (books 3-7). The author wrote it because of pressure from his publisher. But because he considers the end of Book 7 to be the end of the whole story he refused to write a sequel. Instead, he wrote what he termed a 'side-quel', a story that happened some time in Geralt's life before he met Ciri.
Is the potion of cat not required for the pupil dilation? Just out of curiosity: have you played the video games in addition to reading the books, Robert? Your content is appreciated, as always.
Dumb question - if Witchers can see in the dark then why is Cat (the potion) a thing?
Just like cats they can see in low light but not in pitch blackness. You still need a tiny source of light to be able to see (moonlight/ stars/ far off city lights). So lets say they're in a cave where there is no light at all, that's where the cat potion comes in
We can heal you, make you bigger, stronger. We have the herbology.
Yay!!! Thanks Robert 👍😀💙🐺✌️NO MAPS drives me crazy 😵and I don't know the SIGNS!!!
"Picked a fight with a Witcher....must've had a death wish."
Fascinating
WE NEED MORE WITCHER VIDSSSS!!!!!!
At the end of this, I'm like now:' Okay! I will have to read the books now!' Can I get them for a decent price?
COULD YOU PLEASE DO MORE WITCHER VIDEOS!?
They are almost functionally immortal. I wonder if there is any info on a witcher dying from old age?
there's also a movie, The Hexer (2001), it's just not in English
Witchers' schools were destroyed (not just stopped making new witchers) by the Kings, who were afraid of the sorcerers to use the army of sword masters to take control of their land.
There a good fan fiction about the Witcher crosses into GOT universe called the White Wolf by drakecross
Awesome. Thanks
What about the other short story book called Season of Storms?
Can you explain (beyond good old-fashioned sexism) why girls can't be trained as witchers before Ciri? Are there "justified" reasons in the books/games?
Andrzej (polish name), not Andrej (russian name) Sapkowski.
Leave them be. Don't expect english speaking person to be able to pronounce Andrzej. You just wanted to be a smartass.
The game might as well be the Canon. The vast majority of people wouldn't know the name if not for CD Project Red
Should be a professional narrator. You're really good.
Please do Wheel of Time.....
You missed one book called the season of storms
I know I'm nit-picking here, but is anyone irritated by the pronunciation? "Ger" has the soft "g" sound, "Gerald, gemstone, gerrymandering, judge" The author, himself, even says this in the second book. He even says "Geralt, or Gerald if you wish." I don't like the books but I think the series is good.
Why does Geralt drink potions and what did he give to king Foltest for his daughter?
Why do they hunt monsters? Is it an internal drive, can they fight it?
Why has no witcher tried to Master magic and then change shape to fit in? Why is there no witcher who rules a city? They have free will, but all they do is fight monsters! Why?