If the swords, magic, and darkish vibes of The Witcher 4’s first cinematic trailer has piqued your curiosity, however you’ve by no means performed any of the earlier video games earlier than, there’s excellent news: CD Projekt Pink’s upcoming RPG is the beginning of a model new saga, full with a brand new protagonist and story. It’s set to be a great place for brand spanking new gamers to start.
Nonetheless, there’s no escaping that it’s the fourth sport in a sequence with very deep and sophisticated lore, and so it could be useful to know the fundamentals earlier than leaping in. Fortunately we’ve satisfied two Witcher loremasters from the event studio – franchise and lore designers Cian Maher and Marcin Batylda – to introduce you to all the pieces it is advisable know, from the naked necessities that designate simply what a witcher is, all the way in which to extra advanced matters such because the mysterious Lara gene and the bloodline that makes the white haired lady within the trailer so particular.
So with out additional ado, let’s start your Witcher training.
What’s The Witcher?
You seemingly already know that The Witcher is an RPG sequence developed by Polish studio CD Projekt Pink. However earlier than these video games The Witcher originated as a sequence of books, additionally from Poland, written by writer Andrzej Sapkowski. Beginning out as brief tales, The Witcher ultimately grew right into a sequence of 5 novels generally known as The Witcher Saga. In complete, there are 9 novels and 15 brief tales.
Cian Maher: The Witcher is a low darkish fantasy sequence set in a world that, after a cosmic occasion generally known as the Conjunction of the Spheres, is populated with every kind of various monsters. Because of this, the monsters on this world are an everyday menace to individuals. They might be considerably akin to pure disasters or something like that.
What’s a witcher?
On the centre of each Sapkowski’s and CD Projekt Pink’s tales are monster hunters for rent generally known as witchers. Whereas there are a number of witchers featured within the tales, the sequence protagonist is Geralt of Rivia. Famously performed by Henry Cavill within the Netflix adaptation of the books, Geralt represents all the key parts of what it means to be a witcher: an expert killer of monsters who stays politically impartial.
Marcin Batylda: Witchers often haven’t got the varieties of ethical dilemmas (seen in fantasy universes like Dungeons & Dragons.) Are the orcs good or unhealthy, or ought to I kill the goblin household? Witchers kill monsters, the creatures who prey on people and on different clever races.
Cian Maher: Witchers encompasses quite a few archetypes. The witcher is an expert. They roam from city to city via the wilderness, taking contracts (to kill) monsters, they usually do that for cash. That’s their job they usually’re excellent at it.
To be able to carry out their job successfully, all witchers as younger boys bear the Trial of the Grasses, which is that this very harmful course of. Solely three or 4 in each 10 boys will survive the preliminary trial. All of those totally different mutagenic elixirs are intravenously pumped into their physique, and because of this they develop into quicker and stronger than an everyday human. Additionally they are both resistant or resistant to all identified ailments and poisons, however there’s a very excessive worth to pay for this.
Which brings us to the very last thing of what a witcher is, which is an outsider. An outcast. They’re usually seen as little higher than the monsters they kill. In some methods they might be akin to the gunslinger within the Western or the ronin within the samurai film. They’re, by nature, individuals who stroll alone and do vital work.
What are the instruments of a witcher?
A witcher could also be mutated, however they can’t hunt monsters with simply their fists and wits alone. They use a wide range of instruments that you simply usually discover in fantasy settings, reminiscent of crossbows and chainmail armour, but additionally many objects which can be bespoke to the sequence. For instance, witchers are skilled botanists capable of brew potions that heal their wounds and permit them to see at the hours of darkness. These potions are poison to common people, however a witcher’s mutations permit them to digest and take in the potion’s useful results.
Essentially the most recognisable component in a witcher’s toolkit, although, are their two swords: one fabricated from silver, the opposite metal.
Marcin Batylda: Witchers carry two swords as a result of, on this world, monsters are weak to silver, so witchers carry (a silver) sword. (The opposite) is a metal sword for preventing a number of the monsters that aren’t burned from the curse.
Swords don’t clear up each drawback, although. Whereas witchers usually are not sorcerers and thus can not management the magical energies of the world, they’re able to casting some primary magic spells.
Marcin Batylda: Indicators are easy spells designed particularly for witchers to present them this edge in fight. They solely require a easy gesture (as a substitute of a verbal incantation), and they’re this useful opener for such conditions the place it’s important to achieve the higher hand in fight. So your primary instrument for the job is a sword, however the indicators I prefer to see as (the equal of) a grenade for a spec-ops soldier.
Who’s Ciri?
As beforehand talked about, Geralt of Rivia has been the central character all through each the Witcher books and video games. However issues change with The Witcher 4, during which we are going to play as a lady named Ciri. However whereas she’s a brand new protagonist, Ciri will not be a brand new character.
Cian Maher: Ciri is Geralt’s adopted daughter, however she’s a lot greater than that. She’s the heiress to a number of thrones. She has this Elder Blood working via her. She’s additionally attuned to magic.
I believe The Witcher as a title refers to each Geralt and Ciri and all the time has. There can be no saga with out Ciri. I believe she’s arguably extra vital to the plot than Geralt himself is.
Within the new trailer we will see that Ciri is a witcher. She has a silver sword, kills monsters for cash, and her eyes have develop into cat-like due to the mutation course of. That final issue is one thing new for The Witcher 4, as in each the books and video games Ciri didn’t partake within the Trial of the Grasses and thus by no means actually grew to become a witcher within the conventional sense. Regardless of that, Ciri remains to be usually thought of a witcher by each the story’s different characters and the writer Sapkowski himself.
Marcin Batylda: Ciri was known as a witcher within the books. The writer (Sapkowski) acknowledged her as a full-fledged witcher and she or he was educated in (the witchers’ fortress) Kaer Morhen by Vesemir, the mentor of Geralt of Rivia. She obtained as formal a coaching because the witchers in Kaer Morhen had been capable of give her with out mutating her. She’s been educated in magic by (the sorcerer) Yennefer of Vengerberg, and never classical witcher indicators however correct spells.
Cian Maher: I believe on the age of 15 or 16, she manages to kill a wyvern fully unmutated, fully untested at that time.
It’s apparent, then, that Ciri is greater than only a common individual. That’s made all of the extra apparent within the books and video games by the truth that she is continually hunted by highly effective sorcerers, monarchs, and even a gang of spectral elves generally known as the Wild Hunt. Why do these individuals need Ciri? Effectively it’s all because of the blood that flows via her veins.
What’s the Elder Blood and why does it make Ciri particular?
The Elder Blood, typically generally known as the Lara Gene, is a key and sophisticated a part of Witcher lore. It’s a bloodline initiated many generations in the past by elven mages with the objective of making a toddler whose energy would exceed even that of the elves. For a few years it appeared as if the gene had died out, however when Ciri was born it quickly grew to become obvious that she was a provider of the Elder Blood. That is sadly a little bit of a blessing and a curse for Ciri due to an ominous prophecy…
Cian Maher: There are numerous interpretations of this prophecy, however basically individuals imagine that Ciri’s youngster will both be the savior of the world or the avenger who destroys it.
In The Witcher 3 we see that the Elder Blood affords Ciri sure talents. She’s generally known as the Girl of House and Time and within the books we see she’s capable of journey between dimensions due to this Elder Blood. However the principle cause that folks pursue her is due to that prophecy.
What’s the monster within the trailer?
As we’ve established, a witcher’s job is to hunt monsters, and so naturally the centrepiece of the brand new trailer is Ciri preventing a horrifying, multi-limbed creature. We see her make use of the traditional witcher instrument equipment – she drinks a potion to achieve the higher hand, after which makes use of a silver sword and silver chain to subdue and kill the beast. We additionally see her utilizing magic, however fairly than primary witcher indicators, Ciri utilises correct sorcery to forged spells – a results of her Elder Blood and coaching with Yennefer. However what’s the goal of her spells and strikes?
Cian Maher: The monster is a bauk, which is derived from Serbian mythology.
Marcin Batylda: Within the (Serbian) mythology, the bauk was form of a boogeyman, one thing that lurks at the hours of darkness. (Most of the monsters and creatures in The Witcher are) impressed by the assorted European mythologies. The bauk is an excellent instance as a result of it is from Serbian mythology, however we even have monsters impressed by Norse, Celtic, and Slavic mythology.
What’s the message of the trailer?
The cinematic brief tells the story of Ciri trying to avoid wasting a lady named Mioni from a ritual sacrifice, however in doing so she turns into not directly chargeable for Mioni’s homicide. This type of situation is commonplace within the Witcher video games, which continuously ask gamers to make selections that can lead to unexpected penalties. Recurring themes like these are a part of not simply the video games, however one of many foundations of the Witcher sequence as a complete.
Cian Maher: Numerous (the Witcher brief tales) are centered round themes that recur. For instance, A Grain of Fact, which is essentially a subversion of Magnificence and the Beast. It’s the story during which Geralt lifts the curse from Nivellen, a person who’s been cursed, who lives in a manor on this forest on his personal. (The occasions of this story) tells us that there’s a grain of reality in each fairytale, which turns into a motif all through The Witcher.
With The Lesser Evil, which once more is only a model or re-imagining of Snow White, that is the story during which Geralt turns into (generally known as) The Butcher of Blaviken. And in that he is confronted with a option to which there is no such thing as a right reply. This once more turns into completely basic to the Witcher world as a theme that comes up time and again. Anybody who’s performed The Witcher 3 will likely be aware of the truth that there are sometimes no strictly proper solutions.
Will Geralt be in The Witcher 4?
The trailer makes it fairly clear that Ciri is the protagonist for this new Witcher saga. However, and spoilers for the earlier sport right here, Geralt doesn’t die on the finish of The Witcher 3. So can we anticipate the unique hero of the story to make an look in The Witcher 4?
Cian Maher: Geralt will in all probability be round for a very long time. In (prequel novel) Season of Storms, there may be an epilogue. It takes place in Magpie Forest in 1373, 101 years after The Witcher 3. And in that epilogue there’s a sure white-haired Witcher searching a monster who stays unnamed, however who behaves in a sure method. And clearly he has white hair. I believe we will anticipate Geralt to be round for a very long time. The capability during which he does is… we’ll see. However I do not suppose he is going wherever.
And with all that, you’re now in an incredible place to start your Witcher journey correct. From right here, probably the most logical subsequent step is taking part in The Witcher 3, which isn’t simply a wonderful place to begin (it doesn’t actually require information of the earlier entries) but additionally among the best RPGs ever made. Following that, should you’re desirous to discover the deepest lore, it’s best to head down the rabbit gap that’s the authentic Witcher books – begin with The Final Want, a group of brief tales, after which proceed onto Blood of Elves, the primary novel of the five-part Witcher Saga. Alternatively, should you’d fairly proceed with the video games, The Witcher 2 is a wonderful, bold story with among the best branching narratives in all of gaming. You can additionally go all the way in which again to the beginning and play 2007’s The Witcher, however it’s undoubtedly exhibiting its age – except you completely fall in love with the universe, it could be finest to attend for the upcoming remake.
No matter path you select, you’ve bought some nice tales forward. The Witcher has develop into probably the most revered fantasy sequence for a superb cause, and we will’t wait to play the following chapter.
Matt Purslow is IGN’s Senior Options Editor.
