Geralt of Rivia

## **Appearance**

Geralt doesn't look his age, which tells you a great deal about him if you know what you're looking at. His ruggedly handsome, muscular, athletic body effectively stopped aging in his mid-thirties. This youthfulness is as much a sign of his profession as his all-black clothing, his long white hair and amber eyes, or the pure silver pendant of a wolf's head which he wears around his neck. He is astoundingly hale and whole given his multitude of scars, some etched on his face and many more hidden beneath his studded black armor. He often travels with his decades-long companion, the bard Jaskier, and with his horse, a chestnut mare he calls Roach. He trades off between two swords - one silver, one of steel made with meteoric iron and a circular golden ornament set with emeralds mounted at its hilt - depending on his opponent. It is commonly said that one is for monsters, one for men. If you ask him, that's a spiteful distinction.

Built for violence, imposing, brooding, taciturn and mysterious, Geralt knows he looks menacing and more often than not leans into that impression to avoid trouble or entanglements. Beneath that, however, Geralt is many things others would not expect: Sardonically funny, observant, widely knowledgable, dedicated to his personal code of conduct, thoughtful and introspective.

## **Powers**

While he possesses superhuman physiology making him capable of great feats of physicality and is somewhat sensitive to/resistant to magic and telepathy, Geralt is by no means invulnerable to injury and various types of influence. He is also capable of casting several crude magic spells known as "Signs." They are good for close-quarters combat (which is why witchers favor them) and in certain non-combat applications, but aren't hugely powerful and will not affect all targets equally. His five Signs must be cast using one-handed gestures, and are limited by his concentration and the energy he can commit to casting them:

**Aard** - a telekinetic wave that can throw back, knock down or stun a target.

**Axii** - a brief charm placed on a target open to telepathic manipulation. (Magic users and those of strong willpower are unlikely to be successfully affected.) It will soothe an affected target and make them more compliant towards the caster or otherwise confuse them, but it can't convince them to act in a way they would be absolutely set against (such as harming themselves). Injury breaks the influence of Axii, and they may question their actions under the charm after the fact.

**Igni** - a gush of flames that can wound a target or, say, light a hearth.

**Quen** - a protective shield around the caster that lasts for a very short duration.

**Yrden** - a magical trap placed on the ground/surface, which would immobilize a target or bar their passage.

## **Talents**

Swordsmanship, horsemanship, monster hunting, tracking/investigation, alchemy/herbalism, lifting curses, grunting, denial, and snark.

## **Interests**

Card playing (Gwent), ale, paying work, sex, and otherwise being left well enough alone.

## **History - SPOILERS**

Trust in the reputation of Witchers has certainly tarnished over the centuries, if ever there was much shine on it. Everyone knows that Witchers are snatched up as young boys, made to feel no emotions and rendered unable to produce children, so they have no families. Everyone knows that Witchers were fashioned to kill monsters and so made into monsters themselves. Some suggest that they're little better than hunting dogs let off their leashes, their usefulness long since past as the number of monsters in the world has surely waned. You would be surprised, the things that people think they know, and the ways in which they can be both wrong and right. Or at least, that was the case in the world of The Continent from which Geralt has come.

Geralt's mother offered him into the ranks of the witcher School of the Wolf at an early age, the senior witcher Vesemir taking the boy to their stronghold of Kaer Morhen in the Blue Mountains. Witchers are manufactured using an agonizing process of magical and medicinal mutations known as 'Trials.' Three out of ten boys die in the mandatory Trial of Grasses. Having borne the initial trials exceptionally well, Geralt was treated with increasingly harrowing stages of mutation beyond what most Witchers can endure, his dark hair turning white as a side effect. The survivors of these trials became far more than merely human, granted superior speed, strength, stamina, and senses, amongst other things. They were then trained for the sole purpose of hunting monsters, and when they were old enough, sent out into the world to do their work. Their order eventually fell into ruin, and the secret knowledge behind the trials used to create witchers has been lost to them. There will be no more witchers of their school, and Geralt is among the last of a dying breed.

After having completed his training and leaving Kaer Morhen, Geralt spent some handful of decades as a career witcher. He traveled from town to town seeking out monster-killing contracts, for all that witcher work is extremely dangerous, grueling and mostly thankless. His trade went well enough to meet his needs, until the dogged grind of his harrowing existence would be brought into question by the workings of destiny. Several principal figures and events would change his life forever (listed chronologically):

Blaviken: An exceptional woman named Renfri in a Blaviken inn showed Geralt some humanity. A wizard named Stregobor made her into a monster. Geralt was forced to leave Blaviken with a trail of bodies and the title 'Butcher of Blaviken' in his wake.

Posada: An inexperienced yet irrepressible young bard named Jaskier recognized Geralt by his notorious reputation and decided that he would be full of interesting stories to be made into songs. He tagged along with Geralt on a job despite all efforts to shake him. They were both nearly killed. Jaskier used this experience as inspiration for a (largely incorrect) song about the 'White Wolf' Geralt of Rivia bravely defeating the king of the elves as a champion of humanity, which would lead to some fame and fortune for both of them.

Cintra: Geralt and Jaskier attended a wedding betrothal feast. One cursed knight, a banquet battle, an amazing display of raw magical power, two impromptu weddings, and two Children Surprise later, Geralt found his destiny tied to that of an unborn royal. She would later be named Princess Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon of Cintra. Geralt, saying he did not believe in destiny, did not agree to accept the Child Surprise into his care. He promptly left Cintra, meaning to never return.

Rinde: Jaskier chanced upon Geralt on a riverbank in Rinde, fishing with a net for a djinn's bottle somewhere in the river. The retrieved bottle broken between them in a childish spat resulted in a vengeful djinn being loosed upon Rinde and Jaskier fighting for every strangled breath. Geralt consulted with a mage to save Jaskier's life and deal with the djinn: a 'powerful, malicious, and cunning' sorceress who also happened to be incredibly beautiful, ambitious, and demanding. Jaskier was saved, though Yennefer enchanted Geralt both figuratively and literally, used him, and discarded him in return. With Yennefer in mortal danger attempting to harness the power of the djinn for herself, Geralt made a wish... And did not stay through the morning.

Suffice it to say, fate had other plans.

A witcher finds himself constantly on another road, heading towards another settlement to fight another monster for another fee. But one road, ridden through a crumbling stone archway, lead Geralt of Rivia to a place called Wall.