SpawnPoint

In The Witcher players take the role of Geralt of Rivia, a professional monster slayer who exists on the fringes of a complex society afflicted by the kind of problems more commonly found on the front pages of newspapers than in a fantasy universe. Taken as a child, mutated, and trained in the arcane ways of the witchers, Geralt is a reluctant hero, who nonetheless finds himself all too frequently in the heat of battles that are not his own. His is a path he might not choose to walk, but walk it he must, guided by his head, heart, and only faithful companion – his sword.

This is a world that will not greet you with open arms – you can be assured of that. A silent arrow in the neck or a cold blade between the ribs is the commonest of form of greeting for the unwary, gullible, or unsuspecting.

The Elves, while territorially sheltered from other races in park reserves, will unceremoniously shadow and ambush any party of humans that makes the mistake of entering, approaching, or even living near Elvin forests. Dwarves, meanwhile, have locked and barricaded themselves from the world in urban ghettos or mountain strongholds. Similarly, Gnomes do not have it easy, either – and this is not simply on account of their height - because none of them will put their heads on the line in case they lose it, when they are denounced as “non-human” scum. As for humans, not much has changed. They are egoistical and self-centered to a man, each awaiting or creating opportunities for themselves in order to exploit and profit from someone else’s misfortune. The inhabitants of the Northern Kingdoms, still intoxicated from their later Pyrrhic victories, have dissolved back into their initial sorry state of bickering among territories, consigning recent alliances to oblivion. In the face of a regrouped and revived Nilfgaard, however, this might not appear as the best of ideas. Yet humans never really comprehended the logic behind learning from one’s mistakes.

Moreover, in addition to these tribulations, there are also the beasts, monsters, and fiends who prowl the woods and thoroughfares, emboldened by the carnage, disorder, and turmoil of the aftermath of the war. This is actually good news to you – payment for slaying a rampant Werewolf or Graveir can afford a filling meal, clearing a mountain track can cover the cost of a new doublet, while hunting down an unchecked Shtriga can provide you with a roof over your head for a couple of nights.

Naturally, however, there is no guarantee that an arrow in the back will not be your client’s preferred method of payment. Yet, this is something you have long come to accept as professional hazard.