Ciri: The Witcher Character Analysis

Race: Human / Elder Blood

Sex: Female

Faction: Cintra / Kaer Morhen / Nilfgaard / The Rats

Rating: 8.0

Alignment: Chaotic Good

Arena Status: Active (S3)

Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon—Ciri—sits at the gravitational center of Witcher lore. Born in 1252/1253, likely on Belleteyn, she is the daughter of Pavetta and Emhyr var Emreis (then in disguise as “Duny”) and the granddaughter of Queen Calanthe of Cintra. By blood she inherits the Elder gene of Lara Dorren; by fate she is Geralt of Rivia’s Child of Surprise; by ordeal she becomes the “Lady of Time and Space,” a Source whose power to slip between worlds turns continental wars into mere weather. Across Sapkowski’s books and CD Projekt RED’s games, Ciri’s arc threads royal ceremony, genocide, found family, outlaw years, and apocalyptic inevitability. Her story is the hinge upon which nations, species, and even timelines creak. She is simultaneously a princess, an orphan, a witcher-adjacent trainee, and a traveler whose footprints skip from deserts to dreamlike elven metropolises. She matters because her choices—never merely her lineage—decide who lives with the consequences of power.

Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon, Lion Cub of Cintra

Triss Merigold: The Witcher Character Analysis

Race: Human

Transcendent: Sorceress

Sex: Female

Faction: Brotherhood of Sorcerers / Lodge of Sorceresses

Rating: 6.7

Alignment: Lawful Good

Arena Status: Active (S3)

Triss Merigold of Maribor, known to history as "Merigold the Fearless" and more iconically as “the Fourteenth of the Hill,” is one of the most enduring and multidimensional characters in both Andrzej Sapkowski’s Witcher saga and its acclaimed CD Projekt Red adaptations. A talented sorceress, a political operative, and a woman torn between love, duty, and survival, Triss embodies the cost of power in a world steeped in war and moral ambiguity. She is a key member of the Lodge of Sorceresses, a former royal advisor to King Foltest of Temeria, and a central figure in Geralt of Rivia’s life—sometimes as friend, sometimes as lover, and always as a witness to the catastrophic unfolding of the Continent’s fate.

Triss Merigold, Fourteenth of the Hill

Dandelion: The Witcher Character Analysis

Race: Human

Sex: Male

Faction: None

Rating: 5.0

Alignment: Chaotic Good

Arena Status: Active (S3)

Julian Alfred Pankratz, Viscount de Lettenhove—more widely and infamously known as Dandelion (or Jaskier, in the original Polish)—stands among the most iconic and beloved figures in the Witcher universe. A poet, minstrel, spy, lecturer, and womanizer, Dandelion is as deeply embedded in the lore of Andrzej Sapkowski's saga as Geralt of Rivia himself. He is not merely a sidekick or comic relief; he is a living, singing chronicle of the Continent's darkest and brightest moments. With wit as sharp as his taste in doublets, and loyalty as steadfast as his penchant for disaster, Dandelion is a study in contradictions. He is a noble by birth and a vagabond by choice, a scholar and a rake, a fool in the eyes of some, and a chronicler of legends to all.

Julian Alfred Pankratz, Viscount de Lettenhove, or simply, Dandelion

Yennefer of Vengerberg: The Witcher Character Analysis

Race: Human / Elven

Transcendent: Sorceress

Sex: Female

Faction: Brotherhood of Sorcerers / Lodge of Sorceresses

Rating: 7.9

Alignment: Chaotic Good

Arena Status: Active (S3)

Yennefer of Vengerberg is among the most iconic and enigmatic figures in the Witcher universe, a sorceress whose complexity rivals her immense magical prowess. Across Andrzej Sapkowski's novels and CD Projekt Red's game adaptations, she appears as both a power player in political intrigues and a deeply personal figure in the lives of Geralt of Rivia and Ciri. Known for her unmatched beauty, mastery of magic, and iron will, Yennefer is a character shaped as much by trauma and survival as by intellect and ambition. This introduction offers a detailed walkthrough of her early life, key relationships, and pivotal narrative moments, drawing from both canonical and game sources. Spoilers follow for major plot events in both media.

Yennefer of Vengerberg

Villentretenmerth (Borch Three Jackdaws): The Witcher Character Analysis

Race: Golden Dragon / Human

Sex: Male

Faction: None

Rating: 8.0 / 6.4

Alignment: Lawful Good / Neutral Good

Arena Status: Active (S3)

Villentretenmerth, one of the only known golden dragons to exist in the Continent's long and storied history, is a character of immense significance and mystery in the Witcher universe. Often remembered by his assumed human name, Borch Three Jackdaws, he represents a rare blend of immense draconic power, ancient wisdom, and a deep empathy for both humans and nonhumans alike. His presence in Andrzej Sapkowski's short story "The Bounds of Reason," later adapted into The Witcher television series and alluded to in CD Projekt Red's Witcher games, cements him as a key figure in both the literary and visual media of the franchise. A polymorph of exceptional skill, a father, a philosopher, and a warrior when needed, Villentretenmerth is as elusive as he is impactful. This is also our first character introduced as two separate entities in The Arena, possibly a feature that could be expanded upon...or lost to time.

Borch Three Jackdaws, or, Villentretenmerth

Geralt of Rivia: The Witcher Character Analysis

Race: Human

Transcendent: Witcher

Sex: Male

Faction: Kaer Morhen

Rating: 7.2

Alignment: Chaotic Good

Arena Status: Active (S3)

Geralt of Rivia is perhaps the most iconic monster slayer in fantasy literature and gaming—a witcher, a swordsman, and an alchemist molded by fate and mutation into something not quite human, but not entirely inhuman either. Created by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski, Geralt first appeared in short stories published in the 1980s before starring in the acclaimed Witcher Saga, a series of novels that cemented his place in the modern fantasy canon. He later became the protagonist of CD Projekt Red's globally successful Witcher video game series and has been portrayed by actors including Michał Żebrowski and Henry Cavill in film and television adaptations.

Geralt of Rivia, the Butcher of Blaviken