The fictional universe of The Witcher sage was created by Polish writer Andrzej Sapkowski. The following is a list of notable characters from the book series and its adaptations.^[1]

Key:

• A dark grey cell indicates that the character did not appear or that the character's presence has yet to be announced.
• A ^Y indicates a role as a younger version of character portrayed by another actor.
• A ^U indicates an uncredited role.
• A ^P indicates a photographic role.
• A ^C indicates a cameo role.
• A ^V indicates a voice-only role.
• An ^A indicates an appearance through archival footage or stills.
• An ^M indicates the actor was part of the main cast for the season.

Geralt of Rivia, known also as White Wolf (Old Speech: Gwynnbleid) or the "Butcher of Blaviken", is a witcher and the protagonist of the Witcher series and its adaptations.

He is linked to Ciri by destiny, this being the central plot of the book series.

In the TV series, Geralt is portrayed by Henry Cavill in the first, second and third season and was recast to Liam Hemsworth for season four.

Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon, known as Ciri, the Lady of Time and Space and princess of Cintra, is one of the main characters of the Witcher saga, around whom much of the plot is centered. She is the lion cub of Cintra, daughter of Pavetta and Duny (also known as the Urcheon of Erlenwald) and granddaughter of Queen Calanthe. She is also Geralt's destiny and adopted daughter. Ciri is a descendant of Lara Dorren and has the Elder blood which gives her access to powers that allow her to cross space and time.

Ciri was trained under the watchful eyes of Geralt, Coën, Vesemir, Lambert, Eskel, and Triss while at Kaer Morhen and became talented with a sword. Later, she trained as a sorceress while living with Yennefer at Ellander. After the Thanedd coup, Ciri became separated from Geralt, created an unstable portal, and going through it found herself in the Korath desert. After her time in the desert, she joined a gang called the Rats, but then got herself captured by a bounty hunter named Leo Bonhart and was forced to fight in an arena. She later escaped and fled to the world of Aen Elle. During her time with the Aen Elle, she was going to be forced to procreate with the King, although she was able to avoid this. She later escaped from that world and after traveling through time was reunited with Geralt and Yen. She travelled with them for a few months before their untimely deaths. Her sword named Zireael is a 200 year old gwyhyr, a very expensive and precious sword regarded as the best in the world, forged by the gnomes of Tir Tochair. It was given to her as a gift by Esterhazy, the armorer and swordsmith in the town of Fano.

At the end of the books, after Geralt and Yennefer's (implied, unconfirmed) deaths, Ciri finds herself in the world of Camelot where she meets young Galahad, one of King Arthur's knights, with whom she supposedly falls in love.

In the TV series, Ciri is portrayed by Freya Allan.

Sorceress Yennefer of Vengerberg (nicknamed Yen or Yenna) first appeared in the collection of short stories The Last Wish, featuring in both "The Last Wish" short story and "The Voice of Reason" frame story. She went on to appear in numerous other Witcher stories and is one of the main characters of the Witcher saga.^[16]

Yennefer is described as possessive. She becomes one of Geralt's lovers although their relationship is difficult and full of drama. Both Geralt and Yennefer are sterile, which adds another level of tragedy to the mix. Yennefer has a hard time accepting the fact and tries various methods of restoring her fertility. Yennefer ends up becoming a motherly figure to Ciri while teaching her and watching over her while she was at Ellander.

Yennefer was born on Beltane in the year 1173. She lived in the capital city of Aedirn, Vengerberg. She is one of the most powerful mages on the continent and is surpassed by only a handful. She is the youngest member of the Council of Sorcerers and later she became a member of the Lodge of Sorceresses. During the Battle of Sodden Hill she was blinded by Fringilla Vigo, a Nilfgaardian sorceress. Her sight was magically restored.

Yennefer was famous for her beauty, even though during the events of The Swallow's Tower, she was 94 years old. She always dressed in black and white clothing. She used lilac and gooseberry perfumes. She had violet eyes and raven black hair. Before becoming a sorceress, she was a hunchback, but had her deformities fixed by Tissaia de Vries while being an apprentice although Geralt is able to see the subtle clues that let him figure out the truth.

At the end of the books, Yennefer seemingly dies while trying to heal Geralt, after losing all her energy.

In the TV series, Yennefer is portrayed by Anya Chalotra.

Julian Alfred Pankratz, Viscount of Lettenhove, commonly known as Dandelion (Polish: Jaskier), is a poet, minstrel, bard, and Geralt's best friend. The Polish word jaskier actually refers to the buttercup (Ranunculus). Some of his more famous ballads are about the relationship between Geralt and Yennefer, but none of Jaskier's ballads appear in the book. Some excerpts of these are cited from Jaskier's memoirs 50 lat poezji (50 Years of Poetry).^[17] By the time of the saga, Dandelion is around 40 years old. However, it is said that he looked like he was in his 30s ("You are almost 40, you look 30, you imagine you're 20, and you act like you're 10" as noted by Dijkstra). Also, in Chapter 3 of The Tower of the Swallow Geralt criticizes Jaskier's selection of the title 50 Years of Poetry and says that he (Jaskier) is not yet forty and that he started writing poetry only at the age of 19 inspired by the passion towards the Countess de Stael.^[18] He wears a fancy cap with a heron's feather and plays an elven lute.^[17] Dandelion accompanies Geralt in many novels and ends up joining Geralt's party while searching for Ciri but leaves it before the assault on Stygga Castle. Dandelion makes Geralt promise he would return with Ciri to the Duchy of Toussaint where Dandelion lives. He would later rejoin Geralt and witness his and Yennefer's death in the kingdom of Rivia.

In the TV series, Jaskier is portrayed by Joey Batey.

Triss Merigold took care of Ciri for some time and is like an older sister to her. She is a member of the Lodge of Sorceresses. Triss is in love with Geralt.

The image of Triss Merigold from The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings featured as cover girl in the Polish edition of Playboy in May 2011. She also appeared in a live model calendar for the game in Russia.^[19]

In the TV series, Triss Merigold is portrayed by Anna Shaffer.^[20]

King Foltest is the king of Temeria. He is involved in an incestuous affair with his sister that produced a daughter, although both the mother and child die in childbirth. They are buried in the family crypt beneath the family castle. However, five years later the situation and magic of the fantasy setting causes the daughter to become an undead beast called a striga that kills villagers and forces the royal family of Temeria to abandon their castle and let it fall in to ruins. King Foltest forbids anyone to destroy the striga and eventually hires Geralt to lift the curse of the daughter he dearly loves. Geralt is successful and the girl returns to life as a 15 year old. However, she is uneducated and must be taught to speak and behave as a civilized person.

In the TV series, King Foltest is portrayed by Shaun Dooley.

Maria Barring (known as Milva) is a talented female archer who is one of the few non-dryads tolerated in Brokilon. After guiding the remains of the beaten Scoia'tael commandos during the second war she joins Geralt's quest to find Ciri. She later reveals herself to be pregnant and struggles between choosing an abortion or keeping the child. In the end she miscarries after being wounded during the Battle for the Bridge on the Yaruga. During the party's stay at Toussaint she strikes up a relationship with a baron. She dies providing covering fire for the rest of the party during the assault on Stygga.

In the TV series, she is portrayed by Meng'er Zhang.

Cahir Mawr Dyffryn aep Ceallach (known as Cahir) is an intelligence officer in the Nilfgaardian army who later joins Geralt's party. Cahir is from Vicovaro and has five siblings; he ends up falling in love with Ciri after he saves her during the attack on Cintra. Cahir was supposed to capture Ciri and bring her back to Emhyr, but she fled and he was forced to come back empty handed which lead to him being thrown into prison. He would have another chance to redeem himself during the coup at Thanedd, but would once again fail. He later joins Geralt's party as he wants to protect and save Ciri. Due to him being a Nilfgaardian and more specifically the black knight who haunted Ciri's dreams, Geralt has a hard time trusting him, but this later changes. Cahir ends up perishing in a duel against Leo Bonhart during the assault on Stygga in an attempt to buy some time for Ciri and Angoulême.

In the TV series, Cahir is portrayed by Eamon Farren.

Emiel Regis Rohellec Terzieff-Godefroy (known as Regis) is a higher vampire and a member of Geralt's party. He was well over 400 years old by the time of the books. Regis joins the party after rescuing Geralt and Dandelion. Due to him being a vampire, Geralt is reluctant to let him join; however, the rest of the members have an easier time with it. Regis is fond of telling others how wrong they are about their knowledge of vampires, and enjoys having intellectual and cultural conversations with the other members of the group. Unlike other vampires, Regis does not drink blood despite his addiction to it when younger, and can withstand full daylight. During the party's stay at Toussaint he develops a relationship with a succubus. Regis is very powerful and resistant to both physical damage and temperature; he can regenerate even if cut into pieces. Unfortunately for him, it did not help him in Stygga during the fight with Vilgefortz, who melts him into a column with a powerful spell.

In the TV series, Regis is portrayed by Laurence Fishburne.

Angoulême is an extroverted fair-haired girl who resembles Ciri. She is from a rich Cintran family but renounced them and joined a bandit gang called the Nightingales during the second Nilfgaardian assault on the North. She is captured and becomes a prosecution witness during an investigation of the Nightingales that involves Geralt's party. Geralt saves her life as a condition for his cooperation, and later Angoulême joins his party in return for what he did for her. Angoulême is fond of swearing and dreams of opening up a bordello. She dies during the assault on Stygga while protecting Ciri.

Philippa Eilhart is King Vizimir's advisor and remains in Redania's court after his assassination, which is something that she herself arranged. Philippa is a very powerful sorceress and is one of the few to have the ability to polymorph. She is a close ally to Dijkstra and occasionally sleeps with him. She is bisexual. Eilhart is a member of the Chapter on the Conclave, the leader of the Thanedd coup, and the founder of the Lodge of Sorceresses. Philippa arranged the coup in an attempt to get rid of the pro-Nilfgaardian mages and strike first; however, her plans backfire as the conclave collapses, leaving the North weakened. Philippa, along with the rest of the Lodge (except Yennefer), attempts to use Ciri as a political tool to create a state run by mages; however, her plans fail. It is stated in the final book that Philippa is eventually tortured and killed by witch hunters and later became known as Saint Philippa. In the games, however, she survives.

In the TV series, Philippa Eilhart is portrayed by Cassie Clare.

Sigismund Dijkstra is the spymaster in Vizimir's court. He considers himself to be close friends with Philippa and is in love with her. Dijkstra helps Philippa in the coup at Thanedd but becomes crippled after Geralt breaks his leg. Dijkstra is considered to be a tall man and does not look like a typical spymaster. He becomes one of the key reasons why the North wins the second war against Nilfgaard as he secures aid from Kovir which allows him to get mercenaries and supplies for the Northern armies; however, due to being a commoner and not a noble, the leaders of the North look down upon him. At the end of the novels he is forced to flee Redania and the North after Philippa tries to have him killed when she thinks that he was getting close to finding out what happen to Vizimir.

In the TV series, Dijkstra is portrayed by Graham McTavish.

Vilgefortz of Roggeveen is a member of the Chapter of the Conclave and was a very powerful sorcerer. Along with being one of the most powerful mages in the world of The Witcher, he also happens to be one of the greatest fighters. Vilgefortz displays his skills when he beats and cripples Geralt in a duel at Thanedd. Vilgefortz is not a typical mage, as he decided to become one after he was well into adulthood and was already an experienced mercenary. Also, unlike the majority of sorcerers who tend to freeze their ages when they are older, so they look distinguished, he looks like a man in his 30s and is quite handsome. He also happens to be one of the rare offspring of a mage as most of them are sterile. During the first war with Nilfgaard, Vilgefortz proves to be crucial for the North winning as he leads the mages during the battle of Sodden Hill. He, along with his fellow mages, are considered heroes in the North, but he switches sides and works with Emhyr in an attempt to get his hands on Ciri so he coan have the elder blood from the child he planned to put in her. Vilgefortz is killed during the assault on Stygga at the hands of Geralt, though it was no easy task as he seriously wounds Yen and Geralt and (literally) melts Regis.

In the TV series, Vilgefortz is portrayed by Mahesh Jadu.

Leo is one of the most famous bounty hunters on the continent during the events of the books. He is nearly seven feet tall, and is described as being ghoulish and has fish-like eyes. Bonhart is an incredibly dangerous sword fighter, having easily defeated the gang of Rats; he also claims to have killed three witchers and has their medallions as proof, though Yennefer questions if he actually defeated them in a sword duel or if he killed them through other means. Leo is hired by Stefan Skellen, the imperial coroner, to kill Ciri, though he ends up capturing her and uses her as a pit fighter. Ciri escapes and he unsuccessfully gives chase. He makes an alliance with Vilgefortz and Skellen and would kills Cahir during the assault on Stygga, but he himself is later killed in a duel against Ciri.

Eredin is a figure that leads a horde of ghastly riders across the sky. In The Swallow's Tower, he and Avallac'h lure Ciri to the tower, which leads to her imprisonment in the world belonging to the Aen Elle. There, the duo try to force her to have a child with the king of the Aen Elle elves to harness her powers. Eredin ruins the plan by killing the king. Ciri escapes with the help of unicorns, but not before learning that elves have massacred humans on the Aen Elle world.

Rience is a renegade mage, a student and henchman of Vilgefortz, where he is given the task of finding the Cintrian princess Ciri. Rience likes to torture people and their pain for his pleasure. He eventually dies being drowned in Tarn Mira by Ciri.

In the TV series, Rience is portrayed by Chris Fulton in season two and by Sam Woolf in season three.

Mousesack (Polish: Myszowór, 'Ermion' in The Witcher 3) is a druid from Skellige and a good friend of Geralt. He helps raise Ciri before the Slaughter of Cintra.

In the TV series, Mousesack is portrayed by Adam Levy.

Calanthe is the queen of Cintra and a grandmother of Ciri. She dies during the Slaughter of Cintra.

In the TV series, Queen Calanthe is portrayed by Jodhi May.

Yarpen Zigrin is a dwarf mercenary who aids Geralt many times from the hunting down of a golden dragon to aiding him on the trail.

In the TV series, Zigrin is played by Jeremy Crawford.

• Katarzyna Kaczor (2006). Geralt, czarownice i wampir: recykling kulturowy Andrzeja Sapkowskiego (in Polish). Słowo/obraz terytoria. ISBN 978-83-7453-651-6. Retrieved 28 May 2011.

• (in Polish) Anika Radzka, Kinga Kwaterska, Teoretyczne mądrości. PRZESTRZEŃ W FANTASY - TEZY DO DYSKUSJI. WIEDŹMINLAND, CZYLI TŁO DLA BOHATERÓW
• (in Polish) Two maps of the Wiedźmnland
• (in Czech) A map from the Czech translation