While you're playing The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, it's possible you'll start a quest called "Redania's Most Wanted," which will send Geralt on a quest to track down Philippa Eilhart. She is Redania's most wanted since Radovid is out for blood and he is keen on seeing her killed after past transgressions that occurred between them.
Philippa is an extremely duplicitous and Machiavellian politician. She is also the leader of the Lodge of Sorceresses and is known for being egocentric. In the games, she varies between being an antagonist and an unlikely ally to Geralt. The following list details some facts you may not know about the sorceress.
10 Philippa Prefers Women
Depending on how familiar you are with the overall franchise, you may or may not realize that Philippa is bisexual and has a strong preference for women. In The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings there are multiple potential cutscenes that will show her with her former lover, Cynthia.
There are also a few jokes made about her sexual orientation in the games. Even Sigismund Dijkstra refers to her sexuality in The Witcher 3, despite the fact the two allegedly had an affair, at least in the novels.
9 Philippa Isn't Quite As Evil In The Books As She Is In The Games
Philippa Eilhart is one of the most cunning and cruel sorceresses in The Witcher franchise. However, in the games, she is depicted as a treacherous and malevolent egomaniac.
While Philippa would not be considered a "nice" person by any stretch of the imagination, she was more of a politician and had her own code of ethics, similar to Geralt's own code, than in the games. She even voted to allow Ciri to visit Geralt. Her character had more layers and complexity and wasn't always quite so blatantly "evil."
8 She Led The Thanedd Coup On Thanedd Island
Philippa was one of the guiding forces of the Thanedd coup on the island of Thanedd. The attack between mages led to a distrust in mages and the uprising in hunting them down and killing them.
It also led to the dissolution of the Brotherhood of Sorcerers and the rise of the Lodge of Sorceresses, which Philippa helped found and became the de facto leader in the process. Multiple sorceresses including Philippa and Nilfgaardian mages joined the group.
7 In The Future Philippa Is Considered A Martyr Saint
In the books, Philippa becomes a victim of the witch hunts. She gets tortured and killed by Willemer, the archpriest of Vizima. However, despite her wicked deeds and her resulting death, Willemer was branded as a heretic for killing her.
Philippa was proclaimed a Martyr Saint and her legacy became one of a hero rather than of a deceitful sorceress as she was known during her living years. If you want to learn more about her future, you should check out Lady of the Lake.
6 Philippa's Legendary Story Is Depicted In The Tretorian Breviary
As we mentioned above, Philippa was posthumously labeled a saint in a distant future that takes place in a timeline past what the books and games actually cover. The story of how Philippa came to be known as a saint is told in The Life of Saint Philipa the Martyr of Mons Calvus, which is a story written in the Tretorian Breviary -- a book within The Witcher saga that is compiled from the works of the Holy Fathers.
The story is what labeled Wilmerius a heretic and had Philippa relabeled as a saint. The Holy Fathers repeatedly praised her.
5 Philippa Was A Character In The Witcher Battle Arena
The Witcher Battle Arena was a former free-to-play multiplayer online battle arena based on The Witcher franchise. The game had a short self-life, however, as it was released in 2015 and then it shut down at the end of the year.
Philippa Eilhart was one of eight playable characters available. She had three skills like all the other characters included. Her abilities were Dome of Storms, Heart of the Storm, and Chain Lightning. She was called a "mage class hero" and one of her abilities even let her transform into her owl form.
4 Her Voice Actor Had A Key Role In Season 3 Of Penny Dreadful
Pandora Colin in the actress who voiced Philippa in the games. Colin is an accomplished actress outside of the video game realm. She portrayed the character of Marjorie in season three of Penny Dreadful. Her character was the former wife of the Creature during the time when he was alive.
She also did additional voices in Dragon Age: Inquisition, Dragon Age II, and Fable: The Journey. Some of her other roles include the film The Lady in the Van and the miniseries Chernobyl.
3 Philippa Killed The Last Michelet Brother
In Blood of Elves, Philippa wound up murdering the last Michelet brother toward the end of the book. The Michelet brothers were based in Oxenfurt and they were professional murderers that were hired by Rience to go after Geralt.
Geralt attempts to follow Rience, who was after Ciri, into a portal but Philippa prevents that from happening. In a way, she helps Geralt by killing one of the murderers contracted to kill the witcher, but only because she doesn't want him to get information from Rience.
2 Radovid Was The One Who Blinded Philippa
If your only introduction to Philippa was through the third game, then you might not be aware of exactly how Philippa was blinded. It's a grisly tale. Radovid scooped her eyes out with a spoon. The actual incident takes place in The Witcher 2 and is shown in a cutscene.
Radovid tortures Philippa during an interrogation before ultimately taking a spoon to her eyes. The sorceress was still able to see with magic but obviously she was enraged by the brutal facial disformity and viewed revenge against the king.
1 It Is Possible That Philippa Once Had A Romantic Tryst With Triss Merigold
There is a scene in Tower of the Swallow that seems to indicate that Triss and Philippa may have had a romantic tryst. It's possible that wasn't the case and it is not outright confirmed, but the books do indicate that Triss has had relationships with women in the past.
We've already established that Philippa has a preference for women. During the scene where Yennefer contacts Triss, she notices that Philippa is there. Triss is wearing an evening gown and blushes when Yennefer calls her out for wearing an expression similar to that of when she found out she was sleeping with Geralt.