The universe of The Witcher game series is a rich and exciting world, full of detailed locations and intriguing characters. The book series that the games are based on, The Witcher by Andrzej Sapkowski, has provided the foundation of one of the most critically acclaimed video game franchises in recent memory. But as with any adaptation, some material is always lost in the process. Sapkowski's books are full of characters that the player never meets in CD Projekt Red's Witcher games, whether due to artistic license or the timeline of the stories. Let's take a look at ten characters from the source material that will, unfortunately, probably never get a proper appearance in the games.

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10 Angoulême

Angoulême was an orphaned bandit who first appeared in The Tower of the Swallow. She joined the witcher Geralt's company searching for his surrogate daughter Ciri after he saved her from being executed by the local governor. Sadly, the reason Angoulême doesn't appear in the Witcher games is because she, like many other characters on this list, perished before those events took place. While helping Geralt and his company storm Stygga Castle to find Ciri, she took a mortal wound. She and Ciri managed to escape, but Angoulême died shortly after.

9 Isengrim Faoiltiarna

Isengrim was a significant figure within the Scoia'tael, leading them in their plight against the humans of the Continent. He was also a key actor during the Thanedd Coup, where the elven mage Francesca Findabair smuggled a group of Scoia'tael onto Thanedd Isle. They aided her when fighting broke out between mages supporting the Northern Kingdoms and mages supporting the Nilfgaardian Empire.

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Isengrim later took part in the Battle of Brenna, where he lost and as part of the peace deal, was taken to be executed alongside a number of other Scoia’tael. He escaped, however, and fled both Nilfgaard and the North. While he is still alive, it’s unlikely he will appear in any future titles from CD Projekt Red.

8 Cahir Mawr Dyffryn aep Ceallach

Cahir Mawr Dyffryn aep Ceallach – or just Cahir – was a Nilfgaardian spy tasked with finding Ciri for her father, Emperor Emhyr var Emreis. Later, after failing multiple times to apprehend her, an arrest warrant was issued for him and he later joined Geralt's company as he had become infatuated with Ciri and wished to rescue her. Though Geralt and the rest of his group were slow to trust him, they eventually accepted his help. At the assault on Stygga Castle, Cahir sacrificed himself so that Ciri could escape.

7 Villentretenmerth

Villentretenmerth is one of the only two existing golden dragons on the Continent of the Witcher universe, and father to the dragon Saskia who appears in The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings. He encountered Geralt while in the human form of Borch Three Jackdaws, and accompanied him on a dragon hunt for his mate Myrgtabrakke with the secret intention of protecting her and his newborn daughter. With the help of Geralt and Yennefer, he succeeded and left to raise Saskia. Though he remains living, it is unlikely he will appear in a game given the restless and roaming nature of dragons.

6 Leo Bonhart

Leo Bonhart was a bounty hunter and arguably one of the most dangerous men on the Continent. He was skilled with a sword and boasted three witcher medallions, claiming to have killed their previous owners. In Sapkowski's books, he took on a contract to kill Ciri, and another to capture her.

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He instead found her and kept her prisoner, drugging her and forcing her to fight in an arena for the amusement of crowds. When Ciri escaped, he pursued her all the way to Stygga Castle where he murdered Cahir, and was then promptly slain by Ciri herself.

5 Pavetta Fiona Elen

Princess Pavetta of Cintra was Ciri's mother, as well as Source – someone with a connection to magic and able to wield its energies, albeit chaotically. In her youth, she secretly met and fell in love with Duny, a man cursed with a hedgehog's head. She encountered Geralt at a feast for her suitors, where she revealed Duny, causing an uproar that led to her releasing her magical power. Geralt was able to calm her down, and when things had settled, her love for Duny was accepted, breaking his curse. Tragically, she later drowned after falling overboard off a ship that was taking her and Duny to Nilfgaard.

4 Stefan Skellen

Stefan Skellen was a member of the Nilfgaardian Secret Services and one of the Emperor's top spies. He was ordered to find Ciri after Cahir's failure, and he used this mission to assemble a secret plot to overthrow the Emperor and install a constitutional monarchy, with an eye to evolve towards a true democracy. To this end, he planned to kill Ciri rather than capture her and came very close, his trademark orion throwing star leaving a visible scar on her face. His plots were ultimately uncovered and he was sentenced to death by hanging.

3 Calanthe Fiona Riannon

Calanthe Fiona Riannon was the Queen of Cintra, mother of Pavetta, and grandmother of Ciri. As both Ciri's parents were lost at sea, she took the responsibility of raising the girl, doing her best to keep knowledge of her dangerous destiny from her. Years later, Nilfgaard invaded in a battle that would come to be known as the Slaughter of Cintra. Rather than become slaves in the Empire, many citizens committed suicide or had others take their lives rather than live in chains. Calanthe, when all was lost, jumped from a tower to her death. Her body was never recovered.

2 False Ciri

Very little is known about the imposter Ciri, save that she was the daughter of Cintran royalty. She was kidnapped by agents of the Emperor and sent to Nilfgaard posing as the true Ciri, though Emhyr var Emreis immediately saw through the deception and while continuing to act as gracious host, sent her far away. There, she was instructed in the ways of the Nilfgaardian court and customs. Eventually, after Emhyr had found the true Ciri and let her go, he married the false Ciri in order to firmly lay claim to the land of Cintra. Some time later, false Ciri died of an unknown cause.

1 Vilgefortz of Roggeveen

Perhaps one of the most notorious antagonists of the Witcher series, Vilgefortz of Roggeveen was a talented sorcerer who conspired with Emhyr var Emreis to install him as Emperor of Nilfgaard. His obsession with power drove him to search for Ciri, convinced her blood could elevate his magical abilities. He participated in the Thanedd Isle coup, losing an eye to a magical explosion. At Stygga Castle, he confronted Geralt’s company and defeated several of their number easily until Geralt himself was able to slay him. Though he has been referenced at times in the Witcher games and he remains one of the most dangerous foes the Witcher has ever faced, his death means that we will unfortunately never get the chance to see him in the series.

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