In the world of The Witcher, your wits are deadlier than any physical weapon you can hold. This has often been the case with most of the villains of the said franchise. They are smart, cunning, and deceptive and would definitely make for masterful Gwent players, no doubt. Thankfully, these highly intelligent individuals are not all villains, some of them are also on your side… depending on how well that serves them.
That’s simply how intelligent people are in The Witcher franchise. Throughout all three games, they often change sides too in a political power struggle that usually ends in the death of the loser. So, to prove that swords and armors are not the ultimate power in The Witcher games, here are the 10 characters who are smart enough to be dangerous.
10 GERALT OF RIVIA
Geralt just had to be here, of course, since he’s the main character of all the three games. However, Geralt himself is more intelligent than meets the eye. He might appear brutish and straightforward but his judgment is astute and mostly correct. Having observed people and how they behave for a normal human’s lifetime, Geralt usually knows people’s intentions before they even start hinting it.
This has led to many life-saving encounters for the witcher; his split-second decision making has even led to the lives of kings and other important people being spared. Coupled with Geralt’s skill with the blade and anything witcher related and he’s pretty much an unstoppable force in his own franchise as long as he’s also lucky.
9 LETHO OF GULET
Like Geralt, Letho of Gulet is a witcher and many people mistake him for an oaf. That’s because Letho is also a mountain of lean meat which lends to this initial perception of his character. Even so, Letho can be as cunning as a king and as a sorceress, he was able to play both Philippa Eilhart and the Scoia’tel to his advantage.
Moreover, Letho pretty much proved that he’s capable of assassinating any human in The Witcher 2 seeing as how he already killed several kings with ease. Despite his guile, Letho is pretty shortsighted as he apparently was only doing the regicide stint as a bargaining chip for Nilfgaard to restore his Witcher school.
8 THALER
Thaler is a character from the first Witcher game who also appeared briefly in a side quest in the third game. He poses as a cobbler in Temeria but is actually a spy or spymaster working for the crown. When Temeria fell to Nilfgaard, it appears Thaler knew how to survive the change of management.
He’s was an important figure in the first Witcher game and always keeps tabs on everyone in Vizima. The deceptive part about Thaler is that you’ll never suspect he’s a spy. The cobbler puts a crass peasant-humored facade which he couples with a wild and violent vocabulary. None would be the wiser, which is why Thaler managed to ply his trade and stay alive.
7 YENNEFER
There’s no doubt that Yennefer would be here. She’s one of the brightest sorceresses in the franchise and even in her absence in the first two games, her name still carries weight due to how reputable she is and how resonating her deeds were in the books. Apart from being a powerful sorceress, Yennefer is also a cunning power player in The Witcher games.
She definitely knows her politics and knows how to handle people in power. In The Witcher 3, she certainly handled Emhyr var Emreis well and even an emperor felt threatened by her requests. Yennefer is also fiercely independent and knows what to do all the time in any situation, even if it means cutting corners and getting dirty.
6 AVALLAC’H
Avallac’h isn’t that cunning but his wisdom is one of the most expansive out of all The Witcher characters. That’s because he’s likely thousands of years old by the time we see him in The Witcher 3. Avallac’h then uses this experience of ages to teach Ciri and help her control her godlike powers.
Suffice to say, Ciri would not have been able to save everyone if not for Avallac’h’s mentorship. The good thing about Avallac’h is that the old elf doesn’t seem to care much about outsmarting his rivals or doesn’t seem to be into politicking. He merely wants to obtain more knowledge and use it to save his homeworld of Aen Elle.
5 SYLVIA ANNA/SYANNA
Syanna or Silvia Anna is the sister of Anna Henrietta from the Blood and Wine expansion of The Witcher 3 and she also serves as an analog for Renfri, the tragic cursed woman from the books which gave Geralt his “Butcher of Blaviken” moniker. As you can imagine, she’s one of the most manipulative characters in this list.
Apart from growing up in the care of bandits and adopting their lifestyle since she was cast out as a royal child, Syanna was also able to carry out her infamous assassination plans by manipulating a high vampire using nothing but emotions and romantic attachment. It was a rather shortsighted plan, of course, and it backfired but nevertheless shows how clever Syanna is.
4 RADOVID V
What do you get when you put a paranoid king, mix it with mental instability, and strategic and tactical genius? Radovid V. At least that’s what he’s become in The Witcher 3. Radovid V has always been a recurring character in all three Witcher games. However, he lost his marbles in the third game.
He became bloodthirsty and started a witch hunt and also conquered some of the Northern Kingdoms to deny Nilfgaard some territory. He’s a king who’s as mad as he’s brilliant which makes him an even bigger threat than the rampaging Nilfgaard.
3 SIGISMUND DIJKSTRA
You can give credit to Sigismund Dijkstra from trying to overthrow Radovid V and succeeding (depending on your choices in-game). We would call Dijkstra a longtime friend of Geralt though “friend” would be putting it generously. Dijkstra is best-known as a utilitarian, someone who sees people for their potential usefulness.
He’s also the spymaster of Redania which is ruled by Radovid V. We all know how much smarts, extreme social skills, and political knowledge that sort of job requires and Djikstra seems to thrive in such a position of power. He basically has the whole city of Novigrad at the palm of his hands and eventually, Redania, should you choose to help him.
2 PHILIPPA EILHART
If there was one person that could fool Sigismund Djikstra, make him fall in love, and then betray him, it would be Philippa Eilhart. Only she had the guts and the mental fortitude to pull off such a clever trick on the Redanian spymaster. It’s worth noting that Philippa is also in the same batch as Yennefer in their sorceress academy and she was also regarded as the most brilliant student back then.
As soon as she became a fully-fledged sorceress, Philippa’s ambition and actions soon became apparent. She was a co-founder of the Lodge of Sorceresses who sought control over the whole world and she even orchestrated many manipulative schemes and plots to destabilize or control kingdoms. She’s one of the most dangerous intelligent people alive in The Witcher franchise.
1 EMHYR VAR EMREIS
Last but not least we have the White Flame Dancing on the Graves of His Foes. Emhyr var Emreis’ rise to power on the Nilfgaardian throne is nothing short of astonishing and brutal. As soon as he was crowned, he wrought havoc against everyone in the Northern Kingdoms and nearly succeeded.
His tactical, strategic, and political genius is undeniable and he has the arrogance and behavior to match those. He was even able to outsmart the Lodge of Sorceresses in the second and third games. Next to Ciri, this makes Emhyr the most powerful human in the world of The Witcher, that’s something not just anyone can achieve.
