‘I never referenced any Witcher Gryffindors or Slytherins again’: The Witcher author says the games’ schools are ‘completely unnecessary’
Andrzej Sapkowski says “video game people have clung to the idea with remarkable tenacity”
The author of The Witcher series of books says the Witcher Schools in the video game adaptations are a “completely unnecessary” addition based on a single “narratively incorrect” line from the first book.
In an ‘Ask Me Anything’ session held on Reddit’s Fantasy page, Andrzej Sapkowski invited fans of the books to ask him questions about them.
One user asked Sapkowski how he felt about the fact that the video game series added numerous witcher schools that weren’t in the books, and whether he planned to add new schools in future books to address this.
In the games, there are seven witcher schools – the School of the Wolf, Cat, Griffin, Bear, Viper, Manticore and Crane – of which protagonist Geralt is in the School of the Wolf. Each witcher has a medallion which represents which school they came from.
However, according to Sapkowski, these schools are nothing to do with his books and he doesn’t understand why the games have developed what was originally a throwaway line to such an extent.
“The issue of ‘witcher schools’ requires – I apologise – a longer explanation,” he wrote. “A single sentence about some ‘School of the Wolf’ mysteriously made its way into [the first Witcher short story collection] The Last Wish.
“I later deemed it unworthy of development and narratively incorrect, even detrimental to the plot. Therefore, later I never included or referenced any Witcher Gryffindors or Slytherins again. Never.
“However, that one sentence was enough. Adaptors, particularly video game people, have clung to the idea with remarkable tenacity and have wonderfully multiplied these ‘witcher schools’. Completely unnecessary.”
Sapkowski said he was currently undecided on how to address the topic of witcher schools in the future, whether that involves removing the previous School of the Wolf reference entirely, or giving more information on the witcher medallions and what they actually mean, rather than their wearer’s designated school.
“I’m still uncertain about what to do with this situation,” he said. “Perhaps, taking the path of least resistance, I’ll erase the sentence about the ‘school’ from future editions of The Last Wish.
“Or maybe I’ll want to expand and clarify the matter somehow in subsequent books? Perhaps I’ll shed some light on the issue of Witcher medallions, their significance, and their connection to specific individuals? There are many possibilities, and the sky is the limit.”
The first trailer for The Witcher 4 was shown at The Game Awards in December 2024, revealing that the game will follow Ciri, last seen in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.
In an interview with VGC, narrative director Philipp Weber said he knew the decision to change the series’ protagonist would be controversial with some fans, and that the team wants to prove it was the correct choice for the game.
