As a witcher, Geralt of Rivia’s primary job is to protect people from harm. That means taking on various contracts, usually aimed at killing monsters. But Geralt has a talent for getting himself involved in complex situations that revolve around sorceresses and kings.
As a result, he not only killed many monsters during his work as a witcher but also a handful of very inhuman or human characters who had the misfortune of crossing his path and standing in his way or made the mistake of threatening the people Geralt cares about. In the books, the Netflix series, as well as the games, Geralt has killed multiple characters…and in many cases, they had it coming.
Updated September 22, 2023, by Kath Leroy: With the third season of The Witcher released in June and July 2023, it was expected that Geralt would take on even more enemies and some of them would meet their ends when confronting the witcher. Some of the characters Geralt fought were lucky enough to defeat him (such as Vilgefortz). Others survived, albeit with grievous injuries (for example, Dijkstra, whose leg Geralt broke). Monsters or no monsters, Geralt doesn’t shy away from killing humans when he feels they deserve it or when they threaten those he cares about, especially Ciri. As such, it’s only a matter of time before even more names are added to the list of characters Geralt has killed.
9 Rience
- Killed in: The Witcher TV series, S3 E6
Rience is one of the characters whose fate was changed in the Netflix series. In the books, Rience dies at a much later point in the story than in the show. He’s also one of the recurring antagonists of the book series, and in the end, it’s Ciri who disposes of him after Rience had pursued her for a while.
While Ciri does fight Rience in the third season of The Witcher, it’s Geralt who appears as if out of nowhere and takes Rience by surprise, cutting his head off with a sword. It’s not the first time Geralt has an opportunity to kill Rience. But the last time he had the chance, he was running out of time to go through a closing portal and reach Ciri and Yennefer in time, and didn' kill the mage.
8 Gage
- Killed in: The Witcher TV series, S3 E1
In every medium, Geralt will do anything in his power to protect Ciri, whom he perceives as his adoptive daughter. That includes killing people who try to hurt Ciri or capture her. Rience was one such example, and the elf Gage is another.
Gage is Francesca Findabair’s brother and the closest person to her, except for her husband Filavandrel. When the elves try to capture Ciri since they perceive her as someone who could save them thanks to a prophecy, Geralt refuses to let it happen. This results in Gage’s death and Francesca’s heartbreak at the loss of her brother.
7 The Last Crone
- Killed in: The Witcher 3 video game
Throughout The Witcher 3, there are instances in which the game switches perspective, allowing the player to control Ciri instead of Geralt. This occurs when fighting several bosses, including the three Crones. When the duo arrives at the Bald Mountain, Geralt goes to fight Imlerith while Ciri takes on the Crones. Ciri manages to kill two of the Crones, but the third survives and absconds with Vesemir’s medallion, a memento Ciri took to remember her adoptive uncle by. Ciri never gets the chance to kill the last Crone, Weavess, but Geralt does.
However, this only happens in one of the rarest The Witcher 3 endings: the so-called ‘bad ending,’ in which Ciri is missing and presumed dead. Geralt returns to Velen, and kills Weavess by throwing his sword through her back while the Crone tries to run. Most players never experience the scene, because keeping Ciri alive and well is the game’s and Geralt’s primary goal.
6 Dettlaff
- Killed in: The Witcher 3 video game
Alongside Syanna, the mastermind behind the plan, Dettlaff is the main antagonist of The Witcher 3 DLC Blood and Wine. In the DLC’s finale, Geralt has several options. He can save Syanna and kill Dettlaff (with Regis’s help). Alternatively, he can let Syanna die and kill Dettlaff for murdering her. Dettlaff’s case curious, because facing him is one of the few situations when Geralt can decide to walk away from a boss fight. (The only other notable example is the Ofieri mage in the first DLC, Hearts of Stone).
If Geralt decides to spare Dettlaff even after the high vampire kills Syanna, Dettlaff just walks away, leaving the city behind, and Geralt’s friend Regis decides to go with Dettlaff to help him. Whether Dettlaff deserves to die is something that players discuss to this day, but the option to kill him does exist.
5 Eskel
- Killed in: The Witcher TV series, S2 S3
The treatment Eskel received in the second season of The Witcher caused an outcry among the fans. Not only did the show change Eskel’s character, making him much more disagreeable and downright rude at times, but it also dispatched him shortly after he first appeared on the scene. After he was infected by the leshy, Eskel transformed into a deadly creature.
He would have killed Vesemir but Geralt intervened and killed Eskel in order to save Vesemir’s life. Fortunately for the fans of Eskel, at least the witcher survived in the games. In The Witcher 3, Eskel makes it through the battle against the Wild Hunt as well which is more than can be said about Vesemir.
4 Renfri
- Killed in: The Witcher TV series, S1 E1
Presumably cursed by the Black Sun, princess Renfri didn’t have an easy life. She decided to make the best of her misfortune by becoming the leader of a group of bandits. Unfortunately for Renfri, she and Geralt ended up standing on opposite sides when they met. Even though Geralt was sympathetic toward Renfri, and they shared a few intimate moments together, Renfri refused to back down when Geralt asked her not to kill the sorcerer Stregobor.
As a result, Renfri and Geralt crossed swords, and Geralt emerged victorious from the fight even though Renfri fought well too. The story of Renfri appeared both in the books and the Netflix show, and there are references to it in the games as well. Most notably in the third game when Geralt encounters Syanna, another woman who was seen as cursed and shunned by people because of it.
3 Vilgefortz
- Killed in: The Lady of the Lake novel
Even though Geralt had fought his fair share of dangerous opponents, from higher vampires to the Wild Hunt, dispatching Vilgerfortz was still one of the greatest challenges the witcher had ever faced. Vilgefortz was one of the most powerful sorcerers in The Witcher series. When he and Geralt initially fought, Vilgefortz gained the upper hand and severely hurt Geralt. Not only was he powerful but also had a sadistic streak.
He planned to capture Ciri and force her to have a child so that he could get access to elder blood. It took the combined effort of Geralt, Yennefer, Regis, and a few others of Geralt’s friends to weaken Vilgefortz enough for Geralt to be able to finish him off. Geralt finally killed Vilgefortz by cutting his head off, but not before Vilgefortz caused a lot of damage, such as melting Regis.
2 Eredin
- Killed in:The Witcher 3 video game
The king of the Wild Hunt is one of the most prominent bosses in The Witcher 3. He’s been pursuing Geralt and Ciri for a long time so when Geralt and Eredin finally meet eye-to-eye in Skellige, it’s clear that one of them will have to die. Depending on the dexterity and quick reflexes of the players, the combat against Eredin can be swift or last for a long time.
Whatever the case, Eredin still belongs among one of the surprisingly easy bosses to defeat in The Witcher 3, considering the amount of power he wields in his hands. By killing Eredin, Geralt manages to ensure that his adoptive daughter Ciri is finally free (more or less) to make her own choices and doesn’t have to spend the rest of her life fleeing from the Wild Hunt.
1 Aryan La Valette
- Killed in: The Witcher 2 video game
Aryan La Valette is one of the characters whose death is optional in The Witcher games. Geralt encounters Aryan during the castle assault. From there on, he can either kill Aryan or make him surrender. Whatever option Geralt chooses will later influence the interactions with Aryan’s mother Louisa in The Witcher 3. When Geralt meets Baroness La Valette in Novigrad, she’ll either be hostile to him if he killed her son or friendly and gracious if he spared Aryan’s life.
Aryan’s fate is one of the options that can be simulated via a dialogue with Morvran at the beginning of the game, giving the choice to decide Aryan’s fate even to those players who hadn’t played The Witcher 2. Interestingly, other characters who might or might not die depending on Geralt’s choices in the games include names such as Letho of Gulet, Keira Metz, Geralt’s fellow witcher Lambert, and, of course, Ciri herself!