The acclaimed The Witcher series is home to a massive variety of races and creatures, including humans, elves, dwarves, ghouls, vampires, dragons and many more. Andrzej Sapkowski's novels have been praised for their ability to bring new life to familiar fantasy tropes. One of the ways they do this is by including a plethora of different races for grumpy protagonist Geralt to fight alongside, fall in love with, or possibly slay.
The novels have been expertly adapted into three critically acclaimed video games, with The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt being hailed by fans as one of the best games of all time. Each of these games have had hundreds of hours worth of content to explore. However, many of the races Sapkowski created for the books have yet to find their way into the expansive virtual world of the games. Hopefully one day gamers will get to interact with some of these lesser known species.
7 Goblins: Reclusive Mischief Makers
Goblins have been featured in a variety of different fantasy novels and are certainly no stranger to video games. Their role in the Witcher universe is minor, but it's unfortunate they haven't managed to make an appearance in at least one of the games. Goblins are sometimes known as Kobolds. They are small humanoid creatures that spend most of their days underground. They are sentient, but are known to be dangerously savage.
A single goblin is incredibly weak when facing Geralt's deadly silver blade, but they often form packs and can be formidable foes in a group. Similar to Nekkars (pesky ogroids prominently featured in the video game trilogy), they would make a great addition to the games' bestiary as small, reckless creatures that cause all manner of problems.
Image source: Netflix's The Witcher concept art by Pixloid Studios (ArtStation).
6 Wererats: Huge, Loathsome Rats
Wererats are considered a type of therianthrope. Therianthropes are shape-shifting humanoids who are often incredibly strong and dangerous. The most common and infamous of these beings is the iconic werewolf. The wererat is essentially the same as a werewolf, except that instead of morphing into a wolf-like humanoid, they take on the appearance of something more akin to a rat.
Wererats aren't mentioned much in the course of the series, but considering how often their wolfish counterparts are present in the games, it would've been nice to see at least one in the mainline titles.
5 The Black Seidhe Elves: The Original Nilfgaardians
Elves are one of the most common races in The Witcher novels, as well as the games. There are countless examples of Geralt coming in contact with all kinds of Elven people and culture. One thing people might not realize about them is that they are separated into multiple distinct subcultures. The Aen Siedhe are the group who are seen most often throughout the continent, and the Aen Elle play a major role in the tale of the Wild Hunt.
The Black Seidhe are their lesser-known cousins. Many generations ago, they inhabited the land around the Alba river and shared their culture with human settlers. This combination led to them being ancestors of the current day Nilfgaardians. Due to their existence being prevalent long before Geralt was born, they never got to be included in the games' stories.
4 Leprechaun: The Luck Of The Nordling?
It would be hard to find someone who doesn't know what a leprechaun is. Their depiction in The Witcher isn't much different from other interpretations. They are small and human-like, often being confused with other races like halflings or even human children.
Like most tales of leprechauns, they are merry little creatures who offer their gold to anyone who outwits them. A pot of gold is featured at the end of a rainbow in the massive "Blood and Wine" expansion (which is crammed with intriguing quests) for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Unfortunately, players never come across the leprechaun who owns it.
3 Merpeople: Much More Peaceful Than Sirens
There are a lot of different creatures lurking throughout the waters of the The Witcher video game trilogy. From drowners and water hags to sirens and harpies, many of them are terrifying beasts trying to eat anything in sight. Merpeople are considerably more pleasant, though. They are a race of sentient water dwellers who resemble a human with a fish-esque lower body.
In The Sword of Destiny (the second novel in the Witcher series), Geralt comes into contact with a mermaid named Sh'eenaz. He finds himself wrapped up in a love story involving Sh'eenaz and a local Duke. Their love almost results in a war between the water dwellers and the surface, but Sh'eenaz giving up her fins to come and marry the Duke ultimately resolves the conflict. Sh'eenaz' story, as well as that of many other merpeople, unfortunately didn't make it into the Witcher games (neither have a lot of excellent things from the books).
2 Clabater: A Curious Aquatic Race
Yet another water-dwelling race that failed to make an appearance in the Witcher trilogy, it's the clabater. Very little is known about them. They are put into the same classification as goblins, but tend to have a much greater standing among other races.
Not much is known about their appearance, but it is assumed they are small humanoids. Sailors believe they protect them from dangers lurking throughout the seas, and they often drink or chat with them on their boats. However, clabaters are sometimes tragically killed for their organs, which have magical properties useful in alchemy. It seems as though the video games lacked the ability to include some of these lesser-known water creatures.
1 Hamadryad: Mighty Tree Guardians
Dryads play a large role in one of Geralt's first encounters with his adopted daughter Ciri. They are a race of fierce fighters who guard the forests and, at one point, wanted to raise Ciri as one of their own. Hamadryads are a different subclassification of dryads. They live amongst dryads, but often prefer a more solitary existence.
Their life purpose is to protect a given tree they have a special bond with. They often have green skin and will always be seen protecting their tree. In the games, Geralt only ever comes across one dryad, and it isn't a hamadryad. The luscious green forests featured in the games would've made a perfect home for a hamadryad if the developers decided to include them.
Image source: the official website for Gwent, the Witcher card game.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt was released on May 18, 2015, and is available on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch.