For those that completed Hearts of stone. What is the man of glass exactly?(spoilers )

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What is Rumpelstiltskin exactly? Is he a god?

From what I gathered, it's a trickery imp. Howerever, I think the charecter CD Projekt RED made is a fusion between this imp and the classic devil, the one you sign a contract with blood and pay with your soul.

P.S: Really wish to know what he spoke to Geralt once he solved the riddle
 
There is one thing I would like to know even after the end. Who was the “wandering witch” the professor mentioned. The one that finally pointed Olgierd von Everec to Gaunter O'Dim in the first place.
 
There is one thing I would like to know even after the end. Who was the “wandering witch” the professor mentioned. The one that finally pointed Olgierd von Everec to Gaunter O'Dim in the first place.

Not really important, I think... someone also in dept to Gaunter, maybe?

Rumpelstiltski, or Rumpelstilzchen, as it is called here in Austria, is the villain of a brothers Grim story... he's a malicious, wish granting gnome/imp that gets tricked into, basically killing himself by the hero. The man of glass more looks like a version of the basic devil/prince of lies from christian mythology, though.
 
He is apparently a demon. Feeds on souls and tricks people with blood contracts.

I hope we haven't seen the last of him.
 

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Yeah, he looks more like a devil itself, has many names and etc, at first I thought he was a trickster god or a very powerful wizard, but he has a evil aspect, he certainly is a demon or something like that.
 
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The Man of Glass is probably influenced by many different tales and concepts. One is clearly the Devil - you can make a pact with him, and he fulfills your desires, but in the end he always wins. This concept is also often used for demons in various other games/stories. The idea of taking wishes literally is also known, for example there is the proverb "Be careful what you wish for - you just might get it". In the end, the witcher series also tend to take known fairytales and turn them into nightmares - so Gaunter O'Dim could also be a Genie of some sort - not evil per se, but rather pedantic...
Then we have Rumpelstilzkin, a figure from a german fairytale, what is probably a much better guess than the Genie (for those who are not familiar with the tale look here), that is also know for helping out when someone is facing an impossible task, but will come back later and demand something in return. In the fairytale, Rumpelstilzkin can also be defeated by guessing "who" he is.


I think the Devil analogy works best - and lets not forget that he is also called the Master Mirror. And a mirror shows one his own reflection. The true devil is thus humanity, a common conclusion in the world of the Witcher.
 
His name clearly inspired by Stephen Kings Walter O`Dim wich was one of the names of Randall Flagg, main antagonist from Dark Tower series, The Stand and others works. Develish kind of fellow
 
His name clearly inspired by Stephen Kings Walter O`Dim wich was one of the names of Randall Flagg, main antagonist from Dark Tower series, The Stand and others works. Develish kind of fellow

Ah, very good! I thought the name was familiar somehow...

Also, don't forget the "selling ones soul to the devil at the crossroads" theme that often pops up in literature like Göthe's Faust, where the titular character summons the demon Mephistopheles also "at the crossroads" to make a pact with him. In one of the promotional pics for the HoS, Gaunter can even be seen holding a human skull, which is also a reference to the same story.



Anyhow... I doubt we will see that character again in the Witcher-verse. The devil usually a one off plot device that is not really part of the worlds mythos, when used in fantasy stories...
 

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I noticed a book in Olgierd's mansion about genies. Maybe he is some sort of powerful evil genie.

Although there are many resemblance between Gaunter and the Devil, I don't really like the whole Devil/Lucifer interpretation because to me, I feel that in the Witcher-verse, although religions widely exist, there isn't any solid evidence showing the true existence of any god or demigod. The existence of magic and spirits is one thing; the existence of deity is a totally different matter.
 
I noticed a book in Olgierd's mansion about genies. Maybe he is some sort of powerful evil genie.

Although there are many resemblance between Gaunter and the Devil, I don't really like the whole Devil/Lucifer interpretation because to me, I feel that in the Witcher-verse, although religions widely exist, there isn't any solid evidence showing the true existence of any god or demigod. The existence of magic and spirits is one thing; the existence of deity is a totally different matter.
Well, if you're talking about the Christian idea of the Devil, then the Devil is just a demon, albeit the boss of demons. There's demons in the Witcherverse, so the characterization is fair game, imo.
 
His name clearly inspired by Stephen Kings Walter O`Dim wich was one of the names of Randall Flagg, main antagonist from Dark Tower series, The Stand and others works. Develish kind of fellow

And Leland Gaunt, who is basically the same character as O'Dimm.
 
I found a pretty good analysis on his character in one on the comments on YouTube.

+BeautyIsJustAMask O'Dimm isn't a "lesser" evil, he is EVIL itself. However, it's important to understand what that means in the context of this story. Gaunter is often referred to as the Master of Mirrors or Master Mirror and if you analyze his nature you understand why, it is because he holds up a reflection towards an individual's true nature. By offering and granting an individual's wishes he reveals the inner nature of that individual, he holds up a mirror on towards themselves. Now, remember that Gaunter is supposedly literally the manifestation of EVIL and yet for the most part he seems to only grant people what they wish. This is important because it reveals where EVIL actually comes from, at least in this fictional world, it's not Gaunter or some other being that creates EVIL it is individual's themselves. People ask Gaunter to grant their wishes and many of them tend to be "evil" wishes, one that must result in the suffering or death of others even if the end result is something "good" like love. Gaunter merely reveals the evil within an individual but he does not cause them to be evil, they do it to themselves. That is why Olgierd is truly evil, while Gaunter is simply the device which showed us Olgierd's true nature. Gaunter is simply a force of nature, like fire, you can't get mad at fire but you can chastise someone who willingly plays with fire. Olgierd literally made a deal with the Devil and sacrificed his brother to seal the pact, it's clear to me who is the "greater evil" in that situation.

Master mirror. Great name for a great character.
 
I found a pretty good analysis on his character in one on the comments on YouTube.

+BeautyIsJustAMask O'Dimm isn't a "lesser" evil, he is EVIL itself. However, it's important to understand what that means in the context of this story. Gaunter is often referred to as the Master of Mirrors or Master Mirror and if you analyze his nature you understand why, it is because he holds up a reflection towards an individual's true nature. By offering and granting an individual's wishes he reveals the inner nature of that individual, he holds up a mirror on towards themselves. Now, remember that Gaunter is supposedly literally the manifestation of EVIL and yet for the most part he seems to only grant people what they wish. This is important because it reveals where EVIL actually comes from, at least in this fictional world, it's not Gaunter or some other being that creates EVIL it is individual's themselves. People ask Gaunter to grant their wishes and many of them tend to be "evil" wishes, one that must result in the suffering or death of others even if the end result is something "good" like love. Gaunter merely reveals the evil within an individual but he does not cause them to be evil, they do it to themselves. That is why Olgierd is truly evil, while Gaunter is simply the device which showed us Olgierd's true nature. Gaunter is simply a force of nature, like fire, you can't get mad at fire but you can chastise someone who willingly plays with fire. Olgierd literally made a deal with the Devil and sacrificed his brother to seal the pact, it's clear to me who is the "greater evil" in that situation.

Master mirror. Great name for a great character.

That quote got dumb real quick. He says O'dimm is evil itself then says Olgierd is the greater evil between the two. That makes no sense. He had something going at the beginning then tried to be deep and philosophical towards the end.
 
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