Is Thronebreaker a Canon? (Book spoilers)

[Senejel]

Is Thronebreaker a Canon? (Book spoilers)

The question is in the title. Now, I do understand that even the game is not the canon when it comes to the books. But I'm talking about the CD version of the Witcher. So will be these events part of the CD canon?
And if they do, what is the timeline? Is the story happening after the Witcher or before or in the middle of it?

 

[Firekangaroo]

The little description we have suggests it might tell the story of queen meve's battles against nilfgaard around the jaruga that happen during the third book. Geralt and his friends only stay in meve's Camp for a short time and fight in one important Battle, so there's enough room for cdpr to tell the story their own way.
The game would also fit such a story, each match being one battle between meve's growing army and Nilfgaardian troops.

 

[nobody606]

Thronebreaker is about Meve and her war against Nilfgaard in the Second Nilfgaard-Nordling War, so this is a few years before the story of the games. The war is in 1263 and the first game takes place in 1268 or 1269.

Geralt fought in a few battles in this war (special one is the Battle on the Yaruga, because Meve knighted Geralt for this battle), so we'll meet him, but in the end there can't be a lot canon, because only a few bits about this time are covered in the books etc., so there will be much fictional content.

 

[Vaishar]

The witcher games practically start where the last book ends. And Witcher 3 continues and ends the story (in a way).

Found out about that after half-way trough witcher 3 so i stopped , read the books, watched vods of witcher 1 and 2 and then replayed witcher 3.

I believe the timeline of the story happens on the second Nilfgaard War or between the first and second (might be wrong). With the added spoilers you can find more here http://witcher.wikia.com/wiki/Meve

 

[Rawls]

I would guess that it does fit within the Games' canon (in so far as a game series with player agency can have canon). And like others have said ... it seems to take place a few years before the events of the other witcher games.

 

[Ildun]

Is the Thronebreaker happens after The Witcher 3 events? Meve sounds like she wants to break the treaty in the trailer or I misunderstand?

 

[4RM3D]

Is the Thronebreaker happens after The Witcher 3 events? Meve sounds like she wants to break the treaty in the trailer or I misunderstand?

The events take place before the Witcher 3.

 

[Ejecutor-EU]

The little description we have suggests it might tell the story of queen meve's battles against nilfgaard around the jaruga that happen during the third book. Geralt and his friends only stay in meve's Camp for a short time and fight in one important Battle, so there's enough room for cdpr to tell the story their own way.
The game would also fit such a story, each match being one battle between meve's growing army and Nilfgaardian troops.

Did Geralt go to Meve's camp in the third book? I'm finishing the 5th and I didn't read a single Word about this.

 

[Firekangaroo]

Did Geralt go to Meve's camp in the third book? I'm finishing the 5th and I didn't read a single Word about this.

They stay in her camp after the battle at the bridge at the end of the 3rd book. Meve knights Geralt, they leave in book 4

 

[CiriusBlack]

Hmm... Spoiler warning added to the title.

 

[Riigoo]

Talking about canon... someone can say if it's true that in the books Nilfgaard succeeded in conquer the north? From what I heard the books end with the second norther war end with NR victory over the invaders. The third war between Emhyr and Radovid only happen in the games while in the book the wars end with the north victory over Nilfgaard in the second war, right? But I also heard that in the future the north realms is called "empire's northern regions" in some books, is that true? If so that wouldn't that mean it was all futile and useless in the end? All that fight, persistence, endurance and toughness for nothing? Even though in the books the Empire it's see as a antagonist figure? All that culture, historic, myths and legends that compose the north's pride and the north itself it will be completely forgotten and erased after being assimilated by the empire that will take over in the end?

If that's true then... wow, I really hope CD Projekt do things in a different way or at least give us a proper choice...

 

[vilsky]

Talking about canon... someone can say if it's true that in the books Nilfgaard succeeded in conquer the north? From what I heard the books end with the second norther war end with NR victory over the invaders. The third war between Emhyr and Radovid only happen in the games while in the book the wars end with the north victory over Nilfgaard in the second war, right? But I also heard that in the future the north realms is called "empire's northern regions" in some books, is that true? If so that wouldn't that mean it was all futile and useless in the end? All that fight, persistence, endurance and toughness for nothing? Even though in the books the Empire it's see as a antagonist figure? All that culture, historic, myths and legends that compose the north's pride and the north itself it will be completely forgotten and erased after being assimilated by the empire that will take over in the end?

If that's true then... wow, I really hope CD Projekt do things in a different way or at least give us a proper choice...

The idea of the inevitability of the prevalence of progress over the relics of the past, such as monsters, witchers, elves, dryads, etc runs through the entire series of novels. And Nilfgaard in some sense is one of the incarnation of this globalisation process. I don't think that northern population would lose too much in their cultural identity due to Nilfgaard domination, because not the Nilfgaard is the main driving force behind this global process in the world but humans as species. It is not so much Nilfgaard vs Old World as Humans vs Old World.

 

[Riigoo]

@vlsky
So is that true then? Nilfgaard really prevails over the north in the end? That's really dissapoiting. There's no doubt that the north will gradually lose their identity to Nilfgaard while their culture will expand, imposing their own terms taking over more and more in the course of time. Besides, if Nilfgaard conquered the north that means they conquered all the continent whicht also means they can conquer all the world (what is a little reign against a continent?), perhaps even Skelling will be conquered in the end? If so then they should change the name of islands because that wouldn't be Skelling anymore... That's really sad because the north had potential to be much more powerful than Nilfgaard, if the north could centralize their power (sorceress, warriors, studiouses, etc), Nilfgaard would be no match for the north. That's why the end with Djikastra's victory it's far best of all to me, because that's exactly what happens.

It's true that the idea of progress over the past it's nice but I don't think it needs to end with Nilfgaard taking over the entire world painting the whole world under the same color. After all, competition has always been the key to progress. Besides I don't think that the end of elves, dryads and old races as all is something good or progressive at all, I dare to say it's almost the opposite. If this is the true end in the books then well... I can say it's quite a waste of world in my opinion.

 

[Noela]

@vlsky
So is that true then? Nilfgaard really prevails over the north in the end? That's really dissapoiting. There's no doubt that the north will gradually lose their identity to Nilfgaard while their culture will expand, imposing their own terms taking over more and more in the course of time. Besides, if Nilfgaard conquered the north that means they conquered all the continent whicht also means they can conquer all the world (what is a little reign against a continent?), perhaps even Skelling will be conquered in the end? If so then they should change the name of islands because that wouldn't be Skelling anymore... That's really sad because the north had potential to be much more powerful than Nilfgaard, if the north could centralize their power (sorceress, warriors, studiouses, etc), Nilfgaard would be no match for the north. That's why the end with Djikastra's victory it's far best of all to me, because that's exactly what happens.

It's true that the idea of progress over the past it's nice but I don't think it needs to end with Nilfgaard taking over the entire world painting the whole world under the same color. After all, competition has always been the key to progress. Besides I don't think that the end of elves, dryads and old races as all is something good or progressive at all, I dare to say it's almost the opposite. If this is the true end in the books then well... I can say it's quite a waste of world in my opinion.

No, the books don't end with a Nilfgaardian conquest. They put and end to the war with a treaty, the Peace of Cintra, and if I remember correctly, it allocates the territories of Brugge and Lyria to Emhyr, as well as Cintra (via marriage with the fake Ciri). Temeria benefits territorially speaking of the treaty. Dol Blathanna becomes a vasal of Aedirn just in name, without obligations or tributes, under Francesca. As a part of the treaty, a number of officers from the Vrihedd Brigade are handed over for trial and execution to the Northern Realms; Isengrim managed to escape, heading toward Zerrikania with two unlikely companions.
There is no third war. But there is, as vlsky has said, the pull of progress against magic, elder races, witchers. In the days following the war, there is a wave of hate against non humans in the cities, violence and progroms. The prosecution against magic is hinted through a scene where Radovid thinks about killing Philippa, and it is known that she wil be martyrized and burned at the stake. But it is not a consequence of Nilfgaard, but of civilization, tecnological advances and new knowledge and shifts of power and new ways of thinking that bury magical/traditional thinking, and this is a theme that permeates the books constantly. Possibly, Skellige would change slowly, as they are more attached to their ways.

 

[Shuls02]

Didint CDPR bought the rights to the series? Or am I wrong? If they did then this can surely be canon.

 

[Noela]

They didn't buy the rights to the series, they bought the rigths to do a videogame adaptation of the series; but the videogames are not considered canon, nor a "true" continuation of the novels. On top of that, there are a lot of details on the videogames that go specifically against canon of the novels: new characters, characters whose destiny is different on the novels, or simply some characters traits. For example, Triss Merigold wasn't a redhead, and her neckline never, never showed cleavage. Not criticising, it is a great game, but it is not canon and there are some things to say about the treatment of some of the characters.

 

[ulthran7]

Neither The Witcher series nor Gwent/Thronebreaker are considered Canon by die-hard book fans and will never be. How I see it Witcher series and Thronebreaker are more like alternate universe

 

[Shuls02]

Neither The Witcher series nor Gwent/Thronebreaker are considered Canon by die-hard book fans and will never be. How I see it Witcher series and Thronebreaker are more like alternate universe

If you consider it an alternate universe then it could be canon, at least in your head :hmm:

Also "die-hard book fans" arent the majority of the player base from what I know so I dont see how discussing if this is canon or non-canon is even relevant.
I would understand when it comes to something like Harry Potter wich became popular because of the books but here its the other way around, the games made the books popular so should we really care if the games are canon to the books?

 

[ulthran7]

the games made the books popular so should we really care if the games are canon to the books?

Woah there, that's a bold statement. I don't know where you're from but in Poland books were widely known much before games and still sold much more than games. I mean outside of Poland that's probably true, but still overstatement as books were translated and published in english, spanish, german, russian, czech, slovak, lithuanian, french, and portuguese before anyone even heard about games.

 

[Senejel]

Woah there, that's a bold statement. I don't know where you're from but in Poland books were widely known much before games and still sold much more than games. I mean outside of Poland that's probably true, but still overstatement as books were translated and published in english, spanish, german, russian, czech, slovak, lithuanian, french, and portuguese before anyone even heard about games.

Well it's not just about Poland. And as I stated in the first post, I asked about the game canon because the book canon is of little importance anyway.