Maybe they made Geralt to watch so much porn movies in his training sessions...that is the only conclusion without crazy scientific theories 
In the books Leo Bonhart, a professional killer, boasted with having killed 3 witchers, and had their medallions - a wolf, a cat and a gryphon, which is why it is supposed that there are (or were) probably 3 witcher schools.According to the Witcher graphic novels (comics), the head of the Cat school betrayed the Wolves and helped the king that wanted to get rid of witchers massacre the Wolves in exchange for being left alone themselves (although they were likely used and double crossed by the king and mostly killed as well). I'll write more about it in the Witcher Wiki later.
5 of the 6 comics are based directly on Sapkowski's short stories and they're pretty faithful. However, one of the comics, "Zdrada" ("The Betrayal") was based only on the idea of there being a betrayal that led to fight between two witcher schools, which Sapkowski came up with, but the details of the story were made up by Maciej Parowski and Bogusław Polch, the authors of the comic. So the details are not canonical (and in some places contradict the novels, since the comics were written before the novel series was finished), but the overall idea can be considered canon, since it came from Sapkowski himself.
Another fact - Sapkowski (and the game also. Remember some of the NPC saying "A witcher! Hide the women!"?) mentions that everyone knows that the witchers are very... horny It's a fact, a rule written down even in very old, historical books. This means that Geralt isn't an exception and that you have to search for the source of this fact in the mutations witchers are going through. Maybe the body of a witcher - as a side effect of the mutations simillar to Geralts white hair - produces great amounts of sex feromons (and other types too)? This would also explain the hostility towards witchers - the unnaturally high feromon production attracts women but also arouses hostility in men. You know - males fight for females, defend their territory etc and if they "smell" on a subconscious level that a witcher is a threat to their position (and physically he is)... Of course you can't explain the whole hostility and sex thing ONLY with biology but... it gives something to think about. Feromons + infertility + immunity... Yep, it makes some sense.
It's a fact, a rule written down even in very old, historical books. This means that Geralt isn't an exception and that you have to search for the source of this fact in the mutations witchers are going through. Maybe the body of a witcher - as a side effect of the mutations simillar to Geralts white hair - produces great amounts of sex feromons (and other types too)? This would also explain the hostility towards witchers - the unnaturally high feromon production attracts women but also arouses hostility in men. You know - males fight for females, defend their territory etc and if they "smell" on a subconscious level that a witcher is a threat to their position (and physically he is)... Of course you can't explain the whole hostility and sex thing ONLY with biology but... it gives something to think about. Feromons + infertility + immunity... Yep, it makes some sense.But why do cats and children react negatively to him?Too bad that women can't become mutated Witchers *sniff* becoming immune to all and infertile has some attractive options ;D and who would dare to rape a female Witcher when she is physically faster and stronger than normal humans.No fair Andrzej !! :'(
Oh, that's simple.Cats - in Witcherland cats are the only animals (besides dragons, which, to be exact, aren't "always" animals - vide golden ones) that are able to process The Power (the magical energy stored in the elements like water, earth etc). No one knows what do they do with it. But it's sure, that cats feel it and often sleep on the so called 'intersections' (places where The Power is extremly strong), tapping into them and drawing this magical energy.This also means, that they are able to sense magic. Witchers are - to some extent - "magical" mutants (or in another words - they have a "magical watermark" on them). Thus cats feel that and react. Also, witcher medalions store a lot of Power and are themselfs highly magical (one of the best sorceresses - Yennefer - was afraid to even touch a witcher medalion). Cats probably see witchers as "weird walking Power containers" and thus...Children - ekhem, if you're, lets say, 10 years old and see a big bad man with a threatening face, lots of scars, cat-like eyes and a razor sharp sword on the back, you will probably want your mama very badly
Besides, children instinctively recognize "bad people". And witchers are bad people... In some aspects at least.
Not fair. But you should know now, that Witcherland isn't a nice place
Besides, sorry, but it's illogical to mutate women 8) Men are biologicaly better suited for this (the whole muscle, strength, hormones thing). And also - we want to supress emotions. Women are, hmm... more complicated when it comes to this matter, so it would require probably a lot of additional work Thanks for the explanation with the kids and cats. Makes sense... yet, not all kids would do that!The resolute girl found Geralt ugly, but she liked him hahamixman said:Oh, that's simple.Cats - in Witcherland cats are the only animals (besides dragons, which, to be exact, aren't "always" animals - vide golden ones) that are able to process The Power (the magical energy stored in the elements like water, earth etc). No one knows what do they do with it. But it's sure, that cats feel it and often sleep on the so called 'intersections' (places where The Power is extremly strong), tapping into them and drawing this magical energy.This also means, that they are able to sense magic. Witchers are - to some extent - "magical" mutants (or in another words - they have a "magical watermark" on them). Thus cats feel that and react. Also, witcher medalions store a lot of Power and are themselfs highly magical (one of the best sorceresses - Yennefer - was afraid to even touch a witcher medalion). Cats probably see witchers as "weird walking Power containers" and thus...Children - ekhem, if you're, lets say, 10 years old and see a big bad man with a threatening face, lots of scars, cat-like eyes and a razor sharp sword on the back, you will probably want your mama very badlyNot fair. But you should know now, that Witcherland isn't a nice place
Well, Witcherland isn't nice ;-) but Tymeria isn't nice either ;D and if I have to chose to be a weak broodmare for some boring bloke including the prospect of rape due lack of self-defense options - I rather chose the blade and take as much fun as I can get from the short life I might face as Witcher-girl. Live short, live steamy *cough cough* women might not be as strong as males due lack of the muscle mass - yet there are enough women who are fierce and nonetheless strong due some heavy training. Have a few in my martial arts (Karate and Kung Fu) who are much better, fiercer, more brutal than their male counterparts (about same height, weight and also the same level/dan) . And they surely don't look like walking muscle-bulges.So the "males are better suited" stuff is in my opinion rather old fashioned issue and always pushed back to the dumb "pregnancy, and live giving" topic. Sure that a female Witcher would probably somewhat weaker than a male Witcher, yet she still would be capable to kill monster and give a horde of normal human thugs some bleeding noses without breaking in sweat. Plus, women can hold out more pain (natural given ability) - have a natural so called sixth sense and usually are multitasking enabled ... anticipating what a screaming bundle of poop-manufacturing wants... keeping an eye on the other kids and at the same time organizing, planning, communicating other stuff. But just because it originally was meant to do that, doesn't mean it can't be used for other things. Look at Ciri and White Rayla!
Lol, boy did this thread change a tid bit. I like the cat explanation, even my cat in RL acts weird sometimes and as if she senses things that aren't there. I do remember multiple reaction types in game at least with kids.Hell yeah, I also think female witchers would be a wild twist. Speaking of the far east, well over 60% of all Ninja were in fact female.Well, a female witcher would have (if going on general physique diffs) a higher dexterity along with less strength, possibly higher stamina (includes pain tolerance bonus), with a possible lower intelligence since women were not treated the same and had to learn many things on their own if at all in our own darker times. However this doesn't account for a female witcher who might have a higher stat there from being forced to learn through doing instead of just normally being taught. This and a few tweaks elsewhere would balance out game issues for a female player mod actually... hmmRhian said:Thanks for the explanation with the kids and cats. Makes sense... yet, not all kids would do that!The resolute girl found Geralt ugly, but she liked him haha
It was more meant as a question why there aren't any female Witchers... (also not meant as feminism discussion, more a logical issue aside from the "broodmare-topic")I believe a female Witcher could be worse than any male Witcher. Free from the worries of becoming sick, pregnant, and overwhelmed by common thugs/bandits - they probably knowhow to enjoy life as much as possible under the aspect that every day could be their last. My stepfather once said that there is nothing worse than a constantly randy woman... because it would eat at the male ego not being capable to match the sexual appetite of a woman ;DSo, such a woman would indeed be a very interesting aspect in a Witcher-Land story and also show that women aren't that different from males when it comes to violence, fierceness, lust and showing off - (if you keep Mr. doodle Mrs. bosom out of the discussion.)Also because only daring and strong male would try their luck with a female Witcher other would skulk off and hide behind a bush in fear to get eaten. (loads of cruel humor muhahahaa, erm sorry. I like stories with sarcasm about sexuality and male ego)
other would skulk off and hide behind a bush in fear to get eaten. (loads of cruel humor muhahahaa, erm sorry. I like stories with sarcasm about sexuality and male ego)Yeah, well, she would probably find a kikimore also very amusingRhian said:Thanks for the explanation with the kids and cats. Makes sense... yet, not all kids would do that!The resolute girl found Geralt ugly, but she liked him haha
Poor kikimore...
As Temeria is a part of Witcherland, you could be right there
======================!!! MINOR BOOK SPOILERS !!!======================Sure, you're right. But you forget one thing - becoming a witcher is never a matter of choice. You simply can't say "I've decided to become a witcher", go to Kaer Morhen, fill out a form and voila! In 10 years we will have a new mutant. It doesn't work this way.For example, Geralt didn't choose to be a witcher - the decision was made by his mother directly after his birth. And he is, don't forget, an exception! The boys that became witcher candidates were mostly pulled out of the gutter by some witcher passing by. Homeless orphans, hungry, dirty and alone - that's who they are.Well, there is a old prophecy known among witchers that's connected with the so called Law of the Surprise (as it turns out, it talks about Ciri). But even Geralt, if asked, says, that it's crap and almost no witcher takes it seriously (it's not completely sure if he wasn't lying - maybe to himself - as he used it at least twice, also after that statement). They simply visit a city, take an orphan or two, train them, mutate and then send out to kill monsters for money. No big words, no big philosophy. And remember, that it was never the decision of a witcher - do we also use females? The whole virus-magic-alchemy-herbs-we-have-a-mutant process was controlled by some renegade mage (ironically, a Azar Javed like type) who developed the mutagens, trials etc. He surely was no idiot - if he decided, that only males should be mutated, he must have had a very good reason. It was never said who he (they?) was, but it is possible, that it was a woman. Knowing Sapkowski - yep, it's a 50/50 chance (Sapkowski just loves strong woman characters and created quite a lot of them).and if I have to chose to be a weak broodmare for some boring bloke including the prospect of rape due lack of self-defense options - I rather chose the blade and take as much fun as I can get from the short life I might face as Witcher-girl. Live short, live steamy
You're of course right. But look at it from a cold "genetic engineers'" perspective - human males poses a bigger strength/speed/stamina potential. If you take a "normal" male and a "normal" female and mutate them, the male will give you better results, won't it? Why? Because he's simply build so . Sure, you could try to make the same thing with a female. But for what purpose? More work, different ingredients, a more complicated mutation, more money - it's just too much trouble. And where's the profit?It doesn't mean, that woman are "weak" or "worse". It means, that when it comes to witchers, males are just 1) better suited due to their biological predispositions 2) cheaper to create (not only when it comes to money).
I agree with the pain and sixth sense thing, disagree with the multitasking (men also have this ability - ie look at some managers). But it isn't that important.You forget the economical factor. Bear in mind, that the trials and mutations were a very risky, complicated and painful process. And only a few people knew, how to perform them. As Geralt explains, only 2, maybe 3 of 10 children don't die during the mutation. Add the deadly training on the Path (another way to train and select the candidates) where a lot of young and yet not mutated witchers broke their neck (-1). So, given 100 children, you get only 20 witchers. 20%, 8/10 dead - not a very nice and efficient process. And there is also the resources thing - if I live far away from civilization, have a limited amount of funds and ingredients in stock, I'm a renegade and everybody hates me, fellow mages want to kick my butt and I have only a few specialists available [insert more depressing facts here], I will not risk a failure. No place for male/female superiority fights!As for Rayla and Ciri - sure. More to say - Sapkowski gives us a whole bunch of very strong woman characters - Yennefer (even Geralt tried not to piss her off
), Triss, Calanthe, Filippa Eilhart , Francesca Findabair, Tissaia de Vries and the whole Sorceresses Lodge, Rayla and Lorenzo Molla (mercenaries), Nenneke (priestess), Meve (queen)... You can really and without any doubt say, that women not only play a very important role in Witcherland, but even that they control it! (maybe that's why it's similar to a brothel on fire... Please don't hit me )
"Fresh" witchers were either young (12-16) or dead (vide 20% efficiency) and they had a "private education system" (they were taught by other, older witchers and mages). They could read, write and calculate. Something not many simple folks could do. They were educated in alchemy, magic and most of all - monster knowledge. Geralt, as always, was an exception - he has read a lot of books on his own to impress Yennefer. Weirdo
So if a female would become a witcher, the education part wouldn't be a problem at all.
And that's why they didn't make one ;D
Thanks, the game refreshed my memory, though (Geralt mentioned the Witcher Touch at at least one occasion)Now about the whole female witcher thing:MAJOR BOOK SPOILERZ-ah!to read copy and paste the ridiculously tiny text[size=5pt]Actually the aforementioned Ciri (Princess Cirilla Fiona Rhiannon or something) called herself a Witcherette (Witcheress? Witcherine?). Plot-wise she was the central character and the #2 protagonist (though it might be argued that she was, in fact, the true main hero of the saga). Her destiny was bound to Geralt's through the law of the child-surprise (the chain of events that ultimately brought Ciri to Geralt was initiated in A Question of Price from The Last Wish, Ciri also appeared in two or three The Sword of Destiny stories) and, in the saga, she was a daughter figure for Geralt. As a child she was trained in Kaer Morhen. Though her training was not as severe as, let's say, standard witcher training, she learned quite a lot and ultimately there were few swordsmen who could be a match for her. She didn't undergo the mutation, though, so she was quite human. By no means should she be regarded inferior, she was the one who slayed the infamous Leo Bonhart in a duel.Sapkowski wasn't all that unfair when it came to women, most of his female characters have very strong personalities. After the end of the Great War the Mage Council, or whatever it will be called in the translation, consisted exclusively of sorceresses, they are the ones who will introduce Novus Ordo Mundi. In the post-war Witcherland true power lies in manicured hands.[/size]Whisperwind said:Aggravaar - wow, you like said everyhing! Outstanding what you can find when you look outside your country, because I never thot anyone would remember the things of witchers touch. Impressive
Don't get me wrong. I wasn't saying that Sapowski was in general unfair when it came to women ;.-) I love the women he described in his books.The No Fair expression based more on the fact that there is no female Witcher version and that it probably would have been extremely amusing to encounter one in his books. ;DAnd thanks for the "preview" of the books (I am serious, no sarcasm meant). So far I only read the Last Wish and it's difficult to wait for the other translations.Forgive me my short answer, need to run off to work nowAggravaar said:Thanks, the game refreshed my memory, though (Geralt mentioned the Witcher Touch at at least one occasion)Now about the whole female witcher thing:MAJOR BOOK SPOILERZ-ah!to read copy and paste the ridiculously tiny text[size=5pt]Actually the aforementioned Ciri (Princess Cirilla Fiona Rhiannon or something) called herself a Witcherette (Witcheress? Witcherine?). Plot-wise she was the central character and the #2 protagonist (though it might be argued that she was, in fact, the true main hero of the saga). Her destiny was bound to Geralt's through the law of the child-surprise (the chain of events that ultimately brought Ciri to Geralt was initiated in A Question of Price from The Last Wish, Ciri also appeared in two or three The Sword of Destiny stories) and, in the saga, she was a daughter figure for Geralt. As a child she was trained in Kaer Morhen. Though her training was not as severe as, let's say, standard witcher training, she learned quite a lot and ultimately there were few swordsmen who could be a match for her. She didn't undergo the mutation, though, so she was quite human. By no means should she be regarded inferior, she was the one who slayed the infamous Leo Bonhart in a duel.Sapkowski wasn't all that unfair when it came to women, most of his female characters have very strong personalities. After the end of the Great War the Mage Council, or whatever it will be called in the translation, consisted exclusively of sorceresses, they are the ones who will introduce Novus Ordo Mundi. In the post-war Witcherland true power lies in manicured hands.[/size]Aggravaar said:Aggravaar - wow, you like said everyhing! Outstanding what you can find when you look outside your country, because I never thot anyone would remember the things of witchers touch. Impressive
Studies have shown that about the only way men do have it over women physically, is that they are stronger, greater muscle mass, and therefore faster. However it has also been shown that women have much greater stamina. The ability to withstand extremes of temperature and pain than men (partly because there is a layer of fat between the muscles and the skin) and to withstand stress of almost any kind be it physical or mental that comes with exposure of the body to extremes. They're better suited that way. Intelligence is not a function of gender, being equally available to both sexes. Actually, on a purely physiological basis women are probably better suited to withstand the trials necessary to even survive the mutation .I absolutely don't care that they are male only mind you. Just that if you're talking about it from a physical standpoint, the female physiology is very nicely equipped to handle that part of the process. I agree, with Rian, probably a female would take a hit to over all strength but you'd see her dex higher\ or more so her stamina. And through out the story yes, there are many many strong female characters. If you give the gardener something to eat in Chapt two he talks about a famous female mercenary that suffered only one defeat, and that was the jungles itself that defeated her. And then again in Chap four the inn keeper there goes into history of Cilia (?) is that how you spell it.They fact they were male only was probably only a limit imposed on the gender by the period itself. Only a few females could overcome that by dent of sheer ability such as the female mercenary or because they exhibited raw talent of magic that had to be trained.
.I absolutely don't care that they are male only mind you. Just that if you're talking about it from a physical standpoint, the female physiology is very nicely equipped to handle that part of the process. I agree, with Rian, probably a female would take a hit to over all strength but you'd see her dex higher\ or more so her stamina. And through out the story yes, there are many many strong female characters. If you give the gardener something to eat in Chapt two he talks about a famous female mercenary that suffered only one defeat, and that was the jungles itself that defeated her. And then again in Chap four the inn keeper there goes into history of Cilia (?) is that how you spell it.They fact they were male only was probably only a limit imposed on the gender by the period itself. Only a few females could overcome that by dent of sheer ability such as the female mercenary or because they exhibited raw talent of magic that had to be trained.We never will know until our dear Andrzej S. will write about it one day in one way or another.But my main point would have been the part of an interesting Witcher ;-) picture the guys at the tavern, when a female Witcher, well trained with a firm body walks in... everyone knows Witchers are sterile... and she drags a royal wyvern had with her, or the claw of a Kikimore Queen ;-) that would surely leave an impression and loads of jaws shattered on the ground hahaAusir said:
He made it pretty clear he's not going to write anymore Witcher books or stories. Sorry.Rhian said:
If anyone tries some cheap Vizimian pick up line there might be some more shattering as well... but this time less metaphorical in its nature. And not so much shattering as slicing, cutting and thrusting.Rhian said: