Witcher Stories - Higher Vampires (Vampires 3/3) (Witcher Lore)

I had to stop myself from just talking about Regis all the time. But he really deserves his very own video so, let's talk about Higher Vampires in general!
My Witcher lore videos are not meant to replace playing the game series or reading the books. Seriously, the novels are really good and I couldn't possibly convey every detail by just telling you about the events and characters. Go read the books, play the games, then come back to tell me how awesome the Witcher series is.
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[@pullingthestringz]

The killing of Detlaff is even dumber when you think of how Regis ostracized himself from his kind for eternity because of it. It makes no sense on any level. I can only think CDPR thought it would feel like an anti-climax if he lived.

[@wardeni9603]

Regis isn't the only vampire to have killed another vampire. However at some point they decided that it's something that should never be done (probably since there's only a few of them in the human world). He hasn't permanently ostracized himself, he simply needs to avoid that particular vampire community until the others eventually forgive or forget. Besides, it's already confirmed that Geralt not only kills Orianna, but Eskel and Lambert move to Toussaint as well with Regis making visits to Corvo Bianco. Most of the higher vampires in Toussaint are bruxae and katakans, not true high ones, so several witchers in the area most likely get rid of them pretty fast.

[@samueldavidbatistaruiz7510]

SerWarden but wait a minute, what is the Canon ending? I mean... I did not go to see orianna, i went to this faery land to look for Ms hotie mcbadie, so I did not even notice that orianna was a fucking child eater, so, yeah

[@wardeni9603]

+Samuel David Batista Ruiz You can go see Orianna and still go to the fantasy land. Since all the trailers are canon, this means that canonically Geralt finds out about Orianna no matter what you choose to do.

[@madmanarrivednow]

Well, hello there! Detlaff's death is... hmmm...effed up. I think (and this will seem a bit snobish, but bear with me) the most Witcher like ending would be Sianna dead, Geralt shunned by her highness, then pardoned, because everyone convinced Annarietta about her sister being a pain (curse of the black sun), Detlaff is alive, Regis is alive, Anarietta is alive. And I know there IS a possible ending like that, but people say, it"s the most annoying ending of them all. The "everyone dies in the end" thing is too dark, even for Witcher standards. And even if I finished the DLC with Detlaff defeated and killed, everyone is happy, yadda friggin yadda, I still don't think it is the best ending, but when the best is the most annoying one (saw videos), i chose the former. Still... Detlaff being killed is just... not as good as an ending as the ending of HoS (any of them). Orianna being a Bruxa: So what if she was a REALLY old Bruxa. With a lot of time to adapt. I think it is possible, but that's my assumption.

[@justinlee790]

@@madmanarrivednow She was certainly a Bruxa. As Vampires grow older they grow more powerful: hence the monumental difference between Regis and the Unseen Elder, who despite both being True Higher Vampires, are nowhere near on par with one another. Plus we already have examples of older "Higher Tier" Vampires displaying great intelligence and the ability to adopt Human form and avoid detection. Hubert is a Katakan, but by virtue of his great age, he has the ability to pass off as Human. There's also another Katakan in Novigrad, sleeping underneath the city in Human form.

[@zeratulrus142]

>we don't see their children. Well, seeing a child of a species that tries it's hardest to hide from humans, lives for an eternity, and would be endangered if not for immortality, is not very common. Most people probably haven't seen baby pigeons ffs.

[@AlphaQHard]

Dread Wolf Theyre not rare, just not easy to spot because pigeons hide their nests. They are ugly though.

[@wardeni9603]

I get it that it can be confusing when it comes to the term "higher vampire". Orianna is a Bruxa, but it in no way contradicts the lore. Because every higher vampire is unique, it's extremely hard for anyone to say at which point a vampire is "higher". Thus, Witchers call all sentient vampires "higher". This includes Bruxae, Katakans and sometimes Alps. The general rule of thumb is that if the vampire acts on instinct, it's a lesser vampire. If it can think and speak, it's considered a higher vampire. For example the higher vampire known as Hubert Rejk is actually a very old and intelligent Katakan, whereas Orianna is a very old Bruxa. Katakans are known to grow more and more intelligent the older they get, so it's most likely true in the case of bruxae as well. Regis especially tells geralt that he met Orianna such a long time ago that he can't even begin to remember how long it's been, so for all we know Orianna is probably older than Regis, and in that time a bruxa must have grown incredibly intelligent, intelligent enough to speak in complex sentences and live among humans.

[@drakevaliance3536]

I totally agree. I thought the same thing watching this video.

[@BMAN54]

In my ending i didn't even fight dettlaff. I didn't even meet with the elder vampire. I just let Dettlaff walk away after he killed syanna and he promised to never come around humans again.

[@buggytheprophet1017]

Is that an actual ending? Edit: looked it up and it is😮 well time for a replay I need to see that ending

[@Pospisk]

Yes, this is my good ending of Blood and Wine.

[@ponderstibbons8440]

Amazing videos, all three of them and I wholeheartedly agree with you - Detlaff did not need to die.

[@centuronstar8688]

Detlaff did not deserve the way it went at all. But it could be possible Regis did just take his body elsewhere without Geralt and the other's knowing about it (Putting on a show of "killing" him there). Really awesome videos! I don't think anyone I've seen on youtube has delve this deep into the lore of Witchers. Especially one part that's really difficult to talk about considering the gray areas of Vampire lore is mile wide in comparision to the 1-inch black and white parts.

[@ProperBird]

I doubt it was just a show. Afterall we saw him tear Dettlaff apart and the regeneration stopped shortly after. Not to mention the Bruxae attacking him afterwards. :(

[@Kev376]

Q: Why did detlaff have to die A: Because he killed thousands of people over a bad relationship.

[@Kev376]

@@Visitormassacre If he gets so emotional he's willing to kill an entire city over a shitty girl then he had to be put down, i'm not saying Syanna is any better though.

[@stars-and-clouds]

I got a really good ending hahaha I hate syanna, didn't care one bit what happened to her. I saved Dettlaff and in turn saved Regis' honour.

[@feuerzeug1607]

regis was my favorite character in the books, i was very sad when he was gone, but i was so hyped, that he was there in blood and wine

[@Kwodlibet]

Cannot hep but agree - I felt cheated when the game "forced me" to kill Detlaf. He was a cool character and he really was trying to fit in, but in the end he was just used as a pawn in someone else's game - forced to kill people he cared about in order to safe the one person he loved. A very tragic end.

[@Synystr7]

Dettlaff, while a *bit* temperamental, was whipped. He was totally manipulated by Syanna. But that doesn't excuse his rampage and the innocents that died by his hand or by his minions. Maybe give him a couple centuries of prison time till all the people who he has affected and their immediate relatives forget the massacre of Beauclair, THEN let him out? But he is guilty... Time should be served. This is why I'm not a judge.

[@ProperBird]

Just a couple centuries.. :p

[@Synystr7]

Ehh, you know how it is. The older you get, the faster time flies. It'll be but a blink of the eye for an immortal being, perhaps two. Then before you know it, its been a literal era and its time to be released.

[@sarahkenny533]

There's a good fanfic about Regis' backstory on AO3. I think it was called "The Barber-Surgeon of Ard Skellig."

[@BuildEraseReplace]

I absolutely love this channel. Monster lore videos are some of my favourite content and I love that Jinzee takes the time to formulate interesting theories that are backed-up and logical - especially with some real blink-and-you'll-miss-it evidence from the books/games. Also helps that her dutch accent is amazing. Can't wait to see what content comes in the future! :D

[@KRHamiltonGaming]

Awesome series! Thanks for posting these videos. I’m currently on my 5th full playthrough of Witcher 3. Amazingly, still finding new quests and plot twists.

[@ya7yaxd183]

On my third playthrow I let syana dies this is the real best ending

[@ProperBird]

Yeah, I got the "good" ending on my first playthrough but I'm thinking my canon will be a dead Syanna instead. It just doesn't feel right to do anything else to both Dettlaff and Regis.

[@MichaelShelleysmi]

My favorite part of Blood and Wine was killing all the vampires. Oh that was the best. Helped me perfect my killing style too! Not to mention it taught me the importance of oils and bombs.

[@schnebot]

i dont think they are like elves and lose ability to reproduce in time. i just think they dont see any great urge to do so. reminded me of Gen'dai species from star wars about which i read recently on wookiepedia: "As their lifespans were so long, ranging from 4,000 years to over 7,000, Gen'Dai rarely reproduced and had an exceptionally low birth rate." i always imagined witcher world vampires are much like that.

[@AintiTrippin]

It's nearly 12pm because it's my only free time I have during the day, and my precious free time went to watching this excellent video made by an excellent person.

[@GandalfWithAPipe]

maybe orianna did a little switcheroo to disrupt geralts track, and gets a bruxxa to take her human form

[@ProperBird]

Oh damn that would be so cunning and so like her. Brilliant!

[@kamilszadkowski8864]

Hey, who said that Bruxas can't control someone's mind? In "Grain of Truth" Nivellen clearly was hypnotized by Vereena during his sleep. As for your question, Dettlaff was clearly regenerating WAY faster than regular higher vampire. No way he would regenerate for 50 years, more like 50 minutes.

[@ProperBird]

I was under the impression that what Vereena and Nivellen had was pure love. Since that's what Geralt says broke the curse in the end as well. I think the reason Dettlaff showed such quick regeneration though was because it was just a single cut. Whereas Regis was pierced with stakes, had his head cut off and then he was buried, no doubt in seperate places as is customary for anti-vampire measures. Although I did definitely get the impression that Dettlaff has much greater control over his body and his blood than Regis does.

[@kamilszadkowski8864]

"I was under the impression that what Vereena and Nivellen had was pure love." --- I meant the nightmares that Nivellen had. A nightmares after which he was finding leaves and dirt in his bed. Besides Geralt in his short "chat" with Vereena says (I quote from memory) "You sang, so you drank blood. You took the final solution, that means that you didn't manage to enslave his mind." "I think the reason Dettlaff showed such quick regeneration though was because it was just a single cut." --- Yeah, and his hand regrowned in couple days after being cut off. I'm pretty sure he regenerates way faster that normal higher vampire. After all even Geralt is surprised by that.

[@ProperBird]

Ah yeah you're right, honestly I feel that the whole Vereena vs. CDPR's Bruxae was a bit of a mess up (I say that on a lot of vampire lore, woops). We only see a single Bruxa in the books which is Vereena and by all accounts she's a great deal like the higher vampires in the games. Turning into a giant bat included. Regrowing a hand wouldn't be much of an issue for Regis either to be fair, it's just a hand. No vital organs or anything like that. After all, when he gets shot straight through during the battle for the bridge he just shrugs it off too as a scratch.

[@kamilszadkowski8864]

I actually think that when it comes to vampires CDPR messed up a lot of things. Mostly because of inconsequencea and I honestly don't like their take on the vampires and stuff they added to the lore. You know we have tons of historical accounts of people being shot with several arrows and still fighting like it's nothing. So it's not impressive at all. But regrowing whole hand in one day? C'mon if that would be the case, then why Regis was regenerating 50 years after his head being cut off, and body being pierced few times. The truth is CDPR greatly exaggerated vampire's ability to regenerate. Like when Dettlaff rips a hole in Regis and he regenerates that in few seconds. By book standards it would took several years...

[@fredericpoag3801]

What?! Toussaint a free range human farm?! That is absurd. *Sees Hooded Woman aka Bruxa Openly Walking In Beauclair* OMG... We’re all lambs to the slaughter! Quick summon a Witcher!

[@warbaby32]

Personally, I can only imagine that Regis - knowing Detlaf as well as he did - knews that killing him ultimately a mercy. The quest log entry states as much: "As he died, Dettlaff harbored no hard feelings for Regis, knowing this was the best option for him. There was no longer anything in this world he wished to live for." On "A Night to Remember"... I think it's just a case of "an opportunity too cool to pass". Meaning: The trailer came first, and the decision to include Orianna in B&W came later. Sure, in hindsight it seems as if Geralt it returning for her after the events of the DLC, just as he promised, but I believe the trailer was originally meant as a stand alone thing. So, yea, the B&W Oriana is a higher vampire, but the Oriana depicted in the trailer - if she even had a name then - is not, yet. They did a similar thing with the "Killing Monsters" trailer, and Vesemir joking later about Geralt's words in the game... that's just CDPR tying together all their material. Gotta love those guys for their attention to detail alone. ;)

[@SupremePumper]

I absolutely love you videos about the Witcher universe. Also you videos about vampires was very entertaining. :)

[@shibaanimegameedits2961]

I’ve been having a bad day but listening to your stories cheered me up. Thanks

[@ProperBird]

Glad you feel a little better.

[@evelynfeylore2563]

Excellent! I love your trilogies. I look forward to them all when they come out!

[@mikeimmonen6619]

Orianna could very well be an exceptionally old bruxa. Remember that Hubert masked himself completely from Geralt, though he was but a katakan. He could assume a human form, speak fluently, and he could not be detected by the medallion. Vampires become stronger and more intelligent with age.

[@sweettt321]

About Orianna, I believe it was xLetalis who said that CDPR probably wanted to make Orianna a bruxa (as seen in the trailer) but later changed their minds when they finished up the game & made her a higher vampire. They never flat out say that she's higher, when Regis says, "You know, she too-" Geralt cut him off & just says "Yeah I figured" I think that makes the most sense. The trailer was already out (& a lot of bruxae movement are based on Orianna's from the trailer) so they just sort of play around the fact with the dialogue (also if she was a lesser vampire then she might not have been under Detlaff'a influence, but she seems to not give a single shit about what he does to Beuclair)

[@TheLordGodric]

Very interesting lore telling and theorycrafting, got myself something good to watch again!

[@m8gic319]

Wow, Ok long story short i actually just fell in love with all of your AMAZING "Let's Play's" I love this channel so much suddenly, keep it up.. P.S You deserve everyone of those 45K subs ;)

[@richarddawkins2937]

LOVING THE CONTENT hope we get more like this :D

[@user-dj2dc6pi4l]

Excellent video as always.

[@guydives1246]

TBH by the end of the detlaff fight which I played on Death march I was so sick of being killed that I forgot everything and just wanted him dead, so I didn't remember anything by the end of it

[@lytherael2309]

On one hand, Dettlaff did order Beauclair's slaughter but on the other he didn't want to get mixed up in all that shit. He was a good man essentially, who made a shitty decision that got lots of people killed. He certainly shouldn't have been killed like that but he did deserve some form of punishment.

[@PlatypusAfro]

I knowingly chose one of the 'bad' endings to let Dettlaff live solely because I have a crush on him. That may make me a piece of shit, but there are plenty of players who go with Triss despite all she's done because she's a pretty redhead :P Lovely video!

[@ProperBird]

I won't judge, I would let the world burn to save Iorveth. :p

[@TimoCruz177]

well, if you let dettlaff live, Regis stays around and we all know how Geralt and Regis are good friends, geralt don't die or anything, just spend some time in jail. so this "bad ending" is not that bad after all

[@Rinchen8192]

hmm, When Regis drank Dettlaf's blood, he didn't stay in the natural vampire form, but instead turned to his human form.

[@ProperBird]

That's true, that was very curious indeed. Does dieing diminish their vampiric powers entirely or was their human form still their "true form". That wouldn't stroke with anything Regis has told us and it would make little sense for a vampire to look exactly like a human regardless. I'm not sure if that was an oversight or if there's more to it but it is very contradictory indeed.

[@zerodas]

A festival of vampire cutting? I like how casually you dropped that. No big deal! Here, have some Detlaff blood to cut up. I got it especially for you!

[@Synystr7]

25 degrees, blue skies, no humidity, windows open, beer in hand, Witcher 3 Lore. Kinda pointless to list the weather when I'm inside watching this... Just realised... Even so.

[@Br0kenMask]

your entire comment is pointless tbh

[@notnero5280]

14:56 "Why don't vampires just take over the world at this point?' Geralt explained this. He said that they just don't care about humans either way.

[@paultrujillo8539]

This was a great video...I haven't beaten game yet haven't even gotten to B&W but this video does spoils but it doesn't feel game breaking so this video was GREAT thanks!

[@V3nom4893]

When you kill the first Bruxa in Blood and Wine, it appears that this Bruxa is a Servant of Detlaff. Detlaff says at one point that this was a beloved Bruxa of him (or something like that) Maybe Oriana is a Bruxa Servant of the Unseen and then it appears to be normal to have a Stone to open the Gate to the Unseen. Oriana is also maybe a higher Bruxa and did get some higher Powers. I mean she have some higher Power, like Hypnosis, but i think that Regis and Detlaff are on an complet different Level, in terms of Power. PS: My English is not very good sry for that. PSS: Amazing Videos. Keep up the good work!

[@dustinkunish377]

I have no problems with letting syanna die and going to prison to keep detlaff alive and Regis in good standing with his kind in my mind that's the best ending plus I don't really like the duchess she is far too hot headed and insulting from her ignorance and she is the whole reason anyone had to die in the end

[@The101Rurple]

I'm Regis-mad, are you able to do a full Regis video? I realise there might be loads, maybe too much in one video, but mainly on how Gerald meets him and the Hansa..? Love your videos about Witcher, really informative!

[@TheOnlyFin]

I'm glad to see I wasn't the only one to come to the conclusion that Toussaint was a free ranged human farm.

[@nyd1727]

FINALLY!!! I loved loved loved it. You just blow my mind away with your speculations. My mind just explodes XDD My main and only ending was letting Dettlaff kills Syanna. It just the only righteous thing to do. Regis can walk in peace without being Anathema with Dettlaff, and the real Beast of Beauclair was slaughtered. Think about it: if Syanna would've tell Dettlaff about her suffering, he would have gladly kill those people. But no, Syanna enjoyed toying with him. He was "but a mere tool" for her. Cursed or not, abused or not, she played with a vampire, with someone that loved her madly, only for fun. She is and will always be the cruel Beast. And to your question, the Duchess wanted his actual head, as she herself said. She knew Dettlaff was Regis' friend, I don't think he would have believed Geralt and Regis if they didn't bring his head. And I don't think Dettlaff would have been able to reconstruct himself entierly without a part of his body, perhaps? I would have loved also to save him without actually killing Syanna, but being those our only options, killing the woman was just the right thing to do. Because DETTLAFF.DID.NOTHING.WRONG. He is a sweet cinnamon bun and the only thing I wanted for him was a happy ending, no matter what. Sorry for the incredibly long comment, but I thought it was necessary xD. I would love to see a video about Regis, shame there is not much information about Dettlaff. Your witcher lore videos brighten my days, keep with your incredibly work and always doing what you like ^^

[@ProperBird]

It is actually possible to reconstruct even when your head's cut off, because that's exactly what happened to Regis. The poor guy. :p Dettlaff needs a miraculous return though.

[@TheVisualParadox]

I love these videos. I think looking at ingredients like normal for potions which we dont have any info on is fine if we don't know but maybe its because the way those items are made. I think it could be something like grown off the body or with the blood of a vampire with strong powers.

[@09godofwar]

Thanks for the video

[@superbebe9248]

A video dedicated to Regis entirely would be awesome!

[@jdavisooo]

Another great video 🙂

[@buffnerd3357]

That endquote hits me. We do need a vampire game set in the witcher universe

[@qierw2700]

In the description of Dettlaff in the character's list, it is said "Dettlaff harbored no hard feeling for Regis, knowing it was the best option for him. There was no longer anything in this world he wished to live for." I guess at that point Dettlaff preferred to die rather being kept alive.

[@dariak.9430]

Hm I guess it makes him the most tragic character of them all, there is no ending with him living happily ever after, like he wanted. It is even more tragic when you consider how similar Dettlaff is to book Geralt, as Regis points out. They were both wary, stayed away from people but were able to do a lot for the ones they loved. If it would not be for Regis and the rest of Geralt's hanza, Geralt would probably die somewhere on the path alone. I'm not even mentioning the Elder, this guy seems tormented too, it makes you wonder if being immortal is really a good thing.

[@odd-eyes6363]

*Deattlaf had to die.* If he was simply imprisoned, no way to know if he would call off the attack on Beauclair and more innocents would die on the process. I guess that the vampires on Beauclair wouldn't just give up or sense something wrong and flee Beauclair, but if the Higher Vampire leading them dies, permanently, an event that is both rare and shocking, then they would cower or at least leave to morn their loss. And about Orianna. If the Katakan of Novigrad became a Higher Vampire because of his power constantly growing throughout the ages, couldn't the same happen to a Bruxa? She IS a red haired bruxa, witch already makes her an incredibly unique type of vampire

[@ProperBird]

Like I said, I already considered that possibility but it simply has too many plotholes. Even the Katakan growing into a true higher vampire doesn't really make sense and I feel has more to do with CDPR changing their minds on how higher vampires work and what they are, leading to the strange "true" higher vampires and also kind of higher vampires catagory. If Bruxae and Katakan could turn into true higher vampires than that would mean that their progression into a true higher vampire would be quite gradual and Witchers would have noted this distinct change between the different vampires a long time ago. It would also mean that, due to the time passed since the conjunction, there would have to be a hell of a lot of true higher vampires by now. Since Regis was born relatively long after the conjunction happened and he's already quite old, going by the idea that the katakan (plural) we meet in the base game are simply evolved versions at least. As it would mean that it'd take less time than Regis original lifespan to turn into a true higher vampire, so it's likely that some would've already "turned" before Witchers were even created. As witchers were created roughly 950 years after the conjunction and Regis was born in 840 (he is 642 years when we meet him in the books). So in those 950 years in which there were no Witchers, theoretically, plenty of Katakan and Bruxae would have "evolved" into true higher vampires. And given the amount of bruxae we find strewn across the lands, it would've been somewhat noticeable. In the books Geralt even casually refers to vampires being advertised on kill contracts, insinuating that he has to deal with vampires often enough to list among his regulars. You could probably write around it, but honestly. CDPR jumbled the lore on vampires between games quite a bit. Which is why I think it'd be useful if we could (in a future game) simply meet a lore vampire of some sorts to set us straight. He can start of by saying something along the lines of "ah you silly humans, you've been wrong all along, here's how it ACTUALLY works!" Your reasoning for Dettlaff makes sense though. Although they could've still caged him in Tesham Mutna so Orianna could at least talk to him before he clawed her to death.

[@george-cherian]

First things first - love the videos and the effort and research put into them is simply astounding - great work! Geralt subdue Detlaff's"flock" and the only two options are him dying and for him to calm down and order off the attack but that might have taken an inordinate amount of time(You mentioned 50 years) or would have needed Syanna to die - both of which are not the best options (Syanna dying is maybe not the worlds worst thing if you dont play through her story-line properly she kills Anna). On the topic of Orianna - I dont think she changes to a higher vampire just that the older a Vampire grows they add more powers to their repertoire as evidenced by higher level katakan disguising themselves as humans and telepathy for bruxae. So Orianna could just be an ancient bruxae who has gained the ability to speak fluently - My one bone of contention was the calming of Arnuad's mind in the orphanage(I didnt know she did that) but even that could be telepathy on Orianna's part could it not? - i feel that Orianna is the women in the trailer except for the words spoken in the trailer after she finishes the song which implies that Geralt hasn't heard the song from Orianna, I might be overthinking that though.

[@Synthia17]

I had the same problems after realising that the vampriess from trailer was Oriana. But one thing about it, that trailer is showing the future. Geralt tells her he'll be back for her. Ultimatelly though, the true vampire has to be an accidental retcon.

[@theclawless1225]

I feel bad for detlaff now....even more than before

[@Alucard45000]

well, i went to jail cause i let Dettlaff kill Syanna, worth it tho.. Felt bad about Regis having to finish off Dettlaff himself...

[@HeliodromusScorpio]

22:07 he needed to die because even if he would be cut to pieces for centuries the moment he would heal he would try to kill regis and geralt.When you start to fight him he says you betrayed me both and iam pretty sure that even centuries of waiting would not calm him there is simply no way.Just like when he said to syanna you will come to tesham mutna and explain all.Then when she is there he gives her almost no time to explain anything and kills her.

[@driftingdruid]

agreed : Dettlaff's otherwise understandable anger turned less sympathetic when he made good on his threat to raze Beauclair, a city of innocents, over being manipulated to kill four people. *If you're upset over having been coerced to kill, what good does more killing do?* For him to have kept his innocence, he could have decided to just walk out on Syanna and promise to no longer be near humans then&there, or at least made good on his other promise to hear her out when she did show up. But there was no attempt on his part to direct or control his own anger, and he likely would have kept brooding on the matter, intensifying his anger, if he spent centuries regenerating

[@snakems6936]

I agree with you about the end of blood and wine.

[@yazdan13600]

could you please make a video on regis like you did on tris and yen? you know like all the their interactions in the books and everything else.

[@FrigidWayfarer]

The idea of hyper evolved lesser vampires has solid use, maybe there's more than one version of higher vampires because the oxenfurt contract on the vampire is considered higher as is the mortician in novigrad

[@marshallfarstad3770]

Just that one time when he commanded an entire army of blood thirsty beings on a city of civilians... when I put it like that it doesn't sound like a opps I spelt the milk kind of moment does it..

[@karimjerbi7284]

OOH :( is this the last video about vampires :( ? i really enjoyed all of them :c

[@TheAstrobiologistOW]

I 100% agree Dettlaff should've been just cut up and left to think. I was wondering about that for like an hour after finishing B&W

[@luminate4419]

Regis already clarified why vampires are so hard to categorize because each vampire is different from each other.

[@Kev376]

Q: Why did detlaff have to die A: Because he killed thousands of people over a bad relationship.

[@tomiedah4605]

i love the videos. I think Dettlaff had to die because no matter how long he remained imprisoned, he would eventually come out seeking vengeance. If the one he sought was long dead, then he would go after their descendant or the nearest human settlement as is seen when his rage unleashes a horde of vampires on Bouclear, slaughtering indiscriminately. While rage and anger can be calmed over time, it can also be nurtured and fed. i think both Regis and the Elder knew that this would be the case for Dettlaff and that was why neither objected to breaking the 2000 year rule if it meant stopping him. Love your pronunciation of oroboros by the way

[@zolikoff]

I would argue that Orianna is indeed "just a bruxa". Vampires are all intelligent, as for how much one is able to "associate" with human society is a matter of learning and desire. They can learn human languages if they want to and put in the effort, and they can learn to shapeshift too. Maybe there are many such vampires, but they simply blend in. The ones Geralt would know of as a witcher are obviously the ones that aren't integrated into society, and instead terrorize it. Notice how Orianna gave a "feeling" of unease to humans who knew her, while Regis and Dettlaff blend in so well that nobody suspects anything. More than likely, Orianna was "assisted" in blending in with humans, by Dettlaff or other higher vampires (whatever their species may be). Because, well, they just grow fond of "lesser" vampires like bruxae, and integrating them into humanity is a safe bet to keep them alive and around as company. Likewise, the "katakan" in Novigrad - while it's a lot less clear - it's possible that indeed it was just a katakan, but a well integrated one, and he had illusions of becoming "higher" through this feat. There's another katakan near Novigrad that you have to hunt down, and that one doesn't shapeshift in front of you but it still speaks English to you.

[@kajjeekanalenfan72]

We really do need a game about Witcher vampires, you could play as a young naive vampire who evolves into an older and more wise vampire, that would be cool

[@Crimson_Sun2486]

Come to think of it, putting Dettlaff in that cage Regis went into at Tesham Mutna so that he would be forced to listen to Syanna's story and come to understand why she did what she did would be a much better ending than just killing Dettlaff. Also, a Witcher spin-off game from a Higher Vampire's perspective would be great. Maybe it could even have Regis himself as the main character.

[@armyofhaqq3052]

He’s strong as hell 😅

[@KristinOphelia]

One can never have too much of Regis. Higher Vampires and Elves galore :) And Geralt, of course.

[@SaucePlayJesus]

Btw great video and great way to end the vampires mini-series

[@bw5020]

I wish I found this youtuber so much sooner

[@Senki207]

Well, I spared Dettlaff... He felt like the true victim here. Syanna (sure, treated unfairly) manipulated him in order to get her revenge (it is NOT the revenge I disagree with but the manipulation), while Anna Henrietta was simply annoying AF. Like most. annoying. character. ever.

[@Synthia17]

Agree, Syanna knew what she was doing. I can kind of compare it to manipulating a child. Very powerful and dangerous child.

[@Alex-tx8lf]

Yes, Syanna just took the advantage of Dettlaff's confusion with humans and used him. Even Regis said that Dettlaff is more animalistic in a sense. Syanna said the same in the magical book world-Dettlaff loves like an animal or something similar. Though his dislike towards humans didn't stop him from making a human friend. Syanna aside, in his memories we can see that he killed a human whom he liked. He didn't want to kill him, but he did it for love. I think that just like fear can control our decisions making us do crazy things, love does the same to him. Of course even we can do pretty dumb shit for love, but Dettlaff was almost as if completely blind, which leads me to believe vampires feel the emotions they are able to much more deeply than humans. He was young, at least younger than Regis, and because he didn't really enjoy spending time with humans, he didn't understand them. Mix that with feeling strong emotions and boom! You have a big, powerful and very possibly lethal kid. I think that if Dett spent some time thinking about what he did and then learning from Regis about humans, he would understand them more. Killing him is just unnecessary. Both him and Syanna had their reasons, but ultimately, Dettlaff was just confused and lost. And don't even get me started on Annarietta, she is so dumb it actually hurts me. She should just summon her beagles and let others do the important stuff she has no chance to understand.

[@drakevaliance3536]

This, punctuation, is, wrong.

[@Smoji069]

I have to disagree with you on the Orianna trailer not being game canon. Just like how the Yennifer trailer had the black crow skull that was on the ground in the real game, I feel like cdpr's trailers do go along with the game. Even though your vampire breeding theory was just a theory, couldn't it be possible for a higher male vampire to breed with a bruxa and make something like Orianna? The abilities of higher vampire, but not the survivability of one. It doesn't seem to far-fetched to me. Also, Orianna's transformation doesn't seem too strange to me. Regis turns into a giant bat, and Dettlaff turns into whatever he turns into, it's possible her form just looks more bruxa like because that's just how it looks. That's just my opinion. When it comes to Dettlaff dying, I don't know why Regis decided to kill him. Maybe Regis had his own motives that we don't know about. Maybe since Regis and Dettlaff were blood brothers, Regis gained some type of power from Dettlaff. Maybe its supposed to represent Regis letting go of a more primal side of being a vampire. If you look at it, Regis and Dettlaff are opposites. Regis seems to like living among humans better then other vampires, he understands hman society and emotions, and most importantly he knows the significance of life. Dettlaff on the other hand is none of this. He likes being around lesser vampires, he doesn't understand humans, and he has no regard for the lives of others. (Hence, why he razed beauclair). So maybe Dettlaff's death wasn't an end, but a beginning. A beginning for Regis into what it means to truly be human. That's just what I think. (Wow, this comment is long)

[@ProperBird]

There is a possibility that she would be a crossbreed. However that doesn't explain why she burns up and dies immediately instead of regenerating, nor does it explain why she of all people would be granted the stone to the Unseen Elder, when Dettlaff made his home near Toussaint as well. Regis really isn't the type to want power, so I doubt he had motives of his own to kill Dettlaff. Especially since when you don't kill Dettlaff and you meet him again, he's overjoyed whereas when you do kill Dettlaff he's a sad shadow of himself. It might have been meant as more of a symbolic death but it still doesn't make logical sense. It does make sense storywise though I agree, it makes for a more dramatic ending. It just didn't have to happen when you think about it. :p

[@justinlee790]

@@ProperBird I found a tweet from one of the CDPR devs here: twitter.com/Juraj103/status/785171838229999624 Which seems to confirm that Orianna is indeed the Bruxa from the Trailer, and classified as a "Higher Vampire" insofar as Bruxae and Katakans are considered Higher Vampires and Garkains and Fleders are considered Lesser Vampires. We do know that Vampires grow more powerful as they grow older, and Katakans who have reached great age are highly intelligent, capable of Human speech, and capable of adopting Human form, such as with Hubert and the unnamed Vampire sleeping below Novigrad. I imagine it's not a stretch to consider that Orianna is simply a very old and powerful Bruxa, possibly older than Regis. As for the matter of the Stone, wasn't it said that Detlaff originally made his home in Nazair? Where he met Syanna. Given that, it's possible Orianna could have been the highest ranking Vampire in Toussaint under the Unseen Elder, as both Regis and Detlaff made their way into the region recently with no intention to stay.

[@Haspei7]

Just like Regis said, Deflate was too primitive. Even if they would manage to imprison him in the cage (which will be very difficult and the attack to the city will be continue), he wouldn't change his mind due to his poor understanding of the human's rules. And, if they keep him alive in the cage until Syanna dies, that doesn't guarantee that his anger will disappear, most probably it will be redirected to the humans in general.

[@adnansaleem6167]

I liked how you mentioned the killing of Detlaff at the end of the vid as it is something I highly stressed upon while talking to a friend of mine, stating that I really didn't wanna kill him! At all!!! :/

[@ANDELE3025]

3 years late to comment, but Dettlaff died for the same reason we werent allowed to "kill"/prove our value in being listened to by bitchslapping the unseen elder around with Aard (with good prep) and Aerondight. CDPR took a shortcut for the 15e~20e DLC, focusing the attention to the quests with few main branches instead of some more detailed sub options of sub options, maybe even as late in dev cuts.

[@MISERABLE_WRETCH]

A new Birb vid! fuck yeah

[@tobiasthesecond5605]

Your Lore videos are always a blast! I have my own little theory regarding the Orianna/Bruxa trailer;l Since Bruxae have some shapeshifting capabilities, which enable them to appear as attractive women. It might be that the one in the trailer may have just mimicked Orianna's appearance and mannerisms.

[@allangibson7028]

It could be that vampires in our world are devolving in some way that could help explain the orianna thing, but also she could have used a bruxa double. I think it's probably fair to ignore the trailer, but there could be some lore aspect to it we don't know about.

[@Glenofwar]

I have been watching your videos a lot more frequently now. They're all very informative. And having a narrative-like voice is a plus. :P Would you branch out to other games with similar formats like these? Say, Fallout, Dragon Age or Skyrim Etc.

[@ProperBird]

Honestly I wouldn't mind but I do feel like there already plenty of channels focussing on those stories. I'm not sure what I'd add in the end.

[@luke342w]

Orianna could be a cross between a bruxa and a higher vampire, getting some of the properties of a higher vampire, while keeping some properties of a bruxa. Or maybe she's just a really, really ancient bruxa. Seeing as even the lower vampires become more capable, more intelligent and stronger with age, and old katakans even get called "higher" vampires, maybe Orianna reached her capabilities in the same way. Maybe the impression we have of bruxae is because most bruxae aren't smart enough to live so that they don't get killed while young and very few reach higher age, while katakans, for example, have better self-control, and can reach older ages more easily, because they don't attract as much attention or are able to clean up after themselves better...

[@Br0kenMask]

Detlaffs death was perfectly justified imo. Geralt killed for much less than "just" sicking a bunch of lesser vampires on a city - killing countless innocents in he process and refusing to cease the attack.

[@Mic_Glow]

They made the trailer a year or two before blood and vine, Oriana's character got changed and adjusted in between. Also they probably went for the most stereotypical (no powers beside mist/ invisibility) vampire and something that would look good in trailer, rather than accuracy.

[@ProperBird]

Which is exactly why I don't include the trailer in my personal canon. ^^

[@johannesschult4170]

I Love you're viedeos could you make Something about dragons in the Witcher?

[@Fenrispro]

Lestat de lioncourt and Ricean vampires, to me, had been unsurpassed. Until we dive into BAW, I like how much dynamism and passion higher vampires have. Regis rocks! except that i can't believe he could lose to Detlaff, bloody hard fight lol

[@srinathbalasubramanian4551]

The reason why detlaf was killed is because once he turned to his final form he wasn't capable of feeling "human" emotions anymore. There is no returning from that form.

[@chesteralegre1612]

I have one theory, although it might not be a relevant one. Regis says that a higher vampire has a unique trait, which one hones for a long time, maybe Regis believed that even if they let Detlaff cool off his heels for a while, it will only result in resentment and vengeance to both Geralt and Regis, if not the whole of Beauclair. One does not change their beliefs overnight, even more so to a vampire, which I think has a lot of pride as a species. Detlaff is not a humanist or shows compassion even to his friend, which he immediately attacks with no reservation, even he tries to do what Regis asks of him, he comes back to his baser, instinctive behavior. A great series of the Witcher lore, hope to see more in the future.

[@thedashboard9562]

I love these videos and I'm not sure why it took me so long to discover your channel. I will say this though -- I was totally cool with killing Detlaff. While his story was tragic, and his killing of the knights was the result of blackmail, once he sicced his army of lesser vampires on Beauclair I was like, nah, he's gotta go. Geralt (or I, as the player) doesn't have the attachment to him that Regis does, and as a human I'm going to side with human lives over one pissed off vampire. The only reason I'd even consider imprisoning him is so that Regis doesn't have to abandon his home.

[@ProperBird]

Honestly, I did feel 90% bad for Regis' sake and less for Dettlaff. Having Regis go anathema is just the worst. :(

[@bainbonic]

You couldn't lock Dettlaff away. His ability to command Lesser Vampires would mean Regis would have to guard him 24/7 otherwise a Lesser Vampire would just be summoned to release him. And one slip-up would mean that Dettlaff is out and, being the emotionally unstable guy that he is, may return to destroying the city again or go even worse and hunt down Geralt, something I imagine Regis did not want to see happen.

[@hodgie132]

I'm fairly late to the party on this video, however here is my 2 cents on Regis killing Dettlaff I agree that he didn't really deserve to die and given the option I would have liked him to live (although the completionist in me always ends up with Syanna getting that dang ribbon). One argument for the necessity of his death though is a line Regis says to Geralt when looking for Damien, as follows: Geralt: "Never thought lesser vampires would heed a higher vampire's call and commands." Regis: "As a rule, they don't." Geralt: "So how'd Dettlaff Sic them on the city?" Regis:"I told you. He's exceptional. He manages to bend them to his will, control them with his thoughts." *Regis: "They'll continue attacking untill he orders them to back down - or untill he dies."* It is therefore not unreasonably to assume that for Beauclair to live Dettlaff needed to die, truly die, which is why Regis made the choice, although I feel if this is the reasoning the game could have done a better job emphasising it. P.S. Your Blood and Wine play through was helpful for getting this quote verbatim, for reference it is in the first minute of part 65. kzbin.info/www/bejne/o5uqanSdm8-DiKc&ab_channel=ProperBird

[@perhaps3337]

im a bit late here, but i wanted to note something. you said bruxae do not posses talking capabilities other than singing and that one who attacks regis, but if you happen upon one olive field in toussaint, you will find a dead man and a hooded woman (transforms into a bruxa after you search the dead man). if you read the letter the dead man has or somewhere near him, it reveals this bruxa was disguised in a relationship with a human. i think it implies she did talk, otherwise it would be kinda weird.

[@ephyracorinth7795]

"Other then sick of flock of vampires on the city" ROFL. I think the idea was he wanted to "kill all humans" as bender would say, and he's notoriously hard (if not impossible) to reason with. I think he should have lived through. (No names = no spoilers?)

[@adamwayne9373]

nice video

[@Henry-nk9wx]

I think on the summary of the quest it said that after Regis said I'm sorry (and at that point dettlaff would have got that time alone) Dettlaff telepathically told Regis to kill him

[@CrampedCasket]

Orianna is a Bruxa but my take on her is that she is a higher vampire also. Its not inconceivable that Bruxa can gain the status of higher simply as you've mentioned previously that the older a vampire the higher the status. Another possibility is that she was the oldest vampire to reside in Toussaint since she arrived from elsewhere therefore she was seen as the elder to oversee vampiric things on a day to day basis, obviously not including the Unseen Elder. Who could of granted the right to be a vampire middle man (woman) should another visiting the lands needed to speak with the aforementioned Unseen Elder. It also may well be so that either thru her own volition or instructions thru the Unseen Elder that 'free range humans' are continually available by simply making visiting vampires aware of how things are to be done. The battery cage humans she directly oversees, the orphanage appears to be more of a delicacy service more than likely not just for herself but again other visitors. Most likely only other higher vampires. Great videos BTW. You are (from what I've seen and aware of) to Witcher as VaatiVidya is to Dark Soul's and Bloodborne imo. In depth lore videos utilising all the books and games. Logical arguments for and against lore theories. Keep up the good work 👍

[@Iorvethfox]

The reason why Regis changed is because he has a tenacity for self reflection. Detlaff simply might not be like that.

[@ihaveadigbick.3785]

2:47 Gaunter O' Dimm

[@rickallen673]

Its not up to Geralt if Detlaff lives or dies. Its up to Regis...after all the matter in question is a Vampire matter. The way i took it was Regis tells Geralt not to get involved in judging Detlaff for his actions its a matter left for Vampires to handle..Regis is bound to Detlaff so it seems suitable for Regis to finish him off.

[@faridfatollahi4038]

You said it, I really hated killing Dettlaff, hated it so much that there wasn't any other way. so much so that I wasn't as sympathetic as I should have been with what Syanna went through.

[@heaven6014]

Never clicked a video this fast

[@AmAstermind0]

Please, do make a video about Regis!

[@N_NY_M]

Dettlaf had to die cuz it was the only way all the hordes of vampires could stop attacking bauclair. Even if he was to be chopped the command was already given. There was no time to reason with him. So killing will alert all the vampires and will send them away with no command. Thats why... I think

[@unkindled_dreg]

0:35 those words "massive breeding grounds" - I went ohhhhh shitt!!

[@HavikZeroX]

I agree Dettlaff did not need to die, but for the sake of the DLC, I think it is simply chalked up to one thing--closure. As for the trailer vampire being Orianna. I think it's something simple as well, CDPR had the model and voice actress already, so they reused it for Orianna. While a trailer like Yennifer with the crow skull is seen in the game, that trailer is part of the in game, where as the opening trailer was a promotional release for the game.