Witcher 4 - Character Creation (Create Your Own Witcher)

[@benjthorpe]

I just want it to be set 200-300 years before the other games, back when there were more witchers and a lot more monsters everywhere.

[@fantamannen]

this is the way

[@NikoRM78]

100% To see kaer morhen in full glory and other school "strongholds",not just ruins of life past.

[@Rex1Mundi]

Yes, this makes most sense for a new game.

[@MrWolf-xc9pr]

Correct

[@FasadiAguriDekoratiuliAguri]

Delving into the appeal of revisiting the past, it's like flipping through a book whose ending we already know. Instead of eagerly anticipating what's next, we're retracing steps we've already taken. Imagine watching a movie or playing a game where we're constantly looking backward - it removes the excitement of the unknown. Take the character Witcher George, for instance. We've heard of him, and we know his fate; he's already met his end. So, exploring his past might seem less thrilling because the suspense of what lies ahead is gone. It's like solving a mystery only to find the answers on the first page. In essence, going back in time not only robs us of the excitement of the future but also strips away the mystery that keeps us engaged in the story.

[@colonelhstinkmeaner8547]

As long as it's not online

[@aaronlinton-chambers]

I hope it’s not

[@ziz18]

Wouldnt mind a co-op option

[@maironamakesstuff]

​@@ziz18 agreed - an _optional_ online mode would be pretty cool! It would be awesome to go witcher-ing with my husband and friends, just as long as the solo campaign is offline.

[@Eric-M.93]

Cyberpunk 2077 isn't online so why would this be online

[@Xzsaj13]

Do you even know cd games or you just here to get the top comment

[@sleepinthemorningcalm]

The first option of choosing a Witcher who adopted you is my favourite. Feels the most tied into the lore

[@doyouevenpraise189]

Both creating a character or not could fail and work because at the end of the day all depends on how good the world of the Witcher 4 really is going to be and the freedom they are going to give us in the game.

[@ucef9945]

If they make it like they made the Witcher trilogy they will succeed but should they follow the disaster Netflix series path of self sabotaging and alienating the fanbase by disrespecting the source material and inserting personal socio political elements into the story then we all know where that will lead to.

[@WitcherGeorge]

You're 100% right. If they make a game as good as the Witcher 3 with some improvements that's all they need to do. They have the template, use it.

[@kallenlacy]

Your short 17 minute video is still way better than all three seasons of the witcher show

[@WitcherGeorge]

A low bar but a kind complement! Let's hope to get a proper treatment one day.

[@andrewlevin6331]

I have an idea I think is kinda neat. Witcher 4 takes places decades after Witcher 3. A 2nd conjunction of spheres has happened and now there’s more monsters than ever. In desperation all remaining Witchers, from every possible school have come together to form one single Witcher school. Teaching the techniques and lessons of each school and letting students specialize (this way players could pick which school they favor). After a lot of research the Trial of Grasses is rediscovered and now we’re looking at a 2nd age of Witchers, with new characters, new monsters, new adventures and a familiar face here and there. There’s some problems with it but I think it’s an interesting idea.

[@TDM4895]

I like the create your own Witcher option personally, though just choosing the school that adopted you wouldn't be bad either. Either way it would be simple enough to have a epilogue where eventually your school falls and all written records that talk about the founder are destroyed and all Witchers vanish/die. You could have this all explained via cutscene to a young Geralt or Ciri with the specifics as a mix and match cutscene like the Expeditions (Conquistador and Vikings) games.

[@Hunt9-qb1if]

🗑️

[@Raspotnik]

To make myself as a witcher in a character creator. To then play a witcher game filled with choices that matter would be a dream come true.

[@akaneki7234]

On the subject of Ciri founding her own Witcher school and Female Witcher's, I think it would make sense if she didn't approach it as simply another Witcher school but instead as something better. Whatever kind of school it is, it 100% would NOT use the same Witcher mutations as Ciri would know that the Trial of the Grasses is a major point of pain and grief for Geralt. Yennifer had her hunchback fixed through magic so there would definitely be a way to modernise Witcher Mutations through magic for both Boys and Girls, this would also work thematically with Ciri essentially taking the best parts from her parents. It could also be not just a Witcher School but also a potential new alternative to Aretuza after it's collapse; which could serve as justification for expanded Witcher Signs and potential Mage Builds.

[@giuseppesagona7522]

Imagine a school composed of monster hunting battle mages, that would actually go kinda hard in my opinion

[@tommyeliassen2071]

This is something I suggested in a similar discussion years ago, that they train a new breed of witchers that compensate for their weaker or lack of mutations with a deeper focus on magic for example. Really when it comes down to it, the reason the mages went with mutations in the first place was because they didn’t WANT the witchers to be powerful enough to demand more from life, leaving them to do the only thing they were taught to do, killing monsters. We’ve also seen a number of instances that prove how mages are far deadlier than witchers when they want to be, so a witcher with a proper education in magic could theoretically be far more powerful than any other witcher, even without the mutations.

[@landismithCOJ]

I'm all for it as long as the characters are voiced (a la cyberpunk).

[@giuseppesagona7522]

Voiced custom protagonist usually leads to shitty personality customization and limited responses. If they want to make a custom protagonist they would need to make them silent, if they go down the path of an established protagonist, uncustomizable except for basic aesthetic then yes, voiced is the only way to go

[@cabbageleon4914]

@@giuseppesagona7522 mass effect kind of worked with voiced protagonists, although limited to paragon/renegade paths only.

[@michaelmcboomboom7473]

@@giuseppesagona7522not really they only have a shitty personality if you make it that way.

[@Dead_Pool_Rising]

I do not want to create my own witcher. I am a narrative person first, and frankly, I don't see how they could reach the same heights of storytelling with a player created character that they did in the witcher 3. Even cyberpunk didn't manage to get me there because the whole thing was first person, and I never saw my character react to anything. Geralt was fully voiced voiced and animated. I fell in love with his character because of that in a way that I never could with a player created character.

[@AB-fr2ei]

Exactly It wont be as impacting with a random created character Games with random created characters are never as connecting/immersive as games with their already made character And yes Geralt is one of the reasons the Witcher 3 is so great

[@ortacreef8557]

Well said, I completely agree.

[@KS-tz6dl]

@@AB-fr2ei most would completely disagree, self-inserting is one of the most immersive ways to play an rpg.

[@WillfulVisions]

If you want to basically watch a good movie in-between your gameplay there are games for that like The Last of Us, Life is Strange, MGS4, etc. But most RPGs immerse you not by showing you the journey of a character in the world, but by letting you BE a character in the world and go on your own journey. You shouldn't need to see how your character reacts to a situation because you're there and reacting to it yourself.

[@tonymack4120]

I prefer playing a well done character as well. Like he said in the video it takes some things away. But I think the world is the most important part of immersion. I hope it's a set character but both styles can be fun

[@hannes5437]

My thought for handling the different skills/equipment of all the schools would be, that the school of the Lynx wasn't created by one single witcher but by multiple from different schools. Like, if it plays at the height of witchers, there were witchers from all schools that were unhappy about the current "system" and just banded together to make their own, or if it plays after Witcher 3 then they are just some of the few remaining witchers that came together to keep them and Witchers at all alive. And then they would just be like an "allrounder" so you have your normal training and then specialize in what suits yourself best.

[@magneticanomaly810]

A character creation can co-exist with a set character. Take Mass Effect for example, or Dragon Age 2. You can customize your character, they're fully voiced, and they have an actual story. It's like, if they allowed us to completely customize Geralt's appearance, gender, fighting style, etc. He'd still have his character arc and personality. Maybe, like Mass Effect and other Witcher games, you do get to make a bunch of choices and feel as though you are your own unique character, just not to the extent of Elder Scrolls...a hybrid if you will. I think that's perfectly doable.

[@frauasyl]

Hmm.. if what you're referring to is a sort if self-insert, then I'm not sure how I feel about it. For 1. Self inserts are usually enjoyed by all genders, and of course, witchers are only male. I'm a woman so I wouldn't be able to take part if it WAS a self insert, but I also would be afraid of them retconning that bit of the lore. Which would be sad because it's a bit of the lore that I actually kind of like, as weird as that may sound. I would actually hate if they retconned that for the sake of convenience. 2. Even if it isn't a self insert, having a witcher game that doesn't follow geralt or another established character from the books and games would be a bit unfortunate. Not because you can't tell a good story that way, but because it would be missing so much. 3. Having ciri found a "school of the lynx", being a witcher school that either uses no mutations OR some form of lesser form of mutations for its' members that allows for females to undergo the process, I think it would be nice. An interesting concept. We know ciri is passionate about being a witcher from the witcheress ending, and we know eskel's feelings on the subject is undecided. It could go a number of ways. But above all, I would not want any compromises in the form of fleshed out storytelling OR established/expressed lore.

[@jojoeifler6175]

Amazing take, would love gender inclusivity for all without having to compromise on the lore!

[@darkone9206]

I love the lore and characters because these personalities make the witcher, and it is ideal to have characters you know as a conduit to introduce new ones, if you have to, the game would be missing out a bit if they didn't have some known personalities around, I do very much like the ciri idea as long as it is done well :), I remember from somewhere the school of the cat at one point allowed elven women but that is very hazy and not sure if it has any truth as it was probably brushed over in a tabletop rulebook somewhere ages ago, but they still didn't undergo any form of mutations. Retconning is never good, I feel we would all dislike it. It's nice to see so many fans of the witcher having sweet takes :)

[@WillfulVisions]

Self insert characters totally work as long as you're from the school of the cat (or a new school), since they've established in the lore that the school of the cat had female witchers. Before we knew anything about Witcher 4 I was hoping it would be a game about the school of the cat so we could create our own character.

[@WitcherGeorge]

Yes! As said in the video I do not want some retcon and if they really decide to go that route I want them to make a lore-friendly reason to add it to the lore, such as having mages develop slightly different mutations or using magic to enhance females' strength/suppress the incompatible side of certain hormones during the trial.

[@Frenchindochina]

The main issue with creating a completely custom protagonist like in cyberpunk is the they would only be able to do male customization options, or risk pissing a crazy amount of fans by retconning lore to allow for female witchers. The safest route imo is to make a completely new protagonist and let you choose which school, and remain unconnected to the Witcher trilogy

[@WillfulVisions]

The school of the cat already exists and has ben established as a school that trained both male and female witchers. There is no need to have it be male-only or to retcon lore.

[@Frenchindochina]

@@WillfulVisions where has it ever said that? In all sources I have found and seen, it states plainly that only male children were subjected to the Witcher mutations

[@WillfulVisions]

​@@Frenchindochina Check the Witcher wiki or any lore video on the school of the cat.

[@Frenchindochina]

@@WillfulVisions my guy, are you taking fanfic sites as canon? If you are referring to Adela, she is from the Hexer tv series which is not part of CDPRs canon. Within CDPRs canon, only twice has anyone ever tried to make a female Witcher, the first time every female subject died without exception. The second time was done by the school of the manticore and the results were inconclusive, thanks to the Manticore Grandmaster’s interference

[@WillfulVisions]

@@Frenchindochina the witcher wiki is not a fanfic site, and I have no idea who Adela is. One example of a female witcher seems to be a character known as Ważka (Dragonfly) from the Polish Witcher TTRPG, which many claim is at least as canon to the books as anything CDPR has made.

[@michaeltheodorou2490]

Definitely not online! But I’d like to see a character creation with either your mentor dies and you choose which school to specialise or some new threat and a few old faces and a mixed school with each specialist school

[@Chillton]

I'm all for it. After proving they can do Geralt justice and make him iconic, any attempt at trying to continue with him or trying to match him with original character (topping is even less likely), the only reasonable thing to do is to let the player make their own witcher. And as a character creator addict, I say 'bring it on!' XD

[@vettethewarlock5448]

The style of the Mass Effect trilogy is what Id want in a witcher game where we make our own character

[@anoNEMOs]

The secretiveness really fits to the lynx. It's really hard to find this animal in nature. So hard that in the past most people only knew about the existence lynx because it sometimes killed their animals. It was seen as a mysterious demon from the woods, there were scary legends about it and people didn't even know what it looks like and what it actually is. Kinda like the Lynx school for us now.

[@MrNeosantana]

The School of the Floppa

[@meatballmatt4374]

Frankly considering that Geralt’s and Ciri’s story is technically finished, it would make most sense if we’re playing as a custom character.

[@philsoro491]

I think its a FANTASTIC idea. The concept of creating your own witcher & playing as the character. I think it would really cool if geralt was maybe a mentor or a character u come across & get quests from. EPIC.

[@xeternalxdreamsx]

I think creating your own Witcher is awesome. If they allow a custom look, voiced, with interactions with other "main" companion established but your options on how you treat them can vary. Maybe it will allow more freedom on how your main story evolves. Taking place before the Witcher series can make sense but I'd prefer after it for a load of reasons. I loved Geralt's story 100% but his story is complete. Now it's time to forge our own path through the conflict. Lol.

[@NewYork975]

Looking forward to W4 whenever it does come out.

[@daemianmatthews2062]

If it's how they have done it in Cyberpunk, where it's still a set character, their appearance, gender, and background would be customizable.

[@blackrelicrabbit]

I love that you made your own school! I did that too, the school of the Siren. And since the trial of the grasses determines each schools powers I was researching a list of what alchemical ingredients they’d use from the sea for specific powers for their school, and even armor that would be useful but resistant to sea salted conditions.

[@ideenlos9242]

Havin a character like in Skyrim opens more possibilities when it comes to side quests. Sometimes the dragonborn is a ruthless assassin, other times a master thief and so on. I mean a Witcher is always a witcher but it could open more possibilities other than "Kill Monster/Evil guy or let him life". Maybe we even play as a "bad" witcher in one sidequest

[@owenklaus9779]

Honeslty it wouldn’t be a new “saga” if you could technically “create” a character imo. I’d love to have a spin-off game where we could have full freedom in making our own Witcher BUT for a whole new saga I want someone set similar to geralt where the Witcher already is their own person. That’s just what I think it wouldn’t make sense for a new saga

[@umapessoaqualquer3688]

I think they will be doing a mass effect/cyberpunk A witcher that would be known as a title or the town he came from, like the "Raven" or something like the "Witcher from Cintra" And of course he'd have a kind of a set personality like V or Shepard

[@mordinchemist]

YES! I absolutely am for what you're describing during the Ciri section. It's more or less what my idea is for the future of Witcher.

[@mordinchemist]

That being said, I still don't agree with your view that having your own character makes that big a difference. We still had Geralt make pretty big decisions so ANY game in the future has to dance around that same issue (and that's with a established character). It's sort of the nature of RPGs (or western ones at least).

[@maironamakesstuff]

I agree that if they have a character creation system that includes women, it should be an addition and not a retcon. As a woman, a retcon would feel like pandering. But given that Witchers are basically an endangered species in Geralt's time, having to broaden their recruitment makes sense to the lore.

[@benjthorpe]

If you had Ciri found a new school she could start training witchers without the trials at all, leaning into her sorcery training and not mutations, then you could make female Witchers and elf Witchers and my preference dwarven Witchers

[@Kevin-zz9du]

Including women is fine by me... just... none of that degrading "Body Type A/B" nonsense though. Male/Female There's nothing else. Besides.. anyone deviating from that would be lynched in the Witcher universe. It's not exactly a progressive world.

[@ronaldood4678]

Since Witcher 1 was originally conceived as a player created Witcher in the universe of the books rather than an adaption/continuation of the books, I think that angle would be fascinating and a great evolution of the direction already taken with Cyberpunk. It would be nice if it leaned more into different Witcher schools playing different classes like in D&D.

[@WitcherGeorge]

Going back to their routes!

[@azraelthefallenonyx7720]

i actually agree with this, baldurs gate and dragon age origins made it where you can pick your race, standing, where you lived and stuff like that. i bet if the witcher 4 done it, they could possibly expand on it even more

[@t_hetty1758]

In terms of referring to a create ur own character in the future you could have it be that when mentioned people have different recollections of the character so it’s like oh all of them in a way work because people have multiple different accounts of them.

[@Maverick_682]

Yes, please. You create your own witcher. You choose your own school that will have specific skills and abilities. Take. My. Money.

[@philsoro491]

IKR?! Epic af. I funnily thought of this idea years ago

[@ciaranbrk]

I can’t imagine not hearing Doug cockles Gerald’s voice.

[@ggjen]

Yesssss! A new video! Regards from Mexico 🌺💀🌻 , Witcher George!

[@elwendigo2]

I'll say it yet again, it's been confirmed by devs that Ciri did not die in that ending

[@michaelharmon8960]

I have 3 ways they could make more Witcher 1. They say that garolt or some other Witcher finds a Jin and wishes to undo the sterilization caused by the Witcher trials 2.they just have human witchers like Ciri that have all the Witcher training but they just can’t take Witcher potions or they heavily dilute there potential like 99% water 1% potion 🧪 3. In the Netflix mini series blood of the wolf vesimirs mentor is revealed to be experimenting with fusing and creating more monster due to his fears of Witcher becoming not as needed anymore due to there not being many monsters around anymore they could say someone found his notes and tried to use them to create monster hybrid witchers

[@She-Devil94]

I want it to be similar to Cyberpunk. That custumation system was perfect for the kind of role play game CD project does best.

[@witcherj]

me and my brothers when we played a game of D&D I made a character that was part of a fan made Witcher school (school of the fox) I used a warlock as the main class so I made school of the fox use metal staves that has a mechanism built in the weapon that twists making silver spikes come out both ends of the staff

[@timjfads]

I enjoy running the Witcher tabletop but made the mistake of letting people pick any class when I should have veto classes like black Smith n bard

[@redfrog2275]

One idea that I think could work really well is that it is set back in time during the "golden age" of witchers. The School of the Lynx is a small, upstart guild made up of drop outs or "lesser" witchers from other schools that are forced to take on the contracts that no one wants. If you think about a time with lots of witcher schools then there would undoubtedly be some kind of economic competition for contracts in certain hub areas. The School of the Lynx, not well known at all and without any "famous" witchers to take on important contracts from rich people, would have to dig their way up from the bottom to try and make a better living.

[@Vutsel666]

I think this create your own witcher thing would be great for a standalone game. Where different schools offer different armors, skills, tools and maybe even school specific quests. CDPR is working on 4 witcher related projects so perhaps 1 will be this. However for this Lynx trilogy. I think it's better to have a set in stone premade character like Geralt. Just for continuation if nothing else.

[@pupis35789]

I think you can have best of the both worlds. It could be similar to like a Bioware's games. Mass Effect for example, you do create a character, but you are essentially "Commander Shepard" no matter what you do. So in Witcher 4 you could have a set role in the world, people already could know you as "that witcher" through new trilogy. Also in Dragon age, if you don't have a save game in Dragon age 2, but you play a 3rd one, the character from the second game still shows up in the story. He has a set default look, so similar thing could be used here, where you have a default look, or completely custom one in some capacity.

[@That_Bixh_Chun_li]

I think a creator character would be cool, but it has to be like Cyberpunks n not Skyrim. We have a character with a gender neutral name or title (but preferably a name) and we pick our background and backstory and play the game that way. So our choices in future games and stories will have our characters names tied to it so it feels a little more personal.

[@williammoore6934]

Whys everyone ignoring the fact that mass effect executed all this well including character import 😂

[@DreadusShadows]

Love your thought process of the Witcher creation and concept. ❤

[@megamorganx]

I want one more with Geralt..just one more

[@EXP460]

The problem with a player created character is that they can't be incorporated into the lore like Geralt is; I don't want some mysterious unnamed character like 'the lone wanderer' or the 'Dragonborn'.

[@EXP460]

I want a character that can/will be incorporated into the lore and become an established character like Geralt, Yen, Ciri, etc

[@gunthergiel7088]

What about you have to leave in Order to do your Job ? You could have a starting school your Background and get promoted to a Witcher and have to Work ion from there on ?

[@luisz222]

I’m really gonna miss playing as Geralt. I don’t have any doubts that it’ll be great, but Geralt is just one of those iconic protagonists that will be hard to let go of. It’s like playing God of War without Kratos. They gave Geralt a great sendoff and I understand why he won’t be the focus anymore but still.

[@jar.n0]

I would love the cyberpunk approach. Very much customizable, but we can still all talk about what V did in Night City, even though all of our characters look different. Only difference would be the chosen Romance. But that is also the case in the Witcher, where you can choose

[@gavinsmn]

It’d be neat to play as a character who witnessed the conjunction or like one of the first witchers

[@dan_oak]

I think the reason why the idea of picking an initial school falls is because it would feel bad for the players. The part where we would leave the school couldn't be spoiled in a good way at the boot up of the game, so... Imagine you get into the character creation screen, you see options to pick your school and you get your hopes up like "Ohhh yeaa I can be from that school, nice!" and then the game pulls a 180 and makes you leave your chosen school for whatever reason. It could work, if it would already be communicated in some way that you'd be playing as an outcast or rough Witcher, and I can imagine this choice to be a "Choose your origin" instead of "Choose your school" option, although I feel like it would be quite a gamble I guess, having the need to put a "negative shade" on a school you choose / feel closest to.

[@Armand-ue7om]

I'm more keen on haw you're witcher could be incredibly unique. Like you could have elder blood ore a very powerful curse placed on you by a witch which could even be the foundation of the story. The same condition could also grant you abilities different from your already existing abilities introducing a whole new gameplay mechanic of sorts.

[@Ellianette]

If it was going off a entirely new school that your character founded or was among the founders, that would be sick

[@georgethomas4567]

I've been skeptical on The Witcher 4 for a long while now. What made the first three games so great was Geralt and the interactions he had with new and existing characters. That's at least for me, the very heart of the video games and really the franchise as a whole. Reading about these characters and then getting to see them in the video games and be all "Oh shit I know him!!!" Was always such a rush of joy. So to see one of the best things taken out and replaced by the whole make a blank slate of a character thing most RPGs do is a little concerning.

[@WitcherGeorge]

I feel the same. But CDPROJEKTRED have made really interesting original characters, like say Letho. That's why I really want a game following someone like that.

[@sabashukvani]

It would be great to play as a school of the cat Witcher in a future Witcher game.

[@HarrisNMeo]

Love your videos man, great scripts

[@Tetsuo_88]

My guesses: - Polaris (Witcher 4) will have a set character like the previous trilogy. It makes more sense on a narrative point also it will make it easier for them to have the same protagonist since they plan to make it a trilogy. - Sirius (multiplayer Witcher game by molasses flood) will have character creation.

[@gimismanolakis4355]

I agree with you, i would prefer having a set character. But i would love character creation on a mmo witcher game

[@theoutsiderjess1869]

If they do that its an imstant buy for me i love creating my own character

[@DDAAXX]

Honestly , I’d prefer it’d be Geralt because in the games up until now he’s always reactionary, he always goes to move after someone has moved. I want a game where GERALT is the moving force of the narrative.

[@giuseppesagona7522]

But that's one of the most beautiful things in the witcher books and games. Geralt is not the main moving force, he's just a witcher. Also it's time to finally make him rest, we've had plenty of time with his character and using him once again would feel pointless. It would be like using Nathan drake for uncharted 5's protagonist

[@dylanreed9792]

I rlly don’t think they’d have a problem doing the same thing they do V in cyberpunk which is one of my favorite games. I’d honestly prefer that over a set character because then nobody will have the same experience as me at all.

[@ivanstrydom8417]

I like the idea. I don't play as Geralt, I play as myself, just in different worlds.

[@KnightwhotillrecentlysaidNI]

If i had to make Witcher 4. I'd say it should have the character style similar to Fear and Hunger, where you choose one of 4 characters, decide which preset backstory is true or not and then you do your own thing. Lets say you chosen Griffin school, You are a boy, who's trials focused on Stealing Eggs(You're sneakier and faster) or Learning entire book(Knowledge of monsters is bigger and get more XP), your first interaction with humans was Getting into fights(You'll be deadlier) or got along(Has better communication skills), and sort of like that. Even if you can change the name of your character, you'll still be called by your nickname on your school, such as "Fangs", "Wolf", "Bite", "Claw" or "Feather".

[@mariechenmalherbemichiegre8953]

Interesting idea: what if geralt and one of the sorceresses have a child since there is hints and lore regarding the solving fertility crisis on both sides however we as the player dont know our heritige and part of our story is discovering it, where something happened to geralt and said sorsereces where ciri took us in to care for us so the child could be boy or girl since that part of the lore isnt fully explored (also we could potentialy en inherit both witcher mutations and magical powers)

[@piratekingluffy376]

A letho game, around him getting back at nilfgard with nilfgard areas as the focus of the game would be sick af

[@talos5750]

They'll probably never make a Letho game but I hope they at least make a dlc or smaller size game about him

[@WitcherGeorge]

My dream.. one day I hope. I really want a game covering the events of his life. The fall of the viper school, getting found by Geralt, hunting the hunt etc. You could play what he does in the witcher 2, that would be so cool.

[@QwkDrw84]

I'd love for the next game to follow a witcher and a sorceress with the ability to customize and play as both. It would offer tons of replay value by allowing you to do quests as the other character.

[@KeithElliott-zd8cx]

for me, it's more about the builds - the witcher games have some cool skills, but it feels like you're still kinda a jack of all trades - and i get that's kinda the point of witchers - but having different schools means we might get a bit more different possible playstyles, like a 'mostly uses bombs' witcher style that has extra bomb skills, maybe their gear allows for carrying more bombs and could get more bomb crafting potential.

[@westonbrooks1343]

It could be a mix of the two. You could have a character like V who already exists in the world, but their appearance could be fully customizable. If CDPR went this route, the character could benefit from being a bit more fleshed out than V was, with a set backstory and relationships.

[@robertdroulias]

In my Opinion they could add both the Set character as the mentor to the Create a Character Witcher helping him or her depending on how they add the female Witchers into the lore making it more compelling & they could find a way to make the Create a Character Witcher important to the story & lore maybe by making them related before they became a Witcher to a important character or even what made them want to be a Witcher in the first place that could impact the story and lore

[@J.I.M.B.O.]

Agree! I want to make my own witcher ! :D

[@brandonsmith-tb6fl]

Off topic, but you should do a who would win video on Ciri vs the unseen elder.

[@WillfulVisions]

I really hope we can make our own character like in BG3, Dragon Age: Origins, or Fallout: New Vegas (preferably not voiced during dialogue either). I don't think you really did a good job explaining your argument and why you prefer fixed characters though. Such as: 11:26 Why is it better if we're not the main character / don't have an impact on the lore and just 'watch Ciri and Eskel do things'? 12:47: Have you played Dragon Age: Inquisition? You import multiple custom characters and tons of decisions into that game and it was great. I don't see at all how this means that our character can't impact the world when the warden from the first Dragon Age saves the world and people talk about that in all the sequels. Titles work fine; if Geralt can be known as 'The White Wolf', any custom character we make (regardless of gender) could just be known as 'The Fang of the Lynx' or something like that when referred to in future games, if there are any. 13:45 Okay you care about Geralt and his background & relationships. But you don't really explain why you couldn't care about your own character's background and relationships just as much, if not more? 14:25 I know exactly what the Dragonborn's personality and relationships are like because I played him. I made those choices; the idea that players need books or obscure lore to know things about the dragonborn is silly when we ARE the dragonborn. I kind of wonder if you have aphantasia (a condition where you experience no 'mind's eye' visualization or internal monologue) and thus don't get to imagine cutscenes in your head that tie that your character to the world, flesh them out, and make it feel like you are that character? I'm struggling to think of other reasons why someone would prefer a fixed character. Games aren't movies; if you ask me, the point is to BE the main character, not simply watch them. 14:52 You don't explain how a custom character prevents you from enjoying the politics, relationships, and characters in the world of The Witcher. 15:25 - 16:15: Again you say that being told that Geralt is the character is one of the great things about the game and that you think it's cool and like it, but you don't explain WHY. What does it do for you that a custom character can't? Not trying to be mean or anything here btw, just feel like it would be a better discussion if you articulated your reasons better :)

[@bluuowl3325]

yeah I agree

[@tahjshaunbrooks6722]

agree 1000 percent

[@VInceent]

I see your point here. I can't answer for him but I think I also got most his idea of a "good Witcher character": Geralt is a character built by 7 books and 3 games, you then have a really strong idea of what he is, what he experienced before, what he thinks and how he evolves through the story. Having a pre-made character allows to add more details in his structure, strenghthening how he will interact with the surrounding world and people and his own identity. The biggest problem with this possibility is that some players will not "incarnate" well the character because he doesn't fit much to them. I do not think about it as a major issue to be honest but I might not be partial because of a she-friend who loves the universe and the third game but much less Geralt. In the case of a fully created character, it is easier to merge with him because it is yours, obviously. However, making him a strong identity like Geralt or Kratos for example is harder because you can't create a background as strong as for an all already set up character. Why? Because it is the player who creates him, not the devs (alias the story teller if I may say) and he has to be more versatile. Even if you choose presets and all, you loose some kind of anchor with the story and the lore surrounding the character in my opinion. I like to hear the voice of my character because I find it more immersive that just imaginating his voice (I find regrettable that there are no character's voices during dialogues in BG3 even if I love the game), I like to see my character having his opinion resisting a bit to mine by the dialogues options, I like to see him evolve even when I don't have a choice on it, etc... In conclusion, a good character is for me like a good cheese: the better it is old and refined, the better it is! Anyway, I hope I saw well through both opinions and didn't say too much shits! It is 4:47 am at the moment and I greet thee with a good night 😂😅 Edit: I added more blanks to break that concrete wall of words.

[@WitcherGeorge]

1. As said in the video, because it would have to eventually become a generic 'this unnamed witcher from this school did this incredibly major thing' for any future game, unless they import across multiple games and potentially multiple sagas, failing this they can never explore that part of the timeline again with trivialising our decisions. They have done so in the past but, as said in the video, I would like them to not purposely design the game with trivialising our decisions in mind. 2. This is a good point, but it fails in the sense that we know the White Wolf is Geralt. so it has an emotional impact, if it's a generic 'The Fang of the Lynx' or something like that it still has the exact same problem I outlined before. Who is the Fang of the Lynx? What are their relationships? What did they look like? Where are they from? The answer of course being that you decide. This runs into the problem mention in '1.'(Above) 3. I would care about my own character, but in an entirely different way. It would be fun to design my own story and imagine that this happened in the game, but that's all it really can be. My imagination. My character would ultimately become disposable and inconsequential to the lore (due to the problem mentioned in '1.') Geralt will always be important, he will always be the White Wolf as accepted by every single witcher fan. 4. This is exactly the problem I mentioned in 1. and the video. It's imaginary. It didn't happen in the lore, just you imagine it did and accept it as a 'head-canon'. But for a world to continue you do need a real canon. I am fully capable of imagining things and I understand that's what is special about Skyrim. But the Witcher has never been that. It's more of a drama that plays out with consequences and a widely accepted history. Of course, the witcher 3 has some pretty major decisions, but the beauty of that game is that it is the final game in the Geralt saga. Further, Geralt already had a set history that fans accept and relate to and, from that extensive past they can make decisions and see how that character interacts with the world. Skyrim is completely different, sure we all start as the generic 'prisoner' (although with mods not even that) and we are all the dragonborn and defeat Alduin, but that is it. Forever in the history of the Elder Scrolls your personal choices, relationships and character will not matter. You will just be the dragonborn that defeated Alduin. Geralt at least had relationships with Yennefer and Triss, we know how he sounded, we know he loved Ciri like a daughter, Vesemir taught him, he was friends with Eskel and Lambert. Sure a character you design could do that, but it won't be real, it would be in your head. That's the fundamental difference. In the witcher it IS Geralt, in the hypothetical make your own character it is just what you believe. If you like that, then it really is just down to personal taste. 5. I feel I have already explained why in the previous points and video. Because it is a nameless imaginary character that you simply believe did it in the lore, when in future games (unless systems get incredibly advanced) it will not be your character, it will be a generic main character. 6. I explained in the video and in this comment. The reason I didn't go into so much detail in the video is that I felt most of this could be inferred or was quite apparent. I do really appreciate the articulate comment and respect your viewpoint. I think we just fundamentally differ on what an engaging character is. I like to have a widely accepted character with a history and personality that I can think about, that is defined clearly. We share an enjoyment of Geralt as a fanbase. We will never share an enjoyment of your made-up character because our own will be completely different. We will all have incredibly different perceptions of the lore and who did what and what the 'fang of the lynx' was like as a person. If you are okay with that, then that is fine, as I said in the video. It is just a difference of opinions.

[@WillfulVisions]

@@WitcherGeorge Okay so I was confused for a bit but I think I've found the root of the disagreement. Correct me if I'm wrong, but it sounds to me like the overarching lore of the universe is really where you derive most of your enjoyment, and the games are primarily valuable as a window into more of that canon. You won't enjoy a custom character as much because the custom character by its nature can't reveal much official material (or participate in future official material) beyond the things that everyone needs to do to progress the game (ex: defeat the final boss). Therefore from your perspective custom characters can feel a bit pointless as the lore is what 'actually matters', and they contribute far less to that. Whereas to me, my escapist roleplay is where I derive most of my enjoyment, and the games are primarily valuable as the equivalent of a D&D Dungeon Master to provide me with details and obstacles more immersive than what I could imagine on my own. Whether or not something is canon doesn't matter at all to me; as far as I'm concerned, the lore of a game is just the developers' head canon and is less emotionally valuable than my head canon, not more. Once the credits roll, I've had my fun and nothing the devs do can change that - even if they release another game I can just think of it as an alternate universe timeline and enjoy an escapist roleplay under those parameters instead because that's what I'm here for. Therefore from my perspective my immersion from the start to the end of the game is what 'actually matters', and worrying about how this may or may not impact future lore is pointless. So as someone here for the escapist roleplay, having a fixed character is directly opposed to what I want, because every time Geralt shows up on screen or says a word it's a reminder that I'm not him, I'm not actually there, and this isn't my story. But if you're here for the official canon more than an individualized experience (something I didn't realize was even a thing until today), a custom character is directly opposed to what you want, because the official canon can't really comment on things that were left to individual player choice. I think that's the fundamental difference. Is that about right or am I way off base?

[@jaxonfreeman1756]

Not sure how a narrative story would work without establishing a core protagonist with cut scene dialogue and character interaction. I prefer to have a new witcher character.

[@jim-bob3093]

What would your opinion be if they did a assassin creed syndicate style? like you play as siblings or a sibling that is separated but they have a set personality?

[@zuseer516]

should just be an established character that you can modify the appearence of and thats it. no changing names, no changing gender, no changing their background.

[@reecedevon9846]

Open world play as a witcher be great

[@Manos515]

i love the idea of making our own witcher and i am curious of how the times will look during the beginning of the witcher schools as close as it can be to the conjuction of the spheres. But nothing will matters if they fail with the writing.

[@robcampion9917]

They could do it like Fallout 3, where you create the adult version of your character and it derives a younger version of your character that they can use for the tutorial/training section of the game.

[@Mephilis78]

According to the game files in TW3 Lynx is the school of the Cat.

[@Eckles18o319]

I think if they went with a create your own witcher then they should do it like dragon age origins where like the tutorial is your backstory and there's different backstories dependant on race, gender, social status etc and then that unlocks a set amount of missions to do with your backstory but it isn't the main story.

[@HikaritheGreat]

Loved your video! But how about this as an idea? The Witcher 4 starts a new trilogy with Ciri or Ciri leading the school of the Linx with a new named protagonist. And then have another team develop another Witcher game or series where it centers around the time before they were a dying breed, before the schools were attacked. Which then that would allow you to make your own character etc. Which then that could lead into the schools being destroyed as the finale. Kinda like a prequel trilogy.

[@iseekpeaceandtranquility]

it'll be awesome if its set in the timeline where alzur just created the witcher (before he wrecked maribor of course).

[@Chocoboy_James]

If they make character creator and the storytelling around said character kind of the same as they do in the Dragon Age trilogy, then I would be fine with it. Impactful choices, in the first one a history you can choose yourself. Can choose appearance, name and what not. It would be really nice. But I also agree, it can make the WItcher games on an edge that it can fall off of, should it not go well or be implemented well. All hangs on the setting of the timeline for me as well. Will it happen right after the conjunction? Will it happen a hundred? five hundred? years after it? I am intrigued by whatever it'll be nonetheless and I shall be on board. The world will never stop to amaze me, that's for sure.

[@OurHeartStillBeats]

I think for a mainline game, choosing your own character wouldn't allow for the tying together of games and lore, as you said. However, maybe as a non-canon side game, sure, why not?

[@bluuowl3325]

why wouldn't we be able to import choices? didn't that happen with all the Witcher games? In the sequel we would either use an import system or Get a dialogue where we recount the happenings, I don't see why this wouldn't be possible

[@giuseppesagona7522]

Because they want to make a full trilogy and it would be really hard to import all of your choices from one game to the other. Even the witcher series has chosen specific endings or quest choices during the trilogy.

[@TheRoyaoticDM]

Personally I think BioWare’s Dragon Age and Mass Effect do lots of what you’re thinking to a point. Maybe they could take ideas from how they do it, with choices and effect and making your own character.

[@stevenbrooke7558]

I think it would cool to do something like Dragon Age Origins where they create different origin missions depending on the witcher school you choose.

[@sykrad4208]

i WOULD LOVE to have the possibility to play the next game coop. Like you can play solo 100%. but you could find your 'friends' somewhere and just roam together. would be sick. + I love the idea of creating your own character and your own school and everything.

[@Voxdalian]

Imo it would obviously be founded by Eskel. He's talked about it in Witcher 3. I could imagine him trying to get together remaining Witchers of various schools to make a new hybrid.

[@TinkerPaw]

I think it will be somewhere in between Geralt and V. The preset characters have some set personalities, maybe the appearance can be customized, but there's still only one name/title. I hope the players can affect the main characters' personalities in some ways. Let's say we did something ruthless, then the dub of the character will reflect that. Just some unrealistic wishes.

[@kenbachi.1532]

I think CDPR have this idea and want to do it. Project sirus with molasses flood will have this idea since having multiplayer elements that will improve in this idea. Polaris I think will have a fixed protagonist like geralt because they say it’s a trilogy and maybe they were working on the whole story of this new saga with a known protagonist

[@joshlepage488]

I mean, if Bioware could pull it off fairly well in 2014, where character decisions from two previous games matter, I am certain CDPR could do so even better (Dragon Age Inquisition, for people who didn't know what game I was talking about)

[@Adrian32122]

Imagine if the made 3 different or more main character to play and the story would evolve differently depending on which one you choose. Each character would have different skills and one could be female 👍

[@scarecrow2097]

I won't mind a Witcher 4 with character customization but semi-set story like Cyberpunk with Ciri in a Vesimir kind of role and Geralt as a cameo. I also hope they FINALLY get the save importing right, in W1-2 we just carried over some supposedly legendary weapons that got obsolete in the first hours and barely anything story worthy, in W2-3 we got a few missions, no equipment and half the characters (making half your choices from the previous game almost pointless) so I really hope they nail the save importing this time between W3-4. I won't mind a dual choice of character either cause was there an actual reason why Witcher schools had no girls? I thought it was just by chance /tradition in universe and Ciri broke this if you go with the Witcheress ending (I own only the first two books so I can't tell about those). I mean biologically, women can naturally stand more pain, so unless the problem goes down to the atom level then I don't see why we can't have female Witcher schools or mixed post Ciri (the original 2002 Witcher series already attempted this before the Witcher games)

[@babyatemydingo574]

Personally, I would want the game to occur shortly after the initial development of witchers as a class of being. Instead of directly choosing what School you join, have character creation be a developmental thing. You start by choosing why you are a witcher candidate (did your family sell you to mages for experimentation? were you kidnapped? If it's after the establishment of the Law of Surprise as a common practice, were you given over due to that Law? Etc.) What is your family.background (nobility, peasant, bandit, clergy, etc) Then you go through some roleplay-heavy training exercises and dialogue scenes and those choices influence what skills your proficiencies that are heightened after the Trials of the Grasses, resulting in your induction into a particular School (with a pop-up allowing you to change the School you end up in so you aren't type-cast as a particular 'class') That's what I'd like to see but I know that's probably not everyone's cup of tea. I'm particularity fond of the Dragon Age Origins system for character starts in that way.

[@gwynbleidd4494]

no, I can't get attached to a created character.

[@anearthian894]

Got it

[@invisAG]

I think I’d rather create my own character in the next Witcher game. I think it worked in Cyberpunk 2077 because V still felt enough like an actual character even with customisation, so I think it could work in The Witcher. Also I don’t believe a new protagonist in The Witcher is ever going to compare to Geralt, because I don’t think a Ciri game is likely (although it would be cool), so I think character creation would be an advantage

[@giuseppesagona7522]

Idk, if you give me the option to create my own character I'd prefer to actually chose how they react to certain things. V was a good character, kinda but I would have preferred if they actually chose a gender and backstory for them and actually stuck with it.

[@invisAG]

@@giuseppesagona7522 See I think it worked in Cyberpunk and the game is better for having character creation imo. The Witcher though is trickier. I love a character creation, and if they have a way to make it work and allow for male and female protagonists then I think it would be cool, but not if they’re contradicting the lore too much. If they go with a set protagonist to protect the lore and stuff, then that’s better. It’s gotta serve the story

[@giuseppesagona7522]

@@invisAG Idk i really hated the fact that they let us customise the character and then never showed them in dialogues and just in cutscenes. But I guess that's because of all the shit that happened during the making of the game since it was a removed feature. Point is, if you make me customise a character, let me see them in the game world besides the equipment menu and 2 cutscenes

[@invisAG]

@@giuseppesagona7522 oh definitely agree on that point. Again I liked that we could customise our character in Cyberpunk but a real shame we could never actually see them. Think that game should have had a third person mode honestly