Witcher 4’s Key “School”
In a surprising revelation, Andrzej Sapkowski, the author of The Witcher novels, has disclosed that one of the most iconic elements of CD Projekt RED’s games—the Witcher schools—originated from what he considers a narrative mistake in his own writing. This lore is set to continue in the upcoming Witcher 4, despite the author’s original intentions.
During a recent Reddit AMA, Sapkowski explained that a single reference to the “School of the Wolf” accidentally appeared in his first Witcher book, “The Last Wish.” He immediately deemed the concept “unworthy of development and narratively incorrect, even detrimental to the plot,” and never mentioned Witcher schools again in subsequent novels.
However, that one passing reference became the foundation for one of the games’ most beloved features. “That one sentence was enough,” Sapkowski noted. “Adaptors, particularly video game people, have clung to the idea with remarkable tenacity and have wonderfully multiplied these ‘witcher schools’. Completely unnecessary.”
The author specifically compared the proliferation of schools to Harry Potter’s Hogwarts houses, mentioning “Witcher Gryffindors or Slytherins” as an example of how the concept expanded beyond his original vision. Despite his misgivings, Sapkowski decided against removing the line from newer editions and instead hinted he might “expand and clarify the matter somehow in subsequent books.”
This revelation adds an interesting layer to the relationship between the original books and their adaptations. While Sapkowski views the schools as unnecessary, they’ve become central to the games’ identity and world-building, particularly in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt where the School of the Wolf gear was a key gameplay element.
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The Witcher 4 will continue this tradition, carrying forward the school system that began as an author’s regretted line. The situation demonstrates how adaptations can sometimes take small elements from source material and transform them into foundational aspects of new stories.