Geralt of Rivea is a badass monster killer known as a Witcher. He hunts horrible creatures for coin and spends some of his free time (when he’s not chasing women) playing a card game called Gwent.
As is made very clear in both the video games and the Netflix show, Geralt comes from a Witcher institution called the School of the Wolf. In the video games, there are a total of eight schools and each has its own history and specializations.
The Order of Witchers
The Order of Witchers predates all of the other Witcher schools. It existed before the Witchers eventually split into different schools. It’s the original school and it was started in the 10th century by Kings who wanted to make a magic army to fight monsters.
Mages used mutations to create magic knights but the results were disappointing, with the result being the mutated couldn’t do more than “mere witchery.” Eventually, the knightly principles were eschewed and the order split due to infighting and personal disagreements.
The School of the Bear
This is the first school that split from the Order of Witchers. A witcher named Arnaghad attacked another witcher named Rhys and almost mortally wounded him. Fearing retribution, Arnaghad went to preemptively attack the Order.
Arnaghad lost the battle and retreated to the Amell mountains where they founded the school. The school ceased to exist after it failed to eradicate a Vampire cabal and the townspeople turned on them.
Members of the Bear School are typically loners who don’t associate much with their fellow bears because the philosophy of the school is to focus mainly on the job at hand and not relationships with others.
They are hardy due to the massive cold and snow at headquarters Hearn Caduch, and they wear heavy armor that favors defense more than agility.
The School of the Cat
The Cat School is also a group that left the order following the mutiny of Arnaghad. Its headquartered in a traveling caravan known as Dyn Marv and is one of the only schools that train women and non-pureblood humans.
After the School of the Bear was established a group of about 15 Witchers felt they could improve on the Witchering process and start a better order. They left in the middle of the night and stole a bunch of Witcher potions and tools.
While most Witchers follow a path of neutrality, the Cat School became something of a political weapon as members rejected that notion and offered spies and killers for hire to various rulers.
Cats focus on precision, agility, and speed. They’re not the strongest in hand-to-hand combat but they do have a higher propensity to inflict critical damage.
The School of the Crane
Perhaps the most salient ability of this school is the use of guns and swords. This means the Cranes were exceptionally good at handling flying or seafaring monsters. They have a special method for attacking sea monsters, too.
Members of the school fashion a lengthy rope, one end connected to the mast of the ship and the other to a protective suit that only exposes the feet, head, and hands. Their regular armor is pretty much the same as other Witchers save for a gun belt.
This is one of the lesser-explained schools in the game and information only appears in scraps of found lore.
The School of the Griffin
The Griffins were the last group to leave the order after the Bear and Cat schools were founded. A Witcher named Erland of Larvik got together with 13 friends and left the order amicably. The Griffins settled in the castle Kaer Seren and dealt with all the spirits in it.
This school actually adhered to those knightly principles espoused by the order and named the school after a swordsman named Gryphon. In addition to teaching etiquette, the school created a technique that focused on being prepared and using magic, as well as being flexible.
Unlike the Cat school, this traditional institution also remained neutral. Their armor is neither heavy nor light and is mostly designed to enhance and complement a user’s signs and magical abilities.
The School of the Manticore
The Manticores are headquartered in the far east on the edge of the Korath desert. Because of its location, the school is fairly isolated and doesn’t have much overlap with the others.
The school was formed after a coup attempt at the School of the Bear. A group of Witchers left into the mountains to form the Viper school, but a number of them split off and formed the Manticore school.
Not much more is known about the school besides the fact that they have flashy armor and seem to specialize in alchemy.
The School of the Viper
The Vipers live in the Tir Tochair mountains, and they’re known for being stealthy. The school’s name comes from members’ use of twin blades that resemble a viper’s fangs.
Emhyr var Emries, the Emperor of the Nilfgaardian Empire, tricked the school by saying they would be rewarded with the restoration of the school (it was destroyed by the Nilfgaard military) if they performed a series of assassinations for Nilfgaard. He then massacred all the witchers, making the school a memory.
One of the more troubling aspects of the Viper training was that each trainee was given a pet to bond with as training. The pet is then killed by the trainee when they become an official Witcher.
The School of the Wolf
Finally, we have Geralt’s school, and by extension the best-known Witcher school. Wolves are reliable and professional, with a love for coin almost as much as they love slaying monsters. Because of this professionalism, the wolves are probably the best-regarded Witcher school.
The school is the Kaer Morhen fortress in the Morhen Valley of Kaedwen. Like many other Witcher schools, it declined over the years due to massacres and infighting. Only a few Witchers from the school remain, including Geralt and Vesemir.
