The Witcher Tabletop RPG: Review and Analysis of the Core Rulebook

A video game turned into a tabletop RPG – that’s the best way to summarize The Witcher RPG, which was released this May by Mytago in a Czech translation titled Zaklínač: Hra na hrdiny. The authors truly attempted to translate the successful Witcher video game into an RPG format, covering almost every detail. How did they do?

The Witcher as a Tabletop RPG

First, let's look at the concept of The Witcher as a tabletop RPG. In my opinion, this is definitely a great decision. Sapkowski's world is beautifully crafted in books, games, and the series, offering plenty of material for both Game Masters and players to work with and get well-acquainted with the setting. This is a huge bonus, as it allows for more depth without needing to explain the basics of the world to new players.

The world itself is also very interesting. It’s not a generic, boring fantasy world, but a place dealing with racism, the politics of the Northern Kingdoms, hatred toward witchers, and many other mature and deep themes. The RPG captures this well, maintaining that dark and gritty atmosphere of the Continent.

The Czech Translation of The Witcher RPG by Mytago

The Czech translation doesn't bring shame to this RPG, though a few flaws can be found here and there. Overall, the translation is successful, with professional typesetting and proofreading, making it a solid piece of work. It is all the more disappointing, then, to find places where the translator deviates from established gaming terms well-known from the many materials already published in Czech.

Gwent, Dimeritium – these are just a few examples where a Czech player is used to specific terms, and it’s a pity the RPG doesn't stick to established translation keys. It’s nothing that would ruin the game; anyone can shrug it off and just use the terms they are used to, but it’s a shame. Fortunately, these are only a few names. Most character and location names in the Witcher world are translated correctly as they should be.

Do you want to flip through the The Witcher RPG core rulebook with Gergon? Check out the detailed video analysis of the manual.

Game System from The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

And what about the conversion from the video game? That is very controversial. For some, it’s a brilliant move; for others, it might be a chore. The authors have truly converted almost every game system we encounter in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt video game into the RPG. You can gather ingredients and mix your own potions, craft weapons and armor based on diagrams that degrade with use, requiring you to repair them, and so on.

In a video game, where this is calculated automatically, it’s fine and fun. In a tabletop RPG, where you have to keep track of the amount of raw materials you’ve collected, various recipes, the toxicity flooding your witcher body, and the number of hits you’ve blocked with your shield to know how many are left before it breaks and needs repair – it’s simply a mountain of bookkeeping.

I assume that in practice, one of two things happens: either players are overwhelmed by this amount of information and it ruins the game for them, or they ignore most of these things. But there are certainly gaming groups that enjoy such number-crunching and inventory management, making it a great game for them.

Don't get me wrong, it's not all bad. Some of these systems are great. First, they help improve the realism of the game, which is something many people demand. For example, in combat, armor calculations, attacks on specific body parts, etc. Other systems are genuinely fun – for instance, alchemy and gathering ingredients from killed monsters is a fantastic system that I’d love to adapt to other RPGs. Because counting how many vampire fangs or vials of wyvern saliva I have is fun for players. However, counting coal, cloth, wax, and similar materials for crafting armor is not as much fun.

Because of this drawback, the rules are riddled with a bunch of tables of all kinds, which can be quite stressful for beginner players. That’s why I would recommend The Witcher RPG to more experienced players or enthusiasts who will enjoy this. Nevertheless, I believe many of the game mechanics are interesting, and it would be great if other RPGs included them in their manuals as well. For example, character creation and building your hero's life path from birth to the start of the adventure, where you gain family, motivation, allies, and enemies along the way, is truly brilliant.

A Successful Character Progression System

The overall character progression system is not bad at all. It is based on the so-called Interlock system, which means the character has certain abilities and skills that they gradually improve using skill points, regardless of the character's race or profession. This is a great mechanic that gives players the space to build their character exactly as they like. It’s one of the things I personally miss in Dungeons and Dragons, where the rules dictate what a character gets at each level without much choice.

Other Content in the Core Rulebook

The core rulebook also contains advice for the Game Master. Unfortunately, another issue occurred here: the attempt to make it accessible to everyone. As a result, it’s not useful for anyone. If the Game Master is a beginner, they will find many food for thought here, but without specific procedures on how to work with it better.

What else to expect when the section for the Game Master is summarized in 24 pages? And if the Game Master is experienced, they won't find anything here that would push them forward or teach them something new. It simply reminds them that there are other monsters in the Witcher world besides beasts with teeth and claws, or that as a reward, they can give a diagram for new armor instead of just gold – nothing an experienced GM wouldn't already know.

Then there is the Bestiary, which also doesn't offer too many monsters, but here the authors are likely relying on expansion books to supplement this list and give players many new ways to die.

Will further expansions be translated?

Speaking of expansions, they aren't in Czech yet, but I firmly believe and hope they will be soon, as they can push this game a long way forward. Lords and Lands GM Screen offers, besides the screen, a booklet where you will find rules for playing Halflings. A Witcher's Journal brings new monsters and game material primarily for witchers. A Tome of Chaos, in addition to adventures, provides new materials for magic and chaos in your game. A Book of Tales is then a collection of six adventures, bringing new weapons and even three new playable races.

Note from Mytago: The translation of the A Tome of Chaos expansion is already underway, but we do not yet know the release date.

Conclusion

All in all – what is The Witcher RPG like? It depends on who is asking. If I were to answer a beginner player looking for a simple system to enjoy an RPG in a fantasy world, this game is too complex and would likely not be fun for them.

However, if a fan of The Witcher world is asking, if an experienced player is asking, if someone who wants gritty low fantasy is asking, if a fan of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt video game is asking, then I would tell them that this RPG is brilliant, perfect, and great. It is an excellently balanced mix of all those things – preserving the atmosphere of both the entire world and the video game, while bringing many game mechanics that make the RPG a very realistic experience. It will depend on every potion or sword strike whether your character survives or dies for their ideals – or in the Witcher world, more likely dies for their friends.

author Gergon