Dungeons & Dragons continues to evolve, and a lot of times that evolution includes pop culture inclusions from fans to spice things up a bit. With Netflix’s The Witcher season one’s positive reception and the excitement for season two high, Geralt of Rivia has been on everyone’s minds, including Dungeons & Dragons players. But what class would Geralt be if he did his handy portal trick in that universe? Most say Rogue, but Netflix heartily disagrees and playfully harnesses the power of the “Change my mind” meme to invite discussion.
The Netflix adaptation of Geralt’s story is based on the books that inspired the games by CD Projekt Red. In the show (like the books), Geralt’s skills are a blend of brute strength, dexterity, and durability with the flare of otherworldly attributes thrown in there via his Witcher abilities. With the common discussion of D&D fans centering around Geralt being a Rogue, Netflix says “nay” with its own classification based on the in-game classes for our white-haired hero:
Geralt is a Cleric and not a Rogue. Change my mind.
— NX (@NXOnNetflix) February 3, 2021
What makes this interesting is that there are actual official (as well as not-so-official) classes and subclasses that are inspired by the Witcher himself. For those wanting to go the official route, technically both sides are wrong because he would be classified as a Fighter (Eldritch Knight) or a Blood Hunter.
Not sure what an Eldritch Knight is? Here is the official description courtesy of Twitter user @SirenFluxx:
The archetypal Eldritch Knight combines the martial mastery common to all fighters with a careful study of magic. Eldritch Knights use magical techniques similar to those practiced by Wizards. They focus their study on two of the eight schools of magic: abjuration and evocation.
Abjuration spells grant an Eldritch Knight additional protection in battle, and evocation spells deal damage to many foes at once, extending the fighter’s reach in combat. These knights learn a comparatively small number of spells, committing them to memory instead of keeping them in a spellbook.
Personally, I’m going to have to go with the good ‘ol Eldritch Knight with fighter base because that does fall more in line with Geralt himself. I don’t think Cleric would necessarily work given that he’s not religious by nature unless we’re including the school of philosophy behind Witchers as a whole. Some argue that he’s a Ranger with his ability to track monsters, but honestly? He’s a well-rounded character, and there are quite a few classes that apply to him if we felt like being super serious about it.
Dungeons & Dragons is serious business, friends, so we’ve gotta ask: Do you agree with Netflix or do you have an entirely different class to put Geralt in? Sound off in the comment section below!
