Roach

Roach (Polish: Płotka) is the name that Geralt of Rivia, the witcher, gives to all of his horses. His preference is for mares.

Name
The name refers to the roach (Rutilus rutilus), a common European fresh water fish. It has nothing directly to do with the either the French given name "Roche" or the character Vernon Roche (or, especially, the insect). Though the English term for the fish ("roach") does in fact share its origin with "Roche": both terms come from the French word for "rock".

It's worth noting that the original name for the horse in Polish is "Płotka", a diminutive form of the word "Płoć" (meaning "roach"). Diminutives are endearing in Polish, so a more direct translation would have been something along the lines of "Roachy" or "Roachie".

Moreover, the Polish word is female gendered which corresponds with Geralt's preference for mares - a stallion couldn't be called "Płotka". The tender tone as well as the gender of the name is lost in the translation.

In an illustration after the Prologue and before Chapter 1, Geralt is pictured riding his horse toward Vizima. In an epilogue illustration, Geralt is pictured leading his horse away from smoking, war-torn Vizima. There is no explanation given for the whereabouts of his horse during the course of the game.

At the very beginning of "The Price of Neutrality", Geralt's last horse was killed by wolves just before the adventure begins. It was a gray mare called Roach.

Roach appeared in one of the ending cinematics of the game.

The horse Geralt owned throughout the game is named Roach. There is a number of equipment available for Roach: saddles, saddlebags, and horse blinders. Saddles let Roach gallop full speed longer, saddlebags increases Geralt's inventory limit, and the blinders decreases the rate that Roach's fear level rises.

In a contrast to the previous games, trophies gained from contracted monsters appear tied to Roach's saddle instead of on Geralt's person. If Geralt visits Emhyr after he finds Ciri, and does not accept the coin offered, when he leaves he is granted a black Pure Bred Nilfgaardian thoroughbred stallion. After this event, whenever Roach is called, a black horse appears instead of the original bay mare.

Since the story of the witcher Geralt is coming to its end, Roach decided to say something quite interesting during a secondary quest.

Associated quest

 * Equine Phantoms

Journal entry

 * A horse is more to a witcher than merely a means of locomotion - just ask any bandit who has taken a well-aimed hoof to the head during combat. Additionally, many a witcher has talked over the nuts and bolts of his current contract with his horse while staring at the stars shining above the lonely road, though few would ever admit to this.


 * Geralt named his every mount Roach, though no one really knows why or what Geralt had in mind with this name. When asked, Geralt would dodge the question or give an evasive answer. Perhaps this had just been the first word that came to his head? Roach, for her part, seemed to accept the name with no reservations.


 * Geralt would grow annoyed and curse whenever Roach panicked and tossed him in the middle of a battle, as well as when she would suddenly turn a different direction that he wanted while he was riding at full gallop towards some urgent destination. In truth, though, he was very attached to her and would never trade her for any other horse. Not even one which, when summoned, would never stand helpless in front of a seemingly easily surmountable obstacle, such as a low fence or stray piece of timber. Nor even one which would sometimes, in some incomprehensible fashion, wind up dancing on some peasant's roof. "Well," Geralt would say with a shrug. "A witcher's horse isn't a normal animal. Constant contact with magic beverages and Signs must have left a mark."


 * While completing a contract in Toussaint, Geralt had the chance to find out exactly how serious Roach took her role and how well-versed in the arcana of the witcher's trade she was. He also discovered she was an entirely pleasant conversation partner.

Trivia

 * Roach (Rutilus rutilus) is a species of small, fresh water fish, common in many of Poland's lakes and rivers. It's perfectly edible but many people dislike is due to its relatively small size and quite a lot of fish bones.