Drowner

They say that whatever hangs, shall not drown. Unfortunately, sometimes the bodies of hanged criminals are thrown into the lake. The weight of the villains' crimes causes them return as drowners. Since bad things do not befall the wicked, to get rid of a drowner, you must bear the cost of hiring a good witcher.

	What times, sighed the castellan. What foul times! Twenty years ago who would have thought, even in a drunken stupor, that such a profession as a witcher would exist? Itinerant killers of basilisks; travelling slayers of dragons and vodniks! Template:UK citation
	—though the witchman greatly covetous and greedy for gold be, mumbled the old woman, half-closing her eyes, giveth ye not such a one more than: for a drowner, one silver penny or three halves... Template:UK citation

Note

In Danusia Stok's translation of The Last Wish, she translates the world "utopiec" as "vodnik" in the short story "The Witcher" and as "drowner" in "The Edge of the World". She also used the word "vodnik" for vodyanoi.

see also: drowned dead

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The drowner, a frightful creature of mud and scum, drags people down into mires and bubbling eddies. It feeds on young women who bathe in rivers and on occasion will pull men off their horses or carts as they cross a bridge or weir. Drowners arise from the bodies of villains who meet their end in running water or in undertows that appear after storms. These watery creatures embody the spirits of those who can not rest after death and are sometimes born of foetuses aborted by magical means. They are ugly in appearance, skinny, tall and bony. Their bodies are slimy and green, as is their hair. Wherever a drowner steps, pools of their slimy substance form. This creature can be fought using ordinary weapons.

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"Drowners are scoundrels who ended their wicked lives in the water. Drowned alive or thrown into deep water after death, they turn into vengeful creatures which stalk the inhabitants of coastal settlements."

See also: alternative game description

Details

Occurrence: Drowners are creatures of the night; they appear on the banks of ponds, lakes and rivers Immunity: Immune to bleeding, blinding and poison attempts; fearless, immune to stun attempts and the Axii sign Susceptibility: Very sensitive to silver and susceptible to knockdown attempts; the Fast Style is most effective against drowners; experienced witchers use the Group Style against multiple drowners Tactics: Usually attack in large groups and take advantage of numerical superiority Alchemy: Drowner brain tissue, Ginatz's Acid, Cadaverine

Location

• Outskirts of Vizima, by the fishing village and by the Old Mill
• Sewers
• Vizima dike
• Swamp
• Lakeside, on Black Tern Island, and the Naiad's bathing spot near the village
• Swamp cemetery

Source

• In Chapter I, an "Old townswoman" will tell Geralt a tale about drowned dead in exchange for food. This conversation results in journal entries for Drowners (not Drowned Dead,) Drowner Brain Tissue, Cadaverine, and Ginatz's Acid.
• Spending a Bronze talent on the Monster Lore option adds bestiary entries for Graveirs, Ghouls, Drowners and Barghests.
• Swamp Monsters

Notes

• Geralt can loot the bodies of Drowners for Cadaverine and Ginatz's Acid before he has a bestiary entry for Drowners or ingredient entries for those items. However, Drowner remains will not contain Drowner Brain Tissue until Geralt has the journal entries.
• In the Prologue, Lambert urges Geralt to limit his use of the Group Style to only Drowners at first. However, the conversation does not result in a bestiary entry.
• In Acts II and III Geralt can give an Old Woman in the Temple Quarter some beer or mead after asking her "Why so tight-lipped today?" At first, she will tell him a story about the Mage's Tower. Giving her another drink on a later visit, she will tell a story about Drowners. Whether or not this conversation would result in the Drowner bestiary entry has not been confirmed.

Monsterbook

Developer CD Projekt's characterization of the drowner taken from the monsterbook, which was enclosed with the Collectors Edition of the computer game The Witcher for Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic:

One of the most popular creatures in the game, the drowner is initially a worthy opponent, but become cannon fodder as the game progresses, an excuse for increasingly spectacular displays of Geralt's master of the sword. Frequently appearing creatures need to be created with particular attention to detail, so unsurprisingly we spent a lot of time refining the drowner's final appearance. This was probably the most often modified model in the game.

Skinny and humped, with its huge head, slightly protruding belly and concave chest, the drowner became a creature that is half-scary, half grotesque. Its eyes are round and fishlike, granting it a rather dumb expression. It also has wide palms and membranes between its fingers as well as a fin. Like its colour, these elements reveal much about its natural environment. This creature clearly lives underwater and is awkward when on dry land… unless it happens to be hungry and there is an unsuspecting traveller nearby.

Gallery

Drowner2.jpg

Drowner model