The Witcher library guide

Welcome to the witcher library guide!

This is a quick guide created specifically for the busy witcher who has little time left for reading after roaming the countryside chatting up complete strangers and dealing with their various and sundry monster troubles. The Witcher game is no different really in its portrayal of Geralt's day-to-day routine. He still goes around talking to people and slaying monsters. Special thanks go to Licensed Luny for the many, many hours of research it took!

In the course of the game, Geralt gathers journal entries about the various monsters he encounters and the ingredients he can extract from them. He also passes by many potentially useful plants, so knowing about as many as possible also helps make his life easier.

Most of these journal entries can be obtained by speaking with NPCs, but a few can not be obtained in any other way than by reading the appropriate book or scroll. Luckily, many books and scrolls can also be obtained for free, or as rewards for completing quests. That said, there are still a few wiley entries for which no free source exists. To date, that list of entries seems to be:

• Alghoul
• Bloedzuiger
• Feainnewedd
• Giant centipede
• Green mold
• Wolf (Beast liver)
• Wraith

Below are the books which are necessary to obtain in order to have a complete set of journal entries. After all other means of acquiring the information have been exhausted. Strictly speaking, although some entries can be had for free, their availability earlier in the game is often preferable. Technically, you may want to splash out a bit more to make sure you have all the necessary Bestiary entries before starting a new chapter. For that information, see the list of monsters by Chapter.

Necessary books

The following books are necessary if you want to have every single journal entry available. Otherwise, it could be said that no books are necessary.

Must be purchased

• The Book of Animals, or Physiologus (free since the Enhanced Edition)
• Feainnewedd
• Subterranean Plants
• The Tome of Fear and Loathing, volume II
• The Wonderful World of Insectoids
• The Book of the Golden Oriole

Necessary, but can be obtained for free

• The Book of the Kiss
• Specters, Wraiths, and the Damned
• Swamp Monsters
• Vampires: Facts and Myths (contrary to some reports, this book is not available in chapter V, despite The Bruxa Contract needing the entry for bruxa blood to complete)

Books obtained as rewards

• Hymns of Madness and Despair (Diplomacy and Hunting)
• Ain Soph Aur (Necessary for A Mysterious Tower, obtained from Golan Vivaldi if you spring him from jail, or from Gramps' hut in the Swamp)
• The Secret Gates (Necessary for A Mysterious Tower, obtained from Vivaldi if you spring him from jail)

Catalogue

• The Chapter column lists the first Chapter in which a book or scroll can be found for free. If the book is a quest reward, then clicking on the quest icon will open the corresponding quest page.
• Not all books listed as "Free" are in fact free for all paths through the game. Some are also optional quest rewards and so may or may not be considered free.

Image	Title	Chapter	Buy	Sell	Free
	Aftermath of the War	5-	50	10
	Against Nonhumans	1-	80	16
	Animating the Inanimate		150	30
	Ars Amandi	3-	50	10
	Ballads	3-	50	10
	Barghests		50	10
	Basics of Alchemy	1-	70	14
	Book of Animals		100	20
	Conjunction of the Spheres	2-	50	10
	Cults and Religions of the Nordlings	2-	90	18
	Curse of the Black Sun (only in The Price of Neutrality)		70	14
	Curses and the Cursed	3-	500	100
	Description of the Vodyanoi or the Fishpeople		600	120
	Diary of a Dice Collector		50	10
	Disease of Civilization		350	70
	Disenchanting a Striga	5-	120	24
	Double Cross of Alzur	5-	200	40
	Druid's Herbarium		600	120
	Elder Blood	3-	80	16
	Experiment Notes	5-	1000	200
	Fairy Tales and Stories	4-	50	10
	Feainnewedd		300	60
	Field Plants		200	40
	Flower and the Flame	2-	70	14
	Foreign Lands	3-	60	12
	Forensic Medicine	3-	150	30
	Frightener	P-	50	10
	Great Book of Minerals		600	120
	Greater Brothers	5-	1000	200
	Guide to Vizima	2-	60	12
	History of the World	2-	40	8
	Hymns of Madness and Despair		100	20
	Invitation to Magic	1-	70	14
	Ithlinne's Prophecy	1-	60	12
	Kingdom of Temeria	2-	80	16
	Lara's Gift	2-	70	14
	The Last Wish	5-	800	160
	Monstrum, or a Portrayal of Witchers	P-	50	10
	Ornithosaurs		400	80
	Physiologus	3-	1000	200
	Plants of Barren Lands	4-	600	120
	Recent History	1-	40	8
	Ritual Plants		400	80
	Rivian Pogrom	3-	50	10
	Road of No Return		150	30
	Shadow People, or the story of His Majesty's Secret Service	2-	n /a	n /a
	Small Book of Minerals		400	80
	Sorceresses and Sorcerers	3-	60	12
	Specters, Wraiths, and the Damned	2-	400	80
	Story of Lara Dorren and Cragen of Lod	2-	60	12
	Subterranean Plants		300	60
	Swamp Monsters	1-	200	40
	Swamp Plants	3-	400	80
	Tome of Fear and Loathing I	1-	250	50
	Tome of Fear and Loathing II		500	100
	Transmutations and Metamorphoses		80	16
	Vampires: Facts and Myths	4-	600	120
	Wonderful World of Insectoids		600	120
	Zerrikanian Insects and Other Vermin		110	22
	Dagon Sap	4-	600	120
	Formula for De Vries' Extract	3-	400	80
	Dragon's Dream		200	40
	Frightener's Vision	P-	100	20
	The Book of the Golden Oriole		400	80
	Golem's Pith	2-	400	80
	Formula for Hanged Man's Venom	2-	300	60
	Hellhound's Soul	1-	200	40
	Kikimore's Ire	3-	600	120
	The Book of the Kiss	2-	400	80
	Koshchey's Core	5-	800	160
	Formula for Maribor Forest		300	60
	Petri's Philter formula	2-	100	20
	Samum	3-	600	120
	Secrets of the Southern Masters	3-	400	80
	Striga's Urge	5-	800	160
	The Book of the Swallow	1-	100	20
	The Book of the Tawny Owl	1-	200	40
	The Book of the Full Moon	4-	800	160
	Werewolf's Wrath	3-	600	120
	Formula for White Raffard's Decoction	3-	400	80
	The Book of the Wolverine	3-	600	120
	Zerrikanian Alchemy		200	40
	Zeugl's Vigor	E-	1000	200
	Ain Soph Aur		300	n /a
	Secret Gates		100	n /a