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