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Terrified and breathless, they are unable to move or scream and must wait for the attack to subside.

When alps attack, they sit upon the chest of their sleeping victim, becoming heavier and heavier until the crushing weight forces the sleeper awake. Alps seek out female victims during the night, controlling their dreams and twisting them into horrific nightmares (in German, "Alptraum" or "elf dream" means nightmare). (In German they can be known as "Nachtmahr"). Though they are sometimes likened to vampires, they are infact more closely related to the traditional idea of elves (alp is even a variation of the word "elf").Ĭontrary to the Witcher, alps are actually male, while " mare" or "mara" tend to be the female version of the same creature. In German folklore, however, alps become infinitely more interesting. Seen as scaley, naked women, they tend to behave more like common vampires than the beasts from which they share their name. In The Witcher, they exist as little more than blade-fodder for Geralt. Sadly, alps within the Witcher universe aren't nearly as wonderful as their mythic counterparts. We're all familiar with dragons and vampires, but what about the lesser known beasts that bloody Geralt's blade? The leshen, alps and botchlings? I've rounded up some of my favorite monsters from the Witcher series and the legends that inspired them so that we can contrast their depictions in the game, while getting a mythology lesson at the same time. While some of these beasts have enjoyed plenty of spotlight in other fiction, CD Projekt Red have dug deep into their own Eastern and Northern European ancestry to bring to life a mythology underrepresented in the echelons of generic fantasy creatures.

Lucky for him the Northern Kingdoms has no shortage of monsters. So it's easy to forget that Geralt's true calling in life is as a monster slayer.

And, try as he might, Geralt continually finds himself trapped between the political maneuverings of the Northern Kingdom's most ambitious contenders. The Northern Kingdoms of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is a realm ravaged by war, pestilence, and greed.