What Are Manticores? - Witcher Lore - Witcher Mythology - Witcher 3 lore - Witcher Monster Lore
Vložit
- čas přidán 20. 04. 2018
- What are Manticores in the Witcher? In this video I try my best to explain the history of the Manticores. I will go over prominent Manticores, the Manticoress effect on the witcher games, Imperial Manticores and many other Manticores! Be sure to like the video for more of the same and subscribe if you're new or just love the witcher!
► Discord Invite: / discord
► Patreon: / witchergeorge
► Sources: witcher.wikia.com/wiki/Witcher...
► Twitch : / therangergeorge
► Twitter: / witchergeorgeb
A quick disclaimer - A lot of these videos use information from the witcher wiki, in some cases I do read directly from the pages, I do always make sure to include my own thoughts and other information I know myself, but I just want to make sure everyone is on the same page here. Even though I use information from the wiki, I do still create the videos, with time, effort and a lot of editing! The idea behind the lore videos is to present to information to you guys in a fun and more interesting way then you guys having to get the information from pages and read it yourself. If anyone isn't okay with this I apologise, but since day one I have always said where I get the information from. Thank you for reading.
A real shame they weren't implemented into the Witcher 3. Still I am glad that you're covering this monster!
I know it would have been such a cool monster mini boss!
Probably gonna be a mod based off this.
Would have been great for blood and wine
They're in the blood and wine dlc
James Blake you mean manticore armor?
When I play as Geralt, he is a much less skilled warrior. My Geralt dies from drowners.
My Geralt dies from Yens Wrath aha
Alec Saxman My Geralt died because he can't deflect a arrow.
Alec Saxman my Geralt dies from falling 12cm because there's a bump in the grass...
Have you ever done a new game plus starting from level 55 on hard mode wolves can one hit you.
My Geralt dies against fucking Wolves... my Geralt is a fake Geralt
Kills every monster in the world. dies by a peasant
Yeah, you can see in the cinematic that he just kinda gives up or gets exhausted.
And that's why I avoid drunk angry peasants with pitchforks.
The peasant was probably lvl 90 or some upscaled shit like that
Geralt didnot see that the peasant had a red skull
Peasants are the true monsters of the Witcher universe
God it's such a shame they aren't around in kaer morhen. I remember walking all the way from kaer morhen to the top of the map just to find a half out the map wyvern
I tried this but it didn’t work.
Perhaps the Lords encountered, rare sub species of manticores.
😂 love that part
eskel killed a manticore he mentions in the game
I'm actually curious how Eskel's Sign intensity might be like. Triss said that he emanated much more magical power than that of Geralt.
Could be interesting!
He put all his skill points into signs.
Manticores going extinct. Geralt helped. Someone call PETA.
Alex Chan Boycott Netflix's Witcher
PETA offered to take them in to one of their no-kill shelters.
PETA is directly responsible for driving the manticores to extinction.
Interesting thought/theory:
I think its the near extinction of Manticores is actually closely tied to the decline of/ending of the creation of new witchers. Manticore venom is a core ingredient in the potions used in the Trial of the Grasses, leading to them getting hunted to their eventual extinction for it. Without the poison readly available/obtainable the Trail of Grasses would have become harder and harder to perform. Witchers slow decline after there 'golden age' (during their first creation) is never really explored in the books or games explicitly but it would be easy to point to dwindling supply of ingredients as a large reason for there initial decline in continued witcher creation.
Definitely interesting thought, I mean even our own wolf boys only truely stopped relatively recently, when Vesemir hide away all the remaining suppies for Trails.
Is it possible that manticores are not monsters but just normal beast? The flash back calls it "one of the world's oldest and deadliest creatures". This makes it sound like the manticore may have existed in the world before the conjunction of spheres just like any beast. This would explain why the manticore is susceptible to steel instead of silver like wolves and other beast-type creatures.
They most likely came through in the conjunction, but nice theory!
It's disappointing that they have mostly dropped sword selection as a game element. Nothing like faeries being vulnerable to iron, or silver being particularly necessary against werewolves and vampires, or steel being necessary to pierce the hide of some creatures.
@@Xandros999 would ruin the flow of combat
@@Nob911 Yeah but "EVERY monster needs Silver, EVERY man needs Steel" is a little too compressed.
@@DIEGhostfish not really silver is in folklore for anything supernatural or monsters
2:57 there's a dialog in the Witcher 3 where Eskel admit that he defeated a Manticore before
I think eskel might fair well against a manticore, hes almost as good as geralt, if not on par
Well, as I said it's Geralts extra mutations that put him ahead of the others, Eskel was said to not only be stronger in magic, but also just as good a swordsman before the mutations, but after, I'd say Geralt has a clear advantage
Thats why i said almost as good, although we dont get as much time with eskel, so who knows, maybe he has something up his sleeve, anyway great vid
Which just goes to show how good Eskel is. If he had the extra mutations, he might be better than Geralt.
〈/sanity〉 The Sloth eskel is shit, Geralt basically is a super witcher
sebi marius lol uneducated opinion
Also just so happen to have the best armor in the witcher named after them, equally as badass. 👍
TB to witcher 1 armour and it's very cool, shame it didn't have earlier sets like the previous schools
griffin armor is best
UncertainRain -MarioMartocchio it's all about the feline armor
Ursine set is my fav
@@juanhubbard4077 Me too My Brother.
I know Witcher 3 came out a while ago, but I think it speaks volumes that I played it (and completed it, fully), and I am still tuning into your content sheerly for the lore because I was that deeply involved in the game.
Bravo. Keep going.
Thanks man!
Same
Great video. :) I didn't know much about manticores in the witcher universe.
The surviving witchers all have to be pretty tough and resourceful to still be around. I think it's possible that Eskel might have been able to beat one, he just probably would have struggled a little more than Geralt. Eskel did take down an old and fast katakan, which is apparently no small feat. He also held his own against Caranthir for a bit... Geralt only defeated him after Ciri broke the staff. Geralt obviously has an advantage, but I wouldn't count Eskel out, he just doesn't seem to usually brag about his skill.
There is enough in beauclair my dude vampires and all that
Maybe one of the different towns / cities in Toussaint ?
Fun fact. Manticores in mythology never had scorpion tails. That's a relatively new concept. They had long furred tails with a grouping of spines at the tip
Ah interesting, I know they had spines, but no scorpion tales? That's a cool fact.
widowmaker edits > According to Ctesias of Cnidus, who was the first person to historically ever mention and describe the Manticore, this isn't exactly true.
www.greeklegendsandmyths.com/manticore.html
"Ctesias was a Greek historian and physician of the 5th century BC who was part of the Persian court of Artaxerxes II Mnemon. Ctesias would write a comprehensive history of Persia and the Persian Empire, but Indica was a work dealing with the Persian beliefs about India.
Ctesias would tell of a man-eating beast the size of a lion with skin of bright red or scarlet. The fantastical nature of the beast though was not the size or colour of the animal, but for the fact that it possessed the face of a man and a tail similar to that of a scorpion.
Three scorpion like stings could be found on the tail, and an additional one was located upon the head of the Manticore; each sting was over a foot in length. The poisonous nature of the stings was deadly to all whom they hit, aside from elephants. The stings on the tail could be unleashed like an arrow from a bow, so the Manticore was deadly from distant, but was also deadly at close range; the Manticore having the sting on its head lethal claws and also three rows of sharp teeth within its mouth.
Manticores were said to eat a wide range of animals, including man, but little evidence of their kills would be found, for they would eat bones and all."
I also remember of a lionly beast with bat/dragon wings and a ball of spikes at the end of their tail. Must be from a movie or something. Could be a totally different beast from the Manticore we're talking about or maybe a hybrid. I think they show a Manticore in war of the gods or however those movies were called. The one with Perseus. EDIT: The movie is Wrath of the titans and the beast is a Chimera maybe Widowmaker mistaked it with that.
@@annahenrietta9517 There's many interpretations of Manticores, but wings are actually the one thing that was a fairly recent introduction. Some had scorpion tails, some just a tail with a spike ball at the end that could whip them. And could jump good.
Perhaps in the Witcher 4, we would see them because of Ciri's conjunction when she opens the portals, The manticore could return to the game because we can see the long-extinct literally return during the path when Geralt and Yennifer riding to the tower.
It would have been so good if these were in the Witcher 3, like a small quest where only one is in the game, maybe like a contract in beauclair
They could have at least included them in Blood and Wine as a way to get the Manticore Armor for example. Still, great video, was wondering what they actually were.
Thank you man
hapatitla uperkele same I got the grandmaster but it was no fun
I want to fight a manticore
I was always curious as to why we have a manticore potion ingredient (forgot what it's called) but have never met the beast itself
I would love to see it in a future witcher game
Too bad it's just a mindless beast though, would be kinda sick if it could speak like some manticores from real life legends
Manticore poison gland. For the trial of the grasses. ☺️
Idk about eskel being defeated. It was mentioned multiple times that him and geralt were equal in skill, with eskel also having an edge against geralt in magical power.
Eskel being on par with geralt means eskel is one bad dude, geralt was subjected to more mutations than most witchers if eskel can match and even exceed him in some areas eskel was just born awesome.
Maybe the Imperial Manticore and manticore are like the Griffin and ArchGriffin thing
That's what I was thinking, I was a confused, as there's no outright mention of them being different
WitcherGeorge The description of the ArchGriffin literally is "Is a Griffin just more Griffiny"
Griffin looks like a mutated eagle
Archgriffin looks like a mutated vulture
I've been on a binge of your videos for the last few days. Huge fan of the witcher, definitely subscribed my friend
I wish I could see one in TW3
Edit: A dragon also. The fake Skillige one had me hyped but then it was fake 😢
Imagine if we had a real dragon contract like Witcher George of Kagen did. 6 feet tall 12 feet long legit fire breathing dragon. On top of that he killed it with a steel sword because he forgot his diagram of specialized silver sword. Such badass
Geralt: I haven’t been defeated by any monster yet.
Unseen Elder: Hold my beer
Heh, I avoided him, otherwise you can't save Syanna and Anna
I know a lot of this stuff I could just look up, but it seems like it's more interesting when I hear someone like you talk about it.
Aha
Nice new intro George! Great video and great job covering the monster, very informational
Thanks man
6:10 >> Damn.. I wish CDPR would put Manticores back into TW3! They sounded like they were going to be one of the best monster challenges in the series. This is the one critter I always looked forward to fighting, but never got the chance.
Maybe some talented modders can make it happen.
It would be awesome if it was added
Similar to a griffon with a venomous scorpion tail.
I realize this video is fairly old, but Eskel will also tell you about how a half a year ago he killed a manticore in the game if you ask him privately about any other interesting hunts he has been on lately. He says he encountered it in Creyden, and that it's movements were very quick - enough so that his medallion barely had the chance to twitch in warning. He slayed it, and attempted to earn coin for it only to be told by a local elder that they had no idea the beast was even active in the area. (Which considering what they are capable of was probably a load to get out of having to pay Eskel for killing it, but still.) To this, Geralt simply replies that he hasn't seen one in about a year.
Eh, I'm not remotely surprised Eskel has such a story in the game. He is said to be on par with Geralt in many ways, and potentially stronger even in his use of signs. That said though, I do wish they had been able to add a manticore fight to the game. I suppose Eskel's story could be seen as a bit of a nod to what could have been had they been able to implement it.
Nny Rox he was talking about a katakan not a manticore
Eskel is about as good as Geralt so I'm sure he would do fine. It's mentioned that they are on par with Geralt being slightly more skilled with a blade due to his faster speed through additional mutations and Eskel is better at signs having a better natural affinity for magic.
Lambert might struggle though.
I find it awesome that everywhere in the world they have this kind of mythical creatures. Middle East: manticore, North Africa: Sphinx, Europe: griffin. East Asia: pixiu.
And of course the most mythical creature that is kinda in every culture in the world: dragons
Really? Dragons are the most mythical to you? You have obviously forgotten about the greatest threat to humanity… ManBearPig.
You made that last one up lol
I wonder if vesimir has ever killed a manticore
You never know!
Gage Steigelman he must have !! His character bio in Witcher 3 says “he has seen more beast then all of his students put together”
Vesimir is over 400 years old, i think he have seen all monsters.
@@kj12351 isn't it 600?
@@whatthefuck9703 well no one really knows.
Isn't Eskel on par with Geralt when it comes to skill? That's what I keep hearing book readers say that is. Another thing they mentioned was how Eskel has stronger magic emanating from him, so why wouldn't he be able to take on a manticore as well? I think he'd manage like Geralt would. Lambert on the other hand. lol
That roar of the Manticore in the beginning is fucking awesome.
Amazing video I loved it
I really like that kind of intro that you did. Well done!
thank you, it was difficult to make!
I think that they removed the manticore from the witcher 3 around kaer morhen because it really doesn't make sense that such a huge monster would still be lurking around a school that trains monster-killers... Still would have been cool to see!
Could've migrated from Bald Mountain range due to the conflicts in Velen.
Imagine: a Nilfgaardian army is marching through the land, peasants are screaming and yelling trying to defend their lands, more peasants keep barging into your home to worship some crazy old witchers who can't seem to keep their clothes on.
Best place to hide: borderline abandoned fort that once housed monster slayers but is now full of skeletons. Nice, quiet, safe-ish.
Found you chanel not long ago so far i love you videos just would like to see more pictures or something that represent what are you speaking in that moment and not random scenes from the game :) keep it up !
Thanks man. The scenes are to fill dead air! when there are no pictures
A new intro,holy shit that was absolutely awesome!
Ah thank you man, it took a long time, I'm glad you liked it!
being a fan of the Witcher series it's quite easy to like and respect these videos... thanks for the time and effort it takes to put them together friend.
Thank you Mitchell!
WitcherGeorge dude the Witcher 3 is in my top 5 it's #2 I can play that game over and over and over. keep up the awesome work!
I was only ever aware of one manticore Geralt faced in Sapkowski’s novels. This was in the ‘Time of Contempt’ novel when one was blocking the road. Please let me know where I missed the other one.
Already on 13k subs!!!
Great video!
Thanks man
I hope your channel gets bigger bro
The wings of a bat. I wonder how it flies with that lol. Thanks for the video.
African lions can reach the size of the depicted Manticores. The two types African and Asian are 500-600 pounds average to 300-500 pounds respectively. The records for male African lions is about 800 pounds and easily with in the body size of a manticore. This is of course not including wings or tail. I think they just meant body size and not additionally appendages.
You fight them with steel? Does that mean they are native to the world and did not appear from the conjunction? Would explain their near extinction despite how solitary and powerful they are.
Witcher George, to say Geralt has never been defeated in the way you describe is like a person who is still alive saying they’ve never been killed before (and Geralt’s case doesn’t count). In the books, he usually kills the monsters he fights, but many times he has been outclassed and not quite ‘won’ exactly, like in the story which is a parody of Beauty and the Beast with the Bruxa, he couldn’t defeat her but the beast helped and distracted her, Geralt’s fighting prowess is always a narrative device because actually Sapkowski’s Wiedzmin series isn’t an action series, it’s political, philosophical fantasy.
He does in fact become wounded very frequently, he’s constantly getting handicapped in the books, I always feel like he’s recovering from some fight or other at some point at least once in every book.
For your first point that is not accurate at all, the average person is not in a job in which the risks are always life-threatening, Geralt is and has still survived. And just because Geralt didn't win every fight and became mortally wounded after some, doesn't mean he lost, it does still in fact mean he won. Even when he's been 'out-classed' he has still 'won', hence why he's alive today, if you can find an example in the books in which he walked away from a contract, then fair enough, but if he completed the contract he still 'won'.
I'm subbing my guy.
Thank you Traplord!
• I hope theyll get implemented in the witcher 4 if there is one.
• I hope if they could expand upon the fact that you need its venom to make witchers and if there any sup species of it in Zerakania or sum.
• I imagine an imperial manticore to be big as a fiend, his fat scorpion tail to contain mutated neurotoxins that would paralyzed a man in minutes, he’ll have snake fangs that shoot venom out as cobras do, sliva that has shock venom made from dangerous bacteria like the comodo dragon, retractable claws that are oily with nerve toxin , he can spit a strong acid and leap high and occasionally fly even.
His body is rigged, insect like, tho flexible to an extent that 6 limbs allow, with the accessional rough skin, an exoskeleton that covers his rips abdomen and sholders...
His glare passes an expression-full lion face with no true expression intent, his reptilian eyes and what ever his lips are sitting on are constantly radiating disturbing uncanny appearance.
When he actually intent to give a scare he’ll bare his huge fangs wide and stretch out his wings.
•Manticores are seem to be much bigger threat then they’re viewed to be in the witcher world, theyre a huge versatile monster that is highly venomous.
With dragons chances of death are pretty high, with a manticore tho, chances of death are definite.
I wandered if back in the day humans gotten huge groups to hunt down dragons, how did they hunt manticores, were they going to minor war with the damn thing?
Thx for the vid
Np man!
greetings...awsome videos I just found them and I have subscribed...
thanks man!
You know since originally there was supposed to be a manticore near the mountains at kaer Morhen do you think they could add it in the game when the remastered version comes out this year?🤔😮
I do have an extreme knowledge about mythology and monsters of many believes and cultures all about the world so there are no real "new" information, but I enjoy listening to you so I watch your videos anyway 😂
Thanks man!
imagine a manticore's head on roach. epic
I dont remember ever fighting one of these, i wish i had it seems it could be challenging and fun
I approve
I only know this because I came across it last night on the Witcher 3 eskel tells geralt he’s actually killed a manticore just before you go to get ciri from the isle of mist
Eskil killed a manticore in Creyden said it in Witcher 3 after uma gets the curse removed if you chat with him right after geralt will ask about any interesting contracts he had lately and Eskil will tell you.
closed captions are nice
3:24 where is this stated? From what I've read Eskel could most likely go toe to toe with Geralt, Lambert on the other hand probably not but I think Eskel could take on a manticore just as easily as Geralt, or atleast close to.
oh man!! its sad we cant meet a menticore this monster look so cool
Honestly of the next Witcher game is more like Cyberpunk in terms of story / character creation, I would definitely choose school of the manticore; they are pretty badass ngl
Wasn’t eyke in throne-breaker ? Whilst giving the main characters the optional mission to fight a manticore ?
I enjoyed the video very interesting I understand some of the points that you made about what you said that you had read and learned about but strictly as a player without anything else involved I would have liked to have seen a manticore in The Witcher 3 I mean yes I would have loved to a fault one that would have been cool the creators of the game should have thought of that there might be players out there that would appreciate an encounter with such a creature not putting it in seems sort of selfish I believe it would have absolutely been worth a little bit of extra effort
maybe lions are just huge,
In the witcher universe?
Did you make a video on Siegfried yet?
not yet but I will!
It's funny how cool manticores are, to get I think a fight with...Ciri? In the novels, a scary comic book flashback in TW2. And an endgame armor in TW3, but I don't think any actual fights in the games.
Aren't Manticores also from the Greek mythology. I remember hearing about them in a history class or something. We call them Άντροπες (Andropes) here.
I thought that the monter on the road in time of contempt was a griffin?
What armor is geralt wearing at 2:50?
Was expecting a NSP reference
What armor are you wearing in the video?
Mastercrafted griffin armour
Tbh I thought manticore somehow related to mantis 😂 nice video
witch one is your favourite monster from the witcher universe?
Griffins :) Or if you count them vampires
Yes I love the freaking creature video's!!!
Thanks man!
Where in the lore is said that Geralt has "super mutations"? I might not remember it well but all I remember is that he got some extra side-effects (white hair) but nothing that could make him "superior".
It does say he got extra Mutations, when they found out that he is more prone to staying alive after the mutations wich he had no problems with unlike other kids, they gave him more mutations to experiment on him one of the extra mutations made his hair turn white. He is faster, stronger, reacts better and sees better in the dark, hears and smells better then normal witchers, he also has better ability for magic since he is genetically related to a mage.
Videon Cahir Dyffryn aep Ceallach(pretty sure I misspelled something) pretty please
Good idea man! I'd love to do one on him at some point!
WitcherGeorge glad to hear that he's one of main characters in the books and gold card in gwent
Manticore vs Chimera
They should include these things in the remastered version of witcher
The monster with the head of a lion (Leo) and tail of a scorpion (Scorpio) became the biblical Israel. The four sons of Ham (heat) are, in birth order, Leo, Virgo, Libra, and Scorpio. This monster called Israel represents the ancient season of summer, when the year was divided into three seasons of Winter/Shem/Nahor aka Sagittarius thru Pisces. Spring/Japheth/Abram = Aries thru Cancer. Summer/Ham/Haran = Leo thru Scorpio.
I have a question which one older the manticore, or the crones?
Well the crones are very old, but we currently have no gauge on how old the manticore species is. Obviously the manticores are older then the conjunction so, I'm honestly not too sure!
My favorite creature from the Witcher universe ❤️
It's so awesome looking
WitcherGeorge I know! I'm kinda pissed they chose a forktail over a Manticore
What armor are you using there, the golden one and how do I bloody get it haha
Griffin Armour!
I wonder if Griffins and Manticores could produce offspring. I think it'd be possible (though rare of course if it ever did happen), as they both have lion DNA in them, though if they could produce offspring the Manticores DNA would be dominant, as it's a more ancient creature, and has two extra DNA strands compared to the Griffons one.
So how many tails do they have?
Oh... I had pictured a giant preying mantis but I like this more
Really wish we could fight these things in TW3.
Whats the most powerful monster in Witcher. A Imperial Manticore or a Golden Dragon? I'm guessing a Golden Dragon.
Unseen elder
Is he lore-friendly tho? If yes then he is the strongest.
If we’re taking the games into account i would still go with gaunter o’dimm
WitcherGeorge what about O'Dimm?
WitcherGeorge gaunter and the unseen elder are not monsters and an ancient leshen would be a good candidate
In mythology the manticore has no wings and it's tail ends in a cluster of spines that it can fire like arrows.
Anyone know what armor set this is? 😍
Mastercrafted Griffin!
The griffin school armor designer was like :
Let's make him look fat
Great video by the way ☺
Maybe we will see this monster in the next witcher game
Thanks!
There is a monster which bested him, it was an *Aguara* who "defeated" Geralt but that's just because of her Illusions and they didn't directly fight so ye ☝🤔🏞
By the way eskil dis slay a one of these creatures, and he say that in the game the witcher 3.
Geralt of Rivia - never defeated by a monster from Pixie to Manticore. Killed by a peasant wielding a pitchfork. Ouch.
Reminds me of a wyvern from wow
So to finish this video
*glances at time* *min 3 of 11*
I can't agree with your statement that Geralt is that much more power than Eksel and Lambert. It's stated that both Eskel and Lambert are highly skilled. They have both challenged, defeated, and survived encounters with higher vampires. Eskel in fact gave insight with a contract involving a higher vampire. Geralt has fame because of the exposure of some of his contracts. Not to mention the company he keeps like two special sorsoresses we know. Lambert is seen riding off with one of his own now, so we don't know exactly what new adventure are in store for him.
They are both highly skilled, but just due to his extra mutations, Geralt is more powerful
I've been pronouncing Denesle wrong -_-
losing a manticore encounter for a forktail encounter is not the letdown i was expecting to hear
I don't want to brag or to be rude, but wasn't Eyck of Denesle killed by a dragon? I think there's a whole story about it. Yes, the new Witcher series on Netflix has it wrong, bla bla. But he was in the story if I remember correctly and he died because of Brokh(aka the Golden dragon, really don't remember his full name, sorry). This is from the books btw, don't know if it's diffrent in the games. Maybe you're talking about a diffrent person though, could happen of course. Then I suggest you put the names on the screen because it's easier to know afterwards and prevents not needed hate. I'm not a native English speaker, so I'm not sure with names and all. But anyway, nice vid ^^