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.

Note
In Danusia Stok's translation of The Last Wish, she translates the word "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

Bestiary entry

 * When at the water's edge, you gotta be quiet. First of all, so as not to scare the fish. Second — so you don't attract drowners. — Yanneck of Blaviken, fisherman


 * A drowner resembles a corpse dredged from the bottom of a pond. It is sickly blue or green in color, with slime and sludge oozing out of every pore and the acrid stench of rot wafting off of it. That is why it is often thought drowners – along with their more dangerous cousins: vodniks, mucknixers and drowned dead – arise from the bodies of those who drown in shallow water: lost travelers falling into bogs, children who swim too far from the shore or, in the case of vodniks, inebriated peasants who stumble off narrow swamp trails.

Drowners are among the first monsters to appear in The Witcher 2. Geralt encounters some in the underground passages of the La Valette Castle on his way to the courtyard.

Journal entry

 * Sometimes a drowned man returns as a monster, to haunt the living. Tormented with his death, he murders his victims. He prefers to draw them beneath the water's surface, tearing the drowning victim to shreds with sharp claws, and eat them like a wet biscuit. Such creature is called a drowner. They are quite often found at the banks of the Pontar, since the huge river with regular shipping and riverside villages provides them with ample sustenance.


 * "When monsters are really crappy, ganging up makes them happy". Drowners are not the mightiest beasts in the world, so they hunt in groups, in accordance with the above saying. They are surprisingly fast on land, but are a threat only to fishermen and washerwomen. They can best a witcher only if he is drunk or in love. Sometimes, however, a more robust specimen is found among the drowners. It is called a drowned dead and can command the entire band. Thus it's best to eliminate it first.


 * One could say that if drowners chatted among themselves, Geralt would be highly esteemed among them after his exploits in Vizima. Yet drowners do not chat - they are dumb like a left shoe. And good. Fast style should be used when fighting them, and one must spin swiftly before they flee from a witcher's blade. Enough said.


 * As they are already dead, drowners do not fear poisons, and even a large loss of blood makes no impression on them. This ends the list of the monsters' strong points, however, as the rest of the witchers' arsenal is extremely effective against them. Thus the drowners can be killed with fire, immobilized by traps, knocked down and, above all else, sliced and diced until slime spills from their ears.

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.


 * "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

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

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 mastery 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.

A drowner also appears in the comic miniseries "The Witcher: House of Glass". In that issue, Geralt kills a drowner when the creature tries to attack Jakob, an old widowed fisherman who lives near the Black forest in Angren.

Gallery
Ertrunkener Πνιγμένων Noyeur Drowner Utopiec