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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.

What times, sighed the castellan. What foul times! Twenty years ago who would have thought, even in a drunken stupor, that such a profession as a witcher would exist? Itinerant killers of basilisks; travelling slayers of dragons and vodniks!
— pg(s). 6, "The Witcher", in the collection The Last Wish (UK edition)


— though the witchman greatly covetous and greedy for gold be, mumbled the old woman, half-closing her eyes, giveth ye not such a one more than: for a drowner, one silver penny or three halves...'
— pg(s). 180, "The Edge of the World", in the collection The Last Wish (UK edition)


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

In The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt[ | ]

Drowners
Tw3 journal drowner
Details
Class
Necrophage
Variations
Mucknixer
Drowned dead
Vulnerable to
Necrophage oils
Igni
Loot
Drowner brain
Drowner tongue
Monster blood
Monster bone
Monster claw
Monster ear
Monster eye
Monster hair
Monster heart
Monster liver
Monster saliva
Monster tooth
Water essence (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.

In The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings[ | ]

Drowner
Tw2 journal drowner
Details
Variations
Drowned dead
Occurrence
Wet areas
Immunity
Poison
Bleeding
Susceptibility
Silver swords
Fire
Knockdown
Traps
Tactics
They attack in groups
Crafting/Alchemy
Drowner brain
Essence of water
Amethyst dust
Twine
Cloth
Other loot
Drowner trophy
Orens

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.

Sources[ | ]

In The Witcher computer game[ | ]

Drowner
Bestiary Drowner full
Details
Occurrence
Drowners are creatures of the night; they appear on the banks of ponds, lakes and rivers
Immunity
Immune to bleeding, blinding and poison attempts; fearless, immune to stun attempts and the Axii sign
Susceptibility
Very sensitive to silver and susceptible to knockdown attempts; the Fast Style is most effective against drowners; experienced witchers use the Group Style against multiple drowners
Tactics
Usually attack in large groups and take advantage of numerical superiority
Alchemy
Drowner brain tissue
Ginatz's Acid
Cadaverine

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.

Journal Bestiary Entry[ | ]

"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[ | ]

Sources[ | ]

Notes[ | ]

  • Geralt can loot the bodies of Drowners for Cadaverine and Ginatz's Acid before he has a bestiary entry for Drowners or ingredient entries for those items. However, Drowner remains will not contain Drowner brain tissue until Geralt has the journal entries.
  • In the Prologue, Lambert urges Geralt to limit his use of the Group Style to only Drowners at first. However, the conversation does not result in a bestiary entry.
  • In Chapters II and III Geralt can give an Old woman in the Temple Quarter some beer or mead after asking her "Why so tight-lipped today?" At first, she will tell him a story about the Mage's Tower. Giving her another drink on a later visit, she will tell a story about Drowners. Whether or not this conversation would result in the Drowner bestiary entry has not been confirmed.

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.

In The Witcher, No. 1/2014[ | ]

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[ | ]