Monster design philosophy
CDPR has acknowledged that monster gameplay was "a weaker element of The Witcher 3." Their stated goal for The Witcher IV is to "tighten up gameplay and monster hunts" and connect monsters more closely to the stories they appear in.
In the previous Witcher game, many monster contracts followed a pattern: go to notice board, investigate the area, fight the monster. The best contracts (like the one involving the Botchling, or Jenny o' the Woods) wove the monster into a human story. The weaker ones were straightforward kill quests. CDPR seems to be pushing every monster encounter toward the former category.
The Bauk
First Appearance
The Bauk appeared in the Game Awards 2024 cinematic trailer. It is a many-legged creature with an unsettlingly human-like face that emerges from dense fog in the village of Stromford. The creature demands ritual sacrifices from the villagers.
Folklore Origins
The Bauk comes from Serbian folklore, where it is a type of boogeyman or bogeyman figure. In traditional stories, the Bauk lurks in dark places, caves, and abandoned buildings. Light is its natural enemy. Parents invoked the Bauk to frighten children into behaving.
This is the first time a Bauk has appeared in any Witcher game or the novels. While the franchise has always drawn on Slavic mythology, the Bauk comes specifically from Serbian folklore, a region the previous games left untouched.
Abilities
Sebastian Kalemba described the Bauk as a creature that "has this ability to smell your fear, to be able to play with your traumas, to paralyze you." Based on the trailer and this description:
Creates fog to obscure vision and disorient prey
Mimics human voices to lure victims
Feeds on fear, possibly with a gameplay mechanic tied to a fear or trauma system
Light is its weakness, consistent with the folklore
Imperial Manticore
First Appearance
The Imperial Manticore appeared in the State of Unreal 2025 tech demo. It is a massive flying creature, a hybrid of lion, bat, and scorpion. In the demo, it lifted a full wagon off the ground, demonstrating its size and strength.
Franchise History
Despite appearing in Sapkowski's books and being mentioned in previous Witcher games, players have never actually fought a manticore before. In the previous Witcher game's development (2013-2014), a manticore was planned for the mountains near Kaer Morhen but cut from the final shipping product. Its appearance in the tech demo is the payoff for a creature fans have been waiting years to see in action.
In combat
The manticore is a flying enemy, which changes the combat dynamic. In the previous Witcher game, most fights were against grounded opponents. A flying creature that can lift wagons will likely require different tactics: Aard to force it to land, the chain weapon to pull it down, or ranged sign attacks while it is airborne. CDPR has not shown combat against the manticore; the tech demo only depicted it as a set piece.
Other Expected Monsters
The Witcher franchise's bestiary historically spans categories such as Specters, Necrophages, Vampires, Draconids, Insectoids, and Relicts. How many of these categories return for The Witcher IV's roster has not been disclosed; CDPR has only confirmed the Bauk and the Imperial Manticore so far, and the final game will almost certainly include a much larger roster.
Kovir's northern, cold-weather setting could introduce monsters suited to icy or mountainous environments. The Dragon Mountains bordering the map are a natural home for draconid-type creatures. Coastal and maritime monsters could appear along the Gulf of Praxeda.
Monster Hunts as Stories
The connection between monsters and narrative is where Quest Design intersects with the bestiary. If CDPR follows through on their promise to tie monsters more closely to stories, each contract should involve understanding why the monster is there, what it wants, and whether killing it is the right call. The Bauk's relationship with the Stromford villagers (demanding sacrifices, playing on fear) already suggests this approach.
Alchemy and Potions will also play into monster hunts. Preparing the right oils, potions, and bombs before a fight has been a franchise staple. With Ciri's full access to the witcher toolkit, that preparation loop should carry forward.