Dettlaff van der Eretein was the antagonist from Blood & Wine, the final piece of DLC for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. A powerf𓂃ul vampire, he was arguably one of the most dangerous foes Geralt fought one on one, even stronger💞 than the main game's villain, Eredin.
Throughout the DLC, we learn a lot about Dettlaff as we come to understand that he's no𝕴t really an evil beast, but a tortured soul who's been manipulated, betrayed, and pushed to the brink. Even with all we come to know about him, there are still some things you may not have noticed: here are 10 of them.
10 ꦑ Higher Vampire
To begin, Dettlaff is a Higher Vampire, which means that he's significantly stronger than your garden variety Ekimmara. He can go out in the daylight, take human form, and has a variety of unique powers such as turning to mist 🥃or a swarm of bats.
What players may not have picked up on is ꦗthat Higher Vampires are even distinct from beings like Katakans, Alps, and Bruxae, other vampires that can appear human. They are ꦰtheir own league of creature, and defy classification as each Higher Vampire is somewhat different from the others.
9 🐭 Gharasham Tribe
Something else to note is that there were actually three distinct tribes of Higher Vampires in the days following the Conjunction: the Ammurun, the Tdet, and the Gha♐rasham. While the Ammurun left the Continent over the sea and the Tdet ventured past the mountains, the Gharasham stayed.
Dettlaff - along with every other Higher Vampire☂ seen in the games - is a member of the Gharasham tribe. He remained on the Continent with his 🌜brethren while others from their society left to explore the new world they found themselves in.
8 Herd 🅺Mentality
Regis mentions at one point during the gam💜e that all Hig🍌her Vampires have unique powers and aspects, and Dettlaff's is a herd mentality. This means that Dettlaff will often throw himself into his connections to others, which can be beneficial, but can also turn sour when those connections are broken.
One ending of the game even takes advantage of this herd mentality, as Geralt can have the Unseen elder compel Dettlaff to appear for a confrontatio🌳n. While this sort of summons would affect any vampire, it can be inferred that Dettlaff probably felt it more strongly.
7 ♓ Practically Immortal 𓄧
As evidenced by Regis's presence in this game, Higher Vampires are functionally immortal and can't be killed except by another Higher Vampire. We learn this after talking to Regis and learning that despiಌte his immolation by Vilgefortz and entombment with෴in a pillar, he was still alive.
We also learn that one Higher Vampire can help speed up another's healing process, as Dettlaff did so for Regis. This led to Dettlaff weakening significantly, which is likely the only reason Geralt is able to hold his own in the final fight a💖gainst this immortal monster.
6 🌠 The Beast's Final Victim
In endings where Dettlaff was killed and Syanna surv🔯ived, players can also undertake a short quest to determine who the final victim of the Beast of Beauclair was supposed to be. It involves quite a bit of footwork, but in the end you learn that it was to be none other than Duchess Anna Henrietta herself.
Based on everything learned previously regarding Syanna and Dettlaff, in can be deduced that had Geralt not inteܫrvened when he did, Dettlaff would have executed the duchess without question, despite their co✱rdiality in the one meeting they shared.
5 𒁏 🎃 Name's Origins
Many names💞 of characters in the DLC come directly from the books - Geralt, Regis, Duchess Anna Henrietta - but Dettlaff's does not. His name comes instead from one of CD Projekt Red's concept artists responsible for his design, Marta Dettlaff.
Marta Dettlaff was responsible for Dettlaff the character's concept art, and her last name was borrowed for the vampire antagonist's u♎se. This maಌkes for a fun little Easter egg for anyone paying very close attention, and is also a nod to the more artistic side of video game development.
4 💧 Game Canon Only 🎉
Unfortunately for fans of both the Witcher games and the Witcher books (and by extension ), Dettlaff is only canon in the games. His charac𒆙ter does not exist in the stories by Andrzej Sapko꧙wski, and as such will likely not appear in media based on the novels.
Still, while we may not see this fascinating Higher Vampire anymore, he proved that CD Projekt Red knows how to write Witcher characters as well as anyone.🎀 The tortured monst🐬er Dettlaff is a perfect example of the universe's moral ambiguity.
3 ꦬ Mind Control Powers
Going backꦬ to Dettlaff's herd mentality aspect, there's actually a bit more to it than just his deep connections with others. He can use it to influence𒆙 weaker minds, particularly those of lesser vampires.
It💫 is with this abiꦑlity that Dettlaff unleashes hordes of Ekimmaras, Alps, Bruxae, and other fiends of the night onto Beauclair at the end of the DLC. While these creatures do have intelligence of their own, they pale in comparison to the strength of will possessed by a Higher Vampire, and so Dettlaff is able to command them as his personal army.
2 𓆉 ꦰ Night Of Long Fangs Allusion
For students of history, this reference will have been immediately obvious, although to others it can easily slip under♕ the radar. One of the final quests undertaken in the DLC is called The Ni💮ght of Long Fangs, due to the vampires invading the city.
However, the structure of the quest's name is alluding to the real world Night of Long Kni𓆉ves, an incident in Nazi Germany where many political opponents were violently silenced. There aren't many more similarities to note, but it's still an interesting allusion to notice.
1 Familiar Voice 🅰
One final thing you may have missed regarding Dettlaf van der Eretein is his voice actor, Andrew Greenough. The same actor played Ge'els in the base game The Witcher 3, and l🐷ends his talents again t♈o the brooding vampire.
Ge'els wasn't exactly an ally in Wild Hunt, but nor was he a villain as he agreed to with♓hold support from Eredin during the climactic final battle. It's interesting to see the actor step into a central role for the story, although it remains one with a similar level of moral complexity.
