Learn about The Witcher's many monsters in a new faux-documentary from Netflix

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Earlier this week, Netflix declared the Six Days of Witchmas, a little holiday treat for Witcher fans patiently awaiting the arrival of season two. Each day, people vote in a Twitter poll for either a "sincere gift," like a scan of a script page or a look at a Witcher toy, or something more random via the Law of Surprise. So far it's been Law of Surprise every day, which has resulted in a Jaskier photo gallery, a trio of images from the season two set, and today, a new documentary-style video looking at some of the show's dangerous beasts.

This is actually the second Witcher Bestiary video, the first having been released in May, and as such it focuses on the monsters that appeared in the second half of the show's first season. Interestingly, it's not a Monster Manual-style rundown of stats and abilities, but a look at their real-world origins: There's an amusing tale of a convict being sent into a suspected basilisk nest in 16th-century Warsaw, for instance (although some variants of the legend say it was actually a wandering tailor), while the gremlin-like hirikka is actually a completely original creation by Witcher author Andrzej Sapkowski.

Dragons, ghouls, and a little surprise are in there too, and altogether It's a fun video, with just the right amount of silliness. Be aware that there is a potential spoiler near the end: I think it's fairly mild as far as it goes (especially since we know we're getting a second season), but if you haven't watched the first season yet and want to go in completely cold, you might want to pass on this until you've seen the whole thing.

Amusingly, while every previous Witchmas poll has ended decisively in favor of the Law of Surprise, it looks like today's will be the one that finally breaks the streak.

I heard you wanted bloopers and blunders? Or choose the surprise, and open up a world of wonders... #WitchmasDecember 18, 2020

Everyone loves a good blooper, I guess.

If you haven't seen the first Witcher Bestiary video, you can catch that down below.

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Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.