The Witcher is one of the few franchises that has managed to excel in any medium, regardless of how infallible it might seem. It started out as a critically-acclaimed Polish book series before transcending into the realm of video games in an immensely successful fashion. If that wasn’t enough of an achievement as is, The Witcher was also adapted into a Netflix show that was incredibly successful in its own right.

A large part as to why this series has enjoyed the success it did — and still does — is mainly due to a rich cast of diverse and well-written characters that have become fan-favorites for all the right reasons. One such character that escaped the shackles latched onto her in the books to become a mainstay in the games is none other than Triss. This red-headed beauty captured the hearts of everyone all over the globe with her boundless charm, infectious personality, and amazing power. However, to say that this character’s writing and motivations are consistent across all these mediums would be a huge misstep. While we can definitely list out five times when Triss has been in sync with her character from the books, there are five other times when she’s felt like a completely different character.

10 ACTED OUT OF CHARACTER: Her Hair Colour Is Not That Red

In the books, Triss’ hair is described as a chestnut-brown, which — while certainly quite distinctive — is nowhere close to the carrot-red that she sports in the games.

While this change might make her character look all the more unique, it’s definitely not accurate to the books at all.

9 JUST LIKE IN THE BOOKS: A Cheerful Attitude

However, the games did manage to nail Triss’ happy and carefree attitude. She definitely can get serious when the time calls for it, but our favorite red-headed sorceresses can easily gauge when she needs to bring out her silly side.

It’s this also girl-next-door sort of charm that has endeared Triss’ character in the eyes of fans all over the world.

8 ACTED OUT OF CHARACTER: Her Eyes Are Actually Blue

Another visual detail of Triss that the games have taken massive liberty on is the color of Triss’ eyes. In the books, it’s clearly mentioned that Triss has blue eyes.

It seems that CD Projekt Red read this detail, acknowledged it, and then proceeded to throw this detail out of the window, choosing to give Triss green eyes instead.

Admittedly, this eye color does compliment Triss’ hair color… but it’s still a stark difference nevertheless.

7 JUST LIKE IN THE BOOKS: Very Protective Of The People Close To Her

By no means is Triss a perfect character — something we’ll get into in detail — but it goes without saying that she definitely has a heart of gold.

She’s always gone out of her way to protect the people closest to her, even going so far as to putting her own life on the line at times. This has happened several times in both the books and the movies, with her character being all the more memorable for it.

6 ACTED OUT OF CHARACTER: Her Varying Power Levels Across The Games

Triss’ power as a mage is very much up in the air in both Assassins Of Kings and The Wild Hunt. In the former, she’s unable to string together basic spells that can protect and ends up becoming nothing more than a damsel in distress. She’s way more competent than this in the books.

It seems that CD Projekt Red learned from their mistakes… but ended up overcompensating. In The Witcher 3, Triss is an absolute powerhouse who can decimate anything and everything in her path. She might be a powerful mage in the books, but The Wild Hunt turns Triss into a one-woman army.

5 JUST LIKE IN THE BOOKS: Is Always Conflicted And Second-Guesses Herself

Triss might be a powerful sorceress in her own right, but even the most capable of beings have a hard time trusting themselves. Triss is no exception to this. The redhead has consistently questioned her own actions in both the books and the movies.

While some of these conflicts have arisen as a result of her own spur-of-the-moment misdeeds, the fact that she’s self-aware enough to ponder upon these apparent misdeeds must be commended regardless.

4 ACTED OUT OF CHARACTER: Standing Up To Philippa Eilhart

In the books, the newly-formed Lodge of Sorceresses is formed with Philippa Eilhart at its head. Triss was also a part of this group, with her presence and authority being undermined and controlled respectively by Eilhart.

Meanwhile, in the second game, Triss bravely stands against the injustices of Eilhart and openly declares her disapproval when it comes to the heinous acts Philippa was committing.

One might argue that Philippa’s actions were unjustifiable in the games… but then it’s not like she was the paragon of justice in the books either. It’s weird to see Triss randomly stand up against her superior and discard how she was treated in the past.

3 JUST LIKE IN THE BOOKS: She’s Quite Infatuated With Geralt

A common aspect of Triss’ character that both the books and games nail is her infatuation with the protagonist of the tale.

Geralt’s charm is undeniable across both the books and games, but Triss’ obsession over him could get somewhat unhealthy at times — something that is definitely going to be discussed later in this list.

2 ACTED OUT OF CHARACTER: Her Role In The Books Was Quite Minor

Triss’ role in the books might’ve been somewhat notable in the first two books (especially in Blood Of Elves), but her overall importance in the main plot is fairly muted.

This is simply not the case in the games, with Triss easily being a major character that directly influences the plot of The Witcher series — even more so than Yennefer herself!

1 JUST LIKE IN THE BOOKS: Her Manipulative Nature Is Apparent

In both the books and the movies, Triss has manipulated Geralt — either by bewitching him with spells and potions or by taking advantage of his amnesia — in order to initiate a romance with him.

This is just the tip of the iceberg — while the general consensus is that Triss is not evil, the actions she takes over the course of both the games and books state otherwise. Whatever the case, one thing is for sure — CD Projekt Red absolutely nailed Triss’ manipulative nature in the games.

NEXT: The Witcher 3: 5 Worst Things Triss Has Done (& The 5 Most Heroic)