Age of Empires III/Characters

The Black family

 * Awakening the Sleeping Giant: The Circle does this to them thrice over.
 * Badass Family
 * Beware the Nice Ones: If you mess up with them or their beloved ones, they'll make you pay. HARD!
 * Doom Magnet: They have a tendency to attract problems wherever they go, however...
 * Determinator: ...they always find a way to solve said problems.
 * Generational Saga: The campaigns in III and The Warchiefs focus on them.
 * The Gump: Tend to find themselves smack dab in the middle of various important events on American soil.
 * The Hero
 * The Protagonist: Of III and The Warchiefs campaigns.

Morgan Black
""Why do you call me "Frenk"? I’m Scottish, you Turkish dog!""

A Scotsman born into the Black family, he joined the Knights of St. John at an early age.

In Blood, he's defending the last bastion of the Knights on the island of Malta from the soldiers of the Ottoman Empire, led by Sahin the Falcon. After driving them out of Malta, he and his superior, Alain Magnan, discover records of the Circle of Ossus, who sought eternal life. Believing that the Ottomans were after the "Fountain of Youth", Morgan is sent to the New World to thwart them. On his way there, he tangles with Elisabet "Lizzie" Ramsey, Sahin's entourage, and the Spanish, before unearthing a plot far more sinister than he'd originally suspected.

After all's said and done, Morgan and Lizzie have another encounter and have four sons, two of which were Phillippe (father of John) and Stuart Black.

Tropes related with him: ""This is Knights' business now. made me a pawn in the Circle's game. He has betrayed the Knights of St. John, and he'll answer for it.""
 * Awful Truth: After discovering that is a member of the Circle of Ossus, he swears his revenge for the traitor's manipulation.


 * Badass Beard
 * Bonnie Scotland: Despite being in the Maltese army, he was born in Scotland. Considering there was no real "Maltese" nation at the time, just the Knights of St. John (a traditional Christian warrior order ALA the Knights Templar or the Livonian Order) that happened to control Malta after getting kicked off of Rhodes, this isn't that surprising.
 * Cool Ship: The St. Elmo.
 * Cool Sword
 * Cursed with Awesome:.
 * Enemy Mine: He fights alongside Lizzie's pirates and the Ottoman Turks against.
 * Heroes Prefer Swords
 * The Knights Hospitallers
 * Knight in Shining Armor
 * The Lancer: To Alain..
 * Proud Warrior Race Guy
 * Spin Attack: His Oberhau attack, which basically murders everything around him.

John Black
"Kanyenke: "Too slow, John Black. You were faster once." John Black: "And your eyes were better once. Your arrow missed the mark. My shot was the one that took him down.""

Morgan's grandson, and the protagonist of the Ice campaign. John is a rough-and-tumble woodsman who runs a mercenary company oft employed by the colonists. It's said that he has more enemies than friends.

Tropes related to him: ""Nonakhee goes home. This will end badly, and I don't want her to see it.""
 * Back-to-Back Badasses: With Kanyenke. The player spends the entire campaign (sans the last mission) controlling both of them.
 * Bash Brothers: With Kanyenke again.
 * Berserk Button/Beware the Nice Ones: He is said to hold grudges for a long time, and nowhere is this more apparent when he tracks Warwick all the way across the North American landmass in retaliation for and kidnapping Nonakhee.


 * Cold Sniper
 * Private Military Contractors: He leads a company of these guys.
 * Rummage Sale Rejects
 * : In the climax of Ice, . As Amelia said in the narration, he made a lot of enemies in life,, and the Circle took a hit so hard that it took decades for them to recover.
 * : In the climax of Ice, . As Amelia said in the narration, he made a lot of enemies in life,, and the Circle took a hit so hard that it took decades for them to recover.

Stuart Black
""Stuart may not be the commander my grandfather Morgan was, but if he thinks the colony is threatened, I believe him." -- John Black"

The only member of the Black family who appears in a campaign but isn't the main character of it. John's uncle, Morgan's forgotten son, and a keen businessman. He leads a small colony which has recently come under attack from the Natives, causing him to call for John's mercenaries, which kicks off Ice.

Tropes related with him:
 * Good Old Fisticuffs
 * The So-Called Coward: He's a total wimp in every manner imaginable and has nowhere near the esteem of the rest of his family. But he will fight for you if you order it, and it's implied that.
 * The Unfavorite: Morgan's least favorite kid.
 * The Unfavorite: Morgan's least favorite kid.

Amelia Black


The protagonist of Steel, and the narrator of all the campaigns in both III and Warchiefs, Amelia runs the Falcon Company as it falls on hard times following the expensive battles waged by her father Nathaniel. She seeks to regain some pf the family fortune by building a railroad straight to the west coast, but gets caught up in the Mexican War. While helping to defend a fort, she meets a French woodsman named Pierre Beaumont, who promises her a cut of his claim to a gold mine in exchange for the cooperation and use of her workers and equipment. Little did she know of what lay in store for her...

She's the daughter of Nathaniel Black and mother of Chayton Black. Her husband is a Sioux, but he does not make an appearance.

Tropes related with her:
 * Action Girl
 * Gameplay Ally Immortality
 * Narrator All Along
 * Nice Hat
 * Roaring Rampage of Revenge: What she seeks after.
 * Shotguns Are Just Better

Sahin the Falcon
""We do not have to fight, Frenk. Do you never question foolish orders?""

The leader of the Ottoman army which invaded the last bastion of the Knights of St. John. After he is repulsed by Morgan Black, he sets sail for the New World, in search of the Fountain of Youth.

Tropes related with him: """"
 * Badass Mustache
 * Impossibly Cool Clothes: Among the finest combat-capable wear the Ottomans have to offer.
 * Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain: He menaces Morgan in Blood. Or would be menacing him if it weren't for the fact that, in addition to being less competent than Morgan, his troops tend to get offed in large numbers by the wildlife, the Spanish, Pirates, and the environment itself (Morgan's troops go without saying). He fails to defeat Morgan in any of their engagements in spite of numerical and technological superiority and (more often then not) the advantage of defense,.
 * My Name Is Not Durwood: He always refers to all Europeans, but especially Morgan as 'Frenks', much to Morgan's annoyance.
 * Nice Hat
 * The Rival: To Morgan.
 * The Musketeer
 * Red Baron: "the Falcon"
 * The Musketeer
 * Red Baron: "the Falcon"
 * Red Baron: "the Falcon"

Elizabeth "Lizzie" Ramsey
""Oh, come now; you sent my best ships to the bottom. The least you can owe me is a little civility. Are you going after the treasure fleet?""

Leader of a large band of pirates, she first meets Morgan Black as he's making his way to the New World. After her band was defeated, she escapes with the remnants of her forces to Cuba, where she encounters Morgan again.

Tropes related with her:
 * Action Girl
 * Arranged Marriage: She escaped from one in her backstory.
 * Babies Ever After: It's implied by both the events after the Circle's defeat in Blood and by the narrator herself (Amelia) that she's the mother of Morgan's children. Several sources also tell that Lizzie kept with her two of them, while Morgan kept with him both Philippe and Stuart Black.
 * Cool Ship: Paris Burning. It's named for the city she hates the most.
 * Defeat Means Friendship
 * Enemy Mine: She assists Morgan in the last two missions of Blood.
 * Guns Akimbo
 * Pirate
 * Pirate Girl
 * Royals Who Actually Do Something

Kanyenke
John Black's most trusted ally.

Tropes related with him:
 * The Archer
 * Back-to-Back Badasses: With John Black in Ice.
 * Badass Grandpa: In Steel and Fire.
 * Badass Native
 * Bash Brothers: With John Black.
 * Big Brother Instinct: He's very protective of Nonakhee, and only lets his friend John Black have something with her.
 * Older and Wiser: In Steel and Fire.

Nonakhee
Kanyenke's sister and John Black's "unofficial" girlfriend.

Tropes related with her:
 * The Archer
 * Damsel in Distress: In the third mission of Ice and the second mission of Fire.
 * The Heart
 * The Medic

Major Cooper
Amelia's ally during most of Steel.

Tropes related with him:
 * Badass Beard
 * Badass Grandpa
 * Badass Mustache
 * Gameplay Ally Immortality
 * Guns Akimbo
 * Mook Maker: He can train Hussars on the spot.
 * Majorly Awesome

Colonel/General George Washington
A Colonel in the British Army during III, General of the Continental Army in Fire, future President of the United States.

Tropes related with him:
 * Big Damn Heroes: The last mission of Steel.
 * Colonel Badass: During III.
 * Cool Sword
 * Four-Star Badass: During Fire.
 * Historical Domain Character
 * Reasonable Authority Figure: Towards Nathaniel Black, during Fire.

Simon Bolivar
Tropes related with him:
 * Badass Spaniard: Though he's fighting for the freedom of South America.
 * Gameplay Ally Immortality: Though if he goes down in battle the advance will halt until he's healthy again.
 * Good-Looking Privates
 * Heroes Prefer Swords
 * Historical Domain Character
 * Rebel Leader

Francisco Juan Delgado de Leon
A spanish conquistador who wants the treasure of the natives for his own personal gain.

Tropes related with him:
 * Ambition Is Evil
 * Aristocrats Are Evil
 * Badass Spaniard
 * Cool Sword
 * Nice Hat
 * Video Game Cruelty Potential: One of the side missions in the map he appears includes killing him.

The Circle of Ossus

 * Ancient Conspiracy
 * Elite Mooks: the Boneguard.
 * Omniscient Council of Vagueness: It's about as vague as is possible for the main antagonists of an entire game.

"“”"

Morgan Black's mentor in Blood.

Tropes related with him:
 * Badass Beard
 * Cool Old Guy
 * Cool Sword
 * Da Chief
 * Gameplay Ally Immortality
 * The Mentor
 * The Reveal:.
 * Gameplay Ally Immortality
 * The Mentor
 * The Reveal:.
 * The Reveal:.

Warwick
""You’re delaying the inevitable. The New World belongs to the Circle of Ossus now.""

The Big Bad of Ice.

Tropes related with him:
 * Always Chaotic Evil
 * Aristocrats Are Evil: A British governor among the Colonies, though he prefers force and intimidation to diplomacy and subtlety.
 * Kick the Dog: Attacks a village to capture John Black, who is away. When he sees the John isn't there after all, he burns the village to the ground and
 * Killed Off for Real
 * Self-Made Orphan: In his backstory it's implied that he has something to do with the death of his parents.

Pierre Beaumont
""I will show you how I like to kill.""

A mysterious French trapper who has a claim to a gold mine in the mountains. Having no means to mine it out himself, he offers Amelia a cut of the gold in exchange for the use of her equipment. With his sinister manner and fondness for knives, however, he's not as he appears...

Tropes related with him:
 * Badass: Easily capable of holding his own in a fight against muskets and rifles, despite only ever using his knives.
 * Badass Beard
 * Beard of Evil
 * Evil All Along
 * Evil Smells Bad
 * Gameplay Ally Immortality
 * Knife Nut
 * Smug Snake
 * Smug Snake

Nathaniel Black
""General Washington, my father gave his life to protect the colonies. I would do the same, without hesitation.""

The half-Iroquois son of John Black and Nonahkee and the protagonist of Fire. A devoted patriot who fights for the colonists when the revolutionary war breaks out, Nathaniel devotes a great deal of his time (and his family's fortune) for the cause and is eventually memorialized for his efforts.

Tropes related with him:
 * Badass Native
 * It's Personal: Kuechler kidnaps Nonahkee, driving Nathaniel to act with bloody vengeance through the war.
 * Someone To Remember John Black By

Chayton Black


Amelia's half-Sioux son, and the protagonist of Shadow.

Tropes related with him:
 * Badass Native: He's part Iroquois, part Sioux, and has the Black family's blood in his veins.
 * My God, What Have I Done?: Finally comes to the realization that he's been and thenceforth resolves to correct his mistake by tearing down the fort he just helped build.
 * With Us or Against Us: After, Custer decides that the time for negotiation with the Sioux is over, and that Chayton will have to side with either the Americans or with the Sioux..

Sven Kuechler
Leader of the Hessians hired by the British during The American Revolution. He raids an Iroquois encampment and captures Nonahkee, resulting in a grudge from Nathaniel.

Tropes related with him:
 * Ambition Is Evil
 * Drill Sergeant Nasty
 * Gameplay Ally Immortality
 * Nice Hat
 * : An evil version of this.

William Holme
""Their blood's the same color. It's gold that matters, kid. Only gold.""

Tropes related with him:
 * Disney Villain Death
 * Gameplay Ally Immortality
 * Mook Maker: He can train Pistoleros.
 * Nice Hat
 * Poisonous Friend
 * Too Dumb to Live:.
 * Nice Hat
 * Poisonous Friend
 * Too Dumb to Live:.

General George Armstrong Custer
Tropes related with him:
 * Badass Mustache
 * Foregone Conclusion: The final battle in Shadow is the Battle of Little Bighorn. Guess how it ends.
 * Historical Domain Character
 * Honor Before Reason
 * Lawful Stupid
 * Nice Hat
 * Suicidal Overconfidence: A wiser general, on seeing that most or all of his auxiliary forces and supplies had been compromised, might have chosen a means of attack other than a straight cavalry charge against the Sioux.

General Sakuma Kichiro
Tropes related with him:
 * The Archer
 * Flechette Storm: His special attack.
 * Gameplay Ally Immortality
 * My Master, Right or Wrong
 * Number Two
 * Parental Abandonment: His fathers were killed by . But he doesn't know this until near the end of the Japanese campaign.
 * Proud Warrior Race Guy
 * Samurai

Shogun Ieyasu Tokugawa
Tropes related with him:
 * Historical Domain Character

Daimyo Mototada
Tropes related with him:
 * Historical Domain Character
 * Mook Maker: As a daimyo, he can create several class of soldiers.
 * Seppuku: Instead of dying in battle, he chose to die in this way.

Other daimyoes and generals
Tropes related with them:
 * Mook Maker: As daimyoes, they can create several class of soldiers.

Captain Huang Xian
Tropes related with him:
 * The Archer
 * Badass Longcoat
 * The Captain
 * Cool Sword
 * Gameplay Ally Immortality
 * Grenades: In two of his special moves.
 * Nice Hat

Lao Chen
""Every time that boy opens his mouth, I want to fill it with my fist." -- Talking about Jinhai in the cutscene prior to the first mission. And not without reason."

Tropes related with him:
 * Back-to-Back Badasses: In the entirety of the China campaign, the player is always controlling him and Huang.
 * Badass
 * Badass Beard
 * Badass Mustache
 * Bald of Awesome
 * Combat Pragmatist: See his fighting animations: punches, stomps...
 * Deadpan Snarker
 * Gameplay Ally Immortality
 * Good Old Fisticuffs
 * The Lancer: To Huang.
 * Older and Wiser
 * Shoryuken: His Anchor Punch attack.
 * This Is Reality: He sees the world as it is.
 * Walking Shirtless Scene

Admiral Jinhai
""I have already had my fill with crowded ports and foreigners. I crave conquest. I crave glory.""

Tropes related with him: ""You know as well as I do that the Emperor is a pompened old fool.""
 * The Archer
 * Badass Longcoat: Sans the Badass part, he's a coward.
 * Gameplay Ally Immortality
 * Hypocritical Humor: In the first cutscene of the China campaign.
 * Hypocritical Humor: In the first cutscene of the China campaign.

""It is not mutiny when you are the Admiral!""
 * Jerkass
 * Loophole Abuse: He tries to do this before :


 * Rich Bastard
 * Spoiled Brat

Lt. Nanib
Tropes related with him:
 * Beware the Nice Ones
 * The Captain: Of the Sepoy forces under Colonel Edwardson's command
 * The Quisling: Considered this by the rebels early on.
 * The Lancer: To Colonel Edwardson
 * The Quisling: Considered this by the rebels early on.
 * The Lancer: To Colonel Edwardson
 * The Lancer: To Colonel Edwardson

Colonel George Edwardson
Tropes related with him:
 * Colonel Badass
 * Cool Sword
 * Evil Brit
 * Fearless Fool
 * Gameplay Ally Immortality
 * Mook Maker: He can create Sepoys.
 * Nice Hat
 * Pet the Dog: He's actually rather nice to Lt. Nanib at the start of the campaign.
 * Proud Warrior Race Guy
 * Start of Darkness: Thanks to the death of his brother in his backstory.
 * He Who Fights Monsters

Sepoy Pravar Patel
Tropes related with him:
 * The Lancer: To Lieutenant Nanib.
 * The Musketeer: Somewhat more literally. A Sepoy is the unique Indian version of the regular Musketeer unit.