Legacy of Kain/Characters

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This is a list of characters and associated tropes from Legacy of Kain. Characters who span multiple installments and play important roles in the overarcing plot are listed under "Main Characters." Other characters are listed in the folder for the game they first appeared in.

Kain
""Given the choice; whether to rule a corrupt and failing Empire, or to challenge the fates for another throw, a better throw, against one's destiny...What was a king to do?""

"Voiced by Simon Templeman"

The titular character and the guy who the series revolves around. Not always the main protagonist though. Was killed as a nobleman and revived as a vampire, and when he came to revel in his new powers he decided to conquer the world.

"Marcus: You tried to murder me!
 * A God Am I: Set himself up a God-Emperor.
 * Anti-Hero (Type V)/ Anti-Villain (Type III): He's trying to save the world from destruction and demonic invasion, but he's trying to save it so that his vampire brethren can return to their rightful place as rulers of the world, and so that he can return to his rightful place as ruler of the vampires. He loves the slaughter, is incredibly arrogant and self-righteous, and is fully aware that he acts like a cruel, heartless bastard. He's not without the capacity for mercy though, and there are still some lines he won't cross, leading to a noticeable lack of a Kick the Dog moment in the series -- unless you count slaughtering innocent NPCs, everything he does is calculated to benefit him and help him achieve his goals. He's also a Well-Intentioned Extremist, as his ultimate vision of a vampire empire that controls the world is actually the way things are supposed to be.
 * Well, somewhat. Vampire rulers might be the natural order, but vampires aren't meant to be bloodsucking monsters and Kain is not supposed to be their King, since he is supposed to die in order for new Pillar Guardians to be born (so long as the Hylden threat is sorted out first). Also, his vampires are cursed and eventually degenerate into abominations, which isn't how things are supposed to be either.
 * Aristocrats Are Evil
 * Awesome Ego: Kain rivals Vegeta in terms of his arrogance and total unwillingness to accept that anyone is superior to him. And we love him for it.
 * Back From the Dead:
 * Badass
 * Badass Boast: Kain's self confidence is pretty much impossible to undermine. He treats any enemy like an insect that will soon be squished under his boot. Even if they are clearly a lot stronger then he is.
 * Badass Cape
 * Badass Long Hair
 * Like a Badass Out of Hell: Pseudo-invoking of Type II in Blood Omen, when he's shown trapped in a Hell dimension until Mortanius ropes him into service.
 * Battle Cry: "VAE VICTIS!" It's Latin for "Woe to the conquered/vanquished". In other words, the conquered have no rights. It should tell you everything you need to know about him.
 * Blood Knight: Has shades of this. He certainly seems to be enjoying himself when he shouts out his battle cry after impaling an opponent.
 * The Chessmaster: Very much so. Spending centuries with access to a time machine certainly helps him predict and plan the various results he wants, but even so, Kain is damn good at this.
 * Cool Sword: Wields the material Soul Reaver (also known as just "The Reaver"), which encompasses the following:
 * Ancestral Weapon
 * Elemental Powers: Acquires them in Defiance with the Balance Emblem, though they're not as traditional as Raziel's: Fire, Dimension, Lightning, Time, and Spirit (The latter of which )
 * Named Weapons
 * This one also applies to Havoc & Malice, the axes he dual wielded in the original Blood Omen.
 * Power Glows: Takes on an aura when fully charged in Defiance, the type of aura depending on the elemental power equipped. Fire, of course, makes it a Flaming Sword.
 * Reforged Blade
 * Sword of Plot Advancement
 * Soul Cutting Blade: Zigzagged. Represented in Blood Omen by dealing a One Hit KO to enemies as long as Kain has enough mana, except on bosses who just take a lot of damage. In Blood Omen 2 he only has access to the Soul Reaver for the final battle, but he does reave the villain's soul. And in Defiance the Reaver he wields is a past version of the sword that doesn't have this ability yet.
 * Cosmic Lottery Winner:
 * There's a discussion about this on the WMG page.
 * Cursed With Awesome: After he comes to terms with being a vampire Kain lives and breathes this trope. "Hé hé hé hé hé"
 * Dark Messiah: In Blood Omen 2 and Defiance.
 * Deadpan Snarker: Here are some examples.
 * "Poor William."
 * "I always was considered heartless."
 * "Alas, poor Nupraptor, I knew him well... well not really."
 * In banter with Marcus;
 * In banter with Marcus;

Kain: I seem to have failed."

"Kain: These statues were singularly inanimate."
 * Evil Laugh: Heard quite often during Blood Omen when he's swinging his sword around, and again in the canon ending.
 * Femme Fatalons: In Blood Omen 2 -- as do all the other more human-looking vampires in that game. It seems that vampires develop long, black claws prior to their hands (and feet) becoming cloven.
 * Genre Savvy: On many, many occasions. For example, when he notices a pair of Living Statue tomb guardians in Defiance who haven't yet moved, he remarks:

""My god... ! We walked right into their trap..."
 * Heroic BSOD: Has one at the end of Soul Reaver 2 when.


 * Impaled With Extreme Prejudice: Gets to be behind both ends of the blade in different games.
 * Large Ham: And how... which inevitably led to:
 * Ham to Ham Combat: Between him and Raziel at least twice in Soul Reaver. He also gets some hammy time with Moebius in 'Defiance.
 * Long-Haired Pretty Boy: He's at his prettiest in Blood Omen 2.
 * Magic Knight
 * Magnificent Bastard: Arguably. He does get manipulated a lot, but since his enemies have the advantage of being The Omniscient, to even come close to fighting back against their machinations is quite an achievement.
 * Mega Manning: Absorbs power from his former lieutenants in Blood Omen 2.
 * Mercy Kill: Kain's pulled these off a few times. Though generally a sadist, he doesn't seem to have a taste for prolonged torture, preferring quick (if extremely painful and messy) deaths. Notably shown when he killed Nupraptor's servant girl in Blood Omen and Magnus in Blood Omen 2.
 * Mind Over Matter: As of Defiance, telekinesis seems to be the most-used power in his magical repertoire.
 * Multi Melee Master: Kain has demonstrated skilled use of a large variety of weapons; in Blood Omen he carried three different swords(one of which was on fire and the other was the Soul Reaver ), a mace, and a pair of axes. In Blood Omen 2 he used a variety of disposable, breakable weapons. However, he's never been shown using ranged weapons, only using magic at a distance; indeed, he admits to having fairly poor aim.
 * Name Of Kain: Duh
 * Noble Demon
 * Pet the Dog: Now and then Kain likes to remind players he isn't totally heartless--he was trying to make the future better by killing William the Just/The Nemesis, though it blew up in his face. He also seemed to have affection for Umah in Blood Omen 2, commenting she could have been his queen, in the same game there's also his final lines to Magnus after he performs a Mercy Kill on him. When he discovers a serving girl chained to a wall in Nupraptor's keep, he notes that her physical and mental scars would never heal, and that to drink her blood and kill her could only be a mercy. Then, of course, in Defiance.
 * Psychotic Smirk:
 * Red and Black And Evil All Over: Many of his outfits in the Blood Omen games, as well as his iconic image in the Soul Reaver games and Defiance, namely black leather pants and a red cape tied over his chest.
 * Roaring Rampage of Revenge: His very first act as a vampire.
 * The whole of Blood Omen 2.
 * Sociopathic Hero: Sure, he's saving the world, but in the meantime, Kain has absolutely no problems with slicing up anyone in his way, be they extra-dimensional demons, Sarafan knights, or just innocent civilians going down the wrong alley at night. That evil laugh mentioned above? Perhaps most terrifying when heard as he was about to feed... on helpless prisoners chained to walls who were begging him for help.
 * Spikes of Villainy: Sports them in Blood Omen 2, and with the Chaos Armor in Blood Omen.
 * The Fatalist: He's taking a huge gamble on his Plan, so he's spent centuries gazing into the time stream to decide the best way to go about executing it. Thus, he knows how a lot of things are meant to be.
 * White Haired Man
 * He's rather fabulous in Blood Omen 2, actually.
 * Villains Never Lie: Leaving aside the question of whether he is truly a "villain", this trope holds true with Kain. He tells ambiguous half-truths and makes vague hints, but the only time in an entire series full of Gambit Pileups (a lot of which he instigates) that he directly lies is when he promises mercy to a beaten  in Blood Omen 2, and even then, when his victim tells Kain openly that he doesn't believe him, Kain makes no attempt to perpetuate the falsehood, and freely admits that he intends to kill him.
 * Interestingly though in that situation, Kain had more or less killed  already. After Kain's offer of mercy and   accusation of lying, Kain makes no further move to finish him off as he's already dying of the injuries sustained in the boss fight.
 * There have even been times when telling the truth has a very good chance of working against him, yet he's been truthful anyway. Admittedly, this is more a case of his Awesome Ego stopping him treating anyone has a true threat rather than a moral choice, but for whatever reason he remains very honest.
 * Villain Protagonist: The two Soul Reaver games which follow Raziel have Kain cast in a villainous light, while the Blood Omen games make him the main protagonist. That he easily fills both positions without differing in his characterization should tell you something.
 * Voluntary Shapeshifting: Maintains the ability to transform into either a cloud of mist or a swarm of bats throughout the series (though the bat form does vanish during Blood Omen 2).
 * Walking Shirtless Scene: In the two Soul Reaver games and Defiance, and for the first part of Blood Omen 2.



Raziel
""This one thing I readily admit--I have been used by others time and again. But always I seem to stray from their path...What is it about me, Demon, that makes me such an unreliable instrument?""

"Voiced by Michael Bell"

The other protagonist of the series besides Kain, he was Kain's right-hand man until he grew wings before Kain and was killed for it. He was revived as a wraith to kill Kain and ended up becoming a Cosmic Plaything.

""Ah, my ancient 'benefactor'... And I dared to hope we had parted ways forever. Your silence was refreshing, while it lasted. No doubt you have a conveniently inexpressible reason for your presence here?"
 * Amnesiac Dissonance:
 * And I Must Scream: First, he gets cast into the Lake of the Dead and burns for several centuries until the Elder God plucks him from the time stream, then between Soul Reaver 2 and Defiance he spends a few more centuries as the Elder God's prisoner. According to the Elder God this is the best he can do--Raziel's nature as his agent means he's physically incapable of dying, so he settles for keeping Raziel weak and immobilized.
 * It is implied that
 * Anti-Hero (Type IV): He's fundamentally good, but is not above morally questionable acts depending on the circumstances. He's also willing to kill whoever he needs to that gets in his way, but unlike Kain who relishes combat Raziel takes no pleasure from it and stays his hand on occasion. However, Raziel is simply too naive and doesn't understand the true nature of Nosgoth's Gambit Pileup for most of the series. This leads to a habit of helping villains without realizing it, which in tandem with his initially selfish motivations (i.e. revenge), keeps him from being considered a true hero.
 * Badass: Though not quite as much as Kain.
 * Like a Badass Out of Hell: Type II.
 * Butt Monkey: On a cosmic level, prompting...
 * Cosmic Plaything
 * Cool Sword: Wields the spectral Soul Reaver to Kain's material Soul Reaver, which encompasses the following:
 * Ancestral Weapon
 * Art Evolution: In the Soul Reaver games the sword is a simple blade of energy emerging from Raziel's hand. In Defiance the Soul Reaver is instead a complete spectral sword with crossguards and a hilt that Raziel holds.
 * Notably, the Defiance version is based off the original design that the developers intended the sword to have. However, graphical limitations of the time prevented it.
 * Blade Below the Shoulder
 * Elemental Powers: He acquires the first four in Soul Reaver 2 and completes the set in Defiance: Light, Dark, Fire, Air, Water, Earth, and Spirit.
 * Empathic Weapon
 * Laser Blade: Technically made of spiritual energy, but visually the effect is the same.
 * Named Weapons
 * Soul Cutting Blade: Is the blade's name not a clue?
 * Sword of Plot Advancement
 * Deadpan Snarker: He definitely begins to pick up Kain's wit as the series goes on.

"Oh no... every time you show up, something monumental and terrible happens. I don't think I have the stomach for it.""


 * Deal With the Devil: His agreement to serve the Elder God in exchange for being revived. The other shoe finally drops in Defiance--let's just say that title is not a meaningless one.
 * Doomed Protagonist: Unless he wants to undo history with dozens of paradoxes, eventually whether he wants to or not.
 * Faustian Rebellion
 * Glowing Eyes of Doom
 * Heroic BSOD: Has a brief one in Soul Reaver 2 when, and and again when he discovers that
 * Ham to Ham Combat: While decidedly less hammy than Kain, the two shared some hammy moments in Soul Reaver.
 * : At the end of Defiance.
 * Hunter of His Own Kind
 * Immune to Fate.
 * It's Personal
 * I Was Quite a Looker: While he doesn't dwell on it too much, Raziel does often lament his current visage is a big step down from how he looked in life. Of course, this might be less about how handsome he once was and more about the fact that he used to have a stomach and a mouth.
 * Knight Templar: Raziel has a natural urge to behave like this.
 * Magic Knight: Not as much as Kain though--he was at the height of his magical prowess in Soul Reaver when he could find glyphs that gave him access to magic attacks. The Glyph system and the abilities Raziel got from them were dropped in the next game, and the only magical powers or equivalent that Raziel was left with were his telekinetic skills.
 * Mega Manning: As he kills his brothers he absorbs their souls and powers.
 * In Defiance, he unlocks new powers for the Reaver by feeding it the souls of former Pillar Guardians.
 * Michael Bell
 * Mysterious Past: Discovers it during the course of the series.
 * Nice Job Breaking It, Hero:, not to mention.
 * Noble Demon
 * Roaring Rampage of Revenge: A majority of his quest during the games, though he develops other motives eventually. Goes on a smaller-scale one at the end of Soul Reaver 2 against.
 * Spanner in The Works: By virtue of possibly being the one creature in all existence who can Screw Destiny. Double Subverted since this simultaneously makes him the guy who can ultimately screw with everyone else's evil manipluations, but at the same time makes him the one guy to be the subject of said evil manipulations as everyone but him realizes this. Ironically, despite this power, he is the character in the game most likely to angst about how he seems to have no control over his own fate and finds himself manipulated at every turn.
 * : As point out to him in Defiance,
 * Unwitting Pawn: Ho boy, where to start. Pretty much everything Raziel ever does up until helps further the plans of someone else.
 * Winged Humanoid: Didn't get to enjoy it though.
 * Wrong Genre Savvy: By the time Defiance rolls around, Raziel has wizened up and realizes everyone is going to try and manipulate him for their own ends. However, when Kain tries to play it straight and tell Raziel the truth, Raziel assumes it's just more manipulations and refuses to trust him.*
 * Your Soul Is Mine: Raziel devours souls to sustain himself. In Soul Reaver 2 the Soul Reaver itself will devour the souls of enemies Raziel fights with it, ultimately leaving nothing for him to snack on for healing if he deals the final blow with the sword.

Moebius


""Poor, deluded Raziel... did you somehow imagine you had the guile to change history on me? I’m the Time-Streamer: I knew your every intention before you did, you imbecile.""

"Voiced by Richard Doyle"

One of the Circle of Nine, he controls time and thus can travel though time and see the past and future. Wishes to exterminate all vampires. Arguably the main antagonist of the series.

"Raziel: ""
 * Badass Long Robe
 * Bad Boss: When Raziel meets him in Soul Reaver 2, Moebius gives him permission to slay his vampire hunter servants on his way out of his lair. He could let them know Raziel is their ally, but nah.
 * Bald of Evil
 * Because Destiny Says So: He can see through time. It's kinda part of the package.
 * Big No: In Defiance when
 * Big No: In Defiance when

Moebius: "Noooooooooooo!!!""

"Kain:"
 * The Chessmaster: Plays a very mean game of Xanatos Speed Chess against Kain's Magnificent Bastard as the series progresses.
 * Didn't See That Coming: Doubly effective because not only is Moebius The Chessmaster, he can also see the future.
 * Kryptonite Factor: His staff can subdue vampires with a wave. Even Kain and Janos can't resist its powers.
 * Works in reverse too--though he has other powers he's definitely not a fighter, and he's pretty helpless if his staff doesn't work.
 * : Twice.
 * Magic Wand / Simple Staff
 * Manipulative Bastard: Oh yes. He has definite advantages in this regard (what with being The Omniscient time-streamer and all), but his ability to play Raziel, who is Immune to Fate, shows that his more conventional manipulative abilities are still pretty impressive.
 * Non-Linear Character: At any one point, the Moebius you're seeing could easily be the Moebius from another time period. He appears in Soul Reaver 2 and Defiance at times when he's technically supposed to be dead.
 * Obfuscating Stupidity: Invoked when Raziel first meets him. He doesn't buy it and Moebius quickly drops the act and laughs in his face. However he still hides his true role in the events of the series, and it isn't until Defiance that he lets everyone see just how powerful and in-control he really is.
 * Oh Crap: In Defiance, the look on his face when  is absolutely priceless. Were he not   shortly afterward, he would have had to change his pants right then and there.
 * The Omniscient
 * The Omniscient

"Raziel: This blade has instilled fear in the heart of creatures much more… *finger pokes Moebius* sturdy than you."
 * Smug Snake
 * Squishy Wizard: Without his anti-vampire stick, he's not much of a threat, to say the least.

"Raziel: "And if I told Moebius that he's worshiping a giant squid, do you think his faith will falter?""
 * This Cannot Be!: "This is impossible..."
 * Time Master



The Elder God
""I am the origin of life...The devourer of death...I am the hub of the wheel, the purifying cycle to which all souls must be drawn!""

"Voiced by Tony Jay"

An ancient entity dwelling in Nosgoth's underground, he's the one who revived Raziel as a wraith.

"While : "Pathetic creature.""
 * Badass Baritone: Check the voice credit.
 * Badass Boast: See his quote a little higher up. He uses variations of this speech a lot throughout the series.
 * : Of the entire series.
 * : He's been around since Soul Reaver, but his true role in Nosgoth's bloody history isn't revealed until Defiance.
 * : He prefers to manipulate people, and when.
 * : His Badass Boasting keeps going even.
 * The Chessmaster
 * Eldritch Abomination
 * : Of Defiance, and therefore the entire series.
 * Giant Eye of Doom
 * : Ambiguous since it is hinted that the Elder God may not be a god, but instead a very, very powerful Eldritch Abomination. However, since all other "gods" in the series are also shown to be some variation of demonic creature, and Nosgoth is a Crapsack World, a genuine god being an Eldritch Abomination fits right in.
 * Hannibal Lecture
 * Non-Linear Character: Raziel is quite surprised when he travels back in time and the Elder God calls to him by name. See next trope.
 * The Omniscient
 * Puny Humans: While "human" isn't apt for most of the people he talks to, in general he doesn't think too high of much anyone.
 * Hannibal Lecture
 * Non-Linear Character: Raziel is quite surprised when he travels back in time and the Elder God calls to him by name. See next trope.
 * The Omniscient
 * Puny Humans: While "human" isn't apt for most of the people he talks to, in general he doesn't think too high of much anyone.
 * The Omniscient
 * Puny Humans: While "human" isn't apt for most of the people he talks to, in general he doesn't think too high of much anyone.


 * Wild Mass Guessing: An in-universe example--Raziel suggests the Elder God isn't a true god but just a powerful entity presenting himself as one, and also wonders if it was really the Elder God who revived him, or if it was another force that did it and the Elder God just took credit for it to win Raziel's allegiance. Both theories are entirely possible, but are neither confirmed or denied.

Ariel


""Rest...? A body is needed for sleep. Flesh and bones are required to recline. No, child, all I may do is watch, and remember, ceaselessly conscious as this wretched world’s history unfurls. Ghastly past, insufferable future, are they one and the same...? Am I always here?""

"Voiced by Anna Gunn"

Kain's predecessor as the Guardian of Balance in the Circle of Nine, her death sparked the circle's corruption and the events of the first game.


 * Fate Worse Than Death: Not only is she dead and unable to interact with the physical world, but thanks to Kain refusing the sacrifice, she's bound to the Pillars for all eternity.
 * : In Defiance.
 * Morality Chain: Her death is what caused her lover Nupraptor to go insane and corrupt the Circle of Nine.
 * Spirit Advisor

Vorador


""Centuries of persecution have taught me well. Five hundred years ago, our race was nearly exterminated by the fanatical crusades of the Sarafan. And now the same sick drama unfolds again: in merely a decade, Moebius’s cutthroat citizen army has nearly accomplished what the Sarafan could not. Vampires meddling in the affairs of men... Look where it has brought us.""

"Voiced by Paul Lukather"

A high-ranking Vampire and the first human to be "blessed" with the dark gift from the Ancients. He's the one who forged the Soul Reaver for Janos Audron, though he doesn't know its true purpose.

""After slaughtering six of the sheep, I defeated their pathetic little shepherd Malek...""
 * Bald of Awesome
 * : They never fully explain why . Defiance was supposed to explain it,, but it was left out.
 * Badass Boast: Vorador gets one in Blood Omen when he meets Kain for the first time.
 * Badass Boast: Vorador gets one in Blood Omen when he meets Kain for the first time.

""Call your dogs! They can feast on your corpses!"
 * The Blacksmith: The maker of the Soul Reaver
 * Cold-Blooded Torture: His favorite hobby. His "pantry" is a specially designed torture chamber with acoustics that allow screams to reverberate for years after his victims are dead.
 * The Hedonist: Owns a ludicrously opulent mansion, and surrounds himself with concubines,
 * Jade-Colored Glasses: Earned them after the Sarafan vampire purges killed off Janos Audron and keeps them on for the rest of his life.
 * La Résistance:
 * Large Ham: Vorador gets in on the ham in Blood Omen.

"Whelp! As if you knew what eternity was. Grovel before your true master!""


 * The Mentor
 * Retired Monster: And for good reason.
 * Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Soul Reaver 2 shows us that Vorador's slaughter of the Circle was direct revenge for the murder of Janos Audron, his Sire.
 * Voluntary Shapeshifting: Pretty similar to Kain in this respect, though he doesn't often use it.

Mortanius The Necromancer
""Strange, isn’t it Kain? That one cannot quite accept that which sustains him: you in your death and me in mine. But death cannot reign in a world without life... and soon you will find the quest ahead of you is yours and yours alone.""

"Voiced by Tony Jay (Blood Omen)/ Alistair Duncan (Defiance)"

The Guardian of Death in the Circle of Nine, he's the one who revived Kain as a vampire. He's also the one who killed Ariel and caused the circle's corruption.


 * The Archmage: Mortanius was considered by most to be the most powerful magic wielder in Nosgoth at the time of the corruption of the Pillars.
 * Batman Gambit:.
 * Big Bad: Of the first game.
 * Dark Is Not Evil: Mortanius' Necromancy is a perfectly natural form of magic tied with the Pillar of Death;
 * Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette: In Defiance, it's revealed that under his mask, he's mostly human in appearance except for his unhealthily pale skin- which would be an Undeathly Pallor if Mortanius hadn't still been alive at the time.
 * Expressive Mask: His skeletal "face," in the first game is actually a mask- a very convincing one at that.
 * Necromancer
 * The Other Darrin: Initially voiced by Tony Jay in Blood Omen, leading to some Wild Mass Guessing regarding the Elder God's identity when Jay went on to voice that character instead. His actor was changed in Defiance, to avoid confusion.
 * Prophet Eyes: Both his mask and his true self show blank white eyes.
 * The Other Darrin: Initially voiced by Tony Jay in Blood Omen, leading to some Wild Mass Guessing regarding the Elder God's identity when Jay went on to voice that character instead. His actor was changed in Defiance, to avoid confusion.
 * Prophet Eyes: Both his mask and his true self show blank white eyes.

Janos Audron


""Embrace your destiny, Raziel. You must reclaim the Reaver--it was forged for you and you alone...Without it, there is no hope.""

The last Ancient Vampire and one of the highest-ranking of them, he is Vorador's sire and the one who commissioned the forging of the Soul Reaver. This also makes him the only person who understands its true purpose and thus the key to many mysteries.


 * Almost-Dead Guy: In Soul Reaver 2.
 * Anti-Hero: Closest to Type III. Janos is probably the only character in the series who is unambiguously good and is always portrayed as helpful, gentle, and wise. However, he's still with the rest of his race, even if he doesn't realize it, which potentially casts a shadow on everything he does.
 * : Almost invoked word for word in Soul Reaver 2.
 * Beware the Nice Ones: Despite being kind and affable, Janos can and will kick ass if it's required of him. He would prefer not to, though.
 * : In Blood Omen 2.
 * : What happens to him in Defiance, and kick-starts the events of Blood Omen 2.
 * Last of His Kind
 * Leitmotif: The gorgeous piece of music/ambience that plays in his mountain retreat in Soul Reaver 2 is briefly reprised in Defiance when.
 * No Pronunciation Guide: Yaw-nohs.
 * No Shirt, Long Jacket
 * Real Men Love Jesus
 * Religious Bruiser
 * Token Good Teammate: Between Nosgoth being a Crapsack World and the series running on Black and Gray Morality, Janos is probably the only character that is truly "good" through and through. He has no hidden agenda, he doesn't manipulate anyone, he has no selfish or self-serving motivation or goal, whenever he's on screen he's polite and affable, and he plays it straight when Raziel demands answers from him. It says something that in a series where most recurring characters are varying degrees of Magnificent Bastards, Janos is not.
 * Walking Shirtless Scene: In Blood Omen 2.
 * Winged Humanoid
 * Walking Shirtless Scene: In Blood Omen 2.
 * Winged Humanoid

Hash'ak'gik
""Don't you see? My silencing of Ariel and its calculated repercussions is but the first act in my theater of Grand Guignol, of which you are the tragic hero. Play on, little vampire, play on...""

The main antagonist of the original game, he possessed Mortanius and murdered Ariel with the intent to destroy the Pillars of Nosgoth.


 * Batman Gambit:.
 * Big Bad: In Blood Omen.
 * Hijacked By Ganon: Retroactively hijacks
 * Body Surf
 * The Chessmaster
 * Demonic Possession
 * Evil Sounds Deep: All the different forms he uses have really deep voices, often with a Voice of the Legion effect too.
 * Fan Nickname: "Hash". Even writer Amy Hennig has used the term.
 * Glowing Eyes of Doom
 * Hannibal Lecture: Gives a good one to Kain at the end of Blood Omen 2. Even though Kain follows with a Shut UP, Hannibal, it's not a particularly convincing one, and the player is left thinking that Kain was trying to avoid facing the fact that his enemy was right.
 * I Have Many Names: Though he's nice enough to share one with, who also goes by "Hask'ak'gik".
 * Knight Templar: As far as are concerned, as everything he's doing is to free them from their imprisonment and get revenge on the vampires. In the end he's justified in his actions as far as he's concerned.
 * It should be mentioned that
 * Nice Job Fixing It, Villain:
 * The Omniscient: Possibly. He clearly knows a huge amount about time manipulation, and is able to  which would make him a king among MagnificentBastards if he accomplished all this without some extensive foreknowledge.
 * The Man Behind the Man
 * Sealed Evil in A Can
 * Xanatos Gambit: Glorious

Nupraptor The Mentalist
""Come, Kain... come share my pain...""

The Guardian of Mind in the Circle of Nine, Nupraptor went mad when he found that his lover Ariel had been murdered; with his psychic powers, he went about spreading his insanity to the rest of the Circle, kicking off the events of the first game.


 * The Empath: According to the Silicon Knights FAQ, Nupraptor is "hypersensitive to peoples' emotions and thoughts" and was more than a little unstable due to this- even before Ariel's death.
 * Eye Scream: During his Freak-Out, he ends up sewing his eyes and lips shut.
 * Love Makes You Evil
 * My Brain Is Big
 * Off With His Head: His eventual fate.
 * Psychic Powers
 * Mind Over Matter
 * Telepathy
 * Teleportation
 * Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds

Anarcrothe the Alchemist
""The Circle exists for us, we don’t exist for it! Our powers will save or damn Nosgoth at our whim!""

The Guardian of States in the Circle of Nine.


 * Dirty Coward
 * Evil Sorcerer
 * Good Scars, Evil Scars
 * It's All About Me: Just look at the quote.
 * The Unfought

Azimuth the Planer
""Come to me my children! We shall ravage Nosgoth together!""

The Guardian of Dimension in the Circle of Nine.


 * Bald Woman / Bald of Evil
 * Chekhov's Gunman: Turns out in Defiance
 * Evil Sorcerer
 * Summon Magic
 * Third Eye

Bane the Druid
""He is an affront to Nature itself! It is our duty to purify him!""

The Guardian of Nature in the Circle of Nine.


 * The Beast Master: According to Silicon Knight's biography, he can control the behaviour of animals.
 * Creating Life: His ability to influence animals and their biology made him one of the most integral proponents of the Dark Eden triad.
 * Druid
 * Elemental Powers
 * Kill It With Water: During the boss battle, he converts the ground into water, exploiting Kain's vampiric weakness.

Dejoule the Energist
""Burn, wretched vampire, burn!""

The Guardian of Energy in the Circle of Nine.


 * Battle Aura
 * Black Cloak: Until the boss battle, of course...
 * Helium Speech: For some reason.
 * Pure Energy
 * Walking Wasteland: according to both deleted lines and the Silicon Knights character biographies, Dejoule's powers have grown to the point that her presence can blister the skin and sterilize the cells of anybody standing too close to her- hence the reason why she wears an insulating cloak.

Malek The Paladin
""It is not often that a man sees his own corpse: it is a sobering experience. But I am far less interested in my own corpse than I am in yours..." "

The Guardian of Conflict in the Circle of Nine, and the official bodyguard of the other members. After his failure to protect the Circle of Nine from Vorador's attack, Malek was punished by having his body destroyed and his soul bound to a suit of magical armour, condemning him to the post of Defender of the Nine for all eternity.

""I'll cut you from crotch to gizzard and feed what's left to your brides!""
 * Animated Armor
 * Arch Enemy: To Vorador
 * Badass Boast:


 * Blade On a Stick
 * Church Militant
 * Dead Guy On Display: In the throne room of his fortress, he's left a rotting corpse "holding court." However, contrary to the quote, the body doesn't actually belong to Malek.
 * There's some confusion on that; there are two bodies in Blood Omen that are said to belong to Malek, one under Avernus where he was executed and one in his fortress. Both are identified as his in the strategy guide, and word of god has never cleared it up.
 * Well, the one under Avernus is just the skeleton. Possibly the one in his fortress is the rest of him.
 * The Dragon: Served as the Dragon to the Circle during their crusade against the vampires. Was dragon his feet during Vorador's assault on the circle, and Kain was Genre Savvy enough to go after him early on.
 * Genius Bruiser: He might not be the most tactically-sound mind in the Circle, but he did manage to construct a number of machines built to recycle and fuse the souls of dead warriors into suits of armour.
 * Knight Templar
 * Last of His Kind: Last of the Sarafan priesthood by the time of Blood Omen.
 * Magic Knight
 * Say My Name: Most of the Circle Members he failed to save at the beginning of Blood Omen end up shouting Malek's name a lot. So Narmtastic that even Vorador laughed.

William the Just
A once virtuous king, he became corrupted and turned into the Nemesis, a tyrant bent on conquering Nosgoth.


 * Face Heel Turn
 * The Good King -> Tin Tyrant
 * Names to Run Away From Really Fast: You don't want a guy called the Nemesis descending on your village.
 * Reasonable Authority Figure -> Zero-Percent Approval Rating
 * Spikes of Villainy: His armies, along with their creepy red armor. The Nemesis himself is extra-spiky.
 * Vocal Dissonance: One of the few characters who shouldn't have been voiced by Tony Jay. As the Nemesis, perhaps, but not the polite, unsure boy we see.

Elzevir the Dollmaker
An accomplished toymaker and minor magician. During the backstory, he took part in a contest to produce a doll worthy of the Princess of Willendorf's birthday and won; as a reward, he requested a lock of the princess's hair- which he received. Shortly afterwards, the princess fell into a coma, and Elzevir ended up becoming one of Kain's targets in his mission to rally Willendorf against the Nemesis.


 * Animate Inanimate Objects: Specialises in animating his dolls and turning them into warriors.
 * Psychopathic Manchild
 * Sympathetic Magic: Another specialty of his.

Melchiah
""Do you not recognize me, brother? Am I so changed?""

One of Raziel's brothers, he was the last to be resurrected by Kain, and having the least of his power, still suffers from decay. Thus, on top of having to drink blood, he has to skin the corpses for hides to replace his own festering skin; by the time Raziel emerges from the Abyss, this practice has degenerated into incorporating entire bodies into his own, transforming Melchiah into a hulking mass of corpses and mangled organs. Even his fingers are actually severed limbs grafted onto the ends of his arms.


 * Body Horror
 * Came Back Wrong/ Inhuman Human
 * Everything's Deader With Zombies: the Melchahim Vampires have more in common with zombies than vampires, even bursting up from the ground to attack.
 * A Fate Worse Than Death: His dying words indicate that he did not enjoy his existence. Not that you can blame him...
 * I Die Free: "I am... released..."
 * Impaled With Extreme Prejudice: Courtesy of spiked gates.
 * Puzzle Boss

Zephon
""See how the humans’ weapon of destruction has become my home- indeed, my body. A cocoon of brick and granite from which to watch a pupating world...""

Another of Raziel's brothers, his offspring have mutated into arachnid-like creatures capable of climbing walls and wrapping their prey in cocoons for later meals. Zephon himself has grown more massive and more insectoid, to the point that he resembles a thinly-veiled version of the Alien Queen.


 * All Webbed Up: the Zephonim's victims generally end up like this.
 * Stationary Boss
 * Tennis Boss: Though not in the usual sense of direct deflecting--he spits out eggs that Raziel has to pick up, light on fire and throw back at him.
 * The Mind Is a Plaything of The Body: "Will... instinct... reflex action... the insect mind finds little difference. I warn you, brother, as my stature has grown, so it is matched by my appetite..."
 * Womb Level: The uppermost levels of the Silenced Cathedral have become a part of his body.

Rahab
""You, of all of us, should respect the power bestowed by a limitation overcome.""

One of Raziel's brothers, he and his brood have become aquatic creatures and overcame the vampire weakness to water. While his spawn are amphibious, Rahab himself has metamorphosed into a merman rather reminiscent of a shark.


 * Boss Arena Idiocy: A rather magnificent subversion--Rahab's territory is a flood abbey, and both his lair and the passage to it are also flooded. If Raziel couldn't shift to the Spectral Realm where water is insubstantial, he wouldn't even be able to get to Rahab's lair. And once you do get there, the only dry land are small pillars where he can easily knock you back into the water, forcing Raziel to shift back to the Spectral Realm.
 * Played straight in other ways though. If you have an aversion to sunlight, it might be considered unwise to make your lair in a room full of shatterable windows.
 * Our Mermaids Are Different
 * Puzzle Boss
 * The Power of the Sun: How Raziel kills him.

Dumah
""The centuries in limbo have honed my strength. Not even Kain is my equal.""

One of Raziel's brothers, he is the second-strongest of them and declares even Kain isn't his equal. Ironically, his offspring were scattered and disorganized when he was finally defeated by an army of humans, and serve as the main Mooks of the game, easily killed in two or three hits.


 * Advancing Boss of Doom
 * The Juggernaut: Absolutely nothing in Raziel's armory can harm him.
 * Kill It With Fire: Due to the above, Raziel kills him by luring him into a giant furnace.
 * Impaled With Extreme Prejudice: How Raziel finds his body.
 * Only Mostly Dead: His killers didn't really kill him, they just trapped him in limbo by impaling his body. Removing the spears allows his soul to return to his body.
 * Overly Long Tongue: His offspring sport long tongues capable of draining the blood from victims.
 * Useless Useful Spell: The Constrict power Raziel gets for defeating him--there's a good reason why this is the one power Raziel doesn't retain in later games. It lets you bind enemies in place by running a circle around them, but to do this you're both letting the enemy attack you while you run, and you're relying on them letting you complete the binding in which case they're already holding still anyway. Its only practical purpose is to solve puzzles.

Turel
""Yes. I am changed. I have become a God. Greater than you ever were, Raziel. You were never a God. Greater even than Kain!""

The final brother and the strongest for sure, he has telekinetic abilities surpassing Kain's own.


 * A God Am I: Considers himself one, since
 * Boss Arena Idiocy: The giant gongs- though this may have been.
 * Giant Space Flea From Nowhere: He sudden appearance was very out of left field.
 * Handicapped Badass: See Super Senses below.
 * Large and In Charge: Aside from, Turel is probably the largest boss in the series.
 * Left Hanging: The exact means and reason of how and why he was going to be covered in a future game. Word of God has since explained.
 * Mind Over Matter
 * Super Senses: In just about every form except for sight - he's actually blind.
 * Maybe not completely blind; when Raziel is waving the glowing wraith blade in his face he seems to be reacting to it. If so, he can presumably see bright lights, but since he's his eyes are useless to all intents and purposes.
 * Wham! Line: When he first appears you probably have no idea who or what he is, you just know he recognizes Raziel somehow. And then Raziel mutters his name, and suddenly the scene takes an interesting turn.
 * Wham! Line: When he first appears you probably have no idea who or what he is, you just know he recognizes Raziel somehow. And then Raziel mutters his name, and suddenly the scene takes an interesting turn.

Umah
A member of the Vampire resistance, she is Kain's contact and assists him when she can.


 * Bare Your Midriff
 * Character Tic: Whether it's deliberate or just a quirk of the animation, Umah never seems to stop moving her hands.
 * Distressed Damsel: Briefly.
 * Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette
 * Facial Markings: Has black facial tattoos.
 * Femme Fatalons
 * He Knows About Timed Hits
 * Morality Pet: Seemed to be becoming Kain's, thanks to the Ship Tease.
 * Also possibly for Vorador, since he seems to treat her more as a daughter than as the sex toys most of his female companions were in Blood Omen..
 * Ms. Fanservice
 * She Fu
 * She's Got Legs
 * Ship Tease: With Kain.
 * Stripperiffic
 * Tall Dark and Bishojo
 * What Could Have Been: Originally, she was to have a much more reasonable design.
 * What Could Have Been: Originally, she was to have a much more reasonable design.
 * What Could Have Been: Originally, she was to have a much more reasonable design.

Faustus
One of Kain's former lieutenants, he switched sides in the backstory when he decided Kain would lose.


 * Badass Long Hair
 * Femme Fatalons
 * Hunter of His Own Kind: As he puts it, "Who better to kill a vampire than a more powerful vampire?"
 * Jump Physics: The power Kain gets for killing him.
 * Long-Haired Pretty Boy
 * Mad Bomber
 * Puzzle Boss
 * Wake Up Call Boss: If you haven't figured out how to block attacks and use your Dark Gift powers yet, prepare to suffer.

Marcus
One of Kain's former lieutenants, Kain apparently tried to kill him. Marcus claims it was because Kain feared his growing powers, but of course Kain denies this. However, Kain is uncharacteristically flattering and courteous when they meet, which suggests that Kain would rather avoid a fight. Considering how eager Kain is to flatten other enemies, Marcus could well be right.


 * Bald of Evil
 * Brainwashed and Crazy / Mind Rape: His specialty is the "Charm" Dark Gift.
 * Cowardly Boss
 * Femme Fatalons
 * Hunter of His Own Kind
 * Kneel Before Zod: Attempts to force Kain to obey him with his mind control powers. Doesn't work.

Sebastian
Yet another of Kain's lieutenants, this one was more direct in his betrayal--he tipped off the Sarafan on how and when to ambush Kain's army.


 * The Dragon: To the Sarafan Lord.
 * Evil Laugh: More of a high-pitched annoying giggle than anything else, and he uses it so often.
 * Femme Fatalons
 * Hunter of His Own Kind: Notice a running theme here?
 * Puzzle Boss
 * Smug Snake
 * Super Speed
 * The Starscream: Has shades of this.

Magnus
Kain's final lieutenant, he ran away before the climactic battle between Kain and the Sarafan.

""I will divine from your entrails!""
 * Ax Crazy
 * Badass Boast:


 * Brainwashed and Crazy
 * Body Horror: His nose is cut off, his intestines are hanging out, the top of his skull has been removed with his brain exposed. And oh yeah, he has a burning furnace fused to his back.
 * Cloudcuckoolander
 * I Cannot Self-Terminate
 * I Die Free - Oh, no you don't.
 * Implacable Man: Beat the hell out of him, throw him into running water (which is like acid to him), he just keeps coming.
 * Large Ham: WATER IS NOT MY FRIEND!
 * Tragic Monster