Assassin's Creed II/Characters

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This also serves as the Characters page for Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood and Assassin's Creed: Revelations due to the games' many shared characters.

May contain unmarked and/or Late Arrival Spoilers.

Ezio Auditore da Firenze

There is no book or teacher to give you the answers, to show you the way. Choose your own way! Do not follow me, or anyone else.

"Resquiescat in Pace."

The ancestral character of Assassin's Creed II. After his blissful life as the young son of a Florentine banker is destroyed, Ezio sets out an epic decades-long quest for vengeance, hunting down -- as well as adding to -- names from a list his father Giovanni wrote. The plot of both games show Ezio's progression and growth, as he goes from an enraged teenager seeking revenge and cursing those he kills, to a mature and patient hunter of his foes, to a wiser man who eventually rises to lead the Assassin order through wisdom, personal skill and leadership.

---

• Animal Motifs: The eagle, as is standard for our Assassin protagonists.
• Badass
• Badass Halfcape... which also serves to conceal his left-forearm Hidden Blade bracer, the Short Blade, and the hilt of his sword, axe, or bludgeon, as whenever he walks in Low Profile he pulls it over his left shoulder.
  • Sadly, it gets shot off by an arrow in the opening cutscene in Revelations.
• Badass Beard: By his mid-thirties, after being nearly fatally wounded by one of the Orsi brothers and spending some time unconscious.
• Badass Long Hair: Not seen too often, but long enough to be tied back into a ponytail.
  • As with the cape, it's no longer so in Revelations, though it's still long enough to blow around in the wind.
• Big Brother Instinct: Do not bad-mouth or hurt his little sister.
• Big Good: Ezio is the reason why Monteriggioni (briefly) returned to its former glory between II and Brotherhood.
  • After becoming head of the Assassin Order in Brotherhood, because of his leadership, tutelage and actions, he very much single-handedly resulted in the Order continuing to prosper for centuries, right up until the present day.
• Bishonen: In Lineage.
• Call to Agriculture: Ezio retires to a vineyard after Revelations.
• Catch Phrase: Requiescat in Pace, which he says to (almost) all of his targets during their final moments.
  • The liberation of Rome has begun.
• The Charmer: Develops into a textbook example. All the lady-killing magnetismo of the Casanova, none of the callousness.
• Combat Pragmatist: A tradition for Desmond's bloodline, even more so in Brotherhood.
• Cool Old Guy: Ends the second game at his 40's and by the end of Brotherhood is 48 years old. By Revelations he's a Badass Grandpa at age 55. By Embers he is around his sixties and can still pick up a sword, yet his age has finally caught up to him at this point and can't go around running like he used to. Still, for a man nearing the end of his life, he sure has a lot of fight in him.
  • Grumpy Old Man: Initially in Embers when confronted by Chinese Assassin Shao Jun.
• Deadpan Snarker
• Dual-Wielding: Carries two Hidden Blades; also applies to the Medium Weapon/Hidden Gun and the Short Blade/Throwing Knives combinations in Brotherhood. Upgraded to some sort of hook/grapple hook in Revelations.
• Due to the Dead: Utters "Requiescat In Pace" to (almost) all of targets during their final moments.
  • Averted in his initial assassinations where he violently slaughted his targets and continued beating Vieri de' Pazzi even after his death, earning him a harsh rebuke from Mario as it was against the rules of etiquette the assassins abide by.
• Even the Guys Want Him: Gets quite a bit of this. Leonardo is only the most prominent example.
• The First Cut Is the Deepest: His repressed memories in Brotherhood are all tied to his failed relationship with Cristina Vespucci.
• Guest Fighter: Appears in SoulCalibur V.
• The Gump: Takes part in various famous Renaissance events, such as the Bonfire of the Vanities and the hunt for the Pazzi conspirators.
• Half-Human Hybrid: It is heavily implied that Ezio, just as everyone in his bloodline, has genetic material from one of "Those Who Came Before" in his DNA, which gives him his Eagle Vision ability.
• Happily Married: To Sofia Sartor as of Embers.
• Handsome Lech: Even during his 20-year Roaring Rampage of Revenge, he still tries to find time for the ladies and is pretty much confirmed to have bedded at least one lady in Forlì... until the Siege of Monteriggioni (begun while in bed with Caterina Sforza), after which he doesn't so much as look at a woman suggestively for the next three years. He eventually settled down with Sofia Sartor, whom he met in Constantinople, fathering Desmond's line in his fifties, though according to Word of God Ezio has fathered many illegitimate children in his lifetime.
• Heartbroken Badass: The repressed memories of his old flame Christina show that during the Bonfire of the Vanities she was mortally wounded and died in his arms. His later writings state that something in him "withered" after her death.
• The Hero
• If You Ever Do Anything to Hurt Her...: Said to Cristina Vespucci's fiancé.
• Indy Ploy: "I am improvising!"
• In the Hood: Runs in the family.
• In the Past Everyone Will Be Famous: Leonardo da Vinci, Caterina Sforza, Niccolò Machiavelli... that's a handful of people he deals with on a daily basis.
• Last of His Kind: He's the last male member of the Auditore family, aside from his Uncle Mario.
  • As of Brotherhood, he really is the last.
• The Mentor: In Brotherhood he becomes titled il Mentore when Machiavelli steps down in favor of Ezio as Grand Master of the Assassin Order in Rome.
• Multi Melee Master:
  • An Axe to Grind
  • BFS
  • Blade Below the Shoulder
  • Blade on a Stick
  • Drop the Hammer
  • Heroes Prefer Swords
  • Knife Nut
  • Broom
• Multi Ranged Master: Throwing knives, Hidden Gun, crossbow, darts
• The Obi-Wan: To his apprentices in Revelations, but especially to Shao Jun in Embers.
• One-Man Army
• Percussive Pickpocket: Can do this to random people.
• Persona Non Grata: By order of the Sultan, likely for wrongly killing Tarik, who was Selim's close friend and Captain of the Janissaries as well as sinking an entire Ottoman navy fleet. It's only because Suleiman put in a good word for him that Ezio is not attacked on the spot. Though with some negotiation, Ezio was able to come back to finish his business in Constanopoli.
• Really Get Around: Word of God has said Ezio fathered many illegitimate children.
• Retired Badass: By Embers
• Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Conducts a decades long one against his enemies.
• Rousing Speech: At the end of Bonfire of the Vanities.
• Silver Fox: In Revelations. Despite the fact that he's past fifty, most of the women (and some of the men) in Istanbul can't keep their eyes off him.
  • To put it another way, Sofia, his eventual wife was born in 1476; the year that Ezio, (then 17), first became an Assassin.
• Sword and Gun: In Brotherhood Ezio can use a longsword or bludgeon (Medium Weapons) and his Hidden Gun together in combat while the Medium Weapon is equipped by holding down the Attack button (effectively switching to the Hidden Gun, though in a kill streak this will cause him to aim at a different person); the Short Blade and Throwing Knives have a similar relationship.
• Tempting Fate: During sequence 1 of AC2, he wishes for his life to never change.
  • Also by sparing Rodrigo's life, and then by assuming at the beginning of Brotherhood that "our work is finished."
  • Averted in "Brotherhood" when he spares Micheletto in order to save the actor. Micheletto does not become a threat from that point on and is arrested off-screen according to his portrait, though his fate is unknown.
• Walking Armoury: One of the iconic examples. By the end of Revelations, he's packing a hidden blade, a hookblade, a sword/axe/hammer, a dagger, a poison dart launcher, a pistol, a crossbow, a couple of dozen throwing knives, and a dozen grenades of various types. All save the last are modelled on his body. Good grief. (Ammo, parachutes and bombs are still spared, though)
• Would Hit a Girl: Some of his targets have been female, and he killed "The Smuggler" Lia de Russo.
• You Killed My Father: and my brothers and my Uncle, Borgia!

---

Giovanni Auditore

"I am Giovanni Auditore, and like my ancestors before me, I am an Assassin."

Ezio's father, a prominent Florentine banker and noble, as well as the personal Assassin of Lorenzo de' Medici.

• Cool Old Guy
• Disappeared Dad: By way of a gallows.
• Happily Married
• Hero of Another Story: Assassin's Creed: Lineage.
• In the Hood: In Lineage.

Mario Auditore

"Don't you recognize me? It'sa me, Mario!"

Ezio's uncle, he commands a large number of mercenaries from his villa in Tuscany.

• Badass Cape
• Cool Old Guy
• Cool Uncle: He gives Ezio money and a place for his family to stay, and inducts him into the Assassin's order.
• Handicapped Badass: His left eye was blinded due to a pendulum trap in Project Legacy.
• Hero of Another Story: Is one of the viewpoint characters in Project Legacy.
• Killed Off for Real
• The Mentor: A strange combination of this and Boisterous Bruiser.
• Shout-Out: It'sa him, Mario.
• Uncle Pennybags: Despite the state of decay Ezio finds Monteriggioni in, Mario does pretty much own the place. He also set Ezio up with a room, and some money to buy armor, free of charge. Also in Project Legacy, it's shown that he actively interacts with and helps out the various communities in his village to try and learn more about what they do.

Claudia Auditore

"You here to look at the book?"

Ezio's little sister. After the remaining Auditores flee Firenze, she becomes Monteriggioni's bookkeeper, helping Ezio set up his business empire. Come Brotherhood she takes a more direct stance in assisting her brother, managing a Roman brothel and joining the Assassins in full

• Action Girl: In Brotherhood, she takes on at least three Borgia guards and kills them without taking a scratch.
• Badass: In the Blood
  • Badass Bookkeeper
• Knife Nut: Three Borgia guards witnessed firsthand her skill with a knife. That was the last thing they saw.
• Older Than They Look: Despite being in her late-thirties in Brotherhood, she looks no different than she did when she was a bookkeeper in II.
• Took a Level In Badass
• Woman Scorned: Famously and hilariously goes from crying over her unfaithful boyfriend one minute to vindictive and terrifying the next.

"It's Duccio. I fear he's been unfaithful. ...He should suffer for what he's done."

• • And much later on in life, Ezio would encounter the exact same guy (now an art dealer who came across a few of Leonardo's paintings) and once again beat the hell out of him for bad-mouthing his sister.
  • And again in Constantinople, where he's found chatting up Sofia Sartor. He's gotten a bit Genre Savvy about it, too:

Duccio: [recognizes Ezio] Le diavolo in persona! Ezio: Duccio. A pleasure.

Bartolomeo d'Alviano

Assassin and mercenary leader who Ezio rescues in Venice, later becoming a major ally during Brotherhood.

• Boisterous Bruiser
• Cluster F-Bomb

"Nothing hangs between your thighs! In fact, there is a hole there so deep it reaches into the fucking underworld!"

• Happily Married: In Brotherhood, though thanks to "Bianca," when Bartolomeo calls for his wife Ezio only half-jokingly asks, "Did you check behind the table?" before finding out to his surprise that the wife is an actual human woman.
• Hero of Another Story: One of the viewpoint characters of Project Legacy.
• I Call It Vera: Wields a claymore called "Bianca".
• Large Ham
• Ugly Guy, Hot Wife
• You Fight Like a Cow

La Volpe

The leader of the Florentine thieves and an Assassin, he moves to Rome during Brotherhood, becoming a major ally for Ezio.

• Animal Theme Naming: Literally "The Fox," later worked into the name of his inn.
• The Complainer Is Always Wrong: In Brotherhood, he perpetually suspects Machiavelli of being The Mole due to the lack of progress against the Borgia regime, especially after he and Ezio see Machiavelli accept a message from a Borgia guard, and only lays off when Ezio vouches for Machiavelli -- who later confirms that the Borgia guard (unwittingly killed by one of La Volpe's thieves) was his own mole. La Volpe eventually moves to kill Machiavelli himself after Borgia troops try to move on the Thieves' Guild, but Ezio stops him in the nick of time, having found the real mole... a thief, presumably having been in La Volpe's employ.
• Honor Among Thieves: When they first meet La Volpe returns Ezio's money, which was deliberately pickpocketed to lure him to the meeting spot. His thieves also watch out for each other, protecting their fellows when they're in danger.
• Legitimate Businessmen's Social Club: The tavern he and Ezio build in Brotherhood, La Volpe Adoramentata ("The Sleeping Fox"), a favorite of the Borgia guards who provide coin in more ways than one.
• Only Known by Their Nickname: Although Renaissance calls him Gilberto, this is not mentioned in the game.

Paola

The madame of Florentine brothel, she protects Ezio's family after they are betrayed, teaching Ezio how to use his hidden blade and disappear in the crowd.

• Hooker with a Heart of Gold
• The Mentor
• What Happened to the Mouse?: She isn't seen after ACII's final sequence.

Niccolo Machiavelli

Fellow Assassin, assisting Ezio during both the Battle of Forlì and the Bonfire of the Vanities and becoming his chief advisor during Brotherhood.

• Fashionable Asymmetry: His Brotherhood outfit's outermost garment is missing its right sleeve.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: His explanation of his cynicism to Ezio is that he merely describes the conditions in Rome as they are.
• Knight in Sour Armor: The games don't even try to downplay the cynicism he was famous for in Real Life (i.e. destroy the enemy without mercy and hesitation), yet he fights against the Borgias' tyranny for the people of Rome.
• Machiavelli Was Wrong: Direct example. Ezio's actions tend to screw around with Machiavelli's rather cynical outlook. Eventually thanks to this, Machiavelli steps down as the Roman leader of the Assassins in favor of Ezio.
• The Mentor: Ezio's recruits are essentially handed off to Machiavelli for their initial training, and he was probably supervising them when they were not acting as Ezio's personal security detachment.
• The Mole: Suspected of being this by La Volpe -- hence his withholding of the Thieves' Guild's support -- and evidence seems to mount. He's not. The Borgia guard he accepted a letter from was his own spy in the Borgia regime, who was killed by one of La Volpe's unwitting thieves. The actual mole, another thief, is found later.
  • The suspicion isn't helped when he appears to have been ineffective of making progress against the Borgia -- having driven away the Thieves' Guild, unable to relieve the pressure on Bartolomeo's army, unable to get the madam of the Rosa in Fiore brothel to actually support the Assassins (a Database entry reveals that she was actually selling out the Assassins to the Church cardinals in the Borgias' pocket), being unaware that both Caterina Sforza and the Apple of Eden were held by the Templars, and otherwise being spectacularly unprepared for going after Cesare and Rodrigo Borgia.
    • In Machiavelli's defense, not only was he a newcomer to the city but the Borgias had thoroughly ground down the populace. Machiavelli, of all people, is about the worst person you want for a popular people's revolution.
• What the Hell, Hero?: His reaction to Ezio sparing Rodrigo Borgia, causing him to temporarily abandon Ezio and head to Rome.
• Worthy Opponent: He gives some kudos to Cesare for how he manages to keep Rome under his iron-fisted rule. A nod to how historically he had good relations with the Borgia, and in particular seemed to admire Cesare in his writing.
  • This ends up being part of what casts suspicion on him as The Mole.

Yusuf Tazim

The Grand Master of the Constantinople Assassins.

• Badass: As befits an Assassin Grand Master.
• Boisterous Bruiser: Sneakier than most (being an Assassin and all), but the personality remains.
• Deadpan Snarker
• Heroic Sacrifice: Dies trying to single-handedly hold off the Templars when they storm Sofia's house. He takes a lot of them with him.
• The Lancer
• Lovable Rogue
• Mr. Exposition: Introduces the new mechanics to Ezio.

Shao Jun

"It was my mentor's wish to meet you."

"I want to understand, like you do, to help my people."

A talented young Assassin from China. She appears in Assassin's Creed: Embers. Shao Jun seeks guidance from Ezio in order to learn how best to lead and rebuild her order.

---

• Action Girl
• The Apprentice: She was this to her Assassin mentor before he was killed and now wants Ezio guidance to help aid her people.
• Badass
• Born Into Slavery: She was born into being one of the Emperor's concubines. Her mentor saved her from her fate.
• Cool Sword: Her jian.
• Hero of Another Story
  • If we're lucky, we might get to see her in another game and find out the deal behind that box Ezio gave to her.
• In the Hood

The Templars

Rodrigo Borgia

The Grand Master of the Templar Order, as well as the man ultimately responsible for the death of Ezio's father and brothers.

• Badass Spaniard: While he did get beat up like a child by Ezio in the ending, it's Ezio we are talking about, and at least he was a man enough to accept the challenge without whining or trying to negotiate first. He also proved to be a fairly skilled swordsman earlier on, when Ezio, disguised as a guard, was pretending to be going to deliver the apple to him, even telling his two bodyguards (assuming you failed the QTE) to stand down because he could take Ezio on by himself.
• Big Bad
• Big Screwed-Up Family: As evident in Brotherhood. Truth in Television.
• The Chessmaster
• Evil Is Petty: Ezio's father was opposing the Pazzi conspiracy that Rodrigo Borgia was behind, but Rodrigo also had Ezio's brothers killed just to make a point.
• Evil Old Folks
• Fat Bastard
• Foregone Conclusion: If you knew your history, his ascension to the Papacy shouldn't be of any surprise, though it does come off as a Player Punch in AC2 due to the eleven-year time skip between Sequences 11 and 14, that game's last two chapters.
  • Although the attack on the Papal carriage in the E3 reveal trailer never happens in Brotherhood, the "setting drop" ("1503 - Rome") was probably used to lure the history-aware into thinking that this was how Rodrigo Borgia would bite the big one.
• Hoist by His Own Petard: He tries to poison his son Cesare, when the latter shows to be too ambitious. However, it ends the other way around...
• In the Hood: he spends much of the game wearing a Palpatine-style black hood that conceals his upper face, and his name and identity aren't revealed for quite a while too. He eventually ditches it after becoming Pope, though.
• Laser-Guided Karma: One of the reasons why he remains in the background in Brotherhood.
• Let's Fight Like Gentlemen: Agrees to Ezio's challenge to a brawl without weapons (with Ezio's armored right glove a convenient exception). Surprisingly enough, it's a one-sided affair.
  • Actually you can see Ezio discarding his armored gauntlet.
• Only Known by Their Nickname: Before his identity was revealed, he was only referred to as either "the Spaniard" or "Maestro".
• Orcus on His Throne: Chose to remain hiding during Brotherhood, primarily out of fear of Ezio, and a decision to focus on consolidation of Templar gains.
  • This was also consistent with his behavior in II where he let the Pazzi (in Florence and San Gimignano) and Barbarigo (in Venice) families and their allies take credit -- and thus the brunt of the Assassin's attention. Until about the time that the Apple of Eden arrived from Cyprus, Ezio was almost never in a position to kill Rodrigo.
    • And in both AC II and Brotherhood, he blamed all the problems with Ezio on his allies, never himself, in spite of having the means to help.
• Parental Incest: Rumors abound about him and his daughter, Lucrezia, though this only appears in Brotherhood as an accusation by Caterina Sforza.
  • A comment by Cesare implies it's true - look at her expression when Cesare suggests that she should "persuade" the Pope into giving him more money.
  • Also Mentioned in his AC II database entry.
• The Pope: In both the game and Real Life, he became Pope Alexander VI. He wasn't much better of a Pope in real life than he was in the game.

Francesco de' Pazzi

The father of Vieri and a member of the Templar's.He also happens to be one of your first Assassination targets.

• Aristocrats Are Evil: As shown in his Database Profile, he hates the Middle and Lower Classes, as well as anyone who tries raising their social status.
• Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking:He was claimed to have done this at the start of the game.
• Ax Crazy: Just watch him killing Lorenzo's brother. And both in Real Life and the Novel, he's so crazed up that he STABS HIS OWN LEG WITHOUT REALIZING IT!
• Disc One Final Boss:He's the final target before you really get on with the story.
• Fan Disservice: After you kill him, his corps is hanged by the Medici in front of the city while wearing only a loin cloth....
• Fragile Speedster: He can run quite a lot. However, like everyone else who plays this trope in Assassin's Creed, he'll get cut down pretty quickly.
• Pride Before a Fall: He got so overconfident about the conspiracy that he ignored the threat posed by Ezio, not to mention he got so bloodthirsty he killed Lorenzo's brother and left Lorenzo with time to recover and defend himself(Though it could be blamed on the two monks, since they failed to stab him fatally and ran away)
• Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Does this to the Medici.

Vieri de' Pazzi

A young Florentine noble, his family has always been at odds with both the Medici and the Auditore houses. Vieri is later revealed to be a member of the Knights Templar.

• Aristocrats Are Evil: Like his father, he's shown to be extremely brutal, cruel and hateful towards the lower classes and everyone else.
• Attempted Rape: He tries this on Cristina Vespucci, but Ezio intervenes.
• Bad Boss: Apparently, he disfigures and maims his own soldiers if they piss him off, or if he feels like it, with one mentioned Eye Scream occasion. It's implied in a letter that he just wants his father's attention.
• Big Screwed-Up Family: The Pazzi are not nice people.
• Evil Counterpart: He's what Ezio could've been if not for his parents and Mario.
• Jerkass:Just like his father.
• Nobles Who Actually Do Something: Unlike most other Templars, who will run at the sight of Ezio(though some of them are just being Dangerously Genre Savvy), Vieri was willing to stay his ground and fight against Mario Auditore's mercenaries. In the novel, he even wears full body armor, fights and nearly kills Ezio with an axe.
• Sore Loser: According to Shaun's Database Profile, Vieri would often make up rigged competitions to flaunt himself over others. And on the rare occasions when he lost, he would invite the winner's entire family for "a meal to die for". Not to mention how he swears to kill Ezio and his entire family, both during Ezio's rescue of Cristina during the Attemped Rape mentioned above, and after Francesco's arrest, during which Vieri keeps slandering the Auditore's name and triggers the first chapter's fight. In fact, during the first part of the game, your enemies consist of Pazzi Family's Guards(Or relatives, since they dress like Vieri) trying to find and beat you down on Vieri's orders.
• Spoiled Brat
• "Well Done, Son" Guy: In a letter, his mentor Fra Giacondo expresses his belief that Vieri acts the way he does to gain his father's approval.

Cesare Borgia

Rodrigo Borgia's ambitious son and Captain General of the Papal armies, who becomes the main villain of Brotherhood.

• Ambition Is Evil: Really wants to take over Italy, while his father merely wanted to consolidate the power they held. Moreover, while his father has some measure of patience (having been at this for almost thirty years) and is willing to work behind the scenes, Cesare wants to do it openly (albeit only disguising the Templar angle under the guise of the Church), quickly and by overt military force.
  • During the final boss fight in Viana, Spain, Cesare claims to intend to conquer Spain as well, even though Cesare was now in the service of one of his relatives, King John III of Navarre.
• Authority Equals Asskicking: He's actually a very skilled swordsman and as a military commander he leads from the front, although there's nothing to back up his claim of being "the greatest fighter who ever lived". In the actual final battle, he fights like the Elite Mook Papal Guards and is immune to insta-kills, but doesn't counter, grab, or kick to break your defenses, making fighting him a simple matter of continuously smacking him to death while occasionally breaking off to fight his respawning mooks. He's certainly got nothing on Robert de Sable or Al-Mualim from the first game.
• Badass Boast:

If I want to live, I live. If I want to take, I take. If I want you to die, YOU DIIIIIIIEE!

• • Doubles as a Villainous Breakdown though, since this is said after he finds out that daddy won't pay his warmaking bills, didn't tell him that his French ally is dead or about the extent of the Assassins' liberation of Rome, blames their troubles on Cesare's "Moment Of Awesome" that was razing Monteriggioni, refuses to let him use the Apple of Eden... oh, and poisoned that apple Cesare just bit.
• Brother-Sister Incest: Kisses his sister Lucrezia in a lover's fashion before a military expedition in Romagna, is receptive to his sister's... suggestions, and it's implied that the whole chain of Memories where Ezio must save Pietro, Lucrezia's admirer, from Cesare's personal assassin Micheletto Corella are all because of Cesare's jealousy, albeit deliberately provoked by Lucrezia who mistakenly believes that he's cheating on her with the captured Caterina Sforza.
• Crazy Jealous Guy: And how!
• Dragon-in-Chief: He's the primary antagonist despite being merely The Dragon, since Rodrigo's become Orcus on His Throne.
  • Dragon Ascendant: Subverted, due to how sour the situation is revealed to be when he returns from Romagna.
• Evil Is Hammy: If he wants to ham, he HAAAAAAAAAMS!
• Large Ham
• Hot-Blooded
• Humiliation Conga: The latter half of Sequence 7 and the whole of Sequence 8 are just one disaster after another for Cesare, ending with him arrested for "murder, betrayal and incest" by a general whose family he'd pressed into his service, at the order of the new Pope who'd opposed his family, and Cesare being dragged away by his former elites the Papal Guards. Sequence 9 has Ezio finding him fighting on the front lines at the castle of Viana, now in the service of a relative.
  • Worse yet, it's his downfall because it's been a long time coming -- while it's not revealed how much progress Cesare made in Romagna, it probably wasn't worth the Assassins stealing Rome out from under him and Rodrigo, which causes him to have a Villainous Breakdown.
• Smug Snake: As Ezio manages to steal Rome under him, he quickly devolves into a hysterical brat.
• The Starscream: Semi-privately speaks poorly of Rodrigo and his personal power structure behind his back.
• Villainous Breakdown: See Badass Boast and Humiliation Conga.

Lucrezia Borgia

Rodrigo Borgia's illegitimate daughter, and a target of his abuse as a child.

• Brother-Sister Incest
• Heel Face Turn: Of sorts. She doesn't react well to Cesare's interrogation for the Apple, telling Ezio in retaliation.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Did genuinely love her son Giovanni, and even tried to secretly tell him that she loved him.
• Star-Crossed Lovers: Had a son with an Assassin in Project Legacy, whether or not she recognized him as such, but the father ends up taking the son away when he's born malformed.
• What the Hell, Hero?: Gives a rather ineffectual one to Ezio when he holds her hostage in his rescue of Caterina. According to her, Lorenzo wasn't kidding when he vowed to "erase" the Pazzi family from Florence. It doesn't stop Ezio from dragging her to Caterina's cell though.
• Yandere: Goes nuts on Caterina for the possibility that Cesare might have done something with her. According to Caterina, he didn't.

Manuel Palaiologos

A Templar ally in 1512, and former heir to the Byzantine throne.

• The Dragon: To Ahmet
• Fat Bastard: One of his main characteristics.
• The Remnant: The last heir of the Byzantine Empire who seeks to restore the long-fallen Empire.

Shahkulu

Shahkulu is a Turkmen renegade in 1512.

• Badass: Even Ezio had a tough time killing him.
  • He SURVIVES THE HIDDEN BLADE. TWICE!!
• Blood Knight: Shahkulu is a pretty good executioner.
• Climax Boss: Although one could argue that Manuel Palaiologos is this.
• Evil Laughter
• Evil Sounds Deep
• Lightning Bruiser: He's wearing some very heavy armor, yet still opts to nimbly dodge (continuously) your strikes rather than defend. Not to mention the fact that he has a ton of health.
• Made of Iron: Takes two grievous chest wounds and is good to go immediately after.
• No Sell: A rather frightening and unique example within the series. Being assassinated and then stabbed again, both times hard enough to send blood flying, just makes him laugh. Even Ezio is visibly shaken.
• The Blank: His face is concealed by a mask.
• The Dragon: To Palaiologos.
• No Kill Like Overkill:He gets stabbed twice by Ezio,survives,then gets defeated and Ezio finally steps on his head to make him stay down.

Unaffiliated

Leonardo da Vinci

A budding young painter and friend of Maria Auditore. He later befriends Ezio and assists the Assassin by decrypting Codex pages and building the fantastic weapons detailed on certain pages, as well as eventually having his own designs constructed.

• Deadpan Snarker: In the DLC, he gets captured by Hermetic monks and beaten up for information. His response? Snark at them.
• Distressed Dude: In The Da Vinci Disappearance.
• Gadgeteer Genius: What part of "Leonardo da Vinci" do you not understand?
• Heterosexual Life Partner: For Ezio.
  • Except that it's all but explicitly stated that he is gay in the Brotherhood DLC, and in a relationship with his aprentence Salai.
    • Though given the way Salai treats Leonardo, it makes no sense for Ezio to approve of the little brat.
• Man Hug: Shares several with Ezio throughout their friendship.
• Non-Action Guy
• No Sell: When Ezio accidentally triggers the Apple in the "Battle of Forli" DLC for AC II, Leonardo is the only person in the room not overcome by the Piece of Eden's power. Mario and Machiavelli are both brought to their knees, and even Ezio (who has First Civilization DNA in him) is visibly pained. It's hinted that Leo's mind is just that strong.
• Straight Gay: He doesn't have any 'gay' mannerisms, and it isn't ever confirmed, but in the Brotherhood DLC, Ezio tells Leonardo that he "approves" of Salai, leaving Leonardo speechless. Among other hints in the DLC, he is all but confirmed to be gay.
  • There is also the discussion between him and Ezio about the Mona Lisa. Ezio immediately says he shouldn't be distracted by young ladies, to which Leonardo replies that women were never a distraction for him (followed by Ezio's reaction: "Wait, I don't get it"). The scene chronologically takes place after the DLC... So Ezio should get it. That's what happens when you don't add continuity to your DLC.
• The Smart Guy

Cristina Vespucci

Ezio's original love interest, seen very briefly in Assassin's Creed II but expanded upon in Brotherhood.

• Died in Your Arms Tonight: Dies in Ezio's arms during the Bonfire of the Vanities, as shown in a repressed Brotherhood memory.
• Dying Declaration of Love
• Expy: Of Simonetta Vespucci making Ezio an expy of Sandro Botticelli the painter who allegedly loved Simonetta and Cristina's husband an expy of Giuliano de' Medici Simonetta's RL husband.
• The First Cut Is the Deepest: The subject of Ezio's repressed memories in Brotherhood.
• In the Past Everyone Will Be Famous: Once joked that her cousin Amerigo would have a shipping company named after him.
• Rescue Romance: Their relationship officially kicks off as Ezio (who was tracking her on Federico's advice) rescued her from Attempted Rape by Vieri.

Lorenzo de' Medici

The de facto ruler of Florence, both Giovanni and Ezio served him as his personal Assassin.

• Bus Crash: Dies off-screen around the time of the spin-off Discovery.
• Historical Hero Upgrade: Comes off a lot more benevolent than his historical record would imply, although in Lineage he attends the interrogation-by-torture of a Borgia henchman and according to Lucrezia utterly obliterates the Pazzi after their assassination attempt. On the other hand, it's implied that he looks better in comparison to his counterpart Francesco de' Pazzi.

Caterina Sforza

The countess of Forlì, Caterina is a significant ally (and a bit more than that) to Ezio.

• Bus Crash: She does not appear again after Sequence 4 of Brotherhood, which ends with her riding to Florence petition for the return of her rulership of Forlì, as she felt that she was useless as a political/military ally to the Assassins otherwise. According to Shaun, she would be unsuccessful in this and die of pneumonia.
• Dark Action Girl: Her Brotherhood biography mentions she doesn't have much of a problem with infanticide, just like the Real Life Caterina Sforza, a woman described by Badass of the Week as an Evil Overlord in her own right.
• Doomed by Canon
• Fiery Redhead: And how!
• Hot-Blooded
• Heroes Want Redheads
• We Have Reserves: After the Orsi brothers kidnap two of her children, she taunts them that she can make more. Subverted, since she asks Ezio to save them immediately afterwards.
  • According to Badass of the Week, with the obvious exception of Ezio's involvement, Sforza did this for real.

Rosa

A member of the Venetian thieves guild who teaches Ezio how to grab higher ledges. Implied to have also had an intimate relationship with him.

• Action Girl
• Determinator
• Tomboy
• Tsundere: Type A.

Girolamo Savonarola

An exiled monk who stumbles upon a wounded Ezio and the Apple of Eden, taking it for himself to begin a reign of terror in Florence -- and one of the only people in the whole series to wield a Piece of Eden without being Assassin or Templar-aligned.

• Chekhov's Gunman: Appears in the background in several cutscenes during the "Battle of Forli" chapter, before stealing the Apple of Eden at the end and rising to prominent as the Big Bad of the "Bonfire of the Vanities" chapter.
• The Exile
• From Nobody to Nightmare
• The Fundamentalist
• Ludd Was Right: His general dogma.
• Mercy Kill: As he is burned on the stake, Ezio climbs up and and kills him with a single (albeit brutal) stab to the neck.
• Mind Rape: Courtesy of the Apple, and done to the leaders of Florence, forcing them and the people of Florence to follow him.
• Sinister Minister
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: May have actually been unaware of both the Assassin and Templar agendas -- and is the only antagonist to be simultaneously targeted by both.

Giovanni Borgia

The bastard child of an Assassin and Lucrezia Borgia in Project Legacy. Was raised to be a prick by his uncle (posing as his father), but later switched sides. Later accompanies Hernan Cortez and his conquistadors to South America.

• Came Back Wrong: The Shroud saved him from death, but left him with severe Bleeding Effect-like symptoms, and "Consus."
• Half-Human Hybrid: Giovanni was able to manifest Eagle Vision as a five-year-old child; due to this being strongly implied in AC2 about Altaïr Ibn La'Ahad and his ancestors, it may be inferred about Giovanni and his father Perotto Calderon.
• Hearing Voices: At times (often in proximity to the Apple of Eden) he saw/heard "Consus," who would tend to give him advice relating to the use of Pieces of Eden, though Consus also interpreted a letter and guided him to joining the Assassins.
• Infant Immortality: All thanks to The Shroud of Eden.
• Name's the Same: Shares the same first name as Ezio's father. Ironically, he ends up marrying a woman named Maria Amiel, who shares the same first name as Ezio's mother.

Erudito

An enigmatic entity opposing Abstergo, e-mailing both players of Project Legacy and Desmond in Brotherhood.

• He Who Must Not Be Seen
• Meaningful Name: Italian for "scholar" or "learned one."
• Seeker Archetype
• Spirit Advisor
• What the Hell, Hero?: In Project Legacy, depending on your quiz answers.

Dante Moro

Once the captain of Venetian city guard, Dante was subjected to failed assassination attempt by Marco Barbarigo, who wanted to steal his wife. Despite surviving, Dante ended up heavily brain damaged, and Marco exploited this and turned him into his personal bodyguard.

• The Dragon: To Marco.
• Dumb Muscle: A rather tragic example.
• Extreme Doormat: As a result of being stabbed in the head, he's brain damaged and extremely impressionable.
• Murder the Hypotenuse: The reason Marco tried to have him killed.
• Normally I Would Be Dead Now: He was stabbed three times in the body and once in the head.

Sofia Sartor

A Venetian bookstore owner and scholar currently running her uncle's shop in Constantinople. Ezio enlists her help with finding the keys to Masyaf's vault.

• Babies Ever After: With Ezio in Embers.
• Happily Married: With Ezio
• Heroes Want Redheads
• Hot Librarian: She owns a bookstore Constantinople and loves to read in her free time.
• Hostage for Macguffin
• It's Not You, It's My Enemies: The reason that Ezio originally hesitate to have a romantic relationship with her. It turns out that his concerns were totally justified as the Templars kidnapped her to threaten Ezio near the end of the game. But they still ended up getting together in the end.
• May-December Romance: With Ezio, who is nearly 20 years her major.
• Meaningful Name: 'Sofia', at its root, derives from 'sophos', the Greek for 'wisdom'. Quite appropriate for the resident bookworm. Also, the theme of the game is Ezio's search for wisdom which he finds, in both forms.
• Second Love: For Ezio.
• Red-Headed Heroine: But unlike Caterina, she wasn't a Fiery Redhead and fits much more under the Brainy Brunette stereotype.

Prince Suleiman

The grandson of Sultan Bayezid II and an important ally of Ezio.

• Patrick Stewart Speech: He made one of of these during a conversation with Ezio.

"I have not lived long, but I have lived long enough to know that the world is a tapestry of many colors and patterns. A just leader would celebrate this, not seek to unravel it."

• The Magnificent: Most famously known as Suleiman the Magnificent.
• The Wise Prince
• Young Future Famous People: When Ezio met him, Suleiman was just a 17 years old prince with low standing in the Ottoman courts. Eventually he will go on to become of the most successful Sultans in the Ottoman Empire.

Prince Ahmet

One of Bayezid's sons and the uncle of Suleiman. He also happens to be the new Grand Master of the Templar Order.

• Cain and Abel: It's unclear if he planned on killing his brother, but Ahmet winded up being killed by Selim, making him an rare case of Evil Abel, though Selim isn't exactly good either.
• Cutscene Boss: Killed off by his brother Selim.
• Big Bad:Near the end.
• Disney Villain Death: Strangled and pushed off a cliff, sending him falling into the sea.
• Evil Uncle
• Evil Prince
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: To his brother Selim. Ahmet is intelligent, calm and scholarly while Selim is a hot-tempered and bellicose warmonger. Because of this, the Janissaries primarily favor Selim.
• The Unfavorite: Ahmet is disliked for being the choice for next sultan. While Tarik comments how Ahmet is too soft when it comes to war, but too paranoid when it comes to peace, it should be noted that the only shown dislikers of Ahmet are the Janissaries, who are shown and described through the entire game to be close to an entire Praetorian Guard of Complete Monsters and Culture Police, so their opinion might not be the most trustworthy. Plus, Ahmet's Database seems to imply the Janissaries are also hoping for a sultan who leads them into a holy war against all other countries, making Ahmet's decision to join the Templars more comprehensible.
• Villainous Valor: Say what you will about the man, but to keep trying to fight and kill Ezio while they're FALLING OFF A CLIFF shows just how much this guy is bent on finding the Grand Temple and fulfilling his goal. The guy is falling to his probable death, and he JUST KEEPS FIGHTING!!

Brotherhood Multiplayer Personas

The Courtesan (Fiora Cavazza)

• Bi the Way: Willingly services a female customer in Project Legacy.
• The Dragon: She was one of Cesare's Dragons, and his main connection to his "underworld" allies.
• Hooker with a Heart of Gold: Subverted: despite later allying with the Assassins, Cavazza had quite the mean streak and is implied to regret little of what she's done for Cesare.
• Hero of Another Story: Rome Chapter 1 of Project Legacy is devoted to reliving her genetic memories.
• Heel Face Turn: After being pushed a little too far by Cesare (in terms of who she had to put up with), Malfatto being the last straw, she decided to cut her losses and join the Assassins, providing them with details on Cesare's other agents.
  • Due to this, she tries to cover her ass -- a glorious ass it is -- and kill off Il Lupo and Baltasar because they (if somehow taken alive or otherwise talking) could reveal to the Assassins the extent to which she'd helped Cesare. Later, to prove her devotion to the Assassins, she tries to steal the Apple of Eden from Borgia custody. She fails.
• Left Hanging: Her last appearance is immobilized, at the feet of a very pissed Cesare Borgia, after she tried to steal the Apple of Eden. Given that it's not her memory we see this in, but Cesare's son Giovanni's, it's likely it didn't end well for her.
• Malevolent Masked Woman: Her advanced outfit features a Jubilee mask.
• Metal Fan Of Doom: The throat slit is the preferred method of killing with it.
• Ms. Fanservice
• Only in It For the Money / Punch Clock Villain: That's one way of looking at her characterization. Her change of heart - going so far as to join the Assassins, the Templars' sworn enemies - appears to suggest that Fiora did not really care about Templar ideals, and was only part of the organization for the benefits (power, money, etc.) it brought her. Once working for them proved to be more trouble than it was worth it (Cesare sending her to meet with Malfatto being the final straw), she allied herself with the Assassins because she knew they were the group that could better protect her from the Templars.
• Zettai Ryouki

The Harlequin (Cahin)

• French Jerk
• Knife Nut
• Malevolent Masked Man
• Monster Clown: This guy could give The Joker a run for his money.
• Running Gag / Big Lipped Alligator Moment: There's an achievement called "Clowning Around" that involves fighting a jester using The Harlequin's character model at six different locations. He'll be doing some acrobatics on the street, and once Ezio gets close enough, he'll engage him on a fist-fight out of nowhere. Whether the Harlequin in question is Cahin or not is debatable, but seeing as you must defeat him with your bare hands (killing him does not count towards the achievement, and that includes dropping him on water), it's possible that Ezio fights Cahin at six different places instead of fighting six different Harlequins.
• Sibling Team: With his sister, The Hellequin.
• Theme Naming: With his sister. The phrase "cahin caha" means "willy-nilly" in French.

The Hellequin (Caha)

• Aluminum Christmas Trees: No, her title of "hellequin" isn't a play on the word "harlequin", substituting the "harl" with "hell". A hellequin was a real French performer that preceded the harlequin.
• Emotionless Girl: At least, according to her character model. Subverted when Cahin is killed; she immediately loses all sense of self-preservation and fights her way to his body, removing his mask and cradling his body until an Assassin shoots her in the back of her head with a crossbow bolt.
• French Jerk
• Knife Nut
• Monster Clown
• Malevolent Masked Woman
• Sibling Team: With her brother, The Harlequin.
• Sexy Jester
• Theme Naming

The Prowler (Il Lupo)

• Animal Theme Naming: Only known as "Il Lupo" (The Wolf).
• Badass Cape
• Beat Them At Their Own Game: Uses similar attire, weapons, and techniques to those of the Assassins...
  • But I Read a Book About It: All of which came from The Barber's notes on them from watching actual Assassins on the hunt.
• Blade Below the Shoulder: His version is similar to the real-life katar.
• Expy: Similar in appearance, name, and profession as La Volpe.
• In the Hood
• Known Only By Their Nickname

The Executioner (Il Carnefice)

• An Axe to Grind
• Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": "Il Carnefice" is just Italian for "The Executioner".
• Malevolent Masked Man
• Never Learned to Read: He doesn't even read the execution warrants he gets...
• Obviously Evil: Especially his more elite gear.
• Wrestler in All of Us: One of his kill animations is a Fireman's' Carry.

The Thief (Faustina Collari)

• Improbable Weapon User: Wields half of a scissor.
• My Greatest Failure: She's never forgotten the day she broke her promise with her brother.
• Rags to Riches: Her more advanced costumes show this progression.
  • Nice Hat: Her last outfit sports a hat that would impress Two-Fry
• Sibling Team: Formerly with her brother under a mutual protection oath, which was somehow broken.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: She doesn't appear in either Brotherhood single-player or Project Legacy.

The Footpad (Lanz)

• Authority Equals Asskicking: Leader of the Cento Occhi gang.
• Despair Event Horizon: According to his wife, he became what he is now after his child was lost in miscarriage.
• Good Old Fisticuffs
• Knife Nut
• Only One Name
• Poor Communication Kills: Ezio is never told the full extent of his background, and believes he is simply a Templar killer who happened to lose his child.

The Smuggler (Lia De Russo)

• Badass Cape
• Blade Below the Shoulder: Actually winds up being more true to the Assassin's version of the weapon than Il Lupo's. Well, she is a smuggler, after all.
• In the Hood
• Magic Skirt
• Psychotic Smirk: She always seems to be smiling.

The Mercenary (Rocco Tiepolo)

• Affably Evil: Of all the strange and generally Jerkass people Fiora meets, she gets along with him the best, even dining and flirting with him.
• Bolivian Army Ending: Dies fighting against a dozen Assassins.
  • Go Out with a Smile
• Captain Ersatz: He looks like, dresses like, and even acts like a less Badass, more Evil Mario Auditore.

The Doctor (Malfatto)

• Captain Ersatz: Italian Renaissance Jack the Ripper
• Dirty Coward: He drugs Fiora Cavazza in her sleep, only to seem to panic when she manages to get up and fight back. He also runs on sight from Ezio, but that's just being smart.
• Deadly Doctor
• Improbable Weapon User: Uses a syringe full of poison that he jabs into his targets.
• Karmic Death: Possibly, if he's killed by a female Assassin recruit.
• Malevolent Masked Man
  • White Mask of Doom
• Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: Inadvertently begins Fiora Cavazza's turn against Cesare and the downfall of Cesare's crooked connections in Rome.
• Serial Killer
• Would Hit a Girl: As long as they can't hit back.

The Barber (Baltasar de Silva)

• Apologetic Attacker: Apologizes to Fiora before unveiling his trap.
• Captain Ersatz: Italian Renaissance Sweeney Todd
• Dangerously Close Shave
• The Dragon: One of Cesare's, serving as his master spy.
• I Lied: After the "reformed" Fiora arrives to make a deal with him, he calls out a squad of arquebusiers to kill her. He didn't expect the Assassins to have their own ambush team waiting too.
• Improbable Weapon User: Since he uses a razor as his weapon, slitting his targets' throats is the only effective way of killing with it.
• The Spymaster

The Priest (Brother Ristoro)

• Bald of Evil
• Sinister Minister: Poisoned two believers who became aware of and spoke out against his corruption.

The Noble (Silvestro Sabbatini)

• Aristocrats Are Evil: Turns out to be partaking in human trafficking.
• Artificial Limbs: Lost his left hand and forearm to Cesare due to an unspecified failure, but the mere accidental mention of the prosthetic (delivered by Fiora Cavazza as "a second chance" from Cesare) is enough for him to decide to kill his wife, despite her sincere apology.
• Fur and Loathing
• Nouveau Riche: The Courtesan implies he is this in Project Legacy, and that he merely buys his way into social circles.
• Primal Stance: He seems perfectly capable of standing upright, but seems to slink around a lot.

The Blacksmith (Auguste Oberlin)

• Badass Beard
• Domestic Abuse: His horrible treatment of his wife is what led Ezio to assassinate him.
• Drop the Hammer
• Genius Bruiser: Fiora Cavazza (the Courtesan) is surprised when he is revealed to be quite attentive to detail and a mechanical designer.
• Hidden Depths: Not only is he a master blacksmith, he also designs Borgia propaganda.

The Engineer (Gaspar de la Croix)

• Ax Crazy: By the time Ezio finds him, he's finally snapped and has begun to fire at people indiscriminately.
• Cold Sniper
• Dark and Troubled Past: His history is never revealed, but he is clearly driven by remorse.
• Four Eyes, Zero Soul
  • Opaque Lenses
• Improbable Weapon User: His multiplayer weapon is a drafting compass.
• Mad Engineer
• Trigger Happy

The Captain (Donato Mancini)

• Armor Is Useless: Despite wearing a full breastplate, he dies just as easily as his squishier opponents.
• Honor Before Reason: Wouldn't take a bribe to throw a horse race to Cesare, though it may have been arrogance rather than honor.
  • More likely arrogance, as Mancini ended up vandalizing the selling stall of Rocco, a rider who did beat him, and then wanted him to report to the Circus Maximus (Circo Massimo) to be cut down. When Ezio arrives at the Circo Massimo, Mancini is on his horse wondering where "Rocco" is.
• Nobody Calls Me Chicken: Took a severe beating from the Officer just for winning the race against Cesare on principle.

The Officer (Teodor Viscardi)

• Badass Longcoat
• Good Looking Privates
• Nice Hat: He gets a beret in his later gear, a freakin' beret.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: His only appearance is a cameo in Fiora's memory of Donato Mancini (The Captain); Project Legacy doesn't mention him again, nor does he appear in Brotherhood single-player.

The Pariah (Ilaro Lombardi)

• Malevolent Masked Man
  • White Mask of Doom
• Trigger Happy: Wields what appears to be a captive bolt pistol.
• Two-Faced: His mask hides a disfigurement caused by a failed attempt at his life by an Assassin.
• Whole Costume Reference: Appears very similar to a target Ezio assassinates with a hidden gun in the cinematic trailer of Assassin's Creed II.

The Dama Rossa

• Absolute Cleavage: In her elite gear.
• Femme Fatale: She spreads Malicious Slander to make her work easier.
• Fiery Redhead
• Improbable Weapon User: Uses a double-pronged hair pin to stab people.
• Love Makes You Evil: Stated to be a vengeful spirit and scorned lover.
• Only Known by Their Nickname: Her name means "red lady", and she has No Name Given.

The Knight (Verulo Gallo)

• Armor Is Useless: Plate armor can not stop a bullet. Or a compass...
• BFS: It's just a standard broadsword, but it's definitely the biggest among the other personas.
• Lightning Bruiser: Can free-run in full plate armor.
• Malevolent Masked Man
  • The Faceless
• Tin Tyrant

The Marquis (Charles de la Motte)

• Aristocrats Are Evil
• Badass Beard/Beard of Evil: It looks just like Obi-wan Kenobi's.
• Cheese Eating Surrender Monkey: Played straight at first. He appears as an arrogant jerkass who can't back off his assertions with proofs. When he's found challenging Italians knights to a duel with his, even if the match is rigged by assassins, their performance is described as so underwhelming, the match didn't need to be rigged to begin with. When he appears some time later harrassing romans with his troops, assassins have an easy time to kill them. Then he subverts the trope hard. The whole thing was a move to draw them out of their hideouts where he could crush them with sheer force and firepower. It was a complete success.
• French Jerk
• Royal Rapier
• Small Name, Big Ego

Revelations Multiplayer Personas

Tropes in general

• Blade Below the Shoulder: All characters have hidden blades for Silent/Incognito kills, but with leveling, can turn them into smaller blades from a pike, then to a katar.
• Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Updated versions of The Courtesan, Harlequin, Doctor and Knight (from Brotherhood Multiplayer) are available to players who pre-ordered the game, or played Brotherhood previously.

The Count (Vlad The Impaler)

• Drop the Hammer: His standard Weapon.
• Large Ham: "Shall I have you impaled?!"
• Names to Run Away From Really Fast
• Off with His Head: When he was killed, the Ottoman Sultan wouldn't believe he was dead until his head was brought to him.

The Deacon (Cyril of Rhodes)

• Sinister Minister
• In the Hood

The Renegade (Shahkulu)

• Blade on a Stick: His standard weapon
• Only One Name
• Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Wants revenge on the Ottomans for oppressing his people, the Shia.
• The Dragon: To Manuel Palailogos.

The Bombardier (Kadir)

• Beard of Evil
• Drop the Hammer: His standard weapon
• Only One Name

The Sentinel (Vali cel Tradat)

• Anti-Villain
• Badass Cape: Might not compare to the Brigand's or the Count's in length, but still undeniably awesome.
• Beard of Evil
• Beat Them At Their Own Game: Aside from the similarity in attire, Vali cel Tradat now uses the techniques he once learned from the Assassins against them, which makes it difficult to find him... at first.
• Face Heel Turn: Formerly a loyal member of the Assassins, he felt betrayed after they made a truce with the Ottomans, who had humiliated his people, conquered Wallachia, his home country, and murdered his secret idol, Vlad Tepes. Understandably, the guy wasn't very pleased.
• Fan Boy: Idolised the Count, Vlad the Impaler.
• In the Hood: A remnant of his previous life, as an Assassin.
• It's Personal: See Alas, Poor Villain above.
• Longswords Are Just Better: One of his secondary weapons.
• Knife Nut: One of his secondary weapons.
• Meaningful Name: The last part of his name (cel Tradat) means "the betrayed one", which fits the circumstances of his defection.
• Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Against the Assassins.

The Vanguard (Oksana Razin)

• An Axe to Grind: Her standard weapon.
• Every Woman Has Her Price: Switches loyalties for the wealth and power offered to her by the Templars. Initially, she served her home country of Odessa, but spying for the Templars turned out to be far more profitable.
• Knife Nut: One of her secondary weapons.
• Skirt Over Slacks: Her second Chest skin gives her something akin to this.
• Spy Fiction
• What Happened to the Mouse?: Despite being part of the original multiplayer character ensemble, Oksana does not make an appearance in the singleplayer storyline.

The Champion (Georgios Kostas)

• An Axe to Grind: His standard weapon
• Badass Beard: Three varieties of them.
• Bald of Evil
• Beard of Evil
• Carpet of Virility
• Drop the Hammer: One of his secondary weapons.
• Glory Seeker: Had a craving for global recognition, which is what eventually lead the Templars to him.
• Longswords Are Just Better: One of his secondary weapons.
• Walking Shirtless Scene: His second Chest skin.
• Wrestler in All of Us: Both of his unique kill animations have him killing his target with his bare hands, instead of his weapon. When coming from the front, in high profile, he even executes a Fireman's Carry, which is a reference to The Executioner from "ACB".

The Thespian (Lysistrata)

• Blade on a Stick: One of her extra weapons.
• Deadpan Snarker: "Oh, such a tragedy!"
• Femme Fatale: Heavy on the 'fatale' part.
• Hime Cut: Her third hairstyle is this, albeit a shorter version than usual.
• Everything's Sparkly with Jewelry: One wonders how the woman ever manages an Incognito kill, with all the jingle that comes from wearing so much adornments.
• Knife Nut: Throat slit optional, though she does impaled heads and severed spines just as well.
• Obviously Evil: Her second Chest skin has her wearing a totally inconspicious necklace, styled with a Templar cross.
• Of Corsets Sexy: Her third Chest skin features an opened one.
• Only One Name
• Show the Forehead: Present on her standard hairstyle.
• Smoke Out: Escapes Ezio and his apprentice the first time around, thanks to a well-timed Smoke Bomb, complete with Offscreen Teleportation.
• Too Dumb to Live: After the apprentice's failed assassination of her, Lysistrata goes into hiding, knowing another brush with the assassins would probably end up fatal for her. However, her vanity gets the better of her, which causes her to participate in another play, making her a clean target for Ezio and the apprentice. Ezio lampshades this at the beginning of the mission.

The Trickster (Mirela Djuric)

• Absolute Cleavage: Her third Chest skin employs this to great effect.
• An Axe to Grind: One of her secondary weapons.
• Braids of Action: A particularly long one at that, so much that it almost borders on Rapunzel Hair.
• Cool Crown: In her standard outfit, she wears a fairly simple, golden circlet around her head.
• Does Not Like Shoes: Is barefoot in two of the three options for footwear.
• Don't You Dare Pity Me!: Her final words evoke this sentiment.
• Giant Poofy Sleeves: Her second Arms skin has her wearing a moderate version of these.
• I Regret Nothing: As she's dying, Mirela claims to regret nothing of what she's done. As a Roma, she'd been the victim of oppression, of ignorance and of hatred. In reaction, she simply took what she believed was owed to her.
• Knife Nut: Her standard weapon.
• Laser-Guided Karma: Mirela is assassinated through a dose of poison, her own preferred method of killing.
• Modesty Shorts: Sort of a prerequisite, considering she's so fond of vaulting over her targets before killing them, while the camera is at just the right angle to look up her skirt.
• Of Corsets Sexy: Her second Chest skin.
• Roma
• The Trickster: No way, really?

The Guardian

• Blade on a Stick: His standard weapon.
• Sinister Scimitar: One of his unlockable weapons.

The Privateer (Blaise Legros)

• Only in It For the Money: He'll work for the Assassins or the Templars; just depends on who pays him.

The Corsair (Eveline Guerra)

• Action Girl: Isn't called "The Terror of the Seas" for nothing!
• An Axe to Grind: One of her secondary weapons.
• Badass Longcoat: Comes in three flavours, all equally badass.
• Dynamic Entry: One of her unique kill animations is very reminiscent of this. She will rush towards her target from the front and deliver a savage kick to their face, forcefully spinning them around. At this point, she unsheathes her cutlass and neatly severs her target's spine, killing them.
• Hard Head: Seems to suffer no consequences from headbutting helmet-wearing characters like the Renegade, the Gladiator or the Crusader.
• Hot Chick with a Cutlass
• Knife Nut: One of her secondary weapons.
• Modesty Shorts: Wears them under her standard outfit.
• Nice Hat: Both of her hats can qualify as this, but especially the second one (it even has a feather!).
• Pirate Booty: Eveline and her crew were known for ambushing ships that came back from treasure-hunting expeditions, "redirecting" their loot into the coffers of the Templars.
• Pirate Girl: Obviously.
• She's Got Legs: And, given her standard outfit, she's most likely aware of it too.
• The Ladette: Has some shades of this.
• Tomboyish Ponytail: Has one as her second hairstyle.

The Brigand (Samilia Khadim)

• Action Girl
• Badass Cape: Has three varieties.
• Blade on a Stick: Her standard weapon.
• Expy: Has a few things in common with the Smuggler from Brotherhood. Both of them wear primarily green clothes and were known for trading in valuable items and secrets, which earned them wealth from the Templars.
• Giant Poofy Sleeves: Her third Arms skin gives her a long variant of these.
• Knife Nut: One of her secondary weapons.
• Show the Forehead: Aside from one lock of hair, Samila's hair is always bound back somehow, whether she braids it or ties it into a loose ponytail of sorts, that trails down her shoulder.

The Gladiator (Anacletos)

• Blood Knight: Only joined the Templars because they gave him an excuse to kill.
• The Faceless: Different types of gladiator helmets cover his face.