StarCraft (video game)/Characters

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


No units here, just the main characters of the game and Brood War. (Playable or not)

For the units, check the unit page.

For the characters introduced in StarCraft II, go to the respective character sheet.

Introduced in Starcraft

Terrans

Jim Raynor

Portrait of a hero.

"I knew I should have stayed in bed this morning."

Voiced by: Robert Clotworthy

The closest thing Starcraft has to a central protagonist, Jim Raynor is the first named character in the series. He was a marshall on a backwater planet where he was forced to destroy the Confederate outpost (called, appropriately enough, Backwater Station) after it got Zerg-infested, earning the ire of Edmund Duke and a stay in prison. After being rescued by Arcturus Mengsk, he joined the Sons of Korhal, helping his new leader to destroy the Confederacy while it was occupied with the Zerg and Protoss, seduce Edmund Duke to their side, and be on the side of justice. Raynor realizes the mistake he's made too late: Mengsk is a power-hungry madman who cares only for his own gain; even revenge for his slain parents doesn't particularly matter to him. Mengsk sacrifices Kerrigan to the Zerg and Raynor finally leaves. He encounters Infested Kerrigan, and despite his pleas, she won't come back to the good side. He instead joins Tassadar, and ultimately has a direct hand in the destruction of the Overmind.

Of course, his role didn't end there: the UED invades, and while Raynor is initially unimportant, the now-freed Kerrigan enlists his and Zeratul's help in defeating the forces of Earth and a new, burgeoning Overmind that will enslave her again. He helps, knowing it's a bad idea, and indeed it was: Kerrigan becomes the undisputed queen of the Zerg, Raynor swears to be the one to kill her, and now the only major forces that don't have Raynor on the hit list are factions of Protoss belonging to Zeratul and Selendis.

He returns in StarCraft II, leading Raynor's Raiders, a resistance group fighting the Dominion. He has become cynical and bitter in the intervening four years since the Brood War, partly as a result of Mengsk and the Dominion painting Raynor as a terrorist.

  • The Alcoholic: When Reynor isn't fighting, he's usually drinking whiskey. Tychus even refers to him as "that drunk Reynor" at one point.
  • Alliterative Name: Well not him, but his rebel unit is called Raynor's Raiders.
    • Word of God states that went he was with the Sons of Korhal, his men were called Raynor's Rangers.
  • All There in the Manual: More or less Raynor's entire backstory. Originally charged with manslaughter, he was given clemency by the magistrate of Mar Sara in exchange for becoming its marshal. In the novels, it is revealed that he once had a wife and a son, but both died in tragic circumstances.
  • And This Is For: Says this to Vanderspool in Devil's Due.

Raynor: This isn't about revenge. This is about justice. About restoring the balance. About taking something dark and ugly out of the galaxy once and for all, so that something—something decent and good—can grow instead. This is for the Heaven's Devils. For everyone who was their friend. And for everyone whose life you have ruined along your way to this moment.

  • Atonement Detective: He became a marshal on Mar Sara as part of a deal to have his criminal record erased and be able to live a normal life. Then the Zerg came...
  • Badass
    • Badass Bandolier
    • Badass Biker: His trademark Vulture.
    • Badass Normal: For a setting where troops in Power Armor are considered basic infantry and can be trained and outfitted for combat in a matter of minutes, Raynor's lack of psionic abilities or any other apparent enhancements makes him seem ridiculously average, especially since he is not particularly intelligent or well-educated. However, he more than makes up for this by the fact that he is a genuinely nice person, which not only attracts friends and followers, but also makes him one of the few humans to be respected by the Protoss as both a friend and an ally. When put together with his several years of combat experience, Raynor is as much a formidable leader of men as a combatant in his own right, the latter of which is most ably demonstrated by him managing to single-handedly beat another battle-hardened veteran in seven-foot-tall Power Armor with no more than the clothes on his back and his bare hands.
  • Better the Devil You Know: His reason for helping Kerrigan against the UED is a combination of this and the Lesser of Two Evils.
  • BFG: His sniper rifle, with its "Mark 12 Penetrator round", which he uses to great effect on Char.
  • Book Dumb: He's not exactly stupid, but he does defer to the expertise of others on many occasions.
  • Book Ends: He reaches for his revolver as Tychus looms up behind him...
  • Butt Monkey: Even before the Zerg invasion, Raynor had already lost countless friends and loved ones, often to circumstances beyond his control. Nearly all of his former military comrades ended up either being killed in combat or in the manhunt that followed after their unit was disbanded. Both his parents die in poverty, refusing to accept the ill-gotten earnings that he sent to them. His son was taken away by the Confederacy for having psionic powers and later said to have been "killed in a shuttle accident"; hearing the news caused his wife's health to decline until she eventually succumbed to illness. Now he lives with the guilt of having inadvertently helped Arcturus Mengsk to power by killing millions of innocent people, as well as failing to save Kerrigan from being turned into the Queen of Blades.
  • The Captain: His rank and standing under Mengsk.
  • Chivalrous Pervert: Of course, it's hard to be chivalrous around a telepath. It can be argued that he's actually normal since All Men Are Perverts, especially in the novels. Oddly enough, the novels completely change the meaning of the exchange between him and Kerrigan that imply this, turning it instead into a reflection of his Dead Little Son.
  • Clear My Name: Subverted. He's branded a terrorist and outlaw by Mengsk, he realizes that there's no real way to clear his name, so he focuses on bringing Mengsk down to his own level instead.
  • Cool Ship: He hijacked the battlecruiser Hyperion when he parted ways with Arcturus Mengsk, and it's now his flagship.
  • Cosmic Plaything:
  • Dark and Troubled Past: Prior to becoming a marshal, he was a crook and train robber along with Tychus. When they pushed their luck too far, Tychus was caught and he took the fall for their crimes without ratting out Raynor. It's one of the major reasons Raynor trusts Tychus throughout the campaign. Oh yeah, and he's lost both his wife and son; the latter to the Confederacy's Ghost program, the former to grief over their son's death.
  • Deadpan Snarker

Valerian: Everyone wonders if I will be as good an emperor as my father, but I want something more - to prove I will be a better emperor, and a better man.
Raynor: That shouldn't be hard.

Jim Raynor: Fenix! No!
Kerrigan: What are you worried about, Jim? He died the way all Protoss hope to: in combat.
Jim Raynor: He died because you betrayed him. How many more noble souls do you need to consume before you're satisfied? How many more innocent people have to die before you realize what you've become?
Kerrigan: (rattled) You don't even know what you're talking about, Jim!
Jim Raynor: Don't I? I'll see you dead for this, Kerrigan! For Fenix, and all the others who got caught between you and your mad quest for power!
Kerrigan: Tought talk, Jimmy, but I don't think you have what it takes to be a killer.
Jim Raynor: It may not be tomorrow, darlin', it may not even happen with an army at my back. But rest assured; I'm the man who's gonna kill you one day. I'll be seeing you.

  • The Hero
    • Hero with Bad Publicity: Mengsk uses his control of the media to make Raynor into a vicious terrorist madman. Despite that, people still put their hopes on Raynor when it comes to saving their lives.
  • Heroes Want Redheads: He wants Kerrigan.
    • Notably when she's human only. By the time she becomes a Zerg hybrid, her hair is no longer red.
  • Horrible Judge of Character: Many of Raynor's friends have backstabbed him, and most of those who don't died due to the actions of the backstabbers.
    • In Wings of Liberty, the player gets to choose which missions Raynor and the Raiders will take. This affects his relationships with other characters and their loyalties. For the most part, his allies make it out alive: Tychus betrays Raynor, but canonically he trusts Tosh, who joins his crew and remains loyal, while Hanson and her colonists were sent off to a safe life on Haven. For all the danger that they put themselves in and however fragile the ties that bring them together, Valerian and Warfield have managed to survive the events on Char.
  • Humans Are the Real Monsters: He seems to be the only decent human being in the StarCraft universe willing and able to take a stand against the more powerful corrupt factions. Realizing this wasn't good for his views about the humanity in general.
  • "I Know You're in There Somewhere" Fight: He tried this with Kerrigan. It didn't work until after the events of Wings of Liberty.
    • He gets his own miniature version with Matt through out the campaign as he is slowly losing faith in his revolution, especially with Kerrigan back on the scene.
  • Knight in Shining Armor -> Knight in Sour Armor
  • La Résistance: Twice, even.
  • The Lost Lenore: Twice, first his wife, then Kerrigan.
  • Magnetic Hero: Mike Liberty describes him as one:

Mike Liberty: James Raynor was the most decent man I ever encountered during the fall of the Confederacy. Everyone else, I can safely say, was either a victim or a villain or quite often both. At first glance, Raynor seems like a backwoods cowboy, one of those good old boys swapping lies about the days gone by. There's a cocksureness, an overconfidence about him that makes you bridle initially. Yet over time you come to see him as a valuable ally and -- dare I say it? -- a friend. It all comes from belief. Jim Raynor believed in himself and believed in those around him. And from that strength came the strength that allowed him and those who followed him to survive everything else the universe threw at him. Jim Raynor was a most decent and honorable man. I suppose that's why his is the greatest tragedy in this godforsaken war.

"Standing around talking to my damn self..."

  • Psychic Dreams for Everyone: Raynor had dreams about Kerrigan where he visualized what was happening to her mentally as she was infested. In the novelizations of the game, Kerrigan torments Raynor with dreams of them together happily as humans, both to Mind Screw him and to work out her own lingering frustrations left over from her infestation.
  • Rebellious Rebel: Joined Arcturus Mengsk and the Sons of Korhal to fight the corrupt and oppressive Terran Confederacy, but rebelled and formed his own resistance when he realized that Mengsk was even worse than them.
  • Revolvers Are Just Better: He carries one around despite having an assault rifle as a default weapon. He even lowers his assault rifle and pulls out the revolver when he approaches Valerian. It's ultimately a symbolic move as the revolver only has one bullet and it's meant for Arcturus, whom Raynor mistakes Valerian for initially. It ends up being destined for Tychus.
  • Right Man in the Wrong Place:
  • Rousing Speech: Delivers an epic one before the last mission of Wings of Liberty

"That thing may be the key to stopping the Queen of Blades, but it's our sweat and blood that'll make it happen. After everything we've been through, past all the fire and fury, the one thing I know, is that we can count on each other, to get the job done. Or die trying. If that's what it takes. Because some things are just worth fighting for."

  • Smoking Is Cool: Be it giant cigar of manliness or cigarettes, this man will make you want to take up smoking.
  • Squick: In-universe. In the novels when he sees her infested, Raynor thinks that on some level Kerrigan is even more alluring and attractive, and is appropriately disturbed with himself for thinking such.
  • Token Good Teammate: Raynor was, as of the end of Brood War, the only good human character. Realizing this has not been good for his views on humanity in general.
  • Unwitting Pawn: He was fooled by Kerrigan: While he knew that there would have been a betrayal once they had defeated the UED, what really makes him a sucker is that he didn't expect the betrayal so soon. As it turns out, the plot was bolder and more daring: the moment they had achieved victory, she went after the Dominion and the Protoss at the same time.

"I'd like to believe she's on the level, but there's a part of me that just knows better. I do believe she's serious about eliminating the UED; my only concern is what happens to us when she does."

  • What Measure Is a Mook?: He was very pissed off that Arcturus left behind Kerrigan. What about the task force that was also left behind?
  • Why Don't Ya Just Shoot Him: Justified in his case. During a conversation, he explains that the reason why Mengsk just doesn't send Nova or another Ghost to just assassinate him is because Mengsk doesn't want him to become a martyr. In order to maintain his PR, Mengsk has to convince the populace that Raynor poses no threat to him.
  • Younger Than They Look: See the picture above? He's thirty-four. It may be because of stress, something he's very familiar with. Certainly, he looks much older than his appearance in Brood War.


Arcturus Mengsk

Don't let that smile fool you.

"You don't seem to understand my position here. I will not be stopped! Not by you, or the Confederates, or the Protoss, or anyone! I will rule this sector, or see it burned to ashes around me!"

Voiced by: James Harper.

Mengsk's father was murdered by the Confederacy, and his entire planet destroyed, for being a problem. Mengsk's response was to start a resistance faction called the Sons of Korhal, and enlist the aid of Jim Raynor, Sarah Kerrigan, and later Edmund Duke. Throughout the Terran campaign, he commits steadily more unforgivable crimes for the legitimately good purpose of overthrowing the Confederacy, until he finally succeeds, sacrifices Kerrigan, alienates Raynor, and crowns himself Emperor. His true colors revealed, he becomes everything the Confederacy was and worse. When the UED invades, he's the first person on their hitlist, and much to Raynor's chagrin he has to save Mengsk's life to help Kerrigan take out the UED, which goes sour for both of them when she backstabs them both. Mengsk ultimately launches a joint Dominion-UED-Protoss attack on Kerrigan's forces that she routs, leaving him with nothing.

By the time of Starcraft II, Mengsk's empire is back on its feet, with only Raynor opposing it to any significant degree. Mengsk can't simply have Raynor assassinated because he's desperately afraid of Raynor becoming a martyr, so he uses the media to marginalize Raynor's efforts and paint him as a fanatic terrorist - which is totally different from how the Confederacy treated him.

  • Aerith and Bob: One of these does not belong: James, Sarah, Arcturus, Edmund. Though for some people, his might be a case of Awesome McCoolname.
  • American Accents: Mengsk has a thick Georgia accent.
  • Arch Enemy: To Raynor and Kerrigan.
  • Awesome Moment of Crowning/Do Not Adjust Your Set: While announcing the formation of the Terran Dominion and crowning himself as the Emperor Arcturus I.
  • The Bad Guy Wins: He gets to be the Dominion's Emperor after the first Terran campaign.
  • Beard of Evil
  • Big Brother Is Watching
  • Bold Inflation: You can hear it in every other word he says.
  • The Charmer: He honestly is a very gifted orator and is extremely charismatic, to a point where, to put it simply, the only named character who is not at some point on Mengsk's side despite knowing what a horrible person he is is Tassadar, who never met him.
  • Consummate Liar: He can even fool Kerrigan, a telepath.
  • The Emperor
  • Enemy Mine: Worked with Raynor, who made it clear he still wanted to kill him, and Kerrigan during the Brood War against the UED, and later worked with the UED and Protoss against Kerrigan. Neither end well.
  • Evil Overlord
  • Evil Plan: The original one was to become the above trope. His dealings with Tychus Finlay and Moebius Foundation without Valerian's knowledge
  • Face Heel Turn
  • Faux Affably Evil/Affably Evil: He's charismatic, friendly, cultured, and well-spoken. But try to rebel against him and you'll see just how cruel and dangerous he really is. This is a guy who said "I will rule this sector, or see it burnt to ashes around me!" and it came back to bite him in the ass.
    • : A direct quote from a certain Michael Liberty: "Arcturus Mengsk. There's a name that is synonymous with terror, betrayal and violence. A living example of the ends justifying the means. The assassin of the Confederacy of Man. The hero of the blasted world of Korhal IV. King of the universe. A savage barbarian who never let anything or anyone get in his way. And yet, he is charming, erudite and intelligent. When you're in his presence you feel that he's really listening to you, that your opinions matter, that you're someone important if you agree with him. It's amazing. I have often wondered if men like Mengsk don't carry around their own reality-warping bubbles, and all who fall in are suddenly transported to another dimension where the hellish things he says and does suddenly make sense. At least, that's the effect he always had on me."
  • Hero with Bad Publicity: During his days as a rebel he was pretty heroic, saving colonies left for dead by the Confederacy, but they painted him as an insane terrorist to try and keep people from realizing this. After the first Terran campaign, however...
  • Humans Are the Real Monsters
  • Manipulative Bastard
  • Meet the New Boss: A classic example.
  • Non-Action Big Bad
  • The Revolution Will Not Be Vilified: Totally subverted.
  • Save the Villain: Because of the Enemy Mine situation, Jim Raynor grudgingly saved him from execution by the UED forces after they had conquered his capital Augustgrad.
  • Villainous Breakdown: He experiences a mild one when confronted by the press after Raynor broadcasted his recordings to the Dominion.
  • Villain with Good Publicity: He's the ruler of the Terran Dominion, got most of the Dominion eating out of his hand, and branded genuine good guy Jim Raynor a terrorist and a real and present threat to Terran society, with even managing to maintain his hold over the Dominion by pretending to save them from the Zerg onslaught which destroyed Tarsonis, as well as violently suppressing or slandering anybody who would challenge his rule. Most people like him, however, and are loyal to the Dominion, and he's widely considered a media darling and doesn't shy away from interviews with the press. And then Raynor goes and blows Mengsk's real motivation of self-aggrandizement and ever more power, resulting in a mild Villainous Breakdown.
  • Well-Intentioned Extremist: Especially in the novels. At the very least, Mengsk started off this way, if the novels and the backstory in the manual are to be believed. Mengsk himself portrays himself as this after he crosses over into outright villainy and it's largely left up to the player's interpretation whether he's purely in it for his own personal gain or if he really believes he's doing the right thing. More and more, it seems he's slipping further into selfishness as time passes.
  • Wicked Cultured: The man loves his liquor, his classical music, his cigars, and plays a mean game of chess, even during his days as a terrorist rebel. His former command ship, a massive Battlecruiser named Hyperion, differs greatly from normal design standards to accommodate his tastes. To name one such variation, it has wider-than-normal hallways lined with carpets and paintings and lit by wall sconces. Raynor thinks it seems more like a fancy mansion than a warship.
  • You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: He does this to Kerrigan by leaving her on Tarsonis. It didn't work out like he thought. It may also revenge for both her questioning his actions and over the fact that she is the Ghost who killed his father.
  • You Killed My Father: His original motive for rebelling against the Confederacy before his desire for power consumed him. It's also one of the reasons he abandoned Kerrigan to the Zerg on Tarsonis. She was the Ghost that killed and decapitated his father.


General Edmund Duke

"Y'all need some good ol' fashioned discipline."

Voiced by: Jack Ritschel

Edmund Duke was the Confederacy's greatest general, and the leader of Alpha Squadron, their greatest force. He starts off as a fairly generic villain, opposing Raynor and insulting backwater worlds, until Mengsk and Raynor save his life from the Zerg and demand his loyalty in return. His knowledge of the inner workings of the Confederacy prove key to Mengsk's victory, but surprisingly, Duke proves completely loyal to him, enough so that when Raynor rebels when Mengsk's evil intentions become clear, Duke stays with Mengsk.

Ultimately, Kerrigan convinced Mengsk (and Duke, though not seen) and Fenix to assist her, and while they honored their part of the bargain, Kerrigan did not, and murdered Duke to cripple Mengsk's military.

  • Badass
    • Badass Grandpa: He is old and crusty, but he's willing to wage war anyway.
    • Four-Star Badass
    • One-Man Army: In the Norad II. In the mission where you take control of Duke, you can win the entire mission by having him solo the enemy bases, as long as you're keen to repair him and target the strong anti-air units first.
  • Cool Starship: His flagship, the Norad II. In Brood War he commands the new, upgraded Norad III.
  • Deep South: He has the most pronounced accent of any character in the game save Stukov, specifically bearing an incredibly pronounced Kentucky accent.
  • The Dragon: To Mengsk after Episode I.
  • Dirty Coward: Mostly averted. He does occasionally retreat, but only when the odds are so lopsided he'd be an idiot to stick around, but otherwise, not only does he join fights, he will do so from the front. The latter even impressed Raynor, who honestly did not expect him to show that level of bravery.
  • Facing the Bullets One-Liner: He's did this to Kerrigan.

"Do your worst then, little girl! You ain't takin' Edmund Duke without a fight!"

  • Go-Karting with Bowser: One of the multi-player maps in Starcraft 64 has Raynor and Duke competing in a friendly game of "Zergling Round-Up"
  • Grumpy Old Man
  • Heel Face Turn: And then, a Face Heel Turn without doing any turning. Few characters can claim that feat.
  • Jerkass: Though its quite obvious the second you hear him talk for the first time, the novelizations turns it up worse - after Raynor defects, his men are being overrun by Zerg and he can't save them. Raynor begs Duke to help them, offering to turn himself in if he does. Duke laughs in his face.
  • Obstructive Bureaucrat: In the early missions of Episode I. When Jim Raynor helps saving the Backwater Station from a Zerg attack, Duke has him arrested for property damage.
  • Reliable Traitor: He joined the Sons of Korhal rebellion grudgingly, basically at gunpoint, and made his contempt of Mengsk, Raynor and the rebels very clear at every opportunity he got. Mengsk however counted on that pandering to Duke's ambition, greed and lust for power would turn him into a useful ally. He was right.
  • Save the Villain: Despite hating his guts, Jim Raynor saved his life twice. First for the Zerg on Antiga Prime and later from the UED during their assault on Korhal.
  • Southern Fried General
  • Tank Goodness: He commands his personal Siege Tank in the precursor campaign and the unused mission "Biting the Bullet"
  • We Have Reserves: Averted: Duke is extremely proud of his highly-trained men and never sacrifices them needlessly. The "Damn fringe world yokel" colonial militias on the other hand are fully expendable in his eyes.


Lester & Sarge

"I love you, Sarge."

Voiced by: Harley D. Huggins II (Lester) and ??? (Sarge)

Two dumb Confederate soldiers stationed on Mar Sara right during the Zerg invasion. Appear in a cutscene and get eaten by hydralisks in their only appearance.

Sarge: It's a Zerglin' Lester, smaller type o' Zerg. They oughtn’t be out this far unless... *hears gurgling noises behind him* Oh shit!


Magistrate Collins

"There are to be no arrests, Lieutenant. I hope you understand what I mean. I want this problem solved once and for all. Good hunting."

Voiced by: ???

Magistrate of the Chau Sara colony and the player's mission giver in the Precursor demo/prequel campaign. Calls in Alpha Squadron to help deal with the Sons of Korhal rebellion on his planet. It Got Worse quickly.

  • Butt Monkey: He is constantly talked down to and having his authority undermined by the Cerberus Commander. Whenever he tries to speak up or offer advice to the player, he is bluntly interrupted by the commander.
  • Deep South: Has a mild but noticeable southern accent.
  • Doomed by Canon: In Episode I, we learn that Chau Sara was one of the first planets to be "purified" by the Protoss. Doesn't bode well for poor Collins. Or so it seems...
  • Jurisdiction Friction: With the Cerberus Commander. He can do little to stop him though.
  • Last-Name Basis
  • Leave No Survivors: As seen in his quote above, this is how he'll prefer that the rebels are dealt with.


Cerberus Commander

"Lieutenant. By edict of Confederate High Command, all matters regarding these Xenomorphs are under Class 7 Seal. Do not speak of the existence of the Xenomorphs or in any way relay the events surrounding their appearance on Chau Sara. Failure to comply with these orders will result in immediate termination. This conversation never took place. We were never here."

Voiced by: ???

Mysterious commander of the black-ops Cerberus Squad sent to deal with the Zerg infestation on Chau Sara in the Precursor demo/prequel campaign. Quickly supersedes Collins as the primary mission giver.

Magistrate of Mar Sara/Commander

Protoss

Zeratul

Tell me that's not a badass...

"Though we strike at you from the shadows, do not think that we lack the courage to stand in the light."

Voiced by: Jack Ritschel (StarCraft and Starcraft: Broodwar) and Fred Tatasciore (StarCraft II)

Zeratul is introduced with a bang: the shadowy Dark Templar achieved the seemingly impossible and murdered a top Cerebrate of the Zerg Overmind. With the knowledge that Dark Templars could permanently harm the Zerg, Tassadar makes a highly-controversial alliance with Zeratul, and the two of them, along with Jim Raynor and Artanis, return to Aiur, where Tassadar uses what he's learned from Zeratul to kill the Overmind. Zeratul then leads the Khalai survivors to the Dark Templar homeworld Shakuras, and eventually forms an uneasy alliance with Kerrigan to fight the rogue Zerg. When she betrays them he banishes her, but she returns later to kidnap Raszagal and blackmail Zeratul into killing the Overmind for her. Zeratul kills Raszagal rather than let Kerrigan control her, and as he leaves he finds Duran's experiments on Hybrids on the dark moon. Canonically, he hasn't been seen since, but resurfaces in Starcraft II, having learned something horrible and ominous.

  • The Atoner: In Starcraft 2.
  • Badass: In One of Starcraft 2 cutscene, he is seen single-handedly ripping apart a bunch of hydralisks (one of them using its own claw) and even managed to slice one of Kerrigan's 'wings' (it grows back of course).

"You speak of knowledge, Judicator? You speak of experience? I have journeyed through the darkness between the most distant stars. I have beheld the births of negative-suns, and borne witness to the entropy of entire realities... Unto my experience, Aldaris, all that you've built here on Aiur is but a fleeting dream. A dream from which your precious Conclave shall awaken, finding themselves drowned in a greater nightmare."

    • One-Man Army: However, he does the most normal damage of any unit you can control in the game. There's even an achievement in Stacraft 2 invoking the trope's name, where he has to kill 50 enemies.
  • Captain Obvious: Justified since newer players won't know these things, but a lot of his dialogue in his mini-campaign in the sequel is this:

"I can use Blink to cross that chasm."
"We should build pylons to power our base."
"That detector unit can alert its allies to my presence."

  • Character Development: Between Brood War and the second installment of the series, Zeratul's attitude has completely mellowed out to the extent that the irritability and aloofness that had previously distinguished him is no longer present.
  • Dark Is Not Evil
  • Figure It Out Yourself: Though he shows little sign of it in the game, he is viciously this in the novels.
  • Flash Step: Other Dark Templars don't have such ability. It must be a Prelate thing.
  • From a Certain Point of View: Zeratul claims to have served Raszagal for many millennia, an impressive feat, considering he's "only" 635 years old, and Raszagal is barely over 1,000. Depending on the revolutionary period of Shakuras compared to Aiur, he could possibly have served Raszagal for many Shakuras-millennia while still being only 635 Aiur-years old. Or vice-versa.
  • Heroic BSOD: As shown in the Dark Templar Saga, he's still shouldering a lot of guilt for killing Raszagal and handing the Zerg to Kerrigan on a platter four years after the fact. In said novel he's been in seclusion for most of the four-year gap, traveling the stars to try and make sense of things and come to terms with himself.
  • Heroic Sacrifice: In the Overmind's vision, "In Utter Darkness".
  • I Did What I Had to Do:

"Damn you, Kerrigan, for what I must do."

  • Invisibility
  • Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Twice. First he killed Zasz and accidentally told the Overmind the location of Aiur, then he killed the second Overmind giving Kerrigan complete control of the Zerg.
  • Ninja: He is a ninja in everything but name, and is it surprising that he's one of the most popular characters in the series?
  • You Are in Command Now: After he slays Raszagal to free her, but really, he'd be the de-facto commander all along.


Tassadar

The Greatest Protoss hero.

"My friends, this is our final hour. Not all of us may survive the coming conflict. Yet, death may be a blessing should we fail here. We seek now to destroy a foe that has ravaged its way across the universe consuming all in its path. And now it has reached the end of its long journey. The Overmind has come to destroy all that we hold dear and assimilate us into itself. And I say to thee, this shall not come to pass! Aiur shall not fall! Executor, I stand ready!"

Voiced by: Michael Gough (StarCraft) and Michael Dorn (StarCraft II)

The Executor (Protoss military commander) of Starcraft I, Tassadar was ordered to raze a bunch of Terran planets infested with Zerg. He tried to kill the Zerg while sparing the Terrans, but while his actions were largely successful (though he left alive one person he'd later regret) he fell in with the dark templar, who contrary to their names were not at all evil. Tassadar realized this, and being about the only person in existence to realize the true threat the Zerg posed, enlisted the dark templars' help to defeat the Zerg, with the help of Jim Raynor.

"I have not tasted death, nor shall I ever."

Aldaris: Executor. Tassadar. This comes too late to you. But the Conclave has witnessed your defeat of the Cerebrates. They know now that they cannot deny the necessity or the valiancy of your actions. We sought to punish you, while it was we who were in error. Now you represent what is greatest in us all, and all our hopes go with you. EN TARO ADUN, brave Sons of Aiur!

  • The Messiah: After he dies, even his former enemies elevate him to messianic levels, using the battle cry "En Taro Tassadar!" in place of "En Taro Adun", who is worshiped as a demigod more or less. Considering that the Protoss campaign in Starcraft I bears an uncanny resemblance to the Gospels, with Tassadar as Jesus (Crucified Hero Shot and all), the Conclave as the Pharisees, etc, it makes sense.
    • He even fulfills the Dark Templar prophecy of the Twilight Deliverer, a title held by Adun up to that point.
  • One-Man Army: His Gantrithor carrier.
  • Psychic Powers: Other than the Overmind and Kerrigan, he's probably the strongest psychic in the game.
  • Rousing Speech: His quote above.
  • Spirit Advisor
  • Yin-Yang Bomb: he is one: as a High Templar (the most powerful psionic warriors of the "Light" Khalai Protoss), he received training from one of the most powerful Dark Templars, his mentor, Zeratul. Combining the different philosophies of the two factions has allowed him to unlock all of the Protoss psionic potential, making him insanely powerful.
    • At the end of Starcraft he becomes the "Twilight Deliverer", something which, given the nature of how Protoss psionics work, Zeratul claims has only been achieved by one other person in history, that person being Adun himself (you know, as in "En Taro Adun!"). It's how he destroys the Overmind in the end. He, a High Templar, channeled Khala (light) and Void (dark) psionic energy through the hull of his ship, which he then rammed into the Overmind. Once Tassadar finished charging up, anything Zerg was in for a bad day.


Artanis

That has to be the coolest uniform ever.

"For even in these dark days, there is still the hope of morning. That is why we fight."

Voiced by:Jack Ritschel (StarCraft) and Patrick Seitz (StarCraft II)

Artanis is revealed to have been in Starcraft I by way of the nameless player character; he was the one who allied with Tassadar and joined the two warring Protoss tribes together. Young (262 years old is considered "young" by Protoss standards), Artanis idolizes Tassadar in Brood War and strives to be as good and honest as possible. He ultimately takes part in an unsuccessful joint UED-Dominion-Protoss attack on Kerrigan's holdings, and is forced to retreat.

As of the events of Starcraft II, he has become the de-facto leader of the Protoss, but given the tribal disputes and his own youth & inexperience, things aren't going so well for him.

  • Bling of War: Vastly contrasts his appearance in Brood War, when he wore nothing but a shoulder pad and a loincloth.
  • Cool Starship: He is a Scout pilot in the events of the first game and in the sequel, he pilots a Mothership in the Protoss mini-campaign, the Shield of Aiur.
  • Fan Boy: Of Tassadar's. He hopes to be as great a leader as he was someday.
  • Heroic Sacrifice: In the Overmind's vision, "In Utter Darkness".
  • Nice Hat: Sure, sure, Artanis only gets one very brief scene in Starcraft II, and sure, it's not even a cinematic, just him talking to Zeratul for about three seconds. But we can all agree his new hat nails the part.
  • Non-Entity General: Sort of; Artanis is revealed to have been the nameless player character from Starcraft in Brood War.
  • Previous Player Character Cameo: According to the novels, he was the player character in Episode III.
  • Remember the New Guy?: When he first appears in Brood War no explanation is given to his presence, and the other characters act like they know him and barely trust you. This was later explained as him being the first game's PC and the player is controlling a different general in Brood War.
  • Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism: Artanis is the only surviving character on the idealism side by the start of Starcraft II.


Aldaris

"I have been sent by the Conclave to serve and counsel you."

Voiced by: Paul Eiding

Aldaris was Artanis' original commander during Starcraft until he allied with Tassadar. Aldaris, too set in his ways to accept that the dark templar could be anything except the most absolute of corrupting evils, refused to helpm and indeed kidnapped Tassadar to stand trial for treason. In the end of Starcraft I, as Tassadar, Raynor, Zeratul, and Fenix prepared for their attack on the Overmind, Aldaris wished them luck. In Brood War, Aldaris is the only surviving member of the Protoss Conclave, the rest having been om-nom-nommed by the Zerg. He opposes everything having to do with allying with Kerrigan, and then stages an unsuccessful coup in the Protoss ranks when he realizes he was actually right instead of just whiny. He was the only Protoss to realize Kerrigan was mind-controlling Raszagal until she revealed it herself. She struck him down before he could tell Zeratul ("helped" by the fact that Aldaris babbled like a deranged zealot instead of coming out with the truth right away).

  • He Knows Too Much
  • Idiot Ball: Just like Stukov, he went about telling the others what he knew in the stupidest way possible.
  • Killed Mid-Sentence: "While you were securing the crystals, I discovered that your Matriarch has been harboring a dark secret! She has been manipulated by de-" ("De-" what?)
  • Jerkass: Is a massive dick most of the time, and spends mosty of the original campaign making an ass of himself until he finally does admit he was wrong towards the end. By Brood War, he quickly lapses back into this.
    • Jerkass Has a Point: To be fair to him though, he did have reason in Brood War having figured out Kerrigan's plans. He's still a jackass for choosing the dumbest and most obstructive way possible of getting this across though.
  • Obstructive Bureaucrat
  • Only Sane Man: In Brood War, he's the only character to see through Kerrigan's lies.
  • Poor Communication Kills: There were better ways to handle the secret he discovered than stirring up a rebellion and babbling like a zealot until Kerrigan was right in his face.
  • Too Dumb to Live: He takes this when he considers a single protoss templar of greater priority than, say, a race of man eating aliens:

Tassadar: I cannot believe they would go so far. In the face of total annihilation, they're still claiming for their failing traditions.


Fenix

"I fear no enemy, for the Khala is my strength!"

Voiced by: Bill Roper

Fenix was Blood Knight warrior who loved the honor and rush of battle, and advocated an alliance with the now-rogue Tassadar, having been his best friend. However, once the original failed due to a lack of information, the Protoss high council would have none of it and turned against Tassadar. Not that it mattered for Fenix, because he was shortly thereafter killed by pack of Hydralisks...OR WAS HE? He cameback, his mortally wounded body encased in a Dragoon exo-skeleton walker, helping in the assault against the Zerg when Tassadar returned to Aiur.

In Brood War he hung out a lot with Raynor, and the two allied with Kerrigan against the UED. Kerrigan eventually betrayed them and killed Fenix.

Tassadar: Fenix? It can't be! The Executor told me how you fell before the Zerg! How is that you live and breathe?

"Do not let the fact that I am 368 years older than you dull your impression of me, young Raynor. I can still - how do you Terrans say it? - 'Throw down with the best of them.'"
Raynor: I stand corrected.

Jim Raynor: I'll see you dead for this, Kerrigan! For Fenix, and all the others who got caught between you and your mad quest for power!


Zerg

Sarah Kerrigan

Not all makeovers are good...

"I do not join. I lead."

Voiced by: Glynnis Talken-Campbell (StarCraft) and Tricia Helfer (StarCraft II)

Kerrigan was once a Terran Ghost - a skilled covert ops soldier with (inhibited) psychic abilities. Kerrigan in particular has a rather elaborate backstory, in which its explained that her psionics are far more powerful than any other human's. In the events of StarCraft, she begins by fighting alongside Acturus Mengsk and Raynor, until she is betrayed by the former (prompting the latter to leave the newly-founded Dominion) and left to her supposed demise at the hands of the Zerg. Following this, it is revealed that she has been captured by the Zerg and infested, making her an incredibly powerful agent of the Zerg Swarm.

In the events of Starcraft: Brood War, following the Overmind's death, Kerrigan takes it upon herself to dispose of the remaining 'leaders' of the Zerg Swarm - the Cerebrates - in order to gain control of it while manipulating and deceiving all the other factions in the process. In the end, she claims control of the entire Zerg species for herself while crippling most other factions, setting herself up as the self-proclaimed "Queen Bitch of the Universe".

Tropes related to Human Kerrigan:

  • Action Girl
  • Anti-Hero: Type III or IV in Heart of the Swarm; she does seem to feel genuine guilt for her crimes, and she no longer possesses her sociopathic hatred of non-zerg life, but she still has a strong "ends justify the means" attitude with regards to Mengsk.
  • Badass
  • Being Evil Sucks: After the Overmind's death, she considered her infestation "hell."
  • Book Ends: She is infested and later deinfested on the planet Char.
  • Fan Service: In the ending of WoL she's back in her human form, and is naked.
  • Fiery Redhead
  • Genre Blind: It really wasn't that smart the idea to blindly trust a man infamous for being unreadable, and whose only remaining family she beheaded.
  • Heroes Want Redheads: Target of this by Raynor.
  • The Lancer: To Raynor.
  • My Sensors Indicate You Want to Tap That: Depending upon how you read the line, if you click on her Ghost unit enough times she sighs:

"Doesn't take a telepath to know what you're thinking"

    • There's also her meeting with Raynor. There is some debate over what the first line means and the novels seem to indicate the second line ("you pig!") doesn't actually refer to any pervy thoughts on Raynor's part but rather his dislike of telepaths. Obviously Your Mileage May Vary here.
  • Oh God, Did She Just Hear That?: Aside from her first physical encounter with Raynor, there's her Stop Poking Me quote above.
  • Spy Catsuit: She's pretty sexy in her Terran outfit as well.
  • Woman Scorned

Tropes related to Infested Kerrigan/The Queen of Blades

  • Absurdly Sharp Blade
  • And I Must Scream: It's suggested that she was not responsible for her actions, and may very well have spent the whole time as an effective prisoner in her own mind.
  • And Then John Was a Zombie
  • Ascended Extra: In an early draft of the Terran campaign, Sarah Kerrigan was meant to merely be The Chick in the Dominion's band of four (Jim Raynor, Arturus Mengsk, Sarah Kerrigan and Edmund Duke). Then in Brood War she went and became one of the primary antagonists of the series. "Ascended" indeed.
  • Badass

"I am the Queen of Blades, and my stare alone would reduce you to ash!"

      • Also, the famous line:

"I don't think so, Admiral. You see, at this point... I'm pretty much the Queen Bitch of the Universe. And not even all of your little soldiers or spaceships will stand in my way again."

  • The Bad Gal Wins: At the end of the Brood War.
  • Big Bad Of Brood War (though you play for her as the Zerg) and Wings of Liberty.
  • Brainwashed and Crazy: Until the end of the Protoss campaign.
  • Card-Carrying Villain: She lived up to it, too.
  • Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: When she was human she was loyal enough, but once she became infested anyone who dared to trust her ended up paying for it.
  • Cruel Mercy: Does this to Zeratul and to Mengsk.
  • Dangerously Genre Savvy: She always learns from her mistakes. And she always kills any competent general first before sending her troops to battle.
  • Dark Action Girl
  • Dark Messiah: The Overmind's true purpose for her. Of course, she wasn't aware of that first and that made it harder for everyone else.
  • Deadpan Snarker: She certainly has her moments, such as the above line towards DuGalle.
  • Disc One Final Boss: In Wings of Liberty
  • The Dragon: Co-Dragons with Daggoth—while he's the highest-ranked Cerebrate and the Overmind's right-hand, Kerrigan acts more like a field general.
  • Dummied Out: Kerrigan isn't a controllable player character in the campaign mode of Wings of Liberty, but the map editor shows off unit voice quotes for her. One of them is:

"Guess what? I'm still the Queen Bitch of the Universe."

Kerrigan: You're your own worst enemy.
Fenix: How ironic. I remember Tassadar teaching you a similar lesson back on Char.
Kerrigan: I took that lesson to heart.

  • Glowing Eyes of Doom: Every powerful psychic has glowing eyes, and she's the most powerful of them all.
  • God Save Us From The Queen Bitch Of The Universe
  • Gorgeous Gorgon: Has been referred to as Medusa by characters in-universe.
  • "I Know You're in There Somewhere" Fight: Raynor tries this on her, to little effect until Wings of Liberty.
    • Reinforced if one can spot without distracting himself from the hot action her "Don't give up, Jim." message during the final mission by the time the Xel'Naga artifact is nearly at full charge; her avatar during this brief line is that of her human self.
  • Knife Nut: Before and after her transformation, she's damn good with knives. Only afterwards, they become part of her body. They don't call her the "Queen of Blades" for nothing.
  • Meaningful Name: "Sarah" means princess or a woman of noble stature, and "Kerrigan" means dusky or dark. According to Word of God, Kerrigan was named after Nancy Kerrigan, who at the time was involved in a feud with Tonya Harding, back when she was just a throwaway character before her character was expanded. So while the meaningful name is coincidence, it still certainly fits.
  • More Than Mind Control: Kerrigan is legitimately mind-controlled, but once she gets out of it, she realizes she likes being evil, and decides to become the supreme leader of the Swarm and cripple all the other factions at the same time, although her motives for this are not clear. It is hinted in the manual that the process of infestation 'binds' the infested creature to the Swarm, implying that even after the death of the Overmind, Kerrigan could not truly be 'free' from the Zerg. Fan speculation suggests that the Overmind wanted Kerrigan to take over the Swarm after its demise. Starcraft 2 confirms this, making the Overmind a... good guy?
    • Supplementary materials straight-out state that the process removed human morality. Which explains why she acts like a freaking sociopath.
  • Names to Run Away From Really Fast: You probably don't wanna mess with someone named the "Queen of Blades".
  • Not Quite Back to Normal
  • Omnicidal Maniac
  • Orcus on His Throne: She pretty much keeps quiet after Brood War, as evidenced in some of the novels. Although part of what she does is look for ways to make the Swarm stronger.
  • Power Echoes: Actually, telepathy echoes (every Protoss voice you ever hear has a small echo), but she's human, so she speaks both vocally and with telepathy at the same time, which is why it's more noticeable with her.
  • Praetorian Guard: She is flanked by Hunter Killers in StarCraft II.
  • Psychic Powers: A 12 on the PI scale (which is normally from 1-10). Her immense psionic power is what drew the Zerg and the Overmind to her.
  • Rebellious Princess: Zasz informs her that she is simply a servant to the Overmind and her personal ambitions meant nothing. Kerrigan wouldn't have any of it.
    • And further subverted when the Overmind tells Zasz to chill out and let her have her way, because her will would be of ultimate benefit to the Swarm. And he was right.
  • Restraining Bolt: She had to remove her Ghost conditioning to become more powerful.
  • Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Pretty much the entire point of her actions in Brood War. The woman has a lot of issues to work out with the other main characters. Unfortunately she has a ridiculously powerful alien race at her beck and call, is hinted to be more than a little nuts after her infestation, and the causes of most of her issues happen to be the leaders of the enemy factions opposing her.
  • Self Fanservice: Initially just disturbingly sexy in the first games, but as other artists refined her look, she definitely became more fanservice-y.
  • Smug Snake: To DuGalle, but not to anyone else.
  • The Starscream: Never seemed entirely loyal during her enslavement to the Overmind, which concerned the other cerebrates, especially Zasz, who made it clear from day one he didn't trust her. Ironically, she never actually did anything that actually was traitorous to the Zerg at all.
  • Stripperific: In her infested form, while most infested terrans sprout tentacles, Kerrigan somehow manages to grow high heels on her feet.
  • Turned Against Their Masters: Twice. First, by Mengsk, against the Confederation; then, by the Overmind, against Mengsk and humanity in general.
  • Up To Twelve: In-Universe exemple, her psychic grade is twelve. The ladder doesn't go higher than ten.
  • The Vamp: She convinces Jim Raynor to rescue Mengsk from standing trial with the UED, and then has both Jim and Fenix help her and Mengsk defeat the UED as well.
  • Villainous Breakdown: Has this during All In when her forces become increasingly unable to deal with the Raiders/Dominion coalition while the artifact that has the power to crush her power charges up. In the span of a few minutes she changes from smugly taunting them to screaming about how they will all be annihalated.
  • The Virus
  • Voice of the Legion: see the Power Echoes entry above.
  • Wham! Episode: Her coming Back from the Dead.
  • Winged Humanoid: Sort of. Her Infested self sports blade-wings that are made of bones and do a lot of damage, but there's no membrane between them. She just uses them as weapons to stab things with greater reach than her claws.
  • With Great Power Comes Great Insanity
  • You Fool!: She says that a few times.
  • You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: The moment she has defeated the UED on Korhal, she turns on Mengsk, Raynor, and Fenix. She kills both Duke and Fenix.
    • Note that they were expecting this, they just didn't think it would happen so fast.
  • You Said You Would Let Her Go: Zeratul says this to Kerrigan, who responds that the Matriarch is free to do as she pleases (after having mind-controlled her).


The Overmind

"Awaken my child, and embrace the glory that is your birthright. Know that I am the Overmind; the eternal will of the Swarm, and that you have been created to serve me."

Voiced by:Jack Ritschel (StarCraft) Paul Eiding (StarCraft II)

The Overmind was the Hive Mind of the Zerg, directing their actions. It created Cerebrates who acted as its generals, and they in turn created overlords, who control the Zerg directly. Designed by the Xel'Naga to be the perfect creation of the Zerg, the Overmind rebelled against them and nearly succeeded in wiping out their race. It then turned to space, ravaging worlds and stealing the DNA of the native inhabitants and collecting them into the swarm. The Overmind eventually discovered the Protoss, and desperately wanted them in its fold because they, too, were creations of the Xel'Naga, and it believed that taking to Protoss into the swarm would make the Zerg "perfect". Between Tassadar, Zeratul, Fenix, and Raynor, the Overmind was destroyed, leaving the zerg in disarray.

A second Overmind was formed in Brood War, but it was an Overmind, not the Overmind, and was an entirely different entity who was treated more like a MacGuffin than an actual character.

  • And I Must Scream: StarCraft II reveals that it was sentient but did not have free will, and was unable to rebel against its corrupted biological programming. Tassadar described it as screaming in the prison of it's own mind.
  • Badass: Only in hindsight via the second game does it become apparent. He set up an elaborate but perfectly executed plan to ultimately save the universe from the Dark Voice, a plan that required him to set himself up to die and basically piss off not only the Terrans and Protoss, but also risked causing severe dissension within the Zerg itself, and it also required him to walk a tightrope to which the Xel'Naga would not sense his desire to destroy them and foil things, which he pulled off successfully as well.
    • Papa Wolf: In the prophecy missions it's implied that the reason he defied the Dark Voice was to save his "children".
  • Big Bad: In the first game.
  • Eldritch Abomination: Sort of... By SC2, he was still this, but was also a Big Good in his own way at the same time in hindsight.
  • Evil Sounds Deep
  • A God Am I: He never claims to be a god, but his manner of speech is very Old Testament.
  • Going Out With A Smile: When Zeratul examines the Overmind's final thoughts, he notices that one of his final emotions was a feeling of peace and satisfaction.
  • Hive Mind
  • Hive Dad: Crossed with Team Dad, as even though the Cerebrates are bound to his will, it's pretty clear he had to keep them in line anyway, generally succeeding until his own death.
  • My Death Is Just the Beginning: StarCraft II strongly suggests that Kerrigan was made into the Queen of Blades as part of his plan to avert the end of all life in the universe. Reason for this being is that it was specifically created to serve the Xel'Naga, but the Voice in the Darkness is suggested to have control of the Zerg by some unknown method. The Overmind offs itself by invading Aiur and letting the Queen of Blades control the Zerg and stop the Voice in the Darkness.
    • Thanatos Gambit: It is strongly implied in the Protoss mini-campaign in Wings of Liberty that the Overmind's reason for invading Aiur was this combined with the above.
  • Parental Substitute: In a very weird way, he's probably the closest thing Kerrigan had to a parental figure that was of mostly genuine benefit to her, the whole infestation part aside. He basically saved her from being killed, made her an even bigger badass, and made her his successor. He even calls her his daughter and made clear to the other Cerebrates to sit down, shut up, Kerrigan was special to him, and they had better do what she says.
  • Power Echoes
  • Take Over the World: The Protoss homeworld of Aiur. And any other world it pleases, really.
  • Thanatos Gambit: Programmed with a biological imperative to destroy the Protoss, the Overmind arranged it's own demise after setting up Kerrigan as it's successor, since she would be free of the same imperative it would be forced to follow, and could thus prevent the end of life as we know it.
  • Turned Against Their Masters: It was forced to, probably by The Fallen One.
  • The Virus

Daggoth

"My brood shall aid you, Cerebrate, should you require assistance."

Voiced by: Mickey Neilson

The right hand of the Overmind and one of its greatest Cerebrates, having control of the Tiamat Brood. Daggoth was a formidable opponent, as he commanded his swarm with valor and ferocity, and was powerful enough to give orders to the other Cerebrates. After the death of the First Overmind, Daggoth gained control over approximately half of the Zerg Swarm. He rallied several other Cerebrates to form a new Overmind, and helped gain control over many Broods to oppose the rogue Kerrigan, but they quickly fell under the control of the United Earth Directorate.


Zasz

You dare threaten a Cerebrate? You will be the doom of us all!

Voiced by: Bill Roper

Cerebrate of the Garm Brood and one of the Overmind's trusted lieutenants. Sniveling and distrustful, he had an intense dislike for Kerrigan and urged the Overmind not to let her influence them too much. He was killed by Zeratul, being the first cerebrate to ever be truly killed.


Other

Xel'Naga
"The Zerg Swarm came as was foretold. And the Protoss, firstborn of the gods, rose to fight them. Now, the Xel'Naga that forged us all are returning. But do they come to save... or to destroy?"
—Zeratul

The ancient race of explorers who engineered the Zerg and Protoss in an attempt to create the perfect life-form before they were apparently destroyed. Seems they'll be set to return in Starcraft II which will explore their reasons for engineering the two races the way they did.

The Dark Templar novels reveal some interesting things: their attempt at creating the ultimate lifeforms was actually reproduction. It's implied that their life cycle includes creating separate species that would, in time, merge peacefully in order to create a new iteration of the Xel'Naga. They didn't abandon the Protoss (as was initially believed); they were simply done with them. And the Zerg weren't meant to exterminate all life or assimilate the Protoss, at least not until the Dark Voice corrupted them.

  • Bigger Bad: Not clear. The Fallen One might be one of them.
  • Energy Beings: Perhaps; a lot of Xel'naga temples seem to be housing such beings, but there is absolutely zero information on what the Xel'naga actually look like
  • Perfect Pacifist People: So it seems; the Xel'naga greatly valued life and refused to kill anything. Even The Voice In The Darkness.
  • Precursors: see below.
  • Sufficiently Advanced Alien: Despite the fact that their legacy is made up entirely of either architecture or obvious genetic engineering, the Protoss worship them as gods—even going so far (in the case of the Tal'darim) to declare gas deposits connected to them too sacred to be harvested.
    • The fact that Terrazine gas is like crack for psychics might have something to do with it, mind.
  • Touched by Vorlons: The Protoss, the Zerg, and any unknown number of races they encountered before them.
  • Turned Against Their Masters: The Protoss and Zerg both rebelled against them.


Introduced in Starcraft: Brood War

Terrans

Admiral Gerard DuGalle

How the hell did this guy become Admiral in first place?

"Serve the Directorate. Serve Humanity. All other priorities are secondary to victory!"

Voiced by: James Harper

Gerard DuGalle was the leader of the UED expeditionary force and the best friend of Alexei Stukov. Throughout the campaign, he proved to be staggeringly incompetent by listening to Duran's intelligence over Stukov's, the most prominent example being agreeing to destroy the Psi Disruptor, which laters turns out to be the only reason they succeeded as well as they did. When Stukov went behind DuGalle's back to keep the Disruptor intact, DuGalle had him killed at Duran's suggestion, and quickly regretted it when he realized Duran was a mole. Alone, he went on to successfully enslave the Zerg by controlling the Overmind, but his forces were stretched too thin trying to occupy too many worlds, and the UED fleet got mopped up systematically by an alliance of Kerrigan, Raynor, and Mengsk. After a last-ditch UED-Dominion-Protoss team-up on Kerrigan failed, the fleet fled to return to Earth, and DuGalle, overcome with guilt for how horribly he'd botched the mission and had his best friend killed, commited suicide shortly before the fleet was destroyed by the Zerg.

"Kerrigan, I am prepared to offer terms of surrender. It is my wish that you allow my men to live."

"Dearest Helena: By now, the news of our defeat has reached the Earth. The creatures we were sent here to tame are untameable, and the colonies we were sent to reclaim have proven to be stronger than we anticipated. Whatever you may hear about what has happened out here, know this; Alexei did not die gloriously in battle. I killed him. My pride killed him. And now my pride has consumed me as well. You will never see me again, Helena. Tell our children that I love them, and that their father died in defense of their future. Au revoir."


Vice Admiral Alexei Stukov

He was just the vice admiral. Why? Maybe because he's Russian.

"You should know that we represent not one of your ragtag peasant militias, but the combined might of the United Earth Directorate."

Voiced by: Castulo Guerra in Brood War and by Victor Brandt in Heart of the Swarm

Alexei Stukov (occasionally misspelled "Alexi") is the second-in-command of the UED fleet. Throughout the campaign he advises DuGalle, and unlike his commander is not taken in by Duran's slick talking and ignores an order to destroy a valuable piece of Confederate equipment Duran tricked DuGalle into having destroyed. He was murdered when Duran tricked DuGalle into thinking Stukov had betrayed him, and his dying words were to beg his friend to finish the job. In a bonus map that was confirmed as canon, he's infested by the Zerg, but Raynor and a (really old) Protoss named Taldarin rescue him with experimental nanobots, and the human and revived Stukov was last seen fleeing with Raynor's forces. His status as of StarCraft II is unknown, since he doesn't appear at all, but Blizzard themselves confirmed the canonicity of the Starcraft 64 map "Resurrection IV", where he's found alive and well.


  • And Then John Was a Zombie
  • Back from the Dead
  • Badass: Gets to prove it in Heart of the Swarm.
    • Badass Normal: His character was playable on the battle maps of the Brood War expansion as someone with at least Ghost level combat skills, though his death was cutscene driven, so we never get to see him actually use those skills.
      • Badass Abnormal: Heart of the Swarm implies he may have been latently psychic, which would explain why he was molded so successfully into a Zerg Hybrid by HotS. And as a hybrid, he has his own special skillset that makes him only somewhat less powerful than Kerrigan.
    • Four-Star Badass: His rank in Brood War, and he attains the Zerg equivalent in Heart of the Swarm.
    • Came Back Wrong
  • Burial in Space: He gets better
  • Broad Strokes: The additional missions from the N64 version of Starcraft are not directly stated as canon in Starcraft II: Heart of the Swarm, though they are referenced in a simplified form as an explanation for his being Back from the Dead.
  • Characterization Marches On: By Heart of the Swarm, his character is almost nothing like his original portrayal, but then again, if he had gone all the grief and loss of everything that used to define his former existence and didn't change as a person, it would be quite bizarre.
  • The Dragon / The Lancer: Originally served as this for Gerard DuGalle, though which one he fell under is mostly up to the player, depending on how they view the UED, though regardless Stukov was genuinely loyal either way.
    • In Heart of the Swarm, he becomes this to Kerrigan, though his moral compass is far less ambiguous this time round, though he has shares this role with at least two other senior commanders.
  • Enemy Mine: The only reason he allowed Duran to assist the UED was for this reason, especially because Duran made a compelling case for why that would be to their mutual benefit.
    • In the N64 bonus missions, the only reason he allows Raynor to free him and briefly team up with him is for the same reasons.
      • By HotS, he suggests this to Kerrigan for taking down Emil Narud and the Zerg Hybrids, and expects to fall victim to a knife in the back once it's all over. To his surprise, Kerrigan offers him a no strings attached job offer as one of her generals. He's more than a little surprised, but decided to take the offer for lack of better options.
  • Final Speech: After being shot by Duran:

"...Gerard... old friend... You do indeed have a traitor in your midst. But it's not me. Duran. He has been playing us both from the start. He convinced you to destroy the Psi Disruptor, even though it was our best chance at defeating the Zerg. And then on Aiur, he allowed the Zerg to overrun us even as we had the fugitives in our grasp. I came here... to activate the one hope we have of defeating them... and you killed me for it (wheezing laugh). Duran is your enemy, Gerard. I suspect (gasp for breath) that he may even be infested, as well. Use the Disruptor, Gerard. (struggling to talk) Finish our operation. Let my death have at least some meaning!"

  • Gradual Grinder: As a Co-op Commander in Starcraft II, this is his specialty.
  • Half Human Hybrid: By Heart of the Swarm, he's basically a male Kerrigan in terms of how much humanity and intelligence he has retained, though is infested enough he is unmistakably Zerg, including Glowing Eyes of Doom and seems to be missing a chunk of his face and a huge portion of his former uniform for the UED now has a huge Zerg carapace covering.
  • Hypercompetent Sidekick: This is actually addressed in the instructions manual, that Stukov is the smarter of the two. And it shows. The UED mission would likely have succeeded if Stukov had been in charge.
  • More Than Mind Control: After being freed from the Zerg, he makes he clear that he wanted no such thing, but joins Raynor & co. anyway.
  • Nice Hat: He absolutely puts everyone else in the galaxy to shame hat-wise. He even gets to keep it after being infested and later semi-restored back to being somewhat human.
  • Poor Communication Kills: He could have done a better job explaining the Psi Disruptor situation to Admiral DuGalle. Heck, the whole UED-Dominion conflict could have been avoided if they would only talk to each other, as evident from their ill-fated alliance against Kerrigan at the very end of the game.
  • Psychic Powers: He is extremely subtly implied to have these, unwittingly. It might even have been why he was infested.
  • Russian Guy Suffers Most: To an insane degree.
  • Senseless Sacrifice: He really didn't need to die to tell DuGalle what Duran was doing, or even go off on his own to make it look like a betrayal—he could have just told him.
    • The campaign implies he did try to get DuGalle to listen to him, but DuGalle, for some reason (perhaps Mind Control or just a horrible case of Too Dumb to Live) never believed him until he went as far as he did.
  • Still Wearing the Old Colors: He still retains most of his UED uniform in Heart of the Swarm, likely his way of retaining some connection to who he used to be.
  • The Virus
  • What Happened to the Mouse?: Blizzard confirmed that "Resurrection IV" is canonical and yet, for some reason, Infested Stukov and the New Swarm, along with the cure for zerg infestation, is never mentioned in the entire campaign of Wings of Liberty. Likely this was done to avoid Continuity Lock Out, since it's a fairly obscure mission. One could hope that he'll show in Heart of the Swarm.
    • And he does show up then, and the player gets filled in on how he survived the original game then and the events leading to his semi-return to being human.
  • You Can't Go Home Again: Twice over. First time was the knowledge that if the UED failed, this was his fate, which he could accept. Second time was a bit more painful. Specifically, he died, was infested and thus revived, was semi-freed from being infested by getting his sanity back but still being a Zerg hybrid, and know he can never return to Earth because of this, and basically accepts Kerrigan taking him in during Heart of the Swarm because he has nowhere else to go.

Protoss

Raszagal

"I am Raszagal, and I welcome you and your companions to our world."

Voiced by: Debra De Liso

The Matriarch of the Dark Templar, one of the oldest Protoss to have lived, and a powerful psychic who led her people for nearly 500 years, long enough to have clearly remembered Aiur from before the exile of the Dark Templar. It is not known when exactly Kerrigan controlled her, but Razsagal was a slave to Kerrigan for most of the events of Brood War. In a last act of mercy, Zeratul killed his matriarch, refusing to let the Queen of Blades control her any longer. Although she is passed now, the Dark Templar still believe their matriarch is watching over them and some have invoked her name to keep peace between the feuding tribes.


Ulrezaj

Shiny!

"As far as we are concerned, killing high-born Templar is an act of righteous justice! Let the rulers of Aiur feel what it's like to be hunted and driven from their homes! Let them suffer as we Dark Templar have suffered at their hands!"

Voiced by: None[2]

A Dark Templar assassin who, unlike a majority of their kind, hates the Khalai Protoss. Acts as a minor antagonist in the "Enslavers" side campaign, where he allies with the Terran smuggler Alan Schezar to attack Shakuras with mutated Zerg. Got a big promotion to primary antagonist of the Dark Templar Saga, where he works for a mysterious unnamed entity and leads a tribe of brainwashed Protoss, until he was trapped in a crystal with another Protoss named Zamara. Exactly what Ulrezaj is/was attempting is unclear, but he needed Protoss sacrifices to do it and hated the Protoss record-keepers known as Preservers for "knowing too much." Whatever he was attempting to do, Ulrezaj is stated in the books to be working for someone else stronger than him, but they don't explore this any further than a Hand Wave.

  • Ascended Extra
  • Dark Messiah: How he's seen by his followers in the novels, at least.
  • The Dragon: He's stated to have a boss who's much more powerful than him. This is most likely the even-eldritcher Dark Voice.
  • Eldritch Abomination: Described as an enormous cloud of crackling, radiant darkness. It took a whole Terran Exploratory Fleet, uncountable Zerg and several Protoss sacrifices to even slow him down.
  • Fusion Dance: Most Archon-type units are fused from two Templar. Ulrezaj on the other hand is a fusion of seven Dark Templar with himself as the dominant personality. Exactly how he managed that is unknown, even in-universe. Also, most Archons burn out and expire after some time. His method for continued survival is also unknown, but it likely involves the souls of the living, and drinking them.
  • The Juggernaut: Stopping him in the second book requires dozens of Protoss to unite their powers to create a massive storm of psionic energy; everything up that point doesn't even slow him down. In the third book they don't actually stop him so much as they trap him in a crystal.
  • Names to Run Away From Really Fast
  • One-Man Army: The climax of book two in the Dark Templar Saga describes three armies working together to fight him...and losing! The passages describe him killing dozens of Mutalisks with one blast, and Zerglings "toppling like dominoes" at his feet. It isn't until the Protoss unite their powers (see above) that he actually takes any significant damage, and even then it doesn't kill him and he's back on his feet by the climax of the third book.
  • Sealed Evil in a Can: He gets sealed inside a psionic crystal along with the Preserver Zamara.
  • Took a Level in Badass: In Enslavers, Ulrezaj was a normal Dark Templar who wanted to the Khalai Protoss to suffer for their ancestors banishing the Dark Templar from Aiur, and while his scheme to do so was pretty impressive he didn't get a lot of character besides the basic idea of revenge. In the Dark Templar Saga he's a Dark Messiah leading his own cult in the ruins of Aiur by brainwashing the survivors stranded on the planet. Ulrezaj took several levels in badass.
  • The Voiceless: In a few scenes he talks among his alter-egos, but otherwise is entirely silent during the books.
  • With Great Power Comes Great Insanity: Possibly.


Others

Samir Duran

"I am a servant of a far greater power. A power that has slept for countless ages."

Voiced by: Paul Ainsley

During Brood War, Duran appears as the leader of a rebel force opposed to Mengsk's Dominion and allies with the UED. After betraying them and revealing himself to be infested, Duran turns to Kerrigan and helps her take out the UED, then mysteriously vanishes. EVERYTHING you thought you knew about him is turned on its head in the secret mission "Dark Origin", where we learn Duran is working for a mysterious "great power", has engineered a Protoss/Zerg hybrid, and more likely than not isn't even human, much less infested.

"I have had many names throughout the millennia, young prodigal. You would know me best as Samir Duran."

  • The Remnant: He leads a faction of Confederate loyalists fighting the Dominion when you first meet him on Braxis.
  • Sdrawkcab Name: In Starcraft II, Dr. Emil Narud of the Moebius Foundation is heavily implied by Kerrigan to be him in another form, making his new identity named... Duran Lime?
  • Wham! Episode: In Dark Origin.
  1. ↑ 30 years old
  2. ↑ His appearance in Starcraft had no voice, and he's yet to appear in any other game.
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