The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim/Characters

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Characters from The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim include:

Dovahkiin/The Dragonborn

"FUS RO DAH!"

The last thing that the Dragons will see.

The Dovahkiin is The Chosen One of prophecy, foretold to be the one to defeat Alduin, who is poised to destroy all of Tamriel. He or she turns out to be a penniless prisoner waking up in the back of a cart and about to be executed.

  • Action Survivor: After surviving almost being executed by beheading and burnt alive by a dragon, you proceed to become The Chosen One to prevent the end of the world.
  • Adult Fear: You can be subjected to this once you've played around with everything that Hearthfire has to offer. Those massive, swanky wilderness mansions you can build are nice, comfortable... and away from civilization, meaning that there are no guards to scare off bandits, Giants, Draugr, and other threats to your wife/husband and children, and you'll often return home to see any of the above right at your doorstep. One event will even have you return to your homestead with news that your spouse has been kidnapped by a gang of bandits that are holding them for ransom. However, this quickly goes form horrifying to hilarious once you decide to pay the bandits a visit and show them why trying to extort the Dragonborn and threaten their loved ones is a horrible, horrible idea.
  • And the Adventure Continues...: The game doesn't end when you complete the main storyline, and random Radiant Quests ensure you have something to do afterwards.
    • Tsun and Odahviing both say that they doubt your purpose has been completely fulfilled, and Tullius/Ulfric say that they expect to be at loggerheads with the Thalmor again in the not too distant future at the end of the Civil War quests, providing a DLC Hook.
    • Not to mention heightmaps for all the provinces of Tamriel are included in the game, leading some to speculate future DLC will add entire regions to the game. Several of the other provinces have potential enemies as well, mostly Thalmor, but also the Argonians who conquered Morrowind.
    • Ultimately, none of the above ever came to pass, but both DLC campaigns ended up quite adventurous in their ownright: Dawnguard tasks the player with either joining a group of vampire-hunting vigilantes or an ancient order of vampires, and Dragonborn has you visit the island of Solstheim and go toe-to-toe with Miraak, a fellow Dragonborn and the very first of your kind.
  • Anti-Hero: There is no karma meter, but the Grey and Gray Morality of the two main questlines, and possible membership in factions like the Companions, Thieves Guild or Dark Brotherhood can put you anywhere on the scale assuming you just don't decide to be a straight-up villain.
  • Asskicking Equals Authority: If you're scouted out to join a group like the Thieves Guild or the Companions, by the time their questline is over, you'll be made their leader in recognition of your skill. The one exception is the Dawnguard, where Isran remains in charge, but even then he holds you in high regard for all the work you've done on the group's behalf.
  • The Atoner:
    • You can invoke this by completing the Dark Brotherhood main quest which ends with you killing the Emperor. Afterwards, join the Imperial Legion and help them win the civil war as way of making amends for the crimes you committed against the Empire. See Face Heel Turn below if you do the opposite.
    • The game itself will invoke this trope with you. If you steal from your fellows in the Thieves Guild or kill a colleague in the Dark Brotherhood, you must make restitution (though the latter is a subversion as a fine of 500 gold is all that is assessed for murder). You can also pay off your bounties for crimes committed in various communities. If your skill in illusion is high enough to pacify a guard long enough to accept bounty, you can make restitution for any and all crimes.
  • Awesome McCoolname: Ignoring how you can name your character whatever you want, most characters refer to you as Dovahkiin or Dragonborn, the former sounding something along the lines of names like Alduin, Paarthurnax and Odahviing.
  • Ax Crazy: You can act like this occasionally through dialogue, and of course you can run around and murder people all you want.

Is Markarth bloody enough for you, stranger?
More blood is always good.

  • Badass: Possibly the most badass out of all the Elder Scrolls protagonists. Only one other one has met a hostile dragon. For the Dovahkiin, killing dragons is the job description, and as they're random encounters, you'll be mowing them down regularly.
    • Badass Abnormal: The Dragonborn possesses the soul of a Dragon but the body of a mortal.
    • Badass Grandpa: Can potentially be a senior citizen who is still perfectly capable of kicking all kinds of ass.
    • Badass Long Hair: Potentially.
  • Badass Beard: Todd Howard really wasn't kidding when he said that Skyrim would have truly epic beards...
  • Badass Bystander: During Dragon attacks on towns, you can step in, kill it, then go right back to what you were doing.
  • Badass in Charge: Can become leader of multiple guilds.
  • Badass Preacher: If you join a temple to the Divines.
  • Beware the Nice Ones: You can play as a polite, kind and an all around Nice Guy, who is literally capable of bending reality itself to shout their enemies apart.
  • Blood Knight: You can choose to be one. Given that you're in the land of Blood Knights, it comes naturally. Paarthurnax also mentions that as you have the soul of a Dragon, you have an innate desire for destruction.
  • Catch Phrase: One of the first Dragon-Shouts you learn, nonetheless, can prove itself useful in almost any situation.

Dragonborn: FUS-RO-DAH!

  • The Chosen One:
    • A slightly unusual case that there's sometimes more than one Chosen One running around: the Player Character just might the only known Dovahkiin. It's heavily implied in the book The Last Dragonborn as well as a very accurate ancient prophecy that you are the last Dragonborn.
    • The Dragonborn is also arguably the chosen one of every other circumstance and guild they run across.
    • This is Taken up to Eleven when you reach Sovngarde and are challenged by the guardian of Shor's Hall, Tsun. He wants to know by what right you should be allowed to enter, and you can say that you're the Dovahkiin... But if you've completed all the other Faction Quests, you can also say that you're Harbinger of the Companions, Arch-Mage of the College of Winterhold, Nightingale of the Thieves Guild, or Listener for the Dark Brotherhood. It's a shame you can't bring up all of these, he'd probably crap his pants.
  • Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: Being an Elder Scrolls game, you can backstab basically everyone. Notable example: you kill the Emperor at the end of the Dark Brotherhood questline. Bonus points if you've previously joined the Legion and sworn allegiance to the Emperor. Then you can accept the Emperor's last request to murder the man who ordered his assassination. Less notable example: Help Madanach and the Forsworn escape Cidhna Mine, accept his reward and thanks, then stick a knife in his back when he turns to leave.
  • Co-Dragons: By the final mission in the Civil War questline, you've become the Co Dragon to either Tullius or Ulfric, alongside Rikke or Galmar, respectively.
  • Combat Pragmatist: The kill animations sometimes reach Assassin's Creed-tier brutality and ruthlessness. One of the new ones in the 1.5 update for warhammers involves putting the haft of the hammer around the back of the enemy's neck and then simply twisting until the neck breaks. Another new animation, this one for the battle axe, involves placing the axe sideways behind the opponents head, locking them in place while you headbutt them to death.
  • Cool Helmet: Always depicted as wearing a horned helmet with a face mask in promotional art (the readily available Iron helmet, for those interested). In the game, you can wear a variety, including that one, or none at all.
  • Crazy Prepared: Potentially. A Dovahkiin focused on smithing, enchanting, speech and alchemy (at the expense of perk-placement in other skills directly-related to combat or magic) can have custom-made weapons, potions, and enchanted gear for any eventuality. You essentially sacrifice the ability to be the perfect warrior to instead be Batman.
  • Crystal Dragon Jesus: The Dragonborn is essentially The Elder Scrolls' version of Christ, a god in a mortal's body destined to save the world. You even go to the afterlife and then return to the mortal realm, though you don't die at any point while doing so. And it's implied that you're destined to lead a new empire.
  • Cursed with Awesome:
    • You can become a werewolf. Being a vampire is a lot less impressive normally since there are much bigger drawbacks, but being exposed to Lord Harkon and Serana's strain of vampirism will give you the ability to turn into a monstrous bat creature that can transform into a swarm of bats, drain the life out of people, and telekinetically fling your enemies around like a ragdoll. You're still cursed with a weakness to sunlight and fire, but the Vampire Lord form is ultimately still a case of Difficult but Awesome instead of Awesome but Impractical.
    • Not to mention the fact that you are/can be the number one enemy of the most feared and powerful creatures, organizations and even Daedric Princes of Tamriel because of your powers.
  • Deadpan Snarker: There are plenty of sarcastic dialogue options.
  • Defector From Decadence: If the Dragonborn is an Altmer and loyal to the Empire, one of the possibilities for why they arrived in Skyrim is that they are one of the many Altmer fleeing the expanding influence of the Aldmeri Dominion. Due to the White-Gold Condordat being signed between the Thalmor and the Empire, the Thalmor were effectively granted free-reign to come and go throughout the Empire and the jurisdiction to arrest anyone they wish. One suspects that Altmer not loyal to the Dominion are on the top of their list...
  • Did You Just Flip Off Cthulhu?: The Dragonborn always has the option of telling the Daedric Princes, in no uncertain terms, to go to hell.
  • Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?: You eventually end up defeating Alduin, firstborn of Akatosh, god of Time itself, whose purpose is to bring about the end of the world.
  • Disproportionate Retribution: Can join the Stormcloaks, overthrow the Empire and murder the Emperor... all because you were accidentally arrested and when the mistake was discovered, you were sentenced to execution anyway, because one Imperial clerk didn't want to bother with the paperwork.
  • The Dreaded: Dragonborn, being the only mortals capable of truly killing a dragon, are actually mentioned as being something the Dragons fear above all else. Case-in-point, the music that plays during your fights with Dragons is titled on the soundtrack as "The One They Fear".
    • Literally invoked the first Dragon you face, Mirmulnir, when he realizes far too late just who you are.

Mirmulnir: Dovahkiin?! NO!

  • Dude, Where's My Respect?:
    • Playing any race other than Nord tends to lead to this, but this is especially the case for Khajiit, Argonian, and Dunmer Dragonborn, who will still get talked down to by guards and some NPCs, even after defeating Alduin.
    • The Blades (particularly Delphine), who despite supposedly being sworn to serve the Dragonborn, often treat them as an indentured servant and demand they perform tasks for them. Refusing to follow their orders to kill Paarthurnax will lead to them cutting off all support until you potentially give in and do as they say.
    • There are some instances where you can simply tell someone that you're Dragonborn and they'll treat you with the respect your status deserves. For example, when entering the College of Winterhold, you're normally expected to make a show of magical aptitude, but if you simply tell Faralda that you're the Dragonborn and fire off a Shout, she'll enthusiastically let you through.
  • Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Being a Dark Brotherhood Assassin, Thieves Guild member, or Clan Volkihar vampire and an excellent spouse are by no means mutually exclusive. The same goes with being a wonderful parent to the kids you adopt.
  • Even Evil Has Standards: What those standards are are ultimately up to you, but ignoring the limits of what you, the player, are willing to tolerate, there are dialogue options that allow an evil Dragonborn to show disgust towards the likes of Mercer Frey and Alain Dufont.
  • Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": In the Legion campaign, you're referred to primarily by your rank, starting at Auxiliary and working your way up to Legate.
  • Fantastic Racism: If you meet up with Brunwulf Free-Winter you have the option of saying that Skyrim is for Nords alone. Strangely enough, you get this option even if you're not a Nord.
  • Featureless Protagonist: As in every The Elder Scrolls game.
  • Folk Hero: In-Universe. The bards even composed a song called "The Dragonborn Comes", foretelling your arrival.
  • Genius Ditz:
    • Can invoke this with the Greybeards, saying you have no idea how you can learn new Thu'um quickly, you just do it.
    • If you join the Mage College, but haven't specialized in magic thus far, you essentially are acknowledged as being the least skilled with magic, but potentially one of the most powerful.
  • Glamour Failure: After becoming a werewolf, city guards will comment that the Dragonborn appears to have fur growing out of their ears and a wolfish grin. Even if you are an Argonian, who's ears and facial expressions shouldn't be readily apparent in the first place, or if you're a Khajiit, and have furry ears anyway.
  • Good People Have Good Sex: If you get married, and go to sleep with your spouse (either because you're at the house or you're traveling with them), you get the Lover's Comfort buff, where the Dragonborn is in such a good mood that skill-building becomes a lot easier for a while.
  • Good Scars, Evil Scars: If you wish, the Dragonborn can have a plethora of manly scars.
  • Handicapped Badass: Your Dragonborn can be missing an eye or be completely blind if you wish, though this doesn't affect gameplay in any way.
  • Hello, Insert Name Here: Played with: regardless of the name you pick you're usually referred to as "The Dragonborn", but your name will frequently appear written in notes and journals. The reason for this is obvious.
  • Hero with Bad Publicity: Even if you're the nicest, most heroic guy imaginable you'll still get a bounty on par with murder if you're exposed as a werewolf.
  • Hot Mom/Hot Dad: Your Dovahkiin can be a hot adopted parent through the Hearthfire DLC.
  • Humanoid Abomination: Is viewed as one by the Dragons, being a mortal who somehow possesses the soul of a Dragon and is able to permanently kill them and use their souls as fuel.
  • Hunter of His Own Kind:
    • Given how the Dragonborn is of the same kith as Dragons, this is to be expected.
    • Most vampires you encounter are hostile, so being one yourself invokes this trope. Being a werewolf can do too (mostly in the Sinding/Hircine quest).
    • Thalmor can invoke this in both directions if you're an Altmer. Once you hit the Thalmor Embassy, they'll start sending execution squads after you, which will only happen to a Dragonborn who has the patience to not brutally murder Thalmor s/he encounters beforehand.
  • I'm a Humanitarian:
    • One of the quests allows you to become a cannibal.
    • "Human Flesh" is also an alchemical ingredient, and the most obvious method of discovering an ingredient's first trait is to eat it.
    • Furthermore, the most effective method of healing one's self in werewolf form is to take a bite out of some dead human enemies.
  • Informed Attractiveness:
    • People won't be gushing over you, but you'll occasionally hear some NPC banter that paints you as good-looking regardless of your appearance, even if you're non-human, covered in dirt, brutally scarred, partially blind and clad in dragon bones. Given that Skyrim is a land of Blood Knights, however, these might be sexy traits as far as locals are concerned.
    • Some very complimenting examples from Narri of Falkreath:

To a male Dragonborn: Shor's bones, a handsome man in Falkreath!
To a female Dragonborn: You're going to have the men around here wrapped around your finger in no time.

  • Instant Expert: Happens in two ways:
    • The first way is what effectively makes the Dragonborn so special. Instead of having to spend years on mastering the Thu'um, you can simply absorb a dragon's soul and use those to master a known word of power. This does have its limits, however, as the Dragonborn does not absorb a full understanding of the Dragon Language itself, something Alduin mocks you about at one point. Similarly, Arngeir only realizes when you ask, that you had no clue what any of the Greybeards actually were saying during your initiation ceremony.
    • The second way is with the skills itself: if you read enough skill books and possess enough money to buy training sessions, you can easily go from being a complete novice in a skill to being fairly passable in it in the course of an in-game afternoon. Its also funny when one considers the perk system: if the Dragonborn decides to take the Dragon Smithing perk, he instantly knows how to forge armors from Dragonscales and bones despite not having done this before.
    • The perk tree is so that you can save all of your perks and use them when you deem the skill necessary. This can result in a novice who barely knows how to aim with a bow at a deer to a master huntsman who can land a killshot on an elite Thalmor Justicar from several miles away.
  • Irony: The Dovahkiin can invoke this if they go with Ralof during the intro. Prior, an Imperial Captain (over Hadvar's objection) commanded you be beheaded despite being innocent of any crime except being in the wrong place at the wrong time. That said, guess who one of the very first Imperials you can kill is as soon as you enter Helgen Keep? And, for bonus points, the first weapon you can get your hands on is an axe.
  • Kleptomaniac Hero: Entirely possible to do, and even probable if you are playing a thief archetype. Interestingly, while hot property is limited to designated fences for proper sale, there's nothing stopping you from gifting hot property for miscellaneous "I'd love it if you could find me one of those" quests.
  • Known Only By Their Nickname: In the Stormcloak campaign, you're given a series of nicknames by the men. Stormcloak troops will refer to you by these nicknames.
  • Last of His Kind: The Book of the Dragonborn heavily implies you are the Last Dragonborn.
  • Lightning Bruiser: In werewolf form, you can do a sprint slash; you sprint towards your foe, then do a power attack while still sprinting. Massive damage + probable knockdown of your foe. It kind of degrades into Glass Cannon status later on though. You have no armor bonus in beast form, and at higher levels, the health bonus you get is more or less meaningless, meaning you can be shredded pretty easily. But you still move at ridiculous speeds and deal a lot of damage. One combination that absolutely qualifies for this trope, however, is the Elemental Fury shout combined with the orc racial power, berserker rage. Elemental fury increases your attack speed, doubling it at max power, while berserker rage doubles your attack damage while cutting the damage you take in half. This combination renders any and all melee engagements moot: your enemies may as well be fighting an avalanche.
  • Magic Knight: No matter what race the Dragonborn is, s/he can use at least some form of basic magic. The Thu'um shouts further solidify this: a Dragonborn who never expends any magicka will still be blasting enemies with their voice.
  • Magnetic Hero: Although you can only have one follower with you at a time, there are 49 available and you can potentially recruit them all.
  • Make Me Wanna Shout: Your main method of attacking.
  • Master Poisoner: The Alchemy skill revolves around this.
  • Match Maker Quest: You get to help out a few couples get together in the quest The Book of Love.
  • The Messiah: The salvation of the world is up to you.
  • Mugging the Monster: Its remarkable how many people think attacking you is a good idea.
  • My Species Doth Protest Too Much:
    • By no means required, but entirely possible. Listing the ways to invoke it for each race would be a page unto itself.
    • The Altmer and Bosmer are the most extreme cases, as for them it is effectively required... the main storyline involves direct action against the Thalmor.
  • Mysterious Past: Although it's left blank for the player to make up, you can make a couple of in game suggestions about it. In Cidnah Mine, you can claim your family is still alive, but in another part of Tamriel, and tell Eola you've already indulged in cannibalism. However, since this optional dialogue and can be refuted in said conversations, it's not definite canon.
  • Names to Run Away From Very Fast: The Dragonborn.
  • Nice Guy: You can be one by helping every helpless civilian you find on your travels, giving mercy to enemies who ask for it, and playing games with children.
  • Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot: As the game progresses, and you complete guild questlines, main quests, civil war and sidequests, the player will rapidly become an exemplar of this trope. You already start off as part-dragon, which is coupled with your race of choice. Once the guild questlines are finished, you can add Viking champion/Legate, archmage, mentor of another Viking guild, thief, assassin, priest, bard, champion of multiple deities and Daedric princes, ally of the Forsworn, Thane of all nine holds, and werewolf/vampire[1] to the list.
  • Not So Different: Paarthurnax notes that the Dragonborn has the same innate urge to kill, destroy and conquer as all Dragons do.
  • Oh Crap: The reaction of various Dragons when they realize who you are.
  • One-Man Army:
    • A highly trained Dragonborn is able to win battles in which he is heavily outnumbered. This is seen most prominently in the Civil War quests, in which the Dragonborn can liberate entire forts occupied by the enemy army, without needing any help. One quest during the civil war even has the option to barge in alone instead of a more conventional ambush tactic.

Dragonborn: I have a better plan. You wait here, and I'll take care of it.

    • Routinely defeating Dragons who could obliterate entire towns also counts.
  • Only in It For the Money: There are multiple parts in the game where you can help out people or take on assassination jobs and make it clear that you're only in for a large sum of gold.
  • Open Secret: Guards will occasionally mention they know that you're in the Thieves Guild, or a member of the Dark Brotherhood (including suspecting that you killed the Emperor himself) but never confront you about it because of a lack of direct evidence and also being terrified of you.
  • Pet the Dog: A literal example. Over the course of your travels, you can rescue stray dogs from enemies. And of course, Dragonborns who play closer to the evil side can still do things like give beggars money and play games with local children.
  • Proud Warrior Race Guy: Comes through most when playing a Nord.

Jarl of Whiterun: Alduin... The World Eater? But if he has come, then surely it is the end?
Dragonborn: Maybe, but I intend to die fighting!
Jarl of Whiterun: Spoken like a true Nord! I stand with you, Dragonborn!

  • Psychotic Smirk: After becoming a Werewolf, guards claim that the Dragonborn has a disturbing wolfish grin.
  • Rags to Riches: Can become a Thane to multiple Jarls of Skyrim, and unless you're actually trying not to, you'll probably end up with gold coming out of your ears, especially if you earn the Prowler's Profit perk, which lets you discover tons of gold and precious stones in every chest and urn out there in Skyrim, which are all yours for the taking. Not bad for someone who entered the country a prisoner without a Septim to their name.
  • Real Men Love Jesus:
    • You can wear an amulet of any god, pray at their shrines regularly and serve any temple, should you wish.
    • You're not limited to the divines only. Completing the Sacred Trials of Kyne and selecting the 'I don't believe in the Nine' can make you a Real man who loves the Old Nordic Gods.
    • Joining the Stormcloaks ostensibly makes you a Real Man who loves Talos exclusively.
  • Reluctant Warrior: Can be played as one.
  • Science Hero: If you specialize in Alchemy, Enchanting and Smithing. You can, with some work, become the Tamrielic equivalent of Tony Stark.
  • Silent Protagonist: Actually averted: the Dragonborn doesn't talk normally, but he/she is actually voiced; besides performing dragon Shouts, the Throw Voice power has you actually throw out a variety of insults at you enemies. Oddly, when using Throw Voice, the male voice of the Dragonborn is snarky and high-pitched, sounding more like Church from Red vs. Blue than a mighty Norse warrior.
  • Smarter Than You Look: Farengar Secret-Fire says this if you ask about him about his work with the Dragon Stone.
  • Sobriquet: The One They Fear.
  • Sociopathic Hero: You can be a real bastard. Stealing everything that isn't nailed down, beating up and killing people for no reason, selling out a Talos worshiper to the Thalmor, helping Sibbi Black-Briar hunt down his terrified ex-girlfriend... he may be the World Eater, but you can make even Alduin look like a pussycat with how awful you can be.
  • The Starscream: To Jarl Balgruuf the Greater, if you support the Stormcloaks. After being the one guy to support you wholeheartedly and keep his people out of the war, Ulfric tasks you with laying siege to the city he commands and forcing him out. This is possibly after he made you Thane and welcomed you into his city. Grey and Gray Morality aside, you will feel like a dick for betraying him.
  • The Stoic: The Dark Brotherhood quest line once again gives the option of staying completely silent during most conversations.
  • Took a Level in Badass: You start off as a unlucky prisoner who crossed the border at a bad time then almost got beheaded. The rest of the game sees you becoming the Dragonborn to save the world.
  • Tribal Face Paint: Should you choose.
  • The Undead: You can become a vampire, should you choose.
  • Underestimating Badassery: Most missions/sidequests/quest lines are completely separate and don't overlap. That means that even if you've become Harbinger of the Companions, single-handedly stopped the resurrection of Potema, become the Thane of multiple Holds, and revealed yourself as the Dragonborn and absorbed the souls of dragons, you still need to undergo a petty quest to "prove yourself" worthy enough to join other factions. Somewhat justified in that being an adventurer alone (even the Dragonborn) isn't enough to indicate that you're willing to follow orders or maintain confidentiality, however, this justification does not help the cases where you merely have to prove that you're strong enough to fight. That said, there are a few notable aversions. For example, if you've completed the Wolf Queen questline and started the "Mind Of Madness" questline, you may speak with Falk Firebeard and though reluctant to allow you passage into the haunted and abandoned wing of the Blue Palace, he will make an exception just for you. It especially get ridiculous when you get challenged by some random thief or an overconfident enemy like Ancano's aide whom you encounter after getting the Staff of Magnus, and you clearly demonstrate that they prove to be mere cannon fodder.
  • Warrior Poet: Joining the Bard's College can qualify you.
  • Wild Card: You can tip the balance of power in the Skyrim Civil War, whether for the Legion or Stormcloaks.
  • Wrestler in All of Us: Unarmed kill animations include choke slams, suplexes, chokeholds, and in one case an overhead body slam that drops the enemy on their head as of the 1.5 update.
  • You Are the Translated Foreign Word: "In their tongue, he's Dovahkiin - Dragonborn!"
  • Your Soul Is Mine: A rare heroic variation, absorbing the souls of fallen dragons. Can also be done by filling soul gems, which are used to enchant or replenish already enchanted items.

Dragons

Alduin

Voiced by: Daniel Riordan

"You do not even know our tongue, do you? Such arrogance, to dare take for yourself the name of Dovah!"

Nordic interpretation of Akatosh and therefore is Time or an aspect thereof, God of Destruction, the World-Eater, devourer of souls, harbinger of the apocalypse and general big bad nasty. He is revealed to be the "Firstborn" of Akatosh. The Fourth Aldudagga fight[2], suggests "heaven" separated the two.

  • Above Good and Evil: Defied with a vengeance. While he's supposed to be a dispassionate force of divine destruction that keeps the cycle of creation running, he's a bloodthirsty conqueror who would rather force mortals to bend to his will.
  • All There in the Manual: His nature, and how it relates to Akatosh, is a bit loopy but it has been talked about in previous games and texts.
  • Alternate Character Interpretation: In-universe: Alduin may be the Big Bad, but several characters will debate on whether he can truly be called "evil" as humans would understand the word. Various people tell you that the destruction of the world brings about a new one, rather than the obliteration of all Creation, so it is debatable whether stopping Alduin is even a good thing (see Blue and Orange Morality below). Even if you take it as read that such destruction is a bad thing, can Alduin be described in the words of human morality any more than an earthquake or any other force of nature can be? Paarthunax states that Alduin was created for the purpose of destroying/rejuvenating the world, and in any case all dragons have the instinct to dominate, so is Alduin "evil" for performing his divinely-appointed role and acting in accordance with his own nature? Can such a powerful and eternal entity be judged by transient mortal ethics any more than Cthulhu can?
    • Though it's hard to justify his actions under this when he's doing something utterly different and alien to his appointed purpose; such as enslaving the Nords in the Merethic Era and generally getting a kick out of the death and destruction he causes.
  • Always a Bigger Fish: He interrupts your execution at Helgen, accidentally saving you in his efforts to kill you.
  • Asskicking Equals Authority: He is the leader of the dragons for a very good reason. Until you kick his ass, and make the other dragons question whether he truly deserves to lead.
  • Badass Baritone: Of the Evil Sounds Deep variety.
  • Badass Boast: He gives a few.

I am AL-DU-IN! First born son of Akatosh! Mulagi Zu Klat! I cannot be slain within the bounds of this world, by you or ANYONE!

  • The Battle Didn't Count: All the battles against him until the final one.
  • Because Destiny Says So: Paarthurnax argues this. Alduin is doing what he was created to do. The problem is that he is doing this before he is supposed to. Or possibly four full Eras after, it's confusing.
  • Big Bad
  • Bigger Bad: Of Arena, Oblivion and Battlespire as he was the one who corrupted Mehrunes Dagon (who in turn was also the Bigger Bad of Arena as he was providing assistance to Jagar Tharn, technically making Alduin the Even Bigger Bad) according to a few obscure texts.
  • Blue and Orange Morality: It is repeatedly stated that Alduin is destined to destroy the world so that it can be reborn, and so there are some (like the Greybeards) who don't automatically accept that stopping him is a good thing. In fact, one of the replies you can give to such a question can be summed up as "I like the world the way it is", rather than a more impartial argument on whether it is right to avert the apocalypse. That said, for a mortal, Paarthurnax admits that 'I like this world' is as good a reason as any for wanting to stop him. There's also the fact that Alduin has a bad habit of trying to dominate the world as opposed to flat-out ending it.
  • Broken Pedestal: His reputation among his draconic brethren takes a massive blow when he runs from the Dragonborn like a little bitch instead of fighting to the death. Such behavior is unbecoming of a dovah, which inspires Odahviing and other dragons to accept you and Paarthurnax as their new master.
  • Cain and Abel: The Cain to Paarthurnax's Abel.
  • Combat Compliment: After you beat him at the Throat of the World, he admits that you have become extremely powerful.
  • Dark Is Evil: Covered head-to-tail in pitch-black scales, and is one evil son of a bitch to boot.
  • Dirty Coward: The moment he runs away from you like a bitch is the moment the other dragons realize he doesn't deserve to lead. A true dovah would fight to the end.
  • Draconic Demon: A draconic force of death and destruction destined to bring about the end times.
  • Draconic Divinity: The Nordic god of destruction and an aspect of Akatosh, the Top God of the Nine Divines.
  • Eldritch Abomination: Not in appearance, but in terms of being an inconceivably ancient and eternal entity who is arguably beyond human rationality and ethics (see Blue and Orange Morality above), Alduin fits the criteria quite neatly.
  • The End of the World as We Know It: A very literal case of this trope because it is repeatedly stated that Alduin the World-Eater is not going to erase all of Creation from existence, he is "merely" going to destroy the current incarnation so that a new one can take its place. Consequently, some characters (like the Greybeards) question whether stopping him is actually the right thing to do. (see Blue and Orange Morality above).
  • Eternal Recurrence: Alduin was created to destroy the world, so the next can come. Then destroy that one for the next.
  • Evil Overlord: Of dragons.
  • Evil Sounds Deep: Alduin has a very cool voice.
  • Get Back Here Boss: This is a plot point! And in more than one sense: he also retreats to Sovngarde to feast upon the souls there and thus regain his strength.
  • God-Emperor: He's in charge of most of the dragons you see, and was worshiped in the past by cults of Nords who pledged allegiance to him.
  • Guttural Growler: Ignoring how deep it is, just listen to his voice's grit.
  • Honor Before Reason: See Pride below. It seems to be shared by all dragons.
  • I Am X, Son of Y: I AM ALDUIN! FIRST BORN SON OF AKATOSH!
  • Large Ham: Even for a dragon, Alduin sure loves the sound of his own voice.

"My belly is full of the souls of your fellow mortals, Dovahkiin!"

  • Names to Run Away From Really Fast: His name means "Destroyer Devour Master". He is also known as the "World Eater".
  • Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: By interrupting your execution at Helgen, he ultimately sets the stage for his own defeat since the destruction he causes gives you the cover you need to flee the scene, and thus sets you on the path to discover your true nature as the Dragonborn and grow strong enough to face him.
  • Non-Malicious Monster: This is what Alduin is SUPPOSED to be. Too bad he's a sadistic, cruel, ruthless tyrant instead.
  • Obviously Evil: Spiky jet black scales, burning red eyes, hellishly deep voice... his appearance is practically a checklist of cliche villainous aesthetics. Ironically, he'd be a major example of Dark Is Not Evil if he would just act as intended.
  • Outside Context Villain: Acts as this for Skyrim itself as the main conflict was the Imperial and Stormcloak war that the Thalmor were also playing a large part in. Suddenly, he shows up out of nowhere though actually sent forward in time by an Elder Scroll and becomes the much bigger threat.
  • Physical God: While he takes a form not dissimilar to other dragons, he's far stronger than them since he has access to unique, special Shouts, and can't be killed, hurt, or even scratched if you don't know a Shout that was custom-made to hurt him.
  • Pride: His dominant flaw is his arrogant security in his own power. For his first defeat, the ancient Nord heroes spoke his name with the Thu'um, which in dragon language is basically a challenge, and upon his arrival, they hit him with Dragonrend. Mere days afters this occurs from Alduin's perspective, he falls for exactly the same trick, and the Dovahkiin hits him with Dragonrend again. After this confrontation, Alduin retreats to Sovngarde to recover strength... which makes the rest of the dragons question his leadership and leads directly to his second, and far more comprehensive, defeat.
  • Psychopathic Manchild: It's not immediately apparent, but remove his veneer of draconic dignity, and what do you get? A Spoiled Brat who refuses to listen to his dad and spitefully trashes his house because he thinks he knows better than the old man.
  • Red Eyes, Take Warning
  • Sealed Evil in a Can: He wasn't actually defeated in the past, merely banished to another time... namely, the time that you live in. It's implied that this may be all that you accomplished in slaying his body, as you did not absorb his soul and spiritual beings can reform over time. Albeit a very long time. This makes sense actually, as if he is destined to destroy the world to let it be reborn (see Eternal Recurrence above), but is simply doing it too soon or too late (see Because Destiny Says So above) it would make sense that he could not be destroyed, only delayed until the time is right. This also calls into question whether he can truly be called "evil" (see Blue and Orange Morality above).
  • Secret Art: Alduin gets a few Shouts that are unique to him and him alone. He can rain meteors down on you from above, resurrect dead dragons, and summon thick, misty fog to confuse and befuddle his prey.
  • Smug Snake: While he's legitimately dangerous and is one of the most powerful beings in the series' cosmology, he doesn't take the few beings that can actually pose a threat to him as seriously as he should. Underestimating the heroes of the past was what got him kicked out of the timestream to begin with, and he didn't learn a damn thing from his past failure since he underestimates you as well, and ends up being defeated for good (in the sense that now he has to play by Akatosh's rules) as a consequence.
  • Spanner in the Works: For General Tullius, who managed to capture Ulfric Stormcloak, the leader of the Nordic rebellion that had almost managed to rout the Empire completely from Skyrim before Tullius arrived to head the Legion forces there. Had Alduin not shown up when he had, it's likely the Empire would have won the Civil War before the game really started in earnest.
  • Spikes of Villainy: All the dragons are pretty spiky, but Alduin is especially so.
  • A Storm Is Coming: Invoked by Alduin himself. Amongst the many, many powers that Dragon Shouts have is the ability to summon storms, ominous clouds, and fog. Alduin does so several times throughout the story.
  • Villainous Breakdown: When you defeat him in Sovngarde.
  • Villainous Rescue: Accidentally did this when he attacked Helgen. If he hadn't shown up to burn the village to the ground, the Dragonborn would have been executed.
  • We Can Rule Together: Sort of. In Sovngarde, he compliments your persistence and mentions that you would have been an excellent slave. For someone whose fundamental nature is to dominate, that is probably as close as he can come to this trope.
  • Your Soul Is Mine: As firstborn of Akatosh, Alduin has the "right" to consume the souls of the fallen warriors in Sovngarde to replenish his strength. When he is defeated the first time by Paarthurnax and the Dragonborn, he retreats to Sovngarde to feed on the fallen and regain strength. Of course, Shor is displeased with this, and while he won't directly intervene, he does dispatch the old heroes of Skyrim to assist the Dragonborn in putting a stop to it.


Paarthurnax

Voiced by: Charles Martinet a.k.a. It's-a-me-Mario!

"What is better? To be born good, or to overcome your evil nature through great effort?"

An ancient dragon who turned against Alduin and aids the Dovahkiin.

  • Armor-Piercing Question: His question on morality. When confronted by a Dovahkiin who is undecided about killing him, Paarthurnax does nothing to argue for his own life and in fact says that killing him is probably the best pragmatic option... but then he just asks the quote above.
  • The Atoner: He admits dragons seek power. And that his punishment for his past evil deeds is to spend every waking moment fighting his own nature boiling inside of him. He's been doing that for several thousand years already.
  • Awesome Moment of Crowning: The epilogue after defeating Alduin in Sovngarde set on the Throat of the World is essentially the dragon equivalent of acknowledging that he is now the effective ruler of the dragons.
  • Badass:
    • Badass Grandpa: Shows a lot of signs of aging and is quite old even for a dragon. Still, that doesn't stop him from helping kick ass once Alduin shows up.
  • Badass Baritone: Provided by none-other than the voice of Mario!
  • Big Good: In the main quest line.
  • Cain and Abel: The Abel to Alduin's Cain.
  • Cool Old Guy: He's a very kind-hearted old Dovah who loves chatting your ears off, and will help you meditate on certain Words of Power so you can better understand them.
  • Defector From Decadence: Is one of three good dragons in the game and has taken to long periods of meditation so he can quell his more violent urges.
  • Face Death with Dignity: If confronted with the fact that you've been ordered to kill him, he outright admits that The Blades are right not to trust him, and that killing would be the "safer" path for everyone. He then presses the player with the Sadistic Choice below.
  • Heel Face Turn: Used to be Alduin's Dragon, but defected before Alduin's first defeat.
  • Light Is Not Good: A white dragon who was every bit as nasty as Alduin before his Heel Face Turn. He’s been a straight case of Light is Good for the past few thousand years and his change of heart persists to this day, but he’ll readily admit that he still fights the urge to relapse and return to his old ways.
  • My Species Doth Protest Too Much: Domination and ego are in a dragon's inherent nature. Apparently, you can't even be a dragon without those traits in your blood (the Dragonborn counts too). But he's tried to find another way, and says he will try to teach other dragons to do it too.
  • Names to Run Away From Really Fast: His name means "Ambition Overlord Cruelty".
  • Nice Guy: Strict adherence to the Way of the Voice has resulted in the friendliest dragon you’ll ever meet.
  • Not So Different: Points this out to the Dovahkiin: being born with the soul of a dragon, the Dovahkiin has the same innate urge to kill, destroy and conquer as any other dragon.
  • Poirot Speak: In the ancient tongue of the dragons, no less!
  • Properly Paranoid: He believed that Alduin wasn't defeated in the past, knowing that the Elder Scroll would send him 'adrift' in time, but that it would not be permanent. As such, he waited where he knew Alduin would emerge, but aware he had no clue when. It took thousands of years.
  • Reasonable Authority Figure: For the Greybeards and promises to be this for the rest of the dragons after Alduin dies.
  • Reformed but Rejected: He's been hiding on the Throat Of the World for thousands of years because he's a dragon, and he did horrible things during the reign of the dragons over man... things that humans will possibly never forgive. Driven home by the Blades, who demand that you kill Paarthunax for what he did millennia ago, even though he's the reason mankind is still breathing.
  • Sadistic Choice: Should the Dragonborn confront him with the Blades' desire to kill him, he states outright that you should never trust a dragon because the urge to dominate is in their blood. He's only become "good" because he took time, every day for thousand years, meditating and suppressing his nature. It doesn't fade either: he's gotten better at keeping it in check, but it hasn't weakened.
  • Straw Man Has a Point: Invoked: when The Blades ask the player to kill him in spite of the fact he's reformed and has helped the player, Paathurnax says the Blades are absolutely right not to trust him, as he has certainly done a lot of evil things, and even if he is reformed, the urge to dominate and destroy is in the blood of a dragon, and he fights the pull to give into those urges every day. He pretty much says if he were in their situation, he wouldn't trust himself either.
  • True Companions: Paarthurnax named the old Nord heroes whom he taught the Thu'um to as his "friends". Considering the timeless nature of the dovah and their desire for conquest and domination, merely naming a mortal a "friend" tells you how much they meant to him, and likewise.
  • Verbal Tic: Paarthurnax frequently slips into the dragon language while talking to mortals. He usually catches himself while doing so and offers a quick translation of what he meant to say. Words that he knows you understand, like "dovah" remain untranslated, and sometimes he'll spout an entire phrase in his tongue (while apparently talking to himself) that he doesn't bother translating.

Odahviing

Voiced by: Charles Dennis

"As for myself, you've proven your mastery twice over. Thuri, Dovahkiin. I gladly acknowledge the power of your Thu'um."

Alduin's right-hand dragon. He ultimately changes sides and helps the Dovahkiin.

  • Afraid of Needles: Isn't afraid of taking on the Dragonborn, who fireballs, shoots arrows into, and repeatedly stabs the dragon. Yet freaks out and spews fire in a panic when Farengar attempts to retrieve some samples of scale and skin tissue.
  • Awesome McCoolname: His name means "Snow Hunter Wing".
  • Badass Baritone: Being a dragon, this comes naturally to him.
  • Big No: Once the Dragonsreach trap's yoke slams down on him and entraps him by the neck, he expresses his despair by exclaiming "No!" in draconic.
  • The Cynic: While he respects Paarthurnax, he doesn't have a lot of faith in dragonkind following the Way of the Voice. He even calls it tyranny! Though it may seem like an unfair comparison, to a species that has a drive for destruction and domination hard-coded into every fiber of their being, dedicating your life to going against your very nature would be tyrannical From a Certain Point of View.
  • The Dragon: To Alduin.
  • Eleventh-Hour Ranger: Downplayed since this only applies to his role in the main story: depending on what else you’ve done, there could still be plenty of time for you to get some good usage out of him. In any case, he’s The Dragon to Alduin and becomes one of your most important allies, but he doesn’t show up until it’s time to head off to Skuldafn for the final showdown. Also counts as an Eleventh-Hour Superpower, but you won’t be able to use him in battle until you defeat Alduin for the final time.
  • Hot-Blooded: Even by dragon-kind's standards, Odahviing is ridiculously combative and headstrong. This is why Paarthurnax considers him a prime candidate for luring into a trap.
  • I Fight for the Strongest Side: After you shout Alduin about the head and wings the first time atop High Hrothgar, Odahviing and other dragons engender doubts about the supremacy of Alduin amongst themselves. Odahviing only helps the player because he wants to know who is more worthy as leader.
  • Poirot Speak: Like Paarthurnax. It seems that Paarthurnax has a better command of the mortals' tongue because Odie's speech sounds kinda stilted. Of course, Paarthurnax has been interacting with the various Graybeards over the millennia, while Odahviing has been a pile of bones entombed in a dragon burial mound and probably didn't interact with mortals much beyond domination before the Dragon War.
  • Red Oni, Blue Oni: The literal Red to Paarthurnax's figurative blue once he joins the good guys. While Paarthy is serene and reigns in his destructive urges, Odahviing is Hot-Blooded, rambunctious, and stays true to his nature by helping you bring about the destruction of your enemies.
  • Summon Bigger Fish: Once you gain his allegiance, you can summon him to fight alongside by shouting his name.

Mirmulnir

"Dovahkiin, nii!"

The first dragon the Dovahkiin officially takes on in the main storyline.

  • Awesome McCoolname: His name means "Allegiance Strong Hunt".
    • Recursive Translation: The Collector's Edition guide refers to him as the "Loyal Mortal Hunter". Going by the translation guide at the back of the book, that should make his name "(something)-Joor-Ah"... never mind that "Joor" is the first word of the Dragonrend shout.
  • Big No: Right before you finish him off.
  • Kill It with Fire: Naturally.
  • Oh Crap: What prompts his Big No as you kill him, realizing too late that he's facing a Dragonborn.
  • The Remnant: According to the Atlas of Dragons book, he is one of a very small number of dragons under Alduin's command that survived the Dragon War.
  • Starter Villain: Serves as this for the Dragons as he is the first one you get to take down in the game.
  • Vocal Dissonance: The Unofficial Patch for Skyrim adds voice acting to his Big No, which is otherwise only present in the subtitles. And his voice is... well, it sounds closer to an out-of-breath old man than a dragon. This is averted for foreign language versions of the game which do dub his Big No, and give him a more appropriate Badass Baritone.
  • Warmup Boss: For the main story, since he's the very first dragon that you fight and as such, is weak and fought with plenty of backup in order to prepare you for the harder dragons that start showing up later.
  • Worthy Opponent: Calls out that you and the Whiterun guards are such and make for good sport.

Sahloknir

"I am Sahloknir! Hear my Voice and despair!"

Another named dragon, encountered at the end of "A Blade In The Dark".

  • Arrogant Kung Fu Guy: Arrogantly declares that the Dragonborn's Voice is no match for his own.
  • Awesome McCoolname: His name translates into "Phantom Sky Hunt".
  • Badass: Other dragons at least admit that the Dragonborn scares them. Sahloknir isn't scared of you in the slightest.
  • Rise from Your Grave: He is the first indication that this is what is happening to the rest of the dragons.
  • Undying Loyalty: To Alduin.
  • "Wake-Up Call" Boss: If you put off the "Blade In The Dark" quest for long enough, he'll spawn as an Ancient Dragon, with absurdly high stats. Note that he'll spawn at this level even when the player is low enough that the Dragonborn will still be fighting regular or blood dragons.
  • Worthy Opponent: Considers the Dragonborn one.

Named Dragons

The other named dragons that aren't major players in the storyline.

  • Awesome McCoolname:
    • Nahagliiv: "Fury Burn Wither".
    • Vuljotnaak: "Dark Maw Eat".
    • Vulthuryol: "Dark Overlord Fire".
    • Viinturuth: "(something) Hammer (something)".
  • Bonus Boss: Surprisingly, Vulthuryol manages to be a secret battle as he can only be fought in Blackreach if you use Unrelenting Force on the large sun-like orb hanging on the ceiling. He isn't all that much tougher than most dragons though.
  • Mini Boss: None of them are part of any sort of important quest, and show up to fight you once you get close enough to their respective nesting grounds.
  • Rise from Your Grave: Like Sahloknir, you can walk in on Alduin flying above their burial mounds and resurrecting them.

Housecarls

"Long life to you, my Thane."

Housecarls are knights assigned by the Jarls of a hold to protect the Dragonborn and his/her property.

  • Badass: All of the housecarls are amongst the most powerful of your followers (at a similar level, a Housecarl has around 150 to 200 more hit points compared to a regular Warrior-class follower). They are all equal in stats.
  • Blonde, Brunette, Redhead: Jordis, Lydia and Iona respectively. But you can only marry one of them.
  • Bodyguard Crush: If you wear an Amulet of Mara while speaking to them...
  • Bodyguarding a Badass: That badass being you, of course.
  • Catch Phrase:

"Honor to you, my Thane."
"Long life to you, my Thane."
"I am sworn to carry your burdens."
"As you will, my Thane. I will protect you with my life."

  • Did You Just Flip Off Cthulhu?: They have special trash talk reserved for dragons!
  • The Dragon
  • Hypercompetent Sidekick: They can generally scout traps and be aware of an enemy's presence before you are. They can absorb more punishment than you (technically, since they're difficult to kill) and at early levels, they might be stronger than you.
  • Made of Iron: All housecarls are nigh-invincible. They collapse to the ground rather than dying if their health gets below a certain point, but there are certain circumstances (such as health draining poisons or burning damage) where their life can totally deplete and they die.
  • My Master, Right or Wrong/Undying Loyalty: They will put up with almost anything you do and agree to almost any order. In fact, it's easier to list the things they won't let you get away with:

"Not for you. Not for anybody."

    • Particularly notable is that Housecarls will fight by your side even if you're fighting against the very Jarls who assigned them to you. Lydia, Calder and Jordis the Sword-Maiden will stay right by your side while invading Whiterun, Windhelm or Solitude, with Lydia and Calder actively participating in directly fighting the very Jarl who assigned them to you, personally.
  • Number Two: They are "your sword and your shield."
  • Only Six Faces: The female Housecarls seem to have the exact same faces, to the point where Lydia and Jordis the Sword-Maiden look like palette-swaps of one another. Iona at least has a different hairstyle.
  • Trash Talk: All of them use it when facing down enemies.

Lydia

Voiced by: Colleen Delany

"I am sworn to carry your burdens...."

Housecarl to the Dragonborn upon being named Thane of Whiterun.

  • Action Girl
  • BFS: She prefers these unless she has a stronger weapon.
    • An Axe to Grind: While she does prefer large weapons, she'll generally favor greataxes over greatswords and warhammers.
  • Disc One Nuke: Despite being one of the most powerful followers, she's also an extremely easy one to obtain and the only one automatically acquired during the main quest.
  • Sarcastic Devotee: She is sworn to carry your burdens. Doesn't mean she's happy about it though.

Calder

Voiced by: Michael Gough

Housecarl to the Dragonborn after being named Thane of Eastmarch in the capital of Windhelm.

Iona

Voiced by: Claudia Christian

Housecarl to the Dragonborn after being named Thane of The Rift in the capital of Riften and helping clear out a den of skooma dealers.

  • Action Girl
  • Chewing the Scenery: Her dialog sounds surprisingly hammy.
  • Genre Savvy: Upon entering suspicious or hostile areas, she remarks "Trouble ahead. Be careful". She also sometimes exclaims "A good place for bandits to hide" when approaching caves.
  • Heroes Want Redheads: If you marry her, of course.
  • Principles Zealot: While otherwise a typically loyal housecarl, if she catches you stealing (even handling a previously stolen item stored in your house), she'll not only put a bounty on you, but personally scold you.

Argis the Bulwark

Voiced by: Popeye Vogelsang

Housecarl to the Dragonborn after being named Thane of The Reach in the capital of Markarth after taking care of several Forsworn camps.

Jordis the Sword-Maiden

Voiced by: Corri English

Housecarl to the Dragonborn after being named Thane of Haafingar in the capital of Solitude and helping save Solitude from a crisis.

  • Action Girl: Her name says it all.
  • Awesome but Impractical: As stated before, all housecarls are equal in stats, which is unfortunate considering how much cost and effort one must undertake to get Jordis.
  • Badass Adorable: She has the default "young lady" voice, and tends to express glee when brought along into exotic and impressive locales.
  • The Fettered: She takes her oath to serve you very seriously. Unlike Lydia, she says "I am sworn to carry your burdens" without a hint of sarcasm.
  • Genre Savvy: She'll exclaim "I don't like where this is going" when entering a suspicious area.
  • They Call Him "Sword": Her sobriquet.

Other Followers

Benor

A Nord warrior hanging around the Guardhouse in Morthal. He will follow you upon beating him in a brawl.

Erandur

Voiced by: Keith Szarabajka

An aged Dunmer priest, Erandur joins you following the Waking Nightmare Quest, which can be started in Dawnstar.

  • The Atoner: Used to be a Daedric Lord's priest, but abandoned his order and became a priest of Mara instead.
  • Badass: He's unique among followers in that his level is 50% higher than the player's, so if you meet him at level 20, he'll already be at level 30 (almost all other Followers are at the same level as the player). Plus his level cap is 50, one of the highest in the game, matched only by Cicero, the members of The Circle and the Housecarls.
  • Badass Preacher
  • The Bard: He used to attend the Bard's College in Solitude, but was kicked out for worshiping Vaermina.
  • Battle Cry: He will shout "Feel the benevolence of Mara!"... right before smashing/burning the shit out of whoever's in his way. A pity the game doesn't let you get into a theological discussion with this priest of the goddess of love, I'm sure it would be fascinating.
  • Catch Phrase: "Blessings of Mara upon you."
  • Heel Faith Turn
  • Kill It with Fire: One of his favorite spells is an ramped-up fireball.
  • Magic Knight: He often uses a mace and a fire spell.
  • Older Than They Look: He states that he grew up it The Pale and lived there for most of his life, which is longer than the Dovahkiin may think. Of course this is par for the course due to him being a Dunmer, and elven races can live for hundreds of years.
  • Sadistic Choice: It's either have him as follower, or kill him and gain possession of a nice magic staff.
  • Squishy Wizard: Firmly averted. Erandur can take almost as much of a beating as Lydia or your other companions.

Erik the Slayer

Voiced by: Jason Marsden

A young man from Rorikstead who dreams of being an adventurer.

Derkeethus

Voiced by: Tim Blaney

The only Argonian follower. A miner at Darkwater Crossing who was apparently a prisoner of the Falmer.

  • The Archer: You can give him ridiculously powered swords or axes and he'll still pull out the weak bow he starts with, so long as he still has arrows. The solution, of course, is to give him ridiculously powered bows instead.
  • Catch Phrase: "Ours is to follow, friend."
  • I Owe You My Life: Derkeethus follows you because you saved his life and will stand by your side no matter what. "To Oblivion and back, as they say."
  • This Is Gonna Suck: Entering a vast room with no enemies to be seen? He sees this a mile away.

Illia

An Imperial witch. She enlisted the Dragonborn to help stop her mother from becoming a Hagraven.

Aranea Ienith

The Dunmer Priestess at the Shrine of Azura, and the last faithful follower who there remains. She joins the Dragonborn after they complete Azura's quest.

Golldir

A Nord warrior who met the Dragonborn at Hillgrund's tomb, where his ancestors were being experimented on by a necromancer. After the Dragonborn helps him, he offers his services as a follower.

  • Abusive Parent: His dad locked him in Hillgrund tomb for three days.
  • An Axe to Grind
  • Badass: A fairly capable follower who can be acquired somewhat easily.
  • Disappeared Dad: But that may be for the best. His dad was a drunkard bastard.
  • Nice Guy: He's a fairly decent fellow all around, and even apologizes to an elven Dragonborn after insulting a Dunmer necromancer who is defiling his ancestor's burial ground.
  • What the Hell, Hero?: He will angrily call out the Dragonborn if they loot his family's burial ground, but will grudgingly allow them to do so if it continues.

Jenassa

Voiced by: Lani Minella

A Dunmer mercenary found in Whiterun's Drunken Huntsman. Will follow for 500 gold.

  • The Archer: Mainly fights with a bow and arrow.
  • Aristocrats Are Evil: Listen to her dialogue when she's taken to a mine. She's not impressed by the fact that the rich will often have poorer people slave away in miserable conditions for their business empire.
  • Career Killers: Sees herself as an assassin.
  • Combat Aestheticist: She sees artistry in combat, and has elements of Blood Knight.
  • Dark Action Girl: Not exactly an "Evil" follower per se, though is quite obsessed with death and the like.
  • Hot Amazon: Fairly attractive for a Dunmer and a proud assassin.

Kharjo

Voiced by: André Sogliuzzo

A Khajiit caravan guard for the Khajiit Traders in the Rift. His Moon Amulet is stolen by a quick fingered bandit, his only reminder of home. If returned, you will gain his friendship and favor. One of only two Khajiit followers.

  • Made of Iron: Starting in steel plate, he makes a great tank.
  • Nice Guy
  • The Nose Knows: Played with. "Don't worry, if someone tries to sneak up on us, I will smell them. Or not, we'll see."

Mjoll the Lioness

A former adventurer since retired after a brush with death in the depths of a Dwemer ruins. She's taken it upon herself to try and clean up Riften, but hasn't had much luck. If you can return her enchanted blade Grimsever, she will take up adventuring again at your side.

  • Arch Enemy: Maven Black-Briar is hers, as Mjoll sees her as being the main reason why Riften is such a miserable place. The fact that Maven is untouchable to the point of becoming the Goddamned Jarl should the Imperials win the Civil War only furthers her hatred for her.
  • Badass: Mjoll is among the best companions in the game due to being an essential character, which means that she's pretty much an immortal death machine should you recruit her, something that not even the Housecarls have going for them.
  • Berserk Button: She considers the Thieves Guild even lower than the Dark Brotherhood since she believes the latter have some degree of standards. As a companion, however, she can be taken to the Ragged Flagon with no ill effect and can even be present during your initiation as a Nightingale.
  • Blood Knight: She loves to fight, as repeatedly stated in her dialogue.
  • Boisterous Bruiser: A rare female example.
  • Just Friends: Apparently, herself and Aerin. Aerin will go anywhere Mjoll goes, including your house, should you marry her.
  • Made of Iron: Because of her quest, Mjoll is tagged as "essential" and thus literally cannot be killed by any enemy in the game. This alone makes her one of the most useful companions in the game, as with Mjoll you don't have to worry about her getting killed in combat, though she will still turn on you if you attack her enough.
  • Might Makes Right
  • Motor Mouth: One of the more talkative followers, to the point that she will talk during excursions into danger-filled caves and tombs and will talk over other NPCs during scripted story moments.
  • Nice Girl: She's a very moral woman who takes it upon herself to rid Riften of it's corruption and is all around polite to the Dragonborn should they not claim to want to throw in their lot with the Thieves' Guild.
  • Retired Badass: Though you can inspire her to make a comeback.
  • Tribal Face Paint
  • We Help the Helpless: Her reason for staying in Riften.
  • Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: She dislikes Dwemer ruins, after almost losing her life in Mzinchaleft, and will wearily remind you if you take her into one.

Marcurio

Voiced by: Jon Curry

An Imperial magician usually found in the inn in Riften who can be hired.

  • Adventure Archaeologist: He claims to be highly knowledgeable on the topic of Nordic ruins and will consider taking a few items from Dwemer ruins to take back to Cyrodiil.
  • Arrogant Kung Fu Guy
  • Badass Bookworm: Some of his dialogue suggests he is well-educated.
  • Deadpan Snarker: He is one of the more talkative followers who often make comments on some places even when not talked to, and complains that you are using him as a pack mule.
  • Disc One Nuke: Is actually one of the more offensively powerful followers and will join you as long as you have 500 gold when you get to Riften.
  • Shock and Awe: Uses Lightning Bolts as his main spells.
  • Tsundere: If you marry him and use him as a follower, then you'll get both the standard marriage dialogue and his snarky remarks.

Uthgerd The Unbroken

Voiced by: Claudia Christian

A Nord warrior found in the inn in Whiterun. She was rejected to be come a Companion because she accidentally killed her sparring partner.

Ghorbash the Iron Hand

Voiced by: Noah Nelson

An Orc warrior who can be found at an orc stronghold called Dushnihk Yal, slightly south-east of Markarth. He's the brother of the stronghold's chief and can become a follower following a speech check.

  • The Archer: Ghorbash's class is listed as Ranger, and true to that he can often be seen attacking with a bow if given one.
  • Awesome McCoolname: His name is Ghorbash (pronounced Gore-Bash) the Ironhand for crying out loud! Doubles as Names to Run Away From Really Fast for your enemies.
  • Retired Badass: Previously served in the Imperial Legion before returning to the stronghold.
  • Small Town Boredom: Of a sort. Although his brother acted against usual orcish sensibilities by welcoming his brother back into the stronghold after Ghorbash left to serve in the Legions, he still has a strong urge to wander. The speech check required to make him a follower calls him out on this.

Annekke Crag-Jumper

A miner in Darkwater Crossing who prefers adventuring to getting stuck in the mine, unlike her husband.

  • Action Mom: She has a daughter, and is capable of kicking all kinds of ass.
  • The Archer: Her best skills in combat are focused on archery.
  • Best Friends-in-Law: If you carry out her task of killing a local Bandit Chief, she'll become friends with you and is able to become a follower, which also opens her up to joining the Blades or becoming your Steward should you choose.
  • Dark-Skinned Blond
  • Hot Mom: Considering she has a daughter old enough to be married, she aged incredibly well.
  • Older Than They Look: She has to at least be in her forties, given that her daughter can marry the Dragonborn, but looks like she could easily be in her twenties.
  • Small Town Boredom: She absolutely hates being stuck in the small, boring mining settlement of Darkwater Crossing with nothing to do.

Eola

A follower of the Daedric Prince Namira.

Barbas

Voiced by: Stephen Russell

A talking dog found outside Falkreath.

Barbas: "Skyrim is full of giant, flying lizards, cats walking on two legs, and you're surprised by a talking dog."

Borgakh the Steel Heart

An Orc warrior, and the daughter of the chieftain of Mor Khazgur stronghold. Her eventual fate would have been to be married off to another stronghold, which the Dragonborn has a chance to prevent by either passing a Speechcraft check to talk her into running away, or by paying off her bride-price.


Heroes of Skyrim

Gormlaith Golden-Hilt

Voiced by: Lynda Carter

One of the three heroes who fought Alduin at the Throat of the World, and a passionate, Hot-Blooded warrior who met her end at Alduin's teeth.

  • Action Girl: A badass young lady who killed plenty of dragons in her heyday, and is introduced getting what she claims to be her fifth kill of the day. Sadly, this didn't stop Alduin from making short work of her.
  • Badass Boast: She plays this off against a dragon she takes down.

Know that it was Gormlaith Golden-Hilt who sent you down to your death.

    • She also gets one when facing off against Alduin himself.

If I die today, it will not be in terror. You feel fear for the first time, wyrm. I see it in your eyes. Skyrim will be free!

Hakon: Have you no thought beyond the blooding of your blade?
Gormlaith: What else is there?

  • Boobs of Steel: Her armor shows that she's got quite the rack.
  • Brother-Sister Team: Hakon One-Eye's sister.
  • Fearless Fool: While not stupid, she throws caution into the wind and assumes that Dragonrend will make Alduin as easy to kill as the other dragons that she's slain. He isn't, and she pays for her recklessness with her life.
  • Hair of Gold: In sharp contrast with her Fiery Redhead of a brother.
  • Hot Amazon: She's incredibly pretty for a grizzled warrior.
  • Hot-Blooded: Incredibly hot-headed to the point of recklessness.
  • Make Me Wanna Shout: She was one of the first humans to learn how to use the Thu'um, and when summoned into battle, she'll use Unrelenting Force and Dismay against your enemies.
  • Tribal Face Paint: Blue stripes that look like claw marks run across her face.

Hakon One-Eye

Voiced by: Paul Ganus

One of the three heroes who fought Alduin at the Throat of the World, and the brother of Gormlaith Golden-Hilt.

  • An Axe to Grind: "Feel the bite of my axe!"
  • Badass Beard: While not as impressive as Felldir's, Hakon's got quite the respectable beard himself.
  • Big No: His reaction to his sister's death.
  • Brother-Sister Team: Gormlaith Golden-Hilt's brother, and the more cautious of the two.
  • The Cynic: Even with Dragonrend and an Elder Scroll on his side, he wasn't exactly thrilled with the prospect of fighting Alduin and clearly didn't expect to come out on top against him.
  • Fiery Redhead: A passionate warrior with dark red hair. Ironically, however, he's the most cautious of his companions to the point of outright cynicism in regards to their chances against Alduin.
  • Fire-Forged Friends: After helping you defeat Alduin, he comes to view you as a friend and eagerly looks forward to the day you return to Sovngarde. Until then, he's happy to assist should you summon him into battle.
  • Handicapped Badass: Is blind in one eye, as his sobriquet indicates. He was also a legendary hero who fought Alduin himself, both in the past and the present.
  • Make Me Wanna Shout: Specifically, his Dragon Shouts of choice are Disarm, Unrelenting Force, and Frost Breath when fighting alongside you.
  • Tribal Face Paint: Sports a series of dark gray stripes.

Felldir the Old

Voiced by: Paul Eiding

One of the three heroes who fought Alduin at the Throat of the World, and the one who defeated the fell dragon by banishing him to another era with an Elder Scroll.

  • Authority Equals Asskicking: He seems to be the leader of the three warriors, and was the one to defeat Alduin in battle.
  • Badass Beard: Sports a bushy, knotted beard befitting of an old Nord warrior like him. Interestingly, his choice of clothing indicates that he may have also been a Graybeard.
  • Badass Grandpa: A grizzled, wise old warrior in a profession where most men die young.
  • Cool Old Guy: You can't get cooler than the old guy who banished Alduin himself!
  • Crazy Prepared: He bought an Elder Scroll into battle just in case Dragonrend wasn't enough to even the odds against Alduin.
  • Make Me Wanna Shout: Uses Unrelenting Force and Frost Breath when summoned. He knows a few other Shouts, but he isn't programmed to use them.
  • My God, What Have I Done?: His reaction to defeating Alduin, since he knows that all he accomplished was merely kicking him far into the future and making him a problem for the people of whatever era he ends up in.

May the spirits have mercy on our souls.

Tsun

Voiced by: Thor Edgell

Shield-thane of Shor, and guardian of Sovngarde. He's also the ancient Nordic aspect of the god Zenithar.

  • Badass Baritone: Good god, is his voice deep.
  • Berserk Button: He's visibly disgusted if you introduce yourself as the Listener of the Dark Brotherhood or a Nightingale in the service of Nocturnal. It's hard not to blame him, considering the evil things you do to earn those titles.
  • Combat Compliment: If you do well in fighting him, he'll give you several as the fight goes on.

"I have long awaited such a worthy adversary!"

  • Contractual Boss Immunity: Completely shrugs off any stagger or knockdown attacks. May be because the devs wanted to avoid having him fall off the cliff into the endless chasm.
  • Death Is Cheap: He died defending Shor/Lorkhan from angry Aedra, and yet serves as what is essentially a bouncer for a club, by guarding the Whalebone bridge that may well be how own physical corpse (see Physical God below).
  • Duel Boss: To get into Sovngarde, you have to beat him one-on-one first, and he is not the Anticlimax Boss that Alduin is. Thankfully, you don't have to deplete all his health in order to do so.
  • Klingon Scientists Get No Respect: Averted in terms of his personal beliefs: he doesn't think that magic is cowardly and un-Nordlike, and if you introduce yourself as the Archmage of the College of Winterhold, he welcomes you as warmly as he would the Harbinger of the Companions. He does, however, disapprove of the way that modern Nords have come to look down upon the "clever craft", as he calls it.
  • Last Stand: Defending Shor from angry Aedra as is mentioned above.
  • Make Me Wanna Shout: While he isn't a Dragonborn, he can use the Thu'um in combat. Presumably, his divine status means that he didn't need years of practice in order to use it.
  • Physical God: Lore info points to Tsun being the ancient nordic aspect to the divine Zenithar from the more modern Cyrodiilic pantheon. In Nordic barrows, he is surmised to be represented by the Whale totems.
  • Walking Shirtless Scene: While armored below the waist, he opts to walk around bare-chested.
  • Worthy Opponent: The Dovahkiin must prove that he/she is this to Tsun.

Greybeards

The Greybeards

A small group of hermits who live in High Hrothgar high atop the Throat of the World. They are human practitioners of the Thu'um, and call the Dragonborn to test their abilities and teach them to hone their skills. To the Greybeards, practicing the Thu'um is a form of worship to honor the gods (particularly Kynareth and Akatosh, who gave the gift of dragon blood to humans), but they also consider it a responsibility and honor to train the Dragonborn.

  • All Powerful Bystander: Despite being very powerful with the Voice, they refuse to take part in the conflicts of Skyrim, and while they eventually help the Dragonborn hold peace negotiations for a temporary truce to the war, they do it with gritted teeth.
    • If questioned about their neutrality, Arngeir will explain that Jurgen Windcaller, original founder of their order, suffered a terrible defeat in battle despite his mastery of the Thu'um. Upon meditating on why this happened, he came to the conclusion that he had misused the power of the Thu'um, which should only be used to glorify and honor the Nine Divines. The Greybeards follow his "Way of the Voice" philosophy to distance themselves from the rest of the world in meditative seclusion.
  • Badass: They can and will utterly flatten anything that directly attacks them. One effective technique to bypass the ice troll on the way up the mountain is to simply run past it and go straight into High Hrothgar, and let the Greybeards splatter it. In the unlikely event that a hostile dragon appears over High Hrothgar, they can kill it in seconds.
    • Badass Grandpa
    • Badass Boast: Their voices alone can cripple dragons, and that's without the use of Dragonrend (a shout made specifically for crippling dragons). This also leads to...
  • Badass Beard
  • Badass Long Robe
  • Bare-Fisted Monk: The Greybeards don't carry physical weaponry (their Shouts are usually more than enough to wipe out anything that threatens them), but in the unlikely event that something survives their voices, they will pummel it to death in short order with bare hands.
  • Cool Old Guy
  • Elemental Powers: If you try to take them on in battle they're fond of Frost Breath, Fire Breath, Ice Form and Elemental Fury.
  • Foil: To the Blades, and the reason the two groups don't get along. The Greybeards prefer to study and meditate on the dragons and consider the Blades meddlers in things they don't understand, while the Blades dislike the Greybeards for having vast stores of power and knowledge and not using them to make a difference in the world.
  • Handicapped Badass: Their voices are so powerful, each Greybeard must take a vow of silence so not as to destroy half their temple by uttering the wrong word by accident. While they're not physically handicapped, they're all essentially mutes until they need to fight. Among the four only one ever speaks, seemingly implying either he has less knowledge than the other three or chooses his words very, very carefully.
  • Make Me Wanna Shout
  • My Master, Right or Wrong: They don't approve of everything the Dragonborn does, but they inevitably support them because Paathurnax has seen fit to do so, and they follow his wisdom.
  • Wizard Beard
  • You Are Not Ready: They could teach you a lot more Words of Power than they do, along with a lot of other knowledge about dragons, but feel the Dragonborn needs to learn such things on their own in their own time. Arngeir makes it clear that the Greybeards feel that the process of seeking out and acquiring Words of Power will present the Dragonborn with the training and experience to use the Thu'um with respect and responsibility.

Arngeir

Voiced by: Christopher Plummer

The only member of the Greybeards who communicates normally, the Voices of his fellows being too powerful; a word out of place from them could rip you apart.

  • Badass Grandpa: Console commands show him to be level 150. The cap for the player is 81.
  • Berserk Button: When the player mentions that he has been in contact with the Blades, Arngeir refuses to help any more "until you have returned to the path of wisdom." Even though he relents and apologises when one of the other Greybeards reminds him that they are not meant to make judgements of that sort, it is clear that he really dislikes the Blades. Turns out he has good reason for that...
  • The Mentor: To you, the Dragonborn.
  • Voice for The Voiceless: He speaks for the rest of the Greybeards because he's the only one of them strong enough to speak without killing a normal person.

Paarthurnax

See above in the "Dragons" section for the full list for Paarthurnax.

Einarth, Borri and Wulfgar

The other three members of the Greybeards, they usually don't speak because of their otherwise destructive voices.

  • He Who Must Not Be Heard: They try to speak as little as possible. For example, the initiation ceremony with all four Greybeards speaking at once is implied to be incredibly dangerous, taxing the Dovahkiin. And every time they greet you with a simple "Dovahkiin", the temple can be heard shaking.

Jarls

The Jarls are the regional rulers of the Holds[3] of Skyrim. Due to the fact that Jarls can change depending on which side of the civil war controls a hold, the two are split.

Imperial-allied Jarls

Balgruuf the Greater

Voiced by: Michael Gough

"I will not stand idly by while dragons burn my hold and slaughter my people!"

Jarl of the Whiterun hold, his seat is in Whiterun. He only wishes for Whiterun's safety, trying to avoid taking sides.

  • Badass: If you move to take Whiterun for the Stormcloaks, Balgruuf will take up arms and fight you himself. Considering that he knows you’re the Dragonborn and thus is hilariously outmatched, that takes some serious balls. Even ballsier is his willingness to help you fight and trap a dragon in his palace.
  • Disappointed in You: More-or-less tells you this shortly before leaving Whiterun if you take the city for the Stormcloaks. It hurts, especially since he welcomed you warmly into his city beforehand.
  • Foil: He's one to Ulfric, due to both being the most respected Jarls of their respective sides of the Civil War as well as hailing from some of the oldest families in Skyrim. Further connecting the two is their reverence for the Graybeards and Talos, as well as the fact that they hate each other's guts due to viewing the other as the exact opposite of what they believe a true Nord should be.
  • The Good King: Well-liked by (most of) the people, tries to remain neutral for their sake, and personally takes part in the defence of his city.
  • Hypocrite: Despite saying that reliance on Imperial support seems cowardly, he is very reluctant to the idea of the Legion actually walking out on him. His steward addresses his (well-paid) acceptance of the White-Gold Concordant as a counterpoint, but Balgruuf asserts that the Jarls were never approached for their own opinions and he had to roll with it regardless. Of course, there's the fact that without the Legion, Whiterun would be absolutely incapable of staying neutral, what with Ulfric forcing him into an ultimatum.
  • Informed Flaw: Is said to have a temper, but this is never brought up in anyway meaningful to the plot.
    • That said, he is shown snapping at Avenecci at one point. And presenting Ulfric's axe before you've done away with Mirmulnir causes him angrily tell him to wait. Given the precedence of a dragon attack, however, it's understandable he'd be a bit on edge.
  • Neutral No Longer: When asked about which side of the civil war he's on initially, he says "Whiterun's". But eventually, when the Stormcloaks come a-knockin', he casts his lot in with the Imperials. Depending on which side you're on, you either take part in besieging or defending Whiterun.
  • Only in It For the Money: He makes it very clear when he's run out of Whiterun that he only supports the Empire for the economic advantages it affords to Skyrim, in contrary to his speech to Vignar, which seems to imply he supports it for ideological reasons.
  • Really Gets Around: One of his sons claims that he has a different mother than his siblings.
  • Reasonable Authority Figure: He readily accepts that the dragons have returned after hearing several firsthand accounts, moves to protect his holds immediately, enlists the aid of the person with the most experience with dragons (you, by courtesy of surviving), and instantly acknowledges the status and importance of the Dovahkiin.
  • The Resenter: To Ulfric. While he tries his hardest to maintain Whiterun's neutrality, he'll ultimately side with the Empire and make it clear what he really thinks of him: a selfish would-be tyrant who will crush anyone who gets in his pursuit of power that actively spits in the face of Talos, whose empire he's rebelling against.
  • Rousing Speech: Gives one hell of a speech in the aftermath of the Imperial version of the Battle for Whiterun.
  • Sadistic Choice: Balgruuf wants to remain neutral in the war, but Ulfric forces his hand by sending him an axe; keep it and support the Stormcloaks, or return it and be attacked. After some deliberation, he returns the axe and calls the Imperial Army for aid.
    • Alternately, Balgruuf is sent Jarl's Eyes Only intel by an Imperial runner (you) about Ulfric's massing attack, and Balgruuf is the one that sends the axe to ascertain Ulfric's intent (again via you) and also calls for Imperial aid. Ulfric returns the axe because he has already ordered an attack on Whiterun due to Balgruuf's indecisiveness prior.
  • What Could Have Been: Cut content involving The Whispering Door shows that you were going to help his children assassinate him in Mephala's name, with Hrongar taking the throne should you side with the Imperials (or at least stay neutral in the Civil War).

Elisif the Fair

Voiced by: Corri English

Jarl of Haafingar and the Empire's candidate for the title of High Queen of Skyrim. Her seat is in Solitude. She is the widow of High King Torygg, whose murder/death in honorable duel began the civil war.

  • Berserk Button: Stormcloaks in general. Ulfric in particular triggers it for killing her husband.
  • Dummied Out: Elisif played a big role in Boethiah’s second Daedric Quest, which never made it off the cutting room floor (though there are mods that recreate it since there's leftover data in the game's code). Specifically, you would have assassinated her on Boethiah's orders. Considering that fucking Erikur would have replaced her as Jarl, perhaps it's a good thing that it ended up not making the cut.
  • From a Certain Point of View: Elisif and most of her court will attest that Ulfric literally blasted Torygg apart with his Thu'um. Ulfric states that the truth is far less dramatic: he merely knocked Torygg to the ground with a shout and ran him through (indeed, his one known shout is Unrelenting Force). The claim may be exaggerated, but it was still indirectly responsible for the High King's death.
  • Happily Married: Torygg meant the world to her, and when you meet him in Sovngarde, he makes it clear that he felt the same. While she tries to stay strong so she can rule effectively in his absence, it's clear that she misses him deeply.
  • The High Queen: She's poised to become a literal example (should the Imperials win the Civil War, at least), but isn't one quite yet.
  • Hot-Blooded: Very much so, which makes it lucky she has a court full of competent, more cool-headed individuals backing her up. However, this is less due to impatience or a short temper, but her desire to demonstrate that she is an effective ruler, thereby overcompensating. Falk Fire-beard usually reins her in.
  • I Fight for the Strongest Side: If The Stormcloaks win the civil war, she declares her allegiance to the Stormcloaks, allowing her to keep the title of Jarl of Haafingar. She still hates the Stormcloaks, but as the Empire is effectively gone from Skyrim, she has no other choice.
  • Nice Girl: While not exactly the most competent ruler, she's a very kind and loving person. At least, as long as your name isn't Ulfric Stormcloak, that is.
  • Puppet Queen: The Empire would like to turn her into one. She's blissfully unaware of it. If the Stormcloaks win, she will pledge allegiance in exchange for remaining Jarl, making it probable that she would be this to Ulfric.
  • Reasonable Authority Figure: Though not especially competent. Many of her own Thanes will admit that Falk is basically the one running Haafingar. Case in Point, when dealt with an unsubstantiated rumor of Necromantic rituals being undertaken in her hold, she decides to send no less than a full company of men to investigate despite being short of manpower as a result of the war. Her court points this out, and Falk makes sure to opt for the more tempered response. However, somewhat ironically, seeing as the cave really was the home of a necromancer cult attempting to resurrect the Wolf Queen Potema, in hindsight, her response matched the seriousness of the situation. Falk was very lucky that the one he sent on the job happened to be the Dragonborn, or else no one may have known.
  • Reclining Reigner: Averted: she is the only Jarl who sits on a throne with proper posture (even most Dovahkiin models slouch).
  • Right for the Wrong Reasons: When a concerned citizen tells her about weird noises and lights coming from a nearby cave, Elisif has to be talked out of sending a huge detachment of soldiers to investigate it by Falk, her steward. In most circumstances, it would have been a major overreaction on her part. The resurrection of Queen Potema, however, is NOT "most circumstances".
  • Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right: Asks the Dovahkiin to offer her husband's horn to a Shrine of Talos as part of a traditional burial ceremony.
  • Too Soon: In-Universe. Feels this way about the annual burning of an effigy of Olaf One-Eye held by the Bard's College, which she cancels. Since her husband, the High King was just murdered, perhaps a festival celebrating the death of a king (even a tyrant) by burning an effigy of him isn't really appropriate. She can be convinced to uncancel it if you join the Bard's College.
  • Widow Woman: By the time the game starts, she's been widowed thanks to Ulfric making a claim to her husband's throne.

Idgrod Ravencrone

Jarl of Hjallmarch. Her seat is in Morthal. She and her children have a sometimes inconvenient gift of premonition.

  • Bunny Ears Lawyer: An effective ruler of her hold, though her kooky behavior doesn't inspire confidence in people. It's gotten to the point that her own Housecarl is conspiring to have her lawfully removed from office.
  • Cool Old Lady: While her visions and more eccentric behavior tend to worry others, she's still got her wits about her and is a benevolent and effective ruler. Not to mention, she's perfectly willing to disrupt Elenwen's party at the Thalmor Embassy on your behalf purely because it would be funny (and it helps that she hates the Thalmor as well).
  • Foil: An unconventional one to Korir, the Stormcloak-allied Jarl of Winterhold. Both rule over a rustic Hold plagued with supernatural/mystical activity, and have trouble commanding the respect of others. And while she's very in tune with magic and supernatural phenomena, Korir very much isn't, and violently hates magic as a concept. If they swapped Holds, Idgrod would likely be more than willing to work with the local mages so they can rebuild Winterhold together, while Korir would likely not only approve of running resident weird mage Falion out of town, but lead the angry mob himself.
  • Guile Heroine: Her visions and age haven't made her any less witty and crafty.
  • Happily Married: To Aslfur, who does double duty as her husband and her steward.
  • In the Blood: While her daughter seems normal, her son is haunted by dreams similar to her premonition abilities.
  • Mad Oracle: An eccentric mystic who has premonitions of the future. While she's not as off her rocker as she makes herself out to be, her cryptic advice still frustrates people who come seeking her wisdom.
  • Obfuscating Insanity: You get a hint she's no stranger to faking her visions when you enlist her aid in causing a distraction at the Thalmor embassy party should you have ingratiated yourself to her beforehand.
  • Reasonable Authority Figure: She's right up there with Balgruuf when it comes to being one of Skyrim's best Jarls. She takes threats to her Hold very seriously, and ensures that you're backed up by a squad of volunteer fighters when the time comes to put the sword to a den of malicious vampires. And while she suspects that Hroggar is guilty of familicide given the circumstances surrounding his wife and daughter's death, she'd rather launch a proper investigation as opposed to declaring him guilty without proof which is what leads to you learning that he's actually innocent.
  • Royals Who Actually Do Something: She's a proactive ruler and refuses to simply rest on her laurels while threats to her Hold run amok. While her advanced age and physical health mean that she can't take to the battlefield herself, she still does all that she can to make sure that you have adequate backup at the climax of "Laid to Rest".
  • Strong Family Resemblance: Her daughter Idgrod the Younger looks like a youthful, wrinkle-free version of her.

Siddgeir

Voiced by: Keith Silverstein

Jarl of Falkreath hold, seated in Falkreath. Took over for his uncle, who was getting "too old" for his position (read: his uncle was a Stormcloak sympathizer).

  • Bad Boss: He sends you to wipe out a gang of bandits working on his behalf since they started stiffing him of his cut of their spoils. Idle chitchat with his housecarl also reveals that he's willing to cut the city guards' pay because he thinks they look "sloppy".
  • Dude, Where's My Respect?: Even if you are Thane of Falkreath, the kindest thing he'll call you is a whore. This is only the case if you've killed his housecarl as part of the Dark Brotherhood's questline, however, since he's civil with you otherwise.
  • Even Evil Has Standards: Subverted. While he allows bandits to terrorize people so long as they bribe him sufficiently, he still has you kill a specific gang. Not because they went too far, but because they owe him money and blew him off.
  • Foil: To Skald the Elder, his counterpart among the Stormcloak Jarls. Both men are rude, immature, incompetent rulers who are openly antagonistic towards people who support the other side of the Civil War. Siddgeir, however, is corrupt and allows bandits to wreak havoc in Falkreath so long as they pay him, while Skald isn't corrupt so much as he is insanely overbearing and warhawkish.
  • It's All About Me: Ridiculously vain and selfish. He can't bother to actually rule his Hold, so he leaves all administrative duties to his Steward while he enjoys all the creature comforts that come with his position.
  • Jerkass: Out of all the default Imperial Jarls, he's definitely the most unpleasant.
  • Lazy Bum: Being a lazy asshole is one of this man's many flaws.
  • Manchild: Acts like a petulant teenager who expects everything to be handed to him on a silver platter.
  • Pet the Dog: For what it's worth, he genuinely becomes fond of you if you prove willing to handle his petty personal tasks. While it's mainly because you're useful, he still likes you enough to cause a distraction on your behalf if he attends Elenwen's party and is asked to do so. He also likes his Housecarl enough to become permanently embittered with you if you kill him. This is taken even further with Hearthfire installed, where if you haven't met him by the time you hit a certain level, he'll send a courier with a letter saying that he's heard tales about your feats and is interested in meeting you, as well as possibly giving you a plot of land to call your own.
  • Puppet King: As unpleasant as he is, the citizens of Falkreath don't actively suffer under his rule (at least as far as the capital city goes, travelers and other villages are on their own with his bandit buddies). That's because he leaves the actual governing to his steward while he's free to goof off and have fun.
  • The Sociopath: Narcissistic, lacking in empathy, and perfectly willing to push aside his own family for the sake of enriching himself as well as throw his bandit allies to the wolves for inconveniencing him. He isn't an oppressive tyrant, but that's because he suffers from another symptom of sociopathy: a constant need for stimulation, which in his case involves overly indulging in all sorts of hedonistic pursuits.
  • Spoiled Brat: Has been pampered for his whole life, according to his uncle Dengeir. It definitely shows.
  • Upper Class Twit:
    • He doesn't do much of anything except enjoy the privileges of his station. Fortunately, his altmeri steward Nenya knows what to do so the hold doesn't fall apart.
    • He does pay attention to the bandits in Falkreath. In a nasty twist, he actually allows them to prey on his people in return for a cut of their ill-gotten gains. He sends you to exterminate one gang of bandits that is trying to stiff him to send a message to the other bandits in the region.

Igmund

Jarl of The Reach, seated in Markarth. He strongly supports peace with the Thalmor in order to protect his Hold.

  • Blatant Lies: He insists that there are no Forsworn agents in his city. Either he's an Orwellian Editor or as idiotic as Jarl Laila Law-Giver. Examination of the evidence provided by various people you can speak with about the Forsworn indicates it falls more on the side of Selective Obliviousness. He's likes to pretend he doesn't have a problem, likely because the ones he does have to acknowledge are bad enough already.
  • Didn't Think This Through: Igmund and his family honored Ulfric's request to allow open Talos worship in Markarth in exchange for kicking out the Forsworn despite it being against Imperial law. To say this was a bad idea would be an understatement, and it all rode on hopes that the Thalmor wouldn't notice. They did. While it was ultimately a bigger mistake on his dad's part since he was the Jarl at the time, Igmund still accepts responsibility for it.
  • Dumbass Has a Point: While he's naive to how corrupt the Silver-Bloods are, he doesn't want to arrest them since throwing them in their own prison would be a stupidly ineffective move at best.
  • Foil: To Jarl Laila, his Spear Counterpart among the Stormcloak Jarls. Both of them are good-hearted people who mean well, but are as dumb as a stack of bricks as far as evil influences in their city are concerned. But while Laila's ignorance comes from being manipulated by her malicious and corrupt advisers, Igmund's comes from him being in denial over the news given to him by his loyal advisers.
  • Geo Effects: He isn't concerned about dragons, as Markarth consists of stone buildings built into a mountainside.
  • Good Is Dumb: At the very least he's a genuinely benevolent ruler who has his people's best interests in mind, but he's got a major blind spot where the Forsworn presence in the city is concerned.
  • Hazy Feel Turn: Originally supported the Stormcloaks, but turned against them to maintain peace with the Thalmor.
  • Horrible Judge of Character: Despite his council's concerns about the hilariously, transparently corrupt Silver-Blood family, he doesn't take issue with them since he believes that they're a loyal bunch. A cut quest that would have resulted in you helping take over Markarth with the Stormcloaks would have had him realize his error the hard way, with a smug Thongvar lording his newfound authority over his head.
  • I Did What I Had to Do: Evicted Ulfric and his troops after their worship of Talos resulted in the Thalmor threatening to attack.
  • Reasonable Authority Figure: He wants to be this, and to his credit he puts in good effort. He's willing to put aside his disdain for mercenaries in order to allow you to wipe out a Forsworn clan, and is genuinely grateful if you do the deed. While his next task is a personal matter and puts you in grave danger (getting his father's shield back from a Hagraven lair), he acknowledges that it's basically a suicide mission and won't hold it against you if you decline. He also has his people's best interests in mind, but he often struggles with thinking about the logistics behind his aggressive anti-Forsworn campaigns, and is in active denial of the Forsworn presence within his city.
  • Royals Who Actually Do Something: For all his failings as a ruler, a quest cut from the Civil War questline shows that he's willing to take up arms and fight Stormcloak invaders himself when Markarth is under attack.

Brina Merilis

Voiced by: Claudia Christian

Replacement Jarl of The Pale, seated in Dawnstar. A retired Legion legate who found herself at odds with the local Jarl over the civil war.

  • But Not Too Foreign: Brina admits that she wasn't born in Skyrim, and her name suggests that she's at least half Imperial. However, she still considers herself a daughter of Skyrim and carries herself in a way that suggests her feeling more in tune with the Nordic side of her family.
  • Grandma, What Massive Hotness You Have!: Well, maybe not hot, but she's definitely pretty despite openly referring to herself as an Old Soldier.
  • My Country, Right or Wrong: She isn't blindly loyal to the Empire and is fully aware of how flawed it is. But she IS loyal all the same, and genuinely believes that Skyrim is better off by remaining a part of it.
  • Platonic Life Partners: With her housecarl Horik Half-hand.
  • Reasonable Authority Figure: Especially compared to her Stormcloak-aligned predecessor, and particularly in terms of guard/troop allocation. Being a retired legate, she knows her stuff on troop allocation. Everyone already looked to her for leadership in Dawnstar, on account of everyone thinking Skald was a spoiled brat in an old man's body.
  • Retired Badass: She had to have done something to earn the undying loyalty of Horik Halfhand, to the point where he is her housecarl after retirement... and to have reached the rank of Legate regardless.
  • This Is Gonna Suck: Lives in dread of potential dragon attacks, because she knows that Dawnstar is unlikely to survive one due to its poor infrastructure.

Maven Black-Briar

Voiced by: Elisa Gabrielli

Replacement Jarl of The Rift, seated in Riften. Pretty much ran the city even before the Imperials took the hold and made her authority official.

  • Abusive Parents: Surprisingly downplayed considering her rancid personality, but it's definitely present in one interaction with Ingun. She openly belittles her daughter's alchemical pursuits, and threatens to disown her if she doesn't dedicate herself to the family's criminal enterprises instead.
  • Arch Enemy: To Mjoll. Though while she holds her in open contempt, she doesn't really seem to view Mjoll as the number one threat to her operation so much as she views her as more of an annoyance than most of the people that earn her ire.
  • Ax Crazy: Subtly, since she lacks her younger son's visible instability. She won't stab you to death in the heat of the moment or otherwise fly into violent rages, but her first response to people inconveniencing or annoying her in any way is to either have them kidnapped and murdered or have their life ruined in the worst way possible. Considering how easy it is to offend her and how brutal her methods are in making people fear and respect her, it's safe to say that she's definitely got a few screws loose.
  • Bad Boss: Ungrien, the Wood Elf working the reception desk of the Black-Briar Meadery, lives in fear of screwing up on the job, because employees who displease her don’t tend to live long.
  • Corrupt Corporate Executive: As owner of the Black-Briar Meadery. Your first special job for the Guild involves her hiring you to sabotage a competing meadery in Whiterun.
  • The Don: Has ties to the Empire, the Dark Brotherhood, and is outright patron of the Thieves' Guild. Averted, actually. She's just a local politician that helps the Thieves Guild. At the end, you're the Don.
  • Even Evil Has Loved Ones: The closest thing she has to a positive relationship with anyone is with her son Hemming. While she openly admits to not trusting him during a conversation they can have, she spoils him rotten, lets him tag along with her while she goes about her day, and keeps threats to his well-being at bay. Of course, given that he's the heir to the family business, it's less "I love my son" and more "He's next in the line of succession, so I better make sure his needs are met."
  • Even Evil Has Standards: Subverted: while she sent her son Sibbi to prison for murdering a man in cold blood, it's revealed that it's more of her being annoyed that Sibbi killed someone in broad daylight and is more or less giving him a glorified time-out.
  • Evil Old Folks: While she doesn't quite look super old, she does have children old enough to be adults meaning that she is quite old indeed.
  • Faux Affably Evil: She can come off as civil and even somewhat friendly when she tries, but even then she barely bothers to hide the sociopathic disdain she feels towards everyone around her.
  • Foil: To Thongvor Silver-Blood, the Stormcloak replacement Jarl of Markarth. Both start off as "merely" the overly-influential heads of a powerful family in their respective Hold with connections to dangerous criminal groups, but can take power over their capital city proper depending on how the Civil War goes. However, Thongvor almost comes off as a Good Counterpart (or at least, a "Slightly Less Evil Counterpart") to Maven since he doesn't seem to have any ties to the Forsworn and the scope of his family's involvement with them is limited to his brother brother Thonar. The same, of course, can't be said about Maven, who openly flaunts her connections with the Thieves Guild and Dark Brotherhood in order to intimidate people that she finds annoying.
  • Grandma, What Massive Hotness You Have!: Her sons both appear to be at least in their mid thirties, and her daughter is at least in her twenties, but Maven is still quite the looker.
  • Hate Sink: Being a cruel, smug Jerkass of a crime lord with zero redeeming qualities will do that to you.
  • I Own This Town: The Black-Briars already controlled Riften; the Imperials just make it official. If you complete both the Thieves' Guild and Dark Brotherhood questlines, however, you effectively control much of what she needs to stay in power.
  • It's All About Me: Maven's number one concern in life is Maven, and every action she takes serves to enrich herself at the expense of others.
  • Jerkass: And how. Not counting the moments where she kisses up to Jarl Laila, there are absolutely no moments where she treats anyone civilly, going out of her way to antagonize, belittle, inconvenience and talk condescendingly to others. Even if you become the Guildmaster for the Thieves' Guild, she still goes out of her way to insult you.
  • Karma Houdini: She constantly intimidates people with her Thieves Guild and Dark Brotherhood contacts and is probably the direct cause of Riften's misery. Sadly for good-aligned players, quests involving her only further her power. Furthermore, she is an unkillable "essential" character. You can cause a few of her contacts to dry up if you destroy the Dark Brotherhood, but it does not seem to affect her much. Aside from that, the only thing you can really do to her is burn too many beehives (costing her money) and steal one of her horses. That's it. And to make it worse, she brushes off the beehives the very next mission, and if you tell her about the horse theft in advance, she doesn't particularly care. And because she's essential, she can't be killed unlike Nazeem and other similar assholes (though for what it's worth, that also means that you're able to beat her senseless, set her on fire, sic atronachs on her, and all around make her life a living hell). Averted if you become Guildmaster. Maven is now your subordinate. If you become Listener of the Dark Brotherhood, you also take away her only other advantage. It has no real effect on gameplay, sadly, but can be gratifying all the same.
  • Older Than They Look: All her children being adults means that Maven's definitely in her twilight years. Yet she lacks the wrinkles you see on similarly aged women like Jarl Idgrod of Morthal.
  • Parental Incest: It's hard to tell if this was intentional or not, but her son Hemming mentions calls Sibbi and Ingun his children despite the face that Hemming, Sibbi and Ingun are supposed to be Maven's children. And given how Maven is listed as Ingun and Sibbi's grandmother in the game's coding and shares a bed with Hemming... oh dear god, no!
    • Though it is worth noting that A. This is a Bethesda game and odd coding is the norm, and B. Hemming may have been intended to be Maven's husband at one point and instead made into her son for some reason.
    • Examination of the game files shows it was intended for Ingun to be Maven's granddaughter, but due to her Missing Mom, it can be reasonably assumed she became Ingun's surrogate mother.
  • Pet the Dog: If you pass a speech check, Maven's willing to make a scene during the party at the Thalmor Embassy's party if she's present. She knows that you're up to no good, but will still go through with it for your sake, and without demanding even the tiniest bit of compensation in return.
  • Political Correctness: Catches herself several times using more shady language, and then switches to a more fitting phrase for her new station. "Cut of the pay" become "rewards for services rendered" and such.
  • Slouch of Villainy: "The throne suits me, doesn't it?"
  • Smug Snake: A high-functioning example, but hints of this trope are definitely present. For all her boasting about how she'll sic the Dark Brotherhood on those who get on her bad side, a quick trip into her house reveals that this seems to be an empty threat: next to all the ingredients required to perform the Black Sacrament is an angry letter to Astrid that isn't even a letter so much as it is a written tantrum with her whining about her contract for an assassination going ignored.
  • The Sociopath: Let's see: emotionally muted, terrorizes and exploits others, manipulates people to get what she wants and murders them if they annoy her, suffers from a serious Lack of Empathy, refuses to tolerate anyone or anything that she can't control... Mjoll isn't kidding when she calls her a cold, unfeeling bitch.
  • Strong Family Resemblance: Like Idgrod, Maven's daughter Ingun looks like her sans 20ish years.
  • The Unfettered: She tells you point blank when first sent to her that when it comes to business, only two things matter to her: was the job done, and was it done properly. Anything else is meaningless.
  • Villain with Good Publicity: Sort of. Most of Riften's citizens know how much of an asshole she is, but Jarl Laila as well as other associates of Maven's believe her to be a good person, which is ultimately what matters for her.

Kraldar

Voiced by: Michael Gough

Replacement Jarl of Winterhold, seated in the city of Winterhold. Believes in good relations with the College of Winterhold and is optimistic that the city can be restored to greatness.

  • Blue Blood: Hails from a long line of nobility and, due to the Great Collapse, may possibly be the last remaining member.
  • The Good Jarl: He believes in amicable relations with the only reason left for Winterhold to exist (the College), and wants to work with them and the Empire to rebuild Winterhold.
  • Modest Royalty: Even when he's promoted to Jarl, he still wears the same set of commoner's clothes that he did as a civilian.
  • Nice Guy: He's a lot friendlier than Korir is and lacks the man's hatred of magic and elves.
  • The Pollyanna: In contrast to Korir's bitterness over Winterhold's sorry state, he's optimistic and believes that the city can recover from the disaster that annihilated it.
  • Reasonable Authority Figure: Instead of baselessly blaming the local mages for Winterhold's destruction, Kraldar instead wants to extend an olive branch towards them and potentially rebuild the city with their and the Legion's help.

Brunwulf Free-Winter

Voiced by: Michael Gough

Replacement Jarl of Eastmarch, seated in Windhelm. An odd-man out in the town, he's more tolerant and respectful cultural-wise than his fellow townsmen. And outspoken about it.

  • Badass Beard: Combines this look with Bald of Awesome.
  • Cool Old Guy: Friendly, accepting of non-Nords, and should the Empire win the Civil War, unwilling to enforce Imperial law and ban Talos worship. Even if you're staunchly pro-Ulfric, it's hard to deny that he's an excellent replacement for those who aren't.
  • The Good Jarl: Just one look at his trope list makes that perfectly clear.
  • Knight in Sour Armor: Not in the sense that he's a miserable old grump, but he isn't too optimistic about the Nordic, Dunmer, and Argonian citizens of Windhelm being willing to bury the hatchet and get along. Still, he believes it's better to try than to do nothing at all.
  • My Species Doth Protest Too Much: Holds disdain for the "Skyrim for the Nords" notion.
  • Nice Guy: And how! Even before becoming Jarl, he will pay the Dragonborn to get rid of bandits who are targeting Dunmers and Khajiit caravans because the bandits know that Ulfric will do nothing about it since the victims are foreigners.
  • Opposites Attract: Oddly enough, Brunwulf is sweet on the Dark Elf-hating Elda Early-Dawn despite his sympathies with the plight of Windhelm's Dark Elf population. Perhaps he hopes to change her mind?
  • Reasonable Authority Figure: Within hours of getting his new job, he's already met the dark elves of the ghetto-like Gray District to develop renovation plans, and is seeking a way to let the Argonians into the city without increasing the town's already huge racial tensions. He even keeps most of Ulfric's staff on hand since they know their job well enough, and offers lodging to the deposed Jarls who were supporting Ulfric.
  • Reluctant Ruler: He much preferred being a soldier to being Jarl, as things were so much simpler and clearer.
  • Retired Badass: He fought in the Legion during the Great War.
  • Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right: The Temple of Talos remaining open in light of the Empire's victory can be read as him refusing to trample on the religious rights of Windhelm's citizens, Thalmor decrees be damned.
  • Shell-Shocked Veteran: Shows signs of this.

Stormcloak-allied Jarls

Ulfric Stormcloak

See below in the "Stormcloaks" section for the full list for Ulfric.

Laila Law-Giver

Voiced by: Claudia Christian

Jarl of The Rift, seated in Riften. Contrary to her sobriquet, she's the law in title only.

  • Dirty Coward: General dialogue between her and her court advisor reveals that Laila has an emergency carriage at the ready for her to escape should a dragon attack Riften. In her own words, "If Riften should fall, it's only right that its leader be spared."
  • Foil: To Igmund, Jarl of Markarth. Both of them mean well, but are completely blind to the corruption openly running through the heart of their cities.
  • Honor-Related Abuse: Treats her younger son Saerlund as mentally ill, to the point of ordering her court mage to find a cure because he supports the Empire. Thankfully, said court mage is an Absent-Minded Professor who almost certainly hasn't really gotten started on that, and aside from being emotionally insensitive (and placing her son under house arrest more or less), she otherwise treats him fairly well.
  • Horrible Judge of Character: She thinks Maven Black-Briar is a good and honest woman, and won’t investigate suspicious activity in Riften if her corrupt steward tells her not to, since she trusts her as well.
  • Innocently Insensitive: While she put her son under house arrest and threatens to disown him for supporting the Empire, it doesn't come from a place of malice. She genuinely believes that he's mentally ill or possessed and will bug her court wizard in hopes that she'll be able to "cure" him. Not that it makes it any better for poor Saerlund, however.
  • Irony: A woman with the sobriquet "Law-Giver" ruling over the setting's Wretched Hive.
  • Pointy-Haired Boss: While Maven and the Thieves Guild are more of an active threat to the citizens of Riften, Jarl Laila's incompetence, idiocy, and tendency to put her trust in the absolute worst kind of people allow her to indirectly hurt them just as badly.
  • Puppet Queen: She's pretty clueless about the state of her town. Her own advisor is in deep with the Guild, and the Guild gets most of its work from the local mead-brewing dynasty. Fittingly, if the Imperials take Riften, she gets replaced by the matriarch of said mead dynasty, Maven Black-Briar.
  • Reasonable Authority Figure: Albeit stunted by her own incompetence, she is bright enough to recognize talented subordinates (like the Dovahkiin) and rewards them for their service, not to mention she's surprisingly free of racist pretensions.
  • Upper Class Twit: Laila and her children are probably the most prominent example of this trope in the game.

Skald the Elder

Voiced by: Jim Cummings

Jarl of The Pale, seated in Dawnstar. He is extremely paranoid of the Imperial Legion, to the point of accusing some of the common folk of being spies.

  • 0% Approval Rating: Anytime people discuss him, it's usually to insult or poke fun at him for being a gung-ho, immature moron of a ruler. Even his own steward and housecarl, while respectful and patient with him, are clearly exasperated by his behavior.
  • Badass Grandpa: You have to admit, it does take balls for a frail old man to charge into a massive siege and fight the good fight.
  • Conspiracy Theorist: He believes that every Imperial sympathizer is a spy of some kind, he even threatens to execute Brina Merilis and Horik Halfhand just for being ex-legionaries. One step further than that is his belief that the reasons dragons are attacking Skyrim is because of the ban of worshipping Talos and that they will stop if the Stormcloaks win.
  • Foil: To Siddgeir of Falkreath, his Imperial aligned counterpart. Siddgeir is a very young man while Skald is very old, and both are obnoxious manchildren who mismanage the Holds over which they rule. Skald mass-conscripts able-bodied fighting men and women into fighting for the Stormcloaks which leaves Dawnstar defenseless, while Siddgeir allows bandits to pillage and steal from his Hold's populace so long as they pay him the proper bribes.
  • Grumpy Old Man: Being a mean, cantankerous old coot seems to be his default state of mind.
  • Jerkass: His servant Bulfrek wants to join the Stormcloaks to prove himself a worthy Nord. When he asks Skald for leave to do so, Skald laughs at the idea of a servant wanting to be a warrior.
  • Jerkass Has a Point: Considering that there's an ugly, heavily-politicized Civil War going on where Skyrim's religious freedom is on the line, Brina Merilis and Horik Halfhand openly, proudly flaunting their status as former legionnaires and flying the enemy's colors in Stormcloak territory is a move that is not only tone-deaf, but skirts the line uncomfortably close to treason. While they're sincere in saying that their loyalty is with Dawnstar, you can't really blame Skald for suspecting that they're Imperial spies, either.
  • Leeroy Jenkins:
    • Has this mentality when it comes to allocating troops to the Stormcloak cause, which pretty much leaves Dawnstar undefended. His own housecarl (politely) accuses him of not understanding the magnitude of the Civil War.
    • You may or may not notice him amongst the bedlam that is the Siege of Windhelm; he apparently decides to go down fighting.
  • Man Child: According to the town alchemist, who's even older than him, he's been a brat his entire life since he took the hold's seat when he was a boy.
  • Pet the Dog: Rude, crabby old man he may be, Skald takes threats to his hold seriously and is very gracious should you help him out with putting an end to the nightmares plaguing Dawnstar, as well as killing trouble-making giants for him.
  • You Have to Believe Me: Often rabbles about how there are Imperial spies in Dawnstar, but no one believes him.

Korir

Voiced by: Michael Gough

Jarl of Winterhold, seated in the city of Winterhold. His distrust for the local College of Mages has caused other Jarls to ignore his opinions.

  • Badass Longcoat: Wears a palette-swap of Ulfric's outfit, which has this sort of effect going for it.
  • Determinator: Life in Winterhold sucks ass, and it's effectively a ghost town living on its last legs. Even so, he's grimly resigned and dedicated to protecting what remains of his hold to the best of his ability.

I don't care how many colleges they build! Or how much the sea swallows up! I'll outlast them all!

  • Does Not Like Magic: He's convinced it blew up his Hold, something the mages deny strenuously. Given that an entire city collapsing doesn't happen on a whim, and the traditional Nordic distrust for magic that isn't purely beneficial, he's steadfast to his assumptions.
  • Dude, Where's My Respect?: The destruction of most of his city has really damaged his hold's reputation in Skyrim, and he's outraged that he commands little respect and authority among the other Jarls because of this.
  • Fantastic Racism: Has it in for elves pretty bad. He encourages this in his son as well, though he has a hatred of mages that is far more fantastical and prominent. Oddly, this does not stop him from having a Dunmer as his court wizard (who admits to inflating his importance and sucking up to his boss to keep the job), and if you do missions for him, he shows no overt racism regardless of the player's race if you succeed.
  • Foil: To Jarl Idgrod of Hjaalmarch. Both are the rulers of small Holds that have run into difficulties related to supernatural events, and have trouble commanding the respect of others for reasons beyond their control.
  • Freudian Excuse: You'd be a miserable grouch too if most of your city was completely annihilated overnight. Ditto if people stopped respecting you and other survivors because of it.
  • Grumpy Bear: Winterhold's collapse has been hard on the poor guy. He's openly bitter about how little respect his Hold as a whole is afforded by the rest of Skyrim, and spends most of his free time thinking about Mages and how much he hates them.
  • Reasonable Authority Figure: Fanatical hatred of the College of Winterhold aside, Korir is a benevolent ruler who works tirelessly to restore his ruined Hold's prestige and glory. As much as he dislikes elves, he's perfectly willing to set aside his disdain for them if they're willing to help him out.

Vignar Gray-Mane

Voiced by: Jim Cummings

Replacement Jarl of Whiterun hold, seated in Whiterun. A member of an ancient clan in Whiterun who is in a feud against the Battle-Born.

  • Authority Equals Asskicking: He's a retired legionnaire and Companion: out of all the default and potential Jarls, he's easily the one who's seen combat the most.
  • Badass: He used to be a member of the Companions. He's still got it.
  • Badass Grandpa: Should he be Jarl when you move to trap Odahviing in Dragonsreach, he'll gladly take up arms and help you fight a goddamned DRAGON.
  • Cool Old Guy: He hangs out with The Companions, and is every bit the Hot-Blooded, passionate Nord that he was in his youth.
  • The Good Jarl: His main preoccupations as Jarl are to sure up the city's defenses against Dragons and Imperials and to ensure that the transition of leadership in no way disrupts the lives of his people.
  • Guttural Growler: Courtesy of the legendary Jim Cummings himself!
  • Pet the Dog: After Brill became a depressed alcoholic, Vignar got him clean and gave him a job.
  • Real Men Love Jesus: He's a devout Talos worshipper.

If this were my Empire, I'd be able to worship whoever I damned well pleased! You wish to see an Empire without Talos? Without its very soul?

  • Reasonable Authority Figure: Stormcloak players who feel guilty about ousting Balgruuf can, at the very least, take solace in the fact that Vignar's just as good a ruler as he is. He takes potential threats to Whiterun very seriously, and wants the transition of power to go smoothly so it doesn't lead to civilian lives being disrupted. And since he takes over Balgruuf's role in story missions, he's also willing to help mediate a peace talk between the Stormcloaks and Empire so you can trap a dragon in his palace.
  • Retired Badass: Having lived a fulfilling life as a member of The Companions and served in the Imperial Legion during the Great War, Vignar spends his twilight years living in Jorrvaskr and keeping tabs on his hated rival Olfrid Battle-Born. While his fighting days are long behind him, the few occasions where he steps onto the battlefield shows that old age hasn't done much to slow him down.
  • We Used to Be Friends: His entire clan used to be friends with the Battle-Born, but became enemies after taking opposite sides of the war.

Dengeir of Stuhn

Voiced by: Jim Cummings

Replacement Jarl of Falkreath hold, seated in Falkreath. Formerly the jarl of the hold, he was forced to retire in favour of his more Imperial-aligned nephew.

  • Benevolent Boss: The local blacksmith seems to think so. But Dengeir still thinks he has something to do with the Imperial plot that put Siddgeir in power and will ask you to break into his house. The quest makes it unclear whether or not his suspicions are true.
  • Better the Devil You Know: This is why he supports Ulfric: he's the only Stormcloak Jarl who will openly say he considers Ulfric a self-centered, power-hungry egomaniac who he doesn't trust as far as he can throw (and at his age, he probably can't throw Ulfric very far). Still, he'd rather deal with him, someone he knows what to expect from, than an emperor and a council seated a thousand miles away making decisions about a land they know nothing about. That said, however, he is a crotchety old man who sees betrayal in every corner.
  • Conspiracy Theorist: Thinks that there are Imperial spies all around him. Even his own brother (whom he lives with) is kinda fed up with it. Unlike Skald, however, some of his paranoia does have some merits when you do some of his side quests.
  • Dark Secret: He's the descendant of a dangerous vampire lord named Vighar, and was tasked with keeping watch over his resting place before a thief accidentally freed him by stealing the item keeping him sealed away. He has you hunt down and kill his ancestor before he can raise hell across all of Falkreath.
  • Foil: To Brina Merilis, the replacement Jarl of Dawnstar. Both are loyal to the faction opposite of the one that controls their Hold by default, and are antagonized by the Jarl they can potentially replace as a result. Both are good Jarls themselves, but while Brina is intelligent and open-minded in her twilight years, Dengeir's paranoid obsession with finding Imperial spies makes him a bit harder to get along with.
  • Jerkass Has a Point: Is he a paranoid old fogey who sees Imperial spies lurking in every shadow? Yes. But did he lose his title of Jarl to his unworthy nephew because people with Imperial interests weren't happy about his support for Ulfric Stormcloak? Absolutely. His paranoia, while unfounded in the case of his servant and acquaintances, didn't just manifest out of nowhere.
  • Reasonable Authority Figure: At least more reasonable than Siddgeir.

"Well, for one thing. I wont drain the town treasury buying myself fancy clothes and expensive mead! Nor will I get involved with criminals trying to take advantage of honest folk!"

Thongvor Silver-Blood

Voiced by: Michael Gough

Replacement Jarl of the Reach, seated in Markarth. His family owns Cidhna Mine, a slave mine consist of prisoners and Forsworns.

  • Badass: The Orc blacksmith at Understone Keep served alongside Thongvor in the Legion, he mentions him as being a good man and a tough soldier.
  • Bald of Evil: While not as repulsively evil as his brother Thonar, the bald Thognvor is still one of the heads of a family that exploits the native Reachmen and abuses the workers in its employ.
  • Blatant Lies: Just like Igmund, he lives in denial of Forsworn attacks happening in the walls of Markarth if he's Jarl. However, in his case he might not actually be in denial considering his family’s connection to that murderous band of savages...
  • Dude, Where's My Respect?: With all the Silver-Blood family does for Markarth, it feels insulting for Jarl Igmund to ignore their advice.
  • Due to the Dead: Thongvor is serious about paying respect to the honored dead of Markarth, and is furious when the local priest closes off the Hall of the Dead from public viewing. He thinks it's because he’s allowing nefarious types to desecrate the bodies of the deceased, which isn't far from the truth considering that there is an insane cannibal cultist snacking on them. However, the priest has nothing to do with it and simply doesn't want to incite a panic.
  • Fantastic Racism: He isn't fond of Imperials, Reachmen, or elves, and if you're an Elf Dragonborn, he'll tell you to your face that he hates "your kind" because of what they've done to Skyrim. Interestingly, one of his closest friends is an Orc despite the fact that they're a type of Elf as well.
  • Foil: To Maven Black-Briar, the replacement Jarl of The Rift. Both are members of an influential family with powerful ties to the business world and the criminal underworld, and as a result practically run their respective Holds even if they aren't sitting directly on the throne. They're not exactly what you'd call "friendly", but Thongvor is just a Jerkass with a tendency to genuinely Pet the Dog while Maven is a straight-up hostile and malicious sociopath. Thongvor also isn't in charge of the Silver-Blood family (that would be his brother Thonar) while Maven is the head honcho of the Black-Briars.
  • The Good Jarl: He's very receptive to the threat of dragons and has efforts made to organize parties to hunt them down. He's also rather respectful to a Stormcloak-aligned Dragonborn, and still courteous enough to thank even an Imperial-alligned Dragonborn for helping Thonar if you kill Madanach in "No One Escapes Cidhna Mine".
    • Despite these positive traits, his family business is very morally dubious.
  • I Own This Town: His family's mine pretty much makes the income for the city and the miners consist of captured Forsworn and convicted criminals. When he becomes Jarl, this literally happens.
  • Pet the Dog: His racism towards elves doesn't seem to extend to Orcs/Orsimer, since he’s close friends with Moth gro-Bagol, an Orc blacksmith that he served alongside during his Legion days.
  • Retired Badass: Used to be a legionnaire.

Sorli the Builder

Voiced by: Claudia Christian

Replacement Jarl of Hjallmarch hold, seated in Morthal. She oversees an isolated mining settlement along with her husband.

  • And Now for Something Completely Different: Her Housecarl is the only non-human replacement the Stormcloaks have. And on top of that, he's an Argonian, who tend to suffer from nasty Fantastic Racism in Stormcloak-controlled territories.
  • It's All About Me: If she becomes the Jarl of Hjaalmarch, Jorgen the miller bitterly complains about how self-centered she is. And indeed: a quick chat with her will reveal that she sees Morthal as a rung in the social ladder she's so desperate to climb, and plans to ditch it the second she's offered a leadership position in a better Hold.
  • Modest Royalty: Like Kraldar, she wears clothes more fitting for a commoner than a Jarl should she rise to power.
  • Reasonable Authority Figure: Still, as selfish as she is, she DOES take her job seriously and proves to be just as competent and careful as Idgrod is if she's the Jarl during "Laid to Rest".

Stormcloaks

The Stormcloaks

Nordic rebels who believe the Empire is no longer fit to rule over Skyrim following the White-Gold Concordat. Led by Ulfric Stormcloak, the Jarl of Eastmarch, they seek to drive both the Empire and the Thalmor from Skyrim.

  • Asskicking Equals Authority: How one advances in the Stormcloak hierarchy.
  • Awesome McCoolname: Between Ulfric Stormcloak and Galmar Stone-Fist, most Stormcloak sobriquets, especially those given to the player, are this trope. Just a taste: we have Hjornskar Head-Smasher, Thoryyg Sun-Killer and Ysralad Three-Pierced.
  • Badass Army: They can go toe to toe with the IVth Legion, one of the branches of the Imperial Military that's in the best shape since the Great War. Not surprising since most of them come from the eastern half of Skyrim, where young Nords must kill an ice wraith as a rite of passage. Galmar has you do the same to prove your worth.
  • Badass Beard: The majority of male Stormcloaks seem to have one of these. The exceptions can literally be counted on one hand.
  • Berserk Button: The Thalmor killing Talos worshippers.
  • Everything's Worse with Bears: Their main Animal Motif. The Stormcloak Officer's uniform (which the player is awarded upon being named Stormblade) includes a cloak fashioned from a bearskin, complete with head, and there's a bear's head on their flag.
  • Faceless Mooks: Depending on the helmet they are wearing.
  • Fantastic Racism: Some of them, but most commonly in Windhelm itself. They don't allow Argonians to live inside the city walls, and they force the Dunmer population to live in the slum known as the Gray Quarter. Interestingly enough, it also possess a rather high Imperial and Altmer population who are more or less left alone, which would make sense before the civil war (since they wouldn't want to pointlessly antagonise either the Empire or the Dominion), but seems strange when they're in a state of open rebellion. Maybe the Imperials and Altmer were allowed to establish themselves so well that they provide essential services, whereas the Dunmer and Argonians don't? Inverted by a Nord in Falkreath, who cites being an ex-Stormcloak as being the reason he is tolerant of strangers (unlike his brother, who is openly racist against a non-Nord Dragonborn). The WMG above about the possibility that the Imperials and Altmer are tolerated because they prove useful is more or less exactly what one Altmer tells you (regarding the Dunmer, if not the Argonians) if you ask her if she is treated as badly as the Dunmer.
  • Good Old Ways: They're basically fighting to protect these, from their own point of view.
  • Gray and Gray Morality: Definitely. Their hatred for the Dominion is totally justified, and their contempt for the Empire's surrender is understandable, but they're sure as hell not the Knights in Shining Armour they see themselves as.
  • Humanity Is Superior: Many of them believe this, though most of them aren't as racist to elves as the Dominion is to Men.
  • Hypocrite: Some of the Stormcloaks despise the Imperial-leaning Nords for "abandoning" their traditional Nord beliefs in favor of the Imperial pantheon despite the fact that they themselves worship Imperial aspects of the Divines like Akatosh [4] or Arkay[5], giving no heed to their old religion.
    • Though to be fair, none of that is really criterion for abandoning the ways of the Nords in their eyes, and they hold no ill-will towards their fellows for doing it. So it's debatable whether or not that counts as 'hypocrisy'. And also it is a given that the Stormcloaks do in fact revere Shor (as they would naturally do, as he presides over their afterlife). To the Stormcloaks, 'abandoning Nordic tradition' is putting aside worship of Talos and serving the Empire and by extension, their Thalmor allies. And while there are indeed many Nords who worship the Cyrodilic Nine Divines, there are just as many who worship the Old Nordic pantheon, such as Ulfric himself (given that he was once a Greybeard-in-training).
  • Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Alvor notes that if it weren't for the Stormcloak uprising, the Empire would be content to pretend that the Nords didn't still worship Talos in the closet. The Stormcloaks raising a fuss over it has given the Thalmor the excuse they needed to crack down hard in Skyrim.
  • No True Nord: All Nords will use the term "true Nord" a lot, but the Stormcloaks use this as a call to battle against the Empire and the Thalmor.

Any unnamed Stormcloak NPC: "If you know any true sons and daughters of Skyrim, tell them to head to Windhelm. Jarl Ulfric would like to see them."

Ulfric Stormcloak

Voiced by: Vladimir Kulich

"I fight for the men I've held in my arms, dying on foreign soil! I fight for their wives and children, whose names I heard whispered in their last breath... I fight so that all the fighting I've already done hasn't been for nothing! I fight... because I must."

The Jarl of Eastmarch, seated in the city of Windhelm. Leader of the Stormcloak Rebellion and aspiring High King of Skyrim.

  • Alternative Character Interpretation: Not merely content with attracting this out-of-universe, Ulfric is subjected to a lot of this in-universe as well. Why did he kill High King Torygg? Depending on which character you ask, you'll get any number of responses painting him as a noble warrior who refused to kneel before a craven Imperial puppet, or a would-be tyrant who wants to seize power for himself.
  • An Axe to Grind: He uses a steel waraxe, despite having much better weapons close at hand.
  • Asskicking Equals Authority: Considering how the Stormcloaks work, this is presumably also in effect.
  • Authority Equals Asskicking: Apparently, Ulfric is a strong believer of this. He challenged High King Torygg to the throne because he felt the King was weak in spirit as well as body. He believes that Skyrim needs fewer politicians and a true warrior king to stand up to the Thalmor, and by extension, the Empire (who are the Thalmor's "dogs"). He also believes that Skyrim must be purified of those who have become weak from drinking Imperial milk or who became somehow not-Nord after being in Cyrodiil, even though he himself is a former legionnaire.
  • Awesome McCoolname: Stormcloak. In a land full of Nords with awesome names, his is easily one of the coolest.
  • Badass: Definitely. But to get into the specifics...
    • Badass Baritone: "Once he had a kingdom, but no voice. So I gave him mine," - Vladimir Kulich.
    • Badass Beard: Granted, it's more modest than most examples of this trope, but it still contributes to his striking image.
    • Badass Family: The Stormcloak clan has produced plenty of badass viking warriors, with Ulfric merely being the latest of a long line of said badasses. Mera Stormcloak, his ancestor encountered in The Elder Scrolls Online, was quite the formidable fighter herself. Also, this piece of official art portraying another ancestor, Skegglund, is downright METAL.
    • Badass Longcoat: As mentioned above, it's made of chainmail.
  • Base Breaker: Not only is he one among the playerbase, but he's also one in-universe. Many Nords practically worship the ground he walks on, hyping him up as a true hero and a living legend whose refusal to obey the White-Gold Concordat and desire to fight for Skyrim's religious freedom will save the country. However, many other Nords and non-Nords alike think he's a short-sighted idiot at best and a power-hungry warmonger at worst, with criticisms often painting him as using his noble cause as an excuse to make himself the high king of Skyrim, or an honorless dog who disrespects Talos' legacy by spitting in the face of the empire he founded and unknowingly being the reason why the Thalmor cracked down on his worship so hard to begin with.
    • His use of The Voice to defeat Torygg in honorable combat also has people split on if it was ethical or not. People in favor of it claim that he had every right to use it and that all it did was prove that Torygg was a weakling and un-Nordlike, but those against claimed that the act of doing so itself was un-Nordlike due to being a cheap, underhanded, and cowardly tactic that was little more than abuse of a literal gift from the gods for petty and selfish reasons.
  • Berserk Button: He absolutely refuses to tolerate the Thalmor, especially Elenwen. Most likely a result of being interrogated by her.
  • Big Bad: Of the Imperial campaign.
  • Big Good: Of the Stormcloak campaign.
  • Blatant Lies: While Ulfric claims that he'll only become High King of Skyrim if elected by the moot, the oath he makes aspiring Stormcloaks swear to the "true High King of Skyrim" paints a very different picture.
  • Blood Brothers: With the Dragonborn, should you take the side of the Stormcloaks. Just before the last mission of the Stormcloak campaign, he names you Stormblade, telling you he considers you to be one of his own kin.
  • Blood Knight: The good Jarl enjoys combat a great deal.

I'm having fun, are you?!

  • Byronic Hero: Ulfric is a charismatic, intelligent, powerful, and deeply troubled man. Trauma inflicted by wartime and torture at the hands of the Thalmor have left him feeling disenfranchised and alienated by the Empire he once proudly served, and he's willing to do many morally questionable things to free his country from the powers that, from his perspective, threw them to the dogs to appease a genocidal regime that wants nothing more than to wipe humanity off the face of Nirn.
  • The Chains of Commanding: He does regret some of the things he's had to do in this war.
  • Create Your Own Villain: As detailed in a dossier recovered from the Thalmor Embassy, Ulfric is an asset to the Thalmor in the sense that their torture and manipulation of him during the Great War is what led to him becoming the Unwitting Pawn they needed to further throw the already hurting Empire off its balance for their own ends. However, Ulfric ended up being a little too good at his job, and has amassed a powerful fighting force of Nord warriors galvanized and united by their hatred of the Thalmor, and just might very well stand a chance at driving them out of Skyrim should you win the Civil War in their favor.
  • Death by Irony: He started the war by using the Thu'um to literally Shout the High-King to death, if siding with the Imperials, you can have the Dragonborn end the war the exact same way.
  • Defiant to the End: At the end of the Legion questline, he refuses to quietly surrender and will stand and face you alongside Galmar. He will go down fighting, of course, once he's beaten this leads to the trope below.
  • Dick Dastardly Stops to Cheat: This trope is why his killing of High King Torygg was so controversial. It wasn't enough that he was a formidable military veteran fighting against a man who was much physically weaker, but he used the overwhelming might of The Voice against him as well. As much of a stink as killing Torygg normally would have made, such an underhanded tactic gave the Empire justification needed to claim it outright murder and thus split the country in two.
  • Dirty Coward: A frequent criticism thrown his way by those who don’t like him. To them, his use of the Voice to defeat a much weaker opponent didn't prove his strength as a Nord, but rather exposed him as an embarrassment who felt the need to resort to using a dirty trick to win against Torygg. However, for all the legitimate criticisms that can be made about the man, pursuing the Civil War questline for either side shows that cowardice is definitely not one of them.
  • The Dreaded:
    • The Empire and the Thalmor fear him with good reason.
    • He's also hyped a lot in the Imperial campaign as a mighty warrior and master of the Thu'um.
    • When Elenwen, the head of the Thalmor in Skyrim and perhaps the most powerful person sitting at the peace meeting, decides to drone out a Hannibal Lecture, Ulfric tells her in no uncertain terms to shut the hell up. She listens.
  • Elective Monarchy: What he ends up as in the Stormcloak campaign. It's worth noting, that as his victory over the Imperial Legion was absolute, and his army was the most powerful force in Skyrim, he was in the position to bypass this and declare himself king outright. He brings this up in his speech to his men, but he further says that he will not as he respects the tradition too much.

Dragonborn: So, do I call you High King now?
Ulfric: *laughs* No, no, not yet. We'll wait for the moot to make me High King. It'll be better for all that way.

  • Face Death with Dignity: If the player sides with the Empire, at the end of the siege of Windhelm, Tullius told Ulfric he could surrender and be publicly executed, or go down fighting. Ulfric chooses fighting, of course. When beaten down and kneeing, he issues his Last Request: that the Dragonborn be the one to deal the final blow, as "it'll make a better song that way."
  • Fantastic Racism: He's apathetic to the problems of non-Nords and makes it clear that he'd prefer a Skyrim without the other races. He goes so far as to say that Nords returning home from the legions are "strangers with familiar faces", as if serving the Empire somehow made them no longer Nords. If you ask him about it when joining the stormcloaks as a non-nord, he notes that race isn't anywhere near as important as loyalty. According to the Dark Elves of Windhelm, their lives have actually gotten worse since Ulfric became Jarl. Strangely, while Argonians and Dark Elves are segregated in Windhelm, they are generally treated normally in most other Stormcloak align holds. In fact, holding high positions as Steward and Housecarls in Winterhold and Morthaal, respectively. Apparently, he doesn't care how the other Jarls deal with minorities so long as they generally follow orders. So maybe this is more like 'Fantastic Indifference'.
  • A Father to His Men: He values his follower's lives. Which is why he is cautious about attacking Whiterun despite how necessary it is that they take it. After the Stormcloaks conquer Solitude, he denies credit for the victory and instead calls the soldiers and the Dragonborn the true heroes of the war.
  • Four-Star Badass: He's managed to keep complete control over half of Skyrim despite the Empire throwing all they have at him. Including one of their best generals.
  • Friendly Enemy: Right up until they directly lay siege to Windhelm, an Empire-aligned Dragonborn can walk up to the leader of the enemy forces and make small talk, without acknowledgement that the Dragonborn is the reason the Stormcloaks are in such dire straits.
  • From a Certain Point of View: His response to allegedly shouting Torygg to death is that it's "Not entirely true, though not entirely false either."
  • The Good King: He takes into account the opinions of his entire court, would rather that he could take Skyrim with the least possible amount of bloodshed and is far more empathetic to the common folk who do not support him, knowing that they're still weighing things in their hearts and have to look after the families, in contrast to Galmar's complete With Us or Against Us view. He's also the only Jarl to reply 'the honour will be mine' when you accept to becoming a Thane of his hold. Nor does he refer to his people as 'the common rabble' when he dubs you Thane. He's also well respected within his hold and by the people of Skyrim in general. And despite his preoccupation with the war, he still makes an effort to protect the people of his city from the murders occurring, having placed every available guardsman (and to their credit, they were making progress) on it. Of course because it's a quest chain, only you can really make a difference, but hey.
  • Good Scars, Evil Scars: Depending on whether you're a Stormcloak or Legionnaire.
  • Hazy Feel Turn: Used to be an Imperial soldier, until he perceived all Nords influenced by Imperials as weak milk-drinkers who were no longer Nord and were now "strangers with familiar faces".
  • Hurting Hero: It really does kill him inside to wage war against his fellow Nords.

We're ready when you are [to take Whiterun]
Is any man ever ready to give the order that will mean the deaths of many?

  • It's All About Me: Another criticism he faces from people. Most characters who are loyal to the Empire, and even a few Stormcloak sympathizers, accuse Ulfric of only looking out for Ulfric and using his lofty rhetoric to manipulate good and honest Nords into dying for a glorified bid for the throne. Unlike the Dirty Coward criticism above, this one's got more of a leg to stand on since Ulfric has a pronounced "My way or the highway" mindset when it comes to his thoughts on Jarls who oppose his rebellion, and will throw quite the tantrum if the Dragonborn doesn't blatantly favor him during the peace conference at High Hrothgar. He also barely tries to hide his desire to become High King of Skyrim.
    • With that being said though, his selfish tendencies don't really stem from a lust for power for its own sake as much as they stem from a hero/messiah complex nurtured by his traumatic experiences during the Great War and the fallout of the Empire's surrender: he genuinely believes he's the only one capable of beating back the Thalmor and liberating his country from an Empire that failed to protect it.
  • Jerkass: He outright threatens the player when they first approach him for daring to speak to a Jarl without a summons (the other Jarls make no such remark, though he also commends your bravery in doing it). He's also considerably rude during the peace negotiations, threatening Elisif personally, and if the player supports fair trade of territory when the civil war questline hasn't been started yet, he gets up to leave because he sees the player as favoring the Empire. He outright storms out of the negotiations afterwards, even if the player sided with his demands, while everyone else stays to listen.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: As much of a jerk as Ulfric can be, the points made under The Good King show that he's still an honorable man and a decent ruler in many respects. And while there are definitely Stormcloak sympathizers who are genuinely prejudiced against other races, Ulfric will gladly welcome a Dark Elf, High Elf, or Argonian Dragonborn into his ranks (and even come to claim you as his Blood Brother) since ultimately, loyalty matters more to him than race.
  • Just the First Citizen: Despite being the effective ruler of nearly half of Skyrim before the civil war questline begins, and possibly being the ruler of all of Skyrim after, Ulfric is simply called "Jarl", a title appropriate to the ruler of a single hold.
  • Karmic Death: At the end of the Empire's version of the Civil War questline, you can shout him to death just like he did to Torygg. Bonus points for doing it as a Dark Elf or Argonian, who are second-class citizens in his home city.
  • Make an Example of Them: "Torygg was merely a message to the other Jarls."
  • Make Me Wanna Shout: He was training to be a Greybeard.
  • Memetic Badass:
    • In-Universe example. An extremely sizable portion of Skyrim treats him like he's the Second Coming.

They say that Ulfric Stormcloak murdered the High King... with his Voice! Shouted him apart!

    • According to what first-hand sources (including Ulfric himself) say, he did use the Voice when he killed the High King, but the actual killing blow was done by hand.
  • Modest Royalty: Downplayed. While he doesn't wear plainclothes like Sorli or Kraldar, his Badass Longcoat has more of a grizzled militaristic look to it than something downright regal like the clothes worn by, say, Balgruuf or Elisif.
  • My God, What Have I Done?: If killed before finishing the main quest, Ulfric can be found wandering Alduin's mist in Sovngarde. If spoken to before killing Alduin, he laments that he wanted to free Skyrim, but all his war did was kill good men on both sides and now those men's souls are trapped in Alduin's mists, waiting to be devoured by the World Eater.
  • Neutral No Longer: While training to be a Greybeard, he was unable to detach himself from the world's affairs as they do and left to help fight the Thalmor.
  • No Badass to His Valet: The relationship between Ulfric and Galmar is less a king to his general, and more like the friendship between fellow war veterans.

Galmar: They call themselves Stormcloaks because they believe in you. Because they're the biggest, toughest sons of bitches Skyrim has to offer. And they want this. They want it as much as you. Perhaps they want it more.

  • A Pupil of Mine Until He Turned to Evil: In a sense. Ulfric learned the Thu'um from the Greybeards, but he violated their core tenet of "speaking only in True Need" when he used the Thu'um to kill King Torygg (he was already a far more capable combatant than Torygg without the Thu'um). However, he does concede he's aware he's strayed from their teachings, and does believe the Thu'um should not be used lightly.
  • Rated "M" for Manly: He's held up as the most triumphant example of Nordic manliness among his followers, and seeing as how he's a badass viking warrior who gives charismatic speeches and can send men flying with the power of his voice, can you really blame them?!
  • Real Men Love Jesus: And just to drive the point home, the local priest in Windhelm will mention that he's a very regular temple-goer.
  • Reasonable Authority Figure: Playing through the Stormcloak campaign shows him not be the power-hungry tyrant Tullius paints him to be, but rather a driven, understandable and determined man with noble intentions at heart.
  • Rebel Leader
  • Red Oni, Blue Oni: The red to Tullius's blue. However, he's also the blue to Galmar's red.
  • The Revolution Will Not Be Civilized:
  • Rousing Speech: Gives several, but is somewhat self-conscious about it, asking Galmar after his victory speech how he did. Depending on your view of Ulfric, this can either show him to be a man who is less confident in his own abilities than he lets on and realises how seriously he must weigh every word and action, or a politician who deliberately manipulates his public image in contrast to the simple proud warrior he presents himself as. It's worth noting, however, he tends to go off on impassioned speeches about his motives in private to his Dragon, who's utterly behind him. So he's at least somewhat sincere.
  • Royals Who Actually Do Something: And by Talos, is he ever good at it.
  • Slouch of Villainy: While everyone who uses a throne takes this position, Ulfric stands out for two reasons: firstly, he can end up as the Big Bad depending on what path the player takes, and his throne is huge, making him look like he's slouching more than he actually is.
  • The Strategist: He's often conversing with Galmar and Jorleif on strategy. He also likes getting Jorleif's opinion because the 'untrained can see the whole in the parts'.
  • Unwitting Pawn: Ulfric was a high-profile POW during the Great War, and special attention was given to him by interrogators; Ambassador Elenwen, no less. Such time with the Thalmor and being subject to their "reeducation" methods leads to questions as to whether his mind is his own: both the Markarth incident and the Civil War as a whole played right into the Thalmor's hands. The Markarth Incident essentially made it impossible for the Empire to simply pretend the Nords didn't secretly worship Talos in the closet, and the civil war dragging out sapped both Skyrim and the Empire, both being very much to the benefit of the Thalmor. However, the Thalmor dossier on him indicates that while they consider him an "asset" they've lost direct control over him and cannot risk contacting him directly. They're also worried about Ulfric actually winning the war, though it is not clear if this is because they want to prolong the war to further weaken the Empire, or if they're afraid of what Ulfric might do with a united Skyrim behind him. Finally, at the end of the civil war, Ulfric states that defending Skyrim from Thalmor attacks is one of his highest priorities and quickly puts Galmar in charge of training additional troops so that Skyrim is as prepared as possible for such an event. Which shows that he's likely not at all under the Thalmor's thrall per se.

General Tullius:: The Thalmor stirred up your rebellion here, forcing us to waste resources and good soldiers to put it down.
Ulfric: It's a little more than a rebellion, don't you think?

  • With Us or Against Us:
    • Read the book "The Bear of Markarth" to see how his liberation of Markarth was not at all as rosy as the Stormcloak sympathizers in the town make it out to be. However, note that this book is written by an Imperial, and thus may be exaggerating the events. Though when you meet up with Stormcloaks, he tells a frothing at the mouth Galmar to be lenient with the commoners who do not support them as they are still 'weighing things in their hearts' as he puts it. This could either mean two things: the book is outright lying about his brutality and is mere character assassination, or in the interregnum he came to realize that this trope wasn't a good way to go about things and decided to be more understanding towards those who don't outright cast their lot for independence.
    • Raerek, the steward to the Jarl of Markarth, mentions that while Ulfric may be right about certain things, he knows that he can be very extreme when he given the chance. Hence why he chooses not to side with the Stormcloaks. That said, the same author of this particular book (and another called 'Madmen' of the Reach) is extremely biased against Stormcloaks and Nords in general and quite sympathetic towards the Forsworn.
  • Warrior Prince: He was an officer of the Imperial army before he became a Jarl. And later on pretty much drove the Forsworn from Markarth single handed as well.
  • Well-Intentioned Extremist: Just wants to see the Empire and Thalmor driven from Skyrim and the restoration of one of his people's most adored deity. If you win the war for the Stormcloaks, he fully makes it clear he intends to see Skyrim as glorious as it was when it was the heart of the First Empire.
  • Worthy Opponent: He considers an Imperial aligned Dragonborn to be this. When you deliver Jarl Balgruuf's ultimatum to him, he commends you on your bravery and laments that you've chosen the wrong side. When you finally defeat him, he requests you as his personal executioner instead of Tullius or Rikke, stating "it'll make a better song." if you killed him before traveling to Sovngarde, you can encounter him in the mists; after defeating Alduin, he will openly praise you as a hero.
  • Would Hurt a Child: Notable aversion: he's often stated as killing the child-king Torygg, though Torygg isn't an actual child so much as he's just very young for the title of High-King.

Galmar Stone-Fist

Voiced by: Paul Eiding

The right-hand man of Ulfric, and your chief commanding officer during the Stormcloaks’ side of the Civil War questline.

Your blood is such a pretty shade of red!

  • Badass Beard: A knotted one, specifically.
  • Badass Boast: His declaration of the Stormcloaks being a group of normal men fighting for their beliefs as part of his Rousing Speech before attacking Whiterun is in many ways far more impressive and moving than simple bluster.

"They say our cause is false, and that we are nothing but thieves, thugs and murderers. But no! We are farmers! We are craftsmen! We are the sons and daughters of shopkeepers, maidservants and soldiers! We are the Sons and Daughters of Skyrim!"

  • Badass Grandpa: This old man will gladly paint the walls with the blood of any Imperial/Thalmor dog who gets within swinging distance of his axe.
  • Bears are Bad News: That bearskin outfit of his ought to make it perfectly clear that he’s not a man to be trifled with.
  • The Berserker: He tends to get rather excited in combat. And true to the historical background of this trope (and the fact the Nords are a fantasy counterpart of the medieval Norse), he's actually wearing bear-skins as the Norse berserkers did.
  • The Big Guy: Ironically, he plans the operations for the Stormcloaks, but makes very clear that if he had the choice, he would rush axe-first into the enemies.
  • Boisterous Bruiser: He might be even more enthusiastic than Ulfric when it comes to leading the Stormcloaks to victory.
  • Cool Old Guy: Hot-Blooded, well-read, and all-too willing to jump into battle and start cracking skulls.
  • Cultured Badass: He knows a lot about Skyrim's culture and ancient history, and is more than willing to use that historical know-how to the Stormcloaks' advantage. The first major mission of the Civil War questline has him seek out the Jagged Crown, an item of historical significance to the Nords, because it will help legitimize Ulfric's claim to the title of High King.
  • Deadpan Snarker: He has his moments.

Ulfric: Galmar, it looks like you were right.
Galmar: Again?
Ulfric: I'm in no mood to joke.

  • The Dragon/The Lancer: Depending on the side you pick during the Civil War questline, he’s this to Ulfric.
  • Everyone Has Standards: As lacking in empathy he can be when it comes to the Imperials, he's still got a soft spot for his old friend Legate Rikke and is clearly regretful when he's faced with the prospect of killing her at the end of the Battle of Solitude. If you insensitively tell him to just kill her already, he'll call you a cold-hearted bastard to your face.
  • A Father to His Men: He's encouraging to his men and protective of their lives.
  • Genius Bruiser: He's very strategically aware and educated on Skyrim's history. He's also intelligent enough to alter Imperial documents to achieve long term strategic and tactical advantages.
  • Guttural Growler: Compared to the softer voice he uses for Septimus, Paul Eiding sounds like he's absolutely shredding his vocal chords to bits as Galmar.
  • Hot-Blooded: There's nothing he loves more than a good fight.
  • Nemean Skinning: Along with all other Stormcloak officers.
  • Politically Incorrect Hero/Politically Incorrect Villain: Depending on which side of the aisle you stand, of course. If you play as a Khajiit or Argonian and opt to join Ulfric's cause, he'll openly call you a lizard or cat when asking why you'd side with the Stormcloaks, but he's more than happy to accept you so long as you consider Skyrim your home - and of course, hate the Empire as much as he does. Like Ulfric, he cares more about loyalty to their cause than the race of those fighting for it.
  • Real Men Love Jesus: He's a worshiper of Talos. This is practically a requirement for joining the Stormclaks.

That we have forgotten them, this I fear the Gods will remember.

  • Religious Bruiser: A devout worshipper of Talos.
  • Rousing Speech: Gives one hell of an epic speech to hype up his men before the Battle of Whiterun.
  • Sergeant Rock: Even moreso than Rikke, as he tends to be at the forefront more often, and he gives a lot of fatherly advice to his men.
  • Shell-Shocked Veteran: He makes hints that he's this at times.
  • Sophisticated As Hell: When you meet up with him at the camps, he'll make deep observations on motivation and such. When he's in the thick of battle and Imperial troops scream 'For the Emperor!', he shouts back, 'The Emperor can kiss my ass!'.
  • Sore Loser: He is not happy to see you in Sovngarde if you killed him. Thankfully, he's willing to let bygones be bygones and is sincerely grateful once you kill Alduin.
  • Warrior Poet: Ever so much.

There are fools who claim Ulfric fights only for power! Do they not see that his anger floats on a sea of tears?
It is hate that brought us out here, but it love that keeps us fighting.
One lives for the things he is willing to die for.

  • We Used to Be Friends: Served with Rikke during the Great War. Offers her the chance to stand down at the end of the Stormcloak Campaign.
  • With Us or Against Us: Has the opinion that anyone who opposes them can "die with their false kings."

Ralof

Voiced by: Michael Gough

A description of the character goes here.

  • Action Survivor
  • Asskicking Equals Authority: He's promoted for valor after the Battle for Whiterun is concluded with a Stormcloak victory.
  • Badass: In universe, surviving Helgen qualifies anyone for this label. Additionally, he's one of the few rank and file soldiers who will under all circumstances keep up with both you and Galmar in combat and is one of the few who is with you two when you fight through into Dragonsreach. He also helps you take down Balgruuf.
  • Come with Me If You Want to Live
  • Cool Uncle: He has a nephew named Frodnar, they have a great relationship.

Frodnar: Uncle Ralof! Can I see your axe? How many Imperials have you killed? Do you really know Ulfric Stormcloak?
Ralof: Look at you, almost a grown man. Won't be long until you'll be joining the fight yourself.
Frodnar: That's right! Don't worry uncle, I won't let those Imperials sneak up on you!

  • Drop the Hammer: He likes using an iron warhammer.
  • Dual-Wielding: Iron axes, while escaping Helgen.
  • Face Death with Dignity: He acts very calm about the opening executions and offers some "before the end" advice to the panicking Lokir.
  • Good Counterpart/Evil Counterpart: To Hadvar, depending on what side the Dragonborn takes in the war.
  • The Lancer: To a Stormcloak Dragonborn.
  • Nice Guy: Regardless of your race, Ralof will try to help you in the prologue, including leading you to safety when you seem disoriented and shocked by the dragon's attack. Considering the Stormcloaks are known for their dislike of other races (especially Imperials and elves), this is quite telling.
  • Not So Different: To Hadvar. Over the course of the Stormcloak questline, Ralof expresses many of the same views as Hadvar about the war, a truce, and taking the lives of the Legionaries. Of course, this is probably because they fill the same role in their respective questlines. It should also be noted that Ralof and Hadvar both know each other, both being from Riverwood, and neither of them like the other.
  • Real Men Love Jesus: As he puts it in his own words: "Damn faithless Imperials."
  • Shell-Shocked Veteran: After the Battle for Whiterun, when he next meets up with you, he tells you that he's haunted by the faces of the many men he killed in that siege.

Empire of Tamriel

The Empire

Centered in the land of Cyrodiil, the third Empire of Tamriel was founded by the dragonborn Tiber Septim, and was actually the first to truly encompass all of Tamriel. After the Septim Dynasty fell in the Oblivion Crisis, the potentate Ocato took control, but eventually was assassinated by the Thalmor. After a succession crisis, the Mede Dynasty has taken control over the weakening Empire. About thirty years before Skyrim begins, the Empire fought the Great War with the Aldmeri Dominion and eventually signed a peace treaty named the White-Gold Concordat.

  • Badass Army: Much weaker than during the reign of the Septims, but they still eventually wiped out the Dominion's force in Cyrodiil. Though it should be noted that this feat was the accomplishment of the Imperial legion as a whole, and not the 4th Legion. Who's characters are primarily referred to in this folder.
  • Can't Argue with Elves: The White Gold Concordat essentially yoked them with this.
    • Screw You, Elves: ...But they're waiting for just the right moment to nullify it by force.
  • Cultural Posturing: Some of them like to point out how glorious the cosmopolitan empire is compared to Skyrim.

Legate Skulnar: Of course, the Nord Kings, Oh I'm sorry, Jarls can't really control their own people.

  • The Empire: Them being a foreign power who controls different nation, with a different culture, is used for drama.
  • Fantastic Racism: While it cannot be disputed that they are the least racist faction in the setting, they do generally express a low opinion of Nords, thinking them to be primitive, lawless, brutal savages.
  • Grey and Gray Morality: Like the Stormcloaks, their situation isn't black and white. On one hand, they banned Talos worship in order to bring peace to themselves, are a foriegn nation controlling one that they might not understand, and half of Skyim doesn't want them there. On the other hand, much of Skyrim does want them to stay, citing that Skyrim was always part of the Empire, and that the Empire brought some stability to Skyrim. The Empire was also founded by Talos in the first place.
  • Hypocrite: Discussed in-universe even. The Empire claims that it fighting against the Aldmeri dominion to defend its way of life is fine, but when the Stormcloaks do it against the Imperials (who are practically an invasion force themselves and have little claim to the land anyway, especially with Torryg's death), it's baleful treason. Bonus points in that when Imperial loyalist characters in the game are confronted with this they literally have no counter-argument.
  • Punch Clock Villain: For a Stormcloak-alligned character, they're this because they don't entirely agree with persecuting Talos worshipers, but they'd rather not get on the Thalmor's bad side either.
  • Reasonable Authority Figure: As a whole, they are fairly benevolent.
  • Shoot the Dog: Giving "large sections" of Hammerfell to the Dominion, as well as banning Talos worship, in order to stop the Great War. Needless to say, the Redguards were not pleased about essentially being sacrificed to the Thalmor, and they were able to drive out the Dominion themselves (this is used, both in-universe and by fans, as why the Empire was wrong to surrender). The Nords were likewise not happy about one of their most popular gods being banned, and this is one of the prime motivations for the Stormcloak rebellion.
  • Vestigial Empire: Currently only controls Cyrodiil, Skyrim, High Rock and whatever is left of Morrowind. To make matters worse, much of Skyrim is rebelling against their rule. And since Skyrim bridges all of these regions together, if the Stormcloaks win the civil war, the Empire could be fatally fractured. And it gets better, conversation between Ulfric and Galmar implies that High Rock is barely at all involved in Imperial affairs and is only tangentially allies with the Empire. A fact they tried to use in order to ally with them, but failed in doing so. On the other hand, if the Empire wins the civil war, the Blades are reformed, and the Dark Brotherhood is destroyed, the Empire might actually start to pull itself out of this rut, as this is the most stable it has been in centuries.

General Tullius

Voiced by: Michael Hogan

"Battles are won by trained and disciplined men. Wars are won by talented and exceptional individuals."

Commander of all Legion forces in Skyrim. Sent to the province as a troubleshooter by the Emperor to deal with the Stormcloak rebellion.

  • Anti-Villain: To Stormcloak-alligned players, anyway. He's just a man doing his job, serving his emperor to the best of his ability and trying his hardest to preserve the Empire that he loves.
  • The Archer: In the Battle of Windhelm, he favors his bow, though he uses a sword too.
  • Badass Grandpa: While he's far from the fearsome warrior that his opponent Ulfric is hyped up to be, he's still a Four-Star Badass and an Old Soldier who's more than capable of leading his men into battle and fighting alongside them on the front lines.
  • Big Bad: Of the Stormcloak campaign.
  • Big Good: Of the Imperial campaign.
  • Cultural Posturing: He's fond of this. Then again, the Empire and Skyrim are in the midst of a pretty big Culture Clash, as well as a war, so what the Stormcloaks view as business as usual, the Empire views as anarchy.

If it wasn't for the Legion the provinces would descend to barbarity and anarchy. Even Skyrim, especially Skyrim.

  • Deadpan Snarker: A bit of this towards Nords and their warlike customs.
  • Despair Event Horizon: At the end of the Stormcloak questline. By the time you reach him during the Battle of Solitude, he's essentially given up. Rikke even says as much, though he'll still get up and fight you alongside her. Before he's executed, he even tells Ulfric that his rebellion has given the Thalmor exactly what they want.
  • Expy: Of Julius Caesar.
  • Fantastic Racism: He considers Nords and their culture foolish. Unlike Ulfric though, Tullius doesn't let his views influence his policies.
  • A Father to His Men: Albeit, a sterner example than most. He's a real hardass towards the men and women under his command, but he isn't afraid to give praise where it's warranted, and his Rousing Speech at the end of the Imperial campaign has him give his soldiers a raise for a job well done.
  • Four-Star Badass: He's pretty handy with a bow and short sword at the Battle of Windhelm, and leads his men from the front at the big battles, but most of the battles the Dragonborn participates in are either commanded by Legate Rikke, Hadvar or the Dragonborn himself, which may seem like this is an Informed Attribute. However, Tullius has to manage the entire war theater in Skyrim, which would leave him with little time to lead raids on individual fortresses, or to personally search for the Jagged Crown when dozens of equally pressing issues crop up as well. Also, the war is at its tail end when the game starts, and both sides agree that, without him, the Empire would have been soundly defeated long ago. He turned it into a stalemate, and then with his capture of Ulfric in the opening, nearly won the war then and there.
  • Friendly Enemy: See Ulfric's entry above. You're welcome to come into Castle Dour and chat him up despite being the reason why the Legion is almost routed from Skyrim. Taken further than Ulfric in that if you're a Stormcloak and on Avulstein Grey-mane's quest, you can request Tulius to release a Thalmor prisoner. He sarcastically tells you that it's impossible, but hey.
  • Grumpy Old Man: You get the feeling that he'd rather get this war over with to prepare for greater threats like the inevitable second war with the Thalmor.
  • Hidden Depths: Very rarely, Tullius can be a potential guest at Elenwen's party during Diplomatic Immunity. And if he is, he'll admit that he actually agrees with a lot of the points Ulfric makes about the Empire. While he's very much a loyal soldier and is committed to putting Ulfric's rebellion down, he's surprisingly understanding of where his enemies are coming from and is far less blindly loyal than critics of the Empire believe.
  • Hypercompetent Sidekick: To Jarl Elisif. He claims he is usually sent as a troubleshooter for problematic areas of the Empire, Skyrim being at the top of that list.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: A lot of Nords consider him to be a straight Jerkass, with some justification. He's snide about Nord traditions and is prone to engage in Cultural Posturing, as he is a career soldier from the cosmopolitan Cyrodiil and Nordic tradition, with its individualistic and honor-bound warrior culture, is completely against the grain from the Imperial norm, never mind insulting the player character when they first meet and is disdainful of peace negotiations with Ulfric Stormcloak, believing that he deserves nothing less than death regardless. Most of the time, Rikke serves as his long-suffering Lancer who irons out the General's ignorance of, and frustration with the country and its people. Over the course of the Imperial campaign, however, he gains a grudging respect for Skyrim and its people, and he comes to love the land in spite of its harshness.
    • It’s also telling that when Alduin attacks Helgen, which allows Ulfric to escape in the chaos, he prioritizes having his men protect civilians over hunting him down and killing him before he can slip away.
  • Offscreen Moment of Awesome: The game begins with you waking up in the same wagon as Ulfric and one of his supporters, with the destination being the headsman's block at Helgen thanks to all of you getting caught up in an ambush set up by Tullius. It's later revealed during the infiltration of the Thalmor Embassy that the war ending this quickly is NOT what the Thalmor wants, while cut dialogue shows an angrily Elenwen trying and failing to convince Tullius to hand over Ulfric, likely so he can "accidentally escape" Thalmor custody later. If it weren't for the sudden and unexpected dragon attack throwing the town into chaos, he would have won the Civil War for the Empire and thrown a major wrench into the Thalmor's plans before the game could even begin!
  • Reasonable Authority Figure: To a greater extent than Ulfric. While he's a bit snide, he remains very approachable throughout the Imperial campaign, and it shows that he truly cares for his men and the Empire.
  • Red Oni, Blue Oni: The blue to Ulfric's red. Also the blue to Rikke's red.
  • Say My Name: When he, you and Rikke make the final confrontation with Ulfric, Tullius shouts out Ulfric's full name (but not titles) before listing off his crimes.
  • Shut UP, Hannibal: During the peace treaty, after Ulfric makes a speech about how he considers being present with the Empire an insult, he has this to say.

"Are you done? Did you just come all the way to make speeches?"

  • The Strategist: He masterminded Ulfric Stormcloak's capture and had a dragon not attacked Helgen, he likely would have succeeded in snuffing out the Stormcloaks then and there. Hadvar notes that, since taking command, Tullius managed to turn the situation in Skyrim around, from a complete rout for the Empire to a near victory... before Alduin interrupts before Ulfric can be executed.
  • Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: He's often in the company of Elenwen during the main storyline, and he does the bare minimum of what's required to not get on her bad side. All it takes is the slightest bit of probing for him to make it clear just how little he tolerates her, and as much of a stink he makes over Ulfric wanting Elenwen ejected from the peace conference during Season Unending, he won't object if you back his decision (if anything, the only issue he really has is with who is demanding her to leave as opposed to the demand itself).
    • Funnily enough, Dummied Out dialogue during the opening sequence at Helgen would have established this relationship right off the bat, since the unheard conversation between Tullius and Elenwen shows that he's having Ulfric executed instead of letting her take him alive like she wants, likely because he knows (or at least suspects) that somehow, Ulfric will escape Thalmor custody and continue waging war, since a divided Skyrim is what the Thalmor want and have actively worked towards.

Legate Rikke

Voiced by: Claudia Christian

A description of the character goes here.

  • Action Girl
  • Colonel Badass: The structure of Legion ranks puts "Legate" in a position closely akin to "Colonel", which is the highest rank of line officers in modern militaries.
  • Cool Helmet: For some reason, she discards it when you and the Stormcloaks corner her and Tullius in Castle Dour.
  • Deadpan Snarker: If an Imperial-allied player decides to hold the Greybeards' Peace Talks, Rikke will let slip some very snide (and very funny) comments whenever Ulfric speaks.
  • Last Stand: At the end of the Stormcloak campaign, Ulfric and Galmar offer her the chance to stand down out of respect for their past together. She refuses.
  • Military Brat: Both her parents were in the Imperial Legion, and part of the reason she joined was to honor them.
  • Number Two: To Tullius.
  • Patriotic Fervor: Unlike Tullius, who's mainly in Skyrim because it's his duty, Rikke is openly proud of being both a daughter of Skyrim and a legate in the Legion. She sees nothing contradictory in being both.
  • Real Men Love Jesus: When asked about her opinion on her faith, she curtly cuts you off, saying it's not up for discussion. After the deed is done on Ulfric, she gives him the parting words "Talos guide you".
  • Red Oni, Blue Oni: Red to Tullius's blue.
  • Sarcastic Devotee: Though she avoids outright insubordination, she's not afraid to explain to her superior in rather flat terms why his shallow knowledge of Nord culture will lead to disaster.
  • Sergeant Rock
  • We Used to Be Friends: Served with Galmar and Ulfric during the Great War, holds Galmar in high respect, but thinks Ulfric's gone mad with power. Ironically, however, she tries to use her former friendship with Ulfric as a lever to persuade him to cease his rebellion. Right after he pretty much takes Solitude.

Esbern

Voiced by: Max von Sydow

A description of the character goes here.

  • Conspiracy Theorist: Believes Paarthurnax is evil and refuses to listen to anything contradictory.
  • Cool Old Guy
  • Crazy Prepared: As the Blades' archivist, he used to be obsessed with studying the original Dragonslaying campaigns the Blades were created for. Since the dragons were all dead (or believed to be myth in the first place), everybody though he was just some eccentric old fool. Then guess what happens...
  • The Cuckoolander Was Right: Delphine mentions this trope concerning Esbern in dialog you have with her.
  • Dreaming of Things to Come: After one of the story quests, you can return to the Blade hideout to find him recounting a recurring dream he had been having for years about Alduin returning.
  • Eccentric Mentor: He's just a little off-kilter...
  • Genre Savvy:
  • Last of His Kind: One of the last members of the Blades.
  • Properly Paranoid: First met in Riften's Ratway, hiding among beggars and madmen behind a heavy iron door with roughly half a dozen locks (and he'll open a sliding panel and shout at you in his best "crazy old man" voice if you try to speak to him before the quest demands it). Not two minutes after the Dovahkiin confirms his identity, the Thalmor arrive to have him killed.
  • "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Gives one to Tullius and Ulfric during the peace treaty negotiations, telling them that while they're busy arguing over the terms of a temporary truce, Alduin is in Sovngarde devouring the souls of the people they've slain to grow stronger.
  • Red Oni, Blue Oni: The Blue to Delphine's Red. While Esbern is presented at first as a Cloudcuckoolander conspiracy theorist, once things get going he's far more calm and intellectual, not to mention respectful of the Greybeards, while Delphie is more of an outright Jerkass to both the Dragonborn and the Greybeards, and is less interested in the knowledge of the dragons than she is killing them.
  • Sword and Sorcerer: The Sorcerer to Delphine's Sword.
  • Warrior Poet: His room is filled with books, he admires ancient art and architecture so much he almost has to be dragged away from it (and can identify the technique and period), and he's completely dismayed when he discovers neither you nor anyone else knows much about dragon lore.

Delphine

Voiced by: Joan Allen

A description of the character goes here.

  • Action Girl: She has killed entire teams of Thalmor assassins by herself. Not to mention retrieving the Horn of Jurgen Windcaller from Ustengrav.
  • Chekhov's Gunman: She'll likely be one of the first NPCs you'll meet in the game since she lives in Riverwood, the first town you visit. Only later do you realize that she's more than the local innskeeper.
  • Conspiracy Theorist: Believes the Thalmor are behind everything, including the dragons' return. A mission to their embassy indicates they know nothing.
    • She also follows Esbern's lead in thinking Paarthurnax is evil and absolutely must die. She is a bit more a jerkass about it, to the point of threatening to violate her oaths to the Blades if the Dovahkiin doesn't kill Paarthurnax.
    • Note that according to the Atlas of Dragons, the Blades have known Paarthurnax was on the Throat of the World, "under the protection of the Greybeards" for centuries. The Blades as a whole have been waiting for an opportunity to "exact justice" on him for a long time.
  • Cool Old Lady: It's not apparent at first, but she's in her late fifties. And still kicks plenty of ass.
  • Dual-Wielding: Blades Swords.
  • Expecting Someone Taller: You can tell her that you were after meeting her in the basement of The Sleeping Giant Inn.
  • Jerkass: She's rather rude and demanding, especially on your first meeting. She tricks you into a meeting and demands a demonstration to verify the Dragonborn's identity, but without giving you a reason why she should be indulged. If you decide to simply ignore her and leave, she'll mention she should kill you, but decided she won't. Justified, as she doesn't trust you and has the Thalmor after her head every sleeping and waking moment. Granted, she comes across as more friendly and humble if you talk to her about her background after proving your status as the Dragonborn, and isn't nearly as bad as, say, Colonel Moore.
  • Properly Paranoid: The Thalmor have free rein over pretty much all of Tamriel, meaning the Blades are all hunted. Her dossier pretty much indicates that the only chance the Thalmor have in killing her is overwhelming force, she's just that good.
  • Red Oni, Blue Oni: The Red to Esbern's Blue. While Esbern is presented at first as a Cloudcuckoolander conspiracy theorist, once things get going he's far more calm and intellectual, not to mention respectful of the Greybeards, while Delphie is more of an outright Jerkass to both the Dragonborn and the Greybeards, and is less interested in the knowledge of the dragons than she is killing them.
  • Sword and Sorcerer: The Sword to Esbern's Sorcerer.
  • Ungrateful Bastard: Even after everything you do for her, which includes helping her slay a dragon, spying on the Thalmor, rescuing her associate, opening up the Blades' old base of operations, and bringing her new recruits to the order, she'll refuse to have any more dealings with you should you not kill Paarthurnax.
  • You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: More or less says this is the case for Paarthurnax.

Hadvar

Voiced by: Jonas Fisch

A description of the character goes here.

  • Action Survivor
  • The Archer
  • Badass: In universe, surviving Helgen qualifies you.
  • Come with Me If You Want to Live
  • Good Counterpart/Evil Counterpart: To Ralof, depending on what side the Dragonborn takes in the war.
  • It Gets Easier: Hadvar discusses this with you at one point, and wonders if it's really a good thing.
  • The Lancer: To a pro-Imperial Dragonborn.
  • Nice Guy:
    • He's visibly uncomfortable with executing people without cause. Won't hesitate to help you when a dragon arrives. And while other Legionnaires are disturbingly gung-ho about killing Stormcloaks, he actually feels bad about killing his countrymen and wishes there could be a peaceful resolution soon.
    • Further, if you escape Helgen with him and follow him to Riverwood he explains various things you pass, fights animals with you, invites you into his Uncle's home, shares supplies, compliments you on your abilities and says to avoid Imperial patrols until you meet General Tullius so that you are not mistakenly arrested again.
  • Not So Different: To Ralof. Over the course of the Legion questline, Hadvar expresses many of the same views as Ralof about the war, a truce and taking the lives of Stormcloaks. Of course, this is probably because they fill the same role in their respective questlines. It should also be noted that Hadvar and Ralof both know each other, both being from Riverwood, and neither of them like the other.
  • Real Men Love Jesus
  • Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right: First shows signs of this when he objects to Helgen's Captain ordering your execution (the Captain sharply orders him to shut up), and shows it in full force when he offers to help you escape Alduin despite the fact that you're technically a convicted "Stormcloak".

Commander Maro

Leader of the Penitus Oculatus, the emperor's bodyguards since the fall of the Blades.

  • Adult Fear: In order to throw him off his game, the Dark Brotherhood takes advantage of this trope by subjecting him to the worst fear of every parent with a child in the military, police force, or other dangerous job that pits them against dangerous people: murdering his son in the line of duty.
  • Asshole Victim: From a Dark Brotherhood player's point of view, he fits the bill. He does, after all, put your sanctuary to the torch and kill almost every single one of your dark brothers and sisters despite making a deal with Astrid and promising that he'd leave the Dark Brotherhood alone. He’s quite smug about it too when he reveals that he tricked you when you first try to assassinate the emperor.
  • Benevolent Boss: Not only is he a good father, but if you listen to his chit-chat with a Penitus Oculatus soldier before avenging your dark brothers and sisters, it also becomes clear that he treats his men kindly and with respect.
  • Big Bad: Of the Dark Brotherhood questline, by way of being the Hero Antagonist who proves to be the biggest obstacle in your path when you try to kill the Emperor.
  • Big Good: If you choose to destroy the Dark Brotherhood, instead of joining it.
  • Expy: Of Adamus Philida, both being Imperial commanders that threaten the Dark Brotherhood.
  • Good Parents: While he only interacts with Gaius once, it's clear that he's an excellent father who raised his boy well.
  • Hero Antagonist: Seeing as the Dark Brotherhood commits many exceptionally monstrous crimes over the course of the game, he ends up fitting the bill for this trope.
  • It's Personal: His primary motivation for going after the Dark Brotherhood is because you murdered his son and framed him for treason.
  • Karmic Death: You can inflict two different ones on him, should you wish. You can literally stab him in the back just like how he figuratively stabbed the Dark Brotherhood in the back. Likewise, you can burn him to death after he burnt your home to the ground (and if you liked or at least sympathize with Astrid, you can pay him back for what he did to her as well).
  • Kick the Dog: For a man who's by all means a Hero Antagonist, smugly admitting that he's glad you killed the Emperor's decoy is a startling dick move seeing as how the man's worst crime is acting a tad smug.
  • Kill It With Fire: He has the Falkreath Sanctuary flooded with oil and scorched beyond repair. While it seems that most of the Dark Brotherhood are killed by his men, Astrid is horribly, fatally burnt as a result.
  • Oh Crap: He does this if you choose to confront him after the raid of the Dark Brotherhood sanctuary, complete with rabid, horrified Angrish.
  • Older Than They Look: He’s old enough for Gaius, his son, to be an adult with an important government job, yet he looks to be around the same age as he is.
  • Papa Wolf: He's incredibly concerned with his son's well-being by default, so when he finds out that he was murdered and slandered as part of a Dark Brotherhood plot, he goes BALLISTIC.
  • Praetorian Guard: Like the Blades before him, his duty is to protect the Emperor of Tamriel from all kinds of threats.
  • Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Torches the Falkreath Sanctuary and wipes out most of the Dark Brotherhood in order to avenge his son's death.
  • Sarcastic Clapping: Does this when he reveals that he was several steps ahead of you, and that the "Emperor" you murdered was actually the man's decoy.
  • Smug Snake: While he's competent enough to wipe out most of the Dark Brotherhood, he's just too damn arrogant to ensure that he can snuff out the remaining few. Because he can't resist the temptation to gloat and rub his deception in your face, you're given the opportunity to escape his ambush and are prepared for the carnage unleashed upon the Falkreath Sanctuary. He also indirectly gives you the motivation to hunt him down later and pay him back several times over.
  • Too Dumb to Live: Betraying the Dark Brotherhood after striking a deal with them was probably the dumbest thing he could have done.
  • Villainous Widow's Peak: Amusingly, he has this going on despite being a Hero Antagonist. He's also rocking a Not-So-Villainous Goatee as well.
  • You Killed My Father: The Dark Brotherhood has his son killed, so he obliterates their sanctuary in return.

Gaius Maro

A Penitus Oculatus agent, and the son of Commander Maro. His duties to the Emperor take him far and wide across Skyrim, with him scoping out Imperial and Stormcloak-alligned cities alike to see if they're safe in the event of the Emperor potentially visiting the continent.

  • Friendly Enemy: To the Stormcloaks, since part of his job is to visit their territory as well as that directly controlled by the Empire. He's allowed to freely visit even Windhelm, which doesn't make much sense until Fridge Brilliance sets in: while Ulfric hates the empire as a whole, he's content with merely kicking the occupying legionnaires out of Skyrim as opposed to waging war with the emperor himself. If it means preventing the might of the entire legion from descending upon his rebellion, he'd be willing to play nice with Gaius and ensure that Emperor Titus can visit without incident.
  • Like Father, Like Son: Serves the exact same organization as his father, to the point of working directly under him.
  • Praetorian Guard: Like his father, he's part of the Penitus Oculatus, the organization tasked with protecting the Emperor in light of the Blades' disbandment.
  • Small Role, Big Impact: His presence in the Dark Brotherhood questline is meager, and in the grand scheme of things he's little more than a stepping stone on the path to murdering the Emperor. However, his death is the crime that puts a target on the Brotherhood's back, gets most of its members killed, and causes Astrid to sell you out in hopes of saving it from total annihilation.
  • Strong Family Resemblance: While his skin's a lot darker than his father's, he shares his strong jawline and many of his other facial features.
  • Stuffed in the Fridge: What his role in the Dark Brotherhood questline amounts to: dying in a horrible, undeserving way in order to motivate his father into putting a decisive end to his killers.

Emperor Titus Mede II

Voiced by: Wes Johnson

Current ruler of the Empire. His namesake was the founder of the Mede dynasty.

  • Badass Grandpa: A talented general, he managed to encircle the entire Dominion army occupying the Imperial City during the Great War and obliterate it. He then captured Lord Naarfin, the Thalmor commander, and hung him from the White-Gold Tower, alive, for thirty-three days before having him killed. One account suggests the Thalmor commander was carried off by daedra on the thirty-fourth day. However, there are some vague implications that he might be a closeted Daedra worshipper.
  • Bigger Bad: If you're a Stormcloak.
  • The Emperor
  • Face Death with Dignity: And how.
  • I Did What I Had to Do: His, and by extension, the Empire's justification for the White-Gold Concordat.
  • Last Request: Before you kill him, he asks that you kill the man who contracted you to kill him.
  • Reasonable Authority Figure
  • Vindicated by History: In universe, his decision to retreat from the Imperial City and link up with reinforcements from Skyrim. Those armies later crushed the Thalmor and saved the Empire from total destruction at the Battle of the Red Ring.
  • Won the War, Lost the Peace: Titus II ultimately accomplished his goal in making the Thalmor retreat from Cyrodiil, but was unable to capitalize on that victory because his army and empire were in no condition to continue. The White-Gold Concordat was the best he was able to get out of the Thalmor, but it wasn't acceptable to the Stormcloaks, hence the Civil War. Furthermore, the Concordat also ruined relations with Hammerfell, who rejected the treaty.
  • You Can't Fight Fate: He believes that once you're targeted by the Dark Brotherhood, there is no escaping them.

Amaund Motierre

A slimy, enigmatic Breton who serves as a member of Emperor Titus Mede’s Elder Council. His family has a history with the Dark Brotherhood, and he follows in the footsteps of his ancestor Francois by hiring the Brotherhood for a very special contract: the murder of the emperor himself.

  • Asshole Victim: Definitely fits the bill if you choose to honor the emperor's last request and kill him, seeing as how he's a social-climbing snake of a man who betrayed his ruler in order to further his ambitions.
  • Call Back: He's another sleazy little man named Motierre who hires the Dark Brotherhood for an unconventional contract, making him one of several big, fat Call Backs to Oblivion.
  • The Chessmaster: Let's give him credit where it's due; smug little prick he may be, Amaund's master plan is incredibly intricate and well thought-out. He's taken a lot of time to make sure the assassination of the emperor goes off without a hitch by carefully researching his smaller targets, accurately predicting how the big guy and his security will react to their deaths and planning accordingly, as well as finding a massive weak point in his security detail for you to exploit. While the initial plan ends up failing, it's only due to Astrid selling you out to Maro and things spiraling out of control from there as opposed to anything he did wrong.
  • Noble Demon: While he's got all the trappings of a Smug Snake, he proves to be a reliable client who pays you generously, is understanding when things go awry, and never seems to even think of betraying you. This might at least be part of the reason why killing him after you've assassinated the emperor is optional as opposed to mandatory.
  • Secret Keeper: Has one in the form of Rexus, a hulking Imperial soldier who accompanies him everywhere as his one-man security detail. Thanks to being a lifelong servant of his family, he's perfectly willing to trust him with his shady, highly treasonous dealings with the Dark Brotherhood.
  • Slime Ball: There's no denying that he's also this, however. Nazir even lampshades it, calling him a "Slimy Breton" at one point.
  • Well-Intentioned Extremist: Interestingly, Amaund seems to genuinely think that you've done not only him, but Skyrim and even Tamriel as a whole a big service by killing the emperor. His tone is far more sincere than it would be if he was purely motivated by a lust for power, which really raises the question of what he was truly after by pursuing such a dangerous goal.
  • You Don't Look Like You: Famously, there are actually two separate Amaund Motierre models that are used for the same character, and they look entirely different from one another. Since one is more disheveled than the other, the intent seems to be rooted in the devs wanting Amaund to look visibly stressed out from pulling a stunt as dangerous as orchestrating the assassination of the emperor. It doesn't stop fans from running with the theory that the second Motierre is actually a body double, though.

Legate Fasendil

An Altmer Legate, in charge of the Rift hold.

  • Mauve Shirt: While he's as minor of a character as all the other Imperial Legates in charge of overseeing affairs in their assigned Holds, he's the only one with a properly realized, unique characterization that sheds interesting light on the Thalmor and their relationship with non-alligned High Elves.
  • My Country, Right or Wrong: Why he's in the Legion. The Empire isn't perfect, but it's the best option Tamriel has, and the best way he can protect Tamriel is by being a Legionaire.
  • My Species Doth Protest Too Much: He's an Altmer legate in the Legion, and has nothing but scorn for the Thalmor. He was in Hammerfell searching for relatives amongst the dissident refugees from Summerset on the "Night of Green Fire", where Thalmor agents decided to pursue the refugees into Hammerfell to slaughter them wholesale. Despite the best efforts of him and any other on-leave legionaries he could round up, it was for naught.
  • Physical Scars, Psychological Scars: He has a noticeable scar across his face. From the description he gives of his service, it's clear that his permanent scowl isn't due to typical Altmer haughtiness so much as it is from all the grim things he's seen in the service.
  • Really 700 Years Old: Like with many High Elves you encounter, he's way older than he looks. Seeing as how he was present during the Night of Green Fire on behalf of the Legion, he's been in service to the Empire well before the game takes place.
  • Token Good Teammate: Not in terms of High Elves as a whole, but in terms of High Elves that are allied with the Empire. He isn't a smug, obnoxious, elitist Thalmor goon, but a good man and soldier who takes his duties as a Legionnaire seriously.

Captain Aldis

Captain of the guard in Solitude. He's in charge of training the guards against outside threats... and a possible siege by the Stormcloaks.

"You don't have to hate a man to kill him... although it helps."

  • My Country, Right or Wrong: He's a loyal soldier of Solitude, regardless of what side it's on in the Civil War.
  • Nice Guy: Didn't want to break the news to poor Angeline about her daughter's death, but can be easily Persuaded that telling her the truth is the right thing to do.

The Captain

A rude and belligerent Imperial officer tasked with overseeing the execution of Ulfric Stormcloak, his supporters, and anyone else caught up in the ambush that resulted in their arrest. She knows that you're not slated for execution, but doesn't care.

  • Asshole Victim: If you escape with Ralof, you and him get to kill her on your way out of Helgen. Bonus points for getting to use axes after she orders your unlawful execution (though sadly, you can't decapitate her since you don't have the perk for it yet).
  • General Ripper: Doesn't give a rat's ass if you aren't actually a Stormcloak; if she says you're going on the chopping block, you're going on the chopping block. No exceptions.
  • Hate Sink: It's clear that between her hostile attitude and kill-happy tendencies, she wasn't made to be a likable character. It's not uncommon for players to join the Stormcloaks simply because she alone made the prospect of joining the Imperials that unpalatable. Likewise, players who side with the Empire are known to escape with Ralof just so they can kill her, since she's absent when you escape with Hadvar.
  • Jerkass: Is willing to have people executed just for being at the wrong place at the wrong time, and her rude treatment of Hadvar shows that she isn't a single bit nicer to the people on her side of the fence.
  • Politically Incorrect Villain: If you play as an Argonian or Khajiit, she'll flippantly call you "lizard" or "cat", Fantastic Slurs for both respective races.
  • Small Role, Big Impact: Her role is so small that she doesn't even have a proper name, but by trying to execute the player against Hadvar's urging, she can end up giving you just enough motivation to join the Stormcloaks, completely push the empire out of Skyrim, and fully legitimize Ulfric's claim to the throne of high king.

The Companions

A group of rough-and-tumble folks who excel at strength-at-arms. Their order traces its origins back to the original companions of Ysgramor, the harbinger of humanity when they first landed on the shores of Skyrim. As such, they adhere to an honor code that holds them to a higher standard than any old band of thugs. Headquartered in the mead hall Jorrvaskr, in Whiterun, in front of the legendary Sky Forge.

The Guild In General

  • Anarchy Is Chaos: Averted. They operate without a defined leader, although the Harbinger comes fairly close to one. Not that it stops Vilkas from referring to Kodlak as "master" despite his objections.
  • An Axe to Grind: They gather and protect the fragments of Wuuthrad, legendary axe of the first Nord king Ysgramor. You acquire the reassembled weapon at the end of the quest.
  • Animal Motifs: Their uniform carries a very heavy wolf motif. Given their predicament, this is ironic.
  • Anti-Hero: They're good people who protect Whiterun and are noble warriors, but they're werewolves, and many of them embrace the gift and indulge it frequently. Some of them are also not that nice, though they warm up as you prove yourself on quests for them.
    • They're also not above acting as hired muscle to intimidate others, specifically trouble-makers.
  • Expy: Meet the local Fighters Guild and werewolves.
  • Five-Man Band: The Circle.
  • Friendly Neighborhood Vampire Subverted: Vilkas and Farkas will eventually request that you help them cure their lycanthropy. The Dovahkiin can cure themselves too, making Aela the only werewolf in the Circle, and by extension, the entire guild.
  • Good Is Not Soft: Law-abiding citizens usually don't have anything to fear from the Companions. Usually. However, Farkas can sometimes send you out to "put a trouble-making citizen back in line" by beating the tar out of them in a fistfight. And said "trouble-making citizen" can be anyone from beggars to shopkeepers and even pregnant women.
  • Meaningful Name: Like the name suggest, completing their quests will eventually give you access to seven potential companions.
  • Our Werewolves Are Different: The Circle is made up entirely of werewolves that are in full control of themselves when they transform. Once you partake in the beast blood (and have Dawnguard installed), you can call upon wolves and other werewolves to help you out, and enemies running away screaming with a single roar.
  • PMC: They've been this at points in time. However, they're neutral as far as the Civil War goes and mostly take jobs to deal with criminals or to clear out crypts.
  • Rated "M" for Manly: They're a guild of grizzled Vikings who live in a great meadhall to rival Heorot, value strength and honor above all else, and who never shy away from battle.
  • True Companions: As well as being part of their name, it's emphasized that the group is essentially like a family and consider each other brothers/sisters in arms. Of course, there are limits to this in the case of Arnbjorn, who was kicked out for presumably being too bloodthirsty for the group.

Kodlak Whitemane

Voiced by: Michael Donovan

The current Harbinger of the group, he's getting a bit world-weary.

  • 100% Adoration Rating: Every Companion adores the old man. Even Skjor and Aela, who embrace their werewolf identity and can't empathize with Kodlak for wanting to find a cure for his own lycanthropy, are otherwise nothing but respectful towards him.
  • Badass: Comes with the territory when you're the leader of a group founded by Ysgramor himself.
  • Badass Grandpa: His sobriquet isn't "Whitemane" for nothing...
    • Badass Long Hair: Not as long as Farkas', but he's still got quite the impressive 'do.
  • Cool Old Guy: Cool enough to command the respect of damn near everyone living in Whiterun. Just look at how many people are in attendance at his funeral!
  • Dreaming of Things to Come: After his death, and you are declared the new Harbinger, you can find his journal in his room: reading it will reveal that he dreamed that you would aid him in battling the beast spirit and freeing him to go to Sovngarde some time before he actually met you, and that this dream is largely responsible for the trust he had for you.
  • Drop the Hammer: His weapon of choice is apparently a Steel Warhammer.
  • A Father to His Men: Being a Harbinger is basically being a father figure to the Companions, dispensing guidance and wisdom on matters of honour. But specifically, he's a father figure to the player. As he's the only Companion aside from Farkas who starts out warmly receiving you. His journal also sings your praises and he laments that he hasn't had more opportunities to speak with you. And after his death you are told he loved you very much, much like a father.
  • Final Boss: Not Kodlak himself, but the wolf spirit tethering him to Hircine's realm is this for the Companions' questline.
  • From Bad to Worse: Beating the Companions' Questline before defeating Alduin will put Kodlak in the horrifying position of dodging an eternity in Hircine's Hunting Grounds only to face potential oblivion at Alduin's jaws once he retreats to Sovngarde to feast on the souls of the dead. And yes, he CAN and probably WILL get snapped up by the guy before you finally defeat him.
  • Gameplay and Story Integration: If you complete the Companions' Questline before beating the Main Quest, you will indeed see Kodlak when you go to Sovngarde. Ysgramor also acknowledges him, and will beg you to defeat Alduin before he snaps up the old man and devours his soul.
  • Gameplay and Story Segregation: Notice that the warhammer mentioned in his Drop the Hammer bit is a Steel Warhammer, and not the "Skyforge" variety favored by the rest of the Companions. There aren't any bludgeoning weapons forged from Skyforge Steel, so that's the next best thing he can wield.
    • A smaller, more amusing example would be his ghost scolding you for stealing and forcing you to pay a fine if you've racked up a bounty among the Companions before meeting him in Ysgramor's Tomb.
  • Handicapped Badass: Official materials state that Kodlak is terminally ill (thanks to a disease called "the rot"), which prevents him from actively taking part in missions out in the field. It's also why he's so obsessed with curing his lycanthropy, since it will prevent him from going to Sovngarde otherwise.
  • Miles to Go Before I Sleep: He longs for the Nordic afterlife of Sovngarde, but his obligations as Harbinger and his knowledge that werewolves are bound for Hircine's Realm are keeping him from it.
  • Oh Crap: A mild example, but he's visibly shaken if you think to go back to Jorrvaskr and ask him about what it's like to be a werewolf once you've seen Farkas transform, but haven't cleared out Dustman's Cairn.
  • Proud Warrior Race Guy: While not as gung-ho about it as others, he takes pride in being a Nord warrior and looks down on those who prefer sneaking and underhanded tactics over confronting their problems head-on.
  • Real Men Love Jesus: While he refuses to take a stance regarding the Civil War, he, at the very least, is a devout Talos worshiper and wants to go to Sovngarde once he dies.
  • Viking Funeral: Gets killed in the course of the Companions' main quest by the group's mortal enemies, the werewolf-hunting Silver Hand. His funeral pyre is in the fire pit of the Sky Forge, attended by a lot of notables from Whiterun including the current Jarl. His ashes somehow reinvigorate the Sky Forge.

Aela the Huntress

Voiced by: Claudia Christian

An accomplished Nord warrior and huntress who serves as a member of the Companions' Inner Circle. She's also a werewolf, and is far more in-tune with her bestial side than most of her friends.

  • Action Girl: She's one of three female members of the Companions, and among its strongest fighters overall.
  • The Archer: Her preferred fighting style.
  • Axe Crazy: A bit. Her beastblood may or may not have something to do with it.
  • Badass Family: Comes from a long line of former Companions.
  • Blood Knight: She's the only member of the companions who's vocal about wanting to fight in the Civil War. Notably though, she doesn't state a preference for either side, she's just worried others are stealing honor and glory that belongs to the Companions. She also has a lust for hunting.
    • She will fight for your side in the Battle for Whiterun if you are married to her, have her as your follower, and side with the Stormcloaks. She is stationed by the Imperial archers and starts taking them out the moment you get to the gate.
  • Cursed with Awesome: She embraces her lycanthropy and views it as a gift instead of a curse.
  • Cynical Mentor: She initially believes the Dragonborn needs to earn the right to be one of the Companions.
    • Its telling however that she deems you worthy when Kodlak reveals she's only come to you to take on the Silver Hand.
  • Fiery Redhead: A fierce Hot-Blooded Action Girl who embraces the "gift" of lycanthropy and leads you on a two-man revenge crusade against the Silver Hand for killing Skjor.
  • Heroes Want Redheads: If the Dovahkiin chooses to marry her.
  • Hot Amazon: A rare example in that while she's a beautiful, scantily-clad, badass Nord warrior, she's a Daedra worshiper instead of a typical worshiper of Talos.
  • Jerk With a Heart of Gold: Aela is among the slowest to warm up to you, and insults you to your face if you come across the Companions fighting a Giant and don't help (or more accurately, aren't fast enough to help) with killing it. But once you've proved your worth to the group, she proves to be very accepting of you, and is more than happy to recognize you as the new Harbinger of the Companions once Kodlak passes on.
  • Love Interest: A potential marriage candidate. She's a popular one for obvious reasons.
  • May–December Romance: Subverted. There's a rumor going around that she's involved with Skjor, but she states that it is untrue. In reality, they slip out together so they can hunt in their werewolf forms.
  • Ms. Fanservice: Definitely one of the hottest girls in the game, thanks to her good looks and incredibly skimpy outfit.
  • Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Aela's Roaring Rampage of Revenge leads to the Silver Hand retaliating and Kodlak being killed.
  • Roaring Rampage of Revenge: After The Silver Hand kills Skjor, she enlists the Dovahkiin's help in taking the fight to them.
  • Sexy Backless Outfit: Her armor shows a lot of sexy back.
  • Sideboob: Her armor shows off quite a bit of this.
  • Stripperific: It's not apparent when you're facing her from the front. But when you see her from behind? Oh yeah.
  • Tribal Face Paint: Hers looks like claw marks, and give the impression of her being raked across the face by a bear or troll.

Farkas

Voiced by: Popeye Vogelsang

A strong, simple man. Twin brother of Vilkas.

  • Badass Baritone: Has a deep, gritty voice.
  • Beware the Nice Ones: Quite possibly the nicest of the Companions, but pose as a threat to him or his shield-brethern, and he will tear you a new one.
  • BFS: His default weapon.
  • Book Dumb: While often called the Dumb Muscle of the group, he doesn't really come off as "stupid" so much as he does uneducated. He's prone to Buffy Speak and the extent of his understanding regarding Ysgramor and his campaigns against the Snow Elves is that "He came from the ancient homeland and killed all the elves. But not all of 'em, because some of 'em are still here."
  • Different As Night and Day: He's the stronger of the twins, even regarding his lycanthropy: he can withstand the bloody urges of his bestial nature better than his brother.
  • Dumb Muscle: He's aware he is, though it doesn't phase him much. Interestingly enough, there are hints that he's a lot smarter than he seems.
  • Five-Finger Discount: Believe it or not, he has the highest pickpocket stat of any potential Follower.
  • Gentle Giant: A bear of a man, but he's also one of the friendliest Companions the Dovahkiin encounters and is quick to accept him/her into the group (especially compared to his brother, who isn't convinced you're good enough).
  • Hidden Depths: While treated like the Dumb Muscle of his group, a proper examination of his in-game stats reveals that he's got a lot of talents unbecoming of your typical Companion (to the point of quite possibly being a closeted Genius Bruiser). His highest stats include Smithing, Speech, and Pickpocketing. Judging by the lute in his room, he might also have a knack for music and poetry.
  • Love Interest: Becomes a candidate for marriage once you complete the Companions' questline.
  • Meaningful Name: Hungarian for "wolf".
  • Mr. Fanservice: Has his share of fangirls among the community. Might have something to do with being a big, friendly, musclebound Hunk.
  • Nice Guy: Again, he's an easy-going and friendly man who is happy to welcome you into Jorrvaskr. He's also one of the nicest Companions overall, along with Kodlak and Ria.
  • Perma-Stubble: Sports this instead of the stereotypical Nord beard.
  • Stone Wall: He's the Master trainer for the Heavy Armor skill.
  • Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Becomes afraid of frostbite spiders after a mission.

Vilkas

Voiced by: Michael Gough

Twin brother to Farkas, a more contemplative and thoughtful counterpart to his twin.

  • Badass He's a Genius Bruiser who prefers to fight with broadswords and other two-handed weapons.
  • BFS: His default weapon, like his brother. He's also the Companions' designated Two-Handed Weapons trainer, so he can even teach you a thing or two about over-sized weaponry. He's also seen lecturing the other members on the finer points of two-handers.
  • Cynical Mentor: He tells Kodlak when you first join the Companions that you don't seem Companion material. If you're perform especially well against him (i.e. deal a lot of damage), he compliments your combat prowess greatly, however. And at the end of the Companions Questchain, he accepts you as Harbinger, with the knowledge that you're an especially good fighter.
  • Different As Night and Day: The smarter of the twins, he is prone to and fearful of succumbing to the more savage urges of lycanthropy.
  • Flat Earth Atheist: While his religious beliefs aren't deeply expanded upon, he makes it clear that he doesn't give a damn about the worship of Talos being outlawed, which is his reason for remaining neutral on the civil war (aside from the Companion Tradition of not getting involved in politics). As he puts it, "Who cares who worships which dead gods? Give me a reason to draw my sword!".
    • Yet, there is a copy of Nords Arise! in his room, hinting that he may be a Stormcloak sympathizer and may be resentful of the Talos ban. That or he just reads whatever he gets his hands on.
  • Genius Bruiser: He's said to have the intellect of Ysgramor. And while Farkas is said to have his strengths, Vilkas is no wimp either.
  • Heroic BSOD: After his Roaring Rampage of Revenge, he realized that it was not how Kodlak would have wanted, and is overwhelmed by his guilt and sadness to the point that he won't follow the player character and others into Ysgramor's tomb.
  • Jerk With a Heart of Gold: A lot rougher around the edges than his brother, and it takes him a while to stop looking down on you and openly insulting your intelligence. But once he warms up to you, he proves to be a valuable ally and becomes a lot nicer overall.
  • The Lancer: For you should you join the Companions. He also seems to be your second-in-command when you're Harbinger.
  • Love Interest: A potential candidate for marriage once you've completed his faction's questline.
  • Meaningful Name: Lithuanian for "wolf". Also Finnish and Hungarian for 'lively', ironically.
  • Perma-Stubble: Has some, much like his brother.
  • Roaring Rampage of Revenge: After Kodlak was killed by the Silver Hand, he and the player character set off to recover the stolen artifacts and went on a rampage on the Silver Hand encampment.

Skjor

A member of the Companions' Inner Circle, and a former legionnaire.

  • Back-to-Back Badasses: Not seen, but apparently, he and Kodlak once defeated 101 orc berserkers in battle together, according to Ria. He claims it was more like 40.
  • Bald of Awesome: He's still got hair (enough to tie back into a ponytail, even), but there isn't any on the top of his head.
  • Blood Brothers: He's stood side by side in battle with every member of the companions, and trusts each of them with his life, which is more than he can say about the family that raised him. As he puts it, "The bonds of sweat are stronger than those of blood."
  • Cursed with Awesome: Like Aela, he embraces lycanthropy despite Kodlak's concerns.
  • Dropped a Bridge on Him: He dies abruptly after you've turned into a werewolf for the first time.
  • I Got Better: Hilariously, he has a good chance of returning to life just as abruptly and can randomly pop back up in Jorrvaskr like nothing ever happened.
  • Jerk With a Heart of Gold: A bit mean and all-too-willing to remind you that you need to prove yourself to him, but he genuinely likes you and is glad to call you his brother/sister-in-arms. He's especially proud to welcome you into The Circle proper by turning you into a fellow werewolf.
  • Leeroy Jenkins: He dies after charging into a Silver Hand encampment and getting in over his head.
  • Old Soldier: He served in the Imperial Legion a while back, and looks as old and grizzled as you'd expect.
  • Meaningful Name: Skjor is Norwegian for 'fragile'. Guess how long he lasts in this quest chain.

Njada Stonearm

A rude and confrontational member of the Companions.

  • Hot Amazon: She's no Aela, but she's still quite the looker herself.
  • Jerkass: Violently hostile and unlikable, and views you as little better than the dirt she walks on. Even when you become Harbinger, she still has the audacity to sneer that you have no guidance to offer her.
  • The Ladette: You first see her beating Athis in a fist-fight, and takes pride in her skills as a warrior.
  • Love Interest: Of the Tsundere variety, once you become Harbinger of the Companions.
  • Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: Favors a sword and shield combo, and trains in the blocking skill.
  • Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Apparently, she and Athis just don't like each other. When you first enter Jorrvaskr, they start to brawl, and she ends up beating the hell out of him. By the comments made by some of the other companions who are watching, this is a fairly regular occurrence.
  • Tsundere: Type A. Her usual reactions to you aren't all that friendly, but every now and then, you can spot the nice. Especially if you marry her, in which case pretty much all the jerk in her dissolves... for you, at least. She's rather schizophrenic about it. After becoming the Harbinger, she sarcastically asks about what guidance you can offer her. When you press E to talk with her, she genuinely calls you a true and great friend.

Ria

Before you came along, she was the newest member of the Companions.

  • Action Girl: One of the group's few female members, and you're likely to first encounter her while she and her teammates are fighting a Giant.
  • Badass Adorable: Quite possibly the cutest, cheeriest ass-kicker that Skyrim has to offer.
  • Love Interest: Becomes eligible for marriage once you've beaten the Companions' questline.
  • Naive Newcomer: Also a Wide-Eyed Idealist. She has quite an idealistic view about the Companions, mostly because she grew up hearing legendary tales about them. She's also the newest member of the group (other than you).
  • Nice Girl: She's a sweetheart with a sunny disposition.
  • Psycho Lesbian: Apparently, there's a glitch that causes her to attack you if you marry Aela. Fandom's chosen to interpret this as her being in love with Aela and trying to kill you in a fit of jealously. There are some subtle hints that she might be into Aela, though its hard to tell if it's Les Yay or hero worship.
  • Token Minority: The only Imperial in the group.

Athis

Voiced by: Keith Szarabajka

A Dunmer bladesman, making him an oddity in the almost entirely Nordic ranks of the Companions.

  • Arrogant Kung Fu Guy: Fairly subtle about it, but when discussing weapon preferences with Torvar, he claims he could strike the Nord several times before he finished his swing. He acts just as uppity with Farkas, but unlike with Torvar, he gets put in his place rather quickly.
  • Foreign Culture Fetish: Downplayed. He still considers himself a proud Dunmer and mainly joined the Companions for "Fortune and glory", but he also has genuine respect for the old Nord ways.
  • Glory Seeker: Openly and proudly proclaims himself to be one when asked why he joined the Companions.

Fortune and glory, friend. Fortune and glory.

  • Jerk With a Heart of Gold: Arrogant, rude, and openly distasteful towards those he finds stupid and annoying. With that being said, he respects his shield-brothers and sisters and is openly sorrowful when Skjor and Kodlak die. If Torvar complains to him about how he feels that the Circle lord their authority and seniority over the younger members, he'll even tell him to put a lid on it because it's smart for younger warriors to listen to their elders.
  • Knife Nut: Prefers shortblades. Gets into arguments with other Companions over their effectiveness.
  • Love Interest: Yet another Companion who can be romanced once you beat their associated questline.
  • Token Minority: Not just the only Dark Elf among the Companions, but the only Elf period.

Torvar

A junior member of the Companions who is in it more for the mead-drinking than the fighting.

  • The Alcoholic: He always seems to be in a semi-hungover state, and will wistfully mention how he can smell the scent of honey from the local brewery on the wind.
  • Blood Knight: Despite joining up for no other reason than to pay off his debts, he does enjoy the combat aspect of his provision as much as the next Nord.
  • Functional Addict: He's more of an outright alcoholic than "merely" a Nord with a taste for mead. Still, it doesn't make him any less effective in battle.
  • Let's Get Dangerous: In the aftermath of the Silver Hand attacking Jorrvaskr and murdering Kodlak, you'll find him standing over the corpse of one of their thugs. Talk to him, and he'll encourage you to wipe them all out.
  • Love Interest: Yet again, he's a Companion, and thus can be married once you've beaten their associated questline.
  • The Slacker: Not in the sense that he's lazy, but in the sense that he's allergic to training. If he had his way, he'd rush straight into battle without a care in the world. Farkas isn't having any of it, though.

Tilma the Haggard

The housekeeper for Jorrvaskr for as long as anyone can remember. Not officially a member of the Companions, but still a close confidante.

  • Cool Old Lady: While not a fighter or even a Companion herself, she's still considered a beloved and respected member of their "family". She's also just as willing to throw down if you pick a fight with her, using the exact same dialogue as the Companions when you start roughing them up.
  • Maid: As mentioned above, she's Jorrvaskr's maid and is often seen walking around and sweeping the floors.
  • Parental Substitute: She was Vilkas and Farkas' mother figure back when they were growing up.
  • Secret Keeper: She hints that she knows about the Circle's lycanthropy.

Eorlund Gray-Mane

The master blacksmith who works the legendary Sky Forge, which is capable of creating steel of exquisite quality. Also not an actual member but a supporter.

  • Badass: Reforging the legendary axe of the father of the Nordic people and one of the mightiest weapons of Tamriel perhaps qualifies you for this.
  • Badass Beard: Sports one along with some Badass Long Hair for good measure.
  • Badass Grandpa: Eorlund will not hesitate to help you take out the guards if they're after you.
  • The Blacksmith: Considered by most to be the finest in Skyrim, and by some to be the finest in Tamriel. Though at least one of his competitors mentions that while Eorlund is exceptionally skilled, working the Sky Forge gives him an unfair advantage.
  • Cool Old Guy: Offers the player advice on how to handle themselves in the Companions, telling them not do whatever they're told just because they're the new meat.
  • Insufferable Genius: Can come off as a bit of this at times when responding to questions he finds obvious.
  • Jerk With a Heart of Gold: While rude at times, he's a good man and quite friendly to a Dragonborn who doesn't ask questions that he finds stupid or overly obvious.
  • The Ultimate Blacksmith: After Kodlak's funeral he reforges Wuuthrad, fabled axe of Ysgramor, founder of the Companions. He's also the master smithing trainer.
    • Also runs The Ultimate Forge: after the final Companion quest, the Skyforge can forge a unique set of equipment and weapons.

The Dark Brotherhood

The Affably Evil followers of Sithis and the Night Mother. This once infamous order of assassins has fallen on hard times. Only one Sanctuary remains in all of Tamriel, and the Night Mother has fallen silent since the last Listener died. Without her, Black Sacraments have gone unheard, forcing the order to physically scour for those seeking contracts. A new Listener would turn things around, or the wrong person can destroy the organization forever...

The Dark Brotherhood in General

  • Affably Evil: They're probably the friendliest, chummiest gang of assassins you'll ever meet. Even the grumpiest members will come around to you before too long.
  • Back From the Brink: By the time the events of this game transpire, the Dark Brotherhood is a shell of its former self and on the verge of total collapse. The organization as a whole has been gutted, with the Night Mother going silent (at first), the Black Hand being totally annihilated (Listener included), and there only being one active sanctuary left on the entire continent. You can restore this group back to its former glory by joining it... or you can deal the death blow needed to wipe it off the face of Tamriel entirely. Or do you? After all, Babette and Cicero do slip away with the Night Mother if you opt to destroy it...
  • Carnival of Killers: Members of this eccentric, dangerous gang of assassins include a grumpy werewolf, an even grumpier old man, a vampire who looks like an adorable little girl, and a schizophrenic jester with no concept of an indoor voice.
  • Dark Is Evil: No shit, Sherlock.
  • Equal Opportunity Evil: Nords, Redguards, Dunmer, Argonians, vampires, and werewolves. Oh my! Just like in Oblivion, the Brotherhood is a diverse bunch.
  • Evil Is One Big Happy Family: Everyone gets along swimmingly, and most of them welcome you into the fold with open arms (but even the meaner members come to like you as you progress through the group's main quest).
  • The Purge: You get to inflict one upon them if you decide to destroy them, and only two members survive your wrath. Sadly, they still get purged anyway if you join them.
  • Red and Black and Evil All Over: The group's signature colors are red and black, and their outfits are designed with this in mind. Even Babette, Nazir, and Cicero, who all wear outfits different than the standard-issue robes and armor, still wear appropriately-colored outfits.

The Night Mother

Voiced by: Lani Minella

The true leader of the Dark Brotherhood, but she only communicates with her chosen Listener.

  • Eldritch Abomination/Humanoid Abomination: She's definitely some sort of abomination, that's for sure. Something truly horrific, otherworldly, and demonic. While she's more of a Humanoid Abomination if you accept the usual stories about her as fact, if you're of the belief that she's actually Mephala messing with Sithis worshipers For the Evulz, then she's squarely in the other camp.
  • Even Evil Has Loved Ones: She's actually quite fond of Cicero, and is somewhat regretful of the fact that while she appreciates his devotion to her, he just doesn't have what it takes to be her Listener.
  • Nightmare Face: She's creepy in general, but special mention goes to this thanks to the fact that you're forced to squeeze into her coffin and get up close and personal with her horrific, rotted visage not once, but twice before the questline is over.
  • Offing the Offspring: She bore Sithis five children... and murdered them to gain his approval.
  • Posthumous Character: In the sense that she's a mummified corpse who died long before any games in this series took place, let alone Skyrim (Severa Magia notwithstanding). She's still an active player in the Brotherhood's questline.
  • Rule of Scary: Why is the Night Mother a mummified corpse instead of a skeleton this time around? Because locking yourself in a coffin with a zombified husk is infinitely scarier.
  • Spirit Advisor: To the Brotherhood, albeit through literal word-of-mouth by way of her Listener.
  • You Don't Look Like You: While she's a corpse in both games, she was a skeleton back in Oblivion. Seems like she regrew her mummified flesh between games.

Astrid

Voiced by: Cindy Robinson

Matron of the Falkreath Sanctuary and de-facto leader of the Dark Brotherhood with the Night Mother silent.

  • Affably Evil: Yes, she is an unrepentant murderess, but she genuinely loves her adopted family and is happy to welcome you into the fold. At least, until the Night Mother names you her Listener.
  • Asshole Victim: If you choose to kill her instead of (or along with) the hostages during your initiation? Congratulations! You just killed the leader of Tamriel's most notorious assassin's guild! Even if you join the Brotherhood, she still qualifies not only due to her profession, but her betrayal of you. She isn't entirely unsympathetic, but how bad you feel for her, if you feel bad for her at all, is up to you.
  • Baby Got Back: Her skin-tight Dark Brotherhood outfit is very flattering, and she's often seen leaning over a table and giving you a good look at her butt in the process.
  • Blond Guys Are Evil: Or gals, in her case. She's fair-haired and the leader of a gang of dangerous assassins.
  • Control Freak: She is "Matron" of the Dark Brotherhood and dislikes the idea of a Listener usurping her authority.
  • Creepy Uncle: Had one who molested her as a child. Killing him was her Start of Darkness.
  • Cruel and Unusual Death: Is horribly burnt during the Penitus Oculatus' attack on the Falkreath Sanctuary, and you find her in a state of unimaginable agony before granting her a Mercy Kill. Sure, it was her own fault for betraying you, but... damn...
  • Even Evil Has Loved Ones: For all her flaws, she does genuinely love her fellow assassins (aside from Cicero, at least). Hell, she's even married to one!
  • Even Evil Has Standards: She's genuinely disgusted by child abuse, and tells you straight-up that Grelod deserved to die. Makes sense, given her backstory.
  • Evil Feels Good: Her justification for being an assassin.

I had an uncle, you see. He made certain... unwanted advances. So I killed him. And liked it. Then I killed again. And liked it even more. And so on.

  • Flat Earth Atheist: She doesn't put much stock in the Night Mother despite worshipping Sithis and living in a world full of active gods. A lot of it comes from her being a Control Freak who doesn't want to be overthrown, though one can't help but wonder if the Dark Brotherhood's tumultuous history and subsequent ruination when she was actively communicating with them also plays a part in it.
  • Freudian Excuse: While not much attention is drawn to it, her Control Freak tendencies likely stem from being sexually abused as a child, as well as joining the Dark Brotherhood during its total collapse. The fact that some sort of betrayal alluded to by Delvin Mallory happened during her tenure as a junior member probably contributed to her trust issues/need for control as well.
  • Hazy Feel Turn: She sells out the Dovahkiin to Commander Maro in order to save the Sanctuary. It doesn't work.
  • If You're So Evil Eat This Kitten: She initiates the Dragonborn by forcing him/her to kill one of three bound and gagged individuals. The player can either do so (not that they're particularly likeable people) or kill Astrid instead, which will change the questline to destroying the Dark Brotherhood.
    • Extra funny in that the victims are a terrified mercenary named "Fultheim the Fearless", a jerkass Nord woman, and an incredibly calm and downright hilarious Khajiit gangster.
  • Jerkass Has a Point: While her disrespectful attitude towards the Night Mother violates the tenants of the Dark Brotherhood, it's not hard to see where she's coming from. The Dark Brotherhood's been in a state of decline for a while, and the Night Mother has a bad habit of sitting on her hands and letting her guild come close to collapsing entirely. While Astrid's definitely a Control Freak, it can also be concluded that she might genuinely believe that the Night Mother has long since become an active detriment and a danger to the Guild (or at the very least dangerously useless). Given the implications that the Night Mother and Mephala are one and the same, she might be closer to the truth than she knows.
  • My God What Have I Done?: When found dying as a burnt husk, Astrid shows deep regret for betraying the Dragonborn as it led to most of the Brotherhood being wiped out and apologizes to them after explaining herself, offering herself up as a sacrifice to the Night Mother.
  • Rewarded as a Traitor Deserves: When she sells you out to Commander Maro, all she accomplishes is getting herself and her beloved family killed by him instead.
  • Suicide by Cop: Following Commander Maro's attack and her Heel Realization, she uses her horribly burned body as a Black Sacrament to put a contract on herself.
  • Too Dumb to Live: Sells the player out to Commander Maro, expecting him to leave the Dark Brotherhood alone forever in return. After having his son killed and slandered as a traitor on top of that. To be fair, she was giving up the man/woman who actually killed him, but she still forgot that A. she helped organize his murder to begin with, and B. a grieving father's wrath is a hell of a thing.
  • Unholy Matrimony: She's married to Arnbjorn, though she doesn't like talking about to avoid showing favoritism.
  • The Uriah Gambit: Tries to pull this on you once she realizes that the Dark Brotherhood is in danger of being wiped out by Commander Maro. It doesn't work.
  • Worthy Opponent: If you decide to Take a Third Option and kill her instead of the hostages during your initiation, she actually congratulates you.

Arnbjorn

Voiced by: Popeye Vogelsang

Husband of Astrid and gruff werewolf assassin.

  • An Axe to Grind: A gigantic battleaxe is his signature weapon.
  • Animal Jingoism: When you first enter the Falkreath Sanctuary, the stories swapped by the Dark Brotherhood members about their latest kills turn into them making fun of him for falling prey to this. His most recent victim was an "adorable kitty" (read: a dangerous Khajiit martial artist) that he, a "big doggy", was forced to chase around.
  • Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking:

"Here's all you need to know: I'm a werewolf. I like killing things. I love Astrid. I hate annoying people. And the color blue gives me a headache."

  • Big Badass Wolf: Or in his case, a Big, Badass Werewolf.
  • Blood Knight: To the point that his bloodlust was too much for the Companions.
  • The Brute: Surprisingly so, as one would expect him to be The Dragon given that he's married to Astrid. She doesn't like to play favorites though.
  • Does Not Like Shoes: He goes barefoot everywhere. Most likely due to his lycanthropy.
  • Evil Is Deathly Cold: His battleaxe mentioned above? It has a frost enchantment, making it an example of this.
  • Expy: He's similar to M'raaj-Dar in Oblivion, in that he's an animalistic assassin (in his case, a werewolf instead of a member of the Beast Races) who acts like a raging douche to you for a good chunk of the storyline, only to finally come around to you shortly before he dies.
  • Highly-Visible Ninja: It's hard to get more "highly visible" than a gigantic, slobbery werewolf mauling people to death in broad daylight.
  • Killed Off for Real: No matter if you join or destroy the Brotherhood, he dies anyway.
  • Last Stand: During the Penitus Oculatus' assault on the Falkreath Sanctuary, you arrive just in time for him to die. However, he goes down swinging.
  • Meat-O-Vision: Semi-jokingly claims that in his eyes, everyone is a delicious slab of meat. Thankfully, he has enough self control and respect for his friends/family to not even entertain the idea of eating them.
  • The Nicknamer: He tends to refer to you as food, like "Beef Roast", "Ham Shank" or "Morsel", though he states he doesn't mean anything by it since he sees everyone as food.
  • Pet the Dog: He's a lot nicer to you if you're a fellow werewolf. He knows that you're with the Companions, and sincerely hopes that you'll have better luck with them than he did.
  • Token Evil Teammate: Not for the Dark Brotherhood, obviously, but he used to be this for the Companions. Eventually, they kicked him out over it.
  • Unholy Matrimony: He's married to Astrid.

Nazir

Voiced by: Erik Todd Dellums

A Redguard assassin who helps manage contracts.

Nazir: Congratulations. You slaughtered an emaciated beggar in cold blood. You are truly an opponent to be feared.

  • Defrosting Ice King: When you first start taking jobs from him, he's pretty snarky and standoffish towards you, and isn't that impressed with your low-effort targets. But as you start taking more and more dangerous jobs, he realizes that you're the real deal and that an assassin worthy of fighting vampires, sneaking into and out of forts, and dueling a dangerous pirate captain deserves his respect.
  • The Dragon: He becomes your second in command in the Dawnstar Sanctuary.
  • Evil Sounds Deep: Three Dog's dulcet tones work surprisingly well for a remorseless assassin.
  • Pet the Dog: Completing the more dangerous, early contracts will have him genuinely praise you instead of acting like a snarky dick about it. He'll even say that you should be proud of killing Hern, because vampires are nothing to joke about.
  • Pungeon Master: After you complete your first dead drop.

Nazir: Of course the miner is dead, I've heard their industry is rather... cut throat! And those hours? Murder. I can keep this up all day.

Babette

Voiced by: Harley Graham

A vampire of three hundred years who uses her child-like appearance to her advantage.

  • Badass Adorable: An assassin and vampire who looks like a cute little girl. She survives the Dark Brotherhood purge no matter if you join or destroy it, and once you've killed the Emperor, you can run into her in the wilderness of Skyrim, standing over the corpse of someone she recently killed.
  • Cheerful Child: While she plays it up while "hunting", she's a genuinely happy and friendly little girl... or rather, woman who looks like a little girl.
  • Creepy Child: She was turned into a vampire when she was ten years old. Also keeps a Frostbite Spider as a pet.
  • Deliberately Cute Child: Her preferred tactic when assassinating is to pretend to be a normal innocent child.
  • Expy: Of Oblivion's resident friendly Dark Brotherhood vampire, Vicente Valtieri.
  • Infant Immortality: Both literally and figuratively. She doesn't even show up if you decide to "Destroy the Dark Brotherhood!" route.
  • Karma Houdini: Due to the fact children can't be killed in the game, if you decide to wipe out the Dark Brotherhood, she doesn't appear, and presumably escapes justice.
  • Kick the Son of a Bitch: When you first meet her, she's recounting her murder of a man all but blatantly stated to be a child molester who thought she'd be easy pickings.
  • Master Poisoner: The master trainer for Alchemy.
  • Nice Girl: Not only is she Affably Evil, but she's very friendly in general. She loves the entire Brotherhood, you included, feels bad about you having to kill Cicero and the Gourmet, and pities Astrid in spite of everything she did.
  • Our Vampires Are Different: A child vampire, and the only one in the game, at that. Other than that, she's not much different from the game's other vampires.
  • Really 700 Years Old: She's over three hundred on account of her vampirism.

Veezara

Voiced by: Tim Blaney

An Argonian assassin from the extinct Shadowscale order.

  • Big Damn Heroes: Your public assassination of Vittoria Vici naturally results in the entirety of Solitude's city watch gunning for your position. Luckily, he arrives just in time to distract and hold them off so you can make your escape.
  • Desperately Looking for a Purpose In Life: Before meeting the Dark Brotherhood, at least.
  • I Owe You My Life: Astrid gave him a reason to live again... that is, killing people.
  • Killed Off for Real: Meets his end during the Penitus Oculatus' attack on the Falkreath Sanctuary.
  • Last of His Kind: One of the last Shadowscales. No matter what happens, the Shadowscales go extinct since he's doomed to die. That is, unless there are other Shadowscales unaccounted for...
  • Nice Guy: He's a chill, friendly guy.
  • Reptiles Are Abhorrent: He's perfectly nice to you, but he's still an Argonian criminal who kills innocent people.
  • Taking the Bullet: After completing one mission, you're greeted with the sight of everyone crowded around a wounded Veezara. Before you returned to the sanctuary, he got between Astrid and Cicero when the latter flipped out and tried to kill the former. He survives, but not without being inflicted with a nasty stab wound in the process.
  • Undying Loyalty: To Astrid, to the point that he very nearly, literally, dies for her.
  • We Need a Distraction: Helps divert attention from you after a deliberately public assassination.

Gabriella

Voiced by: Julianne Buescher

A Dunmer assassin of "simple, yet refined tastes".

  • Affably Evil: Very cheery and polite despite having the generic "Smug female elf" voice, but make no mistake: she's a stone-cold killer and probably one of the nastier members of the Dark Brotherhood overall since she's the one who orchestrated the plan to break Commander Maro's spirit by murdering his son and framing him for treason.
  • The Archer: Seems to prefer sniping her assassination targets. When you're sent out to kill Vittoria Vici, she's taken the time to slip into Solitude and hide a bow and arrows for you to use, should you want to.
  • Bread, Eggs, Breaded Eggs: She likes moonlit nights, seaside strolls, unicorns and knitting. She then recounts when she stabbed a unicorn to death with a sewing needle while on a moonlit walk on the beach.
  • In the Hood: While it's the standard Dark Brotherhood attire, she's the only one who always wears a hood along with her robes.
  • Killed Off for Real: She doesn't survive the Penitus Oculatus' attack on the Falkreath Sanctuary.
  • Real Assassins Love the Night Mother: She's very dedicated to the old ways of the Dark Brotherhood, and despite agreeing that Cicero has to die for trying to kill Astrid, feels bad for the man and admits that the Brotherhood is at fault for provoking him in the first place with the collective disrespect shown to him and the Night Mother.

Festus Krex

Voiced by: Jim Cummings

An elderly assassin who believes that there's a spell for every circumstance.

  • Berserk Button: When this man says he wants his bath water tepid, he means tepid. His wife found out the hard way that lukewarm is not tepid.
  • The Brute: Not in the sense that he's a stupid, lumbering oaf. He simply thinks that there's no need to be sneaky when you can just walk up to someone, nuke them on the spot with magic, and run like the Dickens.
  • Evil Sorceror: He looks the part thanks to his Shrouded Robes, and he acts the part thanks to his love of brutally murdering people with powerful spells.
  • Expy: Of Gogron gro-Bolmog, the orc member of Oblivion's Dark Brotherhood. Like Gogron, Festus urges the player to forgo the traditional methods of assassination (stealth, daggers, etc) in favor of a more direct and gruesome approach. In his case, magic instead of a hammer.
  • For Science!: Was formerly a professor at the College of Winterhold before he decided that he wished to explore the "intricacies" of the Destruction school. Specifically, making spells that killed in more gruesome ways.
  • Genius Bruiser: He may prefer a brute force approach to assassinations, but he's perfectly capable of orchestrating complex, sneaky murders if the need arises. If you want the bonus for killing the Gourmet, you'll need to hide the body in a way that ensures that it will never be found.
  • Grumpy Old Man: Describes himself as the "cranky old uncle" of the Dark Brotherhood family.
  • Laughably Evil: He'd be one of the most disgusting, twisted members of the Dark Brotherhood if he wasn't so damn hilarious. Jim Cummings' line delivery manages to make even the recounting of the awful, petty murder of his wife morbidly funny.
  • Killed Off for Real: Gets whacked on behalf of Commander Maro.
    • Alas, Poor Villain: His end is rather brutal: he's tied to a tree and shot by what seems to be a hundred arrows.
  • When All You Have Is a Hammer: He appreciates the stealth aspect of assassination, but he prefers to simply walk up to the target, politely introduce himself, and melt their face off.

Do what I do. Walk up to your target, introduce yourself, melt their skin off and then run like the wind. Works every time.

Cicero

Voiced by: Andrew Morris

A psychotic jester who brings the Night Mother's coffin to the Falkreath Sanctuary.

  • Ax Crazy: Good christ. Between his murderous fury towards the Night Mother being disrespected, the brutal way he murders Loreius and his wife if arrested, and his general love of good old fashioned murder juxtaposed with his silly behavior, the man is completely fucked in the head.
  • Badass Adorable: If he doesn't grate on your nerves, you'll think he's this. He is, after all, a silly little jester and dangerous assassin in equal measure.
  • Beware the Silly Ones: He can be encountered on the road with a broken wagon. If you convince a farmer suspicious of him to have him arrested, said farmer and his wife will end up dead. While it isn't visibly apparent, the guard patrolling the road near their farm is appalled by how brutally he killed them.
  • Chekhov's Gunman: It's possible to encounter him (and his "passenger") on the road long before you ever join the Dark Brotherhood.
  • Cloudcuckoolander: One of the only Dark Brotherhood members who still cares about the Night Mother, regularly attempting to communicate with her.
    • The Cuckoolander Was Right: Unfortunately for Cicero, he isn't the Listener. He takes it well when the true Listener is revealed though.
  • Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: He manages to incapacitate Arnbjorn with just his knife.
  • The Fool: He even refers to himself as the Fool of Hearts.
  • Happy Dance: He does a silly little jig when you reveal that you're the Listener. It becomes an idle animation should you take him as a follower.
  • Hypocrite: As angry as he gets at Astrid for not following the Five Tenants, he's guilty of breaking a Tenant himself by trying to murder Veezara, Arnbjorn, and potentially you.
  • Knife Nut: His preferred weapon is a simple knife.
  • Large Ham: Very hammy and theatric thanks to his commitment to the whole "Fool of Hearts" shtick.
  • Nice Hat: It's a jester's hat, of course.
  • No Indoor Voice: He often bellows his dialogue at the top of his lungs.
  • Sanity Slippage: His journals reveal that years of obsessively watching over the Night Mother without ever once being named Listener or encountering a Listener while the Dark Brotherhood collapsed all around him really took their toll on his mind.
  • Third Person Person: He slips in and out of this rather inconsistently. It helps he's completely mad.
  • Villainous Harlequin: The persona is partly due to a Jester that was his last contract before becoming the Keeper, which combined with the above experience eventually came to haunt him.
  • Wounded Gazelle Gambit

The Spectral Assassin

Voiced by: Wes Johnson

An ancient assassin which you call forth from the Void. He is actually Lucien Lachance, the Champion of Cyrodil's mentor from Oblivion.

  • Axe Crazy: While Lucien Lachance could hardly be considered a man of peace, he seems to have entirely dispensed with the "stealth" aspect of his vocation after becoming one with the Void. He will not sneak when the player does and will instead draw attention to himself by eagerly charging at any nearby enemy with only a knife.

"Perhaps we should find... a random stranger to murder! Practice does make perfect..."

  • Belated Happy Ending: Despite his rather horrific end in Oblivion, he's deemed important and loyal enough to Sithis and The Night Mother to endure beyond death, likely because the Night Mother herself vouched for his devotion to the Black Hand.
  • Blood Knight: "I grow restless... as does my blade."
  • Came Back Wrong: He's... certainly less 'collected than he was in the last game.
  • Captain Ersatz: He is, essentially, an evil Obi-Wan Kenobi.
  • Fearless Undead: "There is no pain in the Void!"
  • I Am Who?: Lucien Lachance.
  • Implacable Man: Of a sort. He will assist you until he falls, and can be summoned again if he does.
  • Large Ham: I LIVE AGAIN!
  • Motor Mouth: A variant of this trope in that while Lucien's speech is still perfectly coherent and steady, he never shuts up. He'll go off on an echoing deep-voiced tangent about past events or enacting violence (or both) in any location he accompanies you to without being prompted, even in the middle of a falmer/draugr-infested dungeon or a conversation with another NPC. This wouldn't be too much of a problem... until you've heard "the tale of Mathieu Bellamont and the great treachery of Cheydinhal" for the millionth time. So much for preferring the "symphony of death".
    • It's gotten to the point where players have written guides on how to "kill" him without incurring a penalty for it.
  • Pet the Dog:

Shadowmere... my old and dear friend.

Shadowmere

The undead horse of Astrid and a few other Dark Brotherhood members before her, who is loaned out to the player character after a few missions and eventually becomes theirs.

  • Ambiguous Gender: Considered male by Astrid, although Lucien called Shadowmere a "she" in Oblivion.
  • Blood Knight: If an enemy is nearby, it will feel this horse's hooves.
  • Cool Horse: Easily the coolest horse in the game, though Dawnguard gives her steep competition in the form of skeleton horse Arvak.
  • Nigh Invulnerable: Has more health than other horses and regenerates it extremely quickly. The only things that can kill her are very long vertical drops and amplified backstabs.
  • Red Eyes, Take Warning: Her eyes are a vivid, glowing red.

The College of Winterhold

Savos Aren

Voiced by: Keith Silverstein

A powerful Dunmer mage who is in charge of the College of Winterhold due to serving as its Archmage.

  • The Archmage: His title, obviously.
  • Break the Cutie: Savos was very eager and energetic to explore the Labyrinthian; by the end, not so much.
  • Dark Secret: When he was a young mage, he and several other students of the College ventured into Labyrinthian seeking the Staff of Magnus. They found it... in the hands of an ancient, powerful, undead Dragon Priest named Morokei, whom they awakened with their presence, and Savos ended up sacrificing his two surviving colleagues - the others having died on the way - to keep Morokei down there, before escaping the dungeon empty-handed and alone. When the Dovahkiin follows in his footsteps, Morokei firsts assumes s/he must be Savos. No one at the College seems to know that Savos ever did such a thing.
  • Expy: Of Hannibal Traven, the Archmage of the Mages' Guild in Oblivion and a flawed leader whose bad decisions come back to haunt him in the worst way possible.
  • Killed Off for Real: Is killed when Ancano seizes control of the Eye of Magnus.
  • My Greatest Failure: It's hinted that the incident in Labyrinthian is this for him. While he never talks about it, that simply attests to just how traumatic of an experience it was to him. According to Mirabelle, during his final moments he wanted her to give the key to Labyrinthian so that when the time came, you could kill Morokei and lay the enthralled souls of his friends to rest, correcting the mistake he made so long ago when he sacrificed them to keep Morokei from escaping his tomb.
  • My Species Doth Protest Too Much: Not a believer in elven supremacy over man. While he's willing to welcome Ancano into the college, it's strictly for business purposes, and he makes it perfectly clear that it's his policy that will be enforced, not the Thalmor's.
  • Reasonable Authority Figure: Granted, a more hands-off example than most. While his approach to leadership crosses over into outright apathy, he's still willing to let students and faculty alike pursue their own research, the widely frowned-upon necromancy included, so long as it doesn't put other members of the College in danger. He's also quick to recognize your talents, and always rewards you for a job well done.

Mirabelle Ervine

Voiced by: Mozhan Marnò

A Breton woman who serves as the College's Master Wizard, essentially its vice-principal.

  • Heroic Sacrifice: Despite knowing that she doesn't stand a chance, she fights Ancano anyway in order to stall for time and allow everyone to flee to safety.
  • Hypercompetent Sidekick: A lot more active in the administration of the College than Savos.
  • Killed Off for Real: She doesn't survive the events of the College's questline, much like her boss.
  • Number Two: As mentioned above, she's basically the vice-principal of the College of Winterhold, and the only one to outrank her is Archmage Aren himself.
  • Stern Teacher: A bit icy and strict, but that's to be expected, given her position and all.

Tolfdir

Voiced by: George Coe

The Alteration specialist in the college's faculty.

J'Zargo

Voiced by: André Sogliuzzo

A Khajit apprentice in the same class as you in the College of Winterhold.

  • Anti-Hero: Type III.
  • The Archer: Has a bow for when he needs to sneak around.
  • Arrogant Kung Fu Guy
  • Badass: The only follower capable of leveling up with you all the way to level 81.
  • Five-Finger Discount: He seeks anything that will help him become a better mage. Preferably things that are small enough to fit in pockets and will not be missed.
  • Genius Ditz: If it doesn't involve magically induced carnage, he doesn't have an opinion on it.
  • Jack of All Stats: He has decent stats in several areas, along with mastery of others.
    • Master of None: Averted. At level 81, he's maxed out in Destruction, Illusion, Heavy Armor and One-Handed.
  • Magic Knight: Skilled in heavy armor and one handed weapons, he can take damage as well as he can dish it out.
  • Master of Illusion: The highest Illusion stat of any follower in the game.
  • Obfuscating Stupidity: It's impossible to tell if he's an impulsive idiot, or cleverly exploiting the reputation Khajiit have for being a bit dim.
  • Playing with Fire: His quest involves testing out some flame cloak spells he devised, on undead. Spells that take off a significant chunk of the user's health in the process, by way of explosion.

J'Zargo: Did you try them? Were they magnificent?
Dovahkiin: Were they supposed to explode? Because they exploded.

Brelyna Maryon

Voiced by: Corri English

A fellow apprentice you meet in your first class at the College Of Winterhold.

  • The Archer: Due to her reluctance to engage in head-on combat, she is fond of pulling out the bow and arrow.
  • Baleful Polymorph: See below.
  • Bumbling Sidekick: When you offer to be her testing dummy for spells, she'll first turn you green (you'll see everything through a green filter, too). You have to wait for it to wear off. In her next experiment, she accidentally turns you into a cow. And then a horse. And a dog. Then she fixes it and apologises profusely.
  • Combat Pragmatist: Avoids rushing into combat in favour of using summons, subterfuge and defensive magic.
  • Cute Witch: In contrast to the rather dour, world-weary attitude of most dark elf NPC's, she has an innocent and sunny demeanour.
  • Let Us Never Speak of This Again: One of the Dovahkiin's possible reactions to the spell-testing ordeal.
  • Royal Blood: She's a descendant of House Telvanni, one of the Great Houses of Morrowind. She mentions that at home, her lineage causes others to put a great deal of pressure on her to excel and she prefers the more relaxed, study-focused atmosphere of the college.
  • "Well Done, Son" Guy: Her reason for being at the college.

Onmund

Voiced by: Jason Marsden

A description of the character goes here.

Arniel Gane

A description of the character goes here.

  • Awesome Yet Practical: A formidable ranged battlemage that can be summoned at Apprentice-level for no magicka cost, no cooldown, is quite resistant to both physical and magical damage and has an AI that keeps enemies at a distance while constantly zapping them with streams of lightning. Having trouble with Malyn Varen's Dremora minions in Azura's Star? Pop in Arniel, sit back and watch the light show.
  • Bare-Fisted Monk: Despite having access to destruction spells, if he finds himself in combat before his transformation into a shade, he tends to end up trying to punch his opponents to death.
  • Came Back Wrong: Seems to have lost his mind or is in pain as a Shade, with his only lines of dialogue being groans and a desire to end life.
  • Freak Magical Accident: The conclusion of his quest-line sees him smacking at a Warped Soul Gem with Keening and subsequently vanishing in a small explosion... only to turn up in the player's spell inventory as a summon.
  • Our Ghosts Are Different
  • Shock and Awe: Prefers to dual-cast shock spells Sith Lightning-style as a Shade, though he also throws fireballs on occasion.

Enthir

Voiced by: Stephen Russell

A shady black-market dealer on the campus.

  • Chain of Deals: In a small way, since he has a personal rule about never, ever going back on a deal. As in, if you traded something to him and now you want it back, tough. You should have thought of that before you made the deal. However, if someone else makes a trade for the object and then gives it back to you, he doesn't mind... which leads to the Dovahkiin running around doing favours for Enthir to get things he's traded to others so s/he can give them back to their owners.
  • Chekhov's Gunman: If you do the College of Winterhold questline first, you can get the vibe that something's up with this guy. Then, if you do the Thieves Guild...
  • Friend in the Black Market: He has connections with the Thieves Guild and will even act as a fence for stolen goods once the player gets far enough along in the Thieves Guild questline. He also sells the highly illegal and unethical Black Soul Gems.
  • Hypocrite: Will never accept refunds, but has a habit of giving powerful objects to nasty people (like vampires) and then realising that was probably a bad idea, which leads him to send the Dovahkiin to, typically, murder the nasty people and steal back the objects to cover his own ass. If you call him on this, he claims it's far too economically complex and subtle for you to understand. Uh huh.
  • Pet the Dog: If your Persuasion is good enough, Enthir can be convinced to make an exception for Onmund, and he returns Onmund's family heirloom free of charge. He will also help Karliah decode Gallus' journal for free to uncover the truth behind his departed friend's murder, and reminiscence fondly and sadly about how he and Gallus met.

Faralda

The go-to elf for everything Destruction.

Phinnis Gestor

Voiced by: Keith Silverstein

The college's Conjuration-specialized faculty member.

  • Necromancer: Implied somewhat: he's the master of the conjuration school, which includes necromancy spells, and promises you that if you die on college grounds, he'll make sure your remains are put to good use.
  • Noodle Incident: One in Morthal, which he insists was a misunderstanding despite what the guards claim.
  • Summon Magic: He specializes in the school of Conjuration, and he is the one who sells you Master level Conjuration spells after you do the necessary quest.

Colette Marence

Resident Restoration expert at the college.


Urag gro-Shub

Voiced by: Noah Nelson

The librarian of the College.

  • Badass Bookworm
  • Mr. Exposition: Unsurprisingly, he's the go-to guy when it comes to the Elder Scroll and will at least lead you to the right direction.
  • Scary Librarian
  • Serious Business: Is fiercely devoted to his duties tending to books and threatens to have you torn apart by Atronachs if you damage them.

The Augur of Dunlain

A former member of the College, now some sort of... thing living in the caves beneath the College.

The Thieves' Guild

Brynjolf

Voiced by: Robin Atkin Downes

A description of the character goes here.

  • Big Brother Mentor
  • Jerkass: Can come off to be this when he is first encountered, but he's more like a...
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: With a side of Punch Clock Villain. He'll sing your praises to a skeptical Mercer and the rest of the Guild, especially if you do well on the jobs he assigns. He will also come looking for you after you and Mercer go missing, according to Vekel.
  • Loveable Rogue
  • Number Two: To both Mercer Frey and you, once you run the guild. He does the more day-to-day things while the Guild Master plots big jobs and makes big decisions with the input of the rest of the Guild.
  • Sink or Swim Mentor: To even talk to him, you have to participate in a scheme of his by planting some evidence while he creates a distraction. His next test is sending you into the Ratways, Riften's filth-, crime- and pest-ridden sewers, to find the Guild hideout (and no, he does not give directions). If you succeed though, he's impressed and becomes much friendlier toward you.
  • Snake Oil Salesman: His method (before your arrival) of getting funds for the Guild. That's how low they've sunk.
  • Took a Level in Badass: Becomes a Nightingale along with the Dovahkiin.
  • Unexplained Accent: Despite being a Nord, he speaks with what seems to be a mild Scottish accent which no other character possesses. Might be a reference to Morrowind and Redguard, in which Nords had Scottish accents (particularly in Redguard).

Mercer Frey

Voiced by: Stephen Russell

Current Guild Master, with a few insights into why the organization hasn't been doing so well lately. Witnessed the murder of the last Guild Master, Gallus, and harbors an intense grudge toward the perpetrator, who hasn't been seen since. Lies. He's the murderer and determined to wipe out the only witness before leaving the rest of the Guild to rot while he makes off with all their treasure.

  • Big Bad: Of the Thieves' Guild questline.
  • Blood Knight: Judging by his fight dialogue, he really likes killing things. He'll even be vaguely disappointed if it's over too quickly.
  • Bread, Eggs, Milk, Squick: When you search his house, you can find a shopping list that includes "Bread, Eggs, Milk, Cauterizing Agent..."
  • Broken Pedestal
  • Charles Atlas Superpower: Apparently the true power of Nocturnal's Skeleton Key. Most thieves just think of it as a simple lockpick (and, indeed, this is all the Player Character can use it for), but the Key unlocks everything that can be unlocked, including the true limits of human potential. Mercer demonstrates this at one point when he single-handedly knocks down a multi-ton stone column to bar your path.
  • Cynical Mentor: He doesn't have the faith in you that Brynjolf does and is more occupied by his own business, but he'll eventually see your worth.
  • Deadpan Snarker:

Mercer Frey: Ah, it's one of the infamous Nordic puzzle doors. How quaint.

  • Did You Just Scam Cthulhu?: Stole the Skeleton Key to empty the Guild Vaults and in doing betrayed Nocturnal, daedric prince of shadows and patron of thieves despite being pledged to serve her in both life and death. The Key's powers also allow Mercer to freely abuse all three of the Agent of Nocturnal powers (as seen in the final confrontation with him) in further defiance of Nocturnal's rules.
  • Dual-Wielding: A sword and a dagger.
  • Even Evil Has Standards: Defied Trope. Mercer mocks the idea that the Thieves' Guild is anything more than a den of thieves and ne'erdowells and claims that it's a delusion to believe otherwise. You can agree or disagree, but you kill him anyway.
  • Expy: My, Garrett has certainly gotten older. And grumpier. And of course, he also stole a priceless artifact known as the Eye. Although even he wasn't this much of a dick.
  • Jerkass: Snappish, condescending and dismissive of the Dovahkiin even if s/he's proven their worth repeatedly. He makes it clear that he'd prefer not to have to deal with him/her at all outside necessity, and the other thieves comment on his temper with the implication that the Guild's decline is taking its toll on him which is true, in a sense, since he caused it and has spent two decades fruitlessly pursuing the only obstacle to his getting away with it.
  • Not So Different: When you confront him in the last mission, he'll claim that both you and he are opportunists that willfully lie, cheat, and steal to get what they want.
  • Perpetual Frowner: His face seems locked in a permanent scowl. Understandable, given recent events.
  • Silly Rabbit, Idealism Is for Kids: Tries to psyche out the Dovahkiin with a speech along these lines: they're all thieves, after all, and there's no honour among thieves. You can dismiss his argument or even agree, but either way, he attacks you and dies.

Karliah

Voiced by: Moira Quirk

Murderer, traitor to the Guild, and the reason for its decline. Whereabouts unknown. Until you find her and get her side of the story, anyway.

  • The Archer: Poisons and arrows are her foremost weapons; she's incredibly skilled with both.
  • Classy Cat Burglar: Definitely has this vibe.
  • Deal with the Devil: She explains very explicitly that this is the relationship the Nightingales have with Nocturnal, not worship. Most thieves aren't good at religion, but they understand contracts.
  • Fall Guy: For Mercer.
  • Her Heart Will Go On: After she and the spirit of Gallus say their goodbyes, and he moves on to serve Nocturnal, she returns to her old profession to honour him (and also because money's nice; she is a thief, and regaining her powers as a Nightingale have just made the job a whole lot more lucrative).
  • Honey Trap: Mercer theorises this was how she got close enough to Gallus to kill him. He's lying. She loved him.
  • Interspecies Romance: She's a Dunmer, Gallus was an Imperial, and they were lovers.
  • My Greatest Failure: Mercer believes his was letting her escape after Gallus' murder. She believes falling in love with Gallus was hers. It distracted them both and allowed Mercer to get the drop on Gallus.
  • Purple Eyes: Notable because every single other Dunmer has blood-red eyes. May be partly due to her:
  • Royal Blood: She's the granddaughter of Queen Barenziah, if Gallus' books are to be trusted.
  • Staged Shooting: A variant with a poisoned arrow. You catch it in the chest, your vision blurs, you fall over. Turns out it was just a paralytic. Then Mercer pops up and stabs you while you're paralyzed. Then it turns out that the paralytic prevented you bleeding out from the stab wound, and Karliah just blew decades of planning to save your life.
  • Tranquil Fury: Outwardly, she's probably one of the calmest, most level-headed characters associated with the Thieves Guild questline. She almost never raises her voice. Her hatred for Mercer Frey, however, seethes.
  • Turn Out Like Her Grandmother: Karliah's Mother and grandfather were both Nightingales. Her Grandmother Barenziah was also a member of Riften's thieves guild according to "The Real Barenziah".
  • Why Don't You Just Shoot Him?: A great believer in this school of thought. Ideally the victim's first clue she's there should be finding an arrow sticking out of his throat.

Gallus Desidenius

Voiced by: Craig Sechler

The previous Guild Master. His death by betrayal is a big factor in the Guild's current fractured, declining state.

  • Dead Person Conversation
  • Gentleman Thief: As per his relationship with counterpart Classy Cat Burglar Karliah. So charming, he was more than once caught in the act of robbing someone and ended up becoming that person's best friend. Most of the contacts the Guild had came from him because he had such a diverse set of acquaintances, and when he died, all those contacts dried up.
  • He Knows Too Much: The reason he died. He came too close to working out where all Mercer's sudden wealth was coming from. The Dovahkiin very nearly suffers the same fate when s/he finds out who really murdered Gallus.
  • Interspecies Romance: Was an Imperial in a relationship with a Dunmer.
  • Minored in Asskicking: A thief through and through, but also a scholar, historian and linguist. It helped in plotting heists. He learned an entire extinct, forgotten language so he could write his journal in it and also wrote and published actual books. He even discovered the existence of the Nightingales and learned how to become one more or less single-handed, bringing Mercer and Karliah along for the ride.
  • Our Ghosts Are Different: They're souls given access to the mortal realm through the Ebonmere, in fact. And called Spectral Guardians. Every Nightingale serves a time after death in this state before moving on.
  • Posthumous Character
  • Spirit Advisor: For the Dovahkiin in the Twilight Sepulcher.
  • Together in Death: Though he's still dead and the reopening of the Ebonmere means he has to move on and become "one with the shadows", he assures Karliah he'll be waiting for her when she passes too.
  • Unfinished Business: The last of the Spectral Guardians in the Twilight Sepulcher who hasn't faded away or gone nuts. This is mostly why.

Delvin Mallory

Voiced by: Enn Reitel

One of two members of the Guild that hands special assignments to the player. Also an old friend of Astrid in the Dark Brotherhood and the Guild's main contact between the two factions.

  • Affably Evil: You don't get to be that familiar with the Dark Brotherhood without having done something nasty. Also, if you request a Torture Chamber for the Dawnstar Sanctuary at the end of the Dark Brotherhood questline, he seems oddly pleased by that particular response.
  • Big Brother Mentor: He really likes to make the player feel right at home. And when you finish your last special assignment to restore the Guild to full strength, he will admit to you that you are the best thief in the Guild. Of course, he tells you he'll deny that if you tell anybody else.
  • Covert Pervert: A note from Vex on the table where you speak with him warns this "Master of Sneaking" in no uncertain terms that if he tries to watch her bathing again, she'll... cut off something valuable.
  • The Cuckoolander Was Right: Everybody in the Guild thought Delvin was a little loopy for suggesting there was some sort of "curse" on the Guild that made their big jobs fail. Then you find out about the Twilight Sepulcher, and realize that he was just Genre Savvy.
  • Hidden Depths: Aside from the aforementioned note, the quote after Mercer betrays the Guild indicates that he may have been a Dark Brotherhood member at some point, but quit due to a similar betrayal.
  • Stealth Expert: He's the Master trainer for the Sneak skill.
  • Stock British Phrases: He's a fountain of these.
  • Unexplained Accent: Like Brynjolf, he has a unique accent for some reason. Then again, it might have something to do with him being a Breton.

Vex

Voiced by: Kari Wahlgren

The infiltration expert of the Guild, and the second member that hands special jobs to the player.

  • Action Girl: Held off three wolves by herself until a guy showed up to help. After he did, she then tried to mug him for his money. Afterwards...
  • Defeat Means Friendship: ...When they fought to a standstill, she offered him to join the Guild without a word otherwise or an apology. So more like "draw means friendship".
  • Dude Magnet: The male members of the Guild tend to hit on her an awful lot despite her verbally flaying them alive every single time.
  • Hot Amazon: One quote sums it up.

"I wouldn't want to fight Vex again, but I wouldn't mind a tussle with her."

Sapphire

A description of the character goes here.

  • Broken Bird: Doesn't let anyone get too close, and still has issues dealing with the tragedy of her past.
  • Known Only By Their Nickname: When asked about her real name, she comments that she might tell you someday, but not today.
  • Loan Shark: Takes advantage of a Hammerfell immigrant by loaning him money to make a delivery, attacking the caravan, then bullying the immigrant to pay back the money loaned.
  • Rape as Backstory: Mention that she's never told you her name, and she will tell you the story of how she was kidnapped by bandits and raped for a fortnight before gaining their trust and slitting their throats as they slept.

Vipir the Fleet

Voiced by: Michael Gough

  • Embarrassing Nickname: Ask him about his nickname and he will tell you the story of how he and Vex once robbed a house in Winterhold, only to walk out of it and into the waiting arms of the guards because their client had sold them out. Vex gave the guards the slip and disappeared, and Vipir ran right out of Winterhold and all the way south, on foot, to Riften... and discovered Vex had beat him there because she'd remembered her horse and he hadn't. After that, they started calling him Vipir the Fleet.

Cynric Endell

Voiced by: Stephen Russell

A description of the character goes here.

  • Affably Evil: He's a very nice guy, accepting of the Dragonborn from the moment they join up, willing to give advice freely. He also mentions that before he joined the guild, he worked as a jail breaker, getting arrested and then breaking out. He mentions that a good portion of his jobs were subcontracted by the Dark Brotherhood, and expresses no moral qualms about having killed people for a living. He also explains that the only reasons he joined up with the Thieve's Guild instead of the Dark Brotherhood was because it was less risk for more pay.
  • Expy: Even more so than Mercer Frey. Wears a hood that covers half his face, while his vocal pitch and facial features (what little of them you can see past his hood) are more or less identical to Garrett's. He's a master locksmith who became a thief rather than an assassin because the former was more lucrative, and spent most of his early career breaking people out of prisons (on top of that, when you first walk in on him, he's standing next to a target and practicing his marksmanship).

Thrynn

A description of the character goes here.

  • Even Evil Has Standards: He used to be a member of a bandit clan, but had a violent disagreement with the chief when he was asked to murder some defenseless merchants after the clan had robbed them.

Dirge

The Ragged Flagon's bouncer as well as the brother of Maul, Maven Black-Briar's Dragon.

  • Jerkass: Even among a guild of thieves Dirge is ridiculously assholish as he regularly threatens to kill you for so much as looking in his direction. Even if you're the goddamned Guildmaster, he refuses to show you an ounce of respect.
  • Names to Run Away From Really Fast: Make him angry, and he'll be the last thing you ever hear.

Vald

Not technically a Guild member, but rather Mercer's loyal bodyguard. So loyal that, even after Mercer's true colors are exposed, he still tries to stop the Dragonborn from tracking him down. It turns out that this is due to a rather hefty debt he owes to Maven.

  • The Dragon: To Mercer Frey.
  • Dumb Muscle
  • Heel Face Turn: If you clear his debt to Maven by getting her a priceless item from Vald's old ship, he will happily let you investigate Mercer's house without a fight.

Thalmor

Thalmor

The Thalmor are the ruling government of the Aldmeri Dominion, which is ostensibly a confederation consisting of the Summerset Isles (renamed Alinor) and Valenwood, with the Khajiit kingdoms of Anequina and Pellitine as vassals. In reality, the Altmer of Alinor make up the majority of the Thalmor and have established a fascist government dedicated to conquering all of Tamriel. To that end, they launched the Great War against the Empire of Tamriel, inflicting massive damage across the continent. Despite ultimately being defeated and driven out, the Thalmor were able to force Emperor Titus Mede II to sign the White-Gold Concordat, banning the worship of Talos in the Empire, allowing Thalmor agents to enforce the Talos ban within the Empire, and ceding southern Hammerfell to the Dominion. They are also involved in the current civil war in Skyrim.

  • 0% Approval Rating: Even other elves in their own country hate them. They're just too damned terrified of the crazy fascist elves to do anything about it. Absolutely everyone in Skyrim hates them. So much so that brutally murdering Thalmor right in front of the Jarl of any hold will net you a tiny bounty (whether for assault or littering is up to your interpretation) which can be negated if you provoke the Thalmor into swinging first.
  • Batman Gambit: Pulled one off in Skyrim. Having intimate knowledge of Ulfric's psyche due to his time as a POW, they are able to goad him into committing seditious acts against the Empire in their bid to weaken it. He may not be a Manchurian Agent, but he's still their Unwitting Pawn. Elenwen's attendance in the peace talks in the "Season Unending" talk can be seen as an attempt to sabotage the peace talks by antagonizing Ulfric, since peace in Skyrim is bad for the Thalmor's plans.
  • Bigger Bad: They're (probably) not bigger than Alduin, but they are bigger than the opposing side of the civil war questline, being the ultimate source of the conflict and the bigger and truly evil enemy to both sides (even if the Empire is more reluctant to acknowledge it).
  • Butt Monkey: Because of just about every other trope listed here, the Thalmor almost universally find themselves on the bad side of every player's Dovahkiin.
  • Can't Argue with Elves: In-universe recognition and perception of this is part of what led to the Skyrim civil war. Ulfric can argue with elves. More importantly, so can the Dovahkiin.
  • Cold-Blooded Torture: Detailed in one note in the Thalmor Embassy. You also meet first-hand victims of their cruelty, such as Thorald Gray-Mane and Etienne Rarnis (the latter of which you even meet during a torture session).
  • Dark Is Evil/Light Is Not Good: Mages wear black Badass Longcoats with golden trim, while the warriors favor golden Elven/Glass Armor. No matter what they're wearing, they're genocidal human-hating racists with a nasty disposition.
  • Fake Ultimate Hero: They first came to power by claiming to have saved the Summerset Isles from the Oblivion Crisis when the Daedra attacking it suddenly disappeared as a result of Martin Septim's Heroic Sacrifice against Mehrunes Dagon. They may (it's not revealed whether the Thalmor were responsible for removing and returning the moons or not) have done something similar when the moons disappeared, throwing the Khajiit of Elsewyr into chaos; when the moons returned two years later, the Thalmor claimed they were responsible for restoring them through powerful magic, which instantly ingratiated them with the Khajiit.
  • Fantastic Racism: Even to other elves. One account indicates that the Altmer in Alinor breed like rabbits because the Thalmor are so obsessed with racial purity that they kill nine out of ten newborns for not meeting their standards. They conducted massive purges of Valenwood's population, and they consider humans to be little more than dogs to be either leashed or slaughtered. It turns out that they're using their reputation for Fantastic Racism as a Red Herring. Everyone assumes tha the Thalmor banned Talos worship because they hate the idea of an ascendant human deity. In truth, they banned Talos because he's holding the world together, and they want to destroy the world.
  • Hate Sink: The whole damn faction is this. The Empire and the Stormcloaks are both deeply flawed in different ways, and give players plenty of reasons for opposing them while still giving others plenty of reasons to support them instead. The Thalmor, however, aren't sympathetic in the slightest, and give just about every player a reason to hate them no matter what faction they pick.
  • Jerkass: Dear Christ. Every single member of the Thalmor, mercenaries working for them included, is a complete asshole. Some, such as Elenwen, are better at hiding it than others, but even the "nicer" ones speak in a tone dripping with barely-hidden disdain for whoever it is they're speaking to.
  • Magic Knight: Just about all Thalmor troops can use magic as well as fight in melee. If disarmed, they'll whip out a Bound Sword.
  • Manipulative Bastard: The Thalmor are not actually all that impressive as a military force, being defeated by the Empire and eventually the weakened Hammerfell cities in their occupied territories. However, they are masters at intelligence and covert operations and at manipulating other factions from behind the scenes. This was how they managed to first come to power and take Valenwood and Elsewyr, as well as how they managed to wipe out the Blades. Many suspect that the real goal of the Great War was to disrupt relations between Hammerfell and the Empire, and the subsequent Skyrim civil war was masterminded by them as well.
  • A Nazi by Any Other Name: With a dash of The Spanish Inquisition for extra flavor. They're genocidal elitists who violently purge "undesirables" and really have it out for certain ethnic and religious groups in particular, root out political dissidents with the help of their secret police, and are surprisingly snazzy dressers on top of that.
  • No True Scotsman: High Elf players aren't treated any nicer by the wandering Thalmor patrols you'll run into out in the wilderness. Instead of the racist verbal abuse they hurl at players who pick the other races, they'll call you a disgrace to their race and growl that they should kill you on principle.
  • Omnicidal Maniac: Their ultimate goal is to unmake all of existence, believing that they are cursed with mortal forms by Lorkhan when he made Nirn. Since Talos is critical to the continued existence of Nirn, they want to kill him. Stamping out Talos worship weakens him considerably. Though from an in-universe perspective, these goals themselves are not necessarily bad. It's just the methods they are using.
  • Our Elves Are Better: Their opinion on themselves in general. Everyone else, even other elves, disagree.
  • The Purge: At least one survivor of a Valenwood purge agrees to help the Dragonborn break into the embassy because the Thalmor murdered his family.
  • Putting on the Reich: Their robes more than generally resemble Nazi stormcoats.
  • Red Herring: Delphine believes they are behind the dragon attacks. They're not.
    • Not Me This Time: They are, however, responsible for tensions between the Empire and the Stormcloaks being as bad as they are.
  • Screw You, Elves: Everyone, even Bethesda. One dev wanted to put in an "elf grinder" trap that would turn them into sparkly purple powder. "Because they deserve it". They even now provide the image for this trope... in a way.
  • State Sec: Though after the Great War, the Thalmor are struggling to rebuild their military, with much of their invasion force utterly wiped out in the Battle of the Red Ring and subsequent heavy losses in Hammerfell. They don't have the numbers for overt action.... yet.
  • Well-Intentioned Extremist: Their goals are the destruction of Mundus and a return to the original state of existence, a goal which about half the cultures of Tamriel would support. Unfortunately, their current method requires the removal of humanity from the mythic. However, it is possible that the souls of the dead humans would return to the original state along with everyone else, consider there is no such thing as a "human" soul. There is nothing to excuse the fact that they are Nazis By Another Name though.

Elenwen

voiced by: Jean Gilpin

Emissary of the Thalmor to the region of Skyrim. Also Ulfric's former interrogator when he was a POW of the Thalmor during the Great War.

  • Ass in Ambassador: Sort of. She is a bit condescending, of course, but she's much more pleasant about it than her immediate subordinate who flat out tells you "we are going to kill or enslave you all" at a party.
  • Bad Boss: If you are her servant, you'd better do what she says or she will send you to the torture chambers. Hell, even if you're loyal to a fault, she might just leave you to die, anyway. This is what will happen to Ondolemar if you hand over control of Markarth to the Stormcloaks during Season Unending, which she's perfectly fine with.
  • Bigger Bad: She's the leader and/or public face of all the Thalmor in Skyrim, and they're both the reason this whole mess started to begin with as well as a future possible antagonist. They haven't made any big moves yet, what with the unexpected plague of dragons, but a clash somewhere in the future is inevitable.
  • Blatant Lies: She claims that the Civil War in Skyrim is beneath the Thalmors' concern. The Dossier concerning Ulfric Stormcloak reveals that the Thalmor are very concerned about the Civil War in Skyrim and want it to remain unresolved for as long as possible. The Thalmor are also responsible for instigating the Civil War in the first place, though they are worried that Ulfric is becoming too powerful to control. They also worry about a Skyrim under Ulfric's leadership.
  • Chekhov's Gunman: She can be glimpsed briefly on horseback talking to General Tullius in Helgen. She doesn't show up until the end of the first act of the main quest.
  • Cold-Blooded Torture: A veteran of this.
  • Faux Affably Evil: She's just as mean, arrogant, and nasty as every other Thalmor member, but she's smart enough to know that putting in the bare minimum to appear Affably Evil will do more good than acting like a straight Jerkass all the time.
  • Lean and Mean: Has a scrawny build befitting of a Thalmor mage, and is a nasty piece of work on top of that.
  • Karma Houdini: In terms of story presence, she neatly exits it with no repercussions despite having tortured Ulfric in the past, playing a major part in the trauma that spurns him on to this day, and The Reveal that she's doing all she can to keep the Civil War running from behind the scenes. However, she merely retreats to the Thalmor Embassy once her role in the story is over. While the front door is impossible to open, you can easily hop into the courtyard and get in through the back door via simple physics exploits. Her essential status, as you'll quickly discover, has been turned off. You know what to do.
  • Kick the Dog: With that knowledge that she was Ulfric's former interrogator/torturer in mind, her insisting that she attend the peace meeting at High Hrothgar no longer reads as her merely being an Obstructive Bureaucrat, but her wanting to watch the man she traumatized squirm.
  • Manipulative Bitch: A dossier at the Thalmor Embassy reveals that she was Ulfric's interrogator when he was imprisoned during the Great War, and tortured him until he broke and revealed sensitive information. Said information was useless to the Thalmor, but Elenwen made him believe that it led to the downfall and capture of the Imperial City anyway. All of a sudden, it's easy to see where the more negative aspects of his personality come from.
  • A Nazi By Any Other Name: Her skills at torture and interrogation coupled with her Faux Affably Evil attitude practically make her the Elven version of Christian Szell.
  • Shut UP, Hannibal: If she's allowed to remain at the peace conference between the Empire and the Stormcloaks, Tullius or Ulfric will have enough of her smug, preening attitude and tell her to shut the hell up.
  • Smug Snake: While she's more competent than just about every other Thalmor agent you run into put together, she's still way too overconfident for her own good. You completely fool her into thinking you're a legitimate guest at her party despite how much you stick out, and you can easily get her kicked out of the peace conference between the Empire and the Stormcloaks, causing her to storm off sulking like a child after trying to use her presence as an excuse to get a rise out of Ulfric.
  • The Sociopath: She's sadistic, ruthless, and cruel, even by the standards of the Thalmor. However, her seemingly charming presentation and her history with Ulfric as well as the trauma she inflicted on him shows that she's good at getting into people's heads and manipulating them as well. Since it's these traits that allow her to instigate conflicts and keep the bloody Civil War going on for as long as the Thalmor need it to, it makes her a lot more dangerous than her aggressively rude and hostile compatriots.
  • Troll: During "Season Unending", she claims to be accompanying Tullius and Rikke so she can oversee the peace conference and make sure that the outcome isn't detrimental towards the Aldmeri Dominion. And that's certainly a truth. But it's also obvious that she really wants to stir the pot and mess with Ulfric, all while making sure that she makes the Empire look as bad as possible in the process.

Ondolemar

A high-ranking member of the Thalmor who works in Markarth to arrest Talos worshippers.

  • Butt Monkey: He's a Thalmor, and an exceptionally assholish one at that. He's also not wearing any armor, not flagged as essential, and his quest doesn't offer much of a reward, so if you've got a spare forty septims...
  • Defiant to the End: Slimy little creep he may be, Ondolemar is no coward. A cut Civil War quest would have had Galmar execute him the second the Stormcloaks take control of Markarth, but not before Ondolemar taunts him, and then sneers that the Nords will all be made slaves to the Thalmor before his head is separated from his body.
  • The Dragon: To Elenwen, since he's the head of her Justiciars.
  • Jerkass: Elenwen, to her credit, at least acts nice at her party during "Diplomatic Immunity". Ondolemar? He struts around the embassy sneering about Imperial degeneracy and claiming that "It's only a matter of time before your whole rotten Empire collapses of its own decay," to the guests. Yeah.
  • Karmic Death: It's heavily implied he is killed when/if the Stormcloaks take control of Markarth. He disappears, and a coffin containing items he carries can be found in the Hall of the Dead. This was actually intended to be something you'd see for yourself in a cut civil war mission, where after taking over Markarth, Galmar would grab this little toad and execute him himself.
    • Even if he isn't killed by the Stormcloaks, he can easily be killed by you by simply walking up to him and lopping off his head. Killing him and his bodyguards will set all the guards into "Stop right there criminal scum!" mode, but you only have to pay a measly forty septims for assault.
  • A Nazi by Any Other Name: As with all Thalmor. He's the head of their equivalent to the Gestapo, if you want to get into the specifics.
  • Pet the Dog: He's the only member of the Thalmor you can actually befriend, and helping him out will have him greet you as a friend both in Markarth and at Elenwen's party, even if you're a human (presumably, he thinks you're "one of the good ones"). Of course, the only way you can befriend him is to rat out a Talos worshiper to him...
  • Smug Snake: "You have the honor of addressing a member of the Thalmor. Bask in it."
  • Worthy Opponent: Well, maybe "worthy" isn't the right term, but he definitely has more respect for the Stormcloaks than he does for the Empire. At Elenwen's party, he'll say that as barbaric as they are, he commends them for actually fighting for their principles.

Ancano

Voiced by: Alexander Brandon

A Thalmor mage visiting the College of Winterhold as an "advisor" of sorts.

  • Big Bad: Of the Winterhold College questline. Let's face it, you definitely saw it coming.
  • Climax Boss: In a game full of Anticlimax Bosses, he makes for a surprisingly effective final boss for the College's questline. He's a powerful mage to begin with, but to actually hurt him, you have to mess around with the Eye of Magnus to put an end to his invincibility, all while he's trying to nuke you with powerful spells and Magical Anomalies are nipping at your toes. What ensues is a hectic, chaotic struggle for survival as you put an end to his insane ambitions.
  • Drunk on the Dark Side: He goes off the deep end very quickly after tapping into the Eye of Magus.
  • Evil Chancellor: Is evidently an adviser of Savos Aren, though you never actually see him do any actual advising so much as you see him ineffectively try to boss him around.
  • Evil Is Sexy: Nirya definitely thinks so. And to be fair, he is quite handsome.
  • Evil Sorcerer: Naturally, given that he's a Thalmor mage. Still, the extent of his villainy is definitely shocking once he reveals how far he's willing to go.
  • Hero-Killer: He kills both Savos Aren and Mirabelle Ervine before you finally take him down.
  • Jerkass: Goes without saying: it's the natural state of mind for Thalmor lackeys. Still, credit where it's due: his Jerkass behavior is less "humans are stupid and ugly and deserving of nothing less than total genocide" and more "I'm the smartest man/mer in the room, and I'm Surrounded by Idiots."
  • Jerk With the Heart of A Jerk: There are times where he almost sounds like he may have a Hidden Heart of Gold somewhere deep inside him. Almost. But just before you start thinking he may end up being Tamriel's answer to Severus Snape, him going batshit insane and trying to destroy reality makes it clear just what kind of person he really is.
  • Long White-Haired Pretty Boy: Ancano is male, has long white hair and is an elf. The rest follows naturally from that.
  • A Nazi by Any Other Name: All Thalmor are this, to a man.
  • Obviously Evil: Even in-game, nobody trusts him. Even the Altmer mages don't much like him hanging around to "observe" (though one of them does think he's rather attractive).
    • He does at least try and make some effort of hiding it, at least at first. He claims he's simply there to foster relations, that now that the great war is over the Thalmor only want to co-exist with the Empire and help Skyrim. Compared to other Thalmor who openly say that "the empire exists because we allow it to exist" and "we're totally getting ready for another attack on you guys", Ancano is downright subtle.
  • Omnicidal Maniac: He plans to use the Eye of Magnus to destroy Mundus and return all Altmer to pre-creation divinity.
  • Perpetual Frowner: As if he wasn't enough of a dick already, he always looks like he just stepped in a steaming pile of Horker shit.
  • Properly Paranoid: He has every reason to be worried when a member of the Psijic Order comes knocking, asks to speak with you, specifically, and won't let him in the loop as to what's going on. His evil plan is already being unraveled before he can truly set it into motion.

Estormo

A Thalmor goon who answers to Ancano. He'd be an otherwise unremarkable character if he wasn't perhaps one of the game's biggest victims of Suicidal Overconfidence...

  • Butt Monkey: His Suicidal Overconfidence and hilariously overblown Smug Snake demeanor make him a VERY satisfying little Thalmor bug to squish. So satisfying, in fact, that many players have made the act of killing him into an art form.
  • Famous Last Words: "You fool! You don't stand a chance!"
  • Faux Affably Evil: He "politely" reassures you that he's only killing you on Ancano's orders and that it isn't personal... while not even bothering to hide the disdainful condescension in his voice.
  • Mauve Shirt: While he's your typical smug, punchable Thalmor mage, he stands out thanks to just how hilariously overconfident he is in taking you down.
  • Skippable Boss: As if he weren't pathetic enough, killing him is optional, so you can just send him flying across the crypt ass-over-teakettle with Unrelenting Force/Cyclone, or turn him into an Elven Popsicle with Ice Form before calmly strolling out of Labyrinthian.
  • Smug Snake: While this goes for literally every single member of the Thalmor, he might just be the group's Most Triumphant Example.
  • Squishy Wizard: If you decide not to bother with magic and come after him with a weapon, you stand a good chance of killing the poor sap in one hit.
  • Suicidal Overconfidence: Your target is a man/woman who single-handedly tore their way through a massive ancient Nordic crypt packed full of Draugr, Skeletons, a Skeleton Dragon, and a Dragon Priest that was so powerful that Savos Aren could only seal him away. By killing the Dragon Priest, he/she now has a deadly mage-killing weapon that also doubles as the one crippling weakness of your boss' master plan. In order to kill him/her, do you rally together a massive Thalmor execution squad to storm the crypt and help you take on this Physical God? Or do you go after said Physical God all by yourself while acting like a smug little prick? Estormo’s answer, of course, is the latter.
  • Too Dumb to Live: Ditto for the above.

Rulindil

Third Emissary of the Thalmor, and the embassy’s resident Torture Technician.

  • Asshole Victim: A sociopathic Jerkass with a love of torture? Yeah, no sympathy for him once you put him to the sword.
  • Beard of Evil: It's not every day you see a Thalmor agent with any sort of facial hair, yet he's got a full beard (and a well-groomed one, at that).
  • Cold-Blooded Torture: His specialty.
  • Hero Worshipper: A letter he wrote to Elenwen reveals that he looks up to her as a personal hero. Let THAT sink in.
  • Jerkass: Being a torturer working for The Elder Scrolls‍'‍ equivalent to the Nazi party means that you're not a good guy to begin with. But a brief look at his relationship with Gissur shows that he's a real asshole to his allies as well (then again, Gissur is a human, so who knows if he's this unpleasant towards his fellow High Elves).
  • Mauve Shirt: Doesn't survive his introductory quest, but his pronounced love of torture and on-screen beating of a helpless prisoner help him stand out. They also ensure that you'll want to kill him in the most brutal and humiliating way possible.
  • The Sociopath: Sadistic, heartless, and has zilch in terms of people skills or empathy. When you walk in on him overseeing Etienne's torture, he treats it less like the vicious act of cruelty that it is and more like your typical day at the office.
  • Torture Technician: His day job, which he is very passionate about.

Captain Valmir

A member of the Thalmor hunting down a Dragon Priest mask for his superiors. He's encountered just outside of the ruins of Forelhost, and will be disguised as either an Imperial soldier or a Stormcloak commander depending on the side you picked during the Civil War.

  • Bears are Bad News: In the sense that he's a Thalmor goon that will, at some point of his associated questline, end up wearing the bearskin outfit favored by Stormcloak commanders while trying to trick passersby into helping him loot a powerful Dragon Priest mask from a dangerous haunted ruin. The man himself though is a total wimp.
  • Big Bad Wannabe: A far bigger wimp than Rahgot, the Dragon Priest lurking at the end of the ruin he sends you into.
  • Guttural Growler: While it's the same voice Stephen Russell uses for all "MaleSlyCynical" NPC's, it stands out here due to coming out of the mouth of a Thalmor member (many of which are Evil Brits with high, snooty voices).
  • I Can Explain: When you leave Forelhost with Rahgot's mask in hand, you'll walk in on Valmir giving the same orders he gave you to an Imperial/Stormcloak soldier (whichever faction you opposed/are opposing during the Civil War) while wearing the clothes of their commanding officer. The soldier immediately realizes he's been had, and turns hostile while Valmir has a major Oh Crap moment.
  • Mauve Shirt: Another Thalmor goon who doesn't survive his introductory quest, but his Paper-Thin Disguise (especially as a Stormcloak officer) makes it hard to forget him.
  • Paper-Thin Disguise: To his credit, his Imperial disguise is actually pretty convincing. His Stormcloak Officer disguise, however? Not so much.
  • Token Non-Human: Tries to pass himself as this to the Stormcloaks, with him pretending to be a High Elf commander of their ranks.

Gissur

A Nord informant and toady to the Thalmor. He's their eyes and ears in places where they'd normally attract too much negative attention.

  • Greed: His reason for siding with the Thalmor.
  • Jerkass: Very rude and snippy when he isn't playing the part of a race traitor kiss-ass.
  • The Mole: This is the role he plays for his elven masters, as mentioned above.
  • The Quisling: Is willing to sell out his own people to a bunch of genocidal human-hating racists simply because of how much money they're paying him.
  • Token Human: The only Nord (or human, period) to willingly and enthusiastically work for the Thalmor. Even if he's only in it for the paycheck, it doesn't make him any less pathetic.
  • Too Dumb to Live: The guy tries to attack The Dragonborn. Even the Thalmor know this is a bad idea, and urge him to keep his distance and not make contact in a letter that he's carrying with him.

Shavari

A Khajiit you might run into in Riften during the main quest. She's the only Khajiit that can be found inside of a city, and that's because she's a Thalmor agent with orders to stalk and kill you.

  • Cats Are Mean: Trying to talk to her will cause her to rudely dismiss you. True, you are her target, but still!
  • Highly-Visible Ninja: Let's give her credit where it's due: she keeps her distance while following you and doesn't go out of her way to draw attention to herself or attack you until she's supposed to. But the fact that she's a Khajiit inside of a city's walls is enough to tip you off that there's something fishy about her since every other Khajiit you meet is either a nomad, part of a group living outside of polite society, or a loner camping out in the wilderness.
  • Professional Killer: She's an assassin working for the Thalmor.
  • They Look Just Like Everyone Else: While being a Khajiit means that she's bound to stick out, the fact that she at least tries to look like an inconsequential civilian means that, on paper, she's actually quite the effective killer. Unfortunately for her, she's still a woman in plainclothes trying to kill the Dragonborn and Esbern with a tiny little dagger.
  • Token Minority: Yet another non-Altmer in service of the Thalmor.

J'datharr

A Khajiit assassin working for the Thalmor. If Malborn dies during your escape from the Thalmor Embassy, he won't show up at all. But if he survives, he'll be waiting outside the gates of Windhelm for a chance to kill him while disguised as a member of a Khajiit caravan.

  • My Species Doth Protest Too Much: Not him, but invoked by Ri'saad. He has no love for the Thalmor and if you ask him about an assassin infiltrating his ranks, he gladly points the "Thalmor filth" out to you so you can kill him.
  • Obviously Evil: His dark fur, eerie eyes, sneering face, and overall shifty disposition make it clear that he's not a guy to be trusted.
  • Permanently Missable Content: If Malborn died during Diplomatic Immunity, you'll never see him and his associated sidequest will be unavailable.
  • Professional Killer: Like Shavari, he's a hired killer working for the Thalmor. Looting his corpse once you kill him reveals that he's got a bow, arrows, and a few poisons, showing that he prefers sniping his targets as opposed to getting up close and personal with them.
  • Super-Persistent Predator: He's been hanging around outside of Windhelm for days and will wait even longer than that for Malborn to show himself.
  • Token Minority: One of two Khajiit assassins doing the Thalmor's dirty work.

Daedric Princes

Powerful god-like spirits (Daedra) who, while not involved in the creation of the world, are often involved in the affairs of mortals. Most tend to be seen as evil, though this varies between cultures. There are 17 known Daedric Princes following the events of Shivering Isles, but only 16 of them are seen in Skyrim. Note that while they may appear as male or female, Daedric Princes are beyond any such qualification. Also note that the tropes listed here will pertain to their roles in this game specifically.

Tropes applicable to all Daedric Princes

  • Blue and Orange Morality: Mortals tend to see them as evil or good, but Daedric Princes often insist they are far beyond these petty limits. Even the good Daedra would point out that applying human morality to beings like the Daedra operates on certain flawed assumptions.
  • Eldritch Abomination: As usual, they're an entire collective of these.
  • Evil Is One Big Happy Family: Completely averted. Most of the Princes mortals would call evil can't stand each other. Molag Bal and Boethiah have a particularly heated rivalry.
  • Jerkass Gods: Most of them. Even the "good" ones have quite the mean streak to them.
  • Large Ham: All of them, but especially Molag Bal, Hermaeus Mora, Sheogorath and Meridia.
  • No Biological Sex: Being otherworldly beings, the Daedra don't really have a set biological sex. Several of them are portrayed as male or female in their descriptions and both interpretations are said to be equally valid.
  • Physical God: Several of the Princes take corporeal forms, or otherwise interact with you on the physical plane via spectral projections.

Azura

Voiced by: Lynda Carter

The Daedric Prince of Twilight, Dawn and Dusk and Prophecy. Said to be Nocturnal's sister. One of the few Daedras regarded as "good". Azura is (most likely) the one who turned the Chimer into the Dunmer when they broke their oaths. She also was behind the prophecy of the Nerevarine, which formed the plot of Morrowind. In Skyrim, Azura seeks to give the Dovahkiin her artifact, Azura's Star, a re-usable soul gem. Sadly the star has been taken and tampered with, meaning the Dovahkiin needs to recover it and fix it first...

  • Absolute Cleavage: She shows a lot of cleavage on her statue. It's less lewd than in Daggerfall, where she actually went topless, but it still makes for quite the striking appearance.
  • Dark Is Not Evil: As the loading screens note, she's one of the few Daedric Princes not considered inherently evil.
  • Did You Just Scam Cthulhu?: If you choose to purify Azura's Star on your own, it becomes a re-usable black soul gem called the Black Star.
  • Disproportionate Retribution: Because the Chimer's leaders betrayed her, she cursed the entire race. This being The Elder Scrolls, there is an alternate theory: she showed up to curse the leaders[6] and pointed out the Chimer had turned ashen-faced while she was at it. The fact that no explanation for why or how they were transformed was included meant she got the blame.[7] Even then, the trope still applies: the thing we know she did back then led directly and with her foreknowledge to the devastation of Morrowind.
    • Then, there's what she did to Malyn Varen. On one hand, messing with a Daedric Prince's artifact, no wonder how well-intentioned, is always a very, very bad idea. But on the other, did he really deserve to be driven murderously insane over it?
  • Evil Pays Better: The (mostly) good end of her questline is to purify Azura's Star, receiving it as a reusable white Soul Gem and gaining Aranea Ienith as a potential follower. On the other hand, you can complete the corruption and transform it into the Black Star... which can hold all types of souls, including human. Black Soul Gems are expensive and uncommon, and humans souls produce the most effective enchantments...
  • Good Is Not Nice: That said, she is still a Daedric Prince: she always has her own agenda.
  • The Unseen: Or Unheard, at any rate. If you decide to turn her artifact into the Black Star, she'll never speak to you (which is the furthest that she, and several other Princes, go in terms of interacting with you altogether).
  • Your Soul Is Mine: Her artifact, Azura's Star, is a reuseable Soul Gem that can hold any type of White Soul. Standard fare for her, but in this game? You can corrupt it and turn it into a reuseable Black Soul Gem, which, as the name implies, will also hold the Black Souls of sentient beings.

Boethiah

Voiced by: Jean Gilpin

Daedric Prince of Treason, Murder, Deceit, Conspiracy and the Overthrowing of Authority. Not a nice prince, although Dunmer tradition disagrees on that. Boethiah is one of two Daedric Princes who has not chosen a definitive gender (gender being a mortal construct) and appears as a woman in Skyrim. Boethiah's artifact is the Ebony Mail, a dark armor capable of poisoning those around the wearer, and able to cloak its user in shadows. Boethiah desires the elimination of her previous champion, but first a Human Sacrifice needs to be made.

  • A God I Am Not: She's genuinely offended if you ask if she's a god. Not because she's humble, but because she declares herself and her fellow Daedra more powerful than any god.
  • Bad Boss: Her demand of her followers is that they independently follow their own desires... just as long as those desires are completely in line with her own. The minute a follower fails that balancing act, things turn ugly.
  • Black Knight: Her usual appearance, though in this game her statue portrays a Dunmer swordswoman enveloped by what appear to be thick, spiny tendrils of some kind. You can invoke this look by wearing the Ebony Mail you earn from helping her out.
  • Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: She exists to cause and exacerbate the condition in mortals. In a way, she embodies it.
  • Cruelty Is the Only Option: You want that sweet, sweet Ebony Mail? You'll have to sacrifice a follower in her name to get it. Thankfully, there are a few guilt-free sacrifices you can offer up, such as Eola and Sven.
  • Dark Is Evil: Hoo boy. Between her love of sneaky assassinations, the poison-spewing black armor you get for helping her, and the mountain of bodies that pile up as a result of helping her, Boethiah proves to be one of the most malicious Daedra in the game (if not, the series overall).
  • Demonic Possession: By way of Human Sacrifice. Boethiah apparently finds mortal flesh distasteful.
  • For the Evulz: Why does she make her followers fight to the death? Because she can. Why does she have her champion killed and replaced? Because she can. Get the gist, yet?
  • Gameplay and Story Segregation: She repeatedly orders you to kill her new champion and his bandit lackeys without ever being seen, but nothing bad happens if you rush in guns a-blazing and you'll still get the Ebony Mail.
  • Gender Flip: She's female this time around (which was actually how she was back in Daggerfall), as opposed to a guy like in Oblivion and Morrowind.
  • Hypocrite: In the same breath, she'll bemoan mindlessly loyal followers as unneeded thralls while proclaiming that she'll destroy anyone whose will doesn't align perfectly with hers.
  • If You're So Evil Eat This Kitten: Summoning Boethiah requires you to prove you are treacherous enough to work for her. To do that, you need to find someone who trusts you enough to follow you, take them to Boethiah's altar, and sacrifice them.
  • Let's You and Him Fight: Is fond of making people fight each other to the death if they want to earn her favor, just like in Oblivion.
  • Manipulative Bitch: What her sphere of influence entails: betrayal, conspiracy, treason, etc. To get the Ebony Mail, you have to kill her current champion since she's grown dissatisfied with him, and you're intended to kill him (as well as his entire company of bandits) stealthily. Her quest ends there, but originally, she was supposed to have another quest that would take this trope even further: one that would have you murder Elisif, which would lead to Erikur becoming the new Jarl of Haafingar in her place and thus cover the "conspiracy, treason, and unlawful overthrowing of authority" parts of her sphere of influence.
  • Poisonous Person: The Ebony Mail turns you into one. When you're in combat, enemies that get too close will be poisoned and slowly take damage until they die, you die, or they simply get out of its area of effect.
  • The Sociopath: Yeah, yeah, Daedra are Above Good and Evil, but there's no denying that she still hits all the criteria: she's a malicious, manipulative, backstabbing psychopath who revels in inflicting pain and getting mortals to betray each other, and will dispose of her champions purely on a whim. She also encourages her followers to be this, with her ideal champion being someone who sneers at the notion of honor, always looks out for their own selfish desires, and murders, betrays, and manipulates others to get what they want.

Clavicus Vile

Voiced by: Stephen Russell

Daedric Prince of Pacts and Invocations. Typical "deal with the devil" kind of stuff. Clavicus is perhaps the best example of the moral complexities of Daedra. He can be very self-serving and cruel. Indeed, often he's a Jackass Genie, but he's also shown to be willing to freely reward people who work towards the greater good (as seen in Redguard and Morrowind). His good streak may be due to Barbas, his companion who takes the form of a dog, theorized to be the manifestation of his conscience. Clavicus Vile's artifact is his Masque, known to make the wearer more charismatic.

  • Aliens of London: Or in his case, Daedra of Australia. Just listen to that accent of his!
  • An Axe to Grind: The Rueful Axe, which you get as part of his questline (and can keep if you follow his command to kill Barbas). While its in-game effect is nothing special (it's a dime-a-dozen stamina-damaging weapon), in-universe, it's capable of killing powerful Daedric entities, given that it's the one weapon that's capable of killing Barbas.
  • Be Careful What You Wish For: His stock in trade, particularly in Skyrim.
  • Deadpan Snarker: He's an awfully sarcastic god.
  • Deal with the Devil: His modus operandi.
  • Expy: Being a horned trickster god brings several interpretations of Loki to mind.
  • Guide Dang It: In the process of obtaining the Masque, Vile sends you to obtain the Rueful Axe, which is (technically speaking) another of his artifacts. If you feel so inclined, you can give up the Masque and keep the Axe if you use it to kill Barbas. However, for the purposes of the Oblivion Walker Achievement/Trophy (obtaining all 15 Daedric artifacts), only the Masque counts. At no point is this ever hinted at, and often you won't find out about it until several hours later when you've finally gotten all the artifacts and don't have an achievement. It's especially infuriating when you consider that the Axe is a possible loading image that accompanies the loading quote about Daedric artifacts (suggesting it should be considered one), and the two other Daedric quests with multiple potential artifacts (Azura and Hircine's) don't have this problem.
  • Horned Humanoid: As usual, going by how he's portrayed by his statue.
  • Jackass Genie: Making a deal with him will never work out for you, because he will always find a way to twist it into something horrible.
  • Jerkass: He's quite the mouthy douche, but his Jerkass behavior really shines with those who actively bargain with him. Just look at the Mercy Kill example below.
  • Mercy Kill/You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: After ridding his lair of his vampire patrons (who asked to be cured of their vampirism), he thanks the player for putting them out of their misery.
    • Exact Words: To be specific, they asked for "an end to their curse." A similar request was made by a worshipper who's daughter had become an werewolf: he asked for a way to end her curse, and Clavicus gave him an axe.
  • Morality Pet: Literally: Barbas is his external conscience.
  • Murder Is the Best Solution: His favorite way to grant wishes is to get the wisher killed, or have them kill someone that they want to help.
  • Pet the Dog: While he orders you to kill Barbas, he'll let the pooch return to his side if you defy his orders. He isn't happy about it at first, but it quickly becomes apparent that he truly does like having him around.
  • Satan: He's one of several Daedra who can lay claim to being the universe's equivalent to Old Scratch. In his case, he embodies his manipulative tendencies and deceptively one-sided deals.

Hermaeus Mora

Voiced by: Wes Johnson

Daedric Prince of Fate, Treasures, Knowledge (especially the forbidden kind) and Memory. Hermaeus Mora looks like some sort of Eldritch Abomination. It seeks to have the Dragonborn help his current champion open a mysterious Dwemer Box. Fittingly, its artifact is the Oghma Infinium, a tome of forbidden knowledge than can raise all the skills under a specific guardian sign.

  • Affably Evil: He's very polite for a horrifically Lovecraftian Daedric Prince. He deliberately acts this way since giving his servants boons, blessings, and general freedom to do as they wish will ensure they stay loyal to him and do what he wants. Not that it stopped Miraak from getting ideas above his station, however.
  • Ascended Extra: In previous games, he was one of many background Daedra that acted as glorified questgivers. That was also the case in Skyrim's original release. But come Dragonborn, he follows in the steps of Hircine and Mehrunes Dagon by becoming a major threat during the DLC's storyline.
  • The Bad Guy Wins: When you finish Dragonborn's main story, Mora walks away after getting exactly what he wants. The secrets of the Skaal are now his, and he's successfully removed Miraak from the board while strong-arming you into becoming his new champion.
  • Berserk Button: Do not try to hide secrets from this guy. For that matter, don't try to trick him or scheme against him, either. While Mora is a very patient Daedra, this is a surefire way to get on his bad side. When he kills the leader of the Skaal and Miraak for doing exactly that, he drops the grandfatherly tone and bellows at them while making sure that he makes their deaths as painful as possible.
  • Bigger Bad: Of Dragonborn, where he's quickly revealed to be the man (er, Daedra) behind Miraak, the DLC's Big Bad.
  • The Chessmaster: The conflict of Dragonborn is basically Mora playing three games of chess at once and winning every single one of them. To get into the specifics...
    • The reason why he made Miraak his champion and allowed him to endanger the world is because it's all part of his gambit to take the secrets of the Skaal for himself, but he also knows that Miraak is trying to betray him, you've been proving yourself a promising replacement, and you need a specific Word of Power to reach your rival Dragonborn. So what follows is that Mora allows Miraak to further his ambitions (and thus digging his own grave even further), which puts pressure on both you and the Skaal to take him out. He then offers you the words to Bend Will, but with the caveat that you have to get the shaman of the Skaal to surrender himself to him. You can't look for the Word of Power yourself since it's somewhere in the endless, sprawling hellscape of Apocrypha, and it will take a literal eternity to find the Word Wall. Since you nor the Skaal can wait that long, the shaman has no choice but to give Mora the knowledge he wants, which leads to him teaching you the Dragon Shout that you need. With all the pieces in place, Mora wins all three games and gets everything he wants: Miraak is removed from the board entirely, the Skaal's secrets are now his, and you've been made his new champion whether you like it or not.
  • Combat Tentacles: The boons you get from his Black Books allow you to weaponize these, and of course, his Daedra minions make good use of this themselves. As for Mora himself, he kills both Storn and Miraak by impaling them with his tentacles.
  • Do Not Taunt Cthulhu: Or else you'll get impaled on his tentacles. Just ask poor Miraak.
  • Eldritch Abomination: Notably the only Daedric Lord that does not take some sort of humanoid or relatable appearance. Before the Dragonborn DLC, he manifests as a swirling vortex of dark energy. And after the DLC dropped, his form changed to that of a mess of tentacles and eyeballs peering out of several small voids.
  • Evil Sounds Deep: Carried over from Oblivion. There, it was a menacing kind of deep, while in this game, it is has a soothing, almost grandfatherly tone.
  • A Form You Are Comfortable With: Averted. Unlike the other Princes, not even his statues have any semblance to an anthropomorphic form.
  • For Knowledge!: Everything he does, he does for the sake of enriching himself with new knowledge. In fact, this is exactly why Solstheim is being plagued with weird phenomena to begin with.
  • Genuine Human Hide: Or Genuine Elven Hide, in the case of the Oghma Infinium. Its cover appears to be made of grafted skin from all five elven races he has you kill to acquire it.
  • Go Mad from the Revelation: The ghosts that haunt his realm of Apocrypha are said to continually search it for all eternity for information.
  • The Heavy: Weirdly, Mora counts as this and the Bigger Bad. While Miraak is the more active threat, he barely appears in Dragonborn's main questline. Mora, however, takes more of an active role despite being fairly hands (er, tentacles) off as the story's Bigger Bad.
  • Rare Candy: The Oghma Infinium, which provides a flat boost to every stat under the combat, magic, or stealth skill trees.
  • Signature Colors: In Dragonborn, Mora is associated with a nauseating yellowish shade of green. It's the color of his tentacles, which are a frequent sight in Apocrypha. The swampy quagmire and sky of that realm, likewise, are similarly colored.
  • Suddenly Shouting: His unflappable demeanor breaks twice in Dragonborn. The first time, he's excited and angry. The second time, he's furious.

At last! The skaal yield up their secrets TO ME!

Did you think to escape me, Miraak?! YOU CAN HIDE NOTHING FROM ME HERE!

  • Tome of Eldritch Lore: The Oghma Infinium, his quest reward is said to be this. In fact, it disappears entirely before you can finish reading the entire thing, unless you figure out and exploit its bug.
  • Took a Level in Jerkass: While he was always ruthless, Mora was never a sadistic Daedra. That's not the case in Dragonborn, where he seems to take a lot of enjoyment out of killing Storn and Miraak. True, the latter wanted to betray him, but still...
  • Video Game Caring Potential: While getting the Oghma Infinium requires you to kill one member of every Mer race and harvest their blood, you don't have to kill any friendly NPC's to do so. Falmer are feral and hostile by default and the one friendly Snow Elf is unkillable, and evil Orcs, Dark Elves, Wood Elves, and High Elves are not in short supply.
  • You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: His Daedric quest ends with Septimus' death. However, it doesn't seem to be done out of knowing cruelty or spitefulness: it's simply a cold, clinical monster with an alien mindset simply getting rid of a tool that can no longer properly serve its function.

Hircine

Voiced by: Daniel Riordan/Craig Sechler

Daedric Lord of the Hunt. Known for his Wild Hunts. He's also the patron of werewolves, as he created Lycantropy. It is said that werewolves join him in his hunting grounds in death. Hircine respects only strength and those who use it by showing predator-like qualities. Hircine has two artifacts: a ring that grants a boon to werewolves, and the Savior's Hide, an armor that grants resistance to poison and magic.

  • Affably Evil: As always, Hirince is a class act. He's polite, honorable, and is perfectly willing to spare Sinding if you stick up for him.
  • Animalistic Abomination: In this game, he manifests on the plane of Mundus as a white stag.
  • Big Bad: Of Morrowind's Bloodmoon expansion.
  • Bigger Bad: Of the Companions' questline. While the Silver Hand are the Big Bad as a whole, it's Kodlak's struggle against Hircine that drives the meat of the story. Generations of Harbingers have been whisked away to Hircine's Hunting Grounds upon dying thanks to their werewolf blood tying them to his realm, and Kodlak wants to break the cycle and go to Sovngarde when he dies. Despite never appearing, Hircine casts a huge shadow over it all the same.
  • Blood Knight: It doesn't matter if the hunter or prey prevails, so long as blood is shed in a hunt, Hircine's happy. This means that defying his will and protecting Sinding will endear you to him anyway, since doing so involves killing a bunch of dangerous hunters.
  • Fair Play Villain: He always gives his prey a chance for victory, no matter how small it is.
  • Hunting the Most Dangerous Game: Even though Sinding has gravely offended him, he's still enough of a Fair Play Villain to keep from outright smiting or slaughtering him. The climax of his quest has you hunt Sinding across the wilderness of Bloated Man's Grotto in his werewolf form, and the hunt can end with him tearing you to shreds as easily as it can with you putting him down. Teaming up with Sinding to kill a bunch of other hunters will still please Hircine since it's a good hunt either way.
  • Meaningful Name: The word "hircine" means "goat-like" in the English language, although Hircine's forms tend to resemble a deer moreso. Crosses into Non-Indicative Name territory as a result.
  • Pet the Dog: If you defy his orders to kill Sinding, killing the other hunters instead, Hircine considers it a feat of equal measure and lets you keep the ring Sinding stole from him.
  • Voluntary Shapeshifting: His artifact, the Ring of Hircine which you get for protecting Sinding, allows a werewolf Dragonborn to transform as much as they want as opposed to once per day.
  • The Wild Hunt: Is the Daedric Prince of such a concept. His followers' afterlife is one big never-ending hunting party as well.

Malacath

Voiced by: Michael Donovan

Daedric Prince of the Spurned, the Ostracized, the Keeper of the Sworn Oath and the Bloody Curse. According to legend, Malacath was once Trinimac, a hero/ancestor spirit to the Orsimer (orcs). He was devoured by Boethiah (a deed Boethiah claims responsibility for when summoned in Skyrim) which turned him into Malacath and turned the Orsimer into what they are now. According to Sheogorath in Shivering Isles, Malacath is also not popular at parties. The orcs of Skyrim mostly live in strongholds were they follow a strict code of law given to them by Malacath, who respects strength through adversity. One such stronghold has recently lost the favor of Malacath, and they seek to know why... Malacath's artifact is Volendrung, a gigantic warhammer that drains enemy stamina.

  • All of the Other Reindeer: The rest of the Daedric pantheon doesn't consider him a real Prince. Given that he's the patron of pariahs, this is rather appropriate. As Sheogorath puts it, about Jyggalag, "Malacath is more popular at parties! And Malacath is NOT popular at parties!".
  • Asskicking Equals Authority: Big believer in this.
  • Berserk Button: Has no patience for cowards and weaklings among the Orcs who worship him. When Yamarz summons him in hopes of finding out why Giants keep attacking his stronghold, he verbally tears him a new one the very second he starts talking.
  • BFS: Always depicted with one, which is odd as his artifacts (Scourge and Volendrung) are a mace and hammer respectively.
  • Drop the Hammer: Volendrung, his artifact, is a gigantic warhammer that hits insanely hard and depletes the stamina of those hit by it. The guards of Skyrim's holds are both impressed and intimidated by it.

That's one big hammer.

What do you aim to do with that hammer, friend? Knock down a house?!

  • Guttural Growler: Has an incredibly harsh, snarling voice.
  • Offing the Offspring: According to the 16 Accords of Madness, Sheogorath once tricked Malacath into killing his own son, a noble orc who would have otherwise been destined to be a great hero.
  • Pet the Dog: While harsh and demanding, Malacath genuinely cares about the Orcs and Ogres who follow him, as seen by the quests he gives in Morrowind and Oblivion. That trend continues here, where he commends you for actually being helpful by taking care of Largashbur's Giant problem and potentially killing Yamarz before entrusting you with Volendrung, his artifact.
  • "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Delivers a scathing one to Yamarz at the start of his Daedric quest.

YOU PATHETIC WEAKLING! You dare summon me, Yamarz?! You don't deserve to call yourself an Orc! You're weak, you're small, and you're an embarrassment! You let giants... giants... overrun my shrine! Bring me their leader's club as an offering, and I might release you from this curse!

  • Walking Shirtless Scene: His shrines always depict him as going sans shirt. Indeed, with the exception of Daggerfall (where he wore black leather pants), he's never depicted as wearing more than a loincloth.

Mehrunes Dagon

Voiced by: Victor Raider-Wexler

Daedric Prince of Destruction, Ambition and Change. One of the most hated Daedric Princes known for his multiple attempts to invade the material plane, some of them witnessed in two games of the series, Oblivion and Battlespire, where he was the Big Bad. Mehrunes Dagon will reward the player with his dagger, the Mehrunes' Razor, which has a small chance to automatically kill anything it is used against, if he completes a small task to entertain him...

  • Bad Boss: He really seems to get a kick out of hurting and killing his followers. When Silus reassembles his artifact, he has you kill him since he feels that the Mythic Dawn have long since served your purpose. And if you kill him, he'll sic a few Dremora on you anyway just because he thinks it's funny.
  • Big Bad: In Battlespire and Oblivion. The latter game also implicated him in passing as the Man Behind the Man in Arena.
  • Big Red Devil: Out of all the Daedric Princes, he matches the depiction most closely.
  • Demoted to Extra: He doesn't have much of a role this time around, thanks to being demoted from Big Bad to part of a sidequest (albeit an important one).
  • Did You Just Flip Off Cthulhu?: While you won't get his Game Breaker of an artifact, you can basically tell him to fuck off and save Silus' life.
  • Faux Affably Evil: Like Hermaeus Mora, his voice, while intimidating, has an almost grandfatherly tone to it. Unlike Mora, he isn't interested in playing nice quickly flips the switch from "polite" to "domineering dickhead".
  • For the Evulz: His reason for asking you to kill Silus. Ditto for siccing Dremora on you even after doing as he commands.
  • Jerkass: Not a nice Daedra, to put it lightly.
  • Multi-Armed and Dangerous: Has two pairs of arms, as usual.
  • Omnicidal Maniac: Fitting as he is the daedric prince of destruction and change.
  • One-Hit Kill: Mehrunes' Razor has a chance of inflicting this when it strikes your opponents. While it has a low chance of happening and is, in theory, balanced by the dagger's otherwise low damage output, daggers swing the fastest out of all melee weapons, and dual wielding and using it in your off-hand lets you swing it even faster. And since power attacks while dual wielding hit enemies multiple times with both weapons, it's surprisingly easy to get a good roll and instant kill whoever you're fighting.
  • You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: His view of his servants. And yes, this does include you.

Mephala

Voiced by: Colleen Delany

Daedric Prince whose sphere is hidden from mortals, also known as the Webspinner. Mephala is also one of the Daedric Prince whose gender changes (female voice in Skyrim). He/she seeks to return his/her artifact, the Ebony Blade, into the hands of mortals, who are so easily corrupted. The Ebony Blade is a Dai-Katana who can leech the life of enemies and allies alike, without making the later hostile.

Meridia

Voiced by: Jean Gilpin

Daedric Prince of Living Energies and the enemy of the undead. Generally seen as a "friendly" Daedra despite the fact that her servants, the Aurorans, helped the Ayleids oppose the revolt of humans they had enslaved. Commonly considered the least evil of the Daedric Princes, but then, nobody knows about her agenda, apart from that it obviously doesn't involve zombies. For cleansing her temple, she will gift the Dovahkiin with Dawnbreaker, a sword that causes fire damage and an explosive effect that drives away the undead.

  • Cool Sword: Dawnbreaker. A golden sword with what looks like a miniature sun embedded in the pommel (which glows brighter the closer it is to an undead unit) that sets things on fire and sometimes makes zombies explode.
  • Good Is Not Soft: Its up in the air as to just how "good" Meridia is, but she does thoroughly hate the undead and those that prey upon mortals, and entreats the Dragonborn to purge corruption from all corners of Skyrim. In her name, of course.
  • Incorruptible Pure Pureness: One of her big defining traits. Unholy magic in general and necromancy in particular piss her off to no end.
  • The Undead: She hates undead, to the point that people know little else about her.
  • Winged Humanoid: Her statue depicts her as such. The avatar you personally encounter seems like a ball of pure white light.

Molag Bal

Voiced by: Christopher Smith

Molag Bal is the Daedric Prince whose sphere is the domination and enslavement of mortals. He is known as the King of Rape. It is believed that he raped a Nede (that is, ancient Nord) girl, thus creating the first vampire. His only desire is to harvest the souls of mortals and to bring mortal souls within his sway, by spreading seeds of strife and discord in the mortal realms. Helping him exact revenge on one of Boethiah's servants sees him grant the player his artifact, the Mace of Molag Bal, which drains the souls of enemies slain with it and turns them into soulstones as long as it's charged (and freaks the hell of many an NPC who witnesses it).

Namira

Voiced by: Mozhan Marnò

Daedric Prince of Darkness, Spirits and Decay. Namira's followers in Skyrim are cannibals. And should the player join them in partaking of a meal made from a certain priest the player provides, Namira will grant him her boon. Namira's artifact is the Ring of Namira, a ring that grants a bonus to stamina and health and stamina regeneration if one eats a corpse.

Nocturnal

Voiced by: Lani Minella

Daedric Prince of Shadows, Secrets, Mysteries, Suspicions and, it turns out, Luck. Said to be Azura's sister. Nocturnal is also the patron of the Thieves Guild. Nocturnal employs mortal champions known as the Nightingales who defend her temple in life and in death, before becoming one with the Ebonmere - a conduit to her realm, the Evergloam - where they may help living thieves as the luck that protects them. Nocturnal's artifact is the Skeleton Key, which can unlock any barrier physical or metaphysical, such as one's potential.

Peryite

Voiced by: Craig Sechler

Daedric Lord of Pestilence, also charged with ordering the lower planes of Oblivion. He sends pestilences and plagues to the mortal realm. He will gift the player with Spellbreaker, a dwemer shield capable of deflecting both swords and spells if the player tracks down and kills one of his priests who turned away from him. His favorite appearance is that of a dragon.

Sanguine

Daedric Prince of Debauchery, Hedonism and Darker Urges. He seeks to lead mortals astray by making them indulge a bit. Also something of a prankster. He will pose as a human and challenge the Dovahkiin to a drinking contest. If the Dovahkiin accepts and retraces his steps after blacking out, Sanguine rewards him for the entertainment. Sanguine's artifact is the Sanguine Rose, which can summon a powerful Dremora (a type of Daedra working for Mehrunes Dagon) to fight for the player.

  • Affably Evil
  • Big Red Devil: A common depiction of him. When revealing his true nature to the Dovahkiin, he opts for a Dremora variant.
  • Gargle Blaster: The Daedric Prince's special brew will get the better of you.
  • It Amused Me: His motivation for the whole quest.
  • Louis Cypher: As Sam Gueyenne in Skyrim.
  • Meaningful Name: The term Sanguine can mean either "cheerfully optimistic" or "bloody": the double meaning is appropriate for a prince whose realm encompasses both the light and dark sides of passion.
  • Spikes of Villainy: Since he takes the form of a Dremora.

Sheogorath

Voiced by: Wes Johnson

The Daedric Prince of Madness and Creativity. He shows up in a certain quest in Solitude, taking a vacation, and regales the player with his experience of the Oblivion Crisis, thinking Martin Septim is the best of the Septim bloodline (though he became a Dragon God; and that's hardly sporting; Pelagius the Mad is his second favorite for this reason). His Daedric artifact is the Wabbajack, a magic staff that, true to its creator, casts a random effect each time it's used, ranging from magical blasts to spontaneous goats to duplication to turning the target into all sorts of things. As befits, the effect is not always helpful to the caster: it may make a weak enemy much stronger or transform it into something more dangerous.

  • Be Careful What You Wish For: According to the book "Tales of Sheogorath", there was a king who banned all forms of art and celebration within his kingdom. As a result, his subjects began praying to any Gods who would listen to rescue them from their austere existence. As the Prince of both Madness and Creativity, Sheogorath heard their pleas and decided that since the king had no need of his latter gift then he would receive an overabundance of the former, causing all of the children in his Kingdom born within the next year to be irrevocably insane, including the king's own son.
  • Becoming the Mask
  • Call Back
  • Cloudcuckoolander: He is not exactly in his right mind when you meet him (on the other hand, not in his right mind is his right mind, what with being the Mad God). He's not in someone else's right mind either, for that matter.
  • Eldritch Abomination: Sheogorath is described in some sources as "a Sithis-shaped hole in the world." Either the Dread Father is far friendlier looking than one would expect, or Sheogorath is using A Form You Are Comfortable With. Or the source was speaking metaphorically.
  • Evil Twin/Gollum Made Me Do It: Initially, since he is originally the alter ego of Jyggallag that came into being when he was cursed into something he hates the most at least until the Champion of Cyrodiil takes his place, allowing Sheogorath to become essentially the Evil Twin.
  • A Form You Are Comfortable With: When Wes Johnson confirmed that the Sheogorath seen in-game is the ascended Champion of Cyrodiil, he also said that the Champion could use the Wabbajack to transform their appearance to any form they wanted. Sheogorath's in-game appearance is one of those forms.
  • Madness Tropes: He is Madness Tropes, literally. He is the physical embodiment of insanity.
  • Pet the Dog: In Skyrim, he essentially conscripts you to act as a literal Warrior Therapist for Pelagius the Mad. This stands in stark contrast to some of the other things the Princes make you do.
  • Previous Player Character Cameo: Implied in-game to be the Champion of Cyrodiil. Confirmed by the character's voice actor Wes Johnson during an interview with him at MAGFest X.

Vaermina

Voiced by: Carla Delaney

Daedric Prince of dreams and nightmares. Her artifact, the Skull of Corruption, has been locked away in a local abandoned keep, Nightcaller Temple, and been terrorizing the town of Dawnstar with horrible nightmares. When a priest of Mara requests help in destroying the artifact, Vaermina makes a counteroffer...

Other Characters

These are minor characters who do not fit in the above categories, but are still unique in their own way.

People of Eastmarch

Aventus Arentino

A young boy whose mother recently passed away who was later sent to the Honorhall Orphanage in Riften. Aventus flees back to Windhelm to escape Grelod the Kind's abuse, and rumors start circulating of his attempts to contact the Dark Brotherhood.

  • Creepy Child: He's a little boy trying to contact a cult of death worshiping assassins using his dead mother's bloody remains as the Black Sacrament.
    • Heartwarming Orphan: Bizarrely enough, he still manages to be this too. He's only contacting the Brotherhood because he wants to save his friends from Grelod's horrible abuse.
  • Determinator: He escaped Honorhall Orphanage, somehow survived the trek through the bear-and-wolf infested wilderness separating Riften and Windhelm (and there's at least one dragon lair on the way between Holds), and is clearly exhausted when you eavesdrop on him performing the Black Sacrament. Yet as tired as he is, he won't stop trying to summon an assassin until you finally talk to him.
  • Hero Worshipper: To the Dark Brotherhood after you fulfill his contract. He tells you that he's going to become an assassin too when he grows up so he can help other children like you helped him.
  • Take That Player: His quest, and the overall introduction to the Dark Brotherhood is carefully designed to make you feel a little ashamed of yourself. In Oblivion, it was possible to be contacted by the Brotherhood by accident, but not so in this game. Specifically, you must break into Aventus's home, pretend to be someone you're not (although the only other choice is to walk away and leave the quest unfinished), murder an Asshole Victim in cold blood, and then return to a child and tell him that you just solved all of his problems through murder. Congratulations on screwing up a kid even worse than he was before, Dovahkiin!
  • Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Arentino's childish attempts to contact the Brotherhood ultimately determine the future of the Brotherhood itself, ranging from its potential destruction to the death of the Emperor.

Calixto Corrium

Voiced by: George Coe

The eccentric proprietor of Windhelm's House of Curiosities, where he has an interesting variety of items on display. And a very dark secret.

  • Affably Evil: He's friendly for a brutal murderer.
  • Beware the Nice Ones: His cheery and eccentric demeanour masks a core of stone-cold lunacy.
  • Chekhov's Gunman: When you first come upon a murder victim in Windhelm, he'll be one of the witnesses, and the game sets him up as just a random bystander. Turns out, he's a just little more important than that...
  • Collector of the Strange: Among other things, he's collected some embalming tools from ancient Nord barrows, a shelf full of rare alchemy ingredients, several soul gems, a "Book of Fate" (which looks blank to you, but it's supposed to reveal your future) and a supposedly mystical flute whose tune could make any listener dance uncontrollably. There is a reason why the Dovahkiin would only see blank pages in the Book of Fate even if Calixto is telling the truth about it showing one's future: the Dovahkiin doesn't exactly have a defined destiny in the way most others have.
  • Cool Old Guy: He's a sweet old man and is quite the entertaining host should you visit his home. Which makes it a crying shame that he's a total lunatic.
  • Dead Little Sister: After being left a respectable sum of money when their parents died, Calixto and his sister traveled Skyrim to find strange things and sights. When she passed away, he opened the shop in her memory to exhibit what they found, hoping that she'd approve of their finds bringing other people happiness. Oh, and he's murdering people to get the material to resurrect her too.
  • Freudian Excuse: The death of his sister did a number on his sanity, and his murders and necromantic rituals are his attempt at bringing her back to life.
  • Memetic Badass: He tells a story about an in-universe one: Ysgramor, who was able to eat soup with a fork. And he has the very implement on display (it's even labelled 'Ysgramor's Soup Spoon' despite being a fork)!
  • Necromancer: Possibly. He seems to know a fair amount about the subject and has in his possession the Necromancer's Amulet. [[Necromantic|He's trying to bring his Dead Little Sister back to life]].
  • Red Herring: Bring him the Strange Amulet you find among a murderer's possessions, and he'll identify it as a Wheelstone, tokens given to some court mages upon their appointment to the position. Describe it to Windhelm's actual court mage and he'll all but Face Palm at the misidentification. Entirely deliberate on Calixto's part: he's throwing you off the trail. The Amulet is a powerful Necromantic token.
  • Retired Badass: Journeyed all over Tamriel with his sister.
  • Serial Killer: Turns out he's The Butcher, an infamous serial killer stalking the streets of Windhelm.
  • Sibling Team: He and his sister apparently went on all sorts of adventures in the past.
  • Too Dumb to Live: Seriously, Calixto: what in the world made you think that trying to stab and kill a woman in a busy marketplace without any sort of disguise would work out for you? Considering just how fucked in the head he is, however, it could easily be a case of him mentally unraveling even further to the point that his drive to kill drowns out his survival instincts.
  • Walking Spoiler: To say that this old coot's got some Hidden Depths would be an understatement.

Clan Shatter-Shield

A family in mourning, they are trying to cope with the recent murder of Friga Shatter-Shield and the robbery that followed, seemingly committed by a family friend.

  • Ancestral Weapon: Aegisbane, their warhammer. Because of its significance to their family, Alain Dufont's theft of the hammer, paired with him framing Muiri for helping him steal it, is enough to destroy their faith in a woman that they once considered their surrogate daughter.
  • Asshole Victim: Torbjorn and Tova, at the very least, aren't exactly squeaky clean themselves. They cheat their Argonian workers out of their wages and hire pirates to terrorize the East Empire Trading Company, though they'll at least pay the Argonians fairly and without complaint should you befriend Torbjorn. As crooked as they are, though, Tova killing herself should you kill Nilsine, and Torbjorn ending up completely alone as a result, are often agreed to be a step too far for even the most cold-hearted Dark Brotherhood players.
  • Awesome McCoolname: For all their woes, they still have a decent sobriquet.
  • Corrupt Corporate Executive: Torbjorn and Tova, thanks to their treatment of Argonians and their connection to the Blood Horker pirates.
  • Dead Twin Sister: Friga is this to Nilsine Shatter-Shield.
  • Driven to Suicide: If Nisline dies as well, Tova commits suicide in her grief, leaving her husband Torbjorn as the only surviving member.
  • Drowning My Sorrows: Tova Shatter-Shield has taken to alcohol to cope with her daughter's death.
  • Fantastic Racism: As mentioned above, they're quite awful to their Argonian workers and pay them far less than their other employees. Thankfully, they'll stop once you stand up for them.
  • Gameplay and Story Segregation: Sadly, there's no way to give Aegisbane back to them. You can kill Alain Dufont, loot it from his corpse, and talk to them while carrying the warhammer in your hands, but they won't even slightly react to it.
  • Miscarriage of Justice: Muiri, a family friend, came to share in the family's grievances, only to be charmed by the bandit Alain Dufont. He managed to rob the family and convince the family that Muiri did it, ruining their relationship. Muiri took this so hard that she put Nisline as a bonus objective for her Dark Brotherhood contract on Alain.
  • Trauma Conga Line: Dear God. As if having the butcher kill one daughter wasn't enough, a bandit they unknowingly welcomed into their home abused their hospitality by stealing the family warhammer while they were grieving and framed their other daughter's friend for it. In retaliation, she requests you to murder the surviving daughter and should you do so, Tova, the mother, will kill herself, leaving poor papa Torbjorn all by himself.

Nurelion

Voiced by: Jim Cummings

The proprietor of The White Phial in Windhelm, he's spent his entire life searching for the legendary alchemy flask of the same name.

  • Despair Event Horizon: But it's broken, and the knowledge to fix it is long gone.
  • Gameplay and Story Segregation: If you've beaten his sidequest but haven't completed the follow-up that his assistant gives you and get married, the "asleep and dying" Nurelion can potentially be a guest at your wedding, apparently feeling healthy enough to make the trek from Windhelm to Riften and back again. Funnily enough, it doubles as an unintentional Pet the Dog moment, as if he's apologizing for the crappy reward he gave you for finding the White Phial.
  • Hope Spot: You finally find the phial and return it to him.
  • Incurable Cough of Death: His very first 'words' when you enter his shop and see him and his assisting talking.
  • Jerkass: His assistant admits that Nurelion can be rather abrasive. After you show Nurelion the broken phial, he only tips you five gold for your troubles, which is just insulting. Then again, Nurelion is facing the prospect of dying with his lifelong dream unfulfilled. His assistant apologises for his master's manners and gives you a more substantial reward.
  • Last Request: He knows he's dying and wants the chance to experiment on the phial before he goes.
  • Let Them Die Happy: Until his assistant manages to do it, and is able to show it to him seconds before his last breath.
  • Retired Badass: He used to be an adventurer, but has settled down after years of disappointment in his quest for the White Phial.

Niranye

A shifty, yet friendly High Elf merchant who has connections with the Thieves Guild and a rival organization known as the Summerset Shadows. She becomes Windhelm's local fence once you've done enough Thieves Guild jobs in Eastmarch.

  • Affably Evil: High Elf with criminal ties she may be, her stereotypical Altmer haughtiness takes a backseat to her sincerely polite and helpful nature.
  • Even Evil Has Standards: She may enjoy buying and selling stolen goods, but murder and grave-robbing are off limits.
  • Fantastic Racism: Surprisingly, she isn't a victim of this despite being a High Elf in the capital city of the Stormcloaks, whose religious freedom is being smothered by her people's government. She'll admit that while the local Nords were hostile and untrusting at first, she won their respect through hard work and proving her worth as a businesswoman. As a result, she feels very little sympathy for the Dark Elves and their plight, and claims that it's their own self-pity and whining that keeps them tethered to the Gray Quarter as opposed to the bigotry of the Nords.
  • Friend in the Black Market: Both she and Torsten Cruel-Sea end up becoming the Thieves Guild’s major contacts in Windhelm. In her case, she acts as a fence you can sell stolen goods to.
  • Mob War: Gets caught up in the conflict between the Thieves Guild and Summerset Shadows. Since the Shadows forced her to work for them, however, she'll sell them out for the more honorable Thieves Guild with enough poking and prodding.
  • My Species Doth Protest Too Much: She's an Altmer with no love for the Thalmor, and is actually willing to smuggle the local priest and priestess of Talos out of the city should they say the word.
  • Pet the Dog: See directly above. Jora and Lortheim won't accept her offer to protect them, but genuinely appreciate the sentiment anyway.
  • Statuesque Stunner: Being an Altmer means that she's naturally tall, and she's quite pretty to boot.

Aval, Faryl, and Suvaris Atharon

A trio of Dark Elf siblings who run or work for a few of Windhelm's local businesses. Faryl and Suvaris work at the Brandy-Mug farm and the Clan Shatter-Shield office and lack their species' disdain for Nords, while their brother is an independent merchant and is embarrassed by their willingness to work for the Nords.

  • Ambiguously Evil: Downplayed with Aval, but his dialogue related to where his goods come from strongly implies that he may not get all of his merchandise through legal channels. However, he's still a friendly man and is an otherwise upstanding citizen.
  • And There Was Much Rejoicing: Aval is overjoyed if the Imperials win the Civil War. With Ulfric dead and the open-minded Brunwulf becoming the new Jarl of Windhelm, things are finally looking up for the downtrodden Dunmer and he's confident that their future will be a bright one.
  • Asshole Victim: While Rolff's threatening behavior towards Suvaris is awful, she's hardly an innocent victim: one sidequest reveals that she's complicit in Torbjorn Shatter-Shield's illegal dealings with the Blood Horker pirates and is more actively involved with them than he is, and her treatment of the Argonian dockworkers shows that she's got quite the bigoted streak herself.
  • Bad Boss: Suvaris' private logbook has an entry showing that she's a harsh taskmaster who's willing to starve the Argonians working at the docks if their work doesn’t meet her expectations.
  • Deadpan Snarker: While he takes pride in his work, Faryl is exasperated with Bolfrida Brandy-Mug's Pointy-Haired Boss tendencies and often voices his frustrations in the snarkiest way possible.
  • Fantastic Racism: Not only are they victims of this (the first thing you see when you enter Windhelm is Suvaris being harassed, for god's sake), but Suvaris hates the Argonians working for her and abuses them if she finds their work output unsatisfactory.
    • Interestingly, Faryl's dialogue implies that Aval holds prejudices against the Nords and outright says that he looks down on both his siblings for working for them. However, he's nothing but nice to both a Nord player and the few Nords he holds conversations with, and his friendliness seems completely sincere and not merely good business acumen. What he might take issue with is his siblings settling for merely working for Nords when they could be establishing themselves as independent business owners instead.
  • Hypocrite: For all her grumbling about the local Nords' hatred of the Dark Elves, Suvaris is just as nasty towards the Argonians working at the docks. Even worse is that she'll harp on about the Nords treating them bad, as well.
  • My Species Doth Protest Too Much: Faryl doesn't hate the Nords like most Dunmer, and expresses annoyance with "listening to (his) brothers harping about 'injustices'".
  • Nice Guy: Aval is the friendliest of the siblings and shows nothing but respect towards those he interacts with.
  • Pet The Dog: Suvaris may not be an upstanding citizen (quite the opposite, in fact), but she's friendly to you if you tell her that you don’t hate Dark Elves, and is sympathetic towards the Shatter-Shields' grief over losing their daughter.

Susanna the Wicked

A barmaid who works at Candlehearth Hall. While she seems like an unassuming (if friendly) NPC, her death is the catalyst that leads you on the hunt for a serial killer who stalks the women of Windhelm.

  • Bi the Way: She'll flirt with you no matter if you're a guy or a girl.
  • Ironic Nickname: She's very nice for a woman whose sobriquet is literally "The Wicked".
  • Ms. Fanservice: One of several buxom barmaids you can encounter in the game. Bonus points for actually flirting with you, which crosses into Girl-On-Girl Is Hot territory if you're playing as a female Dragonborn.
  • Nice Girl: She doesn't hate the local Dark Elves at all, and is bothered by her boss' attitude towards them.
  • Plot-Triggering Death: Blood on the Ice won't start until she's murdered by the Butcher, which tends to happen fairly early into the game. However, if something happens that throws this infamous buggy questline out of whack (such as the death of a seemingly unrelated NPC that lives just outside of town), the quest will never start and she'll survive the events of the game in its entirety.
  • The Tease: According to Elda Early-Dawn, she plays the flirt to get tips.

Viola Giordano

Windhelm's local busybody. She's infamous around town for her obnoxious, overbearing behavior.

  • Abhorrent Admirer: To Captain Lonely-Gale. He's a grieving widower who makes it clear that he isn't interested in pursuing a relationship with her, but that doesn't stop her from pestering him.
  • Fantastic Racism: Really has it out for the local Dark Elf population. She suspects that they've got something to do with the Butcher's murders, and if you rat out Revyn Sadri during his sidequest, she claims that "his kind" are thieves and plans to report him to Ulfric so she can make an example of him to the other Dark Elves by raising his taxes. This doesn't prevent a Dark Elf Dragonborn from potentially marrying her, though.
  • The Friend Nobody Likes: Exactly one character has anything remotely positive to say about her. Everyone else who talks about her thinks that she's an insufferable annoyance whose idiocy and general unlikability do a lot more harm than good.
  • Know-Nothing Know-It-All: She thinks she knows how to track down the Butcher, but listening to her advice will end in disaster. She encourages you to tell the steward that she suspects that Wuunferth is the killer, but all that accomplishes is getting an innocent man locked up in prison and guarantees that the Butcher will strike again before you catch him. She can also be heard pestering Captain Lonely-Gale with a possible clue that could lead to the Butcher, only for him to shoot it down with knowledge that said "clue" isn’t actually a clue, but a result of her accidentally screwing up the scenes of his crimes with her obsessive snooping.
  • Love Interest: Bizarrely, you can marry her should you raise her disposition high enough. She's not a bad candidate for marriage, either, since her house is huge and thus a great place for storing your valuables.
  • Nosy Neighbor: She's derided as an obnoxious busybody who constantly sticks her nose where it doesn't belong.

Rolff Stone-Fist

A local drunk who spends his free time harassing the Dark Elf citizens of Windhelm. He's also the brother of Galmar Stone-Fist, Ulfric's Lancer.

  • The Alcoholic: When he isn't pestering the citizens of the Gray Quarter, he's downing tankard after tankard of mead at Candlehearth Hall.
  • Bullying a Dragon: If you tell him that he's got an attitude problem, he acts like an aggressive douche before goading you into a fist-fight and assumes that he'll easily knock you flat on your ass. He doesn’t.
  • Butt Monkey: For console players, he's a frequent target of abuse thanks to his essential status and Jerkass behavior. For PC players, he's often one of the first essential NPC's to have that status taken away via console commands before dying a painful death and being left to rot.
  • Defeat Means Friendship: Thanks to the game mechanics related to fist-fights with "friendly" NPC's, kicking Rolff's ass will actually cause him to like you and treat you like a friend.
  • Establishing Character Moment: His introduction pulls this off in two different ways. First off, it shows he's quite the bigoted Jerkass since he's seen harassing a Dark Elf woman for no good reason. Second, it also shows the player just how bad Windhelm's racial tensions are, since most of the local Nords hate the Dark Elves and vice versa.
  • Fantastic Racism: Towards Dark Elves. He hates the Argonians too and will even call them scalebacks, but he's got a special hatred for the elves, who he views as parasites leeching off the Nords at best and Imperial spies at worst. At night, he'll even stomp around the Gray Quarter yelling slurs and threats until sunrise.
  • Hate Sink: His obnoxious behavior and the fact that the only meaningful interaction you have with him is beating him up shows that he's not exactly someone that you’re meant to like. Much like the Imperial Captain seen in the game's intro, he ends up being a little too good at his job since like her and the Empire, he alone makes the prospect of joining the Stormcloaks unpalatable for some players, even though he isn’t actually a Stormcloak himself.
  • Hypocrite: He calls the Dark Elves parasites for refusing to help the Stormcloaks with the war effort, yet he himself doesn't do anything to help them, either. Hell, he doesn’t do anything aside from getting drunk and harassing elves.
  • Irony: He harasses Suvaris Atheron because she won't help the Stormcloaks fight the empire, yet she actually IS fighting the Empire in her own way, since she has business dealings with pirates that harass the East Empire Trading Company and thus disrupts one of their major supply lines.
  • Jerkass: Oh yeah.
  • Odd Friendship: Again, beating him up in a fist-fight will actually raise your disposition with him, causing him to view you as a friend. This means he's likely to attend your wedding as a guest, get kidnapped by vampires that target your loved ones should you join the Dawnguard, and leave you inheritance money if you kill him with console commands. This is taken even further if you're a Dark Elf or Argonian, races that he otherwise hates.

Angrenor Once-Honored

A Nord beggar and friend of Rolff Stone-Fist. He used to be a Stormcloak, but a crippling war wound left him unable to fight.

  • The Alcoholic: "Ever since that Imperial craven ran me through from behind, I've had trouble breathing. Don't have any trouble drinking, though."
  • Dropped a Bridge on Him: A visit to Windhelm can suddenly lead to you randomly finding him dead on the street, or learning of his passing via letter of inheritance. It's because he's a common victim of a glitch that will lead to certain NPC's spawning way high in the sky and falling to their deaths when you enter a walled city or fast travel to certain locations.
  • Fantastic Racism: He suspects the local Dark Elves of being Imperial spies, and is seen harassing one with Rolff when you visit Windhelm for the first time.
  • Jerk With a Heart of Gold: He’s racist against Dark Elves like his buddy Rolff, but he's a lot less rude than him and is actually quite friendly to the player, even if you're playing as a Dark Elf.
  • Love Interest: You can actually marry him, if you want.
  • Made of Iron: While it left him unable to fight, the fact that he survived being impaled from behind is genuinely impressive. However, this does not translate to in-game survivability since he’s a squishy, weak beggar who can easily be killed.
  • Rags to Riches: By marrying him, you get this beggar off the streets and give him a safe, warm home, plenty of food to eat, money to spend, a job he can hold, and potentially children to take care of. Sure, he'll still beg you for money, but it's surprisingly sweet all the same.
  • Retired Badass: He used to fight for the Stormcloaks, and seems to have been quite the badass. But that all came to an end when he took a sword through the chest.

Alain Dufont

A notorious Breton criminal in charge of a bandit gang. He charmed his way into the lives of Clan Shatter-Shield by way of seducing Muiri, a friend of the family, before stealing their family warhammer and implicating her in its theft. In retaliation, Muiri hires the Dark Brotherhood to assassinate him.

  • Asshole Victim: Out of all the people you kill on behalf of the Dark Brotherhood, he's right up there with Grelod when it comes to your least sympathetic victims. Once you kill him, the local guards will even mention that they know you did it and reassure you that the "bandit filth" had it coming.
  • Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Unlike most bandits, he's willing to play the long con by turning on the charm and pretending to be a smooth gentleman before robbing his victims blind.
  • Drop the Hammer: If you forgo stealth and directly confront him, he'll come after you with his stolen warhammer.
  • Hate Sink: He's got zero redeeming qualities, and exists purely to be a guilt-free assassination target.
  • Manipulative Bastard: What else do you call a man who seduced a woman so he could frame her for the theft of her surrogate family's warhammer?
  • Smug Snake: He's very confident in his ability to take you down. You know, in spite of the small army of bandits you've likely killed just to get to him. Bandits who were much better equipped than this asshole who struts around a Dwemer ruin while wearing fancy clothes with no armor rating.
  • The Sociopath: An amoral, uncaring, manipulative ruiner of lives with an ego the size of a dragon.

People of Falkreath Hold

Ghunzul

Voiced by: Noah Nelson

Orc leader of Cracked Tusk Keep and protector of the blade shards of Mehrune's Razor.

  • Badass Grandpa: When was the last time you saw an orc with white hair?
  • Crazy Prepared: Ghunzul doesn't simply use himself and his bandits to protect the shards. He keeps them locked in the dungeon, protected by several button-activated bars, numerous tripwire traps and spikes that stab at anyone who opens the chest containing them.
  • Retired Badass: The book "The Keepers of the Razor" suggests he once served in the Imperial Legion.
  • Secret Keeper: He is the eighth descendent of the Inner Circle that shattered Mehrune's Razor and divided the fragments across Skyrim.

Runil

Voiced by: George Coe

Altmeri priest of Arkay, and overseer of the graveyard that puts Falkreath on the map.

  • The Atoner:He was a Dominion battlemage, and he's now a Priest of Arkay to atone.
  • Dreaming of Things to Come: Runil has such a dream portending the coming of Alduin, and of his own eventual path-crossing with the Dragonborn (his first scene in your presence is giving last rights over a grave just as his dream foretells).
  • Shell-Shocked Veteran: Much like Madena, he's got some shell shock over all the lives he terminated during the Great War with his magefire. His journal indicates he was on the Aldmeri Dominion side though.

Sinding

A Nord imprisoned in Falkreath jail for murdering a child.

  • The Atoner: He admits that he probably deserves to die for what he's done, and if you choose to spare him, he promises to never return to society.
  • Did You Just Scam Cthulhu?: Stole Hircine's ring. It didn't work out well for him.
  • Sadistic Choice: Either kill him under Hircine's orders, or help him kill the other hunters.

People of Haafingar

Brelas

A wood elf slave girl who works for Elenwen. She is seen during Elenwen's party. Gets send to the torture chambers after Erikur frames her because she rejected his romantic advances.

  • Break the Cutie: She serves Elenwen against her will. Then she is send to the torture chambers for not reacting to Erikurs advances. After the Dovahkiin saves her (if they saves her at all), she is shivering in fear, very confused and does not know where to go at all.

Erikur

Voiced by: Stephen Russell

An arrogant and shady Thane of Haafingar. Has close ties with the Thieves Guild.

  • Kick the Dog: Causes a Bosmer slave girl to be send to the Thalmor torture chambers, just because she refused his romantic advances.
  • Obviously Evil: Falk and Bryling tell him to his face they know he's not completely on the level, and his motives are anything but pure, they just lack stone cold proof of it.
  • Smug Snake: Talks down to everyone.
  • The Sociopath: Talking to his sister Gisli reveals he does not think about others. Really cements this position by causing a Bosmer slave to get tortured for not liking him, without any form of regret.

Falk Firebeard

Voiced by: Michael Gough

The steward of Jarl Elisif's court. Has his hands full with both his stewardly duties as well as curbing the exuberance and inexperience of his lady Elisif.

  • Awesome McCoolname: Being a bearded ginger in a land of people fond of giving sobriquets does have its perks.
  • Hypercompetent Sidekick: Elisif is an over-eager young woman, to say the least.
  • Reasonable Authority Figure: After you stop the resurrection of Potema once, Falk gains complete faith in you and vouches for you in the Jarl's company. If you complete the Wolf Queen questline and then ask for permission to go into the forbidden Pelagius Wing of the Palace, he will at first turn you down, but you can turn that around by saying, in layman's terms, "Dude, c'mon, it's me".

Giraud Gemane

Voiced by: Jon Curry

The librarian of the Bard's College, and Viarmo's right hand. He assists the Dragonborn with finding Olaf's Verse, as well as selling him/her several tomes regarding Dragons. He is also the Master Speech trainer.

  • Guile Hero: It comes with being the Speech master.


Roggvir

Voiced by: Michael Gough

The player will witness him being executed upon their first entry into Solitude (there's no way to stop this) because he allowed Ulfric Stormcloak to escape Solitude by opening the main gate.

  • Badass Bystander: This is the man who, more or less, allowed the Civil War to come to be. If you win the Civil War for the Stormcloaks, then he essentially becomes a liberator of Skyrim by proxy.
  • Cool Uncle: His niece seemed to think so.
  • Jerkass: If one man in particular is to be believed, when he was younger, he intentionally sabotaged other guys' attempts to woo girls they were interested in, just because, and didn't grow any nicer over the years.
  • Last Words: And by Talos, he's got some awesome ones at that.

"On this day, I go to Sovngarde..."

  • Nice Guy: However, this account can be taken with a grain of salt, as even the man who ordered his execution has nice things to say about him.

"It's a shame, Roggvir. You were a damned good man."

  • Not Quite the Right Thing: Letting Ulfric escape Solitude, as viewed by the people of Solitude. Sure, he may have been following ancient laws (of dubious validity), but he aided a regicide in escaping retribution. The people of Solitude, being staunchly Imperial, were not impressed. Though depending on how you feel about the Imperials, this could be an averted trope.
  • No True Scotsman: Feels that any true Nord would understand what Ulfric did, and would have opened the gate in his place.
  • Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right: He opened the gates for Ulfric Stormcloak when he escaped the city, which means that everyone in Solitude blames him for a war that could have been stopped before it began. To his last breath though, he stands by his decision.


Sybille Stentor

The court mage for Jarl Elisif's court. She is actually a vampire, which seems to be a well-kept secret amongst the higher members of the Haafingar court.


Viarmo

Voiced by: Stephen Russell

The High Elven headmaster of the Bard's College. He enlists the Dragonborn's help in convincing Elisif to allow the Burning of King Olaf festival in the wake of Torygg's murder, and afterwards has him/her recover several stolen ancient instruments.

Wolf Queen Potema Septim

Voiced by: Claudia Christian

An insane necromancer from the second century of the Third Era who attempted to usurp the Imperial throne, but was defeated and killed. The Dragonborn stumbles upon a plot by a group of necromancers to resurrect and bind her to the mortal realm.

  • Ax Crazy
  • Climax Boss: Before you can even face her, you must fight wave after wave of high level Draugr and Vampires, and when you finally confront her, she quickly proves to be as much of a master mage as she was in life. Not to mention the fancy light show that occurs in the arena.
  • Gas Leak Coverup: At first, Falk Firebeard dismisses the odd lights and sounds in Wolf Skull Cave as natural phenomena but welcomes you to go into the cave and clear out anything you find, just in case. After you find out the truth and Potema's return is evident, Falk implores you that you must keep Potema's near-return a secret to avoid a major panic in Solitude.
  • God Save Us From the Queen: In life, her greatest crime was the plunging the Septim empire into a civil war known as the War of the Red Diamond, being the party most responsible for the assassination of her niece (the Empress at the time). In the war that followed, Potema very nearly destroyed the Empire by herself (frightening, when you consider that even after the extinction of the Septim bloodline, an Oblivion invasion, a siege by the Aldmeri Dominion, and nearly two hundred years of decline, the Empire is still a powerful force in Tamriel). And if that isn't enough, when the war was over, and her subjects finally abandoning her because of her sheer ruthlessness, she eventually began sacrificing her servants in order to form contracts with Daedra, selling their souls for more power and "comforts", and then raising them as undead to serve her, refusing to concede fighting a losing battle or surrender her rule right to the very end. Death has not improved her demeanor.
  • Guide Dang It: See Lost Forever below.
  • Human Resources: She resurrects human corpses as her servants and, after being opposed and abandoned by most of Haafingar, once ruled Solitude with a court of the undead.
  • Irony: The local priest of Arkay notes that a resurrected Potema would actually be the rightful Empress, since she is a member of the Septim line, which makes it that much more important to prevent her return.
    • For more potential irony, defeat one of the greatest necromancers of all time as a vampire.
  • I Shall Taunt You: She's really very grateful to you for preventing her binding, but feels it would be best for all involved if you just lay down, let her current subjects take you away, and then you can rise up and stand by her side, resplendent with her glory... and also her undead thrall.
  • It's All About Me: In the words of the queen herself, "I'll trade the souls of every last subject of mine for a little comfort."
  • Lost Forever: The second part of the Wolf Queen sidequest is triggered by leveling up. Therefore, if you leveled up to 81 before or during the first part of the quest, you will never receive the courier message which starts the second half.
    • Averted with the last patch to the base game, where you can level up indefinitely.
  • Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: By defeating the necromancers attempting to revive her, you stopped them binding her to their will... but not her revival. When you complete the first quest, you witness her spirit escaping the cave, and later a courier sends a message from Falk Firebeard informing you that Potema's spirit is loose and slowly gaining power. Now you have to finish her off for good and purify her remains.
  • Trap Is the Only Option: The second quest begins with the player traveling into Potema's Catacombs, and before even entering the first section, it becomes obvious that Potema was not only expecting you, but was drawing you there because she sought you as the ideal undead minion. You have no choice but to take the bait to continue the quest.
  • The Undead: Is one and specialises in resurrecting and controlling them.
  • Was Once A Woman: It's speculated in-game that Potema has become... something else since her death. She's certainly no mere ghost.
  • We Can Rule Together: After the Dragonborn prevents her binding, she decides s/he would make an excellent undead minion.

Jaree-Ra and Deeja

Argonian siblings who are involved with a band of marauders. They're looking for someone to rope into a scheme that involves crashing a ship and lots of gold...

  • Brother-Sister Team
  • Faux Affably Evil: Jaree-Ra comes off as a charming rogue when he meets you, but he's duping you into getting an entire ship's crew slaughtered the entire time and is in reality a scaly, cold-blooded monster underneath the surface.
  • Jerkass: Deeja. While Jaree-Ra at least pretends to be polite and civil, Deeja is just a gruff asshole until her death.
  • Obviously Evil: Jaree-Ra in particular, as lots of people in Solitude feel that he's up to no good with a few even admitting that they'd love for him to be caught in his obvious wrong-doing so he can be hauled off to the city dungeon.
  • Smug Snake: Both are way too confident in their ability to use and dupe you.
  • You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: They try to pull this on you after you crash the ship they're after. Too bad you're the Dragonborn, and they're overconfident, under-equipped schmucks.

People of Hjaalmarch

Alva

A local woman who recently started a relationship with Hroggar after his wife and daughter died in a tragic fire.

  • Bi the Way: Hints at it in her dialogue with the Morthal tavernkeeper.
  • False Soulmate: To poor Hroggar.
  • Honey Trap: For Hroggar, and apparently, Movarth had planned for her to seduce all of the guards, one at a time.
  • Impossibly Low Neckline: Wears the infamous and exceedingly rare female version of "Tavern Clothes".
  • Manipulative Bitch: And it backfired in her face, completely.
  • The Mole: For her sire Movarth.
  • Our Vampires Are Different
  • Romancing The Widower: The locals don't approve, believing it's Too Soon for Hroggar to move on after his family died in such suspicious circumstances. Not that there's any real love involved: Hroggar is just Alva's thrall.
  • Tragic Monster: Read the first passage in Alva's Journal, and you'll see that she was once a doe-eyed, innocent girl who once dreamed of being loved and romanced by a handsome Nord. Then she met Movarth...
  • The Undead
  • The Vamp: Literally and figuratively: her master Movarth sent her to Morthal to seduce and enslave the people of Morthal.
  • Would Hurt a Child: She had instructed a turned Laelette to kill Hroggar's entire family, including his daughter. Her plans backfired because Laelette didn't want to hurt Helgi, and in fact tried to turn her.

Falion

Voiced by: Stephen Russell

A Redguard mage who left the College in protest of its restrictive policies on certain studies. If the Dragonborn ever contracts vampirism, he will be willing to provide them with a cure... for a price.

  • Immortality Seeker: But not for himself so much as for his ward Agni: he knows that he'll die one day and leave her alone, and he's worried that could happen before Agni can take care of herself. He made a study of vampirism as a way to extend his life, but abandoned it because it might have put her in danger.
  • Knight in Sour Armor: The whole of Morthal thinks he's a creepy jerk. He protects them from mystical threats anyway, though he's pretty grudging about it.
  • Necromancer: Likely. He's a conjuration specialist, he's looking for ways to manipulate life, he left Winterhold College due to irreconcilable differences, and the other residents of Morthal don't like his studies (though that's probably the Nord prejudice against almost all magic). If nothing else, the ritual required to restore a vampiric Dovahkiin to true life requires a filled black soul gem.


Gorm

Nord warrior and housecarl for Jarl Idgrod Ravencrone.

  • Bodyguard Betrayal: Despite his loyalty to Idgrod, he wishes to see her removed from her position because he thinks her powers are taking their toll on her and she isn't fit for duty anymore. It's as much for her own safety as it is for Morthal. Nothing really comes of it, since his confidant Captain Aldis isn't wholly convinced.
  • Undying Loyalty: Despite the above entry, Gorm still respects Idgrod, and warns the Dragonborn to do the same.

Helgi

Voiced by: Harley Graham

Hroggar's daughter. She and her mother recently died in a mysterious fire, and she now exists as a ghost.

  • Cheerful Child: Being dead hasn't gotten her down. When you meet her, she invites you to play hide-and-seek with her just like other children in Skyrim. Her "hiding" place is her grave.
  • Spanner in the Works: Completely unravels the schemes of Alva and her master Movarth by winning over Alva's pawn Laelette with her adorableness. It doesn't save her from dying, but Laelette's attempt to turn Helgi rather than make her death look like an accident is what causes suspicions amongst the townspeople and leads to the Jarl permitting the Dragonborn to investigate. Then, by appearing to play with the Dragonborn, she indirectly leads him/her to the true culprits behind Morthal's troubles.
  • Undead Child: Not that she minds much.

Hroggar

A lumberjack whose wife and daughter died in a tragic and mysterious fire. His neighbors believe he had something to do with it since he immediately moved in with Alva the very next day.

  • Acquitted Too Late: If you try to enter Alva's house at night, you'll be forced to kill him.
  • Brainwashed and Crazy: Comes with being a vampire's thrall.
  • Incriminating Indifference: Him shacking up with another woman one day after his family died while showing little in the way of grief makes him very suspicious in the eyes of his neighbors.
  • Mistaken for Murderer
  • Survivor Guilt: If he survives the quest involving his family, he's crushed and no longer feels any joy in life, even though he's thankful that you saved him (after being astonished that you'd even want to speak to him after all he's done).


Movarth Piquine

The master vampire behind Morthal's recent troubles.

  • And Then John Was a Zombie: Movarth used to be a devoted vampire hunter: it was an obsession that consumed his life. Then he met the vampiric author of Immortal Blood. Now he's everything he once fought against and worse.
  • He Who Fights Monsters
  • Oh Crap: Upon The Reveal that the anonymous author of Immortal Blood was a vampire himself. As the author states: He was surprised, even stunned by the pallor of my flesh, the dark hunger in my ageless eyes, and the teeth. Oh, yes, I think the teeth definitely surprised the man who could not afford to be surprised.
  • Retcon: In Oblivion, the ending of Immortal Blood heavily implied Movarth was killed when the author attacked him, but now it turns out he survived and became a vampire himself.
  • Tragic Monster: Like Alva, he wasn't bad at all before being turned into a vampire. He was a well-meaning vampire hunter who failed to guess the very simple reason his teacher in vampire-hunting knew so much about vampires...
  • The Undead

People of The Pale

Horik Half-Hand

Fellow veteran to Brina Merelis, and becomes her housecarl should she be anointed Jarl of the Pale.

  • Badass: It takes balls to dust off the old Legion armor in a Stormcloak city when the Jarl wants him executed. Alternatively, at least in the view of said Jarl, it makes him a epic Troll.
  • Bald of Awesome: He's a good man and a cool guy who won't take crap from Skald the Manchild. His baldness only serves to accentuate his awesome factor.
  • Platonic Life Partners: With his former commander Brina Merelis.
  • Undying Loyalty: To the Legion, and to Brina for shared service time in the Legion. So much so that he openly antagonizes the initial Stormcloak-allied Jarl by dusting off his old Legion armor and wearing it about town.

Madena

Court mage for Dawnstar. A retired Legion battlemage, she's seen more than she cares for of war.

  • Court Mage: Specifically, she's the Court Mage of Dawnstar. And it’s a job she's very unenthusiastic about, given that the Jarl is an obnoxious Manchild who throws a fit over her refusal to take to the battlefield due to her wartime trauma. Lucky for her, Jarl Brina proves to be far more understanding should the Empire seize control of The Pale.
  • Deadpan Snarker: While not mean like most of the female NPC's voiced by April Stewart, she's definitely got a snarky side to her.
  • Shell-Shocked Veteran: After taking part in the defense of the Imperial City during the Great War, she's seared, frozen and electrified far too many young elves than she cares to have, and is pretty much a pacifist.
  • These Hands Have Killed: Thirty years after fighting in the Great War, she's still haunted by all the young High Elf soldiers she tore apart with her powerful magic.

Jod

The Housecarl of Jarl Skald the Elder, as well as the captain of the Dawnstar Guard.

  • Badass Mustache: Sports a very badass 'stache in the style of Hulk Hogan or Lemmy Kilmister.
  • Reasonable Authority Figure: Has a good head on his shoulders, and tries his hardest to get Skald to understand the logistics behind trying to fight the Empire so he doesn't recklessly get a bunch of his own men killed for nothing. Too bad the old coot just doesn't care.

Silus Vesuius

A descendant of a family of Mythic Dawn members, he opens a museum dedicated to the Mythic Dawn and asks the Dovahkiin to find the pieces of Mehrunes' Razor for him.

  • Black Shirt: Believes that the Mythic Dawn should be remembered for holding the fate of the Empire within their grasps.
  • Call Back: His entire quest is one to Oblivion.
  • Too Dumb to Live: You can call him out on the fact that messing with the Daedric Prince of Destruction's Artifact of Doom is a terrible idea, not that he'll listen. It may just prove to be his undoing.
  • You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Mehrunes Dagon declares this, although it's up to the player whether to actually kill him or not.

Vantus Loreius and Curwe

The unassuming couple in charge of the Loreius Farm on The Pale's side of the Whiterun/Pale border. They come into conflict with an eccentric jester whose wagon breaks down near their farm, who just might be more dangerous than they expect...

  • Ambiguous Situation: As of the Hearthfire DLC, a little Imperial girl named Lucia lives on the streets of Whiterun because her aunt and uncle threw her out of the family farm after her mom died. There are exactly two Imperial farmers that fit the bill: Loreius and Severio Pelagia. While her aunt and uncle's identity are never disclosed, this could make Loreius and Curwe retroactive Asshole Victims...
  • Cruel and Unusual Death: Not that it's apparent from how the bodies look, but dialogue from a nearby guard suggests that Cicero gruesomely, brutally murders them if you get him arrested during the Delayed Burial sidequest.
  • Dropped a Bridge on Him: While brutal, Loreius and Curwe’s deaths are as sudden as they are glossed over, and considering how unimportant of a location the Loreius Farm is, there's a good chance you'll have no idea that they’ve been murdered until long after you've sold out Cicero to the patrolling guard.
  • Flat Character: While Vantus is characterized as a Properly Paranoid Jerk With a Heart of Gold with Manipulative Bastard tendencies, Curwe is... well, she's his wife and that's it. One conversation with her husband does seem to hint at her being a lousy farmer with a poor sense of scope, so that’s something.
  • Interspecies Romance: Vantus is an Imperial and Curwe is a High Elf, and they're in a loving relationship.
  • Jerk With a Heart of Gold: While Vantus is snippy and willing to frame Cicero for a crime in order to get him off his property, it isn't hard to convince him to do the right thing. And when you do, he's both ashamed of himself for the way he acted and is grateful that you talked him out of it. All the more reason to make sure he isn't pointlessly butchered by the psychotic jester!
  • Manipulative Bastard: He's willing to frame what appears to be an innocent man for a crime and get him arrested purely because he's annoying and weird. Let him go through with it, and he's downright giddy at the prospect of him rotting in a cell forever. This, however, is what gets him and his wife murdered by the very same jester that he blew off.
  • Pet the Dog: While rude and judgemental towards Cicero, with some prodding in the right direction he'll rethink his attitude and happily assist the man with his broken wagon wheel. Thanks to this act of kindness, Cicero doesn't gut him and his wife like a pair of fishes.
  • Properly Paranoid: On the surface, his hatred of Cicero is irrational and stems from the fact that he's loud, weird, and a jester in a land that isn't exactly abundant in them. He does, however, genuinely believe that he's up to something, and wouldn't you know it? He’s an assassin working for the Dark Brotherhood!

Arondil

An Altmer sorcerer hiding out in the ancient Nordic ruin Yngvild. Being a necromancer and a necrophile, he's taken that nasty bit of Power Perversion Potential to its logical, disgusting conclusion...

  • Amazon Admirer: A very twisted take on this trope, given that his entourage of undead sex slaves includes female Draugr warriors...
  • Amazon Brigade: His harem of undead sex slaves doubles as a harem of Bodyguard Babes that cater to his disgusting fetish.
  • Arc Villain: Of a sidequest given to you by Vekel the Man of the Thieves Guild.
  • Evil Sorcerer: A very evil sorcerer, seeing as how his MO is turning the honored dead as well as the ghosts of his victims into his brainwashed sex slaves.
  • Hate Sink: You'll absolutely want to bash in this perverted little creep's face the more you read the journals he leaves lying around. As detailed below, thankfully, you can do so much worse than that...
  • Karmic Death: While you can kill him normally, you can also remove or shoot an arrow at the Soul Gem that keeps his undead sex slaves enthralled to him. As long as it isn't on the pedestal, there's nothing that can save him from the karmic payback that the women he tormented will inflict upon him.
    • You can take it a step further by turning him into your undead slave with the Dead Thrall spell. If he can toy with the souls of women after killing him, you can do the same to him!
  • I Love The Dead: The reason why he's such a murderous freak is because his fetish for dead women escalated into something truly horrifying.
  • Power Perversion Potential: He's a necrophiliac necromancer. 'Nuff said.
  • The Sociopath: A perverted freak who views women as his personal sex toys and will go as far as to enslave their spirits so they can be forced to pander to his deranged fetish. A look at his journals shows that he doesn't even bother to remember their names, and that he refuses to take responsibility for creeping out the milkmaids he perved on back when he still lived in Dawnstar.
  • Stalker with a Crush: Even before he sunk to truly depraved depths, he was obsessed with the beautiful milkmaids of Dawnstar and creeped them out with his obsessive stalking. And that stalking escalated into lust-fueled murder when one of them accidentally stumbled upon Yngvild and was handed over to him by his undead bodyguards...

Beitild

A Nord miner in the town of Dawnstar who's caught up in a petty competition with her husband's mining business.

  • Asshole Victim: Not to the extent of Grelod, but she's a very unpleasant person to be around and a terrible boss to her employees. Her husband (who likely put out the hit on her) admits that he isn't sad to see her go after she’s been killed.
  • Bad Boss: Works her men like slaves while threatening to fire them if they argue with her.
  • Defiant to the End: If you come out and say you're going to kill her on behalf of the Dark Brotherhood, she'll grab her pickaxe and decide to go down swinging.
  • Jerkass: Given her rudeness and Bad Boss tendencies, it's a wonder that someone didn't try to have her whacked sooner.

Ennodius Papius

A deeply paranoid miller living out in the sticks just outside his old workplace. He seems to have fallen victim to a serious nervous breakdown due to believing that someone, somewhere, wants him dead...

  • Ambiguous Situation: Turns out his fear of someone signing his death warrant wasn't unfounded. But why did someone want him dead in the first place? One of his old coworkers mentions having a bad feeling about him, but that's the only real hint you get.
  • Asshole Victim: Maybe, maybe not. Depends on what he did, and who he crossed that put a target on his back to begin with.
  • Big No: His reaction if you confirm his suspicions about someone wanting to kill him.
  • Loners Are Freaks: Is regarded this way by the employees of the mill he used to own.
  • Nervous Wreck: Once a successful miller, the poor guy’s been reduced to a paranoid recluse hiding out in the icy wilderness perpetually huddled by a campfire and always looking over his shoulder for potential signs of danger.
  • Properly Paranoid: His defining characteristic is that he's deeply paranoid about someone wanting to kill him. Since he's a target for a Dark Brotherhood assassination, he’s right on the money.

Karita

The daughter of Thoring, innkeeper of the Windpeak Inn, as well as its bard. She may be a beautiful young lady, but as far as her singing voice goes? Well...

  • Dreadful Musician: Her cover of "Ragnar the Red" can accurately be described as "the Yoko Ono version", complete with weird screaming delivery of the final verse. How Lurbuk had so many people calling for his head and she didn't is truly a mystery for the ages.
  • Ms. Fanservice: A beautiful young redhead with a plunging neckline and big boobs. Unfortunately for her, her good looks and skimpy outfit attract the unwanted attention of a few lecherous pirates working with the Blood Horkers.
  • Small Name, Big Ego: "The Windpeak Inn features the finest bard in all of Dawnstar. Me."
  • Stylistic Suck: Karita being a bad singer is no accident. Trained singers can recognize the fact that her voice actress, Corri English, is an excellent singer putting in effort to sound as bad as possible (indeed, she's part of a country music band), resulting in a deliberately So Bad, It's Good performance that's as hilarious as it is hard to listen to.

Anska

A powerful Nord mage who is exploring High Gate Ruin, a Nordic crypt said to be home to an important, mysterious scroll. Said scroll supposedly proves that she can trace her family's lineage to Ysgramor himself, but she needs the Dragonborn's help to fight her way through all the angry Draugr guarding it... including one incredibly dangerous Dragon Priest.

  • Action Girl: A very competent one, to the point that if you enter High Gate Ruin early on, she'll be putting in most of the legwork against the Draugr and Vokun thanks to her powerful spells.
  • Adventurer Archaeologist: Between delving into ancient ruins, fighting dangerous undead, and her good looks, she may as well be The Elder Scrolls' answer to Lara Croft.
  • Badass: Hell yeah she is. If she really is his descendant, Ysgramor would be proud.
  • Bare Your Midriff: She wears a set of belly-baring Fur Armor.
  • Blood Knight: She may sling spells instead of swing axes, but like any Nord worth her salt, she loves a good fight.
  • Guest Star Party Member: For High Gate Ruins. Sadly, she won't join you once you clear it since she wants to decipher the scroll in Vokun's crypt.
  • Hot Scientist: Or Hot Archaeologist, at any rate.
  • Left Hanging: Her sidequest ends with her realizing that she can't read the scroll she was looking for, so she parts ways with you in order to decipher it. Sadly, you never find out if she is indeed related to the legendary Ysgramor or not.
  • Squishy Wizard: Averted: she can take plenty of damage and dish out a ton in return. She isn't an essential NPC, however, so be careful not to kill her on accident.

Fultheim

A Grumpy Old Man who lives in the Nightgate Inn. He doesn't seem to be anything other than an ordinary citizen, but according to Hadring the innkeeper, he spends his days drinking away a lifetime of bad memories. Context clues make it perfectly clear just what those bad memories are.

  • Crazy Prepared: He keeps a katana on his person at all times, and sleeps with a dagger near his bed. If the Thalmor ever come for him, he'll be ready for them.
  • Grumpy Old Man: He's not exactly a jolly old soul. Given the strong hints that he's a former Blade in hiding, who can blame him?
  • Katanas Are Just Better: He wields a Blades' Sword as his weapon of choice, which is a katana forged in the style of swords used by Akaviri warriors.
  • The Remnant: While never outright stated, it's strongly implied that he's one of very few Blades who survived the Thalmor's purges. He's one of the only NPCs to carry a Blades' sword, is said to be drinking away "a lifetime of bad memories", and keeps a number of books related to the Empire and the Thalmor in his room. However, there's no option to tell him that the Blades are back and recruiting once Delphine and Esbern task you with finding new members.
  • Shell-Shocked Veteran: According to Hadring, he's this.

Balagog gro-Nolob

A well-dressed and reclusive, yet unassuming Orc patron of the Nightgate Inn. He's said to be an author, but he's not too special otherwise unless you’re playing the Dark Brotherhood questline. Turns out he's The Gourmet, a celebrity chef poised to cook for the Emperor himself.

  • Chekhov's Gunman: If you've been to the Nightgate Inn before hunting down The Gourmet, you'll be in for quite the shock when it turns out that what seemed to be an Orc of no consequence is in fact the guy slated to be Titus Mede's personal chef.
  • Cultural Rebel: His fancy clothing, writing profession, and reclusive lifestyle are about as far from stereotypical Orc behavior as you can get. Doubly so once you’re hit with The Reveal that he's The Gourmet.
  • The Hermit: He lives a very lonely life, often keeping to himself in the cellar of the inn or hanging out at the lake just outside. Fultheim will tell you that he seems to want to talk with other people, but acts as if he can't. Given the truth behind his identity, it's obvious that he's trying to stay as far under the radar as humanly possible both for the sake of preserving the Gourmet's secret and staying safe from would-be assassins.
  • Hidden Depths: This reclusive Orc is one hell of a chef. So good, in fact, that the emperor himself wants to him to whip him up a special meal.
  • Kill and Replace: Before you can kill the Emperor, you have to murder Balagog and steal his identity as The Gourmet first. Turns out his anonymity and choice in clientele leave one hell of a gaping hole in old Titus Mede’s security detail...
  • Never Found the Body: To get the bonus for his contract, you have to dispose of his body after killing him.
  • Oh Crap: Confront him with the knowledge that he's The Gourmet, and he immediately knows what you've got in store for him.
  • Supreme Chef: People who've tried his recipes have nothing but good things to say about them. Even grumpy old Festus Krex!
  • Walking Spoiler: The amount of spoiled entries relating to this guy should make it clear that he's much more than a simple man trying to make his way in the world.

People of The Reach

Calcelmo

Voiced by: George Coe

A somewhat eccentric Altmer scholar and archeologist who serves as the court mage and also runs the Markath Museum. Obsessed with the Dwemer, he invites anyone (via letter) to come to his museum and will pay handsomely for any Dwarven items they're willing to part with. He is also currently overseeing an excavation of one of the many Dwemer ruins dotting the Reach.

  • Adventurer Archaeologist
  • Cannot Spit It Out: Has the hots for Faleen, Jarl Igmund's housecarl, but can't bring himself to make a move. You help things along in a quest in praise of Mara, the goddess of love, marriage, etc, etc.
  • Court Mage
  • Shoplift and Die: He takes the security of his museum very seriously, and has an entire unit of Markath guardsmen and an entire, heavily armed bandit clan guarding it's halls at all times.
  • Twice Shy: It appears Faleen felt the same for him all along, as when you approach her with the poem, it turns out she has a love letter for him in her person, and she finally musters the courage to have it sent to him by that point.

Madanach

Voiced by: Stephen Russell

The King in Rags, leader of the Forsworn.

  • Boxed Crook: Thonar keeps him alive in prison instead of executing him so he can use Madanach's Forsworn as his personal assassins. Thonar doesn't have nearly as much control over Madanach as he believes though.
  • Dude, Where's My Respect?: Even after you help him escape, Forsworn will still attack you, with a few exceptions. Could be a bit of Reality Is Unrealistic: Forsworn are under orders to attack everyone on the roads on sight. Even if Madanach were to make an exception for you, he likely wouldn't have a way to communicate it quickly to his scattered people or provide them with an effective means of determining your identity. The one camp where they don't attack you after his release is the one he is personally staying at. However, if you actually wear the Armor of the Old Gods, you can talk to and trade with the Forsworn throughout the Reach.
  • Fighting For a Homeland: High Rock and Skyrim have fought over the Reach in the past, but Madanach wants to see it independent.
  • Good Old Ways: From his point of view, anyway. Like all Forsworn, he keeps to unidentified 'old gods' rather than the Nine Divines.
  • Impoverished Patrician
  • Knight Templar: Madanach talks a lot about the "injustice" of The Reach, but he's hardly a saint himself.
  • No Pronunciation Guide: Most NPCs call him "Mad-a-nock", but at least one refers to him as "Ma-nad-nack". What's strange about this is that npc has the same VA as Madanach.
  • Not So Different:
    • Argues this when you've been unjustly arrested in Markarth. It's more poignant when you're a Nord.
    • Madanach is not dissimilar ideologically from his enemy Ulfric Stormcloak: different gods, same basic goals.
  • Rebel Leader
  • The Revolution Will Not Be Civilized: While he claims that his ultimate goal is peace once the Reach gains independence, he's not overly concerned about who has to die to accomplish that, and he hates the Nords. He does make an exception for a Nord Dragonborn though, if only because he needs help getting out of Cidhna Mine. Granted, that won't protect you from all future attacks, but that's true regardless of race.
  • You Have Outlived Your Usefulness:
    • Says this about Grisvar the Unlucky, who he tells the player to kill as a test of loyalty.
    • He also essentially says this to you, after you help him and his men escape. He and the Forsworn stationed at his camp won't be hostile to you, but Madanach does pretty much tell you before he runs off that his allegiance with you is basically done.
  • Your Terrorists Are Our Freedom Fighters: The Dragonborn can hear the Forsworn's side of the story of the Reach from him.

Muiri

A young Breton girl working for the Markarth apothecary. Despite her innocent demeanor, she experienced a tragic past, causing her to become obsessed with revenge. To the point of summoning the Dark Brotherhood to carry it out.

  • Break the Cutie: She lived in Windhelm and was good friends with the well known Shatter-Shields. When one of the daughters of said family was killed, Muiri was comforted by a man called Alain Dufont. It turns out that Alain only used Muiri to get to the Shatter-Shields and rob them. The Shatter-Shields blamed Muiri for this robbery and effectively banished her from Windhelm, taking away the live she build up there.
  • Broken Bird
  • He Who Fights Monsters: Also puts the innocent Nilsine Shatter-Shield on the murder contract, just to make the family matron Tova feel rotten.
  • Wrong Genre Savvy: The reason she puts Nilsine as a bonus objective is because, in her broken mind, she believes that once Tova has no one but her husband left, she'll have to let her back into the family. It... doesn't work out that way...

Thonar Silver-Blood

A member of the corrupt Silver-Blood family who runs Markath's Treasury House.

  • Asshole Victim: He loses his wife in a Forsworn attack on his own treasury. Even if you choose the sympathetic "I'm sorry" response, he's savvy enough to know he's an asshole and doesn't believe you. You can also lampshade the trope by telling him "You deserved this".
  • Corrupt Corporate Executive: As far as he's concerned, forcing criminals to mine for him for the rest of their lives is perfectly fine if he gets more silver out of it.
  • Dragon-in-Chief: To the Silverblood family: his brother Thongvor is technically the head of the house as the elder brother, but Thonar is the one running all their schemes and doing all the dirty work.
    • It could be more of an example of Big Bad Duumvirate, with Thonar running the family business and Thongvar concentrating on politics.
  • Jerkass
  • Karma Houdini: A possible outcome of the Forsworn questline. The player can kill Madanach, after which Thonar will thank and pardon you but still continue with his corrupt activities. Still, not a complete houdini with the Asshole Victim aspect taken into account.
  • Karmic Death: A possible outcome of the Forsworn questline. The player can ally with Madanach and help him escape, after which they and the other prisoners attack and (probably) kill Thonar, slain by the people he tried to seal away.
  • Smug Snake: Thonar believes he has fully cowed Madanach. He is later brutally proven wrong when Forsworn agents in his own house murder his wife and try to kill him too.

People of The Rift

Grelod the Kind

Manager of Honorhall Orphanage and the target of Aventus Arentino's Black Sacrament.

  • Anticlimax: She might be one of the cruelest persons in Skyrim, but defeating her takes even less than an unarmed punch. It's a wonder the kids didn't off her themselves. Then again, an elderly hag is not the kind of person who provides much of a challenge combat-wise.
  • Asshole Victim: And how! When she's killed, the children cheer and her more kind-hearted assistant is more shocked by how blatant and abrupt the murder was than the fact that it happened at all. You don't even get a bounty for killing her, and everybody in town, even the guards, just roll with it because everyone agrees that she was a horrible person.
  • Blatant Lies/Irony: Her sobriquet. Even adults know its a complete lie.
  • Child-Hater: Despite running an orphanage, she's a hateful old harridan who looks for reasons to subject the children in her care to horrible abuse out of little more than spite.
  • Cold-Blooded Torture: She doesn't merely beat her charges. A tiny little side room has three sets of shackles set up on the walls.
  • Evil Old Folks: So evil, in fact, that murdering her in broad daylight in front of everyone in Honorhall Orphanage doesn't result in any kind of bounty whatsoever.
  • Expy: Shows similarities to Miss Hannigan from Annie. However, while Miss Hannigan has sympathetic qualities and pulls a Heel Face Turn, Grelod is a malicious piece of work from beginning to end.
  • Hate Sink: Between her hatred of children, abuse of children, and her bad attitude towards anyone that has the misfortune of interacting with her, Bethesda did a good job at making her one of the most hateable people in all of Skyrim. Even Astrid, a cold-blooded assassin with a sadistic love of killing, is disgusted by her.
  • Jerkass: To put it mildly. When you visit the orphanage, she's in the middle of telling the children that she'll never let them be adopted, and if they don't work hard enough, they'll get an extra beating. She even has a cell in the orphanage with shackles on the wall.
  • Politically Incorrect Villain: She carries a book called The Pig Children around in her inventory. It isn't really a book so much as it is a manifesto preaching hatred of Orcs and listing all the ways in which they're disgusting, subhuman, and deserving of genocide. However, she doesn't treat an Orc Dragonborn any differently than a Dragonborn of the other races. Perhaps she Hates Everyone Equally and was looking up reasons to hate Orcs in particular?
  • The Sociopath: A monstrous old child abuser who takes sadistic joy out of breaking the spirits of the orphans she takes care of, as well as viciously beating and even torturing them for pissing her off. She's also hateful and uncaring towards not only her assistant, but to people in general.
  • Stupid Evil: Despite her hatred of children, she refuses to let any of them be adopted by interested would-be parents and thus get them out of her life. This is in spite of the fact that if you don't kill her on sight, you can hear her whining to Constance about how she's nearly broke thanks to nobody wanting to adopt any of the orphans that she explicitly forbids people from adopting.
  • Too Dumb to Live: She either doesn't realize that mouthing off and threatening the person explicitly threatening to kill her is a terrible idea, or just doesn't care.

Ingun Black-Briar

Voiced by: Corri English

Daughter to Maven Black-Briar and part of the infamous family. She's arguably the most personable of all of them, but she still has her... issues.

  • The Apprentice: To Elgrim.
  • Affably Evil: She's the only Black-Briar who isn't a raging Jerkass, and is in fact quite nice. Not that it stops her from having... frankly, worrying interests and ambitions. But hey: at least you can talk to her without wanting to wring her neck!
  • Death by Irony: The entire reason she likes alchemy: that the same ingredients that can be used to create, save or restore life can be used to kill or maim.
  • Defector From Decadence: Double-subverted. While she bemoans her family's greed and decadence, it's because she feels that it's pointless, not because it's wrong. She feels that she was meant for more than they can offer. But, considering why she's interested in alchemy, she could potentially be the most dangerous of them all.
  • Fetch Quest: She has one of the most long-spanning and exhausting fetch quests in the game, asking you to find 20 relatively rare alchemy ingredients (Nightshade, Deathbell and Nirnroot). Not so bad when you know where to look, but still a lot harder than finding 20 Salt Piles would be. It's a bit suspicious that all three ingredients have the common attribute of being deadly poisons too...
  • Hot Scientist: Very attractive in a "creepy goth alchemist" sort of way.
  • Mad Scientist: In the making.
  • Nice Girl: Her creepier predilections aside, she is always very polite to you, pays well for your hard work, and even provides a renewable source of alchemy goods if you complete the quest, simply because of a sense of noblesse oblige.
  • Nightmare Fetishist: Her reasons for being interested in alchemy are... disturbing... to say the least. She seems to have a thing for the morbid and macabre.
  • The Sociopath: Of a different sort compared to her mother and Sibbi. Idle chitchat between Elgrim and his wife reveals that Ingun tortures cute little animals by testing her poisons on them, and she openly wishes she could use her talent as an alchemist in "darker circles" (read: groups like the Dark Brotherhood). Her lack of morals, sadism, and morbid interest in the slow, painful way poisons ravage a body make it very clear that she's deeply fucked in the head... and yet, she's a genuine Nice Girl who rewards you generously for helping her, and is quite pleasant to those she interacts with. She isn't a ruthless schemer who moves people like pieces on a chessboard, and neither is she mindlessly violent and impulsive: she's pretty much a weird, if normal girl working with a weird, alien moral compass.
  • Soft-Spoken Sadist: She's sweet, charming and friendly... but likes to watch people suffer from poisonous ingredients and potions. It's like the trope was built for her.
  • To Be a Master: Of alchemy.
  • "Well Done, Daughter!" Girl: Her other motivation. She wants to make her mother proud.

Maul

Voiced by: Popeye Vogelsang

Right-hand man of Maven Black-Briar and her primary enforcer on the street. His brother Dirge is the bouncer for the Ragged Flagon. Should Maven be named Jarl, Maul becomes her housecarl.

  • The Dragon: To Maven Black-Briar.
  • Even Evil Has Standards: He's sympathetic to Aventus Arentino's plight, suggesting that he's got no love for Grelod the Kind or her abusive behavior towards the orphans in her care.
  • Foil: To Yngvar the Singer. Both are the musclebound enforcers of a corrupt family on opposite sides of the Civil War, and become their respective replacement Jarl's housecarl should their city fall under control of the enemy. They're also smarter than they look, but in different ways: Maul is a Genius Bruiser with a knack for administrative duties, and Yngvar's surprisingly well-versed in matters of the heart.
  • Genius Bruiser: While he looks like he'd be some brutish lunkhead, he's actually got a good head on his shoulders and handles a lot of administrative duties on Maven's behalf.
  • Mr. Exposition: It takes some prodding (and a few successful speech checks), but Maul's willing to get you up to speed on what to expect from the Black-Briars as well as point you in the direction of the more unsavory guilds you can join.
  • Names to Run Away From Really Fast: Mess with Maven, and this man will maul you to death.
  • Pet the Dog: Doesn't seem to like Hemming any more than Wylandriah does, and will promise to try and get him to stop creeping on her when she complains about him making unwanted advances on her. Not that he expects him to listen, but it's still a nice gesture on his part.
  • The Reliable One: His strength as a bodyguard and shrewdness as her middle man make him this to Maven.
  • Undying Loyalty: He takes his job very seriously and treats Maven with the utmost respect.

Sibbi Black-Briar

Voiced by: Stephen Russell

One of Maven Black-Briar's sons. Considered by Mjoll the Lioness to be the worst member of the family. Currently incarcerated in Riften Jail when even his mother got sick of his out of control nature.

  • Ax Crazy: Ridiculously violent towards those who slight him, and has no sense of restraint whatsoever.
  • The Casanova: Makes it clear he's out to get all the women he can get his hands on to the Dragonborn when the latter visits. It's also effectively what landed him in jail. He even flirts with the Dragonborn if the latter is female.
  • Con Man: Sold Louis Letrush a horse that didn't actually belong to Sibbi, but rather to the whole Black-Briar family.
  • Faux Affably Evil: Like most Stephen Russell-voiced NPC's, he's capable of seeming downright chummy with you in a "loveable sleazeball" sort of way. But it doesn’t take much prodding to keep the monster he truly is from slipping out. Case in point, this is how he dismisses you after jovially sending you to hunt down his ex-fiance.

When I find that bitch, I'm going to wring her little neck.

  • Hair-Trigger Temper: Maven had him jailed for eight months just so she wouldn't have to deal with this for a while. Apparently, murdering a guy in public was the final straw for her.
  • It's All About Me: His dialogue consists entirely of him whining about his predicament. He honestly believes his fiancee was wrong to be offended by his infidelity. He also blames her for his current incarceration (she confided in her brother about Sibbi's infidelity, angry brother confronted Sibbi, Sibbi stabbed her brother to death and got jailtime for it, and he blames her) and wants her dead for it.
  • Hate Sink: Again, this trait practically runs in the family. Being a vicious psychopath means that most people hate him by default, but even his own mother and brother barely tolerate him for being an active liability to the family business.
  • Jerkass: Ridiculously abrasive and unpleasant, even for a Black-Briar. Funnily enough, he's relatively nice to you compared to Maven and Hemming, and is grateful if you help him out with his associated sidequests.
  • Karma Houdini: His jail sentence is an example of this trope, since he's serving very little time for murder and is given a cushy prison cell with all the comforts of home. However, once you've completed the sidequest where you steal Frost from Maven's estate, he loses his essential status. Once that happens, nothing's stopping you from paying a visit to him in jail and sending him straight to hell.
  • Luxury Prison Suite: Sibbi gets all of the comforts of home in his cell during his eight month incarceration for murder. And the only reason he was imprisoned at all was because Maven thought he needed to cool off. Sibbi still complains.
  • Psychopathic Manchild: He's got the murderous tendencies of a serial killer and the maturity of an angry teenage boy. Maven throwing him in jail isn't removing a threat from society so much as it is putting an unruly boy in time-out, and he still has the gall to mope and whine about his predicament instead of accepting it as the wake-up call that it's meant to be.
  • The Sociopath: A low-functioning one to contrast with his mother's higher-functioning sociopathy. Sibbi is a violent nutcase with a horrible temper and a disturbing Lack of Empathy towards others. These traits combined mean that he's perfectly willing to kill people in broad daylight despite his mother's warnings, and he seems genuinely incapable of learning from his mistakes.
  • Stupid Evil: While the Black-Briar family may openly threaten and intimidate people, they at least know to leave the truly nasty business behind closed doors and order muggings, beatings, and assassinations as discreetly as possible. Sibbi, however, adheres to the "track down the guy who wronged you and murder him in broad daylight" school of thought, which puts an unwanted spotlight on the family and earned him a nice, cushy prison cell for his trouble.
  • Ungrateful Bastard: Thinks his mother's being too harsh with him by giving him a long overdue time-out when he ought to be grateful he's not getting a worse punishment for murdering someone.

Hemming Black-Briar

Maven's eldest son, and the heir apparent of the Black-Briar family's criminal empire. He becomes her steward should the Empire take control of The Rift.

  • Abhorrent Admirer: To Wylandriah. If Maven becomes Jarl, he'll continuously make unwanted advances on her, only for her to threaten him to back off. She'll also complain to Maul and beg him to do something about him.
  • Co-Dragons: With Maul if Maven becomes the Jarl of Riften: while Maul becomes her Housecarl, he becomes her steward.
  • Even Evil Has Standards: As much of a creep as he is, even he is openly disturbed when Maven insists on having a man executed for a minor crime after she becomes Jarl of Riften.
  • Evil Chancellor: Or Evil Steward, if Maven takes over as Jarl.
  • Hate Sink: He takes after Maven in that regard.
  • Jerkass: He talks down to everyone not named Maven, and will gladly abuse his power in order to get what he wants.
  • Momma's Boy: Insufferably so. He brags about how she favors him to anyone within earshot and flaunts her power to get uncooperative people to give him what he wants, and he follows her around like a pathetic little lapdog.
  • Nice Hat: A fancy little Santa hat, to be precise.
  • Parental Incest: Possibly. As discussed in Maven's entry above, Hemming sleeps in the same bed as his mom, and will refer to Sibbi and Ingun as his children despite the fact that they're his siblings. He was originally supposed to be her husband and Sibbi and Ingun's father, but he was made into their oldest brother instead while his dialogue wasn't changed to reflect that. Whether that means him and Maven sharing a bed is an outdated programming quirk or a hint that his love for his mother isn't strictly platonic is up to you.
  • Politically-Incorrect Villain: When he accompanies Maven to the Bee and Barb, he'll crack wise about Argonians and their history as slaves when Talen-Jei refuses to work for him.
  • Psychopathic Manchild: While he hides the "Psychopathic" part of the equation better than his little bro Sibbi, Hemming's a nasty piece of work himself. When he isn't bragging about how much his mom favors him or sneering at the common folk, he's demanding shopkeepers to give him their merchandise for free on threat of hurting them, or threatening to mutilate the court mage's tongue for refusing to sleep with him.
  • Smug Snake: He brags about how skilled he is with a sword and sneers at your perceived weakness as a fighter, but should you choose to attack him, it doesn't take much effort to bring him to his knees.

Wylandriah

Court mage for The Rift, and perennially scatter-brained.

  • Absent-Minded Professor: If her rambling at you for two minutes in Magi Babble wasn't indication enough, she'll send you out to find some experiment materials she misplaced. In three different cities. When you return them, of course, she's completely forgotten she sent you out to find them or that she lost them in the first place, but she's grateful and rewards you all the same. The official player's guide says this is, to some extent, faked.
  • Cloudcuckoolander: The College of Winterhold treasures her correspondence letters, which are apparently complete and utter nonsense: she once requested a sample of the Heart of Lorkhan. As in the heart of the dead creator-god which may or may not be responsible for the vanishing of the Dwemer and that definitely disappeared centuries ago. However, in the letter that mentions the Heart of Lorkhan sample, another mention is made of her requesting "greenmote", a mind-altering and potentially lethal drug found only in the Shivering Isles, but which the senders take to refer to "greenspore", an dementia-inducing disease found only in fish.
  • Court Mage

Froki Whetted-Blade

An old, Kyne worshiping hunter. Grandfather of Haming (who lives with him now), the child Hadvar rescues in Alduin's attack on Helgen.

  • Great White Hunter: For religious reasons, out of respect for Kyne's animals.
  • Grumpy Old Man: Stemming from how city Nords now worship the Nine Divines, which he (more-or-less accurately) believes are "stolen idols" and watered down versions of the Nordic pantheon.
  • The Missionary: Judging by his reaction when he first sees you, he really does not like these.
  • Screw Politeness, I'm a Senior!: Upon seeing you, he insults you, believing you have come to tell him about the Nine Divines. He warms up if you tell him you don't believe in the Divines.

Chief Yamarz

Chieftan of the orcs at Largashbur, his tribe has recently been beseiged by giants sensing weakness in them and they worry Malacath has turned his sight from them.

  • Asskicking Equals Authority: As per usual with orcs, the chieftan proves he's worthy of his position by being a great warrior. The problem for this particular tribe is that Yamarz very very much isn't.
  • Curb Stomp Battle: If you talk him into fighting the leader of the giants himself, he's summarily crushed.
  • Dirty Coward: In very sharp contrast to most orcs. He tries to hire you to kill the leader of the giants and let him take credit for it to prove himself to Malacath, and in the cave on the way to its lair rather pointedly flees from the normal giants along the way.
  • Too Dumb to Live: Besides the fact that he tries to off you after you just killed the giant he was too cowardly to face himself, does he really think he can put one over on a Daedric Prince who cursed his tribe in the first place because he knew Yamarz was a wimp?

People of Whiterun Hold

Andrianne Avenicci

Runs the blacksmith shop Warmaiden's with her husband,and is the daughter of steward of Whiterun Hold's Jarl.

  • Ambiguously Brown: While Imperials have fairly swarthy skintones on average, her skin is so dark that she can pass for a Redguard at first glance.
  • The Blacksmith: One of two operating in Whiterun.
  • Fantastic Racism: Falls victim to this if the Stormcloaks take over Whiterun. Stormcloaks won't buy steel from her specifically since she isn't a Nord, and being married to a Nord herself is the only reason why Warmaiden's still makes any money at all.
  • Happily Married: While they don't have any interactions like most married couples, her husband Ulfberth makes it clear that he and her are very much in love.
  • Mrs. Exposition: If you haven't learned how to use a forge from Alvor in Whiterun, she'll give you the tutorial instead.
  • Woman Behind The Man: Claims to be this for her father, since he often consults her for advice with his duties as steward. According to some comments around town, it's likely true.

Proventus Avenicci

Imperial man, and Steward to Jarl Balgruuf. Doesn't get a lot of the Nordic culture.

  • Arbitrary Skepticism: Some new person in the hall just killed a dragon then suddenly learned how to make weird stuff happen just by shouting, shortly followed by the Graybeards letting all of Skyrim know they expect the Dragonborn to drop by, and what does he do?
  • Commander Contrarian: May come across as this often.
  • Cultural Posturing: Doesn't put a lot of stock into Hrongar's gushing about the Greybeards, and dismisses the idea of them summoning the player as "Nord nonsense".
  • Good Parents: He seems to have been a good dad to Adrienne given how fond they are of one another.
  • Jerk With a Heart of Gold: While a bit of a stuck-up fop, he's ultimately a good man who takes his duty as steward seriously.
  • Puppet King: Or in his case, Puppet Steward. Apparently he consults his daughter for advice behind the scenes, effectively making her the steward in all but name.

Clans Gray-Mane and Battle-Born

The two major families of Whiterun driven into a grim rivalry when they took opposite sides of the war, Battle-Born with the Empire and Gray-Mane with the Stormcloaks.

  • Awesome McCoolname: Clan Battle-Born.
  • Badass Family:
    • Clan Gray-Mane has the Ultimate Blacksmith, a former Companion member and one man all too eager to launch a three-man raid (four if you come) on a Thalmor stronghold.
    • Add in Olfina Gray-Mane, who becomes (Jarl) Vignar Gray-Mane's Housecarl after the Stormcloaks take Whiterun, and, during the operation to capture Odahviing, actually helps out. She can even become the new Jarl if you assassinate Vignar.
  • Boisterous Bruiser: Clan Battle-Born's battlecry paints them as this somewhat.

For Clan Battle-Born! First into the fray and last to quit their ale!

  • Friend in the Black Market: Olfrid becomes the main contact of the Thieves Guild in Whiterun after contacting them to help bail a friend out from prison for murder.
  • Green-Eyed Monster: Olfrid Battle-Born suggests that Clan Gray-Mane stated the feud because they were jealous of the Battle-Born fortune.
  • Jerkass: Neither clan is particularly nice overall. The Battle-Born males openly mock the grandmotherly Fralia Gray-Mane when her son is missing, asserting that he's dead when they know he's actually a prisoner of the Thalmor, and if the Stormcloaks take Whiterun and Clan Gray-Mane rises to power, the Battle-Born family is subjected to at least two robberies. Though Vignar doesn't specifically target them, he does not allow them justice either. Saying that they made their choice when the troubles began.
    • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: The Battle-Born tried to get Fralia's son released. Their mockery could be seen as a Cruel to Be Kind attempt to make Fralia give up on her son once they learned that it was an impossibility.
      • Rather Idolaf did, as he and Avulstein were childhood friends. Nothing saying that the other members of the family did so for any reason beyond antagonizing her.
  • Meaningful Name: Everyone in Clan Gray-Mane has white hair, for one reason or another.
  • Nice Guy: Jon Battle-Born.
  • Only in It For the Money: The Gray-Manes assert that the Battle-Borns are weak and only care about their money.
  • Star-Crossed Lovers: Jon Battle-Born and Olfina Gray-Mane, the sole members of each clan who don't care for the feud, have a thing for each other.
  • Warrior Poet: Jon Battle-Born studied at the Bard's College and is very proud of his profession as a skald, upholding the history, honor, glory and tradition of his people through song and poetry. He finds men who practice the bardic arts solely for coin and women insulting. But more than anything, he laments that Nords are forgetting poetry and romance, becoming "obsessed with death".
  • We Used to Be Friends: The two families used to be very close, but were driven apart after taking opposite sides in the war.
  • With Us or Against Us: Idolaf Battle-Born tries to invoke this after you enter Whiterun, asking "Gray-Mane or Battle-Born?". If you ask for clarification, he elaborates and repeats the question. If you remain neutral, he simply asserts that everyone chooses a side eventually.

Farengar Secret-Fire

Come to Dragonsreach to discuss the recent hostilities, like the rest of the 'great warriors'?

Court Mage for Whiterun. The first magical vendor you're likely to encounter, and involved in the initial main quest as pertaining to Whiterun. Fascinated with dragons.

  • Court Mage: To Jarl Balgruuf, specifically.
  • For Science!: Farengar seems to be more interested in researching dragons for its own sake, rather than the urgently-desired "how to fight them" intel that the Jarl wants him to focus on. When Odahviing is captured, he tries to take some samples for research. The dragon strenuously objects.
  • Gonk: His bushy mutton chops and overall odd-looking appearance give him a face that only a mother could love. Well, his mother and a certain lovestruck apothecary at any rate...
  • Insufferable Genius: He can be rather supercilious at times, but most of it stems from bitterness that Nordic culture distrusts magic.
  • Jerkass: A condescending prick even at the best of times.
  • Klingon Scientists Get No Respect: Especially not from angry dragons.
  • Oblivious to Love; It's implied the Whiterun alchemy shop owner has a crush on him, and he almost certainly isn't aware of it.
  • Secret Keeper: He and Balgruuf know about the presence of the Ebony Blade in Dragonsreach, and both carry one of the only two keys to the room it's kept in.

Heimskr

Voiced by: Michael Gough

Self-professed prophet of Talos, he perpetually preaches about the God-Emperor by his shrine in Whiterun.

  • Butt Monkey: He's involved in no quests, major or minor, does nothing of importance, and is incredibly annoying, so it's not uncommon for players to kill him in whatever way they deem fit.
  • Character Filibuster: He never shuts up about the glory of Talos and his disdain for those trying to snuff out his worship.
  • Enemy Mine: Say what you will about the guy, but he's surprisingly ahead of the curve when it comes to his opinions on the Civil War. While he makes his hatred of the empire and love of the Stormcloaks perfectly clear, his sermon has him encourage Stormcloak and Imperial citizens to rise up against the Thalmor and embrace the teachings of Talos. Since the Thalmor are deliberately fanning the flames of the Civil War and want to keep it going indefinitely for the sake of their evil plans, he's unknowingly on the right track when it comes to fighting back against them.
  • Expy: Of Cromwell, the preacher of the Children of Atom in Fallout 3 who was likewise encountered singing the praises of his god in the center of the first major town you visit. However, Heimskr is louder, and what he preaches make more sense in universe.
  • Large Ham: Espouses the glories of Talos to anyone who'll listen, or indeed anyone within earshot, which is most of Whiterun because he does it at the top of his lungs.
  • Love Freak: While it is part of his sermon, he really gets into this particular bit of Talos doctrine.

I do this for YOU, Red Legions, for IIIIIIIIII LOVE YOU! Aye, LOVE! LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE!

  • Meaningful Name: Heimskr in Old Norse means "foolish/silly". Likewise, the word "Heimskur" is Icelandic for "stupid".
  • Only Sane Man: He definitely believes himself to be this, and to his credit? Gods in the Elder Scrolls universe really do need prayer badly. Since the Thalmor want to bring about the end of the world by way of starving Talos of worship and thus killing him metaphysically, Heimskr's loud, obnoxious preaching is helping to keep him alive.
  • Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right: Though it crosses into Too Dumb to Live, while the Empire and the Jarls may not enforce the ban on Talos worship that strongly, belting out his glories in a town known to be a trading hub of the country is a good way to attract the wrong kind of attention.
  • Well-Intentioned Extremist: Not in the sense that he's evil or even morally dubious, though. He's just really, really annoying, but is sincere in his belief that his loud never-ending speeches are his way of keeping Talos worship (and unknowingly, the god himself) alive.
  • You Can't Go Home Again: His house gets destroyed in the Siege of Whiterun, and he instead camps out in front of Jorrvaskr.

Irileth

Voiced by: Lani Minella

Dunmeri housecarl to Jarl Balgruf the Greater of Whiterun Hold.

  • Action Girl: Comes with the territory for a female Housecarl. Case in point, she leads the charge when a dragon's been sighted near Whiterun.
  • Dare to Be Badass: "Now what do you say! Shall we go kill us a dragon?"
  • Fire-Forged Friends: Is this with Balgruuf. Before his days as a Jarl, they were adventurers together.
  • Jerk With a Heart of Gold: Icy and severe, yet very respectful towards those who earn her respect. It's best seen with how she goes from intimidating you at sword-point during your first encounter with her, to being openly impressed with you for slaying Mirmulnir.
  • Magic Knight: That lightning bolt you saw flying at Mirmilnur during the first dragon fight? Irileth.
  • Properly Paranoid: Apparently, attempts on Balgruuf's life are not unheard of. She keeps a wary eye on the Player even after ingratiating themselves to the Jarl, and her suspicion is proven should the player join the Stormcloaks.
  • Red Eyes, Take Warning: To potential threats to Balgruuf's life, at any case.
  • Screw Destiny: Refuses to believe that a chosen hero like the Dovakhiin is needed and insists that all men need to win the war against the dragons are bravery and steel. Unfortunately, this is a Because Destiny Says So setting.
  • Seen It All: According to her, at least.
  • Token Non-Human: Not only is she the only Dark Elf housecarl in the game, but she's the only default housecarl to be a non-human period. Depending on your actions during the Civil War, however, an Argonian can end up being the housecarl to the Stormcloak-allied replacement Jarl of Hjaalmarch.

Hrongar

Brother of Jarl Balgruuf and a loyal supporter of the Empire.

  • Ambiguous Situation: If you murder Lydia, there's a chance that he'll send hired thugs after you for revenge. What makes this remarkable is the fact that this interaction is usually exclusive to members of the deceased party's family. It's a common headcanon that he's her father due to this, but there’s no hard evidence to support it outside of what could easily be quirky programming.
  • Demoted to Extra: Most of his relevance was tied to a quest that was Dummied Out. As a result, Hrongar gets exactly one moment to shine (him talking to you about the Greybeards post-summoning) and otherwise takes a backseat to the more important characters among Dragonreach's court.
  • Foil: Interestingly, he serves as one to Erikur of Solitude, though it isn't apparent if you aren't familiar with the game's cut content. Both men were supposed to become replacement Jarls to Balgruuf and Elisif, both of which were to be killed as part of a pair of cut/downsized Daedric quests. They've got a serious attitude problem that would make them a huge step down from their benevolent predecessor, with Erikur being a greedy sociopath who uses his influence to keep a number of criminal operations running while Hrongar would become a warmongering dictator who'd oppress the people of Whiterun. However, Hrongar would at the very least be motivated by what he thinks is genuinely right for Skyrim, while Erikur would be as greedy and self-centered as he always was.
  • Jerkass: Not apparent in the finished product, but unused dialogue paints a very unflattering picture of Hrongar as the Jarl of Whiterun. Free to go all-in with his pro-Empire warmongering, he'd have been an idiotic clod of a ruler who'd tax the citizenry into the dirt and deprive the city of its guards in order to aid the war effort, and he'd have anyone who complained hauled off to the dungeons.
    • Jerk With a Heart of Gold: But for all his flaws as a ruler, he still would have been appreciative of the Dragonborn and more than happy to assist with trapping Odahviing in order to save the world.
  • Proud Warrior Race Guy: Supporting the Empire doesn't make him any less of a Hot-Blooded Boisterous Bruiser of a Nord.
  • Tyrant Takes the Helm: Because it wasn't bad enough to help his own children murder him, the unused version of the Whispering Door sidequest would have had Balgruuf's brother go from a loyal, if warhawkish member of his council to an obstinate, unreasonable military dictator who'd rule Whiterun with an iron fist.

Nazeem

Voiced by: Keith Silverstein

A successful Redguard trader who wanders around the Plains District of Whiterun, insulting the merchandise and talking down to the vendors. He owns Chilfurrow Farm, though he apparently sleeps in the Bannered Mare whilst he is conducting business in Whiterun. His incredibly pretentious and supercilious manner, his naked condescension and his total lack of relevance to any story related activity mean that he is one of the most detested characters in Whiterun.

Ahlam: Looking for my husband Nazeem. Check the Jarl's backside - that's usually where he stuffs himself these days.

Lucan and Camilla Valerius

Voiced by: Stephen Russell (Lucan) and Corri English (Camilla Valerius)

Imperial immigrants to Skyrim, siblings and proprietors of the Riverwood Trader. Camilla journeyed from Cyrodiil to start a new life with Lucan after the war with the Thalmor left the province in ruins. When the Dovahkiin meets them, they are arguing over what to do about the theft of the Golden Claw, ostensibly a bauble that Lucan found on his travels, but actually much more... They are the owners of the first general store in the game and give some of the first quests.

  • Brother-Sister Team: They run the Riverwood Trader. Camilla will take over selling gear if, at any point, Lucan is killed.
  • Girl Next Door: Camilla.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Lucan. He's a bit abrasive and Camilla calls him "a child", but if you help him out, he pays you well, lets you grab some supplies free off his shelves, and declares that you and him are the only people in the world who are "not fools".
  • Red Oni, Blue Oni: Camilla and Lucan respectively. Lucan waits for someone to get the Golden Claw back for him. Camilla is willing to go to Bleak Falls Barrow herself until the Dovahkiin shows up.
  • Riverwood's Most Beautiful Woman: Camilla Valerius's in-universe reputation (as confined to Riverwood). Faendal, a Bosmer archer, and Sven, a Nord bard, are in a Love Triangle with her.
  • Single Woman Seeks Good Man: Camilla. And neither of the two men courting her are that great. The Dovahkiin can marry her though.

People of Winterhold

Nelacar

Voiced by: Neil Dickson

Expelled from the College of Winterhold, this Altmer mage stays in the Frozen Hearth Inn, staying within the city of Winterhold.

  • Affably Evil: The 'evil' part is a bit of a stretch, but Nelacar is personable, helpful, endearing, and definitely one of the the nicest Altmer in the game... and almost certainly a necromancer who has done some vile, vile things.
  • Dark Is Not Evil: Seems to believe this, as he seems to believe that corrupting Azura's Star into the Black Star is preferable than turning it over to its "evil" Daedric master.
    • Dark Is Evil: He does, however, firmly believe that all Daedra are inherently evil, even the "good" ones like Azura. To be fair, he has first-hand experience with seeing how cruel the so-called "good" Daedra can be.
  • Deadpan Snarker: Acts delightfully sassy if you fail certain Speech checks during the Azura's Star sidequest.

You're working with the Daedra? Right. Now tell me the one about the Argonian Maid and the lusty baron.

Do you think muscling me is going to work? I'm a wizard. An old. Elven. Wizard. Think about it.

  • Everyone Has Standards/Even Evil Has Standards: Depending on how evil you think he is, at least. No matter the case, he's genuinely horrified by the insane lengths Malyn Varen went to prolong his own lifespan. But with that being said, he's also disgusted with Azura for turning him batshit insane and causing him to sink to said insane lengths to begin with.
  • Evil Smells Bad: Or more specifically, according to Dagur, like a beast that's "been turned inside-out and exploded."
  • Necromancer: Probably, given his involvement with Mayln Varen's experiments into immortality and his general comfort with the concept of black soul gems. Conversely, he did say he express being appalled at the depths of his former teacher when studying Azura's Star.

Septimus Signus

An ingenious but insane wizard living in a remote island in the Sea of Ghosts.

Malyn Varen

A Dark Elf sorcerer who hoped to achieve immortality by using Azura's Star to contain his soul. Unfortunately for him, the Star would only accept the white souls of animals, creatures, and other non-sentients. And by tampering with it so he could subvert its limitations, he ended up making Azura very, very angry...

  • Arc Villain: Of Azura's Daedric quest.
  • Avenging the Villain: After killing him, you can randomly run into small groups of hostile necromancers with written orders to kill you in the name of avenging his death.
  • Ax Crazy: Tampering with Azura's Star resulted in him being cursed by Azura herself, which turned him into a violent lunatic who suffered from auditory hallucinations and murdered one of his own students so he could further his research into Soul Gem-based immortality.
  • Evil Sorcerer: And an incredibly stereotypical one too, at that.
  • Flunky Boss: He's backed up by a few powerful Dremora during his boss fight. Thankfully, he's the only one you have to kill, though you'll have to endure the Dremora for a few seconds before Nelacar can get you out of the Star.
  • Freudian Excuse: The only reason why he started messing around with Azura’s Star to begin with was because he was terminally ill. Azura drove him insane as punishment, and it led to him becoming the murderous, soul-snatching Humanoid Abomination that he is today.
  • A God Am I: By successfully soul trapping himself into the Black Star and defying Azura's will, Malyn has developed quite the god complex and considers himself superior to the Daedric Princes.
  • Horror Hunger: In order to sustain himself within the Star, Malyn must regularly devour people's souls. His "appetite" is so insatiable that his coven is forced to kill and harvest the souls of its own members because they otherwise can't keep him "full".
  • Humanoid Abomination: While Malyn looks like an ordinary Dunmer inside of the Black Star, his hunger for souls, immortality, and corruptive presence that actively blocks out a Daedric Prince's influence all indicate that his experiments have turned him into something a whole lot worse. And that "something" is worryingly evocative of the Soul Cairn's Ideal Masters in many ways...
  • Mercy Kill: What Nelacar considers killing him to be, given his mental state.
  • Your Soul Is Mine: When you go inside of Azura's Star in order to vanquish him, he's all too happy to have another soul in his grasp.

Deekus

An Argonian treasure hunter who scavenges shipwrecks and takes their loot for himself. For whatever reason, the Dark Brotherhood has been contracted to take him out.

  • Asshole Victim: Downplayed; he's rude and combative towards anyone who approaches him, and Nazir indicates that he's an unsavory person. But he doesn't really seem to be guilty of anything aside from being a bit greedy and lazy.
  • Cowardly Boss: Nazir describes him as one; since he's an Argonian who lives near water and isn't the type to fight people head on, he'll warn you that he's likely to dive in and swim for his life.
  • Loners Are Freaks: He lives on an isolated island near a shipwreck surrounded by his treasure, and rudely tells you to piss off if you talk to him.
  • Money Fetish: He obsessively hoards money, gemstones, and other treasures, and you can find them scattered all around his campsite.

Salma and Beem-Ja

A Redguard adventurer and her Argonian sidekick. These two are encountered outside of Ironbind Barrow, the resting place of an ancient warlord, in hopes of finding all sorts of treasure inside.

  • Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Beem-Ja, the helpful, friendly Argonian mage who helped you fight your way through hordes of Draugr? Yeah, turns out he's secretly planning to betray you and Salma, and will do so once you've killed Warlord Gathrik.
  • Bodyguarding a Badass: Salma's a deadly warrior, yet Beem-Ja seems to play the role of a bodyguard of sorts. Not that he's any slouch in the badass department, however.
  • Break the Cutie: Poor Salma is completely devastated in the aftermath of your fight with Beem-Ja, to the point that she no longer cares about finding the treasure of Ironbind Barrow. He's been her bodyguard ever since she was a little girl, meaning that his betrayal cut especially deep.
  • Dark Secret: Ignoring Beem-Ja's treachery, he carries a letter from Salma's father saying that he's aware that he did something nasty in Black Marsh. What that "something" was, however, is never elaborated on.
  • Evil Sorcerer: Beem-Ja. The real reason why he wanted to explore Ironbind Barrow was so that he could harness the power of Warlord Gathrik through some kind of arcane ritual.
  • Guest Star Party Member: They'll help you clear out Ironbind Barrow, but you can't recruit them as full-time partners. It'd be hard to in Beem-Ja's case, what with him betraying you and getting himself killed and all.
  • Hot-Blooded: Salma, who is absolutely itching to cut a path through the barrow and find the treasure within.
  • In the Hood: Beem-Ja, who wears a set of hooded blue wizard's robes.
  • Red Oni, Blue Oni: Salma is the red to Beem's blue: she's adventurous, impatient, and passionate, while he's far more level-headed and cautious.
  • Reptiles Are Abhorrent: Can't get more abhorrent than a backstabbing Argonian warlock who tries to murder you and his ward in his pursuit of power.
  • Women Are Wiser: Inverted, as it's Salma who's the reckless and hot-headed one while Beem-Ja is the voice of reason.

Wanderers

M'aiq the Liar

Voiced by: André Sogliuzzo

A Khajiit monk who wanders the land. He is named after his ancestors and carries on the family tradition of delivering cryptic Take Thats to the player. This time he also starts snarking to the creators themselves about what they did wrong in Oblivion.

  • Artifact Title: In-universe example. M'aiq the Liar served as an Author Avatar giving cryptic take-thats right from his introduction in Morrowind, but the in-universe untruthfulness of (most of) his comments were toned down for Oblivion and Skyrim.
  • Author Avatar: The only reason he has a role in the game is to voice the creator's opinion about the Unpleasable Fanbase.
  • Catch Phrase: Averted. He sometimes does utter the catchphrase of his ancestor[8], but does not use enough to make it his own catchphrase.
  • Cloudcuckoolander: He comes over as very detached from the setting. Logical, since he is something of a literal Author Avatar.
  • Deadpan Snarker: Some of his speeches are very sarcastic and rude towards certain fans.
  • Easter Egg
  • Legacy Character: There was also a Khajiit with his name 206 years earlier in Morrowind and 200 years earlier in Cyrodiil. This is explained by the fact that the name is passed down to newer generations.
  • Mushroom Samba: He always has Skooma on his person, which might explain his bizarre, if fairly accurate view of the world.
  • Take That: Just about every speech he makes is a reaction the makers have about an aspect of the game fans aren't pleased about.
  • Take That Us: He also starts snarking at some minor gripes in Oblivion. A noteworthy snark is when he repeats a much ridiculed line about mudcrabs from the previous game.
  • Third Person Person: Like most Khajiits, M'aiq talks about M'aiq in this fashion almost all the time M'aiq speaks.

Old Orc

Voiced by: Noah Nelson

An aging orc found in the wilderness. He has been looking for a good death, and the Dragonborn can give it to him.

  • Badass Grandpa: Fittingly. He's also fairly tough as NPCs go: if you encounter him at a low level, it's probably in your best interest to just ignore him.
  • Death Seeker: He has seen a vision from Malacath telling him to seek a glorious death. By the time the Dragonborn gets to him, he's surrounded by saber cat corpses. Apparently, they weren't glorious enough.
  • Exactly What It Says on the Tin: His character name is just "Old Orc". And that's exactly what he is!
  • Face Death with Dignity: He explains that he wishes to die while he can "still call himself a proper man", elaborating that he doesn't want to linger on to the point where he's frail and feeble. He further explains that it's "unseemly" to cling to something after it becomes useless, including your own life.
  • Honor Before Reason: He's honestly not that old, but he's past his prime in traditional Orc culture. Even though you can tell him this, and point out his potential usefulness to others outside the strongholds, he still insists on dying because Malacath wills it.
  • I Cannot Self-Terminate: If asked, he'll clarify that he can't kill himself because "it would displease Malacath".

Ri'saad

Voiced by: André Sogliuzzo

Head of the Khajiit caravans. Ri'saad leads one of them and is behind forming the other two, who work for him.

  • Hypocrite: The Khajiit Caravans are not allowed inside any of the cities because the Nords think them to be thieves and smugglers. Ri'saad laments this "racist" attitude... Except he openly sells illegal Moon Sugar and Skooma. Join the Thieves Guild, and one mission shows that Ri'saad and his caravans willingly smuggle goods and act as fences for little more than a few bribes. Of course, if the Nords didn't actively shun the Khajiit and allowed them inside their cities to conduct better, more honest, and profitable commerce, it's dubious if they'd need to act as fences and sell stolen goods. Alternatively, given that Elsewyr has become a vassal of the Aldmeri Dominion willingly (or perhaps were manipulated into doing so), the Nords don't trust any Khajiit. Of course, during a certain quest chain, Ri'saad shows that he considers all Thalmor to be filth. And the way he mentions it seems to suggest that it's a common view amongst Khajiit. Note that Moon Sugar is a vital religious drug for pretty much any Khajiit.
  • Nice Guy: He (if you talk to the other Khajiit merchants) was the guy who helped them all carve out a lucrative trading niche in the economy of Skyrim, and he even took a few with troubled backgrounds and made them respectable. Ysolda of Whiterun, who wishes to be a storeowner also states that despite their reputation the Khajiits are fairly honest businessmen by her account.

Talsgar the Wanderer

Voiced by: Michael Gough

A Nord bard occasionally found wandering the main roads.

  • Badass Beard
  • Cultured Badass: One version of his appearance code brings a pair of bandits along with him, both of whom he beats quite handily. Of course, since he's marked an essential NPC, it's basically impossible for him to lose. At higher levels, he can be found going one on one against Frost Trolls and even dragons.
  • Noodle Incident: One where it's pretty easy to fill in the blanks. You can ask him to train you in Speech, but he'll politely refuse, saying, "Ah. Well. After a little incident with a roguish lad and the daughter of a prominent thane... Well, let's just say, best not."

  1. Vampirism and Lycanthropy are both diseases and both bestow immunity to disease once contracted which normally makes them mutually exclusive.
  2. Nordic legends that exist in a grey area of canon. They get several references in Skyrim.
  3. Read: counties.
  4. Made even worse since Akatosh was hated by the ancient Nords.
  5. As was Arkay, perhaps, depending on whether Orkey is him or Malacath.
  6. With the events of Morrowind.
  7. The alternate explanation for why noting that messing around with the Heart had just shown a clear ability to change an entire race despite the actual action being done by a single individual.
  8. "M'aiq knows much, tells some. M'aiq knows many things others do not."