History Characters / MechWarrior

* MauveShirt: She is the antagonist of the New Exford mission chain and joins your unit after defeating her in "Beach Fight", but can die just like any other hired pilot after you get her. Fortunately, being a [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Clan MechWarrior]] and a former Star Colonel from a society where RankScalesWithAsskicking, she won't necessarily go down easy if you equip her properly.

* [[PuppetKing Puppet Duke]]: A figurehead to create the illusion of a legitimate ruler. So long as Roland provides him with plenty of wine and whores for parties, he doesn't give a damn

The player's unit. Started by Nik and Chloe Mason, their base on De Berry is overrun by a rival mercenary unit called Black Inferno. With just a ''Leopard'' [=DropShip=] and a couple of [=BattleMechs=] left to their name, the player and their staff may rebrand the unit and start anew, with any unit name they desire.

* FeaturelessProtagonist: Played with. The tie-in short stories mentioned Nik and Chloe Mason had a child, but did not specify anything beyond that. When the game initially released, he was given a gender, but did not reveal his first name. A revision on the opening cutscene from the later Steam release gave him the first name of Jake, though the name never comes up again. Additionally, while the main campaign and the ''Heroes of the Inner Sphere'' expansion feature considerable amounts of dialogue from him, but content from later expansions don't give him any lines at all.

The player's unit. Started by Nik and Chloe Mason, their base on De Berry is overrun by a rival mercenary unit called Black Inferno. With just a ''Leopard'' [=DropShip=] and a couple of BattleMechs left to their name, the player and their staff may rebrand the unit and start anew, with any unit name they desire.

[[folder:MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries]]

* PlayerCharacter: He is your representative in the Inner Sphere throughout the game, and the only [=MechWarrior=] in the unit who cannot die if his [=BattleMech=] is destroyed.

[[/folder]]

* NoPronunciationGuide: Apparently. Everyone pronounces her last name Ree... ''except for her commander.''

* ProudWarriorRaceGuy: Implied. Regardless of what outfit sponsors him, during Clan-related ops he demonstrates considerable understanding of Clan customs and traditions, up to and including potentially conducting a proper Trial of Possession against a Clan Jade Falcon Star Colonel, suggesting at least a background in Clan culture.[[note]]The rites of zellbrigen practiced in Clan ritual combat are suspended at no penalty, which is either an AcceptableBreakFromCanon for the benefit of players unfamiliar with such Clan practices and their [[ArtificialStupidity questionable AI lancemates]] or a logical consequence of the trial being conducted with Inner Sphere mercenaries at all. Either is a valid interpretation.[[/note]]

A captain in the Steiner military, and one of the bosses Ian has to fight during the final mission of the desert campaign. Due to the resistance's growing success on the Hadra Peninsula, he tries to deny them resources: specifically, the planet's former defense forces who were taken prisoner. He does this by ordering mass executions at first, and later attempts to directly destroy a POW camp the Resistance and Ian are liberating. He pilots a ''Mad Cat'', and commands a lance of three ''Vultures''.

* GrumpyBear: Comes off as this in Pirate's Moon.

* WithThisHerring: Downplayed, but he's been hitting and fading against the Jaguars with zero support until he links up with the player's lance. While he's riding in a 90-ton Mech, he explicitly mentions he had no way to make repairs or even ammunition reloads, meaning he had most of his firepower unavailable.

* BigBad: Subverted. She's introduced as a dangerous and competent commander, and she counterstrikes against Omega Lance within hours of becoming aware of their activities...but ultimately doesn't play much of a role in the game.

* FictionalGenevaConventions: Lord Roland seems to think breaking rules regarding prisoners of war and firing upon civilians will end the rebellion on Kentares, not realizing (or seemingly caring) that it will achieve the opposite effect and just make the populace angrier with House Steiner's occupation of the planet.

* BehindEnemyLines: Sinclair and the few survivors of his company are initially trapped on the wrong side of a Smoke Jaguar army from the only [=DropShip=] that can get him off the planet. Finding your way off is a major concern throughout the entire game.

-->'''Susie Ryan''': I've changed my mind. It's time for you to die.
-->'''Connor''': Come and get some, bitch.
* WithThisHerring: Justified considering that most of the Damocles Commando got shot down, but Lance Leader still starts with Bushwhacker and 3 [=MFBs=] to topple an entire planet of hostiles, and frequently has to step up an accomplish things that were intended to be done by whole lances or companies with only a couple of 'Mechs or a lance.

-->'''Dominic''': We are not going to like this.
-->'''Sorenson''': No, you're not.

-->'''Connor''': I'd like to think this is going to be a milk run, but...
-->'''Epona''': But you're a sensible man, with an IQ ''above'' his waistline, and realize that the pirates have been anything but predictable.
-->'''Connor''': Close enough, Epona. Close enough.

-->'''Jaguar Avatar''': At your best! We defend this spaceport, or we die trying.
-->'''Alan''' (after the Avatar is destroyed): Wouldn't you know it? He died tryin'.

* PowerTrio: In the early game. Casey tends to act as a voice for the collective desires of Omega Lance, advocating immediate strikes against Steiner to make them pay for their actions. He retains this trait long after the PowerTrio portion of the game, but is generally more collected about it as his faith in Ian grows.

* PowerTrio: Gonzales usually provides a more stable, long-term view of the situation than Casey, but is more determined to attack and destroy the enemy than Rathburn, functioning as a balance between the two in the early game.

* PowerTrio: Rathburn is more cautious in the early game, in contrast to Casey's desire to close with the enemy and destroy them and Gonzales' more measured aggression. Some of this is a function of her doubts about Ian; after she trusts his skills more Rathburn becomes notably more aggressive in her approach towards the missions and what jobs Omega takes on, culminating in the Capital sequence where the Resistance is sending her requests for [[WeDoTheImpossible Omega Lance to take on the missions that the Resistance itself can't do.]]

* DefeatMeansFriendship: Maybe "friendship" is pushing it; defeating Thastus and her Binary of Jade Falcon Clan 'Mechs in the "Beach Fight" op on New Exford instead of the alternative "Backstab" op will have her join your unit as a free Lance Commander-type [=MechWarrior=]; you're even guaranteed her 'Mad Cat MK II' as salvage for the mission.

* DefeatMeansFriendship: Maybe "friendship" is pushing it; defeating Thastus and her Binary of Jade Falcon Clan 'Mechs in the "Beach Fight" op on New Exford instead of the alternative "Backstab" op will have her join your unit as a free Lance Commander-type MechWarrior; you're even guaranteed her 'Mad Cat MK II' as salvage for the mission.

** Averted on two occasions if the player chooses to take missions which offer zero pay. In the first instance, Spectre and his lance escort peace delegates to safety despite their being unable to pay for protection. In the second, Spectre effectively abandons his unit to fight a Trial of Position for the right to join Clan Wolf and petition the Wolf Khan to rescue Katrina Steiner.