History Characters / OctopathTravelerAntagonists

* HateSink: While not as bad as Helgenish plus having some degree of respect for Primrose, he's still a thoroughly despicable individual who's involved in human trafficking and sex slavery.

* MeaningfulName: Simultaneously [[AvertedTrope averted]] and played straight. Rufus means ''red-haired'' in Latin when he is blond, but in Literature/TheBible, Rufus was the son of Simon of Cyrene. What is an alternate spelling of Simon? Simeon.

* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: Helgenish treats women as mere playthings and sex objects, calling Primrose a "whore".

* HateSink: While not as bad as Helgenish or Albus and he having some degree of respect for Primrose, he's still a thoroughly despicable individual who's involved in human trafficking and sex slavery.

* ItsAllAboutMe: While all of the Crow Men have this trait, it's especially noticeable with Simeon. He screws around with her, pretending to be a honest caretaker, but really sees her more as a toy.

* HateSink: While he has some degree of respect for Primrose, he's still a thoroughly despicable individual who's involved in human trafficking and sex slavery.

* KickTheSonOfABitch: If Father Eschard's story is to be believed, part of Rufus' political scheming to get Father Eschard in his debt would have involved him helping Father Eschard get revenge on the man who raped his daughter.

* EvilIsPetty: The main reason why he is such a loathsome scumbag is because he flies into rages and inflicts DisproportionateRetribution on the women under his "care" for the most trivial of offenses. He once slaps Primrose across the face for not expressing immediate gratitude that he would "teach a completely useless girl everything she knows" (his words). Things go FromBadToWorse when [[spoiler:Yusufa covers for Primrose when she leaves to pursue Rufus of the Crows; he beats Yusufa severely, catches up to Primrose, and stabs her in front of Primrose]]. It's very obvious that this man is sick in the head!

* DependingOnTheArtist: He wears dark green trousers in his overworld sprite, but white trousers in his battle sprite.

* MeaningfulName: [[InvertedTrope Inverted]]; Albus means ''white'' in Latin, but he has black hair and wears a black cloak.

* OneDegreeOfSeparation: His diary entry in [[spoiler:the Gate of Finis]] reveals that he is allied with [[spoiler:Simeon, the main antagonist of Primrose's route, who supported him in his crusade against the Sacred Flame]]. The official companion book ''Octopath Traveler: The Complete Guide'' goes a step further by revealing that [[spoiler:Mattias helped Simeon co-establish the Obsidians, making the former the GreaterScopeVillain of Primrose's route]]]].

* OneDegreeOfSeparation: He is allied with [[spoiler:Mattias, the main antagonist of Ophilia's route, and supported the latter in his crusade against the Sacred Flame, making himself the GreaterScopeVillain of Ophilia's route]]]], as the [[spoiler:latter's diary entry in the Gate of Finis]] reveals. The official companion book ''Octopath Traveler: The Complete Guide'' goes a step further by revealing that [[spoiler:Simeon and Mattias co-established the Obsidians together]].

* TheManBehindTheMan: The official companion book ''Octopath Traveler: The Complete Guide'' reveals that [[spoiler:Mattias co-established [[TheSyndicate the Obsidians]] with Simeon after they were both bestowed with semi-immortality from [[BigBad Lyblac]] using knowledge from the ''From the Far Reaches of Hell'' tome, which means that Mattias indirectly plays a role in Primrose's story.]]

* OneDegreeOfSeparation: His diary entry in [[spoiler:the Gate of Finis]] reveals that he is allied with [[spoiler:Simeon, the main antagonist of Primrose's route, who supported him in his crusade against the Sacred Flame]]. The official companion book ''Octopath Traveler: The Complete Guide'' goes a step further by revealing that [[spoiler:Mattias helped Simeon co-establish the Obsidians, [[TheManBehindTheMan making the former an indirect antagonist in Primrose's route]]]].

* TheManBehindTheMan: As the leader of the Obsidians, he indirectly plays a role in [[spoiler:Tressa's route, and is specifically named as the one supporting Mattias monetarily, so he indirectly plays a role in Ophilia's route, too]].

* OneDegreeOfSeparation: He is allied with [[spoiler:Mattias, the main antagonist of Ophilia's route, and supported the latter in his crusade against the Sacred Flame, [[TheManBehindTheMan making himself an indirect antagonist in Ophilia's route]]]], as the [[spoiler:latter's diary entry in the Gate of Finis]] reveals. The official companion book ''Octopath Traveler: The Complete Guide'' goes a step further by revealing that [[spoiler:Simeon and Mattias co-established the Obsidians together]].

* JerkassHasAPoint: While they were using it as an excuse for their ruthless pirate ways, Mikk and Makk are right when they tell Tressa that the world is a harsh place, considering how several of Tressa's companions—particularly Olberic, Primrose, and Therion—have suffered much in their lives, whether by losing their loved ones and/or [[EtTuBrute being betrayed by someone they trusted]]. Ophilia also suffered as a child when her parents died by war, though she was later [[HappilyAdopted taken in by a loving family]].

* JerkassHasAPoint:
** Zig-zagged. Morlock dismisses Ali's father as a man who swindled his business connections and fell into debt after being deceived by a friend of his. While Ali admits that the latter is true, he insists that the former is just a lie that his father's competitors spread.
** Likewise, Morlock also points out that as owner of the land, he's legally entitled to whatever comes out of the mines, no matter how little he pays for it, which makes him a greedy scumbag but acting legally (at least insofar as the town doesn't seem to be beholden to a central government which regulates such things). ''Except'' that he then adds that he ran the previous mine owner out of town, meaning he's not the legitimate landowner.

* JerkassHasAPoint: He technically isn't wrong when he tells Primrose that he gives her a place to stay and food to eat--Primrose was rendered destitute after her father was murdered by the Crow Men--but his assertion that Primrose owes him her life is eroded by the fact that the only reason he took her in at all is because he saw her as useful to him. Indeed, once Helgenish finally realizes that Primrose's ignorant submission was a façade all along, he [[spoiler:tries to kill her]].

* EvenEvilHasStandards: [[spoiler:He knows that releasing Galdera on the world is bad news, so he merely wants to loosen his bonds so he can draw more power from the god.]]
** ''Champions of the Continent'' shows that he held a rather dim view of [[spoiler:Simeon]] and [[spoiler:Ceraphina]], the former for his sheer sadism and obsession with theatrics, and the latter for her single-minded obsession with revenge and godhood.

** [[DidntThinkThisThrough Lack of foresight.]] Yvon's arrogance and thirst for knowledge made him very ambitious, desiring to gain what he could learn with no regard for how he achieved it. Tragically, his ambition made him very short-sighted [[spoiler: which he acknowledges in his diary after Lucia betrays him. He was so focused on gaining knowledge and learning secrets that he never once realized that Lucia planned to betray him, which he learned too late.]]

-->'''Miguel:''' Sure that's smart, Alfyn? I stretch the truth from time to time, but I wasn't lyin' about bein' a mercenary. Miguel Twinspears has killed a hundred men if he's killed a dozen. Soldiers, mind you, not mollycoddles totin' a bag full o' weeds. None of your potions or bandages will patch ye up when I'm done with ye! Gah!

* LackOfEmpathy: He's a disgustingly cruel and [[EntitledBastard entitled]] excuse for a man who genuinely believes the dancers he "employs" (read: enslaves) have no purpose for existence other than to satisfy his own pleasures. He treats them horrendously and takes pleasure in doing so to exert control.

* LackOfEmpathy: He's a disgustingly cruel and [[EntitledBastard entitled]] man who genuinely believes the dancers he "employs" (read: enslaves) have no purpose for existence other than to satisfy his own pleasures. He treats them horrendously and takes pleasure in doing so to exert control.

* FalseFriend: He deliberately became close to Primrose in her childhood so that he could later inflict deep emotional pain on her, because he is a heartless {{Sadist}} who enjoys others' pain.
* FlunkyBoss: In the first battle against him, he's supported by puppets of Yusufa and Primrose's father.