This is a listing of members of the Brave Companions in A Song of Ice and Fire.
For the main character index, see here
For the main sellsword companies entry, see here
The Brave Companions
The Bloody Mummers, The Footmen
Banner of the Brave Companions, showing the Black Goat of Qohor
The Brave Companions (called the "Bloody Mummers" and the "Footmen" behind their backs) are a band of Private Military Contractors from across the sea. At the end of the first book, they were brought from the east to Westeros by Tywin Lannister to fight for him in the first battles of the war. Led by Vargo Hoat ("The Crippler"), they are essentially an armed gang of criminals, outcasts and scum, who are the Psycho for Hire of whichever side is winning the war at the moment. They are composed of men from all around the world and are considered markedly flamboyant by Westerosi standards. Their banner is a black goat with bloody horns.
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In General
- An Arm and a Leg: They're notorious for their habit of cutting off peoples' arms and legs.Roose Bolton: Do you know why Hoat cut off your hand?Jaime Lannister: He enjoys cutting off hands. He enjoys cutting off feet as well. He doesn't seem to need a reason.
- Ax-Crazy: The whole lot of them. There are three things they do best—murder, rape, and torture.
- Carnival of Killers: They're rather less a company of trained knights and more one of semi-organised serial killers with a brand name and theme. And, their alternate name only underlines this trope's use.
- Dirty Coward: They'll gleefully rape and slaughter innocents, while fleeing from stronger enemies and ditching each other to save their own rotten skins. Some of them might even beg for mercy when the Stranger is coming to call.
- Evil Counterpart: To the Brotherhood Without Banners.
- Equal-Opportunity Evil: The Brave Companions are quite diverse and includes Westerosi from almost each region (when they can be identified as being from a specific one, such as Dorne or the Crownlands), Tyroshi, Myrmen, Lyseni, Dothraki, Ibbenese and Summer Islanders; all of them under the command of a Qohorik. It seems like the only criteria for membership (beyond being a competent fighter, of course) is being a complete Ax-Crazy bastard of squicktastic proportions. Of course, despite being a diverse bunch, they lack any female members, most likely because no would-be token Smurfette would be safe around them for even half an hour.
- Evil Versus Evil: Once Gregor Clegane and Roose Bolton begin to hunt them down.
- Fish out of Water: Most of them are from outside Westeros, but a pair of Dothraki named Iggo and Zollo stand out in particular.
- Gruesome Goat: In Vargo Hoat's native Qohor, the Black Goat is a God of Evil that demands daily blood sacrifice. So when you see that banner with the black goat flying in the distance? Start running.
- Insistent Terminology: Do not refer to their company as anything but the Brave Companions or they'll make you suffer.
- Ironic Name: Called the Brave Companions, even though they mainly show no real bravery and are generally more akin to cowards, only winning victories through back-stabbing and oppressing smallfolk. As for "Companions"... they're happy to quickly switch sides and even abandon each other.
- Karmic Death: Two of them end up dying due to dismemberment. Iggo, a Dothraki riding with the group, dies after Nymeria rips off one of his arms. Their leader, Vargo Hoat, himself dies after Gregor Clegane brutally tortures him by forcing him to eat his own severed limbs.
- Monster Clown: Their entire nickname references this trope. A "mummer" is a costumed entertainer (particularly a mime). That's why they're the Bloody Mummers: they're a whole brigade of wildly-dressed psychopaths.
- No Historical Figures Were Harmed: Depressingly, these guys do have real-life counterparts. Their rampage in post-war Westeros is based on the Écorcheurs
who rampaged across France during The Hundred Years War. They were mercenaries imported home who chose to pillage when they ran out of war to pay their bills.- In a more modern sense, they also bear a strong resemblance to the 36th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS A Nazi penal battalion made up of convicts, led by the notorious rapist and WWI veteran, Oskar Dirlewanger. The unit saw the worst of the war in Eastern Europe, engaging in brutal war crimes against partisan and resistance groups across the region and often suffering extreme casualties of their own when faced with actual trained armies.
- In a more modern sense, they also bear a strong resemblance to the 36th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS
- No Name Given: Several, particularly the members of Iggo's four-man foraging party: there's a pale Lyseni, a "dark" Ibbenese axeman, and a Dornishman.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: Three Toes.
- Pet Rat: They are basically this for hire: ain't no job too psychotic to turn down if the pay's OK. So... they're closer to very large dock-rats you can kind of "tame" through a window because they have more than a hint of both rabies and plague to them (hence any boss needs to watch them constantly), rather than the slippery, slimy type of rat you can kind of trust to do ratty things; but, they are still there for the dirty jobs.
- Private Military Contractors: If you want to hire the equivalent outfit to Blackwater, you've managed to find worse. With far fewer ethical standards and even worse discipline, these guys are a bomb waiting to go off.
- Psycho for Hire: Every member of the group, without exception. It's pretty much a requirement if you want to be a Brave Companion.
- Quirky Miniboss Squad: A rather villainous, not-quite-comedic version of the trope.
- Ragtag Bunch of Misfits: An evil version of this trope.
- Rape, Pillage, and Burn: Happens to every town and village the Brave Companions encounter.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: The remaining Brave Companions, except for Hoat (who was suffering from a badly infected wound), flee Harrenhal and scatter into several groups after learning Ser Gregor Clegane is coming to kill them. Most are desperately seeking a way out of Westeros, while others have turned outlaw.
- Sociopathic Soldier: Again, all of them, though it's a subversion since it's implied they were all sociopaths before they became soldiers.
- Stupid Evil: Let us count the ways:
- Their love of torture, random killing, and gleefully over-the-top gang rape just keeps adding to the list of people who want them very dead.
- Their horrendous treatment of valuable hostages, such as when they cut off Jaime's hand and try to rape Brienne, falls into this category. Roose Bolton actually declares himself "displeased" when he finds out, which is the closest he ever gets to showing anger. Though it's actually subverted in that maiming Jaime was an attempt to force Bolton to give Jaime to the Karstarks rather than to Tywin in order to drive a wedge between their suspected alliance. But considering Lord Tywin's reputation for repaying those who wrong his house it's still an incredibly short-sighted gambit on their part. This is partly justified, however: Roose Bolton explains that Hoat, as a foreigner, was not aware of Tywin's reputation, but even so one would figure that "don't piss off the richest, most powerful man in the land" was a pretty universal maxim.
- Once Rorge takes over part of the remnants of the company, they go around slaughtering indiscriminately to no apparent benefit, even as ever more people start hunting them as a result. This could work as a terror tactic in the fragmented city states of Essos (as shown by the Dothraki), but is doomed to failure in a single nation-state (however politically fractured in the short term the Seven Kingdoms is). The best way for a new commander to gain the appreciation and trust of the local population (peasant or otherwise) is to kill some of them, no matter how evil or monstrous that commander might be otherwise. Randyll Tarly, Roose Bolton and frickin' Mountain that Rides use it to their advantage, among others.
- Turn Coat: After a record, or something.
- War Is Hell: It is in general in these books, but when they're around even moreso.
- Your Days Are Numbered: After The War of the Five Kings has died down, they've been condemned and marked for death by nearly every major faction in Westeros, from House Lannister to The Brotherhood Without Banners to just about everybody in the Riverlands.
Vargo Hoat
Vargo Hoat, Lord of Harrenhal
The Goat, The Crippler, The Qohorik
The captain of the Brave Companions, Vargo Hoat is a Qohorik sellsword with a slobbering lisp, no moral compass, and an eye on advancement. Totally Axe-Crazy, he is brought to Westeros by Tywin Lannister, and eventually betrays him to Roose Bolton.
- Animal Motif: Goats. His nickname is "the Goat", his personal coat of arms displays the Black Goat of Qohor, he wears a helm shaped like goat horns, and he wears a goatee.
- He also has a swollen tongue which causes him to lisp and slobber. Check out any number of adult male goats in YouTube videos and notice that this is very much a part of his animal motif, as this is how they provoke each other into fights.
- Axe-Crazy Serial Rapist with a taste for mayhem also fits the general disposition of male goats rather well.
- Asshole Victim: His death, gruesome as it was, is extremely deserved, and nobody in Westeros spends even a second feeling sorry for him.
- Attempted Rape: Of Brienne. It ends badly for him.
- Autocannibalism: The Mountain forces Hoat to eat some of his own flesh while torturing him to death.
- Authority in Name Only: He is made Lord of Harrenhal by Roose Bolton, who nevertheless still calls the shots at the castle until his departure.
- Ax-Crazy: The guy loves crazy ultra-violence and squick. Oh, how it backfires on him. Spectacularly.
- Battle Trophy: Wears a linked chain of coins that come from all the places he has fought.
- Beard of Evil: A long ropy beard that hangs down to his feet.
- Beware the Silly Ones: Hoat's slobbering lisp could almost make you forget that he's a violent lunatic who maims people for shits and giggles. Then he cuts off Jaime Lannister's hand.
- Bunny-Ears Lawyer: Despite his slobbery lisping voice and eccentric behavior, he's a capable fighter and leader (he'd have to be, to command this bunch of psychopaths).
- Cold-Blooded Torture: He lops off limbs just for the lulz a lot of the time, too. But, that's not the only method he has.
- Cool Helmet: Wears a black steel helmet in the shape of a goat's head.
- Cruel and Unusual Death: Gregor Clegane cuts off as many pieces of Hoat as he can, feeding them to captives and to Hoat himself, drawing this out for a horrifyingly long time because he was amused by Hoat's slobbering. A truly terrible fate, but if anybody had it coming, it was Hoat.
- Dragon with an Agenda: To Roose Bolton. Hoat suspects Bolton will betray the Starks to side with the Lannisters, which would leave him hung out to dry as he betrayed the Lannisters himself, so he has Jaime Lannister's hand chopped off to drive a potential wedge between Bolton and Tywin Lannister. He also plans on delivering Jaime to Lord Karstark to get his daughter in marriage.
- Death by Irony: Vargo's signature move is cutting off limbs and leaving the victims alive. This eventually happened to Vargo himself, who had his own body parts cut off, roasted and fed to him by Gregor Clegane. Clegane keeps Vargo alive as long as possible, because he found the way Vargo slobbered when talking to be amusing.
- Dishonored Dead: When Jaime returns to Harrenhal, all he finds left of Vargo is his skull with a few strips of flesh attached. He chucks it into the lake.
- The Dreaded: Vargo is infamous and known as "The Crippler" among the servants, peasants and helpless victims. Those who are actually in a position to fight back know him by the rather less intimidating nickname of "The Goat", referring to the god of Hoat's home city of Qohor, the Black Goat, whom he styled his helmet after.
- That last one become scarier when you visit the Temple of the Many-Faced God and discover that one of the gods there is called the Black Goat. In other words, in Qohor, the Black Goat is DEATH.
- Ear Ache: Brienne bites off his ear. The wound eventually festers, driving him mad(der).
- Gruesome Goat: He has the Animal Motif of a goat, and he's the leader of a sadistic, Ax-Crazy band of murderers and rapists.
- In-Series Nickname: The Goat, the Crippler, the Qohorik.
- Karmic Death: This guy is known for his love of chopping off people’s limbs. So Gregor Clegane tortured him to death by chopping him into pieces slowly and making him eat the severed limbs.
- Know When to Fold 'Em: When Jaime returns to Harrenhal and insists on taking Brienne with him, Hoat reluctantly allows it, if only because Jaime's Bolton escort outnumbers the Brave Companions two to one and most of his men are too drunk to put up a fight.
- The Leader: Of the Brave Companions.
- Lean and Mean: Arya's narration describes him as stick-thin with an emaciated face.
- Lip Losses: When Jaime Lannister returns to Harrenhal, he finds that Hoat's severed head is missing its lips, though it's not made clear if he was made to eat them along with his limbs or if he was simply mutilated post-mortem.
- Pragmatic Villainy: Jaime reminds him that Brienne is worth a ton of sapphires in terms of a ransom, so Hoat has his guards protect her from being raped by the other Companions, as she will be worth less if she is Defiled Forever.
- Psycho for Hire: Goes without saying, given the group he leads.
- Sadist: The only thing he truly enjoys doing? Watching others in pain and desperation. Yeah.
- Sanity Slippage: Over the course of A Storm of Swords. Brienne bites his ear when he tries to rape her. The wound becomes infected and the infection drives him mad(der), if you will.
- Serial Rapist: Is said to be one by Qyburn though we don't really see it in action.
- Speech Impediment: Hath a thlobbery lithp cauthed by a thwollen tongue. Thith ith the main reathon why he ith Laughably Evil.
- Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: He does not get along well with Ser Amory Lorch, which is odd given how similar the two are.
Urswyck the Faithful
Urswyck the Faithful
A small cadaverous man who is the second-in-command of the Brave Companions.
- Co-Dragons: With Septon Utt.
- Creepy Souvenir: He wears a leather cloak fringed with long blonde hair.
- Domestic Abuse: Killed his own wife at some point.
- Dragon Ascendant: After Hoat dies, Urswyck leads a pack of Brave Companions south towards Oldtown.
- Ironic Nickname: Urswyck "the Faithful" skips town when the going gets tough, leaving his captain to the "mercy" of Gregor Clegane.
- Karma Houdini: So far.
- Mook Lieutenant: He has this role among the Companions.
- Number Two: Again, shared with Septon Utt until everything goes pear-shaped.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Abandons Harrenhal and Hoat to escape from Gregor Clegane.
- Serial Killer: He killed his own wife, and now he kills alongside the Companions.
Septon Utt
Utt
"I am a weak reed. The boys... the lovely boys... I never meant to hurt them."
A disgraced septon of the Faith of the Seven and a lieutenant in the company.
See the Faith of the Seven page.
- Badass Preacher: With a horrid twist. Utt is a septon who rides into battle alongside his fellow mercenaries wearing chainmail over his robes, but he's also a paedophilic serial rapist, which pretty much kills the badass vibes.
- Co-Dragons: With Urswyck.
- Depraved Homosexual: Of the paedophilic variety.
- Hanging Around: Utt is ultimately caught and strung up by the Brotherhood Without Banners.
- Lean and Mean: Even when he had the chance to bulk up in Harrenhal, he didn't. Definitely cruel. No Friar Tuck jolliness to be found here.
- Mook Lieutenant: He has this role among the Companions.
- Number Two: Shared with Urswyk initially.
- Pedophile Priest: A paedophile who murders his victims when he's done with them.
- Reluctant Psycho: Utt is always remorseful after his crimes, though he's unable to stop himself from doing it again.
- Serial Killer: Of the boys he rapes.
- Serial Rapist: Of small children.
- A Taste of the Lash: He weeps and prays for forgiveness after killing his victims (see below) and often asks other members of Brave Companions to whip and scourge him, which they often do as they find it amusing.
- Tears of Remorse: After he's done with his victims. Not that it stops him from doing it again, however.
- Would Hurt a Child: Not only does he rape boys, he also kills them afterward.
Shagwell the Fool
Shagwell the Fool
"That's funny!"
A psychotic jester who wears a green and pink motley and fights with a three-headed flail.
- Attempted Rape: Tried to rape Brienne twice, once in company with Rorge and Zollo, once with Pyg and Timeon.
- Ax-Crazy: Oh, yes. Worse, he giggles and laughs about it while he is.
- Dead Guy Puppet: After the fall of Harrenhal, which involved Arya/"Weasel" teaming up with the Brave Companions to kill the Lannister garrison, Shagwell makes two severed heads talk to each other. One asks, "What did you die of?" and the other says, "Hot weasel soup!"
- Dig Your Own Grave: Subverted, the grave Brienne forces him to dig is not for him but for Dick Crabb. Shagwell himself is left to rot.
- The Dreaded: Though not the deadliest, Shagwell is among the craziest and most unpredictable of the Brave Companions, instilling fear in the likes of Arya Stark and Jaime Lannister.
- Epic Flail: Wields a three-headed flail.
- Evil Has a Bad Sense of Humor: Nobody but Shagwell finds him funny. His idea of comedy gold is using severed heads as puppets.
- I Love the Dead: Just when you thought he couldn't get creepier, this comes out as a favourite pastime.
- In-Series Nickname: The other Brave Companions call him Shags.
- Karmic Death: He gets told to laugh when being stabbed repeatedly.
- Laughably Evil: Well, he thinks he is and he plays the trope up for all it's worth. Brienne, for one, isn't convinced.
- Lean and Mean: He's described as "wispy." As for the mean part, read the rest of his tropes, please.
- Mommy Issues: Shagwell claims that "I always wanted to fuck my dear old mother up the arse."
- Monster Clown: The first thing we learn about him is that he killed a man for not laughing at his jokes.
- Put the "Laughter" in "Slaughter": Let's just say he loves his job as a murderous mummer and cares to share.
- Sadist: Shagwell thinks hurting people is funny.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Shagwell, Timeon, and Pyg decide to call it quits and flee Westeros when Gregor Clegane rides to retake Harrenhal.
- Serial Rapist: Said to be one, though the only victim we see him try to take is Brienne.
- Teeny Weenie: According to Timeon, he has a small penis.
- Too Funny to Be Evil: Tries to claim this, but no one really buys it.Shagwell: I yield, I yield. You mustn't hurt sweet Shagwell, I'm too droll to die.Brienne: You are no better than the rest of them. You have robbed and raped and murdered.Shagwell: Oh, I have, I have, I shan't deny it... but I'm amusing, with all my japes and capers. I make men laugh.Brienne: And women weep.Shagwell: Is that my fault? Women have no sense of humor.
Rorge
Rorge
The Mad Dog of Saltpans, The Hound
"Seems I promised to fuck you bloody girl."
A noseless criminal from King's Landing who was being transported to the Wall by Yoren, Rorge is a paedophiliac serial rapist and murderer. Breaking free from his cage, he and his companion, Biter, sign on with the Brave Companions where they stand out as two of the worst.
- Abusive Dad: Rorge makes an awful parent, it turns out. Who'd a thunk it?
- Attempted Rape: Tries to rape Arya, but is stopped by the threat of Jaqen. Tries to rape Brienne, but is stopped by Vargo Hoat. Succeeds in raping a twelve-year-old girl, during the raid at Saltpans. Tries to rape ten-year-old Willow Heddle, but is killed by Brienne.
- Animal Motif: Dogs, for his savagery and brutality. He's called "the Mad Dog of Saltpans" and runs a dog (and bear) fighting pit, where he raised Biter as a dog from childhood by making him fight them with his sharpened fangs. He also takes up the snarling dog-shaped helmet of Sandor Clegane, who himself is called "the Hound". He also happens to be covered in thick black hair.
- Ax-Crazy: His destruction of Saltpans, one of the most hideous atrocities in the series, demonstrates this thoroughly.
- The Brute: A sadistic piece of work even by the standards of the Brave Companions, Rorge is one of the largest and strongest men in Vargo Hoat's employ and joins Zollo the Fat as the company thug during his time with them.
- Carpet of Virility: Rorge's an exaggerated Type 2 (where hair is paired with an unattractive body to demonstrate grossness). He's described as being so hairy and overly muscled he could be mistaken for an ape, and is a sadistic rapist.
- Child Hater: Goes just about ballistic in the presence of children.
- Cool Helmet: Steals Sandor Clegane's, actually.
- Death by Irony: Is literally penetrated through the bowels with a sword courtesy of Brienne, the very woman he had previously tried to rape. A fitting end for a man who had made a career of raping and mutilating helpless women.
- Depraved Bisexual: Loves raping young girls, but also threatens to rape Arya while he thinks she's a boy.
- Dragon Ascendant: After Hoat dies, Rorge takes the lead over a portion of the Bloody Mummers, travels east to Saltpans and sacks the town.
- The Dreaded: One of the worst criminals in King's Landing, Rorge was thrown in the Black Cells for a reason. As "the Hound", he capitalizes on Sandor's reputation and his own brutality to become even more feared, and following the Saltpans massacre becomes one of the most wanted men in Westeros.
- Duel to the Death: Dies facing Brienne of Tarth in single combat.
- Enemy Mine: He and Biter are forced into a brief alliance with Arya by Jaqen, one of the few people who actually scares Rorge.
- Expy: He seems to be a realistic version of Wyald from Berserk, what with his ape-like appearance, sexual sadism, and overall brutality. Rorge is much dumber though.
- Eye Scream: Threatens to pull out Brienne's eyes and feed them to her.
- Forced to Watch: Plans to make Jaime watch while he rapes Brienne and Brienne watch while he rapes a ten-year-old. In each case, he's stopped.
- From Nobody to Nightmare: From a lowlife criminal to leading a feared gang of brigands terrorizing the Riverlands.
- Groin Attack: Brienne finally puts an end to him by stabbing him in the groin with Oathkeeper, her Valyrian steel sword. An agonizing way to go, to be sure, but if anyone deserved it, it's Rorge.
- He-Man Woman Hater: To the point you're tempted to start looking for straw in his sleeves. There is no cruelty he hasn't come up with that he hasn't put women and girls through.
- Horrifying the Horror: Only one thing truly scares this monster: the Faceless Men and what they stand for.
- I Was Beaten by a Girl: How he dies. Brienne also uses his fear of this to goad Rorge into a fatal mistake during their duel.
- Karmic Death: Killed by a woman he repeatedly tried to rape. Brienne drives the point home by whispering "Sapphires" to him as he dies.
- Kick the Dog: Threatens to rape Arya (and any other woman present) once a conversation.
- Kick Them While They Are Down: Does this to both Jaime and Brienne while they are tied up and recovering from their injuries at Harrenhal, delivering beatings to both of them, and threats of rape to Brienne. Perhaps best demonstrated when Jaime tries to defend Brienne from a rape attempt and Rorge kicks him in the stump of his missing hand, causing Jaime to pass out.
- Know When to Fold 'Em: Despite his aggressive and barbaric behavior and Stupid Evil tendencies, Rorge is afraid of Jaqen H'ghar and stays away from him.
- Lack of Empathy: Rorge cares about no one but Rorge.
- Legacy Character: After taking the Hound's helm from Sandor Clegane's grave, Rorge is mistaken for Clegane during his subsequent rampages, essentially becoming the second Hound.
- Names to Run Away from Really Fast: When he assumes the guise of the Hound, he becomes known as the Mad Dog of Saltpans.
- The Noseless: Had his nose cut off. Sometimes wears a leather patch or a helmet with a noseguard to cover it, other times he prefers to scare people with it.
- Obviously Evil: Rorge's missing nose advertises his criminality to everyone in the story from the very start. Then he goes and adds Sandor Clegane's helmet just to make it even more obvious.
- Parental Substitute: According to some side materials, he is the one who raised Biter. This explains so much.
- Pædo Hunt: Rorge really likes raping little girls, and seems to have a preference for them.
- Sadist: Rorge thrives on physical and sexual sadism, especially towards children and other targets who can't fight back.
- Serial Killer: Before breaking out of prison.
- Serial Rapist: A paedophilic serial rapist before he ever joined the Brave Companions.
- Sex Is Violence: Never known to engage in consensual sex.
- Sir Swears-a-Lot: Even by the standards of this series. Every other thing that comes out of Rorge's mouth is a curse. The other half are usually threats.
- Slashed Throat: Cuts the throats of the Lannister men he, Arya, Jaqen, and Biter killed at Harrenhal.
- The Sociopath: A fairly blatant example with his sexual sadism, total lack of morals, short temper, and impulsiveness.
- Straw Misogynist: There's no explanation for why Rorge hates women. He just does.
- Stupid Evil: Threatens to rape Arya while trying to get her to free him. He later picks a fight with Brienne at the Crossroads Inn for no better reason than sadism, enabling the Brotherhood Without Banners to attack the rest of his party.
- Token Evil Teammate: Even in a group full of extremely violent individuals, Rorge manages to stick out like a gangrenous thumb.
- Underestimating Badassery: Invoked in his duel with Brienne. He refuses to let it appear that a woman is trying him in combat, and as such makes a number of amateur mistakes that enable her to defeat him.
- Ungrateful Bastard: Arya saved his life. His response the next time he sees her? He tries to rape her.
- Unskilled, but Strong: Rorge is a lowborn commoner with absolutely no real military training that we are aware of. He's nearly a match for Brienne who was trained as a knight and is a tall, powerfully built woman to boot...nearly being the operative word.
- Would Hit a Girl: And if it's a female child...
- Would Hurt a Child: Raped a twelve-year-old girl while wearing mail, and that's just one example. If Rorge is near a child, he's going to kill it or rape it, possibly both.
Biter
Biter
Rorge's companion and partner in crime, Biter is a huge, mute killer so-named for his filed teeth and cannibalism. Freed from the Black Cells by Yoren, he escaped during Amory Lorch's attack, and joined the Brave Companions, where he acts as Rorge's enforcer.
- Abusive Dad: If one accepts some semi-canonical sources, Biter was raised by Rorge, who turned him into an animal meant to fight dogs with only his teeth. If so, this trope is definitely in play.
- Axe-Crazy: Learned this from Rorge thanks to some intensive training. All too well, by what we see him do.
- Bald of Evil: Has no hair anywhere on his body.
- Bare-Fisted Monk: Biter carries no weapons, most likely because he couldn't figure out how to use one if he tried. Since he can break necks with only his hands, this doesn't really matter.
- The Berserker: A feral, cannibalistic beast of a man who launches himself at his foes shrieking and ignoring his wounds.
- The Brute: Huge, mute, and functioning at the level of an animal, Biter played Brute alongside Rorge when they served in the Brave Companions.
- Delusions of Doghood: Most of Biter's behaviour, from sniffing people as they walk by him to eating his victims, becomes more understandable when you realize that he thinks he's a feral dog.
- The Dragon: To Rorge. Whether they are working for the Brave Companions or themselves, Biter will always be there to back Rorge up.
- Dumb Muscle: Rorge didn't bother teaching him things like how to read or think for himself. All he knows how to do is kill people and eat them.
- Eaten Alive: Biter's usual combat style is to pin someone beneath his weight and then tear strips off them with his teeth, slowly eating them alive. His attempt to do this to Brienne permanently disfigures her face.
- Enemy Mine: Jaqen forces him and Rorge to help Arya free the northmen.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: A case where the "loved one" is a monster of a man who abused him all his life; but he acts as a loyal, protective dog to Rorge.
- Fangs Are Evil: Files his teeth.
- Fat Bastard: Grossly overweight, though not to the point of Zollo the Fat. His horse seems to be in physical pain from carrying him during his encounter with Gendry and Brienne at the inn.
- Freudian Excuse: He had Rorge, Serial Killer, Serial Rapist, sadist, and all around bastard as a parental figure.
- Good Scars, Evil Scars: Has a face covered with evil pox scars and weeping sores.
- I'm a Humanitarian: Eats his victims, often before they are dead.
- Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: Gendry rams a spear through the back of his head, finally killing him.
- Jabba Table Manners: To the point where the other Brave Companions forced him to sit on the floor at the far end of the table.
- Know When to Fold 'Em: Despite his lack of intelligence and very aggressive personality he's just as afraid of Jaqen H'ghar as Rorge is, and never does anything against him.
- Man Bites Man: His preferred method of combat is use his great weight to pin opponents down, and then bite them to death with his altered teeth.
- The Mentally Ill: Biter can neither speak nor write nor seemingly understand anything beyond the simplest of commands. He functions at the level of an animal, reacting only to orders from those he fears, usually Rorge.
- Neck Snap: After the attack on Lorch's soldiers, Rorge and Biter finish off those who've survived. Rorge cuts throats but Biter simply breaks them with his bare hands.
- Non-Malicious Monster: Though his actions are horrific, he can hardly be held as morally culpable for them as most men, given his mental state. He's less intentionally cruel and more like a mad fighting dog who needs to be put down.
- Obviously Evil: Between his filed teeth, baldness, pale white skin, and scarred cheeks it's fair to say that Biter wears his evil on his face.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: Biter cannot speak or write, so he's stuck with the name that Rorge and Jaqen H'ghar slapped on him.
- The Pig-Pen: Biter never bathes and his reek is overpowering.
- Right-Hand Attack Dog: Rorge treats him as one and he acts accordingly.
- Scary Teeth: Filed to points by Rorge.
- Serial Killer: Nobody knows how many he's directly killed. It's probably into triple figures, though.
- Stout Strength: Is very fat, but very strong. Jaqen H'ghar and Arya Stark needed to combine their strength to carry a single container of boiling soup. Rorge can manage one by himself. Biter? Carries two under each arm.
- Tongue Trauma: Had his tongue cut out by Rorge as a child.
- Undying Loyalty: Biter's loyalty to Rorge goes beyond death. When Brienne kills Rorge, Biter loses what sanity he has and attacks her.
- Unskilled, but Strong: Biter has the intelligence of an animal, but is extremely large and strong, and his fighting style is brutal and savage.
- Villainous Glutton: The cannibalistic variety. Biter will start consuming his enemies as soon as the fight is over — and sometimes before.
- The Voiceless: Lacks a tongue, thanks to Rorge. He is unable to speak.
- Wild Child: Rorge never bothered to socialize Biter, treating him like an animal. The results are obvious enough.
- Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: Considering he was supposedly orphaned, then raised by the absolutely horrible Rorge, who physically maimed him and turned him into an animal in human form, it's hard not to feel a little sorry for him. Poor guy never had a chance.
- Would Hit a Girl: Biter ate several women alive during the attack on Saltpans and tried to do the same to Brienne.
Timeon
Timeon of Dorne
A Dornish spearman who appears to be saner than the rest of the gang.
- An Arm and a Leg: Brienne cuts off an ear and a hand before killing him.
- Attempted Rape: He, Shagwell, and Pyg planned to gang-rape Brienne.
- Defiant to the EndTimeon: Send me back to Dorne, you bloody bitch.
- Iconic Item: An iron halfhelm wrapped in red silk scarf.
- In-Series Nickname: Timeon of Dorne.
- Only One Name: If he has another, it's not known.
- Only Sane Man: Comparatively. He's still a rapist and a murderer but he's not near as stupid about it as Vargo Hoat, Shagwell, or Rorge.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Shagwell, Timeon, and Pyg decide to call it quits and flee Westeros when Gregor Clegane rides to retake Harrenhal.
- Villainous Underdog: Brienne's taller and heavier than Timeon and has a full suit of armour and a Valyrian steel sword to his leathers and short spear. He still manages to wound her in the shoulder before she takes him apart.
Zollo
Zollo the Fat
Zollo is an enormously fat Dothraki member of the Brave Companions. He maimed Jaime Lannister on Vargo Hoat's order.
- An Arm and a Leg: It's his arakh that takes Jaime's hand.
- Attempted Rape: He, Rorge, and Shagwell intended to rape Brienne before Jaime and Vargo stopped them.
- The Brute: Zollo is colossally fat, none too bright, void of scruple, and acts as Vargo's go-to man when he wants somebody maimed.
- The Dreaded: Jaime considers him one of the worst of the Brave Companions, putting him in the same class as Rorge.
- Establishing Character Moment: When we first meet Zollo, he's seated in a burnt sept atop a toppled wooden statue of the Mother, prying out her jewelled eyes with a dagger. A page later, he maims Jaime at Vargo Hoat's request, establishing himself as impious, greedy, and vicious even by the standards of the company he keeps.
- Fat Bastard: Unusually for a Dothraki, he's grossly overweight — to the point where it's part of his name. Not-so-unusually, he's a proud, annoying pain in the rear. With few, if any, redeeming features.
- Karma Houdini: Zollo is among the surviving Brave Companions. So far.
- Sinister Scimitar: Like the majority of Dothraki, he fights with the arakh, a huge curved sword.
- Stout Strength: A skilled warrior and rider, and one of the deadliest Brave Companions despite his immense weight.
- Walking Shirtless Scene: Most Dothraki go shirtless. This becomes serious Fan Disservice in Zollo's case given his grotesque girth.
- Your Days Are Numbered. As a Brave Companion, he's this in general, but Zollo personally cut off Jaime Lannister's hand. Jaime naturally wants revenge, and a Lannister always pays his debts.
Iggo
Iggo
Iggo is a Dothraki member of the Brave Companions. His entire body is covered in scars.
- Covered in Scars: One of the few things that we see of him.
- Defiant to the End: Well, he is Dothraki. Facing death with this attitude is kind of what they do.
- Sinister Scimitar: His arakh.
- Villainous Valor: When Nymeria's pack attack a Brave Companions foraging party, Iggo is the only one to stand his ground and fight. He's still killed with the rest of them, but he and his horse do kill at least two wolves before going down.
- We Hardly Knew Ye: He's only mentioned in one chapter and abruptly killed in one of Arya's warg-dreams, that's it.
Pyg
Pyg
Pyg is a member of the Brave Companions with small eyes and wide flat nostrils; traits which resemble those of, well, a pig.
- Impromptu Tracheotomy: Gets one with a Valyrian steel sword.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: If "Pyg" is a nickname.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Shagwell, Timeon, and Pyg decide to call it quits and flee Westeros when Gregor Clegane rides to retake Harrenhal.
- The Voiceless: Pyg never makes a sound; even when Brienne comes to blows with him, Timeon, and Shagwell, he lets the other two do the talking and doesn't peep when he gets cut down.
- We Hardly Knew Ye: We don't even know where he was from.
