"Why do you call me "Frenk"? I’m Scottish, you Turkish dog!"
A Scotsman born into the Black family, he joined the Knights of St. John at an early age.In Blood, he's defending the last bastion of the Knights on the island of Malta from the soldiers of the Ottoman Empire, led by Sahin the Falcon. After driving them out of Malta, he and his superior, Alain Magnan, discover records of the Circle of Ossus, who sought eternal life. Believing that the Ottomans were after the "Fountain of Youth", Morgan is sent to the New World to thwart them. On his way there, he tangles with Elisabet "Lizzie" Ramsey, Sahin's entourage, and the Spanish, before unearthing a plot far more sinister than he'd originally suspected.After all's said and done, Morgan and Lizzie have another encounter and have four sons, two of which were Phillippe (father of John) and Stuart Black.Tropes related with him:
Awful Truth: After discovering that Alain is a member of the Circle of Ossus, he swears his revenge for the traitor's manipulation.
"This is Knights' business now. Alain made me a pawn in the Circle's game. He has betrayed the Knights of St. John, and he'll answer for it."
Bonnie Scotland: Despite being in the Maltese army, he was born in Scotland. Considering there was no real "Maltese" nation at the time, just the Knights of St. John (a traditional Christian warrior order ALA the Knights Templar or the Livonian Order) that happened to control Malta after getting kicked off of Rhodes, this isn't that surprising.
Spin Attack: His Oberhau attack, which basically murders everything around him.
John Black
Kanyenke:"Too slow, John Black. You were faster once."
John Black:"And your eyes were better once. Your arrow missed the mark. My shot was the one that took him down."
Morgan's grandson, and the protagonist of the Ice campaign. John is a rough-and-tumble woodsman who runs a mercenary company oft employed by the colonists. It's said that he has more enemies than friends.Tropes related to him:
Back-to-Back Badasses: With Kanyenke. The player spends the entire campaign (sans the last mission) controlling both of them.
Berserk Button/Beware the Nice Ones: He is said to hold grudges for a long time, and nowhere is this more apparent when he tracks Warwick all the way across the North American landmass in retaliation for killing his uncle Stuart and kidnapping Nonakhee.
Taking You with Me: In the climax of Ice, he takes with him Warwick's soldiers, most of the Circle's troops present in the mountains, and most of the Russian army with him. As Amelia said in the narration, he made a lot of enemies in life, but he died as a hero, and the Circle took a hit so hard that it took decades for them to recover.
Stuart Black
"Stuart may not be the commander my grandfather Morgan was, but if he thinks the colony is threatened, I believe him."
— John Black
The only member of the Black family who appears in a campaign but isn't the main character of it. John's uncle, Morgan's forgotten son, and a keen businessman. He leads a small colony which has recently come under attack from the Natives, causing him to call for John's mercenaries, which kicks off Ice.Tropes related with him:
The So-Called Coward: He's a total wimp in every manner imaginable and has nowhere near the esteem of the rest of his family. But he will fight for you if you order it, and it's implied that he resisted the Circle's torture for a fair while before they finally killed him.
The protagonist of Steel, and the narrator of all the campaigns in both III and Warchiefs, Amelia runs the Falcon Company as it falls on hard times following the expensive battles waged by her father Nathaniel. She seeks to regain some pf the family fortune by building a railroad straight to the west coast, but gets caught up in the Mexican War. While helping to defend a fort, she meets a French woodsman named Pierre Beaumont, who promises her a cut of his claim to a gold mine in exchange for the cooperation and use of her workers and equipment. Little did she know of what lay in store for her...She's the daughter of Nathaniel Black and mother of Chayton Black. Her husband is a Sioux, but he does not make an appearance.Tropes related with her:
"We do not have to fight, Frenk. Do you never question foolish orders?"
The leader of the Ottoman army which invaded the last bastion of the Knights of St. John. After he is repulsed by Morgan Black, he sets sail for the New World, in search of the Fountain of Youth.Tropes related with him:
Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain: He menaces Morgan in Blood. Or would be menacing him if it weren't for the fact that, in addition to being less competent than Morgan, his troops tend to get offed in large numbers by the wildlife, the Spanish, Pirates, and the environment itself (Morgan's troops go without saying). He fails to defeat Morgan in any of their engagements in spite of numerical and technological superiority and (more often then not) the advantage of defense, and ends up getting captured by the Spanish treasure fleet to be burned alive in Spain. He only escapes this fate by being rescued by Morgan, who happened to be raiding the treasure fleets at the time.
My Name Is Not Durwood: He always refers to all Europeans, but especially Morgan as 'Frenks', much to Morgan's annoyance.
What the Hell, Hero?: He calls out Morgan for blindly following Alain Magnan's orders, before the reveal.
"Open your eyes! The Circle wants the lake because they think it is the Fountain of Youth! All I have been trying to do is keep it out of the hands of the Circle! And Alain Magnan!"
Elizabeth "Lizzie" Ramsey
"Oh, come now; you sent my best ships to the bottom. The least you can owe me is a little civility. Are you going after the treasure fleet?"
Leader of a large band of pirates, she first meets Morgan Black as he's making his way to the New World. After her band was defeated, she escapes with the remnants of her forces to Cuba, where she encounters Morgan again.Tropes related with her:
Babies Ever After: It's implied by both the events after the Circle's defeat in Blood and by the narrator herself (Amelia) that she's the mother of Morgan's children. Several sources also tell that Lizzie kept with her two of them, while Morgan kept with him both Philippe and Stuart Black.
Cool Ship: Paris Burning. It's named for the city she hates the most.
Aristocrats Are Evil: A British governor among the Colonies, though he prefers force and intimidation to diplomacy and subtlety.
Kick the Dog: Attacks a village to capture John Black, who is away. When he sees the John isn't there after all, he burns the village to the ground and kidnaps, and later kills, Stuart Black.
Self-Made Orphan: In his backstory it's implied that he has something to do with the death of his parents.
Pierre Beaumont
"I will show you how I like to kill."
A mysterious French trapper who has a claim to a gold mine in the mountains. Having no means to mine it out himself, he offers Amelia a cut of the gold in exchange for the use of her equipment. With his sinister manner and fondness for knives, however, he's not as he appears...Tropes related with him:
Badass: Easily capable of holding his own in a fight against muskets and rifles, despite only ever using his knives.
"General Washington, my father gave his life to protect the colonies. I would do the same, without hesitation."
The half-Iroquois son of John Black and Nonahkee and the protagonist of Fire. A devoted patriot who fights for the colonists when the revolutionary war breaks out, Nathaniel devotes a great deal of his time (and his family's fortune) for the cause and is eventually memorialized for his efforts.Tropes related with him:
Amelia's half-Sioux son, and the protagonist of Shadow.Tropes related with him:
Badass Native: He's part Iroquois, part Sioux, and has the Black family's blood in his veins.
My God, What Have I Done?: Finally comes to the realization that he's been helping Holme murder innocent Sioux for Holme's personal gain, and thenceforth resolves to correct his mistake by tearing down the fort he just helped build.
With Us or Against Us: After Holme's death, Custer decides that the time for negotiation with the Sioux is over, and that Chayton will have to side with either the Americans or with the Sioux. He chooses to stay with the Sioux.
Their enemies
Sven Kuechler
Leader of the Hessians hired by the British during The American Revolution. He raids an Iroquois encampment and captures Nonahkee, resulting in a grudge from Nathaniel.Tropes related with him:
Too Dumb to Live: He ends up cornered by his ex-partner Chayton Black and chooses to back into a cliff face surrounded by TNT. After talking for a bit, Holme attempts a Quick Draw shot on Chayton, forgetting that A) his gun was at his back while Chayton had his at his side and B) Native Tribes have a quick reaction time and Chayton was half Sioux. You can guess how it ends.
Suicidal Overconfidence: A wiser general, on seeing that most or all of his auxiliary forces and supplies had been compromised, might have chosen a means of attack other than a straight cavalry charge against the Sioux.
Introduced in Age Of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties
