Characters / Dynasty Warriors: Other Characters

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Characters who aren't part of any of the 4 main kingdoms are classified as 'Others'. Minor factions who've yet to step up, bit players, all that stuff. Lu Bu's forces, characterized by the brute force of its leader, Lu Bu, also go here despite having stepped up. Other forces who appear and have a playable character are Dong Zhuo's forces, characterized by Dong Zhuo's tyranny; Yuan Shao's forces, characterized by Yuan Shao's nobility; the Yellow Turbans, led by Zhang Jiao, the religious group who kickstarted the era in a spectacularly bloody rebellion and the Nanman tribes, who are united under their Great King, Meng Huo and characterized by their fraternal unity... and by being barbarians.

Here's the list of characters categorized in the 'Others' in Dynasty Warriors, arranged in their chronological appearance in the series. Asterisk (*) mark those characters who are playable in the DLC.

Debuting in Dynasty Warriors

Diaochan

"The Intriguing Dancer"

"I am ready to bring light to our darkest hour."

Voiced by: Rika Komatsu (Japanese), Lynn Harris (English; 2), Melodee Spevack (English; 4), Carrie Savage (English; 5-8), Talia Davis (English; 9), Xiao Diao (Chinese; 9)

Born: (Unknown)
Died: (Unknown)
Japanese spelling: Chōsen
Age: 19
Height: 5'6" (168cm)
Weapon: Dual chui (2-5), Chain whip (6-9)

Diaochan is a dancing maiden who wants to destroy Dong Zhuo, on request by her adopted father. She is willing to use all of her available talents to see the despot is disposed of.

She is an elegant and patient woman who displays cunning with her charms. Normally a kind and benevolent individual, she can show a manipulative side if the occasion calls for it. She does not enjoy violence yet finds that battle is inevitable in the times she lives in.

Although she despises Dong Zhuo, her feelings on Lu Bu are far more complicated. She's also the only one to call him by his style name: Fengxian (Housen in Japanese).

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• All Girls Want Bad Boys: Sometimes, with Lu Bu, but never with Dong Zhuo.
• Anti-Hero: Her motives are always good, but her tactics tend towards the underhanded.
• Anti-Villain: After shacking up with Lu Bu in his own campaign to conquer the land.
• Barbie Doll Anatomy: She's completely NUDE in her Strikeforce form, as mentioned below. However, her goods are not detailed.
• Becoming the Mask: Initially, her relationship with Lu Bu was just a useful weapon against Dong Zhuo. Eventually, though, it became something more, to the point where she fights alongside him during his Last Stand at Xiapi.
• Beware the Nice Ones: Whoa nellly, this kind woman can be stunningly manipulative.
• Brainy Brunette: She's smart enough to use her charms to turn Lu Bu against Dong Zhu, all for the sake of her adoptive father.
• Daddy's Girl: Her motivations in 6 are based on her adoptive father's last wish. In 8, meanwhile, her mission is to ensure Dad gets out of Luoyang alive and Dong Zhuo doesn't.
• Dance Battler: A common theme to her movesets is that she dances throughout the battle, regardless of the weapons used.
• Depending on the Writer: Whether she truly loves Lu Bu or is just using him to fulfill her father's wish. Modern installments prefer the former, but sometimes include bits of the latter for drama.
• Dual Wielding: Prior to 6, Diaochan fought with a pair of Chuís.
• Flower Motifs: The peony. All her costumes involve this flower as an ornament.
• Honey Trap: She sows mistrust between Dong Zhuo and Lu Bu.
• Hotter and Sexier: Starting from 6, her outfits include exposed midsections and notches the Stripperific aspects. Diaochan in 7 sports longer, visible hair (rather than tied to smaller buns), while 8 goes up a notch with what is essentially a bikini. 9 finally inverts this, returning her to a more covered outfit, though she still shows some skins.
• Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: With both Lu Bu and Dong Zhuo.
• I Did What I Had to Do: In her more charitable portrayals, she's not proud of stringing Lu Bu along, but feels it was necessary to bring Dong Zhuo's tyranny to an end.
  Diaochan: I perform these dark deeds in order to bring light to the future.
• Love at First Sight: Both Lu Bu and Dong Zhuo fell in love with her the first time they see her. Any man that sees her also seem to be hit with this.
• Manipulative Bitch: In 6, though not so much of the latter.
• The Mistress: At first to Dong Zhuo (unwillingly), and then to Lu Bu (willingly).
• Morality Pet: To Lu Bu, particularly in his mini-campaign in 8.
• Ms. Fanservice: Holds the moniker of the World's Most Beautiful Woman, which could justify this, since in every installment, Diaochan's costumes and appearance gets more and more fanservicey. Ironically, she was a lot more wholesome in her earlier designs.
• Navel-Deep Neckline: In 8 her outfit has a plunging neckline that goes past her navel.
• Petal Power: Her EX, charged and Musou Attacks in 7 and 8.
• Reluctant Warrior: At least on a good day. The games made it abundantly clear that she would rather not take to the battlefield.
• Spectacular Spinning: Most of her moveset relies on this, particularly her Musou Attacks in 7
• The Starscream: In 6:E, if you decide to ascend to the throne as a ruler and add her into your ranks, she will turn against you and take the majority of your officers with her.
• Stripperiffic:
  • Beginning with 6; this includes the Strikeforce spinoffs.
  • In her Awakening Form in Strikeforce, she doesn't even have any strips at all.
  • Downplayed in 9, where her outfit is reigned in a lot.
• Token Good Teammate: She counts as this in Dynasty Warriors and Warriors Orochi. Despite being on Lu Bu's side, she tries to curb his violent tendencies.
• Trouble Entendre: In a conversation with Dong Zhuo in 8's Ambition Mode, she requests that he dismiss his guards and wait for her alone that night so that she can perform her "special dance" for him.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: Her final fate is always Left Hanging and it is never known what happened to her after Lu Bu's eventual defeat in Xiapi, just that she leaves him after Dong Zhuo's downfall. In some hypothetical routes, she fights alongside him during the Xiapi battle, and either dies in battle, or goes MIA and is never heard of afterwards.
• Whip of Dominance: Diaochan is a manipulative woman who tends to have men wrapped around her finger. While she originally fights using a pair of chuís (Chinese maces), she switches to a chain whip starting from Dynasty Warriors 6.
• World's Most Beautiful Woman: Noted as one of the Four Great Beauties of China. In her third 7 Legend Stage in Conquest Mode, she fights to prove she is this in China and faces off against randomly generated female characters from the cast. Her final opponent is always the same: who does she beat to claim the crown? Zhang He...
• Wounded Gazelle Gambit: She manipulates Lu Bu in 6 and 8 by acting threatened by Dong Zhuo. Since she's trying to use him to topple an Evil Overlord and save her father, it's a rare heroic example. Played with in NEXT, where, after using him on Dong Zhuo, she turns him on all the warlords in China, hoping that he will simultaneously weed out the most dangerous and unite the land in stopping him. It works... right up until the "stopping him" part.

Lu Bu

"The Powerful Demon God"

"I am the greatest warrior this world has ever seen!"

Voiced by: Tetsu Inada (Japanese), Dan Woren (English; 4), Jamieson Price (English; 5-8), Vic May (English; 9), Tu Te Ha Mang (Chinese; 9)

Born: (Unknown)
Died: February 7, 199
Style Name: Fengxian
Japanese spelling: Ryo Fu "Hōsen"
Age: 29
Height: 6'10" (208cm)
Weapon: Qinglong ji (2-5, 7-9), Bifurcating cross-bladed voulge (6)

Lü Bu is one of the most feared warriors in the Three Kingdoms period. He was brought up by his adoptive father, Ding Yuan, whom he betrayed for the infamous horse Red Hare and an ample amount of gold. When he joined the ranks of Dong Zhuo, he performed many extraordinary tasks, such as fighting Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei all at the same time.

While serving the tyrant, he fell in love with the beautiful Diaochan, who was then given to Dong Zhuo. To take her for himself, he assassinates Dong Zhuo, yet this was all a plan conceived by Diaochan's adoptive father Wang Yun to rid China of Dong Zhuo. Lu Bu becomes a warlord of his own accord, fighting mostly Cao Cao. In 198 AD, he was betrayed by his own men, and executed by Cao Cao.

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• 24-Hour Armor: Lampshaded in his hypothetical ending, when Chen Gong asks why he continues to wear his armor instead of an Emperor's robes, claiming that his days of battle are "behind him". Lu Bu proudly states that he wouldn't be caught dead in robes.
• Ascended Meme: Remember the statement "Do not pursue Lu Bu" in earliest installments? In Dynasty Warriors 7, there's an achievement called "Okay, you can pursue Lu Bu now" if you managed to beat him in Hulao Gate.
• Asskicking Leads to Leadership: In his hypothetical ending in 8:XL, Lu Bu becomes Emperor of a China united by his own strength, and proclaims that if anyone would challenge his rule, they can come take him on.
• Attack! Attack! Attack!: As far as Lu Bu is concerned, the only strategy he needs is to just crush everything in his way.
• Back from the Dead: In the final chapter of Strikeforce and in 8 as a phantom resurrected by Zuo Ci.
• Badass Boast: Most of the time; take this example from 4 during his "officer defeated" quote:
  Lu Bu: WHO ELSE SEEKS DEATH?!
• Beast and Beauty:
  • Lu Bu could be considered attractive, but his monstrous rage compared to the elegance and grace of Diaochan justifies this trope.
  • Lampshaded in 7, where you can get them the exact outfits as Downloadable Content.
• The Berserker: Played with; he would fit the trope to a T if he just wasn't considered a simple overpowered fighter on the battlefield.
• Berserk Button: DO NOT defeat/kill Diaochan if they're on the same side or you might be dealing with an angry Lu Bu.
• Big Ol' Eyebrows: Not initially but his character design has evolved to feature extremely large, prominent eyebrows.
• Bling of War: A notable example compared to others. While it was somewhat apparent in earlier titles, before shifting to a predominantly black with red color scheme beginning with 6, it's in 8 that his armor has a golden sheen. 9 merely ups the ante by giving him a golden chiseled chest plate amongst other things.
• Blood Knight: All he cares about is fighting. The tougher the battle, the better. It is sometimes implied (if not outright said) that he puts himself into severely disadvantageous scenarios just for the sake of this.
• Character Development: Happens in 8XL, depending which route that the player take in his story:
  • In the historical route, he becomes more aloof, arrogant and keeps ignoring many of his companions' advice.
  • In the hypothetical route, he becomes more respectful to his officers, although some of his arrogance still remains.
• Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: Has a high defection rate in 6: Empires. Justified since it's accurate to the novel, his overall history in-game and even in real life; he first served Ding Yuan, then Dong Zhuo, and then helped with Xu Province for Liu Bei until he takes it for himself. Even Warriors Orochi 2 lampshades this. In one battle, when he betrays Kiyomori, a random mook informs him of this "turn of events". Kiyomori appropriately responds:
  Kiyomori: Betrayal? No... That man is being true to himself.
• Cool Horse: Red Hare, which serves as the best unlockable mount in the games due to its speed and ability to trample through enemies.
• Crutch Character: In 6:Empires because of his extremely high defection rate. Unless you want to play as him, he usually doesn't go through one or two battle before defecting.
• A Day in the Limelight: In 8:XL, he gets his own mini-faction and storyline due to his daughter and strategist being the new playable characters of that game.
• Dragon with an Agenda: To Dong Zhuo. He invariably kills Dong Zhuo due to Diaochan's machinations, and he only plans on serving Orochi until becoming strong enough to defeat him and regain his claim as the world's strongest warrior.
• The Dreaded: Both in-universe and the community, to the point where even the mere mention of his name traumatizes players who got their asses handed to them by him. The phrase "do not pursue Lu Bu" is also spoken both in-universe and in the community.
  • In some missions, Lu Bu just stepping foot onto the battlefield is enough to make the opposing army start hemorrhaging morale.
• Dumbass Has a Point: While not stupid, Lu Bu isn't the sharpest when it comes to strategy or politics. Even so, in his hypothetical ending for 8 he berates the Emperor for allowing chaos to flourish, saying the man at the top must be strong. To be fair, he's not wrong.
• The Emperor: His hypothetical campaign concludes with him deposing, but pointedly not killing the last Han Emperor, Liu Xie/Emperor Xian and crowning himself as a new ruler of a united China.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: While he cares little for his adoptive fathers (who were both killed by him), he definitely loves Diaochan to the point that if she's harmed, he'll go berserk and do everything he can to kill the one responsible.
  • In later games, he also shows he deeply cares for his daughter Lingqi, best seen at the end of his historical route in 8: Xtreme Legends, where he begs her to flee from Xiapi after he's captured.
• Even Evil Has Standards: Despite his bloodthirsty nature he won't kill people who can't defend themselves, like the Emperor. He's also disgusted by cowardly people like Dong Zhao.
• Evil Sounds Deep: In both the Japanese and English versions, though Lu Bu has recently been played as more of a Noble Demon.
• Fatal Flaw: His inability to remain loyal to maintain respect as aforementioned, which is perhaps his most glaring flaw. The real life Lu Bu had another one: he was over-controlling with his own soldiers stationed in conquered territories, leading to 0% Approval Rating by many residents when his soldiers did whatever they pleased in said conquered territories. His arrogance in his own strength is another glaring one, as while his strength is without a doubt unmatched, his unwillingness to listen to his subordinates has caused his partnership with Chen Gong to end in bitter terms.
  • These flaws have been averted, or at least heavily downplayed come his hypothetical route in 8: Xtreme Legends. His willingness to heed Chen Gong’s advice as well as put trust in his subordinates has allowed him to gain a significant foothold in China and gain a number of significant victories, where even his 0% Approval Rating has been replaced with universal adoration amongst his men, admiring his strength and having high hopes with him as their leader. It’s gotten to the point where He actually became the Emperor and defeated every other faction gunning for his head. All in a span of a single battle.
• Final Boss: In the first game and Strikeforce
  • Inverted in his final stage for 6, where the final bosses are almost the entire cast other than Diaochan and Zhang Liao.
• Gate Guardian: Often first encountered in the games defending Hulao Gate.
• Good Parents: One of Lu Bu's most redeeming qualities is his genuine affection for his daughter, Lingqi. He first insists that she stay away from his violent and dangerous lifestyle, and when he finally relents to letting her fight, he tells her to run at the first sign of danger. It's telling that, for as violent as Lu Bu is, his daughter has grown into an intelligent and well-mannered young woman, and she absolutely adores him.
• Graceful Loser: Occasionally averted that he's quite a Sore Loser, but played straight way back in 4 where his retreat quote is him essentially expressing surprise that he actually met a strong opponent.
• Grapple Move: The list shows as:
  • His first charge attack in 4.
  • His R1 Type Action in Warriors Orochi.
  • His EX attack and fifth charge attack in 7.
  • His new R1 Type Action in Warriors Orochi 3.
  • His True Rage Rampage and second standing Musou in 8.
• Heartbroken Badass: A dead Diaochan will quickly lead to a painful period of mourning. Painful for his enemies, that is.
• Hellish Horse: Red Hare becomes borderline demonic in 7, complete with glowing crimson red eyes, and a mane and tail of fire.
• Hero Killer: Lu Bu's hypothetical campaign in 8:XL and his story mode for 6 climaxes in the slaughter of every other faction's heroes, leaving him to rule at the top. During gameplay, he is responsible for being many players' first game over.
• Hidden Depths: With some of his dialogue with Diaochan in 6, where he simply will do what she asks without complaining despite Diaochan's possible protests of manipulating him. Also see Well-Intentioned Extremist below. That, and he tends to be rather civil to his daughter and doesn't wish for anyone else like her to follow his path.
• Hoist by His Own Petard: He attempts to swear loyalty to Cao Cao after his capture. Cao Cao's advisors point out Lu Bu's long history of Chronic Backstabbing Disorder, causing Cao Cao to decide it's not worth the risk and to just have Lu Bu executed.
• Hot-Blooded: Just hear him growl in-game.
• Hot Blooded Sideburns: Actually chest-length bangs.
• Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: Much larger and taller than Diaochan.
• Hunk: He's built, and ruggedly handsome.
• Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: His C5 attack as of 7 will end with him skewering an opponent on his halberd before slamming them into the ground hard enough to create a fissure. Though this first was displayed in a rather brutal fashion for its time in 4.
• Improbable Aiming Skills: Downplayed in most installments (though he has pretty good ratings with bow weapons in 8), but a famous moment in his campaign, the original novel and real life involves him settling a dispute with a bet: that he can't hit the distant hilt of his halberd with a single arrow.
• Ironic Echo: In 8:XL, both the historical and hypothetical routes in his campaign end with him shouting that he is the strongest in the land. Although the lines are slightly different from each other in English, they're exactly the same in Japanese.
• Irony: He’s a powerful warrior well known for defecting on his masters, yet in 8:XL on his hypothetical route, Two of his allies, Liu Bei and Yuan Shao, turn their sword against him to defend the Emperor. It did little good anyway.
• It Amused Me: His motivation for getting involved in the battles of Guandu and Chibi in 6. Lu Bu hoped to gain some amusement out of the battles. At Guandu, he thought that the armies of Cao Cao and Yuan Shao were nothing but pathetic worms squirming about. But he did find the battle of Chibi to have some interesting moments. His actions result in Cao Cao, Yuan Shao and Sun Quan trying to take revenge at Hulao Gate with the revived Zhang Jiao and Dong Zhuo.
• I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Everything he does is for Diaochan's happiness; whether she reciprocates is a whole other story.
• Karma Houdini: Is this in his story in 6. Instead of dying at Xiapi, he gets involved with battles that don't concern him. At Hulao Gate, all of the warlords try to attack him, only to fail and get slaughtered themselves.
• Karmic Death: After having practically built his career around betrayal and deceit, Lu Bu's downfall is ultimately caused by he himself being betrayed, first by Liu Bei at Xiaopei, then by Song Xian and Hou Cheng at Xiapi.
• Knew It All Along: Two notable examples.
  • In 6, Lu Bu eventually reveals that he knew about Diaochan manipulating him to gain revenge for her father, but went along with it due to his love for her.
  • In 8, while he didn't necessarily know the specifics, he's not particularly surprised when Chen Gong admits at the end of the hypothetical route that he used Lu Bu for his dreams of wielding great power, but again, he was willing to go along with it.
• Large Ham: Very much as he is one of the few characters who rivals Zhang Jiao in hamminess.
• Lightning Bruiser: In all games up to 5, he can run as fast as most generic horses and has plenty of attacks possessing high attack power. As of 7, his halberd strikes astonishingly quick for such a big, powerful weapon; in fact, its Switch Attack temporarily triples his attack speed. Naturally, in all games, Red Hare outpaces every other horse by a country mile.
• Master of All: He's generally the most powerful character in the games, to the point that in older games he even has both one of the fastest running speeds and no doubt, the highest base jump height.
• Murder the Hypotenuse: In some games, he assassinates Dong Zhuo for the sake of having Diaochan for himself.
• Neck Lift: His EX Attack in 7 and his True Rage Attack in 8. Both of them however, actually involve him grabbing his target's face.
• Nerf: In the Empires expansions, he will be bumped down to the same levels as every other character.
  • Since anyone in 7 can use the halberd, what makes him different are two powerful, but uncontrollable (cannot be aimed once triggered) Musou Attacks, as well as an unblockable EX Attack. If you prefer anyone else's EX or Musou Attacks, it's hard to argue what makes him so special in 7, other than the "Synergy" Skill Seal that only he possesses in the game.
  • Generally averted in 8: as a non-playable character, he's fairly easy to beat at the Battle of Xiapi out of necessity's sake^note Unlike Hulao Gate, where he's essentially an Optional Boss, he's the stage boss at Xia Pi, thus the player must defeat him to progress, but the events at Hulao Gate are frightening as he can drain your character's hit points into the yellow/red zone with one hit. As a playable character, while the damage from the halberd's Switch Attack has been lowered, his aerial charged attack can now knock prone enemies airborne which allows for longer-than-7 combos like this, and his second ground Musou Attack if performed out of grab reach of an enemy instead gives him temporary Hyper Mode. It's possible to terrifyingly avert it in the first level you play - Lu Bu appears on the first Wei mission, and you are explicitly advised to avoid pursuing him. On Hard difficulty, he will destroy a level 50 character with a weapon advantage in two or three hits.
  • Averted in 7: Empires, where Lu Bu receives a much-needed buff from previous Empire expansions and is considered the best character, with the best stats, growths and tactics. Surprisingly, he's plenty loyal, and getting him in the party is like pressing an "instant win" button.
  • Played really straight in the crossover, especially Orochi 1 until Z. Lu Bu is typically one of the weakest characters in the roster thanks to his weak damage output and lack of enough elemental activation attacks. In particular, his signature C3 is massively nerfed and his R1 Type Action compared to others, just outright sucks when used by the player and not the CPU.
• Never Hurt an Innocent: It's never explicitly stated but for all his savagery and violence he always stops short of killing civilians or otherwise people who can't fight back. Even if it's more out of contempt than anything.
• Not Worth Killing: Assuming Diao Chan is around, Lu Bu tends to spare those who can't defend themselves, though as much out of proud disdain as actual compassion.
• Oh, Crap!: The most common reaction to Lu Bu being on the battlefield.
• One-Hit Kill: In several installments, particularly on higher difficulties, he can do this to the player easily. In 8, a Musou Attack on Normal difficulty or higher is likely to kill you in a single hit, even if player's characters level is high.
• One-Man Army: Even in a Musou game, he is noted in the story for being one of these, mainly by being a walking slaughterhouse that takes a coalition of China's strongest warriors from Wei, Wu, Shu, and the Yuan nobility to stop for good.
  Lu Bu: You keep sending 'em, I'll keep knocking 'em down!
• Optional Boss:
  • Generally in the battles against Dong Zhuo. The games specifically advise you to not fight him and instead take detours.
  • Subverted in 5 and 6: even if you bypass him, when you're attacking Dong Zhuo, he'll yell for Lu Bu to protect him, who will head towards your character.
  • Downplayed in 7 with Shu and Wu's Story Mode at Hulao Gate (part 2 of the campaign against Dong Zhuo): while he's a mandatory mini-boss, you only have to "hold him off" long enough with Guan Yu/Sun Jian, backed by the help of Liu Bei and Zhang Fei/Sun Ce, Sun Quan and Sun Shangxiang, respectively, so the Coalition can set up catapults to bombard Hulao Gate. Once the event is over, Lu Bu declares, "Hmph... if you want it so bad, you can have it!" and withdraws.
  • In 8, he can be ignored, so long as the player ignores Diaochan.
  • In the first Samurai Warriors, Lu Bu is accessible as an enemy boss only after reaching the end of the Abyss Survival Mode.
• Papa Wolf: For all his many faults as a human being, Lu Bu is a caring father to Lu Lingqi, and in the end of his historical route he goes to great lengths to save her life and convince her to run.
• Perfect Play A.I.: In the first Dynasty Warriors he serves as the final boss to almost all characters. If you have been button mashing or spamming the exact same move all this time, you will get absolutely destroyed. Lu Bu does not mess around, his moveset and reflexes being too brutal for the average player.
• Pet the Dog: His love for and devotion to Diaochan. Similarly, in his historical ending in 8: Xtreme Legends, he orders his daughter to run and live rather than risk her life for him when he is captured by Cao Cao's forces. He also will not harm innocents or weak fighters under any circumstances, although the latter is more because he doesn't want to waste his time on people who aren't a challenge.
• Red and Black and Evil All Over: His color scheme since 6 has him wear black armor and crimson feathers, with golden details mixed in depending on the game.
• Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Go ahead and kill Diaochan and see what happens. Particularly notable in 4 at Xiapi, where the whole goal of the mission is to get his morale down to the point where he's a much more reasonable fight. Killing Diaochan immediately brings it back up to dangerous levels.
• Self-Made Orphan: Kills both of his adopted fathers, though the first isn't mentioned until Dynasty Warriors 8: Xtreme Legends. Backfires fatally when he offers his services after his defeat at Xiapi, as Cao Cao doesn't get himself killed by recruiting a loose cannon like Lu Bu. In the novel, it is Liu Bei who more or less points this out, though in Lu Bu's historical ending of that game, Liu Bei also doesn't fall for Cao Cao's ploy of offering Lu Bu to him; even then, Liu Bei points out to Cao Cao if he "forgot about the prior fates of Ding Yuan and Dong Zhuo", which Cao Cao had to agree on.
• Schmuck Bait: To new players, the warnings to the players might just encourage them to see what the big fuss is all about, only to get destroyed, whilst veterans to the series might go test their skills against him, only to get destroyed.
• SNK Boss: He's not quite a final boss character in any of the games beyond the first, but when he's encountered at Hulao Gate (as opposed to later stages) as an enemy officer, he's typically rendered twice as strong than anyone else on the field, including the actual stage boss, Dong Zhuo. At Xiapi, he's toned down out of necessity^note being the stage boss and therefore required to be defeated to progress the story... but if you defeat Diaochan first (depending on the installment) he'll enter Hyper Mode anyway.
• Spell My Name With An S: The correct Pinyin spelling of his name is Lü Bu (note the umlaut), not Lu Bu. Lu Meng also shares this problem, along with Lu Bu's own daugther, Lu Lingqi.
• The Starscream: If Lu Bu is serving under your command, start making funeral arrangements. Averted in 7 and 8, because it's what gets him executed after his defeat by Cao Cao at Xiapi, though Cao Cao doesn't directly mention this, and when Lu Bu's historical ending has Cao Cao offering Lu Bu to Liu Bei, the latter doesn't oblige — though he disguises it under a claim that a living Lu Bu would only cause more chaos.
• Super-Persistent Predator: Defeat Diaochan on the same map as him in 8, and he'll be the one pursuing you.
• Super Mode: One of the eight characters to receive a Deification form in Warriors Orochi 4. His form is based from Thor, the Nordic hammer-wielding god of lightning and thunder, which is suits him as Thor himself is also a Blood Knight. Fittingly, his Sacred Treasure is Mjolnir and his deified Unique Magic enlarges Mjolnir before he pummels it down on his enemies.
  • In 8: XL, he's able to enter Hyper Mode at will if he uses his alternate ground Musou without someone on front of him.
• Super-Strength: See Neck Lift above. At one point in 8:XL, two men carry his halberd out to him, visibly struggling to just hold it up. He effortlessly wields it with one hand, and, throughout the campaign, frequently throws it massive distances.
• Sword Beam: His first Musou Attack in 7.
• Tall, Dark, and Handsome: At an amazing 6'10"!
• Theme Music Power-Up: So much that "Lu Bu's Theme" is effectively the de facto Leitmotif to the series for years, with each new installment remixing it, although by 7 and 8 the series got new opening cinematic themes.
• Theme Naming: His weapons especially in the Asian script, are named after a few things:
  • His fourth weapon is named after the proverb "Guoshi Wushuang/Kokushi Musou", which literally means "Peerless One in the Kingdom".
  • His fifth and level eleven weapon also doubles as his subtitle in this series' portrayal of him, called the "Guishen/Kishin" (lit. Ogre God), a term for an fierce god in Asian mythology that is often a name in ode to the addressee's awe and fear they instill with their might.
• This Cannot Be!: Due to his pride as a warrior, he tends to say something along these lines when he lost a battle.
• Turns Red: If you defeat Diaochan in his presence, he gets PISSED and becomes twice as strong, fast, and seemingly invulnerable.
  • His second ground Musou Attack in 8 if done out of grab range of an enemy triggers temporary Hyper Mode.
• Unblockable Attack: His Aerial Musou from 7.
• Unstoppable Rage: If Diaochan is near him and not holding a door closed, then try not to attack her. Doing so will cause Lu Bu to become even more powerful, and he'll make it a point to only target you, and he won't relent until either you or him (more likely the former) is killed.
• The Usurper: At the end of his final mission from his hypothetical route in 8:XL, he forces the emperor to abdicate because he considers him too weak to quell the chaos that plagued the land and crowns himself as the new emperor.
• Villain Protagonist: Though Lu Bu is painted in a better light than normal during his mini-campaign in 8:XL, he's still clearly more of a Noble Demon than a straight-up hero.
• Wake-Up Call Boss: Though not as powerful as his earlier incarnations by the time you have to fight him in most modern games, he's still usually a very dangerous adversary with better AI than you might be used to.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: His Hypothetical route in 8:XL reveals that his ultimate goal is to depose and replace the Emperor, on the grounds that he is too weak to end the chaos sweeping China. Amazingly, when he does become Emperor, he does a damn good job of it.
• Worf Had the Flu: Subjected to this in Warriors Orochi 3 when he can't catch a break and keeps getting defeated by Nezha every time they meet. Justified as Lu Bu has been fighting through the Orochi army and the Hydra with no rest, just to get to Nezha ever since he killed Diao Chan. After he gets some rest, Lu Bu defeats Nezha and Susano'o at the same time effortlessly in the Lu Bu's Revenge stage.
• World's Strongest Man: The mightiest warrior in the Three Kingdoms Era, bar none.
• Worthy Opponent: Considered this by virtually every warrior in the Three Kingdoms. Conversely, it's VERY rare to be considered this by Lu Bu; the few he's granted this to include Zhao Yun, Guan Yu, Sun Ce, Zhang Liao, Tadakatsu Honda, Musashi Miyamoto, Orochi, Nezha and Yoshitune Minamoto. Although being in a weaker state, Xiahou Dun and Guan Yu were also able to defeat him at Xiapi.
• Wrestler in All of Us: His EX Attack is a chokeslam.

Debuting in Dynasty Warriors 2

Dong Zhuo

"The Despot of Debauchery"

"Each day, I grow even closer to my dreams of paradise!"

Voiced by: Yukitoshi Hori (Japanese), Dean Harrington (English; 2), Richard Epcar (English; 4-8), Jonas Torres (English; 9), Yaohan Zhang (Chinese; 9)

Born: (Unknown)
Died: May 22, 192
Style Name: Zhongying
Japanese spelling: Tō Taku "Chūei"
Age: 40
Height: 6'0" (183cm)
Weapon: Jian (2-3), Serrated dao (4-5), Club (6), Flail (7, 9), Bombs (Next-8)

Dong Zhuo is the Prime Minister during the late Han dynasty, after the consort kin faction led by He Jin and the eunuch faction wiped each other out. He was seen as a ruthless tyrant and he used the Han Emperor as a puppet in order to do what he willed. Dong Zhuo enforced his rule by having control of the mightiest man of the time, Lu Bu.

Portrayed as a repulsive and obese man, he often lets his lust and hedonistic pursuits get the better of him. This is what ultimately drives a wedge between him and his adopted son Lu Bu.

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• Ass Shove: What his second Musou in DW8 basically does to his opponent. Not all details are shown, but the play-out is still quite abhorrent where both its Japanese name and where he strikes imply that it's aimed right at their tailbone. OUCH.
• Back from the Dead: In Lu Bu's story for 6 and in Wei's hypothetical scenario in 8.
• Beard of Evil: Sports copious facial hair in every game.
• Benevolent Boss: Bizarrely enough. Serve him well and he'll surely shower you with rewards, so long as you're not planning to oppose him, and he's generally more than willing to share a piece of his "paradise" with his loyal retainers. This is partially true in history; he can be kind to his loyal retainers. In fact, he historically also had a decent friendship with Cai Yong (Wenji's father, who respects Dong Zhuo in return but is also reluctant about it since he still dislikes Dong Zhuo's tyranny), whom he tried to kill in one of her legend stages in 7.
• The Chessmaster / Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: In 5:XL Legend stage, Ten Eunuchs Rebellion. He sent a fake Ten Eunuchs member to kill He Jin, so then if he killed the fake, he'll be credited for killing the rebel. Historically, Dong Zhuo was actually a pretty effective military leader and schemer in his own right. ^note He warred with the Qiang tribes earlier in his career, and awed and cowed them at the same time. Also, the skirmishes with the Qiang meant that his Liang Province corps saw much action, making them a more competent fighting force compared to troops under most of the other warlords. Also, he simply was the first warlord to march into Luoyang after the consort kin faction led by He Jin and the eunuch faction wiped each other out; He Jin was dumb enough to invite Dong to Luoyang in the first place.
• Despotism Justifies the Means: He wants to build a literal "heaven on Earth" for himself. The rest of the world is acceptable and expendable collateral damage towards this end.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: He's an asshole to everyone else he came across, but he's at least decent to his own granddaughter Dong Bai, in as much as trying to be an 'evil family' together. That, and some records state that he had a soft spot for his mother.
• Evil Chancellor, Regent for Life: He was chancellor and regent of the Han Dynasty by the time his tyranny began.
• Evil Laugh: If he laughs, then it's usually this.
• Fat Bastard, Gonk: Becomes notably fatter and uglier with every installment, with 6 and 7 notching the former further.
• Grapple Move: His first bomb EX attack in 7 and Sheer Destruction Musou in 8.
• Hate Sink: Everyone hates him for starting a reign of tyranny for his own pleasure that cause everyone suffered and anyone who so much as tried to stand up to him were brutally exterminated.
• The Hedonist/The Sociopath: Anything he does is for pleasure and to the gallows with anyone who gets in his way.
• I Have You Now, My Pretty: With Diaochan. He also abducts several female characters in Warriors Orochi so he can have them as his harem.
• Hypocritical Humor: If you manage to consistently defeat him without capturing or killing him in 7E, he will spout this comically ironic line if you encounter him one more time:
  Dong Zhuo: You are a villain that must be eliminated! I will be the person to do it!
• It's All About Me: He's not above sharing some of the benefits of his "earthly paradise" with his minions... so long as he doesn't want them too.
• Jerkass: On top of being EEEEVIL!, Dong Zhuo is just an unpleasant guy to hang out with.
• Karmic Death: We ought to praise Lu Bu for this.
• Large and in Charge: He's fat and large, Han Regent, and leads his own army of loyalists.
• Lust: After a 19-year-old Diaochan, while he's a 40-year-old man.
• Mighty Glacier: He is one of the slowest characters in the game, but also has fairly powerful attacks.
• Neck Snap: His flail EX Attack, upon tripping the opponent.
• Obviously Evil: The one character with almost no grey area, aside from his Benevolent Boss moments above.
• Pitiful Worms
  Dong Zhuo: Another insect... CRUSHED!
• Progressively Prettier: Inverted. Dong Zhou was never attractive. But between Dynasty Warriors 2-5, he was overweight, but not egregiously so, and was more average-looking rather than outright hideous. From Dynasty Warriors 6 onward, his fatness and ugliness became greatly exagerated and he became a full on Gonk.
• Small Role, Big Impact: He dies very early into the story, but his actions effectively kickstart the Three Kingdoms Era.
• Smug Snake: He isn't interested in ensuring that his reign is stable or long-lasting, and tries to brutalize his way out of any issue.
• Starter Villain: Is frequently one of, if not the first, enemy to be defeated.
• Stout Strength: Many of his movesets have stressed that, though he's really let himself go, Dong Zhuo's bulk isn't all blubber.
• Surrounded by Idiots: Often. Also in Warriors Orochi, he is hilariously blustery when his minions lose a stronghold. "What were you doing! Drag your sorry carcass back up there and reclaim that mountain!"
• Tyrant Takes the Helm: Once he seizes control of the court in the aftermath of the Yellow Turban rebellions.
• Unholy Nuke: His "Black Hole" Musou Attack.
• Villain with Good Publicity: Played with.
  • The reason he's promoted as Han Prime Minister and Regent in the first place? He's the one who got the most credit for eliminating the Ten Eunuchs. See also The Chessmaster / Chronic Backstabbing Disorder above. That, and he historically managed to not get himself and his army involved in the chaos that was happening in Luoyang at the time. Once that was done, Luoyang was his for the taking.
  • Subverted when he led the Imperial Army against Liang Province rebels. He's already an unpleasant person at the time, but he's not considered as a threat at the time. Not quite yet, at least.
• Villainous Glutton: Frequent banquets and feasts turned him into a Fat Bastard.
• We Have Reserves: Shows some traits of this. Also as noted in The Chessmaster / Chronic Backstabbing Disorder above, he does so losing his own man who was disguised as a eunuch. This isn't a problem for him as long as he got the credit.
• Walking Armory: Over the years, he had a variety of weapons to use such as a Broadsword in 2 and 3, a giant club in 6, a flail in 7 and 9, serrated swords in 3 as higher level weapon and 4 to 5 as primary weapon, which look more like saws and bombs in 8 which used to be his True Musou Attack finisher in 5 and then his "Mad Bombing" Musou Attack in 7. He gets this moveset in NEXT-onwards as his it becomes his primary weapon.
• Wrestler in All of Us: His "Sheer Destruction" Musou Attack in 8 is an atomic drop and one of his EX Attacks in 8:XL is a chokeslam. Beforehand, he had a grab in 4 as his C1 attack and his R1 Type Action in the first few Warriors Orochi games also counts.

Yuan Shao

"Heir of an Illustrious Family"

"I come from a long line of nobility."

Voiced by: Osamu Ryutani (Japanese), Avi Landau (English; 2), Paul St. Peter (English; 4 to 5), Dave Wittenberg (English; 6), Christopher Corey Smith (English; 7-8), Dietrich Grey (English; 9), Lu Li (Chinese; 9)

Born: (Unknown)
Died: June 28, 202
Style Name: Benchu
Japanese spelling: En Shō "Honsho"
Age: 37
Height: 5'10" (178cm)
Weapon: Jian (2), Longsword (3-6), Rapier (7), Extending rapier (8-9)

Yuan Shao of the esteemed Yuan family is of royal blood and a prominent figure in the early Three Kingdoms period. He organized the movement against Dong Zhuo and developed a massive following in the northern provinces. He would cross paths with Cao Cao which would lead them to a decisive battle at Guan Du.

An aristocrat who can come off as snobbish, he believes that only one of wealth and privilege can unite the land.

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• Anti-Villain: Calling him evil or tyrannical would be a bit of a stretch, but he is kind of a jerk, and he becomes an antagonist because his proto-kingdom proves an obstacle to Cao Cao's ambition.
• Aristocrats Are Evil: Zigzagged. Yuan Shao isn't truly evil, but he is very classicist and ultimately is plagued by indecisiveness. Though historically, there were records of him ending up as corrupt despite his initial heroic deeds and rise to power.
• Attack! Attack! Attack!:
  • Despite being capable of using proper strategy, he prefers to overwhelm the enemy with his massive and powerful army.
    Yuan Shao: Don't bother with strategy! Run them through!
  • Averted in Lu Bu's final stage, Recapture of Chang'an. Yuan Shao's strategy alone immediately stops Lu Bu's forces momentum at the beginning of the stage. He ambushes Lu Bu's army with arrows from atop the castle walls to stop the ram used to break down Chang'an's walls, gets Lu Bu's men in a pincer attack and sends out his two best officers to take down the weaker officers in Lu Bu's army. The entire first half of the battle is overcoming Yuan Shao's plan by taking a detour (Which has the Wu forces lying in wait with even more ambushes along the way) to stop the arrows, and if you take too long Yuan Shao himself will charge straight for Chen Gong at the main camp whilst Lu Bu and Zhang Liao are away from him.
• Authority Equals Asskicking: There must be a reason why other warlords agreed for him being the leader of "Anti-Dong Zhuo Coalition". Additionally, despite being a commander, he is often seen fighting on the front lines and leading the charge with his army. Luckily his AI is decent compared to most commanders so he does not have to be watched over constantly.
• Back from the Dead: In the final chapter of Strikeforce and in 8 for one of Wei's "what-if" scenarios.
• Big Damn Heroes: If Lu Bu helps him out earlier on, Yuan Shao appears in his hour of need to kick off his hypothetical route in 8:XL's mini-campaign.
  • If you don't complete all objectives to get on the hypothetical route but still help Yuan Shao, he will still appear at Dingtao and hold off Cao Cao's massive army at the gate so Lu Bu and co can retreat.
• Blue Blood: Nearly every other line out of his mouth talks about the distinguished Yuan family; historically, four consecutive generations of the Yuan clan had held one of the three highest non-hereditary posts (the "Three Excellencies") in the Han imperial government.
• Cool Helmet: From 3 to 5. He gets it back in 9.
• Energy Weapon: In Warriors Orochi 3, his R1 Attack has him shoot a golden laser beam from his sword. No explanation is given why he can do this.
• Flanderization: Since 3, he has become more vain and pompous; by 6, he even looks the part. Likewise, his continual referencing of his lineage is pretty much exclusive to Dynasty Warriors; the historical basis for this (see Blue Blood) is never mentioned in the games' story, so he comes off looking particularly vain.
• Heroes Prefer Swords: Used longsword in all appearances prior 6. Then, he uses Serrated Blade of Pain in the sixth game. In the seventh until the ninth games, he uses a Royal Rapier; however his rapier in 8 is a Retractable Weapon which can extend.
• Jack of All Stats: Always has above average stats in all areas as well as a moveset with a good consistency of speed, power and range. In 3:XL, Yuan Shao and Lu Bu are the only characters recommended for beginners due to his easy-to-use moveset and good defense stats.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Whilst he can be very rude to people, he has no problems with doing favours to help others. Talking to him in Ambition Mode in 8 will have him mention that he is quite liberal and he does listen to people regardless of their status and views, however there are some noblemen he has met who will punish others for even having a different opinion.
• Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: He only cares about his Yuan families and consider himself powerful riches and high-and-mighty.
• Kick the Dog:
  • He comes out with this golden line after He Jin is killed.
    Yuan Shao: What? He Jin is dead? It is only natural one of such low birth would suffer such a fate.
  • This doubles as Historical Villain Upgrade (sorta) as well. In history, Yuan Shao and He Jin were good friends and Yuan Shao genuinely mourns He Jin's death. ^note at least publicly. He Jin was a butcher by trade before his sister became Emperor Ling's empress; it would frankly be unreasonable for Yuan Shao not to have some issues with associating with someone from a trade which was considered one of the lowliest at the time. He is one of the generals who took the initiative to kill the Ten Attendants to avenge He Jin's death.
• Large Ham: Has elements of this; his French voice actor in 3 is gloriously hammy.
• Light Is Not Good: His army's color code is yellow / golden yellow (to emphasize his nobility status, presumably). But he's far from being a saint, although he isn't really evil, either.
• No Indoor Voice: He's rather comically turned into this in 9, which is lampshaded by Xiahou Dun. On the flip side, however, he becomes less pompous and more noble than when he was in 6, 7, and 8.
• Oh, Crap!: Doesn't take the news of anything putting him in a disadvantage very well. 6 has him panicking over Lu Bu showing up in the battle of Guandu. Though he and Cao Cao do end up working together as the battle goes on.
  • 9 takes it further in Guandu. Completing all the side missions of the battle will cause him to react badly to the consequences each time. Though he is mostly shocked at the news of Wuchao being attacked. He would also be in disbelief over Yangren Castle being lost to Dong Zhuo's forces during Hulao Gate.
• Pet the Dog: Even if Lu Bu doesn't do a good job and not save Yuan Shao when they are allied together, Yuan Shao will still thank him for his effort and offer him a home and place in his army. Impressing Yuan Shao will cause him to save Lu Bu's army at his most crucial moment, effectively saving Lu Bu from the Bad Ending route.
• Rain of Arrows: His Tome Special in 6 and his EX Attack in 7 and 8.
• Red Mage: Not only is his weapon of choice a rapier, but he can summon a barrage of fire arrows and heal himself in battle.
• Small Role, Big Impact: Like Dong Zhuo and Zhang Jiao, he dies fairly early in the Three Kingdoms' history, but he's nevertheless an important character in that he's the first real obstacle to Cao Cao's path to power, and his death effectively solidifies the authority of Wei.
• Unblockable Attack: His first Musou Attack in 7 and 8
• Upperclass Twit: Sometimes, though notably apparent in the crossover, much to many characters' chagrin. Interestingly, he is one of the few characters whose invented faults in the original novel aren't smoothed out in adaptations, as the historical Yuan Shao was well known to be very laid-back and humble about his exalted origins. Then again...
• Use Your Head: In 4 and 5, his first charge attack is a rolling headbutt into the enemy. In Warriors Orochi, it has blue shockwaves around him when doing it.
• Wake-Up Call Boss: Yuan Shao is this in Warriors Orochi 3 due to his Musou Attack. New players won't realize Yuan Shao is preparing for his Musou Attack, until he One Hit Kills you with it. Veterans will be able to dodge, but others may decide to block it, only to realize Yuan Shao's Musou Attack has received a large damage buff and is rendered unblockable.
• We Used to Be Friends: Believe it or not, he and Cao Cao were once very close. ^note As recorded in Shishuo Xinyu, the pair as teenagers once abducted a bride on her wedding night for a lark. But Yuan Shao grew too arrogant, and Cao Cao too ambitious, and it all ended in blood.
• White Hair, Black Heart: Subverted, he's not really evil despite being arrogant.

Zhang Jiao

"The Voice of the Heavens"

"The Mandate of the Heavens lies with the Yellow Turbans!"

Voiced by: Yasuhiko Kawazu (Japanese), Dennis Falt (English; 2), Doug Stone (English; 4-8), Phil Miller (English; 9), Su Yu (Chinese; 9)

Born: (Unknown)
Died: 184
Japanese spelling: Chō Kaku
Age: 55
Height: 6'0" (183cm)
Weapon: Jian (2), Mystic staff (3-9)

Zhang Jiao (actually Zhang Jue) is the Taoist leader of the Yellow Turban Rebellion. He was the founder of the philosophy known as "The Way of Peace", which he preached to the people of China and convinced the masses to overthrow the dwindling Han Dynasty.

Portrayed as a magician with rather ridiculous mannerisms, Zhang Jiao is known to frequently mention the word "Heaven" during his over the top speeches.

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• Anime Hair: In 6, 8 and 9. His 8 hairdo actually resembles a star and this aspect has been emphasized in his DLC costume for that game◊. And then, his hairdo in 9 is shaped like a moon.
• Anti-Villain: Genuinely has the people's best interests at heart, but is ahead of his time in seeing the weak, corrupt state of the Han empire demands change.
• Back from the Dead: In Lu Bu's story for 6 and Wei's "what-if" route in 8
• Big Damn Heroes: Comes to the aid of Guan Yu at Fan Castle in Shu's "what-if" scenario in 8 He also has a personal scenario in Xtreme Legends where he and Zuo Ci arrive to assist Liu Bei at Runan and lead the charge to defeat Cao Cao.
• Beard of Evil: Subverted, he's not exactly evil.
• Catchphrase: "That's one more disbeliever converted!"
• Church Militant: His "Way of Peace" is essentially a Taoist warrior cult out to take over the land.
• The Extremist Was Right: In 5, where he gets his own ending, he brings an end to the wars ravaging the land, builds a new faith of love and brotherhood, and creates a benevolent government that sees to the people's needs. So yeah, for all his building a violent rebellion around what amounts to a religious cult, Zhang Jiao has his heart in the right place.
• Foreshadowing: Seems to be a walking version of this in 7, considering his conversations with Xiahou Dun, Sun Jian, and Liu Bei in the Wei, Wu, and Shu Story Modes, respectively.
• Heel–Face Turn: In Shu's Story Mode for 8, provided the peasants are protected.
• Heel–Face Brainwashing: He can optionally inflict this on Cao Cao and Sun Jian (along with their sub-officers and troops) in 5 if the player choose to pray with Zhang Bao and Zhang Liang on their respective altars to initiate the brainwashing spell.
• Hero Antagonist: Although each of the three factions make names for themselves toppling his rebellion, Zhang Jiao is a good man seeking an essentially positive end.
• Hero with Bad Publicity: Somewhat literally. Zhang Jiao's Yellow Turbans are portrayed as rebels against the Han, NOT ruthless bandits looting all they can find. Unfortunately, many bandits simply find it convenient to use the Yellow Turban name as an excuse to rob and extort all they can take. Some of his scenarios revolve around rectifying this.
• Historical Badass Upgrade: Historically, he led the Yellow Turban rebels but he's presumably not a personal combatant. Also, he most likely doesn't really possess a magical power. In the games, not only he possesses magical power, but he is also a personal combatant. In addition, he historically died of illness, while in the games he goes down fighting.
• Kung-Fu Wizard: Combines magic and martial art techniques in his combat.
• Large Ham: The guy is preachy in every single one of his lines, even when he's giving a battle briefing. Mixes with Narm Charm
  • Incoming Ham
    Zhang Jiao: YOOOOOUUUUU ARE NOT WOOOOOOORRRRTHY TO FACE ME!
• Looks Like Jesus: His appearance in a few of the games.
• Playing with Fire: Always has fire as his elemental power. It's only in 2 where he uses a sword. But after that, he uses a Magic Staff which lets him conjure fire.
• Religion is Magic: To the point of hanging out with Zuo Ci and the other mystics in the Orochi campaign's final mission.
• Sinister Minister: His enemies see him as a devious rebel who uses the "Way of Peace" as a recruitment tool for his personal army. Naturally, his followers see him as a Good Shepherd who leads them to a better world.
• Small Role, Big Impact: He is literally the first major character in the Three Kingdoms Era to die, but his rebellion has a lasting effect in that it exposed the weakness and corruption of the Later Han Dynasty, setting the stage for Dong Zhuo's rise to power and the resultant chaos that came to define the time period.
• Squishy Wizard: Usually averted when you faced him as enemy.
• Spell My Name With An S: Despite using correct pinyin, the "Jiao" character was historically supposed to be pronounced as "Jue"; thus, his real name would've actually been "Zhang Jue" in any non-Japanese media.
• Verbal Tic: "THE HEAVENS!"
• Warm-Up Boss: Almost always the first boss you face in the main installments, as the whole story is triggered by the Yellow Turban Rebellion.
  • However, being the first famous officer you fight, he's not exactly an easy boss and can catch you off guard, especially if he uses his Musou Attack, not to mention his magic traps.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: Zhang Jiao starts his rebellion upon deciding that the Han state is becoming increasingly weak, despotic, and corrupt, and hopes to tear down the old order to create a new, better one. And, to be fair to him, the Han state is becoming increasingly weak, despotic, and corrupt, as all the other factions come to realize over the course of the game when they push to create their own kingdoms. Unfortunately, it appears that he is a little ahead of his time in this regard, and his preliminary rebellion is brutally put down. The eighth game's Shu Hypothetical route changes this somewhat, having him survive the destruction of his initial rebellion with a core of followers and throw in his lot with Shu, after perceiving that he and Liu Bei share an interest in fixing China.

Debuting in Dynasty Warriors 3

Meng Huo

"The Great King"

"There is no task too big for the Great King!"

Voiced by: Yoshiyuki Konō (Japanese), J.S. Gilbert (English: 3), Kirk Thornton (English; 4-8), Clinton Elledge (English; 9), Zhuang Miao (Chinese; 9)

Born: (Unknown)
Died: (Unknown)
Japanese spelling: Mō Kaku
Age: 35
Height: 6'11" (210cm)
Weapon: Gauntlets (3-5, 7-8, 9), Stone pillar (6:S, 8:E)

Meng Huo is the King of Nanman and a powerful tribal chief among the southern tribes. While he is the official ruler, he often counsels with his wife Zhurong on matters.

Meng Huo is portrayed as a sweet but short tempered man who frustratedly attempts to outwit Zhuge Liang at every turn, but fails dismally each time. He has a very strong relationship with his troops and officers, and all consider themselves a close family with an unbreakable spirit.

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• Barbarian Hero: He usually fights in a "wild," animalistic style and dresses in wild beast hides, but his goals are usually positive.
• Bash Brothers: With Wei Yan in Warriors Orochi 3.
• Big Fun: Quite a jolly guy, when he isn't fighting.
• Defeat Means Friendship: Pretty much the end result of Nanman Campaign is this for him and his people.
• A Father to His Men: His inner corps of officers are like family to him, and his dialogue is pissed if you beat up a lot of them before confronting him.
  Meng Huo: RAAAGH! Those are MY people you're cutting down!
• Happily Married: With Zhurong.
• Henpecked Husband: It's clear, however, he wouldn't have it any other way and is pretty comfortable with it.
• Heroic Build: In 6: Empires and 7
• Historical Hero Upgrade: Mostly. In most games, he is usually depicted as protecting his land from invading Shu forces, before eventually surrendering and agreeing to join Shu. However, in the novel and in history, he's actually the one who rebelled against Shu after some of Shu's traitorous regional leaders goaded him to it, arguing that Shu was weakening due to Liu Bei's death (something that also caused conflicts with his personal loyalties). Then, Zhuge Liang launched the Southern Campaign to suppress his rebellion, finally resulting in the surrender of Meng Huo and his Nanman people. ^note Historically, Meng Huo was considered relatively unimportant; his style name was not recorded, a treatment given to Zhang Jiao and Hua Xiong as well. These men also did not have their own biographies in Records.
• Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: He stands at a whopping 6'11". His wife may be the tallest woman in the cast, but anyone's going to look tiny next to that.
• Large and in Charge: Huge in both bulk and stature.
• Noble Savage: His wild ways and "uncivilized" culture belie a friendly and benevolent spirit, which is part of why he gets on so well with Shu.
• Power Fist: Uses a pair of large gauntlets in every installment except 6: Empires and 8: Empires where he can grab his opponent and toss them around.
• Stout Strength: All installments except 6: Empires and 7.
• Telephone Polearm: His inclusion in 6: Empires has him use a large pillar, but also throws in a palm tree and a giant mushroom in his moveset, which returns to him in 8: Empires as the "Stele". This also makes him an Improbable Weapon User where said palm tree and mushroom persists in the updated moveset for the pillar instead of being discarded after use. He can switch between the pillar, the palm tree and the mushroom depending of whatever charge attack the player does.
• Ugly Guy, Hot Wife: Meng Huo isn't completely hideous, but he's also clearly much less attractive than his lady.
• Wrestler in All of Us: Most of his moves in 7, while his "Beast King" Musou Attack is a rolling powerbomb.

Zhurong

"The Goddess of Fire"

"I am a descendant of the Goddess of Fire. To know me is to know fear."

Voiced by: Chizu Yonemoto (Japanese), Melissa Dodd (English; 3), Dorothy Elias-Fahn (English; 4) Gina Bowes (English; 4: Empires), Jessica Gee-George (English; 5-8), Meghan Lewis (English; 9), Cheng Ma (Chinse; 9)

Born: (Unknown)
Died: (Unknown)
Japanese spelling: Shukuyū
Age: 28
Height: 5'8" (173 cm)
Weapon: Boomerang and throwing daggers (3-5), Throwing daggers (7), Boomerang (7:E-9)

Said to be the daughter of the God of Fire, Zhurong is depicted as a fierce and attractive woman who often coerces her husband into action against rival kingdoms. As she finds Meng Huo's laid-back and contented nature a hindrance to the Nanman people, she sees it as her duty to inspire passion and ambition in him.

She is the only female character who actually fought in the novel, defeating two Shu generals in the battle.

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• Battle Couple: With Meng Huo
• The Beastmaster: She employs all kinds of wild animals against you during the Nanman Campaign
• Chef of Iron: A more than capable fighter, and, according to her husband at least, a great cook as well.
• Contralto of Strength: Her voice is noticeably deeper than other females. She's always more than happy to charge into battle and has plenty of strength to back her up.
• Defeat Means Friendship: Just like her husband.
• Divine Parentage: She shares the name with a supposed ancestor, the God of Fire.
• Fur Bikini: Depending on the installment, it borders on Stripperiffic. In 7, she's wearing a skimpy◊ Leotard of Power.
• Happily Married: So long as she's calling the shots, which she usually is.
• Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: Tiny compared to Meng Huo, yet the irony is Zhurong's the tallest female character in the cast.
• Jack of All Stats: Noted to be fairly balanced stat-wise and can attack at short and long distances with her weapon.
• Jungle Princess: She's from a region of China that was heavily forested, and is the closest one can get to this trope in the game.
• Meaningful Name: Named after "Zhu Rong", the God of Fire and claimed as her ancestor.
• Ms. Fanservice: Inevitable for almost always being Stripperiffic. It's only in 9 where her informal costume obscures her body.
• Navel-Deep Neckline: Her outfit◊ in 7 has an opening in the middle that ends on her waist, giving her a V-shaped neckline.
• Playing with Fire: Most of her weapons are named after something to do with fire - "Spitfire", "Magma Wheel", and "Inferno" are just some examples.
  • Also her first Musou Attack since 7 involves conjuring a gigantic fireball and detonating it by punching it, hurling flames in every direction.
• Precision-Guided Boomerang: Her weapon in every installment except 7 and 7: Extreme Legends
• Statuesque Stunner: The tallest female character, and absolutely stunning.
• Tsundere: She clearly wears the pants in her marriage and is the only person Meng Huo fears.
• Ugly Guy, Hot Wife: The "hot" wife in the relationship.
• Underwear of Power or Leotard of Power: Depends on the game.
• Xenafication: The only woman in the game to avert this - in the original novels, she was a formidable front-line fighter (the only true female one in the story, in fact - even Sun Shanxiang's fondness for martial arts was just a hobby) and the only Nanman general to seriously inconvenience the Shu army in their long Curb-Stomp Battle against her people.

Debuting in Dynasty Warriors 5

Zuo Ci

"I see fate has brought us together. Shall we?"

Voiced by: Masaharu Sato (Japanese), Michael Forest (English; 5), Dan Woren (English; 8), Smokey Miles (English; 9), Minna Wang (Chinese; 9)

Born: (Unknown)
Died: (Unknown)
Style Name: Yuanfang
Japanese spelling: Sa Ji "Genpō"
Age: 70
Height: 6' 1"
Weapon: Talisman cards (5, 8), Mystic staff (9)

A mysterious mystic who appears in Dynasty Warriors 5, 8 and 9, as well as the Warriors Orochi series. He was known most for having an encounter with Cao Cao and being one who openly stated that he opposes the Wei king's rule. Historically, he was mentioned in texts written by Cao Cao's sons Pi and Zhi. ^note Pi mentioned him in Dian Lun (典论), while his brother mentioned Zuo in Bian Dao Lun (辩道论) Zuo also had a biography in Book of the Later Han.

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• Anime Hair: Even worse than Zhang Jiao's. One could even mistake it for a hat.
  • According to Warriors Orochi 3, it is a hat:
  "How does Master Zuo Ci get his hair to stand up like that? Wait ... You mean that isn't hair?"
• Cool Old Guy: He is the oldest character in the game, and he is very wise. In his first appearance in Dynasty Warriors 5, he actually has the best stats of any character. He's as strong as Lu Bu and all of his other stats are far superior.
• Death Dealer: His weapons are Paper Talismans. He can control them telekinetically to strike enemies or use them to cast powerful spells, ranging from a variety of elements.
  • The elements however, are largely scrapped in 8 save for a few traces (like in his C6); the specialty of this weapon is also to use its various charge attacks to inflict a slow-status-debuff on his target(s) should they connect.
• Fire, Ice, Lightning: His spells for his various inputs, and makes use of all three of them at once in his original True Musou Attack. However, it gets a bit downplayed in his new moveset for 8, where it's more about mystical energy and light beams than actual visible elements.
• Having a Blast: His original two-input C6 attack, which works the same way in 8.
• Kamehame Hadoken: A majority of his moves involve him firing lasers in some fashion, as well as his second EX Attack in 8: XL. His talismans' switch attack which also uses this even causes the screen to shake upon firing the laser.
• Master of All: Statistically he is above-average in all categories and has even better stats than Lu Bu, save for being sturdy on the get-go of course.
• Megaton Punch: Has this has his original hidden Direction+R1+Square Combination Art Type Action from the Warriors Orochi games prior to 3, where he literally puts his talismans on is forehead to power himself up for a while, then thrust-punches forward. Gets reprised in a different form as his first EX Attack in 8, where it becomes a two input move; the first input also doubles as a guard break.
• Mind over Matter: How he moves his talisman cards.
• Mysterious Protector: To Liu Bei.
• Mystical White Hair: He is a mystic in both Warriors Orochi and Dynasty Warriors (8 confirmed this, too) universe.
• Nerf: Suffers from this in the Warriors Orochi crossovers, with the third game being the most drastic. Since all Dynasty Warriors characters in Warriors Orochi 3 get an updated moveset due to a new engine and gameplay mechanics, Zuo Ci is kept with an inferior moveset, which has been nerfed further from Warriors Orochi 2. However, he gains an updated moveset in 8 which reuses most of his movements but changes the functions of many of his attacks.
• Not Quite Human/Physical God: Implied in 5. But confirmed in the crossover, revealing him to be from the mystic realm, and continued in 8 where he outright states that he is from the Mystic Realm while attempting to destroy Wei on its hypothetical route.
  • Historically, he was supposedly this as well. As with all things mystical, the truth may never be known.
• Prophecies Are Always Right: Averted in 8, specifically the Wei hypothetical campaign. Despite his claims that Liu Bei must be triumphant and that Cao Cao's victory will lead the nation into ruin, Wei's final victory sees Cao Cao taking Liu Bei's dying words to heart and ruling over a new nation of peace, reason, and equality with the people's well-being in mind.
• Voluntary Shapeshifting: His ending in 5 shows him transforming into a crane.
• Wizard Beard: An oddly subdued version.
• Wizards Live Longer: According to some sources, he was about 300 years old when he last appeared in the mortal world, though as a Mystic it might not be unusual for him.

Debuting in Dynasty Warriors 8: Xtreme Legends

Chen Gong

"Soon, my name will echo throughout the land!"

Voiced by: Hiromu Miyazaki (Japanese), Jason Wishnov (English; 8:XL), Robbie Devillez (English; 9), He Zhang (Chinese; 9)

Born: 154 ^note Historically, Chen Gong's year of birth and age when he died were unrecorded.
Died: 199
Style Name: Gongtai
Japanese spelling: Chin Kyū "Kōdai"
Height: 5'5" (165cm)
Weapon: Bamboo scroll (8:XL), Sickle and chain (9)

Lu Bu's strategist, Chen Gong was a previous minister of Dong Zhuo, until he rescued Cao Cao from execution, but quickly left after seeing the warlord's brutal nature. After Dong Zhuo's fall, he offers his services to Lu Bu and continue to serve him, through good and ill, until his demise at Xiapi.

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• Adaptational Villainy: In 8, contrasting his appearance from 7, he attacks Cao Cao and Diaochan takes his place and helps Cao Cao escape. Also in the Romance novel, he is the one who helped Cao Cao escape from Luo Yang after the latter failed to assassinate Dong Zhuo and he delivered a What the Hell, Hero? to Cao Cao for killing Lu Boshe (Cao Cao's relative) and his servants because Cao Cao mistook them for planning to assassinate him, and spent his life refusing to serve what he regarded as an ambitious usurper. In 8, when he's finally a playable unique character, he's turned into an ambitious usurper motivated by his own pride and desire for glory more than anything else.
  • Note that the "virtuous" portrayal from Romance novel may or may not be accurate to the history. While he did betray Cao Cao and defected to Lu Bu in history, that's presumably done out of pragmatism, considering Cao Cao wasn't really an influential warlord at the time yet. This is touched a bit in 9, where Chen Gong is actually part of the anti-Dong Zhuo coalition (instead of serving him like in 8) and he's skeptical of Cao Cao's ability to lead and recognize that it's ultimately Lu Bu and not Cao Cao who ends up killing Dong Zhuo, which is why he decides to betray Cao Cao and defect to Lu Bu.
  • In the case of real life, it was also hinted that Lu Bu didn't often rely on Chen Gong's strategies all the time due to some records stating he had rather loose loyalty in the first place, with some even speculating that Chen Gong even wanted to claim power all for himself.
• All According to Plan: The gameplay doesn't always reflect it, but the design idea behind his weapon boils down to this.
• Ascended Extra: In a similar process to Guo Jia for 7: Extreme Legends, he won the top spot of the poll and was given a unique character design to use in future games. At the same time, he is the first new "Other" playable character since Zuo Ci in 5.
• Badass Bookworm: For all intents and purposes, literally fights with a book. He's also skilled such that Lu Bu claims theirs and Zhang Liao's martial prowess is all they need to win battles, and given enough breathing room, he can hold his own against the Peach Garden brothers in the hypothetical route, something even Lu Bu struggled with back at Hulao.
• Brains and Brawn: The brain to Lu Bu's brawn.
• Character Exaggeration: Chen Gong in real life, especially noted by Xun Yu, was clever and heroically uptight, yet he was quite slow when it came to his decisions. A very common saying was often "Lu Bu should've listened to Chen Gong" when in reality, the real life Chen Gong was possibly overhyped by a majority of common opinions, and Lu Bu may have not even relied on all of Chen Gong's strategies in the first place. Here in Dynasty Warriors and in the novel, he was often part of Lu Bu's cornerstone one way or another while having a more reasonable personality (before the playable portrayal of him came along; more examples below).
• Characterization Marches On: Before 8:XL, Chen Gong's characterization was largely in line with the novel, as a virtuous man with bad taste in employers who constantly tries to rein in Lu Bu's wild impulsivity. In that game, he's...well, he's still trying to act as Lu Bu's brains anyway, though with his personality possibly more in line with how he may have been in real life under Lu Bu.
• The Chessmaster: In his hypothetical DLC scenario for 9, he manipulates Liu Bei, Ma Chao and Sun Ce to work with his strategies by earning their trust. He uses them to direct their forces against Cao Cao which not only get Cao Cao kicked out from his position but also earn the Emperor's trust, making him the his new Prime Minister.
• Deadpan Snarker: 6. In 8:XL, he's far too animated to be deadpan.
• Defiant to the End: To Cao Cao in Lu Bu's historical end in 8: Xtreme Legends, to the point that he mockingly offers to let Cao Cao serve him, and perishes claiming that his only regret is that the world will never know his true genius working as a strategist for a brute like Lu Bu.
• Do with Him as You Will: To Lu Bu in 4 once morale is low enough, as everyone else was already sick of his warmongering ways enough to abandon him.
• Everyone Has Standards: Notes in Lu Bu's historical campaign that he does feel bad about backstabbing Liu Bei after the benevolence he's shown them, but that he doesn't see any way around it.
• Glory Seeker: His Goal in Life. He wants to go down in history as a great strategist who ensured the conquest of all China. In Lu Bu's historical campaign, he is bitterly aware that he is dying in obscurity, while in the hypothetical, Chen Gong is ecstatic that he is now the Emperor's own chief strategist. In his personal hypothetical scenario, he becomes Emperor Xian's Prime Minister after defeating Cao Cao.
• I Gave My Word:
  • Despite Lu Bu and Chen Gong butting heads on a near-constant basis in the historical route after losing Yan Province, Chen Gong stays faithful to Lu Bu until their execution by Cao Cao.
  • He remains loyal to Liu Bei in his hypothetical scenario despite the latter's grievances on him. Even though Liu Bei finds out in the end that he's being played like a piano, Chen Gong asserts that he never betrayed him throughout the campaign and reminds him that he should be happy that the Emperor is safe from Cao Cao's hands. Eventually, Liu Bei resigns to the fact that Chen Gong is right.
• Improbable Weapon User: Uses a bamboo scroll of The Art of War as weapon. While it also summons soldiers to fight for him, Chen Gong does sometimes just hit people with it.
• Insufferable Genius: His characterization as a playable character is that of a slimy and arrogant schemer, but also a shrewd and skillful tactician and strategist. He's not as good as he thinks he is, but that's only because no one is as good as he thinks he is.
• Large Ham and Milking the Giant Cow: Oh boy, he's probably the most stand out among all other new characters only because of these traits.
• Manipulative Bastard: His hypothetical DLC scenario shows him this at his best where he manages to get Liu Bei, Ma Chao and Sun Ce under his wing so he can defeat Cao Cao and earn recognition from the Emperor.
• The Minion Master: He's the only character who makes any form of use out of allied peons outside of being incidental meat shields, though the summoned minions don't last long.
• Odd Couple: Deconstructed on the historical route, where his and Lu Bu's differences in personality create a hostile situation where Lu Bu refuses to listen to Chen Gong's strategic and political advice, and Chen Gong gets so fed up with Lu Bu's arrogance and incompetence outside the narrow tactical sphere that he stops trying to talk to him. It leads to defeat after defeat, only deepening the chasm between them until each one dies insulting the other.
  • Reconstructed on the hypothetical, where their learning to respect one another is an important factor in their eventual victory. Even when Chen Gong freely admits that he wanted to use Lu Bu in order to gain power, they're on such good terms that Lu Bu isn't surprised and is willing to help make Chen Gong's dreams come true.
• Only Sane Man: Is the only one who realizes that randomly going into battle is not a good idea in 6 and tries to rein in his master's more impulsive displays in the crossovers.
• Spared by the Adaptation:
  • He never meets his fate in the hypothetical route on 8:XL because he is able to get Lu Bu to listen him and things worked out in their favor.
  • In his hypothetical DLC scenario from the ninth game, Cao Cao spares him after he executed Lu Bu at Xiapi and tells him to serve another lord who is not like him or Lu Bu. Ironically, he recommends him to Liu Bei.
• Sycophantic Servant: Downplayed. He does tend to lavish praise on anyone in earshot, but only when he's genuinely impressed with them.
• Throw the Book at Them: The bamboo scrolls are technically the Later Han/Three Kingdoms Era's equivalent of today's books.
• Verbal Tic: Has a habit of a repeating certain words or phrases twice.
  • According to some of Lu Bu's mooks, kids in the streets learned it off him pretty quick.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: Ends up not appearing after the fall of Xiapi, when in other accounts he refused to serve Cao Cao, thus was executed; nevertheless Cao Cao supported Chen Gong's mother for the rest of her life. Averted in 8:XL, where, along with Zhang Liao, he forms the core of Lu Bu's mini-faction and the historical route ends with his and Lu Bu's execution.
• What the Hell, Hero?: Calls Diaochan out on her manipulation of Lu Bu in 6, and calls out Cao Cao in the novel.

Lu Lingqi

"I am the daughter of Lu Bu. It is my duty to lead everyone to victory!"

Voiced by: Hiroko Ushida (Japanese), Lauren Landa (English; 8:XL), Kacie Rogers (English; 9), Xinyuan Fan (Chinese; 9)

Born: (Unknown)
Died: (Unknown)
Japanese spelling: Ryo Reiki
Height: 5'7" (170cm)
Weapon: Bifurcating cross-bladed voulge (8:XL, 9 DLC), Jian and tower shield (9)

Lu Lingqi is the fictional name given to the daughter of Lu Bu and his wife in the novel Lady Yan ^note Historically, the identity of Lu Bu's wife is not certain; she could have been a sister of Wei Xu.; her real given name is unknown. Lingqi was originally offered for a political marriage with Yuan Shu's son, until that plan fell through. Her fate after her father's death is unknown.

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• Ascended Extra: An unnamed character only alluded to as a potential bride to Yuan Shu's son in the novel, she became an unseen, but referenced character in 4 at the Battle of Xiapi. With the increased focus on Lu Bu's forces for 8: Extreme Legends, Lingqi makes her playable debut.
• All Amazons Want Hercules: In the novel, Lu Bu offered her hand in marriage to Yuan Shu's son, and Yuan Shu turned him down out of loathing for his arrogance. In the game, Yuan Shu's son proposed to her, and she turned him down, saying that he wasn't "man enough" to handle the daughter of Lu Bu. It just makes him want her more.
• Badass Adorable: When she's happy, she's adorable. When she's on the battlefield, she's lethal, appropriate for the daughter of the most powerful warrior on the battlefield.
• Bifurcated Weapon: Inherits her father's twin double-edged wheel voulges from 6.
• Boomerang Comeback: Lots of her attacks and Musou involve throwing the huge wheel and letting it spin back to her hand.
• Blow You Away: Her EX attacks create whirlwinds that throw enemies around.
• Canon Immigrant: Lingqi made an earlier cameo in Dynasty Tactics; her current look uses the hairstyle and facial appearance as her Dynasty Tactics counterpart (only this time, she's wearing black-red armor like her father). She was also a playable character in ROTK 9 and beyond.
• Daddy's Girl: She's always bringing up her father whenever she can.
• Hates Being Alone:
  • Beneath her brave warrior persona, Lingqi is terrified of being alone in the world. Tragically, this is exactly what comes to pass in the Historical route, as her father orders her to save herself instead of risking her life to help him.
  • In her camp conversation with Lady Hayakawa in Warriors Orochi 4, she admits that she doesn't have friends while growing up because she and her father spend some time moving around. Hayakawa feels sad about this and tells Lingqi that she wants to be her friend.
• I Just Want to Be Normal: Despite her pride in her heritage and prowess in battle, when talked to in Ambition Mode she utters the phrase word-for-word, noting that as Lu Bu's daughter most people are in awe of her.
• Just a Kid: Zhang Fei and Guan Yu have this reaction to her during the Battle of Xiaopei. She does not take it well.
• Lady of War: She is Lu Bu's daughter.
• The Not-Love Interest: A second time for a female character outside of Wei. While Yuan Shu's son and one particularly lovestruck mook do pursue her, Lu Lingqi isn't interested in romance despite passing the age for available marriage.
• Mini Dress Of Power: Her armor, plus some pauldrons and stockings.
• No Guy Wants an Amazon: Averted, actually. In addition to Yuan Shu's son's attempts to win her over, the troops say in camp conversations that she's attractive enough, but the big turn off isn't her martial prowess. It's the thought of having Lu Bu for a father-in-law. One guy is clearly smitten with her anyway.
• Parent with New Paramour: Despite the fact that Diaochan bears no ill-will towards her, Lingqi doesn't approve of her father's mistress and usually treats her coldly as shown during a dialogue scene between them in Dynasty Warriors: Godseekers.
• Passed-Over Inheritance: After the Guan clan takes possession of Red Hare following her father's death, she tries to reclaim the horse as her "birthright". However, her ending in 9 instead has Zhang Liao and two of his soldiers give her his iconic halberd.
• The Rival:
  • To Guan Yinping in one of her special stages.
  • In Warriors Orochi 4, Ina is fittingly this for her as she is the daughter of the strongest warrior in the Sengoku Period, Tadakatsu Honda.
• Spell My Name With An S: The correct Pinyin spelling of her name is Lü Lingqi (note the umlaut), not Lu Lingqi. Both her father and Lu Meng also share this problem.
• Statuesque Stunner: Is beautiful and at 170 cm, is one of the tallest female characters and is tall for an Asian woman.
• Status Buff: Notable in that one of her EX attacks not only gives her a temporary attack buff, but also provides a defense buff to nearby allies.
• The Smurfette Principle: Lingqi essentially exists to enforce the principle for Lu Bu's army. On the hypothetical campaign, where Diaochan is present, she never appears.
• Super-Strength: Downplayed compared to her rival, Guan Yinping, but she carries a massive weapon bigger than she is with one hand. In her ending in 9, she is capable of swinging around her father's halberd with relative ease, a weapon that typically requires two normal men to carry around.
• Tsundere: Her conversation with Sun Shangxiang in Ambition Mode hints that she is this; with her saying that she can't smile if there's nothing to smile about, then getting flustered when Shangxiang calls her cute.
• Undying Loyalty: Lu Bu may have been known as "the Bastard of Three Fathers" for a very good reason, but it clearly wasn't genetic. Lu Lingqi is a devoted and dutiful daughter, and the only reason she doesn't end up giving up her life for her father is that he tells her not to.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: She doesn't even appear on her father's hypothetical campaign.
• When She Smiles: In a special conversation with Sun Shangxiang in the Ambition base:
  Sun Shangxiang: You always look so tense. How about smiling once in a while?
  Lingqi: I'm afraid I was born looking like this. I also find it hard to smile when there's nothing to smile about.
  Sun Shangxiang: You are very cute. Seriously, you should try to smile more.
  Lingqi: Cute? I am not! Stop it with your jokes.
  Sun Shangxiang: See? You look even cuter when you're blushing. I'll help you work on your smile.

Debuting in Dynasty Warriors 9

Dong Bai*

"I'll crush anyone who gives me any lip!"

Voiced by: Eri Ozeki (Japanese), Bridget Renshaw (English), Nian Ru (Chinese)

Born: (Unknown)
Died: (Unknown)
Onyomi: Tō Haku
Height: 5'3" (160cm)
Weapon: Flail

The granddaughter of Dong Zhuo with an unknown father. She was given her passage to adulthood ceremony and a grand title at an unceremoniously young age despite a 50-year-old Zhu Jun's protests. For the grand ceremony, a platform was built to be five to six che –about 116 cm (3'10") or 139 cm (4'7") in modern conversions– and she rode in a blue-covered golden carriage as thousands of soldiers marched behind her. Dong Huang was said to have given her the seal personally. Dong Bai has no other mentions in historical records.

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• All Just a Dream: As revealed at the final part of her ending, the events that occurred after she recaptured Luoyang is just a dream. It also justifies why Sun Ce and Liu Bei became willing vassals to the granddaughter of Dong Zhuo which is very Out of Character for them.
• Alpha Bitch: Her bitchiness really makes Zhenji look like an angel.
• Breakout Character: In a way. She's one of the characters that almost got no mention in history or novels alike (even less than Lu Lingqi), but her appearance in Dynasty Warriors Blast increased fan awareness around her greatly and she's one of the more well-received exclusive characters there, to the point that she's a unique NPC in 9, which would be a DLC in a later date.
• Daddy's Little Villain: More like granddaddy's little villain, she follows Dong Zhuo around and puts a cute attitude around him while being just as cruel to others just like him.
• Dark Action Girl: She's cruel and nasty but she can hold on her own as she can defeat the likes of Lu Bu and Zhang Liao in her storyline.
• Elegant Gothic Lolita: She has this kind of getup, evoking a menacing aura for a girl.
• Epic Flail: Her weapon is a flail just like her grandpa. Her ground Musou attack consists of tying her opponent with the chain and drag them to their knees before she flips them off the air. Meanwhile, her aerial Musou attack has her landing the metal ball on her opponent's abdomen and stomps them with it.
• Evil Counterpart: Of sorts to Lu Lingqi. While Lingqi is a proud warrior who sees her father as a hero to be revered, and becomes a noble warrior in response, Dong Bai embraces her grandfather's sadistic and cruel nature, becoming a sadistic monster that wants to see those who caused her father's death suffer.
• Evil Laugh: Let's just say that she's really Dong Zhuo's granddaughter when it comes to laughing.
• Kneel Before Zod: In her ending, she has Cao Cao, Lu Bu, Zhang Liao, Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu on their knees and forces them to bow at her feet.
• Non-Standard Character Design: She is given a unique design in Dynasty Warriors 9. Her character design is based on her appearance in Dynasty Warriors Blast.
• Pet the Dog: Despite her cruel personality, she tells Cai Yong, the father of Cai Wenji, to stay alive for his daughter's sake. And as seen in Hua Xiong's ending, she treats the soldiers with her grandfather's warm wine as a reward for their appreciation in serving her grandfather.
• Roaring Rampage of Revenge: She consistently hounds Lu Bu in his story mode after he kills her grandfather. In her story mode, this also extends to Zhang Liao who abandons her after Lu Bu saves Diaochan from her clutches.
• Sadist: She's definitely thrilled of tying up her enemies and stomping them on the ground.
• Spared by the Adaptation: Possibly. Historically, after Dong Zhuo is assassinated, most if not all of his family members are executed under Wang Yun and Emperor Xian's order. This possibly includes Dong Bai. However, in 9, she's still alive after Dong Zhuo's death and intends to avenge him.
• Spoiled Brat: Since Dong Zhuo pampered her, she can be a condescending, spoiled girl.
• This Is Unforgivable!: Ever since her grandfather's death, she wants Lu Bu and Zhang Liao to pay for their betrayal. However when she has them at her mercy, she spares them and forces them to work under her.
• The Ugly Guy's Hot Daughter: Granddaughter, to be exact, but Bai's overall looks certainly doesn't come from her Fat Bastard of a grandpa.

Hua Xiong*

"I yearn for battle!"

Voiced by: Volcano Ota (Japanese), Tim Budas (English), Ha Rui (Chinese)

Born: (Unknown)
Died: 191
Onyomi: Ka Yū
Height: 6'11" (210cm)
Weapon: Club

A powerful general under Dong Zhuo. He plays an important role in the Battle of Sishui Gate where he prevents Dong Zhuo's enemies from reaching Luoyang.

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• Always Someone Better: He wants to be stronger than Lu Bu. Too bad that Guan Yu kills him. It's even worth noting that Guan Yu himself couldn't even match Lu Bu's strength.
• Ascended Extra: Was voted to be the recipient of the pre-made "Warrior" design for 7:E. Then, he became a unique NPC and later DLC in 9.
• Badass in Distress: In 8XL at Hulao Gate, where he is surrounded by coalition officers and may die if not rescued quickly.
• Brutish Character, Brutish Weapon: He's a massive character, and uses a giant mace to complement his size.
• Carry a Big Stick: His weapon. He's a big guy who needs a huge weapon.
• Composite Character: Roughly with Xu Rong, in a sense of being Wake-Up Call Boss to Sun Jian. Also, Xu Rong historically defected to Wang Yun and Lu Bu's side after Dong Zhuo is assassinated by Lu Bu, much like Hua Xiong did in hypothetical route of Lu Bu's story mode in 8.
• Covered with Scars: On his face. A unique trait to his generic character model.
• Dumbass Has a Point: Lu Bu's Hypothetical route begins with Hua Xiong suggesting at Dingtao that he pretend to be Lu Bu to act as a decoy, allowing the real Lu Bu to sneak off and intercept an enemy unit that planned to strike elsewhere.
• Dumb Muscle: He's as dumb as a rock since he fails to pick up on certain cues such as Diaochan's attempt to seduce him. Even Lu Bu finds him too simple-minded to understand that defeating Cao Cao doesn't mean that he's stronger than the rest.
• Gate Guardian: He is in charge of defending Sishui Gate.
• Glory Hound: He's more interested in fighting strong opponents and showing off his strength.
• Historical Badass Upgrade: The result of being Composite Character. The historical Hua Xiong was a relatively unknown general besides being "Dong Zhuo's general that got killed by Sun Jian" ^note He was considered so unimportant, his style name was not even recorded, a treatment given to Zhang Jiao and Meng Huo as well. These men also did not receive their own biographies in Records. It's the Romance novel that made him famous to modern audiences by transferring some of Xu Rong's role to him and Dynasty Warriors games adapt this characterization.
• Non-Standard Character Design: In 8XL he's taller than any other NPCs save for Wutugu. In 9, he's given a true unique design.
• Throw the Dog a Bone: Survives in Lu Bu's hypothetical route, and proves heroically vital to many important strategies therein.
• Undying Loyalty: To Lu Bu in 8:XL. In Lu Bu's story mode for 8:XL, he will stay loyal to Lu Bu if you choose to rescue him at Hulao Gate. He even sides with Lu Bu in the same stage where the latter assassinate Dong Zhuo! In Dingtao, if you fulfill all hypothetical criteria but still choose historical route, Hua Xiong will appear here but only to be killed where he lamented that he can't repay his life debt to Lu Bu. In hypothetical route, he will constantly appear until the end of the story.
• Unknown Rival: In 9, this is his dynamic with Lu Bu. Hua Xiong often attempts to one-up Lu Bu in terms of being the strongest of Dong Zhuo's generals, but Lu Bu dismissed him often. Had Hua Xiong possess a longer lifespan, it could have gone anywhere, but he disappears after the battle of Hu Lao Gate even if he didn't get slain by Guan Yu.
• The Worf Effect: Appears pretty much to die at Guan Yu's hands and thereby be the reason that Guan Yu's might was noticed.
• You Shall Not Pass!: In every of his appearences as well as the full extent of his role at Sishui Gate.

Yuan Shu*

"Soon, all the land will be mine!"

Voiced by: Keiji Hirai (Japanese), Paul Harted (English), Yu Wang (Chinese)

Born: 155
Died: 199
Style name: Gōnglù
Onyomi: En Jutsu
Height: 5'7" (170cm)
Weapon: Rapier

The younger half-brother of Yuan Shao. ^note Genealogically, they are cousins, as their father Yuan Feng sent Shao away to become the heir of Feng's elder brother Cheng, who had passed away at a young age. He is a very important figure in the rise and fall of the Han Dynasty where he declared himself emperor after demanding the Imperial Seal from Sun Ce. However, this makes him as a target from various warlords which renders his "dynasty" short. Historically, he was also Sun Jian's liege lord; after his death, his son Yuan Yao fled to Wu and served as an offical. A daughter became Sun Quan's concubine, and Yuan Yao's daughter later married Sun Quan's son Sun Fen.

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• Artifact of Attraction: He ends up granting Sun Ce troops in return for the Imperial Seal which the Sun family had held onto after Sun Jian's death, but the possession thereof ends up fueling Yuan Shu's own ambition until he ends up declaring himself Emperor... which ends up making him an enemy of Cao Cao, Liu Bei, Lu Bu and Sun Ce simultaneously! (Although it's actually pretty back-and-forth between him and Lu Bu, and Yuan Shu ends up taking his side in Xiapi since DW6.)
• Ascended Extra: Downplayed. Despite being rather important figure for the overall fall of the Han Dynasty, Yuan Shu was always rendered a generic NPC. By 9, Yuan Shu at least got an upgrade to an unique NPC, and then becomes a DLC character.
• Blue Blood: Like Yuan Shao, he comes from the noble and prominent Yuan clan. However, he looks down on those below his station, particularly on Cao Cao. Historically, part of his resentment towards Shao was that Shao's mother was a concubine (while his was the main wife), and yet Shao had greater success than him.
• Cain and Abel: He never gets along with his half-brother, Yuan Shao, due to their clashing personalities and beliefs. By the time Yuan Shu declares himself as emperor, Yuan Shao would not hesitate to kill him.
• Did Not Think This Through: Had he listened to Zhou Yu's and Sun Ce's advice, then he would still be able to get the upper hand against Yuan Shao. Instead, his stubbornness causes Sun Ce to have second thoughts on him to the point of leaving him when he declaring himself as emperor. Likewise, declaring himself as Emperor makes him labeled as a traitor by the Han court with all the warlords wanting his head on a pike. In the end, Yuan Shu loses all his supporters and loyalists and dies alone.
• Green-Eyed Monster:
  • The reason he does not send the supplies to Sun Jian during the siege of Si Shui Gate. Except in 3, 5, and 8; where the case appears to be that he's too busy being manhandled by enemy forces to send Sun Jian any supplies.
  • He's obsessed in defeating Yuan Shao because he wants to prove that he's a better successor to the Yuan clan. Then, he loses Xiapi to Lu Bu and is extremely jealous of Sun Ce's victories which dubbed him as "The Little Conqueror". As a result, this leads him to self-proclaim himself as Emperor.
• Heroes Prefer Swords: He wields a sword during his generic appearance. When he became a unique NPC, he wields a rapier just like older half-brother, Yuan Shao.
• I Have Your Wife: He takes Sun Jian's wife, Wu Guotai, as a hostage in exchange for the Imperial Seal. Sun Jian has no choice but to comply. The same thing happens in history except this time, Sun Ce is the one who has to exchange it in order to save his mother. ^note Ironically, after his death, one of his daughters became a concubine of Sun Quan's, while his son Yuan Yao served in Wu. Yuan Yao's daughter also married Sun Fen, Sun Quan's son.
• It's All About Me: This is his reason for declaring himself as emperor so that he wants to prove to everyone that he's way better than them.
• Never My Fault: He never blames himself for his failures and projects them to his enemies and subordinates for trying to best him.
• Non-Standard Character Design: He is given a unique appearance in Dynasty Warriors 9.
• Pet the Dog:
  • Reinforce Lu Bu's outnumbered forces in 8:XL's Xiapi if you fulfill certain hypothetical condition, even though it still ends up with Lu Bu (and Chen Gong) being executed.
  • In one cutscene of his storyline, he gives oranges to his officer's son. But when it turns out the boy didn't eat the oranges and keeps it instead so he can give it to his mother, Yuan Shu doesn't punish him due to his amazement on the boy's filial piety. This is Truth in Television because that boy is Lu Ji, Lu Xun's second cousin once removed^note The boy's father is Lu Kang, Lu Xun's granduncle and a regional administrator around Jiangdong. Not to be confused with Lu Xun's son who is also named Lu Kang., who eventually served Wu under Sun Quan and this cutscene is actually based from his account which is included in The Twenty-four Filial Exemplars (#13).
• Small Name, Big Ego: Self-proclaimed himself as Emperor of a new dynasty, without even thinking if he would gain any supporters.
• Trademark Favorite Food: Mandarin orange, inspired by the historical account from The Twenty-four Filial Exemplars which was mentioned above.

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