History Characters / Lisa

* [[Characters/LisaOthers Others]][[note]]Marty Armstrong, Tricky Rick, Joy Mutants, Rick, Sticky, and Cheeks, Chris Columbo, The Salvation Rangers, Mr. Angoneli, Men's Hair Club Presidents, Horrace, Bloodiest Wolf, Wally, Shardy Hernandez, Tardy Hernandez, Satan, Gary The Hot Soup, Bolo Bugaughtiichi, The Joyful {{Superboss}}[[/note]]

* [[Characters/LisaOthers Others]][[note]]Marty Armstrong, Tricky Rick, Joy Mutants, Rick, Sticky, and Cheeks, Chris Columbo, The Salvation Rangers, Mr. Angoneli, Men's Hair Club Presidents, Horrace, Bloodiest Wolf, Wally, Shardy Hernandez, Tardy Hernandez, Satan, Gary The Hot Soup, Bolo Bugaughtiichi[[/note]]

* [[Characters/LisaOthers Others]][[note]]Marty Armstrong, Joy Mutants, Rick, Sticky, and Cheeks, Chris Columbo, The Salvation Rangers, Mr. Angoneli, Men's Hair Club Presidents, Horrace, Bloodiest Wolf, Wally, Shardy Hernandez, Tardy Hernandez, Satan, Gary The Hot Soup, Bolo Bugaughtiichi[[/note]]

* [[Characters/LisaMainCharacters Main Characters]][[note]]Lisa Armstrong, Brad Armstrong, Buddy, Buzzo, Rando, The True Ruler/[[spoiler:Dr.Yado]][[/note]]

* [[Characters/LISAMainCharacters Main Characters]][[note]]Lisa Armstrong, Brad Armstrong, Buddy, Buzzo, Rando, The True Ruler/[[spoiler:Dr.Yado]][[/note]]
* [[Characters/LISABradsGang Brad's Gang]][[note]]Terry Hintz, Nern Guan, Rooster Coleman, Percy Monsoon, Mad Dog, Fardy Hernandez, Rage Ironhead, Olan Hoyt, Beastborn, Buckets, Dick Dickson, Geese Thompson, Carp, Queen Roger, Bo Wyatt, R.T., Ajeet Mandeep, Clint Olympic, Birdie Hall, Garth, Yazan Barghouti, Lincoln Townsend/Tiger Man, Jack, Harvey Alibastor, Fly Minetti, Ollie Nickels, Shocklord, Sonny Backluwitz, Crisp Ladaddy, Buffalo Van Dyke[[/note]]
* [[Characters/LISATheWarlords The Warlords]][[note]]Hawk Hollywood, Han Tsunami, Vega Van Dam, Mr. Beautiful/Thomas, Lardy Hernandez, Dice Mahone, Sindy Gallows, Big Lincoln[[/note]]
* [[Characters/LISAOthers Others]][[note]]Marty Armstrong, Joy Mutants, Rick, Sticky, and Cheeks, Chris Columbo, The Salvation Rangers, Mr. Angoneli, Men's Hair Club Presidents, Horrace, Bloodiest Wolf, Wally, Shardy Hernandez, Tardy Hernandez, Satan, Gary The Hot Soup, Bolo Bugaughtiichi[[/note]]

* [[Characters/LISAMainCharacters Main Characters]]
* [[Characters/LISABradsGang Brad's Gang]]
* [[Characters/LISATheWarlords The Warlords]]
* [[Characters/LISAOthers Others]]

Character sheet for the Lisa series.

[[foldercontrol]]

!!Main Characters

[[folder:Lisa Armstrong]]
!!Lisa Armstrong
[[quoteright:184:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lisa_2125.bmp]]

-> ''"Do you love me?"''

The protagonist of LISA: The First, she's Brad's younger sister. She was forbidden to leave the house and was molested by her father, Marty. [[spoiler: Her only friend was a young boy named Bernard who she gave the name Buzzo. She forced him to maim and kill small animals, and mutilate her with a buzzsaw.]] Eventually, she killed herself to escape her suffering.

* BlindingBangs: Her eyes remain unseen under her mop of hair.
* CuteAndPsycho: [[spoiler: It's revealed in ''Joyful'' that she was a seriously messed up little kid, pleading with Bernard to cut her up so Marty won't touch her anymore and goading him into cutting off a cat's paw.]]
* ChildhoodFriends: [[spoiler: With Buzzo, as it's revealed in The Joyful. Going by the tone of their dialogue together, [[UnresolvedSexualTension it may have been more than just that]].]]
* DrivenToSuicide: Lisa is shown hanging by her neck in the title screen and in several of Brad's hallucinations. From what we see in ''Lisa: The First'', it's more than implied that Marty's abuse drove her to do it.
* EeriePaleSkinnedBrunette: A more downplayed example, but Lisa's design consists solely of black/dark browns and white/light tans, giving her this effect.
* TheGhost: On account of [[spoiler: being dead]], you never truly encounter her in either ''The Painful'' or ''The Joyful''; All of her appearances are as Brad and Buzzo's hallucinations. The only time she has any actual appearance whatsoever is [[spoiler: in her casket within ''The Joyful'''s Joy Lab]].
* LonelyFuneral: A flashback shows Brad being the only one to attend her funeral. [[spoiler: You can also find what is basically a visitation room with her casket within a secret Joy Lab room in ''The Joyful'']].
* TheLostLenore: Her death is the catalyst for many events in the series [[spoiler: and she was Buzzo's love interest]].
* RapeAsBackstory: [[spoiler:In ''Lisa The First'', it is heavily implied that she was sexually abused by Marty.]]
* SmallRoleBigImpact: While she's the main character of the first game, in the RPG she makes one living appearance as a baby, gets one line in a flashback, and is an occasional silent hallucination the rest of the game. And yet her life and death have such an influence on Brad [[spoiler: and Buzzo]] that the sequel still carries her name.
* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: [[spoiler: She made Buzzo mutilate a cat, and then herself, as a way of proving his love for her as well as making [[AbusiveParents Marty]] not want to force himself on her anymore. This would prove to be [[StartOfDarkness the event that led to Buzzo becoming the depraved, vindictive monster that he appears as in The Painful]].]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Brad Armstrong]]
!!Brad Armstrong
[[quoteright:184:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/7c1436fabbccb5e7f0cff4c72058fd3b4a6463c6_full_550.jpg]]

-> ''"I just... For once... I wanted to do something good. I'm the one that was supposed to protect you. I can't let anyone hurt you..."''

The protagonist of LISA: The Painful RPG. A retired middle age martial artist who's haunted by the memories of his broken past. After the Flash killed all females in Olathe, Brad one day found and adopted an infant, Buddy, the last female in Olathe. He initially decides to raise her only as a way to alleviate himself of the guilt he feels for his part in making his sister, Lisa, commit suicide years ago. However, he comes to genuinely love Buddy, and she makes him feel emotions he never has. When she is abducted by the Rando Army, Brad is determined to save her, as she is the only thing in life that matters to him now.
----
* AfroAsskicker: He used to be one, as shown in flashbacks.
* AloofBigBrother: By the time of LISA: The First, Brad had left the Armstrong household years ago, and most likely never called or visited. This is why Brad is missing from Lisa's dreamscape in LISA: The First, as he was never really a big part of Lisa's life.
* AndThenJohnWasAZombie: No matter what choices the player makes, [[spoiler:he transforms into a Joy mutant in the ending.]]
* BadassBoast: Near the end, as he faces off against the entirety of Rando's army, he has this to say.
-->'''Brad''': No. You don't understand. I've been dead for 35 years. Today is the day I live.
* BaldOfAwesome: Even after losing his afro years ago, Brad is still able to kick ass. [[spoiler: Subverted later on in the game when Brads actions become more questionable.]]
* BareFistedMonk: He's a master of the self-created Armstrong Fighting Style (which is described in the artbook as "a mix of Karate and pain"). According to one of the epilogues of The Joyful, he picked up Karate from his grandfather.
* BeardOfSorrow: He sports a full beard (which was, if the cutscenes are anything to go by, present since he hit adulthood), and is haunted by his regrets and bad memories.
* BerserkButton: According to Buddy and [[spoiler:Rando]], Brad did not like being referred to as "dad" due to his own horrible experiences with his own father, which is why they refer to him by his name.
* BodyHorror: [[spoiler:In the finale, he forced to overdose on Joy by Buzzo, which ensures his transformation as a mutant.]]
* BroughtDownToBadass: It's implied that he's out of practice, since he has to relearn his own martial arts style via leveling. He's still strong enough to deal with the various wasteland warriors, albeit with backup from his party members.
* CelibateHero: Brad wanted a wife, but didn’t think he deserved one.
* TheComicallySerious: Brad is perpetually, completely straight-faced, never reacting to the ridiculous people or situations he encounters, and always perfectly willing to beat up squirrels or cross dress without question.
* DarkAndTroubledPast: In addition to being emotionally abused by his father, Marty, Brad was also a helpless witness to his sister Lisa's eventual suicide after suffering all manner of abuse from their father. [[spoiler:It's also implied that Marty would force Brad to take part in the abuse, too.]]
* {{Deconstruction}}: Of the PapaWolf, much like [[Videogame/TheLastOfUs Joel]] and [[Videogame/NieR Father Nier.]]
** He also deconstructs the typical RPG protagonist. The majority of enemies faced are simple, sometimes completely innocent men who Brad tramples in his quest. By the end of the game [[spoiler:he's regarded as a ruthless monster and others are ''terrified'' of him.]]
* DespairEventHorizon: [[spoiler:At the endgame, when Buddy in no uncertain terms states that Brad was more responsible than anybody for her misfortune. It's at this point that he loses all hope, and begins to mutate.]]
-->[[spoiler:Brad's body is feeling strange...]]
-->[[spoiler:He has become a failure.]]
* {{Determinator}}: Nothing will stop Brad in his quest to save Buddy, not even the loss of his own limbs [[spoiler:or party members]].
** [[spoiler:Dying from Joy overdose]] in the finale just makes him ''stronger''.
** Also justified as [[spoiler: a side effect of Joy, causing the user to obey their inner most desires as mentioned in the Joyless ending. As a result ''nothing'' would stop Brad from "protecting" Buddy]].
* DraggedIntoDrag: By Buddy, when he was raising her. Happens again at Dismal Island, in a less wholesome manner.
* DrowningMySorrows: Brad's DarkAndTroubledPast has driven him to severe Joy addiction. Game dialogue changes depending on if he continues to take Joy or tries to kick his addiction.
* EleventhHourSuperpower: [[spoiler:Thanks to Buzzo forcing him to take three Joy pills at once, Brad by the end of the game is turning into a mutant, which puts him in a drug-fueled rage that lets him easily demolish Rando's army whether or not he has limbs. Not only do his moves get upgraded, he even gains the ability to restore SP by [[BerserkerTears crying over Lisa]] and inducing fear by screaming]].
* {{Expy}}: Of Ryūken from ''Manga/FistOfTheNorthStar''. Not only does he share his monk-like appearance as well as being the master of his own martial art style, [[spoiler:he's actually the former master of Rando and Buzzo, the resident Expys of Raoh and Jagi]].
* EyesAlwaysShut
* FailureKnight: His devotion to protecting Buddy is spawned from his failure to protect his sister.
* FallenHero: What he has become by the end of the game, having taken innumerable lives, stealing, terrorizing and possibly even blackmailing others to find his daughter.
* FinalSpeech: [[spoiler:He warns Buddy that people will always try to use her, but states that for once he wanted to do something good with his life. He concludes by asking Buddy if he did the right thing.]]
* GoingColdTurkey: Attempted this in order to be a better parent for Buddy, but wound up falling OffTheWagon, leading to the bender he wakes up from at the start of the game. A player can attempt this again in a Joyless run, but ultimately [[spoiler:Buzzo forces Brad to overdose by threatening Buddy's life, making it all for naught]].
* HandicappedBadass: While losing one or both of his limbs does hinder him severely, he's still capable of biting and tackling anyone in his way. He is also still able to climb ropes and ride his bike ''using his mouth''.
* IHaveNoSon: As far as he's concerned, [[spoiler:Dusty was never his son and he admits that he never cared for him as he did Buddy.]]
* HeelFaceDoorSlam: Downplayed. When confronting his father, Brad can choose to spare him, which at least seems like a step in the right direction. [[spoiler:Unfortunately, the Joy that Brad took earlier causes him to kill Marty anyways, further pushing Buddy away from him.]]
* HugeRiderTinyMount: When riding the child's bicycle, this enables him to cross over small gaps.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Flashbacks and his general mood show that Brad can be very kind at times, and that his gruffness is mostly for show. A number of people describe him as having a sensitive soul, but his years of abuse from his father and watching his sister be driven to madness and eventual suicide have seriously dampened his worldview.
* KamehameHadoken: A signature move in the Armstrong fighting style. Because the fire is a manifestation of emotion, Brad can use this even without hands.
* [[KickTheDog Kill The Dog]]: The first battle of the game involves Brad [[spoiler:killing a small and relatively harmless dog, a precursor for the terrible deeds he commits during his search for Buddy.]]
* LastRequest: [[spoiler:He asks that Buddy hug him, something no one has ever done for him. The player can choose to allow or deny it.]]
* LoveMakesYouEvil: [[spoiler:His desire to protect Buddy from everyone leads to him killing many people in his way, ultimately does more harm to everyone than anything else and in the end is more out of a selfish desire to make up for the loss of his sister.]]
* ManBitesMan: If he loses one of his arms, biting will become incorporated in his Armstrong Style. If he loses both arms, then it becomes his default attack.
* MightyGlacier: Brad has high HP alongside a wide variety of powerful offensive moves. This makes him useful throughout the entire game. His main weaknesses however are unimpressive speed, a lack of support skills (like buffs and HP recovery) and Joy addiction (Which weakers him while suffering from withdrawal). Also, losing his limbs will permanently and noticably hinder his performance, [[HandicappedBadass though he'll still remain quite powerful even without them.]]
* MookHorrorShow: In the finale. [[spoiler:Brad's ferocity causes Rando's army to go from confident... to shocked... to terrified... to dead.]]
* MyGreatestFailure: What Brad considers Lisa's suicide to be. He was not only complacent in Marty's abuse of Lisa but also participated in it, albeit unwillingly. Brad also left the house some time before Lisa killed herself, leaving Lisa alone with Marty.
* MyGreatestSecondChance: Buddy is this in a nutshell. Brad wants to protect Buddy no matter what as a sort of redemption from failing to prevent Marty from abusing Lisa.
* NotInThisForYourRevolution: Everything Brad does is for his own reasons, he legitimately couldn't care less about saving humanity or anyone that he isn't close to.
* NotSoDifferent: From [[spoiler: his father.]] While he doesn't [[spoiler: physically or deliberately abuse Buddy,]] he does leave some hefty emotional scars.
** Also from [[spoiler: Buzzo]], considering that [[spoiler: Lisa's suicide]] was the event which made both became gradually insane and commit atrocities as a result.
* OneManArmy: A rare twist of this trope being PlayedForDrama, as [[spoiler:Brad fights both his own gang and the Rando Army near the end and wins, which is even more incredible considering that Brad may be lacking one or both arms by then. However, tragic part comes in the end of the came, when it's revelead that he only was able to achieve it because he was slowing turning into a Joy mutant.]]
* PapaWolf: He will stop at nothing to protect Buddy. However, his obsession for protecting her drives him to do some horrible things.
* RememberTheNewGuy: Despite being Lisa's brother, Brad is never mentioned in "LISA: The First".
* SociopathicHero: While Brad's goal of saving Buddy is understandable and relatable, his actions throughout the game are nothing short of horrifying. He murders just about anyone who stands in his path, even if all they're guilty of is standing in his way. He routinely forces people to join him by doing such things as stealing something valuable from them, holding their loved one hostage, or lying to them by saying he will help them with their cause or desire. And in the end, he has more or less doomed any and all chances for Olathe to ever recover by killing influential people and destroying important gangs and organisations that were keeping some kind of peace and order. In the end, one has to wonder how much of these actions are caused by Joy, Brad himself, or a mixture of the two, and how redeemable Brad is will come down to the conclusions about his character that each player comes to themselves.
* SurvivorGuilt: Brad blames himself for Lisa's death, and the guilt of not protecting her from their father is a big part of his motivation.
* StoicWoobie: Never shows any emotion other than anger, and boy has he had a hard life...
* StoutStrength: Has a noticeable gut, but is also one of the strongest guys in the wasteland, bar none.
* TragicDream: The only thing Brad really wants to do is to be the kind of father his own never was for Buddy as a means of redeeming himself after contributing (unwillingly) to Lisa's abuse and failing to stop it from eventually driving Lisa to suicide. Brad is however just not fit to be a parent. He is regularly neglectful, letting Rick, Sticky, and Cheeks handle her care most of the time. Sets a terrible example by almost always being high or drunk around Buddy. And he can be quite emotionally distant and verbally abusive without even really meaning to. In summary, Brad's dream is simply impossible to achieve because he as a person is simply not fit to fulfill it.
** [[WordOfGod According to Dingaling]], Brad would have liked to get married, but didn't think he deserved it.
* TheUnfettered: Due to his Joy usage, Brad is literally unable to stop himself from saving Buddy.
* UnreliableNarrator: [[spoiler: Thanks to the joy affecting how he behaves, especially after his overdose, Brad likes to think himself as doing something good for going to save Buddy, and hearing things that he fears the most, such as the implication that Sticky ''raped'' Buddy[[labelnote:*]]which actually never happened.[[/labelnote]] and thinking he killed Rick while interrogating him.]]
* UnscrupulousHero: All Brad wants to do is find Buddy, but he has no moral qualms about his actions in achieving that.
* UnwittingPawn: [[spoiler: It is implied that Dr. Yado had been fueling his obsession with saving Buddy thanks to his joy addiction, and Yado's trumpet.]] [[spoiler: ''The Joyful'' has Buzzo provide credence to this and admitting that the bad things Brad had done was not his fault.]]
* UseYourHead: Brad can headbutt and slide on his head to knock down opponents. If he loses both arms, this is his only method of attack, riding a bike, and climbing a rope.
* ZeroEffortBoss: [[spoiler: The Memory of Brad in ''The Joyful''. The only thing he can do to benefit himself is healing in his second form, but the one after that has him healing you instead.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Buddy]]
!!Buddy/[[spoiler:Nancy Yado]]
[[quoteright:184:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/buddy_9397.jpg]]

-> ''"I am strong. I'm not afraid... And I am one of a kind."''

The protagonist of LISA: The Joyful. The only female to survive the White Flash. Adopted by Brad as an infant, she is abducted by the Rando Army for their own purposes. However, not everything is as it seems.
----
* AndThenJohnWasAZombie: [[spoiler:If she chooses not to take the Joy vaccine, the epilogue shows her as a Joy mutant.]]
* AxCrazy: Progressively grows into this throughout ''The Joyful''. [[spoiler:Part of it is because of taking Joy.]]
* {{BFS}}: In contrast with her father's [[BareFistedMonk bare fists]], Buddy wields a scimitar roughly as tall as herself in ''Joyful''.
* BabiesEverAfter: [[spoiler: In ''The Joyful'', the ending where Buddy chooses to take the Joy vaccine shows that she eventually has a child. It's unexplained whom the father of the child, though.]]
** [[spoiler: Interestingly, in a variant of the ending where she doesn't take the vaccine and becomes a Joy mutant, she still somehow has a child. This only happens if you previously fought [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil Bolo]].]]
* BreakTheCutie: In ''The Joyful'', after everything she went through, Buddy has become utterly ruthless, determined to rule Olathe so that no one else can hurt her.
* CombatPragmatist: Buddy's fighting style is based entirely on survival, most of her attacks are stabs at vital body parts and she's not above exposing herself to distract enemies.
* DeathFromAbove: In ''The Joyful'', if she's jumping down at the right angle, she can pounce on enemies and instantly kill them.
* {{Determinator}}: [[spoiler:Buddy will stop at nothing to get away from Brad and always seems to be just one step ahead of him.]]
* DistressedDamsel: Seems to be this at first, but it's subverted in that [[spoiler:not only is she escaping captivity on her own, she is actively trying to get away from Brad, even preferring her supposed captors (Marty and Rando) over being with him]].
* DistractedByTheSexy: In ''The Joyful'', she can flash her opponents to distract them temporarily.
* DoesNotLikeMen: With few exceptions; although, this is justified considering that most of the men she comes across are murderous and attempted rapists. However, people like Rando aren't exempt from this, despite Rando having her best interest in mind. It eventually backfires on her when Rando leaves her in the dead of night because he can't continue to help her kill all these people.
* EmotionSuppression: Her ruthless combat style was taught by Brad, who advised her to never feel fear or mercy when taking a life.
* EyeScream: [[spoiler:Near the end of the game, she gets her face clawed on by Mr. Angoneli. In ''The Joyful'', she wears bandages over her face, covering the eye.]]
* FragileSpeedster: Her speed stat is extremely high and far exceeds all of her other stats which are more or less average.
* GenderRarityValue: Buddy is the only woman left on the planet. As soon as the news gets out, everyone in the world goes looking for her.
* HeWhoFightsMonsters: Invoked. Buddy reasons that the only for her to live freely in a world full of perverts and kidnappers willing to kill to get at her is to BeatThemAtTheirOwnGame by becoming the top link of the food chain.
* IJustWantToBeFree: What Buddy most desires is the freedom to do what she pleases without others forcing their will or control on to her.
* JerkassWoobie: Oh boy is she ever. She's a ruthless murderer, dispassionately slaughtering even people who aren't trying to oppose her (only considering one person to be beneath contempt). Of the dozens of characters in Joyful, the only ones she *never* tries to kill at some point are Buzzo, [[spoiler: her child]], the Green Ranger, W2D's worshipers, and the remnants of Buzzo's gang and even those people would have likely ended up on her hit list at some point other than [[spoiler: her child.]]
** She also relentlessly abuses Rando despite his attempts to help her. She even tells him she never trusted him before finishing him off.
* JumpedAtTheCall: [[spoiler:Upon learning that she is the future of humanity, Buddy eagerly embraced her new, all-important role.]]
* KickTheDog: [[spoiler:Rando, who is the nicest person you can ever find in Olathe, can be killed by Buddy, simply because he intended to protect her.]]
* LastOfHerKind: Is the only known female left in Olathe and is necessarily not a good thing to be. While some men wanted her to have sex, some need her to repopulate.
* LivingMacGuffin: A deconstruction. Buddy is the future of the human race and as such is treated like a prize or an object, and the fact that no one seems to be considering her feelings or mental state, [[spoiler: Brad included]], forms her motivation.
* MoreDeadlyThanTheMale: The men of Olathe are a bunch of perverted thugs, but Buddy is a ruthless killer, capable of slaying countless men without hesitation or mercy.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: [[spoiler: In the end of ''the Joyful'', Buzzo reveals to her that every bad thing Brad had ever done to her was never his fault, and by extension, neither was the much kinder Rando, whom both only wanted to protect her. She breaks down in tears after mercy killing Buzzo, and is given the option to fall into despair, or try to move forward.]]
* NinjaRun: How she runs in "The Joyful."
* PetTheDog: [[spoiler:Should the player choose the option, she can hug Brad at the end of ''The Painful RPG'', showing that as much as she hates him, she still pities him.]]
* PintSizedPowerhouse: She takes on both men and mutants far bigger than her in ''The Joyful''.
* {{Protectorate}}: While lots of people wish to do her harm, a handful of characters want nothing more than to protect her such as Brad and [[spoiler:Rando]].
* PunctuatedPounding:
--> "I don't want to be safe! I don't want to be protected! I want! ''My own!'' '''''LIFE!''''' I'm going to rule this world whether you like it or not!"
* ShedTheFamilyName: Subtle, but Buddy is listed solely as Buddy in both the Status menu in Joyful (wherein characters are typically listed by their last name after their class), and in the artbook (where, notably, [[spoiler:it lists Rando as Dusty Armstrong and mentions that he took on Brad's family name after he was adopted]]), as opposed to Buddy Armstrong. Additionally, her {{Leitmotif}} isn’t a remix of The Sireen's call, unlike her adoptive father's.
* ThisIsYourBrainOnEvil: [[spoiler:While Buddy was taught by Brad to kill mercilessly if she had to, it was meant to be done in the name of survival. But when she starts taking Joy, it amplifies her innermost desire for freedom, causing her to kill more indiscriminately as the game goes on. By the end, not even Rando is safe from her wrath.]]
* TragicKeepsake: Wears her father's poncho and [[spoiler:her adopted brother's mask]] in "The Joyful." [[spoiler: She also carries the not-so-tragic keepsake of her biological father's [[TheBeastmaster trumpet]] in the good ending.]]
* TrainingFromHell: As a child, Brad forced her to kill people in order to prepare her for the outside world. Her first kill was some guy Brad had beaten up and tied up. When she finally went through with it, Brad told her that next time, the guy won't be tied up.
* TookALevelInBadass: In ''The Joyful'', Buddy takes the initiative in trying to survive in Olathe.
* TookALevelInJerkass: She also becomes much harsher and crueler in ''The Joyful RPG'', willing to kill pacifists and treats [[spoiler:Rando]] horribly, constantly insulting and manipulating him. It gets so bad that her initial instinct in the Pacifist Village is to kill the pacifists, and, should the player choose to spare them, she has to force her natural killing instinct down to do so. Part of this is due to her [[spoiler:joy addition.]]
* TheUnfettered: In ''The Joyful'', she lets nothing get in her way of conquering Olathe, even if it means killing an avowed pacifist.
* WillNotBeAVictim: Taken to its horrifying conclusion in ''The Joyful,'' where Buddy concludes the only way to be at peace in a world full of men out to get her is ''to conquer or kill them all.''
* VillainProtagonist: What she becomes in ''The Joyful.''
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Buzzo]]
!!Buzzo/[[spoiler:Bernard "Berny" Buttfart]]
[[quoteright:184:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/buzzo_1497.jpg]]

-> ''"I've got the Joy, Joy, Joy, Joy, down in my heart..."''

A mysterious warlord who is heavily involved in Olathe's Joy trade. He is oddly fixated on Brad for unknown reasons. [[spoiler:It's revealed in "Joyful" that he was Lisa's boyfriend, and that he blames Brad for failing to protect her.]]
----
* TheAggressiveDrugDealer: Regularly pushes Brad into taking Joy, giving it to him for free and actually force-feeding it to him at one point.
* AlliterativeName: According to WordOfGod, his last name is [[UnfortunateNames Buttfart]].
* AnArmAndALeg: [[spoiler:His fight against Sweetheart leaves him hideously mauled and missing his right arm]].
* AndThenJohnWasAZombie: [[spoiler: Becomes a Joy Mutant at the end of ''Joyful'', making him the FinalBoss]].
* ArchEnemy: Makes himself one to Brad, and he and his gang are also one to Rando and his army.
* AxCrazy: He nonchalantly mutilates Brad and is implied to have been responsible for [[spoiler:Rando's scarred face.]]
* TheBadGuyWins: [[spoiler:Partly. While he fails to capture Buddy for Dr. Yado, he ''does'' succeed in "avenging" Lisa by causing Brad's death.]]
* BigBad: The real one of ''The Painful'', as he antagonizes Brad more directly than [[HeroAntagonist Rando]] and slowly drives Brad further into evil, turning him into the VillainProtagonist he is by the end. Though he himself is TheDragon to OverarchingVillain Dr Yado.
* BigDamnHeroes: [[spoiler:At the end of ''Joyful'', he jumps in to save Buddy from Sweetheart]].
* CurbStompBattle: [[spoiler:At the climax, he challenges Rando in order to get to Buddy. Mere moments later, Buzzo's entire army is dead and he himself barely manages to escape with his life.]]
* TheDragon: [[spoiler:The Joyless ending reveals that he’s secretly working for Dr. Yado, the creator of Joy.]] However, he’s really only this in ''The Painful'', as [[EldritchAbomination Sweetheart]] usurps him from this role in the epilogue.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: He'll give a second sadistic choice to Brad. Either cutting off [[spoiler: one of Buddy's nipples]], or killing [[spoiler: Brad's party]]. Choosing the latter would leave him so disgusted by your choice that he'll ask again. Stick with it, and he'll reluctantly give the order.
** [[spoiler:In the Joyless ending, he's sickened at what Dr. Yado has planned for his daughter.]]
* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: [[spoiler:As warped of a loving relationship it was, it is made very clear that he still grieves for Lisa, even long after her death. This is especially considering he took the time to set up a visitation room in the Joy Lab for her casket, which he somehow took the time to find and dig back up an unknown period of time ago.]]
* {{Expy}}: Of [[Manga/FistOfTheNorthStar Jagi,]] with his obsession with torturing the protagonist psychologically and physically. [[spoiler:As a kid, he looked like Jeff from Videogame/{{Earthbound}}]].
* FauxAffablyEvil: Buzzo speaks to Brad like a friend, offering him Joy and bantering pleasantly, but his only intention is making Brad's life hell.
* FinalBoss: [[spoiler: In ''The Joyful'', after turning into a Joy Mutant.]]
* HiddenDepths: [[spoiler: Considering his ties to Dr. Yado and Joy, it is implied he has some understanding of the pharmaceutical industry, especially considering DummiedOut sprites in ''The Painful RPG'' which are of him in a clean and trim business suit.]]
* HeelFaceTurn: In The Joyful. Not only does he save Buddy at the very beginning, [[spoiler:he later saves her from Yado's Joy mutant and later finishes off Yado himself before admitting that he was wrong to inflict such miseries on Brad and Buddy.]]
* HeelRealization: At the end of The Joyful, [[spoiler:Buzzo admits to Buddy that Brad never deserved the suffering that he inflicted upon him and that he was so twisted by his failure to save Lisa that he had to blame someone.]]
** RedemptionEqualsDeath
* HopelessBossFight: Attempting to fight him simply leads to him wrecking you with little difficulty.
** NoFairCheating: It is technically possible to beat him. Doing so has him mock you and grants you a game over.
* IDieFree: [[spoiler:After he mutates a second time, all his turns consist of him frantically beating and biting himself to hasten his own death. With his last breath, he tells Lisa he's finally free of her influence.]]
* {{Irony}}: [[spoiler: Buzzo is hounding Brad because, in his eyes, Brad failed to protect Lisa from her father, which eventually led to her suicide. Though he may not admit it, Buzzo ALSO failed to protect Lisa, and his lashing out at Brad should also be directed at himself. Along with this, Buzzo's constant hounding of Brad is also putting a young girl in harms way, ironically doing the exact same thing Brad once did. He realizes this by the time of The Joyful, which leads to him earning RedemptionEqualsDeath]]
** [[spoiler: Buzzo has an amputation fetish, and will act on it on Brad if given the chance. At the climax of ''The Joyful'', he ends up losing his arm against Sweetheart.]]
* KarmaHoudini: [[spoiler:He never gets his comeuppance and ultimately succeeds in breaking Brad, at least until ''The Joyful'' where he admits his wrongdoing just before turning into a Joy Mutant]].
* LaserGuidedKarma: As mentioned above, he [[spoiler: becomes a rather horrific Joy Mutant]]. Even if he did have a slight redemption moment, he definitely had it coming.
* LoveMakesYouEvil: [[spoiler: When Buzzo was a kid, Lisa used the love he had for her lure him into mutilating animals and herself using a buzzsaw. The death of Lisa only made things worst, leading Buzzo from cutting of Rando's face and then to becoming the brutal warlord of Olathe fascinated with amputations and sadistic choices.]]
* MadnessMantra: His followers are always chanting "I've got the Joy, Joy, Joy, Joy in my heart"...
* OneWingedAngel: [[spoiler:After getting mauled by Sweetheart at the end of ''Joyful'', he transforms into a Joy mutant, becoming the final boss]].
** ClippedWingAngel: [[spoiler:Berny is much weaker than other Joy mutants, and after he transforms a second time, he starts clawing and biting at himself to hasten his demise]].
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Twice:
** [[spoiler: After Buddy escapes from his captivity, he has a completely blank expression on his face, and monologues slightly about a group of women and his sorrow.]]
** [[spoiler: In the ending, Buzzo is horrified about what Dr. Yado is planning.]]
* PunnyName: "Buzzo" might refer to feeling buzzed (under the high of drugs), and can also refer to [[spoiler: his history with buzz saws]].
* APupilOfMineUntilHeTurnedToEvil: [[spoiler:He was one of Brad's students back in his days as a martial arts instructor for kids.]]
* PyrrhicVictory: [[spoiler:His revenge against Brad comes at the cost of losing his entire army to Rando, and then failing to capture Buddy for Dr. Yado.]]
* {{Revenge}}: Seems to be his motivation towards antagonizing Brad, but Brad has no idea why he's hounding him. [[spoiler: In the Pain bonus ending, it's revealed that Buzzo knew Lisa and appears to blame Brad for her death. He is also the one who attacked Dusty (Brad's adopted son and pupil) and sawed his face off as a message to Brad.]]
* SadisticChoice: He often forces Brad into these, making him choose between either his companions or his possessions, ranging from all the items he's currently carrying up to his own arm. Attempting to TakeAThirdOption will either lead to him beating you mercilessly or him taking both.
* SlasherSmile: Often sports one while hunched over and leering at Brad. It's notable that despite this, Buzzo remains calm, never shouting or doing wild actions, making it seem like he has DissonantSerenity. [[spoiler: When he stands upright and has a neutral expression on his face, it's obvious that there's more to Buzzo than his "insane drug warlord" act.]]
* TroubledChild: [[spoiler:Something that Brad noticed when he was his student, suspecting that there might be problems at home for young Buzzo]].
* VagueAge: A flashback depicts Buzzo as being a child when Brad is an adult, but according to [[WordOfGod Dingaling on Twitter, he's not too much younger than Brad]].
* VillainousCheekbones: He has prominent cheekbones, especially when he's grinning.
* WalkingSpoiler: Not as much as, say, the Trumpet Man, but he still has some personal ties to the Armstrongs' backstories, contributing to his in-game actions.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Rando]]
!!Rando/[[spoiler:Dustin "Dusty" Armstrong]]
[[quoteright:184:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rando_44.jpg]]

->''"A fff-fa-face is nothing... [[TrueBeautyIsOnTheInside The inside... It's... It's what matters.]]"''

The most powerful warlord in Olathe, and head of a massive army. He abducts Buddy in the beginning of the game, and is Brad's main opponent in saving her.
----
* AllLovingHero: [[spoiler:Despite his intimidating appearance, Rando is at nature a kind-hearted and soft-spoken person. In ''The Joyful'', not only is his class "Peacebringer", he's constantly trying to convince Buddy to drop her quest to murder all the warlords to no avail.]]
* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: He's a formidable fighter, being arguably stronger alone than his entire army combined.
* BigBad: Seemingly this in ''The Painful'', as he and his army are the biggest and most constant threat in Brad's quest. Ultimately subverted, however- While most of his army is made up of scumbags, Rando himself proves to be one of the few morally decent characters by the end. Buzzo is the true Big Bad of ''The Painful''.
* BigBrotherInstinct: To Buddy. [[spoiler:Since Buddy is the adopted daughter of Brad, Rando sees her as his little sister of sorts. Buddy exploits this by forcing him to help her kill off the warlords of Olathe.]]
* BodyHorror: [[spoiler: His scarred face.]]
** [[spoiler: During the fight against Dr. Yado in ''The Joyful'', Buddy hallucinates that the Joy Mutant "throne" that Yado sits upon is a mutated Rando, with the scarred skin on his face somehow covering his ''entire body'', and having the stump of the hand that originally held Yado's trumpet having a flower sprouting out of it.]]
* BrokenAce: [[spoiler:If Brad manages to shatter his mask and reveal his face, the fearsome Rando's name will be changed to "Broken Man," drawing similarities with Brad. He is also treated as this by characters in ''The Joyful''.]]
* CombatBreakdown: [[spoiler:Once his mask is broken, the great Rando will begin resorting to scratching as an attack.]]
* CrucifiedHeroShot: When he's finally defeated, his body is left limp in this pose.
* CrutchCharacter: [[spoiler:He joins Buddy early on in The Joyful and is a fairly powerful character that plays like Brad. The trade-off is that he opts to protect Buddy as she sleeps, thus not recovering any health and SP, and he does eventually leave her.]]
* DarkIsNotEvil: [[spoiler:Don't let his outfit or scarred body fool you, he's the nicest character in the series.]]
* {{Deconstruction}}: Of a strong, powerful singular man that has successfully gathered an army under his wing. Like [[Manga/FistOfTheNorthStar Raoh,]] but the RPG examines what it would be like if such an army would be left unchecked, acting alone without its leader. The result is rampant power grabbing and abuse. Sure enough, [[spoiler:this turns Buddy against him when his men kidnap her and imprison her despite his insistence to treating Buddy properly.]]
* TheDreaded: He is one of the most feared figure in the setting, to the point that he wasn't even put on the The List of Olathe's reigning warlords so that people leave him and his army alone.
* DisneyDeath: [[spoiler:Inspecting his body after beating him states that "he's done" instead of dead; the same thing happened to Rick, who lived to confront Brad later. Sure enough, he turns up alive in ''Joyful'', helping Buddy along the way.]]
* TheDragon: [[spoiler:He becomes this to Buddy in The Joyful, helping her as she carves a bloody swathe across Olathe.]]
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Brad first encounters him after crashing his motorcycle into him. The motorcycle is completely trashed, but Rando is completely unharmed, and doesn't even flinch when Brad crashes in to him. He then sincerely apologizes for wrecking Brad's motorcycle and gives him some supplies to compensate the damage. This introduces both Rando's badass and NobleDemon traits.
** In addition, as soon as Rando leaves after the above, some of his followers attack Brad in an attempt to take back the supplies. This showcases just how little control Rando has over his army.
* {{Expy}}: Of [[Manga/FistOfTheNorthStar Raoh]], as a post-apocalyptic warlord seeking to save the world through an army. [[spoiler:He's actually more akin to Kenshiro, sharing his compassionate and empathetic nature.]]
* TheFaceless: Rando conceals his face with a red skull mask, which is also his gang symbol. [[spoiler:When Brad breaks his mask during the final battle, he's revealed to be heavily disfigured.]]
** FacialHorror: [[spoiler:Back when he was Dusty, Buzzo carved his face off with a saw.]]
* FinalBoss: In ''The Painful RPG.''
* {{Foil}}: To Brad. [[spoiler:When they finally confront each other, the two both stand as powerful figures with good intentions who lead their own BadassCrew. The difference is that Rando works to set the world right, killing dangerous gangs and understanding that Buddy is the future, whereas Brad is too consumed by the demons of his past to consider the viewpoints of others and instead throws his life away trying to make amends for his own regrets.]]
* FromNobodyToNightmare: [[spoiler:He was an orphan in his teenage years and was not very good at fighting. In present day, he has his own army, is the most powerful enemy in the game, and other warlords in ''The Joyful'' respected him so much, his name was left out of ''the list'' so he would go unopposed.]]
* GracefulLoser: [[spoiler:Upon being defeated, he acknowledges Brad as his master and thanks him for teaching him all he knows.]]
* HeroAntagonist: [[spoiler:Rando is ultimately the most heroic character in the game, only wishing to do what he thinks is best for everyone (including Buddy). Unfortunately, this puts him at odds with Brad.]]
* HowTheMightyHaveFallen: [[spoiler:Not only does he have his entire army single-handedly slaughtered by Brad, but in ''The Joyful'', once Bolo and his men hear his voice and realize how weak he ''sounds'', everyone loses respect and begins attacking him. Averted with some of the warlords, who were friends with Rando before.]]
* IronWoobie: The world gave him a bad hand. His birth parents are nowhere to be seen, he may have had a physical and/or mental handicap according to [[WordOfGod Dingaling]], he was neglected by his adoptive father and brutally assaulted by his fellow student. He never stops trying to be a good person despite this.
* LegacyCharacter: [[spoiler:Being Brad's adopted son and having trained under him, Rando effectively acts as a second Brad during his stint as a party member in ''Joyful''.]]
* ManlyTears: In the first encounter with him, seemingly crying for all the death he and his army cause. [[spoiler:He also sheds several of these in the final battle with him, due to being forced to fight the father figure he loved above all else.]]
* MeaningfulName: Rando, [[WordOfGod according to Austin Jorgensen]] comes from Random, as in he's no better than any random guy. Also, like most political systems, its all random, seeing that while he has a powerful army, he's no better off controlling them when they commit atrocities. You know, like any random schmuck.
* MercyKill: [[spoiler:In ''The Joyful'', if Buddy refuses to let him go during Bolo's ambush, then he's ultimately left completely crippled, bleeding out, and in complete agony, prompting Buddy to give him this.]]
* MirrorBoss: In the final battle against him he uses several of Brad's moves such as the Buster Punch. [[spoiler:This is because he was formerly Brad's adopted son and trained in Armstrong-Style Karate.]]
* MyCountryRightOrWrong: His men may be a bunch of ruthless thugs, but they respect Rando greatly, and even decided to take his supplies back because they felt he was being too nice.
** Late in the game, [[spoiler: when Rando speaks, his men were caught off guard by his soft-spoken voice. This does not deter them from protecting Buddy, and further motivated them, despite how progressively hopeless the situation gets.]]
* NobleDemon: Rando may be a warlord of a raider army, but he himself [[spoiler.is a good person at heart]].
* OneManArmy: He fares better against [[spoiler:a Joy-fueled Brad]] than his entire army [[spoiler:and Brad's party members.]]
* TheQuietOne: Rando very rarely speaks to the point that very few of his men know what he sounds like. This is due to the fact that his actual voice is rather soft and he speaks with a stutter. [[spoiler:In ''The Joyful'', when Bolo and his gang realize what he sounds like, they are no longer intimidated and decided to chance fighting him.]]
* RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver: His signature mask and cape style him black and red, giving a sinister appearance and with SpikesOfVillainy to boot. [[spoiler:Subverted when he's revealed to be a genuinely heroic character.]]
* [[spoiler:RedemptionDemotion: He isn't really a bad guy himself, but this trope is in play when he becomes a party member in ''Joyful'', as while he's strong, he's not on the same level as he was as being the previous final boss. However, it's justified, as this comes right after a brutal defeat at Brad's hands]].
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: [[spoiler:In The Joyful, after he realizes that he'll never get Buddy to change her ways, he abandons her while she's sleeping.]]
* ShoutOut: He's named after wrestler Wrestling/DustyRhodes.
* ShroudedInMyth: Little is known about Rando, aside from the fact that he is an almighty warlord. No one has seen him without his mask, and few have ever even heard him speak.
* SpeechImpediment: He speaks with a heavy stutter, which serves as a hint to his identity as [[spoiler:Dusty, Brad's adopted son]].
* TokenGoodTeammate: [[spoiler:Of his titular army.]]
* WellDoneSonGuy: [[spoiler:He strives for the approval of his adopted father, Brad.]]
* WhatTheHellHero: [[spoiler: When facing the early warlords, they give this reaction to Rando for coming to fight them. Justified, as Buddy goads Rando along and forces him to fight alongside her.]]
* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: [[spoiler:Buddy eventually kills him after his repeated attempts at dissuading her from her ambitions and trying to shelter her.]]
* [[spoiler:ZeroApprovalGambit: If Buddy chooses to hold onto the barbed wire holding up his body, he'll tell her that he ordered the men in pink to kidnap her. His claim might not be entirely true, since he also berated the men for locking her up rather than treating her as an equal, which means he might have lied to convince her to let go and not fall with him. This is also somewhat Deconstructed when he sees that his gambit made her even more jaded.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:The True Ruler of Olathe ('''All spoilers unmarked''')]]
!!The Trumpet Man/Dr. Yado
[[quoteright:158:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/1440614061_yado_full15.jpg]]

-> ''"I am Yado. I'm a man of science. A man of... Higher power. And this is MY world. You are just a pawn. An insect engineered by ME. I birthed you, I'm your father! And you must obey me!"''

A mysterious man in a brightly colored polka-dot shawl who can be found at several points in the game, playing the trumpet in inaccessible locations. He's actually Dr. Yado, the scientist responsible for Joy and the Great White Flash as well as the biological father of Buddy.
----
* TheBeastmaster: He can control the mutants through his trumpet. In the "Free" ending of Joyful, Buddy takes his trumpet for herself.
* BigBad: Of the series as a whole, as he caused the Great Flash and manipulates everyone in his plan to [[KillAllHumans destroy humanity]], whom he [[MisanthropeSupreme despises]]. He is most directly this in ''The Joyful'', where he manipulates [[VillainProtagonist Buddy]] into massacring all the remaining survivors in Olathe before [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness turning on Buddy herself]].
* CerebusRetcon: Once you know his personality, backstory, and the true purpose of his trumpet playing, his appearances in ''The Painful'' suddenly aren't that funny.
* ChekhovsGunman: He can be found in certain spots of ''The Painful RPG'' playing the trumpet. That trumpet is used to control mutants and joy addicts, and he becomes a more prominent villain in ''the Joyful''.
** As a EarlyBirdCameo, he can be seen in the prologue if you go past Marty's house, although he wear different clothing and sunglasses and has a goatee, which makes hard to recognize him at first glance. If you interact with him, he only says "Olathe, it's beautiful" without facing Brad.
* DirtyCoward: When finally confronted by Buddy, he finds himself too afraid to properly confront her. His boss fight consists of him initially cowering in fear before commanding his mutant throne to attack her.
* TheDogWasTheMastermind: Who would guess that a character that looked like just a comic relief EasterEgg NPC would be the true villain behind the whole series?
* FinalBoss: Of The Joyful. Buddy starts hallucinating other "foes" as the fight drags on, but the beginning and end of the fight make it clear that she is fighting Yado all throughout.
* GreaterScopeVillain: His research caused all the horrors that we see in Olathe, and his notes in the Joy laboratory hint that he fully intended all of it. Later he becomes the outright BigBad.
* AGodAmI: He plans to rule over Olathe by populating it with mutants and using Buddy to instigate a war so that his potential enemies kill off one another.
* IconicOutfit: What really gives away his true identity - a piece of incidental text says that Dr. Yado is a huge fan of polka dots.
* KarmaHoudini: Much like Buzzo. Unlike Buzzo, Brad suffers under the consequences of Yado's actions without even realizing he exists. At least, until ''The Joyful'', where he's killed by Buzzo and Buddy.
* KickTheDog: One of the three epilogues revealed that he murdered a woman prior to executing his plans, which may had happened after the flash, judging by how fresh her corpse seemed when Brad finds her[[labelnote:*]]Her body can be found in the secret lab on ''pain mode''[[/labelnote]].
* LeftTheBackgroundMusicOn: In the areas where you can find him in ''The Painful'', the music is replaced with him softly playing his trumpet; actually finding him causes him to stop and leer at Brad.
* MadScientist: He's the creator of Joy and the man responsible for the mutants.
* NonActionBigBad: He has no physical prowess whatsoever, and the only force he can use is through Joy Mutants via his trumpet.
* OmnicidalManiac: He wants to end humanity by turning as many as possible into Joy Mutants while sparking a war via his daughter. When the dust clears, everyone who hasn't mutated and been put under his trumpet's control will be dead.
* PyrrhicVictory: Throughout most of both ''The Painful'' and ''The Joyful'', his plan goes through without a hitch. The end result, especially if Buddy doesn't take the vaccine, is near identical to his vision. He didn't foresee the possibility that he could be killed, though, which makes his efforts completely pointless.
* RealMenWearPink: Wears a rather silly-looking pink shawl with green polka dots.
* RecurringExtra: Can be seen in a few obscure, unreachable locations in ''The Painful''. Subverted in ''The Joyful'', where he only shows up at the end and is revealed to be [[BigBad very important]].
* RightHandAttackDog: Sweetheart. Technically all of the Joy Mutants count, but Sweetheart is his go-to mutant when he really wants someone dead.
* VagueAge: He, even when Young Brad finds him, looks considerably past his prime, yet Buddy is explicitly approaching puberty by the time ''The Painful'' starts, so it is left unexplained how old Yado actually is.
* VillainousBreakdown: When confronted at the end of the game, he is baffled and terrified that Buddy has gotten past Sweetheart, and now has nothing left to throw between each other. The first phase of his boss fight is him being too scared to fight back.
* VillainousRescue: Indirectly saves Buddy from a NearRapeExperience in ''The Joyful'' if she chooses to not let go of Rando.
* WalkingSpoiler: His larger role in ''The Joyful'' and role in the overall trilogy would not be expected from a seemingly unimportant NPC.
[[/folder]]

!!Other Characters
[[folder:Brad's Gang]]

!!As a whole:
* AllThereInTheManual: The artbook reveals a lot of details about your party that's only hinted at in the game proper at best, such as how Birdie Hall became an alcoholic and Carp's [[TheAtoner atoner]] nature.
* AmbiguousSituation:
** In the ending, [[spoiler: you fight your current party members, who apparently want you to stay away from Buddy. However, they had no way of getting from the coast to Rando Land, given that, according to Tardy, the sea was too rocky for Shardy to cross, and that Buddy stole the new boat. Additionally, if you have less than three party members at the end of the game, the missing slot(s) will be replaced with the Illusion of Friends. This, combined with the fact that Rando's army didn’t say a word about Brad betraying his companions, could possibly suggest that the party members were merely a Joy-induced hallucination Brad was having before the showdown with the soldiers]].
** Assuming that [[spoiler: Brad did indeed kill his endgame party]], what happened to the other party members in the end? It doesn’t help that Austin has stated that there was no canonical party.
* AnyoneCanDie: With the obvious exception of Brad, any party member can be permakilled anytime, be it through a OneHitKill move, getting killed by a gang, or losing Russian Roulette.
* FinalDeath: If your party member is hit by a perma-kill attack, such as Fatal Chomp, then that's it. They'll die on the spot, and you can't bring them back.
* HeterosexualLifePartners: With the exception of Queen and Crisp, your party appears to be this.
* PermanentlyMissableContent: Several party members can be permanently unrecruitable if certain conditions are met.
** Failing to defend Factory Town from the Road Scholars (or [[DevelopersForesight not having any money on you]]) will result in the village being raided and everyone in it getting killed, including Mad Dog.
** Selling the TNT to the [[WebVideo/TwoBestFriendsPlay Matt and Pat]] [[{{Expy}} expies]] outside of Bob's Dojo will end with Yazan, Jack, and Tiger Man getting blown up alongside the dojo.
** Taking two or more Joy will result in Ajeet flat-out refusing to join you. [[spoiler: Thankfully, the scene where Buzzo force feeds you the drug doesn’t count.]]
** Completing the Eternal Championship (required to recruit Sonny) will get you kicked out of wrestling. Didn’t complete the Tag Team Championship? No Shocklord for you!
** Amusingly, you can sell Toby, the item/hostage required to recruit Crisp. Obviously, doing this before picking up Crisp will result in him being unable to be recruited.
* RagtagBunchOfMisfits: A possible party could be a ManChild dressing as an {{Expy}} of [[Franchise/PowerRangers Pink Ranger]], a drag queen who [[BloodKnight loves bashing people's heads in]], and a fish with legs and a gun who throws legal documents at his enemies.
* TrademarkFavoriteFood: The artbook reveals every party member's favorite food, with the exceptions of Geese and Buckets.

!!Terry Hintz
[[quoteright:184:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/terry.jpg]]

-> ''"I'm Terry Hintz, People Call me Lord of the Tutorial. I've been traveling the lands leaving my hints for all to see. I'm a pretty big deal. Got a lot of fans."''

A strange freeloader and a self-described "hint-master," Terry joins Brad after being saved from Cheese Legs the dog. He has a variety of abilities, mostly healing and status attacks, [[MagikarpPower and all but one of them are terrible.]]
----
* ActionSurvivor: Unlike most other party members, Terry is not at all combat capable.
* AdventureDuo: Terry starts off as the quirky sidekick to Brad's serious hero.
* AmbiguouslyGay: Between how immediately he latches onto Brad, outright saying in certain situations that he loves him, and his somewhat effeminate manner of carrying himself, one might wonder.
* ApologeticAttacker: [[spoiler: If Terry is present for the battle between Brad and his party, his battle sprite looks [[http://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/lisa-rpg/images/1/18/Battler_terry.png/revision/latest?cb=20150317121224 mournful]] and he only very reluctantly attacks Brad.]]
--> [[spoiler:'''Terry''':]] [[spoiler: Maybe you don't feel the same way... but [[FireforgedFriends you're my best friend]] dude. It's just this... Brad, this is our future you're messing with... I'm sorry. We can't let [[KnightTemplar you]] do [[MoralEventHorizon this]].]]
* BoisterousWeakling: Terry has a lot of confidence, but little actual fighting skills to back it up. He becomes a BoisterousBruiser once he levels up a bit, especially once he unlocks the Hottest Dance.
* BumblingSidekick: He starts out as completely useless as a teammate, having no useful skills whatsoever with the game actively encouraging you to simply trade his life away.
* ButtMonkey: Everybody and everything seems to want him dead.
* CharacterDevelopment: Terry starts off as an extremely weak wannabe who imagines himself as being a heroic warrior. [[spoiler: Not only does he become a formidable fighter if you keep him in your party, but he also become a genuine hero during the final battle by putting his life on the line to protect Buddy.]]
* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: Downplayed. He never actually shows off how badass he is, but his support and offensive capabilities do improve, and he even gains some powerful skills in later levels.
* DanceBattler: His most powerful moves are the Hot Dance, and the Hottest Dance, which does the most (non-critical) damage out of every other move available. Even the game cannot decide how he is capable of doing this.
* EvilFormerFriend: [[spoiler:If you hand Terry over to Columbo, he joins Columbo's gang and comes back to kill you.]]
* ExpositionFairy: Parodied; He's a self-described "Hint Master" and is responsible for the various tutorial messages scattered across the land. He's also treated as largely useless and annoying when you first meet him, being incapable of dealing decent damage and having very weak and costly abilities.
** He's ultimately a {{Deconstruction}} of an ExpositionFairy. He's treated in-universe like how most players typically [[ButtMonkey treat this]] [[TheFriendNobodyLikes type of character]]. However, like most exposition fairies, he ultimately means well and his nice traits are emphasized while they're typically ignored in most exposition fairies.
* TheGhost: A few of his signs appears in ''The Joyful'' to explain new mechanics and [[spoiler: there's a hidden area themed after him that gives a Terry Hintz mask.]]
* FireForgedFriends: He is the first ally, and the most grateful of them all to be your friend, especially if you opt to lose your inventory to Columbo, and your arm to Buzzo.
--> "Thanks Brad. You're... You're a really good friend."
** Becomes a massive heartwarming [[spoiler: and tear jerking]] moment once he comes to terms with [[spoiler: facing Brad in battle for humanity's future.]]
** [[spoiler:After being turned over to Columbo's gang, should you choose to do so, when he's seen again he seems to have become this for ''them,'' having earned his own fearsome nickname and willingly fighting you on their behalf, outright calling them his friends.]]
* FriendlessBackground: [[spoiler:In ''The Joyful'', it's implied that Terry crafted an entire village filled with scarecrows and began leaving hints everywhere to fill his void of utter loneliness.]]
* GlassCannon: Becomes this when he learns the hottest dance. He can deal tons of damage, but still has a very low health pool.
* HealerSignsOnEarly: He starts off with rather weak healing abilities.
* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler: If Terry is present at the final battle, he reluctantly puts [[FireForgedFriends his love for Brad]] aside to protect Buddy. He seems to be aware that this will end in his death but he faces it with dignity and clarity.]]
* JokeCharacter: He's essentially the weakest character in all categories, a thorough MasterOfNone.
* LeastIsFirst: Brad's first companion is by far the weakest and most pathetic.
* LittlestCancerPatient: What he used to be, according to [[http://lisaheadcanons.tumblr.com/post/140434203940/aside-from-being-a-loner-terry-hintz-had-a-severe Word of God]]. [[spoiler:He had been a lonely, sick child. Having no supporters, he overcame his illness by becoming his own cheerleader.]]
* MagikarpPower: Terry's final move is one of the strongest in the game and can turn him into a LethalJokeCharacter. Even before that point, some of the skills he unlocks as he levels up are more useful than you would think. Hype-Up is guaranteed to give party members the "Rage" buff (which is extremely potent if they attack multiple times in one turn) and Weather Report has a high chance to inflict enemies with the "Fallen" debuff, leaving them stunned for a couple turns.
** If anything, Terry starts getting useful before the tutorial is over. Verbal Bash is a move you get early on that has the potential to inflict the "Crying" and "Pissed" status effects on enemies. The former makes enemy attacks less accurate and the latter causes enemies to sometimes hit themselves while preventing them from using their regular moves (this comes in handy with joy mutants, as it locks out dreaded one-hit-kill moves). For all of Terry's shortcomings, Verbal Bash provides a lot of utility early on.
** Terry also unique in Brad's Gang in that all of his stats increase exponentially rather than linearly, meaning that he'll be improving much faster at level 20 than level 1. Also helps that he learns the Hottest Dance (does a lot of normal damage, on top of inducing fire), and the final cheer (which almost fully heals an ally, but has a chance to induce crying).
* MayorOfAGhostTown: The Joyful reveals that he created a village devoted to worshiping himself populated by scarecrows as an attempt at dealing with his loneliness. It's filled with various hints about basic etiquette before shifting into tips on how to deal with depression and [[ApocalypticLogs finally frustrated scrawls marred by tears]].
* MilesGloriosus: He claims to be a powerful warrior, but his combat skills are pitiful. Justified in that he pulls a hamstring. He can make up for it with some moves that makes him more viable as an offensive character, if you're willing to part with some SP.
* NiceGuy: Sure, he can talk himself up a lot more than he deserves, and sort of pushes himself into Brad's group, but you'd be hard-pressed to find a kinder friend.
* PlayingWithFire: His most powerful attacks are the Hot and Hottest Dances. Additionally, his Knuckle Drop attacks all have an explosion effect.
* SmallNameBigEgo: Seems to think people value his hints a lot more than they do. [[spoiler:This is all an act, though. He's miserable and has an extremely low opinion of himself, clinging to anything that makes himself feel valuable.]]
* StepfordSmiler: Despite his boasts, he eventually admits that he felt worthless until he met Brad. This is even more evident in his fake village in ''The Joyful''.
* TroubledFetalPosition: His pose in the artbook, with a rather neutral expression. [[spoiler:Played moreso for sadness (with an appropriately sad expression) if he's present when you have to battle your party, as he feels the most reluctant to fight as he sees Brad as his best friend.]]
* VideoGameCrueltyPunishment: Giving him over to Columbo [[spoiler: leads to him getting vengeance as one of the hardest bosses in the game.]]

!!Nern Guan
[[quoteright:184:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/nern.jpg]]

-> ''"Oh hello there! My name is Nern. I'm considered the greatest historian of our time. I've gathered a wealth of knowledge about Olathe and what happened... Many tales... Would you like to hear?"''

An old man who used to be a librarian before the flash. He loves to tell long stories about nothing. He joins Brad if you listen to his entire rambling tale. His stories allow him to inflict various status ailments and heal party members, along with some KiManipulation.
----
* ApologeticAttacker: [[spoiler: One of the few party members that will feel bad when attacking Brad at the end.]]
* ComicallyMissingThePoint: If his life is at stake and you choose to sacrifice your arm, he will react by saying this:
--> "Just in time! I remembered a great story!"
* BoringButPractical: Perhaps fitting for his personality. He's not as flashy or impressive on paper as later party members, but he has a wide array of reliable status inflictions, decent healing and SP restoration, a few strong attacks, and a weapon type for which upgrades consistently appear throughout the game, being the only character besides the hard to get Buckets who can use them. His status moves in particular are this for the later game because of how many of them can lock enemies out of using their OneHitKill moves.
* CrutchCharacter: [[DownplayedTrope ...Sort of]]. He’s a great party member in the early game due to his wide range of abilities, but he later faces competition from the likes of Fly Minetti, Birdie Hall, Bo Wyatt, and Ajeet Mandeep. However, unlike Fly or Ajeet, he has healing abilities, and he has greater offensive prowess than Birdie or Bo. If the player wants, then he can still hold his own right up until the endgame.
* FingerPokeOfDoom: Some of his powers include shooting finger beams. Think of him as an early version of Ajeet with support abilities.
* GreenEyedMonster: A lot of his rants are about how he's frustrated with jealousy over one thing or another.
* HealerSignsOnEarly: Many of his skills are recovery-related.
* JackOfAllStats[=/=]TheRedMage: Restoration techniques, status inflicting, offensive skills, and alright offense mean that he can do just about anything you need him to competently.
* NeverSpeakIllOfTheDead: When he mentions his late wife, but zigzagged in that Nern will still speak badly of her, not to mention regularly curse his dead neighbors. His battle quotes, however, plays this straight.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: [[spoiler: If Nern is in your party when you go to the final battle, he despondently reveals that he's speechless at what Brad is trying to do. Despite being a silly, self-absorbed comic relief character for most of the game, the gravity of the situation isn't lost on him.]]
-->[[spoiler:''"For the first time I'm speechless... Brad my boy... This is history and it's for the best."'']]
* OldWindbag: Nern is a self proclaimed master historian, but the only stories he tells anyone are boring, incoherent anecdotes about his long dead wife and neighbors.
* QuirkyBard: His abilities come in the form of rambling at the target, which provides a variety of different status effects.
* RamblingOldManMonologue: His techniques are all various rambling stories that have different effects.
* TrademarkFavoriteFood: Subverted with sweet lemon tea. He repeatedly mentions it throughout his story, and his enemy drop quote is “Sweet lemon tea!”. However, according to the artbook, his actual favorite food is whipped cream.
* VerbalTic: Has a habit of adding "God rest her soul" whenever he mentions his late wife, even if he's speaking poorly of her.

!!Rooster Coleman
[[quoteright:184:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rooster.jpg]]

-> ''"Leave. Take your pervert war elsewhere. I want no part in this."''

A simple farmer who loves chickens more than people. He joins Brad if you hold his prized hen "Goldie" hostage. His attacks are all [[AnimalMotifs rooster and chicken themed]] and a few of them can target multiple enemies.
----
* AnimalMotifs: Of a rooster, obviously.
* AnimeHair: His red comb is apparently his hair.
* DefrostingIceQueen: Recruiting him requires holding Goldie hostage, so naturally, he doesn't like you. If his life gets threatened by Buzzo, and you opt to having your arm cut off, he'll give a reluctant thanks. Also, one of his victory lines has him coyly admitting that he's beginning to like the other party members.
* [[IHaveYourWife I Have Your Loved One]]: Recruiting him requires Brad to hold Goldie hostage in order to force him to join.
* PunnyName: Rooster, complete with a slap ability.[[labelnote:*]]Rooster is synonymous with ''cock''[[/labelnote]]
* RefusalOfTheCall: Rooster will initially refuse to join you, considering everyone looking for Buddy to be perverts and wanting nothing to do with them.
** JumpedAtTheCall: In the end, [[spoiler: now that he's involved with the war, he is willing to save Buddy from Brad to preserve humanity's future.]]
* SourSupporter: He doesn't like or want to help Brad but can be blackmailed into joining. Regardless, he's a pretty powerful character.

!!Percy Monsoon
[[quoteright:184:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/percy.jpg]]

-> ''"Okay Percy... Nobody's watching, it's okay... Time to make a movement. Just remember what Dad taught you. ... Choo-choo! Here comes the train! Chugga, chugga chugga... Oh? Teehee! What's that lil' tickle? What's goin' on back there? DEAR GOD! KILL IT!!!! EEEEEEH!"''

A pushover with IBS who used be a Children's Tee Ball Coach. He joins Brad after Brad saves him from a spider attack while he's using the bathroom. He has a [[TheRedMage variety of attacks, including fireballs and healing]], although he's not [[MasterOfNone exceptionally powerful]].
----
* AwesomeMcCoolName: His surname is ''Monsoon''.
* ButtMonkey: His bio in the artbook is two words: "Who cares."
* MasterOfNone: While he has some utility as a party member, his versatility isn't in places where it counts, so ultimately he's just sort of mediocre but usable in every category. He's pretty much tailor-made to be a filler character.
* PottyEmergency: Joins you after a "destiny deciding bowel movement."
* PlumbersCrack: Percy has a permanent one.
* TheRedMage: Like Nern, he has a combination of skill types, his being fire-type moves, healing, and physical attacks. All of these aren't particularly varied, though, and he lacks the ability to inflict any statuses besides potentially burning.
* RidiculouslyAverageGuy: Aside from his questionable pooping ritual, Percy seems to be a perfectly normal guy. His stats and abilities are also balanced with no particular strengths, but decent cover in all areas.
* SelfDeprecation: His level-up quote is "Can a man so lame even level up?"
* SuspiciousVideoGameGenerosity: An interesting case, as he's not overly useful, but he does join you before two gameplay segments where it's possible to lose multiple party members.

!!Mad Dog
[[quoteright:184:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mad_dog.jpg]]

-> ''"Hi. I'm Mad Dog. That spiked club you have belongs to me. May I have it back?"''

A barbarian with a nipple-patch who killed his son, Mad Dog Jr because he wasn't worthy enough of passing on the Mad Dog name. He joins you after Brad brings him his weapon back. He hits hard, [[WhenAllYouHaveIsAHammer and that's about it]].
----
* ApologeticAttacker: [[spoiler: Despite his apparent lack of emotion, it's revealed that he genuinely likes and respects Brad if he's present at the final battle. For once in his life, he doesn't want to use violence. As such, he sometimes wastes turns crying.]]
* CarryABigStick: His main weapon is a spiked club. Recruiting him requires you to find it for him.
* DumbMuscle: He's a very strong fighter, but that's about all he brings to the table. His battle quotes make it clear that there's not much going on upstairs.
* MightyGlacier: His speed is among the worst, but his offense and defense are impressive, and one of his starting abilities is one that both jacks up his TP and turns enemy attention onto him to boot.
* NoodleIncident: To quote from the description of the nipple-patch item, "''Who loses a nipple?''"
* OffingTheOffspring: You can find a spiked club embedded in a corpse marked Mad Dog Jr. His win comments imply that he was responsible for it.
* TheStoic: He's extremely placid to an unsettling degree. [[spoiler: Averted at the end if he's in Brad's party, as he's one of the few party members who wastes turns crying.]]

!!Fardy Hernandez
[[quoteright:184:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/fardy.jpg]]

-> ''"Please... I don't want to do this. Look at me! I'm not a woman at all! I have a mustache! I'm just a truck driver!"''

A depressed trucker robbed of his masculinity, he joins Brad when you save him from The Men's Hair Club. His attacks can hit multiple enemies, but his hit rate is fairly low.
----
* CarFu: As a trucker, he can incorporate said truck into his attacks.
* DoubleStandardRapeMaleOnMale: He has been mistaken as a woman, and as such, he is a victim of rape by numerous other men of Olathe. While it is horrible, it's also painted in a somewhat humorous light given the situation.
* DudeInDistress: Brad finds him trussed up and being sexually abused in a case of mistaken identity, and can decide whether or not to free him.
* TheEeyore: Fardy has an extreme case of self-loathing and frequently acquires the depressed status effect, hindering his combat abilities.
** If you choose to spare him and sacrifice your arm, he will say that you should have just let him die.
* TheFriendNobodyLikes: The official website outright describes him as "habitually hated among his peers."
* ItsPersonal: The only reason he would want to [[spoiler: kill Brad is because he killed Tardy, even if [[AssholeVictim he totally deserved it]] ]].
* JokeCharacter: A shirtless guy with poor stats and a silly name who's also one of the least useful party members, flat out. He's permanently depressed and has two abilities, one of which is an extremely inaccurate attack at various levels, one of which is crying and making his attacks even ''less'' accurate.
* UnfortunateNames: His name resembles "Farty" a bit too much.
* UngratefulBastard: Sparing him has him tell you that you should have let him die. Justified in that not only is he a fairly weak character, he's also permanently depressed.
** [[spoiler: He'll end up wanting to kill you late in the game because you killed one of his brothers (who is an AssholeVictim). Also justified in that he's been helpful to you, providing a truck and all, and this isn't exactly the best way to repay him.]]
* UnskilledButStrong: Aside from crying to restore SP, his only special skills involve hitting people with his truck. This does a ''lot'' of damage, but goes from somewhat unreliable to ''really'' inaccurate the stronger it gets, on top of being an SP sapper. He's either a weaker, less reliable Shocklord, or a less versatile, less reliable Fly Minetti, depending on what you value in his truck slams.
* WalkingShirtlessScene: He's not exactly unique given the setting, but the artbook confirms that he never wore a shirt even before the world ended.

!!Rage Ironhead
[[quoteright:184:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rage.jpg]]

-> ''"Yoooo! What's happenin' my man?! You gotta couple mags for me? I'll run with your pack, brother!"''

Founder of Ironhead Lucha Libre, he's a high-flying Luchador Hero. He joins the gang for a price of 70 mags. He hits hard with the headbutt moves, but lacks support skills.
----

* ApologeticAttacker: [[spoiler: In spite of what he claims, he'll often cry and waste turns if he's one of the characters you're forced to fight at the end of the game.]]
* GlassCannon: Rage is one of the only high-damage party members that isn't addicted to Joy. However, his defense is rather low.
* MaskedLuchador: He styles himself as a luchador and never takes off his mask.
* OnlyInItForTheMoney: Rage joins Brad's gang for 80 [[WeirdCurrency porn magazines.]] [[spoiler:If he's there for the final battle, he also reveals that he wants a taste of Buddy as well, though this may simply be a coping mechanism given his [[ApologeticAttacker actions otherwise.]] ]]
* UseYourHead: As his name implies, Rage's offense is headbutt-based.

!!Olan Hoyt
[[quoteright:184:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/olan.jpg]]

-> ''"I have little interest in scandalous magazines. I'm just looking for a stiff drink and good memories."''

A former Vacuum Salesman who neglected his family to drink in bars and shoot targets with his bow in his garage. He joins the gang if Brad buys him a drink and talks with him. His arrows can inflict [[StandardStatusEffects multiple ailments]] and hit multiple times. He is one of a handful that is TP based, which is handy considering how useful his attacks are for a beginner.
----
* ApologeticAttacker: [[spoiler: Will cry while he's attacking Brad during the final battle.]]
* TheAlcoholic: Most of his dialogue revolves around his love of alcohol.
* AlcoholicParent: Was one before the flash.
* TheArcher: His personal weapon is a bow, which all of his attacks revolve around.
* BoringButPractical: His Rapid Arrow moves, which just shoots three arrows in a row. He will also get an upgraded version that shoots six. While not as flashy as bomb arrows or big shot, it is much better to use because of the higher damage output, and it's just a regular attack used multiple times, made better if you get better bows later.
* ColdSniper: He's a really levelheaded, stoic fellow who handles a bow skillfully. However...
* FriendlySniper: He’s still a rather nice man who genuinely seems to like being around Brad.
* HiddenInPlainSight: While not obvious, he has the ability to hide. Enemies will still attack him, but hiding significantly increases the chances of those attacks missing.
* {{Multishot}}: One of his more powerful moves is firing three arrows in quick succession.
* NiceGuy: All he asks is for a drink and to get to know you. Afterward, he decides to join Brad because he may need a companion.
** Choosing to sacrifice your arm for him has him say this to you:
--> "Jesus boy... I need a drink. Thanks for the save..."
* PoisonedWeapons: Can learn to fire poison-inflicting arrows.

!!Beastborn
[[quoteright:184:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/beastborn.jpg]]

-> ''"...?"''

A man who was raised by wild animals and can speak to them, he joins the gang after Brad beats him in a fight. He can [[TheBeastmaster summon animals to attack and cause status ailments]]. He is one of a handful that is TP based.
----
* TheBeastmaster: Most of his attacks involve unleashing or even chucking his woodland friends at enemies.
* CoolPet: Beastborn was accompanied by a loyal squirrel before joining Brad, and you can actually kill the squirrel after the fact as the critter is very upset that Brad just strong-armed his friend.
* GrievousHarmWithABody: A number of his attacks have him throwing or hitting people with deer. [[LampshadeHanging A few of their descriptions question whether or not this is animal abuse.]]
* IFightForTheStrongestSide: Joins the gang after getting beat up by them.
* MountainMan: He seems to have lived in seclusion in the mountains with only the wildlife as his company.
* NoAnimalsWereHarmed: Some of his attacks will lampshade the implicit animal cruelty of using wildlife as weapons to kill people with.
* PoisonousPerson: His Bite attack has a chance of poisoning, apparently due to his nonexistent hygiene.
* RaisedByWolves: He was brought up by animals.
* SpeaksFluentAnimal: He can communicate with wildlife and utilize them in combat.

!!Buckets
[[quoteright:184:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/buckets.jpg]]

-> ''"..."''

A silent, enigmatic vagabond who likes to gamble, he watches Brad from atop the RussianRoulette warehouse. He joins [[spoiler: after you kill all the roulette players]]. He [[DualWielding dual wields]] a pair of revolvers and uses gun tricks in battle.
----
* AddledAddict: Like Brad, he suffers from Joy Withdrawal every now and then, although this doesn't affect his special attack power.
* BucketHelmet: Wears a bucket that conceals his face and has a single hole to see out of.
* DanceBattler: Several of Buckets' attacks involve dancing in rhythm to his gunfire.
* DiscOneNuke: If you take the time to try to recruit him, he has a really high damage output with the ability to attack twice, making fights in area 2 considerably less difficult, even on ''pain mode''.
* TheFaceless: He never takes off his trademark bucket.
* GunsAkimbo: He's the only character in the game with two weapon slots, both for pistols.
* GunFu: Buckets' fighting style is, well, flamboyant, with coin flipping, gun tricks, and dancing.
* GunNut: Buckets' defining character trait, since he won't/can't say much.
* ImprobableAimingSkills: Several of Buckets' attacks involve shooting an enemy through a tossed coin.
* TheQuietOne: He ''never'' speaks.
* TriggerHappy: Aside from being the game's only dual-wielder, his attacks have names like "Bullet Ballet" and ''"Bullet Tornado"''
* SecretCharacter: While the game has many gang members that are off the beaten path, Buckets may be the costliest to get - [[spoiler:you have to win every single game of Russian Roulette in the warehouse. Unless you're save scumming, this will usually cost you a lot of your other gang members.]]

!!Dick Dickson
[[quoteright:184:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dick.jpg]]

-> ''"I'm like... a party swan, and dude... I gotta soar, man."''

A middle-aged, partying Salvation Ranger who's more interested in drugs and booze than fighting evil, he joins Brad after becoming fed up of the other Rangers. He fights with [[https://xmahq.com/ extreme martial arts]] and can also buff the gang with "Party Mode".
----
* AddledAddict: Like Brad, he suffers from Joy Withdrawal, which hinders his attack power and accuracy. Thankfully, his support skills are still useful.
* TheAlcoholic: His introduction is him refusing to fight evil because of a hangover.
* AlliterativeName: '''Dick''' '''Dick'''son.
* JumpedAtTheCall: In the end, [[spoiler: he finally starts acting heroic and jumps at fighting Brad, finding him to be selfish and mad.]]
** He does not wear his signature mask while [[spoiler:fighting Brad. He could have just forgotten it like earlier in the game, but then he's wearing his [[TragicKeepsake Shawl of Justice...]]]]
* ManChild: An atypical example, but how else do you describe a 40-something who dresses as a sentai ranger and loves to party?
* SoleSurvivor: [[spoiler: He survives the destruction of the Salvation Rangers. Averted if you get him killed before the rest of his team's deaths, and subverted if you get him killed afterwards, and in either case the NPC Green Ranger, Tooley, ends up fitting this.]]
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: After being nagged at by Salvation Red for his lack of commitment to the Rangers, he later abandons them to join Brad, thinking he'll be able to party more often.
* TheStoner: His slacker personality and drug use is played for laughs in his moments with the Salvation team.

!!Geese Thompson
[[quoteright:184:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/geese.jpg]]

-> ''"Being humane, brings nothing but pain."''

A serial killer who used to be a school teacher, he wears a goose-head mask and speaks only in rhymes, he lives in the inn. He joins Brad after staying in the inn enough times and talking to him. He's the only party member with pure [[ElementalRockPaperScissors animal-type attacks]].
----
* AffablyEvil: He may be a rhyme-obsessed serial killer, but he's still one of the friendlier party members. Recruiting him is just a matter of talking to him a bunch, even.
* AttentionWhore: According to the artbook, he likes it when others view him as cool, and hates not being the center of attention.
* BecauseYouWereNiceToMe: Talk to him each time you stay at the Inn in Area 2, and he'll join you just for putting up with him.
** In the end scene, [[spoiler: his rhymes seem to imply that he prefers if Brad ran away, seeming as if he doesn't want to fight him at first.]]
* BirdPeople: Subverted. He's just wearing a mask.
* CallingCard: During his days as a Serial Killer, he tried to leave rhymes about his true identity next to his victims. Due to his uncreativeness and simple-mindedness however, none of them made any sense and only served to confuse cops even further.
* TheFaceless: The geese head is apparently a mask, which he never takes off.
* ImprobableWeaponUser: He pecks people to death with the plastic beak on his mask.
* RhymesOnADime: All of his quotes involve rhymes.
* SerialKiller: As [[AllThereInTheManual revealed in the art book.]]

!!Carp
[[quoteright:184:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/carp.jpg]]

-> ''"..."''

A man in a fish mask who defends Olathe's orphans, he joins you if you give him green paste from the Layer of the Fishmen. His knife attacks can hit [[BladeSpam multiple times]].
----
* TheAtoner: Used to be one before the White Flash, helping out Olathian orphans.
* FishPeople: Subverted. According to the Artbook, he's actually just a guy wearing a fish mask. Although he does communicate in the same language as the actual fish people.
* FriendToAllChildren: He takes care of Olathian orphans for a time, but he chooses to abandon them because he doesn't want to give them false hope.
* FunctionalAddict: Despite suffering from Joy Withdrawal every now and then, he still retains good attack power, has awesome agility to start with, and his Fever River skills are incredibly useful.
* GuideDangIt: Recruiting him requires finding the hidden Fish Village, buying Green Paste, and then returning to him where he immediate eats the paste and forces himself into your party.
** Getting him the best weapon he can equip is trial and error. Turns out his best weapon in the game is the Rusty Knife, obtainable as early as Brad's house. [[InfinityPlusOneSword If you do end up getting it to him though...]]
* LethalJokeCharacter:
* NiceGuy: According to his bio, he is a reformed criminal who adores children. [[spoiler: It's implied that he faces you in the end because you are a threat to Buddy, a child who is humanity's last hope.]]
** During the final battle, [[spoiler:he cries while fighting Brad.]]
* TastesLikeFriendship: You recruit him by giving him Green Paste, the only food eaten by actual Fishmen.
* TattooedCrook: Has gang tattoos on his chest.
* TheQuietOne: Like ''Buckets'', he speaks only in ellipses. He may know how to speak the language of the fish people, which hilariously enough, ''Harvey Alibastor'' (an actual fish person) would ''not'' understand what he may had said.

!!Queen Roger
[[quoteright:184:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/queen21.jpg]]

-> ''"Well, it's simple really. Just make the client happy. Most of these guys don't even know what they want... They just come here to cry and bullshit. Buncha mama's boy pussywillows. There's a lot of lonely men out there looking for intimacy. But the majority of them are too scared to reclaim it."''

A drag queen who used to be a lounge singer, he's leader of the Bees. He joins Brad after [[TheOldestProfession Brad volunteers his services]]. He hits hard, and his Extort skill causes enemies to drop more money.
----
* AddledAddict: Despite all his badassery, he suffers from Joy Withdrawal, and is really bad about it. Not only does his attack power tank below, he misses a lot more frequently. Once he's on Joy, he's one of the deadliest allies to have.
%%* BadassBeard
* BadassBoast: He delivers a rather poignant one during [[EstablishingCharacterMoment his introductory scene.]]
-->"Putting on panties didn't make my balls disappear."
* BadassGay: A male-identified drag queen who's perfectly comfortable beating people to death.
* BatterUp: His weapon of choice is a metal bat, as shown by his in-game sprite; though, you can equip him with other kinds of weapons.
* BloodKnight: He seems a bit too enthusiastic about dealing pain [[KickTheSonOfABitch to those that deserve it.]] The official website even says that he killed people ''before'' the end of the world.
* {{Gayngst}}: He was ostracized as a child because of his effeminate tendencies. In turn, this tempered his character, turning him into the no-nonsense badass he's today.
* HookerWithAHeartOfGold: Despite his addiction to Joy and his eagerness to beat fools to a pulp, he seems to be a genuinely nice guy who deeply cares for his friends and employees. The Art Book even states that he likes "[[YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre giving people self-confidence]]."
** Reflected in the end scene where [[spoiler: Roger really hopes he's doing the right thing in trying to kill Brad to protect Buddy.]]
* MachoCamp: The art-book depicts him as a rather buff fellow.
* SexualExtortion: His saving grace is being able to extort double the mags from human enemies before the end of the battle. Ideal if you're hurting for currency.
* TookALevelInBadass: Due to the abuse he suffered as a child because of his effeminate demeanor.


!!Bo Wyatt
[[quoteright:184:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bo.jpg]]

-> ''"My Brother used to love coming here... We'd listen to music all night... I wish I could see him again..."''

A former street performer in a diving helmet who hangs out in the swamp bar. After Brad plays him the record he got from his brother, he joins the gang to look for him. He can't attack, but his songs can buff the party to greatness. He loves family and music.
----
* NamedAfterSomebodyFamous: One of many Lisa characters named after pro wrestlers, Bo's name is a mash-up of the Rotunda brothers: [[Wrestling/BoDallas Bo Dallas]] and [[Wrestling/TheWyattFamily Bray Wyatt.]]
* NiceGuy: In the end scene, [[spoiler: he expresses regret towards fighting Brad for Buddy's sake, but reassures him that Brad's death will not be in vain.]]
* QuirkyBard: His weapon is a guitar, and all he can do is buff and debuff.
* RummageSaleReject: His outfit is very bizarre, wearing a green flanneled poncho, red gloves and what appears to be a diving helmet.
* SoleSurvivor: Given the trope below, Bo is theoretically the only character that can never be killed, either by circumstance [[spoiler: or at Brad's hands]].
* SoLongAndThanksForAllTheGear: Bo is the only party member who can leave the party outside of death or abandonment. If you take him to see Henry's body he'll leave the party to grieve, and take all his equipment with him. The blow does get softened thanks to him giving you 100 mags, and there is nothing stopping you from relieving him of his gear prior to this.
* SpoonyBard: Despite having a Combat Dial, he cannot deal any damage at all outside of status effects such as Bleeding.
* SupportPartyMember: Bo has no attacks, but he is the best healer and buff/debuffer in the game.
* ThatSoundsFamiliar: To recruit him, you have to kill Henry Wyatt (a joy mutant), claim his record, then play it at the bar Bo is attending too. Doing this causes Bo to join you, hoping you would lead him to Henry (which is optional).
* VideoGameCrueltyPotential: If you use the truck to skip out on fighting Henry after getting his record, you can recruit Bo, have him in your party, come back, and kill Henry with his assistance. This makes him leave the party, but so does visiting Henry with him in general.
* YouAreWhatYouHate: His [[InformedAttribute official bio]] states that he hates video games.
* [[YouKilledMyFather You Killed My Brother]]: Thankfully averted AND optional. If you opt to take him to his brother's corpse, he will be too focused on grieving for him to want to understand what happened.

!!R.T.
[[quoteright:184:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rt.jpg]]

-> ''"Duffie... I had everything inside you... My sweet, sweet Duffie.."''

A homeless man bumming around the Beehive looking for his lost duffel bag, he joins Brad if you can find it for him. His bag can shoot out any number of [[StandardStatusEffect bizarre things]].
----
* AmazingTechnicolorPopulation: His skin is a pale green, possibly because of how filthy he is.
* BagOfHolding: Duffy, his duffel bag. Most of his attacks revolve around him revealing stuff from inside it.
* ChokeHolds: Has a sleeper hold he can do for a chance of putting an enemy to sleep. An upgraded version of it, Nightmare Hold, guarantees a sleep aliment on the victim.
* CrazyHomelessPeople: Was homeless long before the White Flash, and isn't exactly the sanest person left.
* ElementalPowers: His bag is full of many things, including shooting out beams of flames, a bright flash, poisonous substances, etc. They also happen to be really powerful. Useful for anyone going with an all-fire team.
* HiddenDisdainReveal: Reveals at the final battle that he [[spoiler: never liked Brad and was only with him for a shot at Buddy]].
* MightyGlacier: Has a lot of health and SP to expense, along with a variety of helpful special moves, making him an excellent versatile character to play with.
* WrestlerInAllOfUs: His special moves include a series of savage elbow drops.

!!Ajeet Mandeep
[[quoteright:184:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ajeet.jpg]]

-> ''"I can see it in your eyes... the Joy... Please sir, stay away from me."''

A Punjabi playboy who used to work as a tollbooth attendant, he despises Joy. He's a large, kind man and an advocate of clean living, he'll join Brad if he talks to him while sober. He lacks a normal attack, but his finger pokes cause all sorts of status effects.
----
* CombatPragmatist: One of his skills has him gouge the enemy's eyes, blinding them.
* DryCrusader: The only character in the game that actively hates Joy, to the point that he'll refuse to join you if you've taken at least two pills of Joy. Thankfully, [[spoiler: Buzzo force feeding you Joy in Area 2 does not count.]]
* FingerPokeOfDoom: His normal attacks let him induce status effects on enemies by poking them. Considering Austin's AuthorAppeal towards pro wrestling, this is in no doubt a reference to the TropeNamer.
* GameplayAndStorySegregation: You can give him Joy just fine as a party member.
* GentleGiant: Surprisingly kind, despite his imposing appearance. Even in the end game, [[spoiler: he only wants to take Brad out because Ajeet believes that the future of humanity should come before one man, and feels that he needs to learn this lesson.]]
* MightyGlacier: In terms of appearance, he's quite tall and muscular. In practice, he has a lot of HP, and a good amount of SP to start with.
* NeverMyFault: The art book calls him "The King of Pointing Fingers," although [[InformedFlaw it doesn't come up in the game proper]]. Though, the title may be literal considering the FingerPokeOfDoom trope.
* NiceGuy: He's willing to [[spoiler:fight Brad to secure a future for themselves and the children of Olathe. In his words, "It should never be about one man. His people come first."]]
** If you somehow have him recruited into your party before going to area 2, and choose to sacrifice Brad's arm over him, Ajeet will be the most sincere out of everyone to thank you for the sacrifice, next to Terry.
-->''""I am forever grateful. Brad Armstrong, your heart is good."''
* ReligiousBruiser: The fact that Ajeet is specified as being Punjabi as opposed to merely Indian might indicate that he's a [[UsefulNotes/{{Sikhism}} Sikh]]. This would be consistent with his dislike of excessive drug use, his punctuality about clean living, and his snazzy blue [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dastar dastaar]].
* WrestlerInAllOfUs: Has his fair share of physical, wrestling moves, including drop-kicks and elbow drops.

!!Clint Olympic
[[quoteright:184:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/clint.jpg]]

-> ''"Hey hoss. Straight up, no story, no gimmicks... 500 mags, and I'm yours."''

A former hustler and the most handsome man on the planet, Clint will join Brad for a fee of 500 mags. His move set is very similar to Brad's, though he is best used when fighting multiple enemies.
----
* AddledAddict: His basic attacks are already noticeably weak in comparison to other party members, and their damage output will drop to zero when he's in Withdrawal.
* ExtremityExtremist: All of his special attacks are kicks or otherwise involve his legs.
* TheFightingNarcissist: His official bio claims that he is the most handsome man on the planet.
* FlowerMotifs: Befitting his conceited nature, his basic attacks are all named after parts of flowers: Thorn, Nectar, Petal and Leaf.
* HiddenDepths: Despite being [[InformedAttribute described as vain]] in his official bio, he never once mentions his attractiveness in-game. Also he's a Joy addict, which belies his appearance.
* TheHustler: His occupation before the Flash, according to his [[AllThereInTheManual official bio]]. Also apparent in how he offers to join Brad's party for 500 mags, an exorbitant price, [[spoiler:and you probably fell for it.]]
* MovesetClone: Plays pretty much the same as Brad, even sharing the same moves. The difference is that he's not as strong as him (even without his arms), and his moves are based on his narcissism, but functionally the same as Brad's. Doesn't help that he suffers from Joy Withdrawal.
* NiceGuy: Despite his narcissism, the end scene [[spoiler: portrays him as possibly heroic, as he'll move to protect Buddy from Brad and even gives Brad a chance to walk away beforehand.]]
* OnlyInItForTheMoney: He will only join you if you pay him 500 mags.
* ProudBeauty: Uses his good looks to his advantage in battle.

!!Birdie Hall
[[quoteright:184:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/birdie.jpg]]

-> ''"Attay boy!!! Say... I like you bud... I love you! You're good people! Who needs family... I don't need them anymooore! Buds for life!"''

A former dock worker and a fun-loving drunk found sloshed at a bar, he'll join Brad if you get him a bottle of Olathian Liquor. He has a lot of powerful moves and healing abilities, [[BoozeBasedBuff but he has to be drunk to use them]]. He is one of a handful that is TP based.
----
* ApologeticAttacker: Will often refuse to attack during [[spoiler: the final battle vs. Brad]]
* TheAlcoholic: He's almost perpetually drunk, and you'll want to keep him that way as that's the only time he can use his abilities.
* BoozeBasedBuff: Birdie can heal himself or a party member with a swig of his booze, or use his emergency stash to heal everyone at once. His attack move is the "Drunkard Tumble".
* DrunkenMaster: To the point where his fighting style is actually listed as Zui Quan in the artbook; as such, he can only use his skills when he's drunk.
* LethalJokeCharacter: Who would've thought a silly-looking drunkard with no standard attack would be considered one of the most overpowered characters in the game?
* OutlivingOnesOffspring: His alcoholism was kicked off by the tragic deaths of his two children, whom he occasionally mentions in win comments.
* RedMage: Learns a mix of tumbling attacks, status moves, and healing abilities.
* SimpleYetAwesome: He can spit gasoline on enemies to oil them up. Following up with any other character's fire attack will do an insane amount of damage! Also help that he is TP based, and he restores TP by taking swigs. Combine that with Terry's Hottest Dance, and you just discovered a GameBreaker.

!!Garth
[[quoteright:184:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/garth.jpg]]

-> ''"Hello, friend! I don't get many visitors... Not a lot of people appreciate art these days.. You thought it was hard to make a living off of art in the past? I tell ya, it's a whole 'nother story now! Haha! So, now I make a living drawing dirty pictures...I can't complain!"''

A pornographer living in a cave and researching how sex was back when there were woman. He joins the Gang if Brad pays him 150 mags for one of his drawings. His drawings can illicit a variety of effects on enemies.
----
* AnimeHair: His wild and spiky mane.
* AuthorAvatar: Not of Dingaling, but of Glenn Garth, one of the Kickstarter backers.
* BadassCape: His tattered [[RealMenWearPink pink]] shroud... Which, according to its item description, appears to be made from an old towel.
* BrainBleach: He inflicts status effects on the enemies by showing them some rather disturbing drawings.
* DoingItForTheArt: In-universe. The Art Book reveals that he's really passionate and serious about drawing erotic imagery.
** It's implied that his quote in the end [[spoiler: intends for him to document a pro-creation process should Buddy be ready for it. Whether or not he'd partake is ambiguous.]]
* ExpressiveMask: The green eye on his mask changes to reflect his emotions, and can even invoke RedEyesTakeWarning when attacking.
* ThePenIsMightier: He fights by using his pencil to poke the enemy. It doesn't do much damage, but it has a decent change of poisoning them.
* ReclusiveArtist: In-universe. He's found in a small, isolated cave.
* StarvingArtist: No one wants his drawings, so he asks Brad for some magazines to inspire him. If you give Garth 150 mags, he will be so touched by the gesture that he'll join Brad's gang.
* SupportPartyMember: Besides his basic attack, all his other abilities don't do any kind of direct damage. But, most of them have a decent-to-great chance of inflicting status effects, and he can buff the attack and defense of other party members.

!!Yazan Barghouti
[[quoteright:184:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/yazan.jpg]]

-> ''"I am Yazan. And this is Kat. I am a shoving leopard... Of what you ask? Do you really care to listen? I'm searching for a far off land... A paradise for all felines... Nobody knows if it is real... But I will not stop searching till I die. Will you join me on my quest?"''

A wandering vagabond who loves cats. He's a swordsman joined by his pet cat, who joins Brad to search for Cat Haven, a place rumored to be paradise for cats. He's fast and can buff his party's agility, or lower the opponent's
----
* ADogNamedDog: Zig-zagged with Kat. Aside from the different spelling, it’s also shorthand for Katherine.
* AssistCharacter: Yazan's cat, Kat.
* TheBeastmaster: Most of his special techniques focus on utilizing his pet cat.
* EverythingsBetterWithSamurai: He's more or less a samurai in all but name, though his starting weapon is a sabre rather than a katana.
* FragileSpeedster: His agility is far and away his best stat, but his defenses are paper-thin.
** GlassCannon: Despite this, he can deal great damage, and even inflict fear and bleeding (especially useful against bosses), and thanks to his agility, he always attacks first.
* FriendToAllLivingThings:
** He really adores cats, and wants to find the rumored cat heaven for their sake.
** His quote at the end scene shows [[spoiler: how he wants Buddy alive because he is afraid that no one would be around to care for the animals if the human race perishes.]]
* HeroesPreferSwords: The sole sword-user in ''the Painful.''

!!Lincoln Townsend "Tiger Man"
[[quoteright:184:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tiger_man.jpg]]

-> ''"..."''

A former Wushu player who lived in the Ghettos of Olathe his whole life. He's a silent warrior wearing a tiger mask and searching for a worthy opponent, he joins the party after Brad defeats him. His spear techniques can cause enemies to bleed out.
----
* AddledAddict: Sadly suffers badly from Joy Withdrawal, rendering him completely useless whenever he suffers withdrawal, or doesn't take any Joy. Arguably even the weakest of the addicts during Withdrawal, since even the other heavily-physical ones still have useful skills.
* BladeOnAStick: He uses a combo system focused around spear moves.
* BloodKnight: He's a "Dojo Buster," and spends his time seeking out and killing every dojo's master he can find, hoping for a challenge.
* CatFolk: The game itself questions whether or not his huge tiger head is a mask. Played with in-game, as the eyes on his "mask" close when he is sleeping.
* DefeatMeansFriendship: Defeating him will have him join the gang.
* FamedInStory: He doesn't speak, so most of what you learn of him is spoken by others.
* GlassCannon: Strong, but has very low health.
* OverratedAndUnderleveled: Much weaker as a team member than a boss, with a Joy addiction to boot.
* SelfDeprecation: The game's creator is an accomplished Wushu practitioner himself... And the art's representative party member is an OverratedAndUnderleveled one-note damage dealer crippled with joy addiction.
* TheQuietOne: He does not say a single word for the entire game.
* TrainingFromHell: In his bio in the artbook, it is told that he trained with a Wushu master in his neighborhood and the training could be considered child abuse by most people.

!!Jack
[[quoteright:184:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jack.jpg]]

-> ''"Hello, weary traveller! Welcome... To Jack's Travelling Magic Show! You pay me, and I'll travel with you and perform! ... But. I lost part of my act... My playing cards. If you can find me some new ones. I'll perform for free!"''

A young stage magician who grew up after the Flash, he became obsessed with magic after he found an old magic kit. he joins if Brad brings him his deck of cards. His attacks have a variety of effects, but mostly deal fire damage.
----
* ChildMage: Jack is significantly younger than the rest of the party - he doesn't even remember what the world was like before the apocalypse.
* TheKlutz: His fire moves all revolve around him trying to juggle and failing at it.
* PlayingWithFire: Jack's movepool is primarily status effects and fire magic.
* StageMagician: Jack's job. Recruiting him involves returning his lost deck of cards to him.

!!Harvey Alibastor
[[quoteright:184:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/harvey.jpg]]

-> ''"My CLIENT... Says he is innocent of this crime... BUT! He is guilty of saying you suck eggs. ... Your wife's eggs."''

A strange Fishman lawyer raised by humans, he joins the gang after ''somehow'' defending Brad in Fishman Court. He can use his lawyer techniques to [[TalkingTheMonsterToDeath fight enemies,]] as well as just squirting water at them.
----
* AntiVillain: [[spoiler: He attacks Brad in the final battle genuinely believing that he's bad.]]
* BadassAdorable: A cute fish with tiny legs and a hat that can shoot the ever-living hell out of his enemies.
* ChewbaccaDefense: How Harvey bails Brad out of Fishman Court.
** In addition, some of his abilities consist of tossing stacks of confusing legal paperwork at enemies, inflicting a variety of debuffs.
* CourtroomAntics: Brad manages to escape his trial with Harvey's help, though he later admits he had no idea what was happening.
* FishPerson: He's a talking fish with legs and a little hat. Ironically, he doesn't speak the fish peoples language.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: He’s shifty, hates humanity and insults his clients frequently, but he does come to genuinely like working with Brad. [[spoiler: He also shows resignation about fighting him, often wasting turns crying.]]
* MakingASplash: One of the few gang members with water element attacks. [[AwesomeButImpractical Just don't pair him with fire-based allies.]]
* NiceHat: A midlife crisis hat.
* NonStandardCharacterDesign: Not just by your gang's standards, being the only truly non-human member, but also by Fishman standards. Whereas the other Fishmen you meet are green or blue humanoid fishes, Harvey is just a gray anchovy with legs and a NiceHat.
* PaperMaster: His specialty is hurling paper documents at the enemy, giving them paper cuts and inflicting status effects by frustrating them with the law.
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: How he gets you out of court.
* SimpleCountryLawyer: He attempts this act, but it is entirely questionable whether or not it contributed to helping Brad.
* TranslatorBuddy: Subverted as he cannot understand Fishman language at all despite being one himself.

!!Fly Minetti
[[quoteright:184:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/fly10.jpg]]

-> ''"I'm the greatest cart racer of all time... You'll never be able to face me..."''

A former Accountant who hated his life until he made a new persona based on sentai anime, "Fly". He's a cart-racing master on Garbage Island, who'll join Brad after being beaten in a race. He can cause multiple status ailments with Puke, and hit multiple enemies with his shopping cart. Fly is actually the uncredited founder of Garbage Island.
----
* DefeatMeansFriendship: Fly is recruited by defeating him in a shopping cart race. He joins Brad's gang because he wants to learn cart racing techniques from him.
* OccidentalOtaku: Was one before the White Flash. His fly outfit is based off of an old Sentai Anime he used to watch.
* TheRival: Even after joining up, he still considers Brad his rival, and won't let him forget it.
* ShoutOut: The website lists his real first name as Frank, making his name [[{{VideoGame/Earthbound}} Frank "Fly"]] Minetti.
* SitcomArchNemesis: You're ''his.'' For all the perfectly valid reasons there are to dislike Brad, he openly loathes him more than any other party member for nothing more than beating him in pushing shopping carts around.
* SourSupporter: Despite respecting his cart-racing skills, it's very clear he does not like Brad.
** In the end, [[spoiler: he makes this clear to Brad, telling him that he never liked him and he should give Buddy up.]]
* ZombiePukeAttack: Though not a zombie, one of his attacks is literally puking on his target.

!!Ollie Nickels
[[quoteright:184:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ollie.jpg]]

-> ''"Whaauea? A customer? I haven't had a customer in years... I bought this bar from some city slicker... What a terrible investment! I've been living off of trash and sea water for quite some time... I want to leave, but I always get lost in all the trash... And on top of that, I'm up to my eyeballs in porno mag debt! I suppose this is my lot in life... huuuahuh? You'll pay all 2 MAGAZINES?!?!"''

An overly sweaty business man whose tried and failed at every business imaginable, living on the edge of Garbage Island. He joins the gang if Brad can pay off his debts for him. He uses special gun techniques to befuddle enemies.
----
* TheEeyore: Due to his poverty, Ollie is often struck with the depression status, which hinders his abilities.
* GunFu: Has some impressive SMG-based skills that targets multiple enemies.
* IncestSubtext: The Sister's Kiss skill description is as reads...
--> "A very personal move with a questionable past... "
* IronicName: His last name is Nickels, and yet he struggles with debt.
* JumpedAtTheCall: Nobody ever cared for poor Ollie. He even lost his reasons to care for himself. In the end, [[spoiler: he resolves to finally shake off his depression to save Buddy from Brad.]]
* OverlyNervousFlopSweat: He's a constant sweaty mess, likely due to his perpetual distress.
* PerpetualPoverty: A string of failed businesses means he can't even afford to pay his 2 Mag debt.
* ShootEverythingThatMoves: His gun skills are dubious at best as all he does is fire wildly, emptying whole clips and hitting multiple enemies at once.
* StandardStatusEffect: He can inflict probably the greatest variety of statuses out of any party member.

!!Shocklord
[[quoteright:184:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/shocklord.jpg]]

-> ''"Arm-Shock will never die!!"''

An EWC wrestler and Sports Entertainer paired up with Brad for the tag-team championship, he'll join Brad if you win the belt. His only attack is to [[JokeCharacter fall on his face]], although [[LethalJokeCharacter it's surprisingly effective]].
----
* DynamicEntry: His only move is to trip and fall on his face. It's actually a fairly effective move that does decent group damage.
* FireForgedFriends: Working together through the tag-team championship, Shocklord and Brad form a powerful bond strong enough that he will join Brad's gang.
** It gets to the point that he's [[spoiler: an ApologeticAttacker and a downright AntiVillain if he's one of the party members you have to fight]].
* HeroicSelfDeprecation: Shocklord serves as a great asset throughout the tag-team championship, but during the final match, he will still apologize to Brad and call himself TheLoad.
* ItHasBeenAnHonor: A downplayed instance: before their final title bout, Shocklord tells Brad that win or lose, he's really enjoyed working with him.
* TheKlutz: Ever since he accidentally fell on his face during his debut, Shocklord has been plagued by slip ups and clumsiness.
* MaskedLuchador: He wears a silly one with stars decorating it. He is never seen without it.
* NiceGuy: The most so of any member of Brad's party. [[spoiler:He downright ''refuses'' to fight during the final party member confrontation, whereas even Terry might make an attempt.]]
* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Ottman#The_Shockmaster_incident_.281993.29 The Shockmaster]], who is infamous for falling on his face rather spectacularly in his debut at Wrestling/{{WCW}}.
* SimpleYetAwesome: His only skill, Big Shock (which involves falling on his face), only has a 70% accuracy rate, but hits all targets and does a great deal of damage, especially when enraged.
* WhenAllYouHaveIsAHammer: The only attack he has is Big Shock, which involves throwing himself face first into the ground. Luckily it deals decent damage, hits all enemies and crits often, though its accuracy is rather poor.

!!Sonny Backluwitz
[[quoteright:184:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sonny.jpg]]

-> ''"What do you think Harvey? Should I rip this guy to shreds? ... But... he has no title belt? ... He's not worth my clothesline... GET OUT!"''

A deranged ex-prowrestler living in a cave who only speaks sensibly to Harvey, the dog pelt he wears. Sonny will join Brad if he can prove his worth by winning the EWC title belt. He fights with wrestling techniques that have a chance to scare and paralyze the enemy.
----
* AllDogsArePurebred: Averted with Harvey, who is stated to be a Great Dane/Blue Heeler mix.
* ApologeticAttacker: Despite "Harvey's" objections to Sonny, [[spoiler: Sonny insists on taking out Brad to preserve their future, and apologizes before hand out of respect.]]
* DoesNotLikeSpam: His most hated thing is cucumbers.
* {{Expy}}: Essentially [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Berkowitz David Berkowitz]] if he was a Pro-Wrestler.
* HearingVoices: Talks to and takes orders from his dead dog Harvey a la Wrestling/AlSnow and Head.
* IFightForTheStrongestSide: Harvey implores Sonny to join Brad if he has the championship belt, apparently out of respect for his wrestling ability.
* LateCharacterSyndrome: While nowhere near as bad as Crisp and Buffalo, he's still only obtainable late in the game, and only after locking yourself out of EWC. This is mitigated somewhat by his ''staggering'' damage output though.
* NemeanSkinning: Wears his dead dog this way.
* NotSoStoic: If you hack the game and have him recruited prior to moving to area 2, and opting to sacrifice Brad's arm, he will react by trying to reassure himself (via Harvey) to not think about what he witnessed.
* OneSteveLimit: Averted in that his dog pelt Harvey shares its name with Harvey Alibastor, another recruitable party member.
* ProWrestlingIsReal: Sonny wholly considers wrestling real and his wrestling techniques have genuine application in battle.
* StoutStrength: A noticeable gut, but hits like a truck.

!!Crisp Ladaddy
[[quoteright:184:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/crisp.jpg]]

-> ''"Toby..."''

A former taxi driver and a powerful swordsman longing for his lover, Toby. He'll join you if you hold his boyfriend Toby hostage. His sword techniques can inflict different status ailments.
----
* AntiVillain: [[spoiler: Crisp wants to kill Brad because he believes he is a sick man and he deserves this. Justified in that you have to hold Toby hostage in order for him to join at all, and Brad's actions for Buddy are selfish at best.]]
* AudibleSharpness: His lightning fast sword attacks produce plenty of sharp noises.
* BadassGay: A multi sword wielding badass fighting to save his boyfriend.
* IHaveYourWife: He joins you after you hold his boyfriend Toby hostage.
* LateCharacterSyndrome: While thematically pretty cool, Crisp's placement makes him very likely to be the last party member recruited in a regular game, if he's recruited at all, and by then most players will have already settled on a party they're happy with, leaving Crisp with a small pool of skills, mediocre stats (save agility) and no niche to fill.
* MakingASplash: He can use the relatively rare water element with his wet cutter.
* MultiWielding: Uses ''six'' swords in combat.
* WolverineClaws: How he wields his six swords -- three in each hand.

!!Buffalo Van Dyke
[[quoteright:184:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/buffalo.jpg]]

-> ''"...I'll be dipped! YOU'RE the guy kicking everyone's ass for that chick? God damn... This is more bullshit than that bum call in '82!"''

An incredibly aggressive American Football star leading a gang of gearheads, he'll join the team once Brad defeats him. He fights with a variety of tackles.
----
* BadassCrew: He leads his gang like a football team, but ditches them in disappointment if they lose to Brad.
** It's also shown in ''The Joyful'' that he was one of Olathe's warlords, though he's crossed out when Buddy finds it; this either means that joining Brad effectively ended his reign or [[spoiler:he wasn't crossed out until a presumed death at Brad's hands]].
* DefeatMeansFriendship: He joins Brad's crew, leaving behind his own if he is defeated.
* EyepatchOfPower: His status-menu description says he simply lost his eye because of how rough he played, but [[AllThereInTheManual the artbook]] says it was ripped out after he discovered the league of businessmen that determined the outcomes of the games. Either way, it's fitting of his status as a warlord of Olathe.
* HiddenDepths: Despite his ego and short-temper, [[spoiler: he is all for rescuing Buddy from Brad in favor of saving humanity]].
* IKnowMaddenKombat: He fights using American Football techniques.
* LateCharacterSyndrome: Similar to Crisp, although he has more skills to work with and dishes out great damage. Lampshaded in his late game speech, where he mentions how he's only known Brad for a short period of time, and thinks it isn't his place to speak, but feels that [[spoiler: humanity's future should come before Brad's and is willing to kill him to ensure that.]]
* NonStandardCharacterDesign: His face looks more like a ''Franchise/GIJoe'' character than one from this game.
* OverratedAndUnderleveled: He's still pretty strong as a party member, but the [[AsskickingEqualsAuthority seventh strongest warlord]] in Olathe? Try putting him up against Hawk or Han and see how that ends up.
* PatrioticFervor: His class is labeled as "American" and he loves football.
* PhenotypeStereotype: He's American, so naturally he has blond hair and blue eyes.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Joy Mutants]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mutants_1.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:From left to right, top to bottom: Charmy, Peter, Doctor, Cooper, Louie, and Sweetheart]]

Bizarre, contorted, and deadly creatures who came to be as a result of humans overdosing on Joy. They are motivated by their "deepest desires", which often manifest in the form of violence.
----
* AmbiguousGender: There are some hints towards Sweetheart being one of the few remaining females prior to its transformation, such as its moaning (which sounds rather feminine) and long hair. Dingaling has stated that Sweetheart's gender is irrelevant.
* AndIMustScream: It's implied that they're aware of their current state, but can't do anything about it. Many will spend turns crying and/or screaming.
* AwesomeMcCoolName: The mutated leader of the Gale Motorcycle Club is known as Rex Thunderstorm.
* AxCrazy: Their desires come in the form of killing everyone in sight.
* BattleThemeMusic: With a few exceptions, [[https://youtu.be/lt5R8ElvWPI a slowed-down version of Soft Skin]] in ''The Painful'' and [[https://youtu.be/OEYBxXA8T8g The Big Girl Has Cometh]] in ''The Joyful''.
* BlobMonster: Bobby from ''The Joyful'' resembles one.
* BloodFromTheMouth: Several Mutants will squander turns coughing up blood, dealing damage to themselves.
* BodyHorror: It varies from Mutant to Mutant, but it often involves the body becoming horribly stretched and/or bloated.
* BonusBoss: Many of the Mutant fights are entirely avoidable. However, some powerful items and bonus content is hidden behind said optional fights.
* CarFu: Rex Thunderstorm will sometimes slam his bike to attack you.
* ClippedWingAngel: Humans turn into Mutants when under physical and/or mental trauma, or when they're at death's door. However, they're greatly impaired by their [[AxCrazy screwy mental states]] and physical deformities.
* DeathGlare: One of their shared attacks is Glare, which can induce the Weird condition on your party.
* TheDragon: Sweetheart serves as one to [[spoiler: Dr. Yado]] in ''The Joyful''.
* DrugsAreBad: They're all the result of people using the FantasticDrug Joy.
* EldritchAbomination: They're big, fleshy, twisted abominations who are barely recognizable from their human forms.
* FinalDeath: The biggest source of these in ''The Painful''. All Mutants, with the exception of Doctor, carry at least one attack that can permanently kill a party member. Most notably, Peter carries ''[[FromBadToWorse both]]'' Fatal Chomp and Neck Break. This is averted in ''The Joyful'', as their permadeath moves have been downgraded to slightly stronger attacks to compensate for the lack of party members.
* FirstNameBasis: Barring Henry Wyatt and Rex Thunderstorm, all mutants lose their last names upon mutating, being known only by their first name (or a nickname).
* FluffyTheTerrible: Many mutants have ordinary, even cutesy names such as Georgy, Beady, and Baby, which serve to contrast against their horrific state and deadly natures.
* HowlOfSorrow: A lot of them know Yell, which can be interpreted as this. It induces Scared on its targets.
* JumpScare:
** After grabbing the record from Henry Wyatt, he lowers his head to attack you immediately after you leave his room.
** As you're climbing Snow Mountain, Peter will suddenly jump down to ambush you.
* ManBitesMan: Almost all mutants will bite to attack. Most also know Fatal Chomp, a far [[FinalDeath deadlier]] variant of Bite.
* MightyGlacier: With the exception of Jonathan, who has 99 Agility, all Mutants only have 1 Agility but have buckets of HP and high Attack stats.
* MusicSoothesTheSavageBeast: [[spoiler: The majority of Mutants are able to be controlled via Dr. Yado's trumpet.]]
* MythologyGag: Harry in ''The Joyful'' greatly resembles [[spoiler: the horrifically-mutated Marty hallucination]] seen in ''The First''.
* NeckSnap: A handful of mutants carry Neck Break, which permanently kills its target in a similar manner to Fatal Chomp.
* NonMaliciousMonster: You'll encounter a handful of mutants who don't want to fight, likely because they've fulfilled their desires. One Mutant even acts as a save point in ''The Painful'' (though it's not present in Pain Mode).
* NonStandardCharacterDesign:
** Doctor looks rather different from the other mutants, as it has yellowed teeth, red-and-black eyes, and an UndeathlyPallor. Possibly justified in that it's implied that he's been sitting in his basement for years.
** Similarly, Jonathan also has an UndeathlyPallor and red eyes in addition to gray teeth, but outside of these traits and his [[NoodlePeople stretchy arms]], he looks somewhat normal. This in conjunction with him not dropping Joy made many fans question his status as a Mutant. Dingaling ultimately confirmed that he is a Mutant in spite of these factors.
* NumberOfTheBeast: Jonathan gives you 6666 Experience after you defeat him.
* OddNameOut: Henry Wyatt and Rex Thunderstorm are the only mutants with full names.
* OffWithHisHead: The majority of Mutants carry Fatal Chomp, which bites the head off of its target, killing them instantly and [[FinalDeath permanently]].
* PaletteSwap: Some of the Mutant designs in ''The Joyful'' are based off of pre-existing and/or [[DummiedOut unused]] Mutant sprites, such as Baby (whose sprite is a flipped Rex Thunderstorm without the motorcycle) and Dice Mahone (who is based off the unused Peter Smoove Mutant sprite from ''The Painful'').
* SpiderPeople: Peter's elongated limbs make him resemble a fleshy spider.
* TragicMonster: They were ordinary people who took Joy to stop the pain of the apocalypse from getting to them, only to turn into horrific creatures. Several of them will spend turns crying and screaming.
* UndeathlyPallor: Both Doctor and Jonathan have oddly pale skin, setting them apart from the other Mutants.
* WasOnceAMan: They were all human at one point, and you can even encounter some Mutants prior to their transformation.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Minor Characters]]

!!Marty Armstrong
[[quoteright:171:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hfs.png]]

-> ''"You're wasting your time... You really don't get it do you? You really thought you could forget? Why are you trying so hard?... Accept it... You can't fight something that already happened... There is no understanding, no purpose... There is only life, and this one is yours... Accept it... I'm here to stay."''

Brad and Lisa's father. An abusive, alcoholic, middle aged deadbeat. He molested Lisa and physically and verbally assaulted Brad. He had an extremely negative effect on both Brad and Lisa's lives.
----
* AbusiveParent: His abusiveness towards both Lisa and Brad form the backstory of the game.
** ParentalNeglect: One flashback depicts him handing the baby Lisa to Brad telling him to 'deal with it', suggesting he forced him to [[PromotionToParent handle her care]].
* AssholeVictim: Gets beaten up brutally by Brad and then blasted into bits, but after what he did to Lisa he had it coming. [[spoiler:The tragedy of his death lies more in 1) the fact that Buddy had to watch, all while protesting and begging Brad not to kill him, and 2) that Brad is proving himself to be no better than he ever was by beating the shit out of ''Buddy'' just to finish off a defenseless old man.]]
* TheAlcoholic: He is first seen with a beer in the prologue of ''Lisa: The Painful'', [[spoiler: and you can find a bunch of glass bottles on the island he lives on. He also attacks by throwing bottles at Brad.]]
* TheAtoner: [[spoiler:In the Painful RPG, he's attempting to make up for his mistakes by taking care of Buddy, and coming to her protection when she gets hit by Brad. Unfortunately, Brad's too far gone to be capable of forgiving him. In his final moments, he begs Lisa for forgiveness]]
* BaldOfEvil: He's almost bald and is viciously abusive towards his children. [[spoiler: Subverted near the end of the game, as he tries to take care of Buddy as an actual father figure of sorts, and even tries to protect Buddy from Brad.]]
* BigBad: Only in ''The First.''
* TheCorrupter: [[spoiler: He begins to creep into Lisa's mind more and more throughout the game. In ''Joyful'', it's heavily implied in one of the endings that he caused Brad to rape Lisa while under the influence.]]
** [[spoiler: ''Inverted'' in ''The Painful'', where he tries to convince Buddy to not take the joy pills.]]
* GreaterScopeVillain: Sure, he’s not as directly involved in the main conflict as [[spoiler: Dr. Yado]], but his physical, emotional, and sexual abuse towards his children had severe repercussions later on, especially after the flash. Him being the root cause of Lisa's suicide was the main straw that broke the camel's back, as it was a major reason for Brad's alcoholism and Joy Addiction, and [[spoiler: severely screwed up Buzzo, who would torture Brad any way he could and became an Addict as well]]. He’s pretty much responsible for 50% of the game's conflict. [[spoiler:It's telling that the end credits give him special thanks.]]
* HiddenDepths: He wasn't always the abusive parent that he's known for. It is hinted that it may have something to do with losing his wife.
** [[spoiler: The fact that he has been protecting Buddy for a few days before Brad showed up, and how he's been a better parent than Brad has. He clearly is capable of being a good parent when he wants to be.]]
* {{Irony}}: In ''Lisa: The First'', he enjoys his ability to control Lisa, and has no problem with sexually abusing her, as well as physically and emotionally abusing Brad. [[spoiler: In ''Lisa: The Painful'', he is the one who takes care of Buddy when she was on the run from Brad and even proves to be a far better parent than he is. He even comes to Buddy's aid the moment Brad assaults her. Also considering that for a setting where a lot of the men are perverts and want Buddy for sex, Marty is among the few that is ''not'' interested in sex with Buddy.]]
* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: [[spoiler:Is on the receiving end of the trope by Brad. [[AssholeVictim It's not that he didn't deserve it, though.]]]]
* OffscreenMomentOfAwesome: [[spoiler: It's not explained exactly ''how'' Marty found himself living on the Deserted Island, or even how he survived in [[CrapsackWorld the Olathian wasteland]] throughout the years.]]
* PapaWolf: [[spoiler:He tries to protect Buddy from Brad, to no avail.]]
* ParentalIncest: Since his wife passed away, he has no qualms about replacing her with his (unwilling) daughter. [[spoiler: He does come to fully regret this later on, even before [[LaserGuidedKarma he gets his.]] ]]
* SmallRoleBigImpact: While he's certainly not responsible for the White Flash, he's directly and indirectly responsible for most of the main characters' flaws and conflicts.

!!Rick/Richard Weeks, Sticky/[[spoiler:Tony Angoneli]] and Cheeks/Cheeks Gaywood
[[quoteright:291:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/friend.png]]
[[caption-width-right:291: Sticky (left), Cheeks (middle), Rick (right)]]

-> ''"She's our only hope for re-population, and you know it."''
-> Rick

-> ''"She's not your child, you fool."''
-> Sticky

-> ''"Secret's out Brad... She's gone."''
-> Cheeks

Buddy's "uncles" and Brad's lifelong friends. They all bonded over their shared miseries.
----
* ChocolateBaby: A flashback reveals Rick had an estranged son who was a few shades too dark to match him or his wife, implying he at least is not actually Rick's.
* ClimaxBoss: [[spoiler:For area 3, should you spare him, Sticky stands in your way right at the end of your mission to give you a pretty damn tough fight before you can move into endgame.]]
* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: The strange image of [[spoiler: Sticky]] in Brad's Joy-induced fight with him. [[spoiler: This symbolic Sticky has a very phallic shape, asks Brad not to be angry with him for having sex with/most likely raping Buddy, and when he is killed, has some kind of clear outer layer surrounding himself, with a protrusion emerging from the top of it.]]
* DummiedOut: The initial Kickstarter short demo and early development screenshots showed all three of them as party members. Although it's possible that these were red-herrings to avoid spoilers, breaking open the final game code shows battle sprites for Rick and Sticky, so it's unclear how far the two of them got into the actual game before being cut.
** Cut dialogue made [[spoiler: the implications that Sticky raped Buddy]] ''much'' more explicit.
* HazyFeelTurn: [[spoiler:Sticky and Rick end up joining the Rando Army and oppose Brad. Rando's army has some genuinely good and genuinely awful people, and Brad is a KnightTemplar to the extreme. Sticky in particular is heavily implied to have raped Buddy, though there's just as much evidence that Brad jumped to conclusions.]]
* HonoraryUncle: All three of them to Buddy.
* MeaningfulName: Sticky, when it is hinted that [[spoiler: he possibly raped Buddy[[labelnote:*]]Though because Brad was under influence of joy, it's likely that the rape part is what Brad imagines, enforced by Buddy saying that Sticky never touched her[[/labelnote]] ]].
* NotSoDifferent: [[spoiler:Sticky/Tony]] also had a troubled relationship with his father, and he and Brad bonded over their shared issues.
* OneSteveLimit: Averted in that ''Lisa the First'' includes a separate character named 'Tricky Rick'.
* OnlyKnownByHisNickname: Sticky prefers it to his real name, [[spoiler:Tony]].
* RapeAsDrama: Played with. [[spoiler: In ''The Painful RPG'', the player is led to believe that Sticky raped Buddy, though she and Sticky deny it, and Brad is a bit of an Unreliable Narrator. In ''The Joyful'', Buddy ultimately reveals that Sticky never touched her.]]
* RedemptionRejection: [[spoiler:Should Brad choose to spare Sticky, he will later reappear in a final effort to stop Brad from reclaiming Buddy. His story ends with ultimately being KilledOffForReal.]]
* SacrificialLamb: Cheeks ends up dead at the beginning when Buddy's hideout is raided, bearing the dubious honor of being the first death in a game full of them. [[spoiler: Possibly betrayed by Sticky and Rick as well.]]
* StepfordSmiler: One {{Flashback}} shows that Rick tried to deal with his own troubled home life this way, though he still vents to Brad about it.
* TheTalk: [[spoiler:Sticky was the one who gave it to Buddy, encouraging her to "save humanity."]]
* WeHardlyKnewYe: On top of being the first of the three to die, Cheeks is the only member of the trio not to receive any character-expanding flashbacks.
* WeUsedToBeFriends: Brad defended them from bullies as kids and they all stuck together during the apocalypse, but Rick and Sticky come to despise Brad, disgusted by his selfish desire to deprive humanity of their only hope for survival. [[spoiler:The effects of Joy cause Brad to nearly kill Rick, but he succeeds in killing Sticky]].
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: [[spoiler:If Rick and Sticky are left alive, Sticky comes back as a boss fight right before the end, but Rick is never seen again.]]

!!Chris Columbo
[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/battler_columbo.png]]

-> ''"Time is a great teacher. Sadly, it kills all its pupils. Howdy motherfucker."''

A bully who's gang tormented Brad and his friends growing up, and keeps it up even as adults in the apocalypse.
----
* BaitAndSwitchBoss: It may seem that he's an arch-enemy of Brad, but the main villain role is soon revealed to belong to ''Buzzo''.
* BigBadWannabe: Columbo seems to think of himself as Brad's arch-enemy, but he's more of a difficult road-bump than anything.
* DeathSeeker: [[spoiler:Becomes one after Brad kills his gang, and blows his own brains out after one last race with you.]]
* DummiedOut: He has a battle theme in the soundtrack, and cracking open the game code reveals he has battle stats, so it seems likely that he was actually planned to be a boss at some point.
* EasterEgg: If Brad works enough shifts at the Beehive, he may see Spaghetti enter his room, implying that Columbo is one of the patrons who visits the brothel.
* GangOfBullies: Has been the leader of one since he was a kid.
* MercyKill: Kills his pet deer Spaghetti before [[spoiler:offing himself]].
* RedemptionEqualsDeath: [[spoiler: He has one last race with Brad, just for fun, and apologizes for bullying him all this time, before killing his pet deer, than himself.]]
* SchoolyardBullyAllGrownUp: Decades later, Columbo is still a petty bully looking to give Brad a hard time.
* TheUnfought: [[spoiler:You fight the rest of his gang, but Columbo opts to shoot himself rather than fight you.]]
* YeOldeButcheredeEnglishe: Speaks like this, apparently as an attempt to sound smart.

!!The Salvation Rangers
[[quoteright:280:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/byh6zs1cuaejcnx.png]]

-> ''"For we are... THE SALVATION RANGERS!"''

A team of wannabe superheroes fighting for justice in Olathe.
----
* AmbiguouslyGay: Salvation Green can be seeing entering Brad's room in the Beehive if Brad decides to work to Queen Roger. If this happens, Green will only say "don't tell this to the other guys" and leave. Also [[spoiler: he's the only NPC in ''Lisa: The Joyful'' that will never try to attack Buddy if she interacts with him without a mask.]]
* BodyHorror: [[spoiler: Blue, Red, and possibly Yellow have all mutated by the time you meet them in Holly Wood, with the former being fightable.]]
* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler: Tooley/Salvation Green hangs himself after the List is completed; his achievement suggests that he did so in response to [[TogetherInDeath the rest of his friends being dead]].]]
* {{Expy}}: They are obviously a parody to the ''Franchise/PowerRangers''.
* KilledOffscreen: [[spoiler:In Area 3, Salvation Blue can be found as a Joy mutant, having killed Salvation Black. Salvation Red and Yellow's inanimate, mutated bodies are also nearby, along with Salvation White's seemingly unmutated corpse.]]
* FormerlyFat: Salvation Black. We get to see a flashback of why he went on his weight loss journey.
* SoleSurvivor: [[spoiler: Aside from the member that's kicked out, Salvation Green is revealed to have survived in ''The Joyful'', and his real name is Tooley. This is later averted at the end of the game, when he's DrivenToSuicide.]]
* SpoofAesop: Each member gives one when Brad first meets them.
--> '''Salvation Red:''' Do your best to drink water and eat your veggies!\\
'''Salvation Blue:''' Keep your chin down, and eyes up around bullies!\\
'''Salvation Yellow:''' Always listen to Dad, even when he's been drinking!\\
'''Salvation Green:''' Don't pay for drugs, let your friends do that!\\
'''Salvation Black:''' No race jokes, please!
* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: If you recruit Dick Dickson earlier than expected, he will be replaced with a new guy, Salvation White. Lampshaded, in that White believes that no one actually likes him.

!!Mr. Angoneli
[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/battler_hobo.png]]

-> ''"Her face... My mark on history!!! Aaaahahahahaaa!"''

A homeless janitor whose terrible to his son Sticky. He lived in Brad's neighborhood when he was a child and somehow survived into the Apocalypse.
----
* ChekhovsGunman: Appears once at the very start of the game as just some window dressing, once halfway through as a vague flashback, and finally [[spoiler: once at the end, carving open Buddy's face.]] The fact that he's even still alive in Olathe is a shock considering his age compared to Brad's.
* FaceHeelTurn: Seems like a perfectly fine guy at first, if Brad's vision of him chastising him for having pornography is any indication.
* FromNobodyToNightmare: His motivation for [[spoiler: attacking Buddy, as he believes scarring the face of the last woman will put him down in history.]]
* IJustWantToBeSpecial: He considers the Apocalypse the opportunity to be the somebody he's always wanted to be.

!!Men's Hair Club Presidents
[[quoteright:177:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/battler_presidents_2.png]]

->''"You dandy'' '''''fuck!''''' ''You just made the biggest mistake of your life..."''

[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin The presidents of the titular club.]] They serve as the main boss of the first area of the game, having apparently gotten a hold of Buddy.
----
* ActuallyFourMooks: ZigzaggedTrope. The Men's Hair Club Presidents all count as one unit. However, their hair is a separate enemy.
* AffablyEvil: The Men's Hair Club is pretty much a gang of rapists, but they want to share their fortunes with others... as long as they're not bald.
* AnimeHair: Exaggerated in the fight with them to the point where their hair combines to form a ''[[FlippingTheBird middle finger]]''.
* BerserkButton: Bald people apparently aren't allowed in their presence.
* BewareTheSillyOnes: That hair may look silly, but it can also strike for up to ''1000 damage'', which is downright deadly at that point of the game.
* ClimaxBoss: For the first area of the game; everything you do in area 1, from getting the bicycle, to optionally gathering up firebombs, is preparing you to be able to reach and challenge them.
* DiscOneFinalBoss: Come on, you didn't really think you'd find Buddy already, did you?
* DisproportionateRetribution: They fight Brad not because he wants to free their prisoner, but because ''he's bald''.
* FlippingTheBird: Their combined hair somehow manages to pull this off.
* KillItWithFire: Their hair is very weak to fire, presumably because of hair spray.
* PrehensileHair: The hair on the presidents' heads somehow can detach and form a singular entity for the boss fight against them.

!!Horrace
[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/battler_horrace12.png]]

-> ''"Let me just press the off pedal annnd... Oops!"''

A bulldozer operator who isn't actually that good at operating one and acts as a reluctant miniboss.
----
* AntiVillain: He doesn't actually do anything wrong and instead gets in a fight with Brad because he loses control of his bulldozer.
* ButtMonkey: The victim of a long line of jokes and tragedies, he's a failure as a bulldozer driver, his incompetence cost his wife her life and he eventually ends up accidentally getting into a fight with Brad.
* DevelopingDoomedCharacters: Parodied, his entire hilariously tragic backstory is shown in a long flashback before his fight.

!!Hawk Hollywood
[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/battler_hollywood.png]]

-> ''"Are you ready for beauty? You're not... But too bad! TOO BAD!"''

A handsome man wearing an American flag as a cape and is one of the people that needs to be fought to complete the boat in the endgame. He's retroactively revealed to be the 9th ranked warlord in ''The Joyful''.
----
* AmusingInjuries: If you defeat him in his human form, he's left alive and his beautiful face is left horribly bruised and his finger bent unnaturally.
* AndThenJohnWasAZombie: In Pain Mode, he's a Joy mutant. [[OhCrap He's still a required boss]].
* AxCrazy: As stated [[WordOfGod by Austin]]:
--> "hawk is fucked, he's insane, he looks like shit and [[UncannyValleyMakeup wears make up]] in an effort to glorify his [[{{Gonk}} horrible looks]]. visually if lisa was life action he would look like [[Film/TheDarkKnightTrilogy heath ledgers joker]]."
* BattleCry: Shouting "[[Wrestling/RicFlair Whoooooo!]]" is enough to give himself the Super Cool status.
* BodyHorror: In ''pain mode'', you fight him as a Joy Mutant whose body has been horrifically twisted upwards to resemble a flag pole.
* CallBack: In ''The Joyful'', he used to be one of the people on The List; presumably he was crossed out after being defeated by Brad.
* TheDandy: He's a supposedly beautiful man into flamboyant fashion.
* {{Eagleland}}: A mix of both types based on his idiotic behavior and apparent love of his country.
* TheFriendNobodyLikes: His groupies actually hate him and are grateful to Brad for knocking him down a peg.
* InformedAttractiveness: Like most characters, it's hard to tell if his goofy-looking face is actually attractive as he is the sole supporter of that claim.
* {{Narcissist}}: His opening line is stating that his face is perfect, and even if Brad agrees he'll claim he's above needing anyone's approval.
* MalevolentMugshot: Before you even see him, there's a billboard shaped like his face in Hollywood.
* NonLethalKO: In normal mode, defeating him simply leaves his face messed up and he just walks away, trying to save face.
* WearingAFlagOnYourHead: He uses the U.S. flag as a shawl.
* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: He styles his hair green.

!!Han Tsunami
[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/battler_han.png]]

-> ''"Yo. You don't belong here, outsider. Time to go."''

The leader of the Devil's Bath Boys, who took over the local bathhouse, and he and his gang are a required fight for the propeller for the boat in the endgame. He's retroactively revealed to be the 8th warlord in ''The Joyful''.
----
* CallBack: His name is on the List in ''the Joyful''.
* FlunkyBoss: You fight his entire gang alongside him.
* KillItWithFire: He's astoundingly weak to fire, and diesel firebombs will make quick work of him and his crew.
* TattooedCrook: He and his gang are covered in similar full body tattoos, clearly modeled after the yakuza.
* {{Yakuza}}: Implied, given his and his gang's Japanese theme and tattoos.

!!Bloodiest Wolf
[[quoteright:135:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bloodiest_wolf.png]]

-> ''"The painted sky should tell you everything... She doesn't belong to you. This is the last Bloodmoon tree, and i shall not allow you to take her."''

The leader of the gang that resides in Bloodmoon mountain. He and his gang protect the last Bloodmoon tree, and they must be fought in order to acquire the wood necessary to build the boat.
----
* AmbiguouslyEvil: [[spoiler: Its unknown if Bloodiest Wolf and his tribe are allied with Yado or not, but at the very least they are aware of his identity and his plan]].
* AnimalMotifs: Wolfs. He's named after one and his signature attack is called "Howling Gyser".
* AnimalThemeNaming: He and his whole gang (except Blood Mountain) are named after animals (Blood Hawk, Blood Bull...etc).
* AntiVillain: He and his gang don't care about Buddy and only seem to be concerned with protecting the [[LastOfHisKind last Bloodmoon tree]]. They live in a remote area of the world, removed from the bloodshed of Olathe, and while they attack you on sight, they [[SociopathicHero don't do]] it without a [[MurderIsTheBestSolution reason]].
* BraidsBeadsAndBuckskins: He along with all the members of his gang wear leather vests, feather ornaments and [[TribalFacePaint face paint]].
* CrueltyIsTheOnlyOption: You need Blood Wood to craft the boat, but Bloodiest Wolf and his gang protect the last tree with their lives, so if you want that wood you will have to kill them.
* CrypticConversation: According to the dialogue of its subordinates, its implied that Bloodiest Wolf and his gang are aware [[spoiler: of the existence of Yado and the objective of his plan, although if they are allied with him or not its unknown]].
--> [[spoiler:'''Blood Bull:''' You've met him.]]\\
[[spoiler: '''Blood Coyote:''' The shadow of the father howls into the night.]]\\
[[spoiler:'''Blood Hawk:''' His song will make us dance.]]\\
[[spoiler:'''Blood Mountain:''' He birthed her, he will have her.]]\\
* DoubleMeaning: ''"She doesn't belong to you"'' and ''"and I shall not allow you to take her"''. While Bloodiest Wolf is talking about the tree, its implied he is also talking about Buddy.
* InHarmonyWithNature: He dedicates all his efforts to protect the tree, despite that theres nothing to gain from it
* MagicalNativeAmerican: The whole gimmick of the Bloodmoon tribe, specially Bloodiest Wolf. They suddenly appear out of thin air, and during battle Bloodiest Wolf presents supernatural abilities that exceed those of most enemies.
* MoralEventHorizon: For Brad. While at this point in the story he already has commited quite some atrocities, chopping down the last Bloodmoon tree in the whole world and wiping out the last remaining members of a native american tribe that just wanted to protect said tree, '''just for some wood''', really drives home [[FallenHero how far gone]] [[SociopathicHero Brad]] already is in his quest to rescue Buddy.
* OneHitKill: His [[AttackOnTheHeart Heart Squeeze]] attack will perma kill any of your party members who are unlucky enough to be struck by it.
* PowerFloats: While every other sprite remains static during fights, Bloodiest Wolf slowly floats up and down in battle.
* ThemeNaming: Blood; He and his gang have "Blood" as a part of their names, not all that strange since they live in Bloodmoon Mountain.

!!Wally
[[quoteright:135:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/battler_wally.png]]

-> ''"Hi, welcome to--'' '''''No! Stop! You can't be here! Hoo ho ho, go away! Hoo hoooo! Don't!''''' ''Where's Nuggie?'' '''''No! Don't! Did you hurt him?!''''' ''Wally's got what ya' kid needs! Hooo hoo!'' '''''No no no!''''' ''You want to Wally size it?!'' '''''No no no!''''' ''Welcome to Wally's!'' '''''Don't! Please, I want to just die!'''''

A person wearing the costume of the titular mascot of the fast-food restaurant Wally's, who is worshipped by the village built around the restaurant due to being their only source of food.
----
* AllHailTheGreatGodMickey: To the point where the villagers pray to ''the restaurant's drive-thru speaker'' for food.
* AndIMustScream: His pre-battle dialogue heavily implies that he's well-aware of his current state, and he outright states that he wants to die.
* BodyHorror: [[spoiler: For unexplained reasons, Wally's skin somehow has been rotting from inside his costume, or has been ''fused to the costume itself''. This is especially jarring since this does ''not'' stem from Joy usage, as he doesn't drop any after being defeated.]]
* BurgerFool: Being the mascot of a fast-food place will do that to you.
* ClimaxBoss: For Area 2, he's the major threat that stands in your way before finding and briefly reuniting with Buddy.
* {{Expy}}: A rather obvious one of [[UsefulNotes/{{McDonalds}} Ronald McDonald]]. The references go to more subtle areas past that, though; Lil' Nuggie, the sub-mascot character of Wally's, is an {{Expy}} of Grimace, and Wally's general design (namely, his stringy yellow hair, and the prominence of red and blue in his clothes) bring to mind the original 1960 Willard Scott portrayal of the character.
** The concept of the psychotic and cannibalistic portrayal of Ronald [=McDonald=] may also be a {{Shout Out}} to the famous short film [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3_KtEC1rkk "Happy Meal"]].
* ICannotSelfTerminate: [[spoiler: Wally's dialogue implies that, in his (lack of) state of mind, he cannot stop himself to do his horrifying acts, with Brad and his gang killing him eventually granting him that relief.]]
* ImAHumanitarian: [[spoiler: Considering the state of the restaurant, it is implied that the Wallyburgers that the villagers eat are seemingly made from corpses, or, even worse, ''[[{{Squick}} his own mutated flesh]]''.]]
* KnightOfCerebus: The game's BlackComedy tone comes to a ''[[NightmareFuel screeching halt]]'' when you manage to meet Wally in person.
* LaughingMad: Frequently has psychotic fits of laughter, the [[HellIsThatNoise sound of which]] being a modified version of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_dZw1iBWL0 Goose's laugh]] from Film/TopGun. [[spoiler:His laughter is apparently scary enough to cause [[DamageReduction Depression]] within ''the entire party'', as well as occasionally Scaring them stiff, giving Wally an {{Extra Turn}} in the fight.]]
* {{Leitmotif}}: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8N1x4KzGDDE My Lord, My Wally]], and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1F96clRenx4 Praise Wally]].
* LiterallyShatteredLives: [[spoiler: During the fight against him, his different phases are signified by the head of his costume breaking apart, eventually giving the player a disturbing look at his ''[[BodyHorror rotting skin]]''.]]
* MonsterClown: Being an {{Expy}} of [[UsefulNotes/McDonalds Ronald McDonald]], this was inevitable.
* MoralityPet: [[spoiler:The one hint to this is the fact that he briefly mentions Lil' Nuggie, the sub-mascot of Wally's who you find partway up the mountain leading to the restaurant, in a way that he is scared that you have hurt him, which you most likely did.]]
** [[spoiler:Interestingly, this is played with due to the fact that Lil' Nuggie, during the fight against him, occasionally wastes turns to "beg for forgiveness from Wally" like [[AllHailTheGreatGodMickey the villagers]] do, which is evidence to the contrary.]]
* NiceHat: A comically-small bowler hat, much like Harvey's. From how [[LiterallyShatteredLives the mask of the suit breaks apart]], though, it's as if the hat is molded onto the costume.
* NonStandardCharacterDesign: Subverted, since he's just wearing a costume.
* OneHitKill: [[spoiler: In his third phase, Wally will not hesitate to use [[NeckSnap Neck Break]] on an unsuspecting party member.]]
* ReluctantPsycho: He's a dangerous, LaughingMad foe, but his pre-battle dialogue implies that he hates what he has become, and wants no part in it.
* RoomFullOfCrazy: The restaurant itself is covered in-and-outside with [[CouldntFindAPen blood-written]] messages like "NO NO" and "DON'T", most likely coming from Wally himself.
* StoneWall: [[spoiler: Is by and far the most durable of the required story bosses, with ''19,000 HP'', as well as an [[ImmuneToFlinching immunity to being Fallen or Stunned]]. Being able to heal about 1/40th of his health later on, ''and'' being able to inflict [[DamageReduction Depression]] and [[ExtraTurn Scared]] upon multiple party members, usually ''simultaneously'', helps, too. To put it in comparison, the only other two bosses who are even more defensive than Wally are Beady and Satan, both of whom are late-game [[BonusBoss Bonus Bosses]].]]
* TorturedMonster: [[spoiler:Whatever the exact truth of his situation, he's clearly horrified with what he is, only wanting to die, all while forced to provide food for a community of worshipers down below.]]
* WalkingSpoiler: While Wally has little-to-no plot significance, the fact that he is the game's NightmareFuelStationAttendant is quite shocking, especially so early on in the game.

!!Shardy Hernandez
[[quoteright:143:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/shardy.png]]

-> ''"Is that a map? Or chart...? Whatever it's called? It is! Whoa, it smells... Garbage Island, huh? Well, I can take you to this island. What do you say?"''

Fardy's brother who owns a boat. Unfortunately, he lacks any sea maps, so Brad must acquire them in order to use Shardy's boats.
----
* FamilyThemeNaming: "-ardy."
* SecretLevel: His boat can take you to Dismal Island and Garbage Island, where many party members can be recruited, and Resort Island, where plot-relevant secrets can be learned. None of these islands are necessary to visit to complete the game.
* SoleSurvivor: [[spoiler: Unless he has more brothers out there, Shardy is the only Hernandez who cannot be killed at all, and thus will always implicitly be alive in the end.]]
* UncannyFamilyResemblance: He looks almost exactly like his brothers, with only their hair being different.

!!Tardy Hernandez
[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/battler_tardy.png]]

-> ''"Hey fella, I didn't just go through all that work for a pat on the back. I want a piece of that little bitch..."''

Another of Fardy's brothers whose boat ends up stolen by Buddy, and Brad cooperates with him to finish a second boat to go look for her.
----
* AssholeVictim: Sure he helped Brad, but he only did so so that he could have a piece of Buddy, so it's rather hard to feel bad about killing him.
* ChekhovsGun: His dead body comes in useful for pursuing Buddy after she steals the second boat.
* FaceHeelTurn: When he learns that Brad intends to leave him behind in the final area, he makes his desire for Buddy clear and attacks him.
* FamilyThemeNaming: "-ardy."
* ImprobableWeaponUser: He uses the giant fan he used to propel the boat on Brad. Predictably, it inflicts little to no damage.
* MeaningfulName: Not very smart to take on one of the strongest men in Olathe, eh, Tardy?
* TooDumbToLive: Tardy honestly believes he stands a chance against a man who defeated whole gangs while building his boat.
* UncannyFamilyResemblance: He looks like Fardy and Shardy, and in ''The Joyful'', Lardy.
* UnfortunateNames: ''Tardy''?

!!Satan
[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/battler_mike.png]]

-> ''"You people do not learn. Curiosity just killed you."''

An evil trucker who terrorizes the wastelands outside of the EWC village.
----
* ArmorOfInvincibility: Drops his belt buckle, the most powerful armor in the game, upon defeat.
* ArtificialLimbs: He has a prosthetic right hand replacing what is presumably an amputated stump. This is clearly a reference to the prosthetic hand that Nnemonic uses as his channel logo.
* BadassBeard: To complete his behemoth trucker look.
* BigBadassRig: Satan resides inside of one, which is covered in a flamboyant, badass decal.
* BonusBoss: He highlights it, saying that by facing him, the player's curiosity will be their undoing.
* TheCameo: [[LetsPlay/{{Nnemonic}} Mike Nnemonic]] as a murderous trucker, referencing his old job driving rigs.
** Appearance-wise, Satan resembles Jebidiah, the custom character whom Nnemonic plays as in VideoGame/HardTime and VideoGame/TheYouTestament.
* TheDreaded: The villagers forbid anyone from going near his truck, and there are legends of him reducing people to nothing but meat.
* FingerPokeOfDoom: The Destiny Poke, which inflicts random status affects upon those he hits with it.
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: It doesn't get any more blatant than ''Satan''.
** His rig is referred to by the EWC villagers as the ''[[VideoGame/EarthBound Devil's Machine]]''.
* OneHitKill: As befitting of an RPG superboss, he is guaranteed to use [[OffWithHisHead Decapitate]] with reckless abandon, if given the chance.
* StoutStrength: He's got a huge gut on him, but it's clear a lot of his weight is muscle too, as his double chop attack can instantly kill a party member if it connects.
* TomTheDarkLord: [[spoiler:His real name is simply Mike. It's on his truck, as well as the tag on the key to it.]]
* WrestlerInAllOfUs: Among Satan's list of moves are a power bomb and a piledriver.

!!Gary The Hot Soup
[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/battler_sweat.png]]
-> ''"Soup's on, baby!"''

A wrestler that participates in EWC that you can fight in the Eternal Championship division, and at random in the Dystopian Rumble. He also appears as a mid-boss on Lardy's section.
----
%%* BewareTheSillyOnes
* ChekhovsGunman: A minor enemy to face at the EWC and one of the weaker ones. He reappears in ''the Joyful RPG'' as a mid-boss, who is considerably tougher.
* {{Leitmotif}}: In ''the Joyful'', [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZuI3ZkCHfs this is his theme song]], which perfectly summarizes the situation.
* NameToRunAwayFromReallyFast: Inverted. It is just a wrestling gimmick.
* TookALevelInBadass: You probably beat him in one turn with Brad alone in the Painful. He's able to put up a legitimate fight against Rando and Buddy combined in Joyful.
* TopHeavyGuy: To an exaggerated degree.
* WrestlerInAllOfUs: What did you expect from a EWC participant?
* ZeroEffortBoss: In Painful. His HP pool is so low that Brad will most likely knock him out in one hit. Joyful is another story though...
[[/folder]]

[[folder:LISA: The Joyful]]

!!Bolo Bugaughtiichi
[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/battler_bolo11.png]]

-> ''"Look everybody! It's the amazing Buddy! I often wondered... What's more likely? Seeing your pretty little face... Or paying off my home loan! Haaaaaaaaa! You see, friends... It pays to wait. Like Daddy used to say. "When it comes to a king's buffet. There's no shame in eating table scraps." Especially when the scraps are this tasty. Haaaaaaaaa! Okay. Enough goofin'. Grab that pristine meat!"''

The first man that Buddy meets in ''The Joyful'', leading his own posse. Unfortunately, he's way over his head.
----
* BigBadWannabe: He presents himself as a big threat when Buddy and [[spoiler:Rando]] first meet him. He and his gang is immediately attacked by a Joy Mutant and are easily decimated; despite leading a gang, he's not even on the List.
* ChekhovsGunman: He survives said Joy Mutant, however, and ends up [[spoiler: being an indirect cause of Rando's death]].
* CombatPragmatist: He prides himself on this trope. [[spoiler: Late in the game he traps Buddy in a dangerous situation by using Rando as leverage, and would have succeeded in molesting Buddy had Sweetheart not intervened.]]
* [[spoiler: DuelBoss]]: [[spoiler: You fight him if you make the choice of letting go of Rando.]]
* OffscreenMomentOfAwesome: [[spoiler: Given that he somehow managed to ''trap'' ''[[WorldsStrongestMan Rando]]'' as a means of threatening Buddy, it is clear he is more clever than she or the player would've already assumed he would be.]]
* RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil: Raping Buddy is his prime motivation, [[spoiler: and he comes extremely close to succeeding too. Even Dr. Yado is apparently disgusted with him.]]
* TheUnfought: {{Played With}}. [[spoiler: You only fight him if you let go of Rando, whereas Sweetheart takes care of him for you if you don't.]]
* TheUnpronounceable: So much so that it's become somewhat of a meme in the LISA fandom.
* VerbalTic: "Like daddy used to say. [Insert [[HurricaneOfAphorisms aphorism]] here]"

!!The Warlords
[[quoteright:198:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/349_thelist.png]]

-> '''Buddy:''' What is this?\\
'''Rando:''' This is the border between eastern and western Olathe. It's called the list. These people run Olathe in order from top to b-b-bottom... Th-They rule territories of Olathe.
-> '''Buddy:''' What about you? I don't see your name.\\
'''Rando:''' Me and my army are left a-a-alone. W-W-Well... We were. I guess times have changed. Now that you're here.
-> '''Buddy:''' ...\\

The reigning warlords of Olathe that Buddy seeks to hunt down so that she can rule Olathe.
----
* AlreadyDoneForYou: Hawk Hollywood, Han Tsunami, and Buffalo van Dyke are already crossed off the List when Buddy finds it, as Brad defeated all three (and [[DefeatEqualsFriendship befriended the last one]]) in the main game.
* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: All of them are incredibly tough fighters.
* BadassArmy: Everyone except Mr. Beautiful (who has a gang of [[ActualPacifist pacifists]]) and Sindy Gallows has a gang of followers.
* KillEmAll: Buddy's main goal is to kill all of them to establish herself as ruler of Olathe so she can be left alone.

!!Vega Van Dam
[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/battler_vega4.png]]

-> ''"So, you're the one lettin' loose monsters. And roughing up my men. That's not gonna fly. Lay down your arms, and prepare to die! For I am, Vega Van Dam!"''

The vain self-proclaimed "Prince of Pleasant" and the sixth-ranked warlord on the List.
----
* BishieSparkle: Dampened somewhat by the fact that he's a hairy middle-aged dude. Also, he just won't ''stop,'' to the point where one of his henchmen tells him to knock it off.
* TheDandy
* EvenEvilHasStandards: He'll genuinely be aghast at the idea of Rando working with Buzzo, if you [[DevelopersForesight somehow have the Joy mask when you face him]].
* TheFightingNarcissist: He spends more time admiring himself than actually fighting, but hits hard.
* FlunkyBoss: Vega fights with two subordinates. He's probably the most difficult of the early warlords for this fact alone.
* GangOfHats: Everyone in his gang wears small bowler hats on their head.
* {{Narcissist}}: Somehow a worse one than Hawk Hollywood.
* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: Pastel pink hair, most likely representing his flamboyance.

!!Mr. Beautiful/Thomas
[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/battler_mrb10.png]]

-> ''"Rando... Why?"''

The fifth-ranked warlord on the List. He runs a town of pacifists.
----
* ActualPacifist: He and his community take their creed seriously. The people who live with him won't ever defend themselves [[spoiler:with the exception of one Joy Mutant]], and even he won't fight until he's at death's door.
* BadassPacifist: As Rando says, Mr. Beautiful is highly respected in Olathe just because he could actually foster a non-violent community in a post-apocalyptic hellhole. And when he gets angry...
* HeroAntagonist: As stated, he's a pacifist that created a peaceful community, which is a big accomplishment in the CrapsackWorld and he outright refuses to fight back until he's low on health. [[spoiler: This is {{Deconstructed}} in that killing him gives Rando a reason to outright abandon Buddy in the middle of the night.]]
* MartialPacifist: Mr. Beautiful doesn't fight until his health is nearly depleted. Once he raises his fists, though, he hits like a train.
* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Mr. Beautiful was based on [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoko_Asahara Shoko Asahara]], founder of the Japanese doomsday cult [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aum_Shinrikyo Aum Shinrikyo]].
* WeUsedToBeFriends: He very much takes this stance toward Rando, and sincerely seems more angry at him than Buddy.
* WhiteMaskOfDoom: He and his followers all wear blank white dolls masks, though none of them are bad or aggressive people, outside of [[spoiler: the mutated Baby]].
* WrestlerInAllOfUs: The third phase of his fight, where he actually starts attacking with moves such as Power Bomb.

!!Lardy Hernandez
[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/battler_lardy21.png]]

-> ''"My brothers... I'm coming... Please take me back..."''

Yet another one of Fardy's brothers. The fourth-ranked warlord on the List.
----
* ContinuityNod: All of Lardy's brothers are involved with some sort of transportation vehicle; Lardy is associated with a truck driving segment and is fought in one.
* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: He looks as unimposing as the rest of his brothers, but he managed to become one of Olathe's warlords (albeit a low-ranking one).
* HeroAntagonist: He never actually does anything wrong to deserve being killed. Rando even points out that he and his brothers contribute greatly to Olathe's safety, shipping goods across the wilds.
* GunsAkimbo: Has no problem with DualWielding two automatic assault rifles.
* LetsGetDangerous: Seems like kind of a wimp until his health gets low. Then he whips out a pair of automatic assault rifles.
--> '''''"I'M NOT FUCKING AROUND!"'''''
* StarterVillain: Despite ostensibly being the fourth-strongest warlord, due to the fact that the game requires you to go through most of his section to access TNT, his lair being the first spotted in the crossroads, and being the weakest of the first three warlords in his actual fight, the game nudges Buddy to take him on before any of the others.
* UncannyFamilyResemblance: His hairstyle is the only thing that differentiates himself from his brothers.
* UnfortunateNames: "Lardy" is a completely unflattering name, and invokes lard, which is pig fat.

!!Dice Mahone
[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/battler_dice_mahoney14.png]]

The third-ranked warlord on the List. He was apparently a gambler who ran a sizable town, but has become a Joy Mutant by the time Buddy catches up to him.
----
* AndThenJohnWasAZombie: Became a Joy Mutant offscreen.
* BodyHorror: His form as a Joy Mutant makes it near impossible to tell what he originally looked like.
* {{Camp}}: His followers dress really flashy; it's unknown if he did the same.
* CombatPragmatist: He and his followers are scared shitless of Buddy by the time she fixes her sights on them, and try to eliminate her via ambushes and other nasty tricks.
* GangOfHats: Everyone in his gang wears flashy biker gear.
* WeHardlyKnewYe: His severe mutation makes it impossible to tell what he even looked like.
* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: His only distinguishing feature from before transformation.

!!Sindy Gallows
[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/battler_sindy_hanging12.png]]

-> ''"Hey, kid. I didn't get on that list by being a Goddamn pussy. I'm #2 in the world. You want my spot? Try and take it, bitch."''

Number Two on the List. He was a fierce hunter of Joy Mutants, to the point where a fanatical pro-mutant cult hanged him and shot him full of arrows. [[spoiler:That doesn't stop him from trying to take Buddy out anyway.]]
----
* BadassBoast: [[spoiler:As Buddy is walking away from his "corpse:"]]
--> [[spoiler:"Hey, kid. I didn't get on that list by being a Goddamn pussy."]]
* KaizoTrap: [[spoiler: Make sure you're healed up before finishing the fight against the cult members.]]
* MadeOfIron: [[spoiler:Not only did he survive being lynched and riddled with arrows, he's a stronger fighter than every other warlord and several Joy Mutants encountered up to that point. His only major handicap is that he occasionally wasted a turn to hack up blood.]]
* NotQuiteDead: When you show up, you fight the people that managed to kill him. [[spoiler: Afterward, he wakes up from death, just in time to give you a more proper boss fight.]]
* TheManTheyCouldntHang
* MeaningfulName: Sindy ''Gallows.''
* RasputinianDeath: Hung and shot full of arrows, but survived long enough to fall by Buddy's blade.

!!Big Lincoln
[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/battler_big_lincoln10.png]]

-> ''"Big Lincoln sends you to hell!"''

The number-one ranked warlord in Olathe and the strongest man in the world. He waits atop a tall mountain to destroy any who would challenge him.
----
* AmbiguouslyRelated: The fandom speculated that he and Tiger Man are related in some way and [[WordOfGod Dingaling]] confirmed that that they indeed are. However, the exact relation is still unknown.
* AnimalMotifs: Lincoln is a giant man wearing a wolf-head mask.
* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: The reason why he is in the top of the Warlords list.
* ClimaxBoss: Probably the last Warlord the players will fight and also the last boss in the game that poses any real threat to them.
* DueToTheDead: According to WordOfGod, Big Lincoln collects decaying corpses and buries them outside of his house to give them a proper and honorable burial rather than letting them rot outside forever.
* GlowingEyesOfDoom: The first we see of him are his wolf mask's eyes glowing in the dark.
* HellBentForLeather: He wears a studded biker jacket that seems to have ''floodlights'' built in.
* MarathonBoss: There are other bosses after Big Lincoln, but none of them touch him in terms of stamina. He has three phases, each with more health than any other enemy seen thus far. And then he starts healing himself.
* RedEyesTakeWarning
* SecretIdentity: The whole reason he wears a mask is to be true to himself, and that's easier to do when no one knows who he is. Not even himself.
* TheVoiceless: He never speaks, though his strongest attacks are accompanied by a wolf howl.
* WorldsStrongestMan: And he seems to live solely to kill anyone who'd challenge that title.
[[/folder]]

* ClippedWingAngel: People mutate when under physical and/or mental trauma, or when they're at death's door. However, they're greatly impaired by their [[AxCrazy screwy mental states]] and physical deformities.

** Trying to leave Henry Wyatt's cave after taking his record will result in him immediately lowering his head to attack you.

* MightyGlacier: With the exception of Jonathan, who has 99 Agility, Mutants only have 1 Agility but have buckets of HP and high Attack stats.

* TragicMonster: Mutants were ordinary people who took Joy to stop the pain of the apocalypse from getting to them, only to turn into horrific creatures. Several of them will spend turns crying and screaming.

* BlindingBangs

* HiddenEyes

-> ''"I just... For Once... I wanted to do something good. I'm the one that was supposed to protect you. I can't let anyone hurt you..."''

* FormerlyFat: Salvation Black

* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: He apparently styles his hair green.

* ManBitesMan: Almost all mutants mutants will bite to attack. Most also know Fatal Chomp, a far [[FinalDeath deadlier]] variant of Bite.

* BlobMonster: Bobby from ''The Joyful'' resembles one.

* TheDragon: Sweetheart serves as one to [[spoiler: Dr. Yado]].

* FinalDeath: The biggest source of these in the game. All Mutants, with the exception of Doctor, carry at least one attack that can permanently kill a party member. Most notably, Peter carries ''[[FromBadToWorse both]]'' Fatal Chomp and Neck Break. This is averted in ''The Joyful'', as their permadeath moves have been downgraded to slightly stronger attacks to compensate for the lack of party members.

* NonMaliciousMonster: You'll encounter a handful of mutants who don't want to fight, likely because they've fulfilled their desires. One Mutant even acts as a save point (though it isn't present in Pain Mode).

** Hilariously, you can sell Toby, the item/hostage required to recruit Crisp. Obviously, doing this before picking up Crisp will result in him being unable to be recruited.

* AxCrazy

* BurgerFool

* EsotericHappyEnding: [[spoiler: Sure, you do stop an uncontrollable, cannibalistic psychopath... but, you have also ''cut off a village's food supply'' in doing so.]]

* MonsterClown

* WhoNamesTheirKidDude: Unlike his brothers, "Lardy" is a completely unflattering name.

* AxCrazy: Most Mutants' desires come in the form of killing everyone in sight.
* BloodFromTheMouth: Most mutants will squander turns coughing up blood, dealing damage to themselves.

* ClippedWingAngel: It appears that some people turn into Mutants when they're at death's door, as seen with [[spoiler: Brad and Buzzo]]. However, they're greatly impaired by their [[AxCrazy screwy mental states]] and, in some cases, lack of mobility. Several mutants will waste turns coughing up blood, damaging themselves.

* FinalDeath: The biggest source of these in the game. All Mutants, with the exception of Doctor, carry at least one attack that can permanently kill a party member. Most notably, Peter carries ''[[FromBadToWorse both]]'' Fatal Chomp and Neck Break.

* ManBitesMan: Most mutants will bite to attack. Most also know Fatal Chomp, a far [[FinalDeath deadlier]] variant of Bite.

* NonStandardCharacterDesign: Doctor looks rather different from the other mutants, as it has yellowed teeth, red-and-black eyes, and an UndeathlyPallor. Possibly justified in that it's implied that he's been sitting in his basement for years.

* OffWithHisHead: All but four mutants[[note]]Blue, Georgy, Rex Thunderstorm, and Doctor[[/note]] carry Fatal Chomp, which bites the head off of its target, killing them instantly and [[FinalDeath permanently]].
* OneHitKill: The majority of Mutants in ''The Painful'' have at least one FinalDeath attack, usually Fatal Chomp. If used on Brad, then it just knocks him out. The only mutant to lack such an attack is Doctor.

* TragicMonster: Most Mutants were ordinary people who took Joy to stop the pain of the apocalypse from getting to them, only to turn into horrific creatures. Several of them will spend turns crying and screaming.

* FinalDeath: The biggest source of these in the game. All Mutants, with the exception of Doctor, carry at least one attack that can permanently kill a party member. Most notably, Peter carries ''[[FromBadToWorse both]] Fatal Chomp and Neck Break.''

[[folder:Minor Characters]]

!!Marty Armstrong
[[quoteright:171:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hfs.png]]

-> ''"You're wasting your time... You really don't get it do you? You really thought you could forget? Why are you trying so hard?... Accept it... You can't fight something that already happened... There is no understanding, no purpose... There is only life, and this one is yours... Accept it... I'm here to stay."''

Brad and Lisa's father. An abusive, alcoholic, middle aged deadbeat. He molested Lisa and physically and verbally assaulted Brad. He had an extremely negative effect on both Brad and Lisa's lives.

* TheDragon: [[spoiler:The Joyless ending reveals that he’ssecretly working for Dr. Yado, the creator of Joy.]] However, he’s really only this in ''The Painful'', as [[EldritchAbomination Sweetheart]] usurps him from this role in the epilogue.

* BigBad: The real one of ''The Painful'', as he antagonizes Brad more directly than [[HeroAntagonist Rando]] and slowly drives Brad further into evil, turning him into the VillainProtagonist he is by the end. Though he himself is TheDragon to OverarhingVillain Dr Yado.

* BoisterousWeakling: Terry has a lot of confidence, but little actual fighting skills to back it up.

* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler: If Terry is present at the final battle, he reluctantly puts [[FireForgedFriends his love for Brad]] aside to protect Buddy. He seems aware that this will end in his death but he faces it with remarkable clarity.]]

* MagikarpPower: Terry's final move is one of the strongest in the game and can turn him into a LethalJokeCharacter. Even before that point, some of the skills he unlocks as he levels up are deceptively useful. Hype-Up is guaranteed to give party members the "Rage" buff (which is extremely potent if they attack multiple times in one turn) and Weather Report has a high chance to inflict enemies with the "Fallen" debuff, leaving them stunned for a couple turns.

An old man who used to be a librarian before the flash. He loves to tell long stories about nothing. He joins Brad if you listen to his entire rambling tale. His stories allow him to inflict various status ailments and heal party members, along with a few KiAttacks.

* WomanInWhite: Lisa is always seen in a white dress, and [[spoiler:aside from Yado]] is the driving force behind the entire series.

->''"You dandy FUCK! You just made the biggest mistake of your life..."

[[folder: LISA: The Joyful]]