Characters from Romance of the Three Kingdoms who are not primarily associated with any of the three main kingdoms (Shu, Wei, or Wu), or the successor kingdom Jin.
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Yellow Turbans
Zhang Jiao
Zhang Jiao
A Taoist mystic leading a rebellion against the Han Empire, kickstarting the end of the Dynasty.- A God Am I: So he claims.
- Evil Sorcerer: For a given definition of "evil".
- Foreshadowing: His rebellion serves as a foreshadowing to problems the Han Dynasty will suffer.
- Plot-Triggering Death: His death is what puts in motion the downfall of the Eunuchs.
- Religion is Magic: That's what it's portrayed as, at any rate.
- Sibling Team: He has two Brothers and they form a trio. Doesn't last long though.
- Small Role, Big Impact: Despite being a relatively minor character, his rebellion triggers a lot of important events (such as Zhang Fei, Guan Yu and Liu Bei becoming Brothers).
- Spell My Name With An S: The historical pronunciation of his name is actually "Zhang Jue", but the second character of his name has the modern reading "Jiao" instead.
- Warmup Boss: The first threat to appear in the story, his rebellion basically there for the various characters to show their military ability and personal quirks.
Han
Liu Xie
Liu Xie
The emperor of the Han Dynasty, though one with little actual power.- Puppet King: Though the emperor, he can do nothing but obey whichever warlord holds him, whether that be Dong Zhuo or Cao Cao.
Liu Hong
Liu Hong
The first Emperor Ling of Han, he's the initial Emperor during the Yellow Turban Rebellion. Eunuchs are extremely powerful on his rule, which will have consequences. Had little interest in actually ruling. Among other things he died without specifying which of his two sons, Liu Xie and Liu Bian, would be crown prince.- Puppet King: Starting a trend. He lets the Eunuchs rule the country.
Empress He
Second Empress Consort of Liu Hong.Becomes Empress Dowager to her son Liu Bian.
He Jin
The brother to Empress He and a close ally to her political ambitions. Comes into conflict with the Eunuchs.
Ten Attendants
A group or eunuchs that gained political power during the rule of Emperor Liu Hong.
Empress Dong
Empress Dowager when her son, Liu Hong, became Emperor. Came into conflict with Empress He as she wanted Liu Xie be crown prince as opposed to Liu Bian, the son of Empress He.
Dong Zhuo
Dong Zhuo
Dong Zhuo
A tyrant who attempts to take control of the Empire by deposing one emperor and ruling through that emperor's younger brother. A woman comes between him and his second-in-command, Lu Bu, and he is assassinated.- Disc-One Final Boss: He is effectively the Big Bad for the first portion of the book, but he's defeated very early on.
- Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: Dong Zhuo has always cared for his aged mother.
- Fat Bastard: The biggest one in the story.
- Fat Idiot: Compared to Lu Bu and Li Ru, yeah.
- Hate Sink: Although the story lionizes the Shu characters at the expense of Wu and Wei, it is still possible to respect and root for the latter kingdoms. Dong Zhuo, though, is just repulsive, and probably has no fans whatsoever.
- Jerkass: He is by far one of the most unlikable characters of the whole tale.
- Regent for Life: His plan is to become this.
- Villainous Glutton: He grows ridicuously fat when he becomes regent.
Li Ru
Li Ru
Dong Zhuo's most trusted advisor. He is the one who kills the deposed Emperor Shao, his consort, and his mother. He is executed after Dong Zhuo's death.- Brains and Brawn: The brains to Lu Bu's brawn.
- The Chessmaster: To an extent he sometimes seems to be full-on precognitive.
- The Corrupter: For Lu Bu.
- Death by Adaptation: Historically, he's spared from execution after Li Jue convinced Emperor Xian that Li Ru was just following Dong Zhuo's orders.
- The Dragon: Shares this role with Lu Bu for Dong Zhuo.
- Evil Genius: Being Zhuo's most trusted avisor, this is a given.
- Hyper-Competent Sidekick: For Dong Zhuo. He effectively solves all crisis for him.
- Kick the Dog: His murder of the royal Family is seen as this.
- Manipulative Bastard: Displayed when he converts Lu Bu to his side.
- Related in the Adaptation: In the novel, he is Dong Zhuo's son-in-law. Historically, this may not be the case.
- The Strategist: He sees through Diao Chan, but can't get Dong Zhuo to listen to reason.
Lu Bu
Lu Bu
Lü Bu
The mightiest warrior in all of China. After serving Ding Yuan and Dong Zhuo (and assassinating both), he becomes a powerful warlord in his own right. He is eventually defeated by Cao Cao and executed.- The Ace: Even in the World of Badass of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, he was legendary. There's a reason why people continued to want him on their side despite his Chronic Backstabbing Disorder.
- The Brute: He's a peerless warrior, but as a general shows poor leadership, has no mind for politics and is too aggressive for strategy. His only asset is inhuman power and skill, and his only tactic is brute force.
- Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: It eventually comes back to bite him in the ass when Cao Cao considers accepting his service after defeating him, only to be reminded that he suffers from this. And it had also earned him the notoriety of being "a house slave under three family names".
- Cool Horse: His famous steed Red Hare, said to be the swifted horse in all of China. Red Hare was so fast and so closely associated with Lu Bu that "Among men Lu Bu, among Horses Red Hare"note became a popular saying.
- Doting Parent: He was said to be very fond of his daughter. The story actually counts this as a negative trait, as everyone thinks he should really be concentrating on warfare and conquest, not his daughter.
- The Dragon: To Dong Zhuo.
- Four-Star Badass: In a series full of them, he deserves special mention.
- Improbable Aiming Skills: Less famous than his ability to defeat nearly anyone within spear's reach of him, he also managed to get Liu Bei and a general of Yuan Shu, Ji Leng, to stand down and not battle against each other by betting to them that he could hit the left branch of his halberd with an arrow from 150 paces away.
- In-Series Nickname: 'Bastard of Three Fathers'. This because, aside from his birth father, he also chose a general as a 'Father' later, and not long after that, killed his 'father', and chose the tyrannical Dong Zhuo as his 'father'. Add to that, the fact that he keeps on changing his allegiances at the drop of hat, and that's how that nickname came to be.
- Jerkass: Aside from his aforementioned Chronic Backstabbing Disorder, he was also harsh, rough, impatient and violent. He was unpopular with even his own men.
- One-Man Army: It was said that he killed a thousand men a day just to keep his skills sharp and temper even. He holds Hulao gate almost completely by himself, and only retreats when attacked by Zhang Fei, Guan Yu and Liu Beu simultaneously. Before Liu Bei joined the fray, he was perfectly capable of holding his own against Zhang Fei and Guan Yu at once, two of the mightiest warriors in the novel, with Zhang Fei in particular only being surpassed by Lu Bu himself.
- Please Spare Him, My Liege!: Inverted. Cao Cao was going to spare him in order to make use of him, until Liu Bei pointed out the fate of his previous lords. Cao then changes his mind and executes him.
- Self-Made Orphan: Both of the lords whom he assassinated were also adoptive fathers.
- World's Best Warrior: He is famously known as this in Ancient China. He famously dueled Zhang Fei, Guan Yu, and Liu Bei at the same time.
Diao Chan
Diao Chan
A singing girl who is roped into bringing down Dong Zhuo by her adopted father by playing him and Lu Bu against each other.- Honey Trap: At her adoptive father's urging, she used her beauty and wits to drive a wedge between Lu Bu and Dong Zhuo until Lu Bu ultimately killed Dong Zhuo.
- Wounded Gazelle Gambit: She convinces both Dong and Lu that she is miserable whenever she is with the other one, making them both want her more.
Chen Gong
Chen Gong
A strategist who followed Cao Cao until he became disgusted by his immoral behaviour, then joined up with Lu Bu in order to oppose him. When Lu Bu is defeated, Cao Cao offers him a chance to repent, but he refuses and is executed. Cao Cao was so moved that he provided for Chen Gong's family thereafter.- Doomed Moral Victor: Chen Gong ends up joining with Lu Bu against Cao Cao. When Lu Bu loses, mostly because of his refusal to heed Chen Gong's advice, he is taking captive and willingly chooses death.
- My God, What Have I Done?: He assists Cao Cao in killing his adoptive uncle's household, under the false impression that they were going to betray him and Cao Cao to the authorities. Unlike Cao Cao, this affects him deeply, and Cao Cao's total lack of remorse is what drives Chen Gong to betray him.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: After Cao Cao proves to be more ruthless than he thought.
Chen Deng
Chen Deng
Another strategist for Lu Bu who, along with his father, acted as a fifth column in favour of Liu Bei and Cao Cao. They were both highly rewarded after Lu Bu was defeated.- Evil Chancellor: Towards Lu Bu.
- The Mole, possibly The Mole depending on how you feel towards Lu Bu and Cao Cao.
Yuan family
Yuan Shu
Yuan Shu
A warlord vying for power and brother of Yuan Shao. He declares himself Emperor when Sun Ce trades him the Imperial Seal for troops.- Alas, Poor Villain: His death is arguably the most pathetic in the entire book.
- Smug Snake: All of Cao Cao or Sima Yi's arrogance with only a tiny fraction of their competence.
Yuan Shao
Yuan Shao
The most powerful warlord in the north. His arrogance eventually leads to his downfall at Guan Du.- Blue Blood: The Yuan family is one of the most distinguished at the beginning of the story.
- Characterization Marches On: The most likely explanation why he Took a Level in Jerkass is that the writer originally modeled him on the historical Yuan Shao, before inventing Fatal Flaws for the doomed warlord to fit the novel's Confucian moral slant.
- General Failure: Not a dramatic example, but a consistent one. He's weak-willed, indecisive, unimaginative, and uninspiring, which means he gets significantly less out of the resources at his disposal than he should, relies on talented allies and subordinates to advance his goals, and suffers greatly when he doesn't have them. It's why his campaign against Cao Cao goes so badly despite him theoretically having vastly superior military might and a popular, attractive casus belli (that Cao Cao was turning into yet another Evil Chancellor for a country that was by then heartily sick of them).
- Hot-Blooded: One gets the feeling he never thinks his actions through.
- The Leader: For the coalition against Dong Zhou.
- Only Sane Man: He and Cao Cao are the only people of the plot against the Eunuchs with any sanity.
- The Proud Elite: His Fatal Flaw is his high-born arrogance.
- The Purge: He really hates Eunuchs. Not that they didn't have it coming.
- Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Boy can he hold a grudge. Specially if you're an Eunuch.
- Took a Level in Jerkass: Early on he seems a fundamentally decent character. His arrogance and high and mighty approach only appear when he talks with the three Brothers.
Riverlands
Liu Zhang
Liu Zhang
The governor of Yizhou. He was considered an incompetent by some of his own officers, who wanted Liu Bei to replace him. The rest served him loyally until his defeat, whereupon most of the survivors joined Liu Bei.- General Failure: He was unable to correctly use the talented officers under his command, which led to their resenting him.
Nanman tribes
Meng Huo
Meng Huo
A barbarian king, he attempts to rebel against the rule of Shu only to be beaten seven times by Zhuge Liang. After the seventh time, he repents and swears loyalty to Shu.- Humiliation Conga: Zhuge Liang puts him through one of these, constantly capturing and releasing him in the hopes that he'll eventually submit willingly. It takes seven captures, but ultimately he yields.
Lady Zhurong
Lady Zhurong
Meng Huo's wife who claimed to be a descendant of the goddess of fire. She is the only woman in the book to actually fight.- Action Girl: As mentioned above, she is the only woman in the book to actually fight. She used knives in battle.
- Lady of War: She's definitely no pushover, as she successfully manages to take two Shu officers prisoner, and was only captured herself by the combination of Zhao Yun, Wei Yan, and Ma Dai.
- Prisoner Exchange: After her capture, she was set free in exchange for the two leaders of Shu she captured.
Liaodong
Gongsun Yuan
Gongsun Yuan
The ruler of Liaodong who rebels against Cao Rui. He was defeated by Sima Yi.- Bad Boss: Publicly executed two of his strategists for criticizing his rebellion.
