Characters / Tales from the Borderlands

Spoilers Off for games prior to Borderlands 3 as well as for spoiler characters that are marked as such. Proceed with caution. You Have Been Warned.

Borderlands Character sheets
Playable Vault Hunters: Borderlands | Borderlands 2 (Krieg) | The Pre-Sequel (Claptrap) | Borderlands 3
Supporting Characters: Borderlands | Borderlands 2 (Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep DLC) | The Pre-Sequel | Borderlands 3
Spinoffs and other media: Tales From The Borderlands | Tiny Tina's Wonderlands | New Tales from the Borderlands | Other media
Weapon Brands: Atlas | Dahl | Hyperion (Handsome Jack) | Maliwan | Torgue | Tediore | Other Weapon Brands
Other: Bandits and Bandit Factions (Children of the Vault) | Hodunk and Zaford Clans | Creatures (Eridians and Vault Monsters) | Raid Bosses

---

See the following pages for the following characters:

• Borderlands: Vault Hunters: Mordecai, Brick.
• Borderlands 2: Vault Hunters: Zer0.
• Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel!: Vault Hunters: Athena.
  • Borderlands: Claptrap: The Mystery Vault Hunter (CL4P-TP).
• Borderlands 2: Shade.
• Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel!: Janey Springs.
• Borderlands: Atlas: Rhys, Gortys, Dr. Cassius Leclemaine.
• Borderlands: Hyperion: Yvette, Loader Bot/The Stranger, Hugo Vasquez, Handsome Jack Fanclub.
  • Borderlands: Handsome Jack: Handsome Jack A.I..
• Borderlands: Bandits and Bandit Factions: Kroger & Finch, Vallory, Bossanova.
• Borderlands: Hodunk and Zaford Clans: Scooter, Tector Hodunk.
• Borderlands: Eridians and Vault Monsters: The Traveller.

---

Protagonists

Fiona

Fiona

Con artist. Also you, too.

Played by: Laura Bailey

Born and raised in Pandora, Fiona ekes out a living with her sister Sasha as con artists under the tutelage of Felix. With any luck, their newest con involving a Vault Key might just make them several million bucks richer.

---

• Accidental Murder: She gouged out one of General Pollux's eyes and removed the other eyeball for a retinal scan under the belief that he had died, not knowing the guy was actually in suspended animation and could have been revived. She immediately regretted doing this and was as horrified as everyone else.
• Action Survivor: While she fares better than Rhys in combat situations, she's still more reliant on wits and luck compared to the typical Borderlands PC. After some training from Athena, she becomes good enough to the point that she can at least survive a fight with Brick and Mordecai, with Athena's help.
• Ambiguously Bi: She's shown to be affectionate towards Rhys and Scooter, even having the option to give the latter a Last Kiss before his Heroic Sacrifice, but depending on player-choice she can get rather adorably flustered when spending time with the openly lesbian Athena in Episode 3.
• Ambiguously Brown: By virtue of being Sasha's sister. Fiona herself looks more ambiguously Asian at times, especially in the old Polaroid in Episode 1.
• Anti-Hero: She's somewhat more traditional in her heroism than Rhys, to begin with, planning on conning Hyperion on her last job, whereas he is a far more Nominal Hero who just wants to screw over Vasquez and get back to work. That said, she's still a con artist.
• Badass Normal: Not having any real training or any modifications to make herself stronger, she can still hold her own against Pandora's common threats.
• Beware the Nice Ones: Can be nicer than Rhys (it's up to the player). Is also the person who, canonically, tries to kill both Rhys and Vaughn. She can also kill Felix, her surrogate father.
• Big Sister Instinct: She spends a lot of time when Athena is chasing her pushing Sasha out of the way of Athena's incoming shield.
• Bling-Bling-BANG!: She gets hold of a purple-rarity, custom-made, Jakobs derringer in Episode One and a very rare aftermarket barrel which turn it into the triple-barreled, elemental, 'Roshambo' in Episode Two.
• Cleavage Window: Downplayed. It is shaped like a necktie, emphasizing her businesslike attire.
• Cool Big Sis: Her role to Sasha.
• Combat Clairvoyance: In Episode Three, she develops a talent for visualizing potential possibilities that let her find ways to outmaneuver her enemies.
• Contrasting Sequel Main Character: She isn't a Vault Hunter (but likely on her way to becoming one), being just a con artist who has to rely on her mind and resourcefulness rather than a strong gun.
• Con Men Hate Guns: While she's given a hidden derringer at the beginning of her storyline, she can voice a distaste for guns. Subverted if you instead have her say she'd prefer a bigger gun. According to Sasha, she's the better shot between the two of them and this is completely dropped in later episodes where she's forced into more gunfights.
• Deuteragonist: The story is just about her as it is about Rhys, but it's clear that Rhys gets more of the character development.
• Easily Forgiven: Can do this to Felix, not letting money come between them. She can also go the route of ensuring a Karmic Death.
• Emergency Weapon:
  • Her spring-loaded derringer tucked up her sleeve only has one shot, but with surprise and timing that can make all the difference. She later upgrades it with an attachment that gives it the ability to apply elemental damage.
  • Athena finds the idea of having only an Emergency Weapon on Pandora to be ridiculous and helps out by upgrading the elemental modifier and handing her a big case of bullets.
• Evolving Weapon: As the series progresses, Fiona's derringer gets upgraded to not only be able to deal either fire, shock or corrosive damage but also gets it's limiters removed as well as enough ammo to let it serve as a practical weapon in it's own right.
• Fangirl: Implied to be one of Moxxi. If you pay close attention, you'll notice similarities in their outfits, Fiona's seemingly being a (far more modest) Cosplay of her. Really does make you wonder what Scooter really saw in her... ^note  Then again, in Borderlands 2 he revealed that he had a crush on Ellie, who is also his sister and who was creeped out by said crush. And he belongs to a family of criminal redneck technical geniuses who seem to really like incest.
• Fashionable Asymmetry: The right side of her coat is a lot longer than the left.
• Good Scars, Evil Scars: Sports a very slight one that splits her right eyebrow. It mostly demonstrates that her childhood wasn't exactly easy.
• Guile Hero: With the right options, Fiona can be quite proficient in talking her way out of a problem.
• Heroic BSoD: Played for Laughs if, when Fiona needs to get arrested during a tour, you opt to shoot the Butt Stallion statue. It starts to bleed, which causes her a brief psychological Freak Out.
• Improbable Aiming Skills: Very good at hitting her target while on the move, and a very handy skill to have, considering her Derringer only holds one bullet at a time.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Can be rather blunt and confrontational, but she’s got plenty of moments where she can prove she’s a good person deep down.
• Murder by Inaction: She can potentially do this to Felix in Zer0 Sum, if she doesn't warn him about the bomb in the briefcase.
• My Sister Is Off-Limits:
  • Becomes very snippy towards Rhys after he says something flattering about Sasha. Never mind that he did it in an incredibly indirect, roundabout, and probably unintentional fashion.
  • In Episode 4's opening credits, she gives Rhys a Death Glare when she catches Rhys and Sasha smiling at one another... only to get Scooter smiling back at Fiona.
  • At the end of Episode 5, she confronts Rhys about his intentions towards Sasha. She can either voice her approval or disapproval... or say that at least he's better than August.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: The fake Vault Key scam she tries to pull on August gives Vasquez enough company clout to murder Henderson for his position and demote Rhys to the janitorial sector out of spite. This, in turn, encouraged Rhys to come down to Pandora in an effort to take the deal for himself which subsequently ruined things for the rest of the cast, Fiona included.
• Not So Above It All: While presumably somewhat more honest than Rhys, chiding him for extravagant lies, she engages in her own outlandish lies in Episode 3, when speaking of their first encounter with Vallory.
• Nothing Up My Sleeve: She has a one-shot derringer hidden up her sleeve. It's useful for distracting enemies with a lucky shot or simply to intimidate people. Athena later upgrades it to be a much more practical weapon.
• Odd Friendship: Develops one with Vaughn by the end of their death race.
• Pet the Dog:
  • May reassure Vaughn when he's about to have a breakdown, even offering to protect him.
  • Also, claiming that Rhys and Vaughn are her friends so that Scooter leaves them alone. They all seem friendlier after this.
  • Thanks Rhys if he trusted her over Jack, particularly significant as their relationship until then has been one of convenience and snark.
  • Also expresses pretty genuine sympathy for Rhys when Yvette betrays him.
  • She can also express kindness to August, rather than berating him and making him feel worse.
• Please, Don't Leave Me: A dialog choice when Sasha's dying.
• Self-Made Orphan: An option for her to pursue with Felix.
• Sharp-Dressed Man: A rare female example. Fiona dresses better than anyone else on Pandora save Hyperion agents like Rhys. A clothing change later in the game takes her into Steampunk territory while still looking sharp as ever.
• She Cleans Up Nicely: While she’s always well dressed and beautiful, Fiona’s given the option to wear a lovely dress to fit in at Hyperion. Scooter approves.
• Sherlock Scan: As of Episode 3, she can pull off one in order to hit the weak points of whatever she's fighting.
• Shipper on Deck: Becomes one with Loader Bot and Gortys. Soon after, the player can choose whether Fiona can be one for Rhys and Sasha.
• Sibling Team: With her sister.
• Significant Green-Eyed Redhead: If a red streak on her hair could count. She takes a major role throughout the game as the unofficial leader of the gang and a competent Guile Hero when situations call for it. Her action skill also involves dodging a sniper round aimed at her face.
• Took a Level in Badass: In episode 3, she's well on her way to becoming a Vault Hunter in more than just name. She develops a Combat Clairvoyance ability that could be her Action Skill, and even helps fight off Brick and Mordecai. She fails, but she puts up a pretty tough fight. Come the present in episode 5, this ability helps her take down several Vault Guardians without taking a single hit whilst also protecting Sasha from the same in zero gravity.
• Training from Hell: In order to prepare her for being a Vault Hunter, Athena promptly forces Fiona fight a giant flower that wants to eat her with her pistol. On her own.
• Video Game Caring Potential: As with Rhys, she can be played as a total Jerkass or as a kind, caring friend.
• Weak, but Skilled:
  • She notes that she lacks the crazy abilities that Vault Hunters have and is more accustomed to talking her way out of fights, to which Athena tells her that she should use her wits to out-think her enemies.
  • It also extends to her choice of weapon, which is a tiny derringer that she hides up her sleeve and which at first only holds a single bullet. At numerous points she demonstrates that the right shot at the right time can be more effective than the More Dakka approach of the average Pandoran.
• You Have Researched Breathing: One of the clothing sets you can purchase in episode 3 gives her a spiffy silver outfit that doesn't come with a hat and she can spend the rest of the chapter bareheaded from that point on.

Supporting Characters

Vaughn

Vaughn

Your best friend (the Money Man)

Played by: Chris Hardwick

Rhys' loyal sidekick, Vaughn works at accounting. He accompanies Rhys on his adventure in Pandora.

---

• Abhorrent Admirer: In some of the initial draft's of the game's story, he expresses interest in Fiona's "guns".
• Action Survivor: Becomes one like Rhys, though more competent. A lot more.
• Always Someone Better: In Episode 3, he reveals that he's always been somewhat jealous of Rhys due to the fact that while both are equally nerdy, people usually end up liking Rhys better due to being better-looking.
• And I Must Scream: Choosing to trust Fiona over Jack during the climax of Episode 2 results in him getting paralyzed, but conscious for a large portion of the third chapter.
• Beware the Nice Ones: Is revealed to have put a bomb in the Hyperion case. And, it's worth pointing out, he can steal 10 million dollars in seconds.
• Break the Cutie: His time on Pandora has done nothing but horrify and terrify him. He starts taking a liking to it.
• Broken Pedestal: Possibly the only Hyperion employee alive who doesn't think much of Handsome Jack.
• Catchphrase: He has become very fond of yelling 'BLOOD FEUD!!!' in Borderlands 3. It even rubs off on some of the Vault hunters.
• Childhood Friends: Has been friends with Rhys since high school.
• Clark Kent Outfit: Underneath his dweeby get-up, Vaughn is actually rather muscular, something that he accredits to a gym bike he got a few months ago.
  Rhys: You are weirdly buff, dude.
• Crazy-Prepared: There are several layers of security guarding the briefcase containing the 10 million dollars that he and Rhys abscond with. The first lies in the fact that he handcuffs it to his wrist. Next, the case has a tracker they can follow if they lose it. The case itself should only be opened by a biometric lock. The word "should" is very important since improperly forcing it open will cause it to explode, destroying the money and killing whoever was trying to get at it.
• Demoted to Extra: In Episode 3 and (potentially) 4, Vaughn won't play a major role in the story. That is until he comes back to save Rhys and Fiona in the finale.
• Did Not Think This Through: When he becomes the bandit leader of the Children of Helios, he arms his gang with Hyperion-issue laser pointers instead of guns. On a Crapsack World where Everything Is Trying to Kill You. This ends up biting him in the ass when he and his bandit gang are left defenseless as Hector and his New Pandoran Army slaughter every single member of his gang.
• Even the Guys Want Him: His surprisingly buff physique has made both Rhys and Vasquez rather weirded out and uncomfortable, to the point where Vasquez requests that one of his mooks get Vaughn a shirt because he's too distracted to finish a sentence. Jack, of all people, is more open in his admiration, and in Episode 3 the Jack-apedia rates Vaughn a 7/10 in hotness because of his abs.
• Failure Is the Only Option: As a bandit lord Vaughn is immensely unlucky as his clans tend to end up wiped out or betraying him for another faction. The Helios Hellions end up getting exterminated by New Pandora, his Vaughnguard all die from his various tests and by 3 his Sun Smashers have deserted him for the COV.
• Foreshadowing: Not as quite as a necessity compared to most of the characters, but players are steadily closes the idea of Vaughn adapting to Pandora from various occasions. Turns out, these traits actually makes him a new bandit king after Helios fell head on to Pandora.
  • Receives "weirdly buff" quotes from fairly a handful of men with a rather suspicious build, thanks to the training bicycle he got months ago. Rethink that idea with the psychos in 2 and put the word "meat" in it before said "bicycle".
  • Gets easily excited in eating pretty much anything he finds edible.
  • Vallory calls him as the team's "little psycho".
  • Earnestly pokes the corpse of Vasquez out of interest.
  • Hyperion is also not innocent in keeping psychos in the rec room.
  • Yells at the Helios station that he's not afraid. His direct fear by Hyperion is ambiguous.
  • Finds his guilt of his assumed betrayal very nervously despite the weight of that guilt is as pathetic as Rhys.
  • He is able to do Psycho-speak well and ends up a "lifetime" friend with a local psycho.
• Forgotten First Meeting: Due to Schrödinger's Player Character being in play in 2, Vaughn does not recognize Zer0 in in Commander Lilith and the Fight for Sanctuary.
• Geek Physiques: Subverted. He looks skinny, but he has surprisingly good lithe muscle definition underneath his shirt. Although a conversation in Episode 3 reveals that he used to play the trope straight, being turned away from parties and clubs for being too nerdy, while Rhys was allowed in despite being just as nerdy because he was good-looking. Even in Borderlands 3, where he's been living as a crazed hobo for years, he still has an impressively ripped and sculpted physique (though his hobo beard and lack of personal hygiene do kill the effect).
• Goggles Do Something Unusual: His glasses are linked to the Hyperion network on Helios, and consist of a Heads-Up Display and data manipulator. It's revealed in episode 3 that Hyperion accountants are not allowed to leave their offices under any circumstances. His glasses let him take his work on the go, allowing him freedom of movement so long as he does his job.
• Going Native: By episode 2, Vaughn is having the time of his life, seeing his adventures on Pandora as the best thing that's ever happened to him. This becomes important in Episode 5, after Helios crash landed on Pandora. It gave him an edge to rally the survivors into rebuilding what was left of the space station into a livable tribe. Come 3, he's gone so native that he's nearly unrecognizable: running around in just his undies and a cape, extolling the virtues of living a free bandit lifestyle.
• Happy Ending Override: Fight for Sanctuary indicates that most if not all of the Helios survivors were wiped out by New Pandora only a few months after the ending of Tales. Vaughn tries to start another gang after that but they get wiped out too by the Children of the Vault.
• He Cleans Up Nicely: Vaughn’s not ugly at the start of the game, but he’s noticeably short, and his style is extremely nerdy. By the time skip, though, he's become more attractive in a rugged sort of way. He’s grown out his facial hair into a nice beard, and his new clothing helps to emphasize his impressive set of abs.
• Homoerotic Subtext: Unwittingly with Jack and unintentionally with Rhys. Removed dialogue from the first episode would have had Fiona suggesting Vaughn kiss him to snap Rhys out of his catatonia.
• Informed Ability: In Borderlands 3 he says he got his bandit chief status by killing a guy with his abs, but he's generally a Non-Action Guy who needs the vault hunter's help with everything.
• Morality Pet: Potentially, for Rhys. While he's no Clementine, Rhys can be quite loyal to him and treat him more like a friend than a minion. Or not.
• Nice Guy: Other bosses on Helios or Pandora may employ corporal punishment; his idea of a reprimand is just someone doing a bunch of "apology push-ups," and not even in a Drill Sergeant Nasty way. The fact that he does them himself is probably why he's so ripped.
• Non-Action Guy: Subverted. Despite manifestly being this, he adapts surprisingly quickly.
• Noodle Incident: He apparently managed to take over the Sun Smashers bandit clan by "killing a guy with my abs."
  • He also apparently had a blood feud with a mountain with him the one still standing.
• Only Sane Man: He reacts to the insanity around him as you probably would in that situation: with disgust and horror. At least until he decides that the insanity of Pandora is awesome.
• Red Baron: In Borderlands 3, the wanted posters of him calls him the "Whitey Tighty Madman!", because the only thing he wears is his underwear and a cape.
• Rules Lawyer: According to his website bio, he loves learning all the little rules and thrills at knowing how to bend and manipulate them without actually breaking them. However, since Pandora has no rules to speak of, he finds himself well outside his element.
  • In Borderlands 3 he seems to have adapted this to "bandit lyfe," as he's upset with Tyreen for setting herself up as a god. "Bandits don't need to worship gods! All we worship is a hot fire and a cooked piece of meat! There are rules!"
• Serious Business: His Hyperion Redbar underwear. They are the source of all his powers, and the only good thing he ever received from Hyperion. So powerful are they that Zane once killed a man for them.
• Ship Tease: The Commander Lilith DLC implies some attraction between him and Ellie.
• Shorter Means Smarter: He's notably shorter than Rhys and his position at accounting means that he's great at moving money around.
• Sidekick: For both Rhys and potentially Fiona as well.
• Took a Level in Badass: By the time of the current timeline, Vaughn became the leader of the Children of Helios (later renamed "Helios Hellions"), a bandit clan consisting of the remnants of Hyperion due to being the only guy around with the most experience in surviving Pandora.]] Come 3, [[spoiler:he becomes a full blown rebel leader along with Lilith, Ellie, Claptrap and the player character.
• The Thing That Would Not Leave: In the final DLC for 2, Commander Lilith and the Fight for Sanctuary, the Crimson Raiders squat in the remains of the Helios Hellions camp as they try to retake Sanctuary from Colonel Hector. Given that they're a bunch of Vault Hunters and also that Hector wiped out his whole clan, there's nothing he can really do about it.
• Throw the Dog a Bone: He gets his fair share of suffering throughout the game, but after all of it, he gets to become a respected leader of his own bandit clan, "The Children of Helios".
  • By the time of Fight for Sanctuary, he had them re-branded to "Helios Hellions", feeling the original name sounded too cult-y. After the Hellions are destroyed by New Pandora, Vaughn tries to build a new clan, "The Vaughnguard", but is repeatedly thwarted by the stupidity of his own recruits. His latest clan, "The Sun Smashers," are also destroyed to a man by the Children of the Vault come Borderlands 3.
• Undying Loyalty:
  • To Rhys. He's the guy who made it possible for him to get "promoted." He also casually steals $10,000,000 for their plans. Subverted when Vasquez reveals that Vaughn accepted an offer to sell out Rhys to him, although Vaughn claims he only told Vasquez what he wanted to hear and wasn't actually going to do it. It's up to debate how loyal he is, but treat him right and he is quite hostile to Vasquez by the end of Episode 2.
  • Even more so, when he becomes New Helios' bandit king with all of its surviving occupants literally worshiping Rhys.
• Walking Shirtless Scene: In Borderlands 3 he is met first time wearing a cape and undies, and never changing to something else for the entire game.
• "Wanted!" Poster: In Borderlands 3, he has a wanted poster and his poster states he's wanted for being a Sun Smasher, refusing to wear pants, cutting doughnuts in half, and general obnoxiousness.
• Yank the Dog's Chain: Multiple times, in rapid succession. He reinvents himself as a bandit leader after Helios falls to Pandora, but the Children of Helios are exterminated by Hector. His next bandit clan, the Vaughngard, are a failure-to-start, and his next venture, the Sun Smashers, betray him to (and are subsequently wiped out by) the Children of the Vault.

Sasha

Sasha

Your kid sister, partner-in-crime

Played by: Erin Yvette

Fiona's little sister who works alongside her as a con artist.

---

• Action Girl: She's quite capable with a Maliwan SMG and can certainly snap necks better than Rhys.
• All There in the Manual: Ran an anti-Hyperion pirate radio station out of Hollow Point. Cut content from Episode 3 would've referenced this with her and Rhys trolling the Atlas Chimeradome PA system.
• Ambiguously Brown: Much like her sister, it’s hard to tell what exact ethnicity she is. Apparently both were intended to have a Mediterranean look.
• Bling-Bling-BANG!: Probably has the best one out of all the weapons seen so far. She wields the unique or possible legendary Atlas Silver, which is both a very good prototype and a one-of-a-kind weapon, as Atlas never made submachine guns in Borderlands 1.
• Broken Pedestal: She takes Felix's betrayal much harder than Fiona.
• The Cameo: In 3, she appears as a portrait on Rhys's desk in the Atlas HQ on Promethea. From an ECHO log you can find later on, she disappeared off the grid in the seven years between 2 and 3, and even Zer0 has no idea where she is.
• Cargo Ship: invokedWith seemingly every new weapon she encounters. In some cut lines from Episode 2, she specifically refers to her new Atlas Silver as her "new baby".
• Defrosting Ice Queen: Frosty towards Rhys at first, but she slowly warms up to him after he proves to be somewhat useful and mostly harmless. While she never explicitly says so, she seems to start developing feelings for him later on.
• Dreadlock Warrior: She's an awesome Action Girl and sports a sweet hairstyle.
• Expository Hairstyle Change: Gets one in the series finale.
• Everyone Can See It: Much less noticeable than Rhys, but Fiona can tell Rhys how she believes Sasha fancies him, and her their reunion noticeably draws the attention of everyone else in the party.
• Gun Nut: Somewhat of a given, considering she's a Pandoran. While she hates Hyperion like anyone on Pandora, she does like the weapons they make.
• Foreshadowing: Some cut dialogue before Felix betrays the group for the money has her asking Rhys if he really will bring Vaughn along if he succeeds or if he'll just ditch him once he gets what he wants.
• Heroic Sacrifice: She remains in the Traveler to set off the explosives she and Fiona planted, taking fatal wounds in the process. She gets better, though.
• Honey Trap: She's playing the role of August's girlfriend. That said, this role isn't exclusively used against male targets.
• Honor Among Thieves: She deals in deception, but she's a firm believer of this trope as far as her "family" is concerned and takes note of Rhys' loyalty if he elects to not sell Vaughn out to Vasquez.
• Love Interests: Her and Rhys, depending on player choices. She seems to grow genuinely affectionate for him. By the time of 3, they became an Official Couple.
• Masculine Girl, Feminine Boy: While there a lot of rough edges in their relationship, Sasha gets this with Rhys. Due to love of guns, being stronger than Rhys and letting herself put at risk than most of the team.
• More Dakka: Fiona's a better shot than her, but she copes with this by being perfectly fine with using guns and by shooting more bullets.
• Ms. Fanservice: More so than even her sister. Sasha wears plenty of revealing clothing, the least exposes her stomach. She is often described as beautiful, and earns the affections of both August and Rhys, possibly. Knowing of her physical attractiveness, Sasha acts seductively as one of her main weapons.
• Properly Paranoid: She's justifiably wary of Rhys and Vaughn (as they quickly prove themselves to be cons as well) during the first episode and expects them to betray her and Fiona at any moment. This makes Felix's betrayal at the end particularly harsh.
• Relationship Upgrade: With Rhys. Her picture sits on Rhys's desk in 3.
• The Reveal: The fact that August's partner is Fiona's sister. Downplayed in that it's not treated as such in-universe, rather just left for the player to discover when they begin playing as Fiona.
• She Cleans Up Nicely: Not that Sasha wasn’t already good looking, but she has two examples:
  • After spending all her screentime in a more messy and revealing outfit, she’ll wear a dress in episode 4 to go under cover. You can have Rhys voice his approval.
  • Episode 5 shows that she's undergone a makeover with shorter, tied together hair and a more universally covering outfit than her previous two. Both Rhys and August seem to like it, with the former being able to say so.
• Ship Tease:
  • Has a bit of this with Rhys in the first two episodes and it ramps up in the third. Jack tries to dissuade Rhys from pursuing it further by reminding him that if they do anything "untoward", he'll see it.
  • During the time that elapses between Episode 5 and Borderlands 3, the two become a couple, regardless of the choices made in Episode 5.
• Sibling Team: With her sister.
• Sidekick: For Fiona.
• Troll: Starts out as a particularly vicious one towards Rhys due to his affiliation with Hyperion, but becomes a less venomous example of this trope depending on his choices; perhaps best exemplified during a moment in Episode 3 involving a collapsed bridge and Sasha pretending to plummet to her death just so she could mess with him.
• Tsundere: Has shades of this depending on the player's actions, specifically towards Rhys if they choose to develop a romance between the two.
• We Used to Be Friends: A very brief example. If Rhys admits to her and Fiona that Handsome Jack is in his head, they’re both outraged about it, with Sasha noting how she thought they were friends. But not long after, you can apologize, which she takes to heart, allowing for more friendly interactions.
• Will They or Won't They?: Usually a rather rough and spiky relationship is held around Sasha and Rhys, as culture bounds them away by Pandora and Helios. Until Fiona gets to decide whether Rhys could date Sasha or not, in Episode 5.

Felix

Felix

Raised you (into a life of crime) ("The Inventor")

Played by: Norman Hall

An old con man who raised Fiona and Sasha as his apprentices.

---

• Back for the Finale: If he's warned about the bomb in the suitcase, you can try to recruit him as a Vault Hunter. However, he reveals that he's gone in hiding but leaves you with the money from the briefcase, which is enough to hire the Mystery Vault Hunter.
• Bling-Bling-BANG!: He has a purple-rarity Jakobs Iron revolver made up entirely of Jakobs parts.
• The Cracker: If his profile accessed by Rhys's ECHO Eye is anything to go by. All of his personal details are mysteriously unavailable and it lists him as being "being an upstanding citizen and friend to all who would never even dream of committing a crime".
• Death by Irony: Creates explosives out of junk for jobs and can potentially be killed by a bomb hidden in a Hyperion briefcase.
• The Fagin: He raised Fiona and Sasha, teaching them all they know.
• Eyepatch of Power: He has what seems to be a combination of an eyepatch and a magnifying glass.
• Face–Heel Turn: After retrieving the stolen money, he decides to make a run for it and keep it for himself instead. However, a message that Fiona and Sasha find in their old hideout has him telling them that he was trying to protect them from Vallory and it's later revealed that he hired Athena to look out and mentor them, and the money he took is most likely the payment for Athena. Provided that he's alive, he reveals that it was all part of a long con that he didn't tell them about and leaves them with 9 million dollars.
• Karmic Death: Fiona can arrange this for him by not warning him about Vaughn's bomb.
• Master of Unlocking: He's a highly skilled locksmith capable of cracking almost any lock. Too bad that the Hyperion Briefcase is rigged with a bomb that'll explode without Vaughn's bio-signature.
  • If you don't shoot him and warn Felix about the bomb it turns out he knew about it and managed to take the money out before tricking everyone into believing he blew it up.
• Treacherous Advisor: He ends up trying to take the money for himself, though he does seem honestly regretful about screwing over Fiona and Sasha since he was doing to keep them safe from an old enemy.
  • If he doesn't die, it's revealed in the finale that he was doing a long con and saved the real money for Fiona and Sasha all along.
• Wiki Vandal: See The Cracker above. It's highly doubtful that anyone from Hyperion wrote any of the information Rhys can access about him.

Antagonists

August

August

The guy with the Key ("The Brawler")

Played by: Nolan North

A criminal working with Fiona and Sasha to sell a Vault Key to Hyperion. August is a savvy and brutal criminal.

---

• Affably Evil:
  • Fairly approachable, polite to even Hyperion suits... but never, ever lie to him or try to screw him over.
  • He seems reasonable enough to forgive the con that Fiona and Sasha pulled on him. He even wants to get back together with Sasha. He's also polite to his prisoners, unlike Vasquez, who decides to insult them constantly. And he tells his bandits to guard them, while Vasquez orders his to shoot Rhys and Vaughn if they do anything stupid. Furthermore, he keeps up polite banter with Fiona and even tries to smooth things over while Vasquez does nothing but brag and bully Rhys.
• Batter Up!: In Episode 5, he's somehow gotten hold of Lucille.
• Berserk Button: Dishonesty. Which is made rather ironic given how all his troubles past the first episode stem from him and Vasquez trying to cut Vallory out of a very lucrative deal without her knowing.
• Big "NO!": Lets out one when Vallory is killed, followed up by a Little "No" as it sinks in.
• Blatant Lies: Reassuring a debtor that everything will be all right directly before ordering said debtor's death via Tector's blue-rarity Dahl repeater.
• Bling-Bling-BANG!/Revolvers Are Just Better: He carries a Jakobs Widow Maker (with a Torgue grip and horrendous Tediore sight) as his primary weapon. And it's a purple rarity one, at that. Too bad he falls victim to the same A-Team Firing as everyone else. (Justified as the revolver has a Torgue barrel, which severely lowers accuracy.)
  • He also gets his hands on a purple-rarity Hyperion Transmurdera in Episode 5.
• The Comically Serious: Usually pretty dry and very no-nonsense compared to much of the rest of the cast. As of Episode 4, this lends to interactions being at his expense with characters like Rhys and Gortys.
• Consummate Professional: He tends to be largely business-like in his dealings and generally avoids needless killing, though he hates being lied to. On a good day, he can be fairly personable and patient. On a bad day, he's a lot more intimidating and impatient.
• Dare to Be Badass: Not that he's not already badass, but Fiona can potentially convince him to turn on Finch and Kroger on Helios via invoking this, encouraging him to stop putting up with their shit and finally step out of Vallory's shadow.
  August: Wait.
  Finch: [incredulously] What is this?
  Kroger: [notices that August's pulled out his gun] Look, dude, don't do this, man... this was always the plan.
  August: Plans change. [Blast Out ensues]
• The Dragon: Implied to have been one to Vallory before trying to cut her out of the Vault key deal, considering he is her son and had access to some of her most important contacts, such as Vasquez.
• Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: As much as he and Vallory clash, he is clearly distraught when she's killed by the Traveler and if he's recruitable as a Vault Hunter then one of the reasons he joins is to seek vengeance for her.
• Even Evil Has Standards: As of Episode 3, he clearly hates it (and probably finds it embarrassing) when his mom knifes people, and if Rhys panics when on the hood and curls up into a ball, August will reply that Rhys has no need to worry-he doesn't like shooting people in the fetal position.
• Good Old Fisticuffs: This is how he fights in Episode 5.
• Heel–Face Turn: In Episode 5, it's possible to convince him to turn against Kroger and Finch (and thus his own mother). Later on, he can even be recruited as a Vault Hunter as one of the default options.
• Hidden Depths: If you bring him to the final battle he turns out to be surprisingly good at hand-to-hand combat.
• Hypocrite: His hatred of dishonesty is a major trait, but he tries to cut his mother, Vallory, out of a deal involving a Vault Key, and helps kidnap Gortys in Episode 5, not telling the protagonists that they planned to drag Gortys out of their hands at all, although he does feel guilt for the latter.
• Momma's Boy: A bizarre deconstruction. Despite trying to cut Vallory out of the Vault Key deal he's subservient to her and doesn't dare defy Vallory in her presence. He is also upset when Vallory is killed.
• Obfuscating Stupidity: Pretends to be dumber than he really is when on the phone with Vasquez, feeling that some fancy Hyperion suit would be too nervous to do business with him if he didn't play up the part of the "dumb, illiterate bandit".
• Nothing Personal:
  • Tries to calm Fiona during their walk in the Gortys facility by saying he doesn't hold a grudge against her over the Vault Key con. Fiona rebukes it immediately.
  • Fiona can then (if the player chooses) try and make it personal by rubbing in how Sasha saw August as nothing more than a mark and he's a moron for thinking otherwise.
  • He essentially tries to let everyone know this is how he works and that he'll always put business first and won't shoot someone over nothing like so many other bandits on Pandora do.
• Power Fist: If you let him, he shows up to the final battle with brass knuckles on.
• Pet the Dog: He constantly chooses to keep prisoners alive over shooting them, saves Zer0 and Fiona (indirectly), refuses to shoot Rhys if he doesn't flop over the hood and is (generally) polite to the group.
• Stalker with a Crush: He remains obsessed with Sasha, even after it's clear to everybody but him that he was nothing more than another mark for her. However, in Episode 3 he tries to break up with her while the two are struggling over one of Gorty's parts on his car.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: August clearly doesn't like working with Vasquez all that much, and calls him a "jackass." It doesn't help that Vasquez continually attempts to bully him throughout Episode 2. He's not especially happy to be working with Rhys and friends, too, as shown in Episode 4. However, he will still thank them if chosen for the team in Episode 5, saying that he had fun battling the Traveler.
  I don't really like most of you, but I, uh, I enjoyed that. It was...fun...you know? Cathartic.
• Tranquil Fury: His reaction to the discovery that Sasha and Fiona had been playing him and the Vault Key was a fake.
• Villainous Rescue: He stops Vallory from killing Fiona and her friends with her shiv, as he considers it both disgusting and embarrassing (and he's terrified of Athena). In Episode 1, while shooting at Fiona and Sasha, he also shoots through the Psychos attempting to slice up Zer0. In Episode 5, he takes out an entire elevator full of Hyperion soldiers before they can kill Fiona and Sasha.

---