open/close all folders
The best of the worst. note
Agents
General
The field agents of the Lamplighters League, a band of mercenaries either in it for the money or the protections of the island.
- Fire-Forged Friends: The pay is the main motive for most all of the Agents, but they grow close and band together for the promise of ensuring there's somewhere to spend it.
- Foe-Tossing Charge: A Bruiser's Slam move can dispatch up to 3 enemies in a single charge, and as long as there's nobody else to sound the alarm, that's up to 3 enemies not included in the combat phase to come. Unfortunately, you can't barge up stairs with a Slam.
- Ragtag Bunch of Misfits: Much to Locke's chagrin. The exceptions are Ana Sofía and Isaac.
- Tap on the Head: Sneaks can Sucker Punch enemies for a minimal-noise takedown, which complements their ability to approach most enemies from behind, and can be done three times before requiring a Second Wind pickup. Just be careful when the enemy is investigating a previous takedown of yours; they can turn around pretty fast.
- Throwing the Distraction: Saboteurs can throw Shock Mines, noisemakers that draw attention in a radius and defeat the first enemy to step on them, as well as igniting oil and electrifying water. Just be sure you manage to lure someone in to trip the mine, as they don't stick around long.
Eddie Sawyer
I'm still in those trenches.
A Great War veteran-turned-bank-robber with a knack for evening the odds. With a revolver in each hand, Eddie chews through ammo to unleash a hail of bullets on multiple enemies at once, but gains it back when he scores a Crit.Infiltration Role: Saboteur
- The Atoner: Eddie hasn't lived a life that his sister Sarah would be particularly proud of. Working with the Lamplighters League to save the world allows him to make up for some of his past actions. If Eddie is the one to enter the heart of the Bright Storm, his last thoughts are of Sarah and hoping he's done enough to make her proud..Eddie: Hope I see you soon, Sarah. Hope I've... done you proud.
- Card Shark: If one pays close attention to the title screens, which show some of the Agents during their downtime between missions, one screen shows Eddie in a game of four-card poker with Ingrid, Judith and Captain Nicky. Ingrid has gone bust, Judith still has a small stack of chips and Nicky is down to his last chip. Eddie? He has a massive pile of stacked chips next to him and his current hand is an unbeatable four of a kind, comprised of aces.
- Critical Hit Class: The majority of Eddie's skills are related to building up his chance of critically hitting his targets.
- From Camouflage to Criminal: Eddie attempted to desert during the The Great War, then fell in with the Pitt-Whitfield gang a year after the war ended. Afterwards, he spent the better part of a decade with them hitting banks all over the American Midwest until one particular job in Nebraska went so badly that he left the gang. Since then, he's spent the last few years working as a hired gun before Locke recruited him into the League.
- Guns Akimbo: A pair of six-shooters to be specific.
- The Gunslinger: It may be the 1930s, but Eddie has more than a few bits of classic Cowboy in his design. A Texas native who gets on well with most of the other Agents, his weapons of choice are a pair of six-shooters and his skills tree invokes quick draws, trick shots and fanning the hammer.
- His method for resolving 'The Pride of Bouba Njida' fate event is to march into the hotel lobby that the Harris Group; a band of poachers who occasionally work with the Banished Court, are staying in and indulge in a Showdown at High Noon with the ringleader and second-in-command.
- I Need a Freaking Drink: His response after taking heavy damage in a fight.Eddie: I gotta go talk to some whisky about this.
- More Dakka: He fires a lot of rounds from each gun. Every crit will reload a bullet in his gun which can keep him going for a long time.
- Pre-Climax Climax: Towards the endgame He can ask Ingrid if she knows any quiet places on the island for a distraction.
- Screw This, I'm Out of Here!: Averted, but after recovering the first Keystone, Eddie is fully prepared to leave the Lamplighters in the dust, and only agrees to stay after Locke points out that he's already made an enemy of the Banished Court and Captain Nicky tells him that the island is warded against intruders.Eddie: I ain't getting conscripted into another war.Locke: You're free to walk, of course. But the Court knows your name and your face. You've seen firsthand the strength they command. No, you're in this til the end, Mr. Sawyer-either the Court's, or your own. All that remains is for you to decide which one.Captain Nicky: Sawyer, you might be interested to know that this island is protected. Wards, formulas, stuff I've never even heard of. No safer place in the world than right here.Eddie: Damn it.
- Self-Imposed Exile: Downplayed as he stated in his original correspondence with Locke
that he had his fill of France during the war and he "ain't going back for free". Played straight in regards to Eddie's history as a bank robber as he discusses with Ana Sofia that the fellow who taught him and Eddie disagreed on "what point on the job the guns should come out". He doesn't go into details, but he certainly indicates that one situation went extremely badly.Eddie: Let's just say I, uh... I'll never go back to Nebraska.Ana Sofia: It was that bad?Eddie: Yeah. It was that bad. - Shell-Shocked Veteran: When he breaks, his PTSD kicks in.Eddie: (After suffering a stress break) I won't be just another body in a ditch!Eddie: (After receiving a breaking card) Every night I'm back in that trench, close enough to hear the machine guns.
Ingrid Erickson
I don't mind a little risk, as long as the reward is worth it.
A femme fatale with a mysterious past and a deadly right hook. A skilled brawler, Ingrid excels against groups of enemies. Scoring a knockout blow only fuels her killer instinct, allowing her to do more per turn.Infiltration Role: Bruiser
- All Abusers Are Male: She implies her husband was this.
- Appeal to Flattery: Ingrid attempts this on Célestine who sees through it immediately, though Célestine agrees that Ingrid certainly has an accurate assessment of her capabilities.Ingrid: Your tattoos are very fetching, Célestine.Célestine: Let us dispense with illusions. You feign kindness towards me because you deem me dangerous, and seek to protect yourself in my good graces.Ingrid: You got me. But can you blame me, darling?Célestine: I cannot. You are right. I am dangerous.
- Badass Longcoat: A very fancy looking one at that.
- Black Widow: In a conversation with Eddie, he indirectly asks her if this is what happened to her husband.
- Boxing Battler: Don't let her appearance fool you. Ingrid may look like a Femme Fatale from a classic [[]Film Noir film noir]], but she's a melee powerhouse that is more than capable of going toe to toe with gun wielding thugs and eldritch monsters.
- The Charmer: Ingrid proves very adept at getting people to loosen their guard around her, managing to quickly find a few things out about Eddie while he was trying not to say much.Ingrid: So. Where do you come from Mr. Sawyer?Eddie: Nowhere you ever heard of.Ingrid: See a lot of action in the war?Eddie: Did my share.Ingrid: So you're the talkative type.Eddie: I guess.Ingrid: Smart. Fellow can't be too careful who he lets in. Am I right?Eddie: You said it.Ingrid: And when you run around with a criminal element, who knows where loose lips can get you? I'm sure you've seen it happen.Eddie: Oh sure. I remember this one time in Abilene, one of my crew...Ingrid: Mmm hmm?Eddie: (chuckles) Oh, you bat your eyes really pretty, Slugger. But you ain't that good.Ingrid: Allright, Mr. Sawyer. I like a man who knows what not to say.
- At various points in the Hideout, she'll also discuss the Magdalite Order with Ana Sofía, crime bosses with Fedir, Thousand Snow Mountain with Jianyi and get Judith to talk about Trace Marteau's murder of her parents.
- Consummate Professional: Ingrid's original response to Locke's offer of employment lacks the self-aggrandizing nature and deprecating wording of Lateef and Eddie's replies and gets straight to the point, only pausing to warn Locke that she won't pull her punches if members of the Banished Court interfere. She also points out to Eddie when he wants to get out of dodge, that if the Banished Court wins, then the world is doomed and she has no intention of letting that happen.Ingrid: I've got plans, Mr. Sawyer-plans that hinge on the sun rising tomorrow. How am I going to spend my money if there's no world left to spend it in?
- Doesn't Like Guns: Downplayed: Ingrid doesn't have a problem with guns, but prefers not to carry one, as it's difficult to pull a trigger while wearing weighted gloves.
- Doom Magnet: What Ingrid fears she might be.Ingrid: (After receiving a breaking card) Sometimes I think I am the unluckiest girl in the world.
- During a conversation with Madame Mei, she outright asks if she is cursed.
Ingrid: Fate. Is it real? Are certain people doomed to... never escape it?Madame Mei: Why don't you ask me the question you really want to ask.Ingrid: Everyone I have ever loved... has died. Am I cursed?Madame Mei: Yes, you are. It's called being alive. - Not So Above It All: During a conversation with Purnima, Ingrid reveals that before the depression she would often go dancing in Paris and enjoys Café-concert music.Ingrid: I've hardly danced at all since the crash.Purnima: Yes, all the best places are the ones that went under. You ever been to the Noctambule in Paris?Ingrid: In the autumn of '27 I was there almost every night.Purnima: That settles it. Got any requests?
- Only in It for the Money: Downplayed, as Ingrid wants the world to keep spinning, so that she has a place to spend her money, but she has no problem reminding Locke to make sure that he pays them after they complete the job.Ingrid: One more thing. I do still expect to be paid.Locke: Never fear, Ms. Erickson. I know exactly who I'm dealing with.
- Pre-Climax Climax: Towards the endgame Eddie can ask her if she knows any quiet places on the island for a distraction.
- The Social Expert: As the game goes on, Ingrid is shown not just to be an excellent fighter, but a quick study of both people and organisations and constantly asks questions of the other Agents to learn everything she can about the new world that she is now a part of. The majority of methods that she uses to resolve fate and house events often involve calling on a variety of contacts and organisations or manipulating members of the Banished Court.Ingrid: You know the one thing every con artist needs? (...) The lay of the land, The families, the societies, the social circles. Who has power, and what they want. I thought I knew the lay of the land. Then I met Locke.
- Took a Level in Idealism: In a conversation with Judith, Ingrid will admit that she used to be much more cynical before joining Locke's war on the Banished Court.Ingrid: If you had asked me a year ago if the world was worth saving, you would have gotten a very cynical answer. But now some part of me, some part of me that I thought had been stamped out, wants to see more.Judith: A world worth saving, huh?
- Trailers Always Lie: She is seen with a pistol in the announcement trailer but never uses a ranged weapon in the game. Averted, if given certain cards from the Undrawn Hand.
Lateef Gamal
I could steal the eyeliner off your eyes.
A.K.A. The Gentleman-Djinn, a young master thief with the skills to match his boasts. Quick on his feet and always on the move, Lateef evades enemy fire by feats of misdirection and his own lightning reflexes.Infiltration Role: Sneak
- The Anti-Nihilist: Lateef's response to Eddie pointing out that trying to be a hero could end up killing him has shades of this.Lateef: If we actually pull this off-then the Gentleman-Djinn will be the guy who saved the world.Eddie: You won't care about any of that when you're dead.Lateef: Everyone dies Sawyer. I'm going to live first.
- Awesome Ego: In-universe. Lateef has total confidence in his abilities as a thief, opening a locked chest in seconds in the announcement trailer and bragging about it. Quite a few of his barks are boasts of his prowess as well.Lateef: (examining the chest) Very difficult! Never have I seen a lock this complex. Only a true master could- (lock opens) and I got it!Eddie: "Only a true master, huh?"Lateef: Exactly. These fingers are the pride of Cairo!
- Fragile Speedster: His skill tree supports him stacking evasion to guarantee that enemies will miss their attacks against him.
- Gentleman Thief: He is one, mostly, though he laments that unlike his idols he has to carry and frequently use a pistol.Danys: You are unhappy with your weapon?Lateef: Not at all. It saved my life many times. It's just - the great gentlemen-thieves of the past didn't carry weapons. I didn't either, until two years ago.
- I'm a Doctor, Not a Placeholder: If Lateef suffers a stress break, he will yell that he's "a thief, not a soldier!"
- Jumped at the Call: After the mission to reclaim the first keystone and witnessing Strum's fire-breathing mummies first-hand, Lateef commits to Locke's cause wholeheartedly whereas Eddie almost jumps ship entirely and Ingrid focuses on the payday. A later conversation between the three, also has Lateef interject that it would allow him to both learn more about how the world really works and make him a hero.Locke: You see now how critical it is we stop him-and the rest of the Banished Court.Eddie: Ain't no "we." You're on your own-we're out. Right y'all?Lateef: Are you joking? This proves Locke isn't crazy. I'm in this until the end now....Eddie: I'm just trying to figure out what you two are seeing that I ain't.Lateef: I see opportunity. A chance to learn how the world really works. To see things almost no one has seen before. And if we actually pull this off-then the Gentleman-Djinn will be the guy who saved the world.
- Kleptomaniac Hero: Célestine describes Lateef as "like the raven collecting shiny things to no purpose" when he asks if she has any extra wands or spare magic rings.
- Highlighted in the 'Venus Flytrap' fate event. Lateef is given the opportunity to challenge a Banished Court magister to a 'friendly' game of baccarat. Not only does Lateef take him for everything he's worth, but he even steals the magister's pocket watch, just to rub it in.
- Taken even further in the 'Trial and Error' house event as, in addition to stuffing a rucksack full of artifacts from Strum's relic room, he also "scoops up three wallets, a pocket watch, and a wedding ring".
- Missing Mom: When Eddie asks Lateef how old he is, Lateef avoids answering the question directly and merely states that he's older than Eddie was during the war and "old enough to have buried my mother and made a name for myself stealing things that can't be stolen".
- Odd Friendship: Surprisingly, Lateef is able to form one with Fedir, as Lateef has a healthy amount of fear of him and Fedir finds Lateef funny.Fedir: Who do you not speak to Volchymorda, little man? To everyone else you gab, gab, gab, gab. Talk, talk, talk, talk. But to me, you say nothing.Lateef: Um, because even the thought of speaking to you makes an icy chill run down my spine? Could that be it? Yes, yes that's it.Fedir: You see? That is why I like you. You are funny, little man.Lateef: Lateef.Fedir: Sit and drink with me, Lateef. This island is boring. Tell me your stories.Lateef: Of course. It would be a great pleasure to entertain you with my tales of derring-do.Fedir: Don't be like that! I have stories too. Let us drink together and share them!Lateef: And try to pass out as quickly as we can!
- Trailers Always Lie: He is depicted as picking a lock in the announcement trailer. An ability only the Saboteur role can do.
Alexandrite
I mustn't make it look too easy.
A decadent bohemian scholar who weaves magic with the skill of an artist. The Alexandrite conjures phantasms and glamoured flame that seem like illusions to their allies but deal serious Damage and Stress to their enemies.Infiltration Role: Saboteur
- Admiring the Abomination: After the first segment of House Nicastro's clock is completed, everyone in Locke's Hideout suffers from nightmares showing Nicastro raise the Devouring King. While the other Agents are horrified at what they witnessed, the Alexandrite declares that it would be "the greatest necromantic act ever performed".
- Upon seeing the keystone guardians, the Alexandrite describes them as both beautiful and terrible.
- Badass Bookworm: The Alexandrite might say they are not a fighter, but as Locke's journal points out, Glamours that can shoot out "bolts of cutting light" and "fire that burns only those its caster wishes to burn", prove to be just as deadly as bullets.
- Bunny-Ears Lawyer: Locke's journal entry before beginning the mission to recruit the Alexandrite describes them as:A prodigy among occult intellectuals, foremost in the field of Glamours, the Alexandrite is said to be able to bring dreams into reality. I've tried to follow their work, but their publishing has been... erratic.
- Collector of the Strange: The Alexandrite has gathered a vast array of books from various mystic libraries and often sends Captain Nicky out to acquire more for her. The problem however, is that they have an unfortunate habit of trying to check out new volumes without returning the ones they already have...Alexandrite: Now, for this next trip, I'll need Subthanary Explorations by Miriam Sun Bey from the library of Istanbul-Captain Nicky: Hang on. Last time I was there the librarian said you're banned until you return what you already have.Alexandrite: Ah, this old song and dance. I'll send you back with Unwoven Dreams and Crystallos. That should be enough to ransom me my prize... Now, do you have a pen? You'll want to jot these titles down.
- The Cynic: If the Alexandrite suffers a stress break, they become this.
- Fatal Flaw: Curiosity. The Alexandrite has an insatiable desire for knowledge that can and will lead them into unfortunate situations. In the 'Forbidden Knowledge' house event, they manage to steal the Ilatman Apocrypha, a cursed scroll with the power to dispel some of Nicastro's monsters from the ocean. Unfortunately, the Alexandrite's curiosity got the better of them...The urge to pour over the cursed scroll quickly proves irresistible, and the Alexandrite devours its contents without safeguards or restraint. The exercise calms the roiling seas, but costs the glamour mage nearly three pints of blood. Such is the price of knowledge.
- Insufferable Genius: The Alexandrite is described by Locke as "a prodigy among occult intellectuals, foremost in the field of Glamours", and quickly proves to be a lethal force on the battlefield after joining the Lamplighters League. They are also extremely aware of this fact and won't let anyone forget it. Downplayed however, as the Alexandrite is never rude or offensive to their fellow Agents and Allies.
- Quite a few of their barks during missions involve bragging about how they outclass the enemy.
Alexandrite: Tonight they are ignorant, but tomorrow they will say "My god, have you heard? The Alexandrite was here!"Alexandrite: That was a close one. I very nearly broke a sweat. - Master of Illusion
- Neutral No Longer: They previously worked freelance for anyone who offered lore and payment, including the Banished Court. Then the court tried to stiff the Alexandrite out of their payment, the Alexandrite neglected to correct an "error" for a Court ritual they were translating resulting in several deaths, the Court tried to assassinate them in retaliation and the Lamplighters swooped in to rescue and recruit them.Alexandrite: As far as employers go I thought they would at least pay well. But alas, the Court and and I had irreconcilable differences....I'm no friend of the Court. They approached me with an ancient text in need of translation, then paid me a mere tenth of what was promised-so I left in one little mistranslation. The resulting explosion was quite marvelous, if I may say.
- In a conversation with Célestine, the Alexandrite outright states that they have joined the Lamplighters because the situation is just that desperate.
- Summon Magic: Their illusions can fight on the battlefield.
- What You Are in the Dark: The Alexandrite is a scholar of the highest degree with an appetite for learning that is practically impossible to satisfy. However during a discussion with Jianyi in which he asks them if they would take the Scroll of A Thousand Snows from him to keep it safe, when Jianyi asks that they not read it, the Alexandrite refuses to take it as they know they wouldn't be able to resist reading it and doesn't want to betray Jianyi like that.Alexandrite: I have spent years building up the wards around me, Mr. Zhang. Give the scroll to me for safekeeping and your pursuers will never find it, no matter what methods they employ.Alexandrite: But Mr. Zhang, words are meant to be read!Jianyi: Only the master of Thousand Snows has the right to read this scroll.Alexandrite: I can't believe I'm saying this but if I took it... I could never resist a little peek. This island will be some protection, and I can give you some cantrips. That should buy you enough time to get that sword of yours out when they come for you.
Judith Harlow
Look at me now Ma, saving the world.
A genius engineer with a shield of advanced design and a score to settle. Armored with a shield that turns aside enemy attacks, she protects her allies by drawing enemy fire.Infiltration Role: Bruiser
- Barrier Warrior: She can put down an AOE defense to halve the damage to herself and allies within the barrier.Judith: Harlow Dampening Generator. It can kick out a Kempfler field with enough juice to put the slow down on any kinetic energy coming in, including ballistics. Patent pending, of course.
- The Engineer/Demolitions Expert: Locke states in his notes that Judith is a "skilled engineer" and during his first conversation with her Locke notes that she has destroyed at least three Marteau industry buildings, including a refinement plant, a weapons lab and a warehouse without any employees being hurt. She also refined the design for the prototype shield that she takes into battle and refuses to let Danys work on it. Eddie puts it rather succinctly in a conversation with her.Eddie: From what I heard you know some things. (...) What I heard was you built your gear from scratch. I've been in some scrapes in my time, and I've never seen anything like your kit. I heard math whiz, degrees in chemistry and electrical engineering to boot.
- Genius Bruiser: Judith is only slightly smaller than Fedir, charges into battle with the equivalent of a 1930s S.W.A.T. shield that she uses to bash and slam with devastating effect and has the technical and practical knowledge to maintain her own advanced equipment, build her own grenades and burn down multiple buildings without anyone inside getting hurt. She also has Captain Nicky collect pulp comic books to bring back to her when he goes on supply runs.Captain Nicky: Ms. Harlow, I got the package you were looking for.Judith: The diodes?Captain Nicky: No, the other package.Judith: No. Really?Captain Nicky: Yep. Star Commander Ray Farland flies again. Three issues of Arcane Adventures... not easy to come by on this side of the Atlantic.Judith: Which ones?Captain Nicky: 14, 15, and 19, but the back half of 19 is pretty torn up, so it's more like 2 and a half issues.Judith: You are a prince, Nicky.Captain Nicky: Closer to a pauper, so let's have some cash before I hand these over.Judith: Worth every penny to find out how Farland escaped the Mines of Io!
- Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: Downplayed, while she isn't invincible, she can stack enough armor and damage resistance bonuses that she can turn most attacks into little more than scratch damage and negate some attacks outright.Judith: Monocoque design, steel reinforced with a lattice of kinetic dampening fibers - my mother came up with the original formula, but I tweaked it - and coated in a resin designed to absorb and diffuse kinetic energy. With this thing I can take a hit from a wrecking ball and get right back up.
- It's Personal: Her parents were inventors who died in an "accident" after leaving Trace Marteau's employment.Ingrid: I can't help but notice you seem... affected by all this.Judith: I always wondered what it'd be like when I was face to face with Trace Marteau. Now I know.Ingrid: He did something very terrible to you, didn't he?Judith: To my parents.Ingrid: Isn't that the same thing?Judith: ...Yeah. Yeah it is.
- Shield Bash: Her melee special skills all revolve around using her shield to bash and charge enemies.
- Smash Sisters: During a hideout discussion with Ana Sofía, the two agree to form this dynamic on missions.Ana Sofía: I admire you. Men like Marteau must be stopped. (...) People like that don't stop until people like us stop them. Anyway, I wanted to let you know that - I have your back out there.Judith: All right, Ana Sofía. Let's you and me do some damage.
- Sticky Bomb: A particularly handy variety that damages, destroys armor and reduces speed by half.
- Vigilante Woman: Judith has been on a crusade against Marteau and his people since he had her parents murdered, even managing to kill a squad of his private army that were instructed to shoot her on sight. She did make sure however, that no innocent civilians got caught in the crossfire.
Fedir Volchymorda
If the pay is good that is all I need.
A grizzled mob enforcer with the strength of an ox and a violent disposition. Fedir can take a hit and keep on coming. Attacks only fuel his Rage, enabling him to deal even more damage to his foolish opponents.Infiltration Role: Bruiser
- The Berserker: His rage and close range abilities can also cause him to take damage.
- Big Guy, Little Guy: While Fedir is this compared to almost every character (The only characters coming close to matching him being Eddie, Judith and Strum), he is especially so with Lateef who he forms a friendship with based on a shared enjoyment of telling stories.Fedir: Sit and drink with me, Lateef. This island is boring. Tell me your stories.Lateef: Of course. It would be a great pleasure to entertain you with my tales of derring-do.Fedir: Don't be like that! I have stories too. Let us drink together and share them!
- Covered in Scars: The majority of Fedir's face (particularly the left side) is covered in scars that look to be a combination of cuts and shrapnel, his left ear is missing a chunk and more scars can be seen on his neck and chest.
- Does Not Like Magic: Fedir is highly suspicious of any kind of magic, calling Lateef a demon when Lateef offers to show him a disappearing card trick (though in Fedir's defense, Lateef stated that it was witchcraft and Fedir is quite sarcasm-blind), and instructs Célestine to stay away from him, while calling her a witch.Fedir: Just do your job and keep your curses away from Volchymorda.
- He's also especially wary of The Alexandrite, considering them something worse than a witch...
Alexandrite: A practitioner of multiple esoteric arts including thaumaturgy, alchemy, and metamerism?Fedir: Like I say. Something worse. An intellectual. You think you are above it all. But study evil long enough...Alexandrite: You eventually fall sway to it? Yes, I've heard that many times.Alexandrite: As have I, Mr. Volchymorda. As have I.- In a conversation with Purnima, Fedir reveals that his grandmother witnessed a witch murder Fedir's grandfather and use his blood to cast a curse on the crops. Purnima asks if he's sure that "it wasn't grandma offed grandda?" Fedir's stunned silence suggests that he never considered this possibility.
- Do Not Go Gentle: When Fedir meets Madame Mei, the only question he asks of her is if he will die peacefully. When she admits that he won't, he is satisfied with that answer.Fedir: [Grunt] Good. Better to end the way it began.Madame Mei: I quite understand.
- Made of Iron: If the scars all over his body don't testify to Fedir's refusal to die, his final words to his fellow agents before entering the heart of the Bright Storm itself should do so:Fedir: No one has managed to kill me yet. Let the Bright Storm have a go.Fedir: (After sacrificing himself in the Bright Storm) They will say... No one ever beat Volchymorda... only God himself could kill me! (laughing)
- If he suffers a stress break, Fedir indicates that he's becoming Dented Iron.
Fedir: (After suffering a stress break) Kill me or die already!Fedir: (After receiving a breaking card) Every year a little colder, a little darker. - Professional Killer: A bodyguard and hitman.
- He has achievement called "The Professionals" for completing a mission with the Sanguine Club Assassin, Purnima.
- Short-Range Shotgun
- The Spymaster: In addition to being a bodyguard and hitman for a minor underworld boss, Fedir also mentions in a conversation with Jianyi that he was a capable spymaster as well.Fedir: I know traitors. It's good work. Steady business. In my boss's organisation, I found many traitors. In the rival gangs, I made them. I was very persuasive. So, yes. I know traitors very well.
- Unstoppable Rage: Taking damage will invoke his rage.
Purnima Rana
Look mom, no scope!
A disarmingly cheerful sniper from The Sanguine Club, a society of elite assassins. Purnima does her best work at long range and from a position of elevation. A crack shot, she can kill three men - or more – with a single bullet.Infiltration Role: Sneak
- Everyone Has Standards: Was kicked out of the Sanguine Club because she refused to kill a 12 year old boy. note Purnima: The target was a kid. I don't off kids.
- The Fatalist: What Parnima falls into if she suffers a stress break.Purnima: (After receiving a breaking card) Of course I know how this is going to end. That's why I don't think about it.
- Friendly Sniper: For a professional assassin, Purnima is almost always cheerful and friendly to all of the other agents and allies, taking watch with Fedir, sharing drinks with The Alexandrite, discussing gruesomely funny stories with Isaac, getting into a friendly shooting competition with Jianyi, organizing a night of dancing and music with Ingrid and is intrigued and amused when she finds out that Danys is working with "highly unstable ingredients" right next to her.Danys: Is this a problem?Purnima: I suppose we'll find out!
- Eddie even states outright that she is "pretty cheery for a paid killer".
- The Gadfly: One of the title screens reveals her attempting to steal Jianyi's sword while his back is turned.
- Glass Cannon: Even with a fully upgraded skill tree, Purnima is tied with Lateef for lowest HP of all the Agents. However she specializes in dealing out horrific amounts of damage with every attack, with the majority of them ending with a One-Hit Kill.
- The Hedonist: Purnima enjoys a good drink and playing pranks on the other Agents. When she's in the hideout she can be seen with a bottle of alcohol in hand.
- She also asks Ana Sofía if she has anything good in her medicine bag. After Ana lists off the medical supplies she has, Purnima says she was hoping for something a bit stronger and Ana offers to use her hands to perform a Magdalite miracle on her.
Purnima: Marvelous, darling, but I can't bloody well drink your hand, now can I? - Hidden Depths: In a conversation with Ingrid about organizing a dance with music, Purnima reveals that she is a fan of New Orleans Jazz music.Purnima: Let's have something with a bit more brass, too. Armstrong and his Hot Five, I think.
- Hitman with a Heart: During a conversation with Isaac, she will ask him to do a favor for her if she doesn't survive.Purnima: There's a little boy in Kathmandu. Twelve, maybe thirteen now. If I bite it on this job, I want you to... check in on him. Make sure he's all right. (...) He's the only job I never finished. Go on, say you'll do it.Isaac: All right. I'll do it. I will.
- Improbable Aiming Skills: Her signature ability 'Trick Shot' allows her to ricochet one shot off up to 3 locations, allowing her to hit masses of enemies.
- Eddie also notes her accuracy in a hideout conversation, saying that "Half the shots, you make, I've never seen anyone hit from those distances."
- Mercy Rewarded: If Purnima didn't have a rule against killing kids, she wouldn't have ended up on the Banished Court's hit list, which brought her into contact with the Lamplighters League and Locke who's willing to pay her double her usual fee when she was a member of the Sanguine Club.Purnima: Well now! Perhaps having a scruple isn't so bad after all.
- Nothing Personal: She had to kill a fellow Sanguine club member because of their opposing contracts.
- She would take a contract on any Lamplighter League members, but she's certain none of them would make her rates.
Eddie: That is real comforting. - Professional Killer: An ex-member of the assassin Sanguine Club.
- She has an achievement for completing a mission with the hitman and bodyguard Fedir.
Zhang Jianyi
You're good, but not good enough.
A dangerous warrior and traitor to the order who trained him. Jianyi’s unorthodox fighting style combines both sword and pistol to enter a flow state, gathering energy and releasing it in devastating techniques.Infiltration Role: Sneak
- Cain and Abel: Jianyi's relationship with his brother, Gao. When they were growing up, Gao would intentionally inflict as much pain on him as possible during their training spars.Jianyi: We sparred constantly. And he was pitiless in our matches. Twice he broke my arm, once my nose. Sometimes I couldn't even get up the next day. No matter what I did, no matter how hard I trained... nothing made the difference.
- A letter found on Jianyi's recruitment mission also indicates that Gao sought to become master of the temple specifically so that he could gain access to their greatest treasure.
When we were kids you snuck into the Hall of Harmony just to get a glimpse of the Manual. I know because I did, too. I hope you got a good look back then because you're never laying eyes on it again.- In a discussion with Madame Mei, she describes Jianyi's brother as his "shadow" and Jianyi expressed that his brother knows "everything about me. All my moves, my instincts. My flaws". Mei recommends that he cheat in order to win.
- He also says that Isaac reminds him of a man "who has to make someone else feel weak in order to feel strong."
- The Cynic: Jianyi's reaction to being rescued says a lot about his life since fleeing the Thousand Snow Mountain monastery.Jianyi: Let's see what he wants. Everyone always wants something.
- Heroic Self-Deprecation: Make no mistake, Jianyi is an absolutely lethal combatant on the battlefield. He is also plagued by doubts for stealing his monastery's greatest treasure, can spend hours pondering what the best solution to a situation is only to find any chance to act has been lost due to the passage of time, and afraid that he only did so out of jealously or misguided fear of his brother.
- If Jianyi is the one to sacrifice himself in The Bright Storm, he expresses relief that at least he can be sure he's going to die doing something good.
Jianyi: At least this time I know... I did the right thing. - Not So Above It All: Jianyi is serious, disciplined and focused on staying one step ahead of his enemies. That being said... it only takes one conversation with Captain Nicky before Jianyi is partaking of his side business supplying luxury goods to the Agents.Jianyi: ... Tell me about the chocolate.
- The Oath-Breaker: Jianyi fled his home after he stole their greatest treasure, a manual of advanced combat techniques called the Scroll of A Thousand Snows.
- The Resenter: What Jianyi fears he is if he suffers a stress break.
- Warrior Monk: The monastery of Thousand Snow Mountain trained Jianyi in the art of occult swordsmanship.
- You Can't Go Home Again: As long as Jianyi is in possession of the Thousand Snow Mountain's greatest treasure and as long as his brother leads them, he can never go home. He laments this fact if he suffers a stress break during a mission.Jianyi: I should never have left...
Célestine
Anyone can study magic.
A bloody-handed spy who channels dark powers to fight the Banished Court. As deadly with her mind as with her poisoned daggers, Célestine terrifies her enemies by inflicting Stress, and uses Mesmerism to force them to fight on her behalf.Infiltration Role: Sneak
- Bad Powers, Good People: Célestine specialises in poison and mind control magic, is the last survivor of an order of assassins and the magic she uses will eventually drive her insane. Yet she fights to protect the world and, if given a buff card from the Undrawn Hand, vows to protect her fellow agents.We stand together in this. Those who attack you make an enemy of me, as well.
- Becoming the Mask: Célestine's cover in Berlin was a knife-throwing act, though she admits to Madame Mei that "It began as a cover. But some days, perhaps it was more". Ultimately averted, as when Madame Mei suggest that performing might have been her true calling, Célestine sadly states that she knows her end and that "details would only make it harder".
- Carnival of Killers: She can talk to Madame Mei about meeting each other at a carnival.
- Deadly Euphemism: Some of her conversations are centered around "falling" and being "caught". What she means is that the magic she was taught will eventually drive her insane and she'll need someone to put her down.
- Fake Memories: She can offer these to Eddie to make him forget his deceased sister, believe she is alive and doesn't want to contact him, or that he was able to attend her funeral.
- Hope Is Scary: Célestine has no idea what has happened to the other members of the Couronne de Lauriers order and when the Alexandrite recommends she assume the worst, Célestine merely replies:The worst is all I have ever assumed. Even a glimmer of hope is too much to ask for in these last days.
- I Die Free: If Célestine is chosen to enter the Bright Storm, her last words reflect her relief at being able to choose her own demise.Célestine: My fall will come soon, one way or another. But now it will be on my terms.
- Last of Her Kind: She was an assassin for a secret society that got eradicated by the Banished Court before the events of the game. Her having been in the cold and without a handler for so long is a major source of angst for her.
- Magicians Are Wizards: She went undercover as a performer to stay alive, but her mesmerizing powers are quite real.
- Master Poisoner: One of the only agents who can poison enemies from her skill tree.
- Mind Control: Can do this as her signature ability.
- No Name Given: Upon first meeting her in the hideout, Locke asks her if Célestine is her real name or a codename. She just asks him if there is a difference and he admits to wondering that sometimes as well.
- Power Tattoo: Lots of them.
Ana Sofía Rodríguez
I refuse to stand by while tyrants feast.
A mystic healer who broke her vow of pacifism to fight the Banished Court. In Ana Sofía’s hands, healing items and abilities are even more effective, and her conviction inspires her teammates to take additional Actions per Turn.Infiltration Role: Saboteur
- Empathic Healing: How Ana describes her healing ability to Judith:Ana Sofía: Have you ever run your fingertips across nettles? Examining a wound is like that: uncomfortable. Sometimes I can feel the pain - the Mothers called it "sympathetic suffering" - but only sometimes.Judith: Wild. And then when you treat them?Ana Sofía: It feels warm, like afternoon sunshine.
- Fighting Back Is Wrong: Her order's tenets. She doesn't agree.
- The Heart: Ana is easily the kindest character in the entirety of The Lamplighters League. She took up arms because she couldn't stand to see people hurt, when she might have the chance to prevent their pain in the first place, she is almost unfailing polite to everyone (unless they are purposefully attempting to antagonize her or insult her friends) and isn't motivated by a desire for power or wealth. Célestine states that this is the reason why, despite breaking her vows of pacifism, she hasn't lost her ability to heal.Célestine: You will never be one of the great healers of this age. But so long as your heart can bleed for the pain of others, your art will stay with you.
- Hidden Depths: If selected to resolve the 'X Marks the Spot' fate event, Ana is said to have enjoyed solving puzzles in the Magdalite convent and, with Locke's aid, manages to solve a treasure map that hasn't been deciphered in centuries in a single night.
- The Knights Who Say "Squee!": Ana is elated to meet the last surviving Lamplighter and considers it an honor that he wants to recruit her.
- La Résistance: After she left the Magdalite Order and broke of her vow of peace, Ana fell in with a group of anarchists who taught her how to shoot. However she left after their methods became more violent and they began infighting.Ana Sofía: They were suffering terribly. They hoped the new government would make things better, but it didn't. They could not decide... at what point the guns should come out. I thought that if I told them of the Banished Court, it would help them set aside their differences. But it only made it worse. Most did not believe me; the few that did felt it was not their concern. In the end, I had to leave.
- Lovely Angels: After revealing that she admires Judith for standing up to Marteau, she states that she has Judith's back on missions.Ana Sofía: Excuse me, Judith? I overheard that this is... personal. for you. That you're seeking revenge on Trace Marteau?Judith: Uh-oh. You here to save my soul, sister?Ana Sofía: What? No, no, I admire you. Men like Marteau must be stopped. (...) People like that don't stop until people like us stop them. Anyway, I wanted to let you know that - I have your back out there.
- My God, What Have I Done?: If she suffers a stress break, Ana will show severe doubts about choosing to break her vow of pacifism.Ana Sofía: Maybe I did choose wrong. Maybe I've made a terrible, unforgivable mistake...
- The Oath-Breaker: She broke her vows of pacifism to fight tyrants.
- Oh, Crap!: Has any epic one when she finds Danys has misplaced one of his prototype inventions, asks him to describe the prototype and then realizes...Ana Sofía: You lost a grenade?!
- Screw the Money, I Have Rules!: When Lateef asks Ana what she is going to do with her share of Locke's payment for working with the Lamplighters, Ana states that she just asked to join his quest.
- Token Good Teammate: Kind-hearted, but not afraid to take action, she's the most traditional hero in the game. Locke even comments on how she doesn't really fit with the others.
- White Mage: Breaking her vows has weakened her abilities, but she's still easily the most powerful healer on the team.
Nocturne
Creepy Humming
A macabre spectrophysicist marooned in an alternate dimension, only to emerge forever altered. Nocturne manipulates her body's electric field to inflict shock damage on her enemies while also supercharging her cutting-edge suit to enhance her abilities.Infiltration Role: Saboteur
- Cloud Cuckoolander: Nocturne is... not all there.
- Death of Personality: Dr. Elsa Reis was once the world's foremost spectrologist, she took a job in Marteau Industries researching matter transportation. When she succeeded in building a door to the Other Side, Marteau pushed her through and locked the door behind her. When the door was reopened... it was Nocturne that came back out, not Dr. Reis.Locke: I need your help, Dr. Reis.Nocturne: She's dead.Locke: Who? Do you mean...Nocturne: Elsa Reis. Trace locked her in. She didn't come out. Nocturne. Nocturne can help.Locke: I see. Yes, Nocturne can help. Thank you... Nocturne.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Nocturne has trouble holding a conversation with the other agents, and often falls back on communicating her feelings via humming. However, when Danys ponders the idea of crossing over to The Other Side and then "come back to the present with years of work" and "the technology of the future!", Nocturne's response is completely lucid:Nocturne: No! No, no, no!Danys: What did I say?Nocturne: You must. Not. Go. Promise me!Danys: Okay. I will... reconsider.
- Shock and Awe: The majority of Nocturne's wheelhouse.
Isaac Greymoor
You don't know who I am? Just step aside, then. The big gun will take it from here.
A volatile mercenary whose history with the Lamplighters League goes way, way back. Isaac's light machine gun (LMG) builds Heat as it fires, each attack dealing more Damage than the one before. But the more he attacks, the greater his risk of Overheating.Infiltration Role: Bruiser
- Antagonistic Offspring: Downplayed, but Isaac's inherently volatile nature caused him to argue constantly with his father, the late Lord Greymoor who strove to be a paragon. The situation eventually devolved to such an extent that Isaac left home and joined the French Foreign Leigion.Lord Greymore: As a father, I am flawed. As a man, I strive for decency. I have always sought honor and virtue in those who follow me. My heart aches, Isaac, for I do not see that spark of a virtuous man in you.
- BFG: Isaac wields a Light Machine Gun that would normally be operated from a mounted or stationary position.
- Blood Knight: His entire kit is based on building up as much heat as possible, allowing him to perforate the battlefield with armor-shredding bullets.Isaac: (While firing his LMG) Now we're having fun!Isaac: (After receiving a buff card from the Undrawn Hand) All's fair in love and war.
- During 'The Maiduguri Mission' fate event, a group of artifact thieves working for Strum attempt to steal a treasure in Nigeria and Isaac is one of the Agents that can be chosen to resolve the event. If picked, he proceeds to attack their camp single-handedly.
Choosing offense over defense, Isaac tracks the Sons of Anubis to their secret camp. They wake startled to the sound of deafening gunfire tearing their best-laid plans to pieces. - Combat Pragmatist: One of the main reasons for falling out with his father, Isaac was and remains willing to use any advantage he can to win the fight.
- One option during 'The Stewards' Siege' fate event is selecting Isaac to handle it, who proceeds to fortify a position for himself with a clear killing zone in front of him. As the event resolution puts it...
When the Court arrives, Isaac's machine gun roars to life. Their bodies fall like wheat before the scythe, and from his fixed position, Isaac has a clear line of fire on all of them.It's a massacre. - Combat Sadomasochist: When Isaac's machine gun is at full heat and so hot that it is practically setting him on fire, he'll let out pained laughter and, during a conversation with Purnima, he tells her that when he dies, he both expects and wants it to be "messy" with "knuckles split, blood on my teeth".Isaac: I don't mind a little suffering.Purnima: That's because you're a bloody masochist, mate.
- Foil: Isaac and Strum are both descended from nobility, both use particularly brutal weapons and overwhelming firepower as their primary method of resolving situations, both use attacks that cause fire hazards and both are heavily associated with mercenaries. However, Isaac abandoned his nobility to become a mercenary and has trained and fought for the past sixteen years to stay alive and earn his own money. Strum used his ancestral wealth to cultivate the Red Sulfur that grants him quasi-immortality and invulnerability and allows him to fight without fear of dying while throwing his hired goons at any problem in his path. If Isaac dreams of Strum's vision for the future, he makes his feelings on the man perfectly clear.Isaac: That smug son of a bitch. I’ve never met a greater coward.
- His Own Worst Enemy: Isaac's lines when he suffers a stress break all show that he carries a lot of self loathing beneath his prideful exterior.Isaac: (After receiving a breaking card) I couldn't even die with them.Isaac: (After receiving a breaking card) They never needed me after all.
- I Am Not My Father: Isaac's opinion of his deceased father is not a positive one.Isaac: (After receiving an attack card from the Undrawn Hand) My father was weak. I won't make his mistakes.
- Subverted somewhat. Isaac knows that his father loved him, but their differing personalities made living together practically impossible.
- Inadequate Inheritor: As the last descendant of the Greymoor line, Isaac was expected to eventually succeed his father as leader of the Lamplighter's League. Instead, he became a soldier of fortune, first with the French Foreign Legion and then as part of a small mercenary company that saw action all over Europe and Asia. To say his Uncle Locke is disappointed would be putting it mildly.Locke: Your parents gave everything to the League. You need a paycheck just to save your own life. I had hoped for more.Isaac: Then I hope you're as used to disappointment as I am.
- Subverted if Isaac sacrifices himself in The Bright Storm. In the final hideout conversation, Locke refers to Isaac both by his birth name; Isaac Ashley, and as the seventh Lord Greymoor.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Isaac is arrogant, violent and more than willing to use dishonorable means to achieve his goals. However when Locke reveals to him that the only reason he is still alive is because he hid under the body of a fellow Lamplighter and fooled the attackers into thinking he was just another corpse, Isaac's response is... strangely comforting:Isaac: You hid to save your own skin. So much for the vaunted Lamplighter honor, eh? ... Good for you.Locke: Nothing you say can hurt more than what I have said to myself.Isaac: Right. Because the Court would be in shambles if only you'd eaten your lead like a good little soldier. You did well, Uncle. Maybe there's hope for you yet.
- During the 'A Father's Love' fate event, a rogue magister has stolen some of Marteau's experimental technology in an attempt to bring his deceased daughter back from the grave. If Isaac is chosen to deal with the event, he is surprisingly gentle with the grieving magister and respects that the man "loves his child so intensely that he'll tear holes in the universe to find her", allowing the magister to finish his attempt before shooting him in the back and wishing father and daughter a happy reunion.
- He also agrees to check up on the child that Purnima refused to kill during what ended up being her last job for the Sanguine Club if she doesn't survive the war with the Banished Court.
- Last of His Kind: He's the last surviving member of the Greymoor bloodline.
- More Dakka: Even more so than Eddie, Isaac focuses on pouring out as much lead as possible on the battlefield, with his signature ability 'Spitfire' being described as unleashing "a hailstorm of bullets". However, if Isaac maxes out his heat and then becomes overheated, his attacks will start to damage him as well.
- Sins of the Father: Isaac has caused trouble for the Banished Court in the past, but the biggest sin in their eyes is that he is the son of Lord Greymoor, the previous leader of the Lamplighter's League.Isaac: Nothing I ever do could match the crime of being my father's son. Believe me, I've tried.
- Sour Outside, Sad Inside: During one conversation in the hideout, Ana Sofía accuses Isaac of this, stating that he antagonizes people to get them to pay attention to him.Isaac: It seems you've been making a study of me.Ana Sofía: I think about you often, yes. But not because I care about you. Because you have manipulated me into giving you the attention you never got from your parents.Isaac: I do seem to have gotten under your skin.Ana Sofía: Yes. And I am glad. Because it means that I still have something inside of me that is kind, and gentle, and... But you? You are empty. (...) I hope some day you will find something that can fill your emptiness, Isaac. I do. But I won't hold my breath.
- Survivor's Guilt: One of the few times Isaac's sarcastic and bitter nature breaks is when he rants to Locke that he might have been able to save the deceased Lamplighters if he'd fought alongside them.Isaac: Do you know how many nights I laid awake with the knowledge that I could have stopped it - I could have saved them - if only I had been there? If only you hadn't thrown me out?Locke: You were still a boy. If you were there, you'd have been killed too.Isaac: Please, I knew how to shoot. I could have-Locke: No. Believe me, Isaac. There was nothing you could have done.
- He can also fall into this after suffering a stress break, wondering why he "couldn't even die with them".
- "Well Done, Son" Guy: When Isaac suffers a stress break, he will admit to fearing that his father was right about him. One lore collectible is also a letter from his father that, despite its age and being read many times, Isaac has kept in pristine condition.Lord Greymoor: A father's hope is a stubborn flame. I cling to the vision of you striding towards righteousness, lighting your way with the beacon of our legacy. I promised myself I would never give up on you, Isaac. If now I am able to abandon what I cannot understand or change, it will be thanks to your example.
- During one particularly heated argument between Isaac and Locke, Isaac accuses Locke of looking at the previous iteration of the Lamplighters League through rose-tinted glasses and Locke makes a particularly pointed statement about Isaac's relationship with his father.
Locke: The old days may not have been perfect, but we had good intentions.Isaac: All right. But at some point you have to accept that you can't lick a skeleton's arsehole.Locke: This from the man still hoping a skeleton will say "I love you."- If Isaac is the one to enter the Bright Storm, he notes that he can finally surpass his father in the war against the Banished Court.
Isaac: (gasping, weary) You couldn't finish it, Dad... but I can.
Allies
Pelham Locke
These scoundrels are faring better than I even dared to hope.
The leader and last of the original Lamplighters.
- Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: Locke's relationship with his honorary nephew Isaac is generally frosty and argumentative. And then Locke will try to ease Isaac's feelings of guilt for not being there for The Leagues' final battle, Isaac will ease Locke's guilt for surviving said battle and Locke will ask Isaac to help him find out who it was that betrayed the League and hunt them down.Locke: Isaac. When all this is over, and the Tower is safe, I'm going to find out who it was betrayed the League. And I want you to help me.Isaac: You're... You're serious?Locke: Deadly.Isaac: This won't bring peace to the dead or any of that rot. You know, they're dead, they don't need peace.Locke: No, they don't. But I wage it'll make us feel pretty damn good.Isaac: It might at that. All right, Uncle. Let's nail the bastard.
- Broken Ace: As a Lamplighter he was a hero fighting the terrors of the world, even surviving a one-on-one encounter with Strum. Now he's Mission Control and seen frequently drinking and bitterly reminiscing about the old days.
- Determinator: Even in the face of a seemingly unstoppable Armageddon, Locke refuses to go down without a fight.
- Drowning My Sorrows: Locke has a habit of reaching for a bottle when reminiscing about the old Lamplighters League. Captain Nicky refers to this habit as getting "Lamplighter drunk".
- Due to the Dead: While Locke has been forced into abandoning many of the scruples he held during the previous iteration of the Lamplighters League, that doesn't stop him from giving funeral rites to the bodies resurrected by Strum's curses.The corrupted sarcophagi are destroyed. The path to the Red Sulpur is that much clearer.We still have a Heist to plan. But tonight I will carve funeral spells into a sandstone table and place it in the graveyard behind the villa, for the bodies in those sarcophagi belonged to people, once. It was not I who turned them into weapons, but I take responsibility for their destruction, and will bear that burden with the rest.
- Faking the Dead: How Locke survived the attack that left him the last Lamplighter. One of his comrades was killed and her body fell into his arms. In order to survive he was forced to use her body and blood as camouflage to keep from being executed. After being thrown into a mass grave, he climbed out two days later. Locke considers it his most shameful act, however Isaac respects him for staying alive to fight the Banished Court another day.Locke: Ishida was standing behind me. When the first bullet hit her, she fell into me. I caught her, put down my gun to stop the bleeding. She died in my arms. By then - it wasn't over, but... it was over. So - I pulled her corpse on top of me. Used a qigong technique to slow my breathing, make it seem that I was dead, too. Her blood looked like my blood. They tossed my body into a ditch with the rest of them. I lay there for two days, feeling their bodies stiffen and bloat against mine, before I crawled out in the dead of night.
- Honorary Uncle: Locke was a close friend to Lord Greymoor, the former leader of the Lamplighters League. So much so that he was considered an adoptive uncle to Greymoor's son Isaac. Despite their chilly relationship in the present, Locke does still care about Isaac.
- Knight in Sour Armor: Locke has watched all his friends die, his enemies are on the verge of ending the world and he has no choice but to hire cutthroats, mercenaries and thieves if he is to accomplish his goals. He eases up as his agents continue to prove their worth and after defeating the Banished Court and truly killing the Scions, he apologies for underestimating them and declares them to be Lamplighters.
- Last of His Kind: The last living Lamplighter.
- The Leader
- Screw the Money, I Have Rules!: Can have some of these moments during the fate and house events and at least in regards to the massive bounty that Thousand Snow Mountain put on Jianyi.Locke: Are you aware Mr. Zhang, that Thousand Snow Mountain has put a bounty on your head?Jianyi: How much?Locke: Enough to make Solomon blush.Jianyi: All right, then. I'll go pack my bags.Locke: That won't be necessary. I won't be pursuing the bounty.Jianyi: You should. With money like that you could hire a dozen swordsmen to replace me.
- The Team Benefactor: He can afford the increased rates the agents give him as he leads them from his private island.
- The Unfettered: What Locke has been forced to become. In his earlier years, Locke wholeheartedly believed in the honorable and moral tactics and goals of the Lamplighters League. Then... someone betrayed the League note , his friends were murdered one by one, he barely survived his last battle and was thrown into a shallow grave with the bodies of his allies and had to dig himself out two days later. Now, with the League having been in ruins for years and his sworn enemies on the verge of ending the world, Locke is willing to do whatever it takes to destroy the Banished Court. Locke is also well aware of how much he has changed and notes that his past self would have despised what he has become.The man I was twenty years ago would have despised me. He was part of an order of heroes: scholars, adventurers, philosophers. He knew the dangers the Banished Court posed, but he still believed the League could defeat them nobly, honorably, the "right way." In a sense that man died in the war, just like the rest of them. The Lamplighters League is dead. All that remains... is me.
Captain Nicky Konstantaras
Always fair prices here, but you know that.
The Pilot who transports the Lamplighters to their missions and supplier.- Deadpan Snarker: Often makes quips at the expense of the agents. When Locke is recounting the tales of the old Lamplighters he rolls his eyes and says Locke's lines before he does.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Despite his sarcastic nature, Nicky is firmly on the side of the Lamplighters, transporting them to and from missions, picking up luxury items for those that request them, running errands for everyone, and providing a sympathetic ear for Locke when he gets too deep into a bottle. While Locke may be the leader of the Lamplighters League, it wouldn't be unfair to say that Nicky is the oil that keeps the League running smoothly.
- An example is that he flew across several time zones doing a series of deals for Ana Sofía just to get her something she needed for her medicine. He didn't even charge her despite his tone being very put out.
- The Scrounger: In addition to transporting the agents to and from their missions, Captain Nicky's primary occupation is to act as the Lamplighters supplier of consumables, armor and weapon mods. He'll also take personal requests, such as healing supplies for Ana Sofía, rare books for the Alexandrite and convinces Jianyi to make a request for chocolate.
- Ungrateful Bastard: Immediately after being saved he warns the Lamplighters that he will leave them behind if they don't get on the plane. He only says that after after everyone has reached the exit, so it could just be him telling them to hurry up.
Danys Belfort
Let's make something spectacular, my friend!
An ingenious inventor with a knack for blending mechanical and alchemical processes.- Arms Dealer: A piece of lore located in his extraction mission reveals that the Banished Court targeted him for termination because he has been providing guns to the Tripolitanian resistance. Locke spells it out for him in a hideout conversation:Locke: A year ago you sold guns to the wrong people. The right people in my book, but the wrong people in theirs. That was enough for the Banished Court.
- The Blacksmith: When recruited he's seen on the second floor in front of a forge hammering away at something.
- Bling-Bling-BANG!: During his extraction mission, Danys will fight alongside the Agents sent to rescue him and his weapon is described as an 'exquisite' rare pistol with impressive damage, high accuracy and applies bleeding.
- Deadpan Snarker: Danys goes along with the Lamplighters despite having no idea of their motives or intentions, just because they seem to want him dead the least. And then there is his response when Locke points out they have enemies in common:
- Ditzy Genius: Danys' is a phenomenal designer of weapons and armor that contain both mechanical and alchemical processes that allow the gear of the Agents to rival the Banished Court. However...
- He cheerfully mixes unstable chemicals without warning anyone before hand (including Purnima who is sitting on the ledge right next to him).
- Considers entering the Other Side, so that he can complete years of work in a matter of days, despite the terrible effect that being trapped there had on Nocturne's identity and sanity and Nocturne vehemently makes him promise not to go.
- He misplaces a prototype grenade. He's at least sure the pin is still in the grenade, but only because it would have exploded by now.
Danys: Oh! Here it is. It was in the trash. - Doing It for the Art: In-universe. The reason why Danys originally began creating weapons.Believe it or not, I did not get into this business for the killing. Nor even the money. It was, in the beginning, about the art of destruction.
- Throw Down the Bomblet: Danys' other main defense besides his gun is to throw an armor-shredding grenade.
Madame Mei
You wish to guide the hand of fate?
A Cartographer and fortune teller who provides upgrades to the Undrawn Hand.- Artificial Limbs: Her right arm is a prosthetic.
- Combat Pragmatist: Mei recommends that if Jianyi ever faces his brother, that he first surprise him and then offers some more advice after finding out he'd only ever beaten his brother once.Madame Mei: Cheat. If you want to live, Mr. Zhang, you'll need every advantage you can find.
- Deadpan Snarker: Generally with anyone that asks one of her pet-peeve questions and particularly in her conversation with Jianyi.Madame Mei: You haven't escaped him, you know.Jianyi: Are you talking to me?Madame Mei: No, I'm talking to the other tall, angry, rude young man behind you. Yes, you.
- Doing It for the Art: In-universe. She's with the Lamplighters, beyond the fact they saved her life of course, to be able to actually study and work with the Undrawn Hand.
- Madame Fortune
- Never Heard That One Before: Madame Mei is not a fan of anyone asking when they will die or become famous. She finds that they inevitably don't like the answer.Madame Mei: What is "fame" to the stars, or the threads of destiny? Besides, no one ever likes the answer.
- When Ingrid says she has a question for Madame Mei, that isn't about her future, Mei states that it will "be a nice change of pace."
Mother Amina
The Magdalite Order is a faith of peace and healing. To those who hunger for power, nothing is more dangerous.
A devout sister and healer of the Magdalite order who provides healing and stress reduction upgrades.- Actual Pacifist: Mother Amina takes her vow of non-violence extremely seriously. Carries over into gameplay as she cannot attack enemies during her extraction mission.Mother Amina: I have seen it. All that you have seen and more, I have seen. But I chose peace. And every day, I choose it again.
- Disappointed in You: Mother Amina is willing to bless all of the agents of the Lamplighters League save Ana Sofía. Why? Because Ana once belonged to the same order of healers as Mother Amina and has since broken her vow of non-violence by taking up arms. It is only after many weeks of conversation that Amina finally gives Ana a blessing.Ana Sofía: I know what I've done. I left the Magdalite order. Took up arms. Broke the Vow of Peace. I won't ask for your blessing, or your approval. I just... I wanted you to understand. So badly. But... maybe that will never happen. So I must live with that. I won't bother you again, Mother. Thank you for your patience with me. May the Divine Mother bless you.Mother Amina: ...May the Divine Mother bless you too, Ana Sofía.
- The Medic: As a Magdalite healer, Amina is naturally this for the Lamplighters League as a whole.
- Why Won't You Die?: During her extraction mission, a Banished Court report advises attacking Amina with overwhelming force as she is both well-supplied and trained in healing and therefore might outlast a standard attack.
Banished Court
Lady Zorana Nicastro
Come and meet your doom.
Lady Zorana Nicastro, the Scion of the ancient and dreaded House Nicastro. Wielding twin rapiers and an array of dark powers bestowed upon her by a dead and dreaming god, Lady Nicastro loves nothing more than the thrill of the hunt—and the rush of the kill.
- Bad Boss: None of the Scions are going to win employer of the week, but Nicastro has no problem with killing off Sturm and Marteau's henchmen to fuel her dark rituals. As Marteau puts it to Strum in a letter:We need to have a serious talk about resource allocation if Lady N is going to keep burning through troops for her hocus-pocus horseplay... What's done is done, but the next time she wants to go running off after a holy grail or a magic ring, she can do it with her own men. Our men have a Tower to get to.
- Casting a Shadow: Zorana's 'Torment' ability allows her to cloud the area in darkness, reducing the Agents line of sight massively and making it extremely difficult to keep track of her. It's also the only time that she can use her 'Ecstatic Slaughter' ability which does increased damage depending on how much stress the Agent being attacked has.
- Combat Sadomasochist: Oh, yes. Zorana loves pain. And it doesn't matter overmuch to her whose pain it is.Nicastro: (After receiving a critical hit) Exquisite...Nicastro: (At low health) [ecstatic shudder, laugh]
- The Dreaded: House Nicastro is this as a whole as their special troops specialize in causing increased stress damage, making it more likely an Agent will suffer a stress break and Zorana takes it to its logical conclusion by her most dangerous attack doing more damage to an Agent the more stress they have suffered.
- Taken even further if House Nicastro reaches their second threshold 'Dread' on the Doomsday Clock which causes Nicastro troops to do additional stress damage on critical hits.
- Dual Wielding: Zorana's primary weapons are a pair of rapiers that she uses with lethal effect.
- The Fundamentalist: House Nicastro as a whole, but as its leader, Zorana is this in the extreme. A series of stolen Marteau research journals that can be found on Nicastro based missions detailing the monsters of her house are all defaced and have the word 'HERESY' scratched into the covers, presumably by Zorana herself.
- Religion of Evil: House Nicastro's goal is to bring about the end of the world by raising her dead and dreaming god; The Devouring King to drown the world.Nicastro: Fear the long reach of the drowned, fear the cold epiphany! Childe, you know not what the tide has spawned to drown the world triumphantly.
- A series of Nicastro lore collectibles are labelled as "The Brinewater Verses" and "The Gospel of Salt".
- Wicked Cultured: Locke eloquently describes her as a "Poet, duelist, and bloody-handed zealot, with a swarm of horrors at her command".
Trace Marteau
Come, witness my genius up close!
A successful American Industrialist with an affinity for electricity. In the 1920s, he stumbled upon another dimension, a realm of the afterlife he dubbed Lacuna. The company quickly realized that by creating portals in and out of the Lacuna, they can move people and supplies across the globe in a matter of seconds. But the technology leaves cracks in the fabric of reality… allowing ghostly Shades to cross back over to the land of the living.
Trace Marteau doesn't see a problem, though. He sees an opportunity. He'll crack open the barrier between this world and the next, fill the Lacuna's infinite wastes with factories, and secure himself a workforce to operate his assembly lines for life… and for the hereafter.
- Blasphemous Boast: Half of Marteau's goal for the Bright Storm could easily be described as one giant blasphemous boast.Imagine the fit old Pope Pius will pitch when he finds out about this. A Marteau-branded afterlife, colonized and commodified. The Now-eternity, slicker and better by far than whatever the Church is peddling.Can't get into Heaven? Afraid of Hell? Come on out to the Lacuna! We're open for all, and we're hiring.How many afterlifes are there, I wonder? A thousand? A million?Whatever the number, I'm gonna put my fingers into every one of 'em. You mark my words, by the time I'm finished, there won't be a Heaven, Hell, or in-between realm that doesn't wear the Marteau name.
- Corrupt Corporate Executive: Make no mistake, Marteau is a smart man with a good eye for discovering new talent. He's also cutthroat in the extreme and is more than willing to use bribery, blackmail, threats, industrial espionage and murder to achieve his goals, and those methods aren't even close to being a last resort for him. Just ask Judith about her parents.Judith: He pushed my parents to the brink. No matter what they did it was never enough. He'd demand a prototype on Friday and return Monday furious when it wasn't strong enough. I was at school. I didn't know any of this was happening. I found out later he was sending them photos of me on campus. The threat was clear enough. (...) The last time I saw them they were exhausted, but they had finally generated a stable field that lived up to Marteau's expectations. They were about to tender their resignations.Judith: Exactly. The accident happened the next day, took out half the block. My parents and five others were found later. Their lab, their work, all their research... gone.Locke: Marteau cleaning up loose ends.
- It's All About Me: Marteau in a nutshell and the other half of his ultimate goal should he lay claim to the Bright Storm. If he reaches the Bright Storm before Nicastro and Strum and begins to ascend, his monologue is full of this:I can see it! The WHOLE of Creation working in MY name, begging at MY feet! A BETTER future-a MARTEAU future-FOREVER!
- Mad Scientist: An inventor who wants to use the power of the tower to create a machine planet of living and undead assembly workers.
- Mass Teleportation: He invented project crossroads which allows the Banished Court to send resources and soldiers instantaneously across the world.
- Smug Snake: Marteau presents himself to the world as a charming, likable and charismatic playboy who will throw out mountains of cash buying fancy new clothes for a reporter interviewing him and dump a glass of $100 dollar whisky into a fountain without drinking a drop. In reality however, he's a condescending, self-obsessed narcissist who loves to see his name in the papers, sees everyone else as beneath him, once got so drunk that he drove a car containing himself and a group of innocent passengers off a cliff, didn't care about the horrific deaths he caused at all, and summed up the end result as:All things considered. it was a bit of a waste - the Rolls was a beautiful car, and I hadn't finished with my new friends yet. But until the crash, it had been a fine evening. I don't even have a hangover.I suppose that makes it a wash in the end. At least it wasn't boring.
- Sniper Rifle
- Tech Bro: His portrayal has many of the trappings - a combination of science, industry, wealth, fame and ego, with clear hints of him mostly buying out (and sometimes murdering) actual inventors and passing off their work as his own.
- The Turret Master
- Weaponized Teleportation: One of the biggest differences between Marteau and the other Scions is that he will actively avoid melee combat, instead teleporting away and forcing Agents to waste valuable turns nailing him down.
Lord Wolfram Strum
So, the old man sends his pawns to their death.
Descending from a long line of dukes, generals and conquerors, Wolfram Strum believes that the relics and riches of the world belong to the man who can take them by force and, as the supplier of military might to the Banished Court, that makes them his by right of conquest.
Leading the charge into battle, Strum revels in the slaughter of his enemies and won't stop until all opposition to his goal of ruling the world with an iron fist, lie broken at his feet.
- Abusive Parent/Gruesome Grandparent: Strum pits his children and grandchildren against each other for his ever-changing favor, leaving them desperate for his approval.
- Adventurer Archaeologist: Of the tomb raider variety. Strum has stolen and pilfered enough treasure and artifacts across the globe to fill an entire museum dedicated to them.
- Attack! Attack! Attack!: Strum's modus operandi. In combat, he rushes forward to use his shotgun, attacks against him trigger an exploding fire shield and he can drain health from Agents to bolster his own. Locke's description of him during a conversation with Judith puts it best.Locke: Strum is brutal and efficient. He's no fool, but he's not the schemer the other two are. He takes the shortest path to his enemy's throat. When you see him out there you would be wise to keep your distance.
- Berserk Button: Strum detests weakness of any kind, especially if it makes him feel weak.Strum: (At low health) I - am - no - WEAKLING!
- Blood Knight: Strum lives to fight and conquer, seeking to claim the power of the Bright Storm so that he can become Emperor and plunge the world into an unending war.
- Life Drinker: Although older than Locke, he still looks as young as Locke remembers him. On missions that Strum oversees, he has an ability to damage everyone in close proximity to him to regain HP.
- Made of Iron: Strum's Red Sulfur doesn't just grant him quasi-immortality, it makes him practically unkillable. Locke recounts in his first encounter with Strum in 1912 (when Locke had no idea about Strum's abilities), that every attack he made was useless.Locke: Strum shook off what should have been a half a dozen lethal wounds before throwing me out of the flat's window like a doll.
- Mad Scientist: When heisting his Red Sulfur, there are notes scattered everywhere detailing the deaths involved with making it. Downplayed, as the Donna Chanterfield journals found throughout the mission calls his experiments "ham-handed".Chanterfield: The man is a brute, not a scientist. He keeps making the same mistakes over and over again, like a child trying to hammer a square peg into a round hole - and every time he does, it comes at the cost of a human life.
- Necromancer: Through the use of his Red Sulfur, Strum has the power to raise corrupted mummies as Infernals and Summoners to fight for him.Through the miracle of the Red Sulfur, life and death are mine to command.
- Really 700 Years Old: According to one of the exhibits in Strum's Hall of Conquests, Strum was 18 years old in 1820 when his hirelings found the legendary Treasure of Lima making him 130.
- Short-Range Shotgun
- Smarter Than You Look: While Locke describes Strum as "an old-money aristocrat in a strongman's body" whose "not the schemer" that Marteau and Nicastro are, he is shown to have a brutal cunning to him, enough so that Isaac declares "Strum always was cleverer than you lot gave him credit for".
- Smug Snake: To the point that he has an entire museum dedicated to his conquests. A museum that also happens to contain the map showing the location of his Red Sulfur...Locke: Wolfram Strum can be accused of many things, but modesty is not one of them. Gloating comes as naturally to the man as breathing does to you and me.
- The Social Darwinist: Strum is built like a bear, can survive multiple lethal stab wounds and espouses an ideology of strength, survival and merciless conquest. The truth however, is that he was a frail, old man who feared dying so much, that he spent a fortune investigating any possible lead to restore his youth and grant him endless strength and power. Ultimately, with his inherited wealth and Red Sulfur to grant him invulnerability and quasi-immortality, he is nothing more than a hypocrite who could never live up to his own ideals without cheating.
