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From the first game
Ash Lambert
Son of a traitor who grew up to be a Platoon Leader in the Ishtaria Domestic Security Forces. Despite facing scorn from others for most of his life, Ash is honest, brave, and noble.
- Heroes Prefer Swords: The only playable character who can only use one weapon type.
- Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: Always sports a large one. In his Vandalier class, he can summon an energy shield from his hand.
- Magic Knight: The only sword-wielding party member to be able to use magic, though most of the bosses can.
- Master of All: He starts out as a very competent and useful Jack of All Stats and Magic Knight, and becomes this trope in spades if you manage to unlock his
gamebreaking, Purposely Overpowered Vandalier class, which is a Lightning Bruiser that can cast every spell in the game, can use any item effect an infinite number of times and has nearly impenetrable defense from the front and sides.
- Protagonist Powerup Privileges: Ash is the only character to advance through FOUR character classes in your army. The fourth only comes after you find a series of items hidden in several maps, all of which are permanently missable if you fail to find them, and then doing the same thing while undergoing a brutal gauntlet of trials. Doing so allows Ash to become a Vandelier, a class that is the very definition of a Game-Breaker. You can pretty much field Ash on his own throughout the last chapters of the game and simply watch as he mows down all of them with hilariously high attack, defense and block chance, the ability to cast spells that can clear an entire map and, even worse, the ability to "cast" items as spells at the high, high, cost of zero MP, essentially making him having infinite health and MP. Vandelier Ash is, in the end, God Mode incarnate.
- Sword of Plot Advancement: Vandal Hearts. The reforged Vandal Hearts serves as an Infinity +1 Sword.
- Uncertain Doom: Uses the Vandal Hearts to stop Dolf's plans in the finale, but this is implied to require a heavy sacrifice, and when the light fades, he's gone. His ending narration simply states that he was never seen again.
- We Cannot Go On Without You: Did this guy just run out of HP in battle? Well, Game Over, buddy!
Clint Picard
Second in command to Ash, Clint is serious and level-headed in contrast to Diego's playfulness.
- Amazon Chaser: Is interested in resident Action Girl Kira.
- Dub Name Change: His original name in the Japanese version is 'Keith Bardeaux'.
- I Will Wait for You: In the ending, when Kira goes on her journey, Clint patiently waits for her return.
- Mighty Glacier: If he takes the Armor path, his movement speed will suffer, but he'll gain an axe... and with which to convert enemies into blood geysers with extreme prejudice.
- Mr. Exposition: Is more politically and historically aware than Diego, and fulfills this role early on.
- My Greatest Failure: Being unable to stop the death of his first love.
- We Cannot Go On Without You: Exclusively in his Rescue Arc, if he dies, it's Game Over. Yes, even when there's Ash in the same map!
Diego Renault
A cheerful and laidback archer who rounds out Ash's squad. He's affable and friendly, but kicks ass when needed.
- Badass Adorable: He can do a number to the enemies, but he never loses that cheerful smile.
- Brilliant, but Lazy: Not the straightest of examples, but he's the heir to a business empire that he's implied to run very well in the ending, but instead he plays archer for Ash's tiny squad in the capital's police.
- Casanova Wannabe: Hinted to be this. He does at least show an attraction to Kira.
- Fragile Speedster: As an Archer. Combines this with Glass Cannon in the Air path.
- Freudian Excuse: It's not that he's bad, but the reason for his 'laziness' above was because he hated his father for being a money-grubbing merchant that left him alone with his dying mother.
- Sarcastic Devotee: The first to crack wise or complain, but unwaveringly loyal to Ash.
Eleni Dunbar
A young mage and the daughter of war hero Magnus Dunbar. Joins Ash to discover what happened to her father.
- Black Mage: In the Magic path.
- Cool Big Sis: Acts like this to Leena, who is her younger self. So... self-sistering?
- "Groundhog Day" Loop: Of the Stable Time Loop kind. She is destined to meet her future self in the present, only to be thrown back in time by Xeno, get amnesia, be found by Magnus, and then travel with Ash and eventually meet her younger self.
- Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Blonde hair, and one of the more compassionate party members.
- Happily Adopted: By Magnus.
- McNinja: The ultimate result of taking her down the Monk path is her becoming a Ninja.
- Narrator All Along: She didn't get any ending narration, and she's last seen writing a book, implied to be narrating the whole game, including all the endings.
- The Scream: Notable in Chapter V when she had a Catapult Nightmare; it's the only vocalized shriek in the game.
Huxley Hobbes
Eleni's elderly teacher and guardian who accompanies her to keep her safe.
- Badass Preacher: His Healer path includes the classes Bishop and Arch Bishop.
- Noodle Incident: Apparently, he once turned a farmer's pig into a chicken.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: Hails from the same village with Darius and they often bicker at each other.
Kira Wulfstan
Confident and forward Action Girl who saves the party from bandits and signs on for fun. Though she's actually The Mole.
- Affirmative Action Girl: Of the three playable female characters, she's the only one in a combat class.
- The Atoner: Pretty much every major thing she does over the course of the game could be traced back to this trope. Joining Ash's party as a spy? Atonement for surviving the war while her family did not. Betraying Ash's party to the Big Bad? Atonement for betraying her family's memory and sacrifice by starting to sympathize with and liking the heroes and, by proximity, the revolutionistic side and perspective. Helping Clint escape prison? Atonement for betraying him and the other PC's, people she had grown to like and/or love... Kira has not been leading a very happy life.
- In her ending, she thinks she hasn't atoned enough, so she goes on a journey of self-discovery, although there are rumors that she and Clint will be married later.
- Death Seeker: Clint berates her for fighting recklessly, like she has nothing to lose and doesn't care if she'll live or die. And, at first, she doesn't... Her time spent as a spy in Ash's idealistic party along with the compassion Clint showed her warms her up, though. It got pushed up to eleven after her betrayal of them (more about that below), at which point she simply didn't care if she lived any longer and the quite possibly only reason she wasn't Driven to Suicide was that she didn't think she deserved a quick death.
- Dub Name Change: Her name in the Japanese version is Kira Shiva Leen.
◊ - Fragile Speedster: As an Archer. Combines this with Glass Cannon in the Air path.
- Guilt Complex/Survivor Guilt: First she ends up being the sole survivor when her aristocratic family was killed by the revolutionists in the war. But then she joins Ash's team and their support and compassion heals her emotional wounds. Except, Ash's party represents to her the very same people who murdered her family... and she's starting to sympathize with and like, maybe even love them... Also, the only reason she joined them in the first place was because she had been hired as a spy, thus giving her a window to extract a small Revenge by Proxy on the revolutionists. The list goes on.
- Heel–Face Revolving Door: Starts as a mole for Dolf and turns on the party before being used as a hostage by Dolf, after which she switches back to the good guys.
- The Mole: She had her reasons, as detailed above, but she never seemed quite convinced she was in the right, either.
- Stripperiffic: Compared to the other female characters.
- Walking the Earth: She goes on a journey for self-discovery after the ending, but promises a marriage with Clint later.
Grog Drinkwater
A washed up sailor who spends his time drinking until Ash and co. convince him to come out of retirement.
- The Alcoholic: Gives it up when he begins journeying with Ash.
- Boisterous Bruiser: He knows he's good, and he has the highest base strength of any player character besides Ash. Also, as a Soldier, before promotion, he'll yell loudly before delivering a big slash.
- Mighty Glacier: In the Armor path, he trades in much of his movement speed for the ability to one-shot most enemies with a great big axe.
- Unskilled, but Strong: Not so much in stats, but certainly in battle animations.
- Walking the Earth: In the ending, he and Zohar go to sail around the world.
Dolan
An officer hand-picked by Magnus to serve him on his expedition to the Isle of Madness. Is one of the few people to escape the strange magic it inflicts on the expedition.
- A Father to His Men: States his intention of holding off eight Mad Soldiers by himself so Amon and Sara could get away to safety. Of course, that senseless Heroic Sacrifice never needed to come to fruition thanks to Ash & co's arrival, but still.
- The Leader: In the ending, he becomes a major political figure.
- Mighty Glacier: Like all characters with the option to take the Armor path, doing so will cause his movement speed to suffer but his offensive potential to skyrocket.
- Mr. Exposition: Largely for Magnus' doomed mission, but pops up elsewhere.
- The Philosopher: Courtesy of the experience his advanced age has provided him with.
Amon
An archer serving under Dolan and one of the few people to escape the curse of the Magic Stone. Though he is often hesitant to enter the fray, he is a fine bowman and fiercely loyal.
- Cowardly Lion: Often gets concerned about the stakes the party is up against, but never flees. Especially when Sara's involved.
- The Eeyore: If you need someone to comment on how hopeless your odds are, look no further, Amon is your man.
- Fragile Speedster: Taking the Air path allows him to fly around the battlefield with unprecedented mobility, but also makes him pretty squishy, especially against archers.
- Only One Name: You know him as just 'Amon'. In the Japanese version, his full name is instead Miguel Amon Leen◊. Combine this with Kira's Japanese full name, you'd think they're connected, but nothing came out to it.
- Ship Tease: With Sara. See Cowardly Lion above.
Sara
A Healer accompanying Dolan and Amon who survives the curse that befalls the rest of the expedition. Amon tends to bring out her temper.
- Badass Bookworm: She's a bit of a history nerd and knew a lot about histories, being the first to hint that Zohar sounded familiar and was the first to point out Zohar's fame in the past when he revealed his identity.
- Bludgeoned to Death: Unlike many of the characters in the game, Sara’s priestly staff and crucifix are blunt weapons, yet still cause the game’s awesomely over-the-top fountains of blood when she rams them into enemies.
- Only One Name: She's just named 'Sara' in the game. In the Japanese version, her full name is Sara Celia Larna.◊
- Ship Tease: With Amon. To the extent of abandoning her vast magical power to work in a bakery near Amon in the ending.
- Tsundere: A mild case with Amon, as noted in her description.
Darius
A pretty cool guy that Clint serves prison time with. Also used to live in the same village as Huxley.
- The Engineer: Doesn't really have any impact on his playstyle or the story, but he's placed firmly here, anyway.
- Mr. Fixit: His official character art sees him building his own Hawknight jetpack.
- Noodle Incident: He once somehow managed to burn down the school where Huxley worked.
- The Smart Guy: Opens a factory (and takes in Amon as an apprentice) after the end of the game.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: With Huxley. They argue a lot.
Zohar Abu Sa'id
An ancient mystic who became trapped outside of time by his treacherous apprentice.
- Alas, Poor Villain: After the battle with Xeno, he solemnly reflects upon the fact that Xeno was no different from any other man; that he merely sought to satisfy his thirst for knowledge and truth. Dolan helpfully adds that even though all people seek answers, not everyone turns into irredeemable monsters in their search.
- The Atoner: For being unable to stop Xeno the first time he tried.
- Brought Down to Badass: His magical powers were severely crippled after he was thrown into the time warp created during his and Xeno's battle... You couldn't really tell by looking at him, though.
- Embarrassing Nickname: Amongst the ranks of the magi, there is hardly anyone who doesn't know about "Zohar the Aloof", a nickname he had actually managed to forget during his exile.
- Glass Cannon: As a Mage. Sorta makes you wonder if he was a Glass Nuke before Xeno crippled his arcane powers.
- Mysterious Past: All we really know is that he's an ancient magician with a treacherous ex-apprentice.
- The Philosopher: He suggests that Ash & c/o's quest might not be so much righteous as it's self-righteous, and criticizes the heroes for planning to overthrow Hel Spites without considering the possibility that the goverment that is implemented after him might turn out to be even worse. Ultimately it's decided that they have to believe in the betterment of humanity and be rid of Hel Spites, anyway.
- The Stoic: Even in his combat animations. While everybody else bounces in place, Zohar just stands still, hand in pocket, non-existent wind blowing his long hair.
- Walking the Earth: In the ending, he accompanies Grog to sail all over the world.
