History Characters / VorkosiganSagaBarrayarans

* CaligulasHorse: Once again, the Lord Midnight precedent. His grandfather's illegitimacy does not automatically disqualify René from succession (namely due to the fact that his father and René both were confirmed as heir/Count, and so legally were the Count). To further complicate matters, both sides claimed Lord Midnight as a precedent in their favor. He was removed from his position as the heir by a vote of the Council of Counts, establishing a precedent that an unfit inheritor could legally be disinherited, making the suit against René at least worthy of official attention.

* CaligulasHorse: Once again, the Lord Midnight precedent. His grandfather's illegitimacy does not automatically disqualify René from succession (namely due to the fact that his father and René both were confirmed as heir/Count, and so legally were the Count).

* RichIdiotWithNoDayJob: Subverted. He actually does have a [[BadassBureaucrat day job]]. He just acts like this to avoid getting caught up in intrigue, and likes court life as a recreation.

* RichIdiotWithNoDayJob: [[spoiler: While [[strike: partially]] entirely true, it is also his cover.]]

** In ''A Civil Campaign'' Kou explains to Mark Vorkosigan what was apparently his master plan: "... I always figured my girls would go for the bright young officers. I expected I'd end up owning the general staff, in my old age." Mark thoughtfully reflects instead that it appears the All-Blonde Commandos that Kou fathered have inadvertently managed to divvy up the world: Olivia marrying into the royalty with Count Dono, Delia the military with Duv (who at that point is rapidly heading to a major staff position at ImpSec as one of the four primary heads reporting directly to the Emperor), Martya controlling the scientific sector through Enrique, and Kareen pinning down the economy with Mark himself. Mark decides the charitable thing to do is keep this to himself, however, and does not share the insight.

%%* LadyofWar:

* NamesTheSame: In-universe, a prior Lord Dono Vorrutyer was an insane architect during Dorca's time.

* NamesTheSame: InUniverse, shares the same name as the current Lord Dono (nee Donna) Vorrutyer.

* [[PoliticallyActivePrincess Politically Active Vor Lady:]] Especially in ''A Civil Campaign''.

* [[TechnicianVersusPerformer Technician and Performer]]: She and Simon have a symbiosis at court events, with her being the performer providing the splendor, and Simon as the technician providing the security.

* [[IGaveMyWord You Gave Your Word]]: Well, he's a Barrayaran.

* [[WhenSheSmiles When He Smiles]]: Tej notes that he has one of those "face-transforming smiles" in ''Captain Vorpatril's Alliance.''

* [[UsefulNotes/{{Atheism}} Atheist]]: On his deathbed, he notes his atheism is a great comfort. Cordelia agrees and tells him she wishes she were one, too. Later, when Cordelia convinces Aral to be Regent by stating that not accepting the challenge is worse than failing, Ezar notes theistic people are far more ruthless than atheists.

* [[NeedleInAStackOfNeedles Murder In A Stack Of Deaths]]: See below.

* [[PapaWolf Papa Wolf In-Law]]: When Prince Serg was becoming dangerous he [[PetTheDog protected Serg's wife from him]].

%%* [[LadyofWar Lady of]] [[IncrediblyLamePun Vor]]

* [[ShootTheDog Drown The Puppy]]: His retaliation for Donna squealing on his attempted rape of her.

* [[LesCollaborateurs Les Collaborateurs Descendant]]: It is believed that his Cetagandan ancestry came not from rape but from an affair with a Ghem-soldier, either because of mutual loneliness or because of an exchange of protection for sex or both.

* [[BadassArmy Badass Intelligence Agency]]: They are one of the best secret services in the nexus and employ some of the scariest people on Barrayar. When Miles sees a Jacksonian crime lord viciously assassinated in ''Mirror Dance'', he muses that it was probably not [=ImpSec=] -- not because they wouldn't have done that, but because they would have been more efficient about it.

* CriticalResearchFailure: [[invoked]] He loves to think he's Count material, but his knowledge of the political scene is woefully inadequate.

* CriticalResearchFailure: It's extremely rare, but Illyan did have one thinking the old Cetagandan bunker was empty in ''Captain Vorpatril's Alliance''. He didn't count on a contractor falsifying a report to get back on schedule. [[invoked]]

* TheQuietOne: In his [=ImpSec=] days he used the trait to terrifying effect. After his chip's sabotage and subsequent retirement it provides a good cover for any memory lapses. It does cause a little trouble though, as no one had quite realized how bored he was in retirement, leading to [[spoiler:the misadventure with the Arquas and the secret bunker.]]

* TheConsigliere: Even officially she is the Emperor's most trusted organizer of ceremonies and his Baba ([[PerfectlyArrangedMarriage that is, matchmaker)]]. Taking her unofficial powers into account (After spending thirty years as Gregor's social secretary, she knows '''everybody''' in the government and has a way to directly or indirectly influence most of them), she is probably almost equivalent to a cabinet member or higher.

* [[ReassignedToAntarctica Reassigned to Riviera]]: At the end of ''Captain Vorpatril's Alliance'' TheEmperor (who wasn't really mad at him but wanted him off-world until the Arquas' doings were forgotten) assigned him to a consulate on an obscure planet. Since the work only takes him three mornings a week and can be done over the comconsole (computer/phone hybrid), Ivan moves the consulate from the rainy capitol to a tropical island and converts his posting into an extended working vacation/honeymoon.

* HeroOfAnotherStory: While not involved in Miles' exploits Ivan has had a fairly successful military career, usually getting promotions ahead of Miles (whose achievements are all highly classified and can't be publicly acknowledged without blowing his cover; he's also lost years of seniority in active service due to infirmary/hospital time, wounded [[spoiler:(and occasionally killed)]] in the line of duty). (In addition, Ivan reminds Miles that Ivan tends to ''follow orders''.) In ''Captain Vorpatril's Alliance'' we find out that Ivan is in fact a brilliant staff officer, largely because he insists on organizing everything to the point where it maximizes his comfort and minimize his effort.

* CatchPhrase: "Let's see what happens." He picked it from his Cordelia, his foster mother. Considering he's the absolute ruler of three planets, it tends to invoke horrified fascination in everyone nearby.

* {{Ambadassador}}: At one time a foreign diplomat they needed to bribe demanded an elephant as his price, even though the nearest elephant was several planets away. [=ImpSec=], of course, provided an elephant]].

* CatchPhrase: "Let's see what happens." Considering he's the absolute ruler of three planets, it tends to invoke horrified fascination in everyone nearby.

* CatchPhrase: "Let's see what happens."

* [[ReassignedToAntarctica Reassigned to Riviera]]: At the end of ''Captain Vorpatril's Alliance'' TheEmperor (who wasn't really mad at him but wanted him off-world until the Arquas' doings were forgotten) assigned him to a consulate on an obscure planet. Since the work only takes him three mornings a week and can be done over the comconsole (computer/phone hybrid), Ivan moves the consulate from the rainy capitol to a tropical island and converts his posting into an extended working vacation.

* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: As pay back for [[spoiler:his agent provocateur antics at the end of ''A Civil Campaign'', Miles offers him a ''critique''. At length, with no opportunity for sarcasm spared]].

[[folder:The Kodelka Girls]]

[[folder: Le Sanguinaire]]
!!Pierre "Le Sanguinaire" Vorrutyer

Warleader of Emperor Dorca the Just who brought the Vor into submission.

* TheButcher: His name in English means "Bloody Peter".
* TheDragon: Dorca's favorite hatchet man and most feared liegeman.
* TheDreaded: You don't earn the sobriquet "Le Sanguinere" for hosting tea parties.
* FourStarBadass: So much so that ''Piotr Vorkosigan'', who was himself a first-rate general in everything from cavalry tactics to space-age warfare, reminisced about him with enthusiastic awe.
* GunboatDiplomacy: Cavalry diplomacy, rather. But yeah.
* HenpeckedHusband: It's said that the only one he was afraid of besides {{the Emperor}} was his wife. And some weren't sure he actually feared {{the Emperor}}.
* LongDeadBadass: Not quite so long, the History of Barrayar from collapse to rediscovery was actually fairly short.
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: "Bloody Peter"
%%* ShroudedInMyth

[[folder:The Mad Architect]]
!!Lord Dono Vorrutyer the Mad Architect

Ancestor of Count Dono's. Famed for eccentric building styles and for building Imp Sec headquarters. A [[SoBadItsGood running joke]] of Barrayarans and the despair of Security officers who must work there.

* CrazyPrepared: His aesthetic style is questionable but from the security standpoint he is impeccable.
* MadArtist: All of this buildings definitely have his curious touch. For example, the [=ImpSec=] building he designed was essentially one big concrete block with no windows -- at all -- while the stairs were large and ungainly. It seems he took the idea of making the secret police's headquarters someplace no one would ever want to visit or look at; unfortunately, no one wanted to ''work'' there either, including poor Illyan.
* NamesTheSame: InUniverse, shares the same name as the current Lord Dono (nee Donna) Vorrutyer.
%%* ShroudedInMyth

----

'''Byerly Vorrutyer'''

'''Lord [[spoiler:later Count]] Dono Vorrutyer'''

'''Pierre "Le Sanguinaire" Vorrutyer'''

'''Lord Dono Vorrutyer the Mad Architect'''

* CharacterizationMarchesOn / EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: Ivan is far more provincial when he's young, showing many of the negative traits that Barrayarans have. As he gets older, he becomes more and more worldly, as well as inheriting some of his cousin Miles' GuileHero tendencies, to the point that he's able to impress a former ''haut'' Lady with his knowledge of the Star Crèche and has put himself on the fast track to being an ambassador.

[[/folder]

[[/folder]

[[folder:Gregor Vorbara]]

[[folder:Koudelka]]
!!Clement "Kou" Koudelka

Aral's subordinate and later personal secretary; wounded during the Escobar War, he uses a swordstick to get around. Happily married to Drou, he is the proud if slightly apprehensive father of four daughters. Eventually rises to the rank of Commodore.

* DrivenToSuicide: Cordelia's gift of a SwordCane nearly backfires tragically as Kou contemplates suicide with it. Cordelia's interruption probably saved his life.
* EmbarrassingFirstName: Cordelia is told by a family friend that the one thing Kou shares with Drou is that they both hate their first name.
* HandicappedBadass though this is downplayed in later volumes, apparently due to improving medical technology.
* MeatgrinderSurgery: His nervous system has to be replaced with wires, which Cordelia notes is really shoddily done. He shows no senses of disability years later; one might wonder if Cordeli paid for him to get some ''real'' nerve replacement surgery at Beta Colony.
* OverprotectiveDad: Morphs into one of these when [[spoiler: Kareen and Mark are outed as a couple.]] He gets over it; helps that one of his other daughters [[spoiler: hooks up with Count Dono Vorrutyer, who is Transgender]] during the same time period.
* SwordCane: Cordelia gives him one in ''Barrayar'' to try and help alleviate his feelings of being "crippled" and "useless" (after a disruptor shot completely screws his nervous system and leaves him with trouble getting around and excruciating pain). It gets borrowed back and [[OffWithHisHead re-purposed]] later.

[[folder:Drou]]
!!Ludmilla "Drou" Droushnakovi

Former bodyguard to Princess Kareen and then-heir to the throne Prince Gregor, Drou accompanied Cordelia on her [[UnusualEuphemism shopping trip]] to the Capital. Now married to Clement Koudelka and the proud mother of four daughters.

* ActionGirl: She was a planetary martial arts champion and Emperor Gregor's childhood bodyguard. Captain Negri recognized the need for Princess Kareen to have a female bodyguard and made sure she was given the same training as any male bodyguard. She was even a finalist in a combat competition with Aral's own soldiers, and even scored a round against ''Bothari''.
* EmbarrassingFirstName: She keeps Drou as a nickname after her marriage. Even her husband calls her Drou. Hell, even the ''Emperor'' calls her Drou. Of course he does. He's known "Droushie" since he was two years old.
-->'''Drou:''' My brothers used to call me Lud. Rhymes with mud. Also thud, blood, crud, dud, and cud.\\
'''Kou:''' You’ll always be Drou to me.
* HappilyMarried: To Kou, [[spoiler: though that doesn't mean she doesn't want her daughters to have happier, saner courtships than she did.]]
* NinjaMaid: To Princess Kareen. Her public title is "Servant of the Inner Chamber," but she's also on [=ImpSec=]'s payroll, and was hired specifically for her fighting skills because Kareen wanted a female bodyguard.
%%* RetiredBadass

[[folder:The Kodelka Girls]]
!!The Koudelka Girls (AKA "Team Koudelka" AKA "Commodore Koudelka's All-Blonde Commando Team")

Kou and Drou's four daughters, Delia [[spoiler:Galeni]], [[spoiler:Countess]] Olivia [[spoiler:Vorrutyer]], Martya [[spoiler:Borgos]] and Kareen [[spoiler:who becomes Lady Kareen Vorkosigan in all but name]].

* ActionGirl: ''All'' of them. Their mother, for one, was Kareen and young Gregor's personal bodyguard, and she was instrumental in training them, encouraged by Cordelia; their father approved.
** Delia is an essential part of Miles' notorious "Assault on Cockroach Central" (specifically the part that involves protecting the falsely accused Duv Galeni from catching a bad case of involuntary suicide).
** Martya and Kareen engineer a food fight that would put Creator/BlakeEdwards to shame to protect Enrique Borgos (and their shares in Mark's company) from Escobaran law enforcement.
** Olivia personally beats down a couple of armed thugs [[spoiler: hired by Richars Vorrutyer to reverse his cousin Dono's Betan sex-change surgery with a vibra-knife.]] Barehanded. Dressed in a ''ball gown''.
* AmazonBrigade: The girls tend to go about in a herd by their own admission, and after watching Olivia clobber the thugs Ivan speculates that the mother-daughter wisdom passed down in the Koudelka clan extended to things a lot more dangerous than baking brownies. Junior officers at HQ refer to them as "Commodore Koudelka's all-blonde commando team." Kareen is the shortest of the sisters, and she's still 5'9".
* AmbiguouslyBi: Kareen notes that she could have met a nice ''girl'' in Beta Colony. She'd already had experience with Betan herms, so it's possible she experimented further, though she could just be jerking her parent's chains by reminding them that there are worse romantic options (by Barrayaran standards, anyway) than Lord Mark.
* BewareTheQuietOnes: Proved, to Ivan's horror, when super-quiet Olivia takes down a couple of armed thugs single-handed.
* DeadGuyJunior: Kareen, named after Gregor's mother, the deceased Princess Kareen. Olivia is named for Miles' long-deceased grandmother, Princess Olivia Vorbarra-Vorkosigan.
%%* DeadpanSnarker: Martya.
* FourTemperamentEnsemble: Kareen is sanguine, Martya is choleric, Delia is melancholic, and Olivia is phlegmatic.
* GenderRarityValue: The Koudelkas went for girls after noticing that everyone else was going for boys, making their daughters about the hottest commodities on the Vorbarr Sultana dating scene -- which was the advantage they needed since they were not Vor; Koudelka's status of being the former Regent's attache made them socially acceptable, though.
** In ''A Civil Campaign'' Kou explains to Mark Vorkosigan what was apparently his master plan: "... I always figured my girls would go for the bright young officers. I expected I'd end up owning the general staff, in my old age." Mark thoughtfully reflects instead that it appears the All-Blonde Commandos that Kou fathered have inadvertently managed to divvy up the world: Olivia marrying into the royalty with Count Dono, Delia the military with Duv (who at that point is rapidly heading to a major staff position at ImpSec as one of the four primary heads reporting directly to the Emperor), Martya controlling the scientific sector through Enrique, and Kareen pinning down the economy with Mark himself. Mark decides the charitable thing to do is keep this to himself, however, and does not share the insight.
%%* [[LadyofWar Lady of]] [[IncrediblyLamePun Vor]]
* NamedAfterSomeoneFamous: As mentioned before, Kareen and Olivia are named after famed princesses in Barrayaran history. Delia is named after her HonoraryAunt, Cordelia Vorkosigan.
* NiceGirl: "Everyone liked Kareen, because Kareen liked everyone." Cordelia noted that her charisma was her superpower.
* SarcasticDevotee: Martya to Enrique. She snarks that he needs a keeper then promptly snares the job (and the good doctor) for herself. Even Kareen admits that level-headed Martya can "make the brains run on time." And he writes poetry!

[[folder:Ekaterin]]

!!Ekaterin Nile Vorvayne Vorsoisson [[spoiler: Vorkosigan]]

->"Drat."
--> -- '''Ekaterin Nile Vorvayne Vorsoisson''', ''Komarr'', after more than a decade of being married to Etienne Vorsoisson.

->"Miles, if you die out here, I will not be grieved, I will be pissed!"
--> -- '''Ekaterin''', ''Diplomatic Immunity'', [[spoiler: after less than two years of being married to Miles Vorkosigan.]]

Unhappily married to a mid-level bureaucrat on Komarr, Ekaterin is a woman of remarkable personal strength who has been socialized by a restrictive upbringing and a true {{Jerkass}} of a husband into a shadow of herself...until she gets caught up in a dangerous case that may have interstellar consequences.

* BewareTheNiceOnes: This over-socialized stay-at-home mom [[spoiler: used a Komarran super-weapon as an anti-grav basketball while laughing in the face of certain death.]]
** In "Winterfair Gifts", [[spoiler: someone tries to kill her with a toxin-laced wedding gift, a pearl necklace, and frame an old flame of Miles' for the deed. Once the toxin is detected and [=ImpSec=] cleans it out completely and marks the culprit for death, she wears the necklace to her wedding. A watching armsman decides at that point that she's going to make an excellent match for his nutty boss. When one of the guests compliments her on it, and comments that the giver must have spent a lot of money on it:]]
---> '''Ekaterin:''' Yes, I expect it will cost him everything he has.
* CatchPhrase: "Unpack, Miles," referring to the way Miles' brain runs five steps ahead of his mouth.
* DeadpanSnarker: She has her moments.
* DomesticAbuse: Tien certainly emotionally abused her [[spoiler: and stole money from her to pay back his bad investments that should have gone to the medical treatment of their young son]], and Miles considers it verging on abuse that Tien talked Ekaterin into having her son Nikolai by body-birth when the much safer, painless uterine replicator was already widely available. (At the time Ekaterine claims that she saw it as a romantic adventure; she was twenty, Tien was ''thirty''. Considering the age difference, power imbalance, and Tien's personality overall, the abuse label holds.) At one point, Ekaterin brings up in Tien's [[spoiler: post-mortem]] defense that he had never hit her, and Miles prays to whatever god might be listening that ''his'' best beloved would have higher praise for him [[spoiler: after his own death]] than "[[DamnedByFaintPraise he never hit me]]".
* HappilyMarried: Eventually. [[EarnYourHappyEnding She has to wade through a lot of shit to get there.]]
* HatedByAll: Not Ekaterin, but Tien, whom ''nobody'' likes, even people who never met him.
-->'''Mark:''' From everything I've been able to gather -— between the lines, mostly, Ekaterin doesn't talk about him much -— Tien Vorsoisson was a pretty complete waste of food, water, oxygen, and time.
* IGaveMyWord: Takes this as seriously as Miles does, which leads to her putting up with mountains of garbage from her husband Tien.
* LetsGetDangerous: She is not a physical fighter, but when she feels it's a choice between risking her life or letting someone recreate the Time of Isolation, it's not even close.
* MamaBear: While she typically doesn't fight physically, she is more than willing to use her social connections and skills against anyone who threatens Nikki. As Alexi Vormoncrief found out when he was ReassignedToAntarctica.
* ObliviousToLove: She is blissfully unaware that Miles has a crush on her. Justified because she has been emotionally traumatized by marriage to Tien and is in no hurry to be tied down by anyone else. [[spoiler:She even writes off Miles' confession at the end of ''Komarr'' as a joke by the next novel.]] Better still, she is determinedly ''ignoring'' the fact that she is falling hard for Miles -- to the point of grinding her teeth in fury at a hypothetical Vor débutante insulting him and feeling like crying at the thought of never again having physical contact with Miles.
* ParentheticalSwearing: Coming from her, a single ''"twit"'' has the force of a ClusterFBomb from less repressed characters.
* ProperLady: Nearly a textbook example. No wonder KnightErrant Miles fell for her almost immediately.
* ResentfulOutnumberedSibling: Ekaterin has several older brothers and no sisters, and this is mentioned as being common among Barrayarans of her generation as the result of newly-obtainable sex-selection technology. She specifically mentions this as being part of the reason why she's a ShrinkingViolet. She then defies this in her own marriage to Miles with two sets of twins followed by one girl to balance her eldest son Nikki Vorsoisson.
* ShoutOut:
** Her maiden name is a tribute to Harriet Vane, wife of Literature/LordPeterWimsey.
** Her middle name comes from Nile Etland, of the ''Literature/FederationOfTheHub'' stories. It was originally planned as the name of Elena Bothari, but test readers convinced Lois that having characters named Miles and Nile in the same book was unwise.
* SilkHidingSteel: She appears to be the most proper of Barrayaran ladies, and yet she has the inner strength to fight Komarran terrorists at the risk of her own life.

'''Lord Auditor Professor Georg Vorthys'''

One of the eight permanent Imperial Auditors and Ekatarin's great uncle by marriage, Georg Vorthys is a Professor Emeritus of Engineering Failure Analysis at Vorbarr Sultana University and is generally regarded as the Empire's authority on the subject. He is Emperor Gregor's go-to Auditor for technical/scientific issues.

%%* CoolOldGuy
* TheEngineer: He specialized in failure analysis, and proceeded to use those skills as an Auditor.
* GeniusSweetTooth: The man loves his cookies.
* GentlemanAndAScholar: Well, as much as an engineer can be, it seems; he tends to prefer having his custom-tailored suits made with "nice big pockets". His wife the Professora is a better example on the Distaff side.
* HappilyMarried: Has been married to the Professora for decades.

'''Professora Helen Vorthys'''

Georg's wife, Ekatarin's great aunt and a professor of History at Vorbarr Sultana University. A highly accomplished academic in her own right, Miles and Gregor alike have been known to employ her and her graduate students to research historical precedents. Implied to be one of Lady Alys' secret coterie of highly influential women.

* CoolOldLady: She's fairly progressive in her views, even moreso than Ekaterin in some ways.
* [[GentlemanAndAScholar Lady and a Scholar]]: Emperor Gregor values her advice on historical precedents.
* HappilyMarried: Ekaterin is wistfully jealous of her aunt and uncle's relationship.

'''Byerly Vorrutyer'''

Town Clown, impoverished, imprudent, and impervious to put-downs, but very witty...if you care for a certain nasty type of humor. [[spoiler: Also an [=ImpSec=] informant, reporting to Lady Alys Vorpatril, which was fully confirmed in ''Captain Vorpatril's Alliance''.]]

* AgentProvocateur: Manipulates his cousin Richers into prematurely sending goons to attack his other cousin Dono so as to sabotage his case against the other.
* AmbiguouslyBi: Actually discussed in ''Captain Vorpatril's Alliance.'' The conclusion reached was that Ivan wanted to know as little about By's sex life as possible, no matter who it was with. Rish and Tej, with their advanced sense of smell, notes that By just fooled around with a guy.
* ContinuityNod: In ''Memory'' an exasperated Alys complains about a "certain nameless wit, or halfwit" suggesting she should start including boys in her bride search for Gregor. In ''A Civil Campaign'' we are introduced to Byerly.
* DeadpanSnarker: even manages to out-snark Miles.
* DoubleReverseQuadrupleAgent: Especially in ''A Civil Campaign'' when By [[spoiler:pretended to work for Richars when he was actually working with Lord Dono but his ''true'' loyalty was with [=ImpSec=].]] Ivan once called him out on it, threatening to rearrange his face unless he spits out who he's ''really'' working for.
-->'''By:''' Ah, now, that would be telling.\\
[[spoiler:''(Ivan nearly does a SpitTake when he sees him nodding at his mother, Lady Alys.)'']]
* ExcellentJudgeOfCharacter: Since many of his plots involve BatmanGambit, By has turned out to be really good at reading people.
* FalseRapeAccusation: He was accused by a jealous relative of raping his own sister -- both insisted it wasn't true, but his already estranged father believed the accuser. According to Rish, that explains his choice of work: SeekerArchetype.
* GuileHero: For a given value of "hero". Guile AntiHero, perhaps?
* HiddenDepths: By's backstory, when it finally comes out in ''Captain Vorpatril's Alliance'', makes him a much more sympathetic character.
* ItsPersonal: His underlying reason why he exceeded his brief in helping Dono against Richars. He tells Ivan as much, and then reveals [=ImpSec=] was ''really'' unhappy with him taking sides, bumping him down a pay grade.
* ImpoverishedPatrician: Byerly is what is called by everyone (including himself) as a "High Vor town clown". [[spoiler:He gets his money being a spy among High Vor.]]
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: A self-admitted weasel who plays for high stakes...but who actually cares, deep down, about protecting the weak and punishing the guilty.
* MirrorCharacter: One of the reasons Rish and By are a match could that both are acclimated to and comfortable with aristocracy, and both [[spoiler:spy on them, too]].
* PlayingDrunk: Byerly is a master of faking intoxication. According to Rish, when he really ''is'' drunk, he becomes serious and detached, like a doctor discussing a medical condition.
* RichIdiotWithNoDayJob: [[spoiler: While [[strike: partially]] entirely true, it is also his cover.]]
* TheStateless: Flees Barrayar to Jackson's Hole with the Cardonnah family. It's a cover... mostly.
* XanatosGambit: By never hedges his bet. He covers an op by hiring a contract kidnapper. He also recruits Ivan to make sure the kidnapper doesn't find his prey without telling Ivan why he was recruited. No matter what, By was going to have Tej delivered to him. (His sole mistake is that he didn't know Tej had her own personal armed bodyguard, so his plan could have gone tragically wrong.)

'''Count René Vorbretten'''

Academy classmate of Miles and Ivan, and one of Miles' stoutest allies on the Council of Counts. An upright, forthright, and diligent young aristocrat who was forced to give up a promising military career after his father's untimely death, only to discover that he's one eighth Cetagandan Ghem. On his father's father's side, unfortunately.

* TheAce: He's described as being handsome, a capable administrator, hard-working, artistically talented, and even more charming to the ladies than Ivan.
* CaligulasHorse: Once again, the Lord Midnight precedent. His grandfather's illegitimacy does not automatically disqualify René from succession (namely due to the fact that his father and René both were confirmed as heir/Count, and so legally were the Count).
* [[LesCollaborateurs Les Collaborateurs Descendant]]: It is believed that his Cetagandan ancestry came not from rape but from an affair with a Ghem-soldier, either because of mutual loneliness or because of an exchange of protection for sex or both.
* EmbarrassingNickname: He is sometimes called "Ghembretten".
* FantasticRacism:
** He finds it quite creepy himself that he is part Cetagandan as he had grown up hating them for killing his father in battle. However, the attitude to his ancestry by others is a subversion. As several vor including TheEmperor are already marrying off-worlders anyway, it may be that the key point was that his ancestor had an affair with an invader, not just an off-worlder, and that it has legal ramifications in a hereditary aristocracy.
** He does ''not'' share Barrayar's bias against "mutants", or at least Miles. It's strongly hinted René naturally doesn't see Miles as anything abnormal, rather than just being careful around a political power.
* HappilyMarried: to Tatya, a classmate of Olivia Koudelka. Which pulls in the rest of Team Koudelka, and by extension, Miles, though Miles likely would have come to René's aid regardless.
* [[RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething High Vor Who Actually Do Something]]: Though it's always offscreen, no one ever seems to mention René without complimenting his diligence, competence, or decency.
* InstantExpert: has an affinity for music due to his Cetagandan heritage.
* NothingPersonal: Distant cousin Sigur, who's gunning for René's seat, doesn't have anything against him personally, but turnover in the Council of Counts is so rare he's forced to challenge him in Richar's scheme to capture the Vorrutyer seat. He cousin Sigur shows far more grace than Richars in defeat, and the first thing he does after the lawsuit is [[WorthyOpponent congratulate René.]]
* SickeninglySweethearts: René and Tatya are exceedingly, abundantly, just plain ''cute'' together.
* TomatoInTheMirror: He's rather hostile towards Cetagandans, only to discover that he has Cetagandans in his ancestry.
* TragicBigot: Olivia notes that René hated the Cetagandans for killing his father, and is thoroughly spooked to learn he's part Cetagandan himself.

'''Lord [[spoiler:later Count]] Dono Vorrutyer'''

Byerly's cousin, and another old friend of Ivan... who was once ''Lady Donna'' Vorutyer, and more than just a friend. But when Donna's older brother dies under suspicious circumstances and she's faced with the prospect of her vile cousin Richars taking his place, she decides that extreme measures are called for. Now the new Lord Dono must engage both Richars and traditional Barrayaran society in a no-holds barred political battle in the Council of Counts, where mutual interests inevitably lead him to ally with Miles and René.

* AintNoRule: That a Count's sister can't get a sex change to contest the succession.
* BehindEveryGreatMan: The rare familial variety. Ivan and By both note that Lady Donna was running her brother Pierre's day-to-day affairs as an unofficial district deputy.
* CaligulasHorse: There's that Lord Midnight precedent again.
* TheCasanova: As Donna or Dono, doesn't matter.
* TheCharmer: Several other characters -- and not all of them women -- note how dashing he is. Thanks to his knowledge of Vor society, he manages to gracefully convince Gregor not to block his claim on Pierra's countship despite the unusualness of circumstances. (That, and he and Miles both note that ''some''one was going to try this at some point, so the Council ''needed'' to vote on a precedent.)
* GenderBender: Only men can inherit a District Countship, so needs must when the devil drives.
** FirstLawOfGenderBending: Averted. Dono tells Gregor he will remain a man even if he loses his suit for the countship.
** SecondLawOfGenderBending: Also averted, surprisingly enough. Dono isn't interested in embracing masculinity so much as he's exploring the new possibilities it presents.
** ThirdLawOfGenderBending: Enforced. Playing the role is important to the outcome.
* GrandDame: What Lady Donna was becoming, thanks to her knowledge of District countship and her intimate knowledge of other Counts. Ivan noted that she was slowly becoming much like his mother til Pierre's untimely death.
* GroinAttack: Since his testicles are scientifically the only XY part of his body, Richar's goons tried to castrate him.
* HappilyMarried: [[spoiler: To Olivia Koudelka!]]
* ItsPersonal: Richars tried to rape Donna at age 13, then drowned her puppy after she fought him off.
* LadykillerInLove: After transitioning and while campaigning for the Countship, he befriends, and then quickly falls in love with, [[spoiler: Olivia Koudelka, whom he later marries.]] Perhaps better phrased as Maneater In Love.
* NamesTheSame: In-universe, a prior Lord Dono Vorrutyer was an insane architect during Dorca's time.
* OpenSecret: Everyone in Pierre's district knew she was in charge of day-to-day affairs of running the district.
* ReallyGetsAround: Before his sex change, that is. Afterwards, in at least one case he privately visits the wife of a former lover, satisfying her that the change is permanent and prompting her to influence her husband in Dono's favour.
* SheIsTheKing: He, now, but many on Barrayar would still consider him a she even though he is Count Vorrutyer.
* TranquilFury: Ekaterin muses that the sex change was backed by a ''lot'' of rage. Miles supports it, saying, "Lady Donna never suffered fools lightly."
* {{Troll}}: He seems to enjoy it, highlighted by him telling Ivan that had he married him when he was still Lady Donna, WeCouldHaveAvoidedAllThis -- pressing Ivan's CatchPhrase "It's not my fault" and telling him the entire situation is ''entirely his fault''.
* UndyingLoyalty: None of Pierre's armsmen, led by Szabo, wanted to see Richars take over the district as Count, and fully supported her sex change, overlooking any prejudices they might have about gender reassignment. They knew Donna was TheGoodChancellor, and Richars would get rid of them "and replace [them] with his own creatures."

'''Count Vormuir'''

A conservative back-bencher who has hit on his own, wildly progressive scheme to improve his prospects in the never-ending demographic struggle between districts. [[spoiler: He's manufacturing liege-people, using uterine replicators, confiscated eggs, and his own sperm. All girls, to take advantage of GenderRarityValue and Barrayar's antiquated chattel and inheritance laws.]]

* AintNoRule: Half of the basis of his plan. Luckily there were other rules that could apply to the situation that he had forgotten to take into account.
* BabyFactory: His end goal, though not in any sense normally considered socially acceptable.
* DistractedByTheSexy: leading to:
* ForWantOfANail: He's one nail, if not the nail, that undoes Richars Vorrutyer when the heroes arrange to have him occupied elsewhere during a crucial vote in the Council of Counts.
* GenderRarityValue: Another aspect of his plan. Given Barrayar's skewed demographics, any girl is practically guaranteed a husband if she wants one, making each a two for one deal.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: he's so focused on the Barrayaran tradition of paternal rights that he failed to consider Barrayar's equally strong notion of paternal ''responsibility'' that Miles and Gregor -- at Ekaterin's suggestion -- exploit to put the kibosh on his scheme. To his credit, Vormuir made sure every single daughter was happy, with a nanny assigned to every two of them, and didn't neglect his paternal duties in that regard.
* HumiliationConga: Not that he didn't deserve it.
* IneffectualSympatheticVillain: He's a pigheaded putz who is either blind or indifferent to the thorny emotional problems raised by the virtual-rape-by-proxy aspects of his scheme. But he does sincerely care for his many little girls, if only because unhappy badly-adjusted liege people would derail his plan... and because he knows the Emperor could terminate his parental rights if he abused or neglected them.
* LaserGuidedKarma: "Dowries! ''Dowries!''" -- due to one of Barrayar's many legal quirks, the Emperor is able to set a minimum dowry (bride gift) for a Count's acknowledged female bastards. Gregor takes merciless advantage of this to punish Vormuir and discourage imitators until the relevant laws can be updated.
** The real icing on the cake is the fact that the dowries will make all ''118'' of them attractive marriage prospects even if Barrayar's demographic trends revert to something more balanced. This means Count Vormuir will almost certainly have to pay for each and every one of his transgressions.
* LysistrataGambit: Countess Vormuir uses this to punish him for his extramarital activities, at least until Lord Dono convinces her to participate in their ForWantOfANail scheme.
* RefugeInAudacity: Gotta admit, his little plan is pretty [[IncrediblyLamePun ballsy.]] Even more radical than Dono's, in its own way.

'''Admiral Desplains'''

Chief of Operations for the Barrayaran Imperial Service. Ivan's boss at the beginning of ''Captain Vorpatril's Alliance''. Visiting Komarr for fleet inspections.

* DaChief: As his main job at the time is investigating for military corruption, pretty much.
%%* FourStarBadass
* DeadpanSnarker: One of the things that keeps Ivan in line is the fear that if he doesnt the admiral will use sarcasm on him.
* HappilyMarried: We meet his wife briefly when he returns to Barrayar with Ivan and Tej.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: values Ivan for the skills he uses to maintain his relatively low profile, as they make Ivan a competent adjutant.
* RetiredBadass: In ''Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen'' he gives Oliver the right of first refusal for his soon to be old job.
* TranquilFury: He calls Ivan "Ivan" when he's in a good mood, "Vorpatril" when he's neutral, and a very edged "''Captain''" when he's ''pissed''.

'''Dorca the Just'''

Legendary Emperor who united Barrayar and brought the Vor under submission. Called "The Just" for his competence but not necessarily for his gentleness. Seems to be regarded by most Barrayarans as [[FairForItsDay Fair For His Day.]]

* TheDreaded: Miles notes that he's known as "Dorca the Just" primarily because he was absolutely ruthless in dispensing rough justice.
* TheExtremistWasRight: His methods in unifying Barrayar were pretty much exactly as extreme as they get, but they ''did'' left a much more stable society, and without him the Cetagandans would definitely have a field day insted of the murderous LaResistance they've encountered.
* FounderOfTheKingdom: Dorca turned Barrayar from a gaggle of constantly warring feudal states into a stable absolute monarchy.
* GoodIsNotNice: Pierre "Le Sanguinaire" was ''afraid of him''.
* GunboatDiplomacy: How Dorca unified the empire though AsskickingEqualsAuthority.
* LongDeadBadass: You'd think so, but this trope is actually subverted since Barrayar's local history isn't all that long. In fact, Aral is just his great-grandson, and at the start of the series there are probably people on Barrayar who still remember him personally.
* MeaningfulName: He is called ''The Just'' for being competent, bringing peace and bringing the Vor to heel using the [[PayEvilUntoEvil Barrayaran idea of justice.]] Perhaps galactics wouldn't have called that a good reason for the title, but Barrayarans didn't really have time to be squeamish.
* PayEvilUntoEvil: The fate of Vor who insist on continuing banditry and private wars.

'''Mad Emperor Yuri'''

Predecessor to Ezar. Led war against Cetaganda but grew paranoid and ordered death squad after those he feared including Aral's family.

* TheCaligula: went crazy, tried to massacre everyone who had a claim on the throne.
* DeathOfAThousandCuts: Quite literally as his capital punishment, he was to be cut with a blade by just about every Vor who sided against him. It was later called "Yuri's Dismemberment." [[LaserGuidedKarma Aral got the first cut.]] A child at the time, however, [[VengeanceFeelsEmpty Aral found he didn't want it as much as he'd thought]].
* DefiantToTheEnd: Mocked Aral just before he took his aforementioned cut.
-->'''Aral:''' He leered at me. "Strike, little boy. If you dare while you wear my uniform. My uniform on a child."
* EvilUncle: To Aral's mother Olivia Vorbarra/Vorkosigan, and as extension an Evil Great-Uncle to Aral himself.
* HeWhoFightsMonsters: After Dorca's death, ''he'' became the face of the LaResistance fighting the Cetagandans, and it screwed him hugely.
* MadArtist: He was famous for the absurd architectural projects he patronized, including the [[RunningGag infamously]] [[SoBadItsGood ugly]] [=ImpSec=] building.
* RebelLeader: Of LaResistance fighting the Centagandan invaders.
* SelfFulfillingProphecy: He sent out death squads to kill nobles he thought were plotting to overthrow him, along with their families. Funny thing about sending death squads after your nobles (and their families); after too many times, they start plotting to overthrow you -- especially when one of them is Count Piotr Pierre Vorkosigan. They eventually succeeded and then some.

'''Lord Dono Vorrutyer the Mad Architect'''

Ancestor of Count Dono's. Famed for eccentric building styles and for building Imp Sec headquarters. A [[SoBadItsGood running joke]] of Barrayarans and the despair of Security officers who must work there.

* CrazyPrepared: His aesthetic style is questionable but from the security standpoint he is impeccable.
* MadArtist: All of this buildings definitely have his curious touch. For example, the [=ImpSec=] building he designed was essentially one big concrete block with no windows -- at all -- while the stairs were large and ungainly. It seems he took the idea of making the secret police's headquarters someplace no one would ever want to visit or look at; unfortunately, no one wanted to ''work'' there either, including poor Illyan.
* NamesTheSame: InUniverse, shares the same name as the current Lord Dono (nee Donna) Vorrutyer.
%%* ShroudedInMyth

'''Prince Xav Vorbarra'''

Brother of Yuri and ambassador for the resistance. Usually spoken of in a positive light even from the point of view of modern Barrayar. Miles' great grandfather through his daughter Princess Olivia and the source of Miles' (and Aral's) arguable claim to the throne.

* {{Ambadassador}}: He was Barrayar's ambassador to Beta when the Cetagandans invaded, which is why he was off-world and may explain his relatively cosmopolitan attitudes for a man of his generation.
* HeroicBastard: According to WordOfGod, he was a bastard son of the Emperor who was legitimized later on.
%%* LongDeadBadass
* [[OddFriendship Odd Marriage]]: With a Betan when offworld marriages were rare. As he works offworld it kind of makes sense.
* RebelLeader: Similar to his brother Yuri — he was the other face of Barrayaran Resistance, only for the wider Galactic community. Probably this was what let him to remain a little more sane afterwards.
* TheScrounger: Much of his job was getting Betan weapons for Barrayar to fight off the Cetagandans.
* SensitiveGuyAndManlyMan: References to him make him seem more amiable then the [[ProudWarriorRace ferocious]] and sometimes bloodthirsty Vor of his time and one could infer him being able to better fit into Gregor's court.
* WhiteSheep: He objects to HonorKilling of the children of Barrayarans raped or seduced by Cetagandans.

'''Ivan Xav Vorpatril'''

'''Lady Alys Vorpatril'''

'''Count Falco Vorpatril'''

'''Simon Illyan'''

'''Emperor Gregor Vorbarra'''

'''Emperor Ezar Vorbarra'''

'''Princess Kareen Vorbarra'''

'''Clement "Kou" Koudelka'''

'''Ludmilla "Drou" Droushnakovi'''

'''The Koudelka Girls''' (AKA "Team Koudelka" AKA "Commodore Koudelka's All-Blonde Commando Team")

'''Ekaterin Nile Vorvayne Vorsoisson [[spoiler: Vorkosigan]]'''