Heroes of the Storm: Realm Lords / Characters

This page is for the realm lords, who act both as the rulers and announcers for each of the maps in the game.

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Raven Court

The Raven Lord

Oberon, the Raven Lord

Voiced by: Jim Pirri (English)^note

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/raven_lord_8.jpg

"Know this realm is under my protection. It bends to my every whim."

"Gather tribute, and earn my favor."

The ruler of Raven Court. On Cursed Hollow, he'll periodically spawn a tribute somewhere on the map; the first team to collect three will cause the Raven Lord to curse their enemies, preventing their forts from firing and turning their minions into One Hit Point Wonders.

On Towers of Doom, he employs the service of heroes in order to defend his realm from being usurped by the Grave Keeper by capturing altars that fire a certain amount of missiles, depending on how many forts have been captured.

Affably Evil: Debatable whether or not he's (initially) really evil, but he's definitely one of the more eloquent, polite, and well-spoken hosts.
Animal Motifs: Ravens, obviously.
Archnemesis Dad: His actions alienate his own daughter, Orphea, who vows to stop him. At the very least, she succeeds in overthrowing him and casting him out of Raven Court.
Artifact of Doom: The tributes that spawn on the map.
Badass Boast: Has a few on Towers of Doom.
"Raven Court has seen usurpers before. I have ended them all."
"This realm will be mine, and mine alone."
"Oppose the Raven Lord and suffer."
Big Bad: Of the comic series. He starts as a Well-Intentioned Extremist Villain Protagonist, but quickly becomes full-on evil.
Bling of War: The Raven Lord has got some shiny gear on him.
Casting a Shadow: His powers seem to be more darkness-based. For instance, he can curse people. Orphea's dark magic was passed down through their family, and as such Oberon himself has similar powers.
Consummate Professional: He projects unflappable competence, no matter what is going on during a match or how he is faring against the Grave Keeper in their turf war. The most extreme reaction you can expect from him is mild irritation. Though he does sometimes indulge in a bit of Evil Gloating.
The Conqueror: He's traversing the Nexus, taking all opposing Realms. He's so far defeated the Grave Keeper, taken Alterac, and conquered King's Crest.
Creepy Crows: He can shapeshift into a raven form, but his voice and shady powers lend themselves to a creepy image.
Curse: If you gain his favor, he'll do this to the enemy team.
Dark Is Not Evil:
- Zig-Zagged. His dark powers, implied tyranny, the fact alone that he loves watching you run around grabbing tributes while killing your enemies and that there are area in his domain called "Cursed Hollow" and "Towers of Doom" don't leave an especially benign impression, but Raven Court is one of the more prosperous worlds of the Nexus, and he's its ruler, which means he must be doing things right, on some level.
- The overview for Towers of Doom describes the conflict as being "evil versus... different evil?"
- The Secrets of the Storm comic makes it clear that the powers of the Dark Nexus are corrupting and destroying the lands. Additionally, further updates tend to play up his sinister side, framing him as the Big Bad for the conflict in the Nexus. As of Fall of King's Crest, he's fallen straight into Big Bad territory.
A Day in the Limelight: Rise of the Raven Lord, the first webcomic for the game, naturally centers around him. It's also the first time the Raven Lord is depicted in person.
Deadpan Snarker:
- The only announcer (prior to the addition of Sky Temple) that wasn't a Large Ham in any capacity. He's exceptionally calm and deadpan save for occasional hints of irritation and an Evil Laugh or three.
  Raven Lord: [when killed] Might I suggest dodging?
- Alternatively;
  Raven Lord: [when killed] You're deceased, by the way.
- Also;
  Raven Lord: [on getting a kill] That was rather violent.
- Towers of Doom drives this trope home, especially when he's addressing the Grave Keeper.
Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Implied. The first webcomic mentions that he has a family, though to what extent his affections are towards them and vice versa have yet to be explored. However, the fact that his adviser, Neeve, mentions that his family would never forgive him for unleashing the beings from the Dark Nexus implies that he may value their bond to some degree. He also seems to have a cordial relationship with Neeve. The Orphea comic reveals that he once had a loving relationship with his family, but his wife left him over his obsession with the Dark Nexus, and Orphea quickly followed.
Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": This man is the latest Raven Lord in a long line of rulers. In 2018, his name was revealed to be Oberon.
Evil Brit: Whether he's evil is, of course, debatable, but he certainly sounds the part.
Evil Is Not a Toy: The powers of the Dark Nexus he thought he could control eventually corrupt him.
Evil Laugh: Is constantly laughing while enjoying the carnage unfolding in Cursed Hollow. He even has a line that ends with him laughing when your team is cursed.
Raven Lord: My curse is upon you, heroes. Will you survive? [laughs]
Forgot About His Powers: Played for Laughs. If playing on the Grave Keeper's side on Towers of Doom, he has a line to this effect when the tunnels open (and unlike the Grave Keeper, he doesn't really have an excuse given that it's his realm to begin with).
Raven Lord: Oh... My heroes shall have this gift as well. [laughs]
Gods Need Prayer Badly: Has shades of this. It's not really stated what the tributes are for, or even if he's a god, but he really wants those tributes... And you'd better get them if you want him to help you.
I Gave My Word: Collect all three tributes and he'll curse your enemies, just as he promised.
Incredibly Lame Pun: Makes two at the Grave Keeper's expense.
Raven Lord: Oh my. This situation is turning quite grave for you, isn't it?
Raven Lord: I'm preparing a grave for you. Oh... I do hope you keep it. [laughs]
Knight of Cerebus: Initially, the game was just a fun, plotless interdimensional romp. However, once the Raven Lord was given center stage, a more serious and coherent meta plot began to develop.
Manipulative Bastard: He has manipulated the Horde and the Frostwolf Clan to do his bidding in the form of a great raven spirit.
Mind Manipulation: Corrupts the Dragon Knight, and turns him against his own children during the fall of King's Crest.
Obviously Evil: Downplayed. He looks like your typical evil sorcerous overlord, but he's not entirely bad at the very least.
Poor Communication Kills: The first webcomic heavily implies that something is threatening to invade the Nexus and destroy it, hence why the Raven Lord is conquering other realms in the first place. When it comes to other realm lords, this trope is mostly justified because they seem to be more concerned with "trivial" matters and would likely not give him aid without being subjugated. With Orphea, however, this is played straight. Instead of explaining that something is coming that will do more damage than he could ever do, he just tells her "There must be order" as if that's the only way for her to understand. Naturally, this doesn't dissuade Orphea from continuing to attack him.
The Power of the Sun: According to this link, the Raven Lord controls his realm's sun.
Proxy War: He is in one with the Lady of Thorns. On Alterac Pass, he supports Drek'Thar's Frostwolf Clan, while the Lady of Thorns supports Vanndar's Stormpike Expedition.
Purple Is Powerful: Dresses mostly in purple, and powerful enough to lay curses across the entirety of Cursed Hollow.
Red Eyes, Take Warning: The sclera in his eyes are red, but his right eye had a glowing yellow iris. However, whether or not he's evil (and if so, to what degree) is up for debate.
The Rival: To the Grave Keeper, according to the description of the battleground Towers of Doom.
Tranquil Fury:
- He never raises his voice, even if you don't get one of the tributes he offers you in time.
- He raises his voice slightly on Towers of Doom (which is understandable, given that the Grave Keeper is trying to take over his realm). Many of his lines actually sound irritated, particularly when exchanging words with the Grave Keeper or when his team loses a fort.
- He stops doing this when Orphea fights him, getting very mad at his daughter for her "insolence".
The Usurper: Inverted. Apparently, people have tried to usurp him before... all of them have failed. That is, until he was bested by Orphea, who seems to have banished him.
Villain Respect: In their final confrontation, he praises the Lady of Thorns for her Heroic Sacrifice, to face him alone so her people can flee. He calls her action foolish, too, but nonetheless admires her efforts.
Voluntary Shapeshifter: He has the ability to transform himself into a raven. He uses this form when he approaches Drek'thar in his dreams, to "warn" him of the Alliance's approach to Alterac.
Well-Intentioned Extremist: His webcomic portrays him as a ruler whose first priority is to protect his land by any means. Even unleashing Eldritch Abominations and bending them to his will. The same comic heavily implies that his motivations for trying to conquer the Nexus are that there's an even greater threat approaching, and he needs more power to not only safeguard his realm, but to defeat it. Unfortunately for him, it turns out the Dark Nexus isn't so easily controlled, and its power quickly drives him to full-on villainy.
Would Hurt a Child: He attacks Orphea, his own daughter, when she confronts him over his transgressions.

The Grave Keeper

Voiced by: Todd Haberkorn (English)^note

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/grave_keeper.png

"I will not return to those wretched mines!"

"More bones for the mines!"

A creepy-sounding necromancer living in an area on the outskirts of Raven Court called the Haunted Mines. In said mines, he makes a deal with the player(s) that whenever he opens the mines, he'll create a bone golem for either team and send them against the enemy's fort once all the skulls have been collected from the undead miners deep underground.

On Towers of Doom, he employs the service of heroes to destroy the Raven Lord and claim dominion over Raven Court.

Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": Or rather, the Grave Keeper.
Faux Affably Evil: Similarly to the Raven Lord, the Lady of Thorns and Queen Nightshade, the Grave Keeper can be rather charming, but his charms are far more transparent and come off as insincere by comparison.
Forgot About His Powers: Played for Laughs in Towers of Doom. If you're fighting on the blue team/Raven Lord's side, this is what the Grave Keeper says when the tunnels are opened:
Grave Keeper: What? I mean — I knew I could do that! I've opened my tunnel as well!
Manipulative Bastard: The overview video for Towers of Doom reveals that Haunted Mines was all an elaborate scheme for him to gain power by manipulating the heroes into fighting in the area.
Mook Maker: He creates two Bone Golems, one for each team, once all 100 skulls have been collected within the mines. The relative strength or weakness is dependent on the ratio of skulls collected by each team; for example, if the split was 45-55, one would only be a little stronger than the other, but God help you if the ratio was 100-0 and you didn't get any...
Obviously Evil: If his scheming and necromancy powers weren't enough to convince you, his appearance on his Core certainly will.
- Horned Humanoid: A massive pair of antlers that extend a good distance horizontally from his head.
- In the Hood: One that obscures every part of his face except for...
- Glowing Eyes of Doom: ...his green-glowing eyes.
- Sinister Scythe: Wields one.
The Necrocracy: He appears to preside over the mines, which only feature undead miner mooks underground and the bone golems he creates on the surface. A few living miners appear, but they don't really do anything.
Necromancer: It used to be his old name until he changed into the Grave Keeper.
Noodle Incident: Obviously, he was responsible for the current state of the mines, but what he did hasn't been explained.
One-Steve Limit: He used to be named 'The Necromancer', but suddenly he changed his name into 'Grave Keeper' at Blizzcon 2015 and the arrival of the Tower of Doom. Turns out, it's to differentiate him with the actual Necromancer, Xul, who's announced after the Blizzcon 2015 heroes batch.
The Rival: To the Raven Lord, according to the description of the battleground Towers of Doom.
Take Over The Realm: His quotes in Towers of Doom reveal that he wishes to overthrow the Raven Lord and claim Raven Court as his own.
The Usurper: So badly wants to be this. If his team ends up winning on the Towers of Doom, he succeeds in being one.

King's Crest

Queen Nightshade

Nightshade, the Spore Queen

Voiced by: Misty Lee (English)^note

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/queen_nightshade_announcer_4.png

"I hope you found my gardens... amusing."

"The night comes, heroes. How I love to see my garden in the moon's glow."
"THE SHAMBLERS RISE AGAIN! SLAY THEM, AND GATHER THEIR SEEDS!!"

The sister to Raena, the Lady of Thorns, and Queen of King's Crest, who wields the power of cursed plants and presides over the Garden of Terror. During the day, she is the friendly, helpful Queen Nightshade; when the sun sets, she becomes the violent and bloodthirsty Spore Queen.

The map makes use of this day/night cycle — during the day, seeds sprout in her garden, protected by zombified plant-men dubbed "shamblers" who rise from the earth. Nightshade encourages the heroes to collect these seeds. Once a team has collected three seeds, the night phase begins and the Spore Queen unleashes three Garden Terrors on the enemy team.

Affably Evil: As Nightshade she's very pleasant and helpful-sounding. Not that she comes off as especially malevolent, but her Spore Queen persona indicates that at the very least she has some serious issues.
Ax-Crazy: The Spore Queen can be heard saying such lovely things as telling her Terror to:
Spore Queen: Rise my terror! SAP THE LIFE FROM YOUR ENEMIES!
Blood Knight: She's far more bloodthirsty as the Spore Queen.
The Caligula: She goes from calmly suggesting the player do this or that as Queen Nightshade to loudly ordering them to kill their enemies and destroy their forts with extreme prejudice as the Spore Queen. This trope is driven home with the description of Garden of Terror, which entails how people have suspected she has gone insane.
Dissonant Serenity: During the day. She's not especially creepy, but her friendly, cheerful demeanour as Queen Nightshade can feel very strange after listening to the Spore Queen.
God Save Us from the Queen!: You wouldn't want to get on the Spore Queen's bad side.
Green Thumb: She can create Garden Terrors after a team collects 100 seeds. The shamblers may also be her creations, but she isn't very fond of them.
Large Ham: At night.
Mood-Swinger: Nightshade embodies the day-night cycle of the map. During the day she sounds more like the Lady of Thorns, but at night she becomes considerably more bloodthirsty. Compare her reactions when you bring a fort down or kill a hero during the day compared to at night.
No Indoor Voice: It probably wouldn't be unreasonable to assume that the shamblers wake up at night due to the Spore Queen's screaming.

Lady of Thorns

Raena, the Lady of Thorns

Voiced by: Claudia Christian (English)^note

"The Dragon shall be reborn. Control its power... or be destroyed by it. Your choice."

"The gardens of Dragon Shire. Radiant, are they not? And yet, they are founded on a lie."

Raena is the Lady of Dragon Shire, where the Dragon Knight is sealed. Since her husband, the king of King's Crest, was cursed and turned into stone, she rules in his stead, but evidently feels more solidarity with the dragons who used to rule the realm.

Consequently, she periodically empowers two shrines named for the sun and the moon and allows either team to activate them; once one team controls both of them, they can release the Dragon Knight sealed in a statue at the centre of the map and lay waste to their enemy's fortifications.

After being warned by Deckard Cain of the Raven Lord's dangerous advances, she gathers an army to oppose him and supports the Stormpike Expedition against Drek'thar's Frostwolf Clan, who is manipulated by the Raven Lord.

Affably Evil: Throughout the game the Lady remains friendly and helpful, encouraging players to make liberal use of the Dragon Knight's power but never ordering, coercing or forcing them to do anything. It's unclear if she's a villain or really just a Nice Girl — the only hint that she may not be benevolent is that the Dragon Knight she wants you to unleash is Ax-Crazy; even then, he's spent a long time Taken for Granite, which clearly isn't pleasant for him. Either way, she's still the nicest announcer in the wings.
- That is, until after the Raven Lord took over her realm. To say she's bitter about it is an understatement.
Animal Motifs: Among the humans watching the match in Dragon Shire; the knights have noticeably dragon-shaped helmets.
Better to Die than Be Killed: Her updated voicelines in the Orphea patch indicate that she plans to have the Dragon Knight destroy her own realm rather than let the Raven Lord take it.
Broken Bird: Became one in the Orphea patch. Due to the Raven Lord's conquest of her realm, she's become much more angry and bitter. Notably, the voicelines played when the Dragon Knight is summoned are now from the Lady of Thorns rather than the Dragon Knight himself, and they're much more bloodthirsty than anything in her old lines.
Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": In-game, she's only ever known as the Lady of Thorns. It wasn't until Secrets of the Storm that she was given a name - Raena.
Foregone Conclusion: It doesn't matter whether the heroes defeat the Raven Lord's lieutenants, and win a few battles. After all, the name of the event is Fall of King's Crest. In the end, the war is lost, as the Lady of Thorns is defeated, King's Crest is destroyed and its people have to flee the realm.
Heroic Sacrifice: In Fall of King's Crest, the Lady of Thorns faces the Raven Lord alone, so that Deckard Cain can escape with her people and leave King's Crest. The Raven Lord calls her action pointless, but nonetheless heroic, and then accelerates the curse that afflicted the Lady of Thorns, which turns her to stone.
Hidden Agenda Villain: Minus the villain part (possibly). She cites wanting to "remind this world of its true heritage" as her reason for helping the heroes; what that entails beyond the Dragon Knight wrecking the place up is not clarified. The knight that was cursed to become a monster and was forced to be sealed by his children was her husband. Her children have the sun and moon sigils respectively, which can be used to break the seal and free their father.
The High Queen:
- When Deckard Cain reports the Raven Lord's actions of him unleashing the forces of the Dark Nexus to destroy and conquer more realms, she immediately believes him, though she is at first reluctant to interfere, as she lacks support in her own court and is slowly affected by the same curse her husband suffered. When Cain explains that her people are already in danger too and that the Raven Lord has already set his eyes on a new realm which would give him more power than her, she rallies her armies and allies to defend King's Crest and oppose the Raven Lord's forces in his plans to conquer Alterac.
- In Fall of King's Crest, the Lady of Thorns, despite being deeply injured, confronts the Raven Lord and opens a portal, urging Deckard Cain to lead her people to safety. Raena then succumbs to her curse and is Taken for Granite.
Lady of War: To oppose the Raven Lord's ambitions of conquest, she clads herself in full armor and personally warns everyone of the danger he brings. She supports Vanndar Stormpike's faction and directly goes to war.
Kill the Ones You Love: After her children unleash the Dragon Knight upon the Raven Lord's armies, the Raven Lord quickly corrupts the knight and turns him against his children. Raena intervenes and is forced to kill her husband. In his last moments, the knight regains consciousness and begs for forgiveness.
Realpolitik: The final argument that convinces her to oppose the Raven Lord is Orphea pointing out that his powers would far exceed hers if he were to conquer Alterac. She is sort-of fighting a Proxy War against the Raven Lord, as the two factions that fight on Alterac Pass are the Stormpike Expedition and the Frostwolf Clan.
Solar and Lunar: The statue can only be activated once your team controls both the Sun and the Moon Shrines, which are located at either end of the battlefield in a line radius from the statue.
Taken for Granite: She is cursed to turn to stone eventually. In Fall of King's Crest, the process is accelerated by the Raven Lord.

Luxoria

Ka, the Snake God

Voiced by: David Shaughnessy (English)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ka_announcer.png

"How dare you bring your war to Luxoria?"

"The light of the sun grows within the temples. Soon they shall bask in my glory."

Ka is the Ruler of Luxoria, and God of the Sun. Ka is not happy that his realm has become a battleground for someone else's conflict, a position he makes clear several times. He periodically stores some of his power in the three temples spread up and down the map. When these temples are activated, heroes can capture them to unleash a powerful Beam Spam on their enemies' forts; they have to not only defend the temples from enemy heroes, but also fight off the temple's guardians attempting to drive them off on Ka's orders.

Ancient Egypt: Luxoria has the look and feel of an Affectionate Parody of this trope. It even uses thematic alternate models for its minions and mercenaries.
Animal Motifs: All the temples have a totem animal to distinguish them: a crocodile, a snake and a jackal. Ka himself has a very heavy cobra motif, helped by his sibilant voice.
Beam Spam: How the temples unleash their power when activated.
Bystander Syndrome: Ka has no interest in taking part in the silly "war" going on between the "heroes" and would like all of them to kindly get out.
Composite Expy: Of two deities from the Ancient Egyptian pantheon — Ra, the god of the sun, and Wadjet, the patron goddess and protector of Egypt, who was represented by a cobra. His name, in addition to being based on Ra, may be a Shout-Out to the python character Kaa from The Jungle Book.
Get Out!:
Ka: It's over. Leave my domain.
Jerkass: Although he gets a bit of a pass for being forced to play host to silly little conflicts that have nothing to do with him and his realm, his demeanour — rude, abrasive and obnoxious — stands out against those of the other announcers, who are generally helpful and friendly.
Ka: Did you expect congratulations? *scoff*
Kick the Dog: Ka likes to point out that he won't just let you die, presumably because he doesn't want to give you the peace of death.
Light Is Not Good: Downplayed. He's not evil, by all means, but he does try to Be as Unhelpful as Possible.
Living Statue: The temples are guarded by stone statues that attack the heroes that come near the temple, the statues must be slain to control the temples.
No Challenge Equals No Satisfaction: Enforced. The more heroes standing on a temple's activation platform at any one time, the less damage each beam will inflict.
Not in This for Your Revolution: Ka is (so far) the only one of the arena announcers who doesn't want you around fighting each other and taking his power. The others encourage you to make use of their map's unique feature; he sends guardians to kill you if you even try.
Physical God: As stated above, Ka is a snake god and has temples built in his name.
The Power of the Sun: Ka is the god of the sun of Luxoria. He doesn't grant the heroes his powers, and they will have to defeat his guardians if they want to use his temples.
Serpent of Immortality: He uses the cobra as his totem animal, which has clearly influenced the architecture of the map. One of his temples uses it, the Grave Golem at the centre of his map has a snake's head, the Cores at either end of the map consist of a large cobra coiled around an orb and the forts and keeps have cobra-like snakeheads mounted atop their cannons.
Worthy Opponent: Despite heroes trespassing on his domain, Ka admits this whenever a team claims a temple.
Ka: The magic of the temple sleeps. You are stronger than I believed.

Neithis

Neithis, the Spider Queen

Voiced by: Debra Wilson (English)^noteOther Languages: Irina Savina (Russian)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/neithis_announcer.png

"The gems... I feel their power. Come my children... come to me."

"Trespassers... This tomb belongs to the spiders... And we desire gems of power."

Known as the Spider Queen, she rules the tombs beneath Luxoria. In exchange for shiny gems collected from the metal spider mooks who accompany the minions on her map, she'll send three webweavers from her brood to aid the first team who makes the code.

Ancient Egypt: Given that her map is a part of Luxoria, it shares the same setting and general design, but with a more macabre aesthetic.
Evil Matriarch: Oh very much so, though she doesn't get much chance to demonstrate it.
Giant Spiders: It's inferred that she has at least some of them in her brood.
Greed: Similar to Blackheart, she will only help you if you present something shiny, but she wants gems rather than coin.
Multi-Armed and Dangerous: Her Webweaver minions.
I Gave My Word: She clearly takes it seriously, as shown if you manage to bribe her.
Neithis: You will be rewarded, as promised!
Physical God: Confirmed to be one in Cain's poke quotes.
Spider People: The webweavers she calls upon are her daughters, which would imply that she's a spider-person herself.
Spiders Are Scary: Her hissing voice and the grim atmosphere of her map combine to make it (and her) the creepiest of its/her kind.
We Have Reserves: The webweavers may be her daughters, but she's not especially broken up about them being killed.

Mistharbor

Blackheart

Captain Blackheart

Voiced by: Michael Sorich (English)^noteOther Languages: Ilya Isaev (Russian)

"TREASURE FOR EVERYBODY! But mostly, for me!"

"Well, then... who's got the coin for me services?"

A ghost pirate and ruler of Blackheart's Bay. He'll periodically create treasure chests on the map, and encourage teams to fight over the doubloons in them; gather enough before the enemy team, and he'll launch a barrage of cannonballs over the enemy structures, leveling them.

Affably Evil: He's a pretty pleasant guy for the captain of a ghostly pirate ship.
Ascended Glitch: An update in 2016 caused Blackheart to skip numbers during the pre-game countdown on his battleground. When it was finally fixed, Blizzard also added a new sound clip that has a chance of replacing a number during the countdown.
Blackheart: Five! Four! Three! Uh... One!
Bad Boss: He's rather harsh to his crew, as evidenced by the quotes when he starts firing cannons.
Blackheart: Fire that cannon, or I'll fire yer SKULL at them instead!
Blood Knight: Loves blowing stuff up, whether that be the enemies or you.
The Captain: He has a ghostly pirate ship and the ghastly crew to maintain it.
Death from Above: Teams compete to pay him doubloons, and he'll reward the winner by bombing the enemy base to hell.
Dem Bones: He looks like a big skeletal pirate with a thick beard left over.
The Drunken Sailor: On at least one occasion, he sings a Drunken Song.
Blackheart: Ten heroes on a dead man's chest, yo ho ho, eheheh... Hey! Who stole me bottle?!
Ghost Pirate: He was killed by Commodore Ford, but still roams around as a ghost pirate.
Greed: As with most pirates, he wants treasure. On the other hand, he gets his jollies from blowing stuff up; the money is partially an excuse.
Blackheart: What? They're all paid up? BAH! Who cares?! Let's get to the fun part. Haha!
Large Ham: Many of the announcers are to some extent, but Blackheart is head and shoulders above the rest.
Only in It for the Money: Self-confessed.
Blackheart: Well, ye landlubbers! Here, everyone pays respects to the captain. And this captain only respects one thing: coin! Ha ha, haha!
- 'Only' In It For The Money is a bit of a stretch though, as he seems to like blowing stuff up just as much as getting paid. He does call off the attack if he feels he needs to be paid more though.
Blackheart: That's enough! We don't be workin' fer free!
Pirate: Well, obviously.
Pirate Booty: His map's mechanic involves acquiring gold doubloons and turning them in to him, in exchange for some fire support.
Private Military Contractors: Unlike the so-called mercenaries found around the maps, Blackheart really does only work for money.
Seadog Beard: It adds to his Pirate-y aesthetic.
Talk Like a Pirate: We'll let him speak for us:
Blackheart: Aarrrrggh... Arrrrr... What? It's fun to say!

Commodore Ford

A rival realm lord residing within Mistharbor, in the brawl Blackheart's Revenge he enlists the heroes' aid in defending the port from Blackheart's ship by destroying it with cannon fire, while the enemy team seeks to defend the ship. A proud and somewhat arrogant defender of the Queen's dominion, Commodore Ford has a sterling reputation, having never once lost a battle. Previously, he led the assault against Capatain Blackheart, killing him and his nefarious pirate crew. Now he stands as the only defender against Blackheart and his revenge.

Blood Knight: He really enjoys blowing up Blackheart's ship.
Large Ham: Not as much as Blackheart, but still.
The Rival: To Blackheart. This is especially so, considering he's the one who killed Blackheart, who then came back as a ghost.

The Eternal Conflict (Diablo Universe)

Ilarian

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/000000000000000000000000000000000_0.png

"You observe no mere battle, but the fate of an entire realm!"

"The forces of evil are mighty. But so are we."

Both an announcer and the immortal objective for the High Heavens on the Battlefield of Eternity and Infernal Shrines, Ilarian is an angel lieutenant locked in combat with the demon lord Beleth. On Battlefield of Eternity, he attacks with Angelic Cleave to damage enemies around himself. He can also create multiple Angelic Explosions which damage and stun enemies in a small area.

Big Good: Of the Battlefield of Eternity and Infernal Shrines.
Bling of War: His armor is quite ornate.
Dual Wielding: Fights using two swords not unlike Tyrael's.
Earn Your Happy Ending: If his team wins the match, especially if the match goes on rather long and they win via a comeback.
Frontline General: Most Realm Lords are content to sit back and watch the mayhem unfold. Ilarian is not most Realm Lords; if you help him defeat Beleth in Battlefield of Eternity, he'll take the field personally.
Gameplay and Story Segregation: Because teams are assigned at random, it's perfectly possible for villains to end up fighting at his side. It's especially weird if Diablo or Azmodan end up on the High Heavens' side. Likewise, it's absolutely possible for him to wind up fighting against heroic characters or even fellow angel Tyrael!
Glass Cannon: Relative to other 'boss' characters such as the bone golems — once summoned, he tears down buildings quickly but rapidly goes down to attacks from heroes, meaning he requires support to be effective. There's a reason he summons you to his side when he first sets out.
Gold and White Are Divine: As is standard for Diablo angels.
Large Ham: Bombastically speaks when he is aroused for combat.
Light Is Good: If his quotes about justice and defeating evil weren't obvious enough. Probably a double-subversion, as Black-and-Gray Morality is in heavy play on the Diablo-verse, and some angels like Imperius or Malthael are not fond of mortal humans. Ilarian, however, is very supportive and encouraging to his mortal (and not-quite-so-mortal) allies.
Light 'em Up: Kind of a given if you look at the above trope.
Non-Standard Character Design: He has actual feathery wings rather than magic tendrils in the shape of wings.
Our Angels Are Different: A classic Diablo angel.

Beleth

Voiced by: Christian Rummel (English)^note

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/000000000000000000000000000000000_8.png

"The minions of Hell have... pleased me."

"The Gardens of Hope will be corrupted from within. It is only a matter of time."

An announcer and the immortal objective for the Burning Hells on the Battlefield of Eternity and Infernal Shrines, Beleth is a demon lord locked in combat with the angel lieutenant Ilarian. On Battlefield of Eternity, Beleth's abilities are Demonic Cleave and Demonic Explosions, which function identically to Ilarian's abilities.

Badass Boast: Has one on the Battlefield of Eternity if he wins against Ilarian.
Beleth: The angel could not stop me. None of you can.
The Bad Guy Wins: If his team wins the match. And don't think he won't remind you that you're fighting on the side of evil.
Big Bad: Of the Battlefield of Eternity and Infernal Shrines.
Casting a Shadow: Only to be expected, really.
Dark Is Evil: Par for the course for Diablo demons.
Dual Wielding: Fights with two swords.
Gameplay and Story Segregation: Much like Ilarian, he can end up fighting alongside Diablo angels or heroic characters from the same or other universes and against villains or fellow Demon Lords Diablo and Azmodan.
Frontline General: Like Ilarian, he will lead the charge for his side after they help him achieve victory over his foe.
Glass Cannon: See Ilarian.
Our Demons Are Different: A Diablo demon to clash against Ilarian's Diablo angel.
Pet the Dog: Despite being, well, evil, he does have some lines where he expresses satisfaction in the heroes fighting for him.
Beleth: The minions of Hell have... pleased me.
Beleth: (after the Burning Hells team wins the game) I knew you had your uses!
Red and Black and Evil All Over: Depicted as such in artwork and by default when observing a Battlefield of Eternity match.
Sealed Evil in a Duel: What his battle against Ilarian amounts to. Until heroes come along to break it up.
Walking Shirtless Scene: His design depicts him as such.

Koprulu Sector (StarCraft Universe)

Dr. Cook

Voiced by: Jim Meskimen (English)

"Let's hope this plan doesn't kill us all..."

The announcer for Braxis Holdout. A terran scientist trying to save his own skin by having the heroes release zerg on each other.

Evil Is Not a Toy: The facility he works in continues the running tradition of terran organizations trying to control the zerg. To what extent this backfires on him is dependent on the players, though there will always be at least six zerglings in each team's holding cells when they open.
I Will Show You X!: His colleagues assured him that field research is exciting.
Dr. Cook: "Field research is so exciting," they said! I'll show them some "excitement".
Lovable Coward: Spends the entire match out of the action, but still panics when the zerg are released onto the field. When all the zerg have been killed, he nervously asks the heroes to make sure they're actually dead.
Mind-Control Device: The zerg released in the objective have devices implanted in them to allow the terrans to control them. While it does work to an extent, not all of the zerg released are controlled by one team.
Non-Action Guy: Admits that he went into the field of science so he wouldn't have to fight.

The Adjutant

Voiced by: Julianne Buescher (English)^note

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/adjutant_announcer.png

"Alert: Battleground initialization in progress. Combat preparation advised."

"Nuclear launch detected."

One of many robotic assistants and advisers from the StarCraft universe. One serves as a secondary announcer on Braxis Holdout, while a malfunctioning model is the primary announcer for Warhead Junction.

Beige Prose: She speaks in simple, efficient sentences.
Empty Quiver: The nuclear warheads on Warhead Junction are technically being stolen by the heroes; the Adjutant believes she's merely testing the weapons.
Robo Speak: Speaks with a feminine voice, but in a robotic monotone.

Mira Han

Voiced by: Kath Soucie (English)^note

"The battle is about to begin. How exciting!"

"Oh, I'm so happy, I could kiss every last one of you! ...except you. You go over there."

A Terran mercenary and one of the major powers in Deadman's Port. Rather than serve as an announcer for a specific map, Mira serves as the announcer for the Deadman's Port brawl, standing in opposition to the Omegaswarm.

Early-Bird Cameo: She first appeared on a poster in Warhead Junction.
Friendly Neighborhood Gangster: Considering she's a powerful crimelord and mercenary, she's one of the most affable and agreeable "serious" announcers, especially from the Starcraft universe.
The Gadfly: Her perpetually cheerful attitude and love of teasing easily makes her this.
Interface Spoiler: She has voice lines for when she's in a match with herself, implying a hero version of her is somewhere in development.
Ragtag Bunch of Misfits: What she leads in Deadman's Port, and why she enlists the aid of the Nexus heroes to safeguard Deadman's Port from the Omegaswarm; on their own, they would be overwhelmed and annihilated within minutes.

Earth (Overwatch Universe)

Athena

Voiced by: Evelyn Duah (English)^note

"Welcome to Hanamura, agents."

Overwatch's own self-aware artificial intelligence system. Athena is the announcer for Hanamura, just as she is in her home universe.

Escort Mission: The objective of Hanamura is to push payloads to a terminal so they can fire on the enemy Core. They cannot be destroyed, but the enemy team can prevent you from pushing and push it into their own spot instead.
The Voice: She has no body since she's an AI.

Katya Volskaya

Voiced by: Salli Saffioti (English)^note

"Ugh, this technology needs more work."

The CEO of Volskaya Industries, from the Overwatch universe. After discovering beings from other worlds fighting in her factory, she deployed the experimental Triglav Protector mechs to defend it. She is the announcer for Volskaya Foundry.

Ascended Extra: In Overwatch, she only briefly appeared as a character for Sombra's reveal cinematic and in a Zarya-centric comic, despite her in-universe importance. While she doesn't play a massive role here, being an announcer and calling in mechs is a step up.
Benevolent Boss: She has lots of compliments for your team when you complete objectives and score kills.
Not in This for Your Revolution: Katya has no interest in the conflicts in the Nexus; only to test out the Protector mech.

Azeroth (Warcraft Universe)

Drek'thar

General Drek'thar

Voiced by: Ike Amadi (English)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bg_drekthar_4.png

"The Alliance wants a war? We'll give them a war!"

"Stormpike filth in my keep? SLAY THEM ALL!"

Drek'thar is a powerful shaman and chieftain of the Frostwolves, who mentored Thrall in the ways of the spirits. During the First War, Gul'dan banished the Frostwolf clan from the Horde, who hid in the valleys of Alterac and chose to stay there, even after Thrall led the New Horde to Kalimdor.

He's vying for control of Alterac Pass against Vanndar Stormpike and his forces, after being warned by a great raven spirit of the Nexus (in truth the Raven Lord). He serves as the announcer and General for the Horde on Alterac Pass.

Animal Motifs: Ravens. Drek'thar doesn't look like he used to in World of Warcraft, hinting at the Raven Lord's influence over the Frostwolf clan.
Blind Weaponmaster: Drek'thar is a Blind Seer, who is Dual Wielding a big orc sword and an axe in battle.
Handicapped Badass: Being blind does nothing to hinder his combat prowess.
No Body Left Behind: He disintegrates into lightning upon death.
Spin Attack: Does one of these while being attacked.
Unwitting Pawn: A few lines of dialogue imply he's being manipulated by the Raven Lord. The backstory of the Drek'thar Rehgar skin elaborates on this: The Raven Lord took the form of a great raven spirit, who warned him about the Alliance's invasion and their new allies.

Vanndar Stormpike

General Vanndar Stormpike

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bg_vanndar_1.png

"Alterac will be ours!"

"The Stormpike Clan bows to no one, especially the Horde!"

A commander leading the Stormpike Expedition to search for artifacts of importance to the dwarves. He's clashing with Drek'thar and the Frostwolf clan. He serves as the announcer and General for the Alliance on Alterac Pass.

And This Is for...: If the Alliance side destroys a fort or structure, Vanndar will state that this was for Theramore. ^note
Our Dwarves Are All the Same: When you give Muradin a skin that turns him into Vanndar and no one bats an eye, well...
No Body Left Behind: He breaks apart into crystals upon death.
Spin Attack: Does one of these while being attacked.
Unwitting Pawn: Subverted. While it may appear like he is manipulated by the Lady of Thorns, just as Drek'thar is manipulated by the Raven Lord, Vanndar knows what for and who he fights against. As his and Varian's Grand Marshal skins' backstories and the Secrets of the Storm comic reveal, he is fully aware that the Frostwolf Clan is manipulated by the Raven Lord, who seeks to conquer Alterac for power. Rallied by the Lady of Thorns' call, the Alliance has gathered their armies to oppose the Horde.

Others

El Guapo

Voiced by: Arturo "El Rudo" Rivera

"Legendariooo!"

"The Handsome One" is the announcer of Nexomania, the greatest brawler in the Nexus. He is unlocked by completing the Nexomania event quest in 2018.

Everything Sounds Sexier in French: Only speaks in glorious Mexican Spanish, regardless of what language your game is in.
Ink-Suit Actor: He is basically the Nexus equivalent of "El Rudo", who himself is a very popular lucha libre commentator.
Large-Ham Announcer: And yet, he's still fairly subdued compared to the likes of Blackheart and the Spore Queen.
Motor Mouth: Easily outdoes every other announcer with his sheer density of commentary.

MC Tombstone

"Are you ready for the inter-multiversal nexoweight championship?! You better be!"

Tombstone is the announcer of Nexomania II. He was unlocked by completing the Nexomania II event quest in 2020.

Cowboy: Dresses and speaks like one.
Disappointed in You: He drops his hammy way to talk if the player dies too many times.
MC Tombstone: Knocked out AGAIN?! What is wrong with you...?
Meaningful Name: Tombstone, Arizona, is a historic city, where an infamous group of outlaw cowboys operated from. The Tombstone Piledriver is also The Undertaker's finishing move.
Large-Ham Announcer: And boy, does he have fun announcing a good brawl.
Mundane Utility: Singularities are powerful artifacts that allow total control over a realm within the Nexus. According to bit a of flavour text, Tombstone uses his to make his voice booming.

Cloaken

Kevin "Cloaken" Johnson

Voiced by: Kevin Michael Johnson

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cloaken_announcer.png

"I told you I'd see you in the Nexus."

"What's up, I'm Kevin from the Heroes dev team and I'm here to announce your game. Let's get started."

Kevin Johnson, also known as "cloaken", is the former Creative Content Lead at Blizzard Entertainment, who was known as the voice behind the Heroes spotlight videos.

Ascended Meme: People asked for the spotlight guy to be an announcer for years. Voila!
As Himself: It's Kevin Johnson with his screen name without any pretenses of it being a character.
He Knows About Timed Hits: In addition to being a Meta Guy, most of his lines are him giving tips and tricks to the player.
Signature Line: "I'll see you in the Nexus." Said at the end of every spotlight and given a variation as quoted above.

The Kid

Voiced by: Sam Lavagnino

"We did it, heroes! Medals for everyone!"

"Oh hi! I was gonna have the blue and red guys fight. You wanna watch with me?"

A little boy playing a game with his new toys. He was the host for the Toys! Christmas event and also is available as an announcer after completing his board game.

Children Are Innocent: Scoring a takedown can have him remark "Whoa, what's this game rated?".
Defeat Means Friendship: "Defeat" is pretty loose here, but if you complete his board game, he asks if you want to play again (unlocking the announcer).
Mr. Imagination: Every Heroes of the Storm match he commentates is just him playing with his toys.

The Arena Master

Arena Master

A boisterous realm lord that presides over many events within the Arena maps of Heroes Brawl, specifically the Punisher, Temple, and Garden arenas.

Flat Character: There isn't much depth to him, aside from encouraging heroes to fight. Made even worse by the fact that we know very, very little about him as a character.

Characters / Heroes of the Storm: Realm Lords

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