Otus
The protagonist of Owlboy. A mute young owl who gets swept up in a grand adventure.
- Bolivian Army Cliffhanger: The last sequence of the game, following his dream sequence, shows him plummeting towards the earth headfirst, unconscious. The game ends before we see whether or not he lands safely, or even if he wakes up.
- If Noctae's visions really do come true and were not referring to the destruction of Advent, Otus did indeed die after the final fight.
- On the other hand, Noctae predicted every life and death in the world, and that these deaths were part of a rigid, perpetual cycle. He also predicted that Otus would "die in a great battle above a floating city," and that Otus would also activate his hologram. Noctae notes that this is an inconsistency, and that the Hex Machine might have successfully broken the Loop after all, leaving Otus' final fate uncertain.
- Controllable Helplessness: In certain areas, Otus is too stressed to do anything other than walk while nervously twiddling his fingers or cower in fear. Notably when approaching Asio at the lookout, or just being in the cemetery after the fall of Advent, both when talking to Geddy and afterward (where Otus switches between this and normal just by passing through the gate). Additionally, in the scene where Molstrom interrupts the reawakening of the Anti-Hex, the player controls a heavily weakened Otus as he desperately crawls towards the Anti-Hex to activate it.
- The Determinator: No matter how badly things go, no matter how much he feels like it's his fault, Otus refuses to give up and will keep working towards a better outcome.
- Does Not Like Guns: Hates them, forcing his Gunners to pick up the slack.
- A Dog Named "Dog": Otus is Latin for horned owl.
- Failure Hero: A repeating theme is that Otus is a failure. He makes dozens of mistakes, and some of them are very costly. While he manages to redeem himself in the end, if he died, it truly was a Senseless Sacrifice as Solus could have completed the ritual on his own, and the entire fight would not have happened had Otus trusted Solus. Granted, this is asking a bit much considering how suspicious Solus was acting. The only consolation is the fact that because he delayed the ritual, Molstrom had enough time to arrive into the scene and get destroyed by the Anti-Hex, so Otus indirectly avenged Advent and everyone the pirates killed over the course of the story. If Otus hadn't showed up, the Big Bad would have remained free to terrorize the world.
- The Hero Dies: If Noctae's vision is to be believed, Otus had indeed died after powering the Anti Hex.
- Heroic Mime: Otus cannot speak. This causes his friends, mainly Geddy, to speak for him. Otus does talk after activating the Anti-Hex, but he may have Ascended to a Higher Plane of Existence by that time.
- Spin Attack: The only basic attack Otus has. It can be used to deflect projectiles or stun enemies occasionally.
Asio
An owl and Otus's mentor. He's very cynical, but he ultimately means well.
- Big Good: Fully subverted. Asio attempts to present himself as such to his colleagues, as the master of an ancient order whose guidance is paramount, but it quickly becomes clear that he's abrasive and foolish, ignoring ideas that don't line up with his limited understanding, is a subpar teacher besides, and that his colleagues don't think much of him. When Strix takes over the village, he spends the whole time bemoaning the shoddy way Asio runs the village. Much of his blaming of Otus for things seems to be from projecting his failures on him.
- Big Ol' Eyebrows: His main way of expression.
- Cynical Mentor: He truly expects the worst out of people, and considers Otus a failure. However, Asio won't lift so much as a finger to actualy help anyone, content to sit and whine.
- The Friend Nobody Likes: You first meet Asio as his subordinate, and all of his citizens defer to him. But once you meet his colleagues - scientists, follow owl leaders and the like - it becomes clear that nobody of import has anything positive to say about him, and more tolerate him because he's one of them.
- Jerkass: Abrasive, mean, gruff and judgemental.
- Not Now, Kiddo: Played with. Asio routinely treats Otus like an invalid, and dismisses any input Otus and Geddy have as frivolous no matter how important. However, none of his colleagues ever do so - at times outright ignoring his attempts to ignore them - and more than once does he get lambasted for it.
- So Proud of You: A lategame optional conversation reveals that he is truly proud of Otus, but Asio's own failures have caused him to shove his problems onto Otus. He apologizes for this, and hugs his student.
Geddy
A young human soldier who received training in Advent. Tasked with the maintenance of Vellie's one defense cannon, he spends most of his time with his best friend, Otus. Uses a pistol that can damage enemies and destroy simple barriers.
- Boring, but Practical: His pistol. It's not as heavy hitting as Alphonse's musket nor can it stun like Twig's web, but it's the only weapon that has no cooldown and can kill enemies on its own.
- Genki Guy: He can get really excited easily and often checks on suspicious objects by striking it. He always waves his hands around when he gets overjoyed.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Otus.
- Horrible Judge of Character: While he recognizes Alphonse's status as a conscientious objector, he's unwilling to forgive Twig for his actions, despite Twig only doing what he did because the pirates made him feel useful.
- It's All My Fault: Blames himself for the pirate attack on Advent. He says as much in the graveyard in Vellie.
- Survivor's Guilt: After the attack on Advent, Geddy is found in the Vellie graveyard, contemplating his blame for the deaths resulting from the attack.
- Video Game Cruelty Potential: You can throw him around like a ragdoll, and see his face fall flat on the walls. There is a hidden achievement for beating him up 1,000 times.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Calls Otus out for letting Twig into the party after he had helped in the destruction of Advent.
Solus
A young owl, the third of Strix's students. Often seen alone, tripping over and dropping his scrolls everywhere.
Turns out to be the mysterious hooded figure seen outside owl ruins and in the relic chamber of the Dreadnought, and was seeking to use the relics himself to activate the Anti-Hex.
- Anti-Villain: Intends to save the world from the destruction caused by the first Hex machine, but does so through manipulating the Sky Pirates into waging war on the people of Advent so that he can swipe the relics and use them to power the Anti-Hex.
- Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: He's horribly clumsy and slow to trust people, but he has intimate knowledge of the ancient Owl culture, and how the Anti-Hex relics work. He uses this knowledge to great effect as the Final Boss, using all three relics to fight Otus and company.
- The Klutz: Constantly trips over himself, whether it's his words or his feet.
- Identical Grandson: Downplayed, he's similar to Aegolius, his ancestor, but only when not hunched over in shyness.
- Shadow Archetype: To Otus. Both are owl students subject to humiliation and emotional abuse by their peers and mentors, but while Otus remains resolute and friendly, Solus becomes distrustful and manipulates others to make things happen.
Alphonse
A pirate from Molstrom's fleet, first seen traveling alongside Dirk. After being stranded in the Owl Temple, he joins Otus' party. Uses a powerful blunderbuss that can be used to destroy strong barriers and light objects on fire.
- Apologetic Attacker: Apologizes to Otus for attempting to rob his owl coat away before fighting him.
- Awesome, but Impractical: Despite his musket being the most powerful weapon in the group, it is the only weapon that has a cooldown which leaves Otus more vulnerable to enemies.
- Boisterous Bruiser: He's large, hits hard, seems to enjoy combat and adventuring, and is very friendly to his allies.
- Fat and Skinny: The fat to Dirk's skinny.
- Cooldown: The musket ignites a small flame that can still be used to light things up during its cooldown period, but can't be used to kill enemies.
- Heel–Face Turn: Joins Otus and finds himself helping to take his fellow pirates down after their aggressive behavior becomes too dangerous for him to follow along with.
- Noble Demon: He isn't afraid to admit defeat and even praised Otus and Geddy for putting up a honorable fight. It was his Code of Honor that made him part ways from Dirk.
- Playing with Fire: His blunderbuss fires a blast of flames that can take out multiple enemies at once, and it can be used to ignite obstacles and lanterns.
- Really 700 Years Old: His age is over 900 years.
- Redemption Demotion: His gun goes from a musket that is capable of firing multiple fire balls at once into a shotgun with an overly short range and long cooldown.
Twig
A spider who makes trouble around the village, distracting Otus and Geddy from the pirate fleet. Later, after the pirates turn their backs on him, he helps Otus and forms a somewhat divisive alliance with Otus and his friends.
Turns out to actually be a stick bug pretending to be a spider. Uses a webshot that can pin foes down and grapple Otus towards walls and hooks at a high speed.
- Arachnid Appearance and Attire: He's a stickbug that tries to mimic a spider.
- All Webbed Up: Twig's webshooter is basically a non-lethal version of Geddy's blaster. Any enemies caught by it will be wrapped up giving Otus the chance to attack or escape. Some types of enemies will be dropped off screen when they get hit.
- Giant Spider: Duh. Subverted, as he's actually a stickbug.
- Grappling-Hook Shot: He can use his web to grapple on objects and pull the team towards it.
- I Just Want to Be Special: Dresses up like a spider because he doesn't want to be a boring, useless stickbug.
- I Just Want to Have Friends: Only joined the pirates to have someone to hang out with.
Dirk
An aggressive pirate first seen in tandem with Alphonse. Opposes Otus and company at every turn, constantly bringing a pair of almost titular daggers into play.
- Cool Mask: Dons one with an eye graved on the front.
- Big "SHUT UP!": Delivers one during his fight when Alphonse tries to reason with him.
- Fat and Skinny: The skinny to Alphonse's fat.
- Lightning Bruiser: Dirk is pretty agile and nimble in his boss fight.
- Married to the Job: His utter devotion to Molstrom causes him to put his status as a pirate in front of his friendship with Alphonse, which leads to their separation after their fight.
- My Master, Right or Wrong: Dirk was infuriated at Alphonse when he started to question the ways of their captain.
- Friends All Along: His dying words to Alphonse are that maybe it wasn't so bad having a friend.
- We Used to Be Friends: Dirk didn't take Alphonse's betrayal well and rejected the ideas of friendship until his death.
Molstrom
The king of the Sky Pirates. Constantly seeking war and conflict to fulfill his original purpose as
an Owl-made warmachine. Carries a huge anchor and makes the ground shake whenever he walks.
- Anchors Away
- One-Man Army: When empowered by a relic, he was able to plough through an entire army and destroy Advent with a single blow just by slamming his anchor.
- Killed Off for Real: The Anti-Hex completely annihilates him.
- Neck Lift: Does this constantly, particularly to Otus. Though it's more of a Whole Body Lift considering their relative size.
- The Unfought: He's evaporated by the Anti-Hex before any traditional battle can begin.
Noctae
An ancient Owl and one of the scientists who was dedicated to beating the Loop. Otus hears his voice when collecting Golden Disks. Upon inserting all three Disks into the Sanctuaries scattered around the islands, Otus gains access to the Eternal Sanctuary, where his work is contained.
- Bearer of Bad News: Discovered the Loop, which lead to the widespread panic throughout Owlkind, the Hex, and by extension, the events of the game.
- Fortune Teller: To an extent. His ability at calculation and sciences let him predict his death... as well as Otus's, centuries in the future.
- Greater-Scope Paragon: His attempt at saving the Owls from whatever the Loop had in store for them lead to the Relics, the Hex, and eventually the events of the game.
- "Groundhog Day" Loop: Very heavily implied to be what the "Loop" he discovered was.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Aegolius.
- Posthumous Character
- Walking Spoiler: Discussing his existence requires explaining the true nature of the relics, the Loop, and the Hex.
- You Can't Fight Fate: Knew that his death would be at the hands of one of Aegolius's machines, no matter what he did.
Aegolius
Noctae's research partner, and the one who built the Hex Machine in his passing. It is revealed he is Solus' ancestor in his message left behind in the Eternal Sanctuary.
