Main Characters of The Autumnlands: Tooth & Claw in order of appearance.
Dunstan the bull terrier is our audience surrogate. He narrates the events of the story and through his naive and hopeful persona we learn about the anthropomorphic animal filled setting. Loyal and tenacious, 'Dusty' represents the dog tribes with pride.
- Child Mage: He's still a beginner, but his small array of spells (including creating fire and Healing Hands) are quite useful on an adventure.
- First-Person Peripheral Narrator: Despite being the person telling the story, he has thus far played a minor part in this tale compared to the likes of Gharta and Steven. However, his true destiny has yet to be revealed...
- Half-Dressed Cartoon Animal: Wears only shorts and his necklace.
- Healing Hands: A healing -and- purifying spell that Dusty has been increasingly skilled with.
- The Heart: Because Learoyd certainly isn't fitting the role. Dusty is gentle and caring toward just about everyone he meets.
- Hero-Worshipper: Deconstructed in Dusty. He and the other animals have a very set idea regarding what 'The Great Champion' should be like. A running theme is the fact that Dusty has met a legend and is coming to realize that he isn't so admirable and that nothing is as black-and-white as legend would have one believe.
- Jumped at the Call: As a youngster in a disciplined society Dusty was hungry for adventure. Thankfully The Great Champion arrives and Dusty helps him eagerly. He literally jumps at the call when he jumps into a raging river to save Learoyd.
- Naïve Newcomer: Dunstan is very sheltered from his life in the sky-city (in addition to still being a pup), so while he may have some amount of book-learning, he is surprised to even learn that wool comes off the backs of sheep. Dealing with the hard truths and kill-or-be-killed attitude of adventuring alongside Learoyd is another matter altogether.
- Nice Guy: He's very selfless and loyal, and wants to do the right thing to save the people of Keneil.
- Dusty has only grown kinder on his adventure to the point where he heals Dirty Aelbert immediately after the goat tried to attack him simply because Aelbert was sick.
- Non-Human Sidekick: He takes strongly to Learoyd and follows him around to fulfill this role. With a constant feeling of Canine Companion to boot.
- Puppy-Dog Eyes: Attempts this adorably on Learoyd, but the soldier states that he is 'immune' to the cute act.
- Supporting Protagonist: Dunstan is simply the son of a trademaster. He initially takes a backseat to the politics and schemes in which the adult characters are involved.
Seven Scars is the leader of the bison tribes. He harbors an intense hatred of the floating-cities and their inhabitants who have been using magic to subjugate his people for generations. What Seven-Scars lacks in brains he more than makes up for in both brawn and tactical savvy to the point where even Learoyd is cautious of him.
While Seven-Scars' last clash with Learoyd ended in a forced stalemate he is clearly determined to settle the score as quickly and as violently as he can.
- Anti-Villain: The bison want revenge on the city-dwellers for the generations of cruel subjugation they have endured because of them. Their anger is completely understandable.
- Combat Pragmatist: He is definitely not above using subterfuge to secure a victory. For instance at Goodfoot's behest Seven Scars hides an army during what is supposed to be a diplomatic discussion.
- Determinator: Years of borderline-slavery have turned Seven-Scars into an unstoppable machine of vengeance.
- Father to His Men: He is nearly in tears when Learoyd buries most of his army under tons of mountain debris. These are clearly Seven-Scars' brothers and closest companions.
- Hypocrite: Immediately calls out Learoyd for breaking the terms of their parley. The human is quick to reply:Learoyd: "Says the guy who his a fuckin' bison army at the base of a cliff, pal."
- Hulk Speak: The bison are not exactly eloquent.
- Proud Warrior Race Guy: Seven-Scars is a proud bison warrior who have a lot of faith in the strength of his armies.
- Rugged Scar: Seven of them, if you can believe it.
- Unskilled, but Strong: Openly admits that his people are not skilled fighters but they are very strong and are especially so in numbers.
An ambitious and seasoned wizardess who has eschewed the posh lifestyles of the flying-city-dwellers for a life in the wilds of the surface. She strives to bring back the Great Champion, and the forces of magic itself. While she is the most experienced and passionate figure after "The Fall" she is no politician and struggles to put an end to Sandorst's conniving ways.
- Cool Old Lady: Gharta is an ambitious and inquisitive wizardess who doesn't put up with anyone's nonsense. Her survival knowledge saves dozens of lives and even after being defamed by Sandorst she doesn't give up her quest.
- Ignored Expert: She is probably the only character who knows how to handle herself in the wilderness of the surface world yet Sandorst challenges her at every turn.
- Not So Stoic: For the first few issues of the series Gharta is collected and totally unflappable. It isn't until she and Affa are put into a makeshift prison that we see her feisty temper.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: With Affa. Gharta is the passionate and outspoken whereas Affa is quiet and mainly supports her more forthright partner.
- Seeker Archetype: It's in the name. She seeks the revitalization of magic as a way of life and as resource.
Sandorst is a self-serving and arrogant owl. He has no faith in either Gharta or her Great Champion and seeks to further himself in any given situation. While he is selfish and short-sighted he possesses the political acumen to win Keneil's citizens to his side.
- Attention Whore: Initially wants nothing to do with Gharta's plan to summon the Great Champion because he wouldn't play prominent enough role.
- Entitled Bastard: While searching through the ruins of destroyed Keneil he finds a costly and fancy bed and promptly steals it for himself.
- Establishing Character Moment: When we first meet Sandorst he is complaining and generally being a huge nuisance.
- Fantastic Racism: In a spat with Gharta he remarks that warthogs are a "foolish and unintelligent" race. Yet he is surprised when she brandishes a spell at him.
- Horrible Judge of Character: "This coyote I've just met is exceedingly helpful and asks nothing in return. I'm sure she's trustworthy."
- Jerkass: A self-centered, snobby, and conniving character.
- The Owl-Knowing One: A complete inversion. 'Sandy' is a short-sighted blowhard with delusions of grandeur and an ego the size of the moon.
A young female owl, and Sandorst's daughter. She is much kinder and more open-minded and than her father, and becomes fast friends with Dunstan after the fall of Keneil.
- Fire-Forged Friends: She and Dunstan hold on to one another as Keneil falls from the sky, having only just met beforehand.
- Innocent Blue Eyes: In sharp contrast to her father's sinister yellow eyes.
- The Storyteller: Knows a good deal of lore, and retells the story of the Great Champion to her friends around a campfire, though the others take issue with her describing him as an eagle.
The Great Champion himself is a human! He is plucked from his life as a soldier in some futuristic, sci-fi war and is enlisted to help the animals rejuvenate the power of magic. Steven's cold demeanor and cavalier attitude toward violence quickly put him at odds with the sophisticated gentlebeings of Keneil.
- Barbarian Hero: He is meant to visually recall this kind of character with his long hair and rough-hewn features. The trope is actually Defied when Learoyd is offered a big, Conan-style sword and he turns it down saying it is too huge to be practical.
- Blood-Splattered Warrior: In his first appearance. Naked and drenched in blood...
- The Chessmaster: From the second Learoyd emerges from the pearl, it seems, he begins playing the animals into his plans. Spying and employing espionage he puts his pieces into place.
- The Cynic: Has no problem explaining to Gharta that in the best-case scenario, a huge number of people will die defending the fallen city.
- Establishing Character Moment: As soon as he is introduced, he kills several angry bison single-handedly immediately after being dragged forward centuries through time.
- Experienced Protagonist: He emerges from The Unremitting Pearl and slaughters an entire army of bison people by himself.
- Fish out of Temporal Water: Is pulled from his native time period in Issue #1 and is understandably confused by Earth's anthropomorphic animal inhabitants.
- Genre Refugee: Steven is a sci-fi movie protagonist, which clashes completely with the high fantasy anthropomorphic animals around him.
- Good Is Not Nice: After bluntly stating that many will die in defending the fallen city...Gharta: "You're very... cold for a hero."Steven: "It is what it is."
- Guile Hero: As soon as he has his bearings in the time of the story he begins concocting a secret plan and playing each faction into his hands.
- Happily Married: With two children, as seen in one of his flashbacks. His family's fate is unknown.
- Living Legend: The animals are continually amazed by the fact that their Great Champion is walking amongst them. Despite his unpredicted appearance.
- Naked on Arrival: And you see every bit of it.
- One-Man Army: Defeats an entire army alone while nude...
- Out-of-Character Moment: This is noted by Dusty. Learoyd breaks out of his normal dispassionate coldness when he learns about the Galateans treatment by their masters. Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil for him apparently as he is immediately enraged and insists they take their independence.
- Sir Swears-a-Lot: Especially when compared to the entirely genteel animals.
- Super-Soldier: What at first look like tattoos are eventually revealed to be bionic/organic technology enhancements to his body. Most of the sensory functions still work, but some (seemingly related to deploying some kind of external devices/weapons) are inoperable in this era. It's likely that in addition to training, this is what also allows Learoyd his effortless acrobatics and physical strength.
- The Chosen One: Played With. Gharta ensures that he is the legendary Great Champion. Yet when he appears he is unlike anything the animals have ever seen. A human being. Furless, clawless, and armorless.
- Time-Passage Beard: Learoyd shaves his beard when he first arrives in the Autumnlands and his stubble grows as the days and weeks pass.
- Token Human: So far the only one in the story's present.
Goodfoot steps into the plot in order to take advantage of the recently fallen city of Keneil. She has no compunctions with playing the tragic victims and their bison opponents against one another. A smoker of cigars and drinker of coffee Goodfoot embodies a 'western' aesthetic.
- Con Coyote: Immediately begins playing the Kenneil survivors into the palms of her hands.
- Manipulative Bastard: Plays Sandorst like a harp in order to gain access to the ruins of Keneil.
- Those Wily Coyotes: She sure is.
This juvenile goat encounters Learoyd and Dusty while seeking the revered Craglander elders for guidance regarding the mutations plaguing the goat and sheep communities. After a brief, violent misunderstanding with the heroes the three realize they have a common goal and 'Bertie' tags along with them. Aelbert is spirited and scrappy in a fight even if he isn't terribly bright. His pluck is rivaled only by his lust. The appellation 'Dirty' isn't for nothing...
- The Berserker: He prefers blind attack over tactics. This is evidenced when he was up against a giant monster and grabbed a stick to ineffectively whack its shin.
- Boisterous Bruiser: He has a lively personality that contrasts nicely with dour Learoyd and timid Dusty.
- Catchphrase: WA-HEY!
- Challenge Seeker: He's not the kind to turn away from any challenge. No matter how daunting.
- Half-Dressed Cartoon Animal: Wears only his kilt-thing and a bracelet on each arm.
- Hidden Depths: Bertie is introduced as a clown, but when Dusty is forced to kill the mutated Craglanders. We see that he has a sensitive, emotional side as well.
- Hot-Blooded: Bertie is classically masculine. Always ready for action and with no time for sitting around.
- Mr. Vice Guy: Oh boy lust. When asked about the 'dirty' nickname he explains that "The nannies (ladies) like it dirty." Species is no barrier apparently. When he meets the Galateans, living statues in the shape of topless women, he lusts after them instantly despite the fact that he has never seen anything like a human before.
- Proud Warrior Race Guy: According to him the goats are simply the toughest and cleverest race of them all.
