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Incumbent royal family

Robert Baratheon

King Robert "Bobby" Baratheon

The King of Westeros at the beginning of the play, who quickly meets an early death. He came to his position after leading a rebellion against the previous royal family, which was sparked by prince Rhaegar Targaryen kidnapping Robert's betrothed Lyanna. Lyanna having died during the rebellion, Robert ended up in an political marriage with Cersei Lannister, which officially produced three children who take suspiciously little after him. Robert's own extra-marital activities, meanwhile, have produced a high number of bastards.

Adipose Rex: A purely informed one. While one of Renly's parts in "King Robert Baratheon" mentions him gaining a lot of weight, the actor portraying him looks really slim compared to the character's canon live-action portrayal.
The Alcoholic: He's seen without holding a drink only in "Hand-Holding" and he regularly reminds Eddard that he's constantly drunk in that song.
Alliterative Name: The play nicknaming him "Bobby" results in this. He even introduces himself as "Bobby B" in "Small Council".
Aloof Big Brother: Stannis mentions Robert not paying much attention to him during their childhood in "A H(e)art Inflamed".
Big Fun: His part in "Small Council" has him casually rapping about how he's been taking things easy on his royal obligations, while holding a drink.
Broken Ace: His best days were during a rebellion that is now very far behind, and he hates his current lot in life.
The Casanova: His tendency to sleep with prostitutes is the reason his has so many bastard children.
Formerly Fit: Just as informed as his Adipose Rex status, as the actor portraying him seems to be currently fit.
The Hedonist: "King Robert Baratheon" mentions he got really into drinking, hunting and sleeping with whores after being crowned King.
Hunting "Accident": This is canonically the cause of his death, and the talk about strong wine and boar hunting in "Plot Development" alludes to this.
The Mourning After: "King Robert Baratheon" outright states he never got over Lyanna's death. In "Hand-Holding", Robert considers Lyanna's loss a major factor in letting himself and Eddard drift apart prior to the beginning of the play.
Old Friend: Having been foster brothers with Eddard Stark is one of the reasons he wants Eddard to be his new Hand of the King.
Really Gets Around: In "Small Council", he claims to have fathered two dozen bastards and to be working on the third dozen.
Strong Family Resemblance: Justified between him and Stannis, as the actor playing him goes on to play Stannis after his death.
Unfit for Greatness: He outright spells out that being King hasn't been working for him in "Small Council".

Cersei Lannister

Queen Cersei Lannister

Robert's wife and later widow. For the better part of the marriage, she has been having an affair with her brother Jaime, who's the biological father of her children. She is also much more active in Westerosi politics than Robert ever was, and hence sees Joffrey ascending to the throne as a way to secure more power for her family. Eddard finding out about her childrens' true parentage prompts her to accelerate that agenda, only to have to deal with the consequences of giving nominal power to a sociopathic teenager.

Arranged Marriage: Her marriage with Robert is a political one.
Battle of Wits: An active participant in the one taking place in the King's Landing court.
Brother–Sister Incest: Sleeps with Jaime, who's her own brother.
Hypocrite: During "Stannis Refuted", she tries to cast doubt on Stannis being Shireen's real father.
Mama Bear: She's shown to be quite protective towards Joffrey. When Joffrey gets poisoned, she fabricates evidence against the person who seemingly did it, even though the person being framed means there was already plenty of incriminating false evidence against them.
Pet the Dog: During "Ten Siege Commandments", she makes sure the noble ladies are confined in a safe place.
Selective Obliviousness:
- During "The Riot", Tyrion deliberately goes behind her back while putting his plans to defend King's Landing against Stannis in place, because he knows Cersei will disagree with them regardless of how sensible they are. He turns out to be right.
- During "Opposing Council", she calls Joffrey "amusing" after he suggests killing the Night's Watch for acknowledging other kings besides himself, and says she's "nothing by joyous" when Tyrion asks if she's pleased with how he turned out.

Joffrey Baratheon

King Joffrey "Joff" Baratheon

Robert's oldest son and official heir, who becomes King after his death. Biologically speaking, his father is actually his own maternal uncle, making his claim to the throne non-existent in practice. The more immediate problem with his rule is that he was a Psychopathic Manchild even before he was crowned, which makes him The Caligula as a King. His older family members and advisors hence find themselves having to keep him in check in addition to managing the war that needs to be won to keep him on the throne.

Arranged Marriage: His betrothal to Sansa gets a few mentions in Act I, mostly in the context of Sansa liking the arrangement less and less. By the time Act II rolls in, he's engaged to Margaery instead.
Asshole Victim: Of all the people who die in the play, he's the smallest loss.
Bad People Abuse Animals: At some point, he reacts to the latest act of discipline towards him by threatening to kill eight kittens in retaliation.
Bastard Bastard: He's technically born out of wedlock, and not exactly the nicest character in the play.
Chocolate Baby: Is blonde despite his official father being black-haired, hinting toward the fact that he has "a few branches missing in the family tree" as Eddard put it.
Crosscast Role: He's played by a woman according to the cast credits.
Establishing Character Moment: His first scene consists of him walking onstage holding Eddard Stark's head and proudly showing it to Cersei. This occurs right as Cersei and Littlefinger are discussing plans that require Eddard as a live hostage.
Inbred and Evil: His parents are brother and sister^note. He's one of the most vile characters to make it onstage.
Spanner in the Works: If a situation requires him to be amicable, or at least appear to be so, you can bet he'll choose that moment to have a temper tantrum. Which may or may not include death threats.
Stupid Evil: His evil acts have a tendency to be detrimental to his own reign.

Tyrion Lannister

Cersei and Jaime's younger brother, who has dwarfism in canon. The child in a Maternal Death? Blame the Child! situation, he's the family Black Sheep. He thinks of himself as the protagonist of the play, and assumes to be the heroic kind. He gets an unexpected opportunity to prove himself when he's made Joffrey's Hand of the King by his father so the latter can keep his focus on fighting the War of the Five Kings. Fortunately for him, he does have the brains for the job, and "nicest Lannister" is a low bar to clear.

Adaptational Attractiveness: Between the play not having enough production values to give anyone the scars they have in canon and the Crosscast Role, this version of Tyrion is very smooth-faced and looks young enough to pass as someone younger than Cersei.
Anti-Hero: What he really is, but it takes deciding to be more self-centered than he already is for him to admit it.
Arranged Marriage: With Sansa. While feeling it doesn't quite fit the heroic character he thinks himself to be, he's trying at least be a decent husband and doesn't react well to Tywin arranging for Catelyn and Robb's assassination.
Armor-Piercing Question: He attempts this towards Cersei during "Opposing Council" via asking her if she's pleased with Joffrey. Unfortunately, thanks to her Selective Obliviousness, Cersei is actually fine with Joffrey.
Badass Bureaucrat: There is no Act I song featuring him that doesn't mention at least one of his feats as Hand, with the biggest focus being on his defense of King's Landing that is shown across three different songs.
Battle of Wits: A participant in it, and a quite good one. Unfortunately, his own family members won't let him hold onto a victory for very long and other participants wouldn't mind getting rid of him, either.
Brutal Honesty: If he grows sufficently impatient with a situation, he will express his honest thoughts about it, regardless of the authority the person he's talking to has over him. This includes his own family members.
Crosscast Role: The role requires a short person to be anything close to the text, and such a criterion favors women in a cast lacking any people with dwarfism.
The Dog Bites Back: He kills Tywin at the end of the play, as a payback from the mistreatment received from him.
Dude, Where's My Respect?: Implied by the narration a the beginning of "The Dorne Identity", which mentions Tyrion waking up to Tywin getting all the credit for defeating Stannis near the end of Act I and forcing the mountain clans under Tyrion's command to flee from King's Landing. This comes alongside everyone else claiming the best rewards before Tyrion. Even Tyrion's new job Master of Coin was canonically Littlefinger's job during Act I, which means it was vacant only because Littlefinger was made a Lord (the fact that Harrenhal is not exactly a desirable piece of property in canon is omitted from the play).
Honest Advisor: Being expected to give a sub-par King advice while being prone to Brutal Honesty results in him being this. He ends up being this to other people around him, as well.
Patricide: Kills Tywin near the end of the play.
Self-Made Orphan: His mother has been dead for years when the play starts and he kills Tywin near the end of the play.
Tragic Hero: Between Tywin constantly yanking the carpet from under his feet and his own flaws, his efforts to get recognition end with him having to flee King's Landing after getting falsely convicted for one murder and actually killing a couple of people.
The Unfavorite: Comes with being the family Black Sheep.
Unwanted Spouse: To his wife. Tywin ordering for two of her family members to be killed after the wedding takes place doesn't help Tyrion's case.
"Well Done, Son" Guy: He's this until the Red Wedding, after which he loses what little respect he had for Tywin. His repeated chorus across different scenes is:
Tyrion: I am not giving away that spot!
I am not giving away that spot!
I'll earn the pride of the lions
Show that I'm the son of Tywin
I am not giving away that spot!

Tywin Lannister

Cersei, Jaime and Tyrion's father, patriarch of the Lannister family. He's the most composed member of the family and has enough authority over his children and grandson to be one of the few people all of them will listen to. He also has plenty of authority within the country as a respected military leader. Unfortunately for his enemies, that position also means that he's one of the people who has interest in keeping Joffrey on the throne.

Abusive Parents: While this side of him is low-key compared to his canon counterpart, a few events show how little he actually cares about Tyrion. He takes every good thing that happens to Tyrion away from him and his shown to be all too willing to punish him when he has a reason to do so.
Battle of Wits: The fact that he's skilled in this domain as well is what ultimately gets him rid of the Starks.
Bad Guys Do the Dirty Work: He has a pattern of doing this. In the bacstory, Gregor Clegane was the one who killed Elia Martell and her children. In the play itself, he effectively delegated killing the Starks to Roose Bolton and the Freys.
Big Damn Heroes: Shows up with reinforcements that turn the tide of the battle in favor of the Lannisters during the siege of King's Landing.
Dragon-in-Chief: When Tywin takes over as Joffrey's Hand in Act II, he's shown to be the one actually running things. Considering Joffrey's contribution to most issues is exactly what you'd expect from a The Caligula, the other members of the royal court let things stay that way.
I Want Grandkids: While he technically has grandchildren via Cersei (who are technically Jaime's, as well), he's very pushy about Tyrion having children with his wife during "Your Obedient Warden".
Heir Club for Men: During his I Want Grandkids moment, he asks Tyrion to give him a grandson.
Parental Favoritism: He calls Jaime his "Golden Son" during "Hand of the King", which indicates him being his favorite child.
The Strategist: He's the one making plans and calling the shots for the Lannister army in the War of Five Kings.
Undignified Death: Dies while in the privy.

Jaime Lannister

Ser Jaime Lannister

Brother to Tyrion and Cersei, who is also in an incestuous relationship with the latter and the father of her three children, including Joffrey. His relationship with Cersei and his capture early in the War of the Five Kings result in him being often spoken about, but never seen.

Brother–Sister Incest: He's sleeping with his own sister and is the biological father of her children.
The Ghost: The fact he's never seen onstage during the play gets a thorough discussion in "Stark to Finish", when Catelyn points out that she has yet to actually see him.
The Kingslayer: Jaime's canon counterpart is the Trope Namer, and Jaime's "Kingslayer" nickname is used to talk about him by Karstark in "Stark to Finish".
Small Role, Big Impact: He has quite a lot of impact on the story for someone who never actually shows up:
- He's the main reason Joffrey's parentage is a problem, merely by being his actual father.
- In canon, Jaime killed Aerys, Viserys and Daenerys' father, during Robert's rebellion.
- He's part of the chain of events that eventually seal the fate of the Stark campaign.
- In Act II, he's the reason Qyburn is present in King's Landing at the end of "Talk Less, Stab More".

Royal family entourage

Petyr Baelish

Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish

A self-confessed Social Climber who has made it to being the King's Master of Coin and considers anything goes as long as it helps him climb the social ladder. He's an acquaintance to Catelyn Stark and canonically once lost a duel for her hand to Eddard Stark's late older brother. The situation makes him the perfect False Friend to Eddard Stark in the early part of the play, but also later keeps him from being completely indifferent to the fact that Catelyn's teenage daughter is living in the royal castle.

Ambition Is Evil: His ambition makes him take actions whose morality (or rather lack thereof) is often approved of by the Lannisters.
Best Served Cold: His comment about Eddard's brother having been "a douche" strongly implies that the whole False Friend stint was payback for losing Catelyn to his brother; it's quite explicitly the case in canon, while the play merely hints at it.
Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: He seems friendly and helpful enough towards Eddard during "Small Council" and "Plot Development". Then, near the end of the latter song, he pulls his knife out of his belt and slowly moves as to be behind Eddard...
Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: Eddard is just the first of three people he's seen backstabbing during the play, and adaptation-induced changes are the only reason the viewer don't get to see more of them.
Confusion Fu: One of his lines in "The Groom When It Happened" sums up the idea of confusing one's political rivals:
Littlefinger: If they don't know where you're going, you'll never be seen.
Crazy Jealous Guy: The letter he sends Sansa's eventual Altar Diplomacy husband includes the words "Fuck you, she's mine" and a picture of himself and Sansa sailing away on a boat kissing.
Creepy Uncle: As of "The Groom When It Happened", he's technically Sansa's uncle by marriage. This happens after even someone who has only seen the play would know about his attraction to Sansa.
False Friend: He's seen betraying several characters with whom he was seemingly on friendly terms mere minutes earlier.
Hidden Agenda Villain: A scene has Tywin make a couple remarks about Littlefinger being a mystery whose true motives will probably never be known. This occurs while Tyrion is looking at a crude sketch depicting one of Littlefinger's few somewhat clear goals, namely the "sharing a kiss with Sansa sometime in the future" one.
Pay Evil unto Evil: The people he betrays aren't always that likable themselves, resulting in one of his backstabbings being one of the play's most triumphant moments.
Social Climber: He flat-out tells Eddard abour his desire to "rise above his station" upon meeting him, and a couple other scenes refer to his ladder-climbing.
You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Littlefinger not liking people no longer useful to him to stay alive is implied to be the reason Dontos had to die.

Varys

The Spymaster to the King, who happens to be eunuch and the person at court Tyrion gets along with best. As a result, he's frequently seen helping Tyrion out in various ways.

Adaptational Heroism:
- The television version of Varys is the only canon one who has a true friendship with Tyrion. The play's version of Varys is almost entirely definined by his friendship and alliance with Tyrion.
- His book counterpart is, in many ways, a second Littlefinger. Here, his plot to bring the Targaryen dynasty back only gets a mention in the 2018 version of "Plot Development". The 2019 version replaced that mention with a formal announcement of Robert's death while still having Varys act worried about Daenerys taking the throne back in "Small Council". This results in him giving no signs of being allied with the Targaryens. At best, paying close attention to Varys during "The Dorne Identity" will show him bring his hand to his mouth when Elia's children, who were also Rhaegar's are mentioned.
Apologetic Attacker: The one time he has to speak against Tyrion, he apologizes to Tyrion right after doing it.
Betrayal by Inaction: His response to Littlefinger pulling his knife out and making moves towards Eddard in "Plot Development" is to walk off-stage.
Only Friend: Between Jaime being kept offstage, Podrick only getting a brief mention, Bronn's vocabulary being reduced to Pokémon Speak and Shae taking her cues from her book version, Varys comes across as Tyrion's only true friend in court.
Screw This, I'm Outta Here: He leaves the stage near the end of "Plot Development" sometime between the moment Littlefinger pulls his knife out and the moment he puts it to Eddard's throat.
The Spymaster: Being the King's master spy is his job, though it doesn't have much use in the plot besides sometimes providing Tyrion with knowledge he doesn't already have.

Sandor Clegane

Sandor "The Hound" Clegane

Joffrey's bodyguard, who acts as a knight in many ways but never formally became one. He's also one of Sansa's many suitors.

Adaptational Heroism: Almost everything that made his canon version morally grey was cut out of the play, leaving only his heroic aspects. The only thing that got salvaged was him not keeping Joffrey from beheading Eddard. The only time he's outright stated to be fighting is during Stannis' attack on King's Landing and even Tyrion ends up joining the action in that one.
Bodyguard Crush: His protection duties extend to Sansa due to her being engaged to Joffrey, and Sandor is sweet on her.
The Bus Came Back: He briefly appears in "Time For a Frown", just to drive home the fact that he and Sansa can no longer be a thing.
Flowers of Romance: When he shows up again in "Time For a Frown", he's holding a small bouqet of flowers. The fact that he looks dejected when he realizes Sansa is getting married leaves little ambiguity concerning his intentions.
Hiding Behind Your Bangs: His hair covers the part of his face that is supposed to have a burn scar in canon.
Popcultural Osmosis Failure: When Sansa calls Dontos "her Florian" after the male half of a well-known pair of lovers, Sandor mistakes it for Accidental Misnaming.
Put on a Bus: He leaves King's Landing at the end of "More Than Jest Friends".

Bronn

A very quiet sellsword in Tyrion's employ.

Adaptational Dumbass: His canon counterpart is surprisingly smart, but such a trait is a little hard to convey with a vocabulary reduced to Pokémon Speak.
Hired Guns: Technically a hired sword, given the setting.
Meaningful Name: He's the "brawn" to Tyrion's brain, even moreso than his canon counterpart.
Pokémon Speak: Unless he's providing an extra voice to the ensemble, he's never heard saying anything besides his own name.
What Happened to the Mouse?: He's not seen after "Shae No To This". This is justified by canon after "The Groom When It Happened", as the events from the song gave him the choice between accepting an offer that amounted to a very large "Begone" Bribe or doing something very risky for his life for no monetary gain. He chose the former option.

Shae

A prostitute Tyrion is keeping despite Tywin expressly forbidding him to bring a prostitute to King's Landing. She hence needs to stay hidden. In the meantime, she has no qualms about making Tyrion spend lavish amounts of money on her, or letting him believe they are having a genuinely loving relationship.

Big Beautiful Woman: She' bigger than both her canon counterparts and attractive enough to catch Tyrion's eye.
Camp Follower: The fact she was providing companionship to various members of the Lannister army before meeting Tyrion is the reason she was present in Tyrion's general vicinity during the events of "Hand of the King".
Gold Digger: During "Shae No To This", she makes it quite clear she's after Tyrion's money.
Minor Character, Major Song: She has a big part in "Shae No To This" and sings most of "Congratshaelations".
"The Reason You Suck" Speech: "Congratshaelations" consists almost entirely of her pointing out that from her perspective, Tyrion is quite self-centered and actually treating her and those around him quite badly.

Dontos

Ser Dontos

Canonically a knight who was made a fool after Sansa suggested the job change to Joffrey as an alternative to having him killed. He's now trying to pay Sansa back in any way he can and among her suitors.

Adaptational Heroism: The original's tone being what it is, both of Dontos' canon counterparts had ulterior motives to help Sansa. The play makes no mention of the ulterior motives and makes Dontos' kind acts come across as more sincere.
I Owe You My Life: Sansa caught his attention by saving his life.
Moment Killer: He ruins Sandor and Sansa's attempt at having a romantic scene in "More Than Jest Friends".

Gregor Clegane (spoilers)

Ser Gregor "The Mountain" Clegane

A knight working for the Lannisters, who killed Elia Martell and her children during Robert's rebellion. He's a feared enough fighter that few are willing to be his opponent. Canonically, he's Sandor Clegane's older brother.

Came Back Wrong: Implied by his Zombie Gait after resurrection.
Death in the Limelight: He dies in the only scene that actually has him onstage.
One-Handed Zweihänder: Shown holding a quite large sword with only one hand in "Talk Less, Stab More". Oberyn even points it out in his narration.
The Quiet One: Stays almost entirely silent during his only scene.
Would Hurt a Child: The fact he killed Elia's children gets enough mention to make it hard to forget.

Stannis' faction

Stannis Baratheon

King Stannis Baratheon

Robert's younger brother and Renly's older brother. Objectively, Joffrey's true parentage makes Stannis Robert's sole true heir and hence the rightful King of Westeros. As far as the Lannisters and their allies are concerned, Stannis is trying to usurp his nephew's rightful title by spreading lies about his parentage and waging war against him. On top of this, he is much less popular with the people than his younger brother Renly is.

0% Approval Rating: Cersei claims nobody likes him near the end of "Stannis Refuted". When Stannis shows up to claim his seat, Littlefinger's response is "Anyone but him!".
Big Damn Heroes: His arrival is very welcome during the siege of Castle Black.
The Chosen One: According to Melisandre, he's the Lord of Light's Chosen One.
Dude, Where's My Respect?: His rant in "A H(e)art Inflamed" includes the fact that he built a navy while Robert was out drinking and fathering bastards and him defending Storm's End only for Robert to give the place to Renly while Stannis ended up with Dragonstone.
Evil Uncle: He has very few qualms about using Edric as a Human Sacrifice. As far as Joffrey's supporters are concerned, he's not exactly being Uncle Of The Year to him either.
Hero with Bad Publicity: He's both the righful heir of the throne and someone whose reign would be an improvement compared to that of Joffrey and the Lannisters. Unfortunately, Stannis isn't well-liked to start with and his only move towards actually improving his image happens quite close to the end of the play.
Parental Neglect: When Stannis puts forth that his reign is blessed by the Lord of Light, Cersei replies that the Lord of Light (and/or Stannis' jester, if Cersei was actually continuing her previous line) is also a more loving parent to Shireen than Stannis is.
The Resenter: His fist line in "A H(e)art Inflamed" is saying that he remembers every single slight on Robert's part.
Royals Who Actually Do Something: His first move to pull himself out out of Hero with Bad Publicity status boils down to being more proactive on a subject the throne's other claimants are neglecting.
Strong Family Resemblance: Comes with being played by the same actor as Robert.

Davos

Ser Davos

Stannis' Hand of the King. He never hesitates to tell Stannis the hard truths, but the extent to which Stannis listens to them varies. He and Stannis' young daughter Shireen also have a soft spot for each other. Davos is often at odds of with fellow advisor Melisandre, especially on the subject of sacrificing Edric.

The Consigliere: A big part of his job is being Stannis' voice of reason.
Intergenerational Friendship: Besides Stannis, the only other person he's consistently seen getting along with is Stannis' daughter.
Never Learned to Read: We know he's illiterate at the beginning of the play because he's teaching himself to read in "Please, Your Grace".
Wouldn't Hurt a Child: The fact that Edric is still a child is a very obvious factor in the fact that Davos doesn't like the idea of him being used as a Human Sacrifice.

Melisandre

A Red Priestess advising Stannis who worships the god R'hllor, also known as the Lord of Light. She has magical powers that can give Stannis the edge he needs to win the throne, but R'hllor asks for sacrifices of King's blood in return. She views Edric as little more than a supply for the blood in question and has a general "the ends justify the means" attitude that puts her at odds with Davos.

Astonishingly Appropriate Appearance: Red hair and red clothes for a priestess who deals with fire a lot.
Blood Magic: Her magic requires human lives, or at least to actual human blood, to work.
Court Mage: She's both technically a mage and technically part of a King's court.
Implied Love Interest: Davos introduces her as serveral things in "Red Woman", one of them being "maybe also [Stannis'] mistress".

Shireen Baratheon

Stannis' bookish young daughter, who gets along with Davos as well. She provides help for a few problems both men face over the course of the play.

Adaptational Attractiveness: No greyscale scar for this version of her.
Bookworm: She's introduced reading a book and impressing Davos with her ability to read.
Nice Guy: Aside from being a little scared of an angry Melisandre in "Knight's Watch Defeated", she's nice and friendly to her father and his allies. She also goes as far as helping Edric escape.
The Smart Guy: She figures out that the events of "A H(e)art Inflamed" are a very good time to let Davos out of his cell and later realizes that Mance Rayder would qualify as a King's blood sacrifice.
Vague Age: The actress playing her is short enough to pass as a teen, but the canon character is an actual child and is one of the few young characters to not get an Age Lift in Game of Thrones. Meanwhile, other characters get their age stated, sometimes being explicitly younger than the actor playing them: Robb is fifteen going on sixteen, Tommen (not shown) is nine by the end of the play and Daenerys is implied to be seventeen.

Edric Storm

One of Robert's bastards that Stannis' forces managed to capture during the war. Melisandre and Stannis view him a convenient Human Sacrifice, while both Davos and Shireen care a little more about his well-being.

Crosscast Role: His role is one of the other ones the actress playing Joffrey is credited for.
I'm Standing Right Here: He reminds Melisandre of his same when she speaks of him as if he's just a walking King's blood container while he's in the room.
Put on a Bus: He leaves the story after Shireen sets him free.
Targeted Human Sacrifice: He's captured to be made into a sacrifice because he's Robert's biological son.

Renly's faction

Renly Baratheon

King Renly Baratheon

The youngest Baratheon brother, very popular among the common people. Before Robert's death, Renly was trying to make him take his lover's younger sister as a mistress. After Robert's death, Renly gets interested in the throne himself. The sister in question is quick to remind him that she wants to marry well and that her family has a large army on hand.

Best Friends-in-Law: Renly's wedding to Margaery enabled him to technically be brothers-in-law with Loras.
Betrayal by Inaction: His response to Littlefinger pulling his knife out and making moves towards Eddard in "Plot Development" is to walk off-stage.
Bling of War: His outfit includes a large golden neckpiece reaching his shoulders and upper chest decorated with antlers.
Incompatible Orientation: With his wife Margaery, who quickly gets impatient for the wedding's consummation.
Margaery: I'm in wedding bliss, although I wish my man would lay me
Tell this to my brother, now how he wants to from a harem
Loras: I'm just sayin', Renly would prefer if you would share him
Screw This, I'm Outta Here: He leaves the stage near the end of "Plot Development" sometime between the moment Littlefinger pulls his knife out and the moment he puts it to Eddard's throat.
The Usurper: He actually doesn't have any kind of legal claim to throne, and is pretty much taking advantage of the fact that a war is going on for it anyway.

Margaery Tyrell

Margaery

Renly's politically ambitious wife who, much like him, is working the "be liked by the common people" angle. This is however only part of the silk hiding the metaphorical steel needed to carve oneself a space in the Westerosi political game, and Renly is clearly only a means to an end in her eyes.

Arranged Marriage: With Renly, later Joffrey.
Bad "Bad Acting": She's trying a little too hard to look shocked at the main event of "The Groom When It Happened".
The Beard: Same-sex marriage isn't a thing in Westeros, so she's effectively this for Renly, who ended up in her family's orbit in the first place because he's interested in her brother.
Cartwright Curse: Robert died while Renly and Loras were trying to make her his mistress and dead husbands quickly turn out to be a pattern for her.
Double Meaning: Margaery says that the hairnet given to Sansa is "meant to go over her head". The term works both as an idiosyncratic way of saying "on her head" and an indication of the fact the hairnet is part of a bigger plan that will work only if Sansa is unaware of it.
The Ingenue: She calls herself "an ingenue" in "Crownless".
"I Am" Song: "Crownless"
Margaery: I have always been well-liked and kind to all the peasants.
Always unsuspicious but ambitious at my essence.
- Also a "I Want" Song
  Margaery: Jonesin' for the throne, wanna sit upon it.
  Crownless! Down for the crown, and I'm gonna don it.
Misplaced Sorrow: When people essential to her plans die, she seems to mourn the plan more than the person.
Silk Hiding Steel: She manages to stick to the silk for her early scenes, but steel starts showing when she realizes that Joffrey would make a lousy husband.
Widowed at the Wedding: Her wedding with Joffrey ends like this.

Loras Tyrell

Ser Loras Tyrell

Margaery's older brother and Renly's lover.

Adaptational Wimp: Very visible in Act II, when Olenna's intervention in necessary to keep the Sand Snakes from harassing him.
Best Friends-in-Law: Renly's wedding to Margaery enabled Loras to be technically brothers-in-law with Renly.
The Cavalry: He's the one leading the charge when the Tyrell army shows up in "The Siege of King's Landing".
Demoted to Extra: Events of the story leave him with little do to in Act II besides showing up alongside Margaery and Olenna at times when the presence of all three of them would be justified.
Roaring Rampage of Revenge: He claims that his sword is indiscriminate while he's being part of The Cavalry for one of the sides in "The Siege of King's Landing" at a time during which Renly's death is still very much on his mind.

Olenna Tyrell

Olenna Tyrell, The Queen of Thorns

Margaery and Loras' grandmother, who joins them when they get more permanent place of residence in Act II. She's very invested in Margaery's social climbing, but also in her family's well-being. One of Margaery's arrangements turning out to have a big hidden caveat quickly requires her intervention.

Composite Character: In canon, her son Mace is the one to get a seat in the Small Council and is later one of the judges in the murder trial from "The Groom When It Happened".
Never Mess with Granny: Littlefinger is impressed by her making the Sand Snake to stop harassing Loras during her debut scene. And if any one person is considered a threat to her grandchildren in her eyes, the person in question gets a significantly shorterned lifespan.
Obfuscating Stupidity: During "Growing Concerned", she mentions gathering information by faking senility and spending time around people who are more likely to speak the truth about Joffrey than fellow nobles.

House Stark

Eddard Stark

Eddard "Ned" Stark

Robert's foster brother, husband to Catelyn, father to Sansa, Robb and Jon Snow. He gets chosen as Hand of the King to replace Jon Arryn at the beginning of the play. Having reasons to think Jon Arryn's death wasn't entirely natural, he finds out about Joffrey's true parentage and arranges for Stannis to take the throne before being imprisoned for treason, and later beheaded.

Fish out of Water: He's a Honor Before Reason type in a Decadent Court.
Honor Before Reason: His response to everything indicating that Jon Arryn died because he discovered Joffrey's true parentage is to make sure Stannis takes the throne over Joffrey. This move turns out to be a bad one both for his well-being and that of Westeros.
Naïve Newcomer: His initial reaction to Littlefinger's "trust less, conspire more" advice concerning the Decadent Court is You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!. Ignoring that advice is what utimately makes him a Fish out of Water and leads to his death.
The Promise: Whichever secret he's keeping, it involves a promise to someone. This alludes to a promise Eddard turned out to have made to Lyanna in a later season of Game of Thrones.
Secret-Keeper: He alludes to keeping a secret in "Hand-Holding". His side in letting himself and Robert drift apart prior to the beginning of the play is due to the fact that Robert is among the people the secret needs to be kept from. The mention of a promise as part of it indicates he's talking about a big reaveal that was made relatively late in Game Of Thrones and is strongly hinted towards in A Song Of Ice And Fire.

Sansa Stark

Eddard and Catelyn's oldest daughter. She came to King's Landing along with Eddard due to being betrothed to Joffrey at the beginning of the play. After Eddard's death, she becomes a convenient hostage and potential means of seizing the North for the Lannisters. In the meantime, she's spending a lot of time around other members of the royal court.

Arranged Marriage: She's betrothed to Joffrey when the play starts. After the arrangement with Joffrey is broken, she briefly gets a hope spot in the form of Willas Tyrell, but utimately ends up married to Tyrion.
Audience? What Audience?: During "Time for a Frown", she has a few moments of wondering who is that George person everyone else is singing about.
Bodyguard Crush: Her crush on Sandor is one, since he's her fiancé Joffrey's bodyguard.
Chick Magnet: Of the Dude Magnet variety. No less than three men are show interest in her during the play, and that's not counting her political marriage prospects.
Domestic Abuse: She mentions Joffrey growing crueler and crueler and doing her best to avoid him during "No Waiting".
The Ingenue: Her naivety gets alluded to in "More Than Jest Friends", when she accepts the prospect of a rescue from Dontos on the basis that she's still just barely naive enough to believe him.
Replacement Goldfish: With the knowledge that Littlefinger canonically has a long-term crush on her mother, it's hard to not see his attraction to her in the light of Sansa simply being a replacement for her mother in Littlefinger's eyes.

Robb Stark

King Robb Stark

Eddard and Catelyn's oldest son. Upon Eddard being branded a traitor and later beheaded, he starts a war against the Lannisters which escalates to getting him crowned King of the North and a move to have the North secede from the rest of Westeros. Unfortunately, he takes after his father in terms trusting the good will of others a little too much.

Arranged Marriage: He agrees to marry one of Walder Frey's daughters in exchange for his forces.
A Child Shall Lead Them: He's explicitly stated to be technically fifteen in "Robb Stark" and to have turned sixteen by "Stark to Finish".
Dead Guy on Display: One last gesture of disrespect towards his corpse that wasn't exactly done privately is mentioned in "Your Obedient Warden".
Heir Club for Men: He at some point gets worried about the fact that if he dies, the Lannisters can claim the North via Sansa's marriage.
Honorable Marriage Proposal: His Idiot Ball move was to give priority to the honor of a woman he had just met prior importance over his Arranged Marriage.
Idiot Ball: His marriage to Jeyne Westerling is considered this by his enemies after the fact.
Shared Family Quirks: He takes after his father in terms of trusting people more than he should.
Too Dumb to Live: Between his Idiot Ball moment and his too trusting nature, there's reason two songs were enough to cover the gist of his storyline.
Warrior Prince: He spends most of his time as King waging a war.
Worthy Opponent:
- When Stannis curses the other bidders to the throne to die, both he and Davos hope Robb's death will be a peaceful one, while they don't mind Joffrey and Balon meeting a much more violent one.
- After fiding out about Robb's ultimately non-peaceful death, Tyrion is shown to have a quite high opinion of Robb and a low opinion of those who are the most directly responsible for his death, despite the fact that Robb is his family's enemy.

Catelyn Stark

Catelyn Stark, née Tully

Eddard's wife and later widow, mother to Robb and Sansa. She also has a sister named Lysa who is Jon Arryn's widow. She's one of Robb's advisors during the war and an often-neglected voice of reason.

Cassandra Truth: She turns out to be right about sending Theon to Balon being a bad idea. Robb didn't listen to her due to trusting Theon's friendship towards him.
The Consigliere: She's the voice of reason for the Northern army.
Derailed for Details: The most dramatic Stark-related scene from the original story gets interrupted due to Catelyn asking for details about the "The Lannisters send their regards" line.

Northern army

Theon Greyjoy

Son and heir to Balon Greyjoy, the instigator of a rebellion Robert had to quash while he was already King. Theon grew up in the Stark household as a hostage and has become good friends with Robb by the beginning of the play, prompting him to make moves toward rallying his father to the Northern secession front. Balon refusing Robb's rule and making his own claim to the throne forces Theon to choose a side.

Child of Two Worlds: Of the "born in one faction, raised by another" variety.
Conflicting Loyalty: The War of The Five Kings pits Theon's duty to his birth family against his friendship with Robb.
Face–Heel Turn: He is sincerely on Robb's side at the beginning of "Robb Stark", but the report of his whereabouts in "Stark to Finish" show that he ultimately choose his father's side.
Meaningful Echo: His last line in "Robb Stark" is "Crownless", which was previously used by Margaery to express her desire for a crown. This happens after he briefly hesitated between siding with Robb and siding with his father, with only the latter option giving him the prospect of becoming King.

Roose Bolton

A Northern lord from Robb's war council who is given the command of part of his army when it grows too large for him to handle alone. Canonically the Northern army's Token Evil Teammate.

Beware the Quiet Ones: In "Robb Stark", Roose enters the stage at the same time as Greatjon Umber and silently watches while Greatjon questions Robb's position as commander and gets put in his place. After that, the only other time the song focuses on Roose is when Robb gives him command of part of his army. "Stark to Finish" reveals Roose to be much more dangerous to the Starks than Greatjon ever was.
Real Men Wear Pink: He wears a pink cloak, alluding to the Bolton colors in the books.
The Starscream: His desire to have Robb's position is what puts him in the line-up of members of the Northern army who betray the Starks.

Walder Frey

An elderly lord whose large family is guarding one of the few ways to cross the Trident river for the Stark army. Robb promises to marry one of his daughters in exchange for passage and some extra men.

Disproportionate Retribution: Getting Robb and Catelyn killed over the broken marriage promise while violating guest right is considered an excessive reaction in regards to the initial slight by Tyrion when he hears of it.
Foreshadowing: He brings up both joining the Lannisters and Catelyn's word turning out to be a lie during Catelyn's neogiciations with him in "Robb Stark". Both things happen in "Stark to Finish".
Jerkass Has a Point: While his response to it was excessive, the slight he received from Robb was a big one, as pointed out both by him and Roose Bolton.
Pass the Popcorn: True to his TV self, he's having a drink while Robb and Catelyn are being killed.
Throwing Off the Disability: When he decides to accept an agreement that would make one of his daughters Robb's Queen, he briefly no longer needs his cane and even manages somewhat of a Happy Dance.

House Martell

Oberyn Martell

Oberyn Martell, the Red Viper

Rhaegar Targaryen had a legitimate wife and children who were killed by Gregor Clegane during Robert's rebellion. Oberyn is said wife's brother and said children's uncle. When the Lannisters offer to have a member of House Martell in the King's Small Council, Oberyn accepts in hope that an opportunity to prove that Tywin ordered the killings will show up.

Poisoned Weapons: The spear he uses in the Trial by Combat is poisoned.
Revenge Before Reason: He wants Gregor to confess that Tywin ordered him to kill Elia and her children so hard that he gives Gregor just enough extra time to live to deal a killing blow of his own.

Sand Snakes

Nymeria Sand, Obara Sand and Sarella Sand

Oberyn's three bastard daughters who come with him to King's Landing. The Rebellious Spirit is strong enough for them to debut in Act II despite the fact that canon introduced them after events that take place at the end of the play and forcibly take the place of the raven narrator who tries to shoo them away.

Adaptational Early Appearance: A canon-accurate introduction would have been after the end of the play.
Composite Character: In canon, Oberyn's tag-along to King's Landing is his long-term mistress Ellaria. In their last scene, the Sand Snakes end up in position that was originally that of Ellaria.
The Dividual: Aside from Sarella's complaints about not being on the TV show, they tend to act together and in very similar ways.
Insane Troll Logic: They react to Oberyn's death by going back to Dorne and murdering Oberyn's family. In the process, they ignore the fact that people more directly responsible for the situation are standing almost literally right next to them.
Rebellious Spirit: Their issues with authority are the reason Nymeria gives for them having no qualms about showing up early.
O.C. Stand-in: Sarella wasn't in the TV series and has only been mentioned to exist in the books (there is, however, an androgynous male character named Alleras walking around). The characterization of her play version is hence the scriptwriter's idea.
Offing the Annoyance: Their response to the raven narrator trying to kick them out for showing up too early is to kill her.

Night's Watch

Jon Snow

The main character of the Night's Watch focused songs, who's canonically Eddard Stark's bastard son. One of his duties consists of being on the look-out for a looming threat that presents a danger for all of Westeros.

Crosscast Role: The actress playing Joffrey and Edric is credited for playing his role, as well.
Double Agent: Sam calls him a double agent in "Sword in the Darkness" while alluding to his Fake Defector stint.
Fake Defector: While none of his canon infiltration of the wildlings is shown on-stage, its consequences are a big part of "Sword in the Darkness". The Watch is no longer certain Jon isn't a turncloak because of said infiltration, while the wildlings don't trust him because he left them to return to the Watch.
The Oath-Breaker: He's considered by other characters to have broken both an oath to the Watch and an oath to the wildlings. The wildlings coming to the wall and Jon being one of the few people who may be able to talk Mance out of attacking means that he's definitely going to betray one of the sides again no matter what.
One-Steve Limit: Averted, thanks to having exactly the same first name as Jon Arryn. Considering his parentage, everything points towards him having actually been named after the him.
Pretty Boy: He's called "that pretty crow" by Tormund.

Samwell Tarly

Samwell "Sam" Tarly

A friend of Jon's and the only other character to appear in both Night's Watch songs.

Butt-Monkey: In "First Watch", Pyp complains about he and Grenn being "left with Sam" upon Jon announcing he's going out scouting the next morning. Jon's encouragements for Sam to be more assertive reveal such comments are a regular occurrence.
Fat Best Friend: He's much fatter than Jon and the person shown to be the closest to him.
Five-Second Foreshadowing: He joins Pyp and Grenn in bemoaning the fact that Craster's daughters are avoiding them, which sets up the fact that he's interested in one of them. The set-up and reveal are both in "First Watch", which is one of the shorter songs.
Non-Action Guy: He's explicitly stated to have a non-combat position, which Jon admits to envying a little.
Soldiers at the Rear: Jon states that Sam having non-combat duties is the reason he's Pyp and Grenn's Butt-Monkey.

Wildlings aka Free Folk

Mance Rayder

Mance Rayder, the King-Beyond-the-Wall

A man who has become the leader of all wildlings, the people who live beyond the Wall guarded by the Night's Watch. He and his people are trying to force their way into Westeros due to the threat the Night's Watch is protecting Westeros from having already driven them away from their homes. He and Jon Snow know each other due to events that took place off-stage.

The High King: There are many tribes of Wildlings that united because of their recent strenuous circumstances, and said union is led by Mance.
Invading Refugees: He outright states he wants passage for himself and his people because they are running away from the wights.
Remember the New Guy?: For Jon Snow's storyline. "First Watch" takes place before Jon and Mance's mutual introduction and makes no mention of Jon's soon-to-come stint among the wildlings, while "Sword in the Darkness" takes place after the period during which Jon was pretending to be Mance's ally. This results in the fact the two of them know each other being an element of the play's Twice-Told Tale.

Tormund, Val and Wun-Wun

Three unamed members of Mance's army whose appearances are distinctive enough to be recognizable as named characters from the original story. The events that led to Mance and Jon Snow meeting result in Jon being a familiar face to them as well.

All There in the Script: They aren't named onstage, but their names can be found in the cast credits (Tormund is double cast with Robb, Val with Catelyn, Wun-Wun with Littlefinger and Roose Bolton).
Braids of Action: The presence of single braid in her hair is one of the elements that makes Val recognizable. The fact that she's part of an army makes her qualify for the "action" part even for the little time she's seen.
Coconut Superpowers: Wun-Wun is very obviously the tallest guy in the cast, wearing thick platform shoes, a mask and a Giants jersey.
Demoted to Extra: They don't have much more of a role than the three other extras standing in for Mance's army.
Spear Carrier: Tormund and Val both get a few solo lines in "Sword in the Darkness".

Others

Daenerys Targaryen

Rhaegar Targaryen's much younger sister, who was taken to another continent as a young child to ensure her survival. At the beginning of the play, she had just gotten married to a khal, which puts her in a position to attempt to take the throne for herself. Fortunately for the rest of the cast, she has a few things to do in her adoptive land before returning home.

All There in the Script: He first name is never told onstage, but appears in the cast credits (she's double cast with Margaery).
And Then What?: In "I'll Be Back", she points out the lack of long-term thinking in her canon counterpart's plan: by the time she's singing the song, she can't have children, has no heir and her brother Viserys has died without leaving any descendants behind.
Last of His Kind: She's outright called "The last Dragon" in "Small Council".
Minor Character, Major Song: Her only impact on the events taking place in Westeros is being briefly discussed in "Small Council". This doesn't keep her from getting two songs of her own.
Practically Different Generations: Rhaegar was already married with children when he, his wife and children died seventeen years prior to the beginning of the play. Canonically, Daenerys hasn't married prior to the beginning of the story because she was too young to do so before that point.
Wacky Wayside Tribe: In "The Storm's End", she points out that the current state of Westeros would be a good time for her to try becoming its Queen... but that she first needs to conquer three different places that are canonically non-Westerosi large cities.

The raven

Act I's Interactive Narrator, an antropomorphic talking raven who is a big fan of the A Song of Ice and Fire books.

Arbitrary Skepticism: She's a talking raven, but gets baffled by the appearance of the shadow-baby in "Crownless". Just a short time before casually complaining about the fact that the play doesn't have time for Daenerys' dragons.
Canon Foreigner: No talking birds in the original story.
Interactive Narrator: She's not beyond interacting with the characters to keep the play on track.
Shipper on Deck: Her first line after the end of "First Watch", which consists on Jon and Sam talking about the latter's crush on one of Craster's daughters, is "I ship it".

Characters / Westeros: An American Musical

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