Characters of StarCraft
Encyclopedia
Major and recurring characters from the military science fiction series StarCraft
are listed below, organised by respective species and most commonly affiliated faction within the fictional universe. The story of the StarCraft series revolves around interstellar affairs in a distant sector of the galaxy, where three species are vying for supremacy: the Terrans, a highly factionalised future version of humanity; the Protoss, a theocratic race of vast psionic ability; and the Zerg, an insectoid species commanded by a hive mind persona. The latter two of these species were genetically engineered by the Xel'Naga, a fourth species believed extinct. The series was begun with Blizzard Entertainment's
1998 video game StarCraft
, and has been expanded with sequels Insurrection, Retribution, Brood War
, Ghost
and Wings of Liberty. The franchise has been further extended with a series of novels, graphic novels and other works.
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The characters and story of the StarCraft series
were created by Chris Metzen
and James Phinney. However, as Phinney was not involved in StarCraft: Brood War
, Chris Metzen alone is credited for the development of the plot in the expansion. Despite the series' success globally, particularly in South Korea
, Blizzard Entertainment has not made any major comments regarding the development of the characters and the storyline of the StarCraft series.
However, interviews with the two of the voice actors have given a glimpse into small parts of the development process. An interview with Robert Clotworthy, the voice of Jim Raynor in all released StarCraft games to date, has revealed that for the most part the voicing for the characters was done over only a few days in sessions of up to four hours, a fact mirrored in a similar interview with Sarah Kerrigan's actress, Glynnis Talken Campbell
. Clotworthy also stated how the concept art for the game—usually used for the visual development of characters and locales in games—was used by him in order to develop the personality of his character.
Visually, most of the characters and units in the games were developed from artwork by Metzen and Samwise Didier
, although at least two other artists—Glenn Rane and Peter Lee—have developed concept art for StarCraft II. It is also implied by some of the authors of the novels that the development of the characters in their books was influenced by Metzen as well as Andy Chambers
and Evelyn Fredericksen. This is particularly notable for characters later appearing in the games, such as Valerian Mengsk.
on the backwater planet of Mar Sara, Raynor joins Arcturus Mengsk's revolutionaries in their fight against the tyrannical and corrupt Confederacy of Man, where he develops a relationship with Sarah Kerrigan
, Mengsk's second in command. However, he quickly comes to realise that Mengsk is far from the force for good when he abandons Kerrigan and the entire population of a planet to die by the hand of the Zerg to satisfy his own thirst for power. Disillusioned and embittered, Raynor forms his own rebel movement to oppose Mengsk's new imperial Terran Dominion. StarCraft creator Chris Metzen designed Raynor as rough-living and dangerous man; Clotworthy describes Raynor as a man that other characters "wouldn't mess with". Nevertheless, his depiction is meant to be that of an ordinary man. Critics connected sympathetically with Raynor's plights, and GameSpot
named him one of the best heroes in video gaming.
of the Raiders' flagship
Hyperion and Raynor's second-in-command
. Brian Bloom
provides Horner's voice. Described as "young and idealistic" and guided by strong moral principles, Horner is originally a supporter of Mengsk, but becomes disgusted by Mengsk's deliberate attacks on civilian Confederate targets. Having come to admire Raynor's bravery and loyalty, Horner follows Raynor when he abandons Mengsk's cause, and is keen to strike at the morally bankrupt Terran Dominion. Horner is only an average combatant in personal combat, but is otherwise an excellent pilot and tactician. First introduced in the novel Queen of Blades, Horner makes his video game debut in Wings of Liberty. In Queen of Blades, Horner commands the Hyperion as it comes under attack from Zerg in orbit of the planet Char and is forced to withdraw from the system, leaving Raynor and a small group of Raiders stranded on the surface; Horner is only able to return several months later to evacuate the survivors. Horner continues in a similar role in Wings of Liberty, acting as Raynor's conscience and trying to keep his commander focused.
and old associate of Raynor's who becomes affiliated with the Raiders. He appears in the novel Heaven's Devils and in Wings of Liberty, where he is voiced by Neil Kaplan
. Findlay is introduced in the cinematic trailer for StarCraft II, in which he is shown being encased into powered combat armour
. According to Blizzard's Nick Carpenter, the marine in the trailer lacked any identity but eventually evolved into Findlay, allowing the cinematic team to flesh out the trailer with the character's personality. Findlay is surrounded by rumours regarding his reputation; on the one hand, he is held as a loyal soldier who risks his life to save his comrades, while on the other, he is regarded as an amoral scoundrel. Findlay and Raynor fought together for the Confederacy several years prior to the events of StarCraft before becoming outlaws; Findlay was eventually captured and incarcerated. By Wings of Liberty he escapes from prison, tracks down Raynor and recruits him to work for the secretive Moebius Foundation, where, according to Metzen, Findlay acts as the metaphorical devil on Raynor's shoulder.
. Though originally created for Ghost, Tosh is introduced in the novel Spectres and Wings of Liberty, where he is voiced by Dave Fennoy
. Metzen describes Tosh as a "Boba Fett
-type character" while Andy Chambers feels Tosh is "quasi-Rastafarian". Tosh possesses a nihilistic
personality and believes that he must always look out for himself in order to survive. As such, he acts as a foil
for the idealistic and honorable character of Matt Horner. Tosh represents an amoral influence on Raynor, and the temptation to cut corners and act like a pirate, although he is not inherently evil.
of the Terran Dominion, which presides over the majority of the Terrans in the Koprulu Sector. A core character of the series, he is voiced by James Harper and is the primary subject of the novel I, Mengsk. Mengsk is extremely intelligent and is capable as both a strategist and tactician. While Mengsk does not empathize with people well, he is highly skilled at oratory
and propaganda
and possesses a remarkable ability for manipulating other people. Originally a young Confederate prospector
and war veteran
, Mengsk is spurred by the assassination of his politically dissident father along with his mother and sister to begin a revolution against the Confederacy, an act that leads to a devastating nuclear attack
on the population of his homeworld, Korhal, by the Confederacy. Years of conducting both open conflict and terrorism
weaken the Confederacy, during which he recruits followers such as Sarah Kerrigan, Jim Raynor and Edmund Duke. Raynor and Kerrigan grow uneasy with Mengsk's increasingly extreme methods, namely luring Zerg to attack Confederate targets, leading to Mengsk abandoning Kerrigan to the Zerg on the Confederate capital of Tarsonis. With the destruction of Tarsonis by the Zerg, Mengsk crowns himself emperor and styles himself as a benevolent dictator.
In Brood War, the Dominion is invaded by the United Earth Directorate and Mengsk narrowly escapes capture with the reluctant help of Raynor. Faced with execution and the destruction of the Dominion as alternatives, Mengsk allies with Kerrigan and Raynor to defeat the UED, but Kerrigan eventually betrays their alliance and delivers a crippling blow to Mengsk's forces. Nevertheless, Mengsk rebuilds and the Dominion remains the dominant Terran power. In Frontline, many of the stories in the anthology paint Mengsk and the Dominion overall as tyrannical and corrupt, no different from the Confederacy.
In Wings of Liberty, Mengsk and his son Valerian find the Dominion opposed by several rebel and paramilitary groups, including those loyal to Raynor. GameSpy cites Mengsk as a classic example of The Who's lyrics "meet the new boss, same as the old boss
".
, Duke commands the Alpha Squadron of the Confederate Security Forces, and is the face of the Confederacy for the player in the early parts of StarCraft. Duke initially leads the defense of Confederate colonies Chau Sara and Mar Sara from the Zerg and the Protoss fleet commanded by Tassadar, for which he is promoted to general.
Duke is later charged with quelling rebellion on the Confederate world of Antiga Prime, but is defeated by Mengsk's forces. When Duke's flagship Norad II is shot down by the Zerg during the battle, Duke is rescued by Raynor on Mengsk's orders in return for the defection of the general and his squadron, and Duke's knowledge is vital to Mengsk's assault on Tarsonis. Mengsk, still skeptical of Duke's loyalty, later dispatches Duke on expeditions to investigate the Zerg on Char and a Xel'Naga artifact on Bhekar Ro in Shadow of the Xel'Naga, engagements which decimate Alpha Squadron. In Brood War, Duke organises the Dominion's fleet defences against the United Earth Directorate, and later follows Mengsk into alliance with Kerrigan and her Zerg. However, as part of a surgical strike against the Dominion's military capabilities, Kerrigan has Duke's flagship destroyed, killing the general.
to the Terran Dominion. Josh Keaton
voices the character, who is first introduced in The Dark Templar Saga series of novels, while his backstory is further developed in I, Mengsk. Valerian was created as Metzen felt that Arcturus' story had been effectively told in StarCraft and Brood War. While Blizzard stipulated Valerian's physical description, The Dark Templar Saga author Christie Golden
was given the freedom to develop the character as she wished. A disciple of Japanese martial arts
and a keen archaeologist, he is described as "brilliant... and probably a bit arrogant for knowing it". Valerian is particularly interested in Xel'Naga artifacts, which he employs mercenaries and leading archaeologists to retrieve and study. Valerian was raised in secrecy on a number of worlds across the Koprulu Sector during his father's campaign against the Confederacy. While Valerian shares Arcturus' passion for liquors
and ancient weapons, his relationship with his father is adversarial due to Arcturus' disdain for both him and his mother in his childhood.
"Nova", is a ghost agent and the protagonist of the StarCraft: Ghost
sub-series. Grey DeLisle
provides the voice for Nova. Despite the indefinite postponement of the Ghost video game, she appears in Wings of Liberty as well as a series of novels. Nova is the daughter of one of the highly influential Confederate Old Families; despite having unusually high psionic potential her father prevents her from being taken into the Confederate Ghost Program. However, after her family is murdered by an anti-Confederate resistance movement, Nova flees to the undercity of Tarsonis, where she is forced to work as an organized crime enforcer. Nova is rescued during the Zerg invasion of Tarsonis, and ends up in the possession of the newly formed Terran Dominion, who train her as a ghost.
of the United Earth Directorate's expeditionary force to the Koprulu Sector. DuGalle only appears in Brood War and is voiced by James Harper. Considered the UED's most capable military leader, DuGalle, a Frenchman
, is a staunch believer in the UED's mission to pacify the sector and carries out his orders with precision. In Brood War, DuGalle leads the UED as it conquers the Terran Dominion; however, despite his experience, DuGalle believes misinformation planted by former Confederate soldier Samir Duran regarding a psi disruptor, a device that disrupts Zerg communications, on Tarsonis. When DuGalle's lifelong friend Alexei Stukov abandons the fleet, DuGalle allows Duran to assassinate Stukov as a traitor, only realizing his mistake too late. Nevertheless, DuGalle acts to prevent Duran destroying the psi disruptor and uses it to capture the Zerg Overmind on Char. However, as a result of demoralization, limited manpower and an alliance of enemies led by Kerrigan, the fleet is eventually pushed back and when a final attempt to recapture Char fails, DuGalle orders the retreat. Shortly before the UED fleet is overtaken by Zerg and destroyed, DuGalle composes a letter to his wife in which he admits responsibility for his closest friend's death and commits suicide by a gunshot to the head.
and second-in-command of the United Earth Directorate's expeditionary force. Voiced by Cástulo Guerra
, he appears in Brood War and three bonus levels. A man of Russian descent
, his military career primarily revolves around secret research, though he is also noted as an excellent tactician. A close friend of DuGalle, Stukov will debate situations with the admiral but will subordinate himself to his friend's higher rank. Stukov becomes suspicious of the motives of Samir Duran after the latter convinces DuGalle to destroy the psi disruptor. Believing the device to be the UED's best hope to conquer the Zerg, Stukov instead takes the psi disruptor to Braxis but is tracked down and shot dead by Duran. With his dying breaths, Stukov convinces DuGalle that Duran is a traitor and to keep the psi disruptor running for the UED's assault on the Zerg homeworld of Char. Stukov's body is given a full funeral and UED propaganda portrays Stukov as a hero, claiming he died in combat on Char.
Stukov is later mysteriously revived by a Zerg cerebrate to make use of him for its own deeds. He is first observed, apparently infested, by pirates raiding a secret science facility in the bonus mission "Deception", a facility that Stukov then blows up. Stukov later appears in another bonus map, "Mercenaries II", in which he hires several mercenary groups to destroy some of his adversaries. In the StarCraft 64 secret mission "Resurrection", Artanis sends a task force headed by Raynor to inject Stukov with an experimental serum; the serum reverses the infestation effects and leaves Stukov healthy, albeit embittered. Creative director Andy Chambers
regards the resurrection as an experiment by the Zerg, while Metzen notes that Stukov's resurrection had "really interesting hooks". Although Blizzard's former producer Bill Roper
hopes that Stukov's storyline will be developed further, the character will only be reintroduced if Blizzard "figure out the right way to do it".
in the Khalai military. He appears in StarCraft and in several novels, most notably Queen of Blades. Tassadar is voiced by Michael Gough
in StarCraft, with Michael Dorn
playing the part in later appearances. Described as being fascinated with, if somewhat wary of, the dark templar, Tassadar is the commander of the fleet that made first contact with the Terrans by destroying their colony of Chau Sara to contain Zerg infestation. However, Tassadar eventually disregards his orders to continue destroying worlds with no concern for the Terrans, and instead engages the Zerg by conventional means. After tracking the Zerg to their homeworld of Char, he encounters the dark templar Zeratul
and Jim Raynor
, forging a friendship with the two and learning how to use his psionic powers in conjunction with the powers of the dark templar.
The Khalai government sees Tassadar's consortion with the dark templar as heretical and as a bigger threat to their society than the Zerg invasion of the Protoss homeworld Aiur, sending Aldaris and Artanis to arrest him. Artanis however, along with the templar Fenix, sides with Tassadar, sparking a civil war between Tassadar's followers and the government. The conflict is only ended when Tassadar demonstrates the effectiveness of the dark templar against the Zerg. With Raynor, Zeratul and Fenix, Tassadar breaks through the Zerg defences on Aiur to the Zerg Overmind; Tassadar channels both his own psionic energies and those of the dark templar through the hull of his flagship and crashes it into the Overmind. The resulting discharge of energy destroys the Overmind and transcends Tassadar to a new level of spiritual existence; Metzen refers to this transformation as becoming a "twilight messiah".
within the military of the Khalai. Bill Roper
voices Fenix in both StarCraft and Brood War. A templar and an old friend of Tassadar's, Fenix is a powerful and cunning leader, but remains distrustful towards the motives of the ruling judicator caste. Under the command of Aldaris, Fenix helps defend Aiur from the Zerg invasion, but eventually falls in battle when his position is overwhelmed by Zerg. Due to a malfunctioning of his psi-blades, Fenix falls to a small army of hydralisk at the battle against the Zerg in Antioch. Nevertheless, Fenix is retrieved and integrated into a dragoon, a mechanical fire support unit designed to allow incapacitated warriors to continue military service. Fenix allies his templar forces with Tassadar's upon the schism between Tassadar and the Protoss government, later leading a task force against the Overmind's outer defenses, facilitating Zeratul's assassination of a number of cerebrates and ultimately the death of the Overmind itself. Over this time, Fenix develops a strong friendship with Tassadar's Terran companion Jim Raynor.
In Brood War, Fenix and Raynor remain behind as a rear guard when the Protoss evacuate the now Zerg-overrun Aiur through a warp gate. They hold it until attacked by United Earth Directorate forces pursuing Arcturus Mengsk, upon which they escape through the gate, disabling it as they depart. With Raynor and Mengsk, Fenix enters into an alliance with Sarah Kerrigan against the UED, even leading the Zerg forces on a raiding mission for resources on Moria. However, after the UED is routed from their position on the Dominion capital world of Korhal, Kerrigan turns on her allies. Though unfazed by Kerrigan's betrayal, Fenix is slain when Kerrigan's Zerg launch a surprise attack against his base camp on Korhal.
in StarCraft II. The character also appears in the novels Queen of Blades and Twilight. Later retcons have made Artanis the identity of the player character
for the Protoss campaign in StarCraft. An ambitious leader, Artanis is the youngest templar to achieve the rank of praetor and executor. Artanis holds Tassadar in high esteem and despite being a strong believer in Khalai system, he also holds to the idea of reunification with the dark templar. Artanis is responsible for the initial defense of Aiur alongside Fenix before being dispatched to arrest Tassadar by Aldaris; Artanis, however, sides with Tassadar and helps him defeat the Overmind. Artanis later organizes the evacuation of his now devastated home world to the dark templar planet of Shakuras, and with Zeratul undertakes measures to cleanse the Zerg presence on Shakuras through the use of a Xel'Naga temple. When Sarah Kerrigan's actions result in the deaths of Aldaris, Fenix and Raszagal, Artanis commands a fleet to bring Kerrigan to justice on Char, despite allying with both the Dominion and the remainder of the UED, his forces are defeated by her Zerg. Artanis returns to Shakuras to rebuild the Protoss civilization; with Zeratul having disappeared, Artanis becomes the hierarch
of the unified Protoss Protectorate, but struggles with reintegrating the two estranged branches of his people, with many of the Aiur survivors desiring to retake their home world. He makes a brief appearance in Wings of Liberty.
. Selendis is fiercely loyal to her race's ideals and completely dedicated to her responsibilities. A protégée of Artanis, she considers the dark templar to be a threat to her heritage but is willing to work beside them. Selendis is particularly eager to reclaim Aiur from the Zerg. Shortly after Artanis cleanses Shakuras of Zerg, Selendis takes part in an expedition to rescue three stranded heroes from Aiur; however, the mission was sabotaged by Ulrezaj, who kills two of the trapped warriors. During this time, Selendis became aware of other Protoss survivors stranded on Aiur, but as it was not believed possible to save them, their existence is kept secret. Later, Selendis commands the defenses of the dark templar archives on Ehlna against attack by Zerg and Ulrezaj, resulting in Ulrezaj's defeat.
In Wings of Liberty Selendis leads a force to the planet Haven, where refugees of Meinhoff and Agria have settled after the fall of their old homeworlds, to purge it with fire in order to eradicate a zerg virus which has infested several refugees. Raynor's Raiders appear and are formally greeted by Selendis as past allies, Selendis explains her actions and intentions which leaves the player with one out of two options.
Either the player purges Haven in the Protoss' place while trying to save as many uninfested refugees as possible, this option will have Selendis praise Raynor and calling him a "true friend of the Protoss", but she will not appear afterwards.
In the other option Raynor sides with Ariel Hanson of Agria, who is the unofficial leader of the refugees, and her ideals of being able to create a cure for the Zerg Infestation. Selendis will lead her forces and attempt to burn the settlements with a Mothership while Raynor will attempt to destroy said ship and Protoss outposts which reinforces the Mothership's shields.
When successful Selendis and her remaining forces will retreat and comment on Raynor's leading abilities as well as hope that his trust in the refugees is not unfouned.
In the last mission of the Protoss mini-campaign Selendis appears as one of the heroes which makes their last stand against the Zerg and Hybrids and eventually perishes, her last words are an apology to Tassadar for not being strong enough. Her unit is a Carrier.
in both StarCraft and Brood War. Aldaris is a fanatical believer in the Khala and does not hesitate to judge others through a strict interpretation of its tenets. As a result, he is outraged by Tassadar's association with the dark templar, and following the outbreak of war between the judicator caste and the templar caste, commands the government forces against Tassadar. Aldaris captures Tassadar and puts him on trial for crimes of blasphemy
and treason
, though Tassadar is freed by Zeratul. Aldaris later witnesses the rebels successfully penetrate the Zerg's core defenses, and wishes them luck in their final battle against the Overmind. In Brood War, Aldaris reluctantly allies with the dark templar when the Protoss flee Aiur for Shakuras. However, when Sarah Kerrigan is accepted as an ally by dark templar matriarch Raszagal, Aldaris is furious. While Artanis and Zeratul are absent, he discovers Raszagal is being mentally controlled by Kerrigan and instigates a rebellion amongst the Khalai refugees. When his insurrection is thwarted, the judicator tries to explain his actions to Artanis and Zeratul, but is murdered by Kerrigan before he can reveal her involvement.
and one of the main Protoss protagonists. The character is voiced by Jack Ritschel in StarCraft and Brood War, and by Fred Tatasciore
in Wings of Liberty. As a dark templar, his ancestors were exiled from Aiur for refusing to submit to the Khala. A renowned psionic warrior and assassin, Zeratul is somewhat secretive and calculating, but is nevertheless honorable and loyal to his species. He teaches Tassadar how to use dark templar energies and facilitates the final attack on the Overmind by slaying several cerebrates. Following the death of the Overmind, Zeratul tries to put in motion the reunification of the Khalai survivors with the wayward dark templar and unmask the secrets of Samir Duran's experiments. He is described by GameSpot as a "dark warrior who champions the light" and a "willing scapegoat" for his people and ranked in their top ten heroes chart.
of the dark templar on Shakuras. The character appears in Brood War, where she is voiced by Debra DeLiso, and in the novel Shadow Hunters. Described as one of the oldest living Protoss and imbued with tremendous psychic powers, she is one of the few to clearly remember the Protoss homeworld from before the exile of the dark templar. During her youth, Raszagal was important in ensuring the dark templar were only exiled, rather than exterminated. In Brood War, Raszagal directs Zeratul and Artanis to cleanse the Zerg from Shakuras and welcomes Sarah Kerrigan as an ally in their mission. This spurs Aldaris to rebellion; Raszagal consequently orders his death. Kerrigan and Samir Duran later kidnap Raszagal from Shakuras, using her to blackmail Zeratul into killing the second Overmind. It quickly becomes apparent that Kerrigan has mentally subverted
Raszagal and has been using her to manipulate events from the beginning. Zeratul captures Raszagal, but is unable to hold off the Zerg forces long enough to escape. Realizing that the matriarch is beyond redemption from Kerrigan's influence, Zeratul kills Raszagal. Raszagal's mind is freed by the lethal blow, and she dies thanking Zeratul for releasing her, naming him as her successor as leader of the dark templar.
Brood War campaign "Enslavers: Dark Vengeance", and later appears as the antagonist of the novels Shadow Hunters and Twilight. Brought up as a scholar on the moon of Ehlna, Ulrezaj begins to abuse his position by learning from prohibited sources of information. Resenting the exile of the dark templar from Aiur, he abandons his career and takes up arms against the Khalai Protoss as they establish themselves on Shakuras. He later uses the knowledge learned from his early days to become a dark archon; an immensely powerful psionic being created by several Protoss merging together. Allying with a Terran smuggler, Alan Schezar, Ulrezaj moves an orbital base over Shakuras; Ulrezaj uses Schezar's resources to mutate Zerg to attack the Khalai Protoss, while an EMP device
disables Shakuras' power grid. Though defeated by Zeratul's forces, Ulrezaj escapes.
Ulrezaj reappears several years later, residing on Aiur where he is manipulating a faction of Protoss survivors who were not evacuated. Ulrezaj uses these Protoss to attempt to capture a Terran archaeologist, Jacob Ramsey, who has the powerful mind of a Protoss archivist
, Zamara, residing in his own mind; their failure to do so leads to Ulrezaj personally trying to take Ramsey, but the archaeologist escapes through a warp gate while both Zerg and Valerian Mengsk's forces also attempt to capture him. Ulrezaj traces Ramsey to Ehlna, breaking through the defenses of both the Protoss and the Dominion. However, Zamara uses her last energy to lock Ulrezaj's mind into a storage crystal, sacrificing herself to keep Ulrezaj trapped.
society, created by the Xel'Naga as a single consciousness for their experiments on the Zerg. It is the antagonist of StarCraft, where it is voiced by Jack Ritschel; Paul Eiding
voices the character in Wings of Liberty. At some point during its creation, it was secretly enslaved by the Dark Voice, who implanted it with a directive to destroy the protoss. The Overmind becomes aware of Xel'Naga, attacking and assimilating its masters. Through this, the Overmind learns of the existence of the Protoss and is determined to assimilate the fellow Xel'Naga-empowered species, believing this will result in perfection. To provide the necessary force to overcome the Protoss, the Overmind targets the psionic potential of the Terrans for assimilation. He also assimilated Sarah Kerrigan so as to create a weapon to free the Zerg from the control of his Dark Master. The Zerg and Protoss clash on various Terran worlds, eventually leading to Zeratul
assassinating the cerebrate Zasz. Zasz's death momentarily links the minds of the Overmind and Zeratul, allowing Overmind to learn the location of the Protoss homeworld Aiur. The Overmind quickly launches an invasion of Aiur and manifests itself on the planet's surface. Following a lengthy and costly campaign on Aiur, Tassadar harnesses the energies of the dark templar to strike at the Overmind directly, disintegrating it.
A second Overmind is created in Brood War, formed from the merging of several cerebrates. This second Overmind never reaches full maturity, and thus lacks the power and intelligence of the original and is much weaker; attacks that were superficial to the first Overmind send the second into remission, although dark templar energies are still needed to kill it. The second Overmind is captured and drugged by the United Earth Directorate, who use its control of the Swarm to bolster its own forces in the Koprulu Sector, but it is ultimately slain by Zeratul. Alongside Kerrigan, the Overmind was rated the eighth most diabolical video game villain by GamePro
.
by the Overmind upon death, though dark templar energies are capable of preventing this. The death of a cerebrate causes the Overmind to lose control of its respective brood, which will then run amok. The highest ranking cerebrate is Daggoth, commander of the Tiamat Brood, the largest and most powerful brood in the Zerg Swarm. Voiced by Micky Neilson, Daggoth is the most strong-willed and ferocious of the cerebrates. It trains the player character in the Zerg campaign of StarCraft and dispenses forces to protect Kerrigan following her transformation. Daggoth is also charged with protecting the Overmind itself. In the wake of the Overmind's death, Daggoth takes command of one faction of Zerg, ordering several cerebrates to merge to form a new Overmind.
The second most prominent cerebrate is Zasz, who commands the first strike Garm Brood. A clever but somewhat questioning leader, Zasz is voiced by Bill Roper
in StarCraft. Kerrigan often argues with Zasz over her impulsive and seemingly rebellious actions; despite the Overmind's assurance that Kerrigan is loyal, Zasz remains untrusting. However, while Tassadar distracts the attention of Kerrigan's forces, Zasz is assassinated by Zeratul. Its death gives the Overmind and Zeratul a temporary mental link, allowing the Overmind to find Aiur and Zeratul to learn the origins of the Zerg. Zasz's final words to Kerrigan proclaim her to be "the doom of us all"; following Kerrigan's rise to power at the culmination of Brood War, Zasz is proven correct.
Insurrection features two further cerebrates, Nargil and Auza. Commander of the Fenris Brood and with the directive of search and destroy, Nargil itself is capable of intercepting enemy transmissions and provides tactical support for the player in Insurrections Zerg campaign. Auza, who commands the Incubus Brood and is responsible for reconnaissance, attempts to personally assimilate a rebel Terran psychic, but is overwhelmed as the psychic's mind overcomes its own. As a result, the Overmind is forced to kill Auza. Retribution introduces Zargil of the Sennith Brood, who relays the Overmind's directives to the player. Various other cerebrates are also featured throughout the series, though following the death of the second Overmind, Metzen explained that all remaining extant cerebrates died, as they were not designed to live without their creator.
in StarCraft and Brood War and by Tricia Helfer
in Wings of Liberty, Kerrigan is the predominant antagonist of the series. Originally a Terran ghost agent for Arcturus Mengsk, she is betrayed and abandoned to the Zerg, who transform her into a Terran/Zerg hybrid with vast psionic powers. Following the death of the Overmind, Kerrigan asserts her independence, striking out at those who betrayed her and who seek to contain her, eventually taking control of the entire Zerg Swarm. Four years later, Kerrigan invades the Dominion in search for a number of Xel'Naga artifacts; these artifacts are instead retrieved by Raynor, who uses them to revert Kerrigan to a human. Though originally intended as a throwaway character, Kerrigan grew on the developers, who gave her a greater role in the series. Talken Campbell described Kerrigan's transformation as "going from good girl to bad girl"; many of the aspects of Kerrigan's infested character design are inspired by the Greek gorgon Medusa
. IGN
rated Kerrigan as the fifth most memorable video game villain, while readers of GameSpot put Kerrigan as the most evil video game villain.
in Alpha Squadron, Duran forms a small commando unit after the fall of the Confederacy to fight Mengsk's Dominion. Duran quickly allies with the United Earth Directorate's expeditionary force, using UED resources to mount an assassination attempt on Mengsk and providing vital intelligence and strategic advice on the Dominion to DuGalle. However, Duran convinces DuGalle to destroy the psi disruptor, to Stukov's chagrin, and as the UED closes in on Mengsk and his allies, Duran sabotages a key operation, allowing the emperor to escape. When Stukov reconstructs the psi disruptor, Duran kills him and reveals his allegiance is actually to Sarah Kerrigan. With Duran as her advisor, Kerrigan successfully establishes command over the entirety of Zerg Swarm. However, Duran vanishes shortly afterwards. In a secret mission, he is discovered by Zeratul engineering a Protoss/Zerg hybrid. Duran ominously explains he has "had many names throughout the millennia", that his work has little to do with Kerrigan and that he serves "a far greater power".
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The characters of StarCraft have been popular enough to inspire the creation of several collectable statues and toys. The first series of statues was released by ToyCom in 2003, consisting of a firebat with markings similar to some original StarCraft concept art for the firebat, a hydralisk and one of Tassadar with a ceremonial sword, which is also seen in concept art for the original game. A series of toys were also made available in 1998, featuring two variations of the marine, another hydralisk and a Protoss zealot. In addition, 1/30 scale model kits for the marine and hydralisk were released in 1999 by Academy Hobby Model Kits
.
A second series of collectable statues, which included infested Kerrigan, Zeratul and a Terran ghost, was in development but appears to have been cancelled. However, upon announcement of StarCraft II in 2007, Blizzard released a new collectable statue depicting their mascot character Tychus Findlay.
review of StarCraft described the voice acting as "great", stating that it brings the characters to life. GameSpot goes further in the review for Brood War, commenting that the story and dialogue is with only a few exceptions "brilliantly written" and "one of the year's best stories in any gaming genre". The reviewer of StarCraft for IGN
praises the melding of the story into the gameplay and implies that the development of the characters during the course of the story, particularly that of Kerrigan, is unforgettable. In addition, the review of Brood War puts the storyline as "solid".
Gaming Revolution echoed this praise, saying the plot is "fantastic", but the reviewer added that he felt it was "over too quickly". At GamePro.com, the reviewer cited that he felt "the characters were talking to me" and even expressed a development of an emotional attachment to the character of Raynor. Electric Playground put the story as the best part of the game, if a little derivative, but described the voice acting as "really quite excellent".
StarCraft (series)
StarCraft is a military science fiction media franchise created by Chris Metzen and James Phinney, and owned by Blizzard Entertainment. The series centers on a galactic struggle for dominance between three species—the adaptable and mobile Terrans, the insectoid Zerg, and the enigmatic Protoss—in a...
are listed below, organised by respective species and most commonly affiliated faction within the fictional universe. The story of the StarCraft series revolves around interstellar affairs in a distant sector of the galaxy, where three species are vying for supremacy: the Terrans, a highly factionalised future version of humanity; the Protoss, a theocratic race of vast psionic ability; and the Zerg, an insectoid species commanded by a hive mind persona. The latter two of these species were genetically engineered by the Xel'Naga, a fourth species believed extinct. The series was begun with Blizzard Entertainment's
Blizzard Entertainment
Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. is an American video game developer and publisher founded on February 8, 1991 under the name Silicon & Synapse by three graduates of UCLA, Michael Morhaime, Allen Adham and Frank Pearce and currently owned by French company Activision Blizzard...
1998 video game StarCraft
StarCraft
StarCraft is a military science fiction real-time strategy video game developed by Blizzard Entertainment. The first game of the StarCraft series was released for Microsoft Windows on 31 March 1998. With more than 11 million copies sold worldwide as of February 2009, it is one of the best-selling...
, and has been expanded with sequels Insurrection, Retribution, Brood War
StarCraft: Brood War
StarCraft: Brood War is the expansion pack for the award winning military science fiction, real-time strategy video game StarCraft. Released in 1998 for Windows and Mac OS, it was co-developed by Saffire and Blizzard Entertainment. The expansion pack introduced new campaigns, map tilesets, music,...
, Ghost
StarCraft: Ghost
StarCraft: Ghost is a military science fiction stealth-action video game under suspended development by Blizzard Entertainment. Part of Blizzard's StarCraft series, the game was announced in 2002 and was to be developed by Nihilistic Software for the Nintendo GameCube, Xbox, and PlayStation 2 video...
and Wings of Liberty. The franchise has been further extended with a series of novels, graphic novels and other works.
Casting and design
StarCraft (series)
StarCraft is a military science fiction media franchise created by Chris Metzen and James Phinney, and owned by Blizzard Entertainment. The series centers on a galactic struggle for dominance between three species—the adaptable and mobile Terrans, the insectoid Zerg, and the enigmatic Protoss—in a...
were created by Chris Metzen
Chris Metzen
Christopher Vincent Metzen is an American game designer, artist, voice actor and author known for his work creating the fictional universes and scripts for Blizzard Entertainment's three major award-winning media franchises: Warcraft, Diablo and StarCraft. On occasion, Metzen has published his art...
and James Phinney. However, as Phinney was not involved in StarCraft: Brood War
StarCraft: Brood War
StarCraft: Brood War is the expansion pack for the award winning military science fiction, real-time strategy video game StarCraft. Released in 1998 for Windows and Mac OS, it was co-developed by Saffire and Blizzard Entertainment. The expansion pack introduced new campaigns, map tilesets, music,...
, Chris Metzen alone is credited for the development of the plot in the expansion. Despite the series' success globally, particularly in South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
, Blizzard Entertainment has not made any major comments regarding the development of the characters and the storyline of the StarCraft series.
However, interviews with the two of the voice actors have given a glimpse into small parts of the development process. An interview with Robert Clotworthy, the voice of Jim Raynor in all released StarCraft games to date, has revealed that for the most part the voicing for the characters was done over only a few days in sessions of up to four hours, a fact mirrored in a similar interview with Sarah Kerrigan's actress, Glynnis Talken Campbell
Glynnis Talken Campbell
Glynnis Talken Campbell is a romance author, composer, musician and voiceover artist, and is married to bass guitarist Richard Campbell. Glynnis Campbell studied music at California State University, Chico...
. Clotworthy also stated how the concept art for the game—usually used for the visual development of characters and locales in games—was used by him in order to develop the personality of his character.
Visually, most of the characters and units in the games were developed from artwork by Metzen and Samwise Didier
Samwise Didier
Sam "Samwise" Didier is the art director at Blizzard Entertainment. He is responsible for creating much of the artwork for computer games in the Warcraft, StarCraft, and the Diablo series. He is the senior art director on StarCraft II...
, although at least two other artists—Glenn Rane and Peter Lee—have developed concept art for StarCraft II. It is also implied by some of the authors of the novels that the development of the characters in their books was influenced by Metzen as well as Andy Chambers
Andy Chambers
Andy Chambers is a British author and game designer, best known for his work for Games Workshop. He worked extensively on various Warhammer 40,000 rulebooks and sourcebooks, and also authored at least one fiction novel set in the same universe....
and Evelyn Fredericksen. This is particularly notable for characters later appearing in the games, such as Valerian Mengsk.
Jim Raynor
Jim Raynor is the primary Terran protagonist in the StarCraft series. The character is voiced by Robert Clotworthy. A former colonial marshalMarshal
Marshal , is a word used in several official titles of various branches of society. The word is an ancient loan word from Old French, cf...
on the backwater planet of Mar Sara, Raynor joins Arcturus Mengsk's revolutionaries in their fight against the tyrannical and corrupt Confederacy of Man, where he develops a relationship with Sarah Kerrigan
Sarah Kerrigan
Sarah Louise Kerrigan, the self-styled Queen of Blades, is a major character and the predominant villain in Blizzard Entertainment's StarCraft series of video games and novels. The character was created by Chris Metzen and James Phinney, and her appearance was originally designed by Chris Metzen...
, Mengsk's second in command. However, he quickly comes to realise that Mengsk is far from the force for good when he abandons Kerrigan and the entire population of a planet to die by the hand of the Zerg to satisfy his own thirst for power. Disillusioned and embittered, Raynor forms his own rebel movement to oppose Mengsk's new imperial Terran Dominion. StarCraft creator Chris Metzen designed Raynor as rough-living and dangerous man; Clotworthy describes Raynor as a man that other characters "wouldn't mess with". Nevertheless, his depiction is meant to be that of an ordinary man. Critics connected sympathetically with Raynor's plights, and GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
named him one of the best heroes in video gaming.
Matt Horner
Matt Horner is the captainCaptain (naval)
Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The NATO rank code is OF-5, equivalent to an army full colonel....
of the Raiders' flagship
Flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...
Hyperion and Raynor's second-in-command
Second-in-command
The Second-in-Command is the deputy commander of any British Army or Royal Marines unit, from battalion or regiment downwards. He or she is thus the equivalent of an Executive Officer in the United States Army...
. Brian Bloom
Brian Bloom
Brian Keith Bloom is an American actor, voice actor, and screenwriter.Bloom was born in Merrick, New York, the brother of producer/actor Scott Bloom and musician Mike Bloom....
provides Horner's voice. Described as "young and idealistic" and guided by strong moral principles, Horner is originally a supporter of Mengsk, but becomes disgusted by Mengsk's deliberate attacks on civilian Confederate targets. Having come to admire Raynor's bravery and loyalty, Horner follows Raynor when he abandons Mengsk's cause, and is keen to strike at the morally bankrupt Terran Dominion. Horner is only an average combatant in personal combat, but is otherwise an excellent pilot and tactician. First introduced in the novel Queen of Blades, Horner makes his video game debut in Wings of Liberty. In Queen of Blades, Horner commands the Hyperion as it comes under attack from Zerg in orbit of the planet Char and is forced to withdraw from the system, leaving Raynor and a small group of Raiders stranded on the surface; Horner is only able to return several months later to evacuate the survivors. Horner continues in a similar role in Wings of Liberty, acting as Raynor's conscience and trying to keep his commander focused.
Tychus Findlay
Tychus J. Findlay is a marineSpace marine
The space marine, an archetype of science fiction, is a soldier that operates in outer space or on alien worlds. Historical marines fulfill amphibious roles: ship defence, landing parties, and general high-mobility deployments...
and old associate of Raynor's who becomes affiliated with the Raiders. He appears in the novel Heaven's Devils and in Wings of Liberty, where he is voiced by Neil Kaplan
Neil Kaplan
Neil Kaplan is an American voice actor, entertainer and comedian.-Biography:Kaplan grew up in San Jose, California. He got his start as a comedian doing impressions of presidents such as Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon. He also impersonated a little known journalist at the time, Dan Rather. He...
. Findlay is introduced in the cinematic trailer for StarCraft II, in which he is shown being encased into powered combat armour
Powered exoskeleton
A powered exoskeleton, also known as powered armor, or exoframe, is a powered mobile machine consisting primarily of an exoskeleton-like framework worn by a person and a power supply that supplies at least part of the activation-energy for limb movement.Powered exoskeletons are designed to assist...
. According to Blizzard's Nick Carpenter, the marine in the trailer lacked any identity but eventually evolved into Findlay, allowing the cinematic team to flesh out the trailer with the character's personality. Findlay is surrounded by rumours regarding his reputation; on the one hand, he is held as a loyal soldier who risks his life to save his comrades, while on the other, he is regarded as an amoral scoundrel. Findlay and Raynor fought together for the Confederacy several years prior to the events of StarCraft before becoming outlaws; Findlay was eventually captured and incarcerated. By Wings of Liberty he escapes from prison, tracks down Raynor and recruits him to work for the secretive Moebius Foundation, where, according to Metzen, Findlay acts as the metaphorical devil on Raynor's shoulder.
Gabriel Tosh
Gabriel Tosh is a mysterious arms dealer and a "spectre"—an elite ghost agent enhanced through the use of terrazine, a potent psionic reagentReagent
A reagent is a "substance or compound that is added to a system in order to bring about a chemical reaction, or added to see if a reaction occurs." Although the terms reactant and reagent are often used interchangeably, a reactant is less specifically a "substance that is consumed in the course of...
. Though originally created for Ghost, Tosh is introduced in the novel Spectres and Wings of Liberty, where he is voiced by Dave Fennoy
Dave Fennoy
Dave Fennoy is a voice actor. He is also known as David Fennoy, Dave Fenoy, and David Fenoy.-Animation:* Ben 10 - Tetrax Shard* Ben 10: Alien Force - Tetrax Shard* Captain Planet and the Planeteers - Additional Voices...
. Metzen describes Tosh as a "Boba Fett
Boba Fett
Boba Fett is a character in Star Wars. A bounty hunter hired by Darth Vader to find the Millennium Falcon, he is a minor villain in both Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi....
-type character" while Andy Chambers feels Tosh is "quasi-Rastafarian". Tosh possesses a nihilistic
Nihilism
Nihilism is the philosophical doctrine suggesting the negation of one or more putatively meaningful aspects of life. Most commonly, nihilism is presented in the form of existential nihilism which argues that life is without objective meaning, purpose, or intrinsic value...
personality and believes that he must always look out for himself in order to survive. As such, he acts as a foil
Foil (literature)
In fiction, a foil is a character who contrasts with another character in order to highlight particular qualities of another character....
for the idealistic and honorable character of Matt Horner. Tosh represents an amoral influence on Raynor, and the temptation to cut corners and act like a pirate, although he is not inherently evil.
Ariel Hanson
Dr. Ariel Hanson is a scientist who becomes associated with Raynor's Raiders after her home colony is invaded by Zerg in Wings of Liberty, where she is voiced by Ali Hillis. A selfless and altruistic individual, she mainly wishes for life to return to normal. She is considered to be the moral opposite of Tychus Findlay, acting as a metaphorical angel on Raynor's shoulder, and represents a positive moral influence on Raynor. Originally designed as a male character, Hanson was changed in development to female to act as a love interest for Raynor, albeit limited by Raynor's status as a mercenary and fugitive.Arcturus Mengsk
Arcturus Mengsk is the emperorEmperor
An emperor is a monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife or a woman who rules in her own right...
of the Terran Dominion, which presides over the majority of the Terrans in the Koprulu Sector. A core character of the series, he is voiced by James Harper and is the primary subject of the novel I, Mengsk. Mengsk is extremely intelligent and is capable as both a strategist and tactician. While Mengsk does not empathize with people well, he is highly skilled at oratory
Oratory
Oratory is a type of public speaking.Oratory may also refer to:* Oratory , a power metal band* Oratory , a place of worship* a religious order such as** Oratory of Saint Philip Neri ** Oratory of Jesus...
and propaganda
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
and possesses a remarkable ability for manipulating other people. Originally a young Confederate prospector
Prospecting
Prospecting is the physical search for minerals, fossils, precious metals or mineral specimens, and is also known as fossicking.Prospecting is a small-scale form of mineral exploration which is an organised, large scale effort undertaken by mineral resource companies to find commercially viable ore...
and war veteran
Veteran
A veteran is a person who has had long service or experience in a particular occupation or field; " A veteran of ..."...
, Mengsk is spurred by the assassination of his politically dissident father along with his mother and sister to begin a revolution against the Confederacy, an act that leads to a devastating nuclear attack
Nuclear holocaust
Nuclear holocaust refers to the possibility of the near complete annihilation of human civilization by nuclear warfare. Under such a scenario, all or most of the Earth is made uninhabitable by nuclear weapons in future world wars....
on the population of his homeworld, Korhal, by the Confederacy. Years of conducting both open conflict and terrorism
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
weaken the Confederacy, during which he recruits followers such as Sarah Kerrigan, Jim Raynor and Edmund Duke. Raynor and Kerrigan grow uneasy with Mengsk's increasingly extreme methods, namely luring Zerg to attack Confederate targets, leading to Mengsk abandoning Kerrigan to the Zerg on the Confederate capital of Tarsonis. With the destruction of Tarsonis by the Zerg, Mengsk crowns himself emperor and styles himself as a benevolent dictator.
In Brood War, the Dominion is invaded by the United Earth Directorate and Mengsk narrowly escapes capture with the reluctant help of Raynor. Faced with execution and the destruction of the Dominion as alternatives, Mengsk allies with Kerrigan and Raynor to defeat the UED, but Kerrigan eventually betrays their alliance and delivers a crippling blow to Mengsk's forces. Nevertheless, Mengsk rebuilds and the Dominion remains the dominant Terran power. In Frontline, many of the stories in the anthology paint Mengsk and the Dominion overall as tyrannical and corrupt, no different from the Confederacy.
In Wings of Liberty, Mengsk and his son Valerian find the Dominion opposed by several rebel and paramilitary groups, including those loyal to Raynor. GameSpy cites Mengsk as a classic example of The Who's lyrics "meet the new boss, same as the old boss
Won't Get Fooled Again
"Won't Get Fooled Again" is a song by the rock band The Who which was written by Pete Townshend The original version of the song appears as the final track on the album Who's Next...
".
Edmund Duke
Edmund Duke is a ranking officer in first the Confederacy and later the Dominion. Voiced in the games by Jack Ritschel, Duke also appears in several novels, including Liberty's Crusade, Shadow of the Xel'Naga and Queen of Blades. A scion of one of the influential Old Families of Confederacy with a long career in the military, Duke is a methodical and experienced tactician but also as an egotistical and xenophobic man. As a colonelColonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
, Duke commands the Alpha Squadron of the Confederate Security Forces, and is the face of the Confederacy for the player in the early parts of StarCraft. Duke initially leads the defense of Confederate colonies Chau Sara and Mar Sara from the Zerg and the Protoss fleet commanded by Tassadar, for which he is promoted to general.
Duke is later charged with quelling rebellion on the Confederate world of Antiga Prime, but is defeated by Mengsk's forces. When Duke's flagship Norad II is shot down by the Zerg during the battle, Duke is rescued by Raynor on Mengsk's orders in return for the defection of the general and his squadron, and Duke's knowledge is vital to Mengsk's assault on Tarsonis. Mengsk, still skeptical of Duke's loyalty, later dispatches Duke on expeditions to investigate the Zerg on Char and a Xel'Naga artifact on Bhekar Ro in Shadow of the Xel'Naga, engagements which decimate Alpha Squadron. In Brood War, Duke organises the Dominion's fleet defences against the United Earth Directorate, and later follows Mengsk into alliance with Kerrigan and her Zerg. However, as part of a surgical strike against the Dominion's military capabilities, Kerrigan has Duke's flagship destroyed, killing the general.
Valerian Mengsk
Valerian Mengsk is the son of Arcturus Mengsk and the heir apparentHeir apparent
An heir apparent or heiress apparent is a person who is first in line of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting, except by a change in the rules of succession....
to the Terran Dominion. Josh Keaton
Josh Keaton
Joshua "Josh" Keaton is an American actor, voice actor, singer and music producer.-Early life:Keaton was born Joshua Luis Wiener in Hacienda Heights, California. He has three sisters: Danielle, Alitzah , and Sabrina...
voices the character, who is first introduced in The Dark Templar Saga series of novels, while his backstory is further developed in I, Mengsk. Valerian was created as Metzen felt that Arcturus' story had been effectively told in StarCraft and Brood War. While Blizzard stipulated Valerian's physical description, The Dark Templar Saga author Christie Golden
Christie Golden
Christie Golden is an award-winning author who lives in Loveland, Colorado, United States. She has written over thirty novels and several short stories in fantasy, horror and science fiction.-Career:...
was given the freedom to develop the character as she wished. A disciple of Japanese martial arts
Japanese martial arts
Japanese martial arts refers to the enormous variety of martial arts native to Japan. At least three Japanese terms are often used interchangeably with the English phrase "Japanese martial arts": , literally meaning "martial way", , which has no perfect translation but means something like science,...
and a keen archaeologist, he is described as "brilliant... and probably a bit arrogant for knowing it". Valerian is particularly interested in Xel'Naga artifacts, which he employs mercenaries and leading archaeologists to retrieve and study. Valerian was raised in secrecy on a number of worlds across the Koprulu Sector during his father's campaign against the Confederacy. While Valerian shares Arcturus' passion for liquors
Distilled beverage
A distilled beverage, liquor, or spirit is an alcoholic beverage containing ethanol that is produced by distilling ethanol produced by means of fermenting grain, fruit, or vegetables...
and ancient weapons, his relationship with his father is adversarial due to Arcturus' disdain for both him and his mother in his childhood.
Nova
November Annabella Terra, also known by the call signCode name
A code name or cryptonym is a word or name used clandestinely to refer to another name or word. Code names are often used for military purposes, or in espionage...
"Nova", is a ghost agent and the protagonist of the StarCraft: Ghost
StarCraft: Ghost
StarCraft: Ghost is a military science fiction stealth-action video game under suspended development by Blizzard Entertainment. Part of Blizzard's StarCraft series, the game was announced in 2002 and was to be developed by Nihilistic Software for the Nintendo GameCube, Xbox, and PlayStation 2 video...
sub-series. Grey DeLisle
Grey DeLisle
Grey DeLisle is an American voice actress, singer-songwriter, and comedienne. To date, she has released four solo albums and has featured on the tribute album Anchored in Love: A Tribute to June Carter Cash and film soundtrack of Loggerheads...
provides the voice for Nova. Despite the indefinite postponement of the Ghost video game, she appears in Wings of Liberty as well as a series of novels. Nova is the daughter of one of the highly influential Confederate Old Families; despite having unusually high psionic potential her father prevents her from being taken into the Confederate Ghost Program. However, after her family is murdered by an anti-Confederate resistance movement, Nova flees to the undercity of Tarsonis, where she is forced to work as an organized crime enforcer. Nova is rescued during the Zerg invasion of Tarsonis, and ends up in the possession of the newly formed Terran Dominion, who train her as a ghost.
Horace Warfield
General Horace Warfield is put in command of the Dominion forces to fight the second Zerg invasion, in Wings of Liberty. He served in the Confederate military under Arcturus Mengsk, and held a higher place among Mengsk's advisors than Edmund Duke, who also abandoned the confederacy. His entire family was killed during the Zerg assault on Tarsonis due to the use of the psi-emitters, about which Warfield is rumoured to have provided extremely valuable intelligence.Gerard DuGalle
Gerard DuGalle is the commanding admiralAdmiral
Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...
of the United Earth Directorate's expeditionary force to the Koprulu Sector. DuGalle only appears in Brood War and is voiced by James Harper. Considered the UED's most capable military leader, DuGalle, a Frenchman
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
, is a staunch believer in the UED's mission to pacify the sector and carries out his orders with precision. In Brood War, DuGalle leads the UED as it conquers the Terran Dominion; however, despite his experience, DuGalle believes misinformation planted by former Confederate soldier Samir Duran regarding a psi disruptor, a device that disrupts Zerg communications, on Tarsonis. When DuGalle's lifelong friend Alexei Stukov abandons the fleet, DuGalle allows Duran to assassinate Stukov as a traitor, only realizing his mistake too late. Nevertheless, DuGalle acts to prevent Duran destroying the psi disruptor and uses it to capture the Zerg Overmind on Char. However, as a result of demoralization, limited manpower and an alliance of enemies led by Kerrigan, the fleet is eventually pushed back and when a final attempt to recapture Char fails, DuGalle orders the retreat. Shortly before the UED fleet is overtaken by Zerg and destroyed, DuGalle composes a letter to his wife in which he admits responsibility for his closest friend's death and commits suicide by a gunshot to the head.
Alexei Stukov
Alexei Stukov is the vice admiralVice Admiral
Vice admiral is a senior naval rank of a three-star flag officer, which is equivalent to lieutenant general in the other uniformed services. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral...
and second-in-command of the United Earth Directorate's expeditionary force. Voiced by Cástulo Guerra
Castulo Guerra
Cástulo Guerra is an Argentine actor who found success appearing in American films and television. Film roles include: Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Cold Heaven, The Usual Suspects, Meet Me in Miami, Where the River Runs Black and The Celestine Prophecy""...
, he appears in Brood War and three bonus levels. A man of Russian descent
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
, his military career primarily revolves around secret research, though he is also noted as an excellent tactician. A close friend of DuGalle, Stukov will debate situations with the admiral but will subordinate himself to his friend's higher rank. Stukov becomes suspicious of the motives of Samir Duran after the latter convinces DuGalle to destroy the psi disruptor. Believing the device to be the UED's best hope to conquer the Zerg, Stukov instead takes the psi disruptor to Braxis but is tracked down and shot dead by Duran. With his dying breaths, Stukov convinces DuGalle that Duran is a traitor and to keep the psi disruptor running for the UED's assault on the Zerg homeworld of Char. Stukov's body is given a full funeral and UED propaganda portrays Stukov as a hero, claiming he died in combat on Char.
Stukov is later mysteriously revived by a Zerg cerebrate to make use of him for its own deeds. He is first observed, apparently infested, by pirates raiding a secret science facility in the bonus mission "Deception", a facility that Stukov then blows up. Stukov later appears in another bonus map, "Mercenaries II", in which he hires several mercenary groups to destroy some of his adversaries. In the StarCraft 64 secret mission "Resurrection", Artanis sends a task force headed by Raynor to inject Stukov with an experimental serum; the serum reverses the infestation effects and leaves Stukov healthy, albeit embittered. Creative director Andy Chambers
Andy Chambers
Andy Chambers is a British author and game designer, best known for his work for Games Workshop. He worked extensively on various Warhammer 40,000 rulebooks and sourcebooks, and also authored at least one fiction novel set in the same universe....
regards the resurrection as an experiment by the Zerg, while Metzen notes that Stukov's resurrection had "really interesting hooks". Although Blizzard's former producer Bill Roper
Bill Roper (video game producer)
Bill Roper is a video game designer and has been a well-known person in the worldwide gaming industry since 1994. He personally represents the games he works and has built a solid reputation with his strong relationships with press, developers, and gamers...
hopes that Stukov's storyline will be developed further, the character will only be reintroduced if Blizzard "figure out the right way to do it".
Tassadar
Tassadar is a high templar who holds the rank of executorExecutor
An executor, in the broadest sense, is one who carries something out .-Overview:...
in the Khalai military. He appears in StarCraft and in several novels, most notably Queen of Blades. Tassadar is voiced by Michael Gough
Michael Gough (voice actor)
Michael Gough is an American voice actor and singer.-Television roles:*Dog from WordWorld* Don Diego de la Vega and The lead role in The New Adventures of Zorro* "Goof Troop" - Fester Swollen...
in StarCraft, with Michael Dorn
Michael Dorn
Michael Dorn is an American actor, and voice artist who is best known for his role as the Klingon Worf from the Star Trek franchise.-Early life and career:...
playing the part in later appearances. Described as being fascinated with, if somewhat wary of, the dark templar, Tassadar is the commander of the fleet that made first contact with the Terrans by destroying their colony of Chau Sara to contain Zerg infestation. However, Tassadar eventually disregards his orders to continue destroying worlds with no concern for the Terrans, and instead engages the Zerg by conventional means. After tracking the Zerg to their homeworld of Char, he encounters the dark templar Zeratul
Zeratul
Zeratul is one of the central characters in the StarCraft series. At six hundred and thirty-five years old and holding the rank of prelate, Zeratul is a member of the Nerazim, better known as the dark templar, whose forebears were exiled from the protoss homeworld of Aiur over a thousand years ago...
and Jim Raynor
Jim Raynor
James Eugene "Jim" Raynor is a fictional character and a major protagonist in Blizzard Entertainment's science fiction StarCraft series. Raynor is a predominant character in the science fiction real-time strategy video games StarCraft and Brood War, and is the player character in StarCraft II:...
, forging a friendship with the two and learning how to use his psionic powers in conjunction with the powers of the dark templar.
The Khalai government sees Tassadar's consortion with the dark templar as heretical and as a bigger threat to their society than the Zerg invasion of the Protoss homeworld Aiur, sending Aldaris and Artanis to arrest him. Artanis however, along with the templar Fenix, sides with Tassadar, sparking a civil war between Tassadar's followers and the government. The conflict is only ended when Tassadar demonstrates the effectiveness of the dark templar against the Zerg. With Raynor, Zeratul and Fenix, Tassadar breaks through the Zerg defences on Aiur to the Zerg Overmind; Tassadar channels both his own psionic energies and those of the dark templar through the hull of his flagship and crashes it into the Overmind. The resulting discharge of energy destroys the Overmind and transcends Tassadar to a new level of spiritual existence; Metzen refers to this transformation as becoming a "twilight messiah".
Fenix
Fenix is a praetorPraetor
Praetor was a title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to men acting in one of two official capacities: the commander of an army, usually in the field, or the named commander before mustering the army; and an elected magistratus assigned varied duties...
within the military of the Khalai. Bill Roper
Bill Roper (video game producer)
Bill Roper is a video game designer and has been a well-known person in the worldwide gaming industry since 1994. He personally represents the games he works and has built a solid reputation with his strong relationships with press, developers, and gamers...
voices Fenix in both StarCraft and Brood War. A templar and an old friend of Tassadar's, Fenix is a powerful and cunning leader, but remains distrustful towards the motives of the ruling judicator caste. Under the command of Aldaris, Fenix helps defend Aiur from the Zerg invasion, but eventually falls in battle when his position is overwhelmed by Zerg. Due to a malfunctioning of his psi-blades, Fenix falls to a small army of hydralisk at the battle against the Zerg in Antioch. Nevertheless, Fenix is retrieved and integrated into a dragoon, a mechanical fire support unit designed to allow incapacitated warriors to continue military service. Fenix allies his templar forces with Tassadar's upon the schism between Tassadar and the Protoss government, later leading a task force against the Overmind's outer defenses, facilitating Zeratul's assassination of a number of cerebrates and ultimately the death of the Overmind itself. Over this time, Fenix develops a strong friendship with Tassadar's Terran companion Jim Raynor.
In Brood War, Fenix and Raynor remain behind as a rear guard when the Protoss evacuate the now Zerg-overrun Aiur through a warp gate. They hold it until attacked by United Earth Directorate forces pursuing Arcturus Mengsk, upon which they escape through the gate, disabling it as they depart. With Raynor and Mengsk, Fenix enters into an alliance with Sarah Kerrigan against the UED, even leading the Zerg forces on a raiding mission for resources on Moria. However, after the UED is routed from their position on the Dominion capital world of Korhal, Kerrigan turns on her allies. Though unfazed by Kerrigan's betrayal, Fenix is slain when Kerrigan's Zerg launch a surprise attack against his base camp on Korhal.
Artanis
Artanis is a high templar and a military commander introduced in Brood War, where he is voiced by Jack Ritschel; the character is voiced by Patrick SeitzPatrick Seitz
Patrick Seitz is an American voice actor, ADR Director, and Script Writer primarily known for his work for Geneon Entertainment, Bang Zoom! Entertainment, Bandai Entertainment, Media Blasters, NYAV Post, New Generation Pictures, Funimation Entertainment, and Viz Media...
in StarCraft II. The character also appears in the novels Queen of Blades and Twilight. Later retcons have made Artanis the identity of the player character
Player character
A player character or playable character is a character in a video game or role playing game who is controlled or controllable by a player, and is typically a protagonist of the story told in the course of the game. A player character is a persona of the player who controls it. Player characters...
for the Protoss campaign in StarCraft. An ambitious leader, Artanis is the youngest templar to achieve the rank of praetor and executor. Artanis holds Tassadar in high esteem and despite being a strong believer in Khalai system, he also holds to the idea of reunification with the dark templar. Artanis is responsible for the initial defense of Aiur alongside Fenix before being dispatched to arrest Tassadar by Aldaris; Artanis, however, sides with Tassadar and helps him defeat the Overmind. Artanis later organizes the evacuation of his now devastated home world to the dark templar planet of Shakuras, and with Zeratul undertakes measures to cleanse the Zerg presence on Shakuras through the use of a Xel'Naga temple. When Sarah Kerrigan's actions result in the deaths of Aldaris, Fenix and Raszagal, Artanis commands a fleet to bring Kerrigan to justice on Char, despite allying with both the Dominion and the remainder of the UED, his forces are defeated by her Zerg. Artanis returns to Shakuras to rebuild the Protoss civilization; with Zeratul having disappeared, Artanis becomes the hierarch
Ordinary
In those hierarchically organised churches of Western Christianity which have an ecclesiastical law system, an ordinary is an officer of the church who by reason of office has ordinary power to execute the church's laws...
of the unified Protoss Protectorate, but struggles with reintegrating the two estranged branches of his people, with many of the Aiur survivors desiring to retake their home world. He makes a brief appearance in Wings of Liberty.
Selendis
Selendis is the executor of the Protoss military following the reunification of the race. The character is introduced in the novel Twilight and in Wings of Liberty, where she is played by Cree SummerCree Summer
Cree Summer Francks , best known as Cree Summer, is a Canadian actress, musician and voice actress. She is perhaps best known for her role as college student Winifred "Freddie" Brooks on the NBC sitcom A Different World...
. Selendis is fiercely loyal to her race's ideals and completely dedicated to her responsibilities. A protégée of Artanis, she considers the dark templar to be a threat to her heritage but is willing to work beside them. Selendis is particularly eager to reclaim Aiur from the Zerg. Shortly after Artanis cleanses Shakuras of Zerg, Selendis takes part in an expedition to rescue three stranded heroes from Aiur; however, the mission was sabotaged by Ulrezaj, who kills two of the trapped warriors. During this time, Selendis became aware of other Protoss survivors stranded on Aiur, but as it was not believed possible to save them, their existence is kept secret. Later, Selendis commands the defenses of the dark templar archives on Ehlna against attack by Zerg and Ulrezaj, resulting in Ulrezaj's defeat.
In Wings of Liberty Selendis leads a force to the planet Haven, where refugees of Meinhoff and Agria have settled after the fall of their old homeworlds, to purge it with fire in order to eradicate a zerg virus which has infested several refugees. Raynor's Raiders appear and are formally greeted by Selendis as past allies, Selendis explains her actions and intentions which leaves the player with one out of two options.
Either the player purges Haven in the Protoss' place while trying to save as many uninfested refugees as possible, this option will have Selendis praise Raynor and calling him a "true friend of the Protoss", but she will not appear afterwards.
In the other option Raynor sides with Ariel Hanson of Agria, who is the unofficial leader of the refugees, and her ideals of being able to create a cure for the Zerg Infestation. Selendis will lead her forces and attempt to burn the settlements with a Mothership while Raynor will attempt to destroy said ship and Protoss outposts which reinforces the Mothership's shields.
When successful Selendis and her remaining forces will retreat and comment on Raynor's leading abilities as well as hope that his trust in the refugees is not unfouned.
In the last mission of the Protoss mini-campaign Selendis appears as one of the heroes which makes their last stand against the Zerg and Hybrids and eventually perishes, her last words are an apology to Tassadar for not being strong enough. Her unit is a Carrier.
Aldaris
Aldaris is a member of the ruling judicator caste of Protoss society; in StarCraft he acts as liaison between the player character and the Protoss government. He is voiced by Paul EidingPaul Eiding
Paul Eiding is an American voice actor, voice instructor, and actor, perhaps best known as the voice actor behind Perceptor in the original Transformers cartoon, Roy Campbell in the Metal Gear series, the narrator in Diablo, Judicator Aldaris in StarCraft, and Max Tennyson in Ben 10, Ben 10: Alien...
in both StarCraft and Brood War. Aldaris is a fanatical believer in the Khala and does not hesitate to judge others through a strict interpretation of its tenets. As a result, he is outraged by Tassadar's association with the dark templar, and following the outbreak of war between the judicator caste and the templar caste, commands the government forces against Tassadar. Aldaris captures Tassadar and puts him on trial for crimes of blasphemy
Blasphemy
Blasphemy is irreverence towards religious or holy persons or things. Some countries have laws to punish blasphemy, while others have laws to give recourse to those who are offended by blasphemy...
and treason
Treason
In law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against one's sovereign or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife. Treason against the king was known as high treason and treason against a...
, though Tassadar is freed by Zeratul. Aldaris later witnesses the rebels successfully penetrate the Zerg's core defenses, and wishes them luck in their final battle against the Overmind. In Brood War, Aldaris reluctantly allies with the dark templar when the Protoss flee Aiur for Shakuras. However, when Sarah Kerrigan is accepted as an ally by dark templar matriarch Raszagal, Aldaris is furious. While Artanis and Zeratul are absent, he discovers Raszagal is being mentally controlled by Kerrigan and instigates a rebellion amongst the Khalai refugees. When his insurrection is thwarted, the judicator tries to explain his actions to Artanis and Zeratul, but is murdered by Kerrigan before he can reveal her involvement.
Zeratul
Zeratul is a dark templar prelatePrelate
A prelate is a high-ranking member of the clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin prælatus, the past participle of præferre, which means "carry before", "be set above or over" or "prefer"; hence, a prelate is one set over others.-Related...
and one of the main Protoss protagonists. The character is voiced by Jack Ritschel in StarCraft and Brood War, and by Fred Tatasciore
Fred Tatasciore
Frederick "Fred" Tatasciore is an American voice actor who portrays secondary characters as well as monstrous-looking types...
in Wings of Liberty. As a dark templar, his ancestors were exiled from Aiur for refusing to submit to the Khala. A renowned psionic warrior and assassin, Zeratul is somewhat secretive and calculating, but is nevertheless honorable and loyal to his species. He teaches Tassadar how to use dark templar energies and facilitates the final attack on the Overmind by slaying several cerebrates. Following the death of the Overmind, Zeratul tries to put in motion the reunification of the Khalai survivors with the wayward dark templar and unmask the secrets of Samir Duran's experiments. He is described by GameSpot as a "dark warrior who champions the light" and a "willing scapegoat" for his people and ranked in their top ten heroes chart.
Raszagal
Raszagal is the matriarchMatriarchy
A matriarchy is a society in which females, especially mothers, have the central roles of political leadership and moral authority. It is also sometimes called a gynocratic or gynocentric society....
of the dark templar on Shakuras. The character appears in Brood War, where she is voiced by Debra DeLiso, and in the novel Shadow Hunters. Described as one of the oldest living Protoss and imbued with tremendous psychic powers, she is one of the few to clearly remember the Protoss homeworld from before the exile of the dark templar. During her youth, Raszagal was important in ensuring the dark templar were only exiled, rather than exterminated. In Brood War, Raszagal directs Zeratul and Artanis to cleanse the Zerg from Shakuras and welcomes Sarah Kerrigan as an ally in their mission. This spurs Aldaris to rebellion; Raszagal consequently orders his death. Kerrigan and Samir Duran later kidnap Raszagal from Shakuras, using her to blackmail Zeratul into killing the second Overmind. It quickly becomes apparent that Kerrigan has mentally subverted
Mind control
Mind control refers to a process in which a group or individual "systematically uses unethically manipulative methods to persuade others to conform to the wishes of the manipulator, often to the detriment of the person being manipulated"...
Raszagal and has been using her to manipulate events from the beginning. Zeratul captures Raszagal, but is unable to hold off the Zerg forces long enough to escape. Realizing that the matriarch is beyond redemption from Kerrigan's influence, Zeratul kills Raszagal. Raszagal's mind is freed by the lethal blow, and she dies thanking Zeratul for releasing her, naming him as her successor as leader of the dark templar.
Ulrezaj
Ulrezaj is a dark templar rebel who believes that the Khalai Protoss should either be removed from Shakuras or exterminated. He is introduced in the downloadableDownloadable content
Downloadable content is official additional content for a video game distributed through the Internet. Downloadable content can be of several types, ranging from a single in-game outfit to an entirely new, extensive storyline, similarly to an expansion pack. As such, DLC may add new game modes,...
Brood War campaign "Enslavers: Dark Vengeance", and later appears as the antagonist of the novels Shadow Hunters and Twilight. Brought up as a scholar on the moon of Ehlna, Ulrezaj begins to abuse his position by learning from prohibited sources of information. Resenting the exile of the dark templar from Aiur, he abandons his career and takes up arms against the Khalai Protoss as they establish themselves on Shakuras. He later uses the knowledge learned from his early days to become a dark archon; an immensely powerful psionic being created by several Protoss merging together. Allying with a Terran smuggler, Alan Schezar, Ulrezaj moves an orbital base over Shakuras; Ulrezaj uses Schezar's resources to mutate Zerg to attack the Khalai Protoss, while an EMP device
Electromagnetic pulse
An electromagnetic pulse is a burst of electromagnetic radiation. The abrupt pulse of electromagnetic radiation usually results from certain types of high energy explosions, especially a nuclear explosion, or from a suddenly fluctuating magnetic field...
disables Shakuras' power grid. Though defeated by Zeratul's forces, Ulrezaj escapes.
Ulrezaj reappears several years later, residing on Aiur where he is manipulating a faction of Protoss survivors who were not evacuated. Ulrezaj uses these Protoss to attempt to capture a Terran archaeologist, Jacob Ramsey, who has the powerful mind of a Protoss archivist
Archivist
An archivist is a professional who assesses, collects, organizes, preserves, maintains control over, and provides access to information determined to have long-term value. The information maintained by an archivist can be any form of media...
, Zamara, residing in his own mind; their failure to do so leads to Ulrezaj personally trying to take Ramsey, but the archaeologist escapes through a warp gate while both Zerg and Valerian Mengsk's forces also attempt to capture him. Ulrezaj traces Ramsey to Ehlna, breaking through the defenses of both the Protoss and the Dominion. However, Zamara uses her last energy to lock Ulrezaj's mind into a storage crystal, sacrificing herself to keep Ulrezaj trapped.
The Overmind
The Overmind is the center of the Zerg Swarm's hive mindGroup mind (science fiction)
A group mind, hive mind or group ego in science fiction is a single consciousness occupying many bodies. Its use in literature goes back at least as far as Olaf Stapledon's science fiction novel Last and First Men ....
society, created by the Xel'Naga as a single consciousness for their experiments on the Zerg. It is the antagonist of StarCraft, where it is voiced by Jack Ritschel; Paul Eiding
Paul Eiding
Paul Eiding is an American voice actor, voice instructor, and actor, perhaps best known as the voice actor behind Perceptor in the original Transformers cartoon, Roy Campbell in the Metal Gear series, the narrator in Diablo, Judicator Aldaris in StarCraft, and Max Tennyson in Ben 10, Ben 10: Alien...
voices the character in Wings of Liberty. At some point during its creation, it was secretly enslaved by the Dark Voice, who implanted it with a directive to destroy the protoss. The Overmind becomes aware of Xel'Naga, attacking and assimilating its masters. Through this, the Overmind learns of the existence of the Protoss and is determined to assimilate the fellow Xel'Naga-empowered species, believing this will result in perfection. To provide the necessary force to overcome the Protoss, the Overmind targets the psionic potential of the Terrans for assimilation. He also assimilated Sarah Kerrigan so as to create a weapon to free the Zerg from the control of his Dark Master. The Zerg and Protoss clash on various Terran worlds, eventually leading to Zeratul
Zeratul
Zeratul is one of the central characters in the StarCraft series. At six hundred and thirty-five years old and holding the rank of prelate, Zeratul is a member of the Nerazim, better known as the dark templar, whose forebears were exiled from the protoss homeworld of Aiur over a thousand years ago...
assassinating the cerebrate Zasz. Zasz's death momentarily links the minds of the Overmind and Zeratul, allowing Overmind to learn the location of the Protoss homeworld Aiur. The Overmind quickly launches an invasion of Aiur and manifests itself on the planet's surface. Following a lengthy and costly campaign on Aiur, Tassadar harnesses the energies of the dark templar to strike at the Overmind directly, disintegrating it.
A second Overmind is created in Brood War, formed from the merging of several cerebrates. This second Overmind never reaches full maturity, and thus lacks the power and intelligence of the original and is much weaker; attacks that were superficial to the first Overmind send the second into remission, although dark templar energies are still needed to kill it. The second Overmind is captured and drugged by the United Earth Directorate, who use its control of the Swarm to bolster its own forces in the Koprulu Sector, but it is ultimately slain by Zeratul. Alongside Kerrigan, the Overmind was rated the eighth most diabolical video game villain by GamePro
GamePro
GamePro Media was a United States gaming media company publishing online and print content on the video game industry, video game hardware, and video game software developed for a video game console , a computer, and/or a mobile device . GamePro Media properties include GamePro magazine and...
.
Cerebrates
Cerebrates are secondary agents in the Zerg Swarm, each of which commands an individual brood of Zerg that possesses a distinct tactical role within the hierarchy. Alongside the Overmind, the cerebrates are the only Zerg with full sapience, each with its own personality and methods, although they are genetically incapable of disobeying the Overmind. Cerebrates can be reincarnatedReincarnation
Reincarnation best describes the concept where the soul or spirit, after the death of the body, is believed to return to live in a new human body, or, in some traditions, either as a human being, animal or plant...
by the Overmind upon death, though dark templar energies are capable of preventing this. The death of a cerebrate causes the Overmind to lose control of its respective brood, which will then run amok. The highest ranking cerebrate is Daggoth, commander of the Tiamat Brood, the largest and most powerful brood in the Zerg Swarm. Voiced by Micky Neilson, Daggoth is the most strong-willed and ferocious of the cerebrates. It trains the player character in the Zerg campaign of StarCraft and dispenses forces to protect Kerrigan following her transformation. Daggoth is also charged with protecting the Overmind itself. In the wake of the Overmind's death, Daggoth takes command of one faction of Zerg, ordering several cerebrates to merge to form a new Overmind.
The second most prominent cerebrate is Zasz, who commands the first strike Garm Brood. A clever but somewhat questioning leader, Zasz is voiced by Bill Roper
Bill Roper (video game producer)
Bill Roper is a video game designer and has been a well-known person in the worldwide gaming industry since 1994. He personally represents the games he works and has built a solid reputation with his strong relationships with press, developers, and gamers...
in StarCraft. Kerrigan often argues with Zasz over her impulsive and seemingly rebellious actions; despite the Overmind's assurance that Kerrigan is loyal, Zasz remains untrusting. However, while Tassadar distracts the attention of Kerrigan's forces, Zasz is assassinated by Zeratul. Its death gives the Overmind and Zeratul a temporary mental link, allowing the Overmind to find Aiur and Zeratul to learn the origins of the Zerg. Zasz's final words to Kerrigan proclaim her to be "the doom of us all"; following Kerrigan's rise to power at the culmination of Brood War, Zasz is proven correct.
Insurrection features two further cerebrates, Nargil and Auza. Commander of the Fenris Brood and with the directive of search and destroy, Nargil itself is capable of intercepting enemy transmissions and provides tactical support for the player in Insurrections Zerg campaign. Auza, who commands the Incubus Brood and is responsible for reconnaissance, attempts to personally assimilate a rebel Terran psychic, but is overwhelmed as the psychic's mind overcomes its own. As a result, the Overmind is forced to kill Auza. Retribution introduces Zargil of the Sennith Brood, who relays the Overmind's directives to the player. Various other cerebrates are also featured throughout the series, though following the death of the second Overmind, Metzen explained that all remaining extant cerebrates died, as they were not designed to live without their creator.
Sarah Kerrigan
Sarah Kerrigan is the leader of the Zerg Swarm, styling herself as the Queen of Blades. Voiced by Glynnis Talken CampbellGlynnis Talken Campbell
Glynnis Talken Campbell is a romance author, composer, musician and voiceover artist, and is married to bass guitarist Richard Campbell. Glynnis Campbell studied music at California State University, Chico...
in StarCraft and Brood War and by Tricia Helfer
Tricia Helfer
Tricia Janine Helfer is a Canadian actress and former model, best known for her roles as Number Six in the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica miniseries and television series, "Carla" on Burn Notice, and FBI Special Agent Alex Rice on Dark Blue, as well as for hosting the first season of Canada's...
in Wings of Liberty, Kerrigan is the predominant antagonist of the series. Originally a Terran ghost agent for Arcturus Mengsk, she is betrayed and abandoned to the Zerg, who transform her into a Terran/Zerg hybrid with vast psionic powers. Following the death of the Overmind, Kerrigan asserts her independence, striking out at those who betrayed her and who seek to contain her, eventually taking control of the entire Zerg Swarm. Four years later, Kerrigan invades the Dominion in search for a number of Xel'Naga artifacts; these artifacts are instead retrieved by Raynor, who uses them to revert Kerrigan to a human. Though originally intended as a throwaway character, Kerrigan grew on the developers, who gave her a greater role in the series. Talken Campbell described Kerrigan's transformation as "going from good girl to bad girl"; many of the aspects of Kerrigan's infested character design are inspired by the Greek gorgon Medusa
Medusa
In Greek mythology Medusa , " guardian, protectress") was a Gorgon, a chthonic monster, and a daughter of Phorcys and Ceto. The author Hyginus, interposes a generation and gives Medusa another chthonic pair as parents. Gazing directly upon her would turn onlookers to stone...
. IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
rated Kerrigan as the fifth most memorable video game villain, while readers of GameSpot put Kerrigan as the most evil video game villain.
Samir Duran
Samir Duran is an enigmatic character introduced in Brood War, where he was voiced by Paul Ainsley. Duran is highly intelligent and manipulative, as well as knowledgeable about both the Protoss and Zerg. A former lieutenantLieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
in Alpha Squadron, Duran forms a small commando unit after the fall of the Confederacy to fight Mengsk's Dominion. Duran quickly allies with the United Earth Directorate's expeditionary force, using UED resources to mount an assassination attempt on Mengsk and providing vital intelligence and strategic advice on the Dominion to DuGalle. However, Duran convinces DuGalle to destroy the psi disruptor, to Stukov's chagrin, and as the UED closes in on Mengsk and his allies, Duran sabotages a key operation, allowing the emperor to escape. When Stukov reconstructs the psi disruptor, Duran kills him and reveals his allegiance is actually to Sarah Kerrigan. With Duran as her advisor, Kerrigan successfully establishes command over the entirety of Zerg Swarm. However, Duran vanishes shortly afterwards. In a secret mission, he is discovered by Zeratul engineering a Protoss/Zerg hybrid. Duran ominously explains he has "had many names throughout the millennia", that his work has little to do with Kerrigan and that he serves "a far greater power".
Merchandise
Academy Plastic Model Co.
Academy Plastic Model Co., Ltd. is a Korean plastic model, chemical, and toy company. It is headquartered in Uijeongbu-Si, Gyeonggi-do, Korea and was established on September 1, 1969. It holds three headquarters in Seoul, Korea; Gelsenkirchen, Germany; and Rosario, Cavite, Philippines...
.
A second series of collectable statues, which included infested Kerrigan, Zeratul and a Terran ghost, was in development but appears to have been cancelled. However, upon announcement of StarCraft II in 2007, Blizzard released a new collectable statue depicting their mascot character Tychus Findlay.
Critical reception
The characters and story of the StarCraft series have been received with praise and only minute criticism by many game reviewers. The GameSpotGameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
review of StarCraft described the voice acting as "great", stating that it brings the characters to life. GameSpot goes further in the review for Brood War, commenting that the story and dialogue is with only a few exceptions "brilliantly written" and "one of the year's best stories in any gaming genre". The reviewer of StarCraft for IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
praises the melding of the story into the gameplay and implies that the development of the characters during the course of the story, particularly that of Kerrigan, is unforgettable. In addition, the review of Brood War puts the storyline as "solid".
Gaming Revolution echoed this praise, saying the plot is "fantastic", but the reviewer added that he felt it was "over too quickly". At GamePro.com, the reviewer cited that he felt "the characters were talking to me" and even expressed a development of an emotional attachment to the character of Raynor. Electric Playground put the story as the best part of the game, if a little derivative, but described the voice acting as "really quite excellent".
External links
- Characters at StarCraft Wiki, a WikiaWikiaWikia is a free web hosting service for wikis . It is normally free of charge for readers and editors, deriving most of its income from advertising, and publishes all user-provided text under copyleft licenses. Wikia hosts several hundred thousand wikis using the open-source wiki software MediaWiki...
project. - Sons of the Storm, the official site of a number of Blizzard Entertainment concept artists.