List of RWBY characters

This is a list of characters who appear in RWBY, an original anime-style CG-animated web-series created by Rooster Teeth Productions.

According to series creator Monty Oum, every character's name is tied to a specific color. There will be other teams with their name combining to form acronyms that are also tied to a color.

Creation and conception

Oum designed the characters with assistance from artist Ein Lee. Oum had been browsing Lee's Deviant Art work and asked if she wanted to do some designs. The only rule provided for the series was "everyone must be badass." Lee also said that some of the characters were conceived between her and Oum, where he would provide a description followed by her sketching some ideas, or vice versa. Others were from brainstorming with other people. The characters utilize designs inspired by classic fairy tale characters. Each character has an associated color, and it is the first letters of these colors, red, white, black, and yellow, that give the series its name. Lee said that looking to people, Google image searches, and fashion were inspirations: "how people dress−down to the littlest detail—gives many subtle (and some not so subtle) hints about who they are. It’s all about giving the characters a unique and memorable look that people can still identify with." Oum also drew inspiration from the Final Fantasy video games and the "ridiculously obnoxious weapons".

The series is written by Oum, along with fellow Rooster Teeth employees Miles Luna and Kerry Shawcross. Oum was initially concerned about a story focusing on female characters being developed by a primarily male crew, but said they managed to do well developing the female characters.

Characters table

Main

     = Main cast (credited, or appears in every episode for the season)

     = Recurring cast (5+ appearances in season)

     = Guest cast (1–4 appearances in season)

This list is missing a few people like the characters from the vytal tournament

Character	Voice actor	S1	S2	S3	S4	S5	S6
Ruby Rose	Lindsay Jones	Main
Weiss Schnee	Kara Eberle	Main
Blake Belladonna	Arryn Zech	Main
Yang Xiao Long	Barbara Dunkelman	Main
Jaune Arc	Miles Luna	Main
Pyrrha Nikos	Jen Brown	Main			Guest	Does not appear
Ozpin	Shannon McCormick	Recurring		Main
Glynda Goodwitch	Kathleen Zuelch	Recurring		Main	Unvoiced	Does not appear
Lie Ren	Monty Oum (S1–S2) Neath Oum (S3–present)	Main
Nora Valkyrie	Samantha Ireland	Main
Cinder Fall	Jessica Nigri	Guest	Recurring	Main	Recurring		Main
Sun Wukong	Michael Jones	Recurring				Main	Guest
Qrow Branwen	Vic Mignogna (S3–S6)	Does not appear	Unvoiced	Recurring		Main
Oscar Pine	Aaron Dismuke	Does not appear			Recurring	Main
Adam Taurus	Garrett Hunter	Does not appear	Guest		Unvoiced	Recurring	Main

Recurring / Guest

     = Recurring cast (5+ appearances in season)

     = Guest cast (1–4 appearances in season)

Character	Voice actor
		S1	S2	S3	S4	S5	S6
Roman Torchwick	Gray G. Haddock	Recurring
Penny Polendina	Taylor McNee	Recurring
Neptune Vasilias	Kerry Shawcross		Recurring				Guest
James Ironwood	Jason Rose		Recurring
Peter Port	Ryan Haywood	Guest	Recurring		Guest
Bartholomew Oobleck	Joel Heyman	Guest	Recurring		Guest
Cardin Winchester	Adam Ellis	Recurring	Guest	Unvoiced
Emerald Sustrai	Katie Newville	Unvoiced	Recurring		Guest	Recurring	Guest
Mercury Black	J.J. Castillo (S2) Yuri Lowenthal (S3–present)	Unvoiced	Recurring		Unvoiced	Recurring	Guest
Neopolitan	N/A		Guest	Recurring			Recurring
Raven Branwen	Anna Hullum		Guest		Guest	Recurring
Mysterious Narrator / Salem	Jen Taylor	Guest		Guest	Recurring
Tyrian Callows	Josh Grelle				Recurring		Guest
Hazel Rainart	William Orendorff				Guest	Recurring	Guest
Arthur Watts	Christopher Sabat				Guest
Taiyang Xiao Long	Burnie Burns			Guest	Recurring	Unvoiced
Kali Belladonna	Tara Platt				Recurring
Ghira Belladonna	Kent Williams				Recurring
Ilia Amitola	Cherami Leigh				Guest	Recurring	Guest
Vernal	Amber Lee Connors					Recurring
Leonardo Lionheart	Daman Mills				Unvoiced	Recurring
Maria Calavera	Melissa Sternenberg						Recurring

Team RWBY

Team RWBY (pronounced "ruby") is composed of four female students from Beacon Academy.^{Vol. 1} Each member is associated with a color and alludes to a character in the fairy tale world.

Ruby Rose

Lindsay Jones, voice of Ruby Rose

• Voiced by: Lindsay Jones

The 15-year old main protagonist who typically dresses in a black dress and a red cloak, using the Crescent Rose scythe as both a melee weapon and as a high caliber sniper rifle. Her Semblance is called "Speed", enabling her to run faster than the human eye can catch, and change directions in mid-air.^{Vol. 1, Ch. 14 & Vol. 4, Ch. 1}

As her mother Summer Rose died when she was very young, Ruby is raised on the island of Patch by her father Taiyang and older half-sister Yang Xiao Long.^{Vol. 1, Ch. 1 & Vol. 2, Ch. 6} Her uncle Qrow Branwen teaches her how to wield a scythe and fight properly, with Ruby stating that she was "complete garbage" before he took her in as his pupil.^{Vol. 1, Ch. 14} Ruby was also inspired by the heroic fairy tales Yang read to her as a child to become a Huntress to protect the world from evil.^{Vol. 1, Ch. 3 & Vol. 2, Ch. 9–10}

At the start of the series, Ruby's skills and resolve when Torchwick robbed a Dust shop robbery impresses Professor Ozpin enough to enroll her into Beacon Academy two years early.^{Vol. 1, Ch. 1} Despite her social awkwardness, obsession with weapons, and dependence on her sister,^{Vol. 1, Ch. 2–3} Ruby becomes friends with her classmates while exhibiting the skills and qualities that placed her as the leader of Team RWBY.^{Vol. 1, Ch. 8} Following the Fall of Beacon, Ruby learns from Qrow that she and her mother are descendants of powerful silver-eyed warriors whom the Grimm long feared since the warriors can tap into the God of Light's power to inflict harm on the Grimm in various ways.

A few months later, informally calling themselves Team RNJR (pronounced "ranger"), Ruby travels with the remaining members of Team JNPR to Haven Academy in Mistral in order to find leads on their enemies.^{Vol. 4} During their travels, Ruby is targeted by Tyrian, but she evades capture with Qrow's help.^{Vol. 4, Ch. 6–7} In Volume 5, Ruby trains in hand-to-hand combat under Ozpin's guidance while reunited with Weiss and Yang.^{Vol. 5, Ch. 4, 6} During the Battle of Haven, briefly knocked out by Emerald while subconsciously activating her silver eyes, Ruby and her teammates reunite with Blake as they win.^{Vol. 5, Ch. 11–14}

In Volume 6, Ruby begins losing faith in Ozpin upon seeing his continued mistrust and learning the truth behind him and Salem.^{Vol. 6, Ch. 1–3}. This results with a guilt-ridden Ozpin sealing himself in Oscar's mind, forcing Ruby to develop leadership traits to restore morale while dealing with Qrow's increased alcoholism as they are joined by Maria Calavera. It was after an encounter with the Apathy Grimm that Ruby learns Maria was originally a silver-eyed warrior and requests her mentorship to consciously use her powers.^{Vol. 6, Ch. 6–8} She later takes charge of the group's plan in stealing an Atlas airship, and when they later fight Cordovin. After a failed attempt to negotiate with the operative, Ruby destroys the Colossus's cannon by firing at the Dust inside.^{Vol. 6, Ch. 10–12} In the fight against the Leviathan, Ruby uses her silver eyes to petrify it. After Cordovin finishes off the Grimm, Ruby makes amends with the operative and her group is allowed passage to Atlas.^{Vol. 6, Ch. 13}

Ruby alludes to the fairy tale character Little Red Riding Hood.

Weiss Schnee

Kara Eberle, voice of Weiss Schnee

• Voiced By: Kara Eberle^{Vol. 1 credits}

The 17-year-old heiress to the Schnee Family, a powerful high-class family based in Atlas which whose Schnee Dust Company provides much of the Dust despite the family being targeted by the White Fang due to the immoral business ethnics of her father Jacques Schnee which included mistreatment of Faunus laborers.^{Vol. 1, Ch. 15} While inheriting her family's white hair and blue eyes, Weiss gained a noticeable scar over her left eye as a result of fighting an Arma Gigas Grimm.^{White Trailer} Weiss uses a Dust revolver/rapier named Myrtenaster. The sheath can create more than one change of elemental Dust, using a dial like silver encasement just above the bottom of her sword. The Dust crystals encrusted in the encasement allow Weiss to change the power of her sword in battle. Her Semblance is unique in the way that it is a hereditary trait in her family, consisting of "Glyphs" that have a variety of push and pull effects and later mastering the ability to summon previously defeated foes with the Arma Gigas as her primary summon.^{Vol. 3, Ch. 4 & Vol. 4, Ch. 9}

Weiss chose becoming a Huntress at Beacon Academy with aspirations of restore her family's honor as she disagreed her father's business methods.^{Vol. 2, Ch. 9–10} While initially an egotistic know-it-all with some misplaced prejudice toward the Faunus, she gradually mature and understanding, repeatedly showing great trust in her teammates and even protecting the Faunus Velvet Scarlatina during battle.^{Vol. 3, Ch. 11} Weiss greatly admires her older sister Winter, but has a more distant relationship with the rest of her family.^{Vol. 3–4} She had a crush on Neptune Vasilias during Volume 2, but gets angry with him when he flirts with other girls.^{Vol. 3, Ch. 2}

Following the fall of Beacon in the Volume 3 finale, Weiss is taken back to Atlas by Jacques Schnee.^{Vol. 3, Ch. 12} In Volume 4, her relationship with her father is still strained as she eventually got disinherited and confined in her room within the Schnee Estate as the result of losing her temper during a cocktail party.^{Vol. 4, Ch. 6–7} But once she masters summoning, Weiss escapes from her confinement with Klein's help and stowing away in an airship to find Winter in Mistral.^{Vol. 4, Ch. 11–12} In Volume 5, Weiss is captured by Raven Branwen after the cargo ship crash lands in the outskirts of Anima.^{Vol. 5, Ch. 2} However, she breaks free from her confinement and reunites with Yang.^{Vol. 5, Ch. 4} Eventually, the two of them make their way to Mistral and reunite with Ruby.^{Vol. 5, Ch. 6} During the Battle of Haven, Weiss is easily overpowered by Vernal and is fatally impaled by Cinder. But her life is saved when Jaune unlocks his Semblance and amplifies her Aura to enable her wound to heal.^{Vol. 5, Ch. 11–13} In Volume 6, Weiss shows great displeasure with returning to Atlas.^{Vol. 6, Ch. 1–2} In Argus, she finds that she is the only one of her group that can go to the northern kingdom because she is a Schnee.^{Vol. 6, Ch. 8} She later smuggles Maria onto an airship so they can steal it for the group, but they are then attacked by Cordovin.^{Vol. 6, Ch. 10}

Weiss alludes to Snow White, as her name is German for "White Snow". Character designer Ein Lee said that Weiss was her favorite character among the four main girls to draw: "She's so delicate, and I love princess types."

Blake Belladonna

Arryn Zech, voice of Blake Belladonna

• Voiced By: Arryn Zech^{Vol. 1 credits}

Blake is a 17-year old Faunus with cat ears with a love for books. She is the daughter of the White Fang's founder Ghira Belladonna, who formed the White Fang as a social rights advocacy group. But even as the White Fang turned into extremist paramilitary organization, Blake remained in the group against her parents' wishes until she left in disgust over Adam Taurus's disregard for civilian lives and joined Beacon Academy to make a difference as a Huntress.^{Black Trailer & Vol. 1, Ch. 2} Blake's weapon is the Gambol Shroud, a "variant ballistic chain scythe" according to Oum with a sharpened sheath that has a pistol in the hilt, which is also attached to a long ribbon. Blake uses blade and sheath in attacking combinations, while also using the momentum of the blade anchored to an object to maneuver herself with the ribbon, even in midair. Her Semblance "Shadow" allows her to create a hollow clone of herself that functions as an afterimage decoy while she moves in a different direction, later using Dust to give the clone an additional effect depending on the type of Dust used.^{Vol. 1, Ch. 8}

Before Volume 4, Blake concealed her Faunus identity by hiding her cat ears under a black bow as she felt she would have experienced discrimination like other Faunus.^{Vol. 2, Ch. 2} As a cat Faunus, Blake often exhibits feline behavior like being fearful of Ruby and Yang's pet dog Zwei and fish being her favorite food.^{Vol. 2, Ch. 8 & Vol. 3, Ch. 1} After the Fall of Beacon, during which Yang was severely injured by Adam when she came to her aid, Blake runs off without telling anyone as she leaves for her homeland in the island nation of Menagerie to settle things with her parents.^{Vol. 3, Ch. 12} During Volume 4, she accepts Sun's company while discarding her bow, reunites with her parents and wants to avoid anything associated with the White Fang until Sun is attacked by Ilia Amotila.^{Vol. 4, Ch. 3, 5, & 8–9} As Sun recovers, Blake reveals that she ran away from Team RWBY because she doesn't want anyone getting hurt because of her. Sun convinces her that she's only hurting her friends even more by pushing them away. Blake decides to take back the White Fang once learning of Adam's plan to take control of the organization and attack Haven.^{Vol. 4, Ch. 11}

In Volume 5, following a seemingly hopeless attempt to rally the people of Menagerie to protect Haven from the White Fang, Blake wins her peoples' support when the White Fang attempt to kill her parents while redeeming Ilia.^{Vol. 5, Ch. 8–10} In the Battle of Haven, Blake leads the Menagerians and stops Adam's attack while destroying his reputation within the White Fang. After successfully defending Haven, Blake reunites with Team RWBY as she joins them in their journey to Atlas.^{Vol. 5, Ch. 13–14} Despite returning to the group, Blake still feels uneasy with Yang out of guilt for her injuries during the Fall of Beacon.^{Vol. 6, Ch. 1} At an abandoned farm estate, she tries to assure Yang about facing Adam, but accidentally insults her instead.^{Vol. 6, Ch. 5} In Argus, Blake is sent by the group to disable the radar as they steal an airship, but is interrupted by Adam who fights her. She is easily overwhelmed and her sword is destroyed, but she is eventually saved by Yang, and the two team up to defeat and kill Adam.^{Vol. 6, Ch. 10–12}

Blake is an allusion to Beauty and the Beast, arguably to both Belle and the beast.

Yang Xiao Long

Barbara Dunkelman, voice of Yang Xiao Long, with a group of cosplayers dressed as Yang

• Voiced By: Barbara Dunkelman^{Vol. 1 credits}

Yang, the fourth member of Team RWBY, is a blonde-haired girl and, at 17 years of age, Ruby's older half-sister. She wields twin shotgun gauntlets called Ember Celica. After she loses her right arm (and thus the gauntlet) in Volume 3, her replacement bionic arm is installed with a shotgun mechanism at the wrist.^{Vol. 5, Ch. 4} Her Semblance works on a "recoil-based system": whenever Yang takes a hit, her strength, toughness and striking power rise in proportion to her injuries. Her glowing hair and eye color change are caused by excess energy from the buildup, which also results in Yang often acting very "hotheaded" in battle.

Yang is the "big sister" of the group, caring deeply for her teammates. She is also very optimistic, never giving up in battle and hard times. Yang has revealed that her birth mother left her family shortly after she was born and hasn't been seen since, which acts as a driving force for her character. She has been determined to find Raven ever since she realized that Summer Rose, Ruby's mother who also helped raise Yang, wasn't her own biological mother.^{Vol. 2, Ch. 6} Yang wanted to become a Huntress because of the adventure, she calls herself a thrill-seeker in search of a life where she doesn't know what lies ahead of her.^{Vol. 2, Ch. 9–10}

Near the end of Volume 3, during the Battle of Beacon, Yang's right arm is severed by White Fang member Adam Taurus, following a desperate attempt to help a wounded Blake.^{Vol. 3, Ch. 11} In the aftermath of the fall of Beacon, she is bedridden in her home on the island of Patch, where she has become bitter and depressed.^{Vol. 3, Ch. 12} After the time-skip betweens Volume 3 and 4, Yang is still on Patch, trying to get used to life with one arm. She shows signs of PTSD, having visions and nightmares of Adam cutting her arm.^{Vol. 4, Ch. 3–4} She is also shown to be hesitant to use a bionic arm sent to her by General Ironwood. After an encouraging talk with her father Taiyang, Prof. Port, and Dr. Oobleck, in which Yang admits to being scared of moving on, she puts the arm on and resumes training with her father.^{Vol. 4, Ch. 4} While sparring, Yang learns to fight without relying on her Semblance as much as she did before, and learns more about her mother from Taiyang.^{Vol. 4, Ch. 9} In the volume finale, she arrives on the continent of Anima and heads for Mistral to find Ruby.^{Vol. 4, Ch. 12}

In Volume 5, Yang's personality has drastically changed to a more serious tone, and her left arm frequently shakes after a fight and when she is emotionally stressed. She approaches Raven and asks her to use her Semblance to teleport her to Ruby and Qrow, and unexpectedly reunites with Weiss.^{Vol. 5, Ch. 4} Despite her mother's attempts to convince her to forget about Ruby and join the tribe of bandits, Yang's request is ultimately granted and she and Weiss reunite with Ruby in Mistral.^{Vol. 5, Ch. 6} She is still angry at Blake for leaving her alone after the Fall of Beacon, but calms down thanks to Weiss' counsel.^{Vol. 5, Ch. 8} In the Battle of Haven, Yang confronts Raven at the vault and successfully has her mother relinquish the Relic of Knowledge. Reuniting with her teammates, Yang forgives Blake and welcomes her back into the team.^{Vol. 5, Ch. 13–14}

In Volume 6, when Blake tries to make things up to her, Yang assures her that everything is fine and that she is happy that Team RWBY is back together. But she displays anger when she finds that Ozpin is still hiding secrets.^{Vol. 6, Ch. 1–4} Yang still has nightmares of Adam and is mad when she feels that Blake is pitying her.^{Vol. 6, Ch. 5} In Argus, Yang saves Blake from Adam and they team up and kill him.^{Vol. 6, Ch. 11–12}

Yang is an allusion to Goldilocks; her name may be 陽小龍 in Chinese characters, and translate to "sun little dragon". Prior to the series, one of Oum's Tweets had a photograph of his computer monitor that reveals a file named "Taiyang Xiao Long", later revealed to be the name of Yang's father.

Team JNPR

Team JNPR (pronounced "juniper") is inspired by historical figures who had taken on the appearance of the opposite gender. In Volume 4 after the loss of Pyrrha, Ruby joins their group and they informally rename themselves Team RNJR ("ranger").

Jaune Arc

Miles Luna, voice of Jaune Arc

• Voiced By: Miles Luna^{Vol. 1 credits}

A blond-haired student and the leader of Team JNPR who uses a sword and shield combination called Crocea Mors, an heirloom formerly belonging to his great-great-grandfather. His shield can fold into a sheath for his sword, although it retains its weight.^{Vol. 1} In Volume 4, Jaune upgraded the shield so that it can act as a second blade for the sword.^{Vol. 4, Ch. 12} Jaune tries to appear confident in front of the girls, especially Weiss, but it often does not work out and he gets depressed over it, although because he treats Pyrrha normally, the latter is attracted to him.^{Vol. 1} In one of the Volume 1 storylines, he is bullied by Cardin Winchester, although he later stands up for his teammates by disobeying Cardin's order to prank Pyrrha, and then saves Cardin from an Ursa. Although he used fake transcripts to get into Beacon and had not attended combat school, he is supported by his schoolmates who believe in his leadership, and his partner Pyrrha later helps him train. In the end of Volume 3, Jaune goes with Ruby, Nora and Ren to Haven in search for answers and find the ones responsible for the events at Vale and Beacon, as well as Pyrrha's death.^{Vol. 3, Ch. 12} In Volume 4, he has Crocea Mors upgraded with accents from Pyrrha's old armor, and wears a sash around his waist in her memory,^{Vol. 4, Ch. 1} and continues to be heavily affected by her death.^{Vol. 4, Ch. 2 & 8} In Volume 5, Jaune works under Ozpin's guidance to find out what his Semblance is.^{Vol. 5, Ch. 4} In the Battle of Haven, upon being confronted by Cinder Fall, Jaune fights her to avenge Pyrrha but is easily overpowered. After Weiss is fatally impaled by Cinder, Jaune unlocks his Semblance of Aura amplification and saves her from certain death.^{Vol. 5, Ch. 11–13} In Volume 6, Jaune is able to see his older sister, Saffron, when the group arrives at Argus.^{Vol. 6, Ch. 7} Upon learning of Ozpin and Salem's past, he lashes out at Oscar for being Ozpin's vessel. But upon finding Pyrrha's statue and coming to terms with her death, Jaune makes amends with Oscar and offers a plan of stealing an Atlesian airship to get to Atlas.^{Vol. 6, Ch. 8–9}

His name is a reference to the French heroine Joan of Arc.

Nora Valkyrie

• Voiced By: Samantha Ireland,^{Vol. 1 credits} Kristen McGuire (Young)

An orange-haired student at Beacon who carries Magnhild, a war hammer that can be converted into a grenade launcher. Her Semblance is the production and manipulation of electricity, allowing her to channel the energy to her muscles and gain superhuman strength.^{Vol. 3, Ch. 2} Nora is very talkative and hyperactive, which tends to annoy her teammates, but she's also the most positive member of the team, almost always staying upbeat. But she displays a serious side when necessary, as when she tries to protect Ruby from Tyrian and when she calms Ren down during their battle with the Nuckelavee.^{Vol. 4, Ch. 6 & 12} She and Ren are long-time friends, though Jaune briefly assumes the two are a couple, which causes Nora to quickly say that they're not "together-together", which indicates that Nora's relationship with Ren is more akin to a brother-sister relationship.^{Vol. 1} In a flashback in Volume 4, it's revealed that Nora was living on the streets of Kuroyuri when she was a child, presumably an orphan, and when the village was attacked by Grimm, Ren saved her, beginning their friendship.^{Vol. 4, Ch. 10} In the end of Volume 3, Nora goes with Ruby, Jaune and Ren to Haven.^{Vol. 3, Ch. 12} In Volume 4, Nora has upgraded Magnhild, so that it can apparently hold a stronger electric charge.^{Vol. 4, Ch. 1} In the finale, she and Ren become a couple after their fight with the Nuckelavee.^{Vol. 4, Ch. 12}

Her first name comes from the Nora Barlow Columbine, while her last name, "Valkyrie", is inspired by the female warriors found in Norse mythology. She alludes to the Norse god Thor.

Pyrrha Nikos

Jen Brown, voice of Pyrrha Nikos

• Voiced By: Jen Brown^{Vol. 1 credits}

A red-haired student with a long ponytail and bright green eyes. She wielded Miló, a javelin that could transform into a rifle or a xiphos sword, and a shield called Akoúo̱. Her Semblance is "Polarity", which is the ability to manipulate objects with magnetism.^{Vol. 1} Prior to enrolling at Beacon, she graduated from Sanctum Academy with highest honors and had a record number of wins at a regional tournament for Huntsmen and Huntresses, landing her a cover photo on a Pumpkin Pete's cereal box.^{Vol. 1} Due to her reputation, she has found forming relationships with others difficult because others often assume she is "too good for them" and that she is "at a level they simply cannot obtain".^{Vol. 2} When Jaune ignores that and treats her normally, she becomes attracted to him^{Vol. 2} and chooses him as her partner during the initiation.^{Vol. 1} In Volume 3, Ozpin selects her to be the next Fall Maiden as he and Ironwood are forced to execute the transference by transplanting Amber's dying soul into her body, which Pyrrha feared as it would either kill her or she would no longer be herself.^{Vol. 3, Ch. 6 & 8} Though Pyrrha decides to go through with it, Cinder kills Amber to complete her transition into the Fall Maiden. Pyrrha attempts to stop Cinder after getting Jaune to safety, but is overpowered and incinerated.^{Vol. 3, Ch. 12}. Pyrrha's death affected Ruby, who saw her die and awakened her power, and Jaune, who uses a training video she made for him where she nearly confesses her feelings for him.^{Vol. 4, Ch. 2} But Jaune eventually moves on after coming across a memorial statue of Pyrrha in Argus, inspiring him and his fellow surviving JNPR teammates to continue their mission.^{Vol. 6, Ch. 9}

Monty Oum stated that Pyrrha was given her name for her red hair, and her full name is a reference to a Pyrrhic victory. She also alludes to Achilles from Homer's The Iliad.

Lie Ren

Monty Oum, voice of Lie Ren (Volumes 1 and 2)

• Voiced By: Monty Oum (Volumes 1–2),^{Vol. 1 credits} Neath Oum (Volume 3–present), Apphia Yu (Young)

A black-haired student at Beacon who dual wields machine pistols with attached blades, collectively called StormFlower. His Semblance masks negative emotion, which allows him and his targets to avoid detection from Grimm. He and Nora are long-time friends, though he is the exact opposite of her, as he is mostly quiet, mellow and mature.^{Vol. 1} Originally from Kuroyuri village in the Anima continent, Ren lost his parents during a Grimm attack by Nuckelavee with his awakened Semblance allowing him and Nora to be the only survivors of the attack.^{Vol. 4, Ch. 10} Joining Ruby alongside Jaune and Nora to Haven in the Volume 3 finale,^{Vol. 3, Ch. 12} Ren is able to avenge his parents when they encounter Nuckelavee after ending up in Kuroyuri, and reciprocate Nora's feelings for him.^{Vol. 4, Ch. 12}

While his name in Chinese (猎人) translates to "huntsman", Ren (蓮) is also Japanese for "lotus", which is his emblem. He alludes to the legendary Chinese hero Hua Mulan.

Although the character was originally voiced by the series creator, Monty Oum, his brother Neath Oum would later replace him as the voice actor from Volume 3 to the present, following Monty's death in 2015.

Supporting Characters

Ozpin

Shannon McCormick, voice of Professor Ozpin

• Professor Ozpin (Shannon McCormick)^{Vol. 1 credits}: The headmaster of Beacon Academy, armed with a cane which has numerous functions that include serving as a melee weapon capable of generating a protective force field.^{Vol. 1} Despite appearances, Ozpin is gradually revealed as Ozma's reincarnation. Though Ozpin was killed by Cinder in the Volume 3 finale, his soul transmigrated into the body of Oscar Pine, whom he urged to reach Haven where he is reunited with Qrow.^{Vol. 3, Ch. 12 & Vol. 4, Ch. 1 & 7} In Volume 5, Ozpin tasks Qrow to find Huntsmen to protect the Relic of Knowledge while he personally trains Team RNJR and Oscar for their eventual fight with fight Salem.^{Vol. 5, Ch. 3} After the Relic is secured following the Battle of Haven, Ozpin has Oscar instruct Qrow to bring it to Atlas.^{Vol. 5, Ch. 14} In Volume 6, having promised earlier to be forthright with Yang and the others, Ozpin comes under fire for still withholding vital information as he admits to be slightly mistrustful due to countless acts of betrayal he suffered across his past lives.^{Vol. 6, Ch. 1–2} After his secret past is exposed by Jinn, he loses everyone's trust and he seals himself within Oscar's mind.^{Vol. 6, Ch. 4} However, during the airship heist in Argus, Ozpin guides Oscar in landing the airship, hinting that he has been aware of the group's activities after the train crash.^{Vol. 6, Ch. 13}
• Ozma (Aaron Dismuke and Shannon McCormick): An ancient warrior who was Salem's lover before he died from an illness. As Salem's desire to resurrect Ozma resulted in her rebellion against the gods, Ozma is brought back to life by the God of Light to stop her. But even vowing to reincarnate forever until Salem is defeated, Jinn reveals that Ozma cannot kill his former lover.^{Vol. 6, Ch. 3} Every time he dies, his soul transmigrates into a new like-minded host, allowing him to take control of his host body while both can access each other's memories with Professor Ozpin his current incarnation at the start of the series and referred as such before his origins are revealed.^{Vol. 5, Ch. 3} One of his past incarnations was the basis of the wizard from a story based on the creation of the first Maidens, another being a king who fought through war.^{Vol. 5, Ch. 7} Though he is stoic and affable to those around him and can be blunt at times, he is a humble man who deeply cares for his students despite admitting to be slightly mistrustful due to countless acts of betrayal he suffered across his past lives.^{Vol. 6, Ch. 1–2} While named after Princess Ozma from the Oz book series, his reincarnations reference the title character of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
• Oscar Pine (Aaron Dismuke)^{Vol. 4 credits}: A young farm boy who appears in Volume 4 and lives with his aunt before starting to hear Ozpin's voice mysteriously communicating to him.^{Vol. 4, Ch. 4} It would later be revealed that Oscar has become Ozpin's new vessel following his demise in the Volume 3 finale. A reluctant Oscar eventually complies with Ozpin's request to travel to Haven.^{Vol. 4, Ch. 7 & 10} Once in Mistral, Oscar meets Qrow and receives Ozpin's cane as he joins Ruby's group, while revealing he can become a temporary medium for them to directly communicate with Ozpin.^{Vol. 4, Ch. 12 & Vol. 5, Ch. 1 & 3} He later trains alongside Team RNJR to strengthen his Aura and discover his Semblance.^{Vol. 5, Ch. 4} In Volume 6, Oscar is able to resist Ozpin's control and helps Ruby to summon Jinn, only to end up being ostracized by most of the others by extension, when they lose trust in Ozpin.^{Vol. 6, Ch. 2 & 4} In Argus, Oscar is assaulted by Jaune and leaves the group for a while to have time to himself, acquiring a change of clothes, before returning to the group to help them with the time he has left as himself.^{Vol. 6, Ch. 8–9} In the fight against Cordovin, Oscar is able to figure out the Colossus' weakness, helping Ruby to defeat it. Later, during the group's flight to Atlas, Oscar admits that he was guided by Ozpin in crash-landing the airship.^{Vol. 6, Ch. 12–13}

Team STRQ

Burnie Burns, voice of Taiyang Xiao Long

Anna Hullum, voice of Raven Branwen

Vic Mignogna, former voice of Qrow Branwen

Team STRQ (pronounced "stark") is a now-defunct team composed of Ruby and Yang's relatives, commented to have similarities to Team RWBY like being favored by Ozpin.

• Summer Rose: The presumed leader of Team STRQ, and the mother of Ruby and stepmother of Yang whose gravestone is frequently visited by Ruby. She is later revealed to be the second lover to Yang and Ruby's father, Taiyang, the first being Yang's mother, Raven, but whether she married him is currently unknown. Based on an old photograph of her, Summer wore a white hooded cloak, similar to the red cloak Ruby would later wear. According to Yang, Summer went on a mission but never came back and her death deeply affected Ruby and Taiyang. Prior to her disappearance, Yang says that she remembered Summer as a "Super Mom", able to handle being a loving parent as well as able to go on dangerous missions.^{Vol. 2, Ch. 6} Her full name is a reference to the poem, The Last Rose of Summer, and her gravestone has a line from the poem, "Thus kindly I scatter." ^{Red Trailer} Later, she is shown in person during a flashback of Ruby's- revealing that she, like her daughter, posseses silver eyes.^{Vol. 6, Ch. 13}
• Taiyang Xiao Long (Burnie Burns): Yang and Ruby's father, only mentioned many times in the first two Volumes before appearing out of focus seen when Ruby visits Summer's grave.^{Vol. 3, Ch. 1} He appears in the Volume 3 finale where he watches over his daughters in their home in Patch as they recover from the battle of Beacon.^{Vol. 3, Ch. 12} Taiyang is mentioned to be a bit overprotective of both of his daughters, and loves them dearly.^{Vol. 3, Ch. 12} Like Qrow, he is also a teacher at Signal.^{Vol. 3, Ch. 1} In Volume 4, Taiyang receives a bionic arm for Yang from Ironwood, and encourages Yang to gradually accept the prosthesis while helping her learn to not depend too much on her Semblance and opening up about Raven.^{Vol. 4, Ch. 3–4 & 9} When Yang is about to leave, he asks her whether she is going after Raven or Ruby.^{Vol. 4, Ch. 11} In the finale of Volume 5, Taiyang is confronted by Raven.^{Vol. 5, Ch. 14} His name, Taiyang (太阳), is Chinese for "sun."
• Raven Branwen (Anna Hullum): The mother of Yang and the first lover of Taiyang, Qrow's older twin sister and leader of the Branwen Tribe who follows a survival of the fittest philosophy. Raven is armed with an ōdachi with interchangeable blades inside the sheath as her weapon of choice with her Semblance allowing her to create a portal to whoever she has a bond with.^{Vol. 5, Ch. 4} As revealed in Volume 5, she and Qrow were sent into Beacon to be trained as Hunters to give their people an advantage against hunters. While she initially became a member of Ozpin's inner circle, as he gave her to shapeshift into a raven,^{Vol. 5, Ch. 6} Raven questioned Ozpin and resolved to learn the truths of their world on her own, her world-views calling her and Qrow to have a falling out while Taiyang reveals that Raven's flaws were the cause of Team STRQ, and his marriage to her, breaking up as she leaves him sometime after Yang was born.^{Vol. 3, Ch. 8 & Vol. 4, Ch. 9} Raven becomes the current Spring Maiden during that time after killing off her predecessor, using Vernal as a decoy to conceal her power.^{Vol. 5, Ch. 13–14} First appearing in Volume 2 to save Yang from Neo, Yang later having a dream of them meeting,^{Vol. 2, Ch. 11} Raven is formally introduced when she meets Qrow in Higanbana after their tribe accidentally caused a Grimm attack at Shion village and questioned her brother if Salem obtained one of the Relics while voicing his decision to turn his back on their tribe.^{Vol. 4, Ch. 4} In Volume 5, Raven's men capture Weiss after her cargo ship crashes near their camp, only to let her go after Yang arrives and demands Raven to take them to Ruby and Qrow.^{Vol. 5, Ch.2 & 4} Raven attempts to convince Yang not to join Ruby in battling against Salem, revealing what Ozpin told her along with the power her gave her.^{Vol. 5, Ch. 6} When Cinder arrives to force an alliance, Raven agrees to help her obtain the Relic of Knowledge in return for Qrow's death while intending to take the Relic for herself to ensure her tribe's survival.^{Vol. 5, Ch. 9–10} During the Battle of Haven, after fighting her brother, Raven proceeds to accompany Cinder and Vernal to the vault and reveals herself as the real Spring Maiden when Cinder impales Vernal. Raven defeats Cinder and opens the vault to the Relic, but is later confronted by Yang who realized her mother's true motivation is that she is afraid of Salem despite her stubbornness to admit it. Raven is ultimately forced to relinquish the Relic to avoid a confrontation with Salem, and tearfully apologizes to Yang as she leaves to see Taiyang in Patch.^{Vol. 5, Ch. 11–14} She alludes to Huginn from Norse mythology.
• Qrow Branwen (Volumes 3–6: Vic Mignogna): A cool-headed and nonchalant instructor at Signal Academy with a heavy drinking habit, Qrow is Raven's younger twin brother, making him Yang's biological uncle and an honorary uncle to Ruby. As revealed in Volume 5, being originally part of the Brawen Tribe, he and Raven were sent into Beacon to be trained as Hunters to give their people an advantage against hunters. But Qrow renounces his kin for being killers and thieves, becoming a member of Ozpin's inner circle while given the ability to transform into a crow to serve as Ozpin's spy.^{Vol. 3, Ch. 12 & Vol. 5, Ch. 7} Having taught Ruby to wield her Crescent Rose,^{Vol. 1, Ch. 1} his weapon, Harbinger, is a giant sword that can transform into a cannon or a scythe. Volume 6 reveals that he based Harbinger's design off of Maria's weapons because he admired her as the Grimm Reaper.^{Vol. 6, Ch. 7} His Semblance brings misfortune to those around him, and unlike other Huntsmen, his is always active and uncontrollable.^{Vol. 4, Ch. 8} Having being mentioned in the first two Volumes, Qrow makes his debut in Volume 3 as he reveals to Ozpin that their enemies are making a move on Beacon.^{Vol. 3, Ch. 2–3} After the Fall of Beacon, Qrow tells Ruby that he specifically worked for Ozpin and resolve to continue in the man's stead while discreetly following Team RNJR as they head for Haven.^{Vol. 3, Ch. 12} In Volume 4, Qrow continues to watch over the team discreetly while having an encounter Raven in Higanbana where he questions his twin's callously towards Yang while questioning her of the Spring Maiden's location.^{Vol. 4, Ch. 4} Qrow ends up revealing himself to Ruby when Tyrian attacks her group and ends up being poisoned by Tyrian's stinger, revealing most of what he knew to Team RNJR as they manage to get him to Mistral for a quick recovery.^{Vol. 4, Ch. 6–12} In Volume 5, following a meeting with Lionheart, Qrow is reunited with Ozpin when meets Oscar.^{Vol. 4, Ch. 12} Leaving RNJR in Ozpin's care, Qrow attempts to find some to Huntsmen help protect the Relic of Knowledge and learns they all died during their missions.^{Vol. 5, Ch. 3 & 6} In the Battle of Haven, furious upon realizing Lionheart's role in the deaths of Mistral's hunters, Qrow disowns Raven when she allied herself with Salem. In the aftermath, after he receives the Relic from Yang, Qrow is instructed by Ozpin to take it to Atlas.^{Vol. 5, Ch. 11 & 14} In Volume 6, Qrow's faith in Ozpin is destroyed when he learns of his leader's past and lack of a plan to destroy Salem.^{Vol. 6, Ch. 4} His alcoholism worsens and causes problems for the group, especially for Ruby.^{Vol. 6, Ch. 6 & 8–9} Qrow initially turns down Jaune's plan of stealing an airship to get to Atlas, but his arguments is stopped by Ruby.^{Vol. 6, Ch. 9} As the group goes through with the plan, Qrow starts to panic when things start to go wrong and he blames himself for it.^{Vol. 6, Ch. 10} He alludes to Muninn from Norse mythology and is based on the Scarecrow from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. In February 2019, Rooster Teeth announced that Mignogna would no longer be part of the cast of RWBY amid accusations of sexual harassment.

Beacon Academy/Vale

Kathleen Zuelch, voice of Glynda Goodwitch

Ryan Haywood, voice of Peter Port

Joel Heyman, voice of Dr. Bartholomew Oobleck

• Glynda Goodwitch (Kathleen Zuelch)^{Vol. 1 credits}: A Huntress and teacher at Beacon Academy^{Vol. 1} who wields a riding crop as her weapon, in a similar fashion as a magic wand, and whose Semblance is "Telekinesis". With her Semblance, not only can she control objects, but can also repair those which were broken before. She mostly teaches combat classes, tends to be more stern and strict with her students, and is apparently only behind Ozpin in rank at Beacon. In Volume 4, Port and Oobleck reveal that Goodwitch is working to restore Beacon to its former glory.^{Vol. 4, Ch. 4} Her name is derived from the character Glinda the Good Witch of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
• Professor Peter Port (Ryan Haywood)^{Vol. 1 credits}: A veteran Huntsman and teacher at Beacon Academy, and is an expert on fighting different creatures of Grimm. He uses a blunderbuss that has axe blades attached to the stock. In Volume 4, it is Port who tells Yang that she needs to handle her fears. It is also shown that he is afraid of mice.^{Vol. 4, Ch. 4} His name and his tale of taking on a Beowolf in his youth alludes to Peter and the Wolf.
• Dr. Bartholomew Oobleck (Joel Heyman)^{Vol. 1 credits}: A teacher at Beacon Academy, teaching Remnant history. His weapon of choice is a thermos (from which he drinks coffee out of) that can also transform into a flamethrower. He frequently sips coffee and moves around and speaks at an extremely accelerated rate. Despite his bumbling nature, he is actually very wise and knowledgeable, choosing to learn from mankind's past mistakes so that they won't happen again in the future. Unlike other Huntsmen who fight, Oobleck chooses to defend people by passing his knowledge on to other Huntsmen and Huntresses. He believes that knowledge is the most powerful weapon from all of them.^{Vol. 2, Ch. 9} He is named after the children's book Bartholomew and the Oobleck by Dr. Seuss.

Team CRDL

Adam Ellis, voice of Cardin Winchester

Team CRDL (pronounced "cardinal") is formed as another first year team at Beacon Academy, alongside RWBY and JNPR.^{Vol. 1, Ch. 8}

• Cardin Winchester (Adam Ellis):^{Vol. 1 credits} A burnt orange-haired student and the leader of Team CRDL. He wears silver-gray armor and wields a giant mace. Cardin has a reputation as a bully, he and the rest of his team are shown to be picking on several fellow students. After he finds out that Jaune Arc faked his application to Beacon, he is briefly able to manipulate him into doing his bidding. He also, alongside the rest of his team, bullies Velvet Scarlatina because of her being a Faunus.^{Vol. 1, Ch. 11–14} Cardin alludes to the Cardinal of Winchester who presided over the Trial of Joan of Arc.
• Russel Thrush (Shane Newville):^{Vol. 1 credits} A green-haired student who wields a pair of Dust-daggers as a shout out to Will Scarlet. His last name comes from the thrush bird.
• Dove Bronzewing: A light brown-haired student who fights with a long sword that can fire bullets. He is named after the bird often used as a symbol for peace, and his last name is a reference to a pigeon of the same name.
• Sky Lark: A dark blue-haired student whose weapon is a halberd. His full name is derived from the larks of the genus Alauda.

Team CFVY

Ashley Jenkins, voice of Coco Adel

Caiti Ward, voice of Velvet Scarlatina

Team CFVY (pronounced "coffee") consists of second-year Beacon Academy students. Velvet Scarlatina first appears in Volume 1, ^{Vol. 1, Ch. 11}, while the others begin appearing in Volume 2.^{Vol. 2, Ch. 8} They serve as the protagonists of RWBY: After the Fall novel series, having been transferred to Shade Academy in Vacuo following the Fall of Beacon.

• Coco Adel (Ashley Jenkins): A fashionably-dressed girl with accessories that seem very military-minded including a belt lined with bullets. Her weapon is a handbag that can transform into a minigun. Her name is theorized to be based on Coco Chanel.
• Fox Alistair: A young, black, blind man with white eyes, who wears an orange vest, his weapons are a pair of wrist-mounted blades. His Semblance is telepathy, allowing him to communicate with his teammates.
• Velvet Scarlatina (Caiti Ward):^{Vol. 1 credits} A brown-haired Faunus with rabbit ears at Beacon Academy. Monty has described her combat style to be very mage-like, along with being very agile. Her weapon is a camera that she uses to take pictures of other students' weapons, which allows her to conjure holographic copies of their weapons, but can only be used once per picture. She uses her weapon in conjunction with her Semblance, which allows her to mimic other people's moves. Rooster Teeth held a fan contest to design her combat uniform, the result of which was announced on March 6, 2014. Her name is derived from The Velveteen Rabbit.
• Yatsuhashi Daichi (Joe MacDonald): The final member of team CFVY, Yatsuhashi is a tall male in a green one-sleeved robe with a long sword. His name comes from the Japanese treat of the same name, and his name was revealed in a series of tweets of the treat by Monty culminating in a singular image of Yatsuhashi Kengyo along with the phrase "You'll figure it out".

Junior's faction

Jack Pattillo, voice of Hei "Junior" Xiong

• Hei "Junior" Xiong (Jack Shannon Pattillo): A club manager who fights Yang in the "Yellow" trailer. His weapon is a bazooka that can change into a large bat-like club. He has some sort of connection to Torchwick, as the two were seen briefly together at the club and Roman initially recruited Junior's minions for his early dust robberies before replacing the henchmen with White Fang members.^{Yellow Trailer & Vol. 1, Ch. 1}. Later on in Volume 2, Yang visits him in his club again, hoping to get some lead on Torchwick's plans.^{Vol. 2, Ch. 4} His name means "black bear" in Chinese, with his nickname alluding to the baby bear from Goldilocks.
• Melanie and Miltiades "Miltia" Malachite (Maggie Tominey): A pair of black-haired twins who work for Junior. Melanie fights with bladed heels while Miltia utilizes a pair of claws.^{Yellow Trailer} The names Melanie and Miltiades are Greek for "blackness" and "red earth" respectively, and their surname comes from the green stone of the same name. They are altered designs of the first design of Ruby and Weiss.

Atlas Academy/Atlas

Jason Rose, voice of General Ironwood

• General James Ironwood (Jason Rose): Headmaster of Atlas Academy and a renowned military leader, also being a member of Ozpin's inner circle despite disagreeing with him over using military force to handle threats head-on. According to Glynda, he tends to take his work with him wherever he goes. His weapon of choice is a revolver and is revealed to have a robotic right arm, torso and leg. In Volume 4, it is shown that Ironwood is a close friend of the Schnee family despite his strained friendship with Jacques over putting an embargo on Dust exportation and then closing off Atlas's borders to prevent another war.^{Vol. 4, Ch. 2 & 11} Ironwood alludes to the Tin Woodman from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
• Winter Schnee (Elizabeth Maxwell): Weiss' elder sister and Ironwood's right hand in the military, armed with a saber with a detachable estoc. Like Weiss, having left the Schnee family to make a difference, Winter's Semblance inherited their family's ability to "Glyphs" which she fully mastered to easily summon constructs modeled after defeated Grimm. While dignified and distant, Winter deeply cares for Weiss and is ill-tempered, as shown when Qrow insulted the Atlas military while provoking her to fight him.^{Vol. 3 Ch. 3} While Volume 4 explains Winter is in Mistral after the fall of Beacon to uncover an impending threat that is rising from the kingdom, Volume 5 reveals she was called back to Atlas when Ironwood closed the kingdom's borders.^{Vol. 4, Ch. 11 & Vol. 5, Ch. 3}
• Caroline Cordovin (Mela Lee): The special operative in charge in Argus. Cordovin is a prideful and arrogant woman who looks down on all non-Atlesians, and is emotionally unstable, especially when provoked. Upon meeting the group of heroes, she refuses to allow any of them to go to Atlas, except for Weiss. She also has a bad history with Maria.^{Vol. 6, Ch. 8} When the group tries to steal a military airship, Cordovin overreacts by piloting a giant mech called the Colossus to attack them. After seemingly defeating the group, she refuses Ruby's offer for a truce and prepares to attack her, only for Ruby to destroy the mech's cannon.^{Vol. 6, Ch. 10–12} Reflecting on Ruby's words, Cordovin finishes off the Leviathan after Ruby freezes it, and then allows the group to continue to Atlas.^{Vol. 6, Ch. 13} Cordovin alludes to the nursery rhyme, "There was an Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe".

Penny's team

• Penny Polendina (Taylor (Pelto) McNee):^{Vol. 1 & Vol. 3, Ch. 5, 12, credits} An orange-haired student who came to the Vytal festival to compete in the combat tournament. She wears a small backpack, and manipulates an array of swords and wires. She can also use the swords as an energy beam cannon. She is known to act awkwardly around people, though she becomes friends with Ruby.^{Vol. 1, Ch. 15} In Volume 2, it is revealed that Penny is an android capable of generating an Aura.^{Vol. 2, Ch. 4} In Volume 3, she reveals her body is vulnerable to magnets.^{Vol. 3, Ch. 5} During Penny's battle against Pyrrha in the Vytal Festival, Pyrrha is affected by Emerald's hallucinating Semblance, reflecting Penny's attack, causing her wires to tear her apart.^{Vol. 3, Ch. 9} Penny alludes to the character Pinocchio, hiccuping every time she tells a lie.
• Ciel Soleil (Yssa Badiola): A dark-skinned girl with a beret who serves as Penny's handler.^{Vol. 3, Ch. 5}

Team FNKI

Meg Turney, voice of Neon Katt

Team FNKI (pronounced "funky") is a team participating in the Vytal Tournament. Weiss and Yang take on two of their members during the doubles rounds, and the two fight during the Battle of Beacon.

• Flynt Coal (Flynt Flossy): A dark-skinned boy with a fedora hat who wields a trumpet that can release sound waves to disorient his opponents. His Semblance creates the "Killer Quartet", in which he generates three clones of himself, each wearing a different colored necktie and armed with a trumpet. He initially hated Weiss because her family put his father out of business, but later respects her when she risks her own safety for her team's victory.^{Vol. 3, Ch. 5} His name is taken from a joke commonly used in Rooster Teeth's gaming content division Achievement Hunter's series "Let's Play Minecraft".
• Neon Katt (Meg Turney): A talkative Faunus girl with a cat tail and roller skates who wields a glowstick-like nunchaku. Her name is derived from the internet meme Nyan Cat, and she creates a rainbow trail as she skates.^{Vol. 3, Ch. 5}

Schnee household

• Jacques Schnee (Jason Douglas): The father of Weiss, Winter and Whitley, and the current head to the Schnee Dust Company. His surname was "Gelée" before he married into the Schnee family, priding himself in maintaining the family's good name at any cost. While Jacques brought great success to the SDC after convinced his father-in-law Nicholas to let him take over the company, some of the practices he established to maintain the SDC have been considered controversial.^WoR The actions of the White Fang stating attacks on SDC over poor labor practices involving Faunus employees gradually plays a part in Jacques's strained relation with Weiss, with their family irreparably broken when Jacques admits to his wife that he married for her for the Schnee name during Weiss' tenth birthday.^{Vol. 5, Ch. 8} Jacques is introduced in the Volume 3 finale when he takes Weiss back to Atlas in the aftermath of the Fall of Beacon.^{Vol. 3, Ch. 12} In Volume 4, upset over Ironwood's Dust exportation embargo, Jacques has Weiss participate in a charity concert to boost the Schnee family's public image.^{Vol. 4 Ch. 2} But the commotion Weiss causes during the charity's cocktail party forces Jacques to remove her as his heir and confine her in Schnee manor before she escapes him.^{Vol. 4, Ch. 6–7} Jacques alludes to Jack Frost.
• Whitley Schnee (Howard Wang): The younger brother of Weiss and Winter, a pompous and scheming youth who considers his older sisters' career choices as pointless and barbaric.^{Vol. 4, Ch. 9} In Volume 4, Weiss noting how he seemed different since she first enrolled at Beacon, Whitley feigned being supportive of Weiss until revealing his true colors once named the new heir to SDC after Weiss was disinherited by their father.^{Vol. 4, Ch. 2 & 7} Whitley means "white meadow".
• Klein Sieben (J. Michael Tatum):^{Vol. 4, Ch. 2 credits} The Schnee family butler, Klein is supportive of Weiss and is shown to deeply care for her.^{Vol. 4, Ch. 2} Near the end of Volume 4, Klein helps Weiss escape from the Schnee manor.^{Vol. 4, Ch. 11} His full name is German for "small seven", thus he alludes to the seven dwarves from Snow White. This is more evident with his mood swings and eye color.^{Vol. 4, Ch. 2}

Arc family

• Jaune's Great-Great Grandfather: Jaune's ancestor who fought in the Great War, and the original wielder of Crocea Mors.^{Vol. 1, Ch. 2}
• Saphron Cotta-Arc (Lindsay Sheppard): Jaune's elder sister who is currently living in Argus with her wife Terra and their son Adrian. She is the only daughter of the family to have moved out.^{Vol. 6, Ch. 7} She helps her brother's group by having Adrian distract the military base with his cries.^{Vol. 6, Ch. 10}
• Terra Cotta-Arc (Jamie Smith): Saphron's wife and Adrian's mother. She works as a technician at the city of Argus' relay tower, though she has been falsely blamed for technical troubles.^{Vol. 6, Ch. 7} Terra guides Blake on how to disable the tower's radar when the group tries to steal an airship.^{Vol. 6, Ch. 10}
• Adrian Cotta-Arc (Lucella Wren Clary): Saphron and Terra's son, and Jaune's nephew.^{Vol. 6, Ch. 7} His cries are capable of delivering powerful sound waves.^{Vol. 6, Ch. 10}

Haven Academy/Mistral

• Leonardo Lionheart (Daman Mills): A lion Faunus who is the headmaster of Haven Academy, armed with wrist-mounted shield that fires combined Dust projectiles. While originally a member of Ozpin's inner circle, Lionheart betrayed them as he allied himself with Salem's faction.^{Vol. 4, Ch. 12} In Volume 5 confirmed that Lionheart's reasons of working for Salem were out of fear, having given her the name of numerous hunters that were killed off in secret and helping set up an ambush for Qrow and the Beacon students during the Battle of Haven.^{Vol. 5, Ch. 10–11} When the tide turns against Salem's faction, Lionheart tries to run away but is killed by Salem's Seer Grimm.^{Vol. 5, Ch. 14} He is based on the Cowardly Lion in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

Team SSSN

Michael Jones and Gavin Free, voices of Sun Wukong and Scarlet David

Each member of Team SSSN (pronounced "sun") has a Big Bang motif.

• Sun Wukong (Michael Jones):^{Vol. 1 credits} A blond-haired Faunus with a monkey tail who stowed away on a ship arriving in Vale. His weapon, Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang, is a collapsible bō staff that splits into two nunchaku that can also function as sawed-off shotguns. With his Semblance, "Via Sun", he can create astral projection clones of himself in battle. He possesses great speed and agility from his monkey-like traits and seems to be able to see through disguises, as he noticed Blake's Faunus heritage despite her bow.^{Vol. 1} Even though he attends the academy in Mistral, he's actually a native of Vacuo. In Volume 4, Sun follows Blake without his team because he believed that she will be fighting the White Fang. Upon discovering that she is instead going home, he decides to accompany her to protect her from harm.^{Vol. 4, Ch. 3} In Menagerie, Sun quickly bonds with Kali, Blake's mother, but constantly leaves bad impressions with Ghira, Blake's father.^{Vol. 4, Ch. 5 & 8} After he gets injured by Ilia Amotila, Sun learns the reasons of Blake's departure from her team. He criticizes her, saying that she is only hurting her friends even more by pushing them away.^{Vol. 4, Ch. 11} In Volume 5, Sun aides the Belladonnas in rallying the people of Menagerie to defend Haven, though he is frustrated that no one is willing to do so.^{Vol. 5 Ch. 5} He later saves Blake from capture after she is ambushed by Ilia, and later fights the Albain brothers alongside Ghira.^{Vol. 5, Ch. 8–10} In the Battle of Haven, Sun helps Blake in defending the school, and later encourages her to rejoin her team.^{Vol. 5, Ch. 13–14} In Volume 6, Sun parts ways with Blake and prepares to take his team to Vacuo.^{Vol. 6, Ch. 1} Sun alludes to the character of the same name from Journey to the West.
• Scarlet David (Gavin Free): A red-haired young man with a cape who wields a flintlock pistol and a cutlass as his weapons of choice. The handle of the pistol can be fired as a grappling hook. For some reason, he doesn't like sand in his shoes. He is based on the character Peter Pan, specifically from Peter Pan in Scarlet.
• Sage Ayana (Josh Ornelas): A green-haired and dark-skinned young man with tattoos and a long coat, and wields a large sword with Roman numerals on it. His name was confirmed via Monty's Twitter feed. Sage alludes to one of the fables by Aesop, though the exact character and tale are unknown. His outfit is an allusion to Taeyang of Big Bang.
• Neptune Vasilias (Kerry Shawcross): A member of Sun's team who has a large rifle that fires electricity and can turn into a guandao and trident. Although he has a cool image, he is unable to dance, which is a source of embarrassment for him,^{Vol. 2, Ch. 7} and has an intense fear of water.^{Vol. 3, Ch. 2} In Volume 6, Neptune accompanies Sun as he parts ways with Blake, and later does not seemed thrilled to be going to the wastelands of Vacuo.^{Vol. 6, Ch. 1} His appearance and outfit is styled after Big Bang member T.O.P..

Team ABRN

Team ABRN (pronounced "auburn") fights Team RWBY in the first (team) round of the Vytal Festival Tournament.^{Vol. 3, Ch. 1} Its members are among the group of students that fights off Grimm and Atlas mechs during the Battle of Beacon. ^{Vol. 3, Ch. 10–11}

• Arslan Altan: A dark-skinned young woman who is capable of hand-to-hand combat and wields a rope javelin.
• Bolin Hori (Jon Risinger): A black-haired young man who wields a staff.
• Reese Chloris: A light green-haired girl who rides a hoverboard that absorbs Dust crystals and transforms into dual pistols.
• Nadir Shiko: A pink-haired teenage boy who wields an assault rifle that can also transform into a sword.

Shade Academy/Vacuo

Team BRNZ

Team BRNZ (pronounced "bronze") fights Team JNPR in the first (team) round of the Vytal Festival Tournament. ^{Vol. 3, Ch. 2}

• Brawnz Ni (Blaine Gibson): A black-haired man with gray highlights who wields a pair of claws.
• Roy Stallion: A dark-skinned male with dreadlocks who wears gauntlets capable of firing circular saws. He was carried off by a Nevermore during the Battle of Beacon, with his fate being unknown.
• Nolan Porfirio (Aaron Marquis): A maroon-haired man who wields an electrically charged cattle prod.
• May Zedong: A beanie-wearing female who wields a sniper rifle with a blade on the underside of the stock.

Team NDGO

Team NDGO (pronounced "indigo") fights Team SSSN in the first (team) round of the Vytal Festival Tournament.^{Vol. 3, Ch. 2} The characters are based on fans who were Indiegogo backers for the movie Lazer Team.

• Nebula Violette (Kate Warner): A purple-haired girl who wields a crossbow that can transform into a sword.
• Dew Gayl (Kim Newman): A blonde-haired girl who wields a spear capable of creating tornadoes.
• Gwen Darcy: A black-haired girl who wields throwing knives that she keeps in her armored skirt.
• Octavia Ember: A red-haired girl who wields a kris sword that can release fire torrents.

Menagerie Nation

• Ghira Belladonna (Kent Williams): Blake's father, and chieftain of Menagerie. His Faunus trait is his retractable panther claws at his fingertips.^{Vol. 5, Ch. 8} He originally served as leader of the White Fang before stepping down.^{Vol. 4, Ch. 5} Tall and imposing, Ghira loves and cares about Blake immensely, and is highly protective of her. He also has a hard time liking Sun, unlike his wife. After Blake and Sun's encounter with Ilia Amotila, Ghira examines her stolen scroll, finding Adam's Taurus' plans of overthrowing Sienna Khan and attacking Haven.^{Vol. 4, Ch. 11} In Volume 5, Ghira tries to rally the people of Menagerie to take the White Fang back from Adam and defend Haven.^{Vol. 5, Ch. 3} He also defends his home from White Fang insurgents with help from Sun.^{Vol. 5, Ch. 8–10} After successfully defending Haven, Ghira decides to form a new brotherhood of Faunus who want to create a better future.^{Vol. 5, Ch. 13–14} His name could possibly be derived from Bagheera, a black panther from the classic story The Jungle Book.
• Kali Belladonna (Tara Platt): Ghira's wife and Blake's mother. Like her daughter, Kali has black Faunus cat ears. Upon meeting Sun, she takes a liking to him and quickly bonds with him.^{Vol. 4, Ch. 5} Later on, Kali helps defend her home from White Fang insurgents.^{Vol. 5, Ch. 8 & 10} During the Battle of Haven, she leads the police force to arrest Adam.^{Vol. 5, Ch. 13} Kali is named after the Hindu goddess, and the name is Sanskrit for black.
• Ilia Amitola (Cherami Leigh): A chameleon Faunus who is an old acquaintance of Blake's, able to change her skin tone and eye color at will. She wields a rapier-like weapon that doubles as a whip that can give off an electrical charge. Before joining the White Fang, Ilia lived in the mining community in Mantle with her parents enrolling her in an Atlas prep school. While Ilia's abilities allowed her to perfectly blend in with the humans, she lost control of them when she attacked her schoolmates in a fit of rage upon hearing them snicker about a mining accident that killed her parents.^{Blake Character Short} First mentioned by the Albain brothers, who state that she would be elated at Blake's return, Ilia spies on the Belladonna household before being forced to elude Blake and Sun while warning the former that she should have not returned.^{Vol. 4, Ch. 5 & 8–9} In Volume 5, it is revealed that she had romantic feelings for Blake. Spurred that she fell in love with Adam, Ilia carries out an order by the Albain brothers to subdue Blake while her associates assassinate Ghira and Kali.^{Vol. 5 Ch. 5 & 8} After Blake escapes, however, Ilia fights her at the Belladonna home where Blake convinces her to leave the White Fang and help defend Haven.^{Vol. 5, Ch. 9–10} In the Battle of Haven, Ilia prevents Adam from destroying the school by disarming his explosives.^{Vol. 5, Ch. 13} In Volume 6, Ilia parts ways with Blake by remaining in Mistral to help Ghira with his new Faunus movement.^{Vol. 6, Ch. 1}

Maidens

Maidens are women who are capable of wielding great magic, including control over the weather and natural elements, as well as being the only ones to access one of the four Relics each.^{Vol. 5, Ch. 1} The original Four Maidens, each named after the four seasons, were given their powers by Ozpin in one of his past lives with their magic transferred into the body of another woman.^{Vol. 5, Ch. 7} While the identities of the Summer and Winter Maidens are currently unknown, the current Spring and Fall Maidens are Raven Branwen and Cinder Fall.

• Amber (Laura Bailey): The previous Fall Maiden who is a skilled combatant armed with a staff with Dust crystals on each end and is capable of hand-to-hand combat, ending up in a comatose state when attacked by Cinder who siphoned half of her power. Her body was placed in an Atlas-made life support device in the Vault under Beacon Academy, Ozpin and the others resolving to risky gambit to transfer Amber's remaining powers and soul into a willing Pyrrha.^{Vol. 3, Ch. 6–7} But Amber is killed by Cinder as the process commenced.^{Vol. 3, Ch. 11}

Deities

Two deity brothers who were initially at odds with each other before they created humanity together on the foundation of creation, destruction, knowledge and choice. When Salem tried to have them resurrect Ozma, the brothers curse her with immortality as punishment. When she led a human rebellion against the brothers, the God of Darkness destroys all of humanity except for Salem, and the brothers left Remnant while leaving behind the four Relics as a beacon to summon them to judge the new race of humans that came to be in their absence.^{Vol.6, Ch. 3}

• God of Light (Chase McCaskill): The eldest deity brother, the first to refuse Salem's request to resurrect Ozma as it would disrupt natural order and cursed her with immortality after she used his brother to commit the deed. Following his brother wiping out the human rebellion, the God of Light grants Ozma the ability to reincarnate to stop Salem while creating the four Relics as a means to summon him and his brother back to Remnant.^{Vol.6, Ch. 3} After seeing Jinn's vision, Maria deduces that the power of the silver-eyed warriors comes from the God of Light.^{Vol. 6, Ch. 8}
• God of Darkness (Bruce DuBose): The younger of the deity brothers who both created the Grimm and granted magic to humans. When he resurrects Ozma at Salem's behest before learning he was her second choice following a brief fight with the God of Light, the God of Darkness joins his brother in cursing Salem and later wipes out of most of humanity when Salem turned them on the brothers. When he leaves Remnant with his brother, the God of Darkness shatters the moon in the process.^{Vol.6, Ch. 3}

Other supporting characters

• Zwei: Ruby and Yang's pet Pembroke Welsh Corgi. He only makes a few appearances in the main RWBY series, but is featured more extensively in the RWBY Chibi series. His name is a play on the corgi Ein from the manga/anime series Cowboy Bebop.
• Shopkeep (Patrick Rodriguez)^{Vol. 1 credits}: A shop owner of various places such as From Dust Till Dawn.^{Vol. 1, Ch. 1} He is often seen being robbed or his property damaged.^{Vol. 1} In Volumes 2 and 3, he operates a noodle stand on the Vytal Festival grounds.^{Vol. 2, Ch. 4 & Vol. 3, Ch. 1}
• Tukson (Adam Ellis)^{Vol. 2 credits}: A puma Faunus with finger claws who was a former White Fang member before deserting them to open a book shop in Vale. He planned on fleeing to Vacuo, but he is killed by Mercury and Emerald.^{Vol. 2, Ch. 1}
• Li and An Ren (Kaiji Tang and Dawn M. Bennett): The parents of Lie Ren. They lived in Kuroyuri with their son, and Li was an archer. They were both killed when Grimm destroyed the town.^{Vol. 4, Ch. 10}
• Maria Calavera (Melissa Sternenberg): An elderly woman with prosthetic eyes, though she cannot see color with them.^{Vol. 6, Ch. 6} She was originally a silver-eyed Huntress known as the Grimm Reaper before being blinded by the Faunus assassin Tock. The cane she uses was one of her two kamas, Life and Death, that combine at the ends to form a twin-bladed weapon.^{Vol. 6, Ch. 7} Her Semblance, which she calls "Preflexes", allows her to react to attacks almost before they happen. Unlike most Hunters, due to the risk of being targeted by Salem, Maria was trained by her father instead of attending a school.^{Vol. 6, Ch. 8} She meets Team RWBY, Qrow and Oscar after they crash-land into the snow region of northern Anima.^{Vol. 6, Ch. 1} Upon learning that Ruby has silver eyes, Maria teaches her to consciously use her powers when they are attacked by the Apathy Grimm.^{Vol. 6, Ch. 6} In Argus, she becomes a mentor to Ruby and shares what she knows about the silver eyes.^{Vol. 6, Ch. 8} She is later smuggled onto a military airship by Weiss to pilot it to the rest of the group, but the pair is then attacked by Cordovin's giant robot. Maria pilots the ship to provide air support for the group, and later to fly the group to Atlas.^{Vol. 6, Ch. 10–13}
• Jinn (Colleen Clinkenbeard): A magical being created by the God of Light that resides within the Relic of Knowledge, summoned by whoever says her name while holding it, freezing time for her and her summoner during that duration. Jinn can answer three questions once a century, only able to answer events that had or are occurring as a manifestation of knowledge. The Relic of Knowledge was held within Haven Academy until the Volume 5 finale when Raven uses her Spring Maiden powers to unseal it with Team RWBY acquiring the artifact with Ozpin waning to take it to Atlas for safe keeping. Ruby summons Jinn in Volume 6 to learn the truth about Ozpin, the being granting her request by revealing to Team RWBY, Qrow, Oscar and Maria how Ozpin and Salem transcended their humanity.^{Vol. 6, Ch. 2–3} When later summoned by Ruby during the battle against the Leviathan, initially upset that the girl had no intent of asking her a question, Jinn praises the girl for her cleverly using her for time to activate her silver eyes while explaining that she would not exploit her ability to freeze time again.^{Vol. 6, Ch. 13}

Antagonists

Salem's faction

Jen Taylor, voice of Salem

Jessica Nigri, voice of Cinder Fall

Christopher Sabat, voice of Dr. Arthur Watts

Josh Grelle, voice of Tyrian Callows

• Salem (Jen Taylor):^{Vol. 1 credits}: The main antagonist of the series who, prior to her formal introduction in the season three finale, was known as Mysterious Narrator, providing the origins of Remnant and Dust,^{Vol. 1 credits} along with narration for the first World of Remnant shorts.^{Vol. 2} Volume 6 would reveal she was originally human before her attempt to save Ozma cursed her with immortality by the gods, causing the near extinction of humanity in rallying them against the deities and her attempt of drowning herself in a Grimm Pit mutated her into a human-Grimm hybrid. When Ozma was given the ability to reincarnate, Salem ends up in eternal conflict with her reincarnated lover over how best to guide the surviving humans while resolved to divide and rob them of their hope.^{Vol. 3, Ch. 12 & Vol. 6, Ch. 3} Salem first appears in the Volume 3 finale, revealed to have masterminded the actions of Cinder's factions while claiming Ozpin is dead during a meeting with her underlings at the beginning of Volume 4.^{Vol. 4, Ch. 1} According to Qrow, Salem is after the four Relics left by the deity brothers who created Remnant.^{Vol. 4, Ch. 8} In Volume 5, she has made a deal with the White Fang for the destruction of Haven.^{Vol. 5 Ch. 2} During the Battle of Haven, Salem has her Seer kill Lionheart when he tries to escape.^{Vol. 5, Ch. 14} In Volume 6, Jinn reveals Salem's origins to Team RWBY, Qrow, Oscar and Maria.^{Vol. 6, Ch. 3} When her subordinates return from Haven, she forces them all to accept Cinder as the cause of their loss, while becoming enraged upon learning that Ozpin had reincarnated sooner than expected.^{Vol. 6, Ch. 4} In the volume finale, Salem creates an army of flying Beringel to personally lead the next invasion (most likely Atlas).^{Vol. 6, Ch. 13} Her name is based on the town of Salem, known for its witch trials and alludes to the Wicked Witch from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
• Cinder Fall (Jessica Nigri):^{Vol. 1 credits} A mysterious woman who possesses magma-based powers in creating various type of weapons: these include a pair of blades that combine to form a bow that she uses to fire arrows, a scimitar, and a spear.^{Vol. 2 & 5} She also fights with glass and has been noted to have fused Dust into some of her clothing. Cinder is a very cunning and secretive woman, with goals of gaining power and becoming feared by others, and the end goal of overthrowing Ozpin, as per her superior Salem's wishes.^{Vol. 3, Ch. 7} She leads a team with Mercury and Emerald, recruiting Adam and Roman into helping her devastate Beacon. In Volume 3, Cinder kills the Fall Maiden and claims her power while killing off Ozpin and Pyrrha, the latter's death resulting in Cinder being exposed to Ruby's hidden powers manifesting.^{Vol. 3, Ch. 11–12} Volume 4 reveals that Cinder lost her left eye and arm, the arm replaced with a Grimm limb grafted onto her body, and is initially forced to have Emerald speak for her until she regains her speech.^{Vol. 4, Ch. 1} After going through Salem's treatment, Cinder proceeds to master her new powers.^{Vol. 4, Ch. 3, & 11–12} In Volume 5, a fully recovered Cinder is ordered by Salem to seek out Raven Branwen and convince her to hand over the Spring Maiden so they can acquire the Relic of Knowledge.^{Vol. 5, Ch. 2} But Cinder deviates from the plan by arranging to help Raven kill Qrow if she and Vernal can help her get the Relic of Knowledge, leading an ambush as she overpowers Jaune and fatally wounds Weiss during the Battle of Haven.^{Vol. 5, Ch. 9 & 11} Once at the vault holding the Relic of Knowledge, Cinder reveals her Grimm arm as she kills Vernal for the Spring Maiden's power, learning too late that Raven is the real Spring Maiden.^{Vol. 5, Ch. 12–13} Volume 6 reveals that Cinder barely survived Raven's attack as resolves to regain Salem's favor to taking the Relic from Team RWBY. She seeks out Lil' Miss Malachite for intel on Ruby's whereabouts before being joined by Neo, whom she promises the honor of killing Ruby to in return for the Relic.^{Vol. 6, Ch. 2, 5, & 7} Cinder then sets out with Neo for Atlas.^{Vol. 6, Ch. 13} Cinder is an allusion to Cinderella.
• Dr. Arthur Watts (Christopher Sabat)^{Vol. 4 credits}: A doctor who is formal yet arrogant and condescending to his allies, hinted in Volume 5 to be from Atlas. First appearing the first episode of Volume 4, Watts is instructed by Salem to assume Cinder's role in meeting their informant, revealed in the finale as Haven's headmaster Professor Lionheart.^{Vol. 4, Ch. 1 & 12} In Volume 5, Watts is requested by Salem to return to her and build a replacement tail for Tyrian.^{Vol. 5 Ch. 2} Prior to his departure, Watts accompanies Cinder and her group to negotiate with the Branwen tribe camp and voices his disapproval of Cinder putting her vendetta towards Ruby before their mission.^{Vol. 5, Ch. 7 & 9} In Volume 6, Watts heads for Atlas with Tyrian under Salem's orders.^{Vol. 6, Ch. 9}
• Tyrian Callows (Josh Grelle): A pale psychopathic scorpion Faunus with a long, black braided ponytail and yellow eyes that turn purple while striking with his stinger, showing himself to be extremely devoted to Salem. In Volume 4, mocking Cinder for the injuries she suffered at the Fall of Beacon, Tyrian is assigned by Salem to find and capture Ruby. However, while catching up to Team RNJR,^{Vol. 4, Ch. 6} Tyrian is forced to retreat after Ruby cut off his tail when he poisoned Qrow.^{Vol. 4, Ch. 7} After returning to Salem and losing her favor, a distraught Tyrian vents out his frustrations on a Beowolf that tried to kill him.^{Vol. 4, Ch. 11} In Volume 6, Tyrian is outfitted with a new bionic tail developed by Watts and accompanies the scientist to Atlas after mocking Mercury and Emerald over their dilemma with Cinder's absence.^{Vol. 6, Ch. 4 & 9} His name is the shade of purple.
• Hazel Rainart (William Orendorff): A muscular man who is normally reserved and composed with his Semblance serving as a form of painkiller whenever he embeds raw Dust crystals into his body to augment his strength.^{Vol. 5, Ch. 13} Hazel joined Salem as he blamed Ozpin for the death of his sister Gretchen during a training mission while she attended Beacon, his calm exterior replaced with rage when in Ozpin's presence.^{Vol. 5, Ch. 12} In Volume 4, crossing paths with Oscar, Hazel is sent by Salem to Anima to meet up with Adam to ensure Sienna Khan's loyalty.^{Vol. 4, Ch. 1 & 10} In Volume 5, Hazel meets Khan but is mortified that Adam used him as an excuse to kill her without his knowledge and consent.^{Vol. 5, Ch. 2} He then joins Cinder and Raven as they ambush Qrow's group in the Battle of Haven, attacking Oscar once learning that Ozpin reincarnated into the boy. After losing the battle, Hazel escapes from Haven with Mercury while carrying an unconscious Emerald.^{Vol. 5, Ch. 11–14} In Volume 6, Hazel tries to take responsibility for the defeat at Haven, only to be pinned down by an angry Salem who already knew that it was Cinder who was responsible.^{Vol. 6, Ch. 4} Hazel and Gretchen's names come from Hansel and Gretel.

Cinder's faction

Gray G. Haddock, voice of Roman Torchwick

J.J. Castillo, voice of Mercury Black (Volume 2)

Yuri Lowenthal, voice of Mercury Black (Volume 3–present)

• Mercury Black (J.J. Castillo (Volume 2), Yuri Lowenthal (Volume 3–present)): A gray-haired associate of Cinder's who uses a pair of greaves that also function as guns. His legs are mechanical prosthetics which were implied to be surgically attached because of damage caused to his natural legs by his father, Marcus.^{Vol. 3, Ch. 7} Mercury unlocked his Semblance before it was stolen by Marcus, and was not able to get it back after training.^{Vol. 6, Ch. 9} Mercury is responsible for televising a live video feed of the destruction unleashed on Vale and Beacon near the end of Volume 3.^{Vol. 3, Ch. 10} In Volume 5, Mercury tries to intimidate Raven during the negotiations between her and Salem's faction.^{Vol. 5, Ch. 9} After the Battle of Haven, he is forced to escape, with Hazel carrying Emerald.^{Vol. 5, Ch. 14} In Volume 6, Mercury argues with Emerald about their place in Salem's faction and that Cinder never cared for them.^{Vol. 6, Ch. 9} He alludes to the Roman god of the same name.
• Emerald Sustrai (Katie Newville): A green-haired associate of Cinder's who uses a pair of pistols with attached blades that can also extend via chains, similar to a kusarigama. Her Semblance allows her to cast hallucinations on people's minds, advantageous for her thieving skills, though it becomes a strain to her if she tries to do it on more than one person.^{Vol. 3, Ch. 7} Ever since she was recruited by Cinder, Emerald has an undying loyalty to her, even if she serves someone as evil as Salem.^{Vol. 5, Ch. 11} In Volume 4, Emerald serves as Cinder's translator.^{Vol. 4, Ch. 1} In Volume 5, during the Battle of Haven, Emerald is emotionally distraught at Cinder's apparent death. In despair, she unleashes a powerful hallucination of Salem on the heroes. She is carried away from Haven by Hazel.^{Vol. 5, Ch. 14} In Volume 6, Emerald is forced by Salem to acknowledge Cinder as the reason they failed at Haven.^{Vol. 6, Ch. 4} She is still devoted to Cinder and denies that her master never cared for her, causing her and Mercury to argue.^{Vol. 6, Ch. 9} Emerald is named after the green gemstone while Sustrai is the Basque word for "thief", an apparent allusion to Aladdin.
• Roman Torchwick (Gray G. Haddock):^{Vol. 1 credits} An orange-haired criminal whom Ruby fights in the series' first episode, armed with the "Melodic Cudgel" a cane which doubles as a firearm and grappling gun. Throughout the first two Volumes, Roman aids Cinder's plans in numerous Dust robberies and enlisting the White Fang to cause public unrest until he was arrested by the authorities in the Volume 2 finale.^{Vol. 2, Ch. 12} But this would later to be part of Cinder's plan, as Neo frees him and they take control of an Atlas ship during the Fall of Beacon. However, Roman ends up being devoured by a Griffon that he unknowingly attracted with his nihilism while overpowering Ruby.^{Vol. 3, Ch. 9 – 11} In Volume 6, Roman's hat is now worn by Neo. His attire is inspired by the lead character Alex from the novel/film A Clockwork Orange, while his name is primarily an allusion to Candlewick or Lampwick from Pinocchio.
• Neopolitan: An associate of Roman's with heterochromic eyes that change color between pink, brown, and white depending on her mood, while her hair is pink and brown with streaks of white. She has an umbrella capable of blocking powerful blasts with a hidden blade in its handle, her illusion-based Semblance allows her to generate disguises for herself.^{Vol. 2, Ch. 4} Although she doesn't talk, Neo isn't mute, as confirmed by Gray G. Haddock during the RWBY aftershow. She continuously smiles, which serves as a way of taunting her opponents. While assumed dead when knocked into a Grifon horde by Ruby, while on an airship during the Battle of Beacon, a revenge-driven Neo resurfaces in Volume 6 and joins Cinder's cause after attempting to kill her, when Cinder promises her the honor of killing Ruby, whom they both hate.^{Vol. 3, Ch. 11 & Vol. 6, Ch. 5 & 7} In the volume finale, Neo disguises an airship for her and Cinder to get to Atlas undetected.^{Vol. 6, Ch. 13} Neo's name and appearance reference Neapolitan ice cream.

White Fang

The White Fang is an organization composed of persecuted Faunus fighting for civil rights like those committed by the Schnee Dust Company using their people for labor, originally established by Ghira Belladonna as a peaceful civil disobedience group. But when he stepped down five years prior to the beginning of the series and is succeeded by Sienna Khan, the White Fang became a terrorist cell under the gradual influence of Adam Taurus who staged a coup before the organization became fragmented in the aftermath of the Battle of Haven.

• Adam Taurus (Garrett Hunter): A red-haired man with bull horns and Blake's former partner in the "Black" trailer, revealed in Volume 4 as the leader of a White Fang splinter group based in Vale. He wears a mask to conceal his SDC brand and scar over his left eye.^{Vol. 6, Ch. 11} He wields a chokutō and gun called Wilt and Blush, respectively. Blush doubles as Wilt's sheath, and Adam can shoot Wilt out from the gun as a projectile. His Semblance is "Moonslice", which enables him to absorb attacks with Wilt and strike back with countered force. While a mentor figure to Blake, who considered him a hero for Faunus rights like most the White Fang, Adam gradually become an extremist who considers his people as superior to humans. When Blake left the White Fang when Adam showed a complete disregard for the crew of a train they attacked in the "Black" trailer, a betrayed Adam became obsessed of making her suffer. Despite his initial refusal, Adam allies himself with Cinder and provides his subordinates to Torchwick. Following Torchwick's arrest, Adam assures Cinder that the White Fang will continue to cooperate with her group.^{Vol. 2, Ch. 12} Adam leads the White Fang during the Fall of Beacon in the climax of Volume 3 and overpowers Blake, slicing Yang's right arm off to make good on his promise.^{Vol. 3, Ch. 9-11} In Volume 4, while the Albain brothers denouncing his actions, Adam had their support as he plans a coup to overthrow Sienna Khan as High Leader and launch a full-scale attack of Haven.^{Vol. 4, Ch. 11} In Volume 5, after murdering Khan during an arranged meeting between her and Hazel, Adam readies his forces to attack Haven while ordering the Albain brothers to have Blake brought to him and her family kills.^{Vol. 5 Ch. 2 & 5} But everything falls apart when Blake ruins his intent to detonate bombs laced around Haven and being told that he means nothing to her, the White Fang falling into disarray when Adam abandons his subordinates to escape.^{Vol. 5, Ch. 11, & 13–14} In Volume 6, Adam ends up killing White Fang members after losing their support with his obsession brought into question.^{Vol. 6, Ch. 1} Adam eventually ambushes Blake at Argus, fighting both her and Yang before they managed to defeat and kill him.^{Vol. 6, Ch. 10–12} Adam's name and relationship to Blake compliment her reference to Beauty and the Beast as Adam was the true name of the Beast.
• White Fang Lieutenant (Gray G. Haddock):^{Vol. 2 credits} A higher-ranking White Fang member under Adam who works with Roman Torchwick during Volume 2, armed with a chainsaw-like sword which he uses during his battle against Weiss on the train towards Vale.^{Vol. 2, Ch. 11}
• Sienna Khan (Monica Rial): The former High Leader of the White Fang who has tiger ears, succeeding Ghira after he stepped down.^{Vol. 5, Ch. 3} Her weapon is a chain whip with three detachable Dust blades. Khan firmly believes in using fear and violence to end the humans' prejudice towards the Faunus, but denounces any unnecessary actions that would justify the prejudice as Adam had done during the Fall of Beacon.^{Vol. 5, Ch. 2} Adam later arranges a meeting between Sierra and Hazel for the latter to see if the White Fang can be of service to Salem, Adam using his influence to stage a cope before murdering Sierra with her death fabricated so she would a martyr for the White Fang's cause.^{Vol. 4, Ch. 1Vol. 5, Ch. 2} Based on Shere Khan from The Jungle Books.
• Corsac and Fennec Albain (Derek Mears and Mike McFarland): Fox Faunus brothers who represent the White Fang in Menagerie.^{Vol. 4, Ch. 5} Corsac is taller with a gray fox tail, and Fennec is shorter with light brown fox ears. They each wield a Dust-powered sai.^{Vol. 5, Ch. 8} They secretly work for Adam, thought they have become uneasy with his leadership because of his obsession with Blake's suffering.^{Vol. 5 Ch. 5} The brothers personally lead the White Fang during the assault on the Belladonna household in an attempt to kill Ghira and Kali, ending with Fennec's death while Corsac is arrested.^{Vol. 5, Ch. 8–10} Their names likely allude to the corsac and fennec fox species.

Branwen Tribe

• Vernal: (Amber Lee Connors) Raven's right-hand woman and decoy for the title of the Spring Maiden. Her weapons are a pair of wind and fire wheels with guns attached inside. In her debut in Volume 5, Vernal tells Weiss that the tribe is planning on using her as a ransom for Jacques, and that her older sister has returned to Atlas.^{Vol. 5, Ch. 3} Later on during the Battle of Haven, she engages Weiss in combat as per Raven's orders, and easily defeats her.^{Vol. 5, Ch. 11} At the vault of the Relic of Knowledge, Vernal is impaled and killed by Cinder for the Maiden's power, only for her to be exposed as a decoy for Raven.^{Vol. 5, Ch. 12–13}
• Shay D. Mann (Clifford Chapin): A bandit from Raven's tribe who whom Yang brutally punched at a gas station where he harasses her while drunk, leading her to the camp with the intend to rob her before he and his aid are defeated and learning Yang is Raven's daughter.^{Vol. 5, Ch. 1 & 4} Later, while guarding the camp gates, he is confronted by Cinder's faction and Watts.^{Vol. 5, Ch. 7} His name is a play on the phrase "shady man".

Grimm

The Grimm, also known as the Creatures of Grimm, are soulless monsters that appear throughout the natural world of Remnant as they are devoid of aura and embodiments of the worst aspects of humanity. Ozpin explained Grimm to be the creations of the God of Darkness manifested from pools of a dark substance called Grimm Pits, reflecting their creator's desire to destroy all made by the God of Light, which includes humans whom both brothers created together.^{Vol. 4, Ch 8} Since the dawn of mankind, the Grimm instinctively prey on humans and Faunus while thriving on their pain and malice. But the Grimm are repelled as the result of the discovery of "Dust" and establishment of "Huntsman and Huntresses" to promote peace and maintain order. However, Salem possesses the ability to control the Grimm as she orchestrated Beacon's downfall through Cinder Fall to erode enough of the peoples' faith in the Hunters to enable the Grimm to annihilate the city nearly unopposed.^{Vol. 3, Ch 12}

Grimm display no enmity towards normal wildlife; humans and Faunus are the only races attacked on sight. When Grimm die, their corporeal form evaporates, preventing detailed anatomical or biological studies. Grimm in captivity will die, if they are unable to kill their captors or escape, implying that they cannot be kept alive by conventional means. If the theory of Grimm not needing to feed is true, it is entirely possible that they survive on negative emotions as sustenance, or the act of killing in itself. Because they were created by the God of Darkness, Grimm can be fearful around those with silver-eyes whose access to the God of the Light's power can have varying effects on them that include paralysis, petrification, and complete atomization.

Grimm are portrayed as black in color with white masks with yellow markings and red trail-like designs. The name "Grimm" comes from the pair of brothers who wrote several fairy tales. The vocal sound effects of the Grimm are done by William Orendorff.^{Vol. 1 credits}

Known species of Grimm

• Beowolf: Grimm creatures who bear resemblance to werewolves that serve as foot soldiers for the stronger Grimm. In the "Red Trailer", the Beowolves appeared without their white masks, looking more like the traditional werewolf, before they were redesigned. There is a larger variant of this species known as an Alpha Beowolf. They are named after the poem Beowolf.^{Vol. 1}
• Ursa: Bear-like Grimm creatures. The smaller and more common ones are called Ursa Minor, while the larger and more powerful variety are known as Ursa Major. Their name is Latin for bear.^{Vol. 1}
• King Taijitu: Large Amphisbaena-like serpentine Grimms, with a second inverted-colored head where the tail would normally be. In the manga, four King Taijitu were fused into an orochi variant by the Tentacle Grimm.
• Death Stalker: Large scorpion-like Grimm creatures with glowing golden stingers for tails. They are named after the scorpion species.^{Vol. 1}
• Nevermore: Grimm creatures that take the form of a bird, resembling the raven and condor. They come in a variety of sizes. The large ones have the ability to shoot large feathers to pin down enemies or prey. They are named after the catchphrase of the poem The Raven, by Edgar Allan Poe.^{Vol. 1}
• Boarbatusk: Boar-like Grimm creatures.
• Goliath: Elephant-like Grimm creatures that can be seen wandering outside Mountain Glenn, most rumored to be centuries old and more intelligent than common Grimm.
• Creep: Non-animal Grimm based on birds and reptiles.
• Griffon: Large bird-like creatures with a white head and beak, black, feathered wings and talons of a bird. Its body resembles a large cat, and it has a spiked tail. They are named after the legendary creature of the same name.
• Wyvern: A dragon Grimm whose excretes the dark substance that compromise a Grimm Pit which spawns Grimm. The Wyvern was laying dormant near Mountain Glenn until the events of the Volume 3 finale awakened it for the Fall of Beacon, petrified on top of Beacon Tower when Ruby subconsciously used her silver eyes on it. But the Wyvern still lives while drawing more Grimm to the fallen school.^{Vol. 3, Ch 12}
• Tentacle: A skull-like Grimm exclusive in the manga that possess organic beings, it has the ability to merge other Grimm into a more powerful creature.
• Beringel: Gorilla-like Grimm. They are named after the scientific species name of the Eastern gorilla. In the Volume 6 finale, Salem creates an army of winged Beringel, possibly alluding to the flying monkeys of The Wizard of Oz.^{Vol. 6, Ch. 13}
• Geist: Ghost-type Grimm that can possess inanimate objects. When possessing large rocks, they become Petra Gigas. When possessing the suit of armor Weiss fought in the "White Trailer" (as revealed in the manga), they become Arma Gigas. They are named after the spirit.
• Sea Feilong: Enormous serpent Grimm that dwell in water and attack with lightning breaths. It shares the name of the legendary Chinese winged creature, Feilong literally meaning "Flying Dragon".
• Seer: Small, jellyfish-like Grimm that can float in the air, serving as a form of communication between Salem and her agents.
• Nuckelavee: A gigantic Grimm that resembles a demonic humanoid fused to a horse-like creature from the waist down, the monster having destroyed several villages throughout the continent of Anima while being responsible for the total destruction of Ren's village.^{Vol. 4} It attacks with its elastic limbs and ear-piercing scream. In the finale of Volume 4, it is defeated by Team RNJR and slain by a vengeful Ren.^{Vol. 4, Ch. 12}
• Lancer: Hornet-like Grimm that can fire their stingers like a harpoon capable of destroying airships. The much larger variety, known as the Queen Lancer, can fire projectiles from its abdomen.
• Manticore: A flying lion-like Grimm that breathes fire and uses it scorpion tail. It is named after the legendary creature from Persian mythology.
• Sphinx: A large winged beast Grimm with a snake as a tail, using it and its fire breath while commanding Manticores. It shares the same name as the creature from Greek and Egyptian mythology.
• Apathy: Zombie-like Grimm that drain humans of willpower and comes in hordes. When the head of Brunswick Farms captures two of the Apathy, the rest of the pack follows and kills all of the members of the estate in their sleep.^{Vol. 6, Ch. 6}
• Leviathan: A giant bipedal crocodilian Grimm the size of a skyscraper capable of breathing fire. It is able to survive being petrified by Ruby's silver eyes before it is killed by Cordovin.^{Vol. 6, Ch. 13} It is named after the legendary sea monster of Jewish belief.

Other

• Lil' Miss Malachite (Luci Christian): The leader of a Mistral gang whose members have a spider tattoo, possessing a sixth sense that allows her to predict the current whereabouts of others. When approached by Cinder for the location of Ruby and her friends in Volume 6, Malachite withheld the information out of curiosity over who would ask for Cinder.^{Vol. 6, Ch. 2} Her hunch is later proven true when hired by Neo.^{Vol. 6, Ch. 5} She is an allusion of Little Miss Muffet.
• Tock (Ruth Urquhart): A crocodile Faunus from Maria's younger days as the Grimm Reaper, armed with a pair of saber swords and possessing a Semblance that makes her nigh invulnerable for one minute at a time. Tock was hired to assassinate Maria and steal her silver eyes, managing to blind Maria before being killed by her.^{Vol. 6, Ch. 7} She is an allusion to the Crocodile from Peter Pan.
• Dr. Merlot (Dave Fennoy): The main antagonist of RWBY: Grimm Eclipse, a scientist who experimented on Grimm and create mutant variants.
• Mike (William Ball) and Marty (Joe Nicolosi): Cinder's Beowolf lackies from "RWBY Chibi".
• Floyd (Kerry Shawcross): Cinder's Geist henchman from "RWBY Chibi", having a rivalry with Mike and Marty.

Works cited

• ^ "Vol." is the shortened form for "Volume" and refers to the DVD volume or season for the series. "Ch." is shortened for "Chapter" and refers to the episode number within the volume, with Vol. 1 having 16 and Vol. 2–4 having 12 chapters. "WoR" refers to "World of Remnant", an encyclopedic series of short videos which reveals more information about the world of RWBY. "WoR" has been incorporated in the RWBY volumes since Volume 2. See List of RWBY episodes for more details.

External links

• Rooster Teeth official site