Team JNPR

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 are also 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 DeviantArt 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 was 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.

Main characters

Team RWBY

Team RWBY (pronounced " ruby") is composed of four female students from Beacon Academy. Each member is associated with a color and alludes to a character in the fairy tale world—reflected in their names and personalities.

Ruby Rose

* Voiced by: Lindsay Jones / Saori Hayami

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. In Volume 7, the blade of the scythe can rotate on the rifle. Her Semblance is called "Petal Burst", which enables her to transform into a fast burst of rose petals. Initially, it was thought that Ruby's ability was primarily speed, enabling her to run faster than the human eye can catch, and change directions in mid-air. But in Volume 8, Penny explains that Ruby's Semblance is traveling at extreme velocities while breaking herself down to her molecular components to negate her mass, and then reassembling herself at the destination. She can also use her Semblance on others.

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. 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. 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.

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. Despite her social awkwardness, obsession with weapons, and dependence on her sister, Ruby becomes friends with her classmates while exhibiting the skills and qualities that placed her as the leader of Team RWBY. In Volume 2, Ruby leads her team as they investigate Torchwick's plan, and later help in the effort to stop the criminal's attack on Vale. In the Fall of Beacon, Ruby fends off Torchwick and Neo, but later witnesses Cinder killing Pyrrha. In despair, she unleashes her hidden power that envelopes both Cinder and the Wyvern. As she recovers in Patch, 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. During their travels, Ruby is targeted by Tyrian, but she evades capture with Qrow's help. In Volume 5, Ruby trains in hand-to-hand combat under Ozpin's guidance while reunited with Weiss and Yang. 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.

In Volume 6, Ruby begins losing faith in Ozpin upon seeing his continued mistrust and learning the truth behind him and Salem.. This results in 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. 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. 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.

In Volume 7, Ruby has become conflicted with the morality of her actions. As she hides the truth about Salem and the Relic of Knowledge from Ironwood because she does not fully trust him, she worries that she has become the same as Ozpin. She also develops a friendly rivalry with Harriet, as they are both have speed-type Semblances. After receiving her license from Ironwood, Ruby asks Qrow about Summer and her last mission and rekindles her friendship with Penny. When Salem demands the Relics, Ruby is emotionally devastated when she finds out that the witch was responsible for Summer's death. In Volume 8, Ruby argues with Yang over the group's next action, causing her to lead a group without her sister to launch Amity Colosseum to warn the rest of Remnant about Salem. Thanks to Penny, Pietro and Maria, Ruby's message to the world about Salem and the Relics is successfully broadcast. After seeing Ironwood's threat to Mantle, Ruby coordinates a plan of Penny's return to get to the vault and summons Ambrosius to create a new body for Penny's soul. In the passageways to Vacuo, Ruby fends off a vengeful Neo but is tossed into the void with Blake by Cinder.

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

Weiss Schnee

* Voiced By: Kara Eberle / Yōko Hikasa
The 17-year-old heiress to the Schnee family, a powerful high-class family based in Atlas. Their Schnee Dust Company provides much of the worldwide supply of Dust, despite the family being targeted by the White Fang due to the immoral business ethics of Weiss’ father Jacques, which included mistreatment of Faunus laborers. 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. 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. Her ability consists of "Glyphs" that have a variety of push and pull effects, and the ability to summon previously defeated foes with the Arma Gigas as her primary summon.

Weiss chose to become a Huntress at Beacon Academy with aspirations of restoring her family's honor, as she disagreed with her father's business methods. While initially an egotistic know-it-all with some misplaced prejudice toward the Faunus, she gradually matures and gains understanding, repeatedly showing great trust in her teammates and even protecting the Faunus Velvet Scarlatina during battle. Weiss greatly admires her older sister Winter, but has a more distant relationship with the rest of her family.

In Volume 1, Weiss reluctantly accepts Ruby as her partner, but they argue frequently until Weiss is told by Professor Port to be more humble and work with Ruby. In the end of the Volume, Weiss argues with Blake about the Faunus and the White Fang. After the cat Faunus runs away and later returns, Weiss makes amends with Blake. In Volume 2, Weiss obtains information from the SDC to investigate Torchwick's Dust robberies. She later rejects Jaune's invitation to the school ball to go with Neptune. In Volume 3, Weiss reunites with Winter and has a session with her to try to master her summons. Following the fall of Beacon, Weiss is taken back to Atlas by Jacques.

In Volume 4, her relationship with her father is still strained as she eventually got disinherited and confined in her room within the Schnee manor as the result of losing her temper during a cocktail party. But once she masters summoning, Weiss escapes from her confinement with Klein's help and stows away in an airship to find Winter in Mistral. In Volume 5, Weiss is captured by Raven Branwen after the cargo ship crash lands in the outskirts of Anima. However, she breaks free from her confinement and reunites with Yang. Eventually, the two of them make their way to Mistral and reunite with Ruby. 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. In Volume 6, Weiss shows great displeasure with returning to Atlas. 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. She later smuggles Maria onto an airship so they can steal it for the group, but they are then attacked by Cordovin.

In Volume 7, Weiss is reunited with Winter, but is later shocked to find that her older sister has been chosen to be the next Winter Maiden. She is disheartened when the first mission in Atlas is in an abandoned Dust mine once owned by her father. Weiss also expresses her guilt to Blake about the discrimination her family displayed to the Faunus, and she confronts Jacques and learns that her mother's condition has worsened in her absence. After Jacques wins the election, Weiss becomes suspicious of her father and obtains a video from her mother, Willow, about his secret meeting with Watts. She promptly exposes the video during Jacques' dinner party, which leads to his arrest. After defeating the Ace-Ops, Weiss is forced to part ways with Winter to escape from Atlas. In Volume 8, Weiss brings Ruby's group to the Schnee manor after Nora is injured in the escape from the command center. She makes amends with Whitely after he calls Klein back to the manor to treat Nora, and later fights the Hound to save her family. In the Atlas vault, Weiss provides blueprints for Ambrosius to create a new body for Penny and passageways from Atlas and Mantle to Vacuo, but accidentally tells him to make the door to Vacuo one-way and is knocked into the void by Cinder.

Weiss alludes to Snow White, as her full name Weiss Schnee 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

* Voiced By: Arryn Zech / Yū Shimamura

Blake is introduced as 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. 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. 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. 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.

In the Volume 1 finale, Blake accidentally reveals herself to be a Faunus to her team and runs away but is found by Sun. After confronting the White Fang over their alliance with Torchwick, Blake returns to her team and makes amends with Weiss. In Volume 2, Blake investigates Torchwick's plan to the point of exhaustion, but is pulled back by Yang. 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. 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. 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.

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. 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. Despite returning to the group, Blake still feels uneasy with Yang out of guilt for her injuries during the Fall of Beacon. At an abandoned farm estate, she tries to assure Yang about facing Adam, but accidentally insults her instead. 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.

In Volume 7, Blake is haunted for causing Adam's death, even when Yang assures her that it was something that they had to do. Her sword is repaired by Pietro with a yellow lightning streak where the blade was broken. After Ironwood orders for Robyn's arrest, Blake is convinced by Yang to reveal the truth about Amity's new purpose as a CCT to the Mantle politician. In Volume 8, Blake joins Ruby's group to launch Amity, and is concerned with Ruby and Yang's estranged relationship. But she reconnects with Yang as they regroup at the Schnee manor. In the passageways to Vacuo, Blake tries to save Ruby from falling into the void, but they end up falling by Cinder's hand.

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

Yang Xiao Long

* Voiced By: Barbara Dunkelman / Ami Koshimizu

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. In Volume 7, Yang has Pietro add sticky grenades to her arsenal. Her Semblance, "Burn", 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. Yang wanted to become a Huntress because of the adventure, as she calls herself a thrill-seeker in search of a life where she doesn't know what lies ahead of her.

In the Yellow Trailer, Yang interrogates Junior at his club for her mother's whereabouts In Volume 2, Yang revisits Junior's club with Neptune to find out about Torchwick's plans. She later stops Blake from overexerting herself in her investigation of Torchwick, and convinces the Faunus to attend the school ball. 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. 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. 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. She is also shown to be hesitant to use a bionic arm provided to her by Pietro. 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. 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. In the volume finale, she arrives on the continent of Anima and heads for Mistral to find Ruby.

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. 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. She is still angry at Blake for leaving her alone after the Fall of Beacon, but calms down thanks to Weiss' counsel. 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. 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. Yang still has nightmares of Adam and is mad when she feels that Blake is pitying her. In Argus, Yang saves Blake from Adam and they team up and kill him.

In Volume 7, Yang questions Ruby's decision to hide the truth about Salem and the Relic of Knowledge from Ironwood, and tries to comfort Blake over Adam's death. Even though she trusts her little sister, Yang proceeds with Blake to reveal Amity's new purpose to Robyn. But this action backfires on Yang when Ironwood finds out what she and Blake told Robyn, leading to the order for their arrest. In Volume 8, Yang argues with Ruby about the group's next course of action, causing her to break from the team and lead her own group to evacuate Mantle. After Oscar is captured, Yang argues with Ren and shows that her relationship with Ruby has estranged. Inside the Monstra, Yang confronts Salem about Summer's death but to no avail. After they escape from the witch, Yang is hostile to Emerald but makes amends with Ruby and Blake at the Schnee manor. She later breaks down on Summer's fate, but tries to bolster Ruby in taking risks. In the passageways to Vacuo, Yang sacrifices herself to save Ruby from Neo and falls off into the void.

Yang is an allusion to Goldilocks. 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 temporarily joins their group and they informally rename themselves Team RNJR ("ranger").

Jaune Arc

* Voiced By: Miles Luna / Hiro Shimono
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. In Volume 4, Jaune upgraded the shield so that it can act as a second blade for the sword. In Volume 7, the shield is further upgraded by Pietro with hardened light Dust on the sides that Jaune can use to act as a glider in air, and the crest can now hold Dust. His Semblance, "Aura Amp", allows him to amplify his Aura or that of others, and he can quickly recharge his Aura even when broken by Volume 7.

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. 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 Volume 2, Jaune frequently advances on Weiss but is turned down every time. At the school ball, he learns of Pyrrha's attraction to him and makes amends with her. In the finale, Jaune leads his team to help Team RWBY in protecting Vale.

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. 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, and continues to be heavily affected by her death. In Volume 5, Jaune works under Ozpin's guidance to find out what his Semblance is. 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 and saves her from certain death. In Volume 6, Jaune is able to see his older sister, Saffron, when the group arrives at Argus. 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.

In Volume 7, Jaune begins his Huntsman career protecting preschoolers in Mantle, while also attracting the affections of young women. This experience will later prove useful for him as he leads one of the evacuations during the Battle of Mantle. In Volume 8, Jaune acts as a mediator for the group, when Ruby and Yang argue over their next move, and later when Yang and Ren argue over their failures. When they are later captured by the Ace-Ops, Jaune convinces Winter to let him and his group scout the Monstra to find Oscar before detonating the Grimm with a bomb. At the Schnee manor, Jaune amplifies Penny's Aura to help her fight off the virus inside her. At Atlas, Jaune tries to warn the people of the fall of Atlas but is cut off by Watts. In the passageways to Vacuo, Jaune regretfully kills Penny so she can pass on the Winter Maiden's power to Winter. He later falls into the void as the passageways are destroyed by Cinder.

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

In September 2020, Luna announced his departure from Rooster Teeth, but that he would continue to co-write the series and voice Jaune going forward.

Nora Valkyrie

* Voiced By: Samantha Ireland, Kristen McGuire (Young) / Aya Suzaki
An orange-haired student at Beacon who carries Magnhild, a war hammer that can be converted into a grenade launcher. Her Semblance, "High Voltage", is the production and manipulation of electricity, allowing her to channel the energy to her muscles and gain superhuman strength. 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. She also 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. 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".

In a flashback in Volume 4, it's revealed that Nora was living on the streets of Kuroyuri when she was a child. When the village was attacked by Grimm and Nora was abandoned by her mother, Ren saved her, beginning their friendship. In the end of Volume 3, Nora goes with Ruby, Jaune and Ren to Haven. In Volume 4, Nora has upgraded Magnhild, so that it can apparently hold a stronger electric charge. In the finale, she and Ren become a couple after their fight with the Nuckelavee.

In Volume 7, Nora is disheartened when Ren gives her the cold shoulder during their first mission in Atlas. But she is able to kiss him during Robyn's political rally before chaos ensues. After Ironwood increases the military in Mantle following Jacques' electoral victory, Nora loses her temper as she berates the general for allowing Mantle to suffer while Amity is being rebuilt. In Volume 8, Nora's estrangement with Ren worsens as she joins Ruby's group to launch Amity. But she later shows signs of codependence as she admits that she is lost without Ren. At the command center when Penny is overpowered by the Ace-Ops, Nora overexerts herself by absorbing too much electricity to break the others free from the control room to rescue the android. Unconscious and severely injured with body scars, she is brought to the Schnee manor where she is later tended to by Klein. Nora wakes up to momentarily calm Penny down when the robot begins to be hacked. After finding out that her scars won't go away with Jaune's help, Nora admits her love for Ren but wants to find her self identity before entering a relationship with him.

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. According to the show's producers, the concept of her weapon was based on the annual Festival of Exploding Hammers in Mexico.

Pyrrha Nikos

* Voiced By: Jen Brown / Megumi Toyoguchi (Volumes 1–2, Volume 3 (Blu-Ray/DVD)), Shizuka Itō (Volume 3 (TV))
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.

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. 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". When Jaune ignores that and treats her normally, she becomes attracted to him and chooses him as her partner during the initiation. 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. 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.. 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. But Jaune eventually moves on after coming across a memorial statue of Pyrrha in Argus and speaking with a mysterious woman, inspiring him and his fellow surviving JNPR teammates to continue their mission.

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

* Voiced By: Monty Oum (Volumes 1–2), Neath Oum (Volume 3–present), Apphia Yu (Young) / Soma Saito
A black-haired student at Beacon who dual wields machine pistols with attached blades, collectively called StormFlower. In Volume 7, Pietro upgraded StormFlower so the blades can be projected from the guns to act as grappling hooks. His Semblance, "Tranquility", masks negative emotion, which allows him and his targets to avoid detection from Grimm. In Volume 8, Ren's Semblance evolves to allow him to see the emotions of those around him in the form of lotus petals with various colors. His power also allows him to detect the emotions of those nearby He and Nora are long-time friends, though he is the exact opposite of her, as he is mostly quiet, mellow and mature.

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. Joining Ruby alongside Jaune and Nora to Haven in the Volume 3 finale, Ren is able to avenge his parents when they encounter Nuckelavee after ending up in Kuroyuri, and reciprocate Nora's feelings for him.

In Volume 7, Ren's relationship with Nora turns for the worse when he ignores her affections for him during their first mission in Atlas. He becomes more focused on training and going on missions, and admits to Nora that he has a hard time expressing his feelings. But Ren is kissed by Nora, and he returns his affections for her before chaos erupts at Robyn's political rally. Afterwards, he becomes colder when he accepts Ironwood's order to arrest Robyn and find out who Tyrian is working for. In Volume 8, Ren is disheartened when Nora goes with Ruby's group while he joins Yang in evacuating Mantle. After Oscar is captured by the Grimm, Ren lashes out at Yang and Jaune over their failures. When they are captured by the Ace-Ops, Ren's Semblance evolves, allowing him to see the emotions of the Ace-Ops. After they escape from the Monstra with Oscar and Emerald, Ren figures out that Ozpin has reemerged. At the Schnee manor, Ren makes amends with his teammates and admits his love for Nora.

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.

Qrow Branwen

* Voiced by: Vic Mignogna (Volumes 3–6), Jason Liebrecht (Volume 7–present) / Hiroaki Hirata

A cool-headed and nonchalant former 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. He was the fourth member of Team STRQ. Having taught Ruby to wield her Crescent Rose, 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. His Semblance, "Misfortune", brings negative probability to those around him, and unlike other Huntsmen, his is always active and uncontrollable, with the result that he tries to fight alone so that it affects his enemies and not his comrades.

As revealed in Volume 5, being originally part of the Branwen 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. For the first two volumes, Qrow works as Ozpin's scout to find out about Salem's plans. Qrow makes his official debut in Volume 3 as he reveals to Ozpin that their enemies are making a move on Beacon.

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. In Volume 4, Qrow continues to watch over the team discreetly while having an encounter with Raven in Higanbana where he questions his twin's callousness towards Yang while questioning her of the Spring Maiden's location. 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. In Volume 5, following a meeting with Lionheart, Qrow is reunited with Ozpin when meets Oscar. 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. 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. 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. His alcoholism worsens and causes problems for the group, especially for Ruby. Qrow initially turns down Jaune's plan of stealing an airship to get to Atlas, but his arguments is stopped by Ruby. As the group goes through with the plan, Qrow starts to panic when things start to go wrong and he blames himself for it. After the fights with Cordovin and the Leviathan, Qrow begins to abstain from alcohol.

In Volume 7, Qrow is in awe of Clover because of his good fortune Semblance and bonds with him. After the Beacon students receive their Huntsman licenses, Qrow assures Ruby that her actions are morally right while opening up with her about Summer. Qrow teams up with Clover during the Battle of Mantle to help Robyn subdue Tyrian, only to be devastated when Tyrian kills Clover. Qrow, along with Robyn, is arrested by Atlesian forces when Tyrian frames him for Clover's death. In Volume 8, Qrow is kept in prison, vowing to kill Ironwood and becoming closer to Robyn. After Cinder destroys the prison to free Watts, Qrow escapes with Robyn to find and kill Ironwood, but is pulled back by the Mantle politician. They then work with Marrow to stop Ironwood's bomb from going to Mantle, but eventually fights Harriet when she flies off with the bomb herself. In the aftermath of Atlas falling, Qrow desperately tries to contact his nieces if they made it out, but is horrified when they do not respond.

Qrow 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. The following July, Liebrecht was announced as the new voice of Qrow.

Ozma

Ozma is an ancient warrior who has been reincarnated by the God of Light to defeat Salem. While Ozma is named after Princess Ozma from the Oz book series, his reincarnations reference the title character of '' The Wonderful Wizard of Oz''.

Ozma

* Voiced by 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. 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. 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. 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 being slightly mistrustful due to countless acts of betrayal he suffered across his past lives.

Professor Ozpin

* Voiced by Shannon McCormick / Kazuhiko Inoue
The headmaster of Beacon Academy, armed with a cane, The Long Memory, which has numerous functions that include serving as a melee weapon capable of generating a protective force field. The cane has vast amount of powerful kinetic energy stored inside, accumulated by Ozpin during his past lifetimes. Despite appearances, Ozpin is gradually revealed as Ozma's reincarnation.

In Volume 1, Ozpin allows Ruby to enroll into Beacon 2 years early after she stops one of Torchwick's robberies. He later oversees the initiation and assigns the new teams afterwards. As school begins, Ozpin tells Ruby to be more responsible as a leader, and later receives a message from Qrow regarding Salem's actions. In Volume 2, Ozpin is at odds with Ironwood for bringing military airships for festival securities. During the mission assignments, Ozpin allows Team RWBY to take on a mission not allowed for first-years. In Volume 3, Ozpin chooses Pyrrha to become the next Fall Maiden, but his efforts are thwarted by Cinder Fall and he loses to her in battle.

In Volume 4, Ozpin's soul or part of it transmigrates into the body of Oscar Pine, whom he urged to reach Haven where he is reunited with Qrow. 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. After the Relic is secured following the Battle of Haven, Ozpin has Oscar instruct Qrow to bring it to Atlas. 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 being slightly mistrustful due to countless acts of betrayal he suffered across his past lives. After his secret past is exposed by Jinn, he loses everyone's trust and he seals himself within Oscar's mind. 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.

In the finale of Volume 7, Ozpin emerges from Oscar's mind after the farmboy is knocked out of Atlas by Ironwood and guides him to safely land on Mantle. In Volume 8, Ozpin shares Oscar's desire to not have their souls merge in the future. When they are later captured by Salem, he goes along with Oscar's plan to sabotage Salem's inner circle. Ozpin questions Hazel's loyalty to the witch and later reveals Salem's full past. At the Schnee manor, Ozpin apologizes to Ruby's group for not trusting them and reveals the existence of Ambrosius.

Oscar Pine

* Voiced by Aaron Dismuke / Rie Kugimiya
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. 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. 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. He later trains alongside Team RNJR to strengthen his Aura and discover his Semblance. 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. 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. 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.

In Volume 7, Oscar is entrusted with the Relic of Knowledge by Ruby while the others go on their first mission in Atlas. But he is uneasy with Ruby's decision to hide what they know about Salem and the Relic from Ironwood, as he feels that they are doing the same as what Ozpin did to them. Oscar then trains under Ironwood, fighting with Team JNR against Team FNKI at one point. After learning about the Relic of Creation, Oscar advises Ironwood to reach out to those he fears and try to gain their trust. When the Huntsmen mobilize to head for Mantle, Oscar stays behind in Atlas to tell Ironwood about Salem's immortality. He is later attacked by Neo and loses the Relic of Knowledge to her, despite receiving help from Team JNR. Oscar then heads for the Vault to talk sense to Ironwood, but to no avail as the general shoots him out of Atlas. However, Oscar receives guidance from Ozpin to save themselves from death.

In Volume 8, Oscar reunites with Ruby's group, but keeps Ozpin's reemergence a secret and joins Yang's group to evacuate Mantle. As he helps with the evacuation, he admits to Ozpin that he does not want their souls to merge. Oscar is then captured by the Hound, taken to Salem, and is tortured by both her and Hazel on how to activate the Relic of Knowledge. Realizing that Salem has her minions divide the humans before invading a kingdom, Oscar decides to sabotage her own forces in the same matter, first by revealing the lamp's secrets to Hazel to gain his trust. After showing Jinn to Hazel and Emerald, Oscar reunites with Yang's group and nearly escapes with them and the thief. But when Salem captures them and Hazel turns on her, Oscar unleashes most of the power stored in the Long Memory at the witch, destroying the Monstra in the process. As the group head for the Schnee manor with Emerald, Oscar admits that Ozpin has reemerged and wants to give him and the thief a chance for redemption.

He is believed to allude to Tippetarius, or the disguised form of Princess Ozma from The Marvelous Land of Oz

Penny Polendina

* Voiced by: Taylor "Pelto" McNee (English): / Megumi Han

An orange-haired student came to the Vytal Festival to compete in the combat tournament. She wields Floating Array: a small backpack that contains an array of gun-bladed weapons and wires. She can also use the swords as an energy beam cannon. She is known to act awkwardly around people, though she quickly becomes friends with Ruby.

Debuting at the end of Volume 1, Penny fends off Torchwick and the White Fang while helping Ruby search for Blake. In Volume 2, it is revealed that Penny is an android capable of generating an Aura. But in Volume 7, her creator Pietro reveals that her Aura was originally a part of his. Penny tells the truth of her origins to Ruby and asks her to keep it a secret. In Volume 3, she reveals her body is vulnerable to magnets. During Penny's battle against Pyrrha in the Vytal Festival, Pyrrha is affected by Emerald's hallucinating Semblance, reflecting Penny's attack, causing the wires connected to her swords to tear her apart.

In Volume 7, Penny is shown to have been rebuilt sometime after the Fall of Beacon and upgraded with thrusters in her feet allowing her to fly. She has become the protector of Mantle and part of Ironwood's inner circle, but no longer has a team, and is ordered by the general not to focus on making friends. Penny is later framed for massacring several of Robyn's supporters by Watts and Tyrian during a political rally, and Mantle demands Penny be destroyed. Her name is later cleared when Jacques' secret meeting with Watts is exposed, and she joins the Huntsmen as they head for Mantle to fight off the Grimm, regaining the people's trust in her. While helping Winter in receiving the Winter Maiden's power, Penny ends up inheriting the Maiden's power while confronted by Cinder, joining Team RWBY soon after in fleeing Atlas.

In Volume 8, Penny joins Ruby's group in launching Amity but is conflicted about going against Ironwood and her role as the new Winter Maiden. While in Amity, Penny defeats Cinder and goes against her father's command to push Amity high enough to broadcast Ruby's message to Remnant, but is later hacked by Watts through her sword stolen by the Ace-Ops. After crashing in front of the Schnee manor, Penny starts to succumb to Watt's virus but is knocked out by the Hound. As she reawakens, Penny begins to fly to the vault due to the virus but is stopped by Ruby's group and Emerald, and is then able to temporarily hold off the virus thanks to Jaune boosting her Aura. Arriving at the vault, Penny opens it for Team RWBY and succumbs to the virus. But her soul is separated from her robot body by Ambrosius, and she is given a human body as her old one is terminated. In the passageways to Vacuo, Penny is mortally wounded by Cinder. She lets Jaune kill her so that she can pass the Maiden's power to Winter.

Penny alludes to the character Pinocchio, hiccuping every time she tells a lie.

Emerald Sustrai

* Voiced by: Katie Newville / Marina Inoue

A light green-haired girl with dark skin who was an associate of Cinder's and uses Thief's Respite, a pair of pistols with attached blades that can also extend via chains, similar to a kusarigama. Her Semblance, "Hallucinations", 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. By the time of Volume 8, Emerald has trained in improving her Semblance, as she can cast hallucinations on multiple people and keep them for an extended period of time. Ever since she was recruited by Cinder, Emerald had an undying loyalty to her, even if she serves someone as evil as Salem. But after she learns of Salem's true goals and is nearly killed by the witch, Emerald defects to support Ruby's group.

In Volume 3, Emerald is indirectly responsible for Penny's destruction by casting a hallucination onto Pyrrha, causing the Beacon student to impulsively use her polarity Semblance to tear the robot apart. In Volume 4, Emerald serves as Cinder's translator. 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 Ruby's group. She is carried away from Haven by Hazel. In Volume 6, Emerald is forced by Salem to acknowledge Cinder as the reason they failed at Haven. She is still devoted to Cinder and denies that her master never cared for her, causing her and Mercury to argue.

In Volume 8, Emerald helps Cinder infiltrate Amity but later brings her master back to the Monstra after her loss against Penny. She later overhears Oscar explaining Salem's true goal to Hazel and tries to relay it to Mercury but to no avail. After seeing Jinn, Emerald works with Hazel to help Oscar escape and later leads Yang's group to the exit. When they are caught by Salem, Emerald is nearly tortured by the witch for her betrayal and the loss of the Relic but is saved by Hazel and escapes the Monstra. She is then taken prisoner by Yang's group as they head for the Schnee manor to reunite with their teammates, but she helps them in restraining Penny when the robot is hacked again by the virus. At the academy, Emerald disguises herself as Penny to launch a surprise attack on Ironwood.

She is said to allude to Aladdin from the classic anthology book One Thousand and One Nights.

Supporting characters

Maria Calavera

* Voiced by: Melissa Sternenberg

An elderly woman with prosthetic eyes, though she cannot see color with them. 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. 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. She meets Team RWBY, Qrow and Oscar after they crash-land into the snow region of northern Anima. Upon learning that Ruby has silver eyes, Maria teaches her to consciously use her powers when they are attacked by the Apathy Grimm. In Argus, she becomes a mentor to Ruby and shares what she knows about the silver eyes. 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.

In Volume 7, Maria takes the heroes to Pietro so they can find a safe way to Ironwood. She is the only member of the group to avoid being captured by the Ace-Ops. Maria later gives moral support to Pietro after Penny is framed for murder. In the volume finale, Maria secures an airship to help Teams RWBY and JNR, Pietro and Penny to escape Atlas. In Volume 8, Maria helps Penny and Pietro in launching Amity, but later fends off Neo and learns that the illusionist is after Ruby.

She alludes to the typical image of the Grim Reaper in popular culture.

Team STRQ

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.
*
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. In the Volume 6 finale, Summer is shown in person during a flashback, revealing that she, like her daughter, possesses silver eyes. . In Volume 7, Qrow tells Ruby that even Ozpin did not know the nature of Summer's last mission, Salem revealing herself as the one who is responsible for Summer's fate. 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."
*
Voiced by: Burnie Burns / Kenyu Horiuchi
Yang and Ruby's widowed father, only mentioned many times in the first two Volumes before appearing out of focus seen when Ruby visits Summer's grave. 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. Taiyang is mentioned to be a bit overprotective of both of his daughters and loves them dearly. Like Qrow, he is also a teacher at Signal. 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. When Yang is about to leave, he asks her whether she is going after Raven or Ruby. In the finale of Volume 5, Taiyang is confronted by Raven. His name, Taiyang (太阳), is Chinese for "sun."
*
*

Beacon Academy/Vale

*
Voiced by: Kathleen Zuelch (Volumes 1–3), Tiana Camacho (''Ice Queendom'') / Masumi Asano
A Huntress and teacher at Beacon Academy who wields a riding crop, The Disciplinarian, 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 behind only Ozpin in rank at Beacon. In Volume 4, Port and Oobleck reveal that Goodwitch is working to restore Beacon to its former glory. Her name is derived from the character Glinda the Good Witch of ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz''.
*
Voiced by: Ryan Haywood (Volumes 1–4) / Anthony Sardinha (Grimm Eclipse) / Soichi Abe
A veteran Huntsman and teacher at Beacon Academy, and is an expert on fighting different creatures of Grimm. His weapon, Blowhard, is a blunderbuss that has axe blades attached to the stock. In Volume 1, Port tells Weiss to be more humble and support Ruby as a teammate. 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. His name and his tale of taking on a Beowolf in his youth allude to '' Peter and the Wolf''.
*
Voiced by: Joel Heyman / Yuichi Karasuma
A teacher at Beacon Academy, teaching Remnant history. His weapon of choice is Antiquity's Roast, 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. He is named after the children's book '' Bartholomew and the Oobleck'' by Dr. Seuss.

Team CRDL

Team CRDL (pronounced "cardinal") is formed as another first-year team at Beacon Academy, alongside RWBY and JNPR.
*
Voiced by: Adam Ellis / Subaru Kimura: A burnt orange-haired student and the leader of Team CRDL. He wears silver-gray armor and wields a giant mace called The Executioner. 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. Cardin alludes to the Cardinal of Winchester who presided over the Trial of Joan of Arc.
*
Voiced by: Shane Newville / Jun Miyamoto: A green-haired student who wields a pair of Dust- daggers, Shortwings, as a shout out to Will Scarlet.
* :
A light brown-haired student who fights with a long sword called Hallshott that can fire bullets.
* :
A dark blue-haired student whose weapon is a halberd called Feather's Edge.

Team CFVY

Team CFVY (pronounced " coffee") consists of second-year Beacon Academy students. Velvet Scarlatina first appears in Volume 1, , while the others begin appearing in Volume 2. 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. The team's members have a red and brown color scheme and are named after desserts.

*
Voiced by: Ashley Jenkins / Shizuka Itō: A fashionably dressed girl with military-themed accessories and wields her weapon Gianduja, a briefcase that transforms into a minigun. Its destructive power is magnified due to her "Hype" Semblance, allowing her Aura to enhance the effect and power of anything Dust-based. Her name is derived from '' Cocoa'', theorized to be based on Coco Chanel.
*
A young, black, blind man who was an orphan living in Vacuo before attending Beacon, wearing an orange vest and armed with his weapon Sharp Retribution, a pair of wrist-mounted blades. His Semblance is "Telepathy", which allows him to compensate for his blindness while allowing him to communicate with his teammates. His name is derived from fox hunter pie, as well as the story of The Fox and the Hound.
*
Voiced by: Caiti Ward / Megumi Han: 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, Anesidora, 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, "Photographic Memory", 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'' and red velvet cake.
*
Voiced by: Joe MacDonald / Ryōsuke Morita: The final member of team CFVY, Yatsuhashi is a tall male in a green one-sleeved robe armed with Fulcrum, a long sword. His Semblance, "Memory Wiping", allows him to erase a person's memories when he touches them, trivial memories permanently lost while the timing that important ones are later recalled within a duration of time equal to how long Yatsuhashi was touching that person. 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

*
Voiced by: Jack Shannon Pattillo / Katsuya Miyamoto: 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.. Later on in Volume 2, Yang visits him in his club again, hoping to get some lead on Torchwick's plans. His name means "black bear" in Chinese, with his nickname alluding to the baby bear from Goldilocks.
*
Voiced by Maggie Tominey / Aya Suzaki: A pair of black-haired twins who work for Junior. They are the daughters of gangster leader, Lil' Miss Malachite. Melanie fights with bladed heels while Miltia utilizes a pair of claws. They are altered designs of the first design of Ruby and Weiss, and they allude to the story of Snow White and Rose Red.

Others

* :
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. In Volume 2, Zwei is sent to Ruby and Yang by Taiyang via mail to be taken care of. After Ruby sneaks the dog on her team's assignment, he helps them and Oobleck fighting Torchwick and the White Fang. Zwei returns to the family home in Patch following the Fall of Beacon. His name is a play on the corgi Ein from the manga/anime series '' Cowboy Bebop''.
*
Voiced by: Patrick Rodriguez: A shop owner of various places such as From Dust Till Dawn. He is often seen being robbed or his property damaged. In Volumes 2 and 3, he operates a noodle stand on the Vytal Festival grounds. Shopkeep survives the Fall of Beacon and watches Ruby's broadcast to the world with Goodwitch in Volume 8.
*
Voiced by: Adam Ellis / Kenta Miyake: 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.
*
Voiced by: Kdin Jenzen / Hiroki Nanami: An original character in ''Ice Queendom'', which takes place between Volumes 1 and 2 of the series. They are a special type of Huntsman called a "Nightmare Hunter", armed dreamcatcher-like weapon that helps with capturing Nightmare Grimm. Shion arrives to Beacon during the Team RWBY's initiation test in the Emerald Forest due to a Nightmare possessing Jaune, offering their help when Weiss is attacked by another Nightmare.

Atlas Academy/Atlas

Atlesian Military

=James Ironwood

=

* Voiced by: Jason Rose / Masaki Terasoma

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 weapons, collectively called Due Process, are a pair of revolvers that can be attacked to a cannon. His Semblance, "Mettle", enables him to hyper-focus and carry through with whatever decision he makes. In Volume 3, it is revealed that Ironwood has a robotic right arm, torso and leg.

In his debut in Volume 2, Ironwood brings his military forces, which puts him at odds with Ozpin immediately. After Torchwick's attack on Vale, Ironwood is put in charge of security for the tournament by the council. But in Volume 3, Ironwood is unable to use his forces to fight off the Grimm, as they are either destroyed or hacked. In Volume 4, Ironwood has returned to Atlas to continue his duties as General and Headmaster of Atlas. It is shown that he 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.

By Volume 7, Ironwood plans to restore global communications by turning Amity Colosseum into a CCT tower, and to reveal Salem's existence to the world, which is why he called all of Atlas back to the kingdom to fight the Grimm that will flock to them when panic breaks out. But with Watts and Tyrian causing chaos in Mantle, Ironwood slowly descends into paranoia and starts to make irrational decisions, including the order for Robyn's arrest for stealing supplies for Amity. He is able to regain his composure long enough to reveal Salem's existence to the council, order the evacuation of Mantle, and lure and defeat Watts in Amity. But Ironwood's paranoia returns when Salem demands for the Relics, prompting him to abandon Mantle and move Atlas out of Salem's reach, while ordering the arrest of Teams RWBY and JNR, Qrow and Oscar when their lies and treachery are revealed to him. In the finale, the betrayal of Team RWBY results in Ironwood shooting Oscar out of the Vault, and becoming enraged when he learns from Winter that the Maiden powers are gone, preventing him from using the Relic of Creation to move Atlas.

Ironwood's intolerance of RWBY's actions results in him becoming one of the main antagonists of Volume 8, shooting Councilman Sleet dead and ordering Watts to hack into Penny to have her come back to Atlas. When Salem begins her attack on Atlas, Ironwood has a bomb prepared to destroy the Monstra. After the Battle of Atlas, Ironwood thwarts the effort of Ruby's group to evacuate Mantle. He then releases a broadcast to demand Penny's return, threatening to destroy Mantle with his bomb if she does not comply. Though he is initially defeated by Team JNR, Oscar, Emerald and Winter, and locked up in prison, Ironwood escapes, kills Jacques, and overpowers Winter at the vault. But he is later defeated by her when she receives the Maiden powers from Penny. Ironwood is unable to stop Salem from taking the Relics and is left to die in the fall of Atlas.

Ironwood alludes to the Tin Woodman from ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz''.

=Winter Schnee

=
* Voiced by: Elizabeth Maxwell / Ayako Kawasumi

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 inherited their family's "Glyphs" Semblance, 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.

In Volume 3, Winter arrives in Vale to oversee additional security units for the tournament. She then gives Weiss a lesson on how to master summoning techniques before returning home. 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.

By Volume 7, Winter has become part of Ironwood's inner circle and is chosen by the general to become the next Winter Maiden. Despite having the choice made by Ironwood, Winter sees the task as a privilege for her to do good in Remnant. After the Battle of Mantle, Winter proceeds to get the Maiden powers from Fria but the power is transferred to Penny instead while they are attacked by Cinder. Severely injured by the Fall Maiden, Winter refuses help from Weiss but allows her, Ruby, and Penny to escape with their group. She later reports to Ironwood that they lost the Maiden powers In Volume 8, after recovering from her injuries, Winter replaces Clover as the leader of the Ace-Ops and searches for Penny after Watts' hacking into the robot. After arresting Yang's group, she is later convinced by them to let them scout the Monstra for Oscar before setting off a bomb inside in the Battle of Atlas. Deciding that she can't stand by Ironwood any longer, Winter fakes Marrow's arrest and contacts Weiss. She then turns on the general and knocks him out, and puts him in prison next to Jacques. But at the vault, Winter fights Ironwood and initially loses until Penny passes on the Maiden powers to her. After defeating Ironwood again, Winter fends off Cinder but fails to save Weiss and Jaune from falling into the void. Regretfully, she heads to Vacuo to protect the people of Atlas and her family from the Grimm.

Winter is an allusion to The Snow Queen.

=Caroline Cordovin

=
* Voiced by: 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. 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. Reflecting on Ruby's words, Cordovin finishes off the Leviathan after Ruby freezes it, and then allows the group to continue to Atlas.

Cordovin alludes to the nursery rhyme, " There was an Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe".

=Dr. Pietro Polendina

=
* Voiced by: Dave Fennoy

An elderly Atlesian scientist who traverses with a mechanic wheelchair, and is responsible for the creation of Penny, Yang's robotic arm, and Maria's cybernetic eyes. Maria visits him roughly every ten years to have her implants adjusted. With Penny's creation, Pietro gave her a huge portion of his Aura. He cherishes Penny as his own daughter but is overprotective of her, so much that he is against letting her going into harm's way to achieve a goal. In his earlier years, Pietro had a team of scientists that included Watts.

When arriving in Mantle, Maria suggests that he may be able to get them a meeting with General Ironwood. After they arrive in his charitable free clinic, Pietro quickly recognizes Yang's arm, Weiss, and by association team RWBY telling them that his "daughter" told him all about them. Before the heroes' first mission in Atlas, Pietro upgrades their weapons at their request. After Penny is framed for committing murder in Mantle, Pietro shows signs of his health deteriorating as he tries to look after his daughter. In the finale, Pietro flees Atlas with Penny, Teams RWBY and JNR, and Maria. In Volume 8, Pietro hacks the Ironwood's terminal to send a launch signal for Amity. He and Maria later join Penny at the colosseum to broadcast Ruby's message, but they are thwarted by Cinder. Pietro is initially against Penny's offer to push Amity into broadcast range, and is later devastated when he loses contact with her.

Pietro is an allusion to Geppetto from '' Pinocchio''.

Dave Fennoy previously voiced Dr. Merlot in ''RWBY: Grimm Eclipse''.

Ace-Ops

The Ace-Ops are a special team of Huntsmen in the Atlas Military. Like Winter and Penny, they are part of Ironwood's inner circle. In Volume 8, The Ace-Ops are led by Winter following Clover's death. Each member is an allusion to one of the Aesop's Fables, with the team's name being a homophone of the word ' Aesop'.
*
Voiced by: Chris Wehkamp: Leader of the Ace-Ops who wields an extendable fishing pole called Kingfisher. His Semblance is good fortune. Clover develops a friendship with Qrow, and seems to have had a past relationship with Robyn. During the Battle of Mantle, Clover and Qrow join Robyn in confronting Tyrian. But when he is ordered by Ironwood to arrest Qrow, Clover fights both Qrow and Tyrian and is killed by the Faunus with Qrow's sword, with a remorseful Qrow and Robyn framed for his murder. He alludes to ''A Fisherman’s Good Luck''.
*Elm Ederne
Voiced by: Dawn M. Bennett: A muscular woman who wields a giant hammer, Timber, that doubles as a rocket launcher. Her Semblance allows her to use her Aura to root her feet into the ground. In the Volume 8 finale, Elm works with Vine to try to stop Harriet from destroying Mantle, and is later devastated by Vine's death. Elm alludes to the elm from ''The Elm and The Vine''.
*Marrow Amin
Voiced by: Mick Lauer: A dog Faunus who wields Fetch, a machine gun that can extend into a bladed boomerang. His Semblance can freeze specific targets by uttering the word "stay". Marrow was a replacement for former Ace-Op member Tortuga. In Volume 7, Marrow is skeptical of Robyn fighting for equal rights for everyone in the kingdom of Atlas. He later tries to plead with the Mantle politician when Penny is framed for causing a massacre at the political rally, but to no avail. In the Battle of Atlas in Volume 8, Marrow protests to Winter about setting off the bomb while Yang's group is still inside the Monstra. After Ironwood threatens to destroy Mantle to make Penny return, Marrow angrily speaks out at Ironwood for risking people's lives and is taken away by Winter for both of them to defect. He then aids Qrow and Robyn by subduing his former team but is knocked out by an explosive android sent by Watts. Marrow alludes to ''The Dog and Its Reflection''.
*Harriet Bree
Voiced by: Anairis Quinones: A woman with a mohawk who wields exoskeletal gauntlets called Fast Knuckles. Her Semblance allows her to move super fast, and she notes that her reaction time is quicker than Ruby's. Although she trusts her fellow Ace-Ops, Harriet only sees her team as coworkers and not as friends. In Volume 8, Harriet is the Ace-Op that is most hostile towards Ruby's group for their treachery to Ironwood, going so far as to be willing to kill them. She later reveals to the general that Winter went against his order to detain Yang's group. Harriet then carries the bomb herself to Mantle and later fights Qrow, but stands down when her teammates plead for her to stop. Harriet alludes to the hare from ''The Tortoise and the Hare''.
*Vine Zeki
Voiced by: Todd Womack: A pale man with unique forehead tattoos and wields Thorn, a giant shuriken-like weapon. His Semblance allows him to create extendable arms and legs. In Volume 8, Vine is willing to follow through with Ironwood's threat to Mantle to make Ruby's group cease in resisting. But after being initially stopped by Qrow, Robyn and Marrow, Vine comes to his senses and tries to stop Harriet from destroying Mantle. When they are unable to disarm the bomb, Vine sacrifices himself to contain the explosion with his Semblance. Vine alludes to the vine from ''The Elm and The Vine''.

Penny's team

*
*
Voiced by: Yssa Badiola / Ami Naito: A dark-skinned girl with a beret who serves as Penny's handler while being unaware of her being an android.

Team FNKI

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. The other two members are introduced when Team FNKI returns in Volume 7. In Volume 8, Team FNKI is sent to the front lines during the Battle of Atlas.
*
Voiced by: Flynt Flossy / Tooru Sakurai: 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. His name is taken from a joke commonly used in Rooster Teeth's gaming content division Achievement Hunter's series "Let's Play Minecraft".
*
Voiced by: Meg Turney / Konomi Fujimura: 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.
*
A tall man with long blue hair. He and Ivori allude to the dress, with Kobalt being the black/blue version.
*
A grey-haired and tan-skinned man with glasses who uses a whip. He and Kobalt allude to the dress, with Ivori being the gold/white version.

Team BRIR

Team BRIR (pronounced "briar") is a team active in Atlas, but are not native to the kingdom. They serve as supporting characters in the video game ''RWBY: Arrowfell''.
*
Voiced by: Alexis Tipton: A blonde haired woman who wields twin prism daggers called Cause and Effect. Her Semblance, "Refraction", can copy other people's Semblances.
*
Voiced by: Laura Stahl: A dark-skinned woman with red dreadlocks who wields Drop and Roll, a flamethrower that doubles as a flail. Her Semblance, "Inferno", enhances her weapon's attacks.
*
Voiced by: Amanda Lee: A brunette-haired woman who wields a thorn-barbed whip called Pins and Needles. Her Semblance, "Threshold", can create portals that she uses in conjunction with her weapon.
*
Voiced by: Judy Alice Lee: A ginger-haired woman who wields a pair of drill gauntlets called Wear and Tear. Her Semblance, "Delve", allows her to "swim" underground.

Happy Huntresses

The Happy Huntresses are composed of Atlas Academy graduates who did not join the military, and instead use their talents to serve Mantle. They refer to the Merry Men.

=Robyn Hill

=

* Voiced by: Cristina Vee

Leader of the Happy Huntresses and a Mantle politician who is going against Jacques in the council election of Atlas. Her weapon is a wrist-mounted crossbow with bladed fans that act as a shield, and her Semblance acts as a lie detector when she physically holds someone's hand. She seems to have a history with Clover.

In her Volume 7 debut, Robyn confronts Clover about Ironwood using vital supplies for his plans with Amity Arena, instead of reinforcing Mantle's defenses. When she holds a political rally on the election day, Robyn is assaulted by Tyrian in a blackout but wrongfully accuses Penny. She also loses the election to Jacques after Watts rigs the votes. In response, Robyn steals Amity supplies until she is confronted by Blake and Yang, who tell her about Amity turning into a CCT, and the military being framed for murder in Mantle. At Jacques' dinner party, Robyn interrogates Ironwood with the council until Weiss exposes Jacques' crimes, and learns about Salem from Ironwood as the Grimm attack Mantle. She later helps Ironwood in telling the people of Atlas and Mantle about Salem, and then defeats Tyrian with Qrow and Clover. But after Ironwood abandons Mantle, Robyn turns on Clover but is severely injured when Tyrian crashes their aircraft and arrested soon after. In Volume 8, Robyn becomes closer to Qrow as they are held in prison. She escapes with him after Cinder destroys the prison, and later refrains him from killing Ironwood. Robyn and Qrow then destroy the drones carrying the bomb to Mantle, but they chase after Harriet and the bomb after their efforts are thawrted by Watts.

Robyn is an allusion to Robin Hood.

=Fiona Thyme

=
* Voiced by: Michele Sontag

A short white-haired Faunus with sheep ears. Her Semblance, "Pocket Dimensions", allows her to teleport objects by touching them. She is first seeing spying on the Atlesian Military as they occupy the old SDC mine with Amnity, and she later stands with Robyn as they confront Clover. During Robyn's political rally, Fiona is severely injured by Tyrian but later recovers to help with stealing supplies meant for Amity. In Volume 8, she works with Joanna in evacuating Mantle.

Fiona alludes to Friar Tuck.

=Joanna Greenleaf

=
* Voiced by: Marissa Lenti

A tall tanned woman with short dark-green hair and a muscular build. Volume 8, she asks Ruby's group for help in evacuating the citizens of Mantle to the crater of Atlas.

Joanna alludes to Little John.

=May Marigold

=
* Voiced by: Kdin Jenzen

A blue-haired woman. Her Semblance enables her to create an illusionary force field, preventing those outside to see what is happening on the inside. Originally part of the upperclass from Atlas, May was disowned by her own family for supporting Mantle. In Volume 8, May helps Ruby's group in sneaking into the Atlas Command Center to launch Amity. After they hide from the Atlas military at the Schnee manor, May gets impatient on waiting for help after Ruby's message to Remnant. Believing that Mantle needs more help than Atlas, May leaves the manor on her own and regroups with Fiona and Joanna in Mantle.

May alludes to Maid Marian. Jenzen confirmed on Twitter that May is the cousin of Henry Marigold, and is the first transgender character of the series.

Schnee Household

*
Father of Willow and grandfather of Winter, Weiss, and Whitley, and the founder of the SDC. After working in the mines in his youth, Nicholas took his father's inheritance and formed SCD to provide Dust to the entire world of Remnant. He would personally oversee Dust expeditions and built a trustworthy reputation for the company. But his early days in the Dust mines forced him to retire, and allow his son-in-law, Jacques, to take over SDC. While he has yet to make an appearance, the portraits in the Schnee manor show Nicholas as a noble knight. Nicholas is an allusion to Santa Claus.
*
*
Voiced by: Caitlin Glass: The abused wife of Jacques and mother of Winter, Weiss, and Whitley. Like her daughters, Willow has the family Semblance of "Glyphs". She has been an alcoholic since learning that Jacques only married her for the Schnee family name and wealth. In Volume 7, Willow reveals to Weiss that she placed hidden cameras throughout the Schnee manor to spy on Jacques, pleading with her daughter not to abandon Whitley despite siding with their father. She later watches as Jacques is arrested for his secret dealings with Watts. In Volume 8, Willow locks herself up in her room for reasons unknown, but later comes out of confinement when the Hound attacks the Schnee manor. Although struggling with her alcoholism initially, she uses a summon to save Whitely from the Hound, and later kills the Grimm with her son by toppling a statue over it.
*
Voiced by: Howard Wang / Marina Inoue: The younger brother of Weiss and Winter, an arrogant youth who considers his older sisters' career choices as pointless and barbaric. In Volume 4, Weiss noting how he seemed different since she first enrolled at Beacon. But in Volume 7, Willow implies to Weiss that Whitley has been subjected to Jacques's abuse since his sister's escape from Schnee manor. In Volume 8, Whitely is angered when Weiss returns to the manor with her group and saddened when she sends him away even after he offers to help. But after witnessing Nora's injuries (partially inspired by Ruby's speech), he calls Klein back to the manor to treat the girl. Though the youngest Schnee makes clear that he only did so to help the life of someone in need, not for Weiss herself. Whitely also makes arrangements for SDC's cargo ships to be utilized to evacuate the people at the crater, and later kills the Hound with his mother. He later offers his assistance to Ruby's group by giving blueprints of Atlas to Weiss for Ambrosius.
*
Voiced by: J. Michael Tatum / Ken Uo: The Schnee family butler, Klein is supportive of Weiss and is shown to deeply care for her. Klein eventually helps Weiss escape from Schnee manor near the end of Volume 4, revealed in Volume 7 to have been fired as a result. In Volume 8, Klein returns to the manor at Whitely's request to treat Nora and Penny. 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.

Others

*
Voiced by: Alejandro Saab: An Atlesian citizen who is May Marigold's cousin. In Volume 4, he attends the Schnee charity event without understanding its purpose. Henry tries to woo Weiss, but only angers her and is forced to leave in disgrace.
*
Voiced by: Eric Baudor: An avid supporter of Robyn. He is arrested for throwing a brick at a military airship. While on the ship with the heroes, Forest reveals to them about Robyn's campaign. After he is dropped off by the police, Forest is killed by Tyrian.
*
Voiced by: Chad James and Anairis Quinones: Two members of the Atlas council. They first appear at Jacques' dinner party to interrogate Ironwood over his recent actions. When Weiss exposes Jacques' secret meeting with Watts, both Sleet and Camilla recognize the mad doctor and learn about Salem's existence from Ironwood. In Volume 8, Sleet is killed by Ironwood after calling out the general for his fear.
*
Voiced by: Christian Young: A Huntsman who uses a pair of maces and swords, with the former having guns at the top. His Semblance turns his skin into metal to reduce the effect of blunt and cut trauma. While Cinder was a slave at the Glass Unicorn hotel in Atlas, Rhodes discovered her stealing one of his swords. Taking pity on her, he trained her in secret to become a Huntress. Years later, after discovering that Cinder had killed her stepfamily, Rhodes fought her out of his duty as a Huntsman, only to be killed himself by her. His swords were taken by Cinder following his death.

Haven Academy/Mistral

Leonardo Lionheart

* Voiced by: Daman Mills

A lion Faunus with a tail who was the headmaster of Haven Academy, armed with wrist-mounted shield named Stalwart 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. Volume 5 confirmed that Lionheart's reasons of working for Salem were out of fear, having given her the names 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. When the tide turns against Salem's faction, Lionheart tries to run away but is killed by Salem's Seer Grimm.

He is based on the Cowardly Lion in ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz''.

Team SSSN

Each member of Team SSSN (pronounced " sun") has a ''Big Bang'' motif. They appear alongside Team CFVY in the novel ''RWBY: Before the Dawn''.

=Sun Wukong

=
* Voiced by: Michael Jones / Tomoaki Maeno

A blond-haired Faunus with a monkey tail. 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. Even though he attends the academy in Mistral, he's actually a native of Vacuo. He lost his parents at a young age, unable to remember their faces. His only family left is his cousin, Starr Sanzang.

In the end of Volume 1, Sun stows away on a ship arriving in Vale and later fights alongside Blake against Torchwick and the White Fang. In Volume 2, Sun joins Blake as she infiltrates a White Fang meeting to learn of their connections to Torchwick.

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. In Menagerie, Sun quickly bonds with Kali, Blake's mother, but constantly leaves bad impressions with Ghira, Blake's father. After he gets injured by Ilia Amotila, Sun learns the reasons for Blake's departure from her team. He criticizes her, saying that she is only hurting her friends even more by pushing them away. In Volume 5, Sun aides the Belladonnas in rallying the people of Menagerie to defend Haven. He later saves Blake from capture after she is ambushed by Ilia, and later fights the Albain brothers alongside Ghira. In the Battle of Haven, Sun helps Blake in defending the school, and later encourages her to rejoin her team. In Volume 6, Sun parts ways with Blake and prepares to take his team to Vacuo.

In ''Before the Dawn'', Sun struggles to regain the trust of his team after leaving them alone for so long and decides to have them join Team CFVY in their investigation of The Crown. Eventually, after a final battle with The Crown, while defending Shade Academy, Sun makes amends with Team SSSN. Later on, he watches Ruby's message being broadcast with Neptune.

Sun alludes to the character of the same name from '' Journey to the West''.

=Scarlet David

=
* Voiced by: Gavin Free

A red-haired young man with a cape who wields Hook and Darling, a flintlock pistol and a cutlass, as his weapons of choice. The handle of the pistol can be fired as a grappling hook. His Semblance is "Gliding", which allows him to maneuver in the air and land safely. In the ''Before the Dawn'' novel, Scarlet is at odds with Sun due to his leader's constant abandonment of the team. He also enters into a relationship with Nolan.

Scarlet alludes to Peter Pan, specifically from '' Peter Pan in Scarlet''. His outfit is an allusion to G-Dragon of Big Bang.

=Sage Ayana

=
* Voiced by: Josh Ornelas

A green-haired and dark-skinned young man with tattoos and a long coat, and wields Pilgrim, a large sword with Roman numerals on it. In ''Before the Dawn'', he, like Scarlet, is frustrated with Sun going off on his own, resulting in him giving his leader the silent treatment. During Shade Academy's re-initiation, he is made leader of Team SSEA, though is not a good team leader according to Scarlet.

Sage alludes to one of the fables by Aesop, though the exact character and tale are unknown. It is believed that he is based on ''The Pilgrim and the Sword''. His outfit is an allusion to Taeyang of Big Bang.

=Neptune Vasilias

=
* Voiced by: Kerry Shawcross / Yoshiki Nakajima

A blue-haired man with goggles who has a large rifle that fires electricity and can turn into a guandao and Trident named Tri-Hard (as per Sun's suggestion). Although he has a cool image, he is unable to dance, which is a source of embarrassment for him, and has an intense fear of water. His fear of water comes from an accident as a child involving his water controlling Semblance, "Water Attraction", in which he nearly drowned himself and his older brother, Jupiter.

In Volume 2, Neptune accompanies Yang to Junior's club to learn of Torchwick's plans. In Volume 6, Neptune accompanies Sun as he parts ways with Blake. In Volume 8, Neptune watches Ruby's message to Remnant with Sun.

Neptune alludes to the Roman sea god of the same name. 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. Its members are among the group of students that fights off Grimm and Atlas mechs during the Battle of Beacon. In ''Before the Dawn'', they have transferred to Shade Academy following Lionheart's death.
* Arslan Altan
Voiced by: Ami Naito: A dark-skinned young woman who is capable of hand-to-hand combat and wields a rope javelin.
* Bolin Hori
Voiced by: Jon Risinger / Ryōsuke Morita: A black-haired young man who wields a staff.
* Reese Chloris
Voiced by: Erin Winn / Chisato Mori: A light green-haired girl who rides a hoverboard that absorbs Dust crystals and transforms into dual pistols.
* Nadir Shiko
Voiced by: Eiji Takeuchi: A pink-haired teenage boy who wields an assault rifle that can also transform into a sword.

Team SAFR

Team SAFR (pronounced " sapphire") are the main protagonists of ''RWBY: The Grimm Campaign''. Two years prior to the events of the main series, the team was assigned by Qrow Branwen to investigate the rise of Grimm and criminal organizations in the Mistral city of Kuchinashi.
* Arrastra Skye
Voiced by: Laura Yates: A blue-haired Faunus with cat legs. Her weapon, Windlass, is a large pickaxe which can convert into a crossbow form. Her Semblance, "Equilibrium", allows her to restore the Aura of a willing ally through Dust, though the receiver will suffer from side effects.
* Asher Mora
Voiced by: Chad James: A grey-haired man who wields Fortune's Fangs, a hawkbill knife and hook that can extend into a glaive. His Semblance, "Flash", allows him to release a bright light from his body that blinds others within the vicinity and damages Grimm.
* Fenix Nemean
Voiced by: Chris Kokkinos: A red-haired Faunus with a lion's mane. his weapon, Pandora's Aegis, is a pair of bronze, arm-mounted brass claws which can convert into arm-mounted shields. His Semblance, "Beast Mode", turns him berserk and increases his physical capabilities, but can be reverted through various ways.
* Pyke Rite
Voiced by:Kerry Shawcross: A brown-haired man who wields Rasen, a drill cannon mounted on his right hand. His Semblance, "Fate's Hand", has him ask fate for the best way to handle a situation, and hoping for the best. Sometimes it improves outcomes, but other times it can make outcomes worse.

Arc Family

*
Jaune's ancestor who fought in the Great War, and the original wielder of Crocea Mors.
*
Voiced by: 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. She helps her brother's group by having Adrian distract the military base with his cries. She is based on Sappho of Lesbos.
*
Voiced by: 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. Terra guides Blake on how to disable the tower's radar when the group tries to steal an airship.
*
Voiced by: Lucella Wren Clary: Saphron and Terra's son, and Jaune's nephew. His cries are capable of delivering powerful sound waves.

Others

* and
Voiced by: Kaiji Tang / Yoji Ueda and Dawn M. Bennett / Azusa Tanaka: 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.

Shade Academy/Vacuo

* Professor Theodore
The headmaster of Shade Academy who is mentioned in the novel ''RWBY: After the Fall''. He is a genderbent allusion to Dorothy from the ''Wizard of Oz''.
* Professor Xanthe Rumpole
The history teacher of Shade Academy and Theodore's right-hand woman. Her Semblance allows her to touch any non-living object and turn it to gold in an instant. In ''Before the Dawn'', Rumpole secretly allows Team CFVY to investigate The Crown. She is an allusion to Rumpelstiltsken.

Team BRNZ

Team BRNZ (pronounced "bronze") fights Team JNPR in the first (team) round of the Vytal Festival Tournament. In ''Before the Dawn'', it's revealed that almost all of the team was killed in the Fall of Beacon, with Nolan being the sole survivor.
* Brawnz Ni
Voiced by: Blaine Gibson / Ryuichi Kijima: A black-haired man with gray highlights who wields a pair of claws.
* Roy Stallion
Voiced by: Atsushi Miyamoto: 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, and his death was later confirmed in ''After the Fall''.
* Nolan Porfirio
Voiced by: Aaron Marquis: A maroon-haired man who wields an electrically charged cattle prod. In ''Before the Dawn'', it was revealed he had romantic feelings for Roy, and later entered into a relationship with Scarlet. He is intended as the " Lost Boy" to Scarlet's Peter Pan.
* 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. The characters are based on fans who were Indiegogo backers for the movie '' Lazer Team''. In ''Before the Dawn'', they act the most antagonistic towards the other transfer student teams from Beacon and Haven.
* Nebula Violette
Voiced by: Kate Warner: A purple-haired girl who wields a crossbow that can transform into a sword.
* Dew Gayl
Voiced by: Kim Newman / Chisato Mori: A blonde-haired girl who wields a spear capable of creating tornadoes.
* Gwen Darcy
Voiced by: Mylissa Zelechowski English/ Konomi Fujimura: A black-haired girl who wields throwing knives that she keeps in her armored skirt.
* Octavia Ember
Voiced by: Claire Hogan: A red-haired girl who wields a kris sword that can release fire torrents. Her Semblance is called "Sand Skating", which allows her to traverse sandy environments at high speeds.

Temporary Teams

In ''Before the Dawn'', Theodore forms temporary teams that are mixes of Shade, Beacon, and Haven academy students.
* Team BYRN (pronounced "burn"): Bolin Hori, Yatsuhashi Daichi, Rae Noire, and Neptune Vasilias
* Team FNDU (pronounced " fondue"): Fox Alistair, Nolan Porfirio, Dew Gayl, and Umber Gorgoneion
* Team NOVA ("nova"): Nebula Violette, Octavia Ember, Velvet Scarlatina, and Arslan Altan
* Team ROSC (pronounced "rosy"): Reese Chloris, Olive Gashley, Scarlet David, and Coco Adel
* Team SSEA (pronounced " sea"): Sage Ayana, Sun Wukong, Elektra Fury, and Ariadne Guimet

Others

*Starr Sanzang
Sun's elder cousin who lives in Vacuo. She runs a dojo. She witnessed Sun unlocking his Semblance when he was younger.

Menagerie Nation

Ghira Belladonna

* Voiced by: Kent Williams / Masafumi Kimura

Blake's father, and chieftain of Menagerie. His Faunus trait is his retractable panther claws at his fingertips. He originally served as leader of the White Fang before stepping down. 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. In Volume 5, Ghira tries to rally the people of Menagerie to take the White Fang back from Adam and defend Haven. He also defends his home from White Fang insurgents with help from Sun. After successfully defending Haven, Ghira decides to form a new brotherhood of Faunus who want to create a better future.

Ghira's name could possibly be derived from Bagheera, a black panther from the classic story '' The Jungle Book''.

Kali Belladonna

* Voiced by: Tara Platt / Megumi Toyoguchi

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. Later on, Kali helps defend her home from White Fang insurgents. During the Battle of Haven, she leads the police force to arrest Adam.

Kali is named after the Hindu goddess, and the name is Sanskrit for black.

Ilia Amitola

* Voiced by: Cherami Leigh / Mariya Ise

A chameleon Faunus who is an old acquaintance of Blake's, able to change her skin tone and eye color at will. She wields Lightning Lash, 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.

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. In Volume 5, it is revealed that she had romantic feelings for Blake. Angered by Blake's crush on Adam, Ilia carries out an order by the Albain brothers to subdue Blake while her associates assassinate Ghira and Kali. After Blake escapes, however, Ilia fights her at the Belladonna home where Blake convinces her to leave the White Fang and help defend Haven. In the Battle of Haven, Ilia prevents Adam from destroying the school by disarming his explosives. In Volume 6, Ilia parts ways with Blake by remaining in Mistral to help Ghira with his new Faunus movement. She is the first confirmed non-heterosexual character to appear in the series.

Ilia is believed to allude to Kaa from The Jungle Book.

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. 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.

Fall Maidens;
*
Voiced by: Laura Bailey / Ayako Kawasumi: 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. But Amber is killed by Cinder as the process commenced.
*

Spring Maidens;
*

Winter Maidens;
*
Voiced by: Luci Christian: The previous Winter Maiden. In Volume 7, she is on life support at an Atlesian medical facility, with Winter Schnee chosen as her successor. Fria is visited only by Winter, to ensure that the Maiden will only think of the operative at her death, so that she will transfer her powers to her chosen successor. It is implied that Fria is into painting, but she frequently suffers from seizures in her left arm. Fria eventually dies during Cinder's attack, only for the power to be passed to Penny instead of Winter. Fria alludes to the character Blue Fairy from the tale Pinocchio.
*
*

Deities and Relic Beings

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.

Deities;
*
Voiced by: 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. After seeing Jinn's vision, Maria deduces that the power of the silver-eyed warriors comes from the God of Light.
*
Voiced by: 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.

Relic Beings;
*
Voiced by: Colleen Clinkenbeard: The being 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 wanting 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. 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. In Volume 8, Jinn emerges when Oscar activates the Relic to show Hazel and Emerald, though no one has a question at that moment. But she is later summoned by Cinder, and she reveals to the Fall Maiden, Neo and Watts regarding Ruby's group in evacuating the people of Atlas and Mantle to Vacuo.
*
Voiced by: Valentine Stokes: The being within the Relic of Creation that has an energetic and playful personality. Like Jinn, he stops time for him and whoever summons him. Ambrosius has the power to create anything his summoner wishes, though his power has certain limits. He can make only one creation at a time, and when he creates something else, his previous creation ceases to exist. He also needs blueprints to know what exactly he is going to create, and cannot bring the dead back to life and use his powers to destroy. Ever since the creation of Atlas, Ambrosius had been using his power to keep the city afloat in the sky. But when he is summoned by Team RWBY, he stops supporting Atlas and separates Penny's soul from her infected body. Ambrosius also creates inter-dimensional passageways from Atlas and Mantle to Vacuo, though he warns Team RWBY not to fall off. But the door to Vacuo Ambrosius creates is only one-way, as commanded unwillingly by Weiss. He is conjecturally believed to allude to Merlin.

Antagonists

Salem's Inner Circle

Salem

* Voiced by: Jen Taylor / Kikuko Inoue

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, along with narration for the first ''World of Remnant'' shorts. 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. Her ultimate goal is her own death, by summoning the gods back to Remnant and have them kill all of the unworthy humanity, herself included. However, she does not disclose her goal to her subordinates.

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. According to Qrow, Salem is after the four Relics left by the deity brothers who created Remnant. In Volume 5, she has made a deal with the White Fang for the destruction of Haven. During the Battle of Haven, Salem has her Seer kill Lionheart when he tries to escape. In Volume 6, Jinn reveals Salem's origins to Team RWBY, Qrow, Oscar, and Maria. 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. In the volume finale, Salem creates an army of flying Beringel to personally lead the attack on Mantle.

In Volume 7, Salem appears via Seer to Team RWBY and Ironwood's group to inform them that she is coming for Atlas while demanding for the Relics, revealing that she had something to do with Summer's fate. Salem eventually arrives with her army as Ruby's group is forced to flee Atlas. In Volume 8, Salem receives the Relic of Knowledge from Cinder and has the Hound find and bring Oscar to her. She later tortures the farmboy on how to use the lamp and has Hazel carry out the beatings. After punishing Cinder for her disobedience, Salem has the Fall Maiden search for Watts and Penny. She then disables Atlas' shield with her Grimm river and lands the Monstra onto the city, beginning her invasion. Salem later finds the lamp missing and captures Yang's group and Emerald as they try to escape the Monstra. Before she can torture the latter, she is betrayed by Hazel and fights both him and Oscar. Salem is temporarily destroyed by Oscar with the power of the Long Memory. In the finale, Salem is fully revived and receives the Relics of Knowledge and Creation from Cinder.

Her name is based on the town of Salem, Massachusetts, known for its witch trials and alludes to the Wicked Witch from ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz''.

Cinder Fall

* Voiced by: Jessica Nigri / Yūko Kaida

A mysterious woman who possesses magma-based powers in creating various type of weapons: these include Midnight – a pair of blades that combine to form a bow that she uses to fire arrows – as well as a variety of weapons she creates using her Fall Maiden powers. Cinder's Semblance, "Scorching Caress", allows her to heat objects and manipulate their shape. 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. However, in Volume 8, Cinder declares that she serves no one, as she only wants the powers of the Maidens. After Watts berates her for her ego, self-entitlement and past failures, Cinder becomes more cunning and ruthless as she later betrays him and Neo to accomplish her goals.

Originally an orphan from Mistral, Cinder was adopted and brought to Atlas but is forced to become a slave at the Glass Unicorn hotel by her stepmother. There, she is constantly abused and tortured by her stepfamily. One night, Cinder steals a sword from Rhodes, who pities her and decides to train her in secret to become a Huntress. Years later, when her stepsisters discover her sword, Cinder mercilessly kills her entire stepfamily, and later Rhodes when he turns on her. The years of abuse take their toll on Cinder, molding her into a sadistic woman craving for power.

Cinder leads a team with Mercury and Emerald, recruiting Adam and Roman into helping her devastate Beacon. In Volumes 1 and 2, she has Roman conduct several Dust robberies in Vale and recruit the White Fang, while she and her subordinates pose as Haven students and hack into the school computer system. In Volume 3, as she launches the Battle of Beacon, 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.

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. After going through Salem's treatment, Cinder proceeds to master her new powers. 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. 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. 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. 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. Cinder then sets out with Neo for Atlas.

For most of Volume 7, Cinder lays low in Atlas while having Neo infiltrate the Schnee manor to find the Relic of Knowledge, later instructing her to acquire it during the Battle of Mantle. She later uses the chaos to follow Winter to Fria's location in order to take the Winter Maiden's power for herself, only for Penny to end up acquiring the power instead while Cinder is forced to retreat when Ruby arrives and uses her silver eyes. After retreating, Cinder regroups with Neo and takes the Relic of Knowledge to bring it to Salem. In Volume 8, Cinder gives the lamp to Salem to regain her trust but is still defiant to her master as she wants the Winter Maiden's power. Against Salem's orders, Cinder heads for Amity and fights Penny to steal the power but is soundly defeated. After she is brought back to the Monstra by Emerald and Neo, Cinder is punished by Salem for her disobedience. On the witch's order, Cinder breaks Watts out of prison and begins her search for Penny. She later receives a message from Neo to capture Ruby in exchange for the Relic of Knowledge. Cinder uses the lamp's final question to ask Jinn of Ruby's plan, then coordinates a surprise attack with Neo, ambushing Team RWBY in the passageways to Vacuo and fighting a now-human Penny. But she later steals the Relics, mortally wounds Penny, betrays Neo, and knocks her and most of Team RWBY into the void. After leaving Watts to die to cover her tracks, Cinder lies to Salem about Ruby's fate as she hands over the Relics to the witch.

Cinder is an allusion to Cinderella.

Dr. Arthur Watts

* Voiced by: Christopher Sabat / Tōru Ōkawa

A doctor who is formal yet arrogant and condescending to his allies. His main weapon is a twenty-bullet revolver while using his rings to both hack into networks, and use hard-light Dust as a shield. Watts once served as a scientist in Atlas alongside Pietro and is an old acquaintance of Jacques, faking his death during the Paladin project.

First appearing in 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. In Volume 5, Watts is requested by Salem to return to her and build a replacement tail for Tyrian. 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. Watts later heads for Atlas with Tyrian under Salem's orders, where he hacks into Mantle's security to avoid detection.

In Volume 7, Watts offers his services to Jacques by rigging the votes while destroying Ironwood's reputation with doctored footage, using the businessman to access Altas's systems and disable the heating during a snowstorm so the resulting negativity would instigate the Grimm to attack Mantle. But after the plan to destroy the city begins to fall apart, Watts heads for Amity where he is captured by Ironwood. He later watches in the finale as Salem arrives at Atlas. In Volume 8, seemingly under Ironwood's order, Watts hacks into Penny using one of her swords stolen by the Ace-Ops. He then steals the general's scroll to contact Salem about the Winter Maiden. During the witch's attack on Atlas, Watts is freed by Cinder who is searching for Penny. He later reveals to Cinder that he planted a virus into Penny so that she opens the vault and then self-destruct. As his life is threatened by an angry Cinder, Watts berates her for her past failures and is spared by a broken Fall Maiden. After finding out the plan of Ruby's group for evacuating Atlas and Mantle to Vacuo, Watts takes down the CCT to cut off Jaune's warning, releases Ironwood from prison, and autopilots the ship carrying Ironwoood's bomb to Mantle. But he is then betrayed by Cinder who traps him in the control room and dies in the fall of Atlas.

Watts alludes to John Watson from ''Sherlock Holmes''.

Tyrian Callows

* Voiced by: Josh Grelle (Volumes 4–8)
/ref> / Yoku Shioya

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. He wields The Queen's Servants, which are a pair of wrist-mounted blades with gun barrels. His Semblance allows him to channel his Aura at his hand and slice through another's Aura to cause severe damage. Tyrian was a serial killer in Anima who escaped capture when the prison cargo ship carrying him was attacked by Grimm and he joined Salem afterward.

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, Tyrian is forced to retreat after Ruby cut off his tail when he poisoned Qrow. After returning to Salem and losing her favor, distraught Tyrian vents out his frustrations on a Beowolf that tried to kill him. 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.

In Volume 7, Tyrian begins his killing spree of people critical of Ironwood, including Forest, to further ruin the general's reputation in Mantle. He continues the spree at Robyn's political rally, assaulting the Mantle politician and killing several civilians, while Watts uploads an edited video of Penny to frame her for the attack. Tyrian targets Robyn during the Battle of Mantle and is briefly captured by Qrow and Clover. He later takes advantage of a fight between the two to crash their airship, eventually killing Clover with Qrow's weapon. In Volume 8, Tyrian heads for Vacuo with Mercury under Salem's order.

Tyrian alludes to the scorpion from The Scorpion and the Frog while named after a shade of purple.

In October 2022, Grelle departed from the role following allegations and controversy regarding Rooster Teeth's work culture.

Hazel Reinart

* Voiced by: William Orendorff / Akio Ōtsuka

A muscular man who is normally reserved and composed with his Semblance, "Numbing Agent", serving as a form of painkiller whenever he embeds raw Dust crystals into his body to augment his strength.

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. He reveals to Oscar that he has tried to kill the witch multiple times, only to fail and eventually join her inner circle in the hope of creating a new world. 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. In Volume 5, Hazel meets Khan but is mortified that Adam used him as an excuse to kill her without his knowledge and consent. 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. 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.

In Volume 8, Hazel brutally tortures Oscar on how to activate the Relic of Knowledge. He is later distraught when he learns from Oscar about Salem's true goal of destroying all of Remnant just for her own death. After seeing Jinn emerge from the Relic, Hazel helps Oscar and Emerald to escape from the Monstra. When they and Yang's group are captured by Salem, Hazel turns on his master and fights her in Gretchen's memory. He later sacrifices himself by restraining Salem so that Oscar can hit the witch with a powerful blast of kinetic energy.

Hazel and Gretchen's names come from '' Hansel and Gretel''.

Mercury Black

* Voiced by: J.J. Castillo (Volume 2), Yuri Lowenthal (Volume 3–present) / Hikaru Midorikawa

A gray-haired associate of Cinder's who uses a pair of greaves, Talaria, 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. Mercury unlocked his Semblance before it was stolen by Marcus, and was not able to get it back after training.

Mercury is responsible for televising a live video feed of the destruction unleashed on Vale and Beacon near the end of Volume 3. In Volume 5, Mercury tries to intimidate Raven during the negotiations between her and Salem's faction. After the Battle of Haven, he is forced to escape, with Hazel carrying Emerald. In Volume 6, Mercury argues with Emerald about their place in Salem's faction and that Cinder never cared for them. In Volume 8, Mercury is promoted to Salem's inner circle and is no longer Cinder's subordinate. He later leaves for Vacuo with Tyrian, dismissing Emerald's warning of Salem's true goal.

He alludes to the Roman god of the same name.

Tock

* Voiced by: Ruth Urquhart

A crocodile Faunus from Maria's younger days as the Grimm Reaper, armed with a pair of saber swords, a set of sharp metal implanted teeth and possessing a Semblance that makes her nigh invulnerable for one minute at a time. Tock was sent by Salem to assassinate Maria and steal her silver eyes, managing to blind Maria before being killed by her.

Tock is an allusion to the Crocodile from '' Peter Pan''.

Cinder's faction

Cinder Fall

* Cinder Fall

Roman Torchwick

* Voiced by: Gray G. Haddock(Volumes 1–3, ''Chibi''), Chris Wehkamp (''Ice Queendom'') / Shinichiro Miki

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. 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. From Volume 6 onwards, Roman's hat is 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

* Voiced by: Casey Lee Williams / Konomi Fujimura

Born Trivia Vanille and often nicknamed "Neo", she is 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. Neo has an parasol called Hush, which is capable of blocking powerful blasts with a hidden blade in its handle. Her illusion-based Semblance, "Overactive Imagination", has a variety of uses, from physical illusions to disguises for herself. Though she is mute, Neo continuously smiles as a way of taunting her opponents. In '' RWBY Chibi'', Neo communicates through signs, a la Wile E. Coyote.

First appearing in Volume 2, Neo helps Roman escape from Team RWBY with her illusions. Later, she swiftly defeats Yang and almost kills her, but is forced to retreat with Raven's sudden arrival. 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. In the volume finale, Neo disguises an airship for her and Cinder to get to Atlas undetected.

In Volume 7, Neo disguises herself as a waitress at the Schnee manor, where she leans of the locations of both Ruby and the Relic of Knowledge. Despite wanting to go after Ruby, Neo is ordered by Cinder to retrieve the Relic from Oscar first. Neo succeeds in acquiring the Relic despite Oscar and Team JNR briefly taking it back. In Volume 8, Neo accompanies Cinder and Emerald to Amity in the hopes of killing Ruby, but they lose and are forced to retreat back to the Monstra. Having enough of waiting for her revenge, Neo steals the lamp to make a demand on Cinder for Ruby in exchange for the Relic and information on how to unlock it. In the passageways to Vacuo, Neo knocks Yang into the void after her plan to kill Ruby is thwarted. She is then betrayed by Cinder and is knocked herself into the void by the Fall Maiden.

Neo's name and appearance both reference neapolitan ice cream. According to E.C. Myers, Neo's birth name is a reference to the ancient Greek deity Hecate, though he is unsure of who or what the character is actually intended to allude to.

In '' BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle'', Neo's name is incorrectly spelled "Neo Politan".

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

* Voiced by: Garrett Hunter / Yūichi Nakamura

A red-haired man with bull horns and Blake's former mentor-turned-archenemy, 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. He wields a chokutō and a 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 of the White Fang, Adam gradually became 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, Adam became obsessed with making her pay for her betrayal. 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. 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.

In Volume 4, while the Albain brothers publicly denounced his actions, Adam has their support as he plans a coup to overthrow Sienna Khan as High Leader and launch a full-scale attack of Haven. In Volume 5, after murdering Sienna 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 killed. 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 he abandons his subordinates to escape. In Volume 6, Adam kills his own army after losing their support with his obsession brought into question. At Argus, Adam sees Blake and Yang once again and gleefully attempts to kill them both in order to execute his final act of revenge, but they stand against, overpower, and finally kill him.

Adam's name and relationship to Blake compliment her reference to '' Beauty and the Beast'' as Adam was the true name of the Beast. However, the companion book ''RWBY: the Official Companion'' confirms that he is actually based on Gaston from the 1991 Disney Film.

White Fang Lieutenant

* Voiced by: Gray G. Haddock / Kenji Nomura

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. After winning the fight, Blake intervenes to rescue her and escape. What happened to him after the train crash is unknown.

Sienna Khan

* Voiced by: Monica Rial

The former High Leader of the White Fang who has tiger ears, succeeding Ghira after he stepped down. Her weapon is Cerberus Whip, a chain whip with three detachable Dust blades. Her Semblance, "Grudge", makes her stronger, faster and more vicious when her foes' Auras are weakened are brokened. 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. Adam later arranges a meeting between Sienna and Hazel for the latter to see if the White Fang can be of service to Salem. But Sienna is instead killed by Adam in a coup, with her death fabricated so she would be a martyr for the White Fang's cause.

Sienna alludes to Shere Khan from '' The Jungle Book''.

Corsac and Fennec Albain

*Voiced by: Derek Mears and Mike McFarland

Fox Faunus brothers who represent the White Fang in Menagerie. Corsac is taller with a gray fox tail, and Fennec is shorter with light brown fox ears. They each wield a Dust-powered sai, collectively called Cyclone and Inferno. They secretly work for Adam, thought they have become uneasy with his leadership because of his obsession with Blake's suffering. 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.

James Ironwood

* James Ironwood

Jacques Schnee

* Voiced by: Jason Douglas / Madoka Shiga

The husband of Willow, the father of Weiss, Winter, and Whitley, Weiss's archenemy, and the former 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. 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 Willow that he married her only for the Schnee name during Weiss' tenth birthday.

Jacques is introduced in the Volume 3 finale when he takes Weiss back to Atlas in the aftermath of the Fall of Beacon. 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. 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. In Volume 7, Jacques runs against Robyn for election on the Atlas Council, confronts Ironwood about taking control of an old SDC Dust mine, and coldly informs Weiss of Willow's condition. Jacques is later approached by Watts, who offers his services to rig the election and further destroy Ironwood's public image. Jacques proceeds to challenge Ironwood to defend his seat on the council after winning the election, only to be stripped of his position and arrested for treason when Weiss presented evidence of his dealings with Watts to the council. In Volume 8, Jacques is locked in prison and tries to feign innocence against Robyn's accusations. Though Cinder destroys the prison to free Watts, Jacques is recaptured by the military. He is then killed by Ironwood after the general breaks out of prison.

Jacques alludes to Jack Frost.

Branwen Tribe

Raven Branwen

* Voiced by: Anna Hullum / Megumi Hayashibara
The former third member of Team STRQ, the mother of Yang, 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 Omen: an ōdachi with interchangeable blades inside the sheath as her weapon of choice with her Semblance, "Kindred Link", allowing her to create a portal to whoever she has a bond with. 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, 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. Raven becomes the current Spring Maiden during that time after killing off her predecessor, using Vernal as a decoy to conceal her power.

First appearing in Volume 2 to save Yang from Neo, Yang later having a dream of them meeting, 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. 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. Raven attempts to convince Yang not to join Ruby in battling against Salem, revealing what Ozpin told her along with the power she gave her. 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. 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.

Raven alludes to Huginn from Norse mythology.

Others

* Vernal
Voiced by: 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. Later on during the Battle of Haven, she engages Weiss in combat as per Raven's orders, and easily defeats her. 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.
* Shay D. Mann
Voiced by: 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. Later, while guarding the camp gates, he is confronted by Cinder's faction and Watts. His name is a play on the phrase "shady man".

The Crown

The Crown is an organization based in Vacuo. They serve as the major antagonists in the ''RWBY'' novels ''After the Fall'' and ''Before the Dawn''.
* Jax Asturias and Gillian Asturias
Twin siblings who are the founding leaders of the Crown, seeking to destroy Vacuo's government and restore it to a monarchy under their rule. Jax possesses a mind control Semblance while Gillian's Semblance enables her to augment others with Aura she siphoned from people, the latter's Semblance being the cause of their mother's death at childbirth with Jax being born frail and dependent on his sister. Raised by their father to be xenophobic towards foreigners and believing they were descended from Vacuo's first king Malik the Sunderer, the twins dropped out from Shade Academy along with their teammates Rosa Schwein and Argento Pocoron to establish Crown and form an army of brainwashed super soldiers. But their cope ends in failure, with Gillian turning herself in after being forced by Jax to augment Yatsuhashi's Semblance in placing her brother into a vegetative state. They are an allusion to Jack and Jill.
* Carmine Esclados
A veteran Huntress who is the main antagonist of ''RWBY: After the Fall'', armed with sai and possessing a telekinesis Semblance she uses to manipulate her weapons and local weather patterns. She was originally from Atlas before she transferred to Vacuo and graduated Shade Academy, hired alongside her partner Bertilak Celadon by the Asturias twins to traffick people with highly potent Semblances before they are captured by Team CFVY. But the two escape with Carmine placing the blame of their failure on Bertilak, reassigned to hinder Shade Academy's investigations on the Crown and later as Gillian's bodyguard when the Crown makes it move. Carmine sacrificed herself to protect Gillian from a cave-in caused by an explosion, with her fate unknown. She is an allusion to Esclados the Red.

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 thrive on the worst aspects of humanity. The Grimm are creations of the God of Darkness that manifest from his domain's Grimm Pits, pools containing a dark substance that kills a non-Grimm being on contact. The Grimm were created for the purpose to destroy everything made by the God of Light, which later includes humans whom both brothers created together. Following the previous version of humanity wiped out by their creator, Grimm instinctively prey on new humans and Faunus races before their discovered of "Dust" with the Huntsmen and Huntresses established to control the creatures' numbers. But Salem, as the result of her attempted suicide in a Grimm Pit, is able 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.

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 mostly done by William Orendorff.

; 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 ''Beowulf''.
* Geist: Ghost-type Grimm that can possess inanimate objects and turn them into large monsters known as Gigas, indirectly introduced through an Arma Gigas that Weiss defeated in the "White Trailer". The Geist is properly introduced in Volume 4 through a Petra Gigas that Team RNJR defeated. They are named after the spirit.
* 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.''RWBY'' Panel NYCC 2013
/ref> Their name is Latin for bear.
* 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.
* 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.
* Boarbatusk: Boar-like Grimm creatures with the ability to tuck into a ball and roll in place charging an attack in similar fashion to Sonic the Hedgehog.
* 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. The variant seen on the Solitas continent is called the Megoliath. According to ''RWBY: After the Fall'', these Grimm attack by flattening their targets. They are named after the Philistine giant Goliath from Abrahamic religions and the word Goliath is now often used to describe something incredibly large and powerful.
* Creep: Non-animal Grimm based on birds and reptiles.
* Griffon: Large winged panther-like creatures with spiked tail, talons, and a white bird's head. 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 who excretes the dark substance that compromises a Grimm Pit which spawns Grimm. The Wyvern was lying 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.
* Tentacle: A skull-like Grimm exclusive in the manga that can possess organic beings, using that ability to merge other Grimm into a more powerful creature. So far it has only been seen in the manga.
* Ravager: Bat-like Grimm encountered in the deserts of Vacuo.
* 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''.
* Sea Feilong: Enormous serpent Grimm that dwell in water and attack with lightning breaths, it has a pair of hidden wings that it can unfurl from its back. 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, it has long red tentacles tipped with sharp bone-like barbs, two seers can connect over large distances 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. 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.
* 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 flying lioness-like Grimm with a serpent for a tail, leading a pack of Manticores to attack a train when they sense the Relic in Team RWBY's possession. It is named after the legendary creature from Greco-Egyptian mythology.
* Apathy: Humanoid Grimm that come in hordes with their ear-piercing shrieks able to drain their humans of their willpower, the ability being fatal if enough Apathy have amassed around a person. One pack of Apathy made their home on Brunswick Farms when the head of the estate captured two members to lessen tension and failed to seal the pack in time, resulting in the death of the entire household in their sleep. Team RWBY and company ended up fighting for their lives when they stumbled onto the nest and manage to survive when Ruby learns to consciously use her silver eyes.
* 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. It is named after the legendary sea monster of Jewish belief.
* Sabyr: A smilodon-like Grimm that have incredible speed and can jump long distances.
* Centinels: Giant centipede-like Grimm capable of burrowing through the ground.
* Teryx: Raptor-like Grimm with translucent wings.
* Monstra: A whale-like Grimm which serves as a mobile, airborne fortress for Salem. It is destroyed by Oscar during his and Hazel's fight against Salem. The Monstra's name is similar to that of Monstro from '' Pinocchio''.
* Tempest: Giant jellyfish-like Grimm capable of making electrical currents. They serve as personal guards for the Monstra, creating large storm clouds as cover for it when arriving in Atlas.
* The Hound: An unusual Hybrid Grimm which takes the form of a canine, but also can transform into a bipedal creature and can grow wings. It also displays a high level of intelligence, using human shields and is capable of speech. In Volume 8, the Hound captures Oscar and brings him to Salem It later attacks the Schnee manor and nearly captures Penny, but is pushed back by Ruby's power which reveals that this Grimm is a silver-eyed Faunus experimented on by Salem. The Hound is killed by Willow and Whitely who topple a statue on it leaving only the Faunus skeleton behind. Jason Liebrecht provides the vocals for the Hound.
* Cenitaur: A Grimm fusion of a centipede and a centaur. They can spit out green acid stored in their stomach.
* Sulfur Fish: Small Grimm that resemble a silverfish. This was designed by a fan artist who won the Full Sail University and RoosterTeeth Animations Grimm Design contest.
*Razorwing: Harpy-like Grimm that serve as enemies in ''RWBY: Arrowfell''.
*Nightmare: A Grimm original to ''Ice Queendom''. They appear as seeds that plant themselves in human hosts, trapping them in dreams while draining their Aura.

Other

* Lil' Miss Malachite
Voiced by: 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. Her hunch is later proven true when hired by Neo. She is also the mother of the twins Melanie and Miltia. She is an allusion of Little Miss Muffet.
* Dr. Merlot
Voiced by: Dave Fennoy: The main antagonist of '' RWBY: Grimm Eclipse'', which takes place between Volumes 2 and 3 of the series, a scientist and former colleague of Ozpin before they drifted apart due to Merlot's obsession of understanding the Grimm and improve on their design. Merlot established Merlot Industries in the Mountain Glenn settlement, being the cause of the settlement's failure when he had his subordinates attract Grimm for use in their experiments. But Merlot survived and continued his research on an island where he created mutant variants until Team RWBY's interference forces him to self-destruct his laboratory, his fate currently a mystery. Dr. Merlot is an allusion to Dr. Moreau. Dave Fennoy returned to the series in Volume 7 as Dr. Pietro Polendina.
* Madame and Cinder's Stepsisters
Voiced by: Linda Leonard and Amanda Lee: The stepfamily of Cinder. The mother was the owner of the Glass Unicorn in Atlas. After adopting Cinder, the mother subjugated her stepdaughter to a life of slavery and allowed her daughters to torment her. Years later, after the daughters discovered Cinder's sword in her room, the whole family is mercilessly killed by her. They allude to the stepfamily of ''Cinderella''.
* Mike and Marty
Voiced by: William Ball and Joe Nicolosi: Cinder's Beowolf lackies from "RWBY Chibi".
* Floyd
Voiced by: Kerry Shawcross: Cinder's Geist henchman from "RWBY Chibi", having a rivalry with Mike and Marty.
* Starro
The antagonist of the "Rwby/Justice League" crossover series, an alien creature that arrived on Remnant two decades prior and has gradually been taking over with an interest in powerful Semblances. He is based on Starro the Conqueror from DC Comics.

RWBY x Justice League

*Clark Kent
A farm boy from Patch who helps Taiyang with farming. His Semblance, "Yellow Sun Empowerment", gives him super strength, speed, heat vision and flight. According to Clark, his Semblance draws power from the sun and he cannot use it during nighttime. While with Ruby and Yang in Patch, Clark is hypnotized by Starro-possessed Grimm into attacking the sisters but is broken free from his trance. He later works with Yang and Blake to fight Arthur and possessed sea creatures. Clark is based on Superman.
*Diana Prince
An automaton created by her Faunus mothers. Her Semblance, "Weapon Summoning", calls forth her lasso, tiara and gauntlets. After she is saved by Blake from a possessed shark, Diana teams up with Weiss to investigate the SDC and runs into Victor. She is based on Wonder Woman.
*Bruce Wayne
A wealthy Faunus with bat ears hailing from Atlas. His weapon, Batwing, is a double headed battle axe. His Semblance, "Detective Mode", gives him the ability to detect patterns and unlock puzzles. Befriending Weiss at the Schnee Manor, Bruce works with her to solve a theft which he himself is accused of. He later works with Ruby to locate a speedster at the Faunus Quarter. Bruce is based on Batman.
*Barry Allen
A tortoise Faunus with green scales on his shoulders. His Semblance, "Constant Speed" makes him super fast and leaves a trail of lightning. Barry works with Jesse to investigate the disappearances at the Faunus Quarter. He is based on the Flash.
*Jesse Quick
A Faunus with a fox tail. Initially mistaken by Ruby and Bruce for the speedster they are looking for, it is revealed that Jesse acts as a decoy for Barry as they investigate the disappearances. She is based on Jesse Chambers.
*Victor Stone
A cyborg. He was an astronaut that was involved in a space program accident which he miraculously survived. Victor holds a grudge against the SDC and steals their technology for his prosthetic parts. Initially hostile to Weiss and Diana, Victor joins them on their investigations of the kidnappings throughout Remnant. He is based on Cyborg.
*Arthur Curry
A Faunus with shark fins on his elbows and back. His Semblance enables him to communicate with animals through telepathy. At the Vale Harbor, Arthur attacks Blake, Yang and Clark for the various kidnappings. But after working with them to fend off possessed sea creatures, he joins the group. In the past, Arthur saved Clark's life in a Dust mine. He is based on Aquaman.
*Jessica Cruz
A member of the Green Lantern Corps who arrived on Remnant in search of Starro, acquiring a Semblance while still able to use her Lantern Ring. Having saved Victor from the space program accident, Cruz makes herself known while rescuing Team RWBY and co from the Starro-possessed Team JNPR and Faunus. Jessica is based on the Green Lantern.

Works cited notes

* "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 that 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.

Explanatory notes

References

External links

Rooster Teeth
official site

{{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Characters In RWBY
*
Fictional monster hunters