Yuan Clan
A big powerful clan based in Northern China. They are really big and powerful and are renowned as a family of "loyalist" with three generations of Yuan serving as Prime Ministers (top dog in the government). The Yuan clan is actually so big and its members numerous that it's prone to disputes and infighting for the clan's own riches. The two factions that really matter and Yuan Shao's and Yuan Shu's.
Yuan Shao's faction
Yuan Shao is the head of the Yuan Clan. They are based in Ye City. He's renowned as the head of the Guandong Alliance that was called to fight Dong Zhuo and is officially a loyalist. In reality, he's understood that imperial Han is finished and is laying the groundwork to seize power and thus, he's trying to fuck over everyone. He's bet everything on his most brilliant son, a bastard named Yuan Fang who's one of the eight geniuses. Suffers from being overshadowed so only Yuan Shao and a couple generals aren't fodder in the story. Their spirit animal is the crane.
Notable Members:
- Yuan Shao: leader of the Yuan Clan. Aging, has a lot of sons, but he favors his bastard son Yuan Fang because only Yuan Fang has got the brains to conquer China, the other are bickering incompetent fools. He foresaw imperial Han being finished and so he laid the groundwork to place his clan to be on top by grooming Yuan Fang into a fearsome leader, even if he has to kill the girl Yuan Fang loved to make it clear he has to focus on conquest. He dreams that Yuan Fang can take leadership of his clan and conquer China.
- Wen Chou: A famous general serving Yuan Shao. Quite strong and intelligent but not the focus of any arc.
- Yuan Tan: Yuan Shao's first son. An incompetent general. Fights his brother Yuan Shang for the succession of their father.
- Yuan Xi: second son. Just goes to the bordello.
- Yuan Shang; third son. An incompetent general and mostly fights Yuan Tan for succession.
Yuan Shu's Zhongjia Empire
Yuan Shu is a little half-brother of Yuan Shao. He understood too that Han was finished but he decided to do the stupid thing and declared himself Emperor, building a small empire in the centre of China, in Shouchun. So now he's both a traitor to Imperial Han and an overt competitor for hegemony. Basically no one likes him and he's treated like an incompetent idiot, though he got some things right.
Notable members:
- Yuan Shu: one of Yuan Shao's brothers. He also foresaw the fall of Imperial clan but instead of playing it subtle, he wanted to declare himself Emperor. A jerk who sent Sun Jian to his death and an incompetent idiot who relies on the few competent underlings he has to do the thinking and the fighting. Has an oversized throne, symbolizing he's actually not fit for it.
- Ji Ling: Yuan Shu's greatest general. Intelligent and very strong, but he's here to job.
Misc Yuans
Sun Clan
The Sun Clan, a renowned warrior clan from the South. They come in rather late and need a bit of explanation to get what they are about.
The Sun Clan are a famous clan from the South and expert in naval warfare, especially in their turf which is known for erratic weather. Their late leader was Sun Jian, the "last of the true loyalist", a too-good-for-this-sinful-Earth guy who was really loyal to imperial Han. During the fight between Dong Zhuo and the Guandong alliance, Sun Jian found the Imperial Seal (basically a jade stamp that shows the Emperor is the clerk from the Heavens, China loves a good bureaucracy) and understood that Yuan Shao was a traitor. Sun Jian hid the seal to protect it though his secret got out. Sun Jian still wanted to play the part of a loyal warlord and Yuan Shu fucked him over by telling him to go fight a battle he couldn't win and Sun Jian died.
So now, his children all say "fuck loyalty" and decide to build a new South-Eastern kingdom which will become the Kingdom of Wu. They are pretty awesome, with strong fighters all around and a flair for outmaneuvering their foes. They are descendants of Sun Tzu and have mastered the Art of War, and they got the help of a genius in Zhou Yu. They are also really doing fucking shady stuff and even want to fuck over allies of convenience that they can't absorb.
Notable members:
- Sun Jian: patriarch, will die off-screen early. He was a true loyalist and died defending the imperial dynasty.
- Sun Ce: the first son. Called the "little conqueror". Fucking strong and cunning, and won't stop doing the unthinkable. He's also very reckless and prioritizes speed as well as coming up with plans to gather his enemies in one place so that they can be killed at the same time. He conquers most of South-East China for his clan and is overt about not being loyal, but it also gives him insecurities because he knows Sun Jian wouldn't approve. He's fated to be assassinated.
- Sun Quan: the second son. He will take over as head of the Sun clan. He's not a fighter like Sun Ce, but he's even more cunning.
- Sun Shu: the daughter. Will be married off to Liu Bei in a political marriage. Actually loved Yuan Fang, but then he betrayed and almost killed her. She also had a crush on Liaoyan Huo, but he never returned those feelings and briefly had the status of christmas cake.
- Taishi Ci: A general whom Sun Ce won over. Very strong.
- Lu Meng: a very strong general. Known for being "illiterate" and vulgar, but he learns.
- Recurring generals: Huang Gai, Cheng Pu, Hua Dang, Zhou Tai
- Lu Xun: spymaster and manager of the shady stuff.
- Liu Da: former head of the Handicapped warriors. Threw his lot with the Sun clan.
- Ling Tong: a kid. His father Ling Cao died to protect Sun Ce and now he gets to hang out with the cool kids.
- Gan Ning: A general first serving Liu Biao. Is fated to (re)join the Sun clan because he admired Sun Jian as a loyalist but hates Sun Ce for being a rebel. Will change his mind though. He's not very famous, but he's very good with his halberd/bow.
- Lu Su: One of Sun Quan's top advisors and ambassadors
Watermirror and the Eight Genius
Once upon a time, a retired military strategist named Sima Hui or "Master Watermirror" decided to build a school to teach strategy. He succeeded.
Here come the eight "Geniuses", exceptionally intelligent guys to whom Watermirror's taught every aspect of strategy and tactic. Now those eight geniuses are much sought after because they're basically a cheat code that allows a warlord to see and gain strategic advantages. They are actually historical figures but also masked at the beginning and so it's kinda a big deal to wait and see who they join and what they look like.
Think of a fictional character who you think is intelligent. They're chumps compared to the eight geniuses. This series is arguably more about these eight genius playing 4D chess + Total War than Sima Yi. The eight geniuses are so OP in terms of "Just as planned" that it becomes ridiculous and yet it's too awesome not to be awed by the sheer "genius" of their plans. Seriously, these guys don't come with just simple plans, they think about everything. Military deployment? Yes. Logistics? Yes. The landscape? The local weather? Goddamn yes. Managing the morale of the soldiers? Yes. Setting up spy networks across China? Yes. How to get the civilians on their sides? Yes. Court politics? Yes! How to manipulate you and your people? Yes. They've already planned everything and have seen your next fifteen moves at the minimum. If they haven't placed an insider ten years ago who's now become your BFF, they're being sloppy and short-sighted. They'll let you do your plan and return it against you at the last moment. They'll even let you know their next move so that you try to counter it but actually your move was part of their plan all along ! They're one of the best examples of how to write smart people in fiction not just because of the intricacy of their plans but because each of them has actually a specialty in what kind of plan they excel at. There's the politics expert, the guy who specalizes in shady stuff like assassination or using massacres to frighten the opposition, or the military deployment ace. These guys are the stars of the series, and if there's one reason to read "Ravage of Time", it'd be because of them.
Profile:
- Yuan Fang: The first graduate. An ace strategist and warrior who stands out even among his peers. He was the bastard son of Yuan Shao and watermirror's first student. Watermirror feared Yuan Fang's potential and he only taught the seven others to act as a counter to Yuan Fang. This guy is completely fictional and not inspired by an historical figure. Yuan Fang could have been a chill noble, but his father Yuan Shao groomed him to become a conqueror, even kill the girl Yuan Fang loved just to make it clear there was nothing for him in this life but conquest.
- Xun Yu: The second graduate. He joins Cao Cao, seeing that he is a true loyalist with good potential. He specializes in politics and manipulation. He mostly handles court politics for Cao Cao, but other feats include managing to recruit a big army for Cao Cao or teaching hidden lessons for various people.
- Jia Xu: The third graduate. He wanted to join Dong Zhuo but Dong Zhuo got offed. He serves various warlords until he settles with Cao Cao. He's an advocate of the "ideology of darkness", meaning being a brutal savage who assassinates, backstabs and commits massacres to end wars quickly. Has a habit of boasting he can defeat X in 5 or 10 days and always backs up his claims.
- Guo Jia: The fourth graduate. He joins Cao Cao and is a champion of the "ideology of darkness" like Jia Xu. Very intelligent and ruthless, so they nerfed him by giving the generic coughing disease. He becomes interested in Sima Yi because he sees a worthy successor in him. Does very ruthless things like assassination or mutilating POW to scare off the enemy, and becomes Cao Cao's chief strategist in times of war.
- Zhou Yu: Zhou Yu is a famed general and strategist in History. He decides to support his sworn brothers from the Sun clan from the get go. His specialty are military deployment, especially naval deployment along the rivers of China, as well as counterespionage. He's also trained for fighting. Fated to die of disease.
- Pang Tong: The sixth graduate, aka "Fledging Phoenix" because he's brilliant at math. Pang Tong will serve various lords, but the one constant is that he's against Cao Cao. Pang Tong specializes in setting up and chaining convoluted plans, and is even more ruthless than Jia Xu.
- Zhuge Liang: The seventh graduate, aka "Crouching Dragon". He's the best brain out of them all. He's famed in story and in the legends for being the best strategist of his time. Zhuge Liang is excellent in every aspect of strategy, from studying weather patterns for a decade to use it once, to riding from other's plans by just guessing them and then steer them to his advantage. Will serve Liu Bei.
- The Eighth/SpoilerZhao Sheng: still unknown. Known as "Zhao Yun", his intentions and identity are actually unknown but he's also very clever. Good fighter, at least able to stand up to Zhao Yun. In cahoots with Xun Yu against Cao Cao (perhaps). Name is Zhao Sheng, affilliated with the yellow turban sect Five Pecks of Rice. Wanna use religion to dominate. End game is unknown yet.
Misc Clans
Miscellaneous warrior clans. Heh, the only clan that isn't a random here is the Ma Clan, because Ma Chao is fated to because one of the most famous generals of his time.
The Ma clan becomes a bigger player in the later parts of the series. The Ma are from Liang province, West North-Western part of China. Dong Zhuo and Lu Bu come from here as well, so you know that it's a land of alpha males. They're somewhat more barbaric, being a lot about cavalry too because their horses are speedy and can scale mountains. They were rendered useless because their warlord Ma Teng was held hostage in Luoyang the capital, but Ma Chao is persuaded by his father to let his family members hostage die so that he has a shot at killing Cao Cao.
The Han clan are neighbours/uneasy allies with the Ma clan.
The Zhao clan are based in Liang province, North-West of China. Affiliated with Dong Zhuo's faction before, they had a special martial art school. They were infiltrated by the two Zhao Yun who stole their secrets and are seeking revenge. Currently also fighting Ma Chao.
Some warlords of the Guandong alliance against Dong Zhuo. They are randoms who get fucked over.
Taiping aka Yellow Turbans
The Taiping or Yellow Turbans are a faction of peasants and mystics who rebelled against the established order of imperial Han, stating that "Heaven is dead" and saying that there is no point with maintaining the Han dynasty. They were causing a lot of trouble in the past but various warlords decimated them. Now there are remnants that still have the ambition to rise to the top.
The movement is mostly superstitious peasants and lords who follow an order of mystics. These guys know medicine and how to manipulate the masses and use a few trick to pass off as sorcerers. Very dangerous though they're old farts and a bunch of fanatics.
Misc
The Emperors of China and some courtiers. Last of the Han dynasty. They're puppets but at least there are some sympathetic scenes over their powerlessness.
Mountain Bandits, mostly fodder.
Southern Commanderies After Red Cliff, Liu Bei tackles four commanderies (or just provinces) in the south to gain a solid ground for his kingdom;
Real miscellaneous characters. Pay attention to Hua Tuo, who's an ace doctor, Kong Rong who's a warlord and Shan Wu Ling who's fated to be Sima Yi's wife.
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