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Main Character Index

A list of 19th century Templar characters in Assassin's Creed Syndicate.

Be aware that these pages WILL contain some unhidden spoilers!

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The Templars

Crawford Starrick

Voiced by: Kris Holden-Ried (English)^note

Grand Master of the British Rite of the Templar Order and the owner of Starrick Industries.

Affably Evil: He's a rather gentlemanly chap all around.
Amicable Exes: With Pearl; while his marriage proposal was rejected, he doesn't hold any hard feelings over it, and they still get along fairly well.
Benevolent Boss: A rarity among Templars. One of the first things we see him do is thank a subordinate for getting him some tea. After an economic crisis rocks London, he raises the wages of his workers without a second thought. The one exception to this behavior is when he kills a lackey who interrupts him, an act driven by grief from his beloved cousin having been assassinated.
Big Bad: Grand Master of the British Templars and the main antagonist of Jacob and Evie Frye's story.
Bling-Bling-BANG!: Has a gold plated and ornately decorated revolver.
Corrupt Corporate Executive: Starrick pretty much controls London's entire business sector via his company, Starrick Industries, and its subsidiaries. He also runs an organized crime gang and uses the profits generated from the gang's activities to fund his legitimate ventures.
Damage-Sponge Boss: In the final fight, he's unarmed and an entirely mediocre opponent (like Rodrigo Borgia in II you'll likely spend the entire fight using him as a punching bag), with his only exceptional feature being the fact he can take an absurd amount of damage, thanks to wearing the Shroud of Eden. The real challenge in the fight is the fact you have to parkour your way through a Laser Hallway periodically whenever he knocks you backwards in a scripted scene.
Disproportionate Retribution: Shoots one of his underlings in the head for interrupting him. This scene occurs as he's mourning the recent assassination of his cousin Pearl, whom he was close to, which brings more context to his behavior.
The Dreaded: The Assassin Council and Henry Green are deeply afraid of him and his stranglehold on London. The Assassin Council refuse to even enter the city or directly engage him, instead circling around the towns surrounding London.
Even Evil Has Loved Ones: He's close to his cousin, Pearl Attaway, and is devastated after her assassination.
Evil Sounds Deep: His accent is a little different, but he otherwise sounds a lot like Alan Rickman.
Evil Wears Black: His costume is pretty much all black with purple accents and he's the main villain.
Freudian Threat: Gives a gnarly one to James Brudenell by putting a knife near his balls.
Harmful to Minors: His business empire runs on child labour, poorly regulated child labour at that.
Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: The Frye twins take turns slashing him before they both stab him with their Hidden Blades.
Kissing Cousins: Proposed marriage to Pearl, his cousin, and they still have a rather close relationship.
Life Drain: While wearing the Shroud, he can try draining the life out of the Frye twins, forcing one to save the other.
Load-Bearing Boss: His empire and reach are so intricate that Jacob and Evie can't attack him without causing chaos in the transportation, medical and banking sector. Jacob realizes this too late when he finds out that crippling Starrick's business permanently would require him to burn down quarters that house his child workers.
Man of the City: Starrick is a proud Londoner, and sees himself as the defender of the city and its traditions. His name and logo adorns the businesses and advertising across the city, and his network and reach is nearly indispensable for the running of the city. Starrick even has a philanthrophical side. After Jacob assassinates Twopenny creating a potential economic crisis, Starrick notes that he will raise wages to help the people:
Starrick: The poor people of this city have suffered enough. Today, I granted a significant rise to my staff in order to counter inflation.
Lord Cardigan: What?
Starrick: I would supply all of London if I could.
Man of Wealth and Taste: He's one of the wealthiest men in London, and completely acts the part.
Starrick: Gentlemen. This tea was brought to me from India by a ship, then, up from the harbor to a factory, where it was packaged and ferried by carriage to my door, unpacked in the larder and brought upstairs to me. All by men and women who work for me. Who are indebted to me, Crawford Starrick, for their jobs, their time, the very lives they lead. They will work in my factories and so too shall their children. And you come to me with talk of this Jacob Frye? This insignificant blemish who calls himself Assassin? You disrespect the very city that works day and night so that we may drink this. This miracle. This tea.
Manly Facial Hair: He sports a pretty impressive handlebar mustache.
Mundane Made Awesome: His above speech does this for tea.
Orcus on His Throne: For all his build-up, he rarely steps out of his way to go after the Fryes, unlike other Templar grandmasters. He criticizes his underlings for taking them too seriously and pretty much sits back while the Assassins brazenly dismantle his empire. He only gets more active near the end after Lucy Thorne's death, and doesn't meet the twins in person until the final mission.
Greater-Scope Villain: His men end up killing the mother of one "Jack the Lad," who became an extremely infamous Serial Killer 20 years after his death, but has no influence upon the plot of the DLC otherwise.
Red Herring: Henry's opening monologue about Starrick's ruthlessness is accompanied by some dominating cutscenes and a shot of him punching his desk in short sleeves, which paints a bit of a demanding picture. Such is the surprise, then, that he is a very calm and composed man who happens to care about his associates in the Templar Order; that desk-punch occurs after Lucy Thorne's assassination.
Revenge Before Reason: Averted. After Jacob assassinates his cousin Pearl, Starrick explicitly rejects engaging in a Roaring Rampage of Revenge, reasoning that doing so would make him no better than the Assassins themselves. Lucy still convinces him to have her kill the Fryes, as long as it's done discreetly.
Sigil Spam: Starrick's business logo adorns the advertising of Victorian London, and the distinctive font appears on buildings, signs and other places.
Underestimating Badassery: He basically sees the Fryes as unworthy of his time and attention and keeps telling his fellow Templars not to take them too seriously.
Starrick: And you come to me with talk of this Jacob Frye? This insignificant blemish who calls himself Assassin?
Villain Song: Does a cover of "Then you'll remember me" from the opera, The Bohemian Girl.
Starrick: When coldness or deceit shall slight
The beauty now they prize,
And deem it but a faded light
Which beams within your eyes;
When hollow hearts must wear a mask-
...'Twill break your own to see:
In such a moment I but ask.
That you'll remember me! That you'll remember me...
Villainous Incest: He proposed marriage to his cousin, Pearl Attaway, although this was acceptable by the standards of the Victorian-era, especially when it came to arranging financially profitable marriages. His database entry also strongly suggests that Pearl was the only woman Starrick ever fell in love with.
Well-Intentioned Extremist: He genuinely believes he's doing what is right for the world, and sees himself as a Hero and the defender of London and civilization against the Assassins. When the Assassins gain ground and subvert his organization, he decides that London would have to be reborn, and for London to be reborn, the old one will have to go (granted, his plan turns out to be to purge the city's royalty and political leaders, rather than literally burning down London again).
Wicked Cultured: Likes to play the piano. Does not like to be interrupted.

Lucy Thorne

Voiced by: Emerald O'Hanrahan (English)^note

Crawford Starrick's second-in-command, Thorne is an occultist in charge of hunting for Pieces of Eden located in England, with her current focus being on the Shroud of Eden.

Arch-Enemy: To Evie, and the feeling's mutual.
Arc Villain: She's the villain of Evie's quest to find the Piece of Eden. Though subverted in that she gets killed earlier than the climax.
Axe-Crazy: Loves to boast of all the nasty methods she will implement upon killing the Frye twins. Course' she could just be fond of dramatics.
Badass Boast: She tells Starrick she will kill the Frye twins, by hanging Evie from the gallows and then flaying Jacob when he comes to save her.
The Baroness: Sexpot, like Pearl Attaway.
Bookworm: As a young woman, she was far more interested in reading books and studying rare or unique manuscripts that dealt with obscure religious knowledge, magic and occult philosophy than any "proper" womanly behavior, like finding a husband.
Cutscene Power to the Max: In cutscenes she's a skilled fighter and the only London Templar able to hold her own against an Assassin in a straight fight. In gameplay she fights just like a basic mook, only with somewhat more health.
Dark Action Girl: She genuinely can throw down against Evie and occasionally gain the upper hand in a fight. She also manages to somehow escape a 100 foot fall without a single haystack in sight.
Defiant to the End: As she is dying, Thorne reveals that the Shroud isn't in the Tower of London, but refuses to tell Evie any further. When Evie asks her about what the Shroud can do:
Evie: Tell me then.
Thorne: No.
Designated Girl Fight: Evie battles Lucy on two separate occasions; Jacob never even directly meets her despite her leading role in the London Templars.
Disc-One Final Boss: Evie assassinates Thorne thinking that she will find the Shroud at the Tower of London... Only for Thorne to reveal in her dying speech that the Shroud isn't even in the Tower.
The Dragon: Serves as this for Starrick and the only one who actively pursues the Assassins among the Templars.
Evil Counterpart: To Evie. Both are young women extremely dedicated to the secret organizations they serve, and both are obsessed with Precursor technology and are fascinated by history and philosophy. Appropriately, she functions as Evie's Arch-Enemy throughout the game.
Evil Redhead: She's a red-haired Templar.
Impossibly Cool Clothes: She bears a greater resemblance to a Steampunk cosplayer than a genuine lady from Victorian times.
Psycho Knife Nut: She's Ax-Crazy, and in personal combat, she prefers a black knife.

Rupert Ferris

"The Exploitative Industrialist"

Voiced by: Allan James Cooke (English)^note

"The mechanism we have built has been going strong for a hundred years and will run a thousand more. It is the very city itself."

Owner of Ferris Ironworks in Croyden, Ferris supplies the Templars with iron for their projects.

Bad Boss: Employs child workers and when one of them suffers an industrial accident, he offers leave but asks to dock the kid's wages anyway.
Industrialized Evil: The face of it.
Meaningful Name: He runs an ironworks factory, and his surname sounds like ferrous, an adjective describing iron.
Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: It's very likely his mocking of the British Assassins staying away from London is part of what caused Jacob to want to go there so badly.
Pet the Dog:
- His niceness appears to be limited to those of similar stature, but he does seem genuinely concerned about the father of one of the workers in his office, apparently having arranged a doctor to cure him. He even asks if there is anything else he can do to help.
- Downplayed in that he docks an injured kid's wages, but allows him to be taken to the hospital. Ferris could have fired and replaced the child outright, or forced him to work anyway.
"The Reason You Suck" Speech: His whiteroom conversation has him mocking the Assassins for picking on small potatoes like him while London remains standing:
Ferris: You Assassins can circle London to your heart's content. The mechanism we have built has been going strong for a hundred years, and will run a thousand more. It is the very city itself.
Jacob: We will take London from your hands.
Ferris: From Croydon? You lurk in the shadows, like a coward. I doubt it.
Starter Villain: He's the first target of the game and is assassinated by Jacob in the tutorial section.

David Brewster

Sir David Brewster

"The Mad Scientist"

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/david_brewster_acs.jpg

Voiced by: Peter Messaline (English)^note

"It's God's Apple, not hers! I will display it in public! Darwin will be vanquished, banished in shame to the blasted Galápagos to roost with his beloved finches."

A religious Scottish scientist famed for his contributions to the field of optics, including inventing the kaleidoscope. Entrusted with an Apple of Eden for experimentation, Brewster conducted electrical tests on the Apple at his laboratory in Croyden.

Alas, Poor Villain: He's the only assassination target that gets treated with any kind of respect by the protagonists during their Cradling Your Kill scene. Although this may partially be due to the fact it's Evie that assassinates him rather than Jacob, and the fact that Templar or no Templar, he was a brilliant scientist.
Brewster: We fight to gain what we cannot take with us. It's in our nature.
Arch-Enemy: Seems to regard Darwin as this. Seeing his theories as an affront to his religion and hoping to ensure that he becomes "nothing more than a bearded memory".
Foregone Conclusion: He died in February 1868.
The Fundamentalist: He's a deeply religious man who hates Darwin for his evolutionary theories, despite being a man of science himself. Indeed, he's one of the few Templars who really thinks the Piece of Eden is God's Apple from the Bible rather than a First Civilization artifact:
Historical Domain Character: He was an actual physicist, a pioneer in the development of optics, and the inventor of the kaleidoscope. He was also a Christian who strongly opposed Darwin's theory of evolution.
Historical Villain Upgrade: His opposition to Darwin aside, nothing in his career as a pioneer physicist supports that he was ever a "mad scientist" or doing any of the things we see him do in the game.
Mad Scientist: His job profile. Also he pretty much acts like one, using human guinea pigs, stooping and walking with a low gait, all that's missing is The Igor and you would have the total ensemble.
Mad Scientist Laboratory: He has a huge one underground, filled with unstable equipment so as to crack open and harness a Piece of Eden.
No OSHA Compliance: He protests to Lucy Thorne that the experiment he's performing on the Piece of Eden will be dangerous if he dials it up to the level she wants. Thorne insists that he does so anyway, eventually the whole lab explodes.
Starter Villain: Alongside Rupert Ferris, he serves as this, being assassinated by Evie as part of her tutorial.
Token Religious Teammate: Most Templars have a tendency to be atheists (or rather, they believe that most deities are Isu or Isu creations), but Brewster is a devout Catholic and believes the Pieces of Eden are actually relics of God.

Dr. John Elliotson

Doctor John Elliotson

"The Negligent Doctor"

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/john_elliotson_acs.jpg

Voiced by: Ian D. Clark (English)^note

A medical doctor who served as an author, teacher and physician at Lambeth Asylum. He created "Starrick's Soothing Syrup", which dulled the wits of its users and made them more pliable to Templar control.

Abled in the Adaptation: The real Dr. Elliotson was lame due to a carriage accident in 1828, but doesn't appear to be physically disabled here.
Beard of Evil: He's an evil doctor with a big grey beard.
Deadly Doctor: He gets targeted by Jacob for his leading role in Starrick's drug dealing business. Charles Darwin states that he was once a brilliant heart specialist but disgraced himself for his involvement in pseudo-sciences. By the time Jacob pays the doctor a visit, his acumen has decayed and, unlike many doctors of the era, he doesn't seem to care.
Elliotson: (after killing a patient with what appears to be some kind of corkscrew) As you've just witnessed, the application of too much pressure can sometimes result in... unexpected outcomes. Unfortunately, it appears I have ruined the organ.
Foregone Conclusion: He died in July 1868.
Historical Domain Character: Elliotson was a publisher of medical journals where he advocated the now-discredited practises of phrenology and mesmerism as legitimate sciences and was a friend of Charles Dickens and Wilkie Collins. He was also one of the first to promote the use of the stethoscope.
Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Killing him results in mass disorder in the London medical community, resulting in a proliferation of counterfeit medicine and a resulting health crisis.
Elliotson: You're a child... A child who believes he can solve all the world's woes with a flick of a blade... Have you ever pondered the consequences of your actions, Jacob Frye? Or did your father teach you nothing?
Understatement: Following killing a patient during a surgical procedure in an operating theater.
"Unfortunately, it appears I have ruined the organ."
"The Villain Sucks" Song: "Give Me the Cure"
Visionary Villain: He sees himself as a medical pioneer and feels that all the patients who died on his table contributed to the march of science:
Elliotson: A better tomorrow, forged with the blood of visionaries.
Jacob: All I see is the blood of a lunatic.

Pearl Attaway

"The Greedy Tycoon"

Voiced by: Nathalie Toriel (English)^note

"Owns all transportation, the ebb and flow of the city's traffic at her fingertips"

Owner of Attaway Transport, which she inherited from her father as a stagecoach company that she turned into a profitable public omnibus.

Alas, Poor Villain: Considering the nature of her storyline, you spend a good deal of time seeing Attaway in a friendly light. Her assassination is a little sad since at the end, she only laments the loss of her business which she worked so hard to achieve and make a success:
Attaway: I have sacrificed so much! I don't want to lose my buses.
The Baroness: Sexpot variety.
Enemy Mine: Formed a partnership with Jacob to eliminate Starrick's puppet in the transportation business.
Graceful Ladies Like Purple: She wears a lot of purple and is an upper-class woman.
Meaningful Name: She controls transportation and her name is shortening for That-A-Way.
Manipulative Bitch: She has Jacob Frye wrapped around her finger and has him kill a rival by positioning herself as an enemy of Starrick. She is actually Starrick's cousin.
Attaway: It's business, Mr. Frye. One does what one must to come out on top.
Never a Self-Made Woman: Averted. She rather glories in the fact that she built a business largely on her own work and initiative and went against many conventions to create a career of her own, including turning down Crawford's hand in marriage:
Attaway: Unbecoming?! I've had to hear that odious word dribble from men's lips all my life. Refusing to marry is unbecoming. Refusing to allow a man to conduct my affairs is unbecoming. How unfortunate that I didn't accept your hand in marriage all those years ago. How easy things would be for you now. The omnibuses would be yours by right and I would be at home, acting as hostess to your guests instead of standing here being so... unbecoming!
Starrick: It always ends this way with you, Pearl. I wish it were not so.
Sigil Spam: Her "Attaway Transport" logo is emblazoned on many carriages across the city.
Smug Snake: Has the smirk to go with it.
Trailers Always Spoil: The Story Trailer outed her as a Templar and assassination target. This makes her sequence jarring since Jacob doesn't know on meeting her that she's a Templar and assumes that she's an enemy of Starrick's, ruining what was obviously intended to be a twist.
Tranquil Fury: She only raises her voice on two occasions (the first mission and her white room confession), but she's decidedly good at keeping calm when angered. Just hear her say "He thinks he can burn my buses?" or her "unbecoming" speech shown above.
Villainous Incest: Starrick, her cousin, proposed marriage to her. She turned him down, but they're obviously still close.
"The Villain Sucks" Song: "The Late Pearl Attaway".

Philip Twopenny

"The Bankroller"

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/phillip_twopenny_acs.jpg

Voiced by: Clive Walton (English)^note

"Without our investments, there would be no city."

Governor of the Bank of England, Twopenny funds the Templar's projects, businesses, and schemes.

Corrupt Corporate Executive: Representative of high-level financial corruption.
The Ferryman: Jacob hands him a coin for passage to the next life.
Hypocrite: Keeps talking about how rich people like himself are working hard and bettering society unlike those poor freeloaders, while at the same time planning to stage a bank robbery and keep a cut of the profits for himself.
Twopenny: Do I steal you now, or wait until the moment is more opportune?
Jerkass: The face of Victorian capitalism.
Twopenny: I say we stop this goodwill toward strangers nonsense and focus on what London really needs, solid leadership whose hard work will raise everyone up to success. As go the titans of business, so goes the world.
Kick the Dog: Almost literally; he kicks aside a homeless man's begging bowl outside the Bank of England, and when said man protests, Twopenny icily tells him to get a job.
Meaningful Name: A rather Dickensian name that hits the nail on his cheapskate greedy nature. He's also repeatedly associated with pennies, on his first appearance, he kicks a beggar bowl holding pennies, and when Jacob kills him, he puts a penny in his hands to take with him to the next life.
Morally Bankrupt Banker: He uses "investment" to steal money from the savings of poor account holders.
Twopenny: Those animals squander their savings. We are the experts in investments. Nothing would be built or improved, nothing would rise above the muck without our hand guiding - no, creating - the future! They benefit as much as their worth.
Slashed Throat: If you do the optional objectives, Jacob kills him by slashing his throat with the Hidden Blade and he ends up choking on his own blood.
Small Role, Big Impact: You may care little about Twopenny, but you may remember how Jacob nearly caused the collapse of the British economy, thanks to Twopenny's assassination.
"The Villain Sucks" Song: "The Tale of Twopenny"
Wealth's in a Name: Philip Twopenny.

James Brudenell/Lord Cardigan

James Thomas Brudenell, 7th Earl of Cardigan

"The Corrupt Politician"

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/james_brudenell_acs.jpg

Voiced by: John Nelles (English)^note

A veteran of the Crimean War turned Templar politician.

Aristocrats Are Evil: The only true aristocrat among the London Templars (the others are mostly middle class and Nouveau Riche). As Shaun describes in the database:
Shaun Hastings: Lieutenant General James Thomas Brudenell, 7th Earl of Cardigan stands as a shining example of British aristocracy circa the first half of the nineteenth century; which is to say he was a pompous, blustery git who never met a failure he couldn't buy his way out of and liked to play at soldiers with very large guns and actual human lives (or, as he might have called them, "peasants").
Corrupt Politician: Extremely corrupt and uses his position to further Templar aims, even Starrick hates dealing with him.
Starrick: Your honor carries little weight.
Foregone Conclusion: Brudenell died in March 1868, so he won't be surviving this game.
Historical Domain Character: James Brudenell, 7th Earl of Cardigan, was the commander of the infamous Charge of the Light Brigade during the Crimean War and a conservative Member of Parliament. He was a recurring character in George MacDonald Fraser's Flashman.
Historical Villain Upgrade: He's generally not regarded with much admiration as per his negative depiction and was disliked for being a military incompetent and anti-reform MP. However, towards the end of his life he did support the passage of the 1867 Reform Bill and donated to numerous veterans' charities, though Shaun Hastings cynically points out that might've had the ulterior motive of strengthening the Templar's hold on London and by extension the British Empire.
Large Ham: He hams it up in his whiteroom conversation, which annoys Jacob as he's forced to listen to it all:
Jacob: What a prick!
Screw the Rules, I Have Connections!: Managed to slip away from every screwup he made over the years due to his family's connections.
"The Villain Sucks" Song: "Feasting on a Lord"

British India Company

Brinley Ellsworth

"You can't just walk this Earth like a free man. You are nothing more than a trophy, a stag's head above the mantelpiece. You have caused enough commotion as it is. It's time to put an end to this."

Brinley Ellsworth was a member of the British Rite of the Templar Order during the Victorian era. He coordinated an attempt to kill Duleep Singh in order to prevent him from inspiring an uprising.

All for Nothing: Duleep Singh was never likely to spark any sort of rebellion, making all of Brinley's efforts pointless.
Bullying a Dragon: Not Duleep himself, who his failure to kill is remarkable given that he had complete access to him, but the Fryes who had already destroyed Crawford Starrick's empire.
Incompetence, Inc.: Despite being a Templar and important man in the BIC as well as Duleep Singh's best friend, he can't assassinate the man despite complete access to his person.
Politically Incorrect Villain: Hurls a huge number of racist insults at Duleep Singh once revealed.
Real Men Wear Pink: Wears a lavender military uniform that appears custom designed.
Smug Snake: Fails miserably in every encounter with the Fryes and Singh despite the fact the latter is completely unaware of his activities.
Unknown Rival: Singh considers him one of his closest friends while Ellsworth seethes with hatred.
Villain Has a Point: Brinley points out the British aren't Duleep's friends but his captors yet Duleep continues to act like he's an honored guest.

The Blighters

Maxwell Roth

"The Treacherous Gangster"

"London's Criminal Mastermind"

Voiced by: John Hopkins (English)^note

"When the world is full of nasty things, we must tear those things apart."

The leader of the Blighters and Starrick's head figure in gang warfare. Notably, he is not actually a Templar, but is closely associated with them anyway.

All Part of the Show: He murders people on stage while claiming it's just good special effects. Which is all part of his larger plan to kill the audience as revenge on Jacob.
Roth: While some of the effects may be visceral and highly disturbing, do not be alarmed, my good people. Fear not! This is the purest form of entertainment.
Ambiguously Gay: Has a lot of sexual tension with Jacob, repeatedly calling him "darling" and "my dear", and he kisses him on the lips right before his death.
Jacob: What do you get out of all this?
Roth: The chance to have a little fun with the bravest man in London!
- He later dedicates his show at the Alhambra to a "young fellow very near and dear to my heart".
Ambiguously Jewish: He has a common Ashkenazi Jewish surname and black hair not to mention that London has a substantial Jewish community especially in the East End. However, we never see anything else that could indicate he is a Jew not even a single utterance of Yiddish which makes his ethnic and religious identity rather unclear.
Ax-Crazy: Seems to want to turn against Starrick for no other reason than he hates taking orders, and simply wants to watch the world burn around him.
Bomb Throwing Anarchist: The trait that both draws Jacob into working with him and also what pushes him away. He doesn't want order like the Templars, in fact he wants freedom, just like the Assassins. But, his brand of freedom is this: Total anarchy where he's free to burn and kill anyone or anything he desires, and do whatever he wants.
Collapsing Lair: He sets the Alhambra on fire, provoking Jacob to assassinate him before the Assassin gets trapped inside. Clearly Roth had no expectation of getting out alive. He was either going to die by Jacob's hand or let the Assassin, too, perish in the flames.
The Dreaded: From a conversation you can overhear in the Sequence 2 mission:
Guard 1: Visit Mister Maxwell Roth's music hall yet?
Guard 2: No.
Guard 1: Count yourself lucky. My advice to you, if that man asks you to get in on the act, run.
Enemy Mine: Formed with Jacob to cripple the resources of Starrick, whom Roth is decidedly getting tired out.
Evil Counterpart: As Lucy Thorne is this to Evie, Roth is this to Jacob. Both are carefree, freedom-loving and not particularly level-headed adventurers, but while Jacob is good at heart with an actual goal to help people, Roth is a murdering psychopath who treats people as pawns and toys.
Evil Sounds Raspy: Speaks with a raspy voice and is willing to burn down a factory with children still inside.
Face Death with Dignity: Seems to find his assassination a fine ending to a wild night. He's even shown walking away after he says his final words in the white room.
Roth: Darling, what a night! The stuff of legends!
Faux Affably Evil: He tries to cultivate an Affably Evil attitude to Jacob and genuinely tries to be nice to him, but is a Bomb Throwing Anarchist whose idea of freedom is "free to blow up whatever I want". Best exemplified when Jacob backs out of the burn-child-workers-to-spite-Starrick plan. His henchman Lewis delivers a letter and parcel to Jacob on Roth's behalf, which at first seems like a fairly cordial, professional "thank you for the partnership while it lasted"... until Jacob gets to the PS, claiming the box contains Frye's "invitation" to a play at the Alhambra. When he opens the box, there's a dead rook inside.
Foil: Aside from being an Evil Counterpart to Jacob he's this to Lucy Thorne. Both work for Starrick, are important figure within his empire with Thorne leading the search for the Shroud of Eden, and Roth running the Blighter's gang on Starrick's behalf, have Ax-Crazy tendencies, and have personal beef with the Frye twins, Evie and Jacob respectively. However Lucy Thorne has Undying Loyalty towards Starrick and carries out his orders until her death, while Maxwell Roth is The Starscream towards Starrick because he hates taking orders.
For the Evulz: Unlike the other Templar leaders, who are motivated by a mix of Well Intentioned Extremism and desire for money and power, Roth just wants to watch the world burn.
Jacob: Why did you do it? All of it?
Roth: What? Snap a baby crow's neck between my thumb and forefinger? Slice to bits the ones you deem "innocent"? Keep the world in its divine manic state? For the same reason I do anything - why not?
Gayngster: As a notorious and vicious criminal, and he is in love with Jacob.
Good Scars, Evil Scars: Sports a nasty one across his cheek.
Hoist by His Own Petard: Almost literally. His elaborate stage show results in a situation Jacob can use to pull him up for assassination in the rafters. Judging by his reaction, Maxwell finds this a delightfully ironic way to go.
Large Ham: He specializes in theatre, of course this goes in hand with his motives and general world view.
Roth: Every good criminal needs a place to invest his ill-gotten gains. And what's better than distracting the world with a little light entertainment while you do so?
Jacob: Oh, come now. You can't tell me you don't enjoy the triumph of a well-received play? The plaudits and praise? The reviews?
Roth: I enjoy being entertained, Jacob! If one the productions pleases me, I am over the moon. The theatre is in my blood. As you so astutely discerned, theatricality is... something of a Roth speciality.
London Gangster: He's the boss of all bosses. He was hired by Starrick to train the seven gang leaders that rule over the boroughs of London.
Malevolent Masked Men: Sports an opera mask during the show at the Alhambra.
Nightmare Face: Gets a nice close-up as he loudly proclaims "BURN! BURN! BURN!"
Not So Similar: Much like the Assassins, he desires freedom, and is openly disgusted with the Templars who employed him because they want to take that away, which is what motivates him to seek an Enemy Mine with Jacob. Also, like Jacob, he causes a great deal of harm and chaos to follow his actions without much care for the consequences. However, Jacob and the Assassins want peaceful freedom, while Roth just wants the world to burn.
Practically Joker: From his For the Evulz Straw Nihilist Large Ham attitude to his very personal enmity with and desire to get under the skin of Jacob, Roth is definitely this.
Psycho for Hire: He's one of these for the Templars. He's completely uncontrollable and resents Starrick thinking he can be.
Psychopathic Manchild: He is a mentally unstable gang leader who rebels against Starrick just because he hates taking orders. There is also this bit when Jacob tries to persuade him into not blowing up the factory full of children Roth's response:
Roth: I can do whatever I damn well please!
Roaring Rampage of Revenge: His show at the Alhambra to draw out Jacob is effectively this.
Lewis: A gift, sir, from Mr. Roth. You should be warned, Mr. Frye, that when Roth is angry with one, he generally brings suffering to many.
Rule of Symbolism: Invokes this to Jacob, when he first meets him. Roth shows Jacob a Rook bird in a cage, which Jacob dismisses for its rather obvious meaning. When Jacob and Roth part ways, he sends an underling to deliver a box to Jacob with the rook inside, now dead and strangled. At the Alhambra, he takes on the persona of "Corvus the Trickster" aka Jacob the Rook Assassin.
The Starscream: Helps Jacob take down Starrick's empire, solely because it amuses him to do so.
The Sociopath: Behind a layer of charm, lies a disturbed man. He never once shows any sign of empathy or remorse, and kills just for the fun of it.
"Take That!" Kiss: Gives a kiss to Jacob during the white room conversation.
Tempting Fate:
Roth: My friend, if I fail to provide you with the chance to cause Starrick some pain, well you can charge into this theatre and kill me yourself.
Terms of Endangerment: Outside of Vivienne, there are few video game characters who can make phrases like "darling" and "my dear" downright threatening. Maxwell Roth is one of those characters.
"The Villain Sucks" Song: "Jokes Jokes Jokes"
Wicked Cultured: He grew up with a theatre troupe and joined the circus, learning many skills that he put to good use in the criminal underworld. He bought out the Alhambra Music Hall as his base of operations and hosts productions as his public front, so that theatre atmosphere is really rooted in him.
Wild Card: Although an associate of Starrick and his gang leaders, Roth is not actually a Templar, if his Starscream, anarchist motivations are anything to go by. Assassin's Creed: Underworld confirms this in a passage listing members of the British Templars.
Worthy Opponent: Has this view of Jacob. Jacob returns it after a few encounters where they go on mayhem sprees together.
Roth: I've had my eye on you for some time. I find your... heroics in battling the great Crawford Starrick quite magnificent.
Jacob: I've been picking off your soldiers one by one, doesn't that make you angry?
Roth: On the contrary. Surprise is the spice of life! Now, Mr. Starrick, that's a different story. I'm drowning in directives, all terribly boring. Let's say we work together and bring him down?
Would Hurt a Child: As Jacob finds out rather too late and barely in time, he's willing to have child workers killed in order to spite Starrick

Maxwell's lieutenants

The seven gang leaders of the Blighers under Maxwell who controls London's boroughs and are all Templars.

In General

All There in the Manual: Each one has a backstory in the database.
Equal-Opportunity Evil: There are an equal amount of men and women bosses.
King Mook: They all just upgraded Blighters.
Let's Fight Like Gentlemen: Every Gang War has an official telling you the rules that have been laid before you. Unless you've already killed the boss of the area, in which case all bets are off.
Only Known by Their Nickname: Nobody knows Bloody Nora's real name.
Rank Scales with Asskicking: They're all considerably tougher than normal enemies, having a generous amount of health and tend to have a unique gimmick or weapon.
You Kill It, You Bought It: Upon killing them, you gain their turf as well as any unique gadget they carry. Most notably is Kaylock, whose Grappling-Hook Pistol and train the Fryes end up getting.

Rexford Kaylock

A leader of the Blighters who controls Whitechapel.

Starter Villain: Rexford Kaylock, who is a mandatory gang leader you have to fight as part of the tutorial on the gang mechanics.

Cletus Strain

A leader of the Blighters who controls Lambeth.

Smoke Out: Cletus Strain uses smoke bombs to stun you.

Edith Swinebourne

A leader of the Blighters who controls The Thames.

Octavia Plumb

A leader of the Blighters who controls Southwark.

Bloody Nora

A leader of the Blighters who controls the City of London.

Victor Lynch

A leader of the Blighters who controls The Strand.

Lilla Graves

A leader of the Blighters who controls Westminster.

Characters / Assassin's Creed: Syndicate - The Templars

The Templars

Crawford Starrick

Lucy Thorne