The cast of Empty Head. Spoilers unmarked.
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Baker Family
Arold Baker
The protagonist. A struggling lawyer who's career and family life are going down the toilet. He has become an alcoholic in an attempt to escape his troubles.
- Abusive Parents:
- The Alcoholic: Due to his career and marriage suffering, he has turned to drinking. In an early scene, after already being humiliated in court and being sent home, only to see his son bringing an insect into the house and the family about to get into another argument at dinner time, he excuses himself to get another bottle of wine.I'm gonna.. get another bottle of wine. [...] I wish I didn't have to...
- Awful Wedded Life: He and Laura have been in hard times as of the game. It's to the point that the only reason they haven't divorced is their children.Arold: (Argh, I will never understand this woman. She's started to keep more to herself. If it weren't for the children we would have already divorced.)
- Domestic Abuse: Subjected his wife to it in the past. One flashback shows him about to beat her with a wine bottle.
- Follow in My Footsteps: He wants his son, Thomas, to become a lawyer just like him. Unfortunately, Thomas would rather be an entomologist, and Arold is not happy about this.
- Heel Realization: Susan's entire goal is to induce one in him, to make him realize that he has been abusing his family due to his alcoholism.
- Tomato in the Mirror: He spends the game trying to seek out the one responsible for his children's disappearance. In the end, it turns out that he himself is responsible- his abuse of his children created ???, an Enemy Without that trapped him in a nightmare world where his children are missing.
Laura Baker
- Honey, it wouldn't happen to be time to quit drinking, would it?
Arold's wife. She is soft-spoken and insecure, but will do anything for her family. She is having marital problems, and disapproves of her husband's alcoholism.
- Awful Wedded Life: She and Arold have been in hard times as of the game. It's to the point that the only reason they haven't divorced is their children.
Sarah Baker
Arold's daughter, who resents her father for neglecting her.
- Girls Love Stuffed Animals: She has a favorite teddy bear, who she calls Leo, serving as the save point marker.
Thomas Baker
Arold's son, who is interested in insects and a career in entomology- much to the disapproval of his father, who wants the boy to follow in his footsteps and become a lawyer.
- Boys Like Creepy Critters: He loves insects and draws detailed images of them, and also likes to bring them home, to the dismay of Arold. He even wants to study bugs for a living.
Others
Hanna Meekins
An elderly lady who lost her husband to a disease. She and Arold have an antagonistic relationship.
White Fox
A reclusive model who wears a porcelain white kitsune mask. Due to a traumatic past experience, she is afraid of light and the outside, but she decides to help Arold find his children anyway.
- Deuteragonist: Arold is the protagonist, but the story focuses on her just as much, and you play as her for a good portion of the game.
- The Lancer: Arold's main ally in finding his children.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: She apparently forgot her real name due to her trauma, and so just goes by her stage name, White Fox.
Christopher Carter
A travelling artist and cheerful boy who promotes his artwork around the world. Despite his accomplishments, he is insecure about his art and public appearance.
- Driven to Suicide: He tries to hang himself in front of a crowd during one performance because the stresses of his artist life are getting to him. He can actually succeed if White Fox doesn't save him, leading to a Game Over.
- Happily Failed Suicide: White Fox saves him from hanging himself. While at first he is angry at her, he comes to be thankful for what she did later on.
- Reclusive Artist: He doesn't go out much, mainly due to insecurity, and when staying at the "Across the Seas" tavern/hotel, he goes so far as to ask the maid to lock him inside his room.
The Maid
Susan
A mysterious barmaid wearing a blue kitsune mask who works at the "Across the Seas" tavern/inn. She is very hostile to Arold.
Marcus De Von
The manager of the "Across the Seas" tavern/inn. An abusive man who mistreated his family. Arold suspects he is the culprit behind the disappearance of his children.
- The Alcoholic: His journal states that his family life was going sour, so he turned to alcohol. Much like Arold himself, as he is a reflection of him.I was feeling suffocated by my own family. I decided to open this inn hoping to find consolation in what I love the most: Alcohol.
- Asshole Victim: He was murdered by Susan, but is indicated to have abused her and definitely abused his family, driving her to kill him.
- Literal Split Personality: He and ???, who is implied to be his spirit, are this for Arold, representing his abusive side.
- Posthumous Character: He was murdered by the barmaid and is only encountered as a corpse, though it's implied that ??? is his spirit.
???
A smiling shadow humanoid who abducted Arold's children.
- Big Bad: He is the entity that abducted Arold's children.
- Literal Split Personality: He and Marcus De Von are this for Arold, representing his abusive side.
- Master of Illusion: He can impose his face on various characters, but it is pretty much just in Arold's head.
- Me's a Crowd: He creates clones of White Fox with his face to try to kill her.
- Slasher Smile: He is recognizable by his red smile whenever he shows up and/or is taking over someone's body.
- Split-Personality Takeover: In the Bad End, he fully takes over Arold's body.
