Characters / ZapDramatic

2 Following

Player Characters

• Ascended Extra: Your character in "The Raise" is strongly implied to be Yale from Ambition.
• Assassination Attempt: Someone tries to kill Bridget's attorney in the parking garage during "The Trial". They survive, though two innocent women are killed instead.
• Attention Deficit... Ooh, Shiny!: Your character in "The Raise" can be easily distracted by Rolf Klink's pet mouse, hallucinating that is talking to them. Following its instructions to gawk at a stripping woman results in a Game Over; either the mouse morphs into Jim, who arrests your character, or if they look away before that happens, Klink asks if they're on drugs and will not accept anything they tell him from then on.
• The Confidant:
  • In "The Tryst" episodes of Ambition, everyone expounds their situations and runs their proposals of how to deal with the Love Triangle by the player first. Most notably, Angie confides in the player that she's pregnant with Yale's child in "The Tryst Part 1", but doesn't tell Yale himself until the start of Part 2.
  • In Move or Die, siblings Syd and Wilma share important secrets about their lives with you that they refuse to share with each other.
  • In Sir Basil Pike Public School, Janina and Julia confide their secret plans with you as the story develops.
• Disproportionate Retribution: The detective gets the option to punch Duke in the face when the latter asks why the former is exposing the witness to a known violent criminal. It gets you a game over, but it's still worth it for watching Frank dismiss Duke's sniveling; and the fact that it doesn't make you repeat too much.
• The Faceless: Your boy and girl characters in Sir Basil Pike Public School are intially seen in silhouette before the camera zooms into the back of their heads, Metroid Prime-style.
• Failure Is the Only Option: Many times, the player can be lured into a route that offers no positive outcomes. It gets rather grating when the player has to restart an entire arc or even the whole game if they realize they're on a losing route and it's too late to correct course.
  • "The Raise": It's useless to ask Rolf Klink for more pay, considering your lacking track record. You have to stick with writing him an anniversary speech.
  • "The Trial": You can't pin the murders on Ted by convincing Yale to destroy the pizza receipts.
  • Move or Die: Wilma doing the honorable thing by giving the old man's corpse to the nursing home van driver will get all three of you killed no matter what.
• Hysterical Woman: Your character in "The Suspicious Cop", who is strongly implied to be female, has several dialog options that involve suddenly bursting into tears. Given the context, however, she may be faking it so she can get out of a speeding ticket.
• Ignore the Fanservice: Your character in "The Suspicious Cop" can try and seduce the traffic cop to get out of a speeding ticket. He says he's not interested because he's also a priest, and shoots her for coming on to him.
• In-Universe Factoid Failure: The police detective in "The Suspects" can be goaded into one while having an argument with Yale. They can cite the Roe Commission on Pay Equity to prove that there is a direct positive relationship between compensation and productivity. Yale counters that there is no such thing as the Roe Commission and calls the detective a moron, at which point the player will get a Game Over no matter what their response is.
• Leonine Contract: The defence attorney makes one with Duke Crabtree in "The Trial". In exchange for sparing their life, the attorney agrees to withdraw their question about Duke's notebook at trial, and helps him frame Yale for Angie's murder.
• Lights Off, Somebody Dies: The lawyer can become the victim of this in one Game Over during Day 3 of "The Trial", if they choose to double-cross Rolf and Duke.
• Loser Protagonist: Your character in "The Raise" hates their new job as a copywriter for Rolf Klink's PR firm. All their expendable income goes to loan repayments; their credit card is maxed out after buying a new car; their cat is dying and needs expensive chemotherapy; and they recently got into hot water after writing a press release so bad, the firm's client was sued for libel. Their one real accomplishment over the past year was writing a funny speech for a client at their annual stockholders' meeting, implied to be Klink's "sedation" speech at the Fascist Party gathering in Ambition. The character's backstory is a hint to the player that they are not supposed to ask for a raise, but to settle for some money up-front to write a speech for Klink's 20th wedding anniversary.
• Memento MacGuffin: In "The Tryst, Part 2" Helen steals the $12,000 violin that once belonged to your character's beloved aunt, and plans to smash it over Yale's head.
• No Name Given: Even if your character is lucky enough to be a physical person in the game world, they are not given a name. The one exception is the restaurant owner in "The Presumptuous Customer", whose name is Sandy.
• Noodle Incident: Whatever the detective said to annoy Frank Crabtree on Sunday in "The Suspects". Attempting to find out what angered him costs the player the needed extra time to win the game.
• Player and Protagonist Integration: These characters are typically outside advisors or featureless protagonists; "The Tryst Part 2" casts you as Yale's coworker, who is trying to convince Helen not to beat either of you with your aunt's violin.
• Purely Aesthetic Gender: Averted in the first part of Sir Basil Pike, between the bicycle and sleepover arcs that happen to the boy and girl, respectively. Played straight, outside of a token line or two, for the rest of the game.
• The Silent Bob: Their dialog is given through text options with no voice acting; sometimes, characters will respond to queries from the player that were not selected.
• Sleepyhead: The detective in "The Suspects", who is required to take a few naps or they will veer off the road and crash.
• Stumbled Into the Plot: If your character isn't a professional mediator, they will find themselves forced into the role of arbitrator by happenstance, such as the hitchhiker in Move or Die.
• Talk to the Fist: Some characters get to punch out the people they're talking to. It usually doesn't end well.
• Tension-Defusing Joke: In Union vs. Management, negotiations devolve into a petty argument between Ian and Barbara over the latter's misuse of the word "ironic". Your character can joke that they don't know what irony really means either, and they're an English major. It gets a laugh out of Ian, but Barbara is offended and leaves the table.
• Third-Party Deal Breaker: Many of their games have your character acting as an outside mediator trying to get warring parties to settle their differences and come to a compromise.

Ted Hadrup/Hartrup

A divorced father of two who suddenly appears at Klink International headquarters with a bomb strapped to his torso, demanding to see his wife and kids. He is later declared to be delusional and is accused of murdering Dr. Angelina Raleigh.

"You're Fired!" retroactively makes him a failed book salesman. He returns in Sir Basil Pike Public School as a math teacher. For tropes related to this version of the character, see "Mr. Hartrup" under that game's folder below.

• Asshole Victim: Mostly justified. He has a very hard time trusting anyone (including the police) after believing that Bridget is setting him up.
  Ted: "The police is only a business."
  • In "The Psychological Assessment", he thinks the (player) psychiatrist may be there to declare him insane and lock him away. In "The Suspects", he refuses to talk to the (player) detective.
• Ax-Crazy: The issue of Ted's sanity is a frequent question posed in the series. Turns out he really is sane.
• Better Manhandle the Murder Weapon: In "The Trial", an assassination attempt on the player character, Bridget's lawyer, ends up killing two innocent women. Ted grabs the gun the assailants dropped – even if the player reminds him he's being held for several murders – declaring that it doesn't matter that his fingerprints on it because he knows he's innocent.
• Born Lucky: He somehow manages to repeatedly escape doomed situations. At times he even seems to benefit from seemingly divine intervention like the mattress truck softening his fall at just the right moment. Rolf Klink comments on this later in the series, saying that Ted's unnatural good luck would make any attempt at framing him a bad idea.
• Catchphrase: Ted frequently threatened to "blow us all to Hell" in the first two episodes.
• Characterization Marches On: His character prototype started out as a down-and-out vagabond. Ambition turned him into a suicide bomber in a crazy pursuit to protect his kids. Since Ambition ended, he worked out his issues and became an elementary school teacher. Retroactively, "You're Fired!" made him an unsuccessful book salesman whose work is suffering following his divorce with Bridget.
• Demoted to Extra: He is the main character in the first few episodes. Later, he gradually becomes less important as focus shifts to the mystery of Angie's murder.
• Divorce Assets Conflict: As a carry-over from "The Vagabond", Ted gives you a sob story about how his divorce and alimony/child support – likely from Bridget – made his work at the book publisher deteriorate in "You're Fired!"
• Driven to Suicide: He jumps out a window after Jim talks him out of blowing up Klink Headquarters. A mattress truck miraculously saves him from certain death, reaffirming Ted's belief in the divine, for better or worse.
• Expy: His facial hair (mustache, goatee, sideburns) makes him look like Ricky from Trailer Park Boys. His behavior isn't far off from him either.
• Fatal Flaw: Pride and Wrath. His hardheadedness and free-spirited personality constantly bite Ted in the ass. He'd have a far easier time endearing himself to people if he wasn't so stubborn and prone to angry outbursts.
  • "You're Fired!" has him lash out at your character, who is Ted's direct superior, in ways that justify the publishing board's firing him, especially with a champagne bottle.
  • That anger calls his character into question in Ambition. As the court case finds, Ted was under the influence of psychotic drugs when he threatened to blow up the Klink International building. His pizza parlor alibi also clears him of kidnapping his kids or murdering Angie. He'd have been out of jail within a week or two if he didn't constantly try to escape prison which is revealed as Rolf Klink and his cohorts drugging and releasing Ted to implicate him and incriminate himself through rants that could've gotten him held in contempt. By the end of the series, he could still be held for the two Arab women's deaths if the attempt to frame Yale doesn't pan out simply because he refused to just let the system work things out. This can even get him imprisoned for life or killed in some of the last episode's endings.
• Flanderization: Seems to get less and less easy to interact with, to the point that you can't really even talk to him in "The Suspects" without him kicking you out of his cell.
• Grievous Bottley Harm: In "You're Fired!", Ted brings a bottle of champagne to celebrate a "mother of a sale" before he receives his pink slip. He can bludgeon you with it if he doesn't take his firing well; he even quotes the Vagabond verbatim sometimes:
  Ted: You're a heartless bastard and deserve what's coming to you! (smash)
• Happy Ending Override: At the end of "The Psychological Assessment", Ted is declared legally sane by a police psychologist. At the start of the next episode, "The Tryst Part 1", expert witness Dr. Raleigh declares him delusional on the witness stand, which leads to him being hauled back to jail. He escapes after a cop takes him out of the paddy wagon and tries to "take him for a walk" in a back alley.
• Iconic Outfit: Unless he's in prison garb, Ted is always seen wearing a bolo tie.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: As much of a jackass as he can be, he does seem to care for his kids. His sob story in "You're Fired!" about his divorce does seem sincere. He also goes for help after accidentally shooting you in a losing route in "The Trial", even though this will almost certainly get him arrested again.
• Le Parkour: After Ted punches out Jim the cop and runs away in "The Tryst, Part 1", he celebrates his freedom by jumping off the sides of buildings.
• My God, What Have I Done?: He breaks down if he accidentally shoots and kills you in "The Trial".
  Ted: "Oh Lord! You were trying to help me and I...Jesus! Hang in there, little buddy, I'll get some help! HELP!"
• Papa Wolf: He deeply cares for his children, and initially believes his ex-wife, Bridget, kidnapped them.
• Pet the Dog:
  • Ted is very kind towards Yale in "The Hitch-Hiker", especially when he gets punched in the face by Helen. He'll even berate her if she's suddenly sincere.
  Ted: "Holy smokes! I thought I had problems. Are you ok?"
  • In "The Trial", even though he's a fugitive and potentially antagonistic towards your character, he will immediately run to get help if he accidentally shoots you. It's a futile attempt, but points for trying.
• Prayer Is a Last Resort:
  • Ted ends up calmly pleading for God to save him with a mattress truck, and he'd wash anyone's feet as ordered in return. He ends up being saved by that truck.
  • Discussed in "The Psychological Assessment": he explains how he turned to the Lord when pushed into the bomb situation. These words get twisted by Angie in "The Tryst, Part 1" to declare him delusional. It seems she did him a favor, judging by his alibi that clears him of her murder.
• Reckless Gun Usage: In "The Trial", Ted shows the player a gun he found on the floor by assassins by pointing it right at them unintentionally [[spoiler:In one of the game overs, Ted accidentally shoots and kills the player while trying to defend them when the killers return.
• Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness: Ted, like other Zap Dramatic characters, dispenses ten-dollar words regularly. While venting in "You're Fired!", he calls the player character – a sales manager at a book publisher – an "obsequious sycophant" whose "perfidious soul" led to his firing.
• Smooch of Victory: Ted gives one to Yale in "The Hitch-Hiker", a reference to a similar incident from the Negotiator episode "Interview with a Vagabond".
• Tautological Templar: Espouses this worldview during his psychological assessment; his true motives are obscured by layers of possibilities outside his control. To him, good people will always do good and should never be held accountable, while evil people will always commit evil and must be stopped.
• Troll: toward Bridget. He loudly sings "Amazing Grace" from his cell during her interrogation. She yells at him to stop it, which makes him sing louder.
• Turn to Religion: Ted's fall is broken at the end of "The Desperate Dad" by a passing mattress truck, after he specifically asked God to send him one. This causes Ted to embrace Christianity, which informs much of his behaviour through the rest of the series.
• Unwanted Assistance:
  • In "The Desperate Dad": Acts of kindness may be interpreted as a threat to him because of his "fragile state of mind," the game says when you fail. Justified as, to Ted, they may cloud the truth of what he's gotten into.
  • In "The Tryst, Part 1": Ted fires Yale, who was trying calm him down after Angie declares him delusional in court,
  • In "The Trial": You need to convince Ted to go away and get to safety, despite his assurances that you need to stick together. Make a wrong move, and he can shoot you while trying to defend you from your assassins.
• What the Hell, Player?: In "The Desperate Dad", if you make Jim say the wrong thing once, Ted will call you an idiot for it and give you another chance to make the right decision. Do it again, and he detonates the bomb.

Jim

The police officer who holds up Ted at Klink International, and the first character you have to advise. In the Mediator episode "The Angry Neighbours", he gets into an argument with his next-door neighbour Sonia after she uses so much weed killer that it spills over into his own garden.

• All of Them: While trying to talk with Ted at the beginning of "The Desperate Dad", the player has three options followed by "all of the above", resulting in the abovementioned quote.
• Demoted to Extra: He's the character the player advises in "The Desperate Dad". He only appears in a few cameos for the next handful of episodes, but rejoins the main cast in "The Trial".
• Dirty Communists: He accuses the player of being a "pinko socialist agitator" in "The Trial". He also lays a similar accusation against Sonia in the Mediator episode "The Angry Neighbours".
• Dirty Cop: Zig-zagged due to some retconning.
  • He's originally introduced in "The Desperate Dad" as a good negotiator and an honest man, who successfully talks Ted out of blowing himself up and taking Klink International headquarters with him.
  • A Game Over scene from "The Marriage Counsellor" suggests that he may be on Rolf Klink's payroll.
  • Further retconning established him as evil, or at least complicit in the villain's schemes. In "The Trial", he is the very same cop who wanted to take Ted "for a walk" in "The Psychological Assessment", in addition to his somewhat aggressive attitude, implied that he may have been going to silence him, playing this straight. When talking to the player character lawyer, he denies the evidence of two innocent women who were killed in a botched assassination attempt, outright claiming nobody will believe you over him. He then ignores the pleas of the taxi driver and, in one of the game over scenes, sets up the evacuation of the courthouse for Duke.
• Hanlon's Razor: The pale-faced iteration of Jim often invites players to wonder whether he's stupid or evil. Could someone with his years of forensic experience really be fooled into mistaking blood (which the killers had no time to clean up) for engine oil, or is he helping to cover for the murder by throwing the lawyer into a state of doubt? Was he really overpowered by a handcuffed Ted, or was he leaving an opening for Ted to make a scapegoat of himself in a new location? Would a cop who shoots a motorist just for asking if he's married really swallow your silly excuses for speeding, or is he only setting you up for harsher punishment down the line?
• Perfectly Cromulent Word: In the Mediator episode "The Angry Neighbours", Sonia calls Jim out on making up the words "planticide" and "vindicative", then accuses him of not knowing what he means by the latter.
  Jim: "I know what 'vindicated' means. I've got the scar."
• Reasonable Authority Figure: Mainly because of the situation at hand, but Jim does show some sincerity towards Ted for his situation. In "The Hitch-Hiker", he even sympathize with him when he investigates the apartment. This is eventually retconned in the finale, where he's established to be a Dirty Cop or, at the very least, complicit in a sinister conspiracy.
• Sunglasses at Night: Jim is almost never seen without his sunglasses, even at night and indoors. In "The Angry Neighbours", he swaps his regular shades for a pair of tinted aviator sunglasses while gardening.
• Took a Level in Jerkass: "The Trial" implies that Jim may have intended to silence Ted in "The Psychological Assessment". His attitude in said episode does not help things.

Yale Johnson

A highly respected lawyer who defends Ted during his bail hearing following his attempted Suicide Attack. He is said to have a great future ahead of him. He's married to Helen, his boss' daughter, but he is also having an affair with his friend Angie.

• "Angry Black Man" Stereotype: Mostly an aversion; however, he makes a comment in "The Marriage Counsellor" about how white men got where they are today by enslaving the black man. It's completely unprovoked, and he doesn't say anything more on the matter.
• The Cameo: Makes a brief appearance in the Difficult Conversations episode "The Presumptuous Customer". Radio host Viktor Kranz has taken a table that was reserved for Yale and Helen; Yale argues loudly with Viktor, then threatens to settle the matter outside.
• Delusions of Eloquence: Plays out in "The Marriage Counsellor" where he comes off as quite pretentious towards Helen.
• Dirty Coward: It's blink-and-you'll miss it, but you can see him briefly look in on Helen in "The Tryst Part 2", after she grabs hold of a violin and starts threatening the player character. He quickly disappears, apparently more comfortable with letting his wife assault a completely innocent stranger than doing anything that might defuse the situation.
• Dull Surprise: Yale's reaction to Angie dropping a major bombshell.
  Angie: Yale, I'm pregnant!
  Yale: Oh.
• Everyone Has Standards: Yale acts like a jerk and does some morally questionable things. However, if the player character tells him that Rolf Klink thinks it would be best for everyone if Ted takes the fall for Angie's murder, Yale will say that it wouldn't be best for Ted. He then says that he'll see you disbarred for saying that (you play a lawyer in that particular episode), and you get a "Game Over."
• Fall Guy: In "The Trial", you have to make a deal with Rolf and Duke to frame Yale so that Duke doesn't kill you. The last episode ends with Yale getting arrested.
• Hypocrite: Yale's discussion of systemic racism and the capital stolen off the back of the Black man rings hollow considering how he makes multiple snide sexist remarks directed at his wife in the same discussion, not to mention the fact his ambition is to get close to Helen's father through her and put up with a sham marriage so he can steal Rolf's funds when the man eventually dies.
• Informed Attribute: "The Trial" calls him a decent man who would never betray his client in one of the Game Over screens. This would seem true if not for the fact it has been well-established that he cheated on his wife and seems proud of it.
• Jerkass: Yale goes full force on this in "The Marriage Counsellor", unless you play out the episode properly.
• A Lighter Shade of Black: Make no mistake; while Yale isn't outright evil, his ambitions make him one of the roughest characters in the series. If he got what he wanted, he'd screw Helen out of all her money and marry the mistress he cheated on Helen with. He's also a sexist thorn in the player's side in multiple episodes, where his lies or attitude make a happy, peaceful resolution nigh-impossible. ^note  He doesn't listen to any advice that would have him call off his affair; his views towards where women belong in society makes gaining progress as a marriage counselor an uphill battle; his lies about his car make life more difficult for everyone involved and nearly implicate an innocent woman for murder; and he's unhelpful and unwilling to listen to the player when they show up to his house panicked and with their life in danger. This all being said, next to his father-in-law and Duke Crabtree, he's really only an ambitious idiot getting in your way, and he truly is trying to help Ted get his kids back.
• Love Triangle: Is married to Helen and having an affair with Dr. Angelina Raleigh.
• Professional Butt-Kisser: The moment he sees Rolf Klink in "The Marriage Counsellor", he holds a wide smile and offers him snacks. Let it go on for too long, and Yale will do exactly as he suggests which leads to a Game Over.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: In one Game Over scene from "The Marriage Counsellor" (triggered by agreeing to have a private meeting with Helen in the other room), Yale runs out of the room while your character is distracted, and an exasperated Helen complains that she'll have to chase him down.
• Token Minority: The only Black character in the game with a significant role.

Helen Johnson née Klink

Yale's wife, and the daughter of Rolf Klink. She is faithful to Yale, but is constantly annoyed by him, and sometimes gets violent.

• The Cameo: Has a brief appearance in the Difficult Conversations episode "The Presumptuous Customer", although she doesn't have any lines.
• Deadpan Snarker: Doesn't come up much, but there's this:
  Yale: (on phone) Honey, it's me.
  Helen: Hello, me.
• Dull Surprise: In stark contrast to her Freak Out in "The Tryst Part 2", after she only suspects that Yale is having an affair, she doesn't react at all in "The Trial" after finding out that Yale not only had an affair and got his mistress pregnant, but as far as she knows, he may have killed her too.
• Fiery Redhead: A redhead whose character animation pays special attention to her hair movement. She also has a temper that flares up several times, at its worst during her Freak Out in "The Tryst Part 2". In one Game Over scene in "The Marriage Counsellor", she throws a bottle at Yale's head, possibly killing him.
• Freak Out: Briefly has one in "The Tryst Part 2" after she suspects that Yale is having an affair.
• Improvised Weapon: She grabbed an expensive violin from a co-worker's office, threatening to whack Yale and/or your character with it.
• Instrument of Murder: Helen threatens to smash her husband's head in with a violin. She kills the player this way if they get a Game Over.
• Properly Paranoid: Helen believes that Yale may have killed Angie, and also believes her dad is involved in a conspiracy. The latter theory is proven correct later.
• The Scream: A rather hilarious one in "The Tryst Part 2" when negotiating with her.
  "ARRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!"
• Spoiled Brat: Implied. Money isn't an issue to her, but she does have her doubts about her father.
• What the Hell, Player?: In "The Tryst Part 2", Helen bursts into your character's office and boldly announces her intention to beat Yale to death with a violin, forcing you to try to talk her out of it without setting her off. At one point Helen asks straight-out if she should go through with it, and if you say "Yes", she may call you out for your thoughtless cowardice and give you one more chance to say "No." Should you ever answer "Yes" again, Helen will beat you over the head with the violin.
• Woman Scorned: At the end of "The Tryst Part 2", Helen flies into a rage when she suspects that her husband is having an affair.

Dr. Angelina "Angie" Raleigh

A psychologist called to the stand during Ted's bail hearing as an expert witness. She overrules the psychological assessment made by the police and declares Ted to be delusional. She's also having an affair with Ted's lawyer, Yale Johnson. In "The Tryst Part 2", on the same night she reveals to Yale that she's pregnant with his child, she is murdered under mysterious circumstances. She also communicates with the player as a spirit in "The Trial" to help them solve the case.

• The Cameo:
  • Outside of the Ambition canon, Angie is the "virtual tour guide" for Zap Dramatic's Online Negotiation Course.
  • She also advises the player on what to do in "You're Fired!", and serves as a Game-Over Man when the conversation gets out of control.
• Early-Bird Cameo: Appears briefly in "The Hitch-Hiker" when Jim and the police are investigating Ted's apartment, and deduces that the "blood" smeared everywhere is actually beet juice. She doesn't play a proper role in the story until "The Tryst Part 1".
• Giving Someone the Pointer Finger: In court, she is asked to clarify who she thinks is suffering from delusions. She points dramatically at Ted while the camera pans around her hand.
• Hollywood Atheist: On the witness stand, Angie is dismissive and sarcastic while explaining Ted's belief that "his so-called 'God'" saved his life with the mattress truck.
• The Mistress: Her lover is Yale Johnson, who is married to Rolf Klink's daughter Helen.
• My Secret Pregnancy: Angie surprises Yale by revealing she's pregnant, and attempts to use it as leverage to either get him to leave Helen for her, or at least provide some child support.
• Perpetual Smiler: Due to limitations with her artwork, Angie always has a vapid smile on her face no matter the situation. Even in death, her corpse is frozen in the exact same smile.
• Retcon: In "The Hitch-Hiker", she's shown helping the police investigate Ted's abandoned apartment, and judging by her reaction to the fake blood, she appears to be a forensics expert of some kind. In "The Tryst Part 1", she's reintroduced during Ted's bail hearing as a psychologist subpoenaed by the prosecution as an expert witness.
• Small Role, Big Impact: After a very brief appearance in "The Hitch-Hiker", she's properly introduced in "The Tryst Part 1" and killed off in Part 2, but the end of her adulterous relationship with Yale, along with her subsequent murder, are what set the rest of the plot in motion. She comes back for a few brief scenes in "The Trial" as a Spirit Advisor for the player.
• Spirit Advisor: She serves as one to the player, and possibly the player character, during "The Trial", helping them to defend Bridget from a murder charge.
• Walking Spoiler: It's impossible to talk about Angie's role in the story without giving away Ambition's narrative shift towards her affair with Yale that results in pregnancy, followed by her murder, the surrounding trial, and the conspiracy it uncovers.

Bridget Hartrup

Ted's ex-wife who is believed to be framing Ted for a crime while trying to maintain custody over their two children. She is questioned by the police for the murder of Dr. Raleigh and becomes their top suspect; she must defend herself in court in the series finale, "The Trial".

• Blatant Lies: A rather hilarious one occurs in "The Interrogation Part 2" where she pretends that Ted is grasping her from behind bars, until the player holds Duke back and Ted steps away, showing Bridget embarrassingly faking it.
• Character Tic: She has a habit of winking with her left eye when trying to charm someone.
• Hypocrite: If "The Lusty Barfly" from Altered States applies in continuity, she has a deep hatred towards liars to the point of willing to shoot one. Come Ambition, she lies constantly. To be fair, it is for a good reason...
• The Horseshoe Effect: She doesn't come across as much better than Ted, especially when she takes the stand in "The Trial". She nearly gets held in contempt by spouting her own conspiracy theories about Ted and dresses up her swearing-in with an overwrought prayer while dropping malapropisms aplenty. The couple, however, are revealed to be mere pawns in Rolf Klink's scheme.
• Jerkass Has a Point: She's trying to engage with and does very little to make herself look good in the massive drama unfolding across the series, but she'll read her lawyer the riot act if they aren't doing a good job defending her for whatever reason. Additionally, even if she's throwing Ted under the bus to give herself alibis or defend herself, she's ultimately right that she has nothing to do with any of the murders that have been committed, and she has been threatened into undertaking her worst actions, making her a victim more than anything. Most of her abrasiveness comes from the fact that she knows just enough to recognize she's ultimately a patsy in the grand scheme of things but not enough to get out and secure her safety, and any attempts she has taken to rectify the current situation relying on the authorities or people being reasonable fall through.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: What she is deep down. She's in an escalating series of bad situations that are getting her deeper into trouble; the way she treats those around her only complicates her case, as well. She does, however, care deeply for her children and really didn't commit any of the murders. Even her fear of Ted is genuine; she doesn't have the full context for what's going on, thus making her think of him as a threat to their children.
• Ms. Fanservice: She came across as a rather poor example of this in "The Lusty Barfly". However, this trope was played more better in "The Trial". Too bad Rolf Klink showed up with no shirt on. There's also times where her animation is pretty... uncanny, especially during what appears to be cleavage shots.
• Obviously Evil: The endings of "The Desperate Dad" and "The Hitch-Hiker" seem to imply heavily that she is what Ted makes her out to be. We later learn that she actually averts this, though.
• Properly Paranoid: Bridget believes that Ted has friends in the police force that are making things easy for him to escape from prison. Played with, in that she isn't completely correct on that; Duke and Jim are making it easy for Ted to escape from prison, though to provide a patsy for all the murders being committed on Klink's orders.
• Smooch of Victory: Gives one to the player in "The Trial" after she's found not guilty.
• Troll: Like her ex-husband, it doesn't really come up much. But there is one moment in "The Trial", when Bridget is taking the oath she responds with a long-winded statement. The judge is clearly annoyed by this, and tells Bridget that a simple "I do" would suffice. Bridget has them repeat the oath again, just to clarify what she's saying "I do" to.
• Victoria's Secret Compartment: Does this with the player's VHS tape in "The Lusty Barfly".
• What the Hell, Player?: She upbraids you, her attorney, in "The Trial" over exposing her drugging Ted with Paxwic at Klink's behest, thus incriminating her and leaving her vulnerable to his murderous inclinations. As unpleasant as she is, she scolds you for not defending her well as her defense attorney for a crime she didn't commit. Her lack of knowledge that Ted is also a pawn of Klink's doesn't help either, nor does the player's odd bromides about being accomplished in crosswords and chess.
• Wounded Gazelle Gambit: Attempts this when you interrogate her, as she tries to make it look like Ted is holding her from the prison bars, giving the image quote. Getting Ted to back away from her will reveal that she's faking it.

Frank Crabtree

The superintendent who assigned the player detective to the murder case of Angie. He appears to be antagonistic towards him/her and more eager to assign his nephew, Duke, to the case.

• Demoted to Extra: He doesn't really show up much after "The Suspects", save for game over scenarios and cameos.
• Fake Shemp: His cameo in "The Interrogation Part 2" is recycled audio from "The Suspects".
• Palette Swap: His body is identical to Duke's, except for the color of his clothes.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: Despite being antagonistic towards the player and imposing a strict time limit, he is willing to hear him/her out when wanting more time to find a suspect. He also hears them out when a possible suspect has been found.
• Walk It Off: He frequently tells people not to be such pussies.
• What the Hell, Player?: He gives this if you suspect Yale or Helen in "The Suspects". He can also give you quite the word if you fail in "The Interrogation Part 2".

Duke Crabtree

He (or a relative of his with the same name) later appears in Sir Basil Pike Public School as a student in the girl's path. For more information on this incarnation of Duke, see "Duke and Luke Crabtree" in that game's section.

• The Bad Guys Are Cops: He's revealed to be working with Rolf Klink.
• Break the Haughty:
  • You have the option to punch him in "The Interrogation Part 2". His reaction and how Frank handles it is somewhat worth it, even if leads to a game over.
    Frank: Don't be such a pussy.
  • You can do it again in "The Trial", but it also gets you a game over. After Duke hijacks your cab, you can punch him in the back of the head and then in the face once he turns around. It causes him to wreck and presumably kill you both.
• Crowbar Combatant: If you fail to successfully negotiate with him in "The Trial", he will smash a crowbar into your face.
• Detective Mole: He's been working with Rolf Klink the whole time.
• Dirty Cop: He's on Rolf's payroll, is strongly implied to have killed Angie, and tries to kill Bridget's lawyer but ultimately resorts to blackmailing them so they will pin Angie's death on Yale.
• The Dragon: Does all the heavy lifting for Rolf Klink, most obviously when he arranges a failed Assassination Attempt on the player character that kills two innocent women, then hijacks the lawyer's cab with the intention of murdering them in the woods.
• Evil All Along: The night before you would bring a crucial piece of evidence from Duke's notebook to light, Duke hijacks your taxi cab and reveals that he is part of the plot to frame Ted for murder—the next being yours, unless you can come to an agreement on a new plan to protect Rolf Klink's secrets.
• Gosh Dang It to Heck!: Says things such as:
  (Player selects the option to call Duke a meddling creep and punch him in the face)
  Duke: "Who the bejiminey do you think you are?" (Duke gets punched in the face)
• Groin Attack: Can become the victim of one in "The Trial", though it leads to a game over.
• Indy Ploy: If the player allows Duke to take over their session in "The Marriage Counsellor", he'll admit he doesn't know anything about marriage counselling, but Yale and Helen seem desperate enough that they won't notice. Duke pulls it off flawlessly.
• Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: Despite his arrogant demeanor, he has some moments that suggest he's not a bad person deep down. He's willing to acknowledge when the player has accomplished something and even helps you out if you're having trouble in "The Marriage Counsellor". Then he kidnaps you in "The Trial", reveals himself to be a terrorist, and kills you if you choose the wrong options.
• Karma Houdini: Due to the fact that the series has No Ending, Duke gets away with murdering Angie and, likely, the Muslim women.
• Manchild: He has a shrill, whiny voice, cries for his uncle when you punch him in the nose, and uses bizarre minced oaths like "begiddley" and "bejiminey" in place of stronger language used elsewhere in the series like "hell." It turns into Psychopathic Manchild when he's revealed to be a villain, especially with his barb of "because I'm a terrorist" referring to his act of killing two women in burqa and hijacking the cab of a Muslim man likely related to them.
• Nepotism: Downplayed; Duke is clearly favored over the police detective in "The Suspects", but he gets minimal special treatment. He's the nephew of Superintendent Frank Crabtree, and Frank does seem eager to take you off the case and replace you with Duke, but only if you screw up. Also, if you punch Duke on the nose, Frank does scold you, but for a different reason (he even tells Duke not to be such a pussy).
• Not My Driver: Hijacks your cab in "The Trial" to take you to a discreet location and kill you.
• Palette Swap: His body is identical to Frank's, except for the color of his clothes.
• Pet the Dog: After witnessing Bridget faking a struggle with Ted, he allows you to interrogate her and lets you know when you miss a contradiction he caught just to help you out (though it's still considered a game over).
  • If you fail three times in "The Marriage Counsellor", checking the help button has him offer to fill in for you.
  "I don't know a thing about marriage counseling, but these people are so desperate, I don't think they'll notice."
• Politically Incorrect Villain: Duke's "because I'm a terrorist" crack, as silly as it is, paints him this way. He stole the cab of a Muslim man looking for his wife and daughter, the two women wearing burqa who were killed the day before, most likely by Duke's hand.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: He'll sometimes listen to you if you have the right argument, helps you out and allows you to do your own thing, and even does your work for you in "The Marriage Counsellor" if you fail three times. Averted with regards to the lawyer player character, however, where he's a Corrupt Cop working for a Corrupt Corporate Executive.
• The Rival: To the police detective in "The Suspects", as they are motivated by Frank's threat to replace you with Duke as lead investigator.
• Walking Spoiler: Due to a major twist about his character in the finale.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: His nicer qualities and willingness to listen when someone can prove him wrong, and his acceptance of most criticism, paints him initially as well-meaning but immature. When grilled over why he helped Rolf Klink by being his button man and killing Dr. Angelina Raleigh, he'll explain that he isn't doing it for money or out of a sense of ambition, but because he honestly thinks Angie was a threat to society as a result of "standing in the way of progress." This means he's also after the defense attorney for coming close to uncovering the truth and bringing the Paxwic scandal to light. He even calls himself a "public servant" to justify his killings. It's hinted these feelings and his actual helpfulness are genuine, largely because he takes offense to the defense attorney double-crossing him and Klink if they choose to renege on the deal to implicate Yale, rather than just being mad at the defense attorney for exposing the truth.
• You Don't Look Like You:
  • Was completely redesigned for his appearance in Sir Basil Pike Public School.
  • Interestingly enough, he sounds and looks almost exactly like the Ambition version in an early draft of the game, just with different clothes. The final version has him remodeled though, as can be seen below under the Sir Basil Pike section.

Rolf Klink

The head of Klink International, and Helen's father. He is also Bridget's boyfriend, since she dumped Ted. In "The Trial", he is revealed to have masterminded Angie's murder in order to silence her criticism of Paxwic, a drug that his company was trying to get approved.

• Benevolent Boss: In "The Raise", he was willing to listen to your character's concerns about their cat, but will only offer money-saving advice (meaning he'll suggest they euthanize the cat) and can not offer a raise. He is willing to give them more work on a sizable commission if the player seizes the opportunity, however.
• Big Bad: He orchestrated Angie's murder, driving the conflict for most of the series.
• Big Entrance: In "The Marriage Counsellor", he introduces himself by loudly saying his own name.
• Corrupt Corporate Executive: He's stated to be a fascist and he has no problems with killing people to silence them.
• Dark Lord on Life Support: He has terminal prostate cancer, with only months to live.
• Devil in Plain Sight: He's introduced as a member of the Fascist Party, and "The Interrogation Part 1" opens with him giving a speech about controlling the masses through fear.
• Equal-Opportunity Evil: Zigzagged. He is more than happy to accommodate Yale up to a point and takes no issue with a black man being his son in law and eventual successor. However, much like Yale, he has very strict views on traditional gender roles, and considers Yale's adultery to be more of a speedbump his daughter should get over rather than the potentially marriage-ending issue it actually is. Rolf subscribes heavily to masculinity and will berate Yale about not addressing the issue quickly and decisively if their couple's counseling doesn't go well.
• Hypocrite: In the Negotiator episode "The Raise", bringing up the topic of pets makes Rolf call it "deplorably unsanitary to willingly invite a live beast into your home", yet he sees nothing wrong with keeping a mouse on his desk. He will fire your character if they admit to digressing with their concerns about their cat, yet he begins the meeting with a digression about his own personal life. And while he considers it important to celebrate his wedding anniversary due to his unceasing love for his wife, by the time of Ambition he derides marriage counselors, saying marriage is founded on "mutual delusion", and has a new girlfriend that it's implied he's merely using to enact a convoluted revenge scheme.
• It's All About Me: He'll express sympathy for his son in law's situation and rail against the idea of Yale being framed for a murder Duke committed on Rolf's orders - at least until the defense counsel explains Rolf will end up looking like the most likely suspect if Yale isn't given the mounting evidence against him and his operatives that will only look worse if the defense counsel suddenly dies.
• Karma Houdini: Unintentionally, as the Ambition series was Cut Short, but Rolf suffers no consequences for arranging Angie's murder nor the Paxwic scheme.
• The Man Behind the Man: Rolf orchestrated the entire conspiracy, and arranged for Angie's murder intending to use Ted as a fall guy.
• May–December Romance: Has one with Bridget, who appears to be roughly the same age as his daughter.
• Pet the Dog: Ultimately subverted. At first, he balks at the idea of framing Yale for Angie's murder because, for all his acknowledged faults, Yale is both his son and not a murderer. However, he will quickly change his tune and go along with a plan to shift blame to his son in law once the defense counsel makes it clear to him that Ted is a poor choice for a frame job given his alibi and Bridget has a solid case built in her favor at this point - meaning if Rolf doesn't frame his son in law or goes through with killing the defense counsel, the evidence will very quickly point back at him and Duke... and he just can't have that, now can he?
• Red Eyes, Take Warning: In Part 10, his eyes turn red when lightning flashes outside the window.
• Your Days Are Numbered: According to, Yale in "The Tryst Part 1", he only has six months (at best) to live due to prostate cancer. This can be used as leverage for Yale to stop his affair with Angie.

Dave the Brave

A young boy with a stutter. While in the convenience store, you see him ride off on what appears to be your bike. You attack him for it, and he goes and tells his friends about it. Later, it is revealed that Dave has an identical bike, and you left yours at the convenience store.

• Butt-Monkey: In the first episode you (unwittingly) steal his bike from him, then successfully persuade the rest of your friends that it was always your bike. Then in the second episode, he gets an insulting message written in toothpaste on the back of his jacket.
• Demoted to Extra: He's a pretty major character in the boy's plot on Monday, but after that he becomes a background character.
• Fake Shemp: He has one line of dialog after being Demoted to Extra, which is recycled from his arc on Monday.
• Informed Attribute: Despite having "the Brave" as his soubriquet, he whines to his friends instead of standing up for himself. The Retsupurae duo speculate that "Dave the Brave" is a nickname he gave himself, and the others call him by it to humor him.
• Offscreen Teleportation: Even though you take his bike, he still somehow manages to get to school before you do.
• Speech Impediment: He has a stutter.

Max

A very large boy, and Dave's best friend. While he can be quite the jerk at times, he's fiercely protective of his friends, Dave in particular.

• Berserk Button: Anyone making fun of Dave, particularly his stutter.
• Disproportionate Retribution: Some kids from a rival school use toothpaste to write "Pike stinks of dead fish" on the back of Dave's jacket. Max's completely reasonable response is to tell the player character to go and get their baseball bat so that he can break their kneecaps.
• Fat Bastard: While he doesn't usually initiate fights with other people unless either they've already offended him or they happen to be called Janina, you do not want to get on his bad side.
• Hypocrite: Calls Janina "dough girl," despite being just as fat as her if not fatter.
• Troubling Unchildlike Behavior: Wants to break the kneecaps of some kids from a rival school for writing "Pike Stinks of Dead Fish" on Dave's jacket.
• Vocal Dissonance: He's yet another example of a character with a large frame and a high-pitched voice.

Tony

One of your friends in the boy's path. In episode two, he uploads the embarrassing video of Julia to his "page" in order to help her become famous, but does not consider the possibility that it may humiliate her.

• The Bully: Seems to be the biggest one to Janina, as he initiates the taunting of her before her music video, and also says something to her in math class which gets him a punch in the arm. On Tuesday, Zoya says that she thinks Janina's disappearance is Tony's fault for teasing her so much.
• The Generic Guy: Even compared to the other boys, he doesn't really have that much of a personality beyond enjoying watching people get humiliated.
• Instant Humiliation: Just Add Tony's Page!: Does this to Julia in order to help her become famous.
• Jerk Jock: Maybe. He plays tennis with your character, but it isn't stated if he's on the tennis team or not. He certainly can be a jerk, though.
• Karma Houdini: He doesn't show up during the scene where everybody apologizes and sorts out their differences, despite the fact he is the one that posts Julia's humiliating video. This combined with the fact his other actions include shifting blame onto others out of nowhere makes one wonder why he didn't receive any comeuppance (as everybody else did).
• Well Intentioned Jerk: Claims that he's uploading the video of Julia to make her a superstar, though given his behavior elsewhere that's debatable.

Julia

One of the female students, and apparently a close friend of the protagonist regardless of gender.

• Dumb Blonde: It's difficult to tell whether she's supposed to be this. While she talks about bees "biting" people and seems to think that phone numbers and e-mail addresses are the same thing, she makes the former statement while in obvious distress and suffering a nasty allergic reaction, while the latter is actually shown to be correct in-universe.
• My God, What Have I Done?: If she goes through with her plot to humiliate Tammy, and you don't warn Tariq ahead of time so that he can bail her out, Julia will soon get upset at her own actions and then openly blame you for persuading her to go through with the plan in the first place.
• Plot Allergy: She has a non-lethal allergy to bee stings, which causes her face to swell up considerably. Tammy gets a video of her in the middle of a reaction and uploads it to some website, and the humiliation of this leads to Julia trying to take revenge on her.
• Prank Date: Pretends to be Tariq and texts Tammy after the latter didn't delete an embarrassing video of Julia from her phone.
• This Ain't Rocket Surgery: She says it doesn't take "a rocket surgeon" to know why she feels ruined and betrayed. You can correct her on this phrase to send her into Sarcasm Mode.
• Token White: All the other girls (save Janina) are black, Asian or Ambiguously Brown.
• Valley Girl: Skirts this trope. While she seems to be reasonably intelligent and has a good grasp of technology, she's a little inarticulate and tends to get very emotional about things.

Janina

An unpopular girl at Sir Basil Pike Public School. She is overweight, and gets picked on a lot for it. She informs you of the fact that you mistook Dave's bike for your own by sending you a picture of your bike still at the convenience store that she took with her cell phone. She is revealed to be a talented musician, and she sings a song about bullying.

• Animated Music Video
  • Surreal Music Video: Performs one inexplicably after our character agrees to "rock" with her.
• Fourth-Wall Observer: Janina makes multiple mentions of game features such as her ability to modify Persuasive Power and the player's ability to travel back in time and is privy to knowledge of character actions she couldn't possibly have been able to witness. On one occasion where you get sent back in time for fighting with her, Janina even shows up afterward to say, "Look, if you want to win the game, you have to play smarter."
• Goth: Becomes one post-makeover.
  • Perky Goth: She seems a lot happier post-makeover than pre-makeover.
• Hidden Depths: In-universe, she is revealed to be a talented musician. Out of universe, your mileage may vary on the "talented" part, though.
• Loner-Turned-Friend: Possibly with the other characters. She helps them resolve the conflict at the end, and they express gratitude for it, but it is unknown if they actually befriended her or if they just experienced Aesop Amnesia.
• Smug Snake: She unintentionally comes off as one sometimes.

Mr. Hartrup

Ted Hartrup from Ambition returns as a math teacher in Sir Basil Pike Public School. He's a stern but fair authority figure who just wants what's best for his students. He's not the best math teacher, though, as a lot of his lessons tend to be more psychological in nature.

• Adults Are Useless: If he gets involved in any of the conflicts, there's usually no winning solution by that point.
• Art Evolution: Not too noticeable, but just compare this picture of Ted to the one in the Ambition section.
• Cool Shades: Always seen wearing a pair of rose-tinted glasses.
• Cool Teacher: Presented as one in the text, and in his own way seems to genuinely care about his students. He settles the argument over Dave's bike by applying the Judgment of Solomon on Monday, and has unconventional lessons such as using the Monty Hall Problem to explain probability on Tuesday.
• Grammar Nazi: As evidenced by this exchange:
  Ted: Did you just threaten Kim?
  Max: No.
  Ted: Nobody makes threats in my class. Go down and speak to the vice-principal.
  Max: I didn't do nothing.
  Ted: You didn't do nothing? Hmmm. If you'd said you did do nothing, then we'd have to discuss it. But since you said you didn't do nothing, you're admitting to doing something. Thank you for the confession. Go!
  Max: Wha?
  Ted: Go!
• Judgment of Solomon: Offers to do this in order to settle the bike dispute between you and Dave.
• Monty Hall Problem: Teaches it on Tuesday to explain probability.
• The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: Despite being a math teacher, his class consists of very few math lessons. He teaches compound fractures on Monday, but then teaches the Monty Hall Problem on Tuesday, which is more of an exercise in psychology than math. He also teaches the class about paradigm shifts, which have nothing to do with math at all.
• Pun: After Janina's performs her song, he shows up and asks what's going on. Janina says that they're just jamming, and he responds with "well, I hope you're jamming with whole-wheat bread."
• Reasonable Authority Figure: If there's an argument between two students, he'll try to come up with a solution that's fair to both parties.
• Same Character, But Different: He's certainly a lot more on the ball than how he was in Ambition. Then again, he could just be an homage.
• Stealth Insult: His "jamming with whole-wheat bread" comment mentioned above could be taken as this. He says it to Janina (who is overweight), and when she laughs at it, he responds with:
  "Laugh all you like, but you should develop healthy eating habits when you're young, or you'll regret it when you get to be my age."
• Transplant: While it isn't made clear this is the same Ted from Ambition, all the similarities are quite damning. At best, it could be an Alternate Universe form of him.

Duke and Luke Crabtree

Twin brothers who appear on the female player character's path and pose a "twin's riddle" in order to correctly/incorrectly direct you to the tennis court. Duke always tells the truth, while Luke always lies. It's not exactly clear whether this Duke is a young incarnation of the character who would later appear in Ambition (which would make Sir Basil Pike Public School a prequel to that series), or whether he and Luke are younger relatives of the Duke seen in that story.

• Art Evolution: If Duke is the same character from Ambition, he's gone through one hell of a redesign.
• Continuity Cameo: Assuming this Duke and Ambition Duke are one and the same.
• Evil Twin: Luke, which has led to many jokes about how he's probably the "Duke" who appears in Ambition.
• Knights and Knaves: Duke only tells truths, and Luke only tells lies. If the player chooses the wrong door, they get sent to the vice-principal's office and lose persuasive power.
• Transplant: Same deal with Ted. See his entry above.
• Trickster Twins: Their entire reason for being in the game is to force you to do a Knights and Knaves puzzle.
• Vocal Evolution: Their voices are slightly lower than Duke's in Ambition.
• You Don't Look Like You: If we weren't told that this was Duke, it would be impossible to tell.

Homeless Man/The Vagabond

An alcoholic hobo with grey skin, an awful taste in clothing and a nasty habit of smashing beer bottles over people's heads. He appears in the first Negotiator episode, where he accosts you for the $200 that he believes will get his life back on track. Can be seen as an early prototype for Ted, having a similar backstory — particularly his wife and kids abandoning him — and almost exactly the same voice.

• Aesop Amnesia: During his stint as a Web tour guide, the Vagabond reveals that before he took a negotiation workshop and became the Ted we know today, he resorted to begging, fighting, and using irrelevant arguments about the United Nations to try to win disputes. It's hard to make the case that the Ted of later cartoons has gotten any more successful at avoiding any of these pitfalls.
• Amazing Technicolor Population: It's not clear if his dark grey skin tone is a deliberate example of this trope, or a failed attempt at a lighting effect. Either way, most future ZapDramatic characters would avoid this trope.
• Author Tract: Much like Ted Hartrup in his "Red-neck rant", the Vagabond was once the mouthpiece of some videos criticizing Stephen Harper on such issues as the funding of the arts.
• Disproportionate Retribution: Sometimes he'll freak out and kill you over a seemingly innocuous statement, yet not react at all to being insulted or punched, due to the choice buttons linking to the wrong dialogue tree and/or the fact that there are only two possible endings to the game (giving him a small amount of money wins the game; anything else results in him breaking a bottle over your head).
• Hair-Trigger Temper: An unusual example, since it's possible to give him thousands of dollars and yet have him kill you the minute you refuse to give him any more (mostly due to Stupidity Is the Only Option) — yet he'll quite happily take just $2.37 from you and wish you a pleasant evening.
• Hypocrite: According to him, it's perfectly okay to approach strangers, accost them for hundreds of dollars and then brutally assault them if they fail to pay up. Going to Social Services for a one-time handout, on the other hand, is apparently a big no-no.
• Insane Troll Logic: It's unclear why he thinks asking one person to give him $200 is a better idea than asking lots of people to give him small donations which would gradually build up to the $200. Possibly he's afraid that he might spend smaller sums on booze, but then again there's no guarantee that he wouldn't just spend $200 on really expensive booze, considering he once maxed out his credit cards on the stuff.
• Random Passerby Advice: He appears at the beginning of the game "Customer Service", and if the player fails enough times, he begins to offer hints about the best approach.
• Soapbox Sadie: Will rant at length about the evils of social services if given the opportunity, at least in the original version of the game. The updated version has a much shorter rant, but he begins it by saying "Social Services can kiss my ass" and then mooning the player.
• Ungrateful Bastard: If you agree to his request he'll keep asking for more money, and won't stop no matter how many times you agree. Meaning it's theoretically possible to hand him millions of dollars, or more. He'll still kill you the moment you stop paying him.

Lola

The refunds clerk at a department store. Initially seems quite friendly and cheery, but will rapidly turn into a snarky bitch if you spend more than thirty seconds pressing for a refund. Unfortunately for you, the object of her Negotiator episode is to get a refund for a faulty iron. She later appears again in the first episode of Ambition, where she's working as a receptionist at Klink International.

• Berserk Button: While she doesn't like people attempting to haggle her for a refund, she really doesn't like being condescended to. She'll order you to leave the store if you speak down to her.
• Deadpan Snarker: She won't pass up any opportunity to call you a moron.
• Hair-Trigger Temper: While she mentions early on that she used to have severe anger management problems, along with a habit of throwing bowls of soup at people, she won't actually do anything worse to you than calling security if you refuse to leave.
• Stepford Smiler: Carries the same broad smile throughout pretty much the entirety of her Negotiator episode, whether she's being nice to you or accusing you of misusing the clothes iron. Averted in her Ambition appearance, where her facial expressions are a little more appropriate to the situation.
• Unusually Uninteresting Sight: She reacts this way in "The Desperate Dad" to Ted coming into the Klink International building with dynamite strapped to himself. She doesn't completely ignore it, but she acts as though people threatening to blow up the building is a regular occurrence.

Syd

A young drifter and Wilma's brother. Supposedly, he's a successful architectural student; in reality, he's a dropout running away from town after getting into a bar brawl that left him fearful of going to jail.

• Blue-and-Orange Morality: Syd shares much of the same "divine" rationale as Ted Hartrup, though with more astrological assumptions to go along with the "God" thing. He's quick to rationalize their taking the old man's money to help pay for his bail and Wilma's fashion designer dream as a sign from the heavens, which she's quick to denounce. Naturally, this ends up with both hauling the body in the car and the orderly encounter killing them both no matter what.
• Ice-Cream Koan: Like other Zap Dramatic characters, he tries to justify his lot in life through quasi-religious riddles and protestations, something even Wilma gets sick of.
• Maintain the Lie: Syd reveals to the player that he flunked out of architectural school and got into a bar brawl that he needs bail for a few months before the game's events. He keeps up the illusion of him being a successful architect as not to disappoint Wilma out of competitiveness. He doesn't know, though, about the similar facade that Wilma's keeping up.
• Never My Fault: Same as many other Zap Dramatic characters, he's quick to ignore the player while pinning the blame on them for his own poor decisions, like when he throws the old man's money and cell phone at the "orderly's" van before a protracted game over.
• Properly Paranoid: the one credit Syd has to the gameplay is how apprehensive he gets about the next person they run into being a "psycho killer". He's proven right when he, Wilma and the player run into the orderly and Grimm.
• Too Dumb to Live: every time they're chased by the orderly, Syd gets the bright idea to chuck the old man's wallet and cellphone at the van moving at high speed. He then has the gall to blame the player for his fuck-up before the "Karma Bus" crashes into them.
• Useless Deuteragonist: Like Wilma, any negotiation that he takes on will end in disaster.

Wilma

A young intern and Syd's sister. Like her brother, she ends up on the lam with something to hide: in her case, an extramarital affair with Garth Hicks, the mayor of Moncton.

• Agent Scully: The more grounded of the primary duo. She tells Syd to take his pseudo-religious babble about taking the old man's money and shove it.
• Drives Like Crazy: She apparently had no problem speeding in the pitch black forest at night when Syd turned the car's headlights off. She comes to regret it after running over the old man's corpse. She also gets into the chase with the orderly in every path.
• Fiery Redhead: Averted. She shows no tendencies of anger, even as the player advises her to use her moral outrage to inform her confrontation with Syd in the earlier scenes.
• Left Hanging: As only one episode of Move or Die was ever released, her arc about her affair with Mayor Hicks goes unresolved.
• Maintain the Lie: Something she shares with Syd. She keeps up an image of stability in front of her brother despite her being on the run after getting caught in bed with Moncton's mayor.
• Ping Pong Naïveté: She's streetwise enough to keep her cool after running over the old man, but fails in every other regard like her running away from Moncton after sleeping with the mayor. While she's in the right to be outraged over Syd's suggestions to abscond with the old man's body and flag down the orderly's van, it won't end well for them. Also like Syd, she has no finesse over any of the possible negotiations she has.
• Redheads Are Ravishing: Wilma's clearly a blithe young woman who captures the affections of Garth Hicks, Moncton's mayor, which caused her to run away with Syd.
• Shout-Out: She's a redhead named Wilma.
• Too Dumb to Live: One losing path has her taunt the suspect orderly when he has her at gunpoint that waving a gun at her is Compensating for Something. He shoots and she dodges, but the whole thing still ends up with the three travelers getting hit by the "Karma Bus".

The Old Man

An old man that Wilma and Syd end up running over in the Canadian countryside, who was already dead. He turns out to be Carla's grandfather, on the way to Knowles to pay for the girl's release from Mrs. Grimm.

• Cassandra Truth: He doesn't get to say anything about Grimm or her possible ties to the Silver Oaks Nursing Home, considering he dies on the way to Knowles.
• Disposing of a Body: If you play your cards right, he ends up becoming the last victim of Grimm's piranha tank.
• Determinator: He was willing to get out of the Silver Oaks Nursing Home and walk through rural Canada at night to save Carla from Grimm, who turns out to be a serial killer. Shame he died so soon.
• Fling a Light into the Future: The correct path has the travelers access the old man's cell phone, with Carla's voicemail leading them to Grimm's mansion in Knowles.
• No Name Given
• Posthumous Character: He dies in the opening sequence before he could do anything to save Carla. He ends up becoming fish food no matter what.
• The Voiceless: By virtue of his death.

Carla

A teenager impressed into working for Mrs. Grimm over a broken antique vase.

• And the Adventure Continues: Carla joins Wilma, Syd, and the player as all four of them drive off into the night after exposing Grimm. It's unknown what other family she has or how they would have factored into the series if it hadn't been left hanging.
• Artistic License – Child Labor Laws: Averted and exploited by Grimm. Carla is 19, just out of high school and legally an adult, which the dowager uses to justify her indenture if the player grills her on possibly using child labor for her housekeeping.
• Damsel in Distress: It's unclear what got her roped into servitude under Grimm to begin with. The voicemail to her grandfather saying the old woman would "kill her" if she didn't pay back her debt was no bluff.
• Defiant Captive: Once the policewoman catches onto Grimm's lies, Carla spills everything about her captivity under the dowager and plans to kill her and her grandfather.
• Dumb Struck: She can be less than forthcoming if you ask her to expose Grimm's plot in front of the police, considering she just saw her grandfather's body get eaten by piranhas.
• Indentured Servitude: What Grimm makes her agree to over repaying for a broken vase. She racks up a $10,000 debt for a vase that, as Grimm says, cost $80, likely to trap and feed her to her piranha tank like her eight other victims.
• Scullery Maid: Though she isn't seen doing any tasks around Grimm's mansion, the dowager says she makes Carla tend house to pay off the debt.
• The Woobie: From her first video message, it's clear the girl's gone through a load of abuse at Grimm's hands. On top of the extortion and forced labor agreement over the vase, she ends up seeing her grandfather's corpse get fed to Grimm's piranhas.

The Orderly

An unnamed, disheveled man in a nursing home van who skulks Wilma and Syd over the old man's corpse. He's an enforcer employed by Grimm to kill Carla's grandfather and steal the ransom money.

• Creepy Orderly: At least that's what his cover implies. Carla reveals that he's Grimm enforcer, sent out to kill her grandfather and retrieve the $10,000 ransom he was carrying, likely to leave no witnesses before killing the girl.
• Fat Bastard: An overweight, wheezing Jerkass, and nothing short of suspicious.
• Foreshadowing: Syd's afraid that, aside from the people on the "Karma Bus," the next vehicle they run into might have "a psycho killer" ready to ambush them. He's correct; the only way to throw the orderly off the trail is to have the player do the talking.
• Gonk: Even in a universe of poorly-drawn, misshapen characters, he – being Grimm's "fat pig driver", as Carla describes him – is one ugly son-of-a-bitch.
• I Know You Know I Know: Being there on Grimm's orders, he knows the corpse is that of Carla's grandfather, complete with $10,000 in cash. He doesn't know whether or not Syd and Wilma know of Grimm's scheme, though. The only way to get him to stop following you is to lie to him about you finding no wallet on the old man. He turns away saying, "He's your problem now."
• Karma Houdini: He avoids any judgment over his role in Grimm's crimes, due to his driving off into the night and the series ending after one episode.
• Murder By Association: While he's clearly out to kill Carla's grandfather and get her ransom, it's unknown if this is a one-off gig or if he shares a bigger role in Grimm's killings.
• Mythology Gag: Like Bridget in "The Lusty Barfly", he shoots a player character he suspects of lying to him point blank.
• No Name Given: Nobody ever finds out the man's name or actual affiliation with the Silver Oaks Nursing Home. Carla describing him as Grimm's "fat pig driver," though, puts him in cahoots with the dowager and Knowlton.
• Reused Character Design: He ends up becoming Janina's equally-as-creepy father in a van in Sir Basil Pike Public School. Makes you wonder why she's reported missing the next day.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: He never shows up again after the player bluffs to get him off Wilma and Syd's tail.

Mrs. Grimm

The sinister dowager who owns a mansion in nearby Knowles. She turns out to be a serial killer behind eight disappearances, likely due to feeding them to a piranha tank in her private study she keeps with the aid of her manservant, Knowlton.

• Antiquated Linguistics: Grimm speaks with a semi-Transatlantic Dainty accent indicative of old Canadian money. She lilts constantly; calls the player and Carla "a wet", as in "a weak-willed person"; and talks about her husband, Bernie's, "dem-eese" on the winning path.
• Artistic License – Economics: Grimm gives Carla a paltry $5/hour salary for an 80-hour workweek to repay for the broken vase, which she deducts $250 from for room and food. That means, on a good week, Carla ends up getting a miserable $150 toward fixing the debt. Keep in mind: Grimm prices the vase at approximately $10,000. All of this equates to Carla having to spend as many as 66 weeks – over a full year – toward replacing the vase. Who's to know the old lady won't take more money from Carla's salary or even die before the "debt" gets paid in full?
  • Justified, though, in that Grimm is a sadistic serial killer willing to manipulate Carla and her family. She reveals to the player she bought the vase for $80 and the remainder was to make up for "sentimental value." Who's to say she didn't pull the same ruse on her eight other victims?
• Blackmail: how she was able to ensnare Carla and, more than likely, her eight victims.
• Engineered Public Confession: The player can expose Grimm to the police by talking about Carla's ransom, pointing out how sure she was about the money her grandfather carried as she unwittingly outs herself as an extortionist and serial killer.
• Evil Old Folks: Grimm turns out to be a serial killer who likely used her piranhas to kill eight people throughout Knowles and Eastern Canada, as the policewoman says in the ending.
• Ineffectual Death Threats: She tells Carla she's "fish meat" right after the girl tells the police that Grimm threw her grandfather's body in her piranha tank. It only serves to further incriminate the dowager.
• Laser-Guided Karma: She and Knowlton get thrown in a paddywagon for their murders by the end.
• The Lost Lenore: Nothing about it can be proven, but she says that her husband, Bernie, died when testing out the piranha tank that lies at her feet. It's not even known whether he jumped or she pushed him, so to speak. She does, however, mournfully ask the police to retrieve his wedding ring if they find it in the tank.
• Minor Crime Reveals Major Plot: Syd's run from the law and Wilma's run from mayoral adultery end up with both of them and the player upending Grimm's otherwise secluded serial killings and forced servitude of Carla.
• Mythology Gag: Like the titular "Vagabond" in The Negotiator, any attempt to bribe Grimm with a set amount of money will fail the negotiation; instead of a broken bottle over your head, you get eaten by piranhas.
• Obviously Evil: As if having the name "Grimm" – be it through the name alone or through association with German fairy tales – was enough, she lives in a dilapidated mansion with a zombie-like manservant; gets called a "witch" pretty often; introduces herself while tearing apart a moth's wings; and opens a piranha tank to devour any trespassers.
• Reused Character Design: She gets spruced up just in time – pun intended – to turn into the Vice Principal in Sir Basil Pike Public School.
• Shark Pool: She and Knowlton use her piranha tank to dispose of Carla's grandfather and at least eight more victims reported as disappearances to the local police. Grimm spins a dubious story of whether or not her late husband, Bernie, was a victim of the tank either by accident or her hand.
• Suddenly Shouting: She yells in the player's face if they dance around what offer they brought her.
• Wounded Gazelle Gambit: Once the police show up, she tries to pin the $10,000 Carla's grandfather had carried as money the travelers stole from her parlor.

Knowlton

Mrs. Grimm's equally decrepit and complicit manservant.

• Battle Butler: He apparently has enough strength to manhandle you and your friends into the piranha tank if you make any attempt to escape.
• Foreshadowing: Grimm tells Knowlton to grab "two ounces of meat from the pot" upon receiving the three travelers, likely to stoke the piranhas in her trap.
• Murder By Association: Knowlton gets arrested along with Grimm in the ending after the police find out they're both behind eight murders. He also manhandles our main trio into the piranha tank if the negotiations with Grimm fail.
• Reused Character Design: Seems the prosecutor from Ambition ended up working for a murderer after Bridget's trial.

The Policewoman (UNMARKED SPOILERS)

A policewoman who gets a 911 call from Wilma and Syd as the player speaks with Mrs. Grimm.

• Canadian Accents: Aside from Grimm's antiquated Dainty dialect, the policewoman speaks with the most pronounced Canadian accent: in this case, a New Brunswick/Nova Scotian brogue of the Eastern Maritimes.
• It's a Wonderful Failure: If the player doesn't intervene in countering Grimm's story or presses her on Carla's grandfather's body, she arrests the player and their friends for trespassing.
• Mythology Gag: Jim, who's popped up throughout the Zap Dramatic series, joins the policewoman in her investigation.
• No Name Given
• Reasonable Authority Figure: For once, a reasonable police officer shows up in a Zap Dramatic game. In this case, she latches onto Mrs. Grimm's deceit once she gets tricked into talking about the $10,000 on Carla's grandfather's body. She even congratulates the player on exposing Grimm, especially as she's outed as "the worst serial killer this county has ever known."
• Spotting the Thread: She grills Grimm on the charges lobbed at the travelers when she spins her story from their trespassing to theft. It ends in her arrest if the player presses Grimm about the money rather than Carla's grandfather.

Garth Hicks (UNMARKED SPOILERS)

The mayor of Moncton. Wilma has an extramarital affair with him that his wife catches, leading both to skip town.

• Awful Wedded Life: Wilma says she and Hicks fell for each other as his wife was "a sociopath."
• Freeze-Frame Bonus: The scant evidence we have of Hicks's disappearance is a brief shot of a newspaper Jim the policeman is holding at the very end.
• The Ghost: He's never seen in-person.
• Hail to the Cheat: It doesn't look good for Hicks, no matter what angle his affair with Wilma can be seen from. Especially as the newspaper clearly states he left Moncton to find Wilma, leaving his "wife in shock."
• Left Hanging: Again, as a symptom of only one episode of Move or Die being produced, nothing comes of his affair with Wilma.
• Resigned in Disgrace: It's implied he did this de facto by leaving Moncton's mayorship to pursue Wilma's affections.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Like his intern/lover, he flees Moncton because of the affair weeks before election day.
• Sleazy Politician: It's unknown what other dubious behavior Hicks has engaged in on the election trail outside of his affair with Wilma, even as she maintains that it was out of love.
• Sleeping with the Boss: Wilma admits her affair with Hicks to the player before moving Carla's grandfather's body.