Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 – Meet the Medieval Cast | IGN First

You don't need to have played the original Kingdom Come: Deliverance to get up to speed with the sequel, thanks to an extended intro that fills you in on the broader details. But it might help to know a bit about the main cast before you set off into the medieval Bohemian countryside. The story features a rich cast made up of both real historical figures and fictional ones, and the politics of it all can be tricky to untangle. Luckily, we've got you covered. Let's meet the characters of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2.

Be warned that these bios contain some spoilers from the first game!

Wenceslaus IV and Sigismund of Hungary: A Clash of Kings

In 1378, 25 years before the events of Kingdom Come: Deliverance, the emperor Charles IV, who was widely regarded as a pretty cool guy, died. As is often the case when a really cool king or emperor dies, this led to an inconvenient series of events. His son Wenceslaus became his successor to the throne of Bohemia, and gained a reputation for spending his days doing sod all, not showing much interest in his kingly responsibilities.

In response to this, his younger half-brother, Sigismund of Hungary, decided to make a play for the Bohemian throne and took Wenceslaus prisoner. During the events of the first game, he is seen riding around demanding the loyalty of local nobles and burning down villages he believes are harboring rebels – including Skalitz, the hometown of our protagonist, Henry.

In real life, it was a complicated situation with no clear good guys and bad guys, necessarily. I mean, if you ask me, pretty much all medieval nobles were bad guys. But in the context of KCD, Wenceslaus is the good and true king and Sigismund is the plunderous pretender. That's how Henry sees it, anyway. And if the guy on one side of a civil war had burned down my village and killed my parents, I'd probably agree.

As an additional fun fact, the real-life Sigismund founded the chivalric Order of the Dragon. You may have heard of it, since a certain Romanian prince, Vlad Dracul, was nicknamed such for being a member of it. His son, Dracula ("son of the dragon"), would go on to be even more famous.

Henry of Skalitz: The Blacksmith's Son

The protagonist of both Kingdom Come: Deliverance games is a common lad named Henry who saw his whole life go up in flames and his family murdered. The son of a blacksmith, he was forced to make his way in the world without many useful skills to speak of – the very picture of a level-one RPG character. But steadily, over the course of the first game, he became a capable swordsman, a daring adventurer, and even learned to read and write – which was a rare enough skill in the middle ages, even among the nobles, that it was practically a superpower.

Henry becomes involved with a faction of nobles who oppose Sigismund and want to see Wenceslaus restored to the Bohemian throne, rising from his lowly status to be a trusted and valued retainer. He also spends some time as a monk. It's kind of a long story. But he also has a more specific quest: retrieving the stolen sword he and his father made for their lord, Radzig Kobyla, before the village was attacked.

Istvan Toth: A Big Ol' Jerk

This is the jerk who stole said sword. A Hungarian noble and supporter of Sigismund, he was the main antagonist of the first game and managed to wriggle free from the good guys' grasp by exchanging some hostages. While Henry certainly feels a sense of duty to Wenceslaus, his more personal motivation is getting that dang sword back from Toth. And then probably giving it back, pointy end first, if we're being honest. His whereabouts are currently unknown.

Sir Radzig Kobyla: A Friendly Noble

The Lord of Skalitz before its destruction, Sir Radzig is part of the pro-Wenceslaus faction, which is why Sigismund saw his seat of power ransacked. Also – last warning for spoilers – he's Henry's real, biological father. Which sort of makes Henry nobility. Or at least, there is a nobleman with a very strong interest in his future and wellbeing. Martin the blacksmith is still definitely Henry's father figure. But Sir Radzig has become a very important man in his life.

Sir Hans Capon: Your Spoiled BFF

Sir Hans Capon is a young nobleman about Henry's age and a member of Wenceslaus' faction who plays a much larger role in KCD2 than he did in the first game, being Henry's main compatriot. They're not always the best of friends, though. Hans is a bit of a playboy nepo baby who was raised with the proverbial silver spoon in his mouth and tends to act petulant and entitled, often to Henry's frustration. He's also quite easily distracted by women.

At the start of KCD2, Henry and Hans have been dispatched on a mission to feel out which of the remaining Bohemian nobles might be willing to stand up against Sigismund and help restore Wenceslaus to the throne. And while he's not entirely apathetic to politics, he mostly looks at this as an opportunity for travel and adventure. To be blunt, he's a bit of a dick. But he seems to have a good heart, even if he doesn't normally let it guide him. Can we fix him? That remains to be seen.

Theresa: The Girl Who Saved Your Sorry Butt

A fellow refugee from Skalitz who now lives with her uncle, Theresa is a bold woman who has saved Henry's life more than once. She's also the potential main love interest in KCD1, if you choose to pursue her side quests. It's not clear what role, if any, she will play in KCD2. But especially considering she and Henry were likely to have become romantically involved, I would be somewhat surprised if we've already seen the last of her.

Sir Divish: The Guy Who Saved Your Sorry Butt

Sir Divish is the Lord of Talmberg, where Henry took refuge right after the destruction of Skalitz. The fortress was later seized in an intrigue orchestrated by Toth, and the climax of the first game involves a siege to reclaim it. He is, along with Radzig, one of the main conspirators of the Wenceslaus faction, and a very shrewd leader who has kept his people safe by holding his allegiances close to his chest.

Markvart von Aulitz: Probably The Real Final Bad Guy

If I'm being honest, I don't give Istvan Toth long to live. The fact that we didn't get to stick it to him at the end of the first game was a huge tease, and he only made it out by the skin of his teeth. Markvart is a bit higher up the food chain, as one of Sigismund's main army commanders and the man who led the attack on Skalitz. He was a somewhat distant enemy in the first game, seeming almost untouchable. But if I had to place my bets on who we'll be crossing swords with at the end of KCD2? I think it's probably this guy.

That should give you a pretty good idea of which important pieces are on the board at the start of this new adventure. For more, stay tuned all December long as our exclusive IGN First coverage of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 continues.