Rollo

Biodata

Background / History

Rollo is the son of “Blind Bastard” Rollo Uhoris, a Narrow Sea smuggler and pirate who traded weapons with the Wildlings. The Night’s Watch captured and hanged his father at Eastwatch-by-the-Sea more than ten years before Rollo met Liu Qian. Rollo subsequently renamed his own ship the Pebble Cat after his father’s vessel 36.

Before entering Liu Qian’s service, Rollo raided under Crab Claw’s coercion. His wife, Vera, and their infant son were held at Torturer’s Deep as hostages. Three of the four oared ships he used, along with most of their crews, belonged to Crab Claw, who demanded most of the proceeds from each raid 35 38.

Appearance

• Hair and beard: Chestnut hair and a chestnut beard 36 38.
• Eyes: Chestnut; later described as cloudy and old-looking 40 45.

Personality

Rollo is pragmatic and strongly motivated by survival and his family’s safety. When captured, he immediately offers his knowledge of the Stepstones to make himself useful, but fears that failing to return to Crab Claw will condemn his family. After their reunion, his relief gives way to excitement at the opportunity to command a larger force 35 38.

His submissiveness toward Liu Qian contrasts with his defiance over his father’s execution. He rejects the laws of the Seven Kingdoms as a justification for losing his father. In naval operations, he displays an outlaw’s cunning and swagger, using false promises, theatrical threats, and insults to manipulate opponents 36 48.

Rollo comes to regard Liu Qian as a powerful foreign warlock after seeing his flaming weapons and resurrected soldiers. Witnessing Jelena and Janice actually restore fallen Dragon Spirit Guardians later transforms that fearful reverence into fanatical loyalty 38 47.

Abilities & Skills

Navigation and Local Knowledge

Rollo’s chief value to Liu Qian is his detailed knowledge of the Stepstones’ dangerous waters 35 38.

• Guides ships through submerged reefs, narrow channels, and concealed routes, including the approach to Torturer’s Deep 36.
• Escapes Cleftjaw Island pursuers by threading his ships through hidden reefs 44.
• Identifies Tidal Reef as a likely ambush site based on its changing depth at high and low tide, then guides Liu Qian’s fleet around it for a rear attack 45.
• Explains the region’s strongholds, pirate powers, and trading centers using Crab Claw’s carved sea chart 39.

Deception and Naval Diversions

Rollo specializes in bluffing and making a small force appear threatening 47 48.

• Claims to be returning with rich plunder and a stranded Lysian spice ship to obtain entry into Torturer’s Deep. The guards detect inconsistencies, so the deception opens the way into a prepared ambush rather than an unsuspecting harbor 36 37.
• Proposes using his flotilla as bait to draw Kago’s ships into Razor Reef 44.
• Leads a convincing feint against Cleftjaw Island’s main harbor with drums, horns, flags, shifting formations, and shouted insults, while remaining beyond effective ballista range 48.

Fleet Logistics and Procurement

Rollo advises Liu Qian on the practical requirements of naval warfare and arranges purchases for the fleet 40 44.

• Distinguishes ordinary sailing vessels from oared warships suitable for fleet engagements and ramming 40.
• Explains the costs of hardwood hulls, heavy weapons, repairs, crew wages, and provisions. He estimates that a fleet comparable to Salladhor Saan’s would require at least a million golden dragons for hulls alone 40.
• Obtains timber, heavy ballistae, catapults, and Tyroshi shipwrights from Spearhaft 44.
• Reports casualties, ship damage, and scouting information after the battle at Tidal Reef 47.

Command and Combat

• Commands five hundred pirates directly under Liu Qian 38 41.
• Leads fast, shallow-draft oared ships on baiting and diversion missions 44 48.
• Participates in boarding combat and kills a retreating enemy pirate during the battle against Kago’s fleet 46.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Pebble Cat — Rollo’s personal oared ship, renamed in memory of his father’s vessel. Though smaller than the three ships accompanying it, Rollo considers it faster; it is badly damaged during the encounter that leads to his capture 36.
• Curved sword — Waved while directing the feint against Cleftjaw Island’s main harbor 48.
• Parchment nautical chart — Used to present scouting information about Kago’s position and Cleftjaw Island’s defenses 47.

Relationships

• Liu Qian — Captor turned sworn lord. Liu Qian spares him as a navigator, clears him of suspected betrayal, and grants him command of five hundred pirates 35 38.
• Vera — Wife. Held hostage by Crab Claw with their baby until Liu Qian’s capture of Torturer’s Deep frees the family 38.
• Rollo Uhoris, his son — Infant child, also named Rollo Uhoris. Rollo embraces him after the battle and helps Vera soothe him when he cries 38.
• “Blind Bastard” Rollo Uhoris — Father. Rollo honors his memory through the Pebble Cat’s name and remains bitter about his execution by the Night’s Watch 36.
• Crab Claw — Former coercive superior. Supplies ships and men, takes most of Rollo’s plunder, and holds his family hostage 35 38.
• Jelena and Janice — Fellow servants of Liu Qian whose resurrection powers inspire fear and reverence. Jelena initially detains Rollo after the Torturer’s Deep ambush 38 47.
• Jorah Mormont — Fellow commander. Jorah devises the harbor feint that Rollo carries out during the attack on Cleftjaw Island’s dockyards 47 48.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Capture and the Assault on Torturer’s Deep

Rollo encounters Liu Qian’s fleet while pursuing the merchant ship carrying Jorah Mormont and Lynesse Hightower. Expecting another prize, he instead loses to Liu Qian’s well-equipped forces and is taken prisoner. Liu Qian spares him in exchange for navigating the Stepstones, threatening to cut off a finger for every ship that runs aground 35.

Rollo’s warning about Crab Claw’s threat to his family prompts Liu Qian to attack Torturer’s Deep. Rollo guides the fleet there and performs the false homecoming intended to gain entry. Crab Claw’s men recognize suspicious damage and overloaded hulls, then admit the ships into a channel ambush 35 36 37.

Allegiance and Expanded Command

After the victory, Jelena detains Rollo as a suspected traitor. Liu Qian releases him because he saw Crab Claw’s arrows nearly kill Rollo during the ambush. Reunited with Vera and their baby, Rollo swears allegiance to Liu Qian and receives enough surrendered pirates to bring his command to five hundred men 38.

He then helps inspect the stronghold, explains the Stepstones’ balance of power, and warns that conquering the islands requires a substantially stronger fleet. Liu Qian entrusts him with purchasing repair materials and weapons, as well as spreading news of the stronghold’s change of ownership to bait rival pirates 39 40 42.

Campaign Against Kago

Returning from Spearhaft, Rollo reports that Kago’s ships followed him. He proposes luring them into Razor Reef, but the enemy patrols merely shadow his flotilla. Once Liu Qian recognizes the countertrap, Rollo identifies Tidal Reef as the likely ambush location and navigates the fleet around it 44 45.

Following the costly boarding battle, Rollo reports losses and Kago’s efforts to repair his remaining ships. He witnesses the resurrection of seventy-three Dragon Spirit Guardians before accepting the diversionary role in Jorah’s next plan 46 47.

Cleftjaw Island Harbor Feint

Rollo’s noisy demonstration at the main harbor draws the defenders’ attention while Liu Qian attacks the western dockyards. He keeps his ships outside effective ballista range and sustains the illusion of an imminent assault 48.

When a fire breaks out inside Cleftjaw Fort and the harbor defenders abandon their positions, Rollo does not enter the apparently undefended port. He sends an officer for instructions, holds position as ordered, and rejoins Liu Qian’s fleet outside the deserted harbor 50.

Notable Quotes

“Fuck the laws of the Seven Kingdoms. He was the only father I had.” 36

“I may not have many talents, but bluffing is what I do best.” 47

Trivia

• Rollo, his father, and his infant son all share the name Rollo Uhoris 36 38.