The last of the gunslingers and the sole surviving member of a knightly order sworn to protect the Beams that hold the multiverse together. Roland has pursued the Man in Black across a dying world for years, driven by a singular obsession with the Dark Tower - the nexus of all realities. Trained from boyhood in Gilead, he is one of the finest warriors alive, possessed of an almost supernatural speed and accuracy with his revolvers. He is also ruthless, willing to put the quest above all else - a quality that defines him across eight books.

Roland's closest childhood friend and fellow apprentice gunslinger in Gilead. Quick-witted, humorous, and brave, Cuthbert is described as more intelligent and talkative than Roland, with a ready grin and a tendency to make jokes even in dire situations. He trains alongside Roland under Cort and witnesses key events including the hawk David's training, the cook Hax's treasonous plot, and Roland's unprecedented early challenge for his coming of age. He goes to his death laughing, blowing a horn.

A heroin addict from 1987 New York, drawn into Mid-World through one of the doors on the beach. Quick-witted and irreverent, Eddie has a gift for defusing tension through humour that masks a deep well of courage. He becomes one of Roland's most capable and loyal companions.

A boy from New York who finds himself drawn into Mid-World, where he becomes a companion to Roland and his ka-tet. Perceptive and brave beyond his years, Jake possesses a low-level psychic ability and bonds deeply with the billy-bumbler Oy.

A billy-bumbler - a raccoon-like creature native to Mid-World with limited speech ability - who attaches himself to Jake Chambers and becomes inseparable from him. Oy is capable of mimicking words, shows unusual loyalty and intelligence, and serves as both comic relief and emotional anchor for the ka-tet.

A civil rights activist from 1964 New York with dissociative identity disorder, drawn into Mid-World through one of the doors on the beach. Her two identities - the composed Odetta Holmes and the volatile, dangerous Detta Walker - must find a way to coexist. A wheelchair user who lost her legs below the knee in a subway accident, she becomes one of Roland's most formidable companions.

A young boy of about nine to eleven years old, the son of the bunkhouse cook at the Jefferson Ranch. Known as 'Young Bill,' he is the sole surviving witness to the skin-man's massacre at the ranch. Brave despite his terror, he helps identify the skin-man by recalling a broken blue ankle tattoo. Roland tells him the story of Tim Stoutheart to comfort him during their long wait in the Debaria jail.

An ancient ferryman who operates a cable-drawn raft across the River Whye. Over 120 years old, toothless, and arthritic, but still capable of running his ferry. He recognises Oy's starkblast-sensing behaviour and warns Roland's ka-tet, directing them to shelter. He is friendly and generous, sharing his fish-filled popkins with the travellers.

The Prioress of Serenity, a women's retreat near Debaria. An enormous woman - six and a half feet tall with a booming voice and fearless disposition. She drove off the skin-man with an old gun when it attacked Sister Fortuna. She agrees to take in the orphaned Bill Streeter and holds a letter from Roland's mother Gabrielle, which she gives to Roland after the skin-man is defeated.

The High Sheriff of Debaria, a big-bellied man with long white hair and a drooping moustache. A former deputy who earned his position after helping Steven Deschain defeat the Crow Gang decades earlier. Careworn and ready to retire, he nonetheless stays on duty to see the skin-man crisis resolved. He breaks the news of Bill Streeter's father's death with kindness.

A young gunslinger of Gilead and one of Roland's ka-mates, known as 'Silent Jamie' or 'Jamie Red-Hand' for his permanently red hand. Quiet and taciturn but an excellent tracker and sharp thinker. Steven Deschain sends him with Roland to investigate the skin-man in Debaria. He prefers the bow and bah over guns.

Roland's father, a gunslinger of the twenty-ninth generation descended from Arthur of Eld. He sends Roland, Cuthbert, and Alain to Mejis to keep them safe from the growing conflict with John Farson, while also tasking them with counting the Barony's resources. He wrote the letter of introduction that the boys carry. A grave, wise man who understands the political situation better than most, he is mentioned throughout Roland's flashback as a guiding influence.