Conrad Roth

Conrad Roth is the 52-year-old English (hailing from Sheffield/South Yorkshire) Captain of the Endurance, as well as a freelance salvage and treasure hunter. He is ex-military. His interests include rock climbing, hiking and wreck diving.

Background
After serving two combat tours with the RMC (Royal Marine Commandos) Roth left the military and put his specialized skills to use as wreck-diver and freelance treasure-hunter. Roth traveled the world, earning a reputation for toughness, competence, and a willingness to bend inconvenient laws restricting traffic in historical artifacts. Those qualities attracted the attention of wealthy private collectors, including the parents of Lara Croft. For several years, Roth accompanied Richard Croft on over a dozen treasure-hunting expeditions, acting as a guide and, when necessary, bodyguard.

His faithfulness to his employers, as well as his willingness to bend certain laws, makes him highly sought-after among discerning collectors, such as Lara's parents. Roth got to know Lara while workinng with her parents. After their disappearence, he took on her guardianship, teaching her practical skills which were a little unusual for a wealthy British heiress, such as rock climbing, navigation, and other survival skills. With her parents gone, Roth is the closest thing Lara has to a family, and he takes that role seriously.

He is a mentor to Lara and has always encouraged her abilities as an explorer and to trust her instincts. Possibly unbeknownst to him, he is the father of Joslin Reyes' daughter, Alisha. Roth has modeled his style of leadership on that of his hero, the explorer Ernest Shackleton. The wellfare and safety of his crew is paramount to Roth, and he prides himself on instinctively knowing who is going to make a good crewmember. He is also a hands-on leader who knows how to boost the morale of his shipmates, have fun and remain both optimistic and realistic.

Roth considers himself married to the sea. He dreams of finding that one big score that will allow him to retire onto a large yacht and live out his days sailing wherever the winds will take him. If Lara is right about Yamatai and its significance, this will hopefully be his last job.

Shipwrecked on Yamatai
Roth was seperated from the group early on, and wasn't discovered on the island by Lara for at least a day. He was wounded after fighting off a wolf that stole his backpack, which had his medical supplies inside. Roth passes out from exhaustion and blood loss, but reawakens once Lara has retrieved the pack, killed the wolf, and bandaged his leg as best she can. After a few encouraging words to her, Roth gives Lara his climbing axe so she can traverse the cliff face with ease.

Reuniting with Lara
After the plane crash, Lara happens upon Roth once more, who has constructed a make-shift krutch. When she expresses her desire to save the pilot (whom she saw parachute out of the burning plane) Roth tries to stop her, saying that it's too dangerous and the pilot may not have survived. Lara, however, refuses, and goes after the pilot, leaving Roth behind.

Death
After the helicopter crash caused by Lara and the storms, Roth awakens and revives Lara with CPR. While helping her to safety, a small party of Solarii, led by Mathias, attacks them. Roth shoots two of the Solarii with his pistol as Mathias closes in to attack Lara with a hatchet. Seeing this, Roth spins around while holding Lara to shield her as Mathias throws the hatchet, the weapon embedding itself in Roth's back. Seeing that Lara is still alive and the other survivors are approaching, Mathias flees the crash site as Roth collapses and passes away from his wounds. His body is later burned on a funeral pyre by the crew.