History Awesome / Thud

** This example, since it is not only a crowning moment of awesome, but also of [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments funny]] and [[SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments heartwarming]], is probably a SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome for Terry Pratchett, as well.

** Discworld trolls, by the way, being solid living stone, with teeth of diamond.

** An explanation: [[spoiler:Sam Vimes has been fighting the unstoppable influence of the Summoning Dark, a 10,000 year old quasi-demonic ''thing'' of pure vengeance, for the entire book. It's a substition that normally drives a mind into blind, bloody rage against the enemies of whoever invoked it, and he's been holding it at bay with his belief in law and justice. What finally motivates him to give in is that it's six o'clock, and at six o'clock every day he's at home reading ''Where's My Cow'' to his son. He then turns into a striding, screaming, vengeful maniac who fights his way alone through a crowd of heavily armed dwarfs[[note]]Heavily armed even for dwarfs. Flamethrowers and everything.[[/note]], until he reaches the Summoning Dark's true targets and... stops. Because Sam Vimes doesn't kill helpless cowering old men.]]

** This example, since it is not only a crowning moment of awesome, but also of [[CrowningMomentOfFunny funny]] and [[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming heartwarming]], is probably a CrowningMomentOfAwesome for Terry Pratchett, as well.

--->[[spoiler:The Watchman shook his head. "I don't think you understand," he said calmly, "I'm not here to keep the darkness out. I'm here to keep it ''in.'' Call me ... the Guarding Dark. Imagine how powerful I must be.]]

*** On both sides. Vimes doesn't like being dictated to, and his family has just been threatened by a bunch of dwarves, and yet he's still able to reign in his anger enough not only to ''not'' shout Bashfulsson out of his office, but actually agree to what he's saying. It may have helped that Bashfulsson was able to persuade the other dwarves to hand over most of their weapons before going up (a second CMOA in as many pages pretty much).

'''Bashfulsson:''' Then I assume that you don't want to start tonight.

-->'''Vetinari:''' Given, then, a contest between [[spoiler:an invisible and very powerful quasi-demonic ''thing'' of pure vengeance]] on the one hand, and the commander on the other, where would you wager, say... one dollar?\\

-->[[spoiler:The Watchman shook his head. "I don't think you understand," he said calmly, "I'm not here to keep the darkness out. I'm here to keep it ''in.'' Call me ... the Guarding Dark. Imagine how powerful I must be.]]

--> "When Mister Safety Catch Are Not On, Mister Crossbow Are Not Your Friend."

--> '''Vimes:''' Take it.
--> '''Rhys:''' I ask you to give it to me, Commander.
--> '''Vimes:''' ''Take it.''

--> '''Grag Bashfullsson:''' No! Sire, please! This is an argument between Grags!
--> '''Grag Ardent:''' Why do you carry no axe?
--> '''Bashfullsson:''' I need no axe to be a dwarf. Nor do I need to hate trolls. What kind of creature defines itself by hatred?
--> '''Ardent:''' You strike at the very root of us! At the root!
--> '''Bashfullsson:''' Then strike back. [holds out empty hands] And put your sword away, Commander Vimes. This is dwarf business. Ardent? I'm still standing. What do you believe in? ''Ha'ak! Ga strak ja'ada!''\\
Ardent attacks, Bashfullsson defends. A shocked Ardent is silenced, and falls.
--> '''Bashfullsson:''' It is like using an axe, but without the axe.

--> '''Vimes:''' I'm not in the habit of beating up prisoners, if that's what you're implying.
--> '''Bashfulsson:''' Then I assume that you don't want to start tonight.

-->'''[[spoiler:Vetinari]]:''' Sam Vimes once arrested ''me'' for treason... And Sam Vimes once arrested a [[spoiler:dragon]]. Sam Vimes stopped a war between nations by arresting ''two'' high commands. He's an arresting fellow, Sam Vimes. Sam Vimes killed a werewolf with his bare hands, and carries law with him, like a lamp... Watchmen across half the continent will say that Sam Vimes is as straight as an arrow, can't be corrupted, won't be turned, never took a bribe.

** An explanation: [[spoiler:Sam Vimes has been fighting the unstoppable influence of the Summoning Dark, a 10,000 year old quasi-demonic ''thing'' of pure vengeance, for the entire book. It's a substition that normally drives a mind into blind, bloody rage against the enemies of whoever invoked it, and he's been holding it at bay with his belief in law and justice. What finally motivates him to give in is that it's six o'clock, and at six o'clock every day he's at home reading ''That Is Not My Cow'' to his son. He then turns into a striding, screaming, vengeful maniac who fights his way alone through a crowd of heavily armed dwarfs[[note]]Heavily armed even for dwarfs. Flamethrowers and everything.[[/note]], until he reaches the Summoning Dark's true targets and... stops. Because Sam Vimes doesn't kill helpless cowering old men.]]

** It has been repeatedly made clear that a dwarf without an ax is not a dwarf. Vimes, after a dwarf attack on his home and with every reason to hate dwarfs [[spoiler:and a 10000 year old quasi-demonic ''thing'' of pure vengeance riding in his head]] orders a group of dwarfs to disarm but still concedes one ax each. Grag Bashfullsson doesn't carry one. At the end of the book there is a "discussion" between Grags about how to be a dwarf.

--> '''Grag Ardent:''' Why do you carry no ax?
--> '''Bashfullsson:''' I need no ax to be a dwarf. Nor do I need to hate trolls. What kind of creature defines itself by hatred?

--> '''Bashfullsson:''' It is like using an ax, but without the ax.

* Angua in the end, when she convinced [[spoiler:the demon-possessed]] Vimes that now would be a great opportunity to not be moving.
Let it be noted that the reason she had to convince him to stop moving was not because he was about to kill the dwarfs in front of him but because he was going to start hurting himself from the strain of ''not'' doing that. So she knocked him down.

** An explanation: [[spoiler:Sam Vimes has been fighting the unstoppable influence of a 10,000 year old quasi-demonic ''thing'' of pure vengeance for the entire book. It's a superstition that normally drives men mad with rage as it uses them to kill its victims, and he's been holding it at bay with his belief in law and justice. What finally motivates him to give in is that it's six o'clock, and at six o'clock every day he's at home reading ''That Is Not My Cow'' to his son. He then turns into a striding, screaming, vengeful maniac who fights his way alone through a crowd of heavily armed dwarfs[[note]]Heavily armed even for dwarfs. Flamethrowers and everything.[[/note]], until he reaches the final victims of the Summoning Dark and... stops. Because Sam Vimes doesn't kill helpless cowering old men.]]
* That's the climax of a larger CMOA in which he [[spoiler: fought off a 10,000 year-old ancient evil]], subconsciously no less, for most of the book. Foreshadowed - and given as more proof of his [[BadAss badassery]] - earlier, when two characters felt sorry for [[spoiler: the Summoning Dark]] at having come up against Vimes. "Quis custodiet ipsos custodes", indeed.

* The following quote sums up Vimes's awesomeness:

** A bit of foreshadowing, when said metaphorical lamp is used [[spoiler: by Vimes' inner watchman, his internal spirit of justice that watches his every word, action, and thought for corruption, to drive out a demon of pure dwarfish vengeance older than time itself]].
* A CMOA that takes place in Vimes's head:
-->[[spoiler:The Watchman shook his head. "I don't think you understand," he said calmly, "I'm not here to keep the darkness out. I'm here to keep it ''in.'' Call me ... the Guarding Darkness. Imagine how powerful I must be.]]

* Detritus's crusade against drugs, as shows this moment:

* Detritus's whole story in general: he went from less-than-a-nobody to a respected sergent and [[spoiler:key element of the Troll/Dwarf truce]], and from a very secondary character to the fourth main protagonist of the City Watch arc (the three others being, of course, Vimes, Carrot and Angua).
* Detritus is also capable of preventing Vimes from murdering a room full of men who like to do nasty things to little girls. Anyone who knows Vimes will be impressed at that, even if Detritus ''is'' a troll.
* Nearly any time Detritus fires [[{{BFG}} The Piecemaker.]] It is a ''ballista'' converted into a ''crossbow''.

** More accurately it's converted to fire a sheaf of crossbow bolts. In practice, it ends up firing an expanding cloud of fire and splinters, due to the massive forces involved.
*** To be precise, it's basically the medieval version of a sawed-off shotgun. But way '''awesomer'''.

*** The line as she hands Sam the dragon is terrific:

* Angua in the end, when she convinced [[spoiler:the demon-possessed Vimes that now would be a great opportunity to not be moving.]]
** Let it be noted that the reason she had to convince him to stop moving was not because he was about to kill the dwarfs in front of him (though he was posed to do so) but because he was going to start hurting himself from the strain of ''not'' doing that. So she knocked him down.

* Forbidden to reveal what was happening to anyone, and terrified of his superiors and [[spoiler:the Summoning Dark]], Helmclever still managed to [[spoiler:arrange for the truth to get out, provoking Vimes' curiosity and outrage, by letting him know the dark dwarfs ''had'' forbidden the dwarf community from revealing something to humans]]. A good Thud player to the end.

* It has been repeatedly made clear that a dwarf without an ax is not a dwarf. Vimes, after a dwarf attack on his home and with every reason to hate dwarfs [[spoiler:and a 10000 year old quasi-demonic ''thing'' of pure vengeance riding in his head]] orders dwarfs to disarm and only unbends when they stubbornly refuse to drop their axes (the rest of their weapons, they drop). Grag Bashfullsson doesn't carry one. This is made clear at the end of the book when there is a "discussion" between Grags.

* Unarguably one of the greatest crowning moment of awesome is when [[spoiler: Graag Bashfullson is translating what the cube says, and has to shout "I WHO SPEAK TO YOU NOW AM B'HRIAN BLOOD-AXE, BY RIGHT OF THE SCONE THE TRUE KING OF THE DWARFS!"]]
* Bashfulsson talking Vimes into letting him supervise his interrogation of [[spoiler: Helmclever]]. Given how furious Vimes was at that point, how ready he clearly was to take his anger out on just about any dwarf around, and the fact that Bashfulsson had good reason to believe that a good chunk of his anger was [[spoiler: coming from the demonic vengeance creature that had infected him without his knowledge]], getting him to see reason was not only brave but also pretty damn impressive. He actually leaves Vimes speechless.
--> Vimes: I'm not in the habit of beating up prisoners, if that's what you're implying.
--> Bashfulsson: Then I assume that you don't want to start tonight.

** An explanation: [[spoiler:Sam Vimes has been fighting the unstoppable influence of a 10,000 year old quasi-demonic ''thing'' of pure vengeance for the entire book. It's a superstition that normally drives men mad with rage as it uses them to kill its victims, and he's been holding it at bay with his belief in law and justice. What finally motivates him to give in is that it's six o'clock, and at six o'clock every day he's at home reading ''That Is Not My Cow'' to his son. He then turns into a striding, screaming, vengeful maniac who fights his way alone through a crowd of heavily armed dwarfs[[hottip:*:Heavily armed even for dwarfs. Flamethrowers and everything.]], until he reaches the final victims of the Summoning Dark and... stops. Because Sam Vimes doesn't kill helpless cowering old men.]]

-->'''Willikins:''' One is indeed dead, I am afraid. If you recall, I must have stabbed him with the ice knife I happened to be holding, having been cutting ice for the kitchen.

* Unarguably one of the greatest crowning moment of awesome is when [[spoiler: Graag Bashfullson is translating what the cube says, and has to shout "THIS IS THE VOICE OF B'HRIAN BLOODAXE"]]

** An explanation: [[spoiler:Sam Vimes has been fighting the unstoppable influence a 10,000 year old quasi-demonic ''thing'' of pure vengeance for the entire book. It's a superstition that normally drives men mad with rage as it uses them to kill its victims, and he's been holding it at bay with his belief in law and justice. What finally motivates him to give in is that it's six o'clock, and at six o'clock every day he's at home reading ''That Is Not My Cow'' to his son. He then turns into a striding, screaming, vengeful maniac who fights his way alone through a crowd of heavily armed dwarfs[[hottip:*:Heavily armed even for dwarfs. Flamethrowers and everything.]], until he reaches the final victims of the Summoning Dark and... stops. Because Sam Vimes doesn't kill helpless cowering old men.]]

* Unarguably one of the greatest crowning moment of awesome is when [[spoiler: Graag Bashfullson is translating what the cube says, and has to shout "THIS IS THE VOICE OF B'HRIAN BLOODAXE"]]

*** Would anyone mind providing context for the people who don't read Discworld? It's irritating to see this example over and over without anyone bothering to explain WHY it's so memorable.
*** An explanation: [[spoiler:Sam Vimes has been fighting the unstoppable influence a 10,000 year old quasi-demonic ''thing'' of pure vengeance for the entire book. It's a superstition that normally drives men mad with rage as it uses them to kill its victims, and he's been holding it at bay with his belief in law and justice. What finally motivates him to give in is that it's six o'clock, and at six o'clock every day he's at home reading ''That Is Not My Cow'' to his son. He then turns into a striding, screaming, vengeful maniac who fights his way alone through a crowd of heavily armed dwarfs[[hottip:*:Heavily armed even for dwarfs. Flamethrowers and everything.]], until he reaches the final victims of the Summoning Dark and... stops. Because Sam Vimes doesn't kill helpless cowering old men.]]

*** An explanation: [[spoiler:Sam Vimes has been fighting the unstoppable influence a 10,000 year old quasi-demonic ''thing'' of pure vengeance for the entire book. It's a superstition that normally drives men mad with rage as it uses them to kill its victims, and he's been holding it at bay with his belief in law and justice. What finally motivates him to give in is that it's six o'clock, and at six o'clock every day he's at home reading ''That Is Not My Cow'' to his son. He then turns into a striding, screaming, vengeful maniac who fights his way alone through a crowd of dwarfs, until he reaches the final victims of the Summoning Dark and... stops. Because Sam Vimes doesn't kill helpless cowering old men.]]

* [[spoiler:"[[ThisIsSparta THAT! IS!! NOT!!! MY!!!! COW!!!!!]]"]] would have to be up there for Vimes.

-->[[spoiler:The Watchman shook his head. "I don't think you understand," he said calmly, "I'm not here to keep the darkness out. I'm here to keep it ''in.'' Imagine how powerful I must be.]]

-->'''Death:''' [[AC:You are having a near-death experience. Which consequently means that I have to have a near-''Vimes'' experience. Don't worry about me. I brought a book.]]

---> Sybil: Coal him up.

* Unarguably one of the greatest crowning moment of awesome is when [[spoiler:"Graag Bashfullson is translating what the cube says, and has to shout "THIS IS THE VOICE OF B'HRIAN BLOODAXE"]]

--> '''Bashfullsson:''' It is like using an ax, but without the ax.