History Characters / DiscWorld

%% * AmbiguouslyEvil

* AntiVillain / BigGood: Well, sort of... He's generally on the same side as the heroes but in a "MagnificentBastard pulling your strings to his own ends" way.

* BerserkButton: He regards performing a mime act as a capital offense. By [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity Patrician standards]], this is merely an endearing quirk and is treated as such by the populace. On a more serious note, questioning Vetinari's devotion to the city is one of the few ways to make him truly angry.
* BlackAndGrayMorality: Vetinari's BreakingLecture in ''Guards! Guards!'' (''There are always and only the evil people, but sometimes they are on different sides'') is the current page quote. He doesn't believe "good" is really possible but "less bad" is worth the effort.
* BluffTheEavesdropper: Vetinari sends all his semaphore communiqués using codes that are "fiendishly difficult" but not unbreakable. Vetinari [[IKnowYouKnowIKnow then knows]] what information is falling into the hands of those clever enough to decode the messages.
* CharacterizationMarchesOn: Pratchett ''had'' [[WordOfGod to confirm]] that the first book's Patrician is, in fact, Vetinari because that Patrician displays none of his distinctive traits from later books.
* TheChessmaster: Averted, sort of. Vetinari's genius is not in "planning for everything" but in staying just ahead of unfolding events and directing them to his benefit.
%% * TheComicallySerious

* EmbarassingNickname: WordOfGod says "Vetinari" is a pun on "Medici" ('veterinary' as opposed to 'medical'), hence his insulting school nickname "Dog-botherer". Vetinari finds this offensive mostly in its lack of imagination.
* TheExtremistWasRight: Vetinari's original plans to stabilize Ankh-Morpork included legalizing the Thieves' Guild and winding down institutions such as the Watch and the Post Office. And it worked. Of course, once things are under control, he can afford to wind stuff up again...

* HiddenDepths: His relationship with Lady Margolotta (in ''Discworld/TheFifthElephant'' and subsequent books) came as a surprise as he'd previously had no private life at all. As seen in ''Discworld/NightWatch'', he's also a very competent fighter and a master of stealth. He failed his Stealth exam in Assassin school ''because the proctor marked him absent''.

%% * ManipulativeBastard
* MoralityPet: Wuffles. Possibly replaced after his death by Mr. Fusspot (in ''Discworld/MakingMoney'').
* NeverGetsDrunk: Subverted. In ''Discworld/UnseenAcademicals'' he drinks an entire room full of football hooliga--er, team captains--under the table. He IS drunk as a skunk afterwards, but for Vetinari this just means a few seconds slower at the crossword and unusually talkative. And he stubbed his toe.
* NobleDemon: Takes this to an art form. Any Ankh-Morpork citizen will be happy to tell you that he's an evil, vicious, manipulative tyrant... but they'll have a great deal of difficulty explaining what's so ''bad'' about that.

%% * TheSocialExpert

%% * [[TheChessmaster The Chessmistress]]

* NobleDemon: Lighter on the 'noble' than Vetinari... but then again, he's something of a special case.

* VampireVords: In ''Discworld/TheFifthElephant''. Not so much when she reappears in ''UA'', though.
** This is possibly a ShoutOut to the original Dracula novel: the count speaks in a thick Hungarian accent when Jonathan Harker visits him, yet by the time he visits London it has almost disappeared.

* BoxedCrook: Moist would rather live than be executed as a scam artist, but he's an adrenaline junkie, and he misses [[InHarmsWay the thrill of the hustle]] so much it almost drives him crazy. He finds ways to make up for it, such as by pulling crowd-pleasing stunts at the Post Office and just being near his fiance.
* TheFace: Moist is this for the Post Office staff. It's what Vetinari hired him for; Stanley is thought of as weird [[EvenNerdsHaveStandards even by other pin collectors]] and Groat is... ''odd'', to put it charitably, but Moist knows how to sell an idea.
* GenreSavvy: He doesn't believe in Genre himself, but he knows it backward and forward, and uses it against other people.
** Also, in his first meeting with Vetinari, Vetinari himself states that at any time, Moist can leave the room with no repercussions. Moist immediately files this away under "Highly suspicious." Moments afterward, it is shown that he is quite right to be suspicious of that door.

* LoveableRogue: He thinks of himself as this since he's charming and doesn't hurt anyone. [[DeconstructedTrope Mr. Pump gives him a mathematical breakdown of the damage he's caused through his scams]].

* TheNondescript: Very handy feature, that. When he was a child, his mother frequently [[BroughtHomeTheWrongKid came home with the wrong kid]].

* RefugeInAudacity: Possibly the Discworld's finest exponent.

* TheSocialExpert: "Everyone had their levers. For Groat, it was his position... Stanley, now... Stanley was easy." He can push Gilt's buttons in their media war but is wise enough not to do the same to Vetinari, especially after the broom incident.

%% * UnfortunateName

* BadassBookworm: Tiffany gathers her most useful pieces of knowledge from books.

* CuteWitch: A more traditional version of a witch but nevertheless.

* IJustWantToBeSpecial: She wasn't meant to be a witch. ''She forced the world to give her the power to protect her territory.''
* LittleMissBadass: She took on the Queen of Faerie with a frying pan. At the age of nine.

* ShipperOnDeck: Everbody in the Chalk seemed to ship Tiffany/Roland.
* WillTheyOrWontThey: With Roland. [[spoiler:They don't]]

** GenderRarityValue: And the smur... umm, the Nac Mac Feegle only have 1-2 females per clan anyway, the Kelda/Queen who gives birth to each generation of males and one girl who will be Kelda elsewhere.

* TheUnintelligible: Border on this trope when they're first introduced in ''Discworld/CarpeJugulum'' due to an exaggerated Scottish accent. In the ''Tiffany Aching'' books, where they are among the main characters, the accent has been toned down and it's usually quite easy to figure out what they're saying (though they still use enough unusual words that the books have a "Feegle glossary.")

Tiffany's grandmother and possibly a powerful witch, even though she never used any overt magic (which to Granny Weatherwax just means that she was very good at her job indeed). [[PosthumousCharacter Dies before the beginning]] of ''Discworld/TheWeeFreeMen''.

* AlphaBitch: Oh so much. Instead of learning witch-magic, she learns wizard-magic, which is about power.
** LovableAlphaBitch: In a manner of speaking. Tiffany can more or less see through her snobby attitude to see a confused young girl beneath it. Also, in the ''Discworld/{{Wintersmith}}'' [[spoiler:she instantly leaps to Tiffany's defense with a fireball.]]

* UpperClassTwit: At times.
* WillTheyOrWontThey: With Tiffany in the first three books. [[spoiler:They don't.]]

Current Patrician of Ankh-Morpork. A thin, bearded man who dresses and lives in a Spartan manner ([[Film/ThreeHundred no, not like that]]), his uncanny knowledge of human nature and unparalleled talent for scheming has allowed him to make Ankh-Morpork one of the finest cities on the Discworld, through economic and cultural might rather than force of arms. So good at his job that the Assassins' Guild will not take out contracts on him, because if he was ever not in control, Ankh-Morpork would collapse. Fortunately, [[MagnificentBastard he is never, ever not in control]], not even when he's arrested and locked in a dungeon cell. It's his dungeon cell, after all.

Succeeded "Mad Lord Snapcase". He is not named until ''Discworld/{{Sourcery}}'', but WordOfGod is that the Patrician in ''Discworld/TheColourOfMagic'' is him. It is possible Vetinari may not be entirely human, but this has yet to be proven.

* TheAntiNihilist: Very similar view to Vimes, but rather than confront injustice head-on, he prefers to change the world through subtle trickery and manipulation (or just terrifying it into behaving when needed.)
* AntiVillain: Well, sort of... He's generally on the same side as the heroes, but fulfills every other requirement for Bond Villainy but that one crucial point.
* AwesomenessByAnalysis: He ''instantly'' displays masterful juggling skills in ''Discworld/{{Jingo}}'' ("A few melons are ''nothing'' after Ankh-Morpork") and can solve the Times' Sudoku puzzles in under 15 seconds.
** The [[AllThereInTheManual Assassins' Guild Diary]] reveals that this also applied to his student days, when he was the school's grandmaster at Stealth Chess: an extremely [[ParanoiaFuel unpredictable, cutthroat]] variant which he practiced playing ''blindfolded''.
* BadAss: He usually doesn't even have to get his hands dirty, but ''when he does...''
* BerserkButton: Mimes visiting Ankh-Morpork can ''not'' expect to have a pleasant stay. This is seen by everyone else as one of the Patrician's most endearing features. He also really ''hates'' when someone questions his putting the city above all else.
* BigGood: somehow Vetinari has taken the stereotypical post of evil overlord and turn it into this trope
* BilingualBonus:
** His last name is Romanian for "You Nostrils."
** WordOfGod says it's a joke on the Medici family of Italy (with 'veterinary' as opposed to 'medical'), hence why a young Downey gives him the insulting nickname "Dog-botherer". Vetinari finds Downey offensively dull, but isn't too fussed he couldn't come up with anything more embarrassing.
* BlackAndGrayMorality: Current page quote.
* BluffTheEavesdropper: Vetinari sends all his semaphore communiqués using codes that are "fiendishly difficult" but not unbreakable. He wants people to read them so that [[IKnowYouKnowIKnow he knows what they think he thinks they're thinking.]]
* CharacterizationMarchesOn: The reason that Pratchett ''had'' [[WordOfGod to confirm]] that the first book's Patrician is, in fact, Vetinari is because that Patrician couldn't be more different than the spartan, sly, ManipulativeBastard of the later books.
* TheChessmaster: Averted, sort of. He specifically doesn't plan for anything, just steers events to a conclusion he wants.

* DissonantSerenity: Almost unfailing. ''Very'' occasionally somebody manages to surprise him.
* EvilVersusEvil: Vetinari's BreakingLecture in ''Guards! Guards!'' says so in as many words: ''There are always and only the evil people, but sometimes they are on different sides.'' It's currently gracing the page for BlackAndGrayMorality.
* TheExtremistWasRight: Vetinari's original plans to stabilize Ankh-Morpork, which included legalizing the Thieves' Guild and winding down operations such as the Watch and the Post Office - which, odd as they sound, worked. Of course, now the city is functioning properly again, he can afford to wind all that stuff ''up'' again.

* GeniusBruiser: This is a person that can solve crosswords in a matter of seconds and if pressed can solve physical confrontations even quicker.
* HiddenDepths: The reveal of his relationship with Lady Margolotta in ''Discworld/TheFifthElephant'' and subsequent books, after formerly being treated as basically asexual. He's also extremely competent in combat, as seen in ''Discworld/NightWatch'', and he's a master of stealth, having been trained as an Assassin. How good is he at stealth? He failed his Stealth final in Assassin school ''because the test taker marked him absent''.
* KnightInSourArmor: Underlines his EvilVersusEvil and BlackAndGrayMorality worldview. He's essentially a StrawNihilist who's sufficiently angry about the world as he sees it that he considers it his moral obligation to do something about it.

* MoralityPet: Wuffles. Possibly replaced by Mr. Fusspot after it is revealed in ''Discworld/MakingMoney'' that Wuffles has died.
* NeverGetsDrunk: In ''Discworld/UnseenAcademicals'' he drinks an entire room full of football hooligans- er, team captains, under the table. All it did was make him a few seconds slower in solving the next day's crossword puzzle. It also made him unusually talkative. "But I am drunk. Drunk as a skunk, in fact."
** And he stubbed his toe.

* PunnyName: Vetinari/Medici.
** {{Lampshade}}d; he got nicknamed "Dog-Botherer" when he was at the Assassins' Guild.
* TheRival: He used to think this about the dog food seller who was the only one other than him to regularly win the ''Times'' crossword. Since she started ''writing'' them, she seems to be getting to him over the last few books. As of ''Snuff'', she actually came up with one he couldn't solve[[note]]This may be a reference to the Times of London's crossword puzzle, which is somewhat notorious for being the crossword equivalent of the ''TabletopGame/TombOfHorrors''.[[/note]] and he grudgingly admitted that she had won, after what for him was a major rant.
* ScarsAreForever: Has walked with a cane ever since being wounded in an attempted assassination in ''Discworld/MenAtArms'', though it's left unspecified how much of this is a deliberate act, and how much is a genuine disability that he just happens to be BadAss enough to ignore when required.

* VetinariJobSecurity: TropeNamer, obviously: you'd expect that a nicer person would make the city a better place, but no replacement can possibly measure up to his skill at juggling groups that don't get along well. One popular fan theory is that instead of raising up a protege to take over for him if he ever does actually die, he instead is trying to promote several characters to take over various elements of how the city will run -- Vimes, Carrot, and Moist Von Lipwig being at least three. To make matters even more devious, none of them realize it, and quite a few think they're defying him
* WrongGenreSavvy: After tediously clearing up after several passing fads with dark secrets behind them (the dragon in ''Discworld/GuardsGuards'', the movies in ''Discworld/MovingPictures'', the living mall in ''Discworld/ReaperMan'', the Music With Rocks In in ''Discworld/SoulMusic'', etc.), he attempts to have the printing press in ''Discworld/TheTruth'' closed down when he thinks it will become one. As it turns out, it is in fact part of a permanent change to how affairs work on the Disc - being Vetinari, he soon adapts, of course.

* BerserkButton: Mimes visiting Ankh-Morpork can ''not'' expect to have a pleasant stay. This is seen by everyone else as one of the Patrician's most endearing features.

%% * TheChessmaster

* CrowningMomentOfAwesome: "Veni, Vici,Vetinari"

* TheExtremistWasRight: Vetinari's original plans to stabilise Ankh-Morpork, which included legalising the Thieves' Guild and winding down operations such as the Watch and the Post Office - which, odd as they sound, worked. Of course, now the city is functioning properly again, he can afford to wind all that stuff ''up'' again.
%% * FascinatingEyebrow

%% * NonHumanSidekick

* CharacterizationMarchesOn: When we meet Mr. Dibbler in the earlier books he is a smarmy amoral vendor who will sell anything and use anyone. As the series continues he becomes the happless "least successful businessman in Ankh Morporkh" whose ''only'' skill is selling his inedible sausages.

* AmazingTechnicolorPopulation: All Feegles have glue skin, though the books are a little vague on whether their skin is naturally blue or has just been turned blue by tattoos and body dyes.

* CoolOldLady: She had the respect of everyone of the chalk. In fact, despite witches not being tolerated on the Chalk, people accept Tiffany because she's ''Granny Aching's granddaughter.''

Also known as the "Wee Free Men," "the Little Men" or "Person or Persons Unknown, Believed to Be Armed," the Feegles are race of tiny, blue-skinned, heavily tattooed pitctsies (not "pixies") who were thrown out of Fairyland for rebelling against the tyrannical rule of their Queen... or possibly for being drunk.

Not a very bright Feegle at all, but still manages to be the most prominent Feegle in the Tiffany Aching books apart from Rob Anybody.

A race of tiny, blue-skinned, heavily tattooed pitctsies (not "pixies") who were thrown out of Fairyland for rebelling against the tyrannical rule of their Queen... or possibly for being drunk. They steal, drink and cheerfully fight anyone and anything.

* BrainyBrunette: A very clear example of one. In her first book, ''Discworld/TheWeeFreeMen'', she's annoyed at her brown hair because in all the stories {{Brainy Brunette}}s are delegated to supporting roles while the [[EverybodyLovesBlondes blondes]] and [[FieryRedhead redheads]] get all the attention and all the fun. She comes to accept this side of herself eventually. [[spoiler: In the last Tiffany Aching book, ''Discworld/IShallWearMidnight'', pretty blonde girl Letitia surprises Tiffany by revealing that she wished ''she'' was a BrainyBrunette, because they're allowed to be witches, whereas the girls with blonde hair and rich fathers are only allowed to be "ladies."]]

* BrainyBrunette

* TheUnintelligeble: Border on this trope when they're first introduced in ''Discworld/CarpeJugulum'' due to an exaggerated Scottish accent. In the ''Tiffany Aching'' books, where they are among the main characters, the accent has been toned down and it's usually quite easy to figure out what they're saying (though they still use enough unusual words that the books have a "Feegle glossary.")

* TheSmurfettePrinciple: Justified in that the Wee Free Men are parodies of TheSmurfs. Really, really ''tough'' Smurfs.
** GenderRarityValue: And the smur... umm, the Nac Mac Feegle only have 1-2 females per clan anyway, the Kelda/Queen who gives birth to each generation of males and one girl who will be Kelda elsewhere.

!Rob Anybody

The irascible chieftain of an irascible people.

* BerserkButton: Do ''not'' try to dig up his feegle mound. Do not even ''think'' of digging up his mound. He will start a ''war'' over it. And he will ''win.''
* BoisterousBruiser: Yes, a six-inch tall Boisterous Bruiser. In fact all the Nac Mac Feegle pretty much fall under this trope.

* ViolentGlaswegian: A trait shared by all Feegles.

* PosthumousCharacter: Having died two years before ''Discworld/WeeFreeMen,'' she only appears in flashbacks and visions.

* HappilyMarried: As of ''Discworld/AHatFullofSky''. Can perhaps be a bit of a HenpeckedHusband at times, but like [[Characters/DiscworldCityWatch Sam Vimes]] he doesn't seem to mind terribly much.

* HonoraryGrandma: Everybody called her "Granny Aching," something which Granny Weatherwax sees as another sign that she may have been a witch -- as elderly witches usually do pick up an honorific like that, "a honorific, like Old Mother So-and-so, or Goodie Thingy, or Nanny Whatshername."

Not a very bright Feegle at all, but still manages to be second only to Rob Anybody in prominence in the Tiffany Aching books.

* TheFool: While most Feegles are rather short on brains, Daft Wullie makes the rest look like geniuses in comparisation.

-->"Ye ken I told ye there wuz times ye should [keep yer trap shut/listen to what I wuz sayin'/do somethin' sensible instead o' tha' foolish thing ye just did]?"

%% * CoolOldLady
* TheObiWan: Effectively this to Tiffany
%% * PosthumousCharacter

%% * SmugSnake

* WillTheyOrWontThey: With Tiffany in the first three books.

* CharacterizationMarchesOn: When we meet Mr. Dibbler in the earlier books he is a smarmy amoral vendor who will sell anything. As the series he becomes the happless "least successful businessman in Ankh Morporkh" whose ''only'' skill is selling his inedible sausages.

* SiblingRivalry: He and his brother have a semi-cordial relationship, but treat each other's professions with disdain. Mustrum considers being a priest "god-bothering" while Hughnon considers wizardry "[[TheseAreThingsManWasNotMeantToKnow tinkering with things man was not meant to understand]]" .
* SidetrackedByTheAnalogy: Vetinari's attempts to explain the Clacks to him causes him to be sidetracked by an analogy about shrimp, leading him to assume Vetinari may have gone insane, talking about sending shrimp through the mail.

** WordOfGod says it's a joke on the Medici family of Italy (with 'veterinary' as opposed to 'medical'), hence why a young Downey gives him the insulting nickname "Dog-botherer".

* BluffTheEavesdropper: Vetinari sends all his semaphore communiques using codes that are "fiendishly difficult" but not unbreakable. He wants people to read them so that [[IKnowYouKnowIKnow he knows what they think he thinks they're thinking.]]

* ScarsAreForever: Has walked with a cane ever since being wounded in an attempted assassination in Discworld/MenAtArms, though it's left unspecified how much of this is a deliberate act, and how much is a genuine disability that he just happens to be BadAss enough to ignore when required.

* VetinariJobSecurity: TropeNamer, obviously: you'd expect that a nicer person would make the city a better place, but no replacement can possibly measure up to his skill at juggling groups that don't get along well. One popular fan theory is that instead of raising up a protege to take over for him if he ever does actually die, he instead is trying to promote several characters to take over various elements of how the city will run--Vimes, Carrot, and Moist Von Lipwig being at least three. To make matters even more devious, none of them realize it, and quite a few think they're defying him

* XanatosGambit: Plays a continuous one with Lady Margolotta: makes his coded messages ''almost'' unbreakable knowing that she reads them. If she doesn't or can't break them, great, she shouldn't be doing either. If she does both he'll know what she thinks is in them.

* TheSocialExpert: "Everyone had their levers. For Groat, it was his position... Stanley, now... Stanley was easy." He can push Gilt's buttons in their media war but is wise enough not to do the same to Vetinari; especially after the broom incident.
* TechnicalPacifist: Of a different sort. He really does never lift a hand against anyone, and uses this to justify scamming people. His golem probation officer points out that the victims of his larger frauds were actually worse off than they would have been if he had simply mugged them. [[spoiler:When he actually kills someone in self-defense, he promptly vomits]].

* DeathOfPersonality: Inverted; They exist as grey soul-less entities; for them, to develop a recognisable personality and individual self-awareness is death.

* InsaneTrollLogic: Something is only alive if it has an independent existance. All living beings die in time. Any span of time is miniscule compared to the lifespan of the universe. Therefore, if an Auditor develops an individual identity, it [[PuffOfLogic instantly vanishes]].

* KillAllHumans: And non-human sentience. And non-sentient life. All life current and ''in potentia'', in fact. It's untidy.

* OmnicidalManiac
* PuffOfLogic: Thanks to a SlipperySlopeFallacy regarding time, any Auditor that thinks of itself as an individual will usually disappear in a Puff of InsaneTrollLogic.

* RealityWarper: They can effortlessly alter the world around them to achieve all kinds of things, like creating gold and causing thunderstorms.

* [[spoiler:WeaksauceWeakness: Several. Chocolate, for one. And dreams. Hell, even being human for very long functions as MindRape for them, and eventually causes a HeelFaceTurn, insanity or death. Between these, all 700 that take on human form in ''Discworld/ThiefOfTime'' die before the book ends.]]

* MyGreatestFailure: The first time a glass clock was built, he failed to stop it from happening.

* WeirdnessCensor: He abuses it shamelessly. Most people, when they hear him, immediately think "Dogs can't talk" and decide that what they heard must have been their own thoughts. ("Give the nice dogs some sausages.") In ''Discworld/MenAtArms'', he used it for some hilariously CoolAndUnusualPunishment.

* {{Determinator}}: All zombies are this. In his case, it's powered by the fact that he simply refuses to pass on until his descendants cough up the money to pay back his legal fees (he defended himself at the trial for his own execution, which he lost), and he will wait as long as he has to; forever, if need be.

* CharacterizationMarchesOn: When we meet Mr. Dibbler in the earlier books he is a smarmy amoral vendor who will sell anything. As the series he becomes the happless "least successful businessman in Ankh Morporkh" whose ONLY skill is selling his inedible sausages.

* HypercompetentSidekick: In spite of their namesake archetype, Igors are actually extremely efficient at accomplishing whatever task they are assigned. If anything happens to [[GoneHorriblyWrong Go Horribly Wrong]], it's usually the fault of their [[MadScientist less sensible masters]].
* IfYouDieICallYourStuff: The price for accepting an Igor's medical assistance is to serve as an organ donor after death so that the Igors can use any intact organs to help someone else down the line. You're free to refuse, and if you do the Igors will quietly and politely never serve you or your family again. Igors do this with their own organs as well, with young Igors implanting organs from their ancestors into their bodies.
** If an Igor says he has his grandfather's eyes (or nose, or hands, or whatever), he means it literally.

* EarlyBirdCameo: In ''Discworld/TheLightFantastic'', Rincewind encounters a troll named Krysoprase. ''The Discworld Companion'' states that this is Chrysophrase before he came to Ankh-Morpork, the name difference attributed to a [[SpellMyNameWithAnS troll's bad spelling.]]
* EvenEvilHasStandards: Got out of the Troll drug trade when the "look at the pretty colors" drugs started to be supplanted by ones that have more of a kick but cause a violent rage and/or kill the user. If nothing else, killing your customers is [[PragmaticVillainy bad for business.]]

* NeighbourhoodFriendlyGangsters: Chrysophrase helps Vimes prevent riots on Koom Valley Day by revealing a drug lab, because the drug manufactured there would cause homicidal insanity, and later death. Chrysophrase wants stable business, which is rather hard with dead customers.

** Mentions of his off-page deeds in later books show that he's just grown more formidable. When he makes a surprise cameo appearance in the fourth ''Science of Discworld'' book, even Vetinari treats him with respect and considers his advice well worth listening to.

* SiblingRivalry: He and his brother have a semi-cordial relationship, but treat each other's professions with disdain. Mustrum considers being a priest "God-bothering" while Hughnon considers wizardry "[[TheseAreThingsManWasNotMeantToKnow Tinkering with things man was not meant to understand]]"

* UncannyFamilyResemblance: In DiscWorld/TheLastHero, Paul Kidby's painting of him is basically Mustrum with a better-trimmed beard and a bishop's hat. Possibly justified, as their mannerisms and attitudes are so clearly parallel that there's a good chance they really are identical twins.