History Characters / DiscworldOthers

* UndyingLoyalty: To its owner.

** In ''Literature/TheTruth'', he's caught completely off-guard when [[spoiler:he comes face-to-face with [[IdenticalStranger his exact double]].]]

* TheChessmaster: Arranges most of the events of ''Literature/{{Thud}}'' along with her secret ally Mr. Shine. Since neither of them can openly make peace without offending the conservative and warlike parts of their own people, and they cannot go to Koom Valley to look for what they suspect is there ahead of their enemies who seek to destroy it without making peace or they'll start a war, they [[spoiler: plant Sally in the Watch and help Vimes along with his case so they can have legitimate reason to follow him and search it.]]

* GoodIsNotNice: As Vimes and others noted, being a King is not a job that encourages niceness (which is implied to be part of why Carrot wants none of it) - unless your name is Verence of Lancre, you're effectively powerless, and you have Granny Weatherwax to take you down several pegs if need be, or, possibly, Mr Shine.
* KnewItAllAlong: Rhys knew ''part'' of the big historical mystery in ''Literature/{{Thud}}'' all along. Downplayed in that exactly what and how much is left ambiguous. It's downplayed still further in Rhys's debut in ''The Fifth Elephant''; events suggest the king at least suspected Dee from the start but didn't have conclusive evidence until Vimes got involved.

* VerbalTic: At least in ''Literature/TheFifthElephant'', see? It even shows up in writing, see? Just in case you hadn't realised [[FantasyCounterpartCulture LLamedos]] was UsefulNotes/{{Wales}} yet, see? Notably disappears when Rhys is being deathly serious in the climax and does not have it in later appearances, save for a joke Vimes makes partway through ''Literature/{{Thud}}''. Its absence might be because she no longer feels that she needs to come off as harmlessly provincial.

* AmbiguouslyBi: In his youth, he had what seemed to be a very interesting time with Gytha Ogg, and like his historical counterpart he has an appreciation for the male form (or at least drawing it in his usual obsessive detail. And without an abundance of clothing). It's likely he's open to experience, though obviously experience is somewhat limited while he's alone in his room.

* ObfuscatingStupidity: As noted by Mr. Slant in ''Going Postal'', Vetinari loves to play ignorant, to seem uninterested or mildly curious about some subject matter to lure others in the conversation into a false sense of superiority. And then he strikes with a mind as sharp as Carrot's sword.
* OddFriendship: With Carrot, as noted by Vimes. Carrot is simple (which is ''not'' the same as [[GoodIsNotDumb stupid]]), while Vetinari is exceptionally complicated. Carrot is TheHero, in archetype if not role, something that is played on at times. Vetinari is technically the BigGood, in an AntiHero[=/=]AntiVillain kind of way. Oh, and Vetinari is the Patrician, who is largely disliked but remains in power in large part because he's preferable to the alternative (by design), while Carrot is an incredibly popular MagneticHero and [[spoiler: the heir to the throne of Ankh-Morpork]]. The last one has Vetinari distinctly wary at the end of ''Literature/MenAtArms'', until Carrot reveals that [[spoiler: he doesn't want the throne, mainly because people should do the right thing because it's the right thing, not because it's him asking them]], after which they come to an understanding, on the grounds that in their own ways, they're both [[ManOfTheCity utterly dedicated to Ankh-Morpork]].

* KnewItAllAlong: Rhys knew ''part'' of the big historical mystery in ''Literature/{{Thud}}'' all along. Downplayed in that exactly what and how much is left ambiguous. Likewise with the main plot of ''The Fifth Element''.

* VerbalTic: At least in ''Literature/TheFifthElephant'', see? It even shows up in writing, see? Just in case you hadn't realised [[FantasyCounterpartCulture LLamedos]] was UsefulNotes/{{Wales}} yet, see? Notably does not have it in later appearances, save for a joke Vimes makes partway through ''Literature/{{Thud}}''. Its absence might be because she no longer feels that she needs to come off as harmlessly provincial.

* NoodleIncident: For whatever reason, he decided that the organ at Unseen University needed an ''afterburner'', which is normally a component of a jet engine.

* ActuallyPrettyFunny: He lets out a loud burst of laughter when Mister Nutt, [[spoiler:an orc who is being asked to go and help civilize other orcs, asks "Who would you send to teach the humans?"]]. He apologizes for it. He also cracks a smile at [[spoiler:Moist's quip about not wanting to make a habit out of being hung]] near the climax of ''Making Money''.

* BerserkButton: He regards performing a mime act within the city walls 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, or implying in any way that he's anything close to the previous Patricians who definitely ''didn't'' care, is one of the few ways to make him truly angry.

* MoralityPet: Wuffles, his elderly and much beloved terrier. [[ReplacementGoldfish Replaced]] after his death by Mr. Fusspot (in ''Literature/MakingMoney''), although sadly, we never got much of a chance to see this in action, [[DiedDuringProduction as Prachett died when the work was in production]].

[[hardline]]

* CharacterisationClickMoment: The Patrician who appears in ''Literature/TheColourOfMagic'' seems considerably at odds with later appearances of Havelock Vetinari, to the point that many readers assumed that this was the previous Patrician and that Vetinari had taken over between ''Literature/TheColourOfMagic'' and ''Literature/{{Sourcery}}''. However, WordOfGod from Creator/TerryPratchett is that the two Patricians were the same man and the real difference was that he had become a better writer between the two books. The Patrician is identifiable as Vetinari in his second appearance in ''Literature/{{Sourcery}}'', and fully formed by ''Literature/GuardsGuards'' (the juxtaposition with Sam Vimes seems to be a major factor in helping to define Vetinari's personality).

* GoodIsNotNice: He's a dictator who holds nigh absolute power over Ankh-Morpork, has a retinue of assasins which he makes rather liberal use of and seems to hold very few qualms about using violence to further his goals, but nevertheless uses his power to make Ankh-Morpork a better place.

* ManOfTheCity: Havelock Vetinari is scheming, manipulative, occasionally ruthless and always two steps ahead of the game, and has managed the city into becoming an economically booming, multicultural melting pot ([[RunningGag with big lumps]]) that's presided over one of the greatest periods of peace and prosperity in centuries. And he does it all for Ankh-Morpork.

* ObfuscatingDisability: Walks with a cane because of an injury sustained in an attempted assassination in ''Literature/MenAtArms'', but is able to drop it and move like the well-trained master assassin he is when he suspects imminent physical danger in ''Literature/TheTruth''. It's left open how much of this is feigned to encourage people to underestimate his physical strength and how much is a genuine disability that he's tough enough to power through when necessary. In ''Making Money'' Heretofore learns that Vetinari's left and right boot soles wear down at different rates, suggesting he does habitually favor one leg.

* PermanentElectedOfficial: Vetinari believes strongly in One Man, One Vote. He is the One Man, he has the One Vote.

* ProfessionalKiller: Was trained as one in the Assassins' Guild and is arguably the best student they ever produced, though his only confirmed kills are Lord Winder, Carcer's Unmentionables, and one very stupid highwayman who waylaid his coach.

* RegentForLife: The Patricianship is, hypothetically, there as a placeholder for the King. When the king ''does'' return, though, Vetinari still keeps his job, though that's because the King doesn't want to claim his birthright and is happy being [[spoiler:a humble watchman]] (though he does hint to Vetinari that he will if he feels that he absolutely has to). He also keeps his job (and his life) for a lot longer than most Patricians.

* VetinariJobSecurity: TropeNamer, obviously: while no one actually ''likes'' him, everyone is reluctant to replace him because no one else would be capable of playing all the guilds and other groups off one another so successfully. ''Literature/RaisingSteam'' also gives us the interesting wrinkle of [[spoiler: Vetinari making use of his double, a guy named Charlie, originally introduced in [[Literature/TheTruth an earlier story]], who has actually gotten to be pretty good at impersonating him. Perhaps if he died, [[LegacyCharacter he wouldn't have to "die."]]]]

* TheFace: Vetinari is using Moist as this for the Post Office staff. Stanley is thought of as weird [[EvenNerdsHaveStandards even by other pin collectors]] and Groat is... ''odd'', to put it charitably, [[BunnyEarsLawyer although he IS capable of carrying out the daily Post Office operations with very little input from the Postmaster once he's given a push]], but Moist knows how to sell an idea.

* HonestyIsTheBestPolicy: One of his finest moments: he confesses to his entire conman career in front of all of Ankh-Morpork and exits the courthouse a mostly-free man. At this point, Vetinari keeps the threat of execution he's still technically condemned to as an useful fiction he has no real intention of ever allowing to go through to push Moist into the path he wants him to take.

* BunglingInventor: Oh yes. Johnson tried his hand at many fields, from Architecture to Devices, Landscaping, and even Cooking.

* PragmaticVillainy: As well as being willing to work with the police on some occasions, he runs a mixture of legitimate and illegitimate businesses. He's generally not a fan of rocking the boat, especially when he's got such a good seat.

!!The Counterweight Continent[=/=]Agatean Empire

[[folder: Twoflower]]

->''"Let's just say that if complete and utter chaos was lightning, he'd be the sort to stand on a hilltop in a thunderstorm wearing wet copper armour and shouting 'All gods are bastards.' "''

The co-protagonist of the first two Discworld books and also of the later book ''Interesting Times''. Twoflower is the Discworld's first tourist. He's a naïve and harmless little man from the Agatean Empire, who happens to be fabulously wealthy by the standards of all other cultures on the Disc. Rincewind spends quite a while following Twoflower around, trying to collect a few gold pieces for his trouble, translating for him (since Twoflower, at least initially, doesn't speak Morporkian), and trying not to let him get killed. Twoflower, though he tosses fistfuls of gold around like pebbles, definitely gets his money's worth when it comes to hiring Rincewind, because he is ''very'' good at getting into the worst sorts of trouble. He is badly dressed, rich and utterly un-streetwise, optimistically determined to talk to everyone and get iconographs (the Discworld equivalent of photos, painted by a tiny imp in a box) of everything... and as always, accompanied by his Luggage [[spoiler:which he eventually hands over ownership of to Rincewind as his final parting gift]]. As it turns out, though, he's hiding a truly ''epic'' grudge under his sunny exterior.

* AwesomenessByAnalysis: Without any preparation, he ''instantly'' masters juggling skills in ''Literature/{{Jingo}}'' ("A few melons are ''nothing'' after Ankh-Morpork"). He can also solve the Times' [[GridPuzzle Sudoku]] puzzles at a single glance and is the second-best crossword puzzler in the city. The [[AllThereInTheManual Assassins' Guild Diary]] reveals that this dates back to his school days, when he was the academy's grandmaster at Stealth Chess: an extremely unpredictable, cutthroat game which he played ''blindfolded''.

* TroubleEntendre: His {{Catchphrase}}, "Don't let me detain you", is quite good at this, used simultaneously as a warning, a dismissal, and a threat.

* CatchPhrase: Wherever Foul Ole Ron goes, "bugrit, millennium hand and shrimp" follows.

* CatchPhrase: "And that's cutting me own throat". Most of his counterparts have similar {{Catch Phrase}}s.

* OverlyLongName: [[spoiler:"C.M.O.T." doesn't just stand for his CatchPhrase; his full name is Claude Maximillian Overton Transpire Dibbler.]]

* StableTimeLoop: In ''Literature/{{Night Watch|Discworld}}'' a time-travelling Vimes gives the young Dibbler his own CatchPhrase from the future. It does take him a while to get the hang of it - "buy this sausage or I'll cut my own throat!"

* {{Catchphrase}}: "Whut?" for Hamish.

* AwesomenessByAnalysis: Without any preparation, he ''instantly'' masters juggling skills in ''Literature/{{Jingo}}'' ("A few melons are ''nothing'' after Ankh-Morpork"). He can also solve the Times' Sudoku puzzles at a single glance and is the second-best crossword puzzler in the city. The [[AllThereInTheManual Assassins' Guild Diary]] reveals that this dates back to his school days, when he was the academy's grandmaster at Stealth Chess: an extremely unpredictable, cutthroat game which he played ''blindfolded''.

Ankh-Morpork's most famous [[LegitimateBusinessmensSocialClub "Legitimate Businessman"]]. Is mentioned several times but doesn't make a real appearance until ''Soul Music'', and later on, ''Thud!''. Known to take an interest in horse racing and has recently gotten out of the drug trade business.

* TheConfidant: To Lord Vetinari, more or less. Vetinari has kept him out of the loop a few times, and Drumknott himself notes that he couldn't possibly identify all of Vetinari's sources despite his best efforts, but for the most part he trusts Drumknott enough to confide in him.
* HypercompetentSidekick: When your job is to be the personal clerk to one of the greatest politicians in literature, you'd better be a damn ''good'' clerk. Drumknott is also the Chief of an entire (usually unseen) legion of clerks that make up Ankh-Morpork's professional civil service.

* ForWantOfANail: His shtick - he prevents wars by selling nails and horseshoes in convenient spots, putting compost heaps in the right places, and making sure that single pieces of machinery are faulty. His first appearance in the franchise has him causing the events of ''Literature/SmallGods'' by turning over a tortoise. (Admittedly, it was [[GodWasMyCopilot a very important tortoise]].) The senior History Monks' respect for him largely derives from the subtlety with which he can alter the timeline.

* HypercompetentSidekick: When your job is to be the personal clerk to one of the greatest politicians in literature, you'd better be a damn ''good'' clerk. Drumknott is also the Chief of an entire (usually unseen) legion of clerks that make up Ankh-Morpork's civil service.

* TheCasanova: He doesn't make a big deal about it often, but Otto has had a long life of being a classical vampire and has no small amount of experience with darkly romantic encounters with young women. He extends an offer to give William advice with women if he ever wants it, and when William expresses surprise that Otto would feel he's qualified, Otto states with authority that women don't *always* scream when bitten. Later on, when he's winding down from having threatening someone with vampiric violence, he brings up that the woman who plays the harmonium at the Black Ribboner meetings winks at him sometimes, so he might as well keep his oath of temperance.