History Characters / DiscworldCityWatch

** Unfortunately, the henpecking now extends to the Watch as well. No officer will ever follow an order from Vimes if it means betraying one from Sybil. Hence why Vimes' Bacon Lettuce and Tomato sandwhich suddenly has lettuce and tomato in it.

* CombatPragmatist: Learned from his mentor Sergeant John Keel... [[spoiler:in one timeline, at least]]. You will find no one better than using every single thing possibly available in a fight than Vimes. Including the wrath of his own wife (Sybil can be scary...).

** Not that this lasts for long. In truth, Vimes doesn't really have many prejudices, and usually a brief encounter with the subject of any prejudice will dispel it ''very'' fast. Of course, this doesn't stop him from hating pretty much everyone, and complaining about them all the same. However, you will never catch him treating anyone unfairly or thinking humans are in any way superior to anything else. Except for Vampires. And the countryside.

* HiddenHeartOfGold: Vimes is a hardened mean survivalist who pursues justice dogmatically... and used to give away half his paycheck to the widows of Watchmen when he was a dirt-poor Captain trying to make ends meet. He will support those who need it and give a helping hand but will deny it extensively if mentioned and may make a good stab of killing you if you try to spread the word around.

** ActionGirl: She's a better fighter than most of the Watch. There is a very short list of people who could outmatch her on a good day, and an even shorter list on a bad hair day.

* OldRetainer: Has been with the Ramkin family since at least events in ''Discworld/NightWatch''.

* BewareTheNiceOnes: is perfectly civil and cordial to all. Until you cross him. Then he will be perfectly civil and cordial to you while disemboweling you with a carving knife. Of course, if you seriously threaten Vimes or his family: if Vimes has caught you and put you in jail he will shadow you all the way to the gallows; if by unhappy chance you manage to elude him, he will follow you to the ends of the earth and then slice you to pieces with cheesewire.

* HeroicSelfDeprecation: Vimes thinks Sybil is just being over-affectionate when she tells him YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre and that he's capable of much more than just being a Watch Captain. She's quite right. Vimes has a very low opinion of his own intelligence and has an inferiority complex with regards to the fact that he never had a formal education. His inability to do anything about the crime in Ankh-Morpork left him in a guilty spiral of [[DrowningMySorrows self-deprecation]] until Carrot kicked him out of it. Once he was actually given the post of Commander and the power to ''do'' something, he worked astonishingly fast (with Carrot's help) to establish the Watch so thoroughly that when he goes away to Uberwald the crime rate actually ''drops'' because no one wants to feel his wrath when he returns, but he ''still'' thinks of himself as basically a good copper that got lucky! And then of course there's his never-ending fear that he's not a good father to Sam...

* StreetSmart: Grew up on the streets. They never left him.

** As of ''Discworld/{{Snuff}}'', he's officially called His Grace, His Excellence, His [[spoiler:Blackboard-Monitorship]], the Duke of Ankh, Commander Sir Samuel Vimes of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch, Lord of Ramkin Estate. [[TryToFitThatOnABusinessCard Yeah.]]

** BadassTeacher: tends to this a ''lot'' and he is ''very'' good at it. He even tends to rub off on people when he doesn't mean to at all.

* CombatPragmatist: Learned from his mentor Sergeant John Keel... [[spoiler:in one timeline, at least]]. You will find no better in the entirety of the Discworld.

** Not that this lasts for long. In truth, Vimes doesn't really have many prejudices, and usually a brief encounter with the subject of any prejudices will dispel these ''very'' fast. Of course, this doesn't stop him from hating pretty much everyone, and complaining about them all the same. However, you will never catch him treating anyone unfairly or thinking humans are in any way superior to anything else. Except for Vampires. And the countryside.

* HeroicSelfDeprecation: Vimes thinks Sybil is just being over-affectionate when she tells him that he's a better man than he thinks he is and that he's capable of much more than just being a Watch Captain. She's quite right. Vimes has a very low opinion of his own intelligence and has an inferiority complex with regards to the fact that he never had a formal education. His inability to do anything about the crime in Ankh-Morpork left him in a guilty spiral of [[DrowningMySorrows self-deprecation]] until Carrot kicked him out of it. Once he was actually given the post of Commander and the power to ''do'' something, he worked astonishingly fast to establish the Watch so thoroughly that when he goes away to Uberwald the crime rate actually ''drops'' because no one wants to feel his wrath when he returns, but he ''still'' thinks of himself as basically a good copper that got lucky! And then of course there's his never-ending fear that he's not a good father to Sam...

* IncorruptiblePurePureness

A female Watch officer, [[LoveInterests love interest]] for Carrot, and resident werewolf. Probably one of the most formidable Watch members and her werewolf skills make her very useful, but she has to deal with an entire city getting GenreSavvy about it (though they all think Nobby is the werewolf). Like Vimes, she is constantly battling with her dark side (or technically, battling between two states of being), making her tough and absolutely terrifying when she loses her temper.

* BrokenBird: Continually [[IncrediblyLamePun dogged]] by the wild wolf half of her persona and (at least through ''Discworld/TheFifthElephant'') feared it was only a matter of time before she had to leave or was chased out of town.

* CombatPragmatist: an odd version. She's a werewolf, where it's inbuilt to change shape as much as needed to take advantage of any given situation. Watching a werewolf fighting another werewolf will make you very dizzy.

* SuperpowerLottery: At least on paper Angua is absurdly powerful -- very little is made of it in the books, but she can actually [[HealingFactor regenerate]] from near death unless silver is involved, [[TheNoseKnows has a canine like sense of smell]] and a nigh unbeatable combat form. Oh and she can speak dog. And is very beautiful. [[TheWorfEffect It's on paper though]], because it's common knowledge that the Watch has a ''werewolf'', and so [[GenreSavvy silver and peppermint bombs have almost become routine for criminals]].

* HeroicSelfDeprecation: Vimes thinks Sybil is just being over-affectionate when she tells him that he's a better man than he thinks he is and that he was capable of much more than just being a Watch Captain. She's quite right. Vimes has a very low opinion of his own intelligence and has an inferiority complex with regards to the fact that he never had a formal education. His inability to do anything about the crime in Ankh-Morpork left him in a guilty spiral of [[DrowningMySorrows self-deprecation]] until Carrot kicked him out of it. Once he was actually given the post of Commander and the power to ''do'' something, he worked astonishingly fast to establish the Watch so thoroughly that when he goes away to Uberwald the crime rate actually ''drops'' because no one wants to feel his wrath when he returns, but he ''still'' thinks of himself as basically a good copper that got lucky! And then of course there's his never-ending fear that he's not a good father to Sam...

* HeroicSelfDeprecation: Vimes thinks Sybil is just being over-affectionate when she tells him that he's a better man than he thinks he is and that he was capable of much more than just being a Watch Captain. She's quite right. Vimes has a very low opinion of his own intelligence and has a bit of an inferiority complex with regards to the fact that he never had a formal education. His inabillity to do anything about the crime in Ankh-Morpork left him in a guilty spiral of [[DrowningMySorrows self-deprecation]] until Carrot kicked him out of it, and once he was actually given the post of Commander and the power to ''do'' something, he worked astonishingly fast to establish the Watch so thoroughly that when he goes away to Uberwald the crime rate actually ''drops'' because no one wants to feel his wrath when he returns. Even as of the latest books, he ''still'' basically thinks of himself as a good copper that got lucky - and then of course there's his never-ending fear that he's not a good father to Sam...

* CombatPragmatist: Learned from his mentor Sergeant John Keel... [[spoiler:in one timeline, at least]].

** Not that this lasts for long. In truth, Vimes doesn't really have many prejudices, and usually a brief encounter with the subject of any prejudices will dispel these ''very'' fast. Except for Vampires. Which he hates. And the countryside. Which he also hates.

* NotWithThemForTheMoney: A RareMaleExample. He's less than interested in his wife's vast fortune. He's made exceptions when it was something very important -- like getting emergency medical care when Sybil was giving birth. He prefers looking like a grubby cop, as opposed to dressing like the money would allow.

** Hence why he has all the Watchmen issues with truncheons. They are most definitely ''not'' a sword. On the upside, this means that the Watchmen can now charge people for Breaking A Truncheon With Their Face. Apparently paying for them is part of the threat.

* TheAntiNihilist: If there's no justice in the cold, uncaring universe, he's damn well going to shove some where the sun does not shine.

** Though played straight at least once.

** People of Ankh-Morpork call Watchmen "Old Sam." And Watchmen from Ankh-Morpork who move to other places are called "Sammmies." There is a furious loyalty among the Watch to Sam, and when the Watch includes the uncrowned King of Ankh-Morpork, huge trolls, tenacious dwarfs, unbreakable golems, vicious wee men, a wereworlf and Nobby Nobbs, you had better watch your back.

* SarcasticDevotee: to Vimes. They're basically VitriolicBesBuds, with Vimes trusting Wilikins implicitly. They're pretty much the same age, and both ran in feuding street gangs as kids. Vimes is rather annoyed that there's a class distinction standing between them, while Willikins abuses his servant-hood for all its worth.

* DeadpanSnarker: To A.E. Pessimal. Brutally.

* PoisonousFriend: Willikins will flagrantly break the law to protect the Ramkin family, and Sam isn't about to press him for details on exactly how certain things came to pass.

A female Watch officer, [[LoveInterests love interest]] for Carrot, and resident werewolf. Probably one of the most formidable Watch members and her werewolf skills make her very useful, but she has to deal with an entire city getting GenreSavvy about it (though they all think Nobby is the werewolf).

** ActionGirl: She's a better fighter than most of the rest of the Watch.

** [[spoiler:"Ancient" in this case meaning ''older than the created universe''.]]
** He did this ''without realizing it!'' Plus, Vetinari and his chief clerk had guessed even odds of this happening ahead of time.

* LawfulGood: held up as an excellent example of how to be a LawfulGood {{Badass}}.

* NotWithThemForTheMoney: A RareMaleExample. He's less than interested in his wife's vast fortune. He's made exceptions when it was something very important -- like getting an emergency medical care when Sybil was giving birth. He prefers looking like a grubby cop, as opposed to dressing like the money would allow.
* OnlySaneMan: Often Vimes feels like this.

* StreetSmart: Grew up on the streets. They never left him.

* LoveTriangle: Expressed interest in Carrot, making Angua go ClingyJealousGirl.

* VerbalTic: Common to all gargoyles; they talk as though their mouths were permanently stuck gaping wide open, because they are.

Head of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch, and a hardened copper to the bone. His tenure as captain of the Night Watch came while the Guilds were on the rise and the Watch was in decline, and this combined with his natural cynicism drove him to drink. However, after seizing a series of opportunities to save the city, he unexpectedly found himself moving up in the world, starting with his marriage to the wealthy socialite and swamp-dragon fancier Sybil Ramkin and ending up with Vimes the Commander of a revitalized City Watch and receiving two titles (first his promotion to Commander coming with a knighthood, later given the title of Duke of Ankh in ''{{Discworld/Jingo}}'' by Lord Vetinari in recognition of his accomplishments as commander of the Watch). He is also a truly incredible {{Badass}}.

* TheAntiNihilist: If there's no justice in the cold, uncaring universe, he's damn well going to shove some where the sun does not shine.

*** In ''{{Discworld/Snuff}}'', it's mentioned that [[spoiler:the title "Blackboard Monitor" has officially been bestowed on Vimes by the Low King, marking Vimes as someone who can bear the burden of being responsible for words (which in Dwarf-mythology are what created the entire world).]]

* GoKartingWithBowser: As of ''{{Discworld/Snuff}}'', he's on good terms with [[spoiler:the Summoning Dark]].

* HappilyMarried: To Sybil. True, he becomes a HenpeckedHusband in some ways, but he's so in love with her (as said henpecking is nearly always to his benefit) he wouldn't have it any other way.
* HeWhoFightsMonsters: Vimes spends half his life avoiding this trope through sheer force of will. [[spoiler: It's implied in {{Discworld/Snuff}} that he might be starting to go too far in bending the rules to make sure justice is done.]]

* KnightInSourArmor: Pretty nearly defines it, and was in fact, actually knighted. He also prefers wearing battered, rusty armour to ceremonial BlingOfWar.

* PapaWolf: Don't get between him and his family, especially his son. Just don't.

** As of ''{{Discworld/Snuff}}'', he's officially called His Grace, His Excellence, His [[spoiler:Blackboard-Monitorship]], the Duke of Ankh, Commander Sir Samuel Vimes of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch, Lord of Ramkin Estate. [[TryToFitThatOnABusinessCard Yeah.]]

* UnstoppableRage: Except that he [[TheFettered can stop it]].
** [[PunctuatedForEmphasis THAT! IS! NOT! MY! COW!]]

** FridgeBrilliance: Bacon sandwiches are anecdotally used as hangover cures in Britain. The perfect food for TheAlcoholic.

** In ''{{Discworld/Snuff}}'', Vimes is asked by several people to hand in his badge temporarily while he goes on a holiday to the countryside. Vimes complies and hands it over in a sealed envelope. Even without looking at or feeling the envelope, Vetinari knows that Vimes instead put a metal canister (of ''Discworld/{{Snuff}}'') into the envelope.

-->If you have to look along the shaft of an arrow from the wrong end, if a man has you entirely at his mercy, then hope like hell that man is an evil man. Because the evil like power, power over people, and they want to see you in fear. They want you to know you're going to die. So they'll talk. They'll gloat. They'll watch you squirm. They'll put off the moment of murder like another man will put off a good cigar. So hope like hell your captor is an evil man. A good man will kill you with hardly a word. -- {{Discworld/Men At Arms}}

** Perhaps one of the strangest was when he decided to take a nap while they were trying to catch up to the ship Angua had gotten stuck on. When Vimes expressed a great deal of surprise at how calm he seemed about his girlfriend getting kidnapped, he said that worrying about her wouldn't do her any good, and if he was well-rested he would be better-prepared to rescue her. Compare this attitude to the one about two dozen pages back, where he was barely able to keep himself from attempting to single-handedly arrest a suspect surrounded by at least a dozen armed guards.

* UnderstandingBoyfriend: So understanding it actually gets on Angua's nerves at times.

* HappilyMarried: And with several children as well. Despite the fact that he and his wife work different shifts in the day and only communicate with notes.

* TheArcher: On the rare occasion he does end up in combat, he's shown to be fairly proficient with both a bow and a crossbow.

* {{Gonk}}: Few {{Discworld}} characters are described as ugly, but Nobby's looks and doubtful species is a running joke.
* IAmNotWeasel: "Disqualified from the human race for shoving." People seem to have trouble believing he's human. He carries papers from the Patrician to this end.

* InstantDogEnd

* [[UglyGuyHotWife Ugly Guy Hot Girlfriend]]: In ''{{Discworld/Thud}}'', briefly and inexplicably.

** Nobby actually strains the powers of Narrative Causality which state that any plain male, when wearing women's clothing, will seem attractive, a very rare occurrence in {{Discworld}}.

* FantasticRacism: Both against her and on her part (towards {{golem}}s in ''Discworld/FeetOfClay'', and {{vampire}}s in ''{{Discworld/Thud}}'').

* FullFrontalAssault: Briefly in ''{{Discworld/Jingo}}'' [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] beyond belief, of course.

* NobleShoplifter: She sometimes kills chickens during her "time of the month," but always remembers where she's been and leaves money under the door.

* SarcasticDevotee: To Carrot. Most noticeable in ''Discworld/FeetOfClay'', especially when attempting to deal with his reactions to Cheery's self-outing, but fairly prominent feature of their relationship from the start.

* DrillSergeantNasty: Detritus discovers a talent for this in ''Discworld/MenAtArms'', which leads to his promotion to Sergeant and given the job of training (read: shouting at for six weeks) new recruits.

** It's implied that Detritus is in fact, extremely intelligent by any standard when in cooler environments. The problem is that such temperatures are rarely achieved in a temperate environment like Ankh-Morpork's, and that his optimal temperature is unfortunately, also at the point where he is about to freeze to death.
*** It's actually been shown that trolls are all pretty smart in their home territories. It's just when they decide to travel to Ankh-Morpork to make a living that their intelligence drops, due to the hot, muggy weather. In ''Discworld/TheFifthElephant'', when Detritus is in Uberwald, he shows signs of being dangerously clever.

** No longer true as of ''{{Discworld/Thud}}'', after [[spoiler:he adopts Brick.]]

* LaResistance: Was a member of the Glorious People's Republic of Treacle Mine Road (''[[{{Discworld/NightWatch}} Night Watch]]''), which led to his death and subsequent afterlife.

* {{Determinator}}: Like other {{Discworld}} golems, Dorfl is fireproof, super-strong, nearly indestructible, and doesn't need to sleep, rest, or eat. Unlike other Discworld golems, Dorfl returned to life after his chem was destroyed.

* FriendToAllLivingThings: Has a fondness for pigeons (and some of them ironically become meals for the gargoyle members of the Watch).
* KnockingOnHeathensDoor: Speaking sincerely to the infidel through their (pamphlet-filled) letter boxes while people all over Ankh-Morpork pretend they're not at home.

-->A. E. Pessimal stepped forward, taking a deep breath. 'C'mon if you think you're hard enough!' he screamed wildly.

* BewareTheNiceOnes: When this woman gets pissed, Commander Sam Vimes gets scared. In fact, her ''potentially'' getting pissed is enough to scare Vimes.
* BlueBlood