History Characters / DiscworldCityWatch

* ObstructiveBureaucrat: Was this originally, though he came across as clueless or LockedOutOfTheLoop rather than malicious.

** At one point in ''Feet of Clay'', he pretends to have fallen off the wagon in order to find out what the plotters who attempted to drive him there are really up to.

* KnightInSourArmor: Pretty nearly defines it, and is in fact a knight. He also prefers wearing battered, rusty armour to ceremonial BlingOfWar.

* OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame: {{Subverted}}, tentatively at first, but more aggressively in later books.

* KnowledgeBroker: Of a sort. Colon is one of those people who naturally gets along with everyone, so Vimes gives him a comfy little office with a meaningless job title in the training building, where the kettle is always on and the doughnuts are free. Retired cops, old friends and former jailbirds come by all the time to, as Vimes puts it, "gossip like washerwomen," and Vimes happily signs the bills for the tea and doughnuts in exchange for this free-flowing source of information. Vimes mentions that he uses Colon to figure out what the "man in the street" is thinking since Colon basically ''is'' the man in the street.

* PretendPrejudice: Colon expresses some not very enlightened opinions about Ankh-Morpork's non-white citizens, but continues to eat in his favourite curry restaurant which knows to make their food bland enough that he won't think it's "foreign", and is friendly with the proprietors. In fact, it’s pretty clear he was jumping on the national mood against Klatchians only, as it was pointed out by Nobby (who, via ObfuscatingStupidity, neatly pokes holes in every mindlessly regurgitated prejudice) he had no problem with other non-white people, such as the 'pretty brown' Constable Visit, lending credence to his characterization as amicable to most people as a rule.

* RacistGrandpa: Occasionally has moments of this variety, though expressed in the generality rather than personal - he's basically just mindlessly regurgitating the prejudices of the man in the street because he basically ''is'' the man in the street. Usually, once something actually forces him to ''think'' about what he's saying, he dimly sees the fallacy of what he said.

* VoluntaryShapeShifting: A vampire standard, though after being reformed, she has to transform not into one bat, but around ''150'' (since she weighs about 150 pounds and the relevant type of bat is about a pound). Unlike male vampires, though, she can't take her clothes with her, which is pointed out by Angua - according to Sally, she suspects it has something to do with the whole [[EvilIsSexy 'underwired nightdress business']] that's usually associated with [[TheVamp female vampires.]] This can be problematic because, as she notes, it's very hard to remember to have a couple of bats carry basic underwear. [[invoked]]

** His main objection to Angua joining the Watch is that she's a w[[spoiler:erewolf]]. This, in conjunction with his alcoholism, is why Angua has a ''very'' low opinion of him for most of ''Literature/MenAtArms'' - though it improves rapidly after she gets to see some of his HiddenDepths. For instance, when she sees his bare room, she assumes that he spends all his wages on drink - and to be fair, she ''had'' just found him black-out drunk, then when told that this was the first time he'd fallen off the wagon in months and finds a list of female names and addresses with dates and cash amounts next to them equating to about half his salary, she assumes that they're [[UnusualEuphemism seamstresses]]. She's then informed somewhat icily by Carrot that they're the widows and in one case, orphan, of dead coppers.

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

** In one of his earliest outings as a Duke, he threatened to personally send a hostile ambassador [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown 'home in an ambulance']], which caused the man to redeploy his army so far from the border that it threatened a country on the other side of it. His reputation amongst diplomatic circles has only grown since, and since he treats issues like wars as crimes on a bigger scale, Vetinari has learned to defuse international issues by simply sending Vimes.

* {{Tyrannicide}}: Suffer-not-Injustice "Old Stoneface" Vimes, ancestor of the current Vimes, chopped off the King's head after he was sentenced to death by a tribunal for his [[PaedoHunt horrific]] [[ColdBloodedTorture crimes]]. He was the only one with the balls to do it. He was later executed, his body getting the [[AnArmAndALeg Osiris treatment]]. His [[OnceDoneNeverForgotten bad reputation]] was so ''powerful'', his descendants ''many generations later'' are still being bugged about it.

* WomanWereWoes: her narration often mentions her transformation in the broader context of her being the only woman in the Watch (at least until female dwarfs start openly dressing female) and likening it to Menstrual Menace, but also mentions problems like the nagging feeling she should be wearing three bras.

* SmarterThanYouLook: While he has a low view of his own intelligence, and the general oft-repeated view is that he's not all that bright, with his main threat being that he's as honest as a Midsummer Day is long (and thus incorruptible - when the possibility of bribing him is brought up in ''Literature/TheTruth'' by the New Firm, who're new to Ankh-Morpork, Mr Slant observes that the last person to try and bribe Vimes still doesn't hasn't regained full use of his fingers) and unbelievably persistent (he's known as 'Vetinari's Terrier', something noted by a number of characters and used as a threat). He also comes off as a thug - [[spoiler: young Vetinari]] explicitly describes him as such in ''Night Watch'', saying 'his muscles do the thinking'. However, he also goes on to note with astonishment that in ''every single moment,'' Vimes overrules them - and that's before one gets into his surprisingly broad and eclectic knowledge base, which includes the ability to translate phrases from the local equivalent of Latin off-hand and fluency in Dwarfish (the Ankh-Morpork street version, anyway, which is informal and full of slang). Moreover, his street smarts, knowledge of human nature and decades of experience as a copper mean that in an interrogation room he's capable of being a [[ManipulativeBastard playing a suspect]] with such skill and deftness that it leaves master con-man Moist Von Lipwig absolutely astounded and deeply impressed - and those skills aren't confined to the interrogation room, either. He might be a little slow to get going, but once he does, you'd better watch out...

* CowboyCop: Deconstructed. Vimes, despite being promoted time after time, is nonetheless an archetypal Cowboy Cop, rejecting the rules if they stop him from doing his job and hunting down criminals - or, as in ''Literature/{{Night Watch|Discworld}}'', rejecting the code that has lead to the Watch becoming useless and Ankh-Morpork a police state - and frequently running up against DaChief in the form of Vetinari (although Vetinari is quite trope-savvy in this case, and appears to willingly take the position of DaChief in order to nudge Vimes in the right direction). The deconstruction comes because Vimes ''hates'' it - he hates that the system doesn’t work, that it forces him to be a Cowboy Cop to get things done and that it keeps trying to push him into chaos when all that is important to him is the law. He's also very aware that the justification "It's all right to break the rules because it's me doing it" could very easily be the start of a very slippery slope. That's why [[spoiler:Wolfgang von Uberwald was killed in a way that technically upheld the police procedure]], and [[spoiler:Carcer Dun was captured instead of killed on the spot, even though he had it coming]].

** Comments about his unhappy childhood are occasionally PlayedForLaughs in earlier books. Which makes it [[TearJerker quite unexpected when they're not]] in ''Literature/{{Night Watch|Discworld}}.''

* BoobsOfSteel: First introduced as being ''very'' buxom, to the point that 'breast plate' takes on more than its usual meaning. She's also the best fighter and one of the most powerful members of the Watch, so don't get any ideas.

* BoobsOfSteel: The size of her breasts seems to be directly proportional to her impressive physical strength and stature. In ''Literature/GuardsGuards'' she's described as looking like a Valkyrie.
-> Lady Sybil's bosom rose and fell like an empire.

** A few characters think this about his later relationship with a ''goblin''. Said opinion was mostly expressed by ''said goblin girl's relatives''.

* FantasticRacism: One of Vimes's most disagreeable traits is his prejudice against other species; he clings to his hatred of vampires the longest, but he also starts out with negative views of dwarves, trolls, and golems as well. He tries his hardest from the outset to not let it affect his work however, and most Watch books have a theme of him confronting his inner racism against one group or another and overcoming it bit by bit. He has, however, claimed not to hate other species any more than he hates humans. Except vampires.

* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: It'd surprise most people, considering that he is pretty much TheAce of Aces, but he sincerely considers Vimes as his better, and would never think of usurping the Commander's position. As he puts it, people would take orders from Carrot because he's Carrot, but people take orders from Vimes because it's the right thing to do.
** Carrot likewise accepts Vetinari, not because he couldn't rule Ankh-Morpork in Vetinari's place, but in part because ''kingcraft'' is different from ''statecraft''.

* ExcaliburInTheRust: The absolutely ordinary-looking, non-magical sword wielded by Carrot Ironfoundersson. It doesn't gleam or have embellishments, it has minor chips along the edge, and is [[AbsurdlySharpBlade sharp enough]] to effortlessly nail someone to a stone pillar. And by 'nail' we mean [[spoiler: shoved up to the hilt by Carrot.]]

** One specific bit of subtle obfuscation is his handwriting. It's terribly spelled and is the TropeNamer for WantonCrueltyToTheCommonComma, but in Men at Arms he hands a letter to Vetinari to send to Vimes to get him to come back. Vetinari seems to think it's good enough to imitate ''his own'' writing, and Vimes never notices Carrot's very distinctive hand (although he questions if Vetinari did anything more than sign it). This is never brought up again, and he consistently makes careless spelling and punctuation mistakes even in letters home.

* OpenSecret: Everyone ''knows'' he's the king, but funnily enough no-one can prove it. The villain of ''Men at Arms'' had all the documentation, which went mysteriously "missing" around the time of Cuddy's funeral, and in ''Feet of Clay'' the genealogies of Ankh-Morpork's royalty were incinerated by an angry Vimes. However, it's pretty clear that if Vetinari or Carrot really want to press the issue, they can prove it easily enough.

* RefusalOfTheCall: Repeatedly - or at least, the throne related aspects of it. It looks in ''Literature/MenAtArms'' like he might be stepping up and exploiting his preternatural charisma and position as the long lost heir to the throne of Ankh-Morpork, with the plot of the book being about the antagonist [[spoiler: (both of them)]] trying to get him to pull the RightfulKingReturns, and Carrot raising a militia towards the end of the book, he decides firmly against becoming King and quietly disposes of the evidence. In a conversation with Vetinari afterwards, he explains in a back-handed manner that while he would take the throne if it was absolutely necessary, he doesn't actually ''want'' to be King, and until it does become necessary (if ever), he'll continue serving his people as best he can - in this case, as a Watchman.

* DefectorFromDecadence: Her werewolf family are corrupt and arrogant aristocrats and part of the reason she went to Ankh Morpork was to cut contact with them. She has to race them for good during ''The Fifth Elephant''.

** Part of the distress Angua feels about her relationship with Carrot is that her wolf side causes her to behave less like a woman, and more like a pet [[note]] For instance, she looks up whenever Carrot is approaching, even when she can't see him[[/note]]. She doesn’t like it when people point that out to her.

* ManlyTears: Sheds one when Vimes fulfills his lifelong dream by making him a police officer.
* ObstructiveBureaucrat: Was this originally, though he came across as clueless rather than malicious.

* FantasticRacism: Pretty much the first thing he says in ''Literature/GuardsGuards'' is "He's a dwarf? I always said you couldn't trust those little buggers", and while he gets over this, he's pretty contemptious of goblins in ''Literature/{{Snuff}}''. He doesn't have much malice in him, it just takes a lot for him to question the prejudices he was raised with.

* GenreSavvy: When it comes to being a jailer at least. He's noted as keeping the cells' keys in a place where no person or highly trained animal can get hold of them, making him quite possibly unique in the annals of jail history.

* GrandfatherClause: There is ''no way'' he'd get hired on in the present-day Watch, but he stood by Vimes during the Watch's nadir and Vimes now returns the favor.

* HappilyMarried:
** And with several children as well. Despite the fact that he and his wife work different shifts in the day and usually communicate with notes (they do occasionally meet on the doorstep). Vimes at one point speculates that their children have been born as the result of "particularly persuasive handwriting".

* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Don't ''ever'' [[PhonyVeteran put on the Lilac if you didn't earn it]]. The beginning of ''Night Watch'' has Colon get very angry with a young recruit innocently asking about whether or not he should wear one, unaware it would be stolen valor.

* PretendPrejudice: Colon expresses some not very enlightened opinions about Ankh-Morpork's non-white citizens, but continues to eat in his favorite curry restaurant which knows to make their food bland enough that he won't think it's "foreign", and is friendly with the proprietors. In fact, it’s pretty clear he was jumping on the national mood against Klatchians only, as it was pointed out by Nobby (who, via ObfuscatingStupidity, neatly pokes holes in every mindlessly regurgitated prejudice) he had no problem with other non-white people, such as the 'pretty brown' Constable Visit, lending credence to his characterization as amicable to most people as a rule.

* CorneredRattlesnake: Nobby will [[DirtyCoward go far out of his way to avoid having to fight]], but if he does have to fight he will do so with all the ferocity, skill, and ruthlesness of decades spent on the streets of Ankh-Morpork ''before'' Vimes scrubbed off a few of the layers of grime.

** "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… and when they were presented to Vetinari, he accused Nobby of forging them. And even this ostensibly forged document only goes so far as to say that the "balance of probability" is that he's human.

* LovableCoward: "When the call came out, it would not find Nobby wanting. It would not find him at all". It's even mentioned that he served as a soldier during his younger years and his superiors would keep an eye on which uniform Nobby was wearing to know which way the battle was going. However, he can actually fight if he has to.

** In ''Literature/{{Thud}}'', briefly and highly improbably. It's explained as (to paraphrase the book's description) the Hot Girlfriend having low self-esteem because all the normal men who would otherwise be all over her automatically assume she's out of their league and thus she thinks she must be dreadfully ugly. Nobby does not have these men's inhibitions.

* BlueAndOrangeMorality: Golems have peculiar ideas about possession, work ethic, and religion. They regard themselves as property unless they are granted their freedom, but don't consider themselves as slaves.

* ExactWords: As noted below, he doesn't believe in gods. When confronted on this by a group of priests, he concedes that he's willing to debate about it on his time off with the high priest of the most accomplished god. In the same scene he tells Sam Vimes that he doesn't need time off, and says the line about "most accomplished god" to the crowd of all the holy men in Ankh Morpork, who proceed to bicker about this the moment he turns his back.

* NoSell: Since he's made from clay, Dorfl is lightning-proof. When a god threw a BoltOfDivineRetribution at him, all it did was melt his armor.

* BigBeautifulWoman: Gets compared to such things as cities and galleons.

** Vimes may be overestimating his wife's Mama Bear tendencies when he tells a villain in ''Snuff'' that if Sybil had caught the gentleman sneaking into young Sam's room with a selection of knives, said gentleman's corpse would have been unrecognizable. Then again, Vimes knows her better than the readers do.

* SelectiveObliviousness: Normally, Sybil is an extremely good judge of character, save for one person: She is convinced Nobbs is not a horrible, repulsive, devious reprobate. No-one's quite sure why.

* WomenAreWiser: She's realistically flawed in most of her appearances, but in ''Literature/{{Snuff}}'' she seems to have been holding the [[SmartBall Wisdom Ball]] - in part because she is in her own (country) terratory and Vimes is way out of his depth.

* BattleButler: Has not only gone eagerly into battle for Ankh-Morpork, but he has also stood his ground to defend the Vimes homestead, and kicked serious arse while doing so.

* CharacterizationMarchesOn: When he first appears in the end of ''Literature/GuardsGuards'', he is a parody of an aging OldRetainer, just one more of Sybel's relics. As the books continue he becomes increasingly dangerous to the point that by the time we get to ''Literature/{{Snuff}}'', it's impossible to imagine him [[ComicBookFantasyCasting played by anyone but]] [[Creator/MichaelCaine Micheal Caine]].

* OldRetainer: Has been with the Ramkin family since at least events in ''Literature/{{Night Watch|Discworld}}'', starting off working in their household as a boy. This may be retconned a bit as the series progresses; in his earliest possible appearance (as the Ramkin family butler) he is an elderly fragile wreck. However, that butler is never explicitly named, and he's never described older Vimes, and later becomes the Battle Butler described above.

* FlatEarthAthiest: In ''Literature/{{Jingo}}'' he spends most of his screen time fighting with Constable Visit giving scientific explanations to all of the [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane "miracles"]].