Line #55 TabletopGame/DiscworldRolePlayingGame


1	[[quoteright:245:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/discworld14.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:245:It's a game set in a world where ''[[Literature/SoulMusic this]]'' happens. What more do you need to know?]]
3	The ''Discworld Roleplaying Game'' is a ''TabletopGame/{{GURPS}}'' sourcebook by Creator/PhilMasters based on the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' novels of Creator/TerryPratchett. It was originally published as ''GURPS Discworld'' in 1998 and repackaged as ''Discworld Role-Playing Game'' in 2002 to make it clearer you didn't ''have'' to have ''GURPS Basic Set'' in order to play, because the book included a copy of the minimal "GURPS Lite" rule set. A supplement, ''GURPS Discworld Also'', was published in 2001; this updated the background information up to ''Literature/TheTruth'', included character templates, and gave four possible campaign settings not entirely taken from the novels -- the [[ArabianNightsDays Klatchian town of Al-Ybi]], the New Town of Smarlhanger on the Sto Plains, the {{pirate}} haunts of the [[HulaAndLuaus Brown Islands]], and the cart-warrior regions of [=EcksEcksEcksEcksian=] outback -- along with some scenarios, the longest of which were "Lost and Found" (about an expedition to the Disc's counterpart of DarkestAfrica) and "Sektoberfest in [=NoThingfjord=]" (which combines {{Oktoberfest}}, HornyVikings, and [[UsefulNotes/{{Australia}} Australian]] backpackers).
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5	There were also a number of articles and scenarios for the game in ''Pyramid'' magazine, one of which -- [[http://www.sjgames.com/pyramid/sample.html?id=2177 "A Fist Full of Tunes You can Whistle"]] -- was originally published in the short-lived UK roleplaying magazine ''Visions'' as "A Fistful of Dwarfs". (This material was subsequently made freely available on Steve Jackson Games' Web site). Then, at the end of 2016, [[http://www.sjgames.com/discworld/ a new edition of the sourcebook/game]] appeared, updating the setting information up to ''Literature/{{Snuff}}'' and integrating a set of customised rules based on ''TabletopGame/{{GURPS}}'' 4th edition. This included revised and sometimes abbreviated versions of much of the setting and scenario material that first appeared in ''Discworld Also''.
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7	These books describe themselves as "officially unofficial", meaning that while they are a licensed product written in consultation with Sir Terry, he reserved the right to contradict them in the novels if he had a better idea. As such, they can be considered WordOfStPaul.[[note]]A case in point; the first edition was written before Terry had established how waste disposal worked in Ankh-Morpork, and a scene in one of the adventures is set in a municipal rubbish tip, run by a journeyman in the Guild of Plumbers. In the second edition, this has been reworked to make him an employee of Harry King.[[/note]]
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9	Elements of the first edition are mapped onto one standard set of PlayerArchetypes [[http://www.firedrake.org/roger/rpg/munchkin.html#GURPSDiscworld here.]]
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11	----
12	!!Besides the tropes in the novels and games-related tropes inherited from the full ''GURPS'' system, the setting contains examples of:
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14	* AdaptationalContextChange: The second edition reuses as much art from both volumes of the first edition as possible, but differences between the texts sometimes alter the context they appear in. For example, an illustration of a pointing figure enveloping a snail in magical energy originally appeared next to a sidebar about giving standard GURPS spells Discworldly wizard names, and appeared to illustrate the spell Mollusk Control (or The Laskallans' Complete and Authoritative Slug and Snail Manipulation Incantation). In the second edition, the same picture is used in the completely different magic system to represent the ForcedTransformation spell Stacklady's Morphic Resonator.
15	* ArcWelding: In the first edition's version of the adventure seed "Plumbing the Depths", mapping the Ankh-Morpork sewers was the brainchild of a lone eccentric inventor with a plan for an ox-drawn railway. In the second edition, it's all tied into the Undertaking from ''Literature/MakingMoney'' and subsequent A-M books.
16	* AutomaticCrossbows: Popular in the seaports of the Brown Islands. The favoured version makes a distinctive "kerr-chunk!" sound that some users regard as an essential feature.
17	* BilingualBonus: The Spaghetti Western style town in "A Fist Full of Tunes You can Whistle" is called Mallo Burro ... which is Spanish (or Genuan?) for Bad Ass.
18	* CompellingVoice, which appears in the books, turns up here as a character advantage -- "Voice of Command".
19	* ContinuityNod: As a reference to how many times [[BadassInDistress he's survived plots against him]], Vetinari has the "Hard to Kill" advantage.
20	* ContractualGenreBlindness: A core stock feature of Discworld stories, but formalised here in game mechanics; an optional rules allows dark lords (and barbarian heroes) to get a few points off the cost of some of their character advantages if they take appropriate character disadvantages -- but if they fail to play to the disadvantages, they lose the advantages.
21	* CoolToy: The ''Pyramid'' scenario "[[http://www.sjgames.com/pyramid/sample.html?id=721 Watch Academy VI: Hogswatchnight]]" features the must-have toy in Ankh-Morpork this Hogswatch, which is -- of course -- secretly part of a Sinister and Eldritch Plot. In the scenario as written they're quasi-intelligent furry things called [[FauxFurby Burfies]], but the author recommends adapting them to whatever the Cool Toy is at the time the game is played.
22	* DruidicSickle: The game has a fairly modest list of weapons by some tabletop RPG standards, but it includes a sickle sword -- which is specifically noted in the discussion of druid characters as one of their weapons of choice. This is a reference to a scene in ''Literature/TheLightFantastic''.
23	* EvilChancellor: Invoked and parodied. The Grand Vizier of Al-Ybi is a sensible and unambitious accountant, who has reluctantly grown a BeardOfEvil and practiced his sinister smile, because that's what's expected. He views the whole thing as an unnecessary distraction from balancing the budget.
24	* TheExpyWithNoName: The Dwarf With No Name in ""A Fist Full of Tunes You can Whistle".
25	* AFistfulOfRehashes: "A Fist Full of Tunes You can Whistle" (in ''Visions'' magazine and ''Discworld Also'').
26	* GladYouThoughtOfIt: This is how the very intelligent wife of the Sultan of Al-Ybi makes suggestions to her husband. The ideas she proposes are stupid, but they contain a basic kernel that he can "adapt" into something he thought of himself.
27	* GodsNeedPrayerBadly, one of the many tropes inherited from the novels, is represented by the "Faith Maintenance" character disadvantage.
28	* HulaAndLuaus: The Brown Islands, where the natives think of surfing as a religion, and have a habit of reassuring visitors they stopped sacrificing people to the volcano ''ages'' ago, in a vague manner that suggests they can't quite remember if they'd any reason to.
29	* HumongousMecha: The adventure "[[http://www.sjgames.com/pyramid/sample.html?id=4303 A Little Job For The Patrician]]" (in ''Pyramid'' magazine and in truncated form in the second edition of the book) features a Discworld mecha, based on a design by Leonard of Quirm, adapted by a brilliant Agatean nobleman whose narrative causality tends towards anime tropes, and powered by five trolls. The trolls even go through an Invocation as the thing assembles ("Other leg troll, put it together!"), although since they're trolls in a warm climate, it's possible they'd forget which one went where otherwise.
30	* TheIgor: After the setting acquired a whole ''caste'' of Igors, with unique abilities, ''Discworld Also'' added rules mechanics for them, with, for example, the "Patchwork Man" advantage encompassing their MixAndMatchMan nature. These rules were then carried over to the second edition.
31	* [[InscrutableOriental Inscrutable Auriental]]: Lacquered Tablet, the Agatean representative in Port Duck, has heard that foreigners think Agateans are inscrutable, and has decided it's a good idea.
32	* InvokedTrope: The setting actually has ''rules'' for invoking a trope, based on the TheoryOfNarrativeCausality. It also has rules for when it goes wrong; see WrongGenreSavvy.
33	* KnuckleCracking: A typically ''self-confident'' example from Archchancellor Ridcully in a piece of FlavorText:
34	-->''“The theurgic shielding is failing, Archchancellor!” said Ponder, clutching at his hat. “We have a divine incursion!”''\
35	''“Gods?” Ridcully roared, “Gods, in here?” Then he paused, and cracked his knuckles. “Right”, he said, “we'll see about that . . .”''
36	* LadyOfBlackMagic: Seen, while being gently parodied, in the person of the primary example character, Jemzarkiza of Krull. She's a powerful sorceress with effective offensive powers who even carries a wand to focus her magic. She's also a slightly nerdy scholar who's persistently irritated by her reputation as a lady of black magic.
37	* LiteralMinded is available as a character disadvantage in this game.
38	* NoMrBondIExpectYouToDine: This behaviour is ''required'' by the Dark Lord's Code of Honor, a disadvantage available in the game.
39	* NoOneSeesTheBoss: In "A Fist Full of Tunes You can Whistle", no-one sees Don Dominguino de Varozag. It's widely believed by the villagers that he's dead, and the barking mad Varozag family use "Don Dominguino orders it!" as a catchall excuse. It's suggested an adventure could climax with the [=PCs=] encountering him; live or stuffed.
40	* NotSoSafeHarbor: Port Duck in the Brown Islands is a joint Sto Plains/Agatean settlement, full of sailors who definitely aren't pirates. Confusing things, the parts the Agatean tourists see are also full of people who really ''aren't'' pirates but insist they ''are,'' giving the tourists all the excitement of drinking in a pirate tavern without actually being in any danger. It’s a parody of the historical Port Royal, in the Caribbean, with an added dose of modern-day Hong Kong (and maybe a dash of Disneyland).
41	* {{Oktoberfest}}: The game includes a scenario, "Sektoberfest in [=NoThingfjord"=], which combines the Literature/{{Discworld}}'s version of Oktoberfest with HornyVikings and UsefulNotes/{{Australia}}n backpackers, among other things.
42	* {{Parody}}: The original novels certainly include their share of parodies; the game may actually lean on this even harder, as it gives a clear and comprehensible basis for a lot of game ideas and jokes.
43	* PerceptionFilter: The game calls the fairly common Discworld version of this effect ''Unnoticed''.
44	* PerpetualTourist: The text of "Lost and Found" states that, in accordance with the TheoryOfNarrativeCausality, the Howondaland trading post ''must'' contain at least one Ankh-Morporkian expat (possibly [[Film/{{Casablanca}} white-suited]], maybe just [[Film/TheAfricanQueen booze-soaked]]), who can never return for some unspecified reason.
45	* PiratesVersusNinjas: The "Brown Islands" setting sets up the possibility of a pirate-ninja clash. Some FlavorText in the second edition of the game features an angst-ridden ninja who has been assigned to infiltrate pirate society...
46	-->''The problem was, his lengthy immersion in the attitudes of his new shipmates had caused him to develop doubts about the practicality of his previous training – despite the fact that his upbringing and grasp of subtlety made him fully aware of the ludicrousness of his shipmates’ behaviour. So now, although he could both scream while hurling a throwing star and go “Yah!” while wielding a cutlass, he couldn’t quite keep a straight face while doing either. He didn’t fit in anywhere.''
47	* RaptorAttack: The "Lost and Found" sample scenario includes a confrontation with "High-Velocity Rapacious Monstrosities" whose inspiration is obvious -- though, being derived from Discworld swamp dragons, these creatures are also fire-breathing and explosive. They are not a standard Discworld species, but, well, AWizardDidIt.
48	* RoyalHarem: The Al-Ybi material plays with this trope. It’s an ArabianNightsDays setting, so the place’s palace naturally has a harem — but [[spoiler:the hidden truth is that the harem women are a smart, practical, highly pragmatic bunch who are secretly running the city via their influence over the sultan and their contacts in the bazaar]].
49	* SacredHospitality: As in the novels, the Klatchian and D’reg’s Codes of Honour are serious about hospitality: “If you take in a guest or ''are'' a guest, treat the hospitality as sacred for exactly 72 hours”. Conversely, the Dark Lord’s Code puts [[NoMrBondIExpectYouToDine a twisted spin]] on this idea: “Provide visiting heroes who aren't yet scheduled for the death-trap with comfortable lodgings, submissive servants, and a change of clothes”.
50	* SchizoTech: Because the Disc features quite a lot of technological diversity, the cut-down version of the GURPS rules incorporated in the second edition of this game necessarily includes not only the parent system's mechanics for handling different TechnologyLevels, but also mechanisms such as the Cutting-Edge Training perk required by characters who are more advanced in specific fields than most of the society around them.
51	* ScoundrelCode: Parodied in the Brown Islands material, where the pirates' formal democratic principles are complicated enough that they've been known to press-gang contract lawyers, and sometimes start arguing about a point of order in the middle of a fight.
52	* SdrawkcabAlias: In fact, one of the novels mentions that this is a common foible among Discworld vampires (a joke about the {{Alucard}} trope), but the game formalises the idea in the form of the quirk-level Delusion (Spelling My Name Backwards Disguises It Perfectly).
53	* SewerGator: A scenario about mapping Ankh-Morpork's forgotten sewers includes "albino alligators, which have wandered into the sewers from [[OutsideGenreFoe another set of narrative assumptions]]".
54	* ShoutOut: As frequently as in the novels:
55	** In ''Also'' and the second edition, there's an extended riff on ''TabletopGame/CarWars'' based on the ''Film/MadMax'' parody section of ''Literature/TheLastContinent''. The main Cart Wars arena is run by a woman called [[Film/MadMaxBeyondThunderdome Auntie Ante]] (because she takes the bets).
56	** The scenario "Lost and Found" features a mad wizard who has recreated prehistoric creatures, including an ancestor/genetic derivative of the swamp dragon called the [[Film/JurassicPark "High-Velocity Rapacious Monstrosity"]].
57	** In the Brown Islands setting, Port Duck includes a tavern called [[Film/{{Casablanca}} Brick's Cafe Ankh-Morporkian]]. Brick is the troll doorman; the actual owner is revealed in the ''Pyramid'' version of the adventure "[[http://www.sjgames.com/pyramid/sample.html?id=4303 A Little Job For The Patrician]]" to be Dooli the Arranger (a CompositeCharacter of Rick and Sam).
58	** "A Fist Full of Tunes You can Whistle" introduces a Western-film area of the Disc, which includes [[Creator/SergioLeone The Dwarf with No Name]] and a [[Franchise/{{Zorro}} masked fop who thinks he's a dashing hero]].
59	** The ''Pyramid'' article [[http://www.sjgames.com/pyramid/sample.html?id=2919 "Call No Man Happy Until He is Dread"]], describing the role of Discworld's Dark Lords, warns that underground lairs will bring in a certain kind of adventurer "[[TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons in small mixed parties of thugs, kleptomaniacs, god-botherers and UU rejects]]".
60	** And the article [[http://www.sjgames.com/pyramid/sample.html?id=4660 "Librarian's Love-Child in World Domination Horror"]] discusses how to bring parodies of a whole range of conspiracy theories into games.
61	** As mentioned below, in the opening vignette to the first chapter of the second edition, the bard's spiel to Verence is basically the opening sentence of ''Literature/ThePhoenixOnTheSword''.
62	* SlidingScaleOfUndeadRegeneration: Rules and character features are provided to allow zombies and zombie-like beings to function as in the books — in terms of the trope definition, somewhere between Type I and Type II.
63	* SpellCrafting: Rather than trying to define a fixed spell for every whimsical or specialised bit of magic-working seen in the novels, the second edition of the game has a flexible magic system designed to allow characters to cobble together magical effects as required.
64	* StopWorshippingMe: This is apparently how the Disc's nature gods feel. They get plenty of ''belief'' from superstitious farmers without having to demand worship, while druids and shamans seem to ''want'' something from them.
65	* TapOnTheHead: As this idea crops up occasionally in the novels, there are game rules for it.
66	* ThisIsReality: In keeping with the books, [=GMs=] are advised that reality should ensue ''sometimes''. Maybe swinging on a chandelier will be a dramatic swashbuckling success, maybe it'll leave the PC dangling helplessly in front of the villain in an ironic anticlimax.
67	* TheTimeOfMyths: The novels play with this trope, making the Discworld a fantasy world with its own Time of Myths in its distant past. The game not only picks that up, but also tends to treat the early, more SwordAndSorcery-style early novels as something of a Time of Myths from the point of view of the most recent novels (which fits with the implications of Discworld stories such as ''Literature/TheLastHero'', after all). It even features a {{Parody}} of[=/=]ShoutOut to the classic Franchise/ConanTheBarbarian FramingDevice:
68	-->''“Know You, O Prince," he began grandly in his Llamedese accent, “that between the years when the oceans drank Leshp and its brass gongs for the fifth or possibly sixth time, and the years of the rise of the Middle Classes, there was an Age undreamed of ...”.''
69	* TitledAfterTheSong: For some reason, the subsections of the Pyramid article [[http://www.sjgames.com/pyramid/sample.html?id=2919 "Call No Man Happy Until He Is Dread: Dark Lords in ''GURPS Discworld''"]] are Music/BruceSpringsteen quotes: "And Remember Just Don't Smile" (from "Meeting Across the River"); "Born to Ruin" (play on "Born to Run"); "Darkness on the Edge of Town" ("Darkness on the Edge of Town"); "It's a Death Trap; It's a Suicide Rap" ("Born to Run" again).
70	* TranslationByVolume: This is an actual skill, called Shouting At Foreigners.
71	* VehicularCombat: [=EcksEcksEcksEcksian=] Cart Wars, a parody of Steve Jackson Games' own ''TabletopGame/CarWars''.
72	* WackyRacing: [=EcksEcksEcksEcksian=] Cart Wars again, when there are actual races.
73	* WrongGenreSavvy: Suggested as a way of preventing players abusing the TheoryOfNarrativeCausality, by ensuring the story isn't necessarily what they think it is.
74	-->"A character who tries to cast himself as the [[FarmBoy Brave Peasant Lad]] Who [[GuileHero Outwits The Troll]] may find that he's actually one of the [[SacrificialLamb Twenty Poor Peasants Eaten By The Troll]] Before [[KnightErrant The Knight Comes Along]]. He might even end up as the [[TheTrickster Devious Little Human]] Squashed By [[BrainsEvilBrawnGood The Troll Hero]]. (Troll [[FairyTale fairy-stories]] aren’t especially subtle)".
75	* YouAllMeetInAnInn: In the second edition, one of the chapter-opening vignettes has the example characters meeting in Biers, where Angua is reluctantly assembling an adventuring party on behalf of the Patrician.
76	* ZorroMark: The Zorro-like character in "A Fist Full of Tunes You can Whistle" has the name Don Gaveroz de Varozag de la Lala, "El Aguila del Cubo". He keeps attempting to carve all his intitals on his opponents, but since his Code of Honor prevents him from continuing to attack someone who is clearly about to collapse from bloodloss, he seldom gets very far with it.

Context TabletopGame / DiscworldRolePlayingGame