Discworld/Characters: Difference between revisions

Lady Margolotta is a vampire, who appeared mainly in ''[[The Fifth Elephant]]'' and very recently ''[[Discworld/Unseen Academicals|Unseen Academicals]]'' but has made a few cameos in other books. She lives in Uberwald and shuffles the political factions (dwarfs, werewolves, trolls, etc.) there in much the same way that Vetinari does in Ankh-Morpork ... only Uberwald is less civilized and possibly less predictable. She plays chess (and occasionally Thud) with Vetinari by the clacks system (the Discworld's version of the telegraph) and has been known to read his secret messages. The Patrician is [[Xanatos Gambit|aware of this]], and purposely makes his coded messages ''almost'' unbreakable, so he'll know what she thinks is in them. It is quite possible that [[I Know You Know I Know|she knows that he does this]], having most likely taught him as much as he taught her (either way, it's going to lead to a [[Gambit Pileup]] sometime in the future). Lady Margolotta also annoyed the hell out of Commander Vimes by saving his life, because Vimes ''hates'' vampires.

A scribe who comes from a wealthy family, William is making his own way by sending newsletters to leaders of various other countries. He is pulled into the newest technological advancement of the Disc, movable type. With the assistance of a shed filled with Dwarves, the attractive daughter of an engraver, and a vampire/photographer, he begins the Disc's first newspaper, the Ankh-Morpork Times. Reappears in ''[[Discworld/Monstrous Regiment|Monstrous Regiment]]'' doing on-the-site reporting in Borogravia. As of ''[[Discworld/Unseen Academicals|Unseen Academicals]]'', he seems set to become the Disc's first sports announcer.

Although he does not directly appear, mention should also be made of ''[[Going Postal (Discworld)|Going Postal]],'' in which Moist von Lipwig observes that [[Crowning Moment of Funny|William was a young man who "somehow managed to write as though his bum had been stuffed with tweed."]]

* [[Unskilled but Strong]]: At the end of ''[[Discworld/The Truth|The Truth]]'', when Otto faces down a gang of William's father's enforcers, he is a hilariously inept fighter, but having a vampire's strength and stamina means he still wipes the floor with them.

The not-exactly-holy, wrinkly, smiling little man who debuted in ''[[Small Gods]]'', appears in ''[[Night Watch (Discworld)|Night Watch]]'' and co-stars with his pupil in ''[[Discworld/Thief of Time|Thief of Time]]''. He may also have shown up in ''[[Going Postal (Discworld)|Going Postal]]'' as a background cleaner in a temple, and anytime a sweeper is mentioned, it may be him. He follows the Way of Mrs. Cosmopolite and thinks that "Rule One" [[Needs More Love]]. And if you annoy him too much, you will abruptly learn ''why'' he's [[Shrouded in Myth]].

* [[Cynical Mentor]]: Lampshaded in ''[[Discworld/Thief of Time|Thief of Time]]'':

Gaspode was a fairly normal stray until ''[[Discworld/Moving Pictures|Moving Pictures]]''. Then he suddenly [[Intellectual Animal|found himself thinking]]. He found this vastly irritating, and was vaguely relieved when he went back to normal after the Holy Wood incident was over. But then he slept near the University's trash heaps a few times too often and suddenly found that his little problem was back. Now he roams the city, using his talents in new and creative ways. He's extremely cynical and has pretty much every doggy skin disease known to dogkind and a few others as bonuses. The laconic description of Gaspode was provided by Vimes in ''The Fifth Elephant'': The Corporal Nobbs of the canine world. As far as he's concerned, the only real advantage to being a thinking, talking dog is that he can remember when the guilds throw out their kitchen trash. Often seen leading the beggar Foul Ole Ron by a leash.

* [[Animate Inanimate Object]]: In the first book, it is often described as "opening its lid threateningly" or "it turned and faced them, despite the fact it had no face with which to face them with." Right near the end of ''[[Discworld/The Colour of Magic|The Colour of Magic]]'', it spits out Tethis, the sea troll, at Rincewind's feet, after which it "manages to project a smug expression." It can stare without eyes and has a tongue for some reason.

* {{spoiler|[[Crossdresser]]}}: In ''[[Discworld/The Last Continent|The Last Continent]]'', {{spoiler|it gets dressed up in high heels.}}

* [[Refuge in Audacity]]: The Silver Horde's plan to {{spoiler|steal ''the entire Agatean Empire''}} in ''[[Discworld/Interesting Times|Interesting Times]]'', and to {{spoiler|break into the city of the gods and blow them all up}} in ''[[Discworld/The Last Hero|The Last Hero]]''.

Ankh-Morpork's leading aristocrat (Vetinari doesn't count, and as for the current Duke of Ankh...). Rust is a starched, snobbish and ridiculously pompous individual with an abiding and entirely mutual hatred towards Sam Vimes. Led Ankh-Morpork during the brief war with Klatch in ''[[Discworld/Jingo|Jingo]]'' where he displayed all the military genius you might expect. Apparently dated Sybil Ramkin in her youth.

A foundling raised in the Guild of Thieves until a chance meeting with a history monk resulted in him being wiped from the Guild's collective memory and taken to be trained in the mountains in abilities he was only barely aware he had. However, Lobsang is apparently "a smart boy" and there's no teaching a smart boy. Compared to other characters in ''[[Discworld/Thief of Time|Thief of Time]]'' (and Pratchett characters in general), you might argue Lobsang here to be something of a blank slate. Of course then you {{spoiler|discover that he's actually half of a whole person who is also the son of the personification of time and ends up ''becoming'' Time itself in the end}}, and suddenly he doesn't seem quite so standardised any more.

* {{spoiler|[[A God Am I]]}}: At the end of ''[[Discworld/Thief of Time|Thief of Time]]''.

Nobody can seem to decide whether Teatime, the villain of ''[[Discworld/Hogfather|Hogfather]]'', is the personification of [[Nightmare Fuel]] or [[Badass]]. He's one of the Assassins' Guild scholarship boys, taken in because both his parents died when he was young and they felt sorry for him. As Lord Downey put it, "[[Self-Made Orphan|Perhaps we should have wondered a bit more about that]]."

A young girl in the war-torn country of [[Discworld/Monstrous Regiment|Borogravia]], Polly Perks eventually goes against the religious abominations against women fighting and wearing men's clothing to try and find her brother, who had marched into battle a year before. Polly, as Oliver Perks, quickly grasps the basics of being a soldier, even in a motley squad consisting of two unusually close 'friends', an Igor, a troll, a vampire, a religious fanatic, a wet-behind-the-ears commander, and a legendary and mysteriously long-tenured sergeant. [[And Zoidberg|Oh, and Shufti too.]]