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Cypher

2020-07-02T17:25:36Z

2605:6000:1711:82E4:8894:7088:BF6E:4F37:

[[File:2Cypher2.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Cypher, the Fallen Angel. Is rumored to have descended from <s>[[Video games|Desmond Miles]]</s> Clint Eastwood.]]
{{Topquote|Una salus victis, nullam sperare salutem. - The only safety for the conquered is to hope for no safety.|Aeneis, Publius Vergilius Maro}}
{{Topquote|Truth made you a traitor as it often does in a time of scoundrels.|Lillian Hellman}}

''HE'S COMING, HE'S COMING, HE'S COMING!''... <s>Yeah, Right.</s> He came. He's here.

'''Cypher''' is a pretty impressive Independent Character who [[Games Workshop]] neglected releasing rules for despite his model being available for fucking ever and being referenced every 12 seconds in Dark Angels fluff. He was originally notable for having a 4+ on 3D6 ''completely unmodifiable proof against everything'' bullshit saving throw on death that served no function but to prevent the other player getting the victory points for killing him since he was still removed even if he passed it. [[Troll|Thanks]], Second Ed Codex: [[Chaos]]! With the Dataslate from Digital Editions, nearly everyone can now field this bastard in their 6E army.

He's basically a [[Fallen Angels|Fallen]] [[Dark Angels|Dark Angel]] who dual-wields pistols - one [[Plasma]], one [[Bolter|Bolt]] (radlad), both master-crafted, and both possibly archaeotech - and wears a sweet bone white hoodie over his power armor. Whenever he pops up on the Dark Angel radar, the Inner Circle loses its shit and dispatches the Deathwing and Ravenwing to bring the fucker in but they never can. [[Alpha Legion|They've claimed kills, but he always fucking shows up again]].

Cypher’s continued existence bears testimony to his seemingly mystical ability to avoid capture. Every time pursuers get close, he has shown an uncanny ability to escape. Down the ages, the Inner Circle of the Dark Angels have suggested that Cypher is under the protection of some higher power. The fact that his lifespan has continued since the days before the Horus Heresy speaks of unnatural powers at play, but then again Cypher was originally an inherited title, and its possible that it still is.

==Who is he?==
{{Topquote|'''He weaves in and out of my vision- I see one who is many. I see they who will test the Unforgiven. In one Hand he carries hope, in the other despair. I speak of Cypher. He is coming closer all the time.'''|Luther, the Dark Oracle}}
{{Topquote|Cipher: a secret or disguised way of writing; a code. |Dictionary}}

Given the above citation, it is unlikely that GW ever wants to pull down their own pants. Cypher is as elusive as Robert Denby, a living urban legend who either has the patronage of a Chaos god to grant him immortality until he finishes his long mission, a title passed down among agents of the Fallen, a son of a bitch who sold us out to the Machines, or a bunch of random dudes pulling the [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKCmyiljKo0 Spartacus Maneuver]. The issue of his identity becomes even more complicated when one considers that "Lord Cypher" was a title used by '''The Order''' of [[Caliban]] (and by extension, the Dark Angels) who was assigned to embody their traditions and customs and ensure that they would be adhered to at all times. It was specifically mentioned that the Lord Cypher was to completely abandon his old identity upon assuming his position and was given a cloak and hood to keep his appearance concealed at all times- given the nature of this role, it is possible that there has been more than one "Cypher" since the Horus Heresy, with each new one inheriting the equipment and personality of his predecessors.

===Knight of Lupus / Green Knight===
Thankfully we have more than just theories to go off, and something that ''is'' known for certain: his history with the Order of Lupus. If there has been more than one Cypher since the Horus Heresy, we know who the very first one was. Anyway, the Order of Lupus was a Calibanite Knight Order that was actually a [[Ordo Malleus|cult that studied and collected knowledge of Chaos]]. They were wiped out by Lion El'Jonson, save for a single survivor who was allowed to join the Order and later the Dark Angels and became The Lord Cypher, a rank of the Dark Angels. He is the person who introduced Luther to the "truths" of chaos, but kept Luther and the other Dark Angels on Caliban ignorant of the [[Horus Heresy]] at large that was going on around them.

Through Zahariel's eyes: ''"Where there had been an armour-clad warrior there stood a man garbed in a robe of bark and leaves, a tree given human form. More than a tree, a whole forest, his hair its spilling canopy, his muscles powered by the strength of millions of deep roots…"'' This may seem weird but it seems to be a reference to [[The Green Knight]] of Arthurian legends.

The Green Knight can appear as one of Arthur's greatest champions where he is often portrayed as an exorcist and one of the most powerful knights in Arthur's court, or he is transformed into the Green Knight in order to test Arthur's court. His major role in Arthurian literature includes being a judge and tester of knights, and as such the other characters see him as friendly but terrifying and somewhat mysterious. He was also a [[Brettonia|Brettonian]] rather obviously. Or as a reference to the green man, a vegetation being in medieval art; a recollection of a figure from Celtic mythology; a Christian symbol; or the Devil himself. very fitting for Caliban don't you think.

In any case, this Lupus-Cypher was "killed" ''(we see him fall, and the body removed by Zahariel's men)'' during the Fallen uprising, and the Librarian Zahariel took his place as Lord Cypher. The whole young Knight of Lupus thing might just be some kind of elaborate cover story though as when he was unmasked by Zahariel just before his death, Zahariel was able to recognize him as someone from his own past, he may not have even been a space marine given he was still able to feel fear, though he almost certainly was not human.

===Zahariel El'Zurias===
See also: [[Zahariel]]

One thing that is known for certain is that the Librarian Zahariel becomes the Lord Cypher during Luther's declaration of independence. So far he is the last known person to hold the role, since the fluff hasn't identified anyone else to occupy the role after him.

However, at this point Zahariel is consumed by the power of the '''Ouroboros''', essentially making him possessed and therefore a pawn of Chaos.

===Holguin - Voted-Lieutenant of the Deathwing===
At the end of “Angels of Caliban” Holguin has self-appointed task of looking after the broken Lion Sword and planned to reforge it and make it whole once again.

However, looks like Holguin did succeed in reforging the sword, because the Lion was once again in possession of it in the space between the Horus Heresy and the Scouring. After the fall of the Emperor, the Lion met his brother Russ in the Imperial palace, and resolved their grievances with each other thrown up on '''Dulan''', with both of them admitting their guilt over putting pride ahead of their duty by being away from Terra at the time of the final battle. The Lion Sword gets thrust through Russ's chest with the Wolf King not making any move to resist, but the Lion turns the blade aside without striking any organs and leaving his brother alive. Russ then believed that they finally understood one another after that and grew to respect and admire his brother ''(but not envy, never that)'', calling him the best of them all.

So unless Holguin took the sword, gave it to the Lion, then took it back ''again'' then he's not any more likely to become Cypher over any other officer of the legion.

Additionally, Holguin was put in command of the forces of the Dark Angels on [[Macragge]] after the Lion's imposition of martial law during [[Imperium Secundus]], so you'd think Guilliman would recognise him when he met Cypher in the 41st millennium, but instead only recognised the sword that Cypher carried.

===Grey Knight Founder===
It seems that one of the Cyphers was originally destined to become one of [[Malcador]]s Knights Errant and one of the first grand masters of the [[Grey Knights]]. In the Pandorax novel Grand Master Epimethius of the original [[Grey Knights]] and one of the [[Fallen Angels]] is awoken after a ten thousand year sleep and is confronted by a [[Lord of Change]], who is confused at the [[Not as Planned|turn of events]] by expecting a different person and '''actually fears''' the consequences of the change in fate. Epimethius himself states '''[[Awesome|"someone switched places with me. That is now his path to walk"]]'''. Granted, they don't mention Cypher by name in that book but it does go great lengths in explaining Cypher's motivations in that he selflessly '''CHOSE''' to become fallen with the rest of his brethren and is attempting to rewrite his destiny for some unfathomable purpose.

It is not entirely known when Epimetheus was recruited from Caliban prior to the fall, although the Knights-Errant ''were'' on Caliban trying to figure out what [[Luther]] was plotting and found him in the middle of a downward spiral, but Cypher helped them escape, so the opportunity was there for him to get out or potentially send someone in his place.
Not to mention the fact that Epimetheus is an Alpha-Plus Psyker, so if he was a "proper" Fallen he could purge the Dark Angels if they even looked at him funny, and would probably make the entire Inner Circle collectively shit themselves right through their Termie buttplates if they knew about him.

===Time Traveler===
Another theory is that he is being cast through time in a similar manner to the [[Legion of the Damned]] appearing wherever and whenever he is needed. This is subtly hinted at several times in the fluff, first with the minor inconsistency of his [[C'Tan|phase knife]] which exists outside of the [[derp|space-time continuum]], so Cypher has it in some instances, but does not have it in other encounters. Secondly, he can fuck with the established timelines and somehow confuse [[Tzeentch|Lords of Change]] whose JOB it is to know the future ''(see above)'' and thirdly, Cypher/[[Zahariel]] is somehow connected to the [[Ouroboros]] which was concealed on [[Caliban]], which if you know your philosophy is the representation of time recycling itself eternally. So he could be time traveling, or waiting for eternity to swing back around to try things a little bit better each time round.
*According to certain Arthurian legends merlin’s wisdom and knowledge came about because he was ageing backwards through time and so already knew what was going to happen because he had already lived it. In a way Cypher could be playing the part of the Dark Angels version of the Eldar phoenix lords; traveling back through time in order to set up events in preparation for the final battle. Whatever the final plan might be according to the Lord of Change in the “Pandorax campaign” it is directly interfering with the great game of the ruinous powers; when it finds out that two of the players have somehow swapped destinies it is terrified about the implications.

===41st Millennium===
Unless the [[Watchers in the Dark]] can pull some resurrection shit or Lupus-Cypher is a [[Perpetual]] ''(or Cypher never actually "died")'' Because the Ouroboros plotline only gets resolved at the end of the 41st Millennium and we have no further candidates that we know of with any connection to the creature, and no evidence of anyone taking the mantle from him then is likely that Zahariel remains as Cypher through to the 41st Millennium.

During the talk between Azrael and Luther in “The Unforgiven” Luther mentions that his Cypher was slain by Corswain during the destruction of Caliban. Although given the situation at the end of the same book there may be more than one lord “Cypher” running around Caliban at that time.

Though with respect to the Grey Knight angle, it is possible that Zahariel passes the mantle on to someone else further down the line, allowing Zahariel to become Epimetheus whilst "Cypher" became the Fallen Angel we know so well. But the question remains: who?

==What he's up to==
[[File:Cypher.png|400px|thumb|right|Heh... nothin' personal... kid]]

His actual allegiance is a mystery- he's been just as likely to fight Chaos as he is to assist it and there have been multiple incidents where he showed up to save an otherwise doomed Imperial force or even turn on the very cults he helped create. (He even managed to steal the identity of an Inquisitor at one point without anyone noticing until he had long since gotten away with it.) His intentions regarding the Dark Angels are equally bipolar; for every time the Dark Angels have been led astray by him, there's another time where Cypher's trail just happens to lead to the capture of one of the other Fallen or even the discovery of a new recruiting world. Some members of the Inner Circle even theorize that he may be an emissary sent by the Emperor himself to test the Dark Angels' resolve (which is supported by several of Cypher's own statements, [[Troll|including a message he sent to Azrael]]).

Either way, he is slowly heading in the direction of Holy Terra, a bizarre mission that has the Dark Angels worried as hell. He may even want a word with the God-Emperor. "OH SHIT HE'S GONNA TATTLE ON US!"

In truth it's believed that he has the [[Lion El'Jonson|Lion]]'s sword, and that he intends to return it to the Emperor, ergo earning his/their absolution. Or maybe he's going to assassinate the [[Emperor]]. Or maybe both somehow considering the whole [[Perpetual]] thing, which to the best of everyone's knowledge tells us that if the Emperor's body is destroyed then he'll just reincarnate and finally get off the throne and get back to business.

...Or Cypher could be betting on [[Vulkan]]'s ''Talisman of Seven Hammers'' acting as a dead-mans switch for the Throne and causing Terra to explode in a fiery inferno the moment it ceases to function, possibly also resulting in the entire human race becoming unprotected warp gates for daemons and enveloping the entire galaxy in a warp storm that makes the Eye of Terror look like an anthill....

Cypher just might be the bearer of the end times. Who knows? Either way, the Dark Angels want him dead before they can find out.

During [[Abaddon]]'s [[Black Crusade|13th successive failure]], he had the balls to walk onto his capital ship, talk shit, and shoot the only friends Abaddon made in ten thousand years. This happened when Abaddon blinked. As in, closed his eyes and when they opened, corpses. Then he walked out again. [[Awesome|Clint Eastwood]] ain't got shit on this motherfucker. Thus it is now a known fact that Abaddon also fails at blinking.

Also, he is sometimes depicted with green armour even though pre-Heresy Dark Angel armour was black. The Dark Angels who rejected [[Luther]] painted their armour green during the Heresy, and were fighting him before the [[Lion El'Jonson|Lion]] ever showed up on [[Caliban]] (this is evidenced by Merir Astellan, who hated both El'Jonson and Luther alike and kept his armor black). ''The Unforgiven'' confirms that Cypher changes colour scheme whenever he needs to. His armour is black during that book, but Belial notices that there are still traces of green paint on it (presumably left over from when he [[Alpha Legion|played loyalist dress-up]] during the attack on Piscina in ''Angels of Darkness''). That would at least explain why he shows up all over the place, dressed exactly like a Dark Angel, rustling their collective jimmies.

In one instance in the [[Ophidium Gulf Crusade|fluff]] he was being pursued by the combined efforts of a single Black Templar vessel and a Dark Angel fleet. Even though the Black Templar single-handedly managed to apprehend Cypher because they get shit done, the Dark Angel fleet threatens to destroy the Black Templar ship if they won't hand over their prisoner. Begrudgingly, the Templar ship hands over Cypher, starts to send a short message to their High Marshal and then "mysteriously disappears without a trace". Likely {{Blam|++THEY GOT LOST IN THE WARP++}}. The smug Dark Angels then proceed to fly back home, thinking mission accomplished until they arrive and find the cell containing Cypher to be empty. Poof motherfuckers.

===More Recently===
According to [[Gav Thorpe]]'s latest novel, Cypher tracked down a Ravenwing squad, killed an enemy Fallen, willingly threw down his pistols, and demanded to meet with the Inner Circle. There followed a series of events where Cypher reveals that [[The Rock]] has secretly been host to the '''Tuchulcha''' Engine for all this time, and it is part of a triumvirate of entities that, when brought together, can cross the bridge of time, the other two being the '''Ouroboros''' buried within the core of Caliban (and later remains in Caliban's ruins) and a third device/entity held by [[Typhus]]. Cypher's involvement in bringing the three together is accompanied by unusual behaviours from the [[Watchers in the Dark]], which serve to convince the Dark Angels of Cypher's importance, if not his sincerity. When they are brought into proximity in the Caliban system, they open a rift which appears to stretch back in time to Caliban's destruction, to the interest of multiple factions: [[Azrael]] skeptically but hopefully wishes to use the rift to prevent the catastrophe, while [[Fallen Angels|Astelan]] thinks to help his rebels win, while Typhus thinks merely to use time travel to cause [[Chaos|carnage]] in the name of his [[Nurgle|dark master]]. Cypher, as we'll get to in a second, seems to want the overall picture to stay the same.
*On an amusing sidenote: Cypher seems to actually like and think rather highly of Azrael, saying that he would have made a fine seneschal for [[Lion El'Johnson|the Lion]].
*It's actually revealed that this is not the first time that Cypher has been a prisoner on the Rock. He has over the last 10,000 years presented himself many times as a prisoner and each time he has walked free. The shocking thing is that he has never actually escaped, rather each time the current Supreme Grand Master has "let him go". Of course, this is kept all very hush, hush or Asmodai would literally explode in anger.

When shit hits the fan, it appears that the enemies are closer to the rift than the Dark Angels; [[Ezekiel]] is the one who convinces Azrael to destroy the rift, since the Fall of the Lion was simply meant to be, and who-knows-what could happen if their enemies traveled through, or brought something back forward in time. However, in the aftermath, there is the implication that destroying the rift in the 41st millennium may have been the [https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Predestination_paradox causal factor] in the event which broke apart the planet of Caliban and which initially scattered the Fallen across time [[Just as Planned|in the first place]]. Cypher escaped into the time-rift, adding yet more evidence to the theory that he is traveling back through history trying to change events, but his entire motivation for bringing the Dark Angels back to the ruins of Caliban (and therefore uniting the three pieces and destroying 30k Caliban) [[Just as Planned|remains uncertain]].

====Gathering Storm====
Cypher somehow shows up again later at the close of the 41st Millennium, presumably either traveling back forward through time or by waiting 10,000 years ''(which considering what we already know is actually quite plausible)''. This time, he shows up on [[Macragge]], at around the same time [[Roboute Guilliman]] is miraculously resurrected. While the "Terran Crusade" is making their way back to Terra, they are set upon by the [[Red Corsairs]], and Guilliman is imprisoned by [[Kairos Fateweaver]] on a '''Blackstone Fortress'''. Cypher is brought to the fortress by Harlequins and pointed in the direction of Guilliman's cell, offering to save the Terran Crusade from the Red Corsairs and guide them away, on the condition that Guilliman takes Cypher and the Fallen to Terra and to the Imperial Throne, ''for undisclosed reasons''. Guilliman promises to do so, but swears that if Cypher is up to any trickery or deceit he will regret it. Cypher then guides the crusade through the webway, while being pursued by the forces of the [[Thousand Sons]], eventually getting to Luna, where Guilliman has a showdown with his brother [[Magnus]]

However, when they eventually get to Terra, Guilliman recognises the sword on Cypher's back, and has no intention of letting him anywhere near the throne room. He double crosses Cypher, and orders him arrested by the Custodians, who put him in a prison that no-one has escaped from in thousands of years; naturally, C<s>y</s>ipher escapes within the space of a paragraph, and is currently at large on Terra.

After his miraculous escape, Cypher is apparently being chased by (or more likely leading) a force of the Adeptus Custodes. You know you've made it big when the guardians of the Emperor of Mankind himself have been tasked with catching you; although it's unlikely that they are heading towards a happy ending, as they themselves are being unknowingly shadowed by an, as of yet unidentified force of ships.

==List of Cypher's Achievements / Troll-List==
[[File:Tumblr nj9ccyYe4p1u19hiso1 500.jpg|250px|thumb|right|]]
*'''Circa M31''' Cypher presents himself at the Rock to the Dark Angels and their twelve successors, explaining that Fallen Angels are going to be [[Doctor Who|dropping out of time]] and spilling the beans. So they form ''the Unforgiven'' to keep the secret under wraps.
*'''632.M32''' Destroyed/''Disappeared'' a Dark Angels successor chapter (the Lions Sable) and a Dark Angels Supreme Grand Master, then returned the Lion Helm & Sword of Secrets to the Dark Angels
*'''822.M33''' Once again, gave back the Lion Helm & Sword of Secrets after the Dark Angels lost them to Orks.
*'''997.M33''' Corrupted the Angels of Redemption's recruiting world for some reason (more than likely exposed corruption, but since the planet paid its taxes on time, no one cared). At some point Cypher also guides the Dark Angels to the [[Feral World]] of [[Conan the Barbarian|Kimmeria]], where [[Azrael]] is from.
*'''M34-M35''' Was on the [[High Lords of Terra|Ur Council]] during the [[Nova Terra Interregnum]] and '''RULED HALF THE IMPERIUM.'''
*'''624.M36''' Fought the [[C'Tan]] Deceiver '''IN THE WARP'''. The paradox of that shit caused his phase knife to exist outside of the space-time continuum and so he has it, but doesn't have it. [[Derp|Cypher broke physics]].
*'''665.M38''' Impersonated an [[Inquisitor]] and deleted the Imperial records about himself and the Dark Angels.
*'''200-500.M39''' <s>Hangs out with the [[Alpha Legion]]</s> NOTHING HAPPENED, A PERSON WHO DOES NOT EXIST DOES NOT ASSOCIATE WITH PEOPLE WHO DO NOT EXIST
*'''518.M39''' Betrays <s>the [[Alpha Legion]]</s> PEOPLE WHO DO NOT EXIST and the Dark Angels ''incidentally'' reclaim a hundred planets from them while hunting for Cypher. The [[High Lords of Terra]] give them a whole bunch of medals which they wear with [[Rage|pride]].
*'''Late M39''' Kills the Grand Master of the Interrogator Chaplains, Belagor, delivering this bad ass line ''"Luckily for you I do not equate justice with torture so I promise you this will be swift."''
*'''976.M41''' Single-handedly saves a planet from Chaos, leaves one loyalist survivor who becomes Cypher's fall guy when the Dark Angels come checking.
*'''989.M41''' Pisses off [[Lugft Huron]] and the [[Red Corsairs]] swear to kill him. ''Get in the queue guys''.
*'''997.M41''' The [[High Lords of Terra]] get worried about broadcasts from the "Voice of the Emperor" and send '''SEVERAL''' members of the [[Officio Assassinorum]] to deal with it. ''None return.''
*'''998.M41''' [[Ophidium Gulf Crusade|Ophidium Gulf Incident]]
*'''999.M41''' Gets into a fight with [[Belial]] of the [[Dark Angels]] who is the chapter's greatest warrior. [[Just As Planned|Belial's weapons fail]].
*'''[[13th Black Crusade|Late M41]]''' Cypher attempts to kill an [[Inquisitor]] who is close to figuring out the secret of the [[Fallen Angels]], the [[Ravenwing]] spoil the kill, potentially [[Not as Planned|causing themselves problems]] later.
*'''The aftermath of [[13th Black Crusade]]''' While the "Voice of the Emperor" has caused a lot of uprisings, it becomes clear that the Cadian sector is now more faithful and prepared than it has ever been (much to Abaddon's irritation). The [[Dark Angels]] discover the source of the broadcasts was the ruins of [[Caliban|Old Caliban]] and switch it off.
*'''999.M41 (again)''' Rescues [[Roboute Guilliman]] from the [[Red Corsairs]] and leads the Terran Crusade to Luna. But gets arrested on Guilliman's order when they reach Terra and placed in an impervious Custodes prison that has never had a break out. [[Troll|Cypher then breaks out in the following sentence.]] HE AND THE FALLEN WERE SEEN BY EVERYONE IN THE IMPERIUM WALKING IN A PARADE ON TERRA WITH GUILLIMAN. How the Dark Angels plan to cover this one up is a mystery for the ages.
*'''M42(?)''' ''(Some years after the battle of [[Naaman|Koth Ridge]])'' Cypher presents himself to the Dark Angels and precipitates a sequence of events whereby it is implied that the Dark Angels of the future are [[Just as Planned|involved with the destruction of Caliban.]]

==The Lion Sword==
There is no item more mysterious than Cypher’s sword – for it has never been seen unsheathed. Even in the press of close combat, Cypher has never yet been observed to wield the blade. Both psykers and auspex readouts report strange feedback that seems to emanate from the sword within the scabbard, as if it were the source of some barely veiled power. Varying legends have arisen over this never-drawn weapon, claiming it to be the Lion’s Sword once borne by the Dark Angels Primarch. The fact that [[Roboute Guilliman]] recognized the sword gives further credence to this theory, as it would have had to have been used during the Great Crusade for him to know, and that it shouldn't belong to Cypher.

During the events of “The Unforgiven” Asmodai attempted to remove the Sword from Cypher. As soon as he made contact with the blade his mind was assaulted by visions of the destruction of Caliban; viewed from a single persons view. He experienced the final moments of the person he was viewing the events through. The feelings of hurt and betrayal were so intense that even someone as mad and as zealous as Asmodai was overwhelmed. Asmodai decided that it would be better to allow Cypher to keep the sword and made every effort to never come in contact with the blade again.

During the “Gathering Storm part 3” Cypher accompanied Guilliman to Terra but was refused entrance to the throne room. Guilliman might not recognise who Cypher was but he did recognise the blade Cypher carried on his back, the sight of which made him shudder with dread and there was no way he was allowing that near his father.

Obviously Guilliman has some idea of what it could do, and was either protecting the Emperor by ordering Cypher arrested ''(bearing in mind that the Golden Throne is already protected by the [[Companion]]s, psychic wards and Mechanicum safeguards, not to mention the consciousness of the Emperor himself)'' or because he worries of any future implications surrounding the Dark Angels "Forgiveness".

==6th (and 7th) Edition==
His Dataslate comes with some insane(AWESOME) changes and were updated along with the limited edition of the 7E Dark Angels codex.

For one, he can be a non-FOC HQ (But never Warlord) for a [[Sisters of Battle]] (eh?), [[Blood Angels]], [[Grey Knights]] (Meaning that [[Kaldor Draigo]]'s even more of a dick than [[Azrael]] thought), [[Imperial Guard]], [[Chaos Space Marines]], [[Space Wolves]] (How?)(Because an Enemy of an Enemy is a friend), Vanilla Marines and [[Inquisition]] (WOT)(Read the fluff, the fucker was an Inquisitor at one stage) army. I mean seriously, how would even HALF of these armies accept this bastard as an ally?(master of disguise) And the kicker is that he'll cost -1 Ld on your real warlord. He can't join a Dark Angels army, and if he's up against Dark Angels, every model with the Deathwing rule gains Hatred (Everyone).

As an Independent Character, he gets ATSKNF, Fleet, Hit & Run, frag & krak grenades and Infiltrate. His sword also gives him Eternal Warrior and Shrouded. Also note that he has '''BS 10'''. ''THE SHIT, GEEDUBS''.

{| border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5" align="left"
! || Pts || WS || BS || S || T || W || I || A || Ld || Sv
|-
| '''Cypher:''' || 190 || 7 || '''10''' || 4 || 4 || 3 || 8 || 3 || 10 || 3+
|} 

Also, that old rule about his daring escape is around again with three modes if Dark Angels are on the field:
* If a Dark Angel is within D6" when he goes down, he's worth 3 flippin' Victory Points for being caught alive.
* If anyone else is within D6" when he goes down, he awards no extra Victory Points for his capture. If there's both a Dark Angel and another dude around when he drops, it becomes a random roll who gets him.
* If nobody's around D6" when he goes down, he'll just leg it and nobody wins a Victory Point.
* If Cypher's still alive at the end of a game, his side wins d3 extra Victory Points.

If no Dark Angels are on the field then Cypher does not award his kill/victory point unless an enemy is within D6" of him when his last wound is lost or he is otherwise removed from the field.

His guns manage to gain some major use, as his plasma pistol ignores Gets Hot! and they allow him to overwatch at full BS. He can also shoot both pistols twice or shoot them once each before or after running. In assault, he'll also make half his attacks (rounding up) at S4 AP5 (using his bolt pistol) and the rest at S7 AP2 (using his plasma pistol), which usually means 2 plasma shots and 2-3 bolt pistol shots as he have 3 base attacks, +1 for two pistols and +1 on the charge, meaning that anything without 3+ wounds and solid invuln in challenge with him is pretty much dead. Note, that this happens on initiative '''eight'''.

He also can bring up to 3 Chosen of Chaos squads with himself, to represent his Fallen subordinates/puppets. Those Chosen does not take any slots, have ATSKNF and Infiltrate and can use Cypher's Ld if he's around at the cost of being unable to take any Chaos-y upgrades, like marks or icons, as well as no dedicated transports.

So, looking back, we can summarize the following: 
1- he's awesome 
2- he's the dark angel equivalent to my little pony on /tg/ 
3- his rules are cool, do the fluff justice, and will make DA player you face lose. Their. Mind. [[Just as planned]]. 

== 8th edition ==

{| border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5" align="left"
! || Pts || M || WS || BS || S || T || W || A || Ld || Sv
|-
| '''Cypher:''' || 80 || 7" || 2+ || 2+ || 4 || 4 || 5 || 4 || 9 || 3+
|} 

In the new edition his bolt pistol is range 16", strength 4, AP-1 and 1 damage whilst his plasma pistol is range 12", strength 8, AP -3 and damage 2 (notice how it gets overcharge statline for free with no overheat risk). Pretty damn good considering he can shoot even if he has retreated or advanced due to his 'Blazing Weapons' rule. He also has Frag and Krag grenades. His two other powers are 'Mysterious Protection' which grants him a 4+ invulnerable save and the ability to 'not be slain' on a 2+ once he loses all wounds; he is still removed from play but he does not count towards victory points. He also has 'Lord Cypher' which grants re-roll of 1's for every '''Fallen''' within 6". All this for 110 points less than last edition too!

==Gallery==
<Gallery>
File:Baaaadass.jpeg|You will never find a better artwork for him than this... For now at least. Also, possibly the only official illustration that has him wearing appropriately pre-Heresy armour.
File:Cypher old art.jpg|Possibly the first-ever artwork of him.
File:Cypher artwork.png|The dude has a skull fetish, you'd think he wants to be a chaplain.
File:Cypherwallpaper.jpg
File:Cypher's Bolt Pistol.png|His bolt pistol... No idea why it changes details with every artwork though...
File:Cypher new model.jpg|Sexy new 7th Edition model, with true-scale Lion Sword!
</Gallery>

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[[Category:Warhammer 40,000]][[Category:Chaos]][[Category:Space Marines]][[Category:Dark Angels]][[Category:Fallen Angels]]

Discworld

2020-07-02T17:18:29Z

2605:6000:1711:82E4:8894:7088:BF6E:4F37:

{{spoilers}}
{{British}}

{{Topquote|A world, and a mirror of worlds.|Terry Prachett}}

{{Topquote|It's no use, Mr. James — it's turtles all the way down.|J. R. Ross}}

One of the most beloved book series' on [[/tg/]], '''Discworld''' is a series of fantasy novels written by the late Sir Terry Pratchett (who seems to have been a fan of Warhammer!) set on the titular Discworld: a round, flat world carried on the back of four elephants who in turn stand on the back of a turtle that swims through the cosmos. The Discworld novels do not have a single core protagonist across the entire series: it has a variety of characters starring over the course of the books. Over time certain "series" with the same cast and sometimes setting emerged, creating several parallel (and sometimes overlapping) storylines.

More than just your standard fantasy novel, Discworld plays with the conventions of storytelling and how people and stories shape each other. The writing is one of incredible wordplay, going from clever plays on words that more than once have been plot points to forehead-slappingly dumb puns. The books also include large amounts of footnotes to serve as worldbuilding, a joke or both. Some of these footnotes can take up the majority of a page or have footnotes of their own.

Another notable thing is that over time the Discworld began to escape [[Medieval Stasis]]. Towers for semaphore telegraphs are built so that messages can be transmitted at previously unheard of speeds, paper money and postage stamps are invented, the newspaper and journalism take form and even the steam locomotive takes to the field. Meanwhile, magic is present but not commonly used, and over the course of the books the young generation of wizards build Hex, a magical supercomputer who can do in hours what would normally take days or weeks for a human wizard.

Furthermore, the books carry a great mix of [[The Culture|gravitas]] and comedy, making them both poingnant and funny at the same time. All these factors have added up to a great series of fiction that has been, is, and will be held close to the hearts of many a reader and nerd for years to come.

==Species on the Disc==
Aside from [[humans]], who appear to be in the majority, there are a number of other species living there as well.

===[[Dwarf]]s===
Discworld dwarfs (and yes, they use the same plural as [[Warhammer Fantasy Battle]]) are of the standard model: short, bearded, work in mines, enjoy booze and if you upset them they'll chop your knees off. There are a few differences though: their culture seems to contain a few influences based on Judaism in the form of the Grags, scholars on the laws of the dwarfs and seen as a kind of secular rabbis. Another quirk about them is that dwarfs seem to be a single-gendered species. "Seem to be," mind you, because once the kids are off breastfeeding there's no such thing as "women's work" among dwarfs. Sexual dimorphism is incredibly discouraged in dwarf society, which means that dwarf courtship rituals are all about finding out whether that dwarf you fancy actually has bits compatible with yours. However, through the influences of Ankh-Morpork a small but growing number of dwarfs want to "come out" as being female and embrace their gender. While many cityborn dwarfs see no problem with this, the older generations and the conservative dwarfs who live deeper underground see this as an abomination upon their culture, decrying the female dwarfs as ''ha'ak'' (exact meaning unknown, roughly translated as "not real dwarfs").

It is also interesting to note that Sir Terry very clearly based his dwarfs on those of Tolkien (specifically the depiction of a proud Norse warrior race with Welsh or Northern English overtones, much like how those areas were taken over by the Vikings in real life). This shows another strength of the series: taking established cliches and conventions from genres and making them into something new simply by taking what's there to an endpoint that is both logical and humourous, bringing in other media as he does it. After all, if the dwarfs are miners, give them Welsh or Northern English accents, and if they've got Welsh accents, chuck in a stereotype about men's choirs, which makes them good for singing Hi-Ho songs, but that's a stereotype imposed by humans, see you, boyo... and so on. Incidentally there is an urban legend that the the Welsh are the lost 13th tribe of Israel... Terry was well read, in short.

===[[Trolls]]===
Discworld trolls are not creatures of flesh and blood. Instead they consist of metamorphorical rock: rock that takes the form of the stones and minerals around them. Trolls are nocturnal because of their biology: they have silicon brains, that work slower when exposed to warmth. This means that they're more intelligent and faster at night while being dumb and sluggish during the day. Likewise, trolls living up in the mountains become less intelligent when going down to warmer places like Ankh-Morpork. When a troll's brain is sufficiently chilled, the troll can become extremely intelligent, their silicon brains essentially serving as computer chips. Trolls can freeze to death this way, but they'd die long after any creature of living flesh would have perished.

While trolls are more or less immortal, growing their entire lives, as they get older and bigger they become more sluggish and more inclined to sit around and think (which is why trolls call getting old "getting philosophical"). Truly ancient trolls are the size and shape of mountains, eroding in interesting ways and [[JoJo's Bizarre Adventure|eventually getting so lost in thought that they just never come back]].

Because of their silicon-based biochemistry, their booze is hideously toxic to humans and will likely devour the glass it is served in as well as the table beneath it. Likewise, the trollish diet consists mostly of rocks. To chew their way through this they have diamond teeth, who are very valued by humans and dwarfs alike.

Trolls hold that once in a while, a troll is born whose body consist of nothing but diamond. This physique helps immensely to cool down the troll's brain, making them extremely intelligent even when standing in the burning sun. These trolls are seen as semi-mythical beings, and when one is born they are destined to be kings amongst trolls. They all carry the same name, though it always refers to one individual at a time: Mr. Shine. [[meme|Him diamond]].

===Igors===
Technically human, the Igors are a clan distinct enough to notice. As their name suggests, they are based on the hunchbacked laboratory assistants from old Universal and Hammer horror movies: they lisp, they limp a bit, look quite ugly, help in their master's unwholsome experiments and so on. They are extremely skilled at appearing behind you as you call them, opening doors just before you knock them, gunking up door hinges so they creak, finding whatever unusual materials their master might need, and sensing thunderstorms days in advance. On top of this, they tend to act like butlers as well: they clean (except for cobwebs, they cultivate those), cook and run errands. The code of an Igor is simple:

* Never question the master
* Never pass judgement
* Never grumble

Igor freelancers are rare because they like to work for people like vampires, mad scientists and the nobility of Überwald (the Disc's version of eastern Europe). They can be quite the traditional sort, insisting on calling their employers "marthter" or "mithtreth" and like to generally indulge in the traditional things you'd expect from an Igor. They serve loyally but up to a point: when the angry mob comes a'knocking they will hightail it out of there with no regards for their master's safety. Vampires are a personal favorite to work for, because of their employer's schedule they have plenty of time to indulge in their calling: surgery.

Igors are immensely skilled with needle and thread, being able to patch up pretty much any wound that did not kill someone (or when it did, make it look like it didn't). This makes them incredibly valued as surgeons, being able to reattach limbs, stitch up anything up to and including decapitation and know how to improve the human body. Regions where Igors are common have something like a public health care system involving them: all injuries an Igor can heal are patched up free of charge. However, upon death (and Igors somehow know exactly when this is) they come knocking, asking to havest any organs they might like in return for whatever procedure was done. This is done with the utmost respect for the dead, and once an Igor is done the body will look none the worse (not worse than dead, at least). Refusal is unheard of, mainly because if this is done the Igor will just shrug and leave, and no Igor will ever help the deceased's family ever again.

Igors are really into body modifications, but not on the level of [[Franken Fran]]. They will always look for ways to improve the body, whether through their own handiwork or by ways of transplants. They can remove a damaged kidney and replace it with a fully functioning one with ease and good survival rates for patients, which is surprising given the technology level of the Disc. When an Igor dies they are completely taken apart so that the parts can, in essence, be given a second life. Even brains are removed if possible, so that when someone suffers braindeath their dead brain can be replaced with another and, well, you keep meeting old friends like this.

The Igors are one big clan. When you mention one they immediately know which Igor you are talking about (but can get annoyed when other people don't get this). Female Igors exist as well and are called Igorina. Unlike their male counterparts who are quite hideous to behold, Igorinas are beautiful, with only a few stichings in unobtrusive places to show their allegiance. This makes them quite the catch for men, but the same goes for male Igors. Young ladies seem to like them quite a bit despite their looks; it is hinted at that this is because of their huge, ahem, skill sets.

===Orcs===
A species created by the dark lord, the primary ingredient being humans. These versions lack the green skin that other species of orcs have but do have all the other gifts to make them an orc. Due to their involvement with the dark lord they have been hunted to near extinction, the rare cases being Mr nut who worked at the unseen university and a small tribe somewhere in Uberwald. The orcs contain something known as the little brother that heals them from any wound even near fatal, it also may contribute to the strength and size change that they go through. this size manipulation can best be described as the more confident and proud the ork the bigger they get and vice versa.

==Locations==
===Ankh-Morpork===
{{Topquote|Quanti Canicula Ille In Fenestra|The motto of the city of Ankh-Morpork}}

The largest city on the Discworld, the capital of mercantile, a cultural melting pot and a hive where scum and villainy rule by law. Something of a bizarre mix of London, Florence, and Amsterdam (with the author saying it resembles large parts of 19th century Prague), the Big Wahoonie (as it is sometimes called) is located at where the fertile Sto Plains meet the Circle Sea by ways of the River Ankh. This river is one of the vilest, unhealthy, life-bearing (which in case of a river like this is NOT a good thing) and toughest bodies of water in fiction. The sludge is tough enough to draw a chalk line on, you can walk across if you keep the pace up, no ship devised by the hands of man can sail its waters and the bloody thing tends to catch fire in the summer. Still, the people of the city are proud of their very own River of Life.

The founding of Ankh-Morpork is shrouded in legend. Some sources claim [[Rome|it was founded by twin brothers raised by a hippopotamus]]. The animal is the royal animal of Ankh. Eight stone hippopotamoi decorate the Brass Bridge, and legend states that if the city is ever in danger they will come to life and run away. Another legend states that long ago there was a great flood, and an ark was built to save two of every animal from it. After forty days and forty nights, all the dung from these animals was thrown overboard and people called it "Ankh-Morpork".

Ankh-Morpork used to be a kingdom, but the last king, Lorenzo the Kind, was overthrown and subsequently executed for torture and (implied) pedophilia. His executioner, Stoneface Vimes, wanted to introduce democracy to the city. [[Fail|This was voted against]], since the public saw it as "the rulers of the city don't want to do their bloody jobs", and in the end Old Stoneface himself got executed for regicide. Nowadays, Ankh-Morpork is run by an official called the Patrician as part of a non-hereditary oligarchic system, appointed by the various powers in the city. In practice most Patricians were just as bad as their royal predecessors, but they were a lot more tolerable since they were also a lot more replaceable.

The current Patrician, Havelock Vetinari, has decided to do things differently. Inheriting a city that was corrupt and crumbling he began to train it like a dog. Thieves were allowed to found their own guild and work semi-legally (they have to carry ID cards may only steal from people within certain quotas), the Seamstresses (hem hem) organised and even the guild of Assassins was allowed to function in the open. The guilds take violation of the internal rules very seriously and are allowed to punish transgressors that would otherwise be tried by the city. Guilds were made clear that a lower, but continuous source of revenue is better than large chunks of it laced with daggers in the back. This allowed the city to not only grow, but also prosper. Nobody (whether they are in power or not) likes Vetinari, but they prefer him in charge rather than someone under the thumb of a rival guild. Meanwhile, Lord Vetinari acts completely in the interst of the city with next to no ego, has no vices he indulges in, does not act like a despot despite being one and fully understands and acts on the human desire to have tomorrow be just like today. It also helps that he has now made his own presence (or more subtley, the prescence of his kind of governance) an integral component of keeping the city going.

Unless you're a mime of course, in which case Vetinari will have you hung upside down in the scorpion pit. LEARN THE WORDS.

Under Vetinari's rule the Pax Morporkia turned from "Resist and we'll kill you" that was common under the monarchy to "Resist and we'll call in your mortgage". Ankh-Morpork has no standing army and instead relies on being the primary business partner of the nations around them, allowing the city to financially ruin anyone trying to invade them. If it actually needs to fight, it "Calls up the Regiments" which means that anyone who's a rich noble has the right to equip, recruit and retain a force of fighting men. The city has also started to see a large influx of migrants: humans, dwarfs, troll, gnomes and even the undead flock to the city in droves. While they generate some problems, above all they generate revenue. Vetinari has been very open to this growth, claiming that alloys are stronger.

===Lancre===
A small kingdom up in the Ramtops (the mountains near the center of the world). For the most part it's the Shire if it had been put up on a mountain Plateau, mostly home to simple set in their ways folk (not to be confused with stupid) as well as a trio of witches. Nominally based off of the West Country of England and more specifically South Buckinghamshire. Prone to invasion by a variety of fantasical forces and more than capable of being defended by the aforementiond witches. Keeps trying to make itself relevant to the modern world, which the outside world (and everyone in the kingdom barring its king) gently ignore.

===Clatch===
The not!India/Middle East/Mediterranean; it's hot, sandy, jungly or greeky, depending on the region. It's very diverse, from the Djelibeybi (not!Egypt), through Tsort and Ephebe (not!GreekCityStates), to Klatch and Klatchistan (the not!Indian countries) and Omnia (not!Jerusalem, kinda). It's main exports are curry, philosophers, and Offler The Crocodile God.

===Uberwald===
The not!Transylvania/Balkans; where it's not mountains, it's valleys and creeks, with hardly a flat surface to find. It's full of vampires, werewolves, dwarves, people who bar their windows when the dusk approaches. The main export good of Uberwald is fat, mined from beneath the mountains.

===XXXX===
The not!Australia; surrounded by a near-constant stormy winds that keep most sailors away from it. XXXX is the Creator's sandbox, chock full of half-finished creature designs, and creatures that just didn't make the cut and wouldn't be able to make it anywhere else, where the survival pressures are higher. In-universe, it is pronounced as "Fourecks". This is because XXXX Castlemaine is a brand of Aussie beer that was quiet popular in the UK in the Nineties.

===Counterweight Continent===
The not!China; its name comes from the fact that it counterweights the rest of Discworld. How? Well, it's very, very, very heavy... because it's full of gold. Gold is so common on the CC, that it's near worthless to its inhabitants. The continent and its main city get invaded by a group of elderly barbarians, lead by Cohen, and somewhat aided by Rincewind, the least lucky wizzzard to ever live.

===Genoa===
The not!Genua/New Orleans; it's a Disenyland-style castle-city, surrounded by slums, all sitting in the middle of a swamp. The city is known for its not!MardiGras carnival event, excellent food, and voodoo magic.

===Quirm===
The not!Firenze or an amalgamation of every relevant Italian Renaissance City-State, like Venezia, Mediolan, Firenze, Bolonia, and what have you. Notable mostly for Leonard of Quirm, the incredible Inventor, who comes up with stuff like the Discworld's first rifle (the Gonne), or the clacks telecommunications system.

==The Books==
The Discworld series consists primarily of two series of books: the main series and the young adult novels. The former is the series of 34 books that people will think of when hearing "Discworld", and contains the most famous stories. The young adult novels are a half-dozen books aimed at younger audiences. Then there are the various spinoffs like a pair of children's books, the illustrated version of two other books and a variety of short stories and supportive material. Most of the books are parodying a specific thing first and foremost with some general asides.

===Main series===
====The Color of Magic====
Target of Satire: General Fantasy.

Debut of Rincewind. The world's first tourist, Twoflower, shows up in Ankh-Morpork. Rincewind, a failed wizard, is tasked with protecting him. This book is notable for being a parody of various tropes common in the fantasy genre like [[Vancian]] magic and parodies things like [[D&D]], Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser, [[Conan the Barbarian]], [[H.P. Lovecraft]]'s work and more. This book is meant to set up the world of the Disc and, as a result, feels like only half of a greater story, part two of which is...

====The Light Fantastic====
Focus of Satire: General Fantasy.

It's a direct sequel to the first book, the first and last time this happens. This one has less of the world-building and single chapter adventures, replacing them instead with a more singular storyline. Makes fun of the fantasy genre as a whole again; Conan the Barbarian, the maiden in distress trope, the occasional dig at [[Tolkien]] and much more. Theoretically you COULD skip book one and go straight to this (they sum the major information points up, and this one is, marginally, better) but, regardless, the first book is still a good, fun read, as is this one.

====Equal Rites====
Focus of Satire: Gender Politics.

The debut of Granny Weatherwax, a witch who accompanies the little girl Eskarina to Unseen University in Ankh-Morpork to learn magic.

====Mort====
The debut of Death as a major character. Death feels like he should take on an apprentice and picks the farm boy Mort, which causes trouble when he tasks Mort to gather the soul of a princess. Mort doesn't want her to die so he saves her, causing all sorts of trouble.

====Sourcery====
Focus of Satire: General Fantasy, some Arabian Knights stuff.

The eighth son of an eighth son is a wizard. The eighth son of a wizard however is a Sourcerer, a wizard squared. Being an entity of intense magical power the Sourcerer Coin attempts to take over the world at behest of the spirit of his father, who inhabits the boy's magical staff.

====Wyrd Sisters====
Focus of Satire: Shakespeare (specifically Macbeth).

The debut of the Lancre Witches. King Verence of Lancre is murdered by his cousin Leonal Felmet. Felmet takes the throne and eventually turns on the witches, which is, as he learns, a very bad idea.

====Pyramids====
Focus of Satire: Ancient Egypt and Ancient Greece

A standalone book (or part of an aborted sub series). Prince Teppic of Djelibeybi finishes his education at the Guild of Assassins in Ankh-Morpork and learns that his father has passed on, making him the new king of a heavily Egyptian-inspired kingdom. He travels back home only to find the court dominated by the ancient high priest Dios.

====Guards! Guards!====
Focus of Satire: Police, monarchy, disposable fantasy mooks, Dragon focused fantasy and the bits of The Hobbit directly relating to Dragons.

Debut of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch. Carrot Ironfoundersson is a dwarf who isn't. A human orphan, found and raised by dwarfs in the mountains, at the urging of his father Carrot goes to Ankh-Morpork to join the city's Night Watch, an esteemed and honorable institute. Or so he's told: in practice the Dwarves have their info a few generations out of date, and by now there's only three people in the Night Watch: the alcoholic Captain Vimes, the bumbling Sergeant Colon and the petty thief Corporal Nobbs. Possessing an immense sense of duty and a matching heap of charisma, Carrot and the other watchmen get dragged into a plot involving a shadowy group summoning a dragon in an attempt to install a puppet ruler on the throne of the city.

====Eric====
Focus of Satire: Faust.

The shortest of the main line Discworld books, the titular demonologist summon what he thinks to be a demon, only to get Rincewind bound to him. Basically a bunch of loosely linked vignettes.

====Moving Pictures====
Focus of Satire: Holywood

Debut of CMOT Dibbler as a major character and lays the foundation for the Wizards, as well as Gaspaud the Wonder Dog. Alchemists in Ankh-Morpork discover how to capture moving images and project them onto a screen. An entire industry dedicated to making these moving pictures pops up in the Holy Wood, located not too far from the city. But the threat to this new industry is not just because of Dibbler's business practices...

====Reaper Man====
Debut of the Auditors of Reality. The agents of the cosmic bureaucracy, the Auditors of Reality, decide that Death has become too human and is sentenced to live amongst mortals. But with Death out of the way nobody dies, which floods the world with life. This turns out to be a Very Bad Thing when Ankh-Morpork is beset by a living shopping mall.

====Witches Abroad====
Focus of Satire: Vacations and Fairy Tales.

Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg and Magrat Garlick travel to Genua (not-quite <s>New Orleans</s> Genoa) in an attempt to, for a change, prevent a servant girl from marrying a prince. While doing so they come into conflict with Lilith, a woman Granny Weatherwax knows all too well.

====Small Gods====
Focus of Satire: Religion.

A standalone book. The Omnian Empire (which is sort of like if the Spanish Inquisition was run by [[Paranoia|Friend Computer]]) holds that the worship of the Great God Om comes above all. The novice Brutha finds a turtle dropped by an eagle, but is surprised to find that the turtle talks. Om has turned into a turtle because the people's faith has slowly been draining from Om into the church itself, meaning that he lost all his power and has been turned into this state. The book is infamous for fucking up the timeline: in ''Pyramids'' Omnia is as described in this book, but in later books it is far different, with changes that could not have happened in the mere years between the books.

====Lords and Ladies====
Focus of Satire: Shakespeare (specifically A Mid Summer Night's Dream)

The Lancre Witches come into conflict with [[Changeling: The Lost|the Fae]], who enter the Discworld from their own parasitic universe. This happens right around Magrat's impending wedding with the king of Lancre.

====Men at Arms====
Focus of Satire: Policing in a diverse society, [[Firearm]]s in Fantasy.

Debut of Angua and Detrius as a major character. Captain Vimes is going to marry and retire from the watch within the week. Before he goes though he has to train three new minority recruits he was forced to take on by Lord Vetinari: Detrius the troll, Cuddy the dwarf and Angua the w-, eh, that should be obvious. Meanwhile, a retired assassin deduces that corporal Carrot might very well be the heir to the throne of the city and hatches a plot to put Carrot there, all the while using an ancient and banned object.

====Soul Music====
Focus of Satire: Rock and Roll.

Debut of Susan. The elf-ish Llamedosian musician Imp y Celyn chafes at the rigid ways of making music in his native village and decides to make his way to Ankh-Morpork to make a living with his music there. After some initial hurdles and the breaking of his old instrument he buys a guitar from a mysterious shop that disappears and appears all over the place. The instrument seems to have a mind of its own, and while it plays some very powerful music it takes a toll on his psyche. Meanwhile, Death's granddaughter Suzan puts the powers in her blood that were passed down by her grandfather (somehow...) to the test as she tries to save Imp from himself.

====Interesting Times====
Focus of Satire: East Asia.

Rincewind is forced by the wizards to go to the Agatean Empire, located on the Counterweight Continent. Here he encounters old friends and is pulled into a rebellion against the overbearing empire, very much against his will.

====Maskerade====
Focus of Satire: The Phantom of the Oprah.

Phantom of the Opera redux. Now that Magrat is a queen Granny and Nanny need a third witch to fill out their coven. Their eye falls on Agnes Nitt, a sizable young woman with an amazing singing voice, who has recently moved to Ankh-Morpork to join the opera. The people there are very much impressed with her voice, but finds herself an understudy to the much less talented, intelligent and sizable Christine. While Agnes doesn't want anything to do with witchery, she cannot help but think like a witch when faced with the mysterious and murderous Phantom. Of the opera.

====Feet of Clay====
Focus of Satire: Police Procedurals and Whodunits. AND robot fiction, e.g. Asimov.

Debut of Cheery Littlebottom. The City Watch is larger and more effective than ever. Their first major case is a pair of murders that may or may not involve [[golem]]s, the clay automatons working in the city. At the same time the Watch has to deal with the poisoning of Lord Vetinari, which puts the city in a delicate position.

====Hogfather====
Focus of Satire: Christmas.

Susan has taken up a job as a governess, trying to live a normal live despite all the supernatural things happening around her. Meanwhile, the Auditors of Reality hatch a plot to have the Hogfather (the Discworld equivalent of Santa) assassinated, forcing Death to take his place. Regardless of what she wants, Susan is roped into the investigation of what happened to the Hogfather and ends up entangled in a plot involving both the monsters under our beds and the completely mundane people who should scare us more.

====Jingo====
Focus of Satire: Nationalism, Racism, Militarism and the Middle East.

The island of Leshp rises out of the sea, smack dab between Ankh-Morpork and the not-Arabic Klatch. When diplomatic efforts go awry it is up to Commander Vimes of the City Watch to keep the peace and find the would-be assassin of the Klatchian ambassador.

====The Last Continent====
Focus of Satire: Bladdy 'Straya, mate!

Rincewind is not dead, and in fact ended up on the continent of XXXX, where he does his usual running away from people who try to murder him. Meanwhile, the wizards try to find a cure for the Librarian's condition that interferes with his morphic field, causing him to switch into random animals and objects every time he sneezes. They discover that the only one who can help them with this would be Rincewind, and they set out on a quest to return him safely.

====Carpe Jugulum====
Focus of Satire: Vampire Fiction

Aside from their usual weaknesses, [[vampire]]s seem to have a psychological need to set up things for would-be heroes to easily slay them: curtains that can be pulled aside easily, objects that can be used as improvised holy icons, chairs with sharp legs that can be used as stakes and so on. A new generation of vampires, the de Magpyr family from Überwald, decides to adapt to this and set up shop in Lancre. This pits them against the witches and a soft-spoken Omnian reverend, the former of which know all too well how stories work.

====The Fifth Elephant====
Focus of Satire: Eastern Europe, Nazism, Spy Stuff

Commander Vimes is sent to Überwald on a diplomatic mission to attend the coronation of the Low King. With the theft of the Scone of Stone however this is made difficult, for without the Scone there can be no coronation. Meanwhile, Angua's past catches up to her and she needs to decide whether to return to her old life or stay with Carrot and the Watch.

====The Truth====
Focus of Satire: Journalism.

A standalone book. Scribe William de Worde teams up with a bunch of dwarfs to invent the printing press and essentially create the first newspaper. Meanwhile, the people who made an attempt to dethrone the Patrician return with a plot to replace him with a body double and hire Mr Pin and Mr Tulip (pretty much the Discworld version of Jules and Vincent from Pulp Fiction) to help them to this end.

====Thief of Time====
Focus of Satire: Martial Arts, Spy Stuff, Time Travel and In Universe Continuity.

The Auditors of Realty make an attempt to stop time. They employ clockmaker Jeremy Clockson to build a clock that, when turned on last time, stopped time and shattered history. The History Monks, a monastic tradition dedicated to the protection of time, apprentice the know-itall student Lobsang Ludd to the sweeper Lu-Tze, who is far, FAR more than he lets on. Lobsang discovers that he has a knack for working with the Procrastinators, machines that can manipulate time. The two of them are sent to Ankh-Morpork by the abbot of the History Monks to discover what made the Procrastinators go haywire. All the while, Death attempts to recruit Suzan and his fellow Horsemen to ride out to not end the world, but save it instead.

====Night Watch====
Focus of Satire: Political Revolution and Les Miserables.

Commander Vimes is cast thirty years back in time, alongside the murderer that he was chasing, as a result of Thief of Time's plot. Vimes ends up taking the place of his old mentor John Keel and begins to take a pivotal role in the civil war against the mad Patrician Lord Winder. It's like ''Les Mis'' meets ''Terminator 2'', except Valjean is a psychopath and Javert-slash-Ahnold doesn't die in the end... kind of.

====Monstrous Regiment====
Focus of Satire: British Military, Sharpe, Women dressing up as men to serve in the military.

Oliver Perks wants to join the army so that he can find out what happened to his brother. He has a rough time there not just because of the hardships his country is going through, but because he's actually a girl named Polly. She finds herself amongst a motley group of fellow soldiers lead by the naive but dutiful Lieutenant Blouse and the hard around the edges but very protective Sergeant Jackrum.

====Going Postal====
Focus of Satire: The Post Office, Communications

Debut of Moist von Lipwig. Albert Spangler is caught for theft, tried, convicted, hanged, buried and receives an orbituary. Moist von Lipwig, what he is actually called, wakes up in the Patrician's office instead. Vetinari makes him an offer: take a second round on the rope or become the new Postmaster of the defunct Ankh-Morpork Post Office. He is assigned a parole officer (a golem) and reluctantly sets out to do his new job. Moist is a man who not only takes refuge in audacity but builds up its defenses, raises an army of shooting targets, and makes war on logic. The new AMPO turns out to be a success, but this pits him against the powerful Grand Trunk, the company running the semaphores. The Grand Trunk does not like competition ruining their bottom line, which consists of ruthlessly exploiting the workers and ruining the company's working culture.

====Thud!====
Focus of Satire: Race Relations, generations old grudges and policing around said issues in a multicultural society.

Right before the anniversary of the Battle of Koom Valley (an old, grudge-setting battle between the trolls and dwarfs) a dwarfish ''grag'' gets his head smashed in. On the scene a troll club is found, driving up the tensions between trolls and dwarfs. Worse, the Watch is forced to employ a new recruit: Salacia von Humpeding, who is a vampire. While investigating the murder Vimes hurts his hand, and is starts to itch strangely. With the threat of an all-out war looming over them Vimes and the Watch have to solve one of their most important cases yet.

====Making Money====
Focus of Satire: Money (duh) and Economics, Banking

After his success at the AMPO Vetinari assigns Moist von Lipwig to the Royal Mint. He gets to meet the majority shareholder, a clever old lady who immediately makes Moist out for the crook that he is. She dies not soon afterwards, leaving her shares to her dog Mr Fusspot, leaves the dog to Moist... as well as a significant contract on his head if something were to happen to the dog. Of course, the woman's family is not happy with this and try their very best to get Moist out of business or life, whichever comes first. Unfortunately for them, Moist too tries his very best to avoid this fate.

====Unseen Academicals====
Romeo and Juliet... WITH FOOTBALL! The Patrician tries to civilize the old game of Foot-the-Ball, complete with the traditional Foot-The-Ball hooliganry. The wizards end up getting involved, but they require a coach. The UU servant Mr. Nutt helps them out with this, but he turns out to be far more than meets the eye.

====Snuff====
Focus of Satire: Pride and Prejudice, travellers and gypsies, and detective series such Poirot and Midsomer Murders.

Commander Vimes is dragged off on a holiday to the countryside. Being all to aware of what happenes the last time he went on one (see The Fifth Elephant), he is none too surprise to find that there was a murder. But nobody in the area seems to care on account of the victim being a goblin. Vimes however disagrees: a crime is a crime and criminals must be punished. He finds no allies in the area, with the local police actually working against him. But this does not stop Vimes, putting him in what is one of the more heavy-handed stories in the series. [[Wat|And Nobby gets a girlfriend]].

====Raising Steam====
Moist von Lipwig is once again given a new job: help develop the train line from Bonk all the way via Zemphis, Sto Lat and Ankh-Morpork to Quirm. This to the ire of Dwarfish fundamentalists who try to saboutage the rail line in every possible way in an attempt to dethrone the Low King, who is currently in Quirm for an intenational summit. Moist is charged with bringing the Low King home safely, but few things go as planned.

====The Shepherd's Crown====
The last book Terry Pratchett wrote before he dies. [[meme|mayherestinpeace]]. Anyway, The book begin with the death of Granny Weatherwax. [[meme|maysherestinpeace]]. Her death not only felt by everyone in Lancre, but also weakened the barrier of the world that allows the lovecraftian Elves to invade the world. Tiffany the young witch will had to stop the elves invasion.

==Characters==
The Discworld books have a vast amount of characters spread all over them, and the books frequently switch between points of view of the various characters. It's not as bad as [[A Song of Ice and Fire]], but there's still a massive cast spread throughout the books, many of whom are recurring characters. The characters below are sorted by sub-series.

===Ankh-Morpork City Watch===
"Fabricati Diem, Pvnc"
- AMCW motto (truncated from original "Fabricati Diem, Pvncti Agvnt Celeriter")
* '''Samuel Vimes''' is a cop through and through. He became captain during the decline of the Night Watch, which drove him to drink. During the events involving a dragon making a grab for power Vimes met Lady Sybil Ramkin, one of the foremost nobles in the city. They fell in love and eventually got married, launching him to the top of the social ladder. This did little for his cynicism (but did cure his tendencies as a drunkard) as he now finds that he is the establishment that he opposes. It's all quite zen. Over the course of the books Vimes develops a reputation as an incorruptible badass who arrested Vetinari and lived, arrested two armies for attempted murder, fought werewolves with his bare hands and (while not a lot of people know this) bested an ancient demon of vengeance in a battle of wills. He is a living example of the notion that being [[Lawful Good]] does not mean that you have to be nice.
:* '''Sybil Ramkin''' is the only remaining scion of the Ramkin family, one of the foremost real estate owners of the city. This means that her wealth is well into the millions, making her one of the richest people in the city. A fair deal of money goes to her hobby and calling: the breeding of swamp dragons. She is an authority on the subject and gladly carries the burden of caring for the little things, namely having all your hair burned off. She is an extremly nice and pleasant woman who can get along with people almost as well as Carrot does. She eventually falls in love with and marries Vimes, who loves her dearly but chafes at the trappings of the rich nobility. She takes an old-fashioned approach to the wedded life, insisting on personally cooking for her husband (who tolerates her lack of skill as long as he isn't waited on hand and foot). Despite growing up in the comfort of nobility she's a massive woman who towers over her husband, a result of her barbarian-warlord genes.
:* '''Willikins''' is the butler of the Ramkin family, having been with them since he was a boy. He appears to be the standard snarky-but-polite butler, but he used to be in a gang and can still kill you with whatever he's got on him. He is almost as dangerous in a fight as Vimes, with much less holding him back from straight-up murdering you if you threaten anyone in the household.
* '''Carrot Ironfoundersson''' is a dwarf... all 6'6" of him. A young man found and raised by dwarfs, he eventually came to Ankh-Morpork to have it make a man of him. He joined the Night Watch and was instrumental in making the Watch what it is today. Carrot possesses MASSIVE amounts of charisma and naivete, which serve as his main weapons of choice: he treats everyone like jolly good chaps, and they don't have the heart to prove him wrong. Despite this, he's also massively strong, possessing a punch capable of flooring a troll. Readers have noted that while some scenes describe him from another character's point of view and other scenes describe him, but not his point of view, there has never been a scene that describes things from ''his'' point of view. This has lead people (both in-universe and real life) to suspect that Carrot is a lot smarter than he lets on and might be playing everyone for some reason. It's pretty much said outright that he's the heir to the throne of Ankh-Morpork, but all evidence of this fact tends to "disappear". About as [[Lawful Good]] as you can get: he sticks to the rules and makes them work for him.
* '''Sergeant Frederick Colon''' has been with the Watch longer than anyone, even Vimes. He appears to be a fat bumbling old fool but underneath that he's... well, he's still a fat bumbling old fool, but he occasionally does something extremely useful. He is a very nice man even if not sharp on the uptake, and knows a lot of retired cops, old friends and former criminals with whom he'll gladly make small talk, which makes him the Watch's unofficial one-man intelligence division. However, putting him in command is ill-advised, as he ''will'' crack under the pressure.
* '''Corporal Cecil Wormsborough St. John "Nobby" Nobbs''' is human. No, seriously, he has an official-looking piece of paper proving it. Extremely ugly, has lots of bad habits, is a petty criminal in his own right and has an odor best left undescribed, Nobby still somehow manages to be liked by people by virtue of his "charisn'tma" and the fact that you could trust your life to him, though you'd be daft to trust him with tuppence. He gets along great with Sergeant Colon (often being on patrol with him), frequently popping up in books to comment on the crazy happenings ''"do jury"'', as he would say. Is skilled at peacekeeping (that is, being on patrol in areas with lots of peace to keep), crime prevention (staying away from certain areas so he doesn't steal anything there) and guarding city landmarks against theft (more common than it may seem in Ankh-Morpork thanks to one "Bloody Stupid" Johnson, a gifted-and-very-untalented architect who made landmarks that could double as novelty miniatures).
* '''Delphine Angua von Überwald''' came to the city to escape her deranged family and shameful past, then turned out to have a nose for sensitive cases. She has the tendency to be, in her own words, quite the bitch, but still gets along fine with the rest of the watch, including her boyfriend Carrot. While often cynical towards him and his innocence she cannot help but walk after him like a puppy. Dogged by the feelings that come up in her every month or so she tries her best to keep herself in check and do her job. The head of the City Watch's dog brigade, she can sniff out clues that no other member possibly could. She frequently finds herself being taken hostage, only to turn the tables on her hostage takers and turning them into whimpering wrecks. She also frequently works with special police informant Gaspode; the two of them like each other more than they let on.
* '''Sergeant Detritus''' is a troll on the rise. Starting out as a splatter (like a bouncer, but trolls use more force) for the Mended Drum, he joined the City Watch after a brief stint in showbiz. He quickly turned out into a natural sergeant, shouting at people until they got in line. Tends to be quite literal-minded and too dumb to fool, but is a good cop and a good troll nonetheless. His weapon of choice is the Piecemaker, a siege crossbow originally designed to shoot metal bars through city gates. He likes to load it with bundles of arrows, turning the thing into a massive shotgun capable of leveling anything and everything that is not directly behind him, including trees, birds flying several hundred feet overhead, and the occasional house. Is very staunchly anti-drugs, which makes sense given how overdose-related deaths by troll drugs are both incredibly common and incredibly messy.
* '''Cheery "Cheri" Littlebottom''' is the Watch's forensics expert. A former alchemist hired to fight crime WITH SCIENCE. A bit shy and hates to yell at people, which is why her promotion took a while despite her great competence. Became a leader in the dwarfish women movement when she started to wear makeup, earrings and wear skirts, kickstarting it with the encouragement of her close friend Angua.
* '''Salacia Deloresista Amanita Trigestatra Zeldana Malifee [...] von Humpeding''', aka Sally. The first vampire in the Watch, much to Vimes' dismay. Despite her looks she's in her early 50s, easily putting her in the top of oldest Watch members. A fine cop in her own right, she eventually leaves the Watch to join the Watch in Bonk, with her position as a Sammy (a cop who worked under Sam Vimes) carrying much prestige.
* '''Visit-The-Infidels-With-Explanatory-Pamphlets''' is an Omnian and the most religious member of the Watch. On his off days he and his fellow Omnian "Smite-The-Unbeliever-With-Cunning-Arguments" spread the good word of Om, much to the dismay of everyone else.
* '''Dorfl''' is a golem, hired by Vimes to piss off the establishment. The first golem who with the ability to talk, in and of itself an act of blasphemy, he is an unstoppable juggernaut capable of walking through doors and walls alike and can manhandle trolls the same way trolls take on humans. As a free golem he saves up his wages to purchase other golems, whom he then frees and asks to help free other golems in the same way. Despite being incredibly intimidating, he is also an incredibly moral being, having forged his own personal code of conduct after Carrot gave him full responsibility for his own actions.
* '''Reginald "Reg" Shoe''' is a zombie and a natural activist. He died during the events of Night Watch and was allowed to join the Watch because Vimes wanted to stick it to the establishment. A good cop who keeps his stuff together despite he himself falling apart frequently.

===Death and Company===
* '''Death''' is the anthropomorphic personification of death, which manifests as a traditional "Grim Reaper" figure (a scythe-carrying skeleton in a black robe). Initially portrayed as an actively malevolent figure in the first two books, he was subsequently retconned as being a very devoted professional who has become increasingly ''fond'' of sapient life over his long service. Being a personification, he has absolutely no proper understanding of human life, but his fascination leads him to keep trying, which tends to go quite wrong.
* '''Susan''' is Death's grand-daughter, by virtue of her mom having been Death's adoptive daughter and her dad having been Death's temporary apprentice. Unfortunately, her parents were so ashamed of their connections to Death that they brought Susan up with a strictly logical mindset and a belief in rationalism... which, given she lives in the Discworld, which can't make contact with either without the aid of a long stick and a lot of shouting, tends to leave her perpetually frustrated. She has white hair with a black streak in it, and when she blushes she develops three long red marks on her otherwise pale cheeks - when her father quit Death's service, the angry skeleton pimp-slapped him before letting him go, and that scar has carried down in a typical display of Discworld inheritance. This also gives her many of Death's inherent powers, like a mind-controlling voice and the ability to go ethereal when she wants.
* '''The Death of Rats''' is a rat, or at least the skeleton of a rat, who presides over the demise of rats, hamsters and other tiny rodents. Only speaks in capital SQUEAKS. Sometimes goes around mounted on a raven named Quoth (get it? Quoth the Raven?). Irks Susan on a regular basis by getting dragging her into events that involve her grandfather and/or the fate of the Disc.
* '''Albert''' is Death's manservant and the first Archchancellor of the Unseen University. He figured that he could become immortal by reversing the rite of Ashe-Kente, used to summon and interrogate Death. It... sort of worked? Essentially, it teleported him to Death's realm, where time stands still, and he's stayed there ever since as he finds it a comfortable enough existence. Most of the time he does the cleaning (which isn't a lot), receive guests (grumble at them), cook (he deep fries EVERYTHING) and help out the workers to make Death's mansion more like a human mansion by installing plumbing and a kitchen. A proudly self-professed evil-tempered old bugger, Albert acts humble to his master, but is still a wizard of the Old School, which means he's got a ''lot'' of boom hidden up his sleeves if he ever deigns to use it.

===Lancre, including the local coven of Witches===
* '''Esmeralda "Granny" Weatherwax''' is the most infamous witch in the Ramtops Mountains and alongside Samuel Vimes is Pratchett's iconic "Good Don't Mean Nice" character. By her own admission born to be "the bad witch", that karmic role was screwed up when her psychotic sister Lily instead became a truly ''evil'' witch whilst still thinking of herself as the good one, leaving a void that Granny felt compelled to fill. She is short-tempered, abrasive, doesn't suffer fools, and imperious, but firmly believes in making the hard choices and doing what's right. It's well-acknowledged that she is "The Crone" of her personal coven, but everyone in the Ramtops discreetly refers to that archetype as "The Other One", especially if it appears she's not within earshot. A formidably powerful magic user, she is nonetheless a great advocate of not using magic and instead relying on "headology" - a mixture of down-to-earth common sense, folk remedies, observational skill and her own hefty reputation - to look more mystical and mysterious, because most of the time that’s all you really need.
* '''Gytha "Nanny" Ogg''' is the beloved matriarch of the sprawling Ogg clan of the Ramtops Mountains, an affable and rotund old lady who has lost none of the endearing raunchiness that she developed over a youth as a lusty, highly sexual woman. She is "The Mother" of her coven, combining both lecherously good-humored attitude and a warm, maternal nature; people may fear and respect Granny, but they genuinely ''like'' Nanny, something that Granny Weatherwax sometimes shows signs of envying. It's been implied that she's actually more magically powerful than Granny, but it's just that A: she's too lazy to really use it, B: she gets a lot more sympathy for coming in second and C: she doesn't want to upset Granny by letting her find out.
* '''Magrat Garlick''' is the much-put-upon youngest member of the original coven. If Granny Weatherwax is the fairytale wicked witch turned good and Nanny Ogg is the wise earth mother, then Magrat is the good-hearted but soft-headed neo-pagan, who finds herself in over her head when her blissfully dreamy ideals are confronted with the cold, hard realism of her superiors. Despite everything, Magrat does have a heart of gold and dearly wants to help - even if most just ignore her "clearly dotty" ideas and suggestions - and she's got a core of steel deep, deep down inside.
* '''Agnes "Perdita X Dream" Nitt''' is the chubby "replacement Maiden" for the coven after Magrat leaves it by marrying the King (ex-Fool) of Lancre. A generally mild, inoffensive and shy girl, she's not unattractive but is the result of Lancre selecting for a Brawn Hilda style of beauty and hates herself for it. "Perdita X Dream" is Agnes' idealised fantasy self, a sharp-tongued, aggressive, take-charge version of Agnes who would take no crap from anybody... unfortunately, being a witch caused this fantasy self to become its own split personality and she now lives in Agnes' head, snarkily commenting on Agnes' actions and looking for a chance to steal control of Agnes' body.
* '''Jason Ogg''' is the eldest son of Nanny Ogg. Said to be the greatest blacksmith and farrier in the world: as long as he's got the horseshoes for it he can put them on it. One of his frequent customers is Death, who occasionally drops by to get Binky shod. A soft-spoken giant of a man who can pick up a pair of adult men by the scruff of their necks.
* '''Shawn Ogg''' is the jack-of-all-trades at Lancre Castle. If it doesn't require special training he does it with enthusiasm and skill: he delivers mail and messages, serves food, patrols the castle and performs any other odd jobs that need doing. He is also a one-man army, in that he is the entire complement of Lancre's standing army (except when he is lying down).

===Wizards===
* '''Rincewind''' is a cowardly and cynical wizard who has absolutely no talent whatsoever at magic but does have the attention of The Lady (the Disc's unnamed Goddess of Luck, both good and bad), which ensures his life is a neverending stream of dangerous and terrifying misadventures. Talented at running, jogging, sprinting, hoofing it, and surviving things that no man should. His only other skill is his knack for languages, allowing him to beg for mercy in nineteen spoken tongues, and even wider variety of gestures.
* '''Mustrum Ridcully''' is the Unseen University's Archchancellor for most of the series, and effectively combines traits of the traditional wizard with that of the stereotype of the gruff, outgoing huntin'-and-sportin' British gentleman.
* '''The Librarian''' is a wizard and the Unseen University's librarian (obviously) who was polymorphed into an orangutan by a surge of wild magic in the second novel and chose to stay in that form afterwards, as it allowed him to much more effectively work in the library.
* '''Ponder Stibbons''': The youngest and most scientifically minded of UU's faculty who's basically running the discworld's version of the Manhattan project in the High Energy Magic building. Also technically holds the most power in UU, as he holds enough positions to give him the controlling vote on what little the faculty actually bother to decide on pursuing.
* '''The Bursar''' of Unseen University was originally a very mild-mannered chap whose only failing was not quitting his thankless job as UU’s accountant. Sadly, the constant abuse seems to have gotten to him over the years, as he is now quite insane. However, his skill with sums is completely unaffected by the madness, so all he needs to function in polite society is a hefty dose of drugs.
* '''The Chair of Indefinite Studies'''
* '''The Dean''' is a big fat jerk.
* '''The Lecturer in Recent Runes'''
* '''The Senior Wrangler'''
* '''Professor John Hix''' is the head of the Necrom-*ahem* Post-Mortem Communications department at UU. Required to be evil by University law, but actually quite mild-mannered, he is also a keen member of the local amateur dramatics society.

===Citizens of Ankh-Morpork===
* '''Havelock Vetinari, the Patrician''' is the official Tyrant of Ankh-Morpork, a trained Assassin who showcased his intelligence even as a youth by realizing how much the Guild's focus on ''style'' (wearing pitch-black clothes instead of drab camouflage patterns, for instance) impeded its actual effectiveness. Though he could, as he repeatedly points out, rule as a brutal despot, he favors instead using a network of spies and agents to manipulate the city into working the way he wants it (and because he's an extremely clever man, it actually works). A magnificent scheming bastard, he's often seen as invincible and prepared for absolutely everything, though he has been caught off-guard a few times due to truly ludicrous levels of [[wat]].
* '''Rufus Drumknott''' is Vetinari's loyal and almost deliberately dull assistant. While you may suspect him of being an Assassin or a bodyguard, this is one more misdirection on Vetinari's part; Vetinari needs no bodyguard, as he is perfectly capable of disposing of any assailants himself.
* '''Moist von Lipwig''' is a former con artist with an addiction to adrenaline and a serious aversion to violence. Officially, he was executed under the name Albert Spangler for various cons, swindles, and flim-flams. Unofficially, however, he’s alive and well, having been recruited by Vetinari to clean up Ankh-Morpork’s antiquated civil services. Has such a ridiculously average face that it's nearly impossible to pick him out of a crowd unless he's wearing his trademark gold suit or acting with his usual dynamism.
* '''Adora Belle Dearheart''' is the sharp-tempered, abrasive, cutting-tongued, chain-smoking head of the Golem Trust, who gets on better with golems than she does with people. Eventually becomes Moist's girlfriend and subsequently wife.
* '''Lord Downey'''' is the head of the Assassin's Guild. A cheerful, honorable gentleman who's pleasant demeanor mostly covers the fact that he's in charge of some of the deadliest killers for hire on the Disc.
* '''William de Worde''' is an idealistic nobleman who becomes the leader of Ankh-Morpork's first newspaper.
* '''Gaspode the Wonder Dog''' is an ugly, disease-riddled mongrel of a dog who became sapient and capable of speech after eating out of the rubbish dumps of Unseen University. Cynical and sarcastic, he mostly makes a living begging for food, taking advantage of the fact that most people mistake his words for their own thoughts. Consistently caught between his primal, self-reliant nature and his desire to be a Good Dog.
* '''Cut-Me-Own-Throat Dibbler''', also known as CMOT Dibbler or simply Throat is a surprisingly effective street vendor who specializes in selling goods of extremely dubious quality, most commonly his infamous series of mystery meat: meat pies, kebabs, and of course the inimitable, incomparable, and truly indigestible Sausage-Inna-Bun. Has a variety of lookalikes in every culture on the Disc, because wherever people are prepared to buy horrifically overpriced street food there will inevitably be somebody to sell it.
* '''Leonard of Quirm''' is the incredibly intelligent and multi-talented but super-naive and gentle mad inventor of Ankh-Morpork. Lord Vetinari keeps him secretly locked away in the Palace in order to protect Leonard from the world and the world from him. Invented the airplane, the handgun, the submarine, and the world's first unbreakable cipher.
* '''Chrysophrase''' is the head of the Breccia, a sort of Trollish Mafia operating out of the meatpacking district. Wears diamond cufflinks explicitly made out of the molars of his enemies, as Trolls' teeth are made of crystallised carbon.
* '''Hughnon Ridcully''' is the High Priest of Io and unofficial representative of all the priests and clerics in Ankh-Morpork. Mustrum Ridcully's brother and implicitly built along the same lines.
* '''Mr Slant''' is the city's most infamous lawyer, a man who came back from the dead to get his murderer acquitted, then refused to die until his fees were paid. Highly traditional, he continually gets involved in various schemes to disrupt Vetinari's reign, but always gets out unscathed even when they fail. Has an encyclopedic knowledge of civil and criminal precedent, thanks to being the person who was there when they wrote it.

===Others===
* '''Twoflower''' is an accountant from the fantasy-China region of Agatea, who manages to leave the traditionally highly reclusive nation for a tourist visit to Ankh-Morpork. This ultimately leads to a revolution in Agatea when he publishes a book about what he did on his holidays, inadvertently revealing that life does not have to be the highly rigid, formalized tyranny under which the country exists.
* '''The Luggage''' is TwoFlower's luggage chest... and is sentient.. and walks on dozens of little human feet... and has massive white teeth... and you could swear it licked its 'lips' just after swallowing the unsuspecting seagull. Luggage is made out Sapient Pearwood, an extraoridinarily rare, magical, and (duh) sapient wood; the last bits of SP in Ankh-Morpork are wizards' staves, and those guys would [[RIP AND TEAR|be very interested in obtaining some more from you through negotiation]]. Being a magical object means that Luggage has [[Bag of Holding|unlimited carrying capacity]] and a mind of its own - and The Luggage is like a nasty bulldog, suspiciously cuddly, loyal only to his master, and you can never be sure when he will bite anything else, just for the kicks of it. After TwoFlower's adventures with Rincewind, Luggage decides to change its master to the wizzzard, showing across later Rincewind's mishaps all of his abilities, which also include [[bullshit|interdimensional travel]].
* '''The Auditors of Reality''' are anthropomorphic personifications of The Rules; as their title suggests, they basically see to the smooth, clockwork-like management of all the underlying mechanics that keep the universe running smoothly. Unfortunately, they absolutely ''hate'' the very concept of life, finding it unbearably chaotic. Such is their sheer disgust that they undertake several schemes during the course of the series to destroy life, making them the closest thing the setting has to Bad Guys, and they have a bitter enmity for Death, who rather likes the complicated little buggers. They appear as almost harmless; shroud-like gray robes with nothing inside of them, hovering silently in mid-air and communicating through telepathy. They always show up in groups of three or more and always try to avoid personal pronouns; because they believe that to have a sense of I means to have an identity, and to have an identity means to live, and to live means to die, any Auditor who does use a pronoun immediately disintegrates (indeed, they do it so quickly that not one of them has worked out the inherent flaw in their logic) and is seamlessly replaced by a new one. Also, don't tell them that their hatred of life and their dislike of all the extra work that living beings make them do means that they already have an identity independent of their functions.
* '''Cohen the Barbarian''' is essentially what you get if you ask "What if [[Conan the Barbarian]] lived to be an old codger but never stopped doing the Barbarian Hero schtick?" A cranky and bitter old bastard who is deeply offended at having outlived the era of the Barbarian Hero, sneering at how the world has gotten so soft and straitlaced since his youth. Ultimately, his dissatisfaction with the state of the world and its lack of respect for the Barbarian Heroes who ultimately carved out the foundations for civilization leads him to try and firebomb the gods themselves. Ultimately, Cohen sacrifices himself to save the world (from himself, of course), refuses to believe he’s dead, mugs the Valkyries sent to bring him to warrior heaven, and sets off to find adventure in worlds beyond.
* '''Rhys Rhysson''' is the current Low King of the Dwarves after the events of ''Thud!''
* '''Mr. Shine''' is the current Diamond King of Trolls, a Diamond Troll whose unparalleled strength and intelligence makes him the traditional ruler of his race.
* '''Lady Margolotta''' is a female vampire and an intimate acquaintance of Vetinari.

==Other Media==
*'''TV Movies'''
**'''The Hogfather'''
**'''The Colour of Magic/The Light Fantastic'''
**'''Going Postal'''

*'''Tabletop Games'''
**'''Discworld Role-Playing Game'''
Originally released in 1998, with a second edition coming out in 2016. Currently using a set of customised rules based on GURPS 4th edition. Expect all the snark and playing with tropes you can find in original books.
http://www.sjgames.com/discworld/

==The Inevitable End==
Everything comes to an end, and this fact became apparent for even the Discworld series in 2007 when Terry Pratchett announced that he'd been diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's disease.

Like the massive badass that he was, Pratchett took this fact in his stride becoming the forerunner of Alzheimer's advocacy and assisted suicide AND still managed to release books on a regular, consistent basis whilst suffering from a disease that causes most sufferers to spend the rest of their days babbling in a retirement home.

But, unfortunately, despite much protestations from fans and signs to prove he was doing very well despite this affliction, Pratchett died in 2015.

What makes this whole damn thing so sad is that, given his relationship both literary and philosophical with death, we know almost for a fact that he was probably completely fine with it. To add a bittersweet bow to the top of the sadness cake, he instructed his assistant to post the following to announce his passing:

:"AT LAST, SIR TERRY, WE MUST WALK TOGETHER. Terry took Death's arm and followed him through the doors and on to the black desert under the endless night. The End."

After his death the hard drive containing all of his unfinished work was, as per his explicit wishes, destroyed by a steamroller. The wish was granted on August 25th by Lord Jericho, a vintage John Fowler & Co steamroller at the Great Dorset Steam Fair and overseen by Rob Wilkins, manager of the Pratchett estate. The wry sense of humor behind this act was appreciated by many fans.

TL;DR RIP Terry Pratchett. You will forever live on in the heart of fa/tg/uys and fa/tg/irls the world round.

[[Category:Literature]]