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This article details minor Discworld characters; characters from the Discworld novels by Terry Pratchett who only appear in the background, or who have only had a brief starring role.
Anghammarad
Anghammarad is a minor character in the novel Going Postal. He is a golem, almost nineteen thousand years old, having been baked by the priests of Upsa in the Third Ning of the Shaving of the Goat. He was also given a voice. However, Upsa was destroyed by the explosion of Mount Shiputu. He then spent two centuries under a mountain of pumice, before it eroded away. He then became a messenger for the Fisherman Kings of the holy Ult.
More recently, he delivered the decrees of King Het of Thut. That is until the land of Thut slid under the sea. He then spent nine thousand years in the deep ocean, before being netted by a fisherman.
He worked for the Ankh-Morpork Post Office (in the honorary position of Extremely Senior Postman) before being destroyed when the building was burnt down.
Achmed the Mad
Writer of the Necrotelecomnicon, which he wrote after drinking too much Klatchian coffee. He is also the writer of Achmed the I Just Get These Headache's Book Of Humourous Cat Stories (a title which contains the name by which he preferred to be known), which supposedly started his madness.
He is a parody of the mad Arab Abdul Alhazred, in the Cthulhu mythos of H. P. Lovecraft
Drum Billet
A wizard who starts the events of Equal Rites by bequeathing his staff to Eskarina Smith. He is later reincarnated as an apple tree, with fruit that goes "from stomach-turning sourness to wasp-filled rottenness overnight" (see Scumble (Discworld)).
Brutha
Originally an Omnian novice in the Citadel of Kom, noted only for being a simple boy with an amazing memory. Brutha was the main character in Small Gods, in which he found himself Chosen by the Great God Om, due to being the only person who really believed in him. He went on to become the Eighth Prophet of Om and Cenobiarch of Omnia, and transformed Omnianism into a religion of tolerance and understanding. He died 100 years later, although exactly when these 100 years occurred is a matter of some confusion.
Count Casanunda
A dwarf. The moral equivalent of Nanny Ogg. His visiting card says 'World's second greatest swordsman. Outrageous liar. Stepladders repaired.' (among other things). Performed a small service - although not that small - for Queen Agantia of Skund. Appeared in Witches Abroad, Soul Music, Lords and Ladies and Reaper Man. Brief cameo in Carpe Jugulum. Notable line: "Kneel and deliver!"
Imp y Celyn
A bard from the decidedly Cymric country of Llamedos. In Soul Music he was possessed by "Music with Rocks in" and became the Disc's greatest musician under the name Buddy in the Band with Rocks In, before dying in a cart crash (an admitted reference to Buddy Holly—Imp's name in fact translates as "bud of the holly"). The timeline in which this happened has, however been eradicated following Death's intervention, and he was last seen working in a fried fish stall in Quirm. He looks a bit Elvish.
Sacharissa Cripslock
The daughter of an engraver (who possibly appeared in Maskerade, working for Goatberger) she became a reporter for the Ankh-Morpork Times, having originally arrived at the print works to complain about the invention of moveable type. Appears in The Truth and Going Postal. In the latter work she is married, presumably to William de Worde.
Death of Fleas
The Death of Fleas is a small Anthropomorph, created in Death's absence to hoard the souls of dead fleas. It was the only Death not to become part of the real Death at the end of Reaper Man apart from Death of Rats.
Death of Rats
Death of Rats was created to herd the souls of dead rodents during Death's absence in Reaper Man. He continued to exist following this, because Death liked the company. He resembles a rodentine skeleton on its hind legs, wearing a black robe and carrying a tiny scythe.
He seems to find it easier to think his way around the Rules than Death, and has assisted Susan in Soul Music, Hogfather and Thief of Time. He rides a raven named Quoth and may carry the rarely seen Death of Fleas.
The vocabulary of the Death of Rats consists of one word, always in small caps: SQUEAK.
Princess Esmerelda Margaret Note Spelling of Lancre
Daughter of King Verance II and Magrat Garlick, Princess Esme made her appearance in Carpe Jugulum.
Foul Ole Ron
Excessively seedy, momentously dirty and entirely incomprehensible, he lives in Ankh-Morpork as the best-known member of a group of beggars that not even the Beggar's Guild will have anything to do with. He owns the world's only Thinking Brain Dog (Gaspode), and is a physical schizophrenic; his smell has become strong enough to not only melt earwax but to acquire a separate existence. In fact, it outclasses him. Along with Gaspode, his associates include Arnold Sideways and the Duck Man.
He appears in Men At Arms, Soul Music, Feet of Clay, Hogfather and The Truth.
He is well known for his "catchphrase", "Bugrit, millennium hand an' shrimp..."
J.H.C. Goatberger
Publisher in Ankh-Morpork. Books published by his company include The Joy of Snacks by A Lancre Witch and the Ankh-Morpork Almanack. He appears in Maskerade and is referred to in some of the "peripheral" Discworld books that are meant to be books from the Disc (e.g. Nanny Ogg's Cookbook). His name is a play on Johann Gutenberg
Hodgesaargh
Castle falconer at Lancre, Hodgesaargh is not his actual name, but some misunderstanding has been caused due to his birds' habit of attacking him when people speak to him.
His ceremonial outfit of red and gold with a big floppy hat is usually supplemented with about three sticking plasters. One of the birds he breeds and trains is the wowhawk, which is like a goshawk only more so.
Hodgesaargh is based on a real-life keeper of birds of prey named Dave Hodges (http://www.realhhg.freeserve.co.uk/aargh/index.htm), who lives in Northamptonshire. He is also the author of The Arts of Falconrie and Hawking.
Princess Keli
Daughter of King Olerve the Bastard of the Sto Plains kingdom of Sto Lat, and the last person between the Duke of Sto Helit and the throne , she was saved from assassination by Mort. Became Queen Kelirihenna I, Lord of Sto Lat, Protector of the Eight Protectorates and Empress of the Long Thin Debated Piece Hubwards of Sto Kerrig.
Queen Keli still ruled at the time of Soul Music, when she ejected the Band with Rocks In from the city by royal proclamation.
Lezek
A farmer in Sheepridge, in the Ramtops. The father of the title character in Mort. Reportedly dead by the time of Soul Music (by one who should know).
Moist von Lipwig
A former conman, now Ankh-Morpork's Postmaster General. The main character in Going Postal.
The Magpyr family
A family of vampires who attempted to invade Lancre in Carpe Jugulum. They all parody vampirism in different ways:
- The Old Count, Count Magpyr's father. Very much a stereotyped cinematic vampire, it is no coincidence that his first name is Bela. He kept his castle full of drapes that could be cast aside and ironwork that could be shaped into religious symbols. Because it was so easy to kill him temporarily, no-one ever went to the effort of doing it permanently.
- Count and Countess Magpyr see themselves as modern "vampyres" unshackled by superstition. They are partially unaffected by the traditional vampire weaknesses (due to extensive psychological training), and keen to avoid stereotyping. They see taking blood from villagers as "The Arrangement"; just an unusual form of taxation.
- Vlad Magpyr also sees himself as a modern vampyre, but has become another stereotype; the romantic Anne Rice-type vampire. He has a ponytail and wears fancy waistcoats.
- Lacrimosa Magpyr embodies a reversal of "lifestyle vampires"; an actual vampire who wears bright clothes and stays up until noon. Some of her friends call themselves names like "Pam", file their teeth blunt and even drink... wine.
It is implied that older members of the family were closer to vampires in the original legends. As befits a family of their status and condition, they are served by an Igor (who frequently feels put upon by the less traditional Magpyrs).
Modo
A dwarf, he is the gardener at Unseen University. He is a conscientious gardener, but its location on the campus of a major magical faculty means that his handiwork has a tendency to be disrupted by supernatural events. Modo belives in compost in much the same way that humans believe in gods (dwarfs aren't religious, exactly). It is unknown what he puts in his compost but it certainly brings up the roses. His personal theory is that they want to get as far away from the compost as possible.
Jason Ogg
Eldest son of Nanny Ogg. First mentioned in Wyrd Sisters. Like his father before him he holds the office of Lancre blacksmith, which brings with it the obligation to shoe anything, and the concommitant ability to shoe anything: he has shod an ant, a unicorn, and (at regular intervals and with specially reserved metal) Death's horse Binky. He is also the leader of the Lancre Morris Men, who treat Morris dancing as something between a contact sport and a martial art. They are also the only the only Morris dancers in the multiverse who have ever danced it properly.
Shawn Ogg
Youngest son of Nanny Ogg. First appears in Wyrd Sisters as a guard at Lancre Castle. Since then he has become Lancre's entire standing army, as well as the civil service and most of the palace staff. According to Nanny Ogg's Cookbook he has been granted the Order of the Lancrastian Empire.
Polly Perks
The main character in Monstrous Regiment. A Borogravian girl who joined the army under the name Oliver Perks to rescue her brother Paul and save her family's inn. As a member of the Cheesemongers, Private 'Ozzer' Perks served with the colorful Sgt Jackrum, a vampire named Maladict, a troll called Carborundum, an Igor, and a few even stranger people.
Pteppic
King Pteppicymon XXVIII of Djelibeybi (the Disc's version of Egypt) is the main character in Pyramids. The first king to leave the kingdom, he was trained at the Ankh-Morpork Assassins' Guild. He passed his final exam by a fluke, having already decided he wasn't going to kill anyone. His cosmopolitan nature clashed with the hidebound traditions of the kingdom and the even more hidebound high priest Dios, and after saving Djelibeybi from destruction and shaking up its traditions, he abdicated.
Ptraci
Queen Ptraci I of Djelibeybi. Pteppic's half-sister and successor. A former handmaiden, the Djelibeybian priests thought she would be easy to control. They turned out to be very wrong. Like her half-brother she is keen to get in some decent plumbing. Appears in Pyramids
Quoth
A talking raven. He is seemingly an associate of the Death of Rats. His name derives from the famous line in the poem by the poet Edgar Allan Poe, The Raven ("Quoth the Raven, 'Nevermore'.") except this raven "doesn't do the N word". At times he acts as steed for the Death of Rats and he has a constant craving for eyeballs.
He was first seen in the Discworld novel Soul Music, and since then has made appearances in all novels involving Susan Sto Helit.
Lord Rust
An Ankh-Morpork nobleman, whose full name is presumably Ronald (Ronnie) Rust. Seen in Jingo as overly-bred and arrogant, a brief appearance in Monstrous Regiment suggests that he may not really be as stupid as he appears.
Mr. Salzella
The Director of Music at the Ankh-Morpork Opera House in Maskerade, most notable for an absolute hatred of opera (although he was really as "infected" with operatic romanticism as everyone else in the place). He was embezzling money and murdering people who found out, blaming the murders on the Opera Ghost. He was finally killed in an extremely operatic battle with the Ghost.
While the character is seemingly based loosely on Ambrose D'Arcy from the 1962 Hammer Horror version of The Phantom of the Opera, his name is based on Mozart's rival Antonio Salieri ("Salieri" means "seller of salt").
The Selachii family
A noble family in Ankh-Morpork, featured in several of the books. They are known for being assassins, and are traditional rivals of the Venturi. They are named after the Selachimorpha as a play on the Sharks in West Side Story
Eskarina Smith
The main character in Equal Rites, where she became the Unseen University's first (and only) female graduate. Esk was last seen inventing a new kind of magic based on not using it at all, in the company of wunderkind wizard Simon.
Wallace Sonky
An Ankh-Morpork tradesman, owner of Sonky's Rubber Goods, and maker of Sonky's Preventatives (a type of condom). His "sonkies", as they are generally known, sell for a penny a packet. Without them, the housing problem in Ankh-Morpork would be even more pressing.
He is killed in The Fifth Elephant. He is known to have had a brother in Überwald.
General Tacticus
General Tacticus was a soldier of the Ankh-Morpork Empire proclaimed to be the greatest general of all time. Though he is dead at the time of the events contained in the series, his legacy lives on.
He is an amalgamation of various historic characters, including General George Patton and Julius Caesar, as shown by the title of his autobiography, VENI VIDI VICI: A Soldier's Life. Veni Vedi Vici is arguably the most famous thing Julius Caesar ever said, and George Patton's autobiography was titled A Soldier's Life. His name, as well as being a pun on 'tactics', suggests the Roman historian Tacitus. Much of the advice in the autobiography reflects Sun Tzu's The Art Of War, as well as comments made by Patton.
Tacticus conquered a large area of the Discworld, both around the base city of Ankh-Morpork and well into the southern continent of Klatch. At one point, the far-flung city of Genua, having run out of royalty of their own, asked Ankh-Morpork for a Duke. Taticus was made a Duke and sent there. Immediately upon becoming a Genuan citizen, he evaluated the military threats posed by other nations, and declared war on Ankh-Morpork.
The Venturi family
A noble family in Ankh-Morpork, featured in several of the books. They are traditional rivals of the Selachii. They are named after the Venturi, as a play on the Jets in West Side Story.
Galder Weatherwax
Cousin of Granny Weatherwax, Galder is the short-lived Arch-Chancellor in The Light Fantastic, and a real wizard traditionalist.
Lily Weatherwax
The sister of Granny Weatherwax, she became a fairy godmother and left Lancre; she has only been seen in Witches Abroad.
William de Worde
A professional scribe who, in The Truth became the editor of the Disc's first newspaper, The Ankh-Morpork Times. He has an obsessive dislike of lying, which he has learnt to work round in the name of journalism. His father, Lord de Worde, is an arrogant racist bully. William also appears in Monstrous Regiment, reporting on the war in Borogravia.
Vorbis
An Omnian Deacon at the time of Brutha, whose tale is told in 'Small Gods' Vorbis' character combines a strange mix of apparently religious mania with a fervent desire to spread the Word/Empire across all the Disc. The character of Vorbis is one that may interest any reader interested in questions regarding institutional religion, heresy, and the direct communication between God and Man. Vorbis has a reputation for being a man touched by destiny (and perhaps something else) and as being one of the most devout Omnians in the Empire ('Vorbis could humble himself in a way that made the posturings of power-mad emperors look subservient') yet in the end the reader finds that the only voice Vorbis has been listening to is his own.
Lupine Wonse
Former childhood friend to Samuel Vimes and later secretary to Lord Vetinari. As the Grand Master of the Elucidated Brethren of the Ebon Night, he summoned a dragon intending it to be killed by a king, whom he would then control. This failed and he found himself personal assistant to the Dragon King. Following a confrontation with the City Watch, he was killed by a metaphor, or possibly the ground.
See also
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