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Old 01-17-2017, 01:36 PM   #1
Phil Masters
 
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Default Discworld Characters from the Novels

408 pages may seem like a lot, but stuff actually got squeezed out of the Discworld RPG - including stats for a bunch of characters from the novels. So I guess that I could perhaps post them here. As their descriptions make heavy reference to events in the stories, I'll wrap spoiler tags around them.

So let's start with someone with some standing.

Spoiler:  
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Last edited by Phil Masters; 01-18-2017 at 05:23 AM. Reason: Background is in the book.
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Old 01-18-2017, 04:08 AM   #2
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Default Lady Sybil Vimes

I'd be inclined to view the Ladies Who Organise as having Administration at high levels. Lady Sybil is quite able to run a great house and ably stewarded her many landholdings and estates before turning them over to Sir Samuel (later His Grace, the Duke of Ankh).

Lady Sybil can plan a world-ranging trip with a large staff at a moment's notice. She can manage complex logistic issues with ease and poise, without even appearing to need to invest any time in it. She also took over as Chargé d'affaires at a Morkporkian embassy and performed at world-class levels.

My reading was always that the Patrician established the Duke of Ankh as a back-up ruler just in case and that a part of that back-up was the assumption that Lady Sybil would function as His Grace's chief of staff, however unofficially.

She even comes equipped with a world-spanning intelligence network.* Note also that her effective Diplomacy and Savoir-Faire (High Society) skills are high enough for her to be able to out-maneuver the elite in both Uberwaldian and dwarven politics, even operating at a penalty for lacking Cultural Familiarity.

*Are Allies, Contacts, Contact Groups and Claim to Hospitality not part of the Discworld rules? Because she should have all of these.
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Old 01-18-2017, 05:34 AM   #3
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Default Re: Lady Sybil Vimes

Quote:
Originally Posted by Icelander View Post
I'd be inclined to view the Ladies Who Organise as having Administration at high levels. Lady Sybil is quite able to run a great house and ably stewarded her many landholdings and estates before turning them over to Sir Samuel (later His Grace, the Duke of Ankh).

Lady Sybil can plan a world-ranging trip with a large staff at a moment's notice. She can manage complex logistic issues with ease and poise, without even appearing to need to invest any time in it. She also took over as Chargé d'affaires at a Morkporkian embassy and performed at world-class levels.
I'd not object to raising some of her skills a bit - I tend to the conservative while trying to avoid stat/skill bloat - but I'd interpret at least some of her accomplishments as using Housekeeping and money to get good staff, and then giving them more money to do their jobs well. She benefits from a lot of situational modifiers and quite often being underestimated.

My reading was always that the Patrician established the Duke of Ankh as a back-up ruler just in case and that a part of that back-up was the assumption that Lady Sybil would function as His Grace's chief of staff, however unofficially.

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*Are Allies, Contacts, Contact Groups and Claim to Hospitality not part of the Discworld rules? Because she should have all of these.
Contacts are present, but I decided that Allies and such often add (somewhat abusable) complexity to things which can be better roleplayed out. You can have a small-a ally, but that's an NPC who you have to keep sweet and who the GM is fully licensed to play as having a mind of his or her own. So Lady Sybil's connections are other NPCs and part of the setting background, somewhat linked to her Status.
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Old 01-18-2017, 05:53 AM   #4
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Default Re: Lady Sybil Vimes

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Originally Posted by Phil Masters View Post
I'd not object to raising some of her skills a bit - I tend to the conservative while trying to avoid stat/skill bloat - but I'd interpret at least some of her accomplishments as using Housekeeping and money to get good staff, and then giving them more money to do their jobs well.
Isn't this a textbook description of good Administration by the head of an organisation? Knowing how to find good people and delegate?

Note that Lady Sybil doesn't have the Administration skill in your write-up. Which doesn't seem right, in that she has been established as perhaps the most effective character in the Discworld when it comes to getting what she wants by knowing the levers of power, managing hired staff and organising stuff.

She knows how to bypass bureaucracies when needed, use them to her advantage at other times and run them if necessary. Several books show her solving bureaucratic problems or winning a bureaucratic turf war in one scene, when the entire Watch had been powerless for years.

Sure, that's one possible benefit of high Status, but men like Lord Rust have none of her ability to get things done quickly and without upsetting any apple carts by knowing who to talk to, how and when. And high Status and Wealth on its own, without Administration or other skills that can help you find competent underlings, just allows you to be a figurehead at the mercy of whoever you hire. If you want competent hirelings who work for your interests, you have to have the skills to recognise them and manage them.
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Old 01-18-2017, 05:53 AM   #5
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Default Re: Discworld Characters from the Novels

A second character sheet; see p.326-7 in the book for biographical details:

Sergeant Cheery Littlebottom
154 points
ST 11* [0]; DX 10 [0]; IQ 12 [40]; HT 11* [0].
Damage 1d-1/1d+1; BL 39 lbs.; HP 13* [0]; Will 12 [0]; Per 12 [0]; FP 11 [0].
Basic Speed 5.25 [0]; Basic Move 5 [0]; Dodge 8; Parry 8 (Axe).
3’10”; 120 lbs. (SM -1)

Social Background
TL: 4 [0].
CF: Dwarfish [0]; Sto Plains/Uberwald [1].
Languages: Dwarfish (Native) [0]; Morporkian (Native) [6]; Uberwaldian (Native) [6].

Advantages
Dwarf Template, without Greed/Dwarfish Greed or any Psychological Quirks [45]; Legal Enforcement Powers 2 [10]; Watch Rank 3 [15]; Resistant to Disease (+3) [3]; Resistant to Poison (+3) [5].

Disadvantages
Duty (Important Watch Tasks; 6 or less) [-2]; Sense of Duty (Close Friends and Companions) [-5]; Status 0† [-5].
Quirks: Determinedly Out as female; Pays some attention to the Watchman’s Code of Honour; Sometimes turns all dwarfish in violent situations. [-3]

Skills
Alchemy/TL4 (VH) IQ+2 [16]-14; Area Knowledge (Ankh-Morpork) (E) IQ [1]-12; Axe/Mace (A) DX [0]-10*; Criminology/TL4 (A) IQ 1 [1]-11; Housekeeping (E) IQ [1]-12; Law (Ankh-Morpork Police) (H) IQ 2 [1]-10; Metallurgy/TL4 (H) IQ 1 [1]-11‡; Natural Philosophy/TL4 (H) IQ 2 [1]-10; Photography/TL4 (A) IQ [2]-12; Poisons/TL4 (H) IQ [4]-12; Research/TL4 (A) IQ 1 [1]-11; Savoir-Faire/TL (Watch) (E) IQ [1]-12; Search (A) Per+1 [4]-13; Sewing/TL4 (E) DX+2 [4]-12.

* From Dwarf racial template.
† Bought back down from free level from Rank.
‡ Includes +1 from Metalwork Talent.
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Old 01-18-2017, 05:56 AM   #6
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Default Re: Lady Sybil Vimes

Quote:
Originally Posted by Icelander View Post
Isn't this a textbook description of good Administration by the head of an organisation? Knowing how to find good people and delegate?
It's famously how some great leaders functioned, but one needs to distinguish them from the micromanagers and organisational geniuses who actually got in there and administrated. Or, to put it another way, if Administration skill is merely about hiring the right people, what skill do the people who are hired use?
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Old 01-18-2017, 06:04 AM   #7
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Default Re: Lady Sybil Vimes

Quote:
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It's famously how some great leaders functioned, but one needs to distinguish them from the micromanagers and organisational geniuses who actually got in there and administrated. Or, to put it another way, if Administration skill is merely about hiring the right people, what skill do the people who are hired use?
Administration for the upper ranks, various for lower.

Just because a general has Leadership, it doesn't mean that his unit leaders do not need it. Great administrators are still limited in only being able to do one thing at a time and thus need subordinates with Administration to handle many tasks.

Micromanagers generally do not have good Administration skill in GURPS terms. They have a Disadvantage. Doing a subordinate's job for him generally represents a failed Administration roll, because it's an extremely inefficent use of organisational resources.
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Old 01-18-2017, 11:27 AM   #8
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Default Re: Lady Sybil Vimes

Quote:
Originally Posted by Icelander View Post
Administration for the upper ranks, various for lower.

Just because a general has Leadership, it doesn't mean that his unit leaders do not need it. Great administrators are still limited in only being able to do one thing at a time and thus need subordinates with Administration to handle many tasks.

Micromanagers generally do not have good Administration skill in GURPS terms. They have a Disadvantage. Doing a subordinate's job for him generally represents a failed Administration roll, because it's an extremely inefficent use of organisational resources.
QFT
Administration could be a hiring skill by letting you better understand the organizations needs, budget and checking references. I could even see it being the primary skill in determining the best candidate based on those as well as understanding what a department needs. Relevant skills at the job and psychology would be complementary, though in my experiance most HR employees and hiring managers lack or are limited in them.
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Old 01-19-2017, 05:36 AM   #9
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Default Re: Discworld Characters from the Novels

Minimal spoilers for Pyramids in this one, but I'll hide it anyway, to be polite.

Teppic
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Old 01-20-2017, 07:14 AM   #10
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Default Re: Discworld Characters from the Novels

(With spoilers for Jingo.)

71-Hour Ahmed
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