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Sektober

2021-12-16T10:23:39Z

T.M.S.I.D.R. Schnapper:

'''Sektober''' is a month of the [[Discworld calendar]] roughly analogous to our September/October. It is preceded by [[Spune]] and succeeded by [[Ember]]. With harvest largely over, this is the time to prepare for winter, check your beehives are protected against the ravages of winter, to [[hog-ringers|ring your pigs]], and plant beans and barley. At sea, eels will be plentiful and as they smoke well, are easier to catch as they quickly run out of breath and start coughing. The constellation and sign of [[Crabbus]] rules the heavens. The month may well be named in honour of the [[The gods|god]] [[Seven-Handed Sek]]. In Roundworld Pratchett probably just fused the words September and October together, as these are the two months Sektober is roughly analogous to.

The [[Soul Cake Duck|duck-hunting]] season starts this month. As it is traditionally associated with people bringing out badly-maintained crossbows that have not been used since the ''previous'' Sektober, to be operated by people who are out of practice but who ''think'' they are competent with a crossbow, this month is propitious for manufacturers of surgical bandages, prosthetic limbs and glass eyes.

[[Category:Discworld culture]].

Discworld calendar

2021-12-16T10:08:13Z

T.M.S.I.D.R. Schnapper: /* Roundworld Common Years */

{{hatnote|This article is about the counting and naming of years and days on Discworld. For the calendar-like-books, like ''Diaries'', see [[Bibliography#Diaries|Bibliography]]. For the commercial wall-calendars, see [[Discworld Calendars]].}}

==General==
A Discworld celestial year has 800 days and because of some interesting astronomical facts two of each seasons (two summers, two winters, etc.). This leads to the fact that many people actually do not count the astronomical years, but the half-years with 400 days, often refered to as "common years". The half-year has 13 months, listed below. Each month except Ick has 32 days, Ick has 16 days. Each week has eight days. The eighth day of each week is called Octeday.

There are two main calendars in use on Discworld. The [[Ankh-Morpork Calendar]] counts full years and starts at the founding of [[Ankh-Morpork]], the [[University Calendar]] starts at the founding of [[Unseen University]] (in 1282 AM) and counts in half-years. Oddly enough, while the Imperial Ankh-Morpork calendar offers intellectual purity and mathematical elegance, the general populace tends to use the Weird, Wild, Wacky Wizards' calendar, which happens to correspond to the growing season.

==Years and centuries==
Centuries and years are named. We are currently in the Century of the Anchovy ({{CJ}}). It was preceded by the Century of the Fruitbat ({{MP}}) and even earlier by the [[Century of the Three Lice]], and the [[Djelibeybi|Century of the Cobra]] ({{SG}}).

In [[Feet of Clay]] it is posed by [[Doc Pseudopolis]], President of the Guild of Gamblers that the next century would not be the [[Century of the Anchovy]] but instead the [[Century of the Rat]]. This is met with no protest by the Guild leaders but is not mentioned again in the Discworld Novels.

* The [[Century of the Summer Weevil]] (mentioned in {{UA}})
* The [[Century of the Dragonfly]] (mentioned in {{RM}})
* The [[Century of the Three Lice]] (mentioned in {{RM}})
* The [[Century of the Cobra]] (mentioned in {{P}})
* The [[Century of the Fruitbat]] (mentioned in {{RM}}, {{MAA}}, {{MP}}, {{SG}}, {{LL}}, {{CJ}}, {{T5E}}, {{TT}}, {{SM}}, {{P}})
* The [[Century of the Anchovy]] (mentioned in {{GP}} & {{MM}})
* The [[Century of the Rat]] (mentioned in {{MAA}})

== Notable past years==
* The [[Kreeblephor|Year of the Lenient Vegetable]] - in which Bishop [[Kreeblephor]] converted a demon to the [[Om]]nian faith.
* The [[Year of the Significant Triangle]] (Birth year of [[Windle Poons]])
* The [[Year of the Astounded Beetle]]‎
* The [[Year of the Engaging Sloth]]
* The [[Year of the Hyena]] (events of {{S}})
* The [[Year of the Notional Serpent]]
* The [[Year of the Insulted Goat]] (mentioned in {{M!!!}})
* The [[Year of the Dancing Dog]] (1961 mentioned by Dibbler in {{NW}})
* The [[Year of the Prawn]] (Common Year 2005; Scholar's Year 1657)
* The [[Cabbage|Year of the Pensive Frog]]
* The Year of the Trout (mentioned in {{CJ}})
* The [[Year of the Revolving Crab]] (mentioned in {{WA}})
* The Year of the Sideways Leech (mentioned in {{H}})
* The Year of the Talking Frog (mentioned in {{H}})
* The [[Year of the Ant]] (mentioned in {{TT}})
* The [[Year of the Amending Camel]] (mentioned in {{TT}})
* The [[Year of the Translated Rat]] (mentioned in {{TT}})
* The [[Year of the Lice]] (mentioned in {{T!}})
* The [[Year of the Quiet Monkey]] (mentioned in {{T!}})
* The [[Year of the Pensive Hare]] - the events of {{UA}} take place shortly after the New Year celebrations which usher in this year. Also Common Year 2009 (see below).
* The [[Year of the Stoat]] (mentioned in {{SN}})
* The [[Year of the Intimidating Porpoise]] (mentioned in ''[[Reaper Man]]'')
* The [[Ee|Year of the Scrofulous Vole]]. (mentioned in {{CDA}})
* The Century of the Cheesemite (mentioned in Turtle Recall The Discworld Companion)

== Roundworld Common Years ==
Since 2005 each Roundworld year (aka Common Year, for the Common Era) as been given a Discworld year name. Most of these do not appear in the books.

* The [[Year of the Prawn]] (Common Year 2005; Scholar's Year 1657)
* The Year of the Signifying Frog (Common Year 2006)
* The Year of the Reversed Ptarmigan (Common Year 2007)
* The Year of the Three Roses (Common Year 2008)
* The Year of the Pensive Hare (Common Year 2009)
* The Year of the Happy Goose (Common Year 2010)
* The Year of the Complicated Monkey (Common Year 2011)
* The Year of the Second Inception (Common Year 2012)
* The Year of the Frog Ascendant (Common Year 2013)
* The Year of the Reciprocating Llama (Common Year 2014)
* The Year of the Spinning Mouse (Common Year 2015)
* The [[Year of the Sneezing Panda]] (Common Year 2016)
* The Year of the [[Backwards-Facing Artichoke]] (Common Year 2017)
* The Year of the Justifiably Defensive Lobster (Common Year 2018)
* The Year of the Incontrovertible Skunk (Common Year 2019)
* The Year of the Condescending Carp (Common Year 2020)
* The Year of the Beleaguered Badger (Common Year 2021)
* The Year of the Lachrymating Leveret (Common Year 2022) [https://twitter.com/terryandrob/status/1466043256391753733]

==Months Of The Discworld Year==
Or rather, of the Discworld's ''half''-year. {{TCDA}} clarifies previously opaque or puzzling aspects of the calendar. Quote:
''This be for the Common Year, that being the four hundred days that measure the Season from Winter's Edge until the snows come again, and the Hogswatch is celebrated. All Celestial measurements, Observations and notations of Stars, houses of the firmament, and other divers heavenly bodies are taken on the Full Celestial year, of eight hundred days, which emcompasses two common years...''

* [[Ick]] - only has sixteen days
* [[Offle]] - all following months have thirty-two
* February
* March
* April
* May
* June
* [[Grune]]
* August
* [[Spune]]
* [[Sektober]]
* [[Ember]]
* December

The year commences on Hogswatch Day and ends on the following Hogswatch Eve.

==Special holidays==

* [[Hogswatch]] Eve, the end of the old common year.
* [[Hogswatch]] Day (first of Ick, start of the new common year)
* [[Soul Cake Tuesday]]
* Day of the Lesser Gods (?same as below?)
* [[Eve of Small Gods]], first midsummer day
* Samedi Nuit Mort (celebrated in Genua)
* Creator's Birthday (28th of April)
* Wear a lilac if you were [[Glorious Revolution|there]] day (25th of May)
* Koom Valley Day (5th of Grune)
* [[Crueltide]], half-year point (end of first half-year, start of next)
* [[Alls Fallow]], 3/4 point of 800-day year, the one day when witches and warlocks stay in bed (parodying {{wp|Halloween|Halloween}}), though in ''[[Wyrd Sisters]]'', [[Esmerelda Weatherwax]] suggests that [[Hogswatch]] is the one day witches shouldn't go out, though this may only apply to Mistress Weatherwax, since her arrival may cause people to feel wary rather than jolly.

== Seasons ==

* Spring Prime, first spring
* Summer: mid-point ''Small Gods' Eve''
* Autumn Prime, first autumn
* Winter Secundus aka Spindlewinter: Mid-point ''Crueltide''
* Secundus Spring
* Summer Two: mid-point ''All's Fallow''
* Secundus Autumn
* Backspindlewinter: mid-point ''Hogswatch''

Discworld seasons are 'explained' in one of four paragraphs in the footnote on page 5 of ''The Colour of Magic''. It is written:

"Since the disc's tiny orbiting sunlet maintains a fixed orbit while the majestic disc turns slowly beneath it, it will be readily deduced that a disc year consists of not four but eight seasons. The summers are those times when the sun rises or sets at the nearest point on the Rim, the winters those occasions when it rises or sets at a point around ninety degrees along the circumference."

==Zodiac==

The Discworld zodiac consists of 64 (8*8) constellations, nebulae or individual stars grouped in thirteen ''Houses''. There may be other constellations that are not part of the zodiac, but it's possible that the Discworld's unusual revolution means that the Discworld sun and/or moon enters all constellations at least once (the "zodiac" is a list of constellations in which the sun or moon [or planets, but there don't seem to be any around Discworld] can be found at some point in time). [[Roundworld]] has 88 constellations (1 of them non-contiguous), 12 of which are in the zodiac (a 13th constellation is also technically in the zodiac, but is not recognized as part of the zodiac). According to research wizard "Numbers" [[Riktor]], who meticulously counted them, there are, or were at the time of counting, 49,873 visible stars in the Discworld heavens. Which is ample raw material for the cosmic Rorschach test that creates constellations.

===The Houses of the Zodiac and their 64 Elements:===
:as described by the well-known mages and scholars Pratchett of Sarum and Pearson of Wincanton

*'''The First House''' - The House of Io
**The Eye of Io
** The Crab
**The Cow of Heaven
**The (Knotted) String
**The Celestial Parsnip

*'''The Second House''' - The House of the Gate
**[[Wezen (the double-headed kangaroo)]]
**The Two Fat Cousins
**The Perhaps Gate
**Scarab's Claw
**[[Mubbo the Hyena]]

*'''The Third House''' - The House of the Bull
**Silicarous's Gift
**The Bull
**Hast's Trumpet
**[[Cubal's Flame]]
**The Void

*'''The Fourth House''' - The House of Melok
**Melok
**Old Toesy
**Vut the Evenstar
**Mr Williams
**Occasional Paddles

*'''The Fifth House''' - The House of the Bright Cabbage
**Blic-Blick
**[[Spune|The Bright Cabbage]]
**The Starfish
**Old Dog
**[[Crabbus]]

*'''The Sixth House''' - The House of the Plow
**Pashmina
**The Flying Moose
**The Pitcher (or Bucket)
**Plough Handle
**Okjock the Salesman

*'''The Seventh House''' - The House of the Star
**The Faint Star Major
**The Faint Star Minor
**The Little Turtle
**The Flagon
**Ket's Knife

*'''The Next House''' - The House of Woldar
**Woldar
**Evar's Footprint
**The Ram's Horn
**Two Rivers
**Young Faithful

*'''The Ninth House''' - The House of the Ram
**The Jumping Ram
**[[Khefin]]'s Eye 1
**[[Khefin|Khefin's Eye 2]]
**[[Khefin|Khefin's Eye 3]]
**[[Khefin|Khefin's Eye 4]]

*'''The Tenth House''' - The House of Trabnor
**Trabnor
**The Lanthorn
**The Wicket
**Turnip's Tail
**The Snipe

*'''The Eleventh House''' - The House of the Horse
**Teg the Horse
**The Miller's Pocket
**[[Astoria's Flame]]
**The Cradle
**The Sleeping Dog

*'''The Twelfth House''' - The House of Fore and Aft
**Young Harry
**Forward
**Aft
**Vut's Candle
**Silur the Catfish

*'''The Thirteenth House''' - The Dread House
**Old Faithful
**The Scythe
**The Coffee Cup
**[[Gahoolie the Vase of Tulips]]

===Annotations===

* Wezen the Doubleheaded Kangaroo: the first constellation (interesting because the wizards don't seem to recognize a kangaroo when they see it in {{TLC}}-- perhaps because it was flattened and had only one head? Although in fairness you couldn't recognize anything else from it's constellation either, and it's never really obvious what is mythical and what isn't!)
* The Two Fat Cousins: possible reference to Tweedledee and Tweedledum?
* The Flying Moose: possible reference to Rocky The Flying Squirrel and Bullwinkle J Moose
* [[The Small Boring Group of Faint Stars]]: Rincewind's birth sign, usually not a wizard's sign. Was much brighter thousands of years ago when the Disc was closer to it (according to {{TLC}}), so it's not clear why the ancients called it "faint"; perhaps they knew the Disc would move away from it long-term?
* The Knotted String: possible pun on "I'm a frayed knot" jokes
* [[Gahoolie the Vase of Tulips]]: the last constellation (now if we could only find that whale)
* the Triangle, mentioned in {{TLC}}, possibly not part of the zodiac

==Related pages==
* [[Discworld Timeline]]
* [[:category:Discworld Timeline|Discworld timeline category]]

[[Category:Discworld concepts]]
[[Category:Discworld Timeline]]

[[de:Drehjahr]]
[[de:Monate]]
[[de:Tag]]
[[de:Tierkreiszeichen]]

Vampires

2021-12-15T12:22:48Z

T.M.S.I.D.R. Schnapper: /* Characteristics */

'''Vampires''' are a type of [[:Category:Undead characters|undead species]] on Discworld.

==Characteristics==
Mainly, the term "vampire" refers to an intelligent humanoid being with one or all of the following characteristics:
# physiological: has a deficit of [[hemogoblin]] in their blood and requires such from human or cattle blood.
# psychological: has a violent craving for blood, although the craving can be transferred to other things such as "''the perfection of light and shade''" ([[Otto Chriek]], in ''[[Book:The Truth|The Truth]]'' and {{MR}}) or coffee ([[Maladict]], in {{MR}}).
# psychological: craves power over people ([[Lady Margolotta]], in {{T5E}} and {{UA}}).
# psychological: compulsively counts the seconds of the day, presumably to avoid sunlight. While this is not stated in direct reference to any actual vampire, it is one of the reasons why some people suspect [[Mavolio Bent]] to be one.

Most vampires originate in [[Überwald]], and those who are still powerful noble families in that region are still feuding with the [[werewolves]]. Vampires are often powerful feudal lords because they are undead, so they have had plenty of time to accumulate wealth and political power. Also, they can violently suppress the townspeople if such an action actually becomes necessary. Generally, vampires who want to rule over people can simply influence their minds ({{CJ}}). Though the term "vampire feudal families" is used, it is more common for one single vampire to be the lord of a feudal region; vampires generally do not raise families.

Vampires are nearly indestructible. Though they can be reduced to fine dust by sunlight or a small number of other means, simply dripping a little blood (human or otherwise) onto the pile will result in complete reanimation, and makes scattering remains mandatory.

==Behaviour==
With these common characteristics, vampires nevertheless don't fit a stereotype. Some vampires drink cattle blood and play power politics but go to meetings to quit drinking human blood (Lady Margolotta). Some vampires seem to be the stereotypical vampire – obsessively meticulous about their socks, can't learn any modern ideas, and harass townspeople by biting their necks every now and then and requiring them to kill him; but this turned out to be because:
# the silk socks are expensive,
# after lying in the coffin for fifty years, modern ideas don't seem so enlightened, and
# it is healthy exercise and source of family pride for the townspeople (see Count [[Bela de Magpyr]] in {{CJ}}.)

In {{T!}}, [[Sally von Humpeding]] derives a sense of power from the intrigue involved in spying and espionage: she is ''certainly'' an agent of the [[Low King]] in [[Ankh-Morpork]] and is unmasked as such by the end of the book. But is she also reporting back to Lady Margolotta? (Via the League of Temperance, who have pressed for her to be allowed to join the Watch). And to [[Vetinari]] (who is irritated that he has lost [[A.E. Pessimal]], formerly his observer and inside man, and who is supporting the League in getting Sally into the Watch)?
If so, this makes her a triple agent, poised amidst three powerful players, each of whom is pursuing an agenda of their own. As with double agents everywhere, this offers her choices and chances for manipulation. By the end of the book, she has become a ''quadruple'' agent: recognising what's going on, [[Samuel Vimes]] refuses to allow her to resign from the Watch, as he has other plans for somebody with her skills. Perhaps she will re-appear as a member of the [[Cable Street Particulars]], as her skills make her ideal for this aspect of police work? (And maybe the Diamond King of Trolls could use her services, thus making her a quintuple agent.)

Other behaviour attributable to their immortal status includes the tendency to evolve their names over time. Listing the full name of a vampire alone could occupy several pages in the [[Almanack de Gothic]], and indeed it seems this may function as some sort of status symbol. As a generally nocturnal species, it can also be presumed that they do much work in the city at night in case say, someone wakes up in the wee hours, decides what he really needs at the moment is a hundred square feet of canvas or a dozen wooden chairs.

==Modern Vampirism==
Members of one vampire clan started calling themselves "[[vampyres]]", trying to be modern. This clan has once attempted to make what they considered an enlightened arrangement of obtaining blood from citizens by means of taxation; it has failed (see {{CJ}}).

Nowadays, many vampires, especially those who have moved to the cities on the [[Sto Plains]], are members of the [[Überwald League of Temperance]], in which members go to meetings and sing songs by an organ about how they love hot cocoa and a bun instead of the ''b-vord''; most members drink no blood at all.

Other younger vampires, in a parody of [[Roundworld]] goth culture, dress up as ordinary humans and give themselves ordinary human names such as "John" or "Melinda" and engage in what they believe are ordinary human activities, such as agriculture.

==How to become one==
It seems that people can be born as vampires by vampire parents, or people can be changed into vampires by being bitten by a vampire in a special way. Some vampires can change to a bat form (see Count [[Notfaroutoe]] in {{RM}} or Sally who can turn into a flock of bats), but some change to other forms such as a magpie ({{CJ}}). One was even known to hunt in the form of a great black dog. Vampires usually look pale and skinny, but are in fact very fast and powerful. Many vampires can fly, or rather float in the air, while in human form, such as the Lady [[Margolotta]]. Others can fly with the aid of wings, as is done by the [[Dragon King of Arms]].

==Known Vampires==
* [[Lettice Babblejack]]
* [[Rupert Bleakley]]
* [[Otto Chriek]]
* [[Cryptopher]]
* [[Dragon King of Arms]]
* [[Fenrir]]
* [[Sally von Humpeding]]
* [[Jane Mary Betty Ann Pamela von Jones]]
* [[Bela de Magpyr]]
* [[Count de Magpyr|Count]] and [[Countess de Magpyr]], [[Vlad]] and [[Lacrimosa]]
* [[Magyrato]]
* [[Maladict]]
* Lady [[Margolotta]]
* [[Schwarzlache von Morecombe]]
* [[Samael]]
* Herr [[von Schlust]]
* [[John Smith|John "Not-A-Vampire-At-All" Smith]]
* Count [[Varcolac]]
* Count [[Volosu]]
* Arthur and Doreen Winkings, Count and Countess [[Notfaroutoe]], although only Arthur is an actual vampire.
... but probably not [[Bob]]

==Annotation==
Supposedly, there are also such things as vampire watermelons and vampire household tools such as unused hatchets. (A folk-legend common in many areas will tell you that a blade, once fully drawn from its sheath, will need a taste of blood before it can be stowed away. While this relates to martial accessories such as swords, bayonets and other edged weapons, it isn't a big leap to more household items such as axes, kitchen knives and craft scalpels. [[Grinjer|Experienced modellers of Airfix kits]] and their ilk will cheerfully tell you that their craft knives appear to obey this universal law and have a thirst for human blood, and any user of a Swann-Morton surgical scalpel will assure you the most dangerous time for the user is when fitting a new blade, a time when concentration is needed and a no. 10A blade will have a [[Kring|Stormbringer]]-like life of its very own. Those new blades, bright sparkling new from the foil packet, are very definitely ''hungry''.

[[Category:Discworld humanoid species]]
[[Category:Undead characters|Vampires]]
[[de:Vampire]]

Trolls

2021-12-15T12:01:30Z

T.M.S.I.D.R. Schnapper: Using "they" is way easier than trying to fuse he and she together. I've left the anonymous dwarf in line 55 as a "he", since that's what most dwarves, both male and female, use (though that is changing, especially in Ankh-Morpork)

[[Image:Troll headz 2.jpg|240px|right|thumb|Troll heads, as drawn by [[User:Knmatt|Matt Smith]], with a deep nod to Mr Kidby]]

Huge moving, living rocks of humanoid shape, with intelligence and personality: in other words, '''trolls''' are sentient beings. Trolls have interesting seams of valuable minerals as their blood vessels and nervous system. This phenomenon has at least two repercussions. One: a troll's brain, silicon-based, will overheat and slow down in [[Ankh-Morpork]] (where everyone wants to live), and the troll will become sadly stupid; the brain will also overheat in strong sun, causing trolls to stop moving in daylight. Two: when a troll has stopped moving while their brain has overheated in daylight, this troll will look just like a lump of rock, with interesting seams of valuable minerals, and may be (and have been) attacked by mining [[dwarfs]]. This is very likely the initial cause of the animosity between trolls and dwarfs, even though, after hundreds of years, the feud goes on because it is a cultural tradition for both species. It being a cultural tradition does not mean it is nice; trolls and dwarfs have repeated the [[Battle of Koom Valley]] several times, each side springing an ambush on the other, casualties are high. The hostility lives on and is found in any place with a significant number of both species, for example, Ankh-Morpork; a serious riot has occurred in ''[[Book:Men at Arms|Men at Arms]]''.

Neither have Trolls gotten on well with humans, through most of history. Not being able to digest carbon-based life forms didn't stop them from eating them, and a belt of human skulls used to be a popular fashion statement among male Trolls. Naturally, this sort of thing led to [[The Troll's Head|retaliation]] and a lot of derogatory bedtime stories. Nowadays, relations are much more peaceful all around, and the game of [[Aargrooha]] has nearly disappeared. Trolls retain a fear and loathing of billy-goats, however. It's something like elephants and mice.

Trolls are large and powerful, but have never been a political force to be reckoned with in their home mountains (where it is nice and cold and trolls are clever), except for warring against the dwarfs. Trolls generally come from the [[Ramtops]] or Überwald. In the Ramtops, trolls are considered a nuisance; in Überwald, trolls are either enemies of dwarfs or treated as semi-sentient slaves (see ''[[Book:The Fifth Elephant|The Fifth Elephant]]''). In [[Bonk]], [[Überwald]], trolls are considered properties and need to carry a passport signed by their ''owners''. Only in Ankh-Morpork have trolls been able to influence some policies by being a large immigrant group. They have a rather inefficient crime syndicate called the [[Breccia]], led by the troll [[Chrysoprase]], who is the fastest in assimilating into the city human society. Trolls have also organized the [[Silicon Anti-Defamation League]] to improve the image of trolls in the cities.

Trolls have teeth of diamond. A troll dentist might also be a rich diamond merchant. A troll [[Chrysoprase|gangster]] might wear the teeth of their former enemies as jewelry. While most trolls are capable of growing diamond teeth (and possibly regenerating fresh diamond, just as rodents' teeth continually grow from underneath to replace what is ground away on the top?) this is as far as it goes for most trolls. But just once in a while, trollish genetics throws up a [[Mr. Shine|Diamond Troll]] made entirely of diamond. Such a being is naturally super-intelligent as they can regulate their own bodily temperature - evidenced by the thin layer of frost on the outside that also serves as protection against the glare for onlookers.

Diamond Trolls, by custom and precedent, generally gravitate to the position of High King or equivalent over the whole of Trolldom. However, the current incumbent didn't want the kingship if it meant a resumption of large-scale warfare between trolls and dwarfs, but reserved a right to step into his inheritance when circumstances improved. Until pivotal developments in [[Koom Valley]] made peace feasible, Mr. Shine was content to remain incognito in [[Ankh-Morpork]], teaching [[Thud]] and working for greater understanding between Trolls and [[Dwarfs]]. Now, with the troll clans united under his leadership, trolls' interests have found their champion in international politics, as exemplified by [[Vetinari]]'s cooperation in efforts to eradicate the Crystal Slam trade worldwide.

==Female Trolls==

Female Trolls can generally be identified in that they have a tendency to look like sculptures of stone-age goddesses of fertility. Nonetheless, like male trolls, they usually wear little more than a loincloth. Since trolls minimise on clothing to try to stay cool, reverse logic dictates that the more a troll wears, the more erotic it is. [[Nanny Ogg]] mentioned that females wearing clothes excites males, and that there is a club in Ankh-Morpork where the troll dancers ''end up'' wearing seven layers of heavy sheets.

It used to be that troll courtship consisted of a male troll asking a father's permission to hit the female on the head with a nice rock, then, after the female had recovered from her mild concussion, and approved the rock, they would enjoy a nice candle-lit human for two (although that's not done anymore, at least if there's any chance of getting caught), and then for the rest of her life, the female troll will be home subduing whatever prey that the male brings home for dinner. But after coming to Ankh-Morpork and witnessing human and dwarfish courtship rituals, some are taking a more feminist approach and choosing their own rocks to hit their own males over the head, without needing to ask their father's permission. (''[[Book:Moving Pictures|Moving Pictures]]'').

Female trolls use distinctly female names (names of precious or semi-precious stones). In some regions, male trolls expect female trolls to ''polish'', and it's not encouraged for them to grow lichen (a la a woman shaving), since "bald is modest" (''[[Book:Monstrous Regiment|Monstrous Regiment]]''). In cosmopolitan Ankh-Morpork, on the other hand, Mr [[Stronginthearm]]'s troll beauty products includes a spray guaranteed to ''grow'' lichen for that "almost clothed" look.

==Troll Afterlife==
While trolls almost certainly have souls, it is unknown what happens to them when they die. While [[Death]] has come for many humans, dwarves, dogs and even a golem in the course of the discworld books, he has never yet been seen to collect the soul of a troll. Then again, most of them don´t actually die, as explained upon below.

For the trolls themselves they apparently believe they are moving backwards through time as they refer to the 'sunset of time' rather than the 'dawn of time' (they can see the past, so it must be "ahead of," not behind, them). While a troll can die from injuries, they do not die of old age. A really old troll will generally find a nice quite place in the mountains and sit and think. This will go on for years, and as their thoughts get deeper their synaptic processes get gradually slower. Eventually they stop altogether (perhaps because they have reached the conclusion) and the troll is no more than rock. One troll this almost happened to was [[Old Grandad]], but he was rudely woken by some short-lived thugs who had lit a fire in his mouth.

Trolls becoming dormant like this has also been another source of tension between the dwarf and troll races. Dwarfs like to mine rocks with interesting minerals in them, and a dormant troll is basically a large rock made of interesting minerals. This has led to '[[Koom Valley| unpleasantness]]' when some dwarf miner is attacked by a troll he's just put his pick into, or a troll discovering that the stone slabs of that fireplace have been made out of their granny.

==Language==
[[Image:mica.JPG|thumb|left|200px|'''I ain't afraid of no goats!''' (drawing by Matt Smith)]]
Most Trolls can speak the language of humans, but they have their own language and written script as well. They also have an older language known as 'Old Troll' spoken several hundred years ago but still understood by trolls alive today such as [[Detritus]] & [[Mr. Shine]].

Troll Graffiti is a common sight in Anhk-Morpork, rather than paint on the walls, the troll just pushes their finger into the plaster and makes the words in the side of the building. You can tell how important the message is by how deep it has gone in.

For a complete list of [[Trollish phrases|trollish phrases click here]]

==Troll Drink and Drugs==
Trolls are as prone to intoxication as any other sentient species. The intoxicants and their delivery systems are unique to a silicon-based lifeform. Such things as troll cigarettes have been referenced. These have a lot in common with fireworks. Trolls have been known to get addicted to fireworks. Troll drinks range from molten sulphur, delivered in a suitably ceramic drinking vessel, to the [[Electrick Floorbanger]] or [[luglarr]]. [[Sam Vimes]] has learnt to use this to his advantage in a riot-control situation. Hard drugs - and troll drugs are the hardest on the Disc - are a different problem. [[Slab]] and [[Slide]] are a persistent problem among the young, and [[Crystal Slam]] is outright lethal, although any suggestion that [[Chrysoprase]] is involved will be very firmly denied by the [[Silicon Anti-Defamation League]]. Many things can be social drugs to trolls. In {{UA}}, we meet [[Concrete]], a troll who has hit on the opiate uses of iron filings.

[[Category:Troll characters]]
[[Category:Discworld humanoid species]]
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Talk:Nobby Nobbs

2021-12-02T10:10:00Z

T.M.S.I.D.R. Schnapper:

Is Nobby's historical re-enactment group called the "Peeled Nuts", or am I thinking of something else?...--[[User:Old Dickens|Old Dickens]] 16:05, 17 April 2007 (CEST)
:Found it already, yes they are.--[[User:Old Dickens|Old Dickens]] 16:19, 17 April 2007 (CEST)
I believe the current [[Havelock Vetinari|Patrician]] once asked Nobby if he was one of the Dwarfs (in Feet of Clay), that would suggest that Nobby has the appearance of a short dwarf with many boils. (Using the HarperTouch Edition of Feet of Clay). [[User:Marz2|Marz]] 07:38 03 February 2008 (EST)

I like to think that he got his declaration of being human because he kept saying that he was and everyone kept saying {{citation needed}} --[[User:T.M.S.I.D.R. Schnapper|T.M.S.I.D.R. Schnapper]] ([[User talk:T.M.S.I.D.R. Schnapper|talk]]) 10:09, 2 December 2021 (UTC)

== Question... ==

I've noticed a fair number of articles on characters being moved to indicate their full name, such as the recent change of the Bledlow Nobbs article to the name Alphonse Nobbs. Should we move this page to 'Cecil Wormsborough St John "Nobby" Nobbs' and just turn the 'Nobby Nobbs' page into a redirect? Or would that be too much trouble for the small accuracy increase?

No, it's first name/last name. No titles, honorifics or middle names (think of the Vampires). It should be ''Cecil Nobbs'', really, but there are historical exceptions for major characters called "Nobby", "Granny", etc. --[[User:Old Dickens|Old Dickens]] 00:13, 1 December 2009 (UTC)

Thanks for clarifying. [[User:Doctor Whiteface|Doctor Whiteface]] 00:15, 1 December 2009 (UTC)

:It's also hard to remember that Cecil Nobbs really is Nobby. At some point, familiarity gets a vote. --[[User:Fhh98|Fhh98]] 01:04, 1 December 2009 (UTC)

::Point taken. Actually, I just thought of something. There's a woman in the same wing of the home as me that constantly refers to characters by their first names, regardless of their commonly-used name, so she always calls Dibbler 'CMOT' instead of 'Dibbler.' Want me to create a redirect page from Cecil Nobbs to this page in case of people like her? [[User:Doctor Whiteface|Doctor Whiteface]] 03:01, 1 December 2009 (UTC)

::That would probably be a good idea, some people will probably at least make links.--Confusion 01:09, 17 October 2011 (CEST)

== Interesting point - etymology ==

The Guardian (London, 20/01/10) has an interesting letter: the etymological derivation of the nickname "Nobby" is claimed to be via generations of British soldiers serving in India, where the ''nobi'' of an Army unit was the platoon or company clerk, that rare soldier who could read and write and assist the officers in doing the practical admin tasks - "nobi" being Hindu for "scribe" or "writer" or "clerk".

I'm not sure how it fits here as Nobby Nobbs is only just functionally literate and tries to avoid excess paperwork, and while he served in the Army, the nations of the Sto Plains do not have the same sort of historical association with any sort of "India" on the Discworld that the British did. (Yet other Indian-derived slang words have filtered back into Morporkian - we're told via Klatch?) Worth noting, anyway. --[[User:AgProv|AgProv]] 12:32, 20 January 2010 (UTC)

:Anyone of a certain age with the surname Clark or derivations of it (Clarke, etc) in Britain was/is a Nobby. The idea has merit, but how it fits in... We know our Nobby was a quartermaster, but the scribe - no, no. If your surname is Nobbs, I guess Nobby is the most likely name you'll get. Can't be worse than Cyril, anyway... --[[User:Knmatt|Knmatt]] 15:31, 20 January 2010 (UTC)

::I like this proposition better than the {{wp|Nobby|Wikipedia}} explanations, but I have had no luck finding any ''nobis'' who aren't Korean or Japanese; a Hindi-speaking co-worker doesn't recognise the word. There is, however, ''Nabu'', "the scribe and herald of the gods, god of writing and destiny; patron of scribes". He should be close to AgProv's heart, coming as he does from the [http://books.google.ca/books?id=flosLA-dFUkC&pg=PA175&lpg=PA175&dq=hindu+scribe+nobi&source=bl&ots=aXN00Swaq2&sig=DNoAD8dOdRK7v8Blq9FDgLZzSUw&hl=en&ei=szBmS9rLI8vclAfrlbiUCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CAwQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=&f=false|''Cloak of the Illuminati: Secrets, Transformations, Crossing the Stargate'' By William Henry]. . . --[[User:Old Dickens|Old Dickens]] 01:56, 1 February 2010 (UTC)
:: Also, Nobby was wearing a "Knobby" top hat when first encountered at age ten. There are an amazing number of uses of ''Knobby/Nobby'' in English slang around the world. --[[User:Old Dickens|Old Dickens]] 16:28, 19 June 2011 (CEST)

==Pronunciation, again==
"St. John" is commonly pronounced sin-jәn here, but is there any mention of Nobby doing so? --[[User:Old Dickens|Old Dickens]] 22:23, 15 June 2010 (UTC)

Nobby must have had something to do about this website:http://www.popthatzit.com/
:Dear God.--[[User:Knmatt|Knmatt]] 22:07, 20 June 2011 (CEST)

== Real life reference? ==

I was watching episode 3 of the 7th series of "They Think It's All Over", a sports-themed British game show, and "Nobby Nobbs" was one of the answers. Does anyone know anything about this?

[[File:Temp.png|thumbnail]]

[[User:Barrycarter|Barrycarter]] ([[User talk:Barrycarter|talk]]) 22:41, 28 May 2017 (UTC)
:Need to know what the question was. Was it [http://boxrec.com/media/index.php/Nobby_Nobbs this guy?] --[[User:Old Dickens|Old Dickens]] ([[User talk:Old Dickens|talk]]) 23:12, 28 May 2017 (UTC)
::It was just a round of "sports names", so I think that's it. Someone should annotate-- the other Nobby Nobbs isn't even in wikipedia [[User:Barrycarter|Barrycarter]] ([[User talk:Barrycarter|talk]]) 02:13, 29 May 2017 (UTC)

Ah. I may be able to answer this with some confidence. We are, I think, referring to 1960's football legend Nobby Stiles, a mainstay of Manchester United's star side who won the League and European Cup, and who turned out with England's World Cup winning team of 1966. In appearance a remarkably "differently handsome" sort of man of no great physical height, Nobby was feared as a tough player in defence and after having lost most of his teeth, deliberately played his games without dentures so as to be able to scare the Hell out of the other side, merely by smiling at them.

[Wikipedia| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobby_Stiles] says: He was an unlikely-looking footballer in many ways – he was short, at a time when teenagers were being rejected by clubs purely because of their lack of height; he was also a wearer of dentures, the removal of which prior to matches gave him a gap-toothed expression which had the potential to scare. He became significantly bald at a young age and sported a dramatic comb-over; and he suffered from severe shortsightedness, meaning he needed strong contact lenses when playing and wore thick spectacles off the field.

[[File:Nobby-Stiles-Nosferatu.jpg]]

Photos of him are interesting. The nickname "Nobby" may have been a case of life anticipating art. Also recall the other Foot-The-Balling referent - [[Alphonse Nobbs]] (no relation) , Bledlow. [[User:AgProv|AgProv]] ([[User talk:AgProv|talk]]) 12:32, 29 May 2017 (UTC)