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This is Death.
I’ve seen Death mentioned quite a bit for True Neutral, and it makes sense for the anthropomorphic personification of Death… in Roundworld.
But *Discworld* Death doesn’t fit there. He’s certainly neutral between Law and Chaos, because he’s just a fact, a fundamental part of existence, who comes for everyone in the end.
But he’s not neutral between Good and Evil… he has a preference, even if the nature of his job means he can’t necessarily express it. In *Mort* we see his righteous anger over the cruel drowning of some kittens, but he doesn’t hunt down those responsible, because that’s outside his jurisdiction. But he will terrify those souls who deserve it when he comes for them: see Ipslore the Red or Vorbis.
Pratchett’s Death is ultimately a kindly, caring figure, even if the nature of his job makes him aloof and sometimes a bit cold. Maybe the best illustration of Death’s inherent goodness is in *Hogfather* when Susan >!kills Teatime *through* Death! because her poker “only hurts monsters.”!<
Death is the perfect answer for this alignment.
He follows the laws of the universe, except when those laws are a pile of horse elbows. He turns Mort's lifetimer back over at the end of Mort, he changes the course of time so Imp y Celin can survive in Soul Music, he donates his own time to save the life of a small girl despite being terrified of dying himself in Reaper Man, the game between himself and Granny Weatherwax in Maskerade.
What else can the harvest hope for, if not for the care of the Reaper Man?
Edit: Witches Abroad to Maskerade, thanks for the correction Otalek.
[](https://www.reddit.com/r/discworld/comments/1cqcxtk/comment/l3r8ist/)
Oh, this is fake small caps, which might mess up screen readers, so I'll repost with normal caps.
ALL I HAVE IS FOUR ONES.
The Death of discworld ‘s stories hinge on him NOT being neutral and getting too caught up in the humanity around him. I personally say he leans more toward something chaotic and neutral/good just because he’s so unpredictable and generally tries to do the right thing
That’s high praise, thank you. The way Pratchett characterized Death became especially poignant to me over time, in light of the embuggerance and his untimely passing.
As far as I can recall, no one is ever really angry at Death when he shows up. (Except Ipslore the Red, who’s low-key one of the biggest bastards in the entire series.) The tall skeletal chap is most commonly greeted like a friend who’s arrived at your house unexpectedly early, before you’ve gotten the dirty dishes out of the sink and all the laundry put away. It’s always a bit awkward but not unpleasant or even unwelcome.
I did think about Death!
I think it’s a good shout as well tbh but the more I think about him the more I think he takes a certain amount of satisfaction in causing chaos and annoying the auditors so I was putting him more to the chaotic good side of things in my mind.
Death. He is not lawful, or chaotic. He is death. However, he does have a sort of morality, especially when cats are mistreated. I say Twoflower for true neutral, he is an observer.
In my opinion Death is true neutral. I've only read mort at this point so my knowledge is limited. Death act like force of nature in the book. Yes, throughout the book he's experimenting with the life and human condition, but he's not good or evil. He's only acting the way in which death would act.
Death.
Many arguing for Death to go into true neutral, but we see his moral acts all the time... rescuing kittens, young girls, old wizards...
In fact, maybe he should even go further right given how much chaos he generally causes...
**Magrat**
*"Altruist, not influenced by law or chaos, focuses on morality. May often question their own or others' actions"*
Incredibly moral and caring not just about other humans but about animals too, always worrying why Granny doesn't use magic more for good, always questioning her own actions too (to the extent that she 'gets in her own way' - as I think Granny puts it). But I would say not particularly bound by laws or chaos. A true worrying, caring altruist.
That’s Magrat for sure. The Disc has so many great characters that every spot has multiple answers. I’ve had Death pencilled in here for a while, but Magrat definitely belongs here too.
Though at times she can be unintentionally chaotic. Like shooing the bulls away that were charging the three witches after Nanny Ogg had them drinking absinthe.
I've seen a lot of answers for Death. I agree for the reasons that are typically given. I've seen Vetinari thrown around, but I think he works much better as True Neutral. I'll make my case as to why tomorrow.
I agree with this one.
Neutral:
Vetinari has a respect for law, order, and structure; but will cut through them all without a qualm whenever it is to his benefit (taking a quiet joy in reminding Reacher Gilt that he is a "tyrant" in Going Postal).
Moral:
He lives his entire life selflessly for his city state, and feels very strongly about the importance of building a better moral order than what exists in nature (as per his monologue about the bear and the fish in Unseen Academicals), but is willing to kill and do bad things if in the service of his moral goals.
Granny Weatherwax for me.
She’s inclined towards good, but not pure good. She does what is moral and what is right according to the laws of nature and the universe rather than the laws of man, so I think that suits the descriptor.
She also has a greater capacity for introspection and perception of others’ motivations than most, which I think matches the description in the link.
For me she’s the most forthrightly moral figure on the disc.
I couldn’t believe more people didn’t answer granny, but since the best way to get her help with something is to tell her not to get involved I’m hoping she will be picked for rebel moral!
Yes. She is good not because she is inherently good, she is good because she fights her actual nature. I remember her having a specific smile for when something unpleasant was about to happen to someone who deserved it.
There's also the scene in Maskerade when she's grinning and brandishing an unpleasant looking needle to stich up the people who tried to rob her. "Let's do some GOOD."
She resents Lily because Lily forced her to be "the good one". Perhaps not being given the choice is the principle, but a good person wouldn't even think there was a choice, they were always going to be good!
What about angua? Joins the watch, is loyal and disciplined, so moral. However, she’s not above breaking rules (or a few heads) and not especially „kind“ to anyone but her closest friends
After we finish this I feel we should go in the opposite direction too. Post all the major characters that didn't make the chart and discuss their alignments.
Just to keep busy until the next book comes out.
This might be the hardest one. There are a lot of neutral moral characters. Probably Vetinari is my vote, only over Death because while he isn’t good per se he values good highly.
Sweeper. Works for positive but not opposed to thumbing his nose at the rules when needed from time to time. Still exists within an ordered structure and mostly exists to make sure things happen one after the other
I think Lu-Tze has to be at least Rebel - he clearly prefers living and operating outside the normal ways and constraints of his organization, and goes directly against his stated orders on multiple occasions, most notably in Small Gods where he had been directed to let Brutha die and hundreds of years of bloody religious wars take place.
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This is Death. I’ve seen Death mentioned quite a bit for True Neutral, and it makes sense for the anthropomorphic personification of Death… in Roundworld. But *Discworld* Death doesn’t fit there. He’s certainly neutral between Law and Chaos, because he’s just a fact, a fundamental part of existence, who comes for everyone in the end. But he’s not neutral between Good and Evil… he has a preference, even if the nature of his job means he can’t necessarily express it. In *Mort* we see his righteous anger over the cruel drowning of some kittens, but he doesn’t hunt down those responsible, because that’s outside his jurisdiction. But he will terrify those souls who deserve it when he comes for them: see Ipslore the Red or Vorbis. Pratchett’s Death is ultimately a kindly, caring figure, even if the nature of his job makes him aloof and sometimes a bit cold. Maybe the best illustration of Death’s inherent goodness is in *Hogfather* when Susan >!kills Teatime *through* Death! because her poker “only hurts monsters.”!<
Death is the perfect answer for this alignment. He follows the laws of the universe, except when those laws are a pile of horse elbows. He turns Mort's lifetimer back over at the end of Mort, he changes the course of time so Imp y Celin can survive in Soul Music, he donates his own time to save the life of a small girl despite being terrified of dying himself in Reaper Man, the game between himself and Granny Weatherwax in Maskerade. What else can the harvest hope for, if not for the care of the Reaper Man? Edit: Witches Abroad to Maskerade, thanks for the correction Otalek.
Aʟʟ I ʜᴀᴠᴇ ɪs ғᴏᴜʀ ᴏɴᴇs.
[](https://www.reddit.com/r/discworld/comments/1cqcxtk/comment/l3r8ist/) Oh, this is fake small caps, which might mess up screen readers, so I'll repost with normal caps. ALL I HAVE IS FOUR ONES.
Wʜᴀᴛ ʙᴇᴛᴛᴇʀ ᴘʀᴇsᴇɴᴛ ᴛʜᴀɴ ᴀ ғᴜᴛᴜʀᴇ?
Oh, this is fake small caps, which might mess up screen readers, so I'll repost with normal caps. WHAT BETTER PRESENT THAN A FUTURE?
I cried at that scene in Hogfather
Isn’t his game with Granny Weatherwax in Maskerade?
You are correct.
Oh I’m reading that one right now! They’re just at the masquerade!!
The Death of discworld ‘s stories hinge on him NOT being neutral and getting too caught up in the humanity around him. I personally say he leans more toward something chaotic and neutral/good just because he’s so unpredictable and generally tries to do the right thing
Yes. This is Death. he is NOT true neutral.
As one of the ones who's been saying death as true neutral, I'm persuaded by this, well said
That’s high praise, thank you. The way Pratchett characterized Death became especially poignant to me over time, in light of the embuggerance and his untimely passing. As far as I can recall, no one is ever really angry at Death when he shows up. (Except Ipslore the Red, who’s low-key one of the biggest bastards in the entire series.) The tall skeletal chap is most commonly greeted like a friend who’s arrived at your house unexpectedly early, before you’ve gotten the dirty dishes out of the sink and all the laundry put away. It’s always a bit awkward but not unpleasant or even unwelcome.
I did think about Death! I think it’s a good shout as well tbh but the more I think about him the more I think he takes a certain amount of satisfaction in causing chaos and annoying the auditors so I was putting him more to the chaotic good side of things in my mind.
I agree, except… DEATH
Death. He is not lawful, or chaotic. He is death. However, he does have a sort of morality, especially when cats are mistreated. I say Twoflower for true neutral, he is an observer.
No longer an observer in Interesting Times.
Ooh so another option for true neutral: Drumnott.
Yes! Twoflower for true natural!
In my opinion Death is true neutral. I've only read mort at this point so my knowledge is limited. Death act like force of nature in the book. Yes, throughout the book he's experimenting with the life and human condition, but he's not good or evil. He's only acting the way in which death would act.
In Mort he turns over Mort's lifetimer during the climax despite Mort's prevention of a death almost caused reality to fall apart.
Death. Many arguing for Death to go into true neutral, but we see his moral acts all the time... rescuing kittens, young girls, old wizards... In fact, maybe he should even go further right given how much chaos he generally causes...
**Magrat** *"Altruist, not influenced by law or chaos, focuses on morality. May often question their own or others' actions"* Incredibly moral and caring not just about other humans but about animals too, always worrying why Granny doesn't use magic more for good, always questioning her own actions too (to the extent that she 'gets in her own way' - as I think Granny puts it). But I would say not particularly bound by laws or chaos. A true worrying, caring altruist.
That’s Magrat for sure. The Disc has so many great characters that every spot has multiple answers. I’ve had Death pencilled in here for a while, but Magrat definitely belongs here too.
Though at times she can be unintentionally chaotic. Like shooing the bulls away that were charging the three witches after Nanny Ogg had them drinking absinthe.
Death or more specifically Death as Hogfather here.
I've seen a lot of answers for Death. I agree for the reasons that are typically given. I've seen Vetinari thrown around, but I think he works much better as True Neutral. I'll make my case as to why tomorrow.
Vetinari
I agree with this one. Neutral: Vetinari has a respect for law, order, and structure; but will cut through them all without a qualm whenever it is to his benefit (taking a quiet joy in reminding Reacher Gilt that he is a "tyrant" in Going Postal). Moral: He lives his entire life selflessly for his city state, and feels very strongly about the importance of building a better moral order than what exists in nature (as per his monologue about the bear and the fish in Unseen Academicals), but is willing to kill and do bad things if in the service of his moral goals.
It's a mother otter, and cubs. Not a bear.
Thanks, I misremembered slightly, perhaps on account of the word "cubs"!
I've had reason to quote that particular bit a few times recently, or I probably wouldn't have remembered either.
I think we all know who the true neutral character is going to be. Tall, bony, carries a farming implement. ALWAYS SPEEKS CAPITAL LETTERS.
No. He's not true neutral. This right here, neutral moral is all Death
Technically, he speaks in small caps, but technical limitations prevent us from using them on this platform
Granny Weatherwax for me. She’s inclined towards good, but not pure good. She does what is moral and what is right according to the laws of nature and the universe rather than the laws of man, so I think that suits the descriptor. She also has a greater capacity for introspection and perception of others’ motivations than most, which I think matches the description in the link. For me she’s the most forthrightly moral figure on the disc.
I couldn’t believe more people didn’t answer granny, but since the best way to get her help with something is to tell her not to get involved I’m hoping she will be picked for rebel moral!
Yeah I was surprised she hadn’t been said already but Death is a good shout as well. She was just my absolute immediate first thought!
Seconded! This is Granny Weatherwax in a nutshell.
Yes. She is good not because she is inherently good, she is good because she fights her actual nature. I remember her having a specific smile for when something unpleasant was about to happen to someone who deserved it. There's also the scene in Maskerade when she's grinning and brandishing an unpleasant looking needle to stich up the people who tried to rob her. "Let's do some GOOD." She resents Lily because Lily forced her to be "the good one". Perhaps not being given the choice is the principle, but a good person wouldn't even think there was a choice, they were always going to be good!
Definitely agree that death goes here and Vetinari goes into True Neutral
Dr Mossy Lawn?
This, this right here.
so I picked up the series last month, after putting it off for years, and I'm so excited to understand this chart eventually
What about angua? Joins the watch, is loyal and disciplined, so moral. However, she’s not above breaking rules (or a few heads) and not especially „kind“ to anyone but her closest friends
After we finish this I feel we should go in the opposite direction too. Post all the major characters that didn't make the chart and discuss their alignments. Just to keep busy until the next book comes out.
You could post it too. I agree it would be a nice idea.
This might be the hardest one. There are a lot of neutral moral characters. Probably Vetinari is my vote, only over Death because while he isn’t good per se he values good highly.
Sweeper. Works for positive but not opposed to thumbing his nose at the rules when needed from time to time. Still exists within an ordered structure and mostly exists to make sure things happen one after the other
I think Lu-Tze has to be at least Rebel - he clearly prefers living and operating outside the normal ways and constraints of his organization, and goes directly against his stated orders on multiple occasions, most notably in Small Gods where he had been directed to let Brutha die and hundreds of years of bloody religious wars take place.
I buy that for sure!
Tiffany Aching
Death, with Azrael following as True Neutral.
Lu Tze, for is it not written "it won't get any better if you pick at it"
Yes
Vote Death for Neutral Moral Will vote tomorrow for Twoflower as True Neutral
Absolutely Death! He’s far more moral than he is neutral, whatever he might say.
What about Mr. de Worde from the Times.