The series began in 1983 with The Colour of Magic and continued until the final novel The Shepherd's Crown, which was published in 2015, following Pratchett's death.

The books frequently parody or take inspiration from classic works, usually fantasy or science fiction, as well as mythology, folklore and fairy tales, and often use them for satirical parallels with cultural, political and scientific issues.

Analogies of real-world issues, such as religion (Small Gods), fundamentalism and inner city tension (Thud), business and politics (Making Money), racial prejudice and exploitation (Snuff) recur, as do aspects of culture and entertainment such as opera (Maskerade), rock music (Soul Music), cinema (Moving Pictures), and football (Unseen Academicals).

There are also humanist themes in many Discworld novels, and a focus on critical thinking skills in the Witches and Tiffany Aching series.

Other characters in the Rincewind story arc include Cohen the Barbarian, an aging hero of the old fantasy tradition, out of touch with the modern world and still fighting despite his advanced age; Twoflower, a naive tourist from the Agatean Empire (inspired by cultures of East Asia, particularly Japan and China); and The Luggage, a magical, semi-sentient and aggressive multi-legged travelling accessory.

Death, a seven-foot skeleton in a black robe who rides a pale horse named Binky, appears in every novel except The Wee Free Men and Snuff, although sometimes with only a few lines.

He also appears in the short stories Witches in Pratchett's universe act as herbalists, nurses, adjudicators and wise women who can use magic but generally prefer not to, finding simple but cunningly applied psychology (called "headology") far more effective.

The principal witch, Granny Weatherwax, a taciturn, bitter old crone from the small mountain country of Lancre, largely despises people but acts as their healer and protector because no one else can do this as well as she can.

Their stories frequently draw on ancient European folklore and fairy tales, and parody famous works of literature, particularly by Shakespeare.

Guards!, he is the alcoholic captain of the three-person Night Watch, which also includes the lazy, cowardly, and none-too-bright sergeant Fred Colon and Corporal Nobby Nobbs, a petty thief in his own right.

Other main characters include Cheery Littlebottom, the Watch's forensics expert and one of the first openly female dwarves, tried to rename herself "Cheri" without success.

Constable Visit-the-infidel-with-explanatory-pamphlets appears in some novels, and Sam's wife, Lady Sybil Vimes (née Ramkin) is integral to certain storylines.

Earlier books featured the wizards in possible invasions of Discworld by creatures from the Dungeon Dimensions, Lovecraftian monsters that hungered for magic.

Prominent members include In later novels, Rincewind joins their group, while the Dean leaves to become the Archchancellor of Brazeneck College in the nearby city of Pseudopolis.

Her stories often parallel mythic heroes' quests, but also deal with Tiffany's difficulties as a young girl maturing into a responsible woman.

She is aided in her task by the Nac Mac Feegle, a gang of blue-tattooed, 6-inch tall, hard-drinking, loud-mouthed pictsie creatures also called "The Wee Free Men" who serve as her guardians.

She is the protagonist of five novels, The Wee Free Men, A Hat Full of Sky, Wintersmith, I Shall Wear Midnight, and The Shepherd's Crown.

After putting him in charge of the Ankh-Morpork Post Office in Going Postal, with good results, Vetinari orders him to clear up the city's corrupt financial sector in Making Money.

Other characters in this series include Adora Belle Dearheart, Lipwig's acerbic, chain-smoking love interest; Gladys, a golem who develops a strange crush on Lipwig; Stanley Howler, an obsessive young man who was raised by peas and becomes the Discworld's first stamp collector; and the very old Junior Postman Groat, who never got promoted to Senior Postman because there was never a Postmaster alive long enough to promote him.

Additionally, another short story "Turntables of the Night" (1989) is set in England but features Death as a character; it is available online and in both anthologies.

In the live-action adaptations of Hogfather and The Colour of Magic, Dorney Court is the real-life location used for the exterior of Mon Repos, Death's house.

Pratchett also collaborated with Ian Stewart and Jack Cohen on four books, using the Discworld to illuminate popular science topics.

Other Discworld publications include: The books take place roughly in real time and the characters' ages change to reflect the passing of years.

[44] Pratchett co-founded Narrativia in 2012 along with Rob Wilkins to serve as a production company for adaptations of his works, with Rhianna as a member of its writing team.

[45] The first such spin-off by Rhianna was the tie-in book Tiffany Aching's Guide to Being a Witch, co-written with children's author Gabrielle Kent.

The film stars the voices of Hugh Laurie — as the eponymous lead character of the streetwise talking ginger tomcat Maurice, who befriends a group of talking rats and a pet human to run a money-spinning "Pied Piper" scam across Discworld — with Emilia Clarke, Himesh Patel, Gemma Arterton, Ariyon Bakare, David Tennant, Julie Atherton, Joe Sugg, Rob Brydon, Hugh Bonneville, David Thewlis, and Peter Serafinowicz cameoing as Death.

In August 2023, Royal Mail introduced a series of eight stamps based on Discworld characters, to mark the 40th anniversary of the first book's publication.