head of the assassins' guild in "men at arms". he is elitist and looks down on the watch as members of a lower social stratum. however, he is usually honourable by his own standards, until d'eath comes to him with a wild story about the heir to the throne, a bag full of evidence, and the stolen "gonne". upon picking up the weapon, he becomes drunk with power, enjoying the god-like feeling of having the power of life and death over whoever he sees. he takes over edward's plan, trying to kill several guild leaders, and attempts to assassinate the patrician at vimes's wedding. he is hunted down and relieved of his gonne by vimes. he reveals the truth of carrot's ancestry, and carrot executes him for treason. his death is an example of vimes's theory about how anyone who has a weapon being held on them better hope the person holding it is evil, because evil men like cruces will enjoy the power they have over the victim and wait, while good men such as carrot will strike quickly without any meaningless delays.