Set-up
William learns the wrong trick the right way. The book whispers, the audience gasps, and the posters start using a new name: Maxwell. The routine grows teeth, Charlie learns too much, and the curtain lifts on a different world.
Don't Starve Together
Maxwell
Former headliner, current shadow playwright. Top hat full of bad ideas.
“The dapperest of them all.”
— Maxwell
Synopsis
He learned real magic by accident and found out the bill is always due.
Once he was William Carter, a vaudeville magician with a pocketful of patter and an assistant named Charlie. A strange book—the Codex Umbra—made the act real, then made it hungry. The Constant liked his showmanship and sat him on a thorny throne until hubris, helpers, and a very patient audience pried him loose. Now he walks the stage with shadows that mind his cues and a past that doesn’t know how to stay buried.
Voice in the dark
“Say, pal, you don’t look so good. You’d better find something to eat before night comes!”
— Maxwell, the opening taunt
The Constant loves a warm welcome.
Past: The William Carter Act
Turn
The Constant takes him for a King. There’s a throne, there are bargains, there is Nightmare Fuel like ink that stains in both directions. Maxwell makes a kingdom of bad decisions and crowns himself with shadows.
Prestige
Pride meets pitchfork. The audience becomes the cast; the cast becomes the crew; the crew pulls him off the chair. Freedom isn’t forgiveness—it’s just the exit door propped open.
Present: The Puppetmaster on foot
Glass jaw, iron will, impeccable tailoring.
Signature: Codex Umbra
He still keeps the book. It answers. From its margins step obedient silhouettes—loggers, miners, diggers, duelists—happy to work until the ink runs dry. Powerful, literal, and very Maxwell about the division of labor.
Risk profile
- Frailty: low constitution; you plan fights or you don’t have them.
- Sanity economy: high sanity makes nightmare fuel a resource, not a hazard.
- Control freak: excels when you script the scene—puppets on task, puppeteer out of harm’s way.
Team notes
He’s the foreman who brings his own crew: efficient gathering early, safe scouting with shadows eating the risk, and a smug little bow when the campfire sees results.
Loose ends
Charlie
Partner, foil, consequence. Their story is the Constant’s favourite joke: a setup that never ends.
Nightmare Fuel
Power with a smell. He treats it like ink; everyone else treats it like rot.
Throne
If you meet a chair in the woods, don’t sit. If you sat, don’t bargain. If you bargained, don’t blink.
Maxwell: footnotes from a fallen king
About Charlie
“It'll be dark soon. Charlie will be waking up.”
“It keeps Charlie at bay.”
“Ow! Be gentle, Charlie!”
“Charlie was the only one who ever kept me in check.”
“She's still in there somewhere. I know it.”
“Her tragedy does not define her.”
“Charlie... what are you planning?”
About his past
“It reminds me of my old act.”
“My acts were always a bit more improvisational.”
“Even The Amazing Maxwell couldn't wring magic from that.”
“Say pal, do you like magic tricks? This is one where I talk and you grow.”
About the crown
“A crown can be a heavy burden…”
“Once again the seat of power is stolen from me!”
“You know, I ruled over this entire world once. Now I'm talking to a plant.”
“Very well. If I can master the dark arts, how hard could cooking be?”
“How I've missed the act of creation.”
“Perhaps I might reign again... as the king of fishing!”
“I like the noise they make when you burn them.”
His funny uncle swag
“Go on. Axe me what the moon's made of.”
“These are gross, and that's the tooth.”
“Well it's certainly not deer to me.”
“What a staggering sight!”
“Are you picking up what I'm putting down? Do you dig it?”
“It croaked.”
“Cool staff.”
This man needs a hug
“Must everything be about my shortcomings?”
“I'm so sorry.”
“Every lovely flower must one day wilt.”
“All my ambitions go up in smoke.”
“It's... strange to be so trusted.”
“Ah. I thought I'd run out of people to disappoint.”
Interractions with himself
“What a dapper fellow!”
“I know that look. What are you up to?”
“Old habits die hard... and so will you!”
“Trust only yourself.”
“I'll have to pay in blood to bring you back.”
“Do not blow this for us.”
How to play him mean
- Open: drop workers immediately; let them pay for your hubris.
- Mid: script your routes; puppets clear lanes while you kite, scout, or craft.
- Late: spend sanity like a resource; kill your demons.
Dress well. Delegate better.