Maxwell (NPC)

Maxwell

NPC

Don't Starve

DST

Origin

Quotes

Gallery

“I hate that guy.”

–Wilson

“He's so condescending.”

–Willow

“A fancy suit is no match for my muscles!”

–Wolfgang

“I feel a strange kinship with him.”

–Wendy

“HE IS AN UNKNOWN”

–WX-78

“What a rude gentleman.”

–Wickerbottom

“Why does he hate me?”

–Woodie

“Looking good!”

–Maxwell

“Looks like a man who could answer some of my quandaries.”

–Wagstaff

“Arrg! Is that the antagönist tö my saga?!”

–Wigfrid

“That jerk tricked us.”

–Webber

“He seems like kind of a jerk.”

–Walani

“You! You... villain!”

–Warly

“I'd like ta throw 'em overboard.”

–Woodlegs

“MR. WICKED THIS WAY COMES”

–Wilba

“Not friend”

–Wormwood

“Don't take this the wrong way, but you're evil.”

–Wheeler

“Well, you're a tall piece of work.”

–Winona

“You have no power over me, heehee!”

–Wortox

“He not seem very nice.”

–Wurt

“Get him, Woby!”

–Walter

“Say pal, you don't look so good. You better find something to eat before night comes!”

–Maxwell, offering advice.

Maxwell, real name William Carter, is the main antagonist of single-player Don't Starve. He is the one responsible for bringing the Characters into The Constant, forcing them to survive in the harsh wilderness for his own amusement. As ruler of the Constant, he appears significantly taller than the survivors, and can shape the dimension to his desire. Maxwell's presence is felt throughout the game, especially in the various Chess Set Pieces.

Origin

Main article: William Carter Puzzles

Maxwell is unique in having a lot of his backstory revealed in puzzles found outside the game. The following is a summary of the information gleaned from these puzzles.

In 1901, a British man named William Carter boarded a ship from Liverpool to the United States with the hopes of pursuing his career as a magician in New York City. Three years later, William's career had flopped and he was in debt trying to make his magic shows work. It was sometime around this point that William discovered a mysterious book known as the Codex Umbra which contained information on powerful forms of dark magic. William received a letter from his brother Jack Carter, inviting William to come visit Jack and his family out West. William decided to take up Jack on his offer, and boarded a train traveling west to San Francisco, California. On the way, William's train crashed into a circus wagon and William was trapped under one of the damaged train cars. William was saved by a circus strongman, who attempted to lift the train car off of William and was eventually successful with the help of two Shadowy tendrils that shot out of William's Codex Umbra. William was distressed to have someone witness the dark magic of the Codex Umbra he was carrying, and he fled away from the train crash, going missing and presumed dead. Out on his own, William deciphered the various symbols inside the Codex Umbra and his mind was opened to new possibilities for magic acts. He gathered this new information and began incorporating it into his magic shows. Soon, William returned to a life of show business under his new stage name: "The Amazing Maxwell".

After settling down with his newly-found alter ego and knowledge, Maxwell hired Charlie as an assistant. Their magic shows appeared to be successful, creating very convincing acts using the knowledge Maxwell acquired from the book he discovered. In 1906, Charlie went to Maxwell's apartment after not hearing from him for a few days, but instead of finding Maxwell she discovered his hidden "study room", with various symbols and incantations crudely scratched on the walls. Among these were the phrases "Enough", "It's them", and "Charlie". She ran away terrified, but came back later to slide a letter under Maxwell's door acknowledging the room and suggesting that they take a break after their last act.

Later that night, Maxwell and Charlie were to perform their big final act, wherein Maxwell would pull a shadow from his mysterious book. When Maxwell reached inside the book to pull a shadow out, something else pulled him in. He managed to break free, but the book, moving of its own volition, turned to a page before grabbing Maxwell and Charlie with huge shadow hands. Soon, they were both pulled into a parallel dimension. Some time after this, Maxwell was put on the Nightmare Throne and given full reign over the Constant, while Charlie became the Night Monster. Maxwell used his powers to trick people from the real world into his dimension so that he could trap them there.

Adventure Mode

This section contains plot central information and thus contains spoilers.

In-game, Maxwell first appears when the player begins a vanilla or Reign of Giants world. Wearing his black tuxedo, he tells the chosen survivor they they don't look healthy and to find some food before night falls. Afterwards, he vanishes as the survivor wakes up.

Maxwell only appears again in Adventure Mode, giving a greeting at the beginning of each chapter. Maxwell wears a dapper cloak here, and as the player gets closer to winning, he starts to get angry and his body deforms, until he is left hunchbacked and monstrous with a tattered cloak.

In the epilogue of Adventure Mode, "Checkmate", the chosen survivor (canonically Wilson) will confront Maxwell on the Nightmare Throne. Withered and decrepit, the Nightmare King reflects on his life, confessing to them that in spite of all his power over the Constant, "a king is still bound to the board", and that he has been a pawn of Them for an eternity. He tells the survivor that They will change them, and that it is better not to resist Their influence, before offering them a choice: keep him company for a while and return to the Constant, or "put the key in the box".

After his speech, Maxwell will remain silent. Attacking him will cause the player to be struck by Lightning, breaking their equipped item and dealing damage as normal; However, Maxwell can be killed, having 10,000,000 . If the player manages to reach and use the hidden Teleportato, they will be teleported back to the Throne, and a second, deformed Maxwell will admit that he tried the same before vanishing. If the player chooses to take pity on Maxwell and place a Divining Rod in the lock to his right, Maxwell will be freed from the Throne, only to fall to his knees, scream in agony, and turn to dust.

Afterwards, Maxwell is stripped of his powers and resurrected in the Constant as a survivor, unlocking him as a playable character and leaving his rescuer trapped on the Throne in his place.

Quotes

Adventure Mode

- Note: Italicized lines are unimplemented.

Say pal, you don't look so good. You'd better find something to eat before night comes! A Cold Reception Oh, you found my portal did you? You'd think you would have learned your lesson by now. Strange machinery hasn't exactly been kind to you in the past. Hmm. Let's try something a little more challenging, shall we? Let's see if you're as enthusiastic when it's fourty below. [sic] King of Winter Well would you look at that, you survived. One down, four to go! Now don't get a big head, you aren't the first. Let's see what you're really made of. And by that I mean to say, I will enjoy inspecting your entrails once the Deerclops is done with you. The Game is Afoot What? You're still here? Impressive. But you should probably stop while you're ahead. Must I do everything myself? HOUNDS! DISPOSE OF THIS PEST!

Archipelago Say, pal. You're really pushing your luck. Turn back now, or I may have to resort to drastic measures. Two Worlds Say, pal. Let's make a deal. You can stay here. Settle down, even. I'll give you food, gold, pigs, whatever you need. All I want in return is a truce. Darkness You insolent, pitiful, insignificant ant! Do not arouse the wrath of the Great Maxwell! You will regret coming any further... Checkmate Well, this is it. You found me. Now, what are you going to do?

Nightmare Throne

When players approach Maxwell in the throne, he will say a line. Players have to click on him to read all the lines. Once he says all the lines listed below, excluding the special ones, all he will say is "...".

Main Speech

1. "Is this what you were expecting?" / "Is this how it ends?"
2. "Forgive me if I don't get up."
3. "You've been an interesting plaything, but I've grown tired of this game."
4. "Or maybe They've grown tired of me."
5. "Heh. Took them long enough."
6. "They'll show you terrible, beautiful things."
7. "It's best not to fight it."
8. "There wasn't much here when I showed up."
9. "Just dust. And the Void. And Them."
10. "I've learned so much since then. I've built so much."
11. "But even a King is bound to the board."
12. "You can't change the rules of the game."
13. "I don't know what they want. They... they just watch."
14. "Unless you get too close... Then..."
15. "Well, there's a reason I stay so dapper."
16. "What year is it out there? Time moves differently here."
17. "Go on, stay a while. Keep us company."
18. "Or put the key in the box. It's your decision."
19. "Either way, you're just delaying the inevitable."
20. "Reality is like that, sometimes."
21. "I think I've said enough."

Special

If the Gramophone is turned off, then Maxwell will say... "Thank you, I've been listening to that song for an eternity." If the Gramophone is then turned back on, Maxwell then states... "I suppose I deserve that."

If the player activates the hidden Teleportato, Maxwell will say... "Don't you think I've tried that?" followed by "This is the end of the line. We have no escape."

If the player attacks Maxwell he will say... "The throne won't allow that. I've tried."

Unimplemented

There are several series of commented-out lines for "QUEST_SURVIVE" found in the game files. These appear to be early concepts for Maxwell's introduction lines, given how radically different they are from his current ones. Several of these lines have grammatical errors. One set is identical to Maxwell's normal introduction. The rest are listed here, labeled with numbers representing the order in which they come.

2 "Say pal, you don't look so good." "You have some space to explore methinks." 3 "This may take some time..." "Don't get lost now!" 4 "The dew has fallen with a particularly sickening thud this morning..." "I'm off to find Zem..." 5 "Lucky nothing uses water eh?" "Its going to be a long day" [sic] 6 "Don't forget your booties cause its cold out there!" [sic] "Its cold out there every day." [sic]

7 "Safe and secure area?" "Its just a skip, hop and a jump away from here." [sic] 8 "Say pal, keep your chin up." "You will probably find it hard to stay dapper." 9 "I left you a little something..." "I don't think it will help you though." "You know what I like about nighttime?" "All the spiders."

There is also a line for "NOUNLOCK" (presumably for trying to activate the Nightmare Lock with something other than the Divining Rod)- "Ah, I am a fool. I had dared to hope." and two for "COMBATFAIL"- "Where would be the sport in that?" and "Who do you think allowed you to make that?"

Trivia

• Maxwell is named after a scientific paradox known as "Maxwell's demon".
• Maxwell's in-game design is possibly an allusion to Professor Woland from The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov.
• As of the All's Well That Maxwell update, upon exiting the game, a popup says "Maxwell will miss you!", instead of "Wilson will miss you!".
• In the game's Alpha, Maxwell shared the same voice as Wilson, except with a lower pitch.
• In the early access beta of Don't Starve, Maxwell's design used more realistic proportions than his current design.
• In the official description for Don't Starve, Maxwell is not named forthright, but is referred to as a "demon".

References

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