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Fan illustration of Carl in boxers, leather jacket and pink Crocs, holding Princess Donut the cat
Crawler · First seen in book 1

Carl in Dungeon Crawler Carl

A 27-year-old Coast Guard veteran from Seattle who enters the World Dungeon in his boxers, a leather jacket and pink Crocs, carrying his ex-girlfriend's cat, Princess Donut.

First named
Book 1, ch. 1
Dungeon Crawler Carl
Point of view
Narrator
Most chapters are told by Carl in the first person
Biggest book
Book 8
A Parade of Horribles
Status
Alive end of book 1
Alive end of book 2
Alive end of book 3
Alive end of book 4
Alive end of book 5
Alive end of book 6
Alive end of book 7
Alive end of book 8

Chapters per book

Numbered chapters in each book (Carl narrates nearly all of them).

47
B1
26
B2
34
B3
34
B4
75
B5
73
B6
88
B7
98
B8

What Carl looks like, book by book

Looks from later books are blurred past your shield setting. Tap one to reveal it.

Fan illustration of Carl in boxers, leather jacket and pink Crocs, holding Princess Donut the cat
Book 1 First look
Fan illustration of Carl in boxers, one-sleeved leather jacket and cloak, with a spiked gauntlet and jai alai scoop
Book 2 geared
Fan illustration of Carl in a patched, one-sleeved leather jacket with tattoos, bandana and spiked gauntlet
Book 5 patched
Fan illustration of Carl with a long ponytail and patched jacket, his tiny pet Rend on his shoulder
Book 7 ponytail

Carl at a glance

Age27 when the crawl beginsBook 1
Height and weight6 feet 3 inches, about 230 poundsBook 1
Job before the dungeonUS Coast Guard veteran, then a marine tech fixing electrical systems on boatsBook 1
HomeSeattleBook 1
Crawler number4,122Book 1
TitleRoyal Bodyguard (set by Donut as party leader)Book 1
RacePrimalBook 2
ClassCompensated Anarchist (a Monk/Rogue hybrid built on traps, bombs and social media)Book 2
DeityAdherent of EmberusBook 4
Class specialtyAgent Provocateur (chosen at level 47)Book 5
TitleWarlord of the Princess Posse in Faction WarsBook 7
SpousePrincess Chandra, a Naga who claimed him under Naga Widow's RightsBook 8
DeityNone; he leaves the faith of EmberusBook 8

Carl's story, book by book

  1. Carl enters the dungeon with Donut and learns the game from Mordecai. He fights barefoot, kills the Hoarder, wins the Enchanted BigBoi Boxers, and survives the Maestro's show. He ends the second floor with Mongo in the party.

    Source: Book 1, ch. 2, ch. 11, ch. 35, ch. 43, ch. 47
  2. On the third floor Carl picks the Primal race and the Compensated Anarchist class. He takes on Grimaldi's circus, recruits Katia, and blows up Miss Quill with dynamite. Her overloaded soul crystal leaves him a bomb called Carl's Doomsday Scenario.

    Source: Book 2, ch. 2, ch. 11, ch. 21, ch. 22, ch. 25
  3. On the fourth floor, the Iron Tangle train system, Carl wins the Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook. He survives Hekla's betrayal in the train fight and faces the war god Grull, driven by the Maestro, in the trainyard.

    Source: Book 3, ch. 1, ch. 7, ch. 24, ch. 33, ch. 34
  4. On the fifth floor Carl helps reunite the god Emberus with his dog Orthrus and becomes an adherent of Emberus. He ends the floor at number 1 on the bounty board and vows on camera to kill every hunter who comes to the sixth floor.

    Source: Book 4, ch. 28, ch. 32, ch. 34
  5. On the sixth floor Carl takes the Agent Provocateur specialty. Odette reveals that his ex-girlfriend Bea is alive and puts her on air. He survives the Butcher's Masquerade badly hurt, at level 63.

    Source: Book 5, ch. 1, ch. 18, ch. 19, ch. 75
  6. On the eighth floor Rosetta's interview airs his past. He takes the escort quest for the Bedlam Bride, Shi Maria. Under her influence he hurts Mongo and stabs out Li Jun's eye, then wakes at level 73 with all his hair gone.

    Source: Book 6, ch. 13, ch. 26, ch. 72
  7. Carl leads the Princess Posse as a warlord in Faction Wars on the ninth floor. The Princess Posse wins, and he fires Samantha at Emberus in the volcano to buy time.

    Source: Book 7, ch. 1, ch. 85, ch. 86
  8. A Naga princess, Chandra, claims Carl as her husband in court. On the tenth and eleventh floors he lures Emberus into a trap, leaves his faith, and survives the arena fight with the Mark of the Damned on his hands. Scolopendra ends up in his party.

    Source: Book 8, Interlude: Chandra, ch. 95, ch. 96, ch. 98

Is Carl alive? Status at the end of each book

End of book 1alive · Heading to the third floor
End of book 2alive · Carries Carl's Doomsday Scenario
End of book 3alive · Survived the trainyard fight
End of book 4alive · Number 1 on the bounty board
End of book 5alive · Badly hurt after the Butcher's Masquerade, level 63
End of book 6alive · Level 73, bald, warlord of the Princess Posse
End of book 7alive · Faction Wars won
End of book 8alive · Survives the eleventh floor arena; free to exit but plans to stay on the twelfth floor
“One by one, I will break you. I will break you all.”
Carl, book 4 (Ch34)

Who Carl shares the most scenes with

Chapters in which both names appear, books 1-8. Counted from the text.

Carl: questions readers ask

Who is Carl in Dungeon Crawler Carl?

Carl is the narrator, a 27-year-old Coast Guard veteran and marine tech from Seattle. He enters the World Dungeon with Princess Donut, his ex-girlfriend's cat. Book 1 spoiler level

How old is Carl in Dungeon Crawler Carl?

Carl is 27 years old when the dungeon opens. Book 1 spoiler level

How tall is Carl?

Carl is 6 feet 3 inches tall and weighs about 230 pounds. Book 1 spoiler level

Why is Carl in his boxers?

He ran outside in boxers, a leather jacket and pink Crocs to catch Donut, and the world ended before he could dress. He enters the dungeon without pants, and on floor 2 he wins the Enchanted BigBoi Boxers, white with little red hearts. Book 1 spoiler level

What happened to Carl's sandals?

He was wearing Bea's pink Crocs sandals, which barely fit, and they flew off as he ran from goblins on the first floor. He fights barefoot after that, and several of his buffs only work when he is barefoot. Book 1 spoiler level

What race and class is Carl?

On the third floor Carl picks the Primal race and the Compensated Anarchist class. On the sixth floor he adds the Agent Provocateur specialty. Book 5 spoiler level

Does Carl die in Dungeon Crawler Carl?

No. Carl is alive at the end of book 8, after the eleventh floor arena fight. Book 8 spoiler level

Is Carl married?

Yes, on paper. A Naga princess named Chandra invoked the Naga Widow's Rights law, which lets a royal widow claim her husband's assassin, and a Naga court made her Carl's wife. Her late husband was Rishi. Book 8 spoiler level

Has Carl ever killed another crawler?

No. On the eleventh floor he still has no player-killer skull and thinks he is the only crawler left without one. Book 8 spoiler level

Also connected

Keep crawling

Facts come from our reading of Matt Dinniman's books 1 to 8 (Dungeon Crawler Carl, Carl's Doomsday Scenario, The Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook, The Gate of the Feral Gods, The Butcher's Masquerade, The Eye of the Bedlam Bride, This Inevitable Ruin, A Parade of Horribles). Each one is tagged with the book that reveals it. Counts and shared chapters are computed from the text. Not affiliated with the author, the publisher or the Peacock show. Portraits are our own fan art, made with AI image tools from the books' descriptions; they are not official art.

More to play

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