Mordecai in Dungeon Crawler Carl
A level 50 non-combatant NPC who runs the guildhall on the first floors and teaches Carl and Donut how the dungeon works. He is a former crawler from a world taken long ago.
How much Mordecai is in each book
Times the text names Mordecai (or ), counted by us in each book. Bars for books past your shield setting are blurred.
What Mordecai looks like, book by book
Looks from later books are blurred past your shield setting. Tap one to reveal it.
Mordecai at a glance
| Role | Guildmaster and game guide; non-combatant NPC, level 50 | Book 1 |
|---|---|---|
| Birth race | Skyfowl (an eagle-like species with wings) | Book 1 |
| Race | Changeling (he became one on floor 3 of his own crawl) | Book 1 |
| Class as a crawler | Changeling Fire Mage Arcanist | Book 1 |
| Crawl record | Made it to floor 11 of his own crawl | Book 1 |
| Form (floor 1) | Rat Hooligan | Book 1 |
| Form (floor 2) | Bugaboo | Book 1 |
| Form (floor 3) | Incubus | Book 2 |
| Role | Manager of Princess Donut | Book 2 |
| Form (floor 4) | Grulke Infantry (a toad-like creature) | Book 3 |
| Form (floor 5) | Rock edge skyfowl, a cleric body close to his real form | Book 4 |
| Form (floor 6) | Pocket Kuma | Book 5 |
| Form (floor 8) | Hills Cyclops | Book 6 |
| Brother | Uzzi, a skyfowl crawler who died on the tenth floor of their crawl | Book 6 |
| Form (floor 9) | Human (a Canadian) | Book 7 |
| Form (floor 10) | Moon Reaper, but really a shadow mimic, so the form glitches | Book 8 |
| Form (floor 11) | Animistic spirit that occupies physical objects | Book 8 |
Mordecai's story, book by book
- Book 1 Dungeon Crawler Carl
Mordecai runs the guildhall as a Rat Hooligan, later a Bugaboo, and explains the crawl, classes and pets to Carl and Donut. Odette tells Carl his indentureship only counts down if one of his crawlers reaches the fourth floor. He guides them through bonding with Mongo.
Source: Book 1, ch. 3, ch. 29, ch. 35, ch. 47 - Book 2 Carl's Doomsday Scenario
On the third floor he is an Incubus. On Odette's advice, Donut picks the Manager benefit, which makes Mordecai her manager and lets him leave his room. He drinks heavily during this floor.
Source: Book 2, ch. 1, ch. 2, ch. 4, ch. 8 Now a Grulke Infantry, he sets up the party's shared personal space and crafting room. When Chaco appears as host of the Prize Carousel, Mordecai throws a chair at him and gets a seven-day time out. Carl later relies on Mordecai's Special Brew potion.
Source: Book 3, ch. 2, ch. 7, ch. 30, ch. 33- Book 4 The Gate of the Feral Gods
On the fifth floor he becomes a rock edge skyfowl cleric, the first body close to his real form in a long time. He brews potions for the group and works on a cure for Maggie's parasite.
Source: Book 4, ch. 1, ch. 14 - Book 5 The Butcher's Masquerade
As a tiny Pocket Kuma, he keeps brewing from the ingredients the party gathers, including a weedkiller potion used against the creepers and a Charm Animal recipe that needs Mongo's blood.
Source: Book 5, ch. 2, ch. 43, ch. 50 - Book 6 The Eye of the Bedlam Bride
The prologue shows his own crawl: on the tenth floor, under a deal Odette made with Huanxin Jinx, Chaco used a dart on Mordecai's brother Uzzi, who died. On the eighth floor Mordecai is a Hills Cyclops and fosters changeling children in the guild.
Source: Book 6, ch. 1 (Prologue), ch. 2, ch. 30, ch. 37 - Book 7 This Inevitable Ruin
In a human body he guides Donut through Faction Wars and cares for the changeling girl Ruby. He gives Donut a crossbow bolt tipped with his mother's ashes, and it kills Huanxin Jinx.
Source: Book 7, ch. 2, ch. 70, ch. 85, ch. 86 - Book 8 A Parade of Horribles
On the tenth floor he is a Moon Reaper that is really a shadow mimic, so he glitches and blurts out prophecies. On the eleventh floor he becomes an animistic spirit living in objects such as the safe room table, and he still advises the party by chat.
Source: Book 8, ch. 7, ch. 88, ch. 89, ch. 95
Is Mordecai alive? Status at the end of each book
| End of book 1 | alive · Guildmaster; about to move with the dungeon |
|---|---|
| End of book 2 | alive · Donut's manager |
| End of book 3 | alive · Back from his time out |
| End of book 4 | alive · Still Donut's manager |
| End of book 5 | alive · Still Donut's manager |
| End of book 6 | alive · Still Donut's manager |
| End of book 7 | alive · Stays with the party when the changeling children leave |
| End of book 8 | alive · Game guides are immune to the attack on the safe rooms |
“Nobody tells old Mordecai anything!”
Who Mordecai shares the most scenes with
Chapters in which both names appear, books 1-8. Counted from the text.
Mordecai: questions readers ask
Who is Mordecai in Dungeon Crawler Carl?
He is Carl and Donut's game guide, a level 50 non-combatant NPC who runs the guildhall. He was once a crawler himself and reached floor 11 before taking a job in the dungeon. Book 1 spoiler level
What is Mordecai really?
He was born a skyfowl, an eagle-like species, and became a Changeling on floor 3 of his own crawl. His crawler class was Changeling Fire Mage Arcanist. Book 1 spoiler level
Why does Mordecai keep changing form?
Each time his guildhall moves to a new world or floor, the dungeon gives him a new shape, always a mob type from the current floor. He says he does not know why. Book 1 spoiler level
How does Mordecai become Donut's manager?
Donut picks a class option with the Manager benefit, on Odette's advice, and makes it look like her own idea. As manager he can leave his room and help them from memory instead of the codex. Book 2 spoiler level
What happened to Mordecai's brother?
His brother Uzzi died on the tenth floor of their crawl. Odette had made an illegal deal with Huanxin Jinx, and Chaco used a dart on Uzzi to summon and kill a goddess so the team could open the stairs. Book 6 spoiler level
Does Mordecai get revenge on Huanxin Jinx?
Yes. He makes a plain crossbow bolt with his mother's ashes in the tip, loads it into Donut's crossbow, and the shot kills Huanxin. Book 7 spoiler level
What are all of Mordecai's forms?
Rat Hooligan (floor 1), Bugaboo (floor 2), Incubus (floor 3), Grulke Infantry (floor 4), rock edge skyfowl (floor 5), Pocket Kuma (floor 6), Hills Cyclops (floor 8), Human (floor 9), a Moon Reaper that is really a shadow mimic (floor 10) and an animistic spirit (floor 11). Book 8 spoiler level
Does Mordecai die in Dungeon Crawler Carl?
No. He is alive at the end of book 8, an animistic spirit on the eleventh floor who still guides Carl and Donut by chat. 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.
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