The Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook

Princess Donut is the deuteragonist and undergoes significant development, evolving from a comic relief sidekick into a formidable and complex character. She is both round and dynamic, with her journey marked by a growing sense of agency and competence. Initially reliant on Carl for protection and strategy, Donut begins to master her unique abilities, particularly the Character Actor skill that allows her to change classes each floor. By selecting the Hooligan class, she gains skills that directly benefit the team in the close confines of the train, showcasing a more tactical mindset. Her spell usage also becomes more creative; she learns to utilize the seemingly minor Hole spell for strategic purposes, such as decapitating a powerful war mage. Her acquisition of the capacitating sunglasses from her sponsor, which transforms her Magic Missile into a versatile laser, further solidifies her role as a powerful offensive force within the party.

Donut’s personality is heavily influenced by her Former Child Actor class, which manifests as a pronounced narcissism and an obsession with fame, followers, and material possessions. This trait provides a satirical commentary on modern influencer culture. Her constant desire for praise, beautiful accessories like tiaras, and her excitement over follower counts contrast sharply with Carl’s grim focus on survival. When her charisma stat reaches 100, she unlocks the Love Vampire skill, a direct mechanical reward for her defining personality trait. Her imperious persona comes with high charisma, which she effectively uses to negotiate prices with NPCs like Wendita, demonstrating a shrewdness that belies her often-frivolous concerns.

Beneath her vanity, Donut develops a nuanced moral compass, particularly regarding violence against other crawlers. While she shows little remorse for killing monsters, her reaction to taking a human life is one of genuine horror and distress. After killing a crawler who attacks her, she sobs, “Carl, I never wanted to get a skull. I’m sorry. Nobody is going to like me now” (135). This moment is a critical point in her character arc, revealing that she maintains a clear distinction between game constructs and what she perceives as “real” people. This internal conflict highlights her resistance to The Dehumanizing Nature of Corporate Entertainment, which attempts to blur that very line. Her complex emotional landscape, blending childlike vanity with a burgeoning and fierce loyalty, makes her a dynamic character.

Katia Grim is a major supporting character who serves as a foil to Carl’s aggressive pragmatism and embodies the theme of The Fragility of Identity and Fabricated Memory. As a Doppelganger, her central conflict is an internal struggle with her sense of self. She constantly questions what it means to be “herself” versus adopting the forms of others, a struggle encapsulated when she admits, “I don’t know what that means anyway. I never really did” (101). Her ability to shapeshift is both a powerful tool and the source of her psychological distress. Throughout the fourth floor, she transforms from her default human appearance into monstrous combat forms and even an imitation of Hekla, blurring the lines of her own identity. This internal journey from self-doubt to self-acceptance, through the weaponization of her unique nature, marks her as a round and dynamic character.

Her physical and psychological transformation is one of the most dramatic in the narrative. Initially introduced as timid and physically weak, she is designated as the party’s “meat shield” due to her high constitution. However, she evolves from a defender into an active and powerful force. The plan to turn her into a living, metal-plated cowcatcher for the front of a train is a turning point. Instead of resisting this dangerous and objectifying role, she embraces it, even refining the idea herself. Carl’s subsequent plan to augment her mass with the “Ugly-Ass Backpack” filled with scrap metal transforms her into a literal juggernaut, capable of altering her size, density, and form to an extreme degree. This metamorphosis from a vulnerable individual into a powerful, almost god-like tank is a physical manifestation of her growing agency and confidence.

Katia’s arc is also defined by the conflict between her loyalty to her former group, Brynhild’s Daughters, and her new allegiance to Carl and Donut. Her relationship with Hekla is particularly fraught, representing a connection to a past where she felt both protected and undervalued. Hekla’s manipulation and eventual betrayal, attempting to use Katia as a pawn to be sacrificed, serves as her emotional climax. Katia’s accidental killing of Hekla during the confrontation is a violent and decisive severing of her old ties. This act, while traumatic, solidifies her place within Carl’s team and forces her to confront a new identity as a top-ranked crawler with a player-killer skull, completing her arc from a follower to a self-determined, albeit conflicted, individual.

Mordecai functions as the classic mentor archetype, providing essential guidance and exposition that enables the protagonists’ survival. As a former game guide, his knowledge of dungeon mechanics, class systems, and the intricacies of personal space upgrades is invaluable. He acts as a strategic brain for the team, often formulating plans and identifying opportunities that Carl and Donut would otherwise miss. His characterization in this volume is largely static, as his primary role is to dispense information and facilitate the growth of others. His physical transformation on this level into a Grulke, a militaristic toad-warrior, adds a layer of comic relief but also serves as a constant reminder of the dungeon’s arbitrary power. A moment of characterization occurs during the appearance of Chaco the Bard, when Mordecai’s violent reaction reveals a deep, unresolved trauma from his past involving gods and Odette. This outburst provides a rare glimpse into a complex history beyond his current role as a manager, suggesting a much deeper, rounder character whose full story remains untold. His subsequent seven-day suspension from the game forces the team to become more self-reliant, acting as a narrative device to spur their independent development.

Hekla is a primary antagonist and a foil to Carl, representing an alternative and ruthless philosophy of survival. As the leader of Brynhild’s Daughters, her strength lies in her ability to command a large, loyal collective. Her pragmatism is absolute and devoid of the moral conflict that plagues Carl. She views individuals, including her supposed friend Katia, as strategic assets to be deployed and, if necessary, sacrificed for the good of her team or for personal gain. This is most evident in her plan to use Katia as a living shield on the front of a train and her subsequent attempt to have Katia killed in a convoluted plot to acquire Donut and Mordecai. While she appears primarily through Katia’s communications for much of the story, her influence is a constant source of tension. She is a flat character in this volume, defined by her unwavering and cold-blooded ambition, acting as a dark mirror to Carl by showcasing the kind of leader one can become when empathy is completely subordinated to strategy.

Elle McGibbons, also known as Mrs. McGibbons, is a supporting character who exemplifies the profound transformations crawlers undergo within the dungeon. Initially a 99-year-old woman with dementia, she becomes a powerful Frost Maiden, a blue-skinned, white-haired elf-like being. This change is not merely cosmetic; her personality shifts dramatically, becoming brash, foul-mouthed, and aggressive. As a member of Imani’s group, she represents a different team’s approach to survival and acts as a key information source for Carl’s party. Her presence on the leaderboard highlights her competence as a fighter, and her interactions provide a glimpse into the dynamics of other surviving groups.