Carl
A former Coast Guard technician who carries his ex-girlfriend's cat into the dungeon after aliens dismantle the Earth. His talent for improvised bombs and for exploiting the game's hidden rules gets him and Donut through the first two floors, destroys the Rage Elemental menacing the Meadow Lark survivors, and makes him famous enough to turn the show's own needs against its producers.
Princess Donut
Bea's pedigree show cat, given speech and human-level intelligence by an enhanced pet biscuit. Vain, hugely charismatic and quick with spells like Magic Missile and Second Chance, she becomes a genuine celebrity, adopts the dinosaur-like Mongo, and hauls a dying Carl to safety after he shields her from his own blast.
Mordecai
The pair's experienced guide, held in indentured service to the dungeon, who teaches them its interface, its boss hierarchy and its dangers. His assigned body changes as the crawl deepens, turning him into a Bugaboo on the second floor.
The AI
The dungeon's artificial intelligence, the cheery system voice that repackages every horror as achievements and loot. It takes a personal interest in Carl, penalising his footwear, nudging him into fighting barefoot and denying him trousers while handing out foot-themed rewards.
Mongo
A small dinosaur-like creature discovered among the prizes after the fight with Ralph the Frenzied Gerbil. Donut tames him and installs him in the Royal Court, at the cost of part of her nose.
Frank Q
A crawler willing to kill other humans, first suspected when his message turns up near the body of Rebecca W. He and Maggie My try to ambush Carl in a safe room and are left alive with a score to settle.
Maggie My
Frank Q's partner in preying on fellow crawlers. She later acquires a legendary potion that confers the Find Crawler skill, setting her up as a far deadlier threat on the floors below.
The Maestro
A powerful figure on Death Watch Extreme Dungeon Mayhem who torments the crawlers Li Jun and Zhang until Carl's intervention. He warns Carl that the Ninth Floor is shaped by long-standing factions and outside powers, hinting at a conflict far older than Earth's crawl.
Odette
Veteran host of Dungeon Crawler After Hours, who interviews the pair and privately reveals that supposedly random rewards and the coming race and class selections can be steered from outside. She casts herself as Donut's mentor, though Carl never quite trusts what she wants.
Zev
Borant's liaison for the pair's growing media obligations, who lays out how sponsors, Syndicate broadcasts and audience engagement shape life inside the dungeon, and who bonds with Donut and Mordecai over Gossip Girl.
Elle
An elderly crawler Carl helps to safety during a recap broadcast, and who repays him with open flirtation. When the Rage Elemental fight reverses gravity, Carl risks himself to save her from a fatal fall.
Imani
One of the strongest members of the Meadow Lark care-home group, who works alongside Brandon and Chris to get the frail residents under cover when the Rage Elemental is summoned.
Brandon
One of two surviving brothers whose markers and kills Carl follows across the first floor, and a mainstay of the Meadow Lark group. He keeps Carl informed as the residents prepare to descend and helps protect them through the Rage Elemental disaster.
Agatha
An older woman travelling with the Meadow Lark survivors who keeps herself oddly apart from the rest. She slips away without explanation before the group descends, deepening the impression that she knew more than she ever admitted.