Motif · from book 1
Player-killer skulls
The marks the AI hangs beside a crawler's name for each crawler killed — 'Crawler Killer X 3' on Frank Q, five skulls on Maggie My, one big skull and two small ones for Imani's twelve — and shown on the recap forming over Yolanda's head when she shoots Jack. The one achievement Carl wants to avoid: 'everyone else we meet won't know' it was deserved, so be wary of anyone who wears one.
First appears: Book 1
Series arc
Through book 3
Donut's and Elle's on the Desperado Club's dance floor (B3 ch. 9); Katia on the Savage box of PVP coupons that comes with one (B3 ch. 18); Eva's thirteen beside Hekla's none (B3 ch. 21); a bolt that spares the killer the mark (B3 ch. 22); Katia's golden one for Hekla (B3 ch. 23, B3 ch. 25, B3 ch. 28); the first thing Mordecai asks about (B3 ch. 30).
Through book 1
'Crawler Killer X 3' beside Frank Q's name and five skulls beside Maggie My's (B1 ch. 20); the achievement Carl wants to avoid (B1 ch. 21); Imani's one big skull and two small, Crawler Killer X 12, for the residents she was forced to kill (B1 ch. 22); skulls on several of Le Mouvement (B1 ch. 31); the icon forming over Yolanda's head on the recap, four by Lucia Mar's name and none on her pets (B1 ch. 39).
Through book 2
Watched for on the way west out of the city, Frank Q and Maggie My not forgotten (B2 ch. 18).
Where they appear
| Book | Chapters they are in (of the book's) | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 1 — Dungeon Crawler Carl | 4/48 | Ch. 20, Ch. 21, Ch. 22, Ch. 39 · the book's own page |
| 2 — Carl's Doomsday Scenario | 1/26 | Ch. 18 · the book's own page |
| 3 — The Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook | 3/35 | Ch. 18, Ch. 19, Ch. 30 · the book's own page |
By book
Player-killer skulls in book 1 — Dungeon Crawler Carl
The mark Carl meets on the first floor: 'Crawler Killer X 3' beside Frank Q's name and five skulls beside Maggie My's, eight people between them (ch. 20); the one achievement he wants to avoid, because a skull by his name would mean nobody they met would talk to them (ch. 20, ch. 21). Imani wears one big skull and two small ones, Crawler Killer X 12, for the Meadow Lark residents she was forced to kill, and Carl tells the night staff to be wary of anyone with skulls by their name (ch. 22). Several of Le Mouvement wear them after the party's internal strife (ch. 31). The recap shows the skull icon forming over Yolanda's head after she shoots Jack, and Lucia Mar with four; her rottweilers, being pets, have none (ch. 39). Frank and Maggie's own recap shows what their skulls were earned for (ch. 43).
Player-killer skulls in book 2 — Carl's Doomsday Scenario
Leaving the city for the west, Carl keeps a wary eye for crawlers with player-killer skulls over their heads, Frank Q and Maggie My not forgotten (ch. 18).
Player-killer skulls in book 3 — The Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook
Donut gets hers on the Desperado Club's dance floor, drunk, after a man with a knife — 'I never wanted to get a skull. I'm sorry. Nobody is going to like me now' — and Elle takes one a moment later for the woman about to blast them, and does not seem to care (ch. 9). Katia passes on what Hekla told her: a skull for killing a crawler comes with a Savage box of PVP coupons for the party; Imani's held a coupon for every member, which she tried to burn and left on the first floor, and Elle got none for hers (ch. 18). Eva wears one large skull and three small, thirteen kills, while Hekla wears none (ch. 21). The crossbow assassin's bolts promise no credit and 'Nor will you get one of those nasty skulls by your name' (ch. 22). Katia's, for Hekla, is a special golden skull (ch. 23), with a gold Savage box and the Find Crawler skill (ch. 25), hard to ignore in the trainyard (ch. 28); Mordecai, back, asks first about the player-killer skulls the two of them have (ch. 29, ch. 30).