Maxwell (character)

For Maxwell, the antagonist, please view here.

"Freedom, at last!"

- Maxwell

Maxwell is the eighth unlockable Character, taking on his mortal form. Maxwell has overall lower health, but his sanity increases by 20/min because of his dapper style. Maxwell has his own set of items upon the start of a new world, allowing him to jump into certain activities immediately. Because of his natural sanity gain, Maxwell's need for sanity-boosting items and clothing is minimal. This natural sanity gain also matches the drain of either the Dark Sword or the Night Armor, allowing Maxwell to use such items with minimal downsides. Players must be cautious when fighting, as Maxwell only has a maximum health of 75. Upon the start of new world, Maxwell has a unique intro. Instead of being greeted, he will simply wake up by himself and say "Freedom, at last!"

Maxwell is currently one of three characters that can not be unlocked by gaining Experience, the others being Wes and Webber.

Special Power
In addition to starting with a Dark Sword, Night Armor, 1 Purple Gem, and 4 Nightmare Fuel, Maxwell also starts with his own book called the Codex Umbra, which allows him to fragment his mind.

Codex Umbra acts similar to Wickerbottom's books, but has an infinite durability. Upon reading, a Shadow Puppet with the silhouette of Maxwell will appear. Using the book costs 15 health and 2 Nightmare Fuel. For every Shadow Puppet that exists, Maxwell's maximum sanity is reduced by 55. The player may have up to 3 puppets, at which point Maxwell will have 35 sanity and will be unable to spawn more. The shadow puppets will live up to 2.5 days before dying off. They will aid Maxwell in combat, and assist him in mining and chopping down trees. Upon death of a puppet, Maxwell's maximum sanity will be restored by 55.

Summoning multiple puppets to reduce the maximum sanity is a good way to get Maxwell to stay insane for long periods of time, which is not easily obtained normally due to his sanity regain buff.

Unlock
Players can only unlock Maxwell by completing Adventure Mode. After beating five consecutive Chapters (escaping from five randomly-ordered and themed Adventure Worlds), the player will find themselves in the Epilogue Chapter. Once there, if the player chooses to take pity upon Maxwell, they can attempt to release him from imprisonment in the Nightmare Throne by inserting a Divining Rod into the throne's Nightmare Lock. Once this happens, Maxwell becomes a playable character. For a complete description and spoiler of the Epilogue and other Chapter Worlds, see the Adventure Mode page.

Trivia

 * Maxwell's voice is sounded by a harmonium.
 * Maxwell's name is based on the Maxwell's demon thought experiment, named after the scientist James Clerk Maxwell.
 * Maxwell is the only playable character whose name doesn't start with "W".
 * Maxwell's playable character appears to be named "Waxwell" in game's files. This suggests that he was likely named Waxwell in the game's files to avoid any file conflicts between the NPC Maxwell and the playable Maxwell.
 * His past name also starts with a W, however.
 * The playable version of Maxwell was also nicknamed by fans "Waxwell" prior to his release.
 * Maxwell breaks the fourth wall by talking about Klei and even Don't Starve itself.
 * Maxwell is probably based on Woland from Michael Bulgakov's novel, The Master And Margarita. Note that Bulgakov's version of the name starts with W.
 * It is likely Maxwell actually created a lot of the monsters in Don't Starve. This can be held up by the fact that he sometimes says "They don't recognize me!" when seeing hounds.
 * At the end of the trailer for the End of the Beginning Update, Maxwell has a rounded chin, but, in the game version, he has a flat chin.
 * Before the "Underground" update (when the entrances to caves were covered by Basalt), when examining a basalt boulder, Maxwell would say "I made a rock so heavy that I can't lift it", which is a reference to the Omnipotency paradox, perhaps solidifying the idea that Maxwell is the God of whatever realm the game takes place.
 * After "All's Well That Maxwell" update, his sound when engaged in a fight is different.
 * Considering Wendy's examination quote for Maxwell ("I feel a strange kinship with him.") and the letter from Jack Carter in the 3rd William Carter Puzzle, it can be assumed that Maxwell is her uncle. This is all speculation though and nothing official has been said on the matter.
 * Maxwell is one of the only two characters, the other being Wolfgang, that when struck by Lightning in the "Reign of Giants" DLC are shown to have normal human skeletons. He's also one of the only two that have no skull, the other being Wigfrid.

Gallery
Maxwell (Personaggio) Максвелл