lore Don't starve character backstory's

[Mooagain]

I have found some clues about characters lives from before they entered the Constant, based off their quotes.

The license plate trinket from shipwrecked it my favorite item in the game. Because some characters have no idea what it is, and, some do. Licence plates were invented in 1918, right before the Voxola factory burned down. Wickerbotam, Woody, Warbucks, Wolfgang, and Maxwell have never seen anything like it before, while Webber says "Where is the automobile?" showing that he knows what it is. Another trinket, the broken hairdryer from hallowed nights, helps this too. Willow knows what it is, but Webber doesn't. Hairdryers were invented in 1920, the year after the Voxola fire.

This means that Webber entered the Constant in 1919, the same year as the Voxola fire. I have heard theories that Webber is The son of Robert Wagstaff, and Given that they both mysteriously disappeared the same year, this is probably the truth.

Willow entered after the fire, probably just before Wilson. Willow probably stated the Voxola fire, nut her reason to do this is unknown. Maybe she did it on orders of someone who was trying to stop Maxwell/Them? Willows vignette from last years forge could also be important, as there is something in the back ground behind the fire. I couldn't figure out what it was, but if anyone else can get a good close up that would be great.

WX-78 was probably made by Wagstaff, seeing as he has a similar  name to the Voxola PR-76. I have not seen WX's quotes on the Iron Hulks head, which could be important. WX also calls the science machine "Mother" so he may have been built using a science machine.

Also, I think that Wagstaff could become a playable character when the Aporkalypse is added, since he is the most likely candidate for the creator of the Iron Hulk.

[Catteflyterpill]

Applaud for your work man, a bunch of people have been speculating dates all over, but this is some pretty solid stuff.

[Lepeightl]

36 minutes ago, Mooagain said:

I have not seen WX's quotes on the Iron Hulks head, which could be important.

Here you go:

Spoiler

Wilson:
- Claw    Careful, it's armed!
- Head    I'm heading out of here!
- Leg    Not a leg to stand on.
- Ribs    All that iron should be mine.

Willow:
- Claw    Dang! Can't burn it!
- Head    Ugly.
- Leg    I should kick it.
- Ribs    Aww... It won't burn.

Wolfgang:
- Claw    Is sleepy little robot.
- Head    Is big head. Wolfgang head is bigger!
- Leg    It have to work on legs.
- Ribs    Wolfgang can eat ribs?

Wendy:
- Claw    It clutches at my heart.
- Head    Headed to death, like all of us.
- Leg    A death stomper.
- Ribs    An undead instrument of death.

WX:
- Claw    WARNING: GRASPING ACCESSORY NOT COMPATIBLE
- Head    IN SLEEP MODE
- Leg    WARNING: WALKING ACCESSORY NOT COMPATIBLE
- Ribs    FRIEND?

Wickerbottom:
- Claw    The paw of some metal goliath.
- Head    The skull of an iron automata.
- Leg    Appears to be a automaton appendage.
- Ribs    An iron contraption.

Woodie:
- Claw    No axe in that hand.
- Head    I wonder how long it's slept.
- Leg    Somebody lost their leg, eh?
- Ribs    It's only full of iron, not wood.

Waxwell:
- Claw    Seems part of a whole.
- Head    There's no head on his shoulders.
- Leg    I'd hate to see the rest of it.
- Ribs    Well that looks interesting.

Wigfrid:
- Claw    The work of Brokkr no doubt.
- Head    Open your eyes to look upon your doom!
- Leg    The severed leg of a metal beast!
- Ribs    Wake ye, metal beast!

Webber:
- Claw    It's a sleepy robot hand.
- Head    Shhh... it's sleeping.
- Leg    That looks like it could stomp us!
- Ribs    Yikes. Looks scary.

Walani:
- Claw    Yeesh. Don't wanna high five that.
- Head    There's no shoulders for this head.
- Leg    I think I had a pair of boots like that.
- Ribs    Just stay asleep little guy.

Warly:
- Claw    I'm staying away from that guy.
- Head    I hope he stays asleep.
- Leg    Could I serve it up with roast potatoes?
- Ribs    Not sure those ribs are good for BBQing.

Woodlegs:
- Claw    I've no need fer a'extra hand.
- Head    I'll hang tha' head from me bowsprit.
- Leg    Arrg! I could use tha' leg!
- Ribs    'Tis an iron leviathan.

Warbucks (aka Captain Obvious):
- Claw    It appears to be part of an ancient civilization!
- Head    Huzzah! The head of an ancient automaton!
- Leg    Glorious! Proof of ancient technology!
- Ribs    Huzzah! A metal artifact!

Wilba:
- Claw    HATH NAUGHT A ROBOT HANDS?
- Head    ALAS, POOR ROBOT
- Leg    THE ROBOT IS AFOOTS
- Ribs    HATH THE SLEEP OF DEATH

 

[Tapirus]

Well, WX-78 is a CLOCKWORK automaton, not a robot exactly.

(Automatons are mechanical imitations, they copy some activities of living beings. Most advanced automatons were made between 1805-1920)

Spoiler

 

Spoiler

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automaton

So, maybe the creator (¿Wagstaff?):

-Made WX-78 before the beginning of Don't Starve (1919), then his creation end up in the Constant

-Was took by Maxwell time ago, then he made WX-78 with components from clockworks

[Mooagain]

More stuff I forgot to mention: 

WX says "My logic feels funny" when he examines the odd radio trinket. This could be a result of seeing a thing made by his creator.

Webber uses the pronoun 'I' when he examines the divining rod. This is probably the spider talking, so that human Webber doesn't tell us about his past. Webber is proven to speak as only the spider or only the human, seeing as ha says "Blue is my favorite color" and "Red is my favorite color."

At one point, Webber says "I could have been a robot." This seems like a strange thing to say, unless his dad was an inventor. I can picture Wagstaff saying "I should have just made a robot" when he gets mad at his son.

[ResettePlayer]

While we're still talking about Wagstaff and WX-78 specifically, perhaps I'll share my crackpot theory for the... third time, maybe? Having another perspective would be nice, maybe you guys can point out holes and other flaws that I'm sure this theory has. It's a bit of a stretch in some respects.

This was made before the Iron Hulk was a known thing.

TL;DR:

Spoiler

WX-78 is the product of Wagstaff's failed attempt to cheat death. WX's soul as seen in-game is what's left over from Wagstaff, but no memories or personality survived the trip from human body to robotic body.

Medium Length:

Spoiler

- Wagstaff's ultimate project is to make the perfect automaton; essentially a metal human.

- Wagstaff has plenty of mechanical knowledge, but lacks any way to get the automaton to be self-driven and independent, rather than just another piece of clockwork.

- If Wagstaff's radios are links to Maxwell, it can be inferred that they (Maxwell and Wagstaff) were linked in some way in order to make the radios in the first place.

- Maxwell gives Wagstaff "forbidden knowledge" similar to what Wilson received. Dark magic and all that.

- Wagstaff now has the final piece for the perfect automaton; perhaps a way to transfer a human soul/spirit into a mechanical body.

- On one hand, WX-78 is "The Soullesss Automaton,", but they have a ghost, so... there's something going on in there.

- Wagstaff could have been an old man at this time, perhaps he tried to transfer his own soul into a robotic body that wouldn't age and die.

- It is clear that WX-78 is not Wagstaff. They just ain't. So, if this theory is to hold any weight, Wagstaff's soul would be a mere driving/motivational source. A blank slate of a mind with no memories of its previous life, even changing its shape to suit its body more.

Long-Winded:

Spoiler

 

 

[Tapirus]

I think the artificial soul of WX-78 is made of "distilled" nightmare fuel actually and not from the creator.

The nightmare fuel is feeding with evilness, crazyness and death, WX-78 was showed to be evil (not enough to be a serial killer, but sometimes enjoys when something REALLY bad happens to others) in the game.

Also, somebody asked for Willow vignette:

Spoiler

"Willow always regarded being brought to The Constant as a new beginning. It allowed her to leave everything behind, after all."

(Maybe Willow burned the Voxola Industry, but I doubt she had some motives besides "Because things on fire is fun!")

[Bluegeist]

ResettePlayer, your theory matches many points in my own line of thinking. The only thing I disagree with is the idea that Maxwell knows nothing about mechanical stuff because he is a magician. Automata were in fact a big part of stage magician history, and it's really cool. Example: The man considered the father of modern magic, Jean Eugène Robert-Houdin, was a clockmaker originally and would make automata for shows. I just had a lot of fun reading his Wikipedia article lol, I love robot history.

Also I recommend watching Hugo, a movie with some historical accuracy regarding magic and automata. I like it a lot and made me think about Don't Starve, how it's all about science and magic.

But anyway, with that said, Max possibly being versed in automata makes any connection to Wagstaff way more interesting.

3 minutes ago, Tapirus said:

"Willow always regarded being brought to The Constant as a new beginning. It allowed her to leave everything behind, after all."

(Maybe Willow burned the Voxola Industry, but I doubt she had some motives besides "Because things on fire is fun!")

She had to have done some fires and got in big trouble, but not the Voxola fire. Going by Winona's quotes, she seems to suspect Maxwell of doing it. Her quote for a Maxwell firestarter: "Mysterious fires follow you like a plague, (Maxwell)."

[Mooagain]

Since the Iron Hulk can kill shadow monsters, what if this is because it is some kind of weapon meant to Them? but the only characters that seem intent on killing Them are Pugna and the rest of the Forge. Maybe if Wagstaff didn't make the Iron Hulk, someone from the Forge did?

Also, I think that WX and the clockwork chess pieces are made of iron. (WX says "Hello friend" and he is made of the same stuff as the clockworks, considering he can upgrade with parts from them)

 

And thanks for the picture of Willow. I can see that there is something in the background right between two big towers of fire, just to the left of Willow. It is black with two prongs, and I doubt its a tree since trees don't have two points. Could be Them?

[ResettePlayer]

44 minutes ago, Tapirus said:

I think the artificial soul of WX-78 is made of "distilled" nightmare fuel actually and not from the creator.

The nightmare fuel is feeding with evilness, crazyness and death, WX-78 was showed to be evil (not enough to be a serial killer, but sometimes enjoys when something REALLY bad happens to others) in the game.

Nightmare fuel is probably involved, but I don't think WX is quite evil enough to have an entire soul made of the stuff. Though they do take a lot of pleasure from killing organics, they seemingly have a little affection for other machines. I certainly agree that nightmare fuel was an important ingredient in WX's creation, but I disagree with the "distilled" part--that implies an intense concentration of evil.

 

43 minutes ago, Bluegeist said:

The only thing I disagree with is the idea that Maxwell knows nothing about mechanical stuff because he is a magician. Automata were in fact a big part of stage magician history, and it's really cool.

This did occur to me some time later, and you're correct. Maxwell probably didn't hinge his entire career on rabbits and shady books.

[Mooagain]

3 minutes ago, ResettePlayer said:

This did occur to me some time later, and you're correct. Maxwell probably didn't hinge his entire career on rabbits and shady books.

But he did. The codex was the only thing he used, unless you are talking about the time before he found it, but back then he sucked at magic. If he did use automation, he most likely didn't use them properly. The clockwork chess pieces were made by the ancients, Maxwell only fixed them, which even Wolfgang can do. (The broken clockworks in the ruins)

[Tapirus]

25 minutes ago, ResettePlayer said:

Nightmare fuel is probably involved, but I don't think WX is quite evil enough to have an entire soul made of the stuff. Though they do take a lot of pleasure from killing organics, they seemingly have a little affection for other machines. I certainly agree that nightmare fuel was an important ingredient in WX's creation, but I disagree with the "distilled" part--that implies an intense concentration of evil.

Some WX-78 quotes:

"HAHA, YOU DIED" (Deafult for Ghost)

"AT LEAST THERE'S STILL A BIT OF EVIL IN HIM" (Firestarter Maxwell)

"IS LAYING WASTE TO THE WORLD. HAHA" (Firestarter Wigfrid)

"THE INFERIOR NEEDS A HEART" (WX-78 ghost)

"SUPERNATURAL AID IS NOTHING IN THE FACE OF KILLER ROBOT!" (When murders Wendy)

"OOPS" (Death&Killed Pig)

Extra, but interesting:

"This robot was evil before. Now they're double evil." (Triumphant)

"I AM THE ROOT OF ALL EVIL" (Verdant)

[Mr.Mulk]

4 hours ago, Bluegeist said:

She had to have done some fires and got in big trouble, but not the Voxola fire. Going by Winona's quotes, she seems to suspect Maxwell of doing it. Her quote for a Maxwell firestarter: "Mysterious fires follow you like a plague, (Maxwell)."

This doesn't mean Willow didn't start the fire, it just means Winona saw Maxwell around the time of the fire. Maxwell himself doesn't really seem to have the personality to do the dirty work, it'd make more sense for him to persuade someone else to.

While Willow burning down the factory doesn't have anything more than circumstantial evidence it does make sense from a character development and historically accurate standpoint.

[ResettePlayer]

22 minutes ago, Mooagain said:

But he did. The codex was the only thing he used, unless you are talking about the time before he found it, but back then he sucked at magic. If he did use automation, he most likely didn't use them properly. The clockwork chess pieces were made by the ancients, Maxwell only fixed them, which even Wolfgang can do. (The broken clockworks in the ruins)

Maxwell probably had more than the one pull-rabbit-out-of-hat trick prior to finding the Codex, and it's possible he had some mechanics-based tricks. It can be inferred that Maxwell was not a successful magician because he sucked, but I always imagined (with no good reason, if I'm honest) that Maxwell's magic tricks were extremely uncreative and run-of-the-mill. It was only when he brought something new to the table (the Codex) that his career took off. So Maxwell did not have enough knowledge to build the clockworks from scratch, but his knowledge might have helped him make things like the Door and the Teleportato.

A lot of this is wild conjecture, of course.

12 minutes ago, Tapirus said:

"HAHA, YOU DIED"

Touche.

I suppose it depends on one's interpretation of the character. Some think of WX-78 as more bark than bite, as opposed to a vicious killer robot who would slaughter any organic on sight once they got all their upgrades. Perhaps the improved chances of survival from cooperation is enough for hyper-evil WX to tolerate the other survivors, perhaps they take massive enjoyment from watching the others suffer (even though WX goes through all the same crap). I still hesitate to consider that on the same level as distilled nightmare fuel, but I'm not even sure what that would look like. It seems that I had assumed that something with that much evil could not have any impulse control, which is a bit silly of me.

[Tapirus]

10 minutes ago, ResettePlayer said:

Touche.

I suppose it depends on one's interpretation of the character. Some think of WX-78 as more bark than bite, as opposed to a vicious killer robot who would slaughter any organic on sight once they got all their upgrades. Perhaps the improved chances of survival from cooperation is enough for hyper-evil WX to tolerate the other survivors, perhaps they take massive enjoyment from watching the others suffer (even though WX goes through all the same crap). I still hesitate to consider that on the same level as distilled nightmare fuel, but I'm not even sure what that would look like. It seems that I had assumed that something with that much evil could not have any impulse control, which is a bit silly of me.

"One might assume WX's callous nature hides a sensitive inner soul. One would assume incorrectly." (Curio Cabinet)

[HaloFTheSun1]

Maybe Maxwell got willow to start the fire and was present at the burning.  I think the robot is wagstaff, think after he saw Webber change didn't want that for himself and turned himself into a robot and Maxwell turned his mind to a more rebotic, maybe to prove that it doesn't matter what people do to protect themselves they will change regardless.  Just my thought on the theory.

[Mooagain]

48 minutes ago, HaloFTheSun1 said:

Maybe Maxwell got willow to start the fire and was present at the burning.  I think the robot is wagstaff, think after he saw Webber change didn't want that for himself and turned himself into a robot and Maxwell turned his mind to a more rebotic, maybe to prove that it doesn't matter what people do to protect themselves they will change regardless.  Just my thought on the theory.

I think Wagstaff built WX, and then when the factory was burning, he took WX and Webber and went through the portal.

[Maxposting]

What if Wagstaff is Maxwell?

 

[Mooagain]

40 minutes ago, __IvoCZE__ said:

What if Wagstaff is Maxwell?

 

What? Maxwell used Wagstaff to make the radio, but they are different people.

[axxel]

2 minutes ago, __IvoCZE__ said:

What if Wagstaff is Maxwell?

 

There are actual hints about that either Maxwell was skilled with automatons and Wagstaff had some connections with Maxwell:

- "My beautiful machine is in pieces!" - Maxwell on Wooden thing and has his name written in runes according to the wiki, but it contradicts to Winona's quote on it (uncanon maybe?) - “That gadget has my name on it.”

- He created the Clockwork Pieces.

[Tapirus]

8 minutes ago, axxel said:

- He created the Clockwork Pieces.

Clockworks existed in the past, Maxwell and the creator of WX-78 just used the remains from the ruins as blueprints to make the current ones.

[Zeklo]

9 minutes ago, axxel said:

... but it contradicts to Winona's quote on it (uncanon maybe?) - “That gadget has my name on it.”

I see a lot of people taking quotes at their face value.

"Has my name on it" is the same as "it's up my alley" or "that's just my kind of thing."

It doesn't literally mean her name is on it.

[Tapirus]

1 hour ago, __IvoCZE__ said:

What if Wagstaff is Maxwell?

 

Plotwist: Wagstaff disappeared long time ago (probably was consumed by the shadows), and maybe made WX-78 when was alive (and lost) in the Constant.

Meanwhile, Maxwell used his identity to recreate the olf clockworks (and the "odd radios" to get more and new victims) with resources from the factory + money. 

[axxel]

10 minutes ago, Tapirus said:

Clockworks existed in the past, Maxwell and the creator of WX-78 just used the remains from the ruins as blueprints to make the current ones.

Blueprints? Would explain some things.

23 minutes ago, Zeklo said:

I see a lot of people taking quotes at their face value.

"Has my name on it" is the same as "it's up my alley" or "that's just my kind of thing."

It doesn't literally mean her name is on it.

Didn't know that "have a name on something" is an idiom. Thanks.

[Tapirus]

11 minutes ago, axxel said:

Blueprints? Would explain some things.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blueprint

The ruins of Constant have antique pieces of Clockworks, even some ones still working. 

It's not too hard make copies of stuff when you have the pieces as example and resources to do it. Basically, its reverse engineering.