Character from Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman
A twenty-something Spy-class rogue whose trap-detection skill makes him irreplaceable — and whose teammates keep dying in front of him to keep it that way.
Bobby's tragedy is competence. He's the only person in his team who can detect and disarm traps in their trap-filled environment, which means his teammates deliberately walk into tunnels ahead of him, dying to protect his irreplaceable expertise. He watches them die. He keeps going. His eye twitches more. 'I can't do this anymore. I'm done. This is too much' — except he's not done, because the alternative to Bobby continuing is everyone else dying to the traps he would have found. His psychological distress is visible and physical: trembling hands, stuttering speech, the manifest symptoms of someone whose mind is trying to reject what his body keeps experiencing. He joined the Desperado Club before the fifth floor and worked alongside Morris, Mike Barnes, and Low Thi in the tomb-raider tunnels. Carl provided tactical guidance but couldn't shield Bobby from the fundamental cruelty of being too useful to be allowed to break down. He died possessed by a ghost during a quest — crushed when a bowl structure collapsed around him.
Early twenties, dark hair, tanned skin with a Mediterranean look. Probably bears a Desperado Pass Tattoo on his neck. His hands tremble. His eye twitches. He stutters when the stress peaks. He looks like what happens when you make the most anxious person in the room the most important one.
Also known as: Bobby, Bobby D.J.