Dhoulmagus

"Such a pity."

Dhoulmagus
Dragon Quest VIII
Japanese name	ドルマゲス
Romaji	Dorumagesu
Title	Evil Jester
Race	Human
Age	Unknown
Voice actor	Keith Wickham (English) Takehito Koyasu (Japanese)

Dhoulmagus (ドルマゲス, Dorumagesu) is an important figure in Dragon Quest VIII. Until his defeat at the hands of the Hero's party, he is apparently the player's central enemy in their journey. Lord Rhapthorne, however, is the true villain of the game.

Dhoulmagus is a jester who came to Trodain Castle. His deep desire to be the greatest magician of all time and resentment towards those who laughed at him fueled his breaking into the castle's secret chamber to obtain the legendary scepter of Rhapthorne. Almost immediately, he was overwhelmed by Rhapthorne's power and made to do such dastardly things as his pawn. Possessed by Rhapthorne, he killed his first four victims: his former master Rylus, the swordsman Alistair (Jessica's brother), Abbot Francisco, and Mr. Golding, the casino owner. The Hero and party eventually defeated him after a long chase, where the scepter's dark influence transformed him into a monstrous creature. Upon his defeat, King Trode discovered that the curse on him and his daughter, Medea, had not been broken. Shortly after, Jessica would retrieve the sceptre, and become enthralled by it's malicious power.

In the 3DS version of the game, extra flashback scenes have been added that detail Dhoulmagus's backstory and the circumstances that led to becoming the unwitting pawn of Rhapthorne.

Appearance and Personality

Dhoulmagus is a tall, physically imposing man whose appearance has become twisted due to the influence of Rhapthorne's scepter. His skin has taken on a deathly, grey pallor and his long hair is white. He has a long, gaunt face with a prominent brow, a widow's peak on his forehead, and he wears black eyeliner, lipstick, and nail polish on his long fingernails. He also has red makeup in the shape of diamonds on each eye. On his left ear, he wears a dangling gold earring.

His costume is a highly exaggerated version of a court jester's. He wears a doublet with alternating red and purple fabric with slashes ending in a puffy ball of the other color (purple on red fabric and vice versa) that reached down to his ankles. The doublet has large leg-of-mutton shoulder pads and solid red sleeves. The back of the tunic has a long purple cape with black lining that ends in two tails with puffy red balls at the end like his doublet. He wears orange trousers and black leather knee-length boots. Prior to his transformation, Dhoulmagus had light skin and his long hair was black. He still wore black makeup.

As a normal human, Dhoulmagus was a nervous and shy wreck of a man, having endured years of mistreatment from his master, Rylus. He was a weak magician whose magic could barely be considered parlour tricks, but he strongly desired to become powerful by any means necessary. Rylus forbade his young apprentice from reading any of his grimoires on magic, as he felt that Dhoulmagus still had yet to grasp the most basic principles of magic. This led to him breaking into Castle Trodain and stealing Rhapthorne's scepter, as Dhoulmagus knew it would grant him the power he so desired. Despite his timid personality, Dhoulmagus displayed a cunning wit and resourcefulness, as he was able to disguise himself as a jester and charm King Trode with his sleight-of-hand.

Much like how Jessica had completely changed once she was in possession of the scepter, Dhoulmagus's personality had taken a complete 180, becoming devious and strong-willed. No longer was he the weak and cowardly sage's apprentice from Farebury. He showed some remaining glimmers of his former personality before his death at the hands of the Hero and his party.

After his first defeat in the Dark Ruins, Dhoulmagus undergoes a demonic transformation, leaving almost none of his physical features intact. His skin turns blue, his eyes become yellow, and purple fur covers his shoulders, upper arms, and thighs. Dhoulmagus's body becomes noticeably more muscular and his feet turn into large talons like that of a bird. Most notably, a large pair of red wings sprouts from his back, giving him the power of flight and an extra weapon as he can shoot out feathers like sharp arrows. He also grows a long tail, large pointed ears, and a pair of horns on his forehead.

Characteristics

His human form is quite formidable, but his demonic form is truly powerful and not to be underestimated by the player's party.

Story

Dhoulmagus served as the long-suffering apprentice to the sage Rylus in Farebury, where he was forced to perform menial tasks such as cleaning, rather than being taught magic. One day when his master was away, Dhoulmagus began reading one of Rylus's grimoires, where he learned about the existence of Rhapthorne's scepter and the amazing power it possessed. Rylus discovered this and became furious at his apprentice, as he felt that Dhoulmagus was barely a novice when it came to magic. He snuck away to Castle Trodain, disguised as a court jester and gained an audience with King Trode and Princess Medea. The king and the princess were charmed by Dhoulmagus's magic tricks and Trode invited the magician to stay at the castle.

That night, he used the same magic trick to knock out a castle guard and sneak into the chamber where Rhapthorne's scepter was sealed. It was then that Dhoulmagus unleashed its power, encasing the castle and its inhabitants in thorny vines and turned Trode and Medea into a troll and a horse respectively. With his newfound power, Dhoulmagus returned to visit his master Rylus in Farebury. Rylus was just about to complete an elixir which would unlock Dhoulmagus's latent magical abilities. Rylus was aghast at what his apprentice had done, but it was too late for him as Dhoulmagus decided to take revenge and kill him with the scepter. Afterwards, Dhoulmagus set Rylus's house ablaze and set off to find the other sages.

Abilities

First phase

Once an ordinary jester, his theft of the sceptre from Trodain Castle gave him magical powers beyond imagination.

Original (PS2)

Sprite	HP	MP	Attack
	1880	255	202
Defense	Agility	Experience	Gold
128	78	4300	0

Bestiary no.	269
Family	Demon
In-game description
Spell(s)	Multiheal
Skill(s)	Disruptive Wave Lullab-Eye Thin Air Thousands of Whips(30~50 damage, ignores defence) Throw debris(110% damage, hits twice) Wind Sickles
Location(s)	Dark Ruins
Item(s) dropped	None

Evasion	Attack Resistance	Frizz Resistance *	Sizz Resistance *
1⁄64	0%	0%	0%
Fire Breath Resistance *	Bang Resistance *	Woosh Resistance *	Crack Resistance *
0%	0%	0%	20%
Ice breath Resistance *	Strike/Rock Resistance *	Zap Resistance *	Drain Magic Resistance
20%	0%	0%	100%
Whack Resistance *	Poison Resistance *	Paralysis Resistance *	Fuddle Resistance *
100%	100%	100%	100%
Snooze resistance *	Dazzle Resistance	Fizzle Resistance	Ban Dance Resistance
100%	100%	?	100%
Stun Resistance *	Sap Resistance *	Army Resistance *
100%	100%%	20%

Remake (3DS, Mobile)

Notable Changes

None

Clone

Original (PS2)

Sprite	HP	MP	Attack
	570	255	176
Defense	Agility	Experience	Gold
128	86	0	0

Bestiary no.	269
Family	None
In-game description
Spell(s)	None
Skill(s)	Lullab-Eye Wind Sickles
Location(s)	Dark Ruins
Item(s) dropped	None

Evasion	Attack Resistance	Frizz Resistance *	Sizz Resistance *
1⁄64	0%	0%	0%
Fire Breath Resistance *	Bang Resistance *	Woosh Resistance *	Crack Resistance *
0%	0%	0%	20%
Ice breath Resistance *	Strike/Rock Resistance *	Zap Resistance *	Drain Magic Resistance
0%	0%	0%	100%
Whack Resistance *	Poison Resistance *	Paralysis Resistance *	Fuddle Resistance *
100%	100%	100%	100%
Snooze resistance *	Dazzle Resistance	Fizzle Resistance	Ban Dance Resistance
100%	100%	100%	100%
Stun Resistance *	Sap Resistance *	Army Resistance *
100%	100%	20%

Remake (3DS, Mobile)

Notable Changes

None

Second phase

Dhoulmagus, transformed by the awesome power of the sceptre. In spite of his new-found might, his lethal curses proved to have no effect on the Hero.

Original (PS2)

Sprite	HP	MP	Attack
	2640	255	210
Defense	Agility	Experience	Gold
135	74	12000	0

Bestiary no.	270
Family	Demon
In-game description
Spell(s)	Kacrackle Kasizzle
Skill(s)	Acts twice per turn Combo Attack(hits four times, 33% damage per hit) Disruptive Wave Feather Strike(50~90 damage to party) Scorch War Cry
Location(s)	Dark Ruins
Item(s) dropped	None

Evasion	Attack Resistance	Frizz Resistance *	Sizz Resistance *
0⁄64	0%	20%	20%
Fire Breath Resistance *	Bang Resistance *	Woosh Resistance *	Crack Resistance *
20%	0%	20%	50%
Ice breath Resistance *	Strike/Rock Resistance *	Zap Resistance *	Drain Magic Resistance
50%	0%	0%	100%
Whack Resistance *	Poison Resistance *	Paralysis Resistance *	Fuddle Resistance *
100%	100%	100%	100%
Snooze resistance *	Dazzle Resistance	Fizzle Resistance	Ban Dance Resistance
100%	100%	100%	100%
Stun Resistance *	Sap Resistance *	Army Resistance *
100%	15%	20%

Remake (3DS, Mobile)

Notable Changes

None

Other Appearances

Outside his main role in Dragon Quest VIII, Dhoulmagus also makes appearances in these titles.

Dragon Quest IX

#306 - Dhoulmagus
HP MP Experience Gold 7000 14061 (99) 255 61600 2490 Attack Defense Speed 545 1095 (99) 430 645 (99) 300 480 (99)
Family	???
Bestiary #	306
Game	Dragon Quest IX
Console	DS
Description	"Superfast attacker who likes to rush his foes off their feet, and whose Kacrack packs a kick. Not a fan of earth attacks. Try not to be too annoyed by this self-satisfied clown laughing down his nose at you. Smack the smile off his smug old face!"

Additional Attributes
Fire	Ice	Wind	Earth	Light	Dark
100	100	50	150	100	100
Blast	Dazzle	Sleep	Death	Drain MP	Confusion
100	0	0	0	100	0
Fizzle	Inaction	Paralyze	Poison	Charm	Magic Res
0	0	0	0	10	25
Blunt	Sap	Decelerate
5	25	50

Dhoulmagus appears as a Legacy Boss in Dragon Quest IX. His map can be dropped from Murdaw at higher levels (and thus can be obtained multiple times).

Treasure Level Range Secondary Drop Orb 1-3 Trodainers 20% Purple Orb 5% 4-8 Trodainers 25% Purple Orb 5% 9-15 Trodain bandana 15% Purple Orb 6% 16-25 Zenithian trousers 15% Purple Orb 6% 26-40 Zenithian trousers 20% Purple Orb 7% 41-56 Zenithian trousers 25% Purple Orb 7% 57-68 Zenithian helm 15% Purple Orb 8% 69-80 Zenithian clothes 15% Purple Orb 8% 81-90 Zenithian clothes 20% Purple Orb 9% 91-99 Zenithian clothes 25% Purple Orb 10% In addition, he will always drop a mini medal.

Skills Level New abilities Initial Scorch, Kacrack, Kazam, Combo Attack, War Cry, attacks twice per round 4 Disruptive Wave 8 Raging Roar 12 Break Down 16 Hellfire, stops using War Cry and Scorch 28 Kacrackle 41 Begins attacking 3 times per turn, stops using Kacrack & Kazam 57 Kazammle

Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker

Dhoulmagus
Family	Beast
Rank	S
Description	The final form of a jester who yearned for the forbidden power of a scepter.
Weapons	Spears, Hammers, Whips, Staves
Traits	Psycho
Resistances	Whackproof, Wooshproof
Skill	Dhoulmagus
Location	-
Breeding chart	Alabast dragon x Psaro Dragovian lord x Psaro

Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2

Dhoulmagus appears in his second form.

Dhoulmagus
Family	Beast
Rank	S
Size	S
Weapons	Whips, Spears, Hammers, Staves
Traits	Psycho, Hit Squad, Counterstriker, Zammeister
Resistances	Vulnerable to Bang, Immune to Woosh and Whack
Skill	Dhoulmagus
Location	-
Breeding chart	Alabast dragon x Psaro or Estark

Trivia

In Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2, the evil scepter is called Malevolence.

See also

• Leopold
• Malevolence

Gallery

• 

  A Japanese promotional poster for the game featuring Dhoulmagus and various monsters, both old and new. (At the time of VIII's release)

• 

  Concept art

• 

  DQ VIII: 1st Form

• 

  DQ VIII: 2nd Form

• 

  DQ VIII: 2nd Form

• 

  DQMJ

• 

  Dhoulmagus entertaining King Trode and Princess Medea (Nintendo 3DS Version scene only).