With snappy comebacks and spontaneous one-liners, the Jester is always popular.
--Description in Dragon Quest VII.
The Gadabout (遊び人, Asobinin), also known as the Jester, is a recurring vocation in the Dragon Quest series. Design wise, gadabouts were originally split between dressing as clowns for men and bunny girls for women, but with the reintroduction of the profession in X and the 3DS remake of VII this practice has since been retired in lieu of both sexes dressing as clowns.
Characteristics
Gadabouts march to the beat of their own drum, often ignoring any commands from the player for their own buffoonery that can have positive or negative impact on the party. The number of possible antics increases with their level or rank, depending on the game, with more extreme actions becoming available. Quite literally a joke character, the Gadabout is poor in nearly every attribute, save for their incredible luck in III and a small style boost in VI and VII.
In X, the gadabout is not as foppish as in past games and players can control their chaos by selecting when to goof off instead of at random. The effects are still unpredictable, however.
Gadabouts, originally localized as goof-offs, are pretty much useless on the battlefield, but do have a great amount of luck. This allows them to avoid the affects of debilitating spells more often than other characters. The trade-off for this is the fact that these clowns have minds of their own, and the player cannot always control their actions. The gadabout is the only class that can turn into a Sage at Alltrades Abbey without the Words of Wisdom, merely needing to reach level 20 to do so. Rather than take a gadabout from the beginning of the journey with this career advancement in mind, some players opt to instead turn an existing character in to a fop and level them up in the safety of their much stronger peers.
Stats
NES version
Attribute |
Starting Stats |
Maximum Stats
|
Level |
1 |
99
|
HP |
11 |
240
|
MP |
0 |
0
|
Strength |
5 |
100
|
Agility |
2 |
130
|
Resilience |
6 |
131
|
Wisdom |
2 |
184
|
Luck |
8 |
255
|
Equipment
Clowning around
A gadabout will only follow the player's instructions 75% of the time, disobeying with a randomly selected action. Every few levels, a new action is added to the list:
- Level 1 (1/5): struck a defensive pose (Defends), just gawked at the scene(Nothing), yell for help (Nothing), run (Nothing), fell and tripped (Nothing)
- Level 3 (1/7): smiled serenely (Nothing), keeled over (Falls asleep)
- Level 5 (1/8): juggle stones (4~8 damage to Gadabout or monster)
- Level 7 (1/9): sing and dance gaily (Nothing)
- Level 9 (1/10): flick disheveled hair(F)/put on tough guy act(M) (Nothing)
- Level 11 (1/11): tap dance (Gadabout's evasion rises)
- Level 13 (1/12): spin finger at monster (Confuses monster)
- Level 15 (1/13): preen with mirror (F)/goose other party member(M) (Nothing)
- Level 17 (1/15): keel over (Paralyzes Gadabout), cast some gibberish (Nothing)
- Level 19 (1/16): pray for peace (Nothing)
- Level 20 (1/17): become plagued by self doubt (Nothing)
- Level 21 (1/18): make up a pun (Makes enemy laugh)
- Level 23 (1/20): roll a die (Nothing), sing loudly (terrible voice - makes enemy flee, beautiful voice - makes enemy lose turn)
- Level 25 (1/21): image lewd situations (Nothing)
- Level 27 (1/22): sneeze (Makes everybody surprised)
- Level 29 (1/24): start a word game (Nothing), gaze sexily at monster (Makes monster lose turn (F)/Nothing(M))
- Level 31 (1/25): tell a story (Random party member can lose turn)
- Level 33 (1/26): put on heels and hold a whip(F)/pull out a crown and wear it(M)(Makes a monster attack other monster or itself when alone/Gadabout attacks a monster)
- Level 35 (1/28): sneak up behind other party member (Nothing), laugh maniacally (Make monsters flee)
- Level 37 (1/29): cheer everyone up (Casts Deceleratle or Acceleratle on the party)
- Level 39 (1/31): guzzle a bottle of ale (Gadabout won't move next turn), heckle a monster (Nothing)
- Level 41 (1/32): toss up a boulder (12~14 damage to party member, or 30~32 to a monster)
- Level 43 (1/33): puff-puff a monster (Makes a monster lose turn(F)/Deals 36~45 damage to a monster(M))
- Level 45 (1/34): use a move on a monster (Poofchop, Poofmash; deals 35~42 damage to a monster)
- Level 47 (1/35): do something illicit (Nothing)
- Level 49 (1/36): lit some paper on fire (Casts Frizzle on a monster)
- Level 50 (1/37): run out of things to do (Casts Multiheal on party)
Skills
Gadabout is one of the basic classes available. It is one of the prerequisites for the Luminary vocation, along with the Dancer.
Stat Changes
Statistics
|
Change
|
Battles to Master
|
155
|
Strength
|
-30%
|
Agility
|
-30%
|
Resilience
|
-40%
|
Wisdom
|
-20%
|
Style
|
+5%
|
Max HP
|
-30%
|
Max MP
|
-40%
|
Trait
|
Sometimes skips a turn
|
Abilities
Level
|
Title
|
Learns
|
Battles Needed
|
Target
|
Info
|
MP
|
1
|
Goof-off
|
Lucky Dip
|
1
|
Varies
|
Random effect
|
0
|
2
|
Partygoer
|
Whistle
|
12
|
Self
|
Summons monsters with a whistle.
|
0
|
3
|
Night Owl
|
Tongue Lashing
|
25
|
One enemy
|
A slobbery lick to make the enemy cower.
|
0
|
4
|
Freeloader
|
Puff-Puff
|
45
|
One enemy
|
If performed by a male, it damages the enemy. If performed by a female, it may prevent the enemy from attacking.
|
0
|
5
|
Muckraker
|
Nap
|
67
|
Self
|
Sleep for a spell to restore HP and MP.
|
0
|
6
|
Heartbreaker
|
Tongue Bashing
|
82
|
One enemy
|
A punishing lick to reduce the enemy's defence.
|
0
|
7
|
Moodmaker
|
Follow Suit
|
118
|
Self
|
Gives the enemy back a taste of its own medicine.
|
0
|
8
|
Super Player
|
Hocus Pocus
|
155
|
Varies
|
Take a chance with Lady Luck! Only she knows what will happen.
|
20
|
Once again, Jester is one of the basic classes available. Mastering it is a prerequisite to unlock the Luminary vocation, along with Dancer and Troubadour. The Jester's attributes decline in all categories save for style which might be hard to deal with at first and the skills aren't worth using, but the vocation is required for a character to become a Luminary and then a Druid later on. When Ruff is this class, his wolf has a clown's red nose.
Stat Changes
Statistics
|
Change
|
Battles to Master
|
PS1: 130
|
3DS: 71
|
Strength
|
-30%
|
Agility
|
-30%
|
Resilience
|
-40%
|
Wisdom
|
-20%
|
Style
|
+5%
|
Max HP
|
-30%
|
Max MP
|
-20%
|
PS1 Abilities
Level
|
Title
|
Learns
|
Battles Needed
|
Target
|
Info
|
MP
|
1
|
Beginner
|
Nothing
|
0
|
|
|
|
2
|
Novice
|
Puff-Puff
|
7
|
One Enemy
|
If performed by a male, it damages the enemy. If performed by a female, it may prevent the enemy from attacking.
|
0
|
3
|
Goof-Off
|
Silliness
|
15
|
Self
|
Caster avoids physical attacks for one turn
|
0
|
4
|
Buffoon
|
Point Out
|
30
|
Self
|
Counterattacks physical attacks for one turn
|
0
|
5
|
Stand-up
|
One-Liner
|
58
|
One Group
|
Tells a joke which may cause one enemy group to laugh, preventing them from attacking
|
0
|
6
|
Comedian
|
Tongue Lashing
|
80
|
One Enemy
|
Licks an enemy to cause shuddering, which may prevent an enemy from attacking
|
0
|
7
|
Joker
|
Tongue Bashing
|
100
|
One Enemy
|
Licks one enemy, lowering its defence to zero
|
0
|
8
|
Fool
|
Rib-Tickler
|
130
|
One Enemy
|
Tickle one enemy, which may prevent it from attacking
|
0
|
3DS Abilities
Level
|
Title
|
Learns
|
Battles Needed
|
Target
|
Info
|
MP
|
1
|
Open Mic-Er
|
Pratfall
|
1
|
User
|
Dodge all damage for one turn.
|
0
|
2
|
Clown
|
Sobering Slap
|
4
|
Self
|
Turn an enemy attack back onto them. Doesn't seem to work.
|
0
|
3
|
Fall Guy
|
Weird Leer
|
9
|
|
Does nothing
|
0
|
Puff-Puff
|
One enemy
|
If performed by a male, it damages the enemy. If performed by a female, it may prevent the enemy from attacking.
|
0
|
4
|
Gag Merchant
|
One-Liner
|
16
|
One group
|
User tells a joke, can make the enemy laugh and skip a turn.
|
0
|
5
|
Jobbing Comedian
|
Tongue Lashing
|
24
|
One enemy
|
Licks an enemy to cause shuddering, which may prevent an enemy from attacking
|
0
|
6
|
Bill-Topper
|
Underpants Dance
|
34
|
One group
|
May startle enemies, which make them skip a turn.
|
0
|
Tongue Bashing
|
One enemy
|
Licks one enemy, lowering its defence to zero.
|
0
|
7
|
Household Name
|
Rib-Tickler
|
46
|
One enemy
|
May make an enemy skip a turn.
|
0
|
8
|
Comic Genius
|
Weird Whacker
|
71
|
One group
|
Attempt to confuse enemies, also deals damage
|
0
|
Hybrid Abilities
Notable Gadabouts
- Selectable class in Dragon Quest III.
- Torneko can be considered a fusion of the Gadabout and Merchant classes, with a little bit of Thief thrown in.
- Dhoulmagus is referred to by the party and by NPCs as a Jester. Beyond this nomenclature and a superficial resemblance, he has no real relation to the vocation.
- Known as Player (loose translation) in Dragon Quest Monsters: Caravan Heart.
Gallery
Male gadabout, Famicom artwork
Female gadabout, Famicom artwork
Male and female gadabouts, Famicom artwork
Dragon Quest Character Figure Collection Roto no Monshou series
Dragon Quest Character Figure Collection Roto no Monshou series
Female gadabout, Gameboy Color artwork
Male gadabout, Gameboy Color artwork
Dragon Quest Monsters: Caravan Heart
Intermediate Human Vocations
Beginner Monster Vocations
Intermediate Monster Vocations
Advanced Monster Vocations