Dhoulmagus

"Such a pity."

- Dhoulmagus' famous quote.

Dhoulmagus is en evil clown and the main villain for the first half of Dragon Quest VIII.

Originally a magus' apprentice, he read about the forbidden Godbird Sceptre which holds the power of the demonic Lord Rhapthorne trapped within by spying upon his master's book. In an attempt to snatch it, he used the magic he had learned to impress King Trode and Medea and become the Court Jester. When he had earned their trust, he turned against the kingdom and stole the scepter, not realizing that the demon imprisoned within would possess him. With this powerful sceptre, he transforms the inhabitants of Trodain into plant-like statues, as well as changing the king into a toad-like monster and the princess into a horse, while covering the majority of the castle in large, green magical thorns.

The Hero, a young Trodain guardsman, is eventually joined on his quest by three companions: a scarred, inarticulate bandit named Yangus, a wand-waving tomboy named Jessica, and Angelo, a rapier-wielding Templar Knight and self-proclaimed ladies' man.

During their travels, the party runs into Dhoulmagus several times. A couple of these encounters involve Dhoulmagus killing someone beloved by members of the Hero's party. Individuals slain by Dhoulmagus include Alistair (Jessica's brother) and Abbot Francisco, who is head of the abbey where Angelo lives.

The party finally tracks down Dhoulmagus to the Dark Ruins, where they find him recuperating, and finally face off against him. After his defeat, he tries to curse the party with his sceptre, but the hero is again unaffected by the curse, blocking the blast and sparing his allies.

Dhoulmagus then uses his menacing power to change into a hideous creature. However, even with his new powers, he is no match for the might of the heroes. Much to their surprise, however, they find that even with his defeat, the curse still has not been lifted.

Concluding that something else must be maintaining the curse, they leave the ruins, with Jessica picking up the Godbird Sceptre as they exit.

Appearance
Dhoulmagus has long, flowing white hair and pale skin, along with a red marks painted across his eyes, almost resembling scars. He wears an attire similar to that of a stereotypical jester, with contrasting colors (In this case, purple and red), as well as baubles hanging off his clothes.

His second form resembles a demonic harpy, with two short black horns, large blue talons, and red feathered wings. Most of his back is violet, and his arms, legs, face, and tail are a light blue. His teeth are noticeably sharper and his eyes glow yellow.

Personality
Not much is known about Dhoulmagus' persona before he was taken over by the magic of the Godbird Scepter, but it is known that he is quite ambitious, stealing it to become simply the greatest magician of all time. Afterwards, he becomes a servant to Rhapthorne's will, performing villainous acts as he travels across the land in search of the Seven Sages' descendants. He even derives pleasure from the suffering of others, freezing people like Allistair in place before slowly walking towards them and killing them.

Dragon Quest IX
Dhoulmagus is a legacy boss that can be fought if one obtains his map. Sometimes Murdaw may drop it. He appears in his corrupted feathered form.

Dragon Quest Monsters Joker 2
His transformed form appears as a monster by synthesizing an Alabast Dragon with either a Psaro or Estark.

Trivia

 * The quote that he says before facing him as a legacy boss is the same one he says before fighting his second form in Dragon Quest VIII: