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 Sceptre 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 Sceptre'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 Albert would retrieve the Sceptre, and become enthralled by its 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 a greater power.
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 Sceptre, 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.
His human form is quite formidable, but his demonic form is truly powerful and not to be underestimated by the player's 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.
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 Sceptre 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.
His next victim is Alistair, who he murders by leaving the door to the Tower of Alexandra open, causing the swordsman to investigate and confronts him, though Dhoulmagus freezes him in place and kills him, though not before assuring that his death would not be vain. He laughs while another seal on Rhapthorne is broken, though this earns him and the Lord of Darkness another enemy in Jessica. Next, he goes to Maella Abbey to murder Abbot Francisco, cursing Khalamari to slow down his pursuers, though they manage to triumph over the giant squid terrorizing the waters from Port Alexandria to Maella. He is about to murder the Abbot when the Hero and the party manage to catch him in the act, causing him to disappear and Marcello to frame the party for attempted murder. Later, Dhoulmagus overpowers the Templars and tries again to murder Abbot Fransisco, stunning Marcello in the process. When Trode confronts him, he smugly mocks the king as "King Toad" and slows down time to finish the job of killing the Abbot, who assures Marcello and those present that faith and the Goddess are on his side. When Abbot Fransisco is murdered, however, Dhoulmagus retorts that faith and the Goddess are on his side now, with the 3rd seal on the specter broken while Rhapthorne's voice is heard with Dhoulmagus's. Dhoulmagus takes his leave, where he murders Golding, the owner of the casino in Baccarat, though the 4th descendant of the Seven Sages putting up a good fight before his death causes him to retreat to the Dark Ruins, where he places a barrier that can only be broken with the Magic Mirror. After the party obtains the Magic Mirror and dispels the barrier, they find Dhoulmagus in a gel-like cocoon where his body is healing until it can be ready to use Rhapthorne's power properly. He praises the Hero and his party for coming this far and their admirable loyalty to Trode, before saying that they can't break the curse on him but should fulfill their own destiny to die at his hand. He is defeated and once again praises the party for their strength, saying he could've beat them in a heartbeat had he not been healing, but decides to bring it to an end, conjuring some thorns to entrap the party, though the Hero's immunity to curses protects against them. Undettered, Dhoulmagus enlarges the thorns causing the party to be buried in them, though they wither away due to the Hero's immunity. Having no choice, Dhoulmagus uses the Sceptre to transform himself into a demonic harpy like creature with wings and vows to crush them so he could not be pestered again. Despite his formidable power, he is defeated and turns to stone before turning to dust, leaving only the Sceptre behind. However, Dhoulmagus's death does not lift the curse on Trode and Medea, forcing the party to rest up at Argonia and then continue their quest where Jessica, having picked up the Sceptre, is possessed by Rhapthorne to finish what Dhoulmagus started.
Dhoulmagus (ドルマゲス, Dorumagesu ) Defeated Monster List No. : #269
Both of Dhoulmagus' forms appear as S-rank members of the Demon family during the limited Dragon Quest VIII event. His first form is faced in Chapter 3, Episode 3: Dhoulmagus Part 1, while his second form is known as Evil Jester Dhoulmagus and is faced in Chapter 3, Episode 4: Dhoulmagus Part 2. Both forms can also be faced as bosses in the Dark Ruins in Chase the Evil Jester, Dhoulmagus!. His first form appears on his own banner alongside Bulldozer and he can participate in the Trap box's Battle Road as a party member.
Clone / Stats Up Bang Res +25 / Stats Up Martial Potency +5% / Stats Up Bind Martial: Very rarely binds when making a martial attack. Zap Res +25 / Stats Up Martial Potency +5% / Bind Success Rate +10% / Stats Up
Perks
Basic perks
Max MP +15 AGL +20 Jester's Evil: Allows phasing through obstacles in battle. Jester's Jest Potency +2%
Leader perk
Raises martial potency of all allies, including himself, by 15% in a 5x5 square around him.
Awakening perk
Clone: Battle start: Raises evasion rate by 100% for 3 turns.
His Evil Jester form also appears during the Japan-only limited True Dragon Quest VIII event where he can eventually be recruited on his own banner and he can participate in Evil Sir Leopold's Battle Road as a party member.
Dhoulmagus (ドルマゲス Dorumagesu)
