As a mortal, the Marionette Maestro was a magical artist and a mime, a controller of minds, hearts, and bodies. Their evil extended into death, where they were offered a position as one of the Ten Thousand Kings of Hell. Now they rule a court of hideous monsters, immune to their charms and uncaring for their incessant humour.
In form, the Marionette Maestro is a horrid mimicry of humanoid form, the upper half of their skull missing and flared wide. They have no eyes, but can see using magical senses, allowing them to see the desperate hatred that all of their subjects have for their awful japes and overly-complicated pranks. Their movements are carefully posed and over-exaggerated. Those who can bring a smile to the Marionette Maestro's face, no matter how unplanned the pratfall or long-winded the shaggy dog story, earn the Maestro's favour, which may extend to safe passage, or even patronage. The Maestro's servants bear a mark, a caricaturish grin at all times. They are often commanded to sow chaos, to confuse the forces of order, or to humiliate those in power, those who cannot be mocked, those who take themselves far too seriously. Statistics: The Marionette Maestro is an advanced Bone Devil with 30 Hit Dice, and the abilities of a 15th-level Bard. In their court, they are served by a chorus of far-too-serious Bearded Devils who ignore or fail to understand any of the Maestro's entertainment, lovely as it may be. How you can use the Marionette Maestro in your game: - The Maestro's servants work tirelessly to tear down those in power who have no sense of the basurd or fanciful. Those who take themselves overly seriously sometimes find themselves the subject of relentless campaigns to humiliate them, writing and repeating catch tunes which undermine their authority. A ruler might well spend coin on investigators who can bring such a rebel to their justice. - The Maestro's servants also work against the servants of the other Kings of Hell, earning them many enemies. Any other servants might find themselves working against the Maestro's servants out of pride in their own service, or against a dedicated effort to destroy their own reputation. - As an option for player characters, the Maestro could be a patron for a warlock, or even an otherworldly patron for a bard. They may receive orders to circulate particular ditties in particular places, just to further grander plans. Also posted on Game Masters Stash on 27 February 2020. Comments are closed.
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AuthorI'm Luke. He/him pronouns. Archives
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