Phantasmagoria

The Maestro

Phantasmagoria was a tiefling bard and a Marked of Yog. She was a player character in All Hail Yog, portrayed by Hallie Clawson.

“There is nothing practical about the infernal figure who stands before you. Attired in an extravagant costume of lace, frills and brocade, they are suited to one thing and one thing only – strutting about the opera stage. Great dagged sleeves sweep on the floor. Gold filigree traces every hem of their arresting gown. Sparkling jewels swing from their ponderous headdress. First and foremost, however, is always the mask. Bone-white, concealing crimson skin and emerald eyes beneath, it depicts a theatrical skull and from its crown sprout a pair of gargantuan horns, large and heavy as elk’s antlers. She poses for a moment, the picture of stillness, before raising her baton like a conductor, ready to begin a fell symphony.”

History

Once, in the sprawling city of Thorp, where something as grandiose and impractical as opera could be considered high art, the woman who would become Phantasmagoria was known by another name – a composer of opera too bizarre and baroque to prove digestible to the average audience. At her best, she achieved moderate success. At her worst, she was eviscerated by the city’s notoriously cruel critics and her work quickly became the laughing stock of galas and ballrooms across the city.
Until she found a new patron.
The following opera season, a mysterious new composer arrived on the scene. Appearing only in elaborate costume, she wrote scandalous scores about demons, devils and all things infernal. It was rumored that the costume was more than mere theatrics, that there truly was a fiend beneath her bone-white mask. There were whispers about who her true master was, about her lair in the catacombs of the old operahouse, about the fell symphony she was writing that would usher in the end of the world.
Needless to say, ticket sales went through the roof.

Character

Personality

Phantasmagoria is a lunatic. Already unstable before her pact with Yog, one glance into the abyss was enough to send her plummeting into madness. She is drunk on her own genius and eldritch power, believing all other creatures her intellectual and especially artistic lessers. She delights in petty revenges and indulging her enormous ego, caring not one whit for the wellbeing of any other creature, apart from herself. Stagecraft and presentation are vital; everything else is dross. Her highest ambition is simply to write a symphony that ends the world. If she has her druthers, the last music anyone on Ondûn ever hears will be her opus.

Abilities

In addition to her unnatural talent as a composer, performer and organist, Phantasmagoria commands a suite of arcane powers, granted to her by her patron. She can manipulate sound however she chooses – whether a shattering sonic boom or deafening silence. For one as grandiose and opulent, she is surprisingly stealthy, capable of appearing and disappearing wherever she wishes.
Her greatest power, however, is her control of the hearts and minds of her audience. Phantasmagoria can spellbind anyone listening to her play. In their own minds, her listeners are the stars of their own opera and it is entirely at the maestro’s whim whether that story ends in comedy or tragedy.
She is also famous for her grandiose and impractical opera costumes, which change with her whims, each more ludicrous and opulent than the last.

Campaigns

All Hail Yog

• The Instrument: Phantasmagoria was among the four Marked tasked with recovering the Starsphere from Cape Cowrie, where last the artifact was seen. Her summons came in the midst of a performance, shortly after she’d murdered one of her harshest critics – before a screaming audience. Appearing atop the Spires of Yog, she made eyes at Desdemonia and talked shop with Ernst before, at her mention of “unions”, Yog made Its entrance. During the briefing, Phantasmagoria questioned Yog about Its plans and was granted a terrifying, tantalizing glimpse of things to come before wandering, in a daze, off the Spire. In the seaside cave, Phantasmagoria composed and was eventually joined – unsuccessfully – by a bored Ernst and – somewhat more successfully – by an intrigued Agnoment. On the outskirts of Clamuth, Ernst disguised Phantasmagoria as a gnomish minstrel. She was the least successful at gathering information, asking questions with no context and spoiling with hatred for the town’s humble bandstand. In the Stargaze Spire, she pressed Yancy Wickerbock for more information and cast silence on him when his screams threatened to rouse all of Crookston-By-Water. Tracking the astrolabe to the chapel on the rock, Phantasmagoria – attired in yet another costume – made a grand entrance by shattering open the doors. During the battle, she groped ever for the Starsphere, teleporting across the church, attempting to bewitch and dominate the celestials and eventually succeeding in enthralling Dee, despite her draconic nature. Scorched terribly by spirit guardians, Phantasmagoria nonetheless managed to escape the chapel with the astrolabe in hand, only to be shot down by the traitorous Agnoment. Restored to life by Ernst, the villains made good their escape, both mounted atop Phantasmagoria’s Christine.

Name: Phantasmagoria
Ancestry: Tiefling
Class: Bard (College of Glamour)
Born: 853 4A
Height: 5'8" (6'7" with horns)
Weight: 190 lbs
Hair: Black
Eyes: Green
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
First Appearance: The Instrument (Episode 1)
Most Recent Appearance: The Instrument (Episode 10)
Played By: Hallie Clawson