Grim Jester

A skeletal cadaver bedecked in the motley attire of a fool capers about while making jokes that mock mortality.

Amusing Death

When a jester on his deathbed moves an evil death god to laughter, the fool sometimes gains a reprieve, becoming a grim jester, whose pranks serve to entertain the god of death. Their purpose is to bring an end to mortal lives in a gruesome, comic, and absurd manner. As long as such jesters keep the death god amused, their continued unlife is assured.

Grisly Humor

A grim jester’s jokes are not funny to their victims, but they offer a grim finality in combat. A killing joke might be absurd, such as “Here is your final pineapple soul, a parting gift, goodbye.” or sheer braggadocio such as “Your footwork is atrocious, and your spell’s lost its focus, your party’s no match for my hocus-pocus.” Others might be high-flown, such as “Mortal, your time has come, the bell within your skull does ring, ding, dong, dead.” Grim jesters are famous for grim, bitter mockery such as “Your blood on fire, your heart pumps its last, show me now a hero’s last gasp! A grim jester’s mockery rarely entertains the living—but gods of death, chained angels, and demons find them quite amusing.

Randomness

Grim jesters often get their hands on a Wand of Wonder and scrolls of chaos magic. Beware the grim jester with a Deck of Many Things—they are quite talented in pulling cards whose magic then applies to foes and spectators.