Erik, "The Phantom"

Phantom of the Opera artwork by Jordan Nelson

> I am The Phantom because man's hate has made me so. I am not worried about the path I'm on...
>
>

**Erik, "The Phantom"** is a player character in campaign 1 of DnDark. He is played by Aaron Kaufhold.

Once lurking in the wings of the Paris Opera House, The mysterious figure known only as "The Phantom of the Opera" is a gifted virtuoso and music teacher who prided himself in scouting talent from the shadows, guiding them to the peak of their abilities. His hypnotic voice and commanding presence masks a hideously deformed face and visage which he keeps hidden under mask, wig, and cloak. After the tragic turn of events surrounding Christine Daae left the Paris Opera House in flames, The Phantom lost everything and was forced to reinvent himself. He has since found his way to The "Engl-ish" Countryside where, at his lowest point, with none of his resources or connections, he fortuitously crosses paths with the party at St. Mary's Cathedral where he convinces them to begrudgingly take him along in their journey.

Phantom is a Bard with the subclass College of The Maestro.

## History

As established in Ep. 39: Castle Crashers Part 3, Erik, the boy who would eventually become The Phantom, was born in a small home in the shadow of the Paris Opera House. Erik was born with an affliction that mottled the skin on half of his face. Always a sensitive man, Erik spent much time alone in his family's garden, listening to the music of operas and teaching himself to play music. Misunderstood and reviled by authority figures and peers, Erik came to develop a deep, hateful resentment for the others in his life. This resentment came to a head when a neighbor stole Erik's notebook and mocked the opera he was composing, "The Trials of Don Juan". Erik retaliated by committing his first murder, and was consequently remanded to the Devil's Island Asylum for the Criminally Inclined. There, he continued to practice his music with makeshift instruments using item he could find, which manifested his burgeoning Bard magic. He used these newfound abilities to escape, returning to Paris and secluding himself in a lair beneath the Paris Opera house.

Over the years of secrecy, he came to be known and feared as the theater's resident specter, The "Phantom of the Opera", who would kill any unfortunate enough to wander into his domain. Adopting this moniker as his own, "The Phantom" made his presence known after becoming enamored with the voice of Christine Daae. He attempted to blackmail the Paris Opera house to further Christine's career, but when the heads of the Opera House failed to heed his warning, he sabotaged their performance of Faustus and kidnapped Christine to serve his music. The frenzied theatergoers formed an angry mob, and in the ensuing chaos, The Phantom was stabbed by the Viscount Raul de Chagny and left behind as the opera house went up in flames. The Phantom survived and was smuggled out of France to US-Ehh by sympathetic members of the theatre company. The Phantom reestablished the company overseas where he briefly ran shows on Coney Island, until he crossed paths once again with The Viscount de Chagny. The Phantom discovered Raul had a son with a surprising amount of musical talent and became fond of the boy, attempting to kidnap him. The boy, Gustav, was then kidnapped from Phantom by an embittered Meg Giry resulting in a hostage crisis where The Phantom was held at gunpoint. Rescuing Gustav from Meg, a halfhearted custody battle between himself and Raul left The Phantom once again stabbed and abandoned. From there, The Phantom fled to "The Engl-ish countryside", where he meets and joins the party at the start of their journey.

## Relationships

### Christine Daae

While living in his lair beneath the Paris Opera House, The Phantom heard the voice of Christine Daae drift down from the stage during a rehearsal. He was immediately taken by the quality of her voice, and approached her under the guise of an "Angel of Music" to tutor her in Opera singing. The two established a casual rapport and understood each other well, though The Phantom was often cruel and demanding in his lessons. This relationship was shaken by a visit from the Viscount Raul de Chagny, a childhood friend of Christine's, who visited the opera and heard Christine sing. Seeing the two of them interact, The Phantom became jealous and afraid that he may lose ownership and control of Christine. His jealousy of Raul and his fury at the Opera House owners for not heeding his warnings would lead him to kidnap Christine. However, he would ultimately let her go when she treated him with compassion even after seeing beneath his mask.

In Ep. 47: Shades of Gray Part 1, The Phantom and Christine reconnect in Windsor. The Phantom tells Christine that it is her voice he is obsessed with and not her, and attempts to convince her to use The Atlantean Conch to give him her voice. Christine calls him out on his emotional avoidance and forces him to reckon with his past actions and prove himself a better person than he pretends to be by rescuing her from Dorian Gray before she will agree. The two mutually apologize for the past and form a strained alliance.

### Mary Frankenstein

As an admirer of fine art, The Phantom appreciates the skilled craftsmanship in Mary, first in his construction and capacity for violence, before eventually in the craftsmanship of his character. The two bond over their past trauma, both having been ostracized and reviled by the public and both having resorted to violence to retaliate. In Ep. 8: Maledict Stonecroft's House of Mysteries, The Phantom develops a mutual friendship with Mary and Larry, and Mary becomes one of very few people that The Phantom allows to refer to him as Erik. As Mary seeks redemption and grows to become a wise and caring guardian of the party, The Phantom develops a respect for Mary, and comes to consider him a dear friend.

### Larry Talbot

Despite a weak first impression, Larry's earnest and naive nature make excellent company in The Phantom's eyes. The Phantom is comforted by Larry's accepting and forgiving nature, seeing it first as something he can manipulate before eventually seeing it as something he can depend upon. The Phantom expresses this fondness further in The Wolfman Arc when he becomes resolved to rescue Larry from both The Wolf and The Wyrd Sisters.

In the time since then, however, Larry's prying into The Phantom's personal affairs causes him to push back, and the strain on their relationship makes it unclear, even to Erik, whether their friendship is entirely genuine or if Larry is just another victim of the Phantom's schemes.

### Imhotep

To The Phantom's constant disappointment, Imhotep (whom he often refers to as "Dusty"), is never charmed by any of his schemes or gaffs. The Phantom develops a begrudging respect for Imhotep since, out of all the party, he is the one who presents the most confidence and esteem. In Ep. 22: Shop Like an Egyptian, The Phantom attempts to bond with Imhotep, but it is ultimately unproductive. In spite of any efforts made by either party, Imhotep and Phantom are rarely any closer than arm's length.

### Jack Griffin

Early on, The Phantom and Jack have a tense enmity towards one another. The Phantom's disregard for the life of Professor Abraham Van Helsing puts the two at odds with one another, and Phantom initially derives great joy out of antagonizing Jack. However, eventually Jack's usefulness wins out, as his knack for stealth, skills as a thief and remarkable creativity with science win Erik over. The two come to bond over their mutual pragmatism and willingness to prioritize survival over morality.

### Carmilla

The Phantom enjoys the company of nearly all vampires and vampire spawn he meets in "The Engl-ish Countryside" and Carmilla is no exception. The Phantom and Carmilla quickly grow fond of one another after her resurrection in St. Mary's Cathedral, as her sense of humor and tendency to make light of tense situations is a trait they both have in common.

## Physical Appearance

The Phantom is tall and dramatic with a half face mask and wig of jet black hair covering up an otherwise unsettling face. The half of The Phantom's face that is exposed is described as handsome and aesthetically pleasing. He wears a black opera cloak, red vest, and white button up shirt.

## Fan Art

Phantom Fanart by Jenai PellarinPhantom Tarot Fanart by Jordan Nelson
## Powers and Abilities

The Phantom has proficiency with all musical instruments, and when using a musical instrument, has advantage on Performance and Persuasion checks.

The Phantom is a **Bard** under the subclass of *College of The Maestro*.

### Class Features

* **Expertise:** The Phantom's skills in this area are Deception, Performance, Persuasion and Intimidation.
* **Bardic Inspiration:** As of level 8, The Phantom has 6 total uses of Bardic Inspiration (4 from his class and 2 from his subclass) and his Bardic Inspiration Dice is 1d8.
* **Song of Rest:** Whenever the party takes a short rest, they heal for an extra 1d6.

**Bard College: The Maestro**

* **Battle Muse:** The Phantom gains 2 additional uses of his Bardic Inspiration Feature.
* **Frenetic Crescendo:** As of level 6, The Phantom can grant any number of his Bardic Inspiration die to his allies at once, though allies can only have 1 Bardic Inspiration die at a time.
* **Symphony of Conflict:** As of level 6, The Phantom knows 3 Conducting Techniques, which are special abilities that utilize his Bardic Inspiration die.
	+ **Aria of Suspense:** As an action, The Phantom can roll his Bardic Inspiration die and for 10 minutes give allies a bonus to their Saving Throws against traps and environmental hazards equal to the number rolled.
	+ **Crash:** As a reaction, when an enemy is attacked, The Phantom can roll his Bardic Inspiration die and target of the triggering attack must make a Strength saving throw or take additional thunder damage equal to half of the number rolled and be knocked prone.
	+ **Dirge of Dread:** As a reaction, when an enemy is killed by an ally, The Phantom can roll his Bardic Inspiration die and target a number of enemies equal to half the number rolled. Those enemies must make a Wisdom Saving throw or become frightened of the ally.
	+ **Dissonance:** As a reaction, When a creature within 60 feet is forced to make a saving throw, The Phantom can roll his Bardic Inspiration die and reduce the result of their save by half of the number rolled.
	+ **Guiding Tone:** As a bonus action, The Phantom can roll his Bardic Inspiration die and force an enemy to make a Wisdom Saving throw or take psychic damage equal to half the number rolled and be pushed 10 feet in a direction he chooses.
	+ **Hasten Tempo:** As a bonus action, The Phantom can roll his Bardic Inspiration die and add the number rolled to an ally's initiative count.
	+ **Hymn of Harmony:** When an ally has a die of Bardic Inspiration from The Phantom and they regain health from any source, they can use their Bardic Inspiration die to add the amount healed.
	+ **Majestic Anthem:** As an action, The Phantom can roll his Bardic Inspiration die and grant temporary hit points to any allies within 60 feet equal to the result of his roll plus his Charisma modifier.
	+ **Resonance:** As a bonus action, The Phantom can roll his Bardic Inspiration die and choose an ally. Until his next turn, that ally's attacks deal additional thunder damage equal to the number rolled.
	+ **Sprint:** When an ally has a die of Bardic Inspiration from The Phantom, they can use that die to add to their movement speed until their next turn.