The Dollmaker

The Dollmaker is an epic level encounter, designed to be a bit more of an event than an all out brawl. The Dollmaker lays a list of consequences for not submitting a proper offering to a local town, and from there things go...downhill.

The curse the Dollmaker places on each town is a slow, vicious one. The Dollmaker presents a scrap of paper to the leadership of the town in the middle of the night, leaving it pinned to their door to find - no one ever sees the Dollmaker do so, leaving the note as a bit of a mystery.

Should a town disregard the note(which, to be honest, who wouldn't?), the cycle is started. Every 6 days, the foretold steps progress until Day 36 is finally reached. 

1) "One will be converted, in a manner most fowl." - This is a step with multiple meanings. A member of the town will be converted into a doll overnight. They may not even realize it immediately upon waking up - they can walk, talk, and act as normal. They have all of their memories, and can answer any questions that the individual would be able to. Scans using a spell such as Detect Magic will show the dolls radiate Transmutation magic, however no normal means of dispelling this magic function. Dolls will continue to act as their normal, original humanoid selves, up until late in this process.

These dolls are made of burlap, often have copper pins stuck into them, and will also often have something small that emulates an item the humanoid often wore or carried around with them. If a doll is killed and cut open, it will reveal that they are stuffed with feathers from a chicken, as well as several body parts - all from the original humanoid that this doll took the place of. 

2) "Your livestock will die, mouths covered in scowls." - On the 12th day, ALL livestock the town hold will pass away overnight. Each and every one will have a wicked looking scowl covering their face, almost like if a pumpkin's toothy grin was carved upside down. In addition, a second member of the town is turned into a doll.

3) "Your crops, they will wither, not a pepper around." - On the 18th day, all crops will rot through overnight. Anything that's edible will be a part of this mix - including edible plant life held in personal houses. In addition, a third member of the town is turned into a doll.

4) "The water will dry, not a drop to be found." - On the 24th day, any wells, lakes, waterskins, and reservoirs will fully dry up overnight. Any attempts to personally hoard water will also be met with a dry void in its place. From here on, no matter how many days a member of this town goes without, they will not die of dehydration. They will in fact still feel the absurd levels of thirst, however. In addition, a fourth member of the town is turned into a doll.

5) "Slowly but surely you'll change faith to me" - On the 30th day, a fifth member of the town is turned into a doll. They will IMMEDIATELY begin preaching the good word of the Dollmaker, and insist that everyone convert to worship him. The time in between the 30th and the 36th is where the converted dolls will go through a drastic change - they will lose all personality, and quickly take over the town, ensuring none can leave and converting as many as they can to "Makerism". 

6) "'Dollmaker' you'll cry, just you wait and see." - The 36th day is the end. The finale. On this day, the dolls will convert absolutely anyone else they can to the Maker's religion. When the clock strikes midnight on the 37th, the Dollmaker comes to town. Any who still openly oppose the Dollmaker are disposed of on the spot. Those that have converted are rewarded for their loyalty - their suffering is abolished by converting each and every one into a doll. Once the Dollmaker has fulfilled this step, it and the remaining Dolls disappear, moving on to a different town. No survivors are left behind, and any dolls that are destroyed are taken with them as well, leaving virtually no trace at all. 

The Dollmaker is a multilayered, intense fight that will require some definite bookkeeping. The Dollmaker and each of the dolls can different effects depending on how many Dolls are currently on the field. Typically, the Dollmaker will start with 5(usually one of each), but this will vary depending on how far along the Dollmaker's process is, and will also be dependent on your party makeup. 

While the Dollmaker is the main foe of this fight, the dolls themselves serve as the main mechanic. Be smart about the positioning of each so they stay in the fight as long as feasible. The dolls have some solid synergy between them and especially with the Dollmaker, so use that to your advantage when advantageous.

The Dollmaker, while imposing, creepy, and overall a very messed up creature, has a very contrasting personality. It is light-hearted, will crack jokes throughout the fight, and will try to make people laugh despite the fact that it just slaughtered an entire village. It revels in the process, and wants to play with any and everyone that stops by. 

The dolls, on the other hand, are a bit versatile. Up until the end of the Dollmaker's cycle(or in the event The Dollmaker feels threatened), they act, talk and walk exactly like the person who they were created from, down to the quirks. If a person had a limp from a childhood injury prior to being converted into a doll, they will maintain that limp once they're changed.  

As the cycle reaches its end, however, the personality of the dolls is switched off, and they become mindless peons with the occasional bout of the old personality breaking through. 

The origins of the Dollmaker aren't truly known, but there are textbooks stating back hundreds of years citing actions similar to the Dollmaker's Cycle. Most of the references surrounding it truly believe the creature to be the most evil creature in the mortal plane, and maybe even the Nine Hells. 

The Dollmaker encounter has a LOT of stages to it. Ideally, you would have a series of songs that slowly escalate in tension and creepyness as it goes up, but sound very similar. The Witcher 3: Blood & Wine OST and Hearts of Stone OST have several tracks that lend themselves to this. Alternative, the ambient noise from the Presage mission of Destiny 2 has a slow, tense track that fits most things in this vein.

When full combat breaks out, something dark, sinister, and foreboding is wise. Any Dark Souls or Bloodborne soundtrack would be an excellent well to go to for this combat music - each of those are composed with an epic and dark fight in mind.