Arcane Trickster and Phantom

[Stormtrooper666]

Hey

I was wondering if any one here knows of any examples of an Arcane Trickster or a Phantom from movies/tv/video games/books?

[Unoriginal]

Hey

I was wondering if any one here knows of any examples of an Arcane Trickster or a Phantom from movies/tv/video games/books?

Depends how close of the subclass you think the characters needs to be to qualify as an example.

There are a good few characters fitting the "clever, agile person who dabbles in magic and who uses more cunning han might to win fights if they have to fight" concept, but I'd wager none of them fits the subclass to a "t" unless they're from a D&D-based work.

The Phantom power set is far rarer, especially when tied to a Rogue-style character.

[JackPhoenix]

Thorn from Thorn of Breland Eberron novel trilogy is an Arcane Trickster, but she doesn't use magic much. Imoen and Nalia from Baldur's Gate 2 sort of fit (no Arcane Tricksters, and things worked differently back then), being rogue/mage dual classes. Heavier on the casting side, but can sneak around, unlock doors and backstab when it comes to that.

There isn't that much D&D story material around, so it's hard to find many example, especially for extremely niche stuff like the Phantom.

Probably the ur-example of a thief with some magic ability would be Gray Mouser, of Lankhmar/Fafhrd and Gray Mouser fame, but that's not a D&D character, predating the game by decades.

[RogueJK]

Depending on how far you're willing to stretch it, Loki from the Marvel Cinematic Universe could be an example of an Arcane Trickster, combining stealth, guile, backstabbing (both literal and figurative), moral flexibility, and a bit of magic - especially illusion magic.

[Dork_Forge]

The three main characters of the Dishonored series would qualify: primarily stealth based characters that make use of relatively minor or low use magical abilities.

[Gignere]

Surprised no one mentioned the Night Angel Trilogy, Kylar Stern can easily be reskinned as both an arcane trickster or a phantom rogue. Probably more arcane trickster but dark.

[Rukelnikov]

If you are willing to reach a little, The Nameless One acting as a thief is the closest to a Phantom Rogue I can think of.

EDIT: His practical incarnation was probably something like Arcane Trickster Phantom Combo to boot.

[Silly Name]

The Faceless Men from A Song of Ice and Fire are somewhat close to the Phantom, I think. Their actual skillset doesn't neatly map 1-to-1, but they have the theming of assassins who are very close to death and even take knowledge from their victims (on top of their faces). Talion from Shadow of Mordor and Shadow of War also could fit being a Phantom (with a couple levels of Fighter for sure), albeit he only talks to one spirit for the most part - but that spirit also shares his knowledge and proficencies.

Early on, Naruto is actually a good Arcane Trickster, being a dirty fighter who relies on illusions and tricks to gain the upper hand. The low-key magical ninjas you find in a lot of anime are close to Arcane Tricksters in general. While not really deeply-developed characters, there is a tradition of magical assassins in the Dark Souls lore, associated with spells that make them silent and hard to detect.

[Chronos]

Quoth Rukelnikov:

If you are willing to reach a little, The Nameless One acting as a thief is the closest to a Phantom Rogue I can think of.
When you're dealing with a character called "The Nameless One", you really need to specify which work you're referring to.

[Rukelnikov]

When you're dealing with a character called "The Nameless One", you really need to specify which work you're referring to.

From Planescape:Torment

[JLandan]

The Phantom from The Phantom was a Phantom. (Now there's an odd sentence.)

The Phantom often spoke to his deceased ancestors, all previous Phantoms, particularly his father.