Killer Idea: “The Magician” — Grabber

SimplySet

Ps — Readers

This is a shortened, incomplete version that excludes a custom map and contains less refined details regarding the killer's power, lore, and add-ons.

"This mask… these masks. He doesn’t just hunt; he plays a sick, choreographed game that makes the forest feel like a stage for my own demise. I watched him from the brush, perfectly still, only to blink and find him standing exactly where he shouldn't be, his movements shifting with a terrifying, unpredictable fluidity. I heard a phone ringing in the middle of this godforsaken realm—a sound that shouldn't exist here—and when I moved to investigate, the air itself felt heavier, slower, as if he were draining the life from the very atmosphere. He’s a performer, and he is determined to ensure that we are all cast in his final, suffocating act."

~ Unknown (Potentially Benedict Baker)

The Magician — The Grabber

The Magician is one of 43 Killers currently featured in Dead by Daylight.

He was introduced as the Killer of CHAPTER 41: THE BLACK PHONE, a Chapter DLC released on 29 May 2026.

— He originates from the 2021 Horror movie, The Black Phone.

Killer Profile

Name: The Grabber (Alias: "The Magician")

Gender: Man

Origin: American

Realm: Withered Isle (Greenville)

Power: Mask Shift / The Reach / Stalk

Power Attack Type: Basic Attack / Special Attack

Weapon: The Belt

Movement Speed: 115% | 4.6 m/s

Alternate Movement Speed:

The Disciplinarian: 120.7% | 4.83 m/s

The Predator (Walk): 94.5% | 4.35 m/s

The Predator (Crouch): 80.4% | 3.7 m/s

Terror Radius: 0 metres(Projected by Phone Booths)

Height: Average

DLC: CHAPTER 41: THE BLACK PHONE

Difficulty Rating: Hard

Lore

In the quiet, suffocating streets of Greenville, a shadow loomed that parents whispered about in hushed tones and children feared in the dark. A part-time entertainer with a penchant for black balloons and an arsenal of fractured masks, the man known only as The Grabber turned the local neighborhoods into his private hunting grounds.

He operated with an unsettling, ritualistic precision. To him, kidnapping was not merely a crime; it was a game—a twisted performance where he assumed the role of both judge and executioner. He sought children whose spirits he deemed "naughty," dragging them into the pitch-black silence of his soundproofed basement to break their will before the end.

His life was a tapestry of shifting personas, each mask hiding a different facet of his sadistic cruelty. When he disappeared into the mist of the Entity's realm, he brought his obsession with "the game" with him. Now, he stalks the overgrown streets of Greenville as "The Magician," a masked phantom who treats the trial not as a fight for survival, but as a performance. He does not simply chase; he orchestrates. He waits in the silence, listening to the terrified whispers of those he has already silenced, and when the moment is right, he reaches out to drag his next "player" into the dark forever.

Load-Out

Unique Perks

Naughty Boy {Hex}: You take pleasure in punishing those who disrupt your performance. Whenever a Survivor performs a "noisy" action (fast vault, dropping a pallet, or rushing a locker) within your Terror Radius (Includes the Terror Radius of your Phone Booth’s), they suffer from the Exposed status effect for 15/20/25 seconds.

Soundproof: The silence of the basement follows you. When you hook a Survivor, all other Survivors within a 24 metre radius can no longer hear your footsteps, and your vaulting sounds are completely silenced for 10 seconds.

The Final Act: When the last generator is completed, you gain the ability to instantly break any pallet or breakable wall you walk through for the next 45 seconds. (You no longer get a pallet break animation although, after walking through a pallet or breakable wall your movement speed is reduced by 2% for half a second. Visually: Wood debris splatter on the sides of your screen after walking through a pallet or breakable wall and stays for 2 seconds and fades away after 1 second. Plus you constantly have red blood splatters on the edge of your screen.) During this time, your movement speed is increased by 5%. (Applies to Alternate and Base movement including but not limited to: Ghostface’s, and Pigs Crouch or Tier I, II, or III Myers)

Prestige

Prestiging The Magician will automatically add Tier I of his Unique Perks to the inventories of all other Killers. Prestige twice more to add Tier II and III respectively.

Power: Mask Shift & The Reach

SPECIAL ABILITY: MASK SHIFT

Press and hold the Active Ability button to cycle through three masks (1s shift; 10s cooldown).

The Disciplinarian ("The Devil"): +10% Vault/Break speed; Noisy actions within 16m cause Hindered (-5%). In this state you're no longer Undetectable and have a 32 metre terror radius. All phone booths emit static sounds rather than whispers and the Dead Air penalty is reduced to -5%. Bloodlust is also generated 10% faster.

The Predator ("The Laughing"): Stalk Survivors to make them Exposed. Crouch to become Undetectable. None of your Status Effects undergo a change (Dead Air penalty stays at -15%)

The False Friend (Neutral State "The Plain"): Cutting a line reveals the survivor's aura for 4s; Dead Air penalty increased to -15%. (Ps — I made a mistake here. Since, "The False Friend" is your passive, neutral state you passively have your dead air penalty at -15% unless switch masks. You start the game in this state.)

SPECIAL INTERACTION: PHONE BOOTHS

There are 7 Phone Booths. 3+ active booths apply Dead Air (-10% repair/heal speed). Cutting a line grants Oblivious (20s). Repairing a line grants 1 charge of The Reach.

SPECIAL ATTACK: THE REACH

Charge (1.5s) to increase range gradually going from 5-12 meters.

On injured survivors: Pull to hand for a carry.

On healthy survivors: Deals 1 health state damage + repel. (Disabled in Predator mask).

Add-ons

Rarity	Name	Desc.
Common	Black Balloon	Increases the detection range of Phone Booth whispers by +4m.
Uncommon	Frayed Belt	Increases the duration of the Oblivious status effect when cutting a line by +5s.
Rare	Broken Mask	Increases the duration of the Hindered effect in "The Disciplinarian" mask by +2s.
Very Rare	Soundproof Foam	Increases the range of "Soundproof" (perk) by +16m.
Ultra Rare	Iridescent Phone	"Dead Air" with 5+ booths active grants the Exposed status to all survivors for 30s. Only activates 1 minute into the match.