5e - Master of Stars - NPC Help

[nakedonmyfoldin]

I have an idea for an NPC but I'm having difficulty getting a firm grasp on how to present them.

The concept is a babbling tramp who carries on about the sailing the sea of stars and seeing the Gods. People discount these as the insane ramblings of a drunk, and jokingly call him the Master of Stars. In truth, he was a skilled planeswalker capable of traveling through the Astral Sea from plane to plane.

My wonder is what the hell happened to this guy? Why does nobody know who he is, and how has he been robbed of his sanity? Can it be restored? Where is his ship?

The concept of Planar Travel is taboo in the setting. Only the most powerful are capable, and most common folk may not even be aware of the concept. The players have indicated they may want to do some extraplanar travel, and I wanted to kind of subvert the typical tropes of planeswalkers.

[Catullus64]

I have some ideas for presentation. Maybe you find him in a tavern trying to teach people how to play a card game reminiscent of Magic: The Gathering, as a way to try to jog his own memory about how his Planeswalker powers work. Maybe he acts like a normal person 90% of the time, but occasional words and images will send him into a frenzied reverie about his experiences in the cosmos.

Perhaps he remembers what he has lost only in mundane terms. He tells the players that he used to be a ship's captain who sailed to far off lands, but that he lost his ship and his crew. Only as the players help him track down clues about what happened to his ship does it become evident (to both him and the players) that he was something far more than an ordinary captain.

Maybe his personality has been fractured into several different people, who have been scattered across the multiverse, and need to be tracked down and reunited in order to become whole again. Some of them could be friendly, others hostile.

[Rivaler]

First thing that comes to my mind is that maybe some powerful entity has made it's lair in a space between planes, scheming to take over all of them while unseen and ammassing forces, but this "Master of Stars" accidentally discovered this place on one of his journeys, and was found out by Mr. Powerful Entity™. He tore his ship to pieces and robbed him of his sanity as a cruel mean to keep him silent.

This is also the flaw to his master plan though. Party might find out that he was indeed a star traveler, and restoring his sanity is key to finding the bad guy's lair.

Random thoughts

[nakedonmyfoldin]

The storytelling is still in its infancy, so you wouldn't be stepping on any toes. But i appreciate your input.

I'm wondering if the madness could have occurred when he got too close to an imprisoned god, like Tharizdun; or some kind of Old One. Like you said, as far as he remembered, he was the captain of a ship, but his ship was lost. But in reality, he was travelling too far off of "charted area", maybe The Chained God spoke to him in hopes to gain freedom, but this unsettled his delicate mortal mind?

I need a little more experience with cosmic horror I think to really understand what makes men go mad, and how to make that madness interesting for the players to interact with aside from a comic bit.

[nakedonmyfoldin]

First thing that comes to my mind is that maybe some powerful entity has made it's lair in a space between planes, scheming to take over all of them while unseen and ammassing forces, but this "Master of Stars" accidentally discovered this place on one of his journeys, and was found out by Mr. Powerful Entity™. He tore his ship to pieces and robbed him of his sanity as a cruel mean to keep him silent.

This is also the flaw to his master plan though. Party might find out that he was indeed a star traveler, and restoring his sanity is key to finding the bad guy's lair.

Random thoughts

Heyy, convergent evolution of ideas here. I wrote my previous reply before I read your input. Very neat ideas.

[Keravath]

One thing to keep in mind is if and how the madness can be cured. The DMG has rules for it but they might make it easier than you want it to be ...

"CURING MADNESS
A calm emotions spell can suppress the effects of madness, while a lesser restoration spell can rid a character of a short-term or long-term madness. Depending on the source of the madness, remove curse or dispel evil might also prove effective. A greater restoration spell or more powerful magic is required to rid a character of indefinite madness."

The DMG also has some suggestions on things that can cause madness ...

"GOING MAD
Various magical effects can inflict madness on an otherwise stable mind. Certain spells, such as contact other plane and symbol, can cause insanity, and you can use the madness rules here instead of the spell effects in the Player 's Handbook. Diseases, poisons, and planar effects such as psychic wind or the howling winds of Pandemonium can all inflict madness. Some artifacts can a lso break the psyche of a character who uses or becomes attuned to them."

So, in your case, they could have attuned to an artifact that they found in their travels and did not understand or didn't realize the effect it would have. Alternatively, they could have just visited the wrong plane and their mind couldn't handle it.

A lot depends on whether you plan the NPC to just be a curiosity, a source of information for the characters, an active NPC providing direction or quests, or an active NPC accompanying the party.

[nakedonmyfoldin]

One thing to keep in mind is if and how the madness can be cured. The DMG has rules for it but they might make it easier than you want it to be ...

"CURING MADNESS
A calm emotions spell can suppress the effects of madness, while a lesser restoration spell can rid a character of a short-term or long-term madness. Depending on the source of the madness, remove curse or dispel evil might also prove effective. A greater restoration spell or more powerful magic is required to rid a character of indefinite madness."

The DMG also has some suggestions on things that can cause madness ...

"GOING MAD
Various magical effects can inflict madness on an otherwise stable mind. Certain spells, such as contact other plane and symbol, can cause insanity, and you can use the madness rules here instead of the spell effects in the Player 's Handbook. Diseases, poisons, and planar effects such as psychic wind or the howling winds of Pandemonium can all inflict madness. Some artifacts can a lso break the psyche of a character who uses or becomes attuned to them."

So, in your case, they could have attuned to an artifact that they found in their travels and did not understand or didn't realize the effect it would have. Alternatively, they could have just visited the wrong plane and their mind couldn't handle it.

A lot depends on whether you plan the NPC to just be a curiosity, a source of information for the characters, an active NPC providing direction or quests, or an active NPC accompanying the party.

I’d love it if they cured him. Right now he’s a possible info source for a problem they have, but if they could restore him he would be an extremely useful ally.
I’d probably add some complexity to the restoration due to the (hypothetical) source. Maybe a ritual requiring some components or some incantations.

[Evaar]

First thing I thought of is the silver thread that connects an astral traveling soul to its body. Could be this guy was traveling the astral sea in spirit form when his thread was damaged - maybe part of his soul is still out there.