[Encounter] Dazed and Confused — Any Level

An encounter featuring a lost wanderer for characters of any level.

Encounter Setup

In this encounter, the party crosses paths with a lost wanderer — a lost soul driven to delirium through the plane of fey. A forest on the Material Plane is a natural location for this encounter, but a lost wanderer may be encountered in the plane of fey itself or near any intersection between the two planes.

While traveling, the party begins to hear incoherent, distressed babbling off in the distance. The sounds approximate speech in the Common tongue, but full sentences are impossible to discern. Should the party approach the sound and come within sight of its source, read aloud the following:

An elderly man in ragged clothing and wielding a gnarled quarterstaff walks unsteadily in tight circles ahead of you. Several colored orbs of light float lazily around the man’s head. “Please, I need help…”, he calls out weakly, to nobody in particular.

The man is a lost wanderer. If the party makes their presence known to him, he pleads for their assistance, claiming that he is lost and confused. He cannot offer any further details, however, if the party asks who he is, where he came from, or where he was going. He only repeats pleas for help between bouts of nonsensical rambling.

Resolution

The encounter with the lost wanderer can be resolved in one of two ways depending on how the party receives the wanderer.

Empathetic Offers of Help. If the party remains patient with the lost wanderer and maintains positive emotional affect towards him despite his inability to offer any details, the lost wanderer breaks into a smile, offers thanks to the party, and loudly proclaims that he “knows where he must go.” He waves his hand, causing a blinding flash of green light into which he disappears. Each party member receives the benefit of the bless spell for the next 24 hours.

Confused Frustration. If the party becomes openly frustrated with the lost wanderer in any way, the wanderer attacks, fighting until he is destroyed.

Aftermath. If the party leaves the lost wanderer alive, they may encounter him again in the future at GM’s discretion. The wanderer may have a secret to share with the party or may have forgotten their original encounter altogether.