Hermits

Hermits come in all races and from all walks of life. They live alone in some forlorn place far away from any permanent human or demihuman society, either by their own choice or because they are outcasts. Most survive through a combination of foraging and herding, though some are also hunters. Hermits are seldom nomads, for even the most barren patch of Athas can meet the survival needs of a solitary man, providing he is skilled at survival in the desert and is not picky about what he eats. Usually, hermits live near a source of water, but their residences are not obvious or easy to find. In Athas, water attracts visitors - human, demihuman, and otherwise - so it is not always safe for a lone individual to reveal his presence. Therefore, most hermits go to considerable trouble to keep the locations of their homes hidden. Occasionally, if you don't look harmful and the hermit is an outcast and not a voluntary recluse, he shows himself and tries to strike up a conversation with you. In such cases, don't be put off by the excited hermit's rambling conversation, and keep in mind that although he may quite inadvertently say something offensive to you and will never pause to let you speak, he does not mean any offense. Most hermits have simply forgotten the niceties of conversation. Some hermits are crazy and dangerous. If you look carefully when you approach an apparently abandoned waterhole, you may well see some warning sign: a skeleton here, a piece of discarded armor there, an abandoned wagon over there. Usually, the hermit fears that visitors to his waterhole intend him harm, or believes they are stealing from him. Such hermits rarely confront the offenders directly, however. Even if they're crazy, they're not stupid, and they realize that fighting a superior number of thirsty beings is not a good idea. Instead, they try to take the visitors unawares, such as after they have made camp and gone to sleep. Of course, there are as many reasons for people to live alone as there are hermits, but I have found two types of hermits to be fairly common - or, at least. common in hermit terms.

Psionic Masters

Those who have truly mastered the art of psionics often become quite famous. They are constantly beseeched by would-be students or adversaries who would like to prove themselves by defeating a known master. Often, psionic masters accept the role of teacher (for they can command outrageous prices in return for their knowledge) and deal quickly with young upstarts. When these things become too common, however, the psionic master finds that the further development of his own abilities comes to a halt. He must spend most of his time teaching his students the basics of the art and dealing with a seemingly endless series of second-rate psychics with delusions of grandeur. This robs him of the terrific amount of time he requires for his own meditations. When this happens, many dedicated psionic masters leave their schools in the hands of trusted disciples, or abandon them altogether and flee into the desert. They seek out some unknown or seldom used waterhole and have a small stronghold erected. The masters shut themselves up inside their strongholds and continue their meditations in the peace that they could not find in the city. Usually, a few devoted students accompany the master to serve as guards and servants, so he is arguably not a hermit. However, a man surrounded by guards and sitting in trance for days on end is just as alone as if he were sitting upon a mountaintop without anybody else within a hundred miles. Anybody disturbing a psionic master in such a condition quickly realizes that he has made a mistake. Once, I encountered a shattered tribe of elves wandering aimlessly through the desert. Lost and unprovisioned, they clearly had no hope of survival beyond the next few days. I later learned that they had made the mistake of disturbing a master's trance as they attempted to rob his home.