a.k.a. Abdul Alhazred
A man with a deep bass voice heard chuckling near the Gray Hut in the Act I Prologue.
A mysterious figure whom Lowls was searching for in 4715. A bearded human man wearing gold and red robes, a cloth headpiece, and curled-toed shoes. He revealed himself from a gray hut in a desert oasis, carrying a book bound in leather cured from the faces of men and women. His finders were burnt into charred stumps from holding the tome.
When Lowls failed to offer him a gift in exchange for his hospitality, the Mad Poet cast a wish spell and slew Lowls, Gulliver Vatticus, Thema Antea, Ray, Rony, and Riptusk.
In Chapter 83, Viktor found a note in Iris Hill from Mun to Lowls that referenced the Mad Poet, dated 1 Lamashan, 4718: “I look forward to seeing you again soon, my old friend. Perhaps early in the new year, it seems? I eagerly await news of your latest discoveries, and what the Mad Poet had to say.”
In Chapter 89, Dora learned from Lowls’ journals that the Mad Poet was an impossibly powerful being from another world, who possessed knowledge transcending time, space, and reality. Lives in the Dreamlands. Requires appropriate gifts just to speak with him. Knows so much—maybe everything?—but the price to be paid for his answers is a sacrifice. Lowls apparently sacrificed the memories and collected experiences of the original PCs and Vatticus for information about the location of Neruzavin.
In the Act III Prologue, the party experienced a series of visions from Xhamen-Dor's impossibly long lifespan, which included flashes of the Mad Poet’s arrival in the Dreamlands.
In Chapter 99, the party met the Yellow King, who claimed that he had been created as a shard of Count Haserton Pragmus Lowls IV, who shattered when the Mad Poet showed him his book.
In Chapter 100, the party learned that the Mad Poet was known to collect the small, personal trinkets of powerful Dreamlands rulers.
In Chapter 101, they learned that he was obsessed with undeath, that he was particularly impressed by relics of the Elder Gods, that he valued the souls of mortals as commodities, and that he prized trophies from highly dangerous and unusual predators.
In Chapter 102, the Yellow King warned the party that the Mad Poet’s oasis lay on the border country at the end of the Dreamlands, possibly at the end of the Dreaming itself, and that traveling there is extremely dangerous.
In Chapter 135, Pumpkin shared similar information with Dabwick, even going so far as to say that if they went to the oasis, they may not return, at least not with their life, mind, or “self” fully intact.
The party finally encountered him in person in Chapter 150 (Part 1). He accepted their offered Gifts, and bestowed a boon upon them in return. Before proceeding to the heart of their conversation, however, he claimed Barnabus as the party’s willing Sacrifice, and drained the Kitsune of his memories and life experience.
In Chapter 150 (Part 2), Alhazred granted the party their desires. For Vik, he laid a charm that would keep Katarina safe from Vik’s enemies, but only provided that he never saw his daughter again. For the others, he revealed the nature of Lowls’ plans and how to find Neruzavin. He also released Dora, Grip, and Vik’s memories to them, but only if they could defeat the alternate versions of themselves in combat.
The Mad Poet’s final warning to the party was that they must never return to his Oasis again.
He was briefly seen in Pandora's psychometry reading of the Ring Gate in Chapter 183.
First Reference: Act I Prologue
Other Notable References: Act II Interlude, Chapter 83, Chapter 89, Act III Prologue, Chapter 99, Chapter 100, Chapter 101, Chapter 102, Chapter 135, Chapter 145, Chapter 150 (Part 1), Chapter 150 (Part 2), Chapter 183