The Traveler

The Traveler is a trickster deity worshipped by Jester. As an NPC, the Traveler is portrayed by Matthew Mercer.

He seems to find enjoyment in mischief and pranks. When Jester rearranged all the books in a bookstore, she felt a sense of approval from her deity. He teaches Jester to steal and create chaos but always maintain the balance by giving something back. According to Jester, the Traveler talks a lot about balance.

Jester keeps a sketchbook that she appears to use as a means of communicating her experiences to the Traveler, and as a way of worship.

Jester's holy symbol for the Traveler is a door arch and path.

Appearance
When the Traveler appeared to Jester in her room at the Pillow Trove in Zadash, he was hooded in a cloak of deep green. She saw verdant irises in the dark space of his hood.

Jester confided in the Traveler when she didn't receive a package from her mother at the Pillow Trove. He manifested and reassured her, explaining that Jester's mother was unaware of her location at that moment.

After Jester had successfully defaced and made her getaway from the Hearth of the Allhammer in Zadash, he made his presence known by taking a bite out of the caramel apple she had been eating.

Located among the many religious artifacts found in the Merrow lair, Jester finds two different iterations of the Traveler symbol. Despite having zero knowledge of anyone else worshiping or acknowledging the Traveler, Jester excitedly goes around to show everyone her find.

Jester attempted an elaborate prank on the temple to the Platinum Dragon in Zadash that went off the rails and almost got Jester and Nott thrown in prison. While Jester was resting alone in the inn that night, the Traveler appeared to Jester. Jester told the Traveler that she did it to get his attention after feeling abandoned when she was kidnapped. The Traveler claimed never to have abandoned her. He asked to look at the dodecahedron. After examining it, the Traveler told Jester he had never seen anything like it before and she should keep it hidden. The Traveler told her there were others like her but she was his favorite. He told her about a summit of his worshipers happening on the Zenith in Unndilar, and Jester promised to attend.

The Traveler appeared to Jester on the Squall-Eater to compliment her on her usage of Nolzur's Marvelous Pigments. When Jester asked him for advice on wooing Fjord, he noted that there were many enchantments he could teach her. He reiterated the planned summit of his followers, and asked Jester again to attend.

While fighting a blue dragon, Fjord and Jester both cast Blink on themselves. As a result, Jester could not see Fjord for most of the battle. At one point while he was on the Ethereal Plane, the rest of the party in the lair at the time were also hidden. Jester, badly injured and unable to see anyone else, said "I'm all alone" before attempting an attack on the dragon. The attack missed, but luckily she was able to Blink into the Ethereal Plane.

When Jester reappeared, she was still within range of the dragon and severely hurt even after healing herself. The dragon attacked Jester again. She closed her eyes waiting for the attack to come. She heard the voice of The Traveler in her head say "Don't worry. I'm watching." She felt a hand push her arm up. Jester's shield deflected the dragon's attack, causing two teeth to break out of its mouth. All of the Mighty Nein and Twiggy eventually managed to escape.

Jester cast Revivify on Caduceus after he was accidentally killed in battle. As she placed her hands on Caduceus, The Traveler's hand appeared with Jester's hand and his voice said "I'm proud of you." The spell was successful and Caduceus woke up.

Beau pointed out to Jester that a house in Asarius had a symbol that looked like The Traveler's on the door. Jester knocked on the door and spoke to Kovak, a very old gnoll. Kovak told her The Traveler came to him a few years ago and taught him to play pranks. Jester revealed that The Traveler first appeared to her when she was a young girl, appearing in a form close to her own age.

Feeling lost over Yasha's defection, Jester reaches out to The Traveler, who appears to her. He reminds her of the upcoming TravelerCon, saying he was thinking of holding it on the Menagerie Coast area island of Rumblecusp. Jester suggests Kravaraad, the volcano in the Greying Wildlands, and he agrees. She tells him that a lot of the world is sad, and he comforts her by reminding her that much of it is beautiful, too, and that she also gets to be happy. He also says there are many gods' eyes on the group, and suggests that The Stormlord is still watching over Yasha.

After arriving in Zadash to investigate the attack on the Cobalt Soul, Caleb asks Archivist Zeenoth if he knows anything about a being known as The Traveler. Zeenoth retrieves a book about recent cults which contains brief notes about The Traveler. Zeenoth describes it as a recent phenomenon that was previously thought to be a mass hallucination, but a wide breadth of accounts worries him. He's not sure if The Traveler is a deity, but describes him as seemingly benevolent.

Caduceus researched the Traveler at the Rexxentrum Archive of the Cobalt Soul, learning that he is seen as a figure that has begun to show up in rural areas very selectively. All the notes about the Traveler are written in fresh ink and the reports are from the past decade or so. There is worry of the Traveler being some sort of devil masquerading as an entity, a mass hallucination, just a person who is convincing people he is a god, pure heresy, or something much darker. Later, Jester attempted to contact the Traveler to share her ice cream and ask questions about TravelerCon, but he failed to appear, confusing and hurting her.

Essek Thelyss asks Jester what she is seeking, and she describes TravelerCon and The Traveler, but her pitch is unpersuasive, and after Essek leaves, several other members of the Mighty Nein try to help her with her pitch. Later, Jester confesses to Caleb that The Traveler had not appeared to her in the recent episode, and expresses concern that it might have been because she was not being an effective cleric for him. The Traveler soon appears to Jester and reassures her, saying, "You were my first, and you will always be my favorite."

Trivia

 * The Traveler that Jester worships is not the same as the one in the Eberron setting of Dungeons & Dragons, as Matthew Mercer confirmed that they only share the same name. He also said that the Traveler may not necessarily be a god.
 * Kashaw's patron Vesh is not technically a god, even though he believes she is. Even so, he is a Life Domain cleric, confirming entities that are not gods may still grant clerics power.
 * In the Dwendalian Empire, "worship outside the approved idolatry is met with imprisonment". The Traveler isn't one of the six approved deities and worshiping him is illegal, though most citizens of the Dwendalian Empire seem unaware of his existence.
 * A common theory in the fandom is that The Traveler is actually Artagan from the first campaign, given new power and influence in this dimension.  The theory goes that, after Vox Machina completed their end of their deal with him and built a doorway from the Feywild to Exandria, Artagan took on the role of The Traveler in the hopes of finding a path to godhood.  There is some evidence that is commonly cited, including:
 * Jester's drawings are frequently described in a style that is very reminiscent of Garmelie's (another form Artagan takes) preferred art style.
 * Jester's pranks resemble the pranks Garmelie had Vox Machina play as part of his deal when they entered Syngorn.
 * Artagan is commonly linked to the color green and the brief bit we've seen of The Traveler, the only physical description given of him is him having green eyes.
 * The Traveler's symbol is that of an open doorway leading to a path, a possible connection to the doorway Vox Machina made for Artagan to cross over with.
 * His name is "The Traveler" implying he traveled from someplace else, potentially the Feywild.
 * The Traveler and Artagan are both powerful mischief-makers.
 * Kovak referred to The Traveler as one of the "fair folk", a common term for fey.
 * There has been speculation (that Matthew Mercer has not discouraged) that the Traveler was disguised as the half-elven man working at the Landlocked Lady called Keelyn, because of the bright green eyes and red hair they both share.