Need Help Role-Playing and Insane Sorcerer!

[gfunk]

I currently have a Sor 8/Alienist 6 that I have run through my DM's FR 3E campaign since the new edition came out. Originally I went up to 8 levels in Sor but after we ran through the module "Speaker in Dreams," my PC became intrigued with Alienism and began to study it further (hoping to summon a Wyst someday ).

Anyway after Tome and Blood came out I picked up the Alienist PrC and have gone 6 levels in it. At 4th level you reach the level of "Mad Certainity" and my DM told me that I was phobic against spiders and spider-like creatures (we run a Drow heavy campaign). Everytime I see something that resembles a spider (e.g. altars, paintings, sculptures), I go out of my way to destroy it. If it is too big to wreck by hand, then I use destructive spells.

But back to the point . . .

I *really* want to role-play the process of slowly losing my sanity. By the time I hit Alienist 10 I want to act in a strange and unpredictable manner. But I'm not sure how to go about this w/o harming other PCs or simply look like I'm holding up the game.

Any suggestions?

EDIT:
Added
I should mention that my PCs ultimate goal in life is to open a permanent gate to the Far Realms (MoTP) and end reality as we know it. To this end, I've united all the alienist cabals in the Moonsea area, proclaimed myself as leader and am starting to create my own cult to worship me.

At Lvl 15, I was going to pick up leadership and get a Cleric (w/ no god and Chaos/Destruction domains) and a bunch of followers.

 

[DarkJester]

Make it little things at first.
He mutters to himself......not often,but noticebly,...other pc's hear him speaking after the person he was talking to has left.
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Minor paranoia.He looks over his should a bit to much for normal.He asks questions that seem odd and off-angled.He questions everyone,even group memebers.
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He seems to forget and remember things in bits and pieces.One day he can't remember anyones name,the next he misjudges that fireball just a bit,forgeting who is on whose side.
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He rants to himself.... He is constantly having conversations with himself. He talks to objects that he holds dear.He becomes highly compulsive at times.Other times he wanders with a look of stupor on his face.
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He has multiple personalities,they all have fully laid out alignment and personality quirks.Maybe one talks using his hands a lot,another smokes a lot and talks in a deep accsent,one of them thinks he is a girl trapped in a guys body who constantly is trying to reverse the process....

 

[hong]

Think of 1-2 quirks for your character, and play them up _constantly_. Add more quirks each time you level up.

 

[durath]

One of my favorite quirks is just to yell at the top of your lungs at random times. Hold your hands over your ears and just scream.

Just do it out of nowhere one session then just sit there and rock back and forth. After a while resume normal activity. This type of behaviour can be quite disconcerting.

You could also do fun stuff like have your character leave everyday objects in strange places. For example: the party checks into an inn and you promptly place mugs of ale on everyones beds while they are downstairs. Or maybe turn all teir boots inside out while they sleep.

I've never gotten to play an insane charcter but I really want to.

 

[CRGreathouse]

Issue #2 of The Stygian explains madness (in many forms) in great detail. It's well worth the read - if you can handle the 6 MB download.

 

[Tonguez]

Read Macbeth then pick from

Paranoid - distrust others, suspicious of everyone
Compulsive-Obsessive Anxiety - repetitive Behaviour due to anxiety (Lady Macbeths 'Out Damn spot")
Schizoid - not showing empotion, avoids contact
Schizotypal - seeing ghosts, hearing voices (this would be good for an Alienist)
Antisocial- general 'lack of concience' (Killing Duncan to become King was very antisocial)
Borderline - mood instability, mood swings, selfdestructive
Histrionic - Attention seeking
Narcissistic- Self-Centered 'B*tchy'
Avoidant- social anxiety (extreme shyness etc)
Dependent - 'Clings to others'
Obsessive-Compulsive - Perfectionist

Other possibles
- Phobias
- Multiple personalities

Also it is well known that all Insane Powerful Scorcerers must have an evil laugh - so start 'cultivating' it now (hmmm giggling at inaapropriate times and bouts of histyrical chortling!

MWUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

 

[Ferret]

Take shields of people and balance them on your head, if your poke a sword and say to the character "That spider bit me!!".

 

[Quickbeam]

Regardless of how you choose to manifest the following suggestion, it's an imperative (of sorts) that your character have some bizarre pattern of communication. Others have touched on this, and I think it's a perfect clue to fellow party members that your PC isn't playing with a full deck any longer. He could:
-- Talk to imaginery people, monsters, objects.
-- Argue/chat with himself outloud when faced with decisions.
-- Scream incoherently for no apparent reason, as durath suggested.
-- Begin and end each sentence with a bizarre noise or sound, sorta like Billy Bob Thornton's character in Slingblade.

Beyond the speech issues, I'd suggest other quirks like:
-- Pointing in an animated manner whenever you address someone, as though you're trying to drive home a very important concept.
-- Carry around some truly foul object and refer to it as your pet.
-- Sobbing uncontrollably when things don't go your way.
-- Paranoia is always indicative of larger problems beneath the surface.
-- Selective recall is good, as DarkJester noted.
-- Become fascinated by the mundane; have your PC spend hours examining the straps on his backpack, or a lady bug, or the shape of an ale mug.
-- Have him begin to display signs of totally irrational fears. He won't step over puddles, and howls in anguish when others do so; or perhaps the sight of black gloves makes him curl into the fetal position, trembling in fear.

You get the picture. Good luck with this intriguing and challenging character concept !

 

[CrazyMage]

Play up the "spider" angle.

Who told Bad Guy#1 we were coming? "Those treacherous spiders did!"
Who drank all our healing potions? "Lousy spiders!"
Hey, who stole our horses? "The spiders did."
Spiders can't steal horses. "You're one of them! You're on the side of the spiders!"
Why are you so tired? "can't sleep, spiders will eat me"
Why must the world be destroyed? "Must kill every spider!!!"


You see what I'm getting at. In "your" mind there's a very good reason to kill spiders--they're evil and they're plotting to take over the world, unless you get them first.

I think this nicely explains your need to destroy reality--spiders infest everything; must kill spiders!!