But ya, I've always wondered why all 10 Madmen go out when you get the Hermit from the BM deck. Seems silly to me.
I think the answer is, it doesn't really mean anything. The Madman pile isn't part of the supply, so it doesn't matter where you put it. You could have Hermit in the kingdom and just leave Madman in the box, and when anyone needs to gain a Madman you go back to your games cupboard and get a Madman out of it, and you're still playing by the rules. You could put Madman on the table next to the Duchies and Curses in a game without Hermit, and you're still playing by the rules.
Also, you could put the Madman pile in a solid wooden chest reinforced by straps of steel, which can only be opened using three seperate keys, which have been hidden all across the kingdom, and stash that chest away deep into the dark, gloomy caves that spread deep below the haunted woods at the far western border of the kingdom. One day, a lone hermit would find a mysterious note talking about a treasure hidden away generations ago, a treasure so magnificent that the minds of those looking upon it would break and crumble. The hermit had always led a solitary life in a small hut a couple of miles from the capital, and had long lost his craving for earthly riches. Every now and again, he would make a trip to the capital, selling herbs and picking up essentials that he needed to live a decent life. Over the years, he has come to despise the city dwellers and their greed more and more, and kept on postponing these trips for as long as possible.
Yet as he reads those lines, a desire fills him that he has never previously known. This is when he knows: He must find that hidden treasure! He sets out to a long, perilous journey. The author of the note is supposedly a scholar from an academy that has dedicated itself to the study of the ancient history of the kingdom. But as he enters their halls, he finds that noone has heard the name written on that scratch of paper. It is only when he talks to the head librarian, an aged man who had been working in the academy for decades, that the name seems to ring a bell. The librarian frowns as he hears it, and tells the hermit that the woman he is looking for had been expelled from the academy 36 years ago after months where it became more and more apparent that she started to lose her senses, writing articles that increasingly lacked coherence and fancying herself a warrior from ancient times reborn.
The hermit is pointed to an asylum not far outside the town. That is where he meets the old woman, sitting in the corner of her room, her head completely shaved. "She kept gnawing on them, pulling them out, and it would unsettle our other patients", explained the nurse. As the hermit shows her the piece of paper, the eyes that had been staring into the distance ever since he entered the room suddenly fixed on him. "You found it?", she croaked. Under her incoherent muttering, the hermit can only make out that she has found one of the keys and buried in in the academy garden just before she was taken away. She also tells him that a second key was suppedly in the hands of a witch living in the swamps to the north. "Because they could not seal away the treasure without magic, no they couldn't, and had to dabble into dark arts... I know it, I have seen it... horrible, horrible things... they asked her, but they had to pay the price... I had to pay the price..."
The hermit sneaks into the academy at night, and indeed, as he digs through the wet earth, he suddenly feels cold metal. It is a silver key that is engraved with skulls and bones. The hermit shudders, but does not give up on his task, not when he has just gotten a lot closer.
The hermit follows the way through the swamps, hoping to find the witch, if she was still alive. He finds the huge dead tree exactly where the mad scholar described it, a dim light glowing from within through the murkiness of the swamps. The tree's bark is standing open at one side, and it appears the the tree is hollow within. He can see a fully furnished room inside, and lying on the bed a beautiful young woman, a candle by her side and apparently reading in a old book.
The hermit approaches cautiously. As the woman lays her eyes upon him, she says "Do I have a visitor?" Despite the young body, her voice sounds like that of an ancient woman, more dead than alive. The hermit asks her about the treasure, and a spark of anger enters her eyes. "I have exhausted... my powers.... most of my powers to seal it... my magic is nearly gone now, as is my life." She refuses to tell him where the key is. Suddenly, a mad frenzy overcomes the hermit, and he grabs the candle on the bedside table and brings the flame close to her left eye. The witch screams in agony. "Tell me!", he demands. Then he sees the necklace the witch is wearing: A key is dangling on it just like the one he found in the garden. Triumphantly, he rips the necklace off her. "Where is the third one?" he yells as the candlewax pours on the witch's eye. Then he pulls the candle to her hair and watches as they burn. "Please stop!", the witch yells. " I will tell you."
Later, the hermit stumbles through the woods, shattered. What had he done? Was this all worth it? But the desire in his heart grew fiercer than ever, and his feet lead him to the lake that the witch described. It was already the middle of the night on this cold november day, but the hermit just jumps into the water, diving deep, looking for the final key. He has to get up for air several times, and after each time, he gets greedier, his dives becomng ever longer, his hands wandering through the muddy bottom of the lake. After almost an our of searching this way, finally, his hands close on a metal object. At the same time, he can no longer take it, open the mouth to breathe, but only swallows a large bit of water. Using his last energy reserves, he struggles to the surface, almost passing out on the way.
Nothing can stop him now. He knows where he is going, and he lets nothing stop him. Days after days he walks through the land never stopping to sleep, not for food or water. His mind now knows but one thing: the mysterious treasure. Freezing, starved and sleep-deprived, he reaches the forest, and continues on. He looks at the trees around him... they look sinister. Do they want to take his treasure? He could not let them! He picks up the pace, now running, screaming at the top of his lungs "You won't get it! It is mine! Mine alone!" He not realized anymore where he is going, running in circles, every tree looking the same, hardly any light reaching through the thickly-layered leaves. The last of his sanity leaves the hermit, and he never reaches the treasure he was hoping to find.
...and you're still playing by the rules.
