History Main / RecurringTraveller

* Hoid appears in almost every story in ''Literature/TheCosmere'', under several jobs, disguises, and aliases. He is recognizable by his sharp, angular face and sometimes his white hair, and the use of [[OutsideContextMagic magic established in different books]].

*** You encounter two Galbadian soldiers, [[ShoutOut Biggs]] and [[StarWars Wedge]], [[RuleOfThree three times]] throughout the game.

* Ooccoo from ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'' is a slightly more disturbing example, as she is a being that has the bald head of a human, but the size and body of a chicken. She is a rather interesting variation, as she can be used ''as an item'' in the various dungeons. Specifically, she can teleport you to the dungeon entrance if you need to get something from a shop, etc. Her usefulness and the fact that she's a genuinely nice lady more than make up for her odd appearance. She also is a part of the main plot, as the reason she shows up in every dungeon is [[spoiler:that she's trying to find a way to her home, which happens to be the location of the final piece of the Mirror of Twilight. Did I mention that it also happens to be a city in the sky?]]
** There's also a photographer in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening DX'' who shows up throughout the game.

* There are several of these in ''VideoGame/{{Okami}}''. There's Waka, who follows you through the entire game [[spoiler: including your fight with the Big Bad]], and is the most reasonable, because he has magic powers. In the last chapter, you have Oki, who manages to follow you [[spoiler:through a magic gateway to 100 years into the past]]. And in the first chapter, you have Susano, the [[FakeUltimateHero inept, stupid, useless fool]] who, despite being completely incompetent, manages to get past the puzzles it takes you hours to solve in a few minutes. How the hell ''did'' he get into [[spoiler:the Moon Cave]], anyway?]]

** In ''VideoGame/{{Makai Toshi SaGa}}'', also known as ''The Final Fantasy Legend'', a dapper gentleman in a black suit and hat pops up throughout the game to give your party tidbits of advice as they climb the World Tower. [[spoiler:At the top of the tower he reveals himself as The Creator, who set up the entire plot as a game.]]

* Anton and Ricky are a pair of tourists who turn up all over the place in the ''VideoGame/KisekiSeries'', which so far has taken place in three separate countries. They sometimes are the source of sidequests.

* The merchant from ''Disney/{{Aladdin}}'' and his shop pops up nearly everywhere - on the desert, inside a prison, inside sultan's palace and even inside a ''genie's lamp''. However, considering that he's apparently a wizard, this might be somewhat justified.

** In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask'', a map-maker named Tingle is hovering on his balloon in the air in every area in the VideoGame/{{Overworld}}. If you pop it, he'll drop down and sell you a map of the area (cheaply) and one of another area (expensively.) Just how he's never seen to move but always manages to be where you show up is a mystery.

* There are several of these in ''VideoGame/{{Okami}}''. There's Waka, who follows you through the entire game [[spoiler: including your fight with the Big Bad]], and is the most reasonable, because he has magic powers. In the last chapter, you have Oki, who manages to follow you [[spoiler:through a magic gateway to 100 years into the past]]. And in the first chapter, you have Susano, the [[FakeUltimateHero inept, stupid, useless fool]] who, despite being completely incompetent, manages to get past the puzzles it takes you hours to solve in a few minutes. How the hell ''did'' he get into [[spoiler:the Moon Cave]], anyway? [[spoiler:[[CrowningMomentOfAwesome Not that we're complaining, mind]].]]

* Raddle the Traveler and his sometime companion Rumina appear in the first three ''StarOcean'' games, always hopelessly lost, and in fact giving them correct directions will get you prizes of some sort.

* In ''RogueGalaxy'', the party often encounters a woman and her young daughter ([[spoiler:actually the wife and daughter of party member Simon]]) in such unlikely places as a sealed temple and a desert in the middle of a sandstorm. Neither of the two are armed or armored, and are usually encountered in a place crawling with enemies capable of easily killing your (heavily armed) party members.
** ''RogueGalaxy'' also contains a diminutive archaeologist named Burton who also shows up in all manner of bizarre places, and is also a total non-combatant. Unlike the previous example, though, this does come back to bite him in the ass: at one point, [[spoiler:his ''ghost'' shows up and informs the party that he got himself killed (and he's remarkably chipper about this, as it now means he can explore the galaxy without being constrained by mortal flesh)]]. Then, after [[spoiler:getting resurrected and going on his merry way again, another cutscene ends with the strong implication that he's crushed by a murderous robot]]. ([[spoiler:He [[DisneyDeath gets better]] that time, too.]])

* The weird stalker who appears at the front of every Gym in the ''{{Pokemon}}'' series to give you advice, later, Scott in Emerald as well.

* Wentos the Travelling Salesman from ''SonicUnleashed''. Every once and a while you'll see him in a town (the places he visits are random) where he will sell you goods at randomly-generated prices. Sometimes you can buy a product from him at [[GameBreaker less than the selling price]]. So basically, you can buy something from him and then [[GoodBadBugs sell it back immediately for a profit]].

* An unnamed Travelling Salesman always shows up at each new city you need to go to in ''ValkyrieProfile 2'', including destroyed castles only accessible through deadly caverns full of monsters... even going so far as to show up in Asgard ahead of you. Though, admittedly, this turns out to be the dead spirit of the merchant's ancestor, he still carries the exact same inventory as the living version.

* ''ShiningForce'' contains a character named Boken who is apparently on a personal quest, which happens to take him to many of the same locations as you. He even has his own character sprite; oddly, though, he's never recruitable as a Force member, not even in the GBA remake.

* There are several of these in ''{{Okami}}''. There's Waka, who follows you through the entire game [[spoiler: including your fight with the Big Bad]], and is the most reasonable, because he has magic powers. In the last chapter, you have Oki, who manages to follow you [[spoiler:through a magic gateway to 100 years into the past]]. And in the first chapter, you have Susano, the [[FakeUltimateHero inept, stupid, useless fool]] who, despite being completely incompetent, manages to get past the puzzles it takes you hours to solve in a few minutes. How the hell ''did'' he get into [[spoiler:the Moon Cave]], anyway? [[spoiler:[[CrowningMomentOfAwesome Not that we're complaining, mind]].]]

* Elminster shows up many times throughout the BaldursGate series, though its not at all surprising given who he is.
** There's also an unexplained farmer called Lahl in the first game who keeps showing up (with the same dialogue) in different places from Nashkel to Beregost. He's even been spotted in two different copies in the same area, so apparently the game chooses to spawn him near you for some reason.

* The DragonAge games have two traveling dwarven merchants, Bodhan Feddic and his adopted son, Sandal. In the first game, they're actually tagging along with your party on purpose, reasoning that since you're tough and go lots of places, it's pretty safe to stick around wherever you are, and can always be found in your camp. Sandal even shows up during the main plot right before the final boss battle to give you one last chance to buy stuff from him and get buffs for your gear. Dragon Age II has them working for the main protagonist, Hawke, living in Hawke's manor starting from the second act of the game on.

* In Videogame/SuperMarioRPG, you follow around a shmuck who's looking for the mythical Grate Guy Casino, while Toad follows ''you'' around.

* ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei'' gives us Stephen, creator of the Demon Summoning Program in the first two games. While mainly existing to upgrade you in the first game, he takes on more and more plot-important roles starting in the second game, generally acting as the BigGood for the Neutral alignment. In ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIVFinal'', [[spoiler:he takes on his greatest role where he guides Nanashi to YHVH on the Peace and Anarchy routes, recognizing that Nanashi could kill YHVH. DLC lets you fight him, and it's also revealed that he's so powerful that every numbered protagonist needs to team up to fight him]].

* [[AlmightyJanitor The Plumber]] in the ''Franchise/RatchetAndClank'' series, who likes to [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall softly tread around the fourth wall.]]
** There is also the Smuggler, Slim Cognito, and, to a lesser degree, the Shady Salesman.

* Many kids who give you challenges in ''[[BackyardSports Backyard Skateboarding]]''.

This is different than the GoldfishPoopGang, since you generally don't fight them along the way. Also different is InexplicablyIdenticalIndividuals, where it's not the same traveller but a set of distant relatives with an uncanny family resemblance. The RecurringExtra is a RecurringTraveller who doesn't do anything. They might also be a [[HonestJohnsDealership merchant constantly trying to extort money from you]], [[NoHeroDiscount even if the failure of your main character means the end of the world]].

Sometimes in an [[RolePlayingGame RPG]], The RecurringTraveller is a character who always happens to be staying in a bedroom of the same inn that your party is staying at. He may comment about being a tourist or sight-seer. He may give tips about the local environment, monsters, hazards and landmarks.

The RecurringTraveller is frequently used as a device to help the player when they're in a difficult area. If you run short of supplies after fighting your way through an especially dangerous area, the RecurringTraveller just happens to be someone who can either heal your party or let you replenish your inventory.

* [[AlmightyJanitor The Plumber]] in the ''[[RatchetAndClank Ratchet & Clank]]'' series, who likes to [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall softly tread around the fourth wall.]]

* Bob the Jagex Cat and Postie Pete in ''{{Runescape}}''. The first is the mascot of the game owners, who wanders endlessly across the land and if you are lucky you can spot it sometimes, though it doesn't serve any purpose. He was originally added to test NPC pathfinding but latter [[EnsembleDarkhorse became a character in several quests]]. The second is a walking (hopping...) skull with a hat and a mailman's bag, who goes around Gielinor delivering letters to every character the player writes to (outside of the game). He's actually in the game as a joke from the developers.
* in ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' there is Hemet Nesingwary, a travelling [[GreatWhiteHunter big game hunter]] who is found all over Azeroth (and beyond) with his buddies, killing things.