Comments on: How to run a Circus in Your Game

By: Jesse

Jesse — Thu, 20 Jul 2017 01:40:00 +0000

In reply to Wyvern. Thanks for the heads up. I'll do the edits when i get home from out of town tomorrow, I'll also be doing a part 2 in the near future.

By: Wyvern

Wyvern — Wed, 19 Jul 2017 22:29:00 +0000

This article could have used another editing pass. There are a couple of entries in the first table with incomplete sentences (“Includes weaving one’s” in #3, and “Typically wears” in #11), plus a number of other smaller grammatical errors. Apart from that, personally I would’ve given more representation to the roustabouts and other “backstage” employees (like location scouts and promoters, animal tenders, etc.), and fewer fine distinctions between different types of performers (is plate-spinning really a common enough circus act to merit a separate entry from juggling?).

Here are a few more plot ideas, pulled from an article I wrote many years ago for the “Places to Go, People to Be” webzine:

The New Guy: A stranger shows up, begging to join the circus, but he refuses to talk about his past. Is he running away from someone? If so, what happens when they come after him? What if the stranger is more than he seems (mutant, psychic, alien, vampire, doppelganger, rogue android) and begins manifesting strange abilities — will they be an asset to the circus, or a liability?

Tar and Feathers: The circus encounters an extremely unfriendly reception in their latest port of call. Maybe the townsfolk have a legitimate grievance against one of the circus folk; maybe they’re just bigots — or maybe something more sinister… Whatever the case, there should be some reason that the circus can’t just pull up stakes and move on, or else this will be a very short adventure.

Circus War: What happens when two circuses arrive in town at the same time?

Sabotage: Someone has embarked on a campaign of methodical destruction against the circus. It may start out as harmless graffiti, then an animal could be set loose, tents set on fire, performing gear destroyed or rigged to fail at the worst possible moment… Somebody might even end up dead. Is it an inside job, or an outside threat? It could be the work of a rival circus (“Circus War”), or maybe those weird townsfolk (“Tar and Feathers”) or maybe it has something to do with “The New Guy”.

By: Brandes Stoddard

Brandes Stoddard — Tue, 18 Jul 2017 16:25:00 +0000

In reply to Colin McLaughlin. I still wish that campaign had continued. =)

By: Colin McLaughlin

Colin McLaughlin — Tue, 18 Jul 2017 13:20:00 +0000

I ran a carnival that traveled across the planes for a Planescape game I ran in 4e. I built all the tents, caravans, side shows, games, etc to place on the map. The caravans were their own pocket planes that the headliners called their own, so they would simply return there if they were slain.

The carnival was run by aasimar and tieflings that were seeking to sabotage their absentee divine/infernal parents and were committing crimes-for-hire using their traveling as cover. The players were forced into conflict with them as the carnival was seeking to break someone out of the maze, and had stolen a tremendous astral diamond for use in their plan. If I recall, the diamond was being made into a giant focusing lens and some sort of transplanar laser was being created to tunnel through the metaphysical walls.

It was a really good time.

By: crimfan

crimfan — Tue, 18 Jul 2017 11:14:00 +0000

In a Temple of Elemental Evil campaign I ran in the late ’90s that had kind of a pseudo-fantasy-Celtic spin to it (inspirations/sources included Katharine Kerr, Lloyd Alexander, Guy Gavriel Kay, and Patricia Kenneally-Morrison) I would have the occasional festival session. The characters would travel to go to four festivals, Beltaine, Imbolc, Lughnasa, and Samhaine. It was a nice break from standard dungeoneering and the like, and was a way to have a lighter session, as well as introduce plots, sell off unwanted treasure, and so forth. PCs would compete as suited their interests in various games, feats of strength, the melee, archery, drinking, bardic performance, etc., so the players got their rolling in for the day and won some nifty prizes or lost their adventuring loot as the case may be. So it wasn’t exactly a circus, but had some of the same aspects. There were NPCs, including rivals from the games, who only showed up at the games and never any other time.

The successor campaign to that still exists, although it’s very cosmic and has become a cross between Planescape and Spelljammer with a hefty dose of the Eternal Champion thrown in. It reminds me I should throw in a festival session, though!

By: Kevin Flanagan

Kevin Flanagan — Tue, 18 Jul 2017 02:53:00 +0000

In the Palladium Fantasy game that I play with my husband and good friend, we are all actually members or a traveling circus troupe. I was initially inspired by the tv show Carnivale, though so far the troupe has mostly been a backdrop or a good source of characters, but hasn’t been quite as mysterious as the one from that show. The way we play hasn’t lent itself to traditional adventures as much as some other settings might, but I have thoroughly enjoyed it thus far.

By: Jesse

Jesse — Mon, 17 Jul 2017 18:12:00 +0000

In reply to Charles Geringer. I'll look it up, and include it in the article a bit, but it might not be until tomorrow.

By: Charles Geringer

Charles Geringer — Mon, 17 Jul 2017 18:00:00 +0000

I feel the article´s tittle is misleading, thsi works for a quick random genration of a circus, but contains very little advice on hwo to actually runa circus in the game.

Also I feel ravenloft´s “carnival should be mentioned”