Under the Big Top: More Circus Ideas – Roleplaying Tips

Under the Big Top: More Circus Ideas

Last year, I wrote some tips on circuses: A Clown Cart Rolls Up and Disgorges Endless Foes.

Roleplaying Tips GM Jeremy Brown sent me some great follow-on tips. But before I get into those, why do I like circuses? As a GM tool, we get these outcomes:

• Have circus, will travel. Hello wandering encounters and easy Back Pocket prep.
• The bizarre and weird. A chance to put your game’s Feats and Flaws, unusual monsters, and other edge rules into play.
• Microcosm. Self-contained adventures with villains, factions, and plots. Big tent adventure or simple roadside curiosity, circuses offer it all.

There are more reasons, but those are my main ones. And here’s what Jeremy has to say on getting more out of our carnivals:

I’ve run circuses since the early 90s. They provide a lot of fun background as you noted. Some things I think you looked over:

Attractions

Besides providing interesting CombatScapes as noted, they also provide a different kind of encounter for PCs. Your party gets a new look at the grim warrior if he gets excited at knocking down three bottles. This allows all those NPCs the GM made to show up.

Examples of attractions:

Funhouse

Perhaps it’s laid out like a dungeon, letting children become adventurers for a time. You are given a sword wand when you enter, and if you escape, you are allowed to keep it and earn a shield.

Oddities

A place for the party to discover world lore and strange things. You can also make this attraction creepy and give PCs a set of monster NPCs to interact with.

Dining

Have rare and unusual viands from across the world. For instance, in my last one I had ‘purple worms’ — sausages died for effect.

Side Encounters

Don’t forget that places like a performance tent or the big top might have multiple, smaller areas to explore.

Contests

Games of various sorts. Prizes can be quite good. In my last circus I had a booth that gave out little eggs called egglings. You held them in your hand for 1 minute and then the egg hatched and out came little figures. Each figure had a simple stat block (mostly noncombat), making them easy to improvise.

The Back

Don’t forget to design the rear area of the circus. Performers have wagons, and secrets can be concealed in them.

Sounds

Besides smells, remember noises. There may be bards in the circus, an ethereal music that draws the listener might replace a calliope, barkers hawking booths and performances, the roar of the crowd from the big top, and so on.

Monsters

Magical circuses should have menageries of magical monsters. Pull out the goofy and the seldom encountered: the trained flumphs, trained girallons, manticores, etc. These critters are sentient and intelligent and do not want to be caged. Cue the Last Unicorn.

Crew

Finally, besides the performers, one must remember the rousties that put up and tear down the circus and help with performances and booths. These are rough and tumble folk, and in enough numbers might oppose the PCs.

Checklist

Excellent. Thanks Jeremy!

Roleplaying Tips GM, here are Jeremy’s tips as a checklist to add to your circus template:

• Funhouse
• Oddities
• Dining
• Side Encounters
• Contests
• The Back
• Sounds
• Monsters
• Crew

Cheers,
Johnn
roleplayingtips.com
https://discord.gg/6MxTRAqQ76
Have more fun at every game!

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