Traits
Aerial (acrobatics)
Animal (nature)
Alchemical (crafting)
Agile
Audience (society)
Dance (performance)
Comedy (performance)
Elemental: air/electricity (survival)
Elemental: fire (intimidation)
Elemental: water (athletics)
Elemental: earth (occultism)
Elemental: shadow (stealth)
Magical (arcana)
Miraculous (religion)
Musical (performance)
Prop (crafting)
Plant (nature)
Strength (athletics)
Sleight of Hand (thievery)
*Injury
*Team
PCs can design one Signature Trick each.
To design a a trick:
The injury trait is mandatory in case a trick requires a saving throw.
The team trait is mandatory in case your trick requires more than one person.
Mandatory traits do not count against the one trait limit.
Signature Tricks
PCs can choose not to perform tricks and instead play different roles during a show.
These are a few of the common roles suggested by the book, but you are free to create others.
Ringmaster: essentially, the presenter or MC of the show. They conduct the spectacle, provide narration when necessary and try to control and prepare the audience.
Animal Handler: ensures that the animals are properly cared and aids in their training.
Backup Clown: backup clowns are usually sent in as support to the main acts and are not on stage long enough to perform a signature trick.
Carnival Barker: the carnival barker draws in more audience members as the show goes on.
Clown Coordinator: not a clown themself. More of a managerial role, if you will.
Costumer: creates and sews/builds costumes for the performers and staff.
Prop builder: creates props for the performers and staff.
Musician: provides music and sound effects.
Cook: self-evident, I’d wager.
Other Roles
Medic: treats wounds acquired on failed performances and ensures that the circus staff is good health.
Pyrotechnic: creates special effects for the circus’ many acts and performances.
Security Guard: ensures that visitors are safe, have legitimate tickets and prevents hecklers, scalpers and criminals from causing problems.
The Feather-Fall Five — level 1 (DC 15)
The Kanbalis balance on tightropes with bounces, flips and aerial feats.
Checks: acrobatics +8, athletics +6
Traits: agile, team
The Flamboni Sisters — level 1 (DC 15)
The Flamboni Sisters juggle flaming torches, often “accidentally” setting themselves and each other on fire.
Checks: deception +7, fortitude +7
Traits: elemental (fire), injury, team
Mordaine the Magician — level 1 (DC 15)
Mordaine escapes from shackles and locks whilst immersed in a water-filled tank
Checks: Fortitude save +8, Thievery +7
Traits: injury, elemental (water)
Axel’s Amazing Aviary— level 1 (DC 15)
Axel makes doves appear from underneath his cloak and perform a choreographed flight routine which ends with the birds giving candy to the audience.
Checks: nature +7
Traits: animal
The Dwarven Throwers — level 1 (DC 15)
The Dwarven Throwers create a living ballista and launch themselves through air.
Checks: acrobatics +7, athletics +10
Traits: aerial, team
Elizia and Mister Tickles — level 1 (DC 15)
Elizia dances with Mister Tickles, a 16-foot-long anaconda (~5 metres).
Checks: intimidation +7, nature +7
Traits: animal
The Circus is as important or irrelevant as the group wants it to be — it’s more of a roleplay excuse, in my opinion.
Every show starts with an Anticipation score. Every successful trick raises the Excitement score.
A show is successful when Excitement is bigger than Anticipation.
A show fails when Excitement is smaller than Anticipation.
Anticipation is generated mostly by promoting the circus with either Downtime Activities or paid advertisements. Critical Successes when performing tricks also raise Anticipation.
Excitement is generated by successfully performing tricks.
Circus Rules
A show has 4 acts and seven performer slots.
Each performer gets 3 actions. The main action they will take is Perform a Trick.
Perform a Trick generates excitement equal to the performer’s level on a success. On a critical success, the trick also raises Anticipation.
The DC of a trick is determined by the PC’s level:
Level 1 15
Level 2 16
Level 3 18
Level 4 19
Act 1: Opener
The first act is called the opener, and it consists of only one trick to capture the crowd’s attention.
Critical success: lowers following acts’ DCs by 2.
Success: lowers following acts’ DCs by 1;
Critical failure: raises following acts’ DCs by 1.
Acts
Act 2: Build-up
To build up to The Big Number, the Build-Up involves 2 tricks to
impress the crowd.
Choose either trick. The performer of The Big Number trick gains a one-time bonus equal to half the chosen trick's level (round up) on the initial trick check of their performance.
Act 3: The Big Number
The Big Number only has one trick, but it is often the focus of the entire evening.
Success: additional Excitement equal to the trick level is added to the total Excitement for the show.
Act 4: The Grand Finale
The climax of the evening, the finale has three tricks to present a dazzling spectacle of all the circus offers.
Choose one trick performed that has the audience or team traits.
Additional Excitement equal to half the chosen trick's level (round up) is added to the circus’s total Excitement for the show.
Ringmaster: Once per act, the Ringmaster can choose one trick. They may then make a diplomacy check against the trick’s DC to either raise anticipation before the trick is performed or generate extra excitement after the trick is performed.
Animal Handler: Trick checks with the animal trait gain a +2 circumstance bonus, and a PC whose signature trick has the animal trait can perform twice in the same show (though not in the same act).
Backup Clown: Performers can Send in the Clowns one additional time per act.
Carnival Barker: The carnival barker draws in more audience members as the show goes on and increases the show’s maximum Anticipation. For every successful trick check performed, the carnival barker can choose to increase the show’s maximum Anticipation by 5.
Clown Coordinator: You can Send in the Clowns as a reaction instead of using 1 action.
Costumer: Performers get a +1 circumstance bonus to trick checks with the audience trait.
Other Roles (Mechanics)
Medic: Performers can’t become injured from critically failing tricks with the injury trait.
Pyrotechnic: Trick checks with the fire trait generate double Excitement.
Security Guard: Any rolls of hecklers or scalpers on Table 3: Random Circus Events are negated and have no effect on the performance.
Perform a Trick [1 action]
You perform your signature circus trick. Attempt one of the trick checks associated with your trick. The DC for the trick check is determined by your level.
Critical Success You generate Excitement equal to the trick’s level. You also generate Anticipation equal to half the trick’s level (rounded up).
Success You generate Excitement equal to the trick’s level.
Failure No effect.
Critical Failure The circus’s Excitement value decreases by a value equal to half the trick’s level (rounded up).
Each turn of the show is called an Act. An Act functions similarly to a combat turn: each performer gets three actions and one reaction which they may use to perform a trick or other circus-related actions.
Perform a Trick suffers from MAP just like strikes in combat, meaning that a second perform check takes a -5 penalty and a third takes a -10 penalty.
MAP only influences the same skill check/save throw. If a performer can choose from more than one check, these are tracked separately.
Example: Mordaine decides to make one thievery check for her first action and has no penalty; if she uses her Fortitude throw for her second check, she also incurs no penalty. Her third action will incur a -5 penalty because it will be her second check with the same skill.
Show Actions
Costar [reaction]
You Aid another performer in the act pull off their trick. Attempt the same check as the trick check you are attempting to aid. The DC to Costar is equal to the DC of the trick check.
Send in the Clowns [1 action]
You give the signal for the circus’s clown troupe to come onstage and rescue a botched trick. A failed trick becomes a success instead, or if it was a critical failure, it is instead a failure. The clowns can be sent in only once per act, and only one trick check is affected.
Circus Upgrades