Carnival campaign ideas?

[Vlad]

Hi, currently I'm playing The Evil Eye, and I also had the Carnival show up there, which seemed to be appropriate given the Harvest festival and the connection with the Gentleman Caller. They already encountered the Carnival once before, playing the introduction adventure with Blasse. Now I started the second adventure, with wooden head (the intro which they more or less ignored, they were busy with the dog fights, but it's not difficult to put that part on track again). However, the problem that I have with the Carnival accessory, is that it's really a fantastic product , but I find it very hard to construct a long lasting campaign around it. Sure, the adventures in the back do help, but are mostly short encounters. Some entries with the troupers do have some adventure hooks, but I couldn't think of a long campaign around them. So my pcs are just waking through it, with me telling what they see, but not much more than that (in the sense of a new adventure). Does anyone have a good idea how to do that? I wanted to include it into the Evil Eye and/or the Grand Conjunction (for which they will be given the opportunity to prevent the 5th hexe to come true). Any idea how?

[HyperionSol]

Well, since the Carnival can go to any domain, have you considered using it like a home base while the characters travel with it, risking the Twisting, they find themselves embroiled in other events I the Land of Mists leading up to the Grand Conjunction, if you decide to use it?

[SkiBird]

^^ Using the Carnival as a homebase might be a neat shtick. A lot of potential there.

[I'll admit that I'm aware of, but not terribly well read on, the Carnival]

If I had to rough out a carny-based adventure I would go with something like:

-The PC's join with the carnival ... only to find that their connection runs deeper than chance. This might be discovered through journal entries that heavily mentioned recruiting the party after their first meeting with the Carnival, or maybe inexplicably finding a family member's long-lost heirloom discovered among the troupe's belongings, etc. Seed a little mystery here. Answers aren't as important as the questions at this stage. Basically, the answer to the why isn't super important right now ... just as long as your PCs are actually asking the question.

-Tip your hand ... but only a little. Have the PCs interact somehow with — what will be — the major arc of their time with the Carnival. In my mind's eye, I've always wanted to do a series of Tarot/Tarokka themed murders. [The Fool, The Heirophant, The Tower, The Hanged Man, etc]. Maybe they discover a scene of a grisly murder? Each one would have a theme, be ritualistic / displayed in a very occult-type way. There are a ton of detective-dramas that have done this one to death, but Hannibal and True Detective come to mind as good examples. Run with it. Drop a few clues.

-Gooble-Gobble, One of Us! After a minor inconvenience in town, the Carnival receives a visit from the [fill-in-the-blank law enforcement] ... and are quickly shown the door. Make it clear to the PCs that, as far as the sheriff is concerned, they are considered to be wholeheartedly in the 'carny life.' Not a full-on vistani thing ... but give them a taste of being 'the other', the one who is not welcome, the one who must move along when prodded. This should solidify the 'we are team carny' aspect that the arc requires.

-Have a prophetic dream ... show them the road they are on. They're the only ones who can stop this tarot-killer nonsense. Now they know innocents will die, some nefarious plot is developing, it's mystical in some way, etc. The PCs should be given a nagging sense of purpose, but maybe still not know the exact why's and wherefore's of their 'quest.'

-Confirm it with another killing. Something about the dream comes true. Drop some more clues, keep them guessing. I've always dug the movie The Ninth Gate. In it, Johnny Depp researches an occult book filled with clues relating to a hidden purpose (opening a gate to Hell). The clues are very visual, and tied to the engravings within the book. Discerning the clue contained within the art and figuring it out leads Depp to the next step of the journey, that sort of thing. I would do something similar with the Tarokka/Tarot inspiration here. The layout of the card is important, the ink used, etc. Go full detective. PC theories should abound. If one of them is cooler than the the idea you've been cooking up ... steal it and add it to the tale you are weaving.

-Switch gears. In a new town, have an unrelated problem pop up. Have an obviously 'bad' or completely unlikable guy turn out to not be the source of this little side-trouble, instead ... have someone that is objectively 'good/innocent' be responsible. After it all goes sideways, maybe the 'not-really-a-bad-guy' from this little drama joins the Carnival. The PCs as patron/rescuer. They have to vouch for this guy or something. Now they have a sense of community (of sorts ... as they are no longer simply traveling with the Carnival, they are now a part of it, as they help to decide its inner workings, membership, etc). Perhaps they even feel a sense of responsibility for this new guy/gal.

-The Storm. The Carnival hunkers down during some particularly nasty weather. Travel/visibility between the tents and wagons is not great. And outside ... something stalks. One of the tents/wagons is on fire! Sure, the weather sucks, but the PCs must now act or the situation will devolve. Have a BIG encounter here, but make it more than 'I hit, you hit, repeat ad nauseam.' Raise the stakes [endanger innocents] and put them against the clock. Make them fight the environment as well as the monster. Sure, they must fight the beastie(s), but maybe they also have to save folks from burning tents, move the wagons before the bridge gets washed out, etc. Being drawn into multiple side-goals during a tense encounter is a good way to spice things up and keep encounters from being boring. When the dust/blizzard/rain settles ... a few carnies dead, others are missing.

-Carny Justice. In the aftermath of the storm, it turns out the new guy (the one under the PCs vouched for) stowed his lantern incorrectly (or something similar). An accident, but one that led to real damage / real consequences. It is their fault that the fire started during the storm. The onus for the accident (and perhaps even the blame for the supposed deaths of the missing carnies) is laid at their feet. There will now be a trial. Have the PCs act as advocates/solicitors for the new guy. Of course ... it won't look anything at all like any normal sort of trial ever heard of in civilized lands. Get Weird.

-Get back on track. A new town. Another murder. Enough bread crumbs are laid out that now the PCs can learn more about this killer and their intentions. A theory from the previous 'clue session' is confirmed. Now the PCs can somewhat predict what the killers are up to and where they might strike next. Dunno what the goal is. Can it be stopped? Should it?

-The confrontation and the betrayal. The PCs use this 'I know where the next murder will be' info to set a trap or something. It's all going according to plan. They meet the big bad (works best if it's a familiar face. I love using family members for this ... adds a layer of complexity to the tale). One of the Carnies knows more than they are letting on, too. Are they the killer? In league with them somehow? Maybe they 'recruited' the PCs into the Carnival and made sure the PCs played a necessary part for whatever quasi-mystical intrigues or whatever is going on?

[Mephisto of the FoS]

Well, since the Carnival can go to any domain, have you considered using it like a home base while the characters travel with it, risking the Twisting, they find themselves embroiled in other events I the Land of Mists leading up to the Grand Conjunction, if you decide to use it?

The canon timeline of the Carnival from the sourcebook is:

740 BC - Hermos and the other refugees from Carnival l'Morai arrive in Darkon, seeking new homes but receive no help from the native Darkonians. The tremors of the Grand Conjunction cause them to flee that domain to Falkovnia, where they are beset upon by the Falkovnian Army. They are saved by Isolde and a new Carnival is formed with Isolde as its leader and protector.

So if you follow the canon Isolde probably entered the Land of Mists during or after the Grand Conjuction.

[Vlad]

Thanks for the answers. especially Skibird! (for someone that's 'only aware' you have some fantastic ideas).
I know that my timeline doesn't really follow cannon. If you want to do low level adventures first, you run into problems with Neither Man nor Beast, so the official timeline is really not applicble in my campaign. (I never bothered to tell my PCs why Markovia moved, or when). When they do get maps from me, they are only of smaller portions of the core. So they Gehenna and Bluetspur will be a surprise. is there anyone at all that really follows 100% cannon timeline?

Back to Carnival:
- I do want to use the 'smuggle' part of the Carnival, but in the Evil Eye it's not really necessary (with the Zarovan near). I'll save that for later.
- On the one hand I'd like to have them trust and mistrust Isolde at the same time. Since she saved Blasse, they are more on the 'trust' side of the balance. Perhaps I'll have to insert some doubts..
- Which brings to me to the heirloom part - one of my PCs is a d"Honaire.. so that shouldn't be difficult (see the Book of Sacrifices for that PC).
- The Tarokka-murders are a good idea - in fact, I like that a lot. A bit like the Carnival of Fear novel, or the movie Seven. Just have to think of a good plot for the reasons. Perhaps some of Pacali's crew who wants to call the Gentleman caller (not knowing Pacali's own ally, but thinking he helps them with that), using ancient (but faulty) rituals..

Like I wrote before, I'd love to have the PCs doubt whether they can trust Isolde or not.. Any idea how I can increase the tension there? Perhaps witnessing the creation of a new abominsation?

[Vlad]

Thanks for the answers. especially Skibird! (for someone that's 'only aware' you have some fantastic ideas).
I know that my timeline doesn't really follow cannon. If you want to do low level adventures first, you run into problems with Neither Man nor Beast, so the official timeline is really not applicble in my campaign. (I never bothered to tell my PCs why Markovia moved, or when). When they do get maps from me, they are only of smaller portions of the core. So they Gehenna and Bluetspur will be a surprise. is there anyone at all that really follows 100% cannon timeline?

Back to Carnival:
- I do want to use the 'smuggle' part of the Carnival, but in the Evil Eye it's not really necessary (with the Zarovan near). I'll save that for later.
- On the one hand I'd like to have them trust and mistrust Isolde at the same time. Since she saved Blasse, they are more on the 'trust' side of the balance. Perhaps I'll have to insert some doubts..
- Which brings to me to the heirloom part - one of my PCs is a d"Honaire.. so that shouldn't be difficult (see the Book of Sacrifices for that PC).
- The Tarokka-murders are a good idea - in fact, I like that a lot. A bit like the Carnival of Fear novel, or the movie Seven. Just have to think of a good plot for the reasons. Perhaps some of Pacali's crew who wants to call the Gentleman caller (not knowing Pacali's own ally, but thinking he helps them with that), using ancient (but faulty) rituals..

Like I wrote before, I'd love to have the PCs doubt whether they can trust Isolde or not.. Any idea how I can increase the tension there? Perhaps witnessing the creation of a new abominsation?

[Mephisto of the FoS]

is there anyone at all that really follows 100% cannon timeline?

Yes

[Vlad]

is there anyone at all that really follows 100% cannon timeline?

Yes

How do you do that if you want to use all official adventures?

[Mephisto of the FoS]

is there anyone at all that really follows 100% cannon timeline?

Yes

How do you do that if you want to use all official adventures?

Same players with different PCs or if you want to use the same campaign you can use the Mists (or Pieter Van Riese...) to time travel them. Imagine for instance their surprise when the PCs realise that the island they have shipwrecked is Markovia, is the same land that exists "normally" in center of the Core. Maybe they learn that the Grand Conjuction has ocured and when they go back they have to be sure that it will be averted.