Running Away to Join the Circus

[prufock]

I've had an idea for a campaign in which the players all start at level 1 (or even 0) as folks who have, by some choice or fate, joined up with a traveling circus. They begin play as lowly grunts, paying their dues or just making some bare change as stagehands, animal caretakers, labourers, etc. Through the course of play, they'll move up one "grade" in the circus scheme of things, to eventually becoming stars of the show around level 5 or 6.

Through all this, of course, they have adventures.

So I come to the Playground seeking ideas for circus-themed adventures! What sort of plot hooks, and perhaps long-term background plots, can you come up with for a circus?

Thanks

[Zejety]

The first thing that comes to my mind is seeking out new exhibits: Exotic creatures or talented people. This could be the focus of an adventure ("A visitor mentioned a strange beast in the local woods. Seek it out and, if it is something suitable, capture it!") or even drawn out over multiple sessions with the circus deliberately traveling by following cliues about the strange thingamabob that is roaming the lands. In the later case, the PCs would regulalarly have to find clues as to where it's traveling to now.

[braveheart]

I would suggest having a murderer in the troop, and having the occasional clown show up dead until the party takes up the duty of finding and bringing the murderer to justice, or death.

also having the "inner ring" or the top dogs in the troop actually be evil and stealing things everywhere they go, perhaps trying to gather the pieces of some ancient evil artifact.

[Storm_Of_Snow]

I would suggest having a murderer in the troop, and having the occasional clown show up dead until the party takes up the duty of finding and bringing the murderer to justice, or death.

Or until they run out of clowns with no one caring, and the murderer starts on the acrobats...

Or maybe there's a trail of murders in places the circus has visited, the circus is outright accused, but it's someone else (maybe some cult, which would allow different people to commit the murders without the same person getting spotted) who's using the circus as a distraction.

Remember the back story for Scaramanga (Man with the Golden Gun) was that he was a trick shot artist in a circus. Or, for more James Bond related stuff, there's the knife throwing twins and the smuggling operation from the Roger Moore one with the title that probably won't get through the language filters, but was based on the short story "Property of a Lady".

Or someone steals the box office takings, and the PCs have to go and get it back.

[prufock]

The first thing that comes to my mind is seeking out new exhibits: Exotic creatures or talented people.

This is great! I hadn't thought of this possibility, awesome. The creature, of course, turns out to be something dangerous.

I would suggest having a murderer in the troop, and having the occasional clown show up dead until the party takes up the duty of finding and bringing the murderer to justice, or death.

also having the "inner ring" or the top dogs in the troop actually be evil and stealing things everywhere they go, perhaps trying to gather the pieces of some ancient evil artifact.

I had been thinking of something along these lines, with a "shadow conspiracy" type thing going on with some members of the circus. Not necessarily just the upper ring, and not all of them, but a small, select group of individuals at all levels. The murder plotline could easily be incorporated into this, ie getting rid of someone who "knows too much."

Or, for more James Bond related stuff, there's the knife throwing twins and the smuggling operation

Smuggling is a good option. The PCs have a chance to make a little money on the side by transporting X along with the circus. Of course, BBEG #2 is looking for X, and tracks down the circus, making life difficult for the performers.