Amount of circus shows in AP?


Extinction Curse


So I've only bought and read the first adventure, and it looks like there's only the initial show in the timeframe of the adventure. Several of my players are very interested in playing SimCircus, so I was just wondering how many actual performances can they expect to have? Is this something that I would just add more of in between the 6 adventures?


I believe there should be a show every week, though some of the towns have max prestige, after which continuing to perform isn't worth it and you should move onto another one.

When you perform your shows is left up to the GM and the players, however.


Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber

As Trevorish mentioned, when you perform is up to the players. The start of book 1 is the only scripted show to my knowledge. After that, it becomes a downtime activity requiring a week of downtime (6 days to prepare and advertise, with the show being on the 7th day). So at any point, the players can say "lets take a week off and run a show".

This lets teams who love the circus mechanic enjoy it as much as they want, and teams who feel like it's a chore can skip it entirely after that first scripted show.


Pathfinder Adventure, Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber

In later modules, the Circus becomes far less frequent. Especially when the PCs leave the circus to go on adventures elsewhere (I'm looking at you, Parts 5 & 6).


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profounddark wrote:
In later modules, the Circus becomes far less frequent. Especially when the PCs leave the circus to go on adventures elsewhere (I'm looking at you, Parts 5 & 6).

I'm still on part 1, but I am somewhat disappointed that this is the case. If Paizo takes anything away from this AP, I would suggest it is this: own your gimmick.

One of the advantages of doing two adventure paths per year is that there's way more content than anyone can play. We started running this AP on Roll20 back in April, and have been playing nigh-weekly for about 2-3 hours per session, and the PCs just got done with the Hermitage. I'm guessing at least another month working on the Erran Tower, so call it four months for one installment. At that rate, it's going to take us two years to run the whole thing. So if there are two or three APs with concepts I don't find interesting to every AP I do, I'm fine with that.

So lean into your gimmicks. If an AP is being presented as The Circus AP, with a sub-system designed for putting on circus shows, make that a central thing. Don't make it "The Xulgath AP with some circus on the side." And if you don't think a gimmick can carry an AP, make a point of saying so and prepare people that it's just a point of departure. A good example here is the Player's Guide to Serpent's Skull, which presented a number of campaign traits that all asked "Why are you on a ship headed to Sargava?" But the Player's Guide was very clear that while the campaign started on a ship, it was not going to be a campaign about sailing.


Farabor wrote:

So I've only bought and read the first adventure, and it looks like there's only the initial show in the timeframe of the adventure. Several of my players are very interested in playing SimCircus, so I was just wondering how many actual performances can they expect to have? Is this something that I would just add more of in between the 6 adventures?

I would suggest one more in Abberton, sometime during chapter 2, just to make players remember the circus rules by repetition, and possibly also to get "revenge" on a failure (pulling off 15 Excitement at level 1 is actually not easy).

After that, there's not really a good opportunity to think circusy thoughts until after chapter 4, which adds another reason to stick a show in there before the heroes head off to the Hermitage.

After chapter 4, I guess you could host a farewell performance before leaving Abberton, but since you start level 5 by preparing for a new show, I would skip that idea.

During levels 6 & 7 you could get the heroes back for a second show if you want.

Much like the end of level 4 you could have a show after level 8, but also much like that instance, level 9 begins with a show so I'd skip it.

Levels 9-11 are about the only ones where multiple shows are written into the narrative. You need to hold four shows over the course of three chapters, so I don't think you need any more.

That makes ~8 shows over ~12 levels, which should be plenty.

Developer

profounddark wrote:
In later modules, the Circus becomes far less frequent. Especially when the PCs leave the circus to go on adventures elsewhere (I'm looking at you, Parts 5 & 6).

There's a pretty key show right at the start of the sixth book, too.


Pathfinder Adventure, Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber
Ron Lundeen wrote:
profounddark wrote:
In later modules, the Circus becomes far less frequent. Especially when the PCs leave the circus to go on adventures elsewhere (I'm looking at you, Parts 5 & 6).
There's a pretty key show right at the start of the sixth book, too.

Oh, that is true! I was focused on the middle of 5 & 6, where the PCs go off on their own.

I've put some thought into that. Depending on how much the greater circus elements (and the stories of the people involved) resonates with my group, it may be interesting to have it keep going on.

Part 5 spoiler!:
I almost like the idea of them stressing out about management decisions while the PCs are making camp in Vask. Like, "sure, you have to deal with all this crazy stuff, but don't forget we have a 9pm call with the Professor and the circus team!"

Sort of like they have to run stuff without the advantage of being there to participate directly. It works a bit more given my adoption of more fussy circus rules, as well, so there's a means to advance the performers and such.

But, again, that sort of depends on how interesting it is by then. If it's still an interest, it seems easy to just introduce magical conference calling.


I am on the fence whether I like the Circus mechanic and the AP focus on it. I think its simple and interesting enough to engage players but lacks any real crunch to it other than small changes here and there. We are halfway done the second book or so and I've only read the first 3 books so that is all I can speak too. The encounters I have been impressed with and their is a good variety even with all the Xulgath influence.

We've done 3 circus shows so far and we are just about to go into chapter 2.

I do however like as a GM the switch to something off the wall like a circus troupe.


Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber; Pathfinder Starfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

My player's really like doing the circus part of the AP right now. If this continues through book 2, then I think I'm going to create another set of antagonists that are more entertainment focused and loop in trying to perform at the big festival in Absalom. I'm basically of thinking about making an entertainment conglomerate (Golarian Disney) that offers to sign the Circus and start to take over. Eventually, it becomes clear that the conglomerate is interested in monopolizing entertainment and turning it into propaganda for some cause that I haven't thought of yet. I kind of feel like the AP as written isn't really the story of the PC and the circus after a certain point and I think this kind of side story can keep that story a more important part of the AP and add a little bit of politics to the AP.


Ron Lundeen wrote:
profounddark wrote:
In later modules, the Circus becomes far less frequent. Especially when the PCs leave the circus to go on adventures elsewhere (I'm looking at you, Parts 5 & 6).
There's a pretty key show right at the start of the sixth book, too.

To be fair, however, that show has next to zero significance storywise, and by the time the heroes arrive to this event, they will find the requirements for success trivially easy.

Now, it's possible the author of part six wasn't privy to the final circus rules so no shade on the author. But I could easily have doubled or tripled the success requirement and it would still have been a breeze. (My heroes routinely meet that requirement at almost half the level of the adventure Ron is discussing).

The honest truth is that there really is no reason to focus on the circus (spending money on upgrades, recruiting new performers, expanding your tricks). It's all completely optional (or superfluous if you will).

Other than fun and role-playing of course. I simply mean the circus rules provide a lot of detail but none of it is needed to succeed at the adventures and campaign.

Really the only show that provided any challenge was the very first one (since reaching 15 is very hard for level 1 heroes).


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I’m new to running and I have been running it for now as a day to day AP. They spend a few days working toward the the main story and may spend 2-4 days promoting and doing downtime activities to promote the circus, crafting etc.

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