Circus Codex [Monster Thursday]

Whether you find them incredibly terrifying or endearing, the circus is a place of wonder. But what happens if you must uncover dark secrets under the big top? What if the ringmaster is funneling life energy from the crowds who laugh and cheer at the next act? What happens when a lion gets loose? Or if the party stumble upon a demon summoning ritual? There is a lot of excitement one can find in a circus, and not all of it is child freindly.

Acrobat (CR 2) From the tightrope to dangling silk ropes, acrobats are quite accomplished at physical dexterity. One moment they are flinging themselves untethered across the tent, the next they might be carefully walking across a wire no wider than their thumb.

Clown (CR 1) At least one of the members of Dump Stat said that these horrible, awful creatures should be at least CR 25 with a meat cleaver and a hankering for child flesh. The other, handsomer, member decided that clowns aren't that scary... they are just weird. These clowns, when faced with combat, are going to stick with the slapstick comedy, finding laughter even in the midst of dangerous combat.

Fire Breather (CR 3) The fire breather brings up an interesting question, how does magic change and adjust a circus? For small circuses, they might have a few members with some cantrips, like mending or prestidigitation, but they probably can't afford to spellcasting members or send their members for more training. For the fire breather, they have a small connection to fire but instead rely on the old tricks of breathing fire by spraying out an accelerant in a line of flame. For the fanciest of circuses, their fire breather may even know how to cast fireball or even investiture of flames to really wow the audience.

Lion Tamer (CR 4) With a whip in one hand and a stool as a shield in the other, the lion tamer impresses the crowd with their command over such ferocious beasts like lions or perhaps, even, a displacer beast. While the default tamer is one for lions, no reason why there can't be drake tamers or even an ooze wrangler.

Ringmaster (CR 5/6) At the very top of the circus is the ringmaster, the master of ceremonies and owner/announcer of the circus. They direct the crowds attentions, expertly hiding mistakes behind flashy showmanship and quick wit. While they probably aren't all evil, they are definitely doing some shady stuff once all the crowds leave for the night.