The Superior Yet Commonplace, Run-of-the-Mill, Ordinary, Predictable, Quotidian Carnival and Sideshow (Perfectly Mundane and Not Peculiar)

There is a carnival that's alive, and it's wandering around the woods at the edges of Green Sea.

The Quotidian Carnival travels from place to place, enticing townsfolk of nearby settlements and passersby to attend its performances, no two ever the same. Its workers put flyers around various places to attract as many guests as possible. For the workers, more guests mean more money, and the possibility of eating that week. Strangely, there are few to no hands that help to set up or pack down the Carnival, and no cut of the money for the performers, meaning not only is the Carnival cheap, it brings a decent living for the obligatory but small security team on hand, and their ringleader.

Of the many figures who live and work alongside the Carnival, none are more unusual than Alexander Trelawny, a rundown old bum and alcoholic who acts as the would-be ringleader of the show—and quite an act it is indeed, as Trelawny capers with all the enthusiasm and eccentricity customary of his office. Trelawny is relied upon by the Carnival to not only introduce the show and its acts to the audience but mediate the inevitable disputes that occur with the locals wherever the Carnival goes. Invariably, townsfolk would complain: sometimes of stolen goods, other times of fights with out-of-towners, and more rarely, of missing people. Invariably, Trelawny is sent to town to negotiate, to placate, or to plead, while the Carnival made its getaway. Every time, Trelawny would slip away and meet up with the Carnival shortly after.

Despite these frequent partings, Trelawny is incapable of leaving the show out of a misplaced sense of guilt and insecurity, that he would not be able to survive on his own without the proceeds from the Carnival, while at the same time resenting it for reducing him to a shell of a person, and for the fact that his own keepsake, a PLOT RELEVANT THING, is still somewhere inside that tent. His only joy is when he forgets himself during a show, or when he manages to entice a fine bottle into his wagon. What Trelawny does not know is that he is only the most recent ringleader in a long line of them, plucked from the roadside or the enraptured audience mid-performance. As it happens, the Carnival is in the market for new representation.

It isn't just Trelawny who has been stolen from, either. The Carnival has a penchant for nicking sentimental things. The latent magic invested in something so suffused with emotional significance is a delectable meal to many magical beings, and this Carnival is one such creature. Once a kind of Quori, the Carnival has over centuries remained in the form of an enormous purple tent. Within its body, it can project images, sounds, smells, and sensations to anyone inside, and after so long doing so, it's become quite good at it. It subsists upon nostalgia, memory, and yearning, and when it encounters an object imbued with enough of it, the Carnival keeps it, consuming the sentiment within and sustaining itself. If it encounters a person sufficiently lost in the future or the past, it might collect them too, making them a part of their audience until those strong feelings are reduced to spindrift, ejecting them out at a later date, potentially decades later.

Notable Points:

The Quotidian Carnival has built its essence around a seed, the original object the Quori managed to take, and if this object is discovered, the Quori will turn inside out and back again before disappearing to the Astral Plane, leaving everything its accumulated behind. This seed can be anything you like, but it's the only thing that can't be removed, and therefore must be cloaked, hidden, duplicated, or protected.

Trelawny is an unreliable figure who may try to help the party if he really believes they can undo this mess, though he doubts it. He doesn't have much to gain by turning them in, but he is careless, drunk, loud, and absolutely an exhibitionist.

The earlier the partier visits the Carnival, the less likely it would be that they would have keepsakes or sentimental valuables. These are definitely the best hooks available to rope them into things.

The interior of the Quotidian Carnival can easily become something between a dungeon and a nightmare, depending on how concerned it is about the figures within. It can't define intent, and its attention is stretched keeping up appearances, particularly during shows. If it senses the party somewhere theyt shouldn't be, or messing with things they shouldn't touch, it is capable of manifesting very real threats to deal with them, as well as changing the internal environment of the area.

Hooks:

The party encounter a confused middle-aged man in a small town who seems to be very distressed about the year. He seems uncertain whether he fell asleep for 40 years, or whether he is just dead. He says he woke up near town, but that the last thing he remembers is seeing a show at the Carnival

A scuffle takes place in a tavern (perhaps with the edgy toughs from the show's security) or someone else, and the people in the bar reveal their resentment for the visitors, saying things have been stolen. One person in particular, a local magistrate, is offering a reward for the return of his item.

The party discovers a flier for The Superior Yet Commonplace, Run-of-the-Mill, Ordinary, Predictable, Quotidian Carnival and Sideshow (Perfectly Mundane and Not Peculiar) on a tree, saying that it only costs 2 copper pieces to see a show that will at the very least pass the time.

Loots:

The Quotidian Carnival is filled with a lot of things, shunted into a pocket to the Astral Plane inside the Quori's "body," and not all of these items are mundane keepsakes. Among the lost items can be any number of useful plot items, relics, or magical items that were meaningful to their long-gone bearers.

Additionally, any lost or missing people that might be needed for information could be deposited like a Gogurt wrapper nearby, in some kind of exchange with the Quori (good luck with that), or by killing it.

Things we promised

Marks and Rec: Misc #2595

There it is. (Dialogue from this post.)

For Dame Aylin fic writers/fans:

Found this in the game files and now I'm heartbroken. I always assumed Aylin breaks her oath when she kills Lorroakan because she says almost the exact words a paladin feels if they break their oath, but I, like an idiot, never even considered that she might be angry at her mother.

What if I drew him happy? Free? In love even?

Like Father, Like Son

“Over your shoulder, Grant’s looking at you like ‘… Oh, no….’”

The last thing Grant ever wanted Linc to be was just like him… But look at where we are now.

Hang onto your tank for dear life

“Do I Know Someone Who Can Help Us With ____?” (2d6)

2. No; the person you thought could help refuses and adds another complication to the situation. (Example complications: they demand payment for a past debt, they are with someone you wanted to avoid, or they call the authorities regarding your illegal activities.) 3. The person you know who could help has gone missing, you’d have to find them first. 4. Yes, but they demand a steeper price than you would expect. Furthermore, if you refuse they will be offended. 5. Yes, but things are awkward between you. The price they ask will be generous, but only after an uncomfortable conversation. 6. Yes, but the help they can offer is sub-par, or only half of what you need. 7. Yes, but they need you to do a small favor for them right now before they help you. 8. Yes, but you’ll owe them one. Could be a future favor they call on, or a cut of whatever money you’re after, or something else. 9. Yes; they’ll give you a good price but it’s not free. 10. Yes, but they don’t seem too happy about it - you’ll have to look for help somewhere else next time. 11. Yes, there’s someone who owes you one and you can cash in that favor. 12. Yes, and that person also gives you an unrelated piece of helpful information.

I don’t understand why people are upset about getting side quests. We’re getting a LOT of great content with really cool players really quickly!! I get wanting to see the intrepid heroes back, I do too, but they also have other stuff to do. Emily and Murph have NADDPOD as well.

mimsy ....

"Pellinore hunts a strange unique creature, the Questing Beast, which his family is fated to pursue, though neither they nor anybody else will ever catch it." (Diesel / David S LaForce, "Arthurian Heroes" section of AD&D Deities & Demigods, TSR, 1980) The Beast Glatisant, the Questing Beast, is not given its own heading or stats in this volume, but the illustration matches some medieval accounts of a creature with stag's feet, a serpent's head, leopard's body, and lion's haunch and tail. So: hooved, long neck, spotted, yellow/orange/brown in color, with a darker bushier tail tip, all point to it being based on misunderstood descriptions of a giraffe.

Campaign 1 Moms in all their Glory!!! All such loving women and absolute M1lfs

Then Campaign2 Moms (and Marco)! It was so lovely making them all.

My favourite thing in the beginning of an RPG is when the villagers are like "Ah, monsters are attacking the village" but they're always just like the most non threatening creatures possible

Like what is bro gonna do against you?

i saw someone joke around that ofmd is like a dnd campaign where stede is the level 1 fighter who put all his points into charisma and keeps rolling nat20s on his death saves, and ed is the level 10 fighter/rogue who's been playing his character as stereotypically badass and edgy forever but has gotten bored and wants to branch out his roleplay, and i can't stop thinking about this

i know it’s not gonna happen bc he’s so busy all the time but i think my dream sidequest is murph dming (read tiredly babysitting) for a bunch of raucous nightmare goblin brat players* like emily, brennan, aabria, lou, hank green, erika, ally, etc

*before you say this is just naddpod i know but i want that x100 and also to see his exasperated facial expressions in person

I am your blood, child. You can't run from me.