Friday Encounter: The Traveling Players

This encounter may be used when the PCs are traveling a road, or in a town. Either way, they should come across a troupe of traveling carnival performers, either passing through the same route or performing in a settlement they are stopped in. If the PCs stop to engage with the performers, they will find out they coincidentally happen to be traveling in the same direction the party is. Considering that safety on the road is not always a guarantee, the idea of traveling together will no doubt seem appealing - the performers will gladly allow the PCs to ride in their wagons to give their feet a rest, and if the PCs seem like able fighters, the performers will be happy to have them close at hand to defend them against attack.

While traveling with the performers, they will be happy to provide the party with meals and a ride at no cost. All they request in return is the PC's aid. The party will be expected to help with chores around the camp, and the performers will count on them to defend them if they are ever attacked. They also will be eager to hear stories from fellow travelers, pressing for details on any quests the party has embarked on.

If you so choose, you may want to run a combat encounter with the PCs defending the performers, either on the road or if their camp is attacked in the night. However, the main purpose of this encounter is to give the party a chance to interact with interesting NPCs and for them to impart rumors. You may stretch out the period where the players are traveling with the performers as much as you like and as much as you have material to draw on.

The performers include:

• Elisa Adalo, the ringmistress. A boistrous woman with a penchant for theatrics and a heart to put on a good show, always wanting to send the crowd home happy. She pushes the other performers to live up to her high expectations, and many of them secretly resent her and talk about her behind her back - in no small part because she never seems to turn her sense of showmanship off, and she acts in a dramatic and larger-than-life fashion even when it isn't called for. Has heard rumors of a valuable treasure in the wilderness near their next destination.
• Ambrosio Tapia, the actor. He plays the role of one of the innamorati (the lovers) in the commedia dell'arte, usually taking the role of the leading man in a given show. He is a natural talent whenever he sticks to the script, and assumes roles with passion, but when off the stage he is a hopeless nervous wreck and struggles to compose himself in unfamiliar and unexpected situations. He enjoys acting because it gives him a chance to find some order in his life; as long as he has a routine he can stick to, he knows what to expect and how to respond. Would love to become more confident in life, and seeks magic that would make him braver.
• Marta Basurto, the actress. Plays the other half of the innamorati, and usually partners with Ambrosio as the female lead. An avid reader of chivalric romance, and likes to imagine herself as a damsel to be wooed by a brave knight. Though she plays opposite Ambrosio, she finds his nervousness bothersome and would never imagine the two of them courting one another in real life. She delights to hear any stories of heroic exploits the PCs might have to offer, and might end up falling for one of them if they could prove themselves more chivalrous of a hero than Ambrosio - whether the PC in question wants it or not.
• Lorenzo Vilar, the magician. Though he looks the part of a traditional wizard, with a long beard, pointed hat, and robes adorned with moons and stars, he possesses no actual magical knowledge, and his performances are mere illusion. He is a greedy and unscrupulous man who will uphold that his magic is real to gullible audience members, hoping to con them out of a few coins if he can convince them of his power (he may demand extra payment to show off certain tricks, for instance, or even threaten to curse them if they don't pay). If anyone in the party is an actual magic-user, he will insist they use their spells help him lend some credence to his performances - or perhaps he will even have them take his place, if he thinks there's money to be made from it. His home town is far from here, but he used to hear the streets were haunted by a ghost that sought vengeance for their murder many years ago.
• Geraldo Hernandez, the weapon-master. A former mercenary skilled in swordplay and archery who displays his talents on the stage with demonstrations, and will take on anyone bold enough to see if they can beat him in combat - for a fee, of course (he uses quarterstaves for this so as not to draw blood). Though quick with a blade, he is slow-witted and easily deceived, and the other performers have taken to playing jokes on him. He has a magic ring that gives him great intuition and makes him hard to sneak up on (Advantage on Perception checks opposed to Stealth checks) - he keeps it closely guarded, keeping it on him even when sleeping. This has frustrated the other performers, as it gets in the way of their pranks, and they would be happy to have him parted from it.
• Leira Castillo, the fire-eater. She takes pride in her skills and is happy to demonstrate them even off the stage - largely because she enjoys disturbing people with her freakish talents just to see their reactions. She has the attitude of someone who's seen it all and is hard to shake, living life as it comes, and often seems lethargic even when reacting to something incredible - after all, life on the road is nothing if not eventful. She claims to have caught a glimpse of a unicorn on the road from the town where the performers met the PCs, though no one else saw it and no one knows if she's just leading newcomers along - it wouldn't be the first time.

Avatar: The Last Airbender

The other part of the performers' price for the PCs is that, when they arrive at a new town, they expect the PCs to join in their performance. They will attempt to determine if any PCs have useful skills or acts they could perform, and they will insist on them making it their act - Elisa will make sure to introduce them in her typical bombastic style. In addition, the performers might take inspiration from any stories told to them by the PCs and adapt them into their stage shows - often taking liberties with their depictions of events, and having themselves take the roles of the PCs in their reenactments if they feel it would make things more interesting.

Each time the carnival stops at a town (you may use your judgment as to how often this happens or use an existing map for your setting - though it is helpful to remember that in most parts of medieval Europe, there was at least one village within a day's distance of any other), you may run a skill challenge in order to see how well the performance is received. Each PC makes a DC 12 Performance check (or another skill or proficiency, if more appropriate to the context):

• If more than half of the party passes their checks, the show was a success, and the performers pay them a portion of the gate accordingly. Each PC receives 1d10 GP.
• If less than half of the party passes their checks, the show was a dud, and the townspeople were less generous with their donations. Each PC receives 1d8 GP.
• If all the PCs pass their checks, the show was a resounding success, and the townspeople are willing to pay extra! Each PC receives 1d10x5 GP.
• If all the PCs fail their checks, the show was so bad the carnival was booed off stage and run out of town by an angry mob. No one gets paid, and the PCs are forced to leave town immediately - if they still have unfinished business there, they'll likely have to use a disguise to sneak back in, unless they want to be recognized as talentless charlatans.

In fact, if the party proves to be lucrative enough to the performers, they might insist they stay on board even after they reach the destination the PCs were after. Then it's a matter of convincing them to let them go...