By and large the skill sets of the DnD universe enable PCs to pretty much fill all the roles in circus better than the actual staff thanks to PCs being inherently more skillful than NPCs (damn PC levels).
Just think about it. Rogues and Bards are your acrobats with all thier tumbling and dexterity, wizards and sorcerers cover roles like fire eating and anything else that relies on manipulation of light and sound by using their magic and fighters are clowns… so we might as well dress them in bright clothing and big red noses
In this party, we’d make Shamash a fortune teller sideshow, because she has a power that lets her read minds. Kayla would be the circus strongman.
However, statistically the game works reasonably well for circus performers being professionals and not adventurers. Sphinx is level 8 right now, (which is high in our setting) and even though she’s got a very high acrobatics score (maxed primary stat, racial bonus to stat and racial bonus to skill) – she’s not hugely better than a level 1 character who seriously focuses on the skill. The level difference is mostly covered by skill focus.
If we assume that the acrobats have a huge amount of practice in their routines, then a PC might be innately more skilful, but they lack the massive circumstance bonus of “I do these specific stunts every day.” – They’ll learn new tricks faster and better, but they’ll only compete on a fairly level playing field when it comes to performance.
By and large the skill sets of the DnD universe enable PCs to pretty much fill all the roles in circus better than the actual staff thanks to PCs being inherently more skillful than NPCs (damn PC levels).
Just think about it. Rogues and Bards are your acrobats with all thier tumbling and dexterity, wizards and sorcerers cover roles like fire eating and anything else that relies on manipulation of light and sound by using their magic and fighters are clowns… so we might as well dress them in bright clothing and big red noses
In this party, we’d make Shamash a fortune teller sideshow, because she has a power that lets her read minds. Kayla would be the circus strongman.
However, statistically the game works reasonably well for circus performers being professionals and not adventurers. Sphinx is level 8 right now, (which is high in our setting) and even though she’s got a very high acrobatics score (maxed primary stat, racial bonus to stat and racial bonus to skill) – she’s not hugely better than a level 1 character who seriously focuses on the skill. The level difference is mostly covered by skill focus.
If we assume that the acrobats have a huge amount of practice in their routines, then a PC might be innately more skilful, but they lack the massive circumstance bonus of “I do these specific stunts every day.” – They’ll learn new tricks faster and better, but they’ll only compete on a fairly level playing field when it comes to performance.