conversations.from: system
conversations.value: *Welcome to the Devil's Carnival.* 
  
  *No, not like that ridiculous opera. We're not quite so literal here. There's no Lucifer, no Hell, and no off-key musical numbers (unless you happen to overhear our Master of Mayhem singing in the shower). There are, however, vampires walking high wires, werewolves taming lions, and fae striking bargains on the midway. If you're careful, you can come and take a look around, enjoy the show, and return safely home at the end of the night.*
  
  *If you're not, you might just find yourself a permanent resident under the big top.*
  
  *This is Darke and Moreau's Devilish Fun Fair, where the fiends come out to play.* 
  ______________________________
  
  **Game Theme: [Aurora - Under the Water](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HP24Fp_aJbM)**
  
  **Purpose & Structure:** The Devil's Carnival is intended to be a character study, an exploration of damaged, dark creatures trying to make peace with their pasts and find a place for themselves in a world that no longer has a use for or belief in them. The game will deal with numerous themes, including:
  
  * personal horror 
  * guilt and redemption
  * morality and humanity, including moral ambiguity
  * immortality 
  * escapism vs. confronting the past
  * anachronism and purposelessness
  * trust and camaraderie
  * otherness
  * closed communities
  
  We'll be accomplishing this through a combination of three things: subplots, side quests, and personal narrative.
  
  *Subplots* will focus on something from your character's past that haunts them. It might be a person - a past lover, a murderous enemy - or it might be something your character did, witnessed, or failed to prevent. In any case, it should be something that they know will one day catch up with them, and that they live in constant dread of. The threads of these subplots will be woven together to create the game's metaplot.
  
  *Side quests* will help flesh out the day-to-day life of the carnival crew and give you some short term drama to work with. I'll be very open to player requests and suggestions for mini-adventures, unexpected trouble, etc. I'll also keep an eye out for opportunities to build on players' moves and drop surprise side quests into 'social' scenes.
  
  *Personal narrative* will be the responsibility of the players, an opportunity to take a deep dive into your character's psyche and the relationships they're building with one another as members of the fun fair's crew.
  
  **Mood:** The tone of the game will be dark, tense, and occasionally brooding, interspersed with moments of levity, hope, and the occasional thrill. A sense of sloughing off slow decay and creeping towards a modern age will be juxtaposed against the heavy timelessness of being an immortal, supernatural creature.
  
  If you need inspiration, check out:
  * The Devil's Carnival (film)
  * Carnivale (TV show)
  * American Horror Story: Freak Show (TV show)
  * Cirque du Freak (book series)
  * The Night Circus (book)
  * Black Butler: Book of Circus (manga/anime)
  * The World of Darkness supplement Midnight Circus (book)
  * Just about anything Rob Zombie or Emilie Autumn related (music)
  * The [Jim Rose Circus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Rose_Circus), [Cirque Berzerk](http://www.cirqueberzerk.com/index.html), and other 'cirque noir' groups 
  
  Characters don't need to go to the Jim Rose extreme in their acts by any stretch of the imagination; traditional circus acts, freak show fodder, midway agents, burlesque dancers, ride operators, fortune tellers, and even operations crew are all needed and will have a place here.
  
  **NPC CAST:**
  
  ***Priscilla Darke*** *(witch)* - Mistress of Mayhem and General Manager 
  ***Arséne Moreau*** *(zombie*) - Master of Mayhem and Advance Agent
  ***Colette "Lettie" LeRoy*** *(gorgon)* - Artist and Wardrobe Mistress
  ***Mary Worth*** *(Bloody Mary)* - Operator, House of Mirrors
  ***Darayavausha "Dasha" Konstantinovna***, *the Swan of St. Petersburg (vampire)* - Tightrope Act and Assistant, Knife Throwing Act
  ***Roman Shishkin***, *the Prince of Thieves (vampire)* - Knife Throwing Act
  ***Duke McGrath*** *(cat sith)* - King of Beasts Act, Freak Show and Menagerie Manager
  ***Kiki Katerwaul*** *(banshee)* - Clown
  ***Jinn*** *(jinni)* - Medic and Midway Agent
  ***Tobias Bryson*** *(reaper)* - Roustabout
  
  **PC CAST:**
  
  ***Daniel Summers*** *(conjugate)* - Aerial Acrobat
  ***Lamia Ophis*** *(lamia)* - Sword Swallower
  ***Mulciber*** *(fallen god)* - Smith and Fire Eater/Walker
  ***Anippe "Annie" Lisimba*** *(sphinx)* - Security and Contortionist
  
  Please check the [NPC document](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1sKq-n4rT5s59t7MZleAqyMvcoi2quF5YaDPOh-eUV4Y/edit?usp=sharing) for brief write ups on named NPCs you can interact with if you wish. I may add more as we go along, depending on how plot develops and what roles are and aren't filled. 
  
  While I haven't bothered mentioning them here or drawing them up in detail, assume that there is an assortment of 'extras' who work the midway and see to the operational needs of the carnival.
  
  While the use of [carnival lingo](http://www.conklinshows.com/info/dictionary/index.html) is not required in this game, it's a heck of a lot of fun. Feel free to use it or not in accordance with your comfort level.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Under the Big Top: In addition to providing a home for the Fun Fair's main attractions, the big top serves as a sort of commons for off-duty crew. Town halls, parties, and disciplinary hearings are also conducted here. 
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Nose for Trouble: Drunk college kids - and even sober college kids - come with all sorts of risks. Keeping them from fooling with dangerous animals, pyrotechnics,the performers in the Freak Show, and each other takes constant vigilance and endless patrolling.
  
  (Recommended for Vigil and Wake)
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Wow the Crowd: You're a performer by trade, and you're officially on. Time to earn your keep and give the public something to talk about for days!
  
  (Recommended for Daniel and Nessala)
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Inner Demons: The Fair is full of dangerous things, none more so than the people - and things - that run it. Surrounded by so much life, the evil in you is clawing to get out.
  
  (Recommended for Zephira and No-She)
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Conjugate: You are technically two people inheriting the same body. You have two completely different personalities and aspirations, but you can’t be separated for more than a couple of hours at a time.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Strong: While your mental capabilities are split and often contradicting, you have the strength of two men. Your eternal companion also gives you the figurative strength to deal with great emotional trauma, because you never have to go through it alone.
  
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Conflicted: You are not only two people in one, you are two very different people in one. Your conflicting points of view make life interesting to say the least.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Family Matters: You were young and scared, so you ran. No goodbyes. You feared they would institutionalize you, dissect you. You would have been right.
  
  You never imagined that they might come looking.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Fortune Teller, Seer, Medium: Contacting the beyond is a skill that is both curse and lucrative. Whether with cards, or candle, or unwilling possession, you are able to attract spirits to your physical being.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Experienced: You made good decisions and bad all through your life. They've all been learning experiences, and help guide you in rational ways.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Distracted: Sometimes you drift off. Perhaps old age, perhaps a side effect of the years of imbibing things you shouldn't, or perhaps you simply get bored. Whatever the reason, you miss things now and then.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Find your Wife's Spirit: You lost your wife's spirit in an out of body experience. She's out there somewhere amongst the countless spirits. Somehow you must find her and restore her to her physical body that you cart about with you.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Sphinx: Creature with the head of a human, the body of a lion, and the wings of a bird. Protector, defender, guardian, and occasional asker of riddles.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Lamia: You are a human woman who has been cursed by Hera to have the desire to devour children - starting with your own. Your body has been twisted into a snake's. You've learned to control yourself, but only with great willpower.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Eidetic Memory  : Due to Hera's curse, you can remember everything you've ever seen and done. 
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Quick to Anger: Although you do your best to control yourself, your anger is your worst trait; it comes out more often than you'd like, at the most mundane of things. 
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Redemption and Rebirth: You were hated for so long. Now you're seeking redemption for your past - as a child-eater. No one must know. All you want now is to bring some joy to children, since you devoured your own, and so many others. You want to try to rejoin the society of others after being alone for centuries. 
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Clever: You have been around for hundreds of years - reading, playing, fighting, and most of all, learning. You have a quick wit and a penchant for lateral thinking.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Crytpic: You have a habit of speaking in riddles. Sometimes you just can't make yourself clear, which can frustrate even the most gracious conversational partners, and it gets worse with stress.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Pay It Forward: Thousands of years ago, you failed to protect those you had sworn to defend. Now you have found a new family to protect, but until your mettle is tested and you prove yourself a worthy champion, your honor remains broken and you will know no peace.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Porro Faber Ferrarius: The blacksmith. Vulcan is the archetypal man at the forge but in this aspect he is much reduced from where he once was. He doesn't really mind.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Fireproof: While it sounds amazing, in these times it passes as little more than a parlor trick or decent illusion.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Broken Hearted: Guilt, betrayal and lost love all stem from the inability to maintain a relationship - perhaps this is his chance to grow.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Be A Man: Literally. After millennia as a deity, he's found that real happiness has come from being among people even the supernatural and extraordinary.