Pilfer this Heroic Plot Seed. The Circus is in Town.

Welcome back, and today my plot seed takes place in a world of masked adventurers and super heroes.

A three ringed circus in the heart of the Metropolis! All manner of excitement and escapades to be had, and a thrilling show guaranteed for everyone in the audience!  Come one, come all, Ladies and Gentlemen, children of all ages, take a seat but be prepared to occupy only the edge of it! 

With a crowd such as this on the closing night, there were so many opportunities for villainy. The crowd was heaving with heroes and villains alike, all currently unmasked. Waiting to see if just one night of spectacle could pass in the City without the threat of costumed criminals taking advantage. 

Of course, there really is no chance at all of tonight going off without a hitch, and after an hour of bright lights, clowns, high wire feats and derring-do, the spot lights focus in on the Ring Leader as he walks towards the centre of the floor. With a whip in one hand, but both arms raised, silence falls around him. He strides to the centre and bows, turning 90 degrees and bowing to each of the four corners of the tent, his face hard without a smile. As he stands straight for the final time, all eyes on him, with a raised eyebrow he says one word – “Boo” – and the lights flare up and then vanish, leaving everything in darkness. For several seconds the audience sit in silence, wondering what will come next, but then screams start to rip the air, and a panic fills the crowd.

At this point the heroes in the crowd should be given the chance to act, to move and try and figure out what’s going on. Due to the pitch darkness and general panic, they should feel safe slipping into costume. If they have the ability to see in the near pitch darkness, they will see circus folk moving amongst the crowd, wearing night vision headsets and taking what they can from the confused and panicked audience. At this point a large scale fight could easily erupt, and although the heroes will be outnumbered, the circus folk are far from trained combatants. What skills they do have though are in misdirection and acrobatics, so don’t make things too easy for the good guys.

The spot lights can easily be found and turned back on without too much trouble, but the circus folk have taken that into account. As the tent begins to once more fill with light, the trapeze artists and tight rope walkers start raining grenades into the crowd. Their intention is not to kill however, just to sow panic and discord, dropping flash bang grenades, along with flares and smoke bombs, all designed to make life hard for any attempt at curtailing the mayhem. If the heroes are at this point wearing gaudy costumes of their own, there’s no saying that members of the audience won’t assume that they’re part of the chicanery. This could end up hindering them even more, unless they choose to apply a touch more brute force in the name of the greater good…

The performers will try and leave quickly in the panic, taking what loot they’ve managed to snatch and ditching their costumes to fit into the crowd. If they are knocked unconscious they will remain that way until taken into custody. If the heroes attempt to restrain them however, they will all have a base one in three chance to escape any bindings or handcuffs. This base chance can be modified based upon the level of technology used or the inventiveness of the heroes in how firmly they restrain the villains. If they see a Clown they’ve already cuffed to a support pole running for the exit, they may start ensuring the bindings are a lot more secure.

When the lights are turned back on, the Ring Leader will have vanished. If any attempt is made to find him, he is nowhere to be seen in the main tent, and any move to leave is checked by burly security guards. This should at most be a delaying tactic depending on how long the fight has continued. These will be the first people the heroes encounter who have anything like combat training, but compared to masked adventurers, only their numbers should make this anything like a challenge.

When the heroes escape, either by fighting past guards or calming everything down in the tent, the search can continue proper for the Ring Leader. The tracks of a large wheeled vehicle will be found leading into the city and should the heroes follow, they will eventually be able to catch up with him. The vehicle will be large and reinforced, but still able to move at speed as the Ring leader races through the city hoping his distraction will keep everyone occupied as he readies himself and his gang to commit the real crime.

The chase should give ample opportunity for heroics, with vehicular mayhem always on the cards. How the characters attempt to stop the Behemoth will often depend on power level and if they think of themselves as “anti-heroes”. The crime that the Ring leader was on his way to commit, I’ll leave to the GM…

Potential future plot threads:

• The Ring Leader was out to steal something vastly more powerful than he knows how to control, and releases it onto the streets.
• All of this was simply a distraction from a distraction, and the Mayor’s family have been kidnapped after the heroes leave the Big Top.
• The Ring Leader was nothing but bait, and when he arrives at his final ‘Crime scene’ the true big bad puts in an appearance.

As with all of these plot seeds, this has been designed to be system and setting neutral, and anything that occurs within is subject to GM whim. Please feel free to change and adapt this seed to fit with your campaign needs.