Street Performers
I like spending time in the city for a lot of reasons, but one of the things I like most are the street performers. The sax player, the paint bucket drummers, the juggler, all of these bring me some measure of delight during my forays into the city. Heck, even the angry zealots shouting about how the world is ending are pretty entertaining. The point is, this sort of attraction is more than worth the buck or two you might tip into a guitar case for these hardworking folks. What might street performers look like in a magical world? Let’s have a look.
1. Byran Callimon and his amazing rat circus. Byran is a withered old toothless fellow with a bald head and round eyes. He is known for his loud voice, which booms with a volume and depth unfathomable for a man his size. He travels with a troupe of trained dire rats that perform in his circus, which consists of a large array of miniature obstacles, tight ropes, rings, and the like. While most rat circuses are entertaining, Byran’s squad of wererats perform feats that most circus performers couldn’t; they also tend to rob the patrons when the tips aren’t any good.
2. Helina Hanini, halfling magician. A trained wizard, Helina refrains from doing actual magic during her shows, preferring the close-up tricks that caused her to fall in love with magic in the first place. Gifted with card tricks and coin tricks, she only uses her real magic when someone decides to heckle her or proclaim her a fake, demonstrating impressive skills by transforming into a mighty blue dragon, turning the heckler to stone (only for a moment or two), or raising a wall of fire, depending on what strikes her fancy.
3. Nog the goblin singer. A curious fellow, Nog travels from city to city, appearing without any real explanation and often in rather poorly crafted disguises, singing the goblin songs he learned in his youth. Nog claims to be a disfigured gnome, a belief no one takes seriously. Though a poor singer, Nog nevertheless manages good tips with his catchy tunes about death and destruction. In fact, Nog is wandering the world trying to improve his skills, which he is ruthlessly mocked for at home.
4. Elysian dance experience. A trio of gorgeous ghaeles, these azata dancers roam the mortal world performing for free outside of sporting events and other venues where people gather in peaceful celebration of athletic competitions. The dancers' beauty and the complexity of their dances are said to be beyond anything in the mortal world. Their performances often cause a great stir, and occasionally cause an outcry from the competitors, who feel the ghaeles' performance is meant to distract from their accomplishments.
5. Hira the harpist. Though a poor woman living in a poorer town, Hira is perhaps the most gifted artist in all the world, though throughout her life various patrons have called her crass, uncouth, and otherwise disparaged her performance as a means to keep her from realizing the worth of her skill. Even so, her street corner harping often attracts extraplanar attention, and occasionally her audiences have mighty outsiders lurking among them.
6. Noldorna and Brixi. Noldorna is an elf with an exceptional gift for convincing animals to do as she says, a fact she regularly proves with her street-side lion-taming act. She coaxes the beast, named Brixi, to perform all sorts of unusual and improbable feats, including somersaults, dancing on its hind legs, and hulking on its forepaws. Though insistent she has nothing to do with it, some of the towns she travels to have reported several deaths of street people, apparently killed by a large and vicious animal, casing Noldorna to worry she might not be able to perform in the future.
7. Kedric the aerialist. In his mid-forties, the now retired treasure hunter Kedric likes to pick up a little extra coin and amaze onlookers with displays of the use of his most prized possession: a magic carpet. Kedric is an exceptional pilot of the carpet and can use it to perform all manner of feats, of aerial derring-do, though he prefers loop-the-loops and somersaults.
8. Minos the beast juggler. Minos, a gigantic minotaur standing well over 10 feet tall, calls himself the greatest show in all the land, and no one is keen to argue with the brute. Unwelcome in most communities, Minos is forced to perform in slums and dockyards after hours to earn his pay with his astounding show. Minos the beast juggler came by his name honestly, as he juggles various dangerous creatures, including wild boars, rabid dogs, and even small bears.
9. Ivona’s real magic show. A cleric of a goddess of entertainment, Ivona performs all of the magician’s classics: sawing her assistant in half, trapping him in a mystery box and filling it with swords, and locking him in chains and then drowning him. Unlike your traditional magic show, none of this is an illusion, and she kills and resurrects her lovely assistant at least 4 or 5 times a performance.
10. Ilox Glen. The lazy orchestra. A powerful magician, Ilox claims to be the finest musician around, though he doesn’t play any instruments, instead using illusory sounds of roaring tigers, heated battle, fiery explosions, and the like to weave a symphony of chaos. Though most think he is more disruption than performer, a few have paid into his noisy act and left satisfied.