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Welcome to the Circus, Kids! – A Multi-Part Encounter with the Joker Dragon

This blog post expands on the Joker Dragon with a full encounter arc that can span a single long session or a mini-arc across multiple game nights. You can read about the Joker DRagon in last weeks post here. Your players will go from unsettling rumors to full-on funhouse mayhem. Here’s how to run it:

Act 1: The Joke’s on Them (Investigation & Weirdness)

Setting: A major city or bustling town
Hook: Strange things are happening. Town criers are speaking in rhyme, nobles are handing out candy with razor blades (actual magic daggers), and a noble’s pet griffon now quacks like a duck.

• Clues:

  • The city watch reports random people going mad with laughter.

  • A circus tent appeared overnight and is sealed with illusion magic.

  • A mysterious playing card with a grinning dragon face is left at every prank site.

• Encounter: Players fight off Balloon Beasts (reskinned Animated Objects) and a jester cultist who explodes in a puff of glitter on death.

• Goal: Realize the Joker Dragon is behind this, using its magic to spread madness as a prelude to its arrival.

Act 2: Carnival of Carnage (On-the-Move Encounter)

Setting: A twisted traveling carnival rolling across the countryside
Obstacle: Players must intercept a mobile lair—a circus train carried by twisted nightmare beasts. Think Howl’s Moving Carnival.

• Hazards & Encounters:

  • Maze of mirrors battle with reflections that come to life

  • Trapeze goblins drop flaming juggling pins

  • A riddle gate that speaks in knock-knock jokes (fail = laughter gas trap)

• Mid-Boss: Face off with the Ringmaster, a corrupted green slaad in a ringleader’s outfit wielding an oversized novelty hammer.

• Goal: Gain access to the dragon’s actual lair location—revealed in a warped vision after defeating the Ringmaster.

Act 3: The Lair of Laughs (Final Battle)

Setting: The Joker Dragon’s lair—a warped carnival cave filled with broken rides, spinning mirrors, and trick-floor tiles.

• Twisted Terrain:

  • Tilted platforms, spinning floors, and spring-loaded jack-in-the-box traps

  • Areas shift every few rounds (DM chooses or rolls), changing line of sight and cover

• Lair Effects (Initiative 20):

  • Banana peel slicks

  • Laughing shadows that echo player voices

  • Carnival music that builds with intensity and causes Wisdom saves to avoid effects

• Final Showdown:

  • The Joker Dragon descends with a cloud of confetti and a distorted trumpet fanfare

  • Uses Twisted Laughter Breath, Reality’s a Joke, and lair actions aggressively

  • Can taunt the party using illusions of NPCs they care about—mocking and mimicking them

Optional Ending Twists

• The Joker Dragon was once a good-aligned dragon, cursed by an evil artifact now embedded in its throat.

• If the dragon is defeated but not slain, it may explode in laughter and vanish—only to return later, reborn from a deck of cards.

Final Thoughts

This isn’t just a dragon fight—it’s a three-act tragedy wrapped in cotton candy and dipped in psychosis. Let your players laugh, scream, and wonder if the real monster is behind the curtain—or inside their own minds.

Thanks for reading. Until Next Time. Stay Nerdy!!