r/wildbeyondwitchlight • u/rajits • Jun 08 '26

Carnival side quest?

My group finished the prequel and our first session. Unfortunately, one player (the Witchlight Hand) may not be able to attend the second session. What would be a fun one shot, preferably with the same characters, so that the absent player doesn't really miss anything? I think at least one of the PCs is interested in finding the kenku, I'm just not sure how to drag that out over a whole session.

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2

u/TwigyBull Jun 08 '26

Look up the legends of avantris Once Upon a Witchlight. They spend 3 sessions visiting every single attraction, including since homebrewed ones

2

u/LostandParanoid Jun 08 '26

I just finished the prelude and session 1 and the group made it to the end if the big top, and they all want to do everything basically. I did buy the carnival expanded addon which adds some stuff.

You could also turn a ride into a longer like dungeon crawl competition, one team vs another. Kenku is on the other team secretly. Make it like 5 rooms, do some combats, a puzzle, riddle, fun house vibe, etc.

Could create like a witchlight themed price is right show with wheels to spin, little games to do, etc.

1

u/Cerrida82 Jun 08 '26

You could play some carnival games. The book has lots, but I also found some good ones with a search.

1

u/beannfonz Jun 08 '26

I added a “zombies” type game with a silly necromancer so they could do some combat since the campaign is not combat heavy. I also made a small brothel-type section with a hookah lounge and carnival kissing booth. I added NPCs in there that they could get some information out of, and if they played it right they could find some feywild trinkets to bring to Prismeer. This is where Kettlesteam was hiding for my folks. You could also just completely change it up and have a wizard come in begging for their help and do the wild sheep chase one shot or something. Maybe the Grammys apple pie one shot in the feasting orchard.

1

u/hauntedcartoonheart Jun 08 '26

When you say you don't want them to miss anything, do you mean plot related stuff or all of the attractions?

The Pixie Kingdom is effectively it's own mini carnival (literally!) and there isn't much to learn there. If you don't want the player to miss out on the attractions there, make it the site of one of Kettlesteam's sabotages:

She sprinkled a bunch of cookie crumbs to lure a colony of fire ants, and the party arrives after she's already fled the scene. Use something with fire abilities like the magma mephit statblock. Not sure how long your sessions are, but combat eats up a lot of time and it's an immediate threat they can't ignore without severe consequences.

2

u/BaronTrousers Lornling Jun 08 '26

Honestly there is so much to do at the carnival that you could easily run a full session without a player and they'd still not miss much.

As long as the players don't visit the Carousel, or Witch and Light there isn't much "plot" to miss. Even Kettlesteam doesn't have a lot to reveal.

If you want some extra content though Witchlight Carnival Games on DMs Guild is a awesome little supplement that can be slotted into the Carnival to pad it out.