Clowns as villains

[Larry Fitz]

Has anyone used clowns as villains in a game, and in what creative ways? My personal favorite was "The Undead Circus" Just the idea of it still gives me the giggles, the big finale was sawing a player in half and putting him back together as... an undead...


Hee-Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha... whoo.....

edited: but not to tone down laughter, really... I didn't

 

[Darrin Drader]

In 2nd edition AD&D I created a clown named Harlequin. To describe him as a clown isn't entirely accurate. He was a godlike being trapped by the gods in a house built on an asteroid that the characters reached with their Spelljamming ship. He's uber powerful, and he throws pies that become spells (with him they were often fireballs). What's worse is that he essentially had total damage reduction/magic. When you hit him with a magical sword, the only damage he took was the bonus of the sword. He did take full damage from damage causing spells though. Ultimately the party made it through his fun house, though they lost a long-time party member who was never resurrected. While traveling through the fun house, he would appear to them, but he would do so as 1/2 size, quarter size, sometimes he would only be half or a quarter there.

Most of my players at the time actually rated that the best adventure I had run for them.

 

[Hand of Evil]

Yes, after running a 1st edtion Chill game had to move the idea to D&D. It was a cult of madness and tickery, the villian came across like the Joker from Batman.

 

[Dismas]

IIRC Cyberpunk had a booster gang that looked like clowns.

The best source for clowns as villians (after Batman) is Killer Klowns from Outer Space! (see IMDB http://us.imdb.com/Plot?0095444 for more details).

 

[Wippit Guud]

Oh come on, the best killer clown, even better than the Joker, is Pennywise, hands down.

 

[Maldur]

Clowns as villians is slightly disturbing, as I live ina house filled with them

 

[Piratecat]

Sorry, Maldur, but clowns fundamentally disturb me.

 

[Kid Charlemagne]

I used a travelling circus as a group of villains in one game... If I recall the clown was a fundamentally disturbed sorceror. I had all the classics: strongman, animal tamer, psychic, ringleader.

It was great fun.

Their normal modus operandi revolved around the Bard/Ringleader magically stupefying the audience to allow the others to rob them blind.

 

[Kilmore]

The problem with using clowns is that they seem so sinister nowadays with Pennywise, Killer Klowns from Outer Space, the Insane Clown Posse, mad harlequins, sinister circuses, so on and so forth. Heck, even Ronald's in hot water with the obesity lawsuits.

I haven't seen an honest clown in the media for twenty years. Alas! Poor Bozo!

 

[Afrodyte]

I was hoping I'd be the first to mention the Killer Klowns from Outer Space. In any case, I'd use clowns as villains in a heartbeat. So many people are afraid of them (and rarely whom you'd expect) that it'd be such a waste not to use them.

What I'd get confused with is whether to use clowns as a race or a class (a Perform: Comedy variant of the bard).