Part IV: The Witchlight Carnival (Section B)

The Wild Beyond the Witchlight: Reimagined

Welcome to part two of part four (oof – that’s mouthful!) of The Wild Beyond the Witchlight: Reimagined, an expansion and alternative take on The Wild Beyond the Witchlight campaign. Please check out the previous entries in the series before diving in here!

• Introduction and Table of Contents
• Part 0: Adventure Outline
• Part I: Preparation
• Part II: Lost Things
• Part III: Interlude
• Part IV: The Witchlight Carnival (Section A)

Welcome Back to Carnival

It’s good to see you again. We’re going to continue where we left off in the Witchlight Carnival and take things all the way through to where the players go through the portal in the Feywild. Without further ado – part 2 of the carnival!

Hall of Illusions

An Early Visit

If the players arrive to the Hall of Illusions before the Through the Looking Glass event (see below) then read the following instead of the passage from the book.

This large tent is painted with a mural of shifting images that show grinning faeries diving into pools of color. The helical stripes of the tent’s pointed canopies rotate in spirals, and the whole display seems designed to befuddle onlookers. A wooden mannequin of a grinning, raven-haired young woman in witch’s attire and a green flowing cape hovers inside a glass cabinet in front of the tent. At the top of the cabinet, there is a sign but you need to approach to clearly read it.

A clown dressed in muted garb stands at the tent’s entrance near a sign, blinking silently.

You will likely notice we have removed Rubin from the story. This is because we will be using Sowpig later, and with a NPC the players already know.

If the players approach the mannequin they will see the sign reads “Tasha the Wizard.” As per the book players who get too close will need to make a Wisdom saving throw to avoid being sent into a laughing fit. In terms of the History check, do not share Iggwilv’s name or the Witch Queen moniker with a success. Instead mention that Tasha is a famous wizard who invented the Tasha’s hideous laughter spell. We want to avoid drawing too much attention to Tasha early on and it’s not difficult for a player to draw a line between witches and hags.

If the player’s head to Candlefoot he will dramatically point at the sign next to him which states “Closed until further notice” and prevent anyone from heading inside. Otherwise Candlefoot should act as normal, with one addition. He is wearing a vest with Mime trading buttons (see the Calliope section for more details) and will gladly trade one for any other button. He will also offer one for free if the players successfully reunite him with Palasha. If the players encounter Candlefoot outside of the Hall of Illusions he will also have his trading buttons handy.

If the players somehow sneak into the hall before confronting Mister Witch and Mister Light, they should have no way of activating the fey crossing within, but feel free to narrate the insides of the attraction and the clash with Sowpig (see Through the Looking Glass below). If they deal with Sowpig now then they will not combat Sowpig later on when they return to the hall.

Through the Looking Glass

This event should play out after the players have found a way to blackmail or convince the carnival owners to open the portal to the Feywild (see the Meeting the Owners part of the Staff Area section of this article).

The players will arrive to the Hall of Illusions alone as the carnival owners mentioned they need time to prepare. You can use this map to represent the ride (unfortunately I’m not sure who created it, please let me know if you know!). As your players head in, describe the dimly lit interior and how their reflections warp into different sizes, ages, colors, etc. across the different panes of glass.

Once the players reach the mirror the carnival owners spoke of (it’s the purple one if you’re using the map above) they will see Luca Oxley gazing worriedly into it. Instead of his reflection in the mirror they will see Sowpig, a little girl in a pig mask whispering to him and trying to lure him inside. At this point you can either have your players try to scare her off or have her jump out of the mirror to try and take Luca by force. Time to roll initiative!

Use this stat block for Sowpig instead of the one from the book for a more even fight.

Once Sowpig is defeated she will stand up and run back into the mirror and disappear. This will snap out Luca of his revelry and he will reveal that the girl was trying to get him to follow her into the mirror. Thoroughly shaken, Luca will ask to stay with the party. It’s at this moment that Mister Witch and Mister Light finally arrive.

Suddenly you see that Witch and Light have arrived. Strangely their reflections in the mirrors show them as gloomy shadar-kai children. Mister Witch snaps and the distortions of the mirrors stop – they now reflect everyone’s true age and appearance.

The carnival owners will state that everything the party seeks and more lies beyond the mirror, a more than fair trade for whatever the party is blackmailing them with. If the players question them, the pair will provide any of the information from the Meeting the Owners section (from the Staff Area). This replaces the information listed in the book.

Once everyone is ready, read the following instead of the Stepping Through section from the book. All of the players (as well as some unintended guests) will leave for the Feywild all at once and we’ve removed irrelevant info (the alicorn). As per the book, the witchlight watch and vane will not come with them.

Mist swirls in the mirror, blotting out your reflection and then it shoots out enveloping the group. As you look back you’re surprised to see peering from around the corner is the worst of the worst, all five members of The League –  Kelek, Skylla, Zargash, Zarak, and Mell watching on silently in amazement. 

They disappear as the mist overtakes your vision and you only hear the voice of Mister Witch, “Mind the Rule of Three: future, present, past.”

The mist is all you can see now and it swirls violently – one – two – three rotations. You seem to rush forward through it and until suddenly it begins to fade…

Congratulations you have completed the carnival and your players are on their way to the Feywild! At this point the players should advance to Level 2 if you are using milestone leveling. I also gave my party a long rest at this point as well as they will immediately face dangers in the land of the Fae.

Lost Property

I left this area mostly alone. Keep in mind that Dirlagraun may remember the party from the prologue and be more open to talking as a result. Rather than only propose that the players sneak into the Staff Area, I’d instead have Dirla offer a few potential options for the party to learn more information as well as link to other plot threads:

• Sneak into the Staff Area
• Speak with Burly who shares Dirla’s concerns. Burly isn’t the most forthcoming to strangers but perhaps an opportunity might present itself at the Big Top Extravaganza (if the extravaganza has already occurred you can instead point the players to one of the rides where they may be able to impress Burly like the Dragonfly Rides or the Snail Race)
• If one of the party were to get voted as Witchlight Monarch they could have a private meeting with the owners. Dirla can explain at a high level that positive acts at the carnival can help one be chosen

Another potentially fun addition is to have Dirla let the players take one item each from his “really lost” pile where things have sat unclaimed for many years, as a reward for helping with Viro . If so, you can let your players roll on the Feywild Trinkets table from the book.

If the players are collecting trading buttons, Dirla will mention he found a Witchlight Monarch button not too long ago. He’d be willing to part with it for both a Mime and Unicorn button.

Mystery Mine

In my opinion, the real mystery of this ride is how anyone thought it was a good idea to inflict potentially PC killing levels of exhaustion on what’s supposed to be a fun scare of an attraction. This trip through the dark is also the perfect opportunity for our players to have a reunion with Gleam’s shadow – one of the Thieves of the Coven. There’s definitely some work to be done here!

Unlike most other locations I am going to recommend two separate takes on the mine and you can select which you’d prefer. The first is u/UFOsandGames’s take at this link which requires a Patreon subscription to download. If you decide run this one I’d make the following changes:

• After reading the description for “5. The Final Void”, ignore the events laid out in the section and instead run the Fighting Gleam’s Shadow portion below
• From my perspective the Traumatized Conditions table is at times too harsh as written, especially for Level 1 PCs, and is a little unclear. #2 and #3 also seemed too similar. Use the one below instead.

d6	Traumatized Condition
1	Wobbly knees. The character’s speed is reduced by 10 feet and they have disadvantage on all movement based Dexterity checks. This condition ends after completing a long rest.
2	Rapidly aged. The character’s appearance undergoes rapid aging, making their hair turn a stark white, their skin wrinkle, etc. This condition ends after 1d3 days or can be cured by any spell that ends a curse.
3	Fainted. The character falls unconscious for 1d4 minutes or until the sleeper takes damage, or someone uses an action to shake or slap the sleeper awake.
4	Afraid. The character gains disadvantage on saving throws to avoid being frightened. This condition ends after completing a long rest.
5	Haunted. During the first long rest following the Mystery Mine the character is stricken by nightmares of the ride and suffers 1 level of exhaustion.
6	Jumpy. The character is automatically surprised at the start of any combat encounter. This condition ends after completing a long rest.

The second option I will propose is u/Pure-Concept2835’s free take on the ride. If you run this one then make the following edits:

• Skip the Charisma saving throw related to being unable to stop smiling. Instead, the cart should lurch to a stop here and instead run the Fighting Gleam’s Shadow portion below
• Instead of “Find me at the palace” for the final message, adjust it to HWTA UOY SKEE SI  NI HET YEIDFWL (What you seek is in the Feywild)

Fighting Gleam’s Shadow

As the cart stops read the following:

What looks like a circus performer dressed all in black and wearing a crescent moon mask appears on a stage beside the track, presumably a part of the ride. She seems familiar though, but before you can think on it for too long she fades into the dark, and suddenly reappears in front of your cart only seconds later. This is clearly no illusion!

Instead of the shadow stat block provided by the book use the one below instead to provide for a more even fight and without the stat draining shenanigans. For the purposes of this battle, I would consider the ride to be dim light for the Shadow Stealth and Shadow Jump abilities.

Completing the Ride

When the players finish the ride, Zephixo will provide any unconscious players with a Potion of Healing to bring them back up (and cast a revivify spell as well if someone didn’t make it). He will also offer to trade a Pickaxe trading button to anyone looking for a memento of the ride for any other button except the Unicorn one (he’s more of a fan of the dark after all).

If the players try to convince him that there was a dangerous thief inside the ride he will insist it’s a figment of their imaginations created by the Mystery Mine.

Pixie Kingdom

I left the pixies alone for the most part with the exception of Biscuit. Given he’s so talkative I had him spill some secrets the party may have missed from other locations in the carnival.

If you’d like to use an image to show during the party’s time here, u/UFOsandGames posted a good one at this link.

Silversong Lake

Like some other areas of the carnival, Silversong Lake isn’t written in a way that clearly sets the scene. Given that I have organized the event primarily with the wonderful write-up by u/bunnybunnyxo (actually intended for the Big Top) and the Kettlestream insult from u/thebaziel.

Mist gathers at the banks of a shimmering lake surrounded by a captive audience. At it’s center is a giant clamshell facing the crowd, but closed. A string quartet with turquoise luna moth wings are set up nearby.

As you watch the violin begins to play, and then the rest of the quartet follows as their notes echo across the lake. The clamshell slowly begins to rise, revealing a beautiful mermaid lounging within a large bowl. The mermaid’s skin is tinted an aquamarine blue, her torso adorned with golden and pearl necklaces, bracelets, and chains. Instead of hair, her crown is adorned with long lavender fins that undulate softly. Similar fins dot her long, blue tail, which kicks gently in the water.

She takes a deep breath and then begins to sing. It’s as if the rest of the performance–the quartet, the crowd–melt away, and you are captivated by the sound of her voice. It’s the most beautiful song you’ve ever heard, glorious and haunting. She sings in a language you do not understand, her voice ebbing and flowing like waves.

As she sings, water begins to gently rise out of the lake, forming pillars that rise and fall along with her melody. The water forms different shapes, living sculptures that bend and spiral with the music. As the song reaches its crescendo a loud screeching voice suddenly cuts out from the crowd, momentarily silencing her.

“I thought a fish would know her scales!”

You can have the party attempt to find the source of the insult as per the book. If they don’t intervene at this point, they have two more chances (insults) to go before Palasha runs off from the performance. Here are two more jeers for you:

• “Your singing is like piracy: murder on the high C’s!” by u/msfnc
• “Go back to the ocean!” by u/Wh1skyD1ck
• More can be found in a discussion on this top from the campaign subreddit

In addition to the effects laid out in the campaign, Palasha should reward the party with a Potion of Water Breathing (Basic Rules) if they successfully help her.

Small Stalls

To start with, just a friendly reminder that the Small Stalls are not on the carnival map by default. I provided a banner in the Resources section that you can use to add on to the map though.

For me, this area is very reminiscent of the rows of booths at carnivals where barkers call out for you to play games of “skill” (they’re sometimes rigged) to try and win cheap stuffed animals or bags of goldfish. I wanted to evoke this feeling for my players as well and made some key changes:

• Unlike all of the other parts of the carnival, the small stalls cost additional money (5 sp each). As a trade-off, players will be provided a prize coupon for each game that they win that they can cash in at a new location – the prize booth (this replaces the rolling for prizes that is in the book).
  • If a player received a voucher during the Welcome Gifts section they can use that to play one small stall for free
• Restrict players to only be able to win at each small stall once
• Given we aren’t using the ticket punches, the snacks and drinks will also cost money (again 5 sp each). The carnival is a business after all and as everyone who’s ever been to a movie theater knows, the profit margin is in the food!
• I used u/Czepeku’s Medieval Monster Festival map to represent the small stalls once the party ventured there and labeled each stall on the map. This helped create the sense of a madcap area full of wonderful prizes to be won. You can use any map you prefer though or none at all

The book provides a picture of most of the small stalls (or handout if you’re using a VTT like Roll20). It’s a bit odd given the book doesn’t have pictures for most of the main rides, but in any case make sure to share these as the PCs play.

Almiraj Ring Toss

Given the almiraj’s teleporting nature, I recommend adjusting this game slightly to add a bit of excitement.

• The player needs three successful tosses in order to win the prize coupon instead of two
• On the first toss, the almiraj is standing still making things easier. As a result the DC is reduced to 10
• On the second toss, the almiraj suddenly teleports, potentially throwing off the contestant. The DC is increased to 14
• For the final toss, the almiraj is constantly teleporting, making it very challenging to get a successful toss in. The DC is now 17. However, the player can first make a DC 12 Perception check to try and time the throw. On a success they can roll the Dexterity check with advantage

Catch the Dragon by the Tail

As written, the chase for the faerie dragon is just a straight Perception rolling contest. If you want to add a little bit of variety consider changing the rules as follows:

• The game takes place over three rounds
• During round one, the player is attempting to get a sense for the dragon’s location. Have them make an Insight check and record the outcome
• During round two, the player will now try to close in on the dragon without spooking it away. Have the player make a Stealth check and record the outcome
• For the final round, it’s time for the player to make a grab for the tail. This still requires a DC 18 Perception check but is adjusted as follows:
  • If the player rolled a 12 or higher on the Insight check, reduce the DC by 3
  • If the player rolled a 12 or higher on the Stealth check, have them roll their Perception check with advantage; if they rolled an 8 or lower then they should roll with disadvantage

Gnome Poetry Contest

Given this is intended to be a contest I would recommend changing the event as follows:

• Let’s give our rival a name – Jerome the gnome!
• The contest takes place over three rounds
• During each round the player and Jerome each roll a Performance check (Jerome has a +3 to Performance checks). Whoever rolls higher wins the round. The contestant who wins the most rounds is the victor
• If you’re up for it, every time you have Jerome roll, act out a rhyme yourself. If you’re not much of a rhymer like me, there’s a number of great write-ups the community has developed you can leverage including those from:
  • u/TheSandAlchemist
  • u/Untap_Phased, u/overbakedtoast, u/antidiscommunitarian
• Similarly, encourage your players to get in the fun by awarding a die each round depending on how fun or well performed of a rhyme they act out. The player then adds this die to their Performance check for the round
  • d4: Good effort
  • d6: Great job
  • d8: Amazing!

Goblin Wrestling

I really wracked my brain on this one but couldn’t come up with anything better than the version from the Witchlight Carnival Expanded. Feel free to use that if you have the supplement or just run it as written

Guess the Number of Feathers

Back in my school days, a popular game was guessing how many jellybeans are in a jar. One time I got 2nd place and won a chocolate Easter bunny. I’m pretty sure this is the only time I’ve ever won anything (and it was quite delicious).

Anyway, getting back on track, it feels like a missed opportunity to not actually let players guess here. As a result I recommend the following changes:

• Unlike most of the other games, this will be jointly played by the whole party (but still only cost 5 sp total)
• To kick things off, roll a d100 and a d20 in secret. Add the digits together with the d100 serving as the first numbers, followed by the results of the d20. For example, if you roll an 83 and 19 then the result is 8,319. This is the number of feathers the cockatrice has
• From there give your party as a whole three guesses (they must jointly agree on each guess). After each guess tell them if they are higher or lower than the actual number. If they somehow guess the exact number then they automatically win
• After the three guesses, ask each of your players to now provide their own personal guesses. After everyone has guessed, announce the actual number and the player who was closest according to The Price is Right rules (closest number without going over). That player wins!

Outstare the Cyclops

Firstly, I’d recommend to have the Witchlight Hand make a bit of a call-out that will come in handy later in the campaign. When a player prepares to begin the contest, state: “Don’t worry – he isn’t no monster. You might be thinkin’ of them stinking fomorians.” For reference, fomorians are evil fey giants, a cursed race that often have a large “evil eye” that someone who didn’t know any better might mistake for a cyclops. Fomorians will be making a big appearance when the players get to Yon in the reimagining.

I used the expanded rules for the contest from the Witchlight Carnival Expanded here but you can also run it as written without issue.

Prize Booth

This is a new addition and provides a way for the players to have a say in the prizes they get from playing by trading in prize coupons. Once a prize is chosen, it is no longer available.

Prizes 2 – 8 from the “Carnival Table” in the book are available. You can supplement this list with any number of items from the “Carnival Prizes” table from the Witchlight Carnival Expanded supplement as well. All of these prizes should cost one prize coupon and only have one piece available.

I also had Luca Oxley make an appearance here with a fist full of prize coupons and ask how the party is doing. This can be an opportunity for you to get a sense of how the players are feeling about the carnival and what they may be interested in doing next. If the players are having very bad luck with the games he may offer up a few prize coupons. Similarly, you can drop hints about things they may have missed or might be about to miss (such as the Big Top Extravaganza or the Witchlight Monarch crowning). Luca should eventually excuse himself to go meet up with his friends so you don’t have to deal with a permanent tag-along.

[Optional] Face Painting and Tinimand’s Temporary Tattoos

These are both additions (and personal favorites of mine) from the Witchlight Carnival Expanded. If you decide to use them, I’d put them within the Small Stalls area. Instead of a ticket punch, the players should be able to purchase face paint and/or a tattoo for 1 gp each.

[Optional] Coin Press Machines

u/hearden developed the wonderful concept of three unique coin press machines that I decided to also place within the area. If you do decide to use them I’d have them cost 1 gp each. While not something to state outright, I’d also recommend having these coins be reasonably valuable for the purposes of bartering when the party reaches the Feywild. This is just a bit of a reward for the players taking an expensive chance on these machines

Additionally, as we’ve removed Ellywick from the campaign I’d replace the Ellywick coin with one for Ernest. “A monkey dressed in a button-covered cloak cranks the handle of a calliope. Along the top and bottom of the coin are stamped “Ernest”.

Snail Racing

The snail racing is probably one of the best events at the carnival. Nothing gets people going more than giant snails after all. To start with I’m going to call out a few resources I used here:

• Snail Racing Map by Rich Robinson | For the race to take place on
• Snail Racer Handouts by ♡Mine♡#1538 | To let players choose their racers
• Snail Racer Tokens – created from the handout above | To use on the racetrack

To get things started we’re going to introduce some better competitors than random NPCs – their fellow rivals The League. When the players arrive to the snail racing course, read the following:

The grandstands next to this racecourse are filled with cheering fairgoers ringing bells, swinging rattles, and waving flags. On the starting line, eight giant snails are having their shells scrubbed by pixies. Signs posted along the racetrack warn that neither jockeys nor spectators may influence the outcome of a race by using magic or by harming other jockeys or snails.

Above the circular course, a wooden gantry hangs from the branches of a central tree, where two goblins officiate the proceedings.

From here you can have one of the officials help get the players organized, determine who is racing, and explain the rules (we’ll get into the rules in a bit). Show the handout above to let your players choose their desired racer, but just as the first player picks, interrupt them with whatever music you selected to represent The League.

“I’ll take that one off your hands.” A familiar voice calls out. As you turn to look you see it’s from Mell and he’s flanked by the rest of The League. Mell pushes forward, taking the reigns of the snail and continues before you can protest. “Zarak – you’re with me. We only need two of us to trounce these losers.”

Unlike Mell, Zarak will let the players choose first before he selects his snail, but the one Mell stole is a lost cause and sure to frustrate the players ahead of the race. The rest of The League will watch from the stands and cheer Mell and Zarak on. After a bit of bickering – the race is on!

The Rules

I made a few adjustments to the rules:

• Given I used the map above (which is 40 x 8 cells if you’re using Roll20), 80 feet per round is too fast. I reduced this to 30 feet per round and had players move their tokens to the right by the appropriate number of feet each turn
• The book suggests to skip initiative rolls, but I had my players roll them at the start. This just made it easier to run the race for me. That said, each round (including the final one) gets fully played out, even if a snail crosses the finish line
• If you are using the recommended stat blocks from Part III: Interlude then Mell (guard statblock) would have a +0 to Animal Handling checks and Zarak would have either a +0 or -1 (bandit or goblin statblock)
• I made two adjustments to the Small Race Surprises: #4 Changed to 20 feet, #6 – 7 Changed to 10 feet
• In addition to the prize for first place I added an additional 25 gp reward give how in depth this event is compared to some of the others at the carnival
• I adjusted the last place prize to be for the racer who placed 2nd and also added an additional 5 gp reward

Staff Area

Rather than the brief description from the book, use this one instead (feel free to throw in Burly’s name as well if they would recognize him).

A tangled 20 foot high wall of thorns surrounds a cluster of eight brightly painted tents and wagons lit by lanterns. You can only barely see the tops from over the hedge, but one of them is more of a glass-enclosed water tank and another is far larger and more intricate than the others. A small wooden sign has been erected in the ground stating – “Staff Area – Authorized Personnel Only.” A large bugbear with a jack-o-latern helmet on his head patrols the outside of the hedge wall.

If the players observe for a while you can have a Witchlight Hand pass through, demonstrating how the thorn wall opens for staff members. From here it is up to the players to find a way inside. Some potential methods to keep in mind:

• Sneaking in behind a staff member somehow such as through the disguise self spell or turning invisible
• Pretending to be a staff member by stealing or borrowing a Witchlight Hand outfit
• Convincing a staff member to let them in

Once any number of PCs are inside you can use this map by u/spiralcomix if you want to let your players move freely and explore the area. Keep in mind that the players will likely want to avoid any staff in the area, and particularly Thaco who is keeping guard.

If the players successfully listen in on Mister Witch and Mister Light’s wagon, and they are present, then they should overhear the conversation as written in the book. However, once complete, have the two carnival owners leave in order to take care of some sort of chore, providing an opening for the player(s) to sneak into the wagon. The only exception would be if the players are specifically here to confront the owners (see the Meeting the Owners section instead if so).

If they break into the wagon make the following adjustments:

• The hatbox is not here (it is instead at the Big Top); this avoids any interfering with the crowning event later
• Ignore the business about the second chest hidden in the ethereal plane; there’s no way for the players to learn about this anyway
• The small bejeweled chest is closed and locked, though the proper command word (“Urmius Umbrage”) can open it. The lock can also be picked with a successful DC 14 Dexterity check using thieves’ tools. While a player could try multiple times to open it if needed, you might want to have failures run the risk of alerting Thaco
• Instead of being empty, the chest contains the following
  • 5 gp, 21 sp, and 70 cp
  • Potion of Growth (unlabeled)
  • Mister Light’s journal

Mister Light’s journal appears to mostly contain sketches and ideas for new rides but the players can also glean the following information:

• Mister Witch and Mister Light are not the original owners of the carnival, but instead obtained it in some sort of trade
• Mister Light’s heart is heavy with guilt and stress as apparently he and Mister Witch are being blackmailed, not to mention more recently beset by a troublesome kenku (Kettlestream)
• This blackmail seems to be related to all of the mysterious happenings and thefts going on at the carnival

The players can likely intuit that this journal would be helpful in learning more from Mister Witch and Mister Light if they so choose.

Meeting the Owners

The meeting with Mister Witch and Mister Light can come about through a number of means including:

• Breaking in to the Staff Area and confronting them
• Moving the mood tracker all the way in either direction
• Being caught or escorted by Burly
• Participating in the Big Top Extravaganza
• Being crowned the Witchlight Monarch

How this meeting unfolds can be very different depending on whether or not the players have been invited, and whether they are confronting the owners or simply looking to meet them. You need to ensure the information and tone matches your specific party’s situation. Firstly, there are a few changes no matter what the circumstances:

• If the players met the owners during the Prologue, it will take Mister Light a minute, but he should eventually recognize them
• When asking about Kettlestream, the owners should mentioned that she is a disgruntled ex-employee (remove all references to Prismeer as per the reimagining)

If the players are on friendly terms with the owners, and the players have been participating in the trading button game, Mister Light will offer up the Witchlight Monarch button for any three other buttons.

If the players confront the owners with blackmail (e.g., the witchlight vane, the witchlight watch, Mister Light’s journal) then the owners will share the following information (this replaces the information listed in the Through the Looking Glass portion of the book).

• Mister Witch and Mister Light are not the original owners of the carnival, but instead obtained it in a fair trade
• Anyone who sneaks into the carnival without a ticket is robbed of something precious. Whatever is stolen always finds its way to the Feywild.
• The owners will share that they would prefer that the thefts didn’t happen, but they don’t have a choice in the matter. They won’t mention the Hourglass Coven, the Winter Court, or any individuals of either group by name
• The carnival contains a fey crossing within the Hall of Illusions. In exchange for whatever the players are blackmailing them with, the owners will escort them there and open it
• The mirror is a one-way portal. Once the party arrives in the Feywild, the characters must find their own way back to their world

Once an agreement has been made the owners mention they need some time to prepare and will meet the players inside the Hall of Illusions, specifically at a large mirror in the center of the interior – you can’t miss it! If your players seem suspicious, have them make a group DC 10 Insight check to recognize that the carnival owners are genuine and intend to fulfill the deal without tricks (which is true). This is important to ensure the party heads there without the owners. If it’s impossible to convince your players to go it alone, you may need to skip the battle with Sowpig (but still keep Luca as being inside).

Resources

I have highlighted some of the resources I used for this portion of the campaign below. Some of these carnival locations were covered in part 1 of the Witchlight Carnival.

Art

• Hall of Illusions Map | By ??? (Let me know if you know!)
• Pixie Kingdom Map | By u/UFOsandGames
• Small Stalls Map | “Medieval Monster Festival” by u/Czepeku
• Small Stalls Banner | By IndieRex
• Snail Racing Map | By Rich Robinson
• Snail Racer Handouts | By ♡Mine♡#1538
  • Snail Racer Tokens
• Staff Area Map | By u/spiralcomix

Music

• Carnival Background Music
  • Grand Carnival by Travis Savoie
  • Madness at the Dark Moon Faire from Hearthstone
  • Inkwell Island One [Piano] from Cuphead
  • La Valsa Des Montres from Amelie
  • Heckna! HPP Carnival Ambience Joyful by Ashton Spencer
• Ride Music
  • Calliope | “Happy Moods of the Witchlight Carnival” by Robert Dietrich
  • Carousel | “King Arthur’s Carousel” by MERC3NARYPRODUCTIONS
  • Gondola Swans | “Rainbow Caverns” from Epic Mickey 2
  • Hall of Illusions | “Dusk” by Hit Point Press
  • Silversong Lake | “Mermaid Song” from Stardew Valley
  • Small Stalls Prize Booth | “Porkrind’s Shop” from Cuphead (slowed version by Gl1tchy_)
  • Snail Racing | “GCN Baby Park” from Mario Kart 8 (extended version by splatMeggy)
• Combat Music
  • Fight with the Thieves of the Coven | “Rooftops” from IRIS: Cirque du Soleil
• Event Music
  • Big Top Extravaganza Intro | “Entrance of the Gladiators” by ALIBI Music
  • Stealing the Watch / Vane | “Fatherland Follies – Backstage” from Psychonauts 2
  • Meeting the Owners | “Misgivings” from Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask
  • Witchlight Monarch Crowning | “Royal Entrance Queen Elizabeth II” by the Royal Orchestra
  • Through the Looking Glass | “Astral Alley” from Night in the Woods
  • Into the Feywild | “Finale and Bows” from IRIS: Cirque du Soleil

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What’s Next?

Phew! Thanks for hanging in there – I know these carnival articles were big ones. In the next part we’ll finally start to explore the land of the Fae as the players find themselves in the swamps of Murkendraw. As always, please don’t hesitate to reach out with any comments, questions, or suggestions and… see you in the Feywild!