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What the heck is up with Clowns in PF? Adventures on the High Seas describes them as some kind of super-serious guild, like clowning is some strange combination of esoteric art form and organized crime.

Here's the skill description:

Clowning(New!): The profession of the clown is an ancient one, known to have been practiced on the Palladium World as long ago as the Time of a Thousand Magicks, 70,000 years in the past! Clowning is more than just a costume and makeup, although learning to wear the costumes and apply the makeup is a difficult and time consuming process. Clowns take on very special "characters" (as if the charactr were role-playing someone entirely different). Note that clowns, in the Palladium World, are not considered to be funny (although they do get laughs). Their acts, skits and plays are all ancient routines (called "mystery plays"), the meanings of which arc often totally lost in the history of a forgotten time. All clowns are members of the "Guild of Kleintro," no ifs, and, or buts. "False" clowns, those without guild authority, are hunted down and killed, usually by assassins, but royal agents of the Western Empire. The Kingdom of Timiro, and the Eastern Territory have all been involved, at one time or another, in the slaying of pretend clowns.

And here's the guild description:

Guild of Kleintro is by far the most feared and deadly of all the various entertainment guilds. All clowns are members of the Guild of Kleintro, no ifs, ands or buts. "False" clowns, those without guild authority, are hunted down and killed, usually by assassins, but royal agents of the Western Empire, the Kingdom of Timiro, and the Eastern Territory have all been involved in the slaying of pretend clowns. Members of the Kleintro, even when they are not in clown garb, are usually easily identified by their bizarre gloves. It's not just that the gloves are large (they are!). but that they are always mismatched. so the number of fingers on one hand never matches the digits on me other, and so it looks as if they have from two to nine fingers on a hand. Some clowns, particularly those from the islands of Phi and Lopan. but from other places as well, also tattoo the outline (in a weird "stitch" pattern) of their oversized clown mouths on their faces.

This makes no sense. If people don't understand the meaning or point of their routines and they aren't funny, then why would people spend money on it enough for it to be a profession? In what sort of venue do clowns perform? Why does the guild exist at all? Why is it taken seriously by anyone? Why would clowns care about fake vs legit clowns enough to hire assassins? Why would three different human governments care? Why murder a fake clown?

Is this some kind of a reference to pop culture or medieval history? Why is this a thing, much less a serious thing that induces multiple non-aligned governments to murder people for clowning around without a guild membership?

(side note: I don't find clowns in real life to be remotely scary. One came to a birthday party I went to when I was a kid, and that dude was hilarious. Ronald McDonald is awesome, and the notion of clowns being scary is ludicrous to me.)

I see you're not up on your Rifters...

Rifter #49. "Princes of the Universe", about the magic of Regomancy, written by a particularly handsome, perceptive, and humble author.

Ther Ludicrius mage.

What Stage Magician,s abilities from Rifter 79 do you think it also work for Clowns?

Mark Hall wrote:I see you're not up on your Rifters...

Rifter #49. "Princes of the Universe", about the magic of Regomancy, written by a particularly handsome, perceptive, and humble author.

*looks it up*

Ok, that actually makes sense now. Nice work on that!

And I don't seem to have a copy of that one anymore. Like, I'm pretty sure I have the Rifter, but can't find the file.

there's the rifter index in the rifter forum.

Hotrod wrote:What the heck is up with Clowns in PF? Adventures on the High Seas describes them as some kind of super-serious guild, like clowning is some strange combination of esoteric art form and organized crime.

I don't really have anything to add except that this immediately made me think of the Fool's Guild from the Men at Arms (I think that was the one) novel by Terry Pratchett.

Hotrod wrote:

Mark Hall wrote:I see you're not up on your Rifters...

Rifter #49. "Princes of the Universe", about the magic of Regomancy, written by a particularly handsome, perceptive, and humble author.

*looks it up*

Ok, that actually makes sense now. Nice work on that!

that book also has some interesting Stage Mage rules... and annoying 'better at everything' bonus for Lazlo citizens

Axelmania wrote:

Hotrod wrote:

Mark Hall wrote:I see you're not up on your Rifters...

Rifter #49. "Princes of the Universe", about the magic of Regomancy, written by a particularly handsome, perceptive, and humble author.

*looks it up*

Ok, that actually makes sense now. Nice work on that!

that book also has some interesting Stage Mage rules... and annoying 'better at everything' bonus for Lazlo citizens

Yeah, I've never been fond of "Natives of XXX all get YYY advantages over their foreign counterparts" rules, unless they also get some drawbacks to go with them.

One thing I have liked from 5e, and wish Palladium had included for everyone, not just knights and palladins, was "background skills". To an extent, this is what secondary skills are supposed to be, but you seldom have enough to cover what you want (or, IME, you have too many), so the idea of 4 background skills as the base of what you receive helps to round out characters, but in not-necessarily-optimized ways.

First Ed had that with the social background bonus skills

Hotrod wrote:What the heck is up with Clowns in PF? Adventures on the High Seas describes them as some kind of super-serious guild, like clowning is some strange combination of esoteric art form and organized crime.

Here's the skill description:

Clowning(New!): The profession of the clown is an ancient one, known to have been practiced on the Palladium World as long ago as the Time of a Thousand Magicks, 70,000 years in the past! Clowning is more than just a costume and makeup, although learning to wear the costumes and apply the makeup is a difficult and time consuming process. Clowns take on very special "characters" (as if the charactr were role-playing someone entirely different). Note that clowns, in the Palladium World, are not considered to be funny (although they do get laughs). Their acts, skits and plays are all ancient routines (called "mystery plays"), the meanings of which arc often totally lost in the history of a forgotten time. All clowns are members of the "Guild of Kleintro," no ifs, and, or buts. "False" clowns, those without guild authority, are hunted down and killed, usually by assassins, but royal agents of the Western Empire. The Kingdom of Timiro, and the Eastern Territory have all been involved, at one time or another, in the slaying of pretend clowns.

And here's the guild description:

Guild of Kleintro is by far the most feared and deadly of all the various entertainment guilds. All clowns are members of the Guild of Kleintro, no ifs, ands or buts. "False" clowns, those without guild authority, are hunted down and killed, usually by assassins, but royal agents of the Western Empire, the Kingdom of Timiro, and the Eastern Territory have all been involved in the slaying of pretend clowns. Members of the Kleintro, even when they are not in clown garb, are usually easily identified by their bizarre gloves. It's not just that the gloves are large (they are!). but that they are always mismatched. so the number of fingers on one hand never matches the digits on me other, and so it looks as if they have from two to nine fingers on a hand. Some clowns, particularly those from the islands of Phi and Lopan. but from other places as well, also tattoo the outline (in a weird "stitch" pattern) of their oversized clown mouths on their faces.

This makes no sense. If people don't understand the meaning or point of their routines and they aren't funny, then why would people spend money on it enough for it to be a profession? In what sort of venue do clowns perform? Why does the guild exist at all? Why is it taken seriously by anyone? Why would clowns care about fake vs legit clowns enough to hire assassins? Why would three different human governments care? Why murder a fake clown?

Is this some kind of a reference to pop culture or medieval history? Why is this a thing, much less a serious thing that induces multiple non-aligned governments to murder people for clowning around without a guild membership?

(side note: I don't find clowns in real life to be remotely scary. One came to a birthday party I went to when I was a kid, and that dude was hilarious. Ronald McDonald is awesome, and the notion of clowns being scary is ludicrous to me.)

As I understand it from a friend who's actually been to the school of the clown, back when clowning started it was kind of like that; not quite to the extent as described in the book, but you didn't want to be a "foreign or fake clown" in a lot of areas. You could be beaten, tarred and feathered, robbed, maybe killed.