Even after players reach act three of Baldur's Gate 3, they have a ways to go before they can enter the city itself. Fortunately, there is entertainment aplenty in the outskirts, in particular the Circus of the Last Days by the Open Hand Temple.
As the hawker explains, the Circus of the Last Days is an interdimensional troupe, and so both the entertainment and the employees are an unusually diverse bunch. The circus is also a nod to the earlier Baldur's Gate games, which always include a circus somewhere in the world. The one in Baldur's Gate 3 lives up to the legacy, and players can start an unusual side quest by visiting.
How to Enter the Circus of the Last Days
The first hurdle players will need to cross is finding a way into the circus grounds. Between Bhaal-inspired serial killings and Bane-related strife and unrest, Baldur's Gate isn't the safest place, and so the hawker Klaus has a ghoul, Benjamin, to sniff out potential killers.
Benji doesn't like the smell of the tadpole in the protagonist's head, and so Klaus is reluctant to let the party in. Players can try Persuasion, Deception, or Intimidation against a 15 to convince Klaus to let them in, or they can bribe Klaus with 200 gold.
Another option is to sneak into the circus from the back. There are two gates that lead to the Open Hand Temple grounds around the back of the circus area, and neither of them is forbidden. Players can also use spells like Fly or Dimension Door to bypass Klaus and the locked doors.
Zara the Face Painter
The first booth to the left of the entrance belongs to Zara the Mummy. Zara has trouble communicating since she can't move her lips, but players can attempt an Insight or Detect Thoughts check to learn that she sells face paints and related items.
Specifically, Zara sells clothing dyes in a variety of colors, disguise kits, scrolls of Color Spray and Disguise Self, and a unique Face-Painting Kit. While a normal disguise kit lets characters change their appearance to a different humanoid, the Face-Painting Kit gives the user clown makeup.
Akabi the Huckster
The next booth past Zara belongs to a red genie called Akabi. Akabi runs the Wheel of Fortune, which costs 500 gold for each spin. Supposedly the wheel can land on a jackpot, but players can also get lesser prizes from other results.
Sadly, much like many real-life carnival games, the Wheel of Fortune is rigged. Players can never get the jackpot, and all the lesser prizes are worthless or dangerous. They include a Boot of Elvenkind that does nothing without its pair, an expired voucher for Sharess' Caress, a Bag of Molding that rots any food placed inside, and "The Other Hand of Vecna."
Something the party can do is catch Akabi cheating. This requires the active speaker to pass a difficult Perception check. The speaker can then accuse Akabi of cheating, but if they insist Akabi will polymorph them into a wheel of cheese for two minutes. Once they turn back, that character can never spin the wheel again, although other party members can.
On the other hand, the items on display behind Akabi include some very real magic items. They can be difficult to steal since they're out in the open, but Akabi is always facing away from the shelves.
Stoney and Boney the Sculptors
The corner booth belongs to Stoney and Boney's Bespoke Creations, a married earth mephit and earth elemental. The mephit is Boney, and he handles the sales. Players can speak to him to access a shop that sells precious gems, alchemical minerals, and a few spell scrolls based around stone and earth.
Players can also ask the pair to create a statue of the protagonist that will appear in camp for the rest of the game. This includes the outskirts camp, the Baldur's Gate docks camp, and the Elfsong Tavern room. The statue costs 5,000 gold and uses the appearance of the protagonist when they speak to Boney, so be sure to choose the right moment and equipment before making the purchase.
Popper the Scavenger
The booth in the back is less impressive than the rest. This one belongs to Popper, a kobold in a top hat who has a strange variety of items for sale. He proudly proclaims that he took all his items from dead bodies, but he's cagey about how he finds so many of them.
Popper's goods include an odd assortment of potions, magic arrows, and alchemical ingredients. By far the most valuable item he sells is the Dark Displacement Gloves, which lets the wearer switch places with a target if they hit with a thrown weapon. This item is very useful to the right build but worthless to anyone else.
Lucretious the Ringmaster
Keep going clockwise from Popper's stall to find Lucretious, a necromancer who's trying to teach three skeletons a dance routine. Lucretious is the ringmaster of the Circus of the Last Days, and unfortunately, she's too busy to provide any activities or sell any items to the party. Still, it's worth the time to stop by and say hello.
Zethino the Matchmaker
The stall by the giant tree at the center of the circus belongs to Zethino, a dryad obsessed with love. If the protagonist is in a relationship with at least one party member, she'll offer to test their love for each other for 100 gold. Players can ask any active party member to take on this test, but only someone romantically involved with the protagonist will agree.
Zethino will then teleport the protagonist and their lover to a waterfall and ask them three questions. These questions are unique to each lover, and they shouldn't be hard for a player to guess correctly if they've been paying attention to their companion quest. Getting all the questions right or wrong won't change the relationship status, but it can affect the character's approval of the protagonist.
After the questions, players will get a surprise. This surprise doesn't involve any combat, though, so just sit back and watch it play out.
Dribbles the Clown
The centerpiece act of the Circus of the Last Days is Dribbles the Clown. Dribbles is on the main stage in the circus, and a cutscene will begin automatically once players approach the audience. This time the encounter will end with a fight, so prepare accordingly.
After Dribbles drops a few lame jokes, he invites the protagonist to be a volunteer for his next act. Players can agree, send a party member up instead, or refuse and let someone else volunteer. Dribbles will then attack whoever volunteered (and kill the NPC volunteer if players refuse), and the two animal tamers to the left of the stage will release their animals and attack the rest of the party.
As it turns out, Dribbles and the animal tamers are all disguised doppelgangers and followers of Orin. After the fighting ends, players should head over to Lucretious to start the quest "Find Dribbles the Clown." This quest will take players all across Rivington, the Lower City, and the Undercity. Just be sure to start things off by grabbing the hand off the plate next to Popper.
Baldur's Gate 3 is available now on macOS, PC, and PS5.