The Sims 3 Showtime Guide Essentials Careers

Magician

Do you believe in magic? Talented Magicians can seemingly break the bonds of gravity, levitating themselves and others.

What could be better than willing objects (including Sims) to disappear and reappear on command? Magicians are masters of illusion and misdirection, capable of performing everything from simple sleight-of-hand tricks to dangerous feats of escape artistry.

A great Magician can make even the most skeptical Sims true believers. But it takes years of practice and embarrassing failures before a Magician can dazzle audiences with the best magic shows a Sim has ever seen.

Does your Sim have the ambition and dedication necessary to become a world-class illusionist?

Magician - Career

Level	Title	Weekly Stipend (§)	XP Needed to Advance	Outfit/Object Unlocks	Trick Unlocks	Interaction Unlocks
1	Novice Trickster	275	400	Outfit 1	Instant Cards, Wand Into Flowers	Social: Coin From Ear
2	Newbie Illusionist	340	500	Outfit 2	Free Birds	Social: Appearing Butterflies
3	Sim of Mystery	400	600	Outfit 3,Box of Mystery	Box of Mystery: Swords of Destiny	—
4	Conjurer	532	800	—	Fireball	Social: Hot Hands
5	Sleight-of-Hand Savant	640	1,000	Outfit 4	—	—
6	Illusionist	840	1,200	—	Box of Mystery: Vanishing Sim, Appearing Objects	—
7	Purveyor of Danger	1,160	1,500	Outfit 5, Box of Danger	Box of Danger: Buried Alive	—
8	Spellcaster	1,480	1,800	—	—	—
9	Master Illusionist	2,000	2,100	Outfit 6	Box of Danger: Watery Grave, Levitate Self	—
10	Master Magician	3,600	2,500	—	—	Social: Levitate Sim

Magician—Badges and Achievements

Badge	Achievement	Description
	Abracadabra	Have a Magician perform 20 tricks
	Double Magic Legend	Perform a Legendary Magician Show in a Big Show Venue as a Genie
	Kid Party Stuff	Have a Magician perform the Free Birds, Wand into Flowers, and Instant Cards tricks 5 times each before becoming a Sim of Mystery
	Magic and Mystery	Have your Magician WooHoo in the Box of Mystery 10 times
	Master of Illusion	Have a Sim fulfill the Master Magician Lifetime Wish
	Rising Star	Have a Magician Sim levitate themselves 20 times
	Sleeping with the Fish	Have your Magician Sim perform the Watery Grave trick 30 times
	Stage Magic	Have a Magician Sim perform at least once at each venue type
	The Magic of Money	Earn §20,000 in tips as a Magician
	Vanishing Act	Have your Magician Sim perform The Vanishing Sim trick 20 times
	Winner in the Park!	Have your Singer, Magician, or Acrobat Sim win a SimFest in a Park

Getting Started: Practice, Practice, Practice

Performing for tips isn’t glamorous, but there’s no better way for beginners to gain career experience.

When joining the Magician career, prepare yourself for poor pay and long days of humble street performances. Starting out, performing for tips is the best option for career advancement. Your Magician begins with two solo tricks: Instant Cards and Wand Into Flowers.

While you can perform each of these tricks individually with a self interaction, it’s better to go to a public place and perform for tips. When performing for tips, a Magician automatically transitions through all known solo tricks.

So consider parking your Magician in Starlight Plaza or Verde Park, and leave them there for several hours performing an endless loop of tricks while tending to the needs of other household members. In addition to earning some pocket change, your Magician will gain career experience as well as build up their hidden Magic skill

However, don’t neglect your Magician’s needs. Hours of performing can result in the Fatigued moodlet which will prevent you from performing for tips for a little while. So break up your routine and work on building up your Charisma skill.

Magic shows can be long, and if your Magician doesn’t have many tricks to show off, they must find a way to fill time. The Talk to Audience interactions are a great way to build rapport with an audience and heighten drama during a show.

When you’re not performing, consider working on your Charisma skill. So read a book, practice in a mirror, or take a class to start building this skill. Social interactions are also beneficial for building this skill.

So take the time to socialize with a variety of Sims either before or after performances. Sims with the Charismatic trait build the Charisma skill faster and have a much easier time making new friends.

Magician Tricks

Instant Cards: A deck of cards explodes from the Magician’s outstretched hand, falling like confetti on the stage.
Wand Into Flowers:The Magician’s wand becomes a bouquet of flowers.
Free Birds: The Magician makes a small flock of birds materialize, prompting them to fly away.
Fireball: The Magician conjures a Fireball in their hands and sends it flying skyward.
Appearing Objects:The Magician makes a small random object appear from thin air. There is a rare chance a Cranstan Boonitz the Magic Gnome can appear, at which point the gnome is added to the Magician’s inventory. All other appearing objects are not added to the inventory.
Levitate Self: The Magician hovers above the stage,performing some simple rotations before returning to the stage.

Magician Socials

Coin From Ear: The Magician makes an exceptionally large coin disappear and reappear in a Sim's ear. This is a popular audition trick.
Appearing Butterflies: The Magician makes several butterflies materialize, releasing them into the air.
Hot Hands: This is the social variant of the Fireball trick, causing the Magician to release a ball of fire into the air.
Levitate Sim: The targeted Sim is lifted into the air. But if the Magician’s Magic skill isn’t sufficient, there is a chance the levitating Sim will be dropped.

Gigs: Abracadabra

Before you can land a gig, you’ll need to prove yourself by auditioning for the venue’s proprietor.

Magician—Gig Earnings

One-off Gig

Level	Weekly Stipend (§)	Multiplier	Park	Coffeehouse	Live Show	Private	Big Show
Default Pay (§)			200	400	700	1.100	1.800
1	275	0.69	-	-	-	-	-
2	340	0.85	§170	-	-	-	-
3	400	1	§200	§400	-	-	-
4	532	1.33	§266	§532	-	-	-
5	640	1.75	§350	§700	§1,225	-	-
6	840	2.25	§450	§900	§1,575	-	-
7	1,160	3.5	§700	§14,000	§2,450	§3,850	-
8	1,480	5.55	§1,110	2,220	§3,885	§6,105	§9,990
9	2,000	6.5	§1,300	§2,600	§4,550	§7,150	§11,700
10	3,600	10	§2,000	§4,000	§7,000	§11,000	§18,000

Steady Gig

Level	Weekly Stipend (§)	Multiplier	Park	Coffeehouse	Live Show	Private	Big Show
Default Pay (§)			200	400	700	1.100	1.800
1	275	0.69	-	-	-	-	-
2	340	0.85	§255	-	-	-	-
3	400	1	§300	§600	-	-	-
4	532	1.33	§399	§798	-	-	-
5	640	1.75	§525	§1,050	§1,838	-	-
6	840	2.25	§675	§1,350	§2,363	-	-
7	1,160	3.5	§1,050	§2,100	§3,675	§5,775	-
8	1,480	5.55	§1,665	§3,330	§5,828	§9,158	§14,985
9	2,000	6.5	§1,950	§3,900	§6,825	§10,725	§17,550
10	3,600	10	§3,000	§6,000	§10,500	§16,500	§27,000

You can perform your first live on-stage magic show at Verde Park once you reach Level 2 in your Magician’s career. Speak with the proprietor to audition, then show up on the day and time of the performance—gigs are always booked for the following day unless there is a scheduling conflict.

As with any job, show up to the performance well-rested and in as good a mood as possible. But it’s also a good idea to get in a little more practice before stepping on stage.

Consider performing for tips for a few hours to boost your Magic skill, then take care of all your Sim’s needs prior to the show. Get to the stage on time and feel free to customize the default configuration if you have your own Stage FX objects or Stage Props.

Aspiring Magicians probably can’t afford many of these expensive objects yet; if so, use the venue’s default stage configuration.

Queue multiple stage interactions to keep the show moving along. This makes it easy to plan your show before it even starts.

Immediately following the stage setup, the show begins. Pause the game and plan your show—if you waste time standing around your performance score will drop. Unlike Singers, Magicians can map out a large portion of their show by queuing interactions.

By Level 2 you have only four solo tricks to choose from: Coin From Ear, Instant Cards, Wand Into Flower, and the newly unlocked Free Birds.

Four tricks is hardly enough to fill a whole show. So consider mixing in Talk to Audience interactions between tricks—just don’t choose the Insult Audience interaction and you’ll be fine.

If you’ve run through your whole act and still have time left, don’t be afraid to repeat your tricks. But don’t repeat the same trick more than twice in a row or else your performance score may suffer.

If you end the show early, you may also incur a score penalty. So stay on stage for the full duration of the show and keep the audience entertained to the best of your abilities.

As a novice Magician you’re likely to fail some tricks, earning you the Embarrassed negative moodlet. But don’t let that get you down. Keep pushing forward. Even if you turn out an awful show, you’ll still walk away with money and career experience.

Performing tricks on stage also increases your Sim’s Magic skill, so there really is no downside… unless you’re the audience witnessing an awful show.

Box of Mystery

Who wants to be stabbed? Box of Mystery illusions require the participation of a willing audience member.

This ornate wooden box is awarded to Magicians at Level 3, allowing your Sim to perform high-quality illusions with the assistance of an audience member. The Box of Mystery exists in the Sim’s inventory and can be placed on stage prior to a show, just like any prop or object.

Interacting with the box allows you to choose from two available illusions. The Box of Destiny allows you to perform two tricks, each unlocked at different points in your career. Swords of Destiny is the first trick unlocked.

When performing Swords of Destiny, you’re prompted to choose an audience member from a pop-up window. The audience member then approaches the stage and gets inside the Box of Mystery.

With the participant inside, the Magician then dramatically inserts three swords into slots on the left side of the box. There is a chance one of the swords will poke the participant, bringing the illusion to an unsuccessful conclusion—the Sim is uninjured during these failures.

But if everything goes right, the Sim will walk out with a sigh of relief once all the swords have been removed. Swords of Destiny is a great way to finish the show, so consider saving it as your finale.

It’s called Vanishing Sim, not Vanishing Sim’s clothes! Sometimes magic isn’t perfect.

At career Level 6, a new Box of Mystery illusion becomes available: Vanishing Sim. Once again, an audience member is invited to step into the Box of Mystery. But this time, the Magician makes the Sim completely disappear while inside the box.

After performing the disappearing act, the Magician reveals the empty box to the audience, drawing gasps of amazement. But there is a chance something can go wrong, leaving the unfortunate participant publicly exposed in their swimwear.

Such failures bring an abrupt end to the illusion. But if the participant has completely vanished, the box is then closed and the Magician makes the participant reappear.

Both Swords of Destiny and Vanishing Sims are high-level illusions resulting in high performance scores. The audience participation aspect can also eat up some time as you wait for the participant to walk on and off stage.

This makes it easier to fill your shows with tricks and illusions instead of relying on Talk to Audience interactions to fill time.

Box of Danger

Buried Alive and Watery Grave are dangerous acts that only the most proficient Magicians should attempt!

The Box of Danger is a stage prop unlocked at Level 7. Unlike the Box of Mystery, this box is surrounded by four glass panes, allowing the audience to see everything happening inside. Buried Alive is the first illusion unlocked for the Box of Danger.

During this act, the Magician steps inside the box and waits as it fills with liquefied cement from the bottom up. Eventually cement fills the entire box, causing the Magician to disappear beneath the rising gray sludge.

If performed as intended, the Magician appears outside the box accompanied by flash of light and a puff of smoke. The Watery Grave illusion, unlocked at Level 9, is similar, only the box fills with water instead of cement.

Neither act should be taken lightly. If your Magician fails to escape the Box of Danger in time they will die, triggering a visit from the Grim Reaper as mournful Sims gather on stage.

Magician Wishes

Wish Name	Description
Audition for a Gig	Your Sim wants to audition for a gig. Is there a better way to get a regular stage for performance? No, no there isn’t.
Challenge Someone to a Performance Duel	Take your rivalries and aggressions center stage! Your Sim wants to put their skills to the test by challenging someone to a performance duel at a SimFest!
Earn §X Performing for Tips as a Magician	And now for the Magician’s final trick… making Simoleons appear from thin air! Your Sim wants to perform for tips as a Magician.
Get a Steady Gig	Scrambling to find a gig every night is the pits! Your Sim thinks it’s about time to land a steady gig.
Get X Steady Gigs	Some people can’t get enough stage time. Your Sim wants to have X steady gigs.
Have a Great Gig	Your Sim is definitely on the way to super-stardom! The next step: putting on a great show.
Have a Legendary Gig	Your Sim wants to perform the greatest gig ever!
Have X Excellent Gigs	One excellent show is never enough. Your Sim wants to put on bunch of excellent shows!
Have X Legendary Gigs	If one is good, more is better! Have some more legendary gigs!
Perform an Excellent Gig	Your Sim wants to put on a show that people will remember!
Perform for Tips as a Magician	And now for the Magician’s final trick… making Simoleons appear from thin air! Your Sim wants to perform for tips as a Magician.
Perform in a Coffeehouse SimFest as a Professional Magician	A Coffeehouse SimFest may not have the draw of competitions at some other venues, but what they lack in size they make up for in post-show drinks, pastries, and adoring fans.
Perform in a Live Show Venue SimFest as a Professional Magician	In SimFests at Live Show Venues, everyone is well-practiced and dedicated to their craft. The competition is fierce, and that is just the challenge your Sim is looking for.
Perform in a Park SimFest as a Professional Magician	Some people find the open air and local feel of an outdoor competition inspiring. Your Sim wants to feel that inspiration by competing in a SimFest at a Park.
Perform Tricks X Times	Your Sim wants to show off their performing skills!
Perform X Gigs	Your Sim loves being in the spotlight and wants to put on more shows.
Perform X Gigs as a Magician	Your Sim has a gift for magical performance, and wants to share that gift with other Sims as often as possible.
Win a Coffeehouse SimFest as a Professional Magician	Your Sim may not be the biggest performer yet, but winning a Coffeehouse SimFest would be a great way to show off their talent.
Win a Live Show Venue SimFest as a Professional Magician	Your Sim knows that they’re the greatest performer in this town but now wants to prove it by winning a SimFest at a Live Show Venue.
Win a Park SimFest as a Professional Magician	Your Sim is becoming more popular, but they want to become better known. Winning a SimFest at a Park just might do it.

Magician Opportunities

Opportunity	Description	How to Complete
ESP for Fun and Profit	The research labs at the science center are on the cutting edge of paranormal investigation. With your amazing magical powers, they suspect you might have extra-sensory perception and would like to test you. Can you sense some extra Simoleons in your future?	Go to the science center to complete this opportunity.
Library Magic	When you’re just starting out, you have to find every available place to perform. The library is great for finding books, but it’s boring. Go perform in the library, and you’re sure to earn some tips. Just don’t make too much noise!	Go to the library and perform for tips.
Magic Medicine	Bring the magical healing power of magic to the sick patients at the hospital. You won’t make any Simoleons, but you’ll feel like a million.	Go to the hospital and perform for sick Sims.
Mind Over Masses	The Mayor is behind in the polls and needs some help to rally support. He’s so desperate, he’ll try anything… including hiring a magician to teach him mind control techniques. Visit City Hall, where you can use mind control to convince him that you’re worth the money!	Go to City Hall to complete this opportunity.
Pickpocket Prevention 101	Law enforcement is deeply concerned by the recent rise in pickpocketing incidents. The police chief would like you to teach his officers how to spot pickpockets and bring these petty criminals to justice!	Go to City Hall to complete this opportunity.
Pick-pocketing 101	The Big Boss cordially invites you to teach his thugs, er, business associates, how to pick pockets. You will be generously compensated for your time and discretion. And if you refuse the invitation, let’s just say it would be a shame if anything was to happen to your pretty little stage props…	Find the Big Boss at the criminal warehouse.
Red Carpet Magic	The producers of a new movie, “The Vanishing Llama,” want to hire you to perform at the premiere. Exposure, Simoleons, and the glamour of the Movie Biz—what more could you ask for?	Go to the Theater to entertain at the film premiere.
Showtime at the Coffeehouse	Magic in a Coffeehouse? Why not? Folks are accustomed to having their money disappear there. Get a gig and serve up a steaming mug of magic.	Go to the Coffeehouse venue and audition for the proprietor. Get a gig and complete it.
Showtime Exclusive	Private Venues are like Boxes of Mystery. See if you can figure out the trick of getting a gig inside one.	Get and complete a gig at any of the Private Venues.
Showtime Headliner	You’ve come a long way from performing for tips. Now it’s time for the big finale. Appearing on-stage at a Big Show Venue would be the ultimate magical feat.	Get and complete a gig at a Big Show Venue.
Showtime in the Park	The Park is a great place to perform for tips, but getting a gig to do your tricks on the Park stage will attract a lot more attention.	Go to the Park venue and audition for the proprietor. Get a gig and complete it.
Showtime on Center Stage	Let’s see how potent your magic skills are. Go talk to the proprietor of a Live Show Venue and see if you can pull a gig out of your hat.	Go to any of the Live Show Venues and audition for the proprietor. Get a gig and complete it.
The Art of Magic	As someone famous once said (or if they didn’t, they should have): All Art is Illusion. Now you can show that Illusion can be an Art. Go to the art museum and perform for tips from the patrons and artists (hopefully they won’t all be the starving kind!).	Go to the art museum and perform for tips.
The Magic of Books	Reading about famous magicians will inspire you and may give you ideas for new tricks in your act. Go browse at the bookstore to get a magical mood lift.	Go to the bookstore to complete this opportunity.
Tricks for Tips	The three most important tips for becoming a great magician are practice, practice, and practice. Go find an audience and, not only will you improve your skills, you may conjure up some tip money.	Go to a public place and perform for tips.
Tricks for Tots	Students at the school need a break from all the Reading, ’Riting and ’Rithmetic. Amaze and entertain the kids while inspiring future pickpockets, grifters, and kleptomaniacs.	Go to the school to teach magic tricks to kids.
Tricks for Troops	The military trainees have been hard at work and it’s time for a little R&R. You’ve been invited to put on a special performance as a reward for all their strenuous training.	Go to the military base to complete this opportunity.