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The Seasonal Courts of Changeling: The Lost
The Great Courts are common social structures on a greater scale than motleys. Great Courts serve much the same purpose — safety from the Fae — but on a larger scale and with more organization. Each of the four Courts has its own unique affiliations with one of the seasons and a dominant emotion, bound to the Court through oaths its founders exacted from the seasons many, many years ago.
Changelings bound their Courts to the seasons for the strength it would give them against their one-time captors. Any pact provides power in the form of Contracts, but the founders explicitly chose to align their Courts with an aspect of the world that the Gentry couldn’t understand. A Fae lord may tyrannize a realm of endless winter, but he would never forsake his power and allow another to warm his land to spring. Tying their resistance to the voluntary progression of the seasons gives the changelings a stronger connection to Earth and a basis for defense that the Others are — so far — unable to undermine.
Questions about the Great Courts?
Refer to the Changeling: the Lost , pages 45 - 61 for lots more
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The Spring Court
Bare branches will again bear fruit. This belief is the common element in members of the Spring Court. Just as all changelings, these Court members have had their lives ripped from them by their onetime Keepers. The Spring Court exists for changelings who refuse that loss, choosing to replace it with something new. They deny despair in preference of hope, and together they keep that hope alive where alone it would falter. Their lives are not over, and they intend to prove it — to the Fae, and to themselves.
Summer Court: They’re strong, and I suppose that makes them safe. But by protecting their lives, they don’t really live.
Autumn Court: They spend too much time remembering. They should really get out more — out of doors, and out of the past.
Winter Court: I’m this far from being one of them. If I’d shut my doors instead of throwing them open, I’d be there.
The Summer Court
The buck has horns. This is what members of the Summer Court want the Fae to realize the next time they come a-hunting. Changelings break free of Faerie and escape to Earth, and they are going to fight tooth and claw not to be uprooted again. In Arcadia, they were alone and helpless. Back on Earth, they stand strong together. The Summer Court welcomes any changeling willing to fight to the last drop of blood for her — and for others’ — safety.
Spring Court: They’re too busy playing Fae to fight them.
Autumn Court: These guys have the right idea, but the fire they’re playing with is hotter than ours and harder to control.
Winter Court: If I wanted to hide from real life, I’d’ve stayed in Faerie.
The Automn Court
The curse is a gift. Not one member of the Autumn Court is glad of her abduction and enslavement. But since they were taken, they were changed and they can’t go back, they can damn well take advantage of those changes. They know that the gramarye of the Fae doesn’t have to be terrifyingly beautiful and gloriously torturous. It can be simply wondrous, too. Though all changelings use magic, the Leaden Mirror walks on the cutting edge of Wyrd.
Spring Court: They may understand the nature of Wyrd, but they sure don’t do anything about it.
Summer Court: There’s so much potential, but they waste it all on brute force.
Winter Court: If they ever came out of their shells, they could do something. As it is, they just hide.
The Winter Court
The hunt ends when the fox goes to ground. If the True Fae can’t find you, the Winter Court reasons, they can’t hunt you down and drag you back to Faerie. In the Winter, all the glory of the seasons fades to nothing, nowhere to be seen, and snow hides the ground. But there is life, waiting beneath the earth where it can’t be disturbed. The Silent Arrow knows this.
Spring Court: I think they may be hiding from themselves the same way we are… just louder.
Summer Court: Sometimes I think, if the Summer guys would just stop pounding their chests and howling, They might lose track of us.
Autumn Court: If they took fewer risks, they’d be a great help. As it is, they’re more likely to cause trouble than prevent it.
Courts of Day and Night
Slavic myth is rife with dualities. Gods of day and night, moon/sun, dry/wet, good fortune/bad fortune, right/wrong, and so forth. The ancient pagan traditions that come out of Eastern Europe see all of life in this way, in a series of oppositional forces that, by working against one another, inadvertently work together to make all life. And so, the Courts of the Lost that emerge out of these areas often embody the concepts of this duality.
Power Breakdown
The essential power breakdown for the Courts of Day and Night are simple. During the daytime, the Court of Day rules. The Court's power ends at Sundown, when the Court of Night takes over. It's as straightforward as it sounds.
Both sides actively oppose each other, for it is what must be done, it is what is in their very bones. They sometimes spill one another's blood, yes, but rarely is it done through murder (while the Lost of each court accept that murder crosses the line and only serves to give the fair folk power.) But it's not about violence, it's about undoing the work of your opposition. The two courts remain in a constant push and pull of resources, advantages, allies, and territory. It's an endless war and they all seem to recognize this fact. So much so that some members of each Court are openly friendly toward one another, even existing in motleys together-they see the constant give and take as an ineluctable necessity, an opposition of philosophies that needn't spill over into personal relationships. Of course, others cannot contain their disdain for the other court and make it very personal, indeed, making blood enemies of those Lost belonging to the rival court.
The Sun Court
When the sun rises, the Court of the Day gladly resumes control of the freehold. And what does it do during its 12 hours in power? The Court seeks to undermine the efforts of the Moon Court in whatever way the Court of the Day can manage. Some say the best way to do this is not necessarily to undo the work of the adversaries, but merely to do moral, virtuous things and this righteousness helps to tip the scales. Others say that the only way to truly counteract the iniquitous ways of the Wayward Road is to be proactive and literally unmake their efforts.
The Moon Court
At night, the monsters howl and play. They hunt the innocent. They leap over fire.They drink and smoke themselves into languid stupors. They invite peril, taunt the Gentry, and become masters of Goblin Markets. Beneath the full moon, all manner of strangeness and depravity may bask in the bare light-all the better to serve the darkness and snub one's nose at the fools of the Sun Court.
More information about the Sun and the Moon Court can be found in Changeling Winter Masques pages 135-142.
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Kiths and Seemings
Your seeming is the manner in which your fae nature manifests itself. Your seeming is the primary factor in defining your fae mien, the true appearance of your altered self. Often your seeming comes at least in part from your Arcadian jailer, but in at least some instances, your Keeper might have had a different nature and deliberately shaped your seeming to fill his needs or desires. For example, a changeling taken by a lordly Fae who took regular hunting excursions into the Hedge might develop a beautiful and lordly mien of his own, or the hunter might shape the changeling into something akin to a hunting hound or a hawk
Questions about the Seemings?
Refer to the Changeling: the Lost , pages 100 - 123 for lots more.\
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Background for Beasts
The oldest version of the story of Red Riding Hood has the girl tempted into removing her clothes and getting into the bed with the Bad Wolf, where she is “devoured.” Red Riding Hood is very much the archetype of the Beast’s victim. She was innocent, unknowing of where her actions would lead her. She was prone to wandering in out-of-the-way places, out of human view but well within the notice of a Fae Beast. And for all her innocence, the wild tempted her, drew her into that world of excitement and sensation that consumed her.
Many Beasts were innocent when they were taken in some way, as naïve when it came to the ways of the animal world as they were to the human world. Many were loners, with no human society to protect them from the things that would take them away from the world they knew. And many came to the world of the Fae, or at least they thought they came, of their own free will. They might not have understood what giving into to a world of sensation and instinct was going to mean, but a good proportion of them wanted it enough to willingly fall into the clutches of the Gentry.
Those few who escape are those whose innocence was not a weakness. Some were simply ignorant, and when, within themselves they realized what their time in the lands of faerie really meant, they regained themselves and escaped. Others have an innocence that simply refuses to be corrupted or destroyed, an innocence that can be wielded like a weapon. This bright refusal to be corrupted can give a changeling the strength to get out. Escaping, some return to the wilds and return to living alone, but just as many, if not more, throw themselves into human society, as if to attempt to regain the benefits of civilization. It works, if only to an extent: the Beast might gain a veneer of civility, but spreads just as much wildness to the civilized world.
Concepts:
Horse whisperer, cat burglar, animal rights activist, ox-sized college jock, homeless sewer rat king, man-eating loan shark, reptilian lawyer, grizzly man with a clue, hare-like professional athlete, dog soldier, queen bee of the sorority, eagleeyed detective, penniless frog prince.
Kiths:
Broadback — Changelings who are attuned to animals that are renowned for their endurance or stubbornness, such as camels, elephants, horses, mules, goats and the like. Their blessing is Stoic Forbearance: the changeling’s player can spend one point of Glamour to add two to all dice pools involving Stamina, for the rest of the scene.
Hunterheart — Often, but not always, those changelings who have something of the predator about them: wolves, bears, cats, crocodiles, snakes and birds of prey, but also those that embody the hunter in a more conceptual sense. The Hunterheart’s blessing is Tooth and Claw: the changeling can inflict lethal damage instead of bashing damage when fighting unarmed.
Runnerswift — Changelings who move like the wind, reflecting hares, rabbits, antelopes and the like. The Runnerswift’s blessing is Runs Like the Wind: the changeling adds two points to Speed (cumulative with the Fleet of Foot Merit, if the changeling possesses it).
Skitterskulk — Changelings who have an affinity with flies, spiders, beetles, centipedes and other creepy crawlies. The Skitterskulk has the Impossible Counterpoise blessing: just as an insect, her sense of timing and reactions are second to none. When Dodging, the character triples her Defense Trait rather than doubling it.
Steepscrambler — Changelings who are at home in high places, and who are attuned to animals such as monkeys, raccoons, squirrels, some insects and some lizards. The Steepscrambler’s blessing is Gifted Climber: she finds climbing easy, no matter how sheer the ascent. The character gains a +3 dice pool bonus when trying to climb any surface, and may attempt to climb even surfaces as slick as wet glass if they will support her weight.
Swimmerskin — Changelings who draw affinities with aquatic or amphibious creatures: seals, otters, ducks, salmon, and the like; mermaids, too. The Swimmerskin’s blessing is Natural Swimmer. He can hold his breath underwater for thirty minutes, as if he had a Stamina of 7. He can’t, however, hold his breath any longer than his Stamina score allows if he’s out of water (see the World of Darkness Rulebook, p. 49). He may also swim at his full Speed, just as if he were running.
Venombite — Changelings who have an affinity with poisonous creatures, such as poisonous spiders and insects, or poisonous reptiles. Every Venombite has the Poisonous Bite blessing. Once per scene, the changeling’s player may spend a point of Glamour and roll a normal brawling attack (Strength + Brawl – Defense + Armor). The attack causes no damage, but does deliver a lethal poison with a Toxicity equal to the changeling’s Wyrd (see the World of Darkness Rulebook, p. 180). The victim can’t avoid taking the damage with a Stamina + Resolve roll.
Windwing — Changelings who are confined to the earth, with their hearts in the skies, drawing affinity with birds, butterflies and bats. The Windwing bears the blessing Gift of the Sky: although be he can’t fly, the air bears him up. A Windwing may spend a point of Glamour to glide in the air for up to one minute per point of Wyrd; he cannot gain altitude without appropriate updrafts, but may move at his normal Speed. In addition, a Windwing takes only one point of bashing damage for every 15 yards fallen, and begins to take lethal damage only if he falls more than 150 yards.
How the Beasts view
Darklings: They understand. They know that only half the world is asleep when it’s dark.
Elementals: We hear the world’s heartbeat and smell its blood. They hear the world breathe. We’d be damned alike if we weren’t so damned different.
Fairest:: Got a lot of vigor for something that doesn’t look or smell like a real flesh-and blood animal.
Ogres: You want to gobble me up? I’m not your meat, big fella.
The Wizened: Crafty little creatures. And usually on the other side of the walls from us.
Vampires: Fangs. I know fangs.
Werewolves: No, they’re not kindred spirits. Difference between us and them is we got our souls back.
Mortals: No, my place is a pigsty. Let’s go to yours. So. What was your name again?
Background for Darklings
Darklings are among those Lost who were stolen because they transgressed. They might not have known they were transgressing, or even that there were rules to break, but they went too far. Many crossed the line out of curiosity, and it’s this curiosity, this need to find new things and to explore, that helped to bring many of them back out through the Hedge. This curiosity made them what they were: by investigating the dark, they became like the dark. Many Darklings are talented at finding things out, and many take on roles that depend upon them being observant.
Concepts:
Parapsychologist, nocturnal building superintendent, night-shift call center worker, chimney sweep, professional spelunker, lab assistant, amateur night-time naturalist, night refuge manager.
Kiths:
Antiquarian — Those Darklings who surround themselves with dusty tomes of lore and the artifacts of long-dead lands and peoples. Dusty, quiet and diligent, they hold the Keys to Knowledge: the Antiquarians know where to find lore ancient and modern, and have a near-flawless memory for facts, trivial and not so trivial. Every Antiquarian receives the benefit of the 9 again rule on dice pools including Academics and Investigation. They may also spend a point of Glamour to gain the benefits of the Encyclopedic Knowledge Merit for one question. If the Antiquarian already possesses this Merit, he may spend one Glamour to add three dice to the roll.
Gravewight — Cold-skinned Darklings who draw comfort from consorting with the dead, both restless and in repose. The Gravewight possesses the Charnel Sight: the changeling can see the unquiet dead. For one point of Glamour, the changeling can see ghosts for the rest of the scene. The power doesn’t extend to any other invisible beings that may or may not be present, and doesn’t allow the changeling to touch the ghost or compel it to answer her unless the ghost chooses to allow that.
Leechfinger — The faeries who steal life from humans, grain by grain, drop by drop, with just a touch. Every Leechfinger knows how to Sap the Vital Spark: with a touch, he can steal the health of another to heal his own injuries. The character needs to touch the target (see the World of Darkness Rulebook, p. 157), and the player spends a point of Glamour. The victim takes one point of lethal damage, and the changeling heals one point of lethal or bashing damage, or downgrades one point of aggravated damage to lethal. This blessing can be used once per scene per point of the Darkling’s Wyrd.
Mirrorskin — Darklings who hide in plain sight from the eyes of humankind. Their bones are malleable, their faces like flowing quicksilver. The Mirrorskin’s blessing is The Mercurial Visage: he can change the cast of his features to resemble (if not completely mimic) anyone he has met. The player may do this at will, gaining a +3 dice bonus to Wits + Subterfuge disguise attempts (see the World of Darkness Rulebook, p. 87). This bonus applies to both mien and Mask.
Tunnelgrub — Those of the Darkling faeries who slide and slither through tunnels and sewers and chimneys, the better to do terrible things in the night. The Tunnelgrub has the ability to Slither and Squirm: she slips and slides and wriggles through tight spaces and out of handcuffs and other bonds. The player spends a point of Glamour. The changeling can get through spaces that are only just too narrow for her to get through, spaces that would otherwise leave her completely stuck. The changeling gets to roll Dexterity + Athletics to wriggle out of ropes or handcuffs. If it’s a long distance, such as a chimney or a sewage pipe, the player needs to make an extended roll, earning at least three successes, perhaps more, depending on the length of the tunnel. A dramatic failure means that the character is stuck and can’t escape on her own or try again using this talent (if the changeling is caught in the middle of a tunnel, this could be disastrous, because she can’t get out on her own).
How the Darklings view
Beasts: I wouldn’t trust too much to those senses of yours if I were in your pelt. They aren’t always as honest as you might think.
Elementals: You think that because you have this attachment to the world’s bones that you have nothing to fear. I pity you.
Fairest: Watch your back. No, that’s not a threat. Why should it be a threat?
Ogres: Absolutely. You go in first. I’ll just stay out here and back you up.
The Wizened: It is a good thing to be wise, and diligent and useful. You work in the lights, I’ll work nearby.
Vampires: So like the Others. Watch them, carefully, from a distance, as hard as you can.
Werewolves: All the more reason to stay out of the moonlight.
Mortals: You and the sun are friends. And you haven’t a clue what that means.
Background for Elementals
The Elementals were often those whom the Fae desired in some way, those whom they sought out and went to some effort to kidnap. Most Elementals were already exceptional in some way. Perhaps the changeling was beautiful enough to excite a Fae’s desire. Perhaps they needed a guard or a servant of some kind. A musician or dancer could become the prize of a Fae who fancied himself a doyen of the arts. When Elementals come back, they still possess those talents that attracted the Fae to them in the first place, but now their element alters it in many ways, some subtle, some less so. Some, however, wandered into the Hedge on their own, in some ways bearing the marks of whatever thorny wasteland they wandered in before being taken to Faerie.
Concepts:
Secretly incompetent firefighter, landscape gardener, logging saboteur, clockwork secretary, workaholic steelworker, tornado chaser, model with flawless skin, allweather surfer, competitive mountaineer, deep-sea diver, extreme sports fanatic.
Kiths:
Airtouched — The Elementals of wind, cloud, smoke and sky, who can be as healthy as a fresh breeze or as pestilent as the miasma that surrounds the dead. Their blessing is Velocity of the Zephyr: the player can spend one point of Glamour to add the character’s Wyrd to her Speed or Initiative (player’s choice) for the rest of the scene. This blessing can be invoked once for each Trait per scene.
Earthbones — Changelings who have the mark of earth and stone: lumpen Paracelsian Gnomes, sand spirits, dour men of peat and dwarfs made of mountain granite. Their blessing is Terrestrial Might: the Earthbones has shoulders that could bear the world. The player can spend Glamour to add to non-combat Strength-based dice pools, on a one for one basis (one point of Glamour adds one die to one dice pool, two points add two dice to the dice pool and so on).
Fireheart — Elementals marked with fire, heat or electricity. Their blessing is Flickering Acumen: like a flame, the Fireheart’s faculties are bright and constantly on the move. The player can spend points of Glamour to add to Wits-based dice pools, on a one for one basis.
Manikin — Changelings who have the character of humanmade objects, such as caryatids, mannequins and other, stranger things, such as enchanted beings powered by clockwork or steam or living bodies made of mercury or glass. The Manikins’ talent is the Artificer’s Enchantment: the Manikin can learn Contracts of Artifice for (new dots x5 experience points) rather than the usual cost. The Manikin also may make untrained Crafts rolls at a –1 die penalty rather than the standard –3 dice.
Snowskin — The children of the cold, who can be as powerful as the Arctic ice or as delicate as a snowflake. The Snowmarked’s blessing is The Voice of Ice: the changeling can imbue her voice with terrible cold, inspiring terror in those who hear. She is also a master at concealing her own emotions and goals under a cool veneer. The Elemental gains the benefit of the 9 again rule on Intimidation and Subterfuge rolls, and can spend a point of Glamour to re-roll a failed Intimidation roll.
Waterborn — Changelings who are imbued with the nature of the waters, soft and brutal, gentle and mighty: undines and nymphs, man-eating river demons, water babies, ladies of the lake. Their blessing is The Gift of Water: the player can spend one point of Glamour to allow the changeling to breathe underwater and swim at a terrific rate (equal to twice the character’s Speed rating) for the rest of the scene. The catch is that the changeling cannot leave the water or breathe air until the power wears off or until he spends another Glamour point to cancel the blessing. The changeling has to hold his breath if he sticks his head out of the water (see the World of Darkness Rulebook, p. 49). If the changeling is made to leave the water completely before the scene is over, he begins to drown, automatically taking one point of lethal damage each turn until he is either returned to the water or he dies.
Woodblood — The children of plants: Green Men, flower fairies, spirits of mandrake, rose, thorns and all manner of medicinal herbs, fair and foul. The Woodbloods’ blessing is the ability to Fade into the Foliage: in any outdoors area where there are plants growing from the earth (in a garden, for example, but not in a concrete yard with a couple of shrubs in pots), the character gains the benefit of the 9 again rule on dice pools involving Stealth and Survival. The player can also spend a point of Glamour to hide in a place where he couldn’t normally hide, making a Stealth roll as usual. There has to be a reasonable amount of foliage there. The character couldn’t hide using a small patch of moss or a single dandelion, but could use a flowerbed, a lawn or a sapling.
How the Elementals view
Beasts: You would almost share my heart if you weren’t lost to the… impermanent side of nature.
Darklings: See that? That was me shivering.
Fairest:So what? You’re a force of nature? Oh, I like you. You’re really funny.
Ogres:Get out of my face before I do something you regret.
The Wizened:Dig all you want. Just not here.
Vampires:I think I’m going to be sick.
Werewolves: No, you’re welcome here. Of course you are. So. When were you planning to move on again?
Mortals: You’re overturning the land. You’re cutting down the trees. You’re choking the sky. So why am I so jealous of you?
Background for Fairest
The Fairest were not always those whom the Fae thought to take for lovers. Although most were pleasing to the eye, all had some talent beyond simple good looks. Some could dance, some had beautiful voices, some were artists or poets. The few who have made it back have often found that this one talent has consumed them. It’s almost all they have, in a way. The arrogance that comes from having the strength of self to be able to freely return from bleak, beautiful Faerie is perhaps bolstered by insecurity. What if the talents they have are not enough to make them truly the most talented, the brightest, the most beautiful? After all, in the stories, the Fae sorceress is very rarely, if the mirror is to be believed, the Fairest of them all.
Concepts:
Charismatic but incompetent executive, professional athlete, lead singer in a band, amiable politician, catalog model, aging heartthrob, too-glamorous gangbanger, out-ofwork actor waiting tables, high school beauty queen, low-table professional footballer, late night torch singer
Kiths:
Bright One — Changelings who came from light; willo’- the-wisps, bright elves, White Ladies and other beings of light and fire and ice from all over the world. Their blessing is Goblin Illumination: The player can, at will, illuminate an area the size of a smallish room (about 15’ x 15’ x 10’ high) with a soft, pale light for the rest of the scene. Although the light centers on the changeling’s left hand, it doesn’t have the changeling as its source, seemingly coming from the air itself. The light doesn’t move. If the changeling leaves the radius of the light, he leaves it behind. With the expenditure of a Glamour point, the light becomes painfully intense; anyone trying to target the Bright One treats him as partially concealed and suffers a –2 dice penalty (–1 die if the attacker is wearing sunglasses).
Dancer — Those among the Fairest blessed of particular agility and grace, for whom motion is itself beauty and art. Whether entertainer, courtesan, artist or murderer, the Dancer is happiest when moving to the sound of her inner rhythm. The Dancer’s blessing is Fae Grace: she benefits from the 9 again rule on any Expression or Socialize rolls involving agility (such as juggling or dancing in a performance or social setting), and always adds one to her Dodge total when dodging attacks.
Draconic — Changelings who bear within them the blood of dragons or other Great Beasts of Faerie, including celestial bureaucrats and tithe-payers to Satan alike. Haughty and possessing a robust physicality, the Draconic Fairest have the secret of the Dragon’s Talon: a Draconic changeling gains an extra die on Brawl rolls, striking with the power of a chimera’s claw or manticore’s sting. His player can also spend one point of Glamour to re-take one failed Brawl roll, once per scene.
Flowering — Flowers blossom on bare earth where these changelings have stood (although they take months to appear in the human world rather than seconds, as they did in Faerie). Their skin is soft like the petal of a rose or a chrysanthemum and bright with a bloom of health. The Flowering Fairest has a Seductive Fragrance: her skin, hair and breath carries the aroma of unknown blossoms from places unseen, the promise of pleasures unknown. Her bouquet seduces and lulls in equal measure. She gains the benefit of the 9 again rule on dice pools including Persuasion, Socialize and Subterfuge.
Muse — Their beauty inspires the arts. Whether a Rubenesque beauty, a sedate and delicate daughter of the Heavenly Ministry, a grotesquely beautiful masquer garbed in yellow tatters, or a Dark Lady who drives her beloved to destruction, the Muse inspires the creation of things of beauty and horror and love and hate and fear. The growth of confidence can precipitate a headlong rush to doom, and the Muse knows how to make it happen. The Muse’s talent is The Tyranny of Ideas: the changeling’s presence can give a human the confidence and talent to do things that he otherwise would not be able to do. For every point of Glamour the changeling spends, the human subject (and it must be human; it can’t be another changeling or another supernatural being) gains +2 on one dice pool involving Expression, Persuasion, Socialize or Subterfuge.
How the Fairest view
Beasts: Careful! You’ll have someone’s eye out with that.
Darklings: Well, we can’t all be the lucky ones, I suppose.
Elementals: Are you free Friday night? Dinner? Some drinks maybe?
Ogres: Be my faithful brute, won’t you? Come to me when I call, walk your own way when I need to be alone? Promise?
The Wizened: You’re taking my money for this, you horrible little man. So stop bitching about it.
Vampires: Oh, they can be fair in their own way, and oh yes, they know about cruelty, but they’re… not like us. Nothing of dead flesh could be.
Werewolves: Always, always keep your eye on the length of their leashes.
Mortals: I’m the fairest of them all. I am. Not you. Me. I don’t care what the mirror says.
Background for Ogres
The Ogres who make it back through the Hedge have to be, more than any other changeling, exceptional people. Not that the Fae are necessarily picky in whom they choose to abuse and brutalize: more that the Ogres are the ones who managed both to survive without being eaten, crippled or beaten to death and to avoid becoming so much like the monsters that took them that they wouldn’t want to leave. They don’t have to be particularly smart or cunning, but they are the kind of people who know their own mind. Most Ogres have an inborn streak of stubbornness that makes them faithful (if sometimes annoying) companions and terrible enemies.
Concepts:
Working-class Red Cap hard-man, arrogant giant CEO, shrill political activist, gung-ho Marine grunt, nightclub bouncer, understanding but non-nonsense bar manager, Bigfoot hunter, belligerent redneck, prizefighter, long-distance truck driver, deep sea fisherman.
Kiths:
Cyclopean — The Cyclopeans are like the ancient hunters and herdsmen of legend who sought men for their cooking pots: changelings who resemble Cyclops of Archaic Greece, the one-legged Fachan of Scots legend, the three-eyed oni of Japan, the elephant-eared rakshas of India or the wind-borne footless Wendigo of North America. Although many are crippled in some way, they have profound senses to make up for it. The Cyclopeans can Smell the Blood: the character gains the benefit of the 8 again rule on Wits-based Perception rolls. He can smell things that can’t normally be smelled, meaning that even if some of his senses are deficient, his sense of smell makes up for it. Many Cyclopeans have Physical Flaws such as One Eye, Lame, One Arm or Hard of Hearing.
Farwalker — Changelings who resemble the abominable men of mystery, the possibly savage hairy creatures of the wilds whose existence straddles the divide between folklore and cryptozoology: the Sasquatch, the yeti, the Russian Alma, the Australian yowie and dozens of other wild men. Farwalkers have The Elusive Gift: the character gains the benefit of the 9 again rule on Stealth and Survival dice pools. Also, the player can spend a point of Glamour to retake a failed Stealth or Survival roll.
Gargantuan — Captured by giants, these changelings had to grow to a greater stature, perhaps being stretched on racks or forced to drink noxious potions. As humans, they appear less freakish, though many purchase the Giant Merit. Their blessing is Spurious Stature: once a day, the changeling can grow to colossal size. The player spends a point of Glamour, and adds the changeling’s Wyrd score to her size for the rest of the scene. This supplies temporary Health dots (see the World of Darkness Rulebook, p. 175). Returning to normal size is painful, as if the changeling’s skin is unable to contain the character’s stature, and when she regains her normal height, the character takes one point of lethal damage.
Gristlegrinder — Man-eaters and gluttons, taking their cue from the English Black Annis, Scottish Red Caps or the rakshas of India, but also sometimes resembling more modern Ogres, such as the masked unstoppable lunatics of slash-andstalk horror movies. Every Gristlegrinder has Terrible Teeth in his terrible jaws: the character’s bite is a two lethal attack, though it does require him to grapple the opponent first.
Stonebones — Changelings who resemble the rocky giants of folklore, Nordic trolls, Native American mountain spirits and the like. The Stonebones are blessed with Obdurate Skin: once per day as an instant action, the player can spend one point of Glamour to harden the character’s skin, making it like rock. The character uses his Wyrd as his armor rating for the rest of the scene. The character’s rocky carapace does mean, however, that the character isn’t as nimble as he was: the changeling suffers a –1 die penalty to all Dexterity-based dice pools while this power is active. In addition, his Defense is reduced by one for every two points of Wyrd past the first; –1 Defense at 3 Wyrd, –2 Defense at 5 Wyrd and so on. This blessing doesn’t stack with mundane forms of armor.
Water-Dweller — Changelings who resemble the legendary water-demons of many cultures, from life-demanding river spirits through to the trolls of coastal caves and under-bridge shadows. The Water-Dweller can Lie Under the Waves: the character can hold her breath for 30 minutes, as if she had a Stamina of 7 (see the World of Darkness Rulebook, p. 49). She is also accustomed to murk and darkness, and suffers no penalties to sight-based Perception rolls when underwater.
How the Ogres view
Beasts: Hey! Hey! You didn’t have to do that! I was just making a friendly offer!
Darklings: Say what you need to say to my face. I ain’t scared of something that hides from me, and I ain’t gonna be your friend if you won’t shake my hand.
Elementals: Look. If I want to piss against your tree, I’ll piss against your tree. That’s natural, too.
Fairest:Has anyone ever told you — ? Oh. Right. Yeah. ’Course they have. So. What was it you wanted me to do?
The Wizened:Don’t think I can’t hear you down there. You can do things I can’t, that’s fine. Just don’t act like I’m stupid.
Vampires: Clammy little bastards. Maybe we’re all monsters together, but I don’t think they’re my kind of monster.
Werewolves:I would have been scared shitless knowing these guys were out there, about a lifetime ago.
Mortals: God, you’re beautiful. On the other hand, you taste like chicken. What am I supposed to do?
Background for Wizened
The Wizened are often the most unfortunate of changelings, for they were most often taken for no reason at all and no fault of their own. They were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. The faeries saw them and took them; that is all. Unluckier still are those who came to the faeries’ attention because they encountered a faerie who appeared to be in trouble — like the man who found a little person under a rock and set him free, only to be hounded to death for his presumption that the Fae might need his help. The Wizened could be anyone. Having said that, it takes someone as cunning and ingenious as the Fae themselves to escape from the Little People, and so Wizened changelings who return are most often those people who were already nimble of hand and quick of wit.
Concepts:
Creepy backstreet surgeon, paranoid UFO enthusiast, faithful laconic manservant, snooty maître d’, footpad for hire, reclusive artist, socially inept radio technician, antisocial Nethead, pawnbroker.
Kiths:
Artist — The Wizened who create startling works of art and craft: seamsters, sculptors, painters and builders. The Artists’ blessing is Impeccable Craftsmanship: the changeling enjoys the benefit of the 8 again rule on any dice pool using Crafts, and can choose to spend a point of Glamour to re-roll any failed dice on one Crafts roll (so if, for example, an Artist who rolls five dice and gets 1, 4, 6, 8 and 9 can spend a point of Glamour and re-roll the 1, 4 and 6). This blessing can be used only once per roll.
Brewer — Changelings who spent their durance in Faerie learning how to create mind-bendingly potent drinks or peculiar alchemies. Due to long exposure and gradual immunity, a Brewer gains four bonus dice to any Stamina roll made to resist poisons or intoxication. In addition, the Brewers know the recipe for The Inebriating Elixir: once per scene, the changeling can instantly ferment one pint of any drink with Glamour, turning it into a powerfully intoxicating brew. The changeling needs to be able to touch the container holding the drink to do this. The changeling’s player rolls Wits + Crafts. If the roll is successful, the player may spend one Glamour point to invest the drink with a Potency rating equal to the changeling’s Wyrd rating, plus the number of successes the player rolled. If the Potency of the brew is higher than the Health of the person drinking the brew, the person gets very drunk, and in five turns falls unconscious. If the Potency doesn’t exceed the drinker’s Health, the drinker must roll Stamina + Resolve, or suffer the effects of having drunk one more drink than her Stamina (see the World of Darkness Rulebook, p. 177). The brew’s effects last for the rest of the scene.
Chatelaine — Preternaturally skilled manservants, organizers and house-managers. The Chatelaine’s talent is Perfect Protocol: the changeling gains the benefit of the 9 again rule on all Social Skill rolls which depend on manners, etiquette or proper social practice (such as in a formal ball, a business meeting or a changeling Court), even when using Presence. Further, the player can spend a point of Glamour to gain a +2 dice bonus to Manipulation and Presence dice pools for the rest of the scene.
Chirurgeon — Changelings who master surgery and pharmacy, sometimes from altruism, and sometimes simply because they can, ranging from scary back-street surgeons to strangely alien experimenters. The Chirurgeon’s blessing is The Analeptic Charm: able to perform medical miracles, the changeling gains the benefit of the 9 again rule on Medicine dice pools. The Chirurgeon can also use the humblest tools well, and never suffers from penalties for poor equipment as long as at least something can be jury-rigged as a medical tool. Finally, anyone whom the changeling tends to for any length of time receives the benefit of the Chirurgeon’s skills as if they were in a hospital intensive care unit (see the World of Darkness Rulebook, p. 61).
Oracle — Changelings who, like many imps and goblins, can, in a limited way, see the future. The Oracle’s blessing is Panomancy: the changeling can, once per chapter, tell fortunes using any method she wants — tea-leaves, cards, bones, a crystal ball or anything else. The effect works the same as the Common Sense Merit (although the character can buy the Merit as well, if the player wishes).
Smith — Changelings who were forced to labor under the watchful eye of the most unimpeachable Faerie blacksmiths, tinkers and toolmakers. Their blessing is Steel Mastery: the changeling can use his supernatural skill with metallurgy to alter metal objects, improving them, even if improving them would normally be impossible. The player spends one Glamour and makes an extended roll of Dexterity + Crafts, with each roll representing half an hour of tinkering, polishing and hammering. If the changeling manages to gather four successes, he can alter a tool so that it gives a +1 equipment bonus. The item has to mostly be made of metal. The magic wears off after a day. No object this way can be improved more than three times. If the changeling tries to alter an object a fourth time, he destroys the tool, and it can never be used again.
Soldier — Members of the vast goblin hosts of the Fae, the Soldiers fought strange, inconclusive battles and now find that fighting comes easier to them. The Soldiers’ talent is Blade Lore: living and breathing the lore of the blade, the Soldiers of the goblin hosts find it easy to master any weapon that carries an edge. A Soldier is considered to have a Weaponry specialization with any weapon that carries an edge, no matter what it is. This can’t stack with other specializations the changeling may learn.
How the Wizened view
Beasts: No. I’m not talking to you until you’re house-trained.
Darklings: Come on out where I can see you. I think we’ve got a lot we could talk about.
Elementals: Look at you, raw and unshaped. Gorgeous. When they made you, it’s like they unmade you and you came out better for it.
Fairest: If I envied you your pretty face, I wouldn’t tell you. Is there anything more to you that’s actually worth my jealousy?
Ogres: It makes me tense when you act like you’re about to break something. And you always act like you’re about to break something.
Vampires: Those are a bad job, they are. One wonders who decided to make something so dangerous and so flawed.
Werewolves: I don’t know, I don’t want to know. Find a brute or a beast or something if you need someone to talk to them.
Mortals: It doesn’t matter how hard I try, or how much better the work is. It doesn’t last the way it does when you do it.
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