Character 7 : Changeling the Lost 2nd Edition
Changeling is an odd game series. The first game series, Changeling the Dreaming is about a lot of different things. Loss of Wonder, and the soulcrushingness of adulthood, the forever marching forward of the industrial machine, and the death of imagination, and of various cultures of fairies along the way. It also had weird nobility, strong Seelie/Unseelie court influences and while they touched on other cultures, it was clumsy and not very well done at times. Still, there was lot to like about that game, and it has a large fan base. It is more beloved than at the time I was running it, I would have ever believed.
So when Chronicles of Darkness, what would become the New World of Darkness said they were bringing back Changeling, I was surprised, and a little repetitious about it. While it was really hard to screw up Vampire, the Werewolf the Forsaken was absolutely jarring in it's theme change, and while Mage was an interesting theme change, it too was a lot different from what came before. I was concerned that whatever came next for Changeling was going to be radical and even more divergent than those brands had been. While I was right, I would not be able to tell the joy that I had when I saw what they had done.
Changeling the Lost is a game of abuse survivors, at it's core. You, a human, was stolen from the world that you knew and was taken to the Hedge by a Master, who then began to feed of your emotional states. You were changed, forced to serve a role that they needed, and then, when you were changed enough, you managed to escape and get yourself free. However, time is not as linear in the Hedge as it is in the real world. You might have just been gone for a day. You might have been gone for a decade in the real world. The amount of time you experienced is going to be radically different, and there is a bit of shock when you get back.
Depending on your Master's will, you might have even just been completely replaced, a Fetch, a bit of enchanted trash, left in your place. It's been doing things in your absence, taking up your stolen life, and it just might have been better for everyone that it did.
It's a game of uneasy alliances, personal power struggles, and broken promises, and the fear that Them and their Hunters are going to come and find you, and the Hobgoblins that don't belong to anyone that will come and gobble you up when you are asleep. It's a Fairy Tale as a Nightmare, and it was the best thing that they ever could have done for Changeling. I love this game, and I so wish to play it more.
So, Step One in Character Creation is Character Concept. You want to boil down your concept into a small phrase. I think my character was a teen when they were snatched, in a bad place, having put themselves in there in the first place, and things went wrong and sideways, and their Master appeared, and offered them safety, and they grabbed the opportunity, and they were whisked away. They spent their time in Arcadia as a objective. Something to be rescued from the next monster or mob or panic that gripped the populace. Eventually, you just got to realize that you can't wait to be rescued, and you got to rescue yourself, but that's never as easy as it seems, and it made the Master really mad.
I think we'll go with the concept Perpetual Searcher. They are always on the look out for other lost, and is looking for ways to make them do for themselves.
The next step is to give myself 3 Asperations. These are things that I want to accomplish in a game. Two of them should be quick to accomplish, and one of them should take some time to finish. Two of them should be Fey Related, and One of them should be mortal related. I think that I'm going to go for some low hanging fruit. I want our character to dive into the Hedge, looking for others that are trying to get out, and help provide an escape. The other short term is that I want my character to be the Date Safety Buddy. You know, the friend that gives in a call to make sure that things are fine and safe, and if they're not, finds a way to get the buddy out of the date. I think the last thing I want the character to do is that he has aspirations of some kind, and he needs the Duke of the Court's favor to get something big done. I've not decided what that big thing is yet, but I can decide that later. For now, it's enough of a framework to build up upon.
Step Two is selecting Attributes. This is still done in a traditional World of Darkness way. There are three categories, and I prioritize the categories, and then I distribute the points amongst them. i feel that this is a character that is about the Overthinking end of things. So I am going to choose Mental, Social, and Physical as my priorities.
Physically, I'm absolutely dead average human, nothing exceptional, we're just dropping one point into each. Mentally, I'm better than average in my wits and Resolve, but nothing too exceptional. Socially, I just don't manage to manipulate anyone. Just naturally people just read my face and know what I am thinking. That said, I have remarkable composure. I have been put in dangerous situations so many times that threatening them doesn't phase him, trying to appeal to their vices doesn't shake their will. Curse them, love them, they'll keep their emotions locked down.
Skills are also divided up into the Same Categories, and this time around, we are going with Physical, Social, and then Mental. I think the big thing here is that our character was already a bit of a troublemaker, so a bit of Larceny and being sneaky just got better while they were stuck with their Master's escapades. They probably also picked up a sword or axe or two while in frustration. They had a bit of time being in social situations, and spent time negotiating (and failing) with the innumerous Hobgoblins that kept kidnapping them.
Now, we get to choose 3 specialties. These help define our character, and gives a bonus with your skill, but you can choose any of your skills to specialize in. So, I figure being captured all the time means that my character learned how to open doors cleverly, so Lockpicking is one. Even though they are bad at manipulating people, you still gotta talk ogres and giants out from eating you for dinner, so Fast-Talking seems good. I also figure that they spent a lot of timing calming down dogs back even before they were snatched, so I take a specialization in that. These might not be the wisest choices, but they'll do.
Our next step is to Become a Lost. We now choose our Seeming. You choose one based on how things went in Arcadia, how you escaped it, and how you approach things now. The big benefit you get from this step is an extra Attribute point. I can shore up my weakness a little, and choose one that will let me change my manipulation, or I can take one that let me enhance my strength, and take either Composure or Resolve to improve. I also think about what my Master did to me when I was with them, constantly being thrown into danger again and again just so They could have a prize to win. Beast, Elemental, and Fairest tend to fit that category. I can't help the idea of a Fairest, though, one of the "Pretty" changelings. We'll go with that. That will let me put a point in a "power" attribute, which I will put in Presence.
Now, while a Seeming is the thing you have been transformed into, a Kith is the purpose of that shape. At the moment, there are only 12 in the book, and the supplement that will greatly expand upon this is still in editing, and should be released soon. However, that doesn't mean we can't invent one, and that process is pretty simple. Each Kith is made of two parts, a Blessing bonus that allows you to add three success to a role in a very specific set of circumstances, and an ability that ties into the theme of the Kith.
We know the Character's role by her Master was like a Damsel or a Prize. Something to be found over and over again, in the hands of something else, to be reclaimed. So, for our Skill portion, let's have When the Kith uses Pursuasion to convince someone to take them in, they get 3 extra successes. For our Tickery, I thnk that if the Changeling can stare into another persons eye, and spend a glamor, they can have a contest with Presence + Wyrd vs Composure + Supernatural Tolerance. If you succeed, the target gains the Wanton condition. If you critically succeed, you also learn what they most desire.
We’ll call our Kith Prizecatch, as I’m bad at names.
Next thing we select is our Mein. Our Mein is our fairy appearance, what we look like to those that have been enchanted and can see the fairy. I think my character has been tinted orange and golds, and has a very honey scent that comes off of them. Their hair looks curly blond from a distance, but you get close, and see it's actually little sides of hexagons all tangled into each other. They have these deep dark amber eyes.
We're over halfway done! (whew!) The next step is to choose your court. This is a philosophy choice on how your character now copes with the world. It's imperfect, and there is a lot of choices, and they don't necessarily fit where I want this character to go. However, Winter seems close. It's about Sadness and depression, and I think that it kinda fits our character. They don't want to really be noticed. They are trying hard to help others not be noticed either. It's a contradiction to their nature, because they were shaped to be desired, to be taken and kept, and I find that potentially interesting.
Needle and Thread are a replacement in this system for Virtues and Vice. A needle is how they deal with the challenges and people in their lives, and Threads are their ulterior motives that keep them grounded. Needle is tricky, but Thread is very easy for this character. This character wants real friends, and to be one. They have been in a false relationship for so long, and people keep pretending to want to be near them, but it's never about the real them. They desire friendship deeply, as they know too often how fake it is.
As far as Needle goes, I am torn between Commander and Counselor. Does my character find themselves wanting to be in charge, or do they want to be the person behind the person who gets to have the glory? Does my character want glory? Ultimately, I decide that Commander fits how i want to play this character more.
Next, you get to choose your Touchstone. A Touchstone is a person, place, or thing, that helps you keep grounded into the World, and helps you keep your Clarity, your vision on what is real and what is an illusion. I think we are going to go with my Roommate. They are into all that New Age Spiritualism stuff, and they don't always understand what I am going on about, but they accept a lot of it, and they occasionally dance across dangerous things at times, both mundane and other risky things, and while their attempts at magic are quaint, occasionally they steer at things that are a little dangerous, and they just tend to help each other out.
Contracts are your powers in the game, and you start with number of them. You get 4 Common or Goblin Contracts (Goblin Contracts are powers that come with a price), and 2 Royal Contracts. All the Royal Contracrts, and Half the common ones must come from your Favored Regilia and Courts. As a Fairest, I start with the Crown, and I get to choose one more, and decide to take Jewels, as I feel that matches what we've established or my character. I decide on Hostile Takeover (An ability that lets a Home treat me like I belong there), Summon Loyal Servant (Which allows me to create a small servitor that will perform simple tasks), Nevertread (Pass without Trace for you D&D Nerds), and Ice Queen's Call (Summons a blizard in a small area), For my Royal ones, I'll take The Royal Court (Which prevents violence during a meeting or a social gathering), and Field of Regret (Summons ghosts that deal damage and saps willpower)
I now get to spend 10 points on Merits. I decide to spend one on Mantle, so I can be officially a member of the Winter Court. I spend 5 to increase my Wyrd to 2 so my magic can be a bit more powerful. I decide that being able to speak another language is useful, and Russian is common enough where I live at the moment, where I decide to take that. Character probably is doing odd jobs to help keep up the money to have a roommate, so I decide Resources of a level 1 is reasonable. Finally, I decide Striking Looks is just.. one of those things I want too. So I'll take that as well.
All that remains is for me to name the character, and decide on how they are presenting. I think I will call them Amber, and they've become Genderfluid over their Durance. They'll switch between how they present depending on the situation.
This has taken a long time, and I am pretty sure I have drifted off my Concept by the end, so I hope that this has made some sort of sense to you. I do love this game dearly, and if you want to check it out more, here is the Website. : http://theonyxpath.com/category/worlds/chroniclesofdarkness/changelingthelost/
Name : Amber Court: Winter Concept : Perpetual Searcher
Seeming : Fairest Needle : Commander
Kith: Prizecatch Thread:Friendship
1) Dive into the Hedge
2) Get the Duke's Favor
3) Be the Date Safety Buddy
Intelligence 2 Strength 2 Presence 3
wits 3 Dexterity 2 Manipulation 1
Resolve 3 Stanima 2 Composure 4
Academics 1 Athletics 3 Animal Ken (Calming)1
Computer Brawl Empathy 2
Craft Drive Expression
Investigation 1 Firearms Intimidation
Medicine Larceny (Lock Picking)3 Persuasion (Fast Talking)2
Occult Stealth 3 Socialize 2
Politics 1 Survival 1 Streetwise
Science Weaponry 1 Subterfuge
Clarity
11
...
7: (Maximum Clarity)
6:
5: Roomie Hedge Witch
...
1
Health 7
Speed 9
Willpower 7
Initiative : 6
Defense: 5
Contracts:
Favored Regilia: Crown & Jewels
Hostile Takeover
Summon Loyal Servant
Nevertread
Ice Queen's Call
The Royal Court
Field of Regret
Merits : Wyrd +1 (5)
Mantle 1 (Winter Court)
Language (1) Russian
Resources 1
Striking Looks (2)
