Changeling House Rules

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Contents

Character Creation

Please direct all questions about Changeling character creation to the Lost Storyteller(s), CyledyrWyllt, Jag, Swift.


Universal restrictions

Background

When writing up a background for your Changeling, please include the following:


XP Levels

New players to the venue must create a Starter character.


Glamour

Characters start each scene with 5 Glamour. They add an additional point of Glamour to their pool for each dot in the Harvest merit they possess. If they have not posted a harvesting Glimpse for the month, they will start each new scene at -1 Glamour. Once a player has posted at least 6 Glimpses for the purpose of Harvesting, they will no longer suffer the -1 penalty and instead will also gain a number of Glamour points equal to their Wyrd at the start of each new scene. Characters can also regain Glamour during scenes by doing one of the following:


1) They can attempt to Harvest during a scene. Sources of Glamour include emotions, dreams, and Hedge bounty. Each requires the appropriate Harvesting roll, gaining one point of Glamour per success. Keep in mind that while Changelings may not Harvest from one another, they may still Harvest from other supernaturals. However, results vary and are certainly not without their own inherent risks.


2) Changelings may also gain Glamour from Pledges. If the other party is a Changeling, the Glamour is subtracted directly from one pool and added to the other. If the Oathbound is a mortal or other supernatural, the Glamour is gained upon the fulfillment of the Task component of the Pledge.

Clarity

Obvious displays of Magic in Front of witnesses is NOT a Clarity 6 Breaking Point if the witnesses possess a template AND the Changeling knows this. It is just as damaging to the Changeling's hold on reality if he thinks the witness is mortal and he/she is not.

Developing a Derangement for ANY length of time whatsoever calls for a Clarity 3 Breaking Point. This does not apply to any derangement gained through failed degeneration rolls.

REMEMBER! Not all Breaking Points are caused by the changeling. The actions of OTHERS can erode YOUR sanity. Beware.


Willpower

Per WoD core, WP refreshes once a Story ends; otherwise, it's through four means:

Willpower pools will not refresh every Scene. They will be a constant, and must be tracked in your signature lines. For every New Scene a character enters (which is not linked to another same-day Scene) the character adds 1 WP to their total. This is to simulate the night of rest. Otherwise, it can only be regained through Virtue/Vice & possible triumphant acts. Scene-hopping to abuse the system will be Not Good (tm).

Signatures

When your character enters a thread, please include your Seeming, Kith and Mantle effect, if you have one. Everyone should include these traits in their signature, along with a high Presence rating and any Merits that might be noticeable, such as Court Goodwill, Fame, Giant, or Striking Looks. In addition, I will need you to post what Contracts and Pledges you have active, and you should also keep a running tally of injuries and spent Glamour or Willpower.


Kiths

Manikin

Artificer's Enchantment: Manikin's gain the benefit of the 9 again rule on Crafts dice pools. They may also use the humblest tools well, and never suffer from penalties for poor equipment as long as they are able to jury-rig something as a tool. Manikins do not gain any benefits for Untrained Crafts rolls or when learning Contracts of Artifice.

Shadowsoul

Unnatural Chill: The Fairest 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. Shadowsouls do not add their Wyrd to Intimidation rolls and may not purchase Contracts of Darkness as Affinity Contracts.

Coyote

The Coyote (Winter Masques) Kith's Blessing has been changed to the following: The Trickster's Truth: The changeling gains the benefit of the 9-again rule on Persuasion and Subterfuge rolls, and can spend a point of Glamour to re-roll a single failed Persuasion roll.

Mirrorskin

The Mercurial Visage: Mimic features to gain +3 to Wits +Subterfuge disguise attempts, but user must have an actual disguise to benefit from. For more instant transmutations, a character must use Contract of Mirrors.

Gameplayer

Grandmaster's Strategem: Gain a +3 bonus to all games that involve both Mental skill and luck. Mental-acuity based games are not automatically won.

Skills

Occult

Occult encompasses a very broad and general knowledge; some things you may not know without a relevant specialty. What I'd like to do is outline here what you can expect to know at the different levels, and what Specialties and/or Penalties you might expect. This is from the CtL perspective only. This is also a guideline -- IC experiences override this.

Many of these checks will run the range of penalties, whereas some information will require a Specialty. Please remember, this is also a cross-venue board -- even with a Specialty, a lot of information regarding other splats simply won't be available until you gain it IC.

Merits

Dual Kith

We are using the three dot version of the Merit from Winter Masques. You can take this merit in play with the Storyteller's permission.

Faerie Favor

Not available at Character Creation. This Merit must be acquired IC and is subject to ST approval.

Goblin Slave

A player recently asked me about whether this Merit is allowed in TwiVal. Mechanically, there is nothing wrong with it, so in that regard, yes it can be purchased but with the following conditions in mind:

1) It can only be purchased In-Character while attending a Goblin Market. This is not available at character creation and cannot be purchased through moods alone.

2) If it is purchased, it immediately involves a Clarity 4 check. The slave in question is not your friend, loyal pet, or someone with whom you share your dirty little secrets. He/she/it is an abused hobgoblin under your direct control that is bound to your soul; Much like your own Durance to the Gentry.

3) There is a social stigma with owning a slave. To your peers, you are not far above the very Beings you are trying to hide from and you could end up being outcast if you parade about your slave.

4) If you purchase an untrained slave with the intention of training it yourself, this is an immediate Clarity 2 violation the moment the training begins. 'Training' equals 'breaking' the hobgoblin's will and spirit until it is following its master's orders without question. This is through despicable and violent acts.

As a last point, the ST has final say on how this Merit is brought. It is just too vile otherwise.

Siren Song

The character must spend a Willpower point to activate and lasts for one scene. However, any other physical action performed while the Merit is active suffers a -1 penalty as the character focuses on the strange vibes flowing from her voice. If the changeling decides to switch the Merit off, they must pay for it to be active once again.


Tokens

All Tokens, including Hedgespun, needs to be activated using the rules as posted in CtL core book on pages 201 and 202. If a weapon, piece of armour, magical toilet roll, etc, is not activated in this manner, it is just as mundane as the next item of similar note.

Obviously, if you are not sure of the traits or drawbacks etc for a particular Token/Hedgespun item your toon possesses, speak with a Changeling Storyteller and we can work it out together. That way, it is fair all round and we can all continue to enjoy wiping our arses with the tail feathers of a peacock's splendour forever more.

Pledges

Mechanics

The Lost possess the ability to forge various supernatural agreements, even if they do not understand the actual forces at work behind them. The power to bind oneself to another with these strands of Fate is a function of one's Wyrd. All Changelings are able to form Pledges with Lesser Tasks, Boons, Sanctions, and Durations, while only those with Court Titles or Wyrd 3+ may also make use of Medial ones. Court Sovereigns and Changelings with Wyrd 6+ are the only Lost able to forge Greater aspects into their Agreements with Fate. In practice, a character will spend a point of Willpower and verbally state the terms of the agreement IC. Once it is accepted by the other party, the Wyrd(with the assistance of the ST) will determine the actual mechanics behind the Pledge. Those Lost with Occult 2+ are familiar with the most common Pledges and may state the terms as written in CtL(185-190) and RoS(43-44) when they invoke them. Characters with the Pledgesmith Merit may craft their own Pledges, each dot accounting for proficiency with Lesser, Medial, and Greater aspects. The player writing up the mechanics for these homecrafted Pledges should still gain approval from the ST beforehand before posting. At the end of the day, please keep in mind that Pledges should be used to make connections and keep a story moving forward, not to simply give a character "freebies". Good storytelling when making use of Pledges will definitely be taken into account when the ST... I mean, the Wyrd is determining results.

Ensorcellment

Ensorcellment only works on mortals. This specifically excludes any member of another venue with a supernatural template.

The Glamour Invested into the Ensorcelled is taken out of the Changeling's maximum Glamour. So if someone at Wyrd 1 subjects someone to Ensorcellment, their new maximum Glamour is 9.

PLEASE note that offering Ensorcellment to a mortal without permission will most probably be deemed a Freehold Oath violation. Mortal characters that go blab about Changeling stuff are going to bring down the wrath of all the changelings that don't really want any vampires hunting them or mages that want to use them as guides to Arcadia. Working Forbiddances against sharing the secret into the Pledge is an extremely good idea even for those not bound to the Freehold Oath.

Blessings

Any merit that is wholly mundane can be granted, except Social Merits such as Allies, Contacts, Resources, and Status.

The Mask

Mundane Piercing

There are no confirmed means for anybody to pierce the Mask, although there are always rumors floating around. They may be true or not, depending on the situation. Common rumors say that the following people or actions can allow someone to see through the Mask, but this is not an extensive listing. • Children • The insane • The seventh son of a seventh son • Those born with eyes of two different colors • Drunkards on the night of the full moon (applies to those under the influence of drugs as well) • Anyone who spends a night in a cemetery, sleeping on a grave • A mortal who eats a goblin fruit

Supernatural Piercing

• Vampires using the Auspex Discipline can pierce the Mask by succeeding on an opposed roll of (Wits + Auspex - 3) versus the changeling’s (Resolve + Wyrd). The vampire must be actively using Heightened Senses or Aura Perception to make this roll, which is reflexive for both parties. • A Werewolf in any of the forms that grant him a Perception bonus may attempt to use his preternatural senses to pierce the Mask with an opposed (Wits + Composure + Perception Bonus - 3) versus (Resolve + Wyrd) roll. This is a reflexive action for both parties. This typically allows the werewolf to scent the changeling for what she is, but not to penetrate the visual illusion. The Insight Gift, Scent of Taint, can detect a changeling’s supernatural nature but cannot pierce the Mask. • A Mage may pierce the Mask with any Mage Sight spell by making an opposed spellcasting roll (Gnosis + Arcanum - 3 or the rote dice pool - 3, as appropriate) versus (Resolve + Wyrd) as a reflexive action. • A Promethean using the Aura Sight Transmutation may pierce the Mask by rolling (Intelligence + Empathy - 3) versus (Resolve + Wyrd) as a standard action.

In every situation, the changeling's (Resolve + Wyrd) roll is reflexive and not optional. Assuming The Mask is pierced by the investigator, it remains pierced for about 30 seconds before the Mask re-asserts itself. The investigator does not forget the changeling's Mein, although the investigator must roll to see through it again.

Mantle

Spring Mantle

• +1 Socialize pools

••• +1 Presence pools once/day

••••• Re-roll Social pools on first meetings once/day; keep 2nd roll

Summer Mantle

• +1 Athletics pools

••• +1 Stamina pools once/day

••••• Re-roll failed Strength rolls once/day; keep 2nd roll

Autumn Mantle

• +1 Occult pools

••• +1 Intelligence pools once/day

••••• Re-roll failed Occult rolls relating to magic and True Fae once/day; keep 2nd roll

Winter Mantle

• +1 Subterfuge pools

••• +1 Composure pools once/day

••••• Re-roll Stealth rolls to avoid notice once/day; keep 2nd roll

Dawn Mantle

• +1 Persuasion pools

••• +1 Manipulation pools once/day

••••• Re-roll Teamwork efforts to aid another once/day; keep 2nd roll

Dusk Mantle

• +1 Survival pools

••• +1 Resolve pools once/day

••••• Re-roll Stamina checks to stay conscious once/day; keep 2nd roll

Dream Shaping

All Changelings are able to manipulate dreams in one of three ways. They may create a completely original dream by using the second clause of the Contracts of Dream, Forging the Dream. For access to a wider variety of more nuanced forms of dream shaping, a sleeping Changeling may enter a dream and use his understanding of the dreaming mind to manipulate it with Oneiromancy. In extreme situations, a knowledgable Changeling may even use the tangled paths of the Skein to travel from dream to dream.

Forging the Dream

Contract of Dream(••): “The character may edit the sleeper’s dreams and dictate their content, with the sole exception of depicting the sleeper’s death.”(CtL p.126) This Contract allows a Changeling to insert a dream into the psyche of a sleeper and then watch as it unfolds in the subject's mind. The number of successes rolled to invoke this clause determines the Intensity of the dream, and the Changeling may even attempt to Harvest Glamour from the dreamer's emotional response to it. Although this clause allows Changelings to craft dreams with the same effects as those that have been Dreamscaped, the contents are wholly dictated by the Changelings creating them, making it impossible to use Dream Riding techniques. In addition, the Contract ends as soon as the Changeling stops manipulating the events of the dream, severing the connection to the dreamer's psyche. Changelings are not asleep during the use of this Contract, and may choose to end it at any time as an instant action. However, if they are distracted or disturbed by anything outside of the dream, they must succeed on a reflexive Resolve + Composure roll to avoid ending it prematurely. Changelings must use Oneiromachy to gain control of the dream if they are not the only ones attempting to manipulate it(including the subject, if they are using this clause on a lucid dreamer, such as another Changeling).

Oneiromancy

Dream manipulation through oneiromancy will follow the rules as written on pages 193-201 of the CtL Core. The only exception is that recipients of Sleep Teaching do not gain an experience point if the Oneiromancer rolls an exceptional success for the Intensity of the dream. However, Sleep Teaching Glimpses will still earn the author extra experience at XP Report time.


The Skein

Traveling the Skein requires one of three techniques as described in pages 15-18 of Dancers in the Dusk: casting an Oneiroscope, dreamscaping the first gate, or hiring an Incubus guide. Casting an Oneiroscope requires an Oneiroscopy Occult skill specialty and if successful lets you determine when a suitable first gate can be found in the subject's dreams that will eventually lead to the desired destination dream. A suitable gate can also be Dreamscaped, however this action always causes the dreamer to experience a nightmare afterwards. Finally, an Incubus can be hired at the Goblin Market, allowing a Changeling to swiftly reach the destination dream without the need for any rolls. Regardless of which method is chosen, Skeinwalking is always a significant dream journey and should not be attempted lightly.

Contracts

Dream •

Pathfinder: When used within close proximity of a dream-pledged sleeper, this contract connects the changeling to the local Hedge just enough to allow a brief glimpse into the oath-bound dreamer's mind. Each success rolled to invoke the contract allows the changeling to learn one pertinent fact about the dream in progress. The information gained in this manner is typically hazy and incomplete, since the perspective is always from the dreamer's own point of view. However, an Exceptional Success will give a much clearer and more vivid picture of the dreamscape.

Oath & Punishment •

Pursuer's Seven-League Leap: The Action has been changed from Reflexive to Instant.

Fleeting Autumn •••••

Mien of Baba Yaga: The dice pool has been modified to add the following: vs. Composure + Wyrd.

Detecting the Use of Contracts

When trying to determine whether a Contract is active or being activated, we will use the following mechanics from p. 65 of Dancers in the Dusk:


Expanded Mechanic: Kenning


Lost with high Clarity ratings (6 or greater) are able to detect the presence of supernatural creatures (fae or otherwise) around them. They are also able to detect supernatural items or magical effects, such as active Contracts, and have a chance to notice when Contracts are being activated.


The mechanics for detecting active Contracts are similar to those for detecting supernatural beings (p. 92, Changeling: The Lost.) At the player’s request, the Storyteller makes a secret roll using the Lost’s Clarity as the dice pool, with standard Perception modifiers applied. The Lost can detect one already activated, non-concealed Contract in the area per success. (Dramatic failures work per the standard Kenning rules.) This detection gives the Lost the general Contract type (Dream, Fleeting Spring or Goblin Sacrifice, for example) but does not reveal the specific clause activated unless the Lost possesses that clause themselves, or an Exceptional Success is rolled. The changeling may, however, make an Intelligence + Occult roll for each Contract sensed by Kenning. Upon a success, the Lost is able to determine the specific clause active. The ST may require more than one success for rare or unusual Contracts or clauses. This roll may be made for each specific Contract detected. The changeling may target this Kenning in an area (within his eyeshot), or focus it on a specific individual or object. Normal perception modifiers apply to this challenge.


To notice a Contract being cast, however, is a more difficult matter. To do so, the Lost must be actively attempting to notice supernatural effects. She makes her Clarity roll as a reflexive challenge at a –2 penalty (with normal Perception modifiers applied.) Success indicates that the character is aware that another Lost is attempting to activate a Contract, but it does not automatically tell her what Contract is being attempted unless she achieves an Exceptional Success (even if she possesses the Contract and/or clause herself). Upon making an Exceptional Success, she may make an additional Intelligence + Occult roll (with standard Perception modifiers) to determine the specific clause being attempted, with the target number of successes required being determined by the Storyteller based on the Contract’s rarity.


These same rolls can also be used to determine if one is being targeted by a Contract, Token or Curse. Being the target of a supernatural effect, individual or item gives a +2 dice bonus to determine that it is being activated (or attempted to be activated), and the same bonus to determine the nature of the effect attempted.

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