Changeling: The Lost: Difference between revisions

There have also been some PDF supplements: a set of ''Ready-Made PCs'', ''Goblin Markets'', a guide to those strange, peculiar markets where virtually anything is for sale, if you're willing to pay the price, and ''Victorian Lost'', exploring changelings in [[Victorian Britain]].

* ''Autumn Court'' - The best way to beat the Gentry is to understand how they work. The Leaden Mirror consists of occultists, Hedge wanderers, and sorcerers. They learn and develop powerful Contracts, catalogue the weaknesses of the True Fae, and even study the other strange denizens of the [[New World of Darkness]]. Their court emotion is Fear.

* ''Winter Court'' - We drew the attention of the Gentry once, and we sure as hell won't do it again. The Silent Arrow deals in stealth, secrets, and obfuscation, with the main goal of keeping the Lost safe by keeping them secret. Members serve as spies or scouts and often create safe houses for others of their Court or Freehold. Their court emotion is Sorrow. One variant is the Dead Season.<ref>in the depths of the Long Winter, sorrow and grief lose all of their passion, becoming so deep and all-consuming that one can barely muster any emotion at all. The court emotion of these tundra-like Changelings is Despair.</ref>

'''The Directional Courts''' - Wide portions of Asia, including Japan, China, and surrounding countries, follow this system, which divides the Freehold into quarters, each ruled by an Emperor.

* ''North Court'' - The best way to resist the depredations of the Gentry is to guard one's self against the burdens of the world. The Court of the Tortoise consists of ascetics and disciplined scholars who expose themselves to pain and exposure, believing that the Others won't take them again if the courtiers have nothing to lose. Their court emotion is Suffering.

* ''South Court'' - The Gentry opened our mind to new senses, and the best way to adapt is to lose yourself in them. Artists and Ecstatics, the Court of the Phoenix throws itself into its interests with passions unmatched by others. They believe that the strength of their emotion grants them power with which to defend against the Others. Their court emotion is Ecstasy.

* ''West Court'' - We will stand against the Gentry and protect the others of the freehold at all costs. Warriors and generals, the Court of the Tiger stands firm against all threats. Unlike the less controlled Summer court, the West Court tends toward rigid, almost obsessive discipline. Their court emotion is Honor.

* ''Day Court'' - One must stand against the sins of the world and serve as a beacon to others. The Court of the Sun is dedicated to serving as paladins, priests, and moral figures to the rest of the freehold. Much as the Others cannot understand the sharing of power, they say, They cannot understand true virtue, and so living virtuously offers a defense. Their court emotion is Shame.

* ''Night Court'' - The world is a sinful place, and sin can give you strength. The Court of the Moon consists of malcontents, criminals and radicals who deal in vice and laugh in the face of unyielding righteousness. After having been controlled by their Keepers, Moon Courtiers refuse to allow society to dictate their actions. Their court emotion is Disgust.

'''Other Courts''' - Some freeholds follow court systems even more obscure than those listed above. The Dawn and Dusk courts, for example, change power depending on the whims of fate and the welfare of the Freehold itself.

* ''Dawn Court'' - There's always the chance things will change, if you're willing to sacrifice, and things can always get better. The Court of the Dawn is made up of visionaries, martyrs, and others who believe that with hard work and change, things can improve. Their court emotion is Hope.

* [[Alien Abduction]]: Some of the True Fae are said to be the source of modern-day abduction myths, bearing the grey skin, bulbous heads, and almond-shaped eyes of the mythical extraterrestrial Greys.

* [[Alternative Character Interpretation]]: all courts, seemings, and entitlements have a official character traits and several official alternative character traits in universe.

** Some Autumn Courtiers as well...

* [[Be Careful What You Say]]—Changeling: the Lost is full of this trope, most explicitly in the ability for Changelings (and Gentry) to bind ANYTHING you say as a magically enforced Pledge as long as it's phrased in a way that can be taken as a statement of intent. Most of the subtropes end up being used by players and storytellers, too. _Pledges are not all bad, has successfully filling one comes with some benefits, which usually manifest has a boost to your [[Mana Meter|Glamour]], though stranger things are possible.

** Of course, if a Changeling tries to do that without the direct consent of the one with whom they're making the pledge, (IE Tricking them into making one) you get the benefits, and also a nasty loss of [[Karma Meter|Clarity]] for doing something so much like one of the True Fae would do. It's stated that a good number of Changelings get dragged to Arcadia in the first place by the True Fae pulling this kind of trick, so it's not too surprising that Changelings frown upon it.

* [[Blood Brothers]]: Some Motleys form like this. Groups of changelings [[Magically-Binding Contract|swear an oath on the Wyrd]] to come together for a common purpose, and usually gain mechanical benefits related to that area on the condition that they stand up for one another and don't flag in their pursuit.

* [[Cold Iron]]: The specific [[Weaksauce Weakness|vulnerability]] of the True Fae. The actual game definition of what qualifies as [[Cold Iron]] is somewhat inconsistent from sourcebook to sourcebook, but generally boils down into two types: one, any iron which is pure enough to be called "iron" (as opposed to steel or any other alloy), and two, iron which has never been heated by the hands of man (which, since [[Did Not Do the Research|turning iron ore into useable iron in the first place requires heat]], pretty much limits this to [[Thunderbolt Iron]] by definition.)

*** Considering how outright weird most contracts are, you kind of need a lot of them to have even a shot at having one useful for a current situation.

* [[Cool Old Guy]]: The hobgoblin Billy Birch is ''the'' [[Cool Old Guy]], the undisputed oldest denizen of the Hedge. He is frighteningly powerful when he gets angry, and even the True Fae know better than to mess with him.

* [[Corrupt Corporate Executive]]: It doesn't get much more corrupt than Baron Fairweather, a True Fae ''[[Anthropomorphic Personification|personifying capitalist greed.]]''

* [[Darker and Edgier]]: So much compared to the predecessor.

** Of course, {{spoiler|Odds are, [[Fighting a Shadow|that was only part of him.]] And the rest is probably ''pissed''}}

*** Or worse: {{spoiler|[[JustAll According Asto PlannedPlan|laughing.]]}}

* [[Did You Just Scam Cthulhu?]]: A method of dealing with the True Fae that is ''slightly'' less likely to end in death or capture than all-out battle. Some Changelings manage to escape captivity by catching their Keepers in pledges or obscure oaths. Caution is advised, though, as the Fae have had millenia to practice that sort of scheming.

*** Of course, rumors in the book are to be taken with a grain of salt (they're in-character pieces, and changelings are prone to [[Did Not Do the Research|assume things without all - or any - of the facts)]]. Said rumor sidebar also claims they lose [[Power At a Price|bits of themselves due to their abilities]], which is simply not true.

* [[Dream People]]: Incubi, ranging from simple "background players" to more aggressive concepts, such as Succubi, Night Hags, and a sentient play that convinces the actors to kill each other in a fit of jealousy.

* [[Dreaming of Things to Come]]: All changelings possess the innate talent to have oracular dreams as part of their ties to the Wyrd; they just have to realize whether or not a dream really is prophetic before they can act on it. Some Merits, however, allow them to refine this talent, to the point that they can dream of the past or gain beginner's knowledge of any skill or language from the collective unconscious.

* [[Dying Dream]]: The Pluto Dreams of the Autumn Court's horoscope. Pluto Dreams are the last dream a person has as they lay dying and their brain shuts down; they're usually filled with revelation, which makes catching one extremely difficult but rather worth while. Of course, some particularly foolhardy Autumn courtiers will attempt to ride a Pluto Dream the "easy" way...

* [[Eldritch Abomination]]: Many of the True Fae (see above) also verge into this territory.

** [[Elemental Shapeshifter]]: The highest clause of an Elemental's Contract allows them to transmute into said element, with certain benefits—insubstantial elements (such as fire, air, and lightning) can only be harmed by certain kinds of damage, whereas substantial elements (such as stone or metal) grant heavy armor and physical bonuses.

* [[Emotion Eater]]: Changelings (and many other fae creatures) can bask in the emotions of mortals to gain Glamour, the game's [[Mana]] (see below).

* [[Enfant Terrible]]: Fetchspawn. If a Fetch ever manages to have a child with a human, the result might be one of these monstrosities. They have no [[Karma Meter]]. They have no empathy. Most people just assume they're autistic because of their total inability to relate to other human beings on an emotional or social level. They tend to kill things... just because. This is all exacerbated by the fact that their touch automatically opens all doors and springs all locks, they cannot be bound or imprisoned, and people tend to ignore them, so they're able to slip around without notice. They are immune to Changeling powers, and their touch drains the Lost of magical energies. Oh...and did we mention that at the age of 21 they get sucked back into the Hedge, likely to become Gentry themselves?

** You do NOT. FUCKING. BREAK. Market Law. Essentially it declares Goblin Markets has a "Safe Zone" If you're in one, nobody is going to fuck with you, even if you run into your Keeper, they can't do jack. You yourself don't have the protection though, its the people selling goods, the second one of them get hurt or any of the other parts of Market Law get violated, you get nailed with a powerful Curse, and every Goblin in the market rushes you and starts beating the everloving SHIT out of you. It says something when even the True Fae don't want to deal with this kind of crap. (Also: Don't even think about shortchanging or god help you STEALING from a Marketeer). It IS possible, if you have goods to offer that the Goblins find useful or interesting to become a Marketeer and gain total and full protection under Market Law, even if they avoid harming anything else, they can't touch you within the confines of market. The caveat is its very difficult to fulfill the criteria to become a Marketeer and if you fuck it up too badly...Well, its not fun to say the least.

** They can also use Changeling Merits and Contracts. So its entirely possible to have an Ogre based around smashing things to have a Hedgebeast Buddy that's really good at research and packing Wizened contracts.

* [[Fantastic Fragility]]: Every contract has a catch, and every oath wriggle room. Breaking them is no less catastrophic, though.

** Notably, the True Fae are terrifyingly powerful, but suffer from varying weaknesses that clever changelings can mercilessly exploit. [[Cold Iron]] and [[Evil Cannot Comprehend Good]] being the foremost.

* [[Fighting a Shadow]]: Equinox Road realizes that the True Fae who come to Earth to kidnap humans are {{spoiler|simply one aspect, or Title, of the greater Fae entity it represents, which might have as many as half a dozen similar Titles. These Titles may manifest as items, swarms of creatures, individual creatures, or ''the entire Fae Realm itself.''}}

* [[Fisher King]]: Every single True Fae is a god unto their own realm in Faerie, having control over every single aspect of their home, from whether the sky is blue to the conditions as to when a fire will or will not cook a person's food. The Changelings, human slaves abducted to act as servants, have to enter pacts with every element in order to even survive. The world changes according to what a Faerie thinks is entertaining. The True Fae are powerful outside their home realms, but have nowhere near this level of control over other domains.

* [[The Four Gods]]: the Directional Courts of China are patterned off of [[The Four Gods]] and supposedly embody associated values (the North Court is made up of ascetics who use suffering to escape memory of their durance at the hands of [[The Fair Folk]], the East Court values material wealth and draws power from envy, the South Court consists of artists and other creatives who value ecstasy, and the West Court is made up of honor-bound warriors).

* [[Gentle Giant]]: Not all ogres are cannibalistic engines of destruction.

* [[Growing Up Sucks]]: Arguably inverted in the new Changeling, in which the focus is no longer on keeping your innocence and naivete in a harsh and dark world but rather about finding the way back from the loss of innocence and the pains of life and learning how to put yourself back together and discover what comes next.

** The Ogre stereotype on Mortals says it all -- ''You're beautiful. On the other hand, [[I'm a Humanitarian|you taste like chicken.]]''

* [[How Do You Like Them Apples?]]: many a goblin fruit. Special mention goes to ''The Apples of War'' from Swords at Dawn—the gold one summons an [[Automaton Horses|Automaton Horse]] and [[Carry a Big Stick]], the Silver one summons [[The Cavalry]] / [[Elite Mooks]], and the Copper one summons a small [[Redshirt Army]].

* [[Horned Humanoid]]: Pretty much any of the Seemings can give a Changeling permanent horns. Elementals of fire, Darklings and certain Fairest might echo the modern conception of the demon or devil - either frightening, alluring, or both. Wizened and ogres might appear similar to horned goblins or trolls. Beasts might be transformed into bulls or rams.

* [[Humanity Ensues]]: Those who were taken and turned into Beasts and Elementals have a hard time adjusting back to being human again. The Beasts have a hard time thinking non-instinctively after being animals for so long, and the Elementals have trouble relating to other people after spending so long as flames or trees.

* [[Infallible Babble]]: Very, very averted. The "rumors" side bars on various Entitlements [[You Fail Logic Forever|often make some pretty large leaps of logic]], and sometimes conflict with the actual write-up; ie, just plain wrong. This is [[Lampshaded]] in the writeup for the Ancient and Accepted Order of Bridgemasons, it's pointed out that very few changelings are stupid/paranoid enough to think their handiwork draws the True Fae (if it was, [[Fridge Logic|why haven't it's users been abducted already?]]), but rulers who dislike them are known to [[Malicious Slander|lend credence to the theory]].

* [[Invoked Trope]]: The book Swords At Dawn introduces a new mechanic called Talecrafting, which essentially lets canny players spot Tropes in motion (or good places to shoehorn them in) and tweak the Wyrd to cause them to come to pass. Changelings often get the inspirations for this power when they realize that they're, in a sorts, LIVING in a Faerie Tale, as they are Fae creatures. For example, a Changeling loses two huge bets at Vegas, but suddenly realizes that [[Rule of Three|the Third Time's The Charm]] and goes for one last bet, hoping to win it all just like in all the stories. Conversely, the same Changeling might set up events to fool the Wyrd into thinking it should enact the trope, such as using rigged 'failure' dice, intentionally blowing bets, etc. The Wyrd doesn't like it when it catches you doing this, and so inflicts a dice penalty on the attempt. The system has a dangerous caveat: unless the player gets very lucky on their Wyrd roll, their success comes with a Cruel Twist of Fate, such as the casino busting the Changeling for 'cheating', who gets a blunt lesson in [[All That Glitters]]. Needless to say, the possibilities in this system are as endless as this very website's bottomless resources, and this[[TV siteTropes]] indeed is [[Notable References to TV Tropes|LINKED TO in the book itself as a resource.]] Ladies and Gentlemen, things just got Meta.

** Occasionally leads to [[Fridge Logic]] when you realize that your perpetually on-fire Changeling needs a special merit or contract to actually BURN people with it.

* [[Noodle Incident]]: "Changelings tend to avoid giving Freeholds too-obvious names derived from myth, ever since the disaster that befell the 17th-century legendary freehold of New Lyonesse."

** [[Our Goblins Are DifferentWickeder]]: Hoo boy, are our hobgoblins different...

* [[Reality Warper]]: Each True Fae in its own domain. {{spoiler|Because many of them ''are'' their domain.}}

* [[Sacred Hospitality]]: One of the most important customs and traditions of Lost society. This doesn't exactly mean that folks don't break hospitality, it just means that the ones who do are considered even worse. This even applies in ARCADIA. Every realm in it, by laws even the Gentry find as ancient, is required to be hospitable and survivable in some manner. Not that it has to make sense. Equinox Road gives an example of a realm where you can walk on fire and swim in lava without harm, but if you touch an icicle it insta-freezes you.

* [[Schmuck Banquet]]: Not every Hollow in the Hedge is occupied. But then, some are only unoccupied while their owner is out shopping for children to kidnap. The books list several specific locales like this, including a sumptuous underground manse, accessible only by ladder, filled with beautiful decor and giant marionette handservants that offer you the finest refreshments. And then you try to leave, and find that the ladder's disappeared, and the walls up are covered with an extremely slippery substance. And if you stay in that manse, you'll slowly ''become'' one of those genderless automatons, dedicated only to pleasing your "guests."

* [[Scooby-Doo Hoax]]: An interesting case. The genuinely supernatural Changelings of the Scarecrow Ministry have a tendency to create elaborate [[Scooby-Doo Hoax|Scooby Doo Hoaxes]] to keep people away from truly dangerous beings such as True Fae, werewolves and Spirits (either through fear of the hoax or through being attracted to it rather than the real monsters). Of course, sometimes they go a bit too far, and become the monsters they impersonate.

** Arguably, Privateers and Loyalists as well, as they all too often will be right there condemning the poor Muggles to the same fate they endured for profit, fear, or twisted loyalty to their insane masters.

* [[Undead Tax Exemption]]: The New Identity Merit is there to address concerns of how you get by in society when your fetch is living your life and you may look [[Year Inside, Hour Outside|younger/older]] than you should be.

**** Of course, an even more epic way of dealing with them would be to find some way to drop a goddamn meteor on one of the True Fae. Sure, it's probably highly unlikely to be possible, but hey, its cool to think about.

* [[Wizards Live Longer|Changelings Live Longer]]: The Wyrd increases the lifespan of Changelings, depending on the strength of their fae nature. At the peak of a Changeling's potential power, he can live up to 140 years beyond his natural lifespan. {{spoiler|Assuming he hasn't transformed into another True Fae by then.}}

** It gets weirder then that, there is no limit to how long they can be in Arcadia, so long has more then one hundred years have not passed in the human world since they where taken. They can have a internal durance that lasts for centuries and come back just a few seconds later, having lived and suffered for centuries and not coming out any older or younger. THEN when you add onto the age extension that comes with high Wyrd, and certain contracts and goblin fruits, you can live a pretty damn long time in this game...assuming you WANT to live that long in the first place.