Downtimes

Downtimes should be submitted to Norwich.lost.lst@gmail.com 

The Downtime deadline is two weeks following the last Changeling game (3^rd Sunday of the month a Changeling game took place).

All players will earn 1 Mundane XP and 1 Wyrd XP every cycle regardless of any input by players. Actions taken during uptime that are reported in downtime, as well as downtime actions, can earn Beats.

Every 5 beats of a type will create 1 XP of that same type. Players may claim up to 7 beats in a cycle (Game + Downtime) of which 5 can be of one type (Mundane or Wyrd).

Information about beats can be found here: http://norwichlost.blogspot.co.uk/2018/01/the-heros-journey-beats-experiences.html

Debreif:

At the beginning of your downtime please can you give a brief summary of anything significant that happened to your character during the game. We would like the following.

1.       The amount of physical and Clarity damage your character ended the game on.

2.       Are you in possession of anything following the game? I.e. plot items/a Crown/ weapons looted from enemies etc.

3.       Did you make any deals during the game (please also note if these were sealed or not).

4.       Are you currently assigned any conditions (please include source of condition)?

5.       Did you fulfil any aspirations during the game?

6.       Did you gain any beats during the game that you like would to claim?

7.       Is there anything that happened which you feel is significant to your character/character arc which you are not following up in downtime.

8.       Who, if anyone, did you feel deserves a beat for good roleplay and why?

9.       Is there any feedback you would like to give the ST team?

XP spends:

XP spends do not require a Downtime action however you will need to justify how you are acquiring the new skill/contract/merit etc.

If you are unsure on how you would gain a more esoteric item, ask an ST – we are happy to help and point in the direction of the Goblin Market.

Teaching: non-affinity regalia/out of court contracts and out of seeming affinities will require a mentor to teach. The mentor must already possess the benefit they are teaching and must use one of their downtime actions to teach. As the promise to share such knowledge is usually sealed with a pledge the mentor gains a beat for their trouble. A player can teach as many people as they want a single benefit in a single downtime action, whereas the student simply needs to note in the XP spends section what there are being taught and by whom.

DT Actions:

Each player gets 3 actions, which can constitute anything up to two weeks’ worth of effort. Actions should be used either to further resolution of plot or used to acquire beats.

Example actions include:

1.       Completing a task which would normally be an uptime linear.

2.       Conducting an extended action such as a build or research action.

3.       Resolving a condition.

4.       Using social manoeuvring to influence an NPC

5.       Resolving an aspiration. (Note you cannot resolve an aspiration you have set in the same downtime)

6.       An interaction which would provide a non-xp dependent mechanical benefit (e.g. Harvesting Glamour, interacting with your touchstone, healing clarity damage).

With each action please tell us what you want to achieve in a single bolded sentence followed by relevant mechanics you are using. You may wish to write a fluff piece explaining/justifying/characterising your actions to assist ST’s in giving a flavourful response but this is optional.

The Acuity Action (Lost specific action):

In addition to your three regular actions, Changelings also get a venue specific action. The Acuity action (or “Soap Opera” action as the ST’s have been calling it) reflects the Changeling’s attempts to reconnect with their old life and make sense of the mortal realm when the dizzying Glamour of the Fae becomes too much. The Acuity action must be used interacting with the mortal world and must focus on the Changelings relationship with humans (the only exception to this rule is that the Acuity action can be used to interact with the Changelings Fetch as it is an echo of the mortal life they once led).

Example Acuity actions include:

1.       Meaningful interaction with the Changeling’s touchstone.

2.       Interaction with the Changeling’s Fetch

3.       Interaction with a personally significant Mortal NPC

Influences:

Finally you have a freeform 200 words to detail anything that Contacts/Allies/Retainers/Mentors are doing on your behalf. Keep it brief and to the point.

Examples include:

·         Contacts (Crime): Introduce me to someone looking to hire muscle

·         Allies (Police) 3: hand me the evidence for the Water Monarch’s crimes. Using resources 2 to bribe if necessary.

·         Mentor (Professor X) tell me what you know about [insert name/description here].

Changeling Quickstart

Character Concept:

Concept: “I escaped unspeakable horrors at the hand of an Eldritch being; to help me cope with what happened I choose to be a…”

Keeper: The Eldritch being that kept you prisoner in Faerie (see Keeper List)

Trigger: chose a stimulus that reminds your character of their durance, roll for a braking point when confronted by your trigger.

Kith: the purpose you were taken and enslaved for.

Antiquarian, Artist, Blightbent, Brewer, Brightone, Broadback, Chatelaine, Dancer, Draconic, Earthbones, Fireheart, Gargantuan, Grey, Gristlegrinder, Helldiver, Hunterheart, Jeweleyes, Leechfinger, Mirrorskin, Moonborn, Nightsinger, Notary, Playmate, Razorhand, Render, Shadowsoul, Skitterskulk, Smith, Snowskin, Soldier, Tunnelgrub, Weisse Frau, Waterborn, Windwing, Witchtooth

Seeming: The part of your transformation you embraced and used to escape.

Beasts: Embrace your primal Instincts, True freedom is wild and society a cage – Steed Regalia

Darkling: Embrace the Darkness, let it hide you from the monster you know you are – Mirrors Regalia

Elemental: Care not for a fragile mortal self, embrace the raw power of nature – Sword Regalia

Fairest: People crave leadership and decision, Embrace the faith they bestow in you – Crown Regalia

Ogre: You are a monster, Embrace this fact and it will shield all that you hold dear – Shield Regalia

Wizened: Embrace the mad genius, the creative vision; it is the mastery of your craft – Jewel Regalia

Court: The Philosophy you hold onto inspired by the memories that led you back. (first dot in Mantle is free)

Air: Court of ‘Desire & Regret’ – never again be beholden to regret, never compromise your desires for the sake of others.

Earth: The Court of Envy – Power is the only truth, never pass up the opportunity to increase your grasp of it.

Fire: The Court of Pride – Always lead by example, never back down from a challenge.

Water: The Court of Dread – Tread the darkest paths, make the choice no other can.

Anchors:

Needle: the core identity the Changeling presents to the world; their assumed identity and way of approaching everyday life.

Examples: Bon Vivant, Chess Master, Commander, Composer, Counsellor, Daredevil, Dynamo, Paladin, Provider, Scholar, Storyteller, Teacher, Traditionalist, Visionary

Thread: the binding that holds a changeling together, her lifeline to stability and strength. It is the thing she always clings to and motivates her.

Examples: Acceptance, Anger, Family, Friendship, Hate, Honour, Joy, Love, Memory, Revenge

Touchstone: A Person, Object or Concept (mortal in nature) that grounds the Changeling and helps them to reconnect with the mortal world.

Examples: The Best Friend, The Family, The Fetch, The Fling, The Job, The Lost Love, The Occultist, The Private Investigator, The Therapist, The True Love, Your New Home, Your Old Home.

The Mortal Self:

Attributes: Each attribute starts with one dot - Primary 5/Secondary 4/Tertiary 3 – Free dot in favoured Attribute type

Power – Fairest/Ogre

Finesse – Darkling/Wizened

Resistance – Beast/Elemental

Skills: Primary 11/Secondary 7/Tertiary 4

Specialties: 3 skill specialties

Merits: 10 Merit points – Trade five points to increase Wyrd by one dot or ten points to increase Wyrd by two dots.

Motley Merits: (CC Only) total number of merit dots with Motley Tag in a Motley equal to number of Motley members, all Motley merits capped at two dots at CC. Everyone in the Motley who has contributed to a single Motley merit has access to all benefits of combined dot rating. (see FAQ blog post for list of Motley merits).

The Fae Self:

Regalia: A Changeling has two favoured Regalia’s

First Regalia determined by Seeming

Second Regalia chosen from Keepers favoured Regalia’s

Contracts Part 1: Choose four Contracts of the following (at least two must be Arcadian Contracts from one of the Changeling’s favoured Regalia’s)

Arcadian Contracts (Common)

Court Contracts (Common) – Must have appropriate Mantle

Goblin Contracts

Contracts Part 2: Choose two Contracts from the following

Arcadian Contracts (Royal) – must be from the Changelings Favoured Regalia.

Court Contracts (Royal) – Must start with Mantle 3

Seeming Affinites: Any Arcadian contracts that have an affinity with your seeming gain this for free.

Derivative Stats:

Health: Size + Stamina

Willpower: Resolve + Composure

Clarity Track: Wits + Composure – Attach Touchstone above box (Composure+1) from the left.

Dream Health: Clarity + Attribute Maximum (as per Wyrd)

Defence: (Lowest of Wits or Dexterity) + Athletics

Initiative: Dexterity + Composure

Speed: Strength + Dexterity + Species Factor (5 for Humans)

Frailties: 1 minor frailty if Wyrd is 2 or 3

Experiences: Add three Mundane Experiences

Character Questionnaire

The Duality of Changelings

So pretty much everyone I have already spoken to about what they are intending to play in the new chronicle has only mentioned their 'Fae' persona with no reference to their 'Human' life (which to be honest is fair as no one ever got enthused about playing a guy struggling to hold down a menial nine-to-five job...especially when you can play a dragon). However one of the core themes of Changeling is navigating the thin tightrope of this duality, even the most dogmatic Fire courtier's actions are informed by the person they perceived they were. What we want is for players to think about the mundane challenges their characters face and the dissonance between their lives before and after Arcadia.

Motive Vs. Circumstance

I'm going to be honest here, as an ST tool we don't like player backstories. The backstories have all been really enjoyable reads  and have provide insightful, but when you have to periodically go over them looking for plot worthy details it can be time consuming and sometimes, in the context of the plot you want to run, unproductive. What I really want is the answers to three questions: 'what can we bait your character with?', 'what can we do to harm your character?' and 'where does your character want to go?'

Therefore, by asking for a background in the form of this Character questionnaire we have a quick reference for various circumstances that might come up in play. From a player perspective, this also puts the emphasis on a characters reasons for doing something rather than simply reporting stuff that has happened; we have tried to make the questions as open ended as possible so players can put their own spin and emphasis on them. After all, how you define a question can be as insightful as the content of the answer.

An Anthology of Memories

Most Folkloric characters don't have an established chronology of action and consequence, instead there are usually multiple episodic tales attributed to them. In my own experiences playing with an established and ordered background makes it less likely it will come into play for fear of going 'too far down the rabbit hole': everyone usually has that one skeleton in the closet from their backstory that they simultaneously want to come up in game but don't want other characters to use against them. This makes players less likely to openly draw on their characters experiences because this can lead to unwanted scrutiny. By breaking up a backstory into a series of questions you can make each answer a self-contained story which is easier to offer up on the altar of good roleplay.

About the questionnaire

We have prepared 5 categories for the questionnaire with between 5 and 8 questions in each.

The first 5 questions in each category make up the main body of questions we would ask you to complete at minimum. It makes our tailoring plot much easier.

Beyond the first 5 questions are Bonus questions in each category that we would be greatly appreciate you completing  and will help us get a more rounded overview of your character and the world around you, but these bonus questions are not necessarily needed, so if they do not apply or appeal to you feel free to skip them.

We have indicated the questions we feel most important for extra detail by phrasing them as “tell us about...” questions.  Please take a little time to write a paragraph or two for these questions if you can.

Thank you for taking the time to complete this questionnaire and making it easier to run a cool and personalised game.

Once Upon a Time

1.             Tell us about your character. 

2.             Who was most important to you?

3.             If you could go back, what would you change?

4.             What is the worst thing you have done?

5.             What is the worst thing you could imagine yourself doing?

Bonus question...

6.             What was the biggest promise you made before you were taken?

Off to Never-never-land…

1.             Who is your Keeper? What is their title? How did they treat you?

2.             Tell us about how you were taken by your keeper

3.             Tell us about your Durance

4.             What did you have to promise your Keeper to avoid punishment?

5.             What kept you there for so long?

The Return

1.             What was strong enough to bring you back?

2.             How did you escape?

3.             Did you settle any scores along the way?

4.             Did anyone else come with you?

5.             Did you have to leave anyone else behind?

Bonus questions

6.             Do you miss the songs of distant Arcadia?

7.             At one point you had to just roll the dice and pray, what was worth sacrificing to stay at the table?

Happily Ever After?

1.             Tell us about who you love (if they are your touchstone please indicate that here)

2.             Tell us about who you hate (if they are your touchstone please indicate that here)

3.             Tell us about your touchstone if it is not who you love or hate

4.             What do you intend to (re)claim?

5.             Tell us about your fetch

Bonus questions

6.             Now, what is the worst thing you have done?

7.             And what’s the worst thing you can imagine doing now?

8.             Who doesn't know, but suspects you are not exactly 'human'?

A Motley Crew

1.             Tell us how your motley formed

2.             Tell us why you trust them

3.             Upon what Oath did you bind your fates together?

4.             What was the pledge sworn on?

5.             Tell us about your motley mates

Bonus questions

6.             What do you do for your Motley?

7.             What does your Motley do for you?

8.             If you were forced to choose, who in your Motley would you save at the expense of everyone else?

The Elder Ones - Keepers

“Quotes are both big and clever” - Anon

A note on Changeling triggers:

Triggers in the context of Changeling the Lost are free-form associations that a character makes with the time of their Durance (or such flashes of it they recall). If they come up in play, they cause a breaking point. Every Changeling has one trigger at start up, and they may acquire more as their Wyrd increases and they start to recollect more of their time in Arcadia.

...Man, Changeling is a bit messed up.

The Archon of One Thousand Portals

Favoured Regalia: Steeds

In your nightmares you run, barring every door behind you before looking frantically for the next. The purposeful padding of footsteps, the grating jingle of a latch and the relentless hammering on the door from your pursuer follow just behind. Your lungs feel on fire and your legs feel like jelly, you haven’t slept nor rested for what seems like an eternity as the one thought in your otherwise numb brain tells you that to let up for even a moment will deliver a fate far worse than that you have endured. You keep running but your body begins to seize up with cramp and tiredness. You feel a chill breeze on the nape of your neck as something dread an unimaginable reaches out for you…

You awake sweating and screaming. As your vision unblurs you see the safety of your own bedroom. You place a hand on your chest to steady your breath and then you feel it: a cold metal key dangling around your neck and a chill runs down your spine. You have tried so many times to be rid of the key, burying it in the garden casting it onto a bonfire or dropping it down a drain but as soon as you drop it from your hand and pass it from your mind it returns like a bad penny. In your pocket. In your hand. You feel the weight of the key strain upon you neck and you curse the wretched thing, for though it was the key to your freedom you know all too well that a door works both ways. It may just be the blood vessels in your ears or the beating of your heart but you are sure you hear the soft and purposeful padding of footsteps.

Suggested Triggers: Seeing an open door which you were certain was closed, The sound of creaking floorboards, Being stuck in a small space.

The Chorister of Abaddon’s Lament

Favoured Regalia: Mirrors/Shields

Oh Shit! Not another bloody Christmas appeal. Turn it off. Oh don’t judge me! I know what you’re thinking, a wretched old miser too ashamed to even look at the face of human suffering so that he can go on justifying the blackness of his soul. Well screw you! You don’t know suffering sitting there in your ivory tower never having to get your hands dirty in the cesspool of human squalor. You don’t lay awake at night trying to drown out the music, the wrenching dirge, the choir of inhuman screams the shear artistry and empathy of its droning torment. You don’t feel it calling you back night after night; you haven’t felt hunger or thirst or pain and trauma that cannot be expressed in any more coherent way than the music. Abaddon’s Lament I have heard it called, the chronicle of human misery, the seraphim song of judgement. You think me heartless but I have more heart than any other and that is why I cannot bear to watch because I know I will hear the music in my head and I do not know for how much longer I can resist…for I have only been given a reprieve and even now I feel it calling Encore. Encore…

Suggested Triggers: The sound of Choral music, witnessing the suffering of a Mortal

The Crimson King

Favoured Regalia: Crowns

 You’ve seen that film, you’ve read that book. You know the one. Ordinary Joe gets transported to a fantasy land, and they’re almost immediately picked out for their skill, or their magic or their oddly-specific destiny. A few scenes and a love interest later, they’re on top of the world, beloved by one and all!

The problem is, the Crimson King is actually good at his job. All the dragons were slain long ago, all the bandits have been given new jobs better suited to folks who don’t have heads any more. There’s not actually much daring-do left to do. But you ended up here anyway. You’re a dab hand with a sword, you used to fence at school! That’s nice and all, but the land needs tilling. Or sewing. Or harvesting. The feudal system needs a lot of nobodies to allow the shining armour brigade to do their bit. Hop to it!

Of course there’s still some troubles. The odd troll, or witch, or chancer with a knife. Maybe that’s your chance to prove yourself! Or maybe you’ll be brought to the Court of the Crimson King, where you’ll have to politely explain why a peasant was wielding the sort of weapons only a gentleman should have. The Crimson King is very understanding. Not… not big on compassion or mercy, but he certainly understands. Good luck.

Suggested triggers: The sound of horses running, the shine of steel plate, overly wrought or ‘hammy’ speech.

The Good Friend

Favoured Regalia: Shields

You met him… oh, God knows when. Forever ago. School, probably? He’s always been there for you, thick and thin, right and wrong. Always good for his round at the pub, always there to commiserate when your team lost the cup. His timing is uncanny, in that respect. He was already ordering pizzas and beer when you called to say she’d left you. He happened to be in the area when you got into that crash, ready to pick you up. If you have a complaint, it’s that he’s a bit… off with other folks. Like he can’t wait for them to be gone. Ah well, loyalty is worth a bit of weirdness.

He invited you to a getaway. Bed and board, hot and cold flowing booze, some place you’ve never heard of. It’ll make Ibiza look like Blackpool he says. “A lads’ adventure for the ages,” he says. Perfect, right?

Suggested triggers: Lad banter, the smell of beer, overfamiliarity from a stranger

The Final Theorem

Favoured Regalia: Mirrors/Jewels

Right…breathe…keep your head down and just get to the party. They’re not watching you. They’re- Oh! Where are my manners: Good M-Morning Mr Magpie and how is your lady wife? Close call that one... Just muffle yourself under the sound of the cogs…nothing to see here…just don’t step on a crack or you’ll break your mothers back…Don’t think! J-J-Just don’t think about it or they’ll hear you. Think banal thoughts…Be the sheeple. Be the sheeple. Be th- oh a lucky black cat. Here puss puss puss…No! Where are you going?! No! don’t go that way. Don’t you fucking dare go crossing my path you bastard! HERE PUSS! P-P-PUSSSS! PU - FUCK!! FUCK!! FUCK!! WHAT ARE YOU STARING AT?! HUH?! They’re watching…they’re always f-f-fucking watching…they’re-

***

Patient #5002893

Patient was brought in following a violent episode. Patient attacked a man who confronted her for swearing at a cat in the middle of the street while children were about and bit a sizable section of the man’s ear off. Patient seems to suffer from severe anxiety and paranoia, evidenced by the fact she will only allow herself to be referred to as ‘Jane Doe’ – an obvious pseudonym. ‘Jane’ in her more lucid moments talks about a “Final Theorem” which she sees as justifying her actions. ‘Jane’ appears to have a strong addiction for Conspiracy Theories that have most likely aggravated her condition.

Recommendation: observe for 72 hour period with view to section under the 1983 Mental Health Act.

Suggested Triggers: violating a superstitious law (e.g. passing someone on the stairs), Conspiracy Theories, “Coincidences”

The Gourmet of Gluttonous Mastication

Favoured Regalia: Jewels

Not long now to the end of the shift, you think as you stand there quietly peeling onions and holding back the tears, not long until you can get the hell out of here. Why the fuck did someone order fucking onion soup? Don’t they know that you have to marinate them in their own tears; that’s how the best juices are unlocked… Fuck, you suppress the urge to scream as the knife nicks into your finger. Every fucking time! Why can’t people not order the onion soup. You try your best you ALWAYS do your best. Even if it is just raw consumption: the taste, the flavour the spark of the human soul in the craft. It’ll eat anything but if it’s absent it’ll know…Shit! Shit! The chef’s coming. Third time this week. Third fucking time…I can’t take this I- I’ll Grind your bones to make my Bread… I-It was an a-accident, look I’ve got a lot on my plate at the moment a- if you won’t…if you can’t create then you can be the next course… I PUT MY HEART AND SOUL INTO THIS!! I-I-I HAVE LITERALLY DRAINED MY HEART AND SOUL INTO THIS. The licking of those lips…getting impatient…getting h-hungry… I’m not going back there. I’m not going to be consumed. You won’t grind my bones again. I can do better. I-I-I’ve got a knife…what have I done?!

Suggested Triggers: Criticism of the characters artistic abilities, The scent of spices, The sound of Chewing.

The Huntress

Favoured Regalia: Swords

Joining the Huntress’ Club was something you’d worked a long time for. An exclusive group for the finest shots around, the whispers say. Eventually she met you out in the woods, gushing over the size of the deer you brought down. She offered you membership, to be taken into her Hunt. Naturally, you accepted. She whisked you away on horseback to a lodge… somewhere. Mountains, forests for days, things to hunt you swear don’t actually… well, exist. Probably Canada.

 The actual hunts? They’re everything you hoped for. Whooping crowds chasing foxes (you think) through land that seems purpose built. Staking huge lumbering things for hours to get just the right angle for the shot. Competition is fierce though, and it’s some time before you actually bag something yourself. The Huntress is overjoyed, mentions she’s never seen such a shot. Well, except herself, of course.

And now, she explains, it’s your turn to do the tricky bit. Everyone takes their turn, she explains. Well, except herself of course. You’ll be back before you know it, there’ll be a good meal waiting. And next time it’ll be someone else, anyone! Well, except herself of course. She lets you out into the yard, and you hear a horn blare. Time to run…

Suggested triggers: The sound of horns, dogs barking, distant gunshots

The Lady of Coal and Diamonds

Favoured Regalia: Jewels

Once upon a time, there was a fair Lady. Beloved by all the land, she was sadly struck by a terrible curse, driving her to sleep for an age. All the people lamented the loss of the Lady fair. But worse was to come!

The Lady’s snores rent the land with terrible earthquakes, tearing huge gouges out of the landscape. The people were distraught, but they also saw their chance. The wicked person who had cursed the Lady had promised the spell would be broken when the finest Diamond in all the land was brought before the Lady. So now the people dig and claw in the ever-changing ravines brought about by the Lady’s continual snores.

Suggested triggers: Snoring, underground spaces, the glimmer of polished stone

The Lord of All things Lost & Found

Favoured Regalia: Crowns/Shields

All things which are now unseen,

Fallen through the cracks between,

Tarnished jewels and tales of old,

Faded dreams, secrets untold,

Forgotten souls and lore arcane,

All wind here in my domain,

Those abandoned, unloved unfound,

To serve my court are duty bound…

-Incanted by a panicked Lost searching for their keys.

Suggested Triggers: Misplacing an important object or one that holds sentimental value to the Changeling, Finding an important object serendipitously, Getting lost.

The Marshall of Talons

Favoured Regalia: Swords

Oh shit is the last conscious thought on your mind as you hear the pool cue snap. It is a last desperate plea not for your own safety but for sense to prevail amongst those who are present as the rational part of your mind begins to glaze over.

It’s a matter of survival. Kill or be killed. Nothing else matters in the maelstrom of blood and visceral. For you’re in the Marshall’s army now boy. There is no respite, no leave, no mercy. As a pack you pounce upon your victims the pain of your wounds and the relief of the kill the only things you feel against the deafening fury…and the guilt. You see their eyes, defiant, whimpering pleading. You want to stop but to stop would be to stop being the hunter and to be hunted by the Marshall. To be punished for your weakness. “Make it stop!” Every fibre of your being screams, the hatred and resentment for the guilt you feel. For the pain you cause. If you can’t stop (and you know you can’t) then you will simply have to gouge out those accusing eyes. The rage and fury reaches a crescendo and the cycle starts again.

Amongst the thundering and the ecstasy of the rage you hear a brittle crunching sound. Through the drunken delirium of the kill you see the face…what was the face of the punk in the bar as your fist, raw and bloody, hammers again and again. Oh Shit you stagger back Oh SHIT!!

Suggested Triggers: The smell of gunpowder, Large quantities of blood, A sudden and aggressive loud noise.

The Most Excellent Timekeeper

Favoured Regalia: Mirrors/Steeds

The Most Excellent Timekeeper appears to people who want to do things over. A genie in a bottle, albeit one who only offers one sort of wish. They offer a simple deal. The timekeeper will give you time. Maybe an hour, maybe a year. Maybe that hour will be right now, to get to that interview on time, or maybe it’ll be an hour three years ago, to spend more time with that sick relative. The only thing they ask in exchange is that you pay that time back. People always want more, the Timekeeper has discovered. Ten minutes to catch a bus becomes a couple of hours to shop on the way there. That hour at the relative’s bedside seems to end up as days or weeks. And eventually, the Timekeeper will come to collect their owed debt...

Suggested triggers: The ticking of a clock, the sound of church bells striking the hour, the anxiety of being late for things

The Myrmidon of the Chimerical Menagerie

Favoured Regalia: Steeds/Swords

It was another wet October day and she must have been talking for a good ten minutes before something actually made me pay attention to this sob story. “The most dangerous game” is what she said and I instinctively reached under the desk for my knife- conversations like this hardly ever go well. Not when the past’s involved. I feigned ignorance and asked her to repeat her story so I could properly hear hit. Not for the reason that made her frown with all the disappointment of a mother who’d seen her little Johnny knee deep in jam thinking it would disguise the fact he’d smashed all the fine china – though that was a perfectly valid reason. My otherwise dawdling mind had decided to sprint a marathon replaying memories with such urgency even I was befuddled. Finding dark caves and sheltered groves to nest and rest knowing full well relaxing just for a moment and you’d be done for. Feasting on rotting carrion with one eye always over your shoulder. Eyeing hungrily at another who was either too new to realise  or two jaded to care, feeling the tastes of warm blood &meat on your lips as you savoured the kill. Running for what seemed like an eternity to afraid to look at what was yapping and snarling behind you for fear you would seize up in terror. Lying still in your own filth and muck for hours on end knowing it was right on top of you. That at any moment it would stand right on top of you and you would scream an overture for the symphony of screams you would perform at its pleasure. The Drums... Oh the Drums and the Horns! Beating and braying as hard as your flittering heart trying to flush you out. Make you run…and make you suffer if you did…

…she looked at me expectedly. I hadn’t heard a thing she said. My scaly fingers were drumming out a samba on the desk to bring me back…no…to bring me BACK…cause that’s the thing with that place…even here in my office where it’s safe and cosy and nothing ever happens you’re always running… because it’s still out there and it hasn’t given up on the most dangerous game…

Suggested Triggers: The sound of Drums, Having a firearm drawn upon you, The Braying of pack hounds.

The Queen of Crimson Crowns

Favoured Regalia: Crowns/Jewels

Another morning, another migraine. Perhaps you should cut back on the drinking arsehole – oh look! Another one of your “conquests”. You stumble into the bathroom to get some aspirin when you see it in the mirror; Her mark. Her love nailed to your forehead for the entire world to see. You instinctively try to remove the polished red crown from your head and suppress a scream as your head feels on fire. Nope, same as every day. That crown was nailed on good. You wipe the blood from your eye and take a long look at yourself in the mirror, the drunkard’s remorse, and then you begin to remember as your eyes focus once again on the crown…

…She told you it was because she loved you, as she held you to the ground and the crown was nailed to your skull. She caressed you softly though her skin felt like cut glass as she told you she had to do it as it would make you happy. Because it would make you happy. She would be happy. So you must do everything to appease your queen and in turn she would lavish her love upon her consort. You would make the perfect consort, with hot coals in your shoes and knives down your spine so that you would become the most elegant dancer. You would dine with her though the meat and wine tore at your insides like poison.  You would charm her though he would slice out your tongue and force you to eat it for every faux-pas, however slight. You would stay by her side and do all that she commanded despite the pain and the terror: and in return you would receive her excruciating intimacy…

…you hear the bedroom door creak and the soft padding. Well that must be a new record. And then you feel a deep sinking in the pit of your stomach. Because the “Queen of the Crimson Crowns” broke you again and again until you became her perfect consort. You were hers and she was yours, no other can make you feel the way she made you. She broke you so much that she still hurts you even now for the spite and the rejection you showed her love. In your darkest moments you look at that crown and remember that you were made for her. And though she will hurt you for your selfishness she will love you once again. Because you are her Prince Charming…

Suggested Triggers: Finding oneself in an overly formal situation, Rejection, Emotional blackmail.

The Queen of Eyes:

Favoured Regalia: Mirrors/Shields

“Phew! That was close. We’ve got to tighten up our act people, the pigs were almost on us before we could breach the vault.” That was no ordinary pig waggon. They had fire and cold iron…shit the silent alarm triggered. But I swear I shut it down. Fuck fuck fuck! The Cameras were also working the whole way through. I’ve still got the back door into the system, where the fuck is that broadcasting to. We can still wipe the server and lay low for a while…No. NO! T-t-the Lidless eye watches all, its panoptic shadow looms large over all it surveys. It sees, it knowns all your secrets…it will find you and all shadows and covers will be stripped before its unrelenting gaze…

*Thud* *Thud* *Thud*

“Oh Shit! I-I’m S-s-sorry guys…I’m sorry. I’m sorry…”

Suggested Triggers: Being under the gaze of a camera or some other recording device, the triggering of the danger sense merit, being coerced to share personally sensitive or compromising information.

The Siren Upon the Night’s Plutonian Shore

Favoured Regalia: Mirrors

The salt laced breeze cuts deep, the bitter kiss of winter. Shambling upon a shoreline of obsidian shingle, lonely cries of anguish smothered by the cruel black sea. Cold and hungry, you have wandered here along this featureless beach for all eternity occasionally attempting to quench your thirst on the inky pestilent water that rots both mind and body. You hear it in the distance and stumble onwards on blistered and bloody feet. The sweetest nocturne that numbs the pain, the siren song of oblivion calls to you across the infinity of perdition, tugging playfully upon the chains around your heart. After so many times to feel her final embrace maybe this time you will be released. This time…

You awake from yet another night of weary slumber. As you place your feet upon the floor you suppress a scream as a hundred tiny shards of obsidian shards pierce into your flesh. You fall back into your bed. Maybe it’s just the blood rushing to your head from the shock- but it sounds to you like the rumbling of an all too familiar shore.

Suggested Triggers: The sound of crashing waves, Numbness or loss of feeling, Music in a minor key.

“Tim”

Favoured Regalia: Steeds

Tim is very old. Tim has been every creature of whimsy you could think of. Aliens, cowboys, dragons, a brief but memorable period as a moon. And now Tim is… well, Tim. Office life is Tim’s great fantasy now. And you can be Caroline from Accounting. It’ll be great, he swears.

Suggested triggers: Boredom, Endless paperwork, awkward socialising with others

The Hero's Journey - Beats, Experiences & Character Progression

Experience Costs

Trait	Cost per dot	Experience Type
Attribute	4	Mundane
Skill	2	Mundane
Skill Specialty	1	Mundane
Mundane Merit*	1	Mundane
Supernatural Merit*	1	Mundane/Wyrd
Fae-Touched Only Merit	1	Mundane/Wyrd
Common Arcadian/Court Contracts	3	Mundane/Wyrd
Royal Arcadian/Court Contracts	4	Mundane/Wyrd
Favoured Regalia (Common) Contracts	2	Mundane/Wyrd
Favoured Regalia (Royal) Contracts	3	Mundane/Wyrd
Goblin Contract	2	Mundane/Wyrd
Out of Seeming Contract Benefit**	1	Wyrd
Wyrd	5	Mundane/Wyrd***
Lost Willpower dot	1	Mundane

* The Motley tag does not change a Mundane merit into a Supernatural merit.

**Fae-Touched always treat Contract Benefits as out of seeming.

***You must spend at least a number of Wyrd Experiences equal to the new dot or five, whichever is lower.

Time definitions:

Session: a Game

Chapter: a Game or a Downtime

Story: a Game and a Downtime cycle

Chronicle: the entire length of the Changeling Game will be running.

Experience

A player earns Beats for his character in many ways (listed below). When your character has gained five Beats, they convert to one Experience, which you can use to develop your character's abilities.

Beats

You gain Beats when your character fulfills one of the criteria below:

Mundane Beats:

• If your character fulfils an Aspiration, take a Beat. At the end of the game session, replace the Aspiration.

• Each Condition has criteria for resolution. Once per scene, when resolving a Condition, take a Beat.

• Some Conditions provide Beats for actions other than resolution.

• Any time you fail a roll, you may opt to make it a dramatic failure and take a Beat.

• If your character surrenders in a fight, take a Beat.

• If your character takes damage in one of her rightmost Health boxes, take a Beat.

• If your Character rolls an exceptional success on a Breaking Point, take a beat.

• Any time your character takes damage to her Clarity, take a Beat (this can be a Mundane or a Wyrd Beat).

Wyrd Beats:

• If your Character allows for their words to be sealed on a significant endeavour, take a beat.

• If your character suffers a significant setback or inconvenience living up to a Personal Oath (once per Chapter)

• Once per Story, if your character devotes significant time and energy to fulfilling a bargain, take a beat.

• If your character involuntarily unleashes Bedlam, take a Beat.

• Reaping a Mortal for Glamour.

• Successfully exiting the Hedge following a Hedge expedition (The ST will indicate if the linear had significant peril to justify a Wyrd Beat claim, once per chapter).

• Turning a Failure to a Dramatic Failure on a Breaking point check (Once per Chapter).

• Resolving a Fae based Condition such as Oathbreaker or Goblin Queen.

• Once per Story, if your Character is able to reclaim an Icon, gain a beat.

• Any time your character takes damage to her Clarity, take a Beat (this can be a Mundane or a Wyrd Beat).

• Dramatic Failure on a Contract activation.

• Exceptional success on a Contract activation.