Introduction

“Oh my God... I'm back. I'm home. All the time, it was... We finally really did it. YOU MANIACS! YOU BLEW IT UP! AH, DAMN YOU! GOD DAMN YOU ALL TO HELL!!”

~ George Taylor, Planet of the Apes

In our first Blog post for the new Changeling chronicle we will return to and expand on our original pitch. We will be using the rules from the upcoming Changeling the Lost KS (ETA: 14^th November) with a collected volume of playtest notes as a fall back.

Regardless we will be using later blog posts to cover mechanics in more detail. With a post today providing an overview of the game closely followed by a post on the Courts in Changeling, a brief primer on the hedge and a roster of True Fae Keepers for this chronicle.

***

The Freehold is gone…or it never existed…actually what is a Freehold anyway? That’s something that you don’t know. It doesn’t put food in your belly, a tenner in your pocket or a roof over your head. And you’d have thought that if it did something like keep the Gentry at bay there’d be one knocking about wouldn’t there?!

***

Welcome home; not quite what you were imagining it to be were you? When did we all get so hateful, scared, mean and petty…were we always like this…and I thought Norwich was supposed to be a “Fine City”…You know it’s funny, when you run like a bat outta hell following the sirens call of your memories, you only remember the good things and when you realise they just aren’t there anymore and the world has simply moved on…it all just sours. I guess that’s why they call it the dark charisma of nostalgia. I mean what did we do it all for? We talk of freedom but we live in what seems to be emerging one of the least free periods of human history: credit cards, background checks, Professional referees, social media, meta data, the most CCTV cameras per square mile anywhere on earth…it seems the only commodity worth having is a government mandated identity. And mine’s been stolen by that thing there across the park, laughing and playing with my kids. While me, I’m just some deadbeat living on the edge, some probable junkie who occasionally gets given a quid by a kindly stranger as they whisper under their breath “I hope that’s never me…”

 Sometimes you just wonder, was it all worth it…

***

The world has become a much harsher place, with over a decade of Austerity and stagnant growth, a Lost generation reaping the whirlwind of their elders’ decadence. Hatred of the other, which had been carefully simmering, now spills over openly while desperate people fight (sometimes literally) tooth and nail over the small scraps of a society, a nation, in a spiral of decline. What happened to the Post war dream…it is in this strange, savage and almost alien world in which the Lost of Norwich have found themselves. Player characters will have only returned in the last few weeks and have yet to establish any kind of routine or identity to hide from their vengeful keepers, relying only on the bonds of trust and fellowship found in their own Motley. 

This Lost Chronicle is all about carving out an existence between the cracks of society, struggling to survive the world of darkness without the traditional comforts of house and home, family and fraternity, community and identity. Unlike the current chronicle which has used Lost as the backdrop for high fantasy and grand narrative. We want to really dig down into the core of Changeling which the story of survivors overcoming the odds and rebuilding a life for themselves. Though the bonfire of civilisation burns, from the ashes a phoenix may arise…

Theme: Soap Opera & Survival Horror (In that Order…)

Friendship is magical. Friendship is overpowered. True friendship is rarer than stardust and stronger than Mithril. But how can one suffered so much open themselves up to trust and friendship. Rather than having an established Freehold or even ‘established’ characters our story begins with the escape, or its immediate aftermath. With no support structure player characters will have to think on their feet navigating the cruel bureaucracy and beautiful madness of the worlds they find themselves torn between. A Big part of the story we wish to tell is those little personal victories and the dynamics of interpersonal, inter-motley and societal interaction. Alongside the politics of maintaining a fractious coalition of Motley’s we wish to tell stories of budding romance, overcoming ones fears and the rising fortunes (or misfortunes) of those newly returned. That is not to say though that the lives of the lost are light and carefree. A great malice hides within the shadows of this fractured society, monsters are real and all too often the Lost are their prey. Only by embracing their humanity and opening up despite the embedded layers of deceit and guile that come naturally to the Fae can the Lost ever hope to circle round the campfire and await the coming of dawn.

Mood: “The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there…”

It is just not physically and psychologically that the Lost have been changed. Their experiences trapped in Faerie have shaken and blurred the lines of their own morality. Amongst the eldritch mystery and oppressive banality that the Lost must navigate many quickly come to the conclusion that the old rules no longer apply. How can one truly open up to those around them or reconnect with those whom they had loved and cared for before their durance when the dreams of the magical and the fantastical draw the Gentry like a beacon? How can justice be wrought against those who transgressed against the Lost when to punish invokes dark memories of the avengers own durance? How can a Lost assume leadership of their fledgling society and not become drunk on their own power…and become one of them?

Even outside the idiosyncrasies of Lost society. Leaving Faerie with little more than the shirt on your back makes returning to a ‘normal’ life challenging to say the least; with no reliable income, references or papers (how delightfully authoritarian) to navigate modern society the Lost are immediately thrown to the bottom of the societal ladder where every day can be a struggle for life or death and those willing to ‘lend a hand’ seldom do so from altruistic motives. Reclaiming your old life can be a shortcut out of the rat race of society’s illicit underbelly, and one that minimises the compromising of the Lost’s soul, but even this presents its own challenges. The fear of exposure and expulsion from the many deceptions a Lost must spin to maintain a façade of normalcy can gnaw away and poison their mind with paranoia over the lives they jeopardise and ruin in pursuit of their own dreams.

So what can I expect?

Mystery – Eldritch horror and Twilight Zone/Black Mirror-esque morality tales aplenty. Moving amongst the most vulnerable circles in human society the Lost are the first at hand when the byzantine power plays of the gentry are set in motion. Even outside the threat of their former keepers there are many things in the world of darkness that mankind wilfully turns a blind eye to (and the cost to those who choose not to heed this warning is steep indeed). To protect themselves and those around them the Lost cannot simply wallow in ignorance but must shine a light into the darkest depths…whatever they may reveal.

Politics – Do not waste today for tomorrow may herald the arrival of a vengeful Keeper. A libertarian society on a constant war footing was never going to be a bed rock of stability even with the grace of age and experience. With no starting social structure beyond Motley’s there will be massive scope for developing a political structure and keeping it together when pressure mounts. Unity can so quickly bleed into tyranny and liberty often becomes self-satisfied navel gazing. While the needs of the many often outweigh the needs of the few the few are rarely willing to be offered up as tribute. Alongside leadership and direction, the Fae are bound by a multitude of obscure and incomprehensible laws. Navigating the esoteric etiquette of the Fae, the ticks and triggers of fellow Lost and the oppressive systems of bureaucratic modernity is a tiring dance the Lost are drawn into.

Drama & Consequence – With no support structure and no safety net, actions have consequences. The life of the Lost is torn between the banality of the mortal world and the fantasy of the realms of Faerie, and there will be times in a Lost’s wretched existence that they must choose one to the detriment of the other. A lavish display of power might make a mugger think twice today but the genie will be out of the bottle and what’s to stop the mugger coming back with friends…and torches. Deception and obfuscation have always been the tools of the Fae but as all fairy tales remind us – “the truth will out” with deadly results. We want to run a game where hard decisions are placed at the forefront and mistakes or miscalculations can bring lasting ramifications. Struggles with a Characters ethics and morality are greatly encouraged, especially where personal goals are at stake.