Changeling the Podcast

Brace yourselves—it's time for another trilogy of episodes as we dive into the library for a book of exquisite density. While Isle of the Mighty (our previous three-fer) was long in addition to dense, Dreams and Nightmares is a trim 128 pages with standard-sized font. So why the excessive episodage for it? Because this is the first, last, and thus far only entry in the Changeling canon to give us a thorough look at the Dreaming, whose impact on the world of the game cannot be overemphasized. This week, as we enter the Near Dreaming, we're joined by (friend of the show, Patron, and host of Mage: the Podcast) Terry Robinson to talk about the overall cosmology and metaphysics of this plane, its connections to broader Mage and WoD cosmology, and specifically the Nearer side of things. Much mayhem ensued! The book can be purchased from https://www.storytellersvault.com/product/2173/Dreams-and-Nightmares?affiliate_id=3063731, and if the interwebs are a kind of Dreaming, then here are some of our Realms: Discord: https://discord.me/ctp Email: podcast@changelingthepodcast.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100082973960699 Mastodon: https://dice.camp/@ChangelingPod Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/changelingthepodcast Meanwhile, Terry can be found in places that include: Mage: the Podcast: https://discord.gg/SAryjXGm5j Mage: the Podcast Discord page: podcast@changelingthepodcast.com Pain in the Dice podcast (with Chazz Kellner): https://www.paininthedice.com/ Systematic Understanding of Everything, an Exalted podcast: https://www.exaltcast.com Storyteller's Vault material: https://www.storytellersvault.com/browse.php?author=Terry%20Robinson Twitters include @magethepodcast and @terryrobinson your hosts Josh Hillerup (any pronoun) takes a trod to work because the bridge traffic is just unacceptable since the new troll started working under there. Pooka G (any pronoun/they) | discreetly laughs | at those who scorn | the Silver Paths. | BURMA SHAVE One backward look by any of us Can cost what it cost Orpheus. —Kay Ryan, "Doubt"

Even when you're equipped with quickstart materials (as we discussed a few episode ago...!), it can be daunting to prepare your/your players' first Changeling game. Many of the potential speed bumps can be smoothed over with a solid Session Zero, where everyone gets together, talks about the characters they want to play, the particular game and story they expect to craft, and the questions they need answered before diving into the roleplaying "proper". In this episode, we draw on our experiences both great and abysmal, to inform our takes on some important things to think about in general and for Changeling in particular. This is by no means a tutorial on "how to Storytell," but we hope that it will helpfully enrich your own playing style. Our social media links, if you'd care to leave some feedback, show your appreciation, or just scream like an opossum in the night: Discord: https://discord.me/ctpEmail: podcast@changelingthepodcast.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100082973960699Mastodon: https://dice.camp/@ChangelingPodPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/changelingthepodcast consent documents In this episode, we make reference to these documents, which some Storytellers like to circulate before starting to supplement the "lines" and "veils" deployed in-game. They're usually checklists of topics which might be triggering for players, giving them the opportunity to highlight specific items they don't want in a game. There are a variety of these out in the world, but here are three (free) examples: Monte Cook's "Consent in Gaming" booklet: https://www.montecookgames.com/store/product/consent-in-gaming/Gehenna Gaming's WoD/horror-centered checklist/safety document: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1g5c2GhmnJYaGIDFKlxgXLL_GruGPNncv/view?usp=sharingAnother WoD-centered example, from DTRPG: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/314220/World-of-Darkness-RPG-Consent-Checklist-A4 your hosts Josh Hillerup (any pronoun) requires players to handwrite their sheets with calligraphy on parchment if they take Title greater than 2. Pooka G (any pronoun/they) awards starting XP based on how many crullers each player brings to the table in tribute. "Everything has been said before, but since nobody listens we have to keep going back and beginning all over again." —Andre Gide, Le Traité de Narcisse

Another dive into the library...! This week, we're taking a closer look at the ill-tempered genius of the nockers as we flip through the pages of their Kithbook, the third in the lineup. There are certainly some interesting tidbits in this one: the origins of nockers' foul mouths, some fast-and-loose chimerical "science", a panoply of devices and vehicles from their workshops. And then there are... choices that were made about their heritage and presentation that we examine with more critical eyes. Friend of the show Charles Siegel joins us on this episode to help hash out who the nockers are, who they could be, and how to (better) fold them into your Changeling chronicle. Some places you can find us around the intersphere: Discord: https://discord.me/ctpEmail: podcast@changelingthepodcast.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100082973960699Mastodon: https://dice.camp/@ChangelingPodPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/changelingthepodcast And some places where you can find Charles and his work: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/charlessiegelOne of Charles' many offerings on the Storytellers' Vault, Paradigm Explored: Number and Shape, for all your mathemagician needs: https://www.storytellersvault.com/product/367375?affiliate_id=3063731 your hosts Josh Hillerup (any pronoun) is one step closer to discovering the elusive Higgs monad. Pooka G (any pronoun/they) knows that many nockers can tune a piano, but not a one can tuna fish. "Everything was normal and then suddenly, it's like the laws of physics went right out the window." "And why shouldn't they? They're so inconvenient." —Geordi and Q in Star Trek: The Next Generation, "True Q"

There are a few different ways to summarize Changeling: the Dreaming and its themes. "You're a faerie in a human body" and its variations are a common starting point; "it's about the struggle to keep imagination alive" might be another. The conflict (or is it, really?) between Glamour and Banality is our topic for this week, as we try to take a holistic view of them as metaphysical forces, game systems, descriptive elements, and things in need of complication for a more nuanced game. We're trying to be pretty broad in our strokes here, but remember that this is our own take on the subject. Use as much or as little of it as like—su mesa es su mesa. And of course, if you have a different take on Glamour and Banality, you're welcome to share your thoughts with us via the following media: Discord: https://discord.me/ctpEmail: podcast@changelingthepodcast.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100082973960699Mastodon: https://dice.camp/@ChangelingPodPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/changelingthepodcast None of what we say is gospel, after all. Maybe Changeling doesn't get quite the same level of philosophical debate as Mage, but there's still plenty to chew over, as the fan community has done for the last few decades. For our part, we're throwing ideas out there like spaghetti, to see what sticks to the wall of discourse. (Because that's what podcasting is all about!) your hosts Josh Hillerup (any pronoun) carries a never-ending hip-flask Treasure that continually refills with maple syrup dross. Pooka G (any pronoun/they) faces a Banality trigger whenever someone uses the words "untranslatable" or "thusly". The opposite of beauty is not ugliness, it's indifference. —Elie Wiesel

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a tabletop RPG with a rich setting is in want of an overflow book for all the material unceremoniously cut from the corebook. Changeling's 2nd edition was no exception, and so we have the Book of Lost Dreams, a slim volume that touches on crossover rules with other WoD games, resources for Storytellers, Unseelie Houses, an introductory adventure... all of it packaged with a seemly Storytellers' Screen, behind which you can roll dice with secrecy and aplomb. In this episode, we riffle through its pages, as well as two of the associated products from the early days: the Introductory Kit and the updated Toys will be Toys adventure. These are echoes of the earliest internet days for White Wolf and Changeling as well, so naturally, we wax nostalgic more than we probably need to. If you're into buying the BoLD, here's a link: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/43?affiliate_id=3063731. It's kind of intriguing how this was apparently the 43rd product ever added to DriveThruRPG; it seems that many of the early ones consisted of the White Wolf back catalog, uploaded in alphabetical order. (Aberrant is #3, Adventure! is #5, Alien Hunger is #8...) And then, the Intro Kit is free!-ly available at https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/89894?affiliate_id=3063731 for your perusal. As for the Storyteller's screen illustrated by Rebecca Guay, well, check it out: A lovely pastoral scene behind which to decide the fate of your players, no? Note how it moves through the seasons as you proceed from left to right, because that's the kind of cool stuff one should do with art. Lastly, as always, here are our social media links: Discord: https://discord.me/ctpEmail: podcast@changelingthepodcast.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100082973960699Mastodon: https://dice.camp/@ChangelingPodPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/changelingthepodcast We hope you'll get in touch! And stay tuned for our next installment... heck, follow our show on whatever platform you're reading this, why don'tcha? your hosts Josh Hillerup (any pronoun) ran the "Capture the Flag" adventure as a freeform LARP. The government of Ontario has yet to set a court date. Pooka G (any pronoun/they) lost some dreams once, but it turns out they were just buried under several sarongs and tapestries. The art of losing isn't hard to master; so many things seem filled with the intent to be lost that their loss is no disaster. —Elizabeth Bishop, "One Art"

Greetings, Dreamers! After a couple months' hibernation, we have returned to start bringing you content once again, as we enter the enchanted realm of 2nd edition... so of course, we must begin with the corebook, a tome near and dear to both our hearts. We really tried to rein it in, and this still ended up being our longest episode yet (by the merest of hairs). This is still a legacy edition, but nearer to the most recent incarnation of the game, and still chock-full of useful material for any player or Storyteller. And frankly, the book is just beautiful, in an era when beautiful TTRPG books were by no means a given like they (kind of) are today. First, let us dust off our social media profiles so that you can reach out to us if you desire... Discord (with a shiny new link! that hopefully works!): https://discord.me/ctpEmail: podcast@changelingthepodcast.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100082973960699Mastodon: https://dice.camp/@ChangelingPodPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/changelingthepodcast ...and then, if you're inclined to purchase the PDF online, behold the link to do so: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/1624?affiliate_id=3063731 We have most of this shiny new Season 2 planned out, with book dives and interviews and inspirational tidbits and more, so if you haven't subscribed, we hope that you'll consider doing so! Stay tuned for (mostly) weekly episodes and see what dreams they muster... your hosts Josh Hillerup (any pronoun) once invoked the Dragon's Ire at a coffeeshop when the barista accidentally used hemp milk. Pooka G (any pronoun/they) only commits Rhapsody on affluenzic "influencers" who need to be put in their place. "Dreaming is...a game of the imagination, a game that is a value in itself." —Milan Kundera, The Unbearable Lightness of Being

Hey all! This is just our quick wrap-up for the end of our first season (which we've sort of stumbled into properly calling a season now). It's a handful of thoughts on what we've accomplished, and what we'd like to do in the coming year. Thanks again for listening and supporting our podcast so far, and we hope you'll stick with us when we come back after our hiatus. In the meantime, feel free to reach out to us via our usual passel of social media spots: Discord: https://discord.gg/SAryjXGm5jEmail: podcast@changelingthepodcast.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100082973960699Mastodon: https://dice.camp/@ChangelingPodPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/changelingthepodcast See you in 2023!

For our last long-form episode of 2022, we're diving into the library again, but this time we're headed to the fiction section, and the Immortal Eyes novel trilogy. These books tie in to the three Immortal Eyes setting/chronicle books from 1st edition, fleshing out the story and giving some more options for incorporating the plot (and metaplot) into one's own chronicle. It was a grand experiment that, while not unsuccessful, is difficult to define in terms of its actual impact on the game line. Nevertheless, they weren't a chore to read, and we wanted to take some time to discuss them—as well as the overall role of RPG-associated fiction in the game space. If you want to get in touch with us to comment, inquire, or just croon wordlessly about this (or another) episode: Discord: https://discord.gg/SAryjXGm5jEmail: podcast@changelingthepodcast.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100082973960699Mastodon: https://dice.camp/@ChangelingPodPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/changelingthepodcast ... links in the chain You can pick up the novels on DriveThruRPG for $0.99 each. As Josh points out, they're PDFs rather than EPUBs, which makes them tough for some e-readers, but the price is actually significantly lower than what Pooka said on the show (bad research!), so there's that. Follow the links below: The Toybox: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/82356?affiliate_id=3063731Shadows on the Hill: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/82357?affiliate_id=3063731Court of All Kings: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/82358?affiliate_id=3063731 Additionally, if you want to hear our episodes where we give deep dives into the setting/chronicle books proper and their usefulness for a chronicle, behold even more links...!: Immortal Eyes: The Toybox: https://changelingthepodcast.com/podcast/episode-6-immortal-eyes-the-toybox/Immortal Eyes: Shadows on the Hill: https://changelingthepodcast.com/podcast/episode-13-shadows-on-the-hill/Immortal Eyes: Court of All Kings: https://changelingthepodcast.com/podcast/episode-20-court-of-all-kings/ ... your hosts Josh Hillerup (any pronoun) is building a chimerical monstrosity from stripped book covers as retribution for 90s publishers' excess. Pooka G (any pronoun/they) often turns enemies to stone and pries loose their gem eyes, and so now has more Eyestones than they know what to do with. "It's not that pookas never tell the truth. It's just that our version of the truth does not always correspond with majority opinion." —Rasputin, noted street performer, decorated war hero, and Grand Nabob of the Tenderloin

Changelings are part fae, part human. But what about their fellows who are even humaner, or humans who are entirely so, with nothing inherently fae about them? This episode, we return to the library to talk about The Enchanted, Changeling's supplement for "Year of the Ally" and the final(!) book of the 1st edition. While we've seen mortal antagonists throughout the line, here we get a look at the enchanted and the fae-blooded-but-otherwise-ordinary Kinain. They've changed dramatically in the latest edition of the game, so it's a bit of nostalgia to flip through the pages of this book and see how they were presented before. If you'd like to ally with us yourself, you can do so via the social media connection point of your choosing: Discord: https://discord.gg/SAryjXGm5jEmail: podcast@changelingthepodcast.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100082973960699Mastodon: https://dice.camp/@ChangelingPodPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/changelingthepodcast It also occurs to us that we haven't been including the actual links to the books in the show notes, in case people want to get PDFs of their own, which is... an oversight, to say the least. So here you go! https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/288?affiliate_id=3063731. (We might have to go back and edit some of the older Lost in the Library posts...) ... your hosts Josh Hillerup (any pronoun) possesses the Fae Gift of always finding a discount on candy beans at the local shops. Pooka G (any pronoun/they) undergoes a warp-spasm whenever yet another crackpot makes an unsubstantiated claim about the Voynich Manuscript. "Faeries lead us astray to show us the way." —Brian Froud

Greetings, all! This episode is dropping a bit later than anticipated, because it's our longest yet, but also one of our most important. Today we're talking about Changeling's version of the Nunnehi, the Indigenous fae of Concordia whose presentation has been a mixed bag over the editions. We're not focused on a particular book, since they appear throughout the line, but the 1st edition Player's Guide, the Werewolf supplement Rage Across Appalachia, and the 20th Anniversary Edition corebook all get some attention. We have three guest hosts for this installment, and technology was as much a bugbear as ever, so we ask that you bear with us through the remaining unresolved audio issues for an excellent discussion. Our usual candy-box of social media links: Discord: https://discord.gg/SAryjXGm5jEmail: podcast@changelingthepodcast.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100082973960699Mastodon: https://dice.camp/@ChangelingPodPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/changelingthepodcast The intermission track used in this episode is "Please Calm My Mind", by Oleksii Kaplunskyi. this episode's guests Wahde ᏩᏕ Galiswegi is an Indigenous gamer, Cherokee Language revitalizationist and traditionalist, with a background in Cherokee ceremonial Ian and spirituality. Wahde's website: https://sites.google.com/view/master-ct-898-mackey-wahde/home?pli=1 Liam ᎬᎮ McAlpin and Ia ᎪᎳᏄ Bull are both Cherokee language revitalizationists from the Cherokee Nation in Eastern Oklahoma. Liam is going for a BA in Cherokee Language Education and Creative Writing while Ia just started a PhD in Information Studies, with a background in archives. They are from Tahlequah, their family is from Adair County, and they are members of ᏌᎶᎵ ᎤᎾᏓᏢ ᏂᎦᏘᏲ, ᎦᏚᏩᎩ/Cherokee ceremonial community. Ia's Mastodon: https://dice.camp/@IaKholanBullLiam's Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/liam.mcalpin/ ... media and other resources Some works that might be inspirational and/or educational for you: Fiction and poetry: This Wound is a World (Billy-Ray Belcourt); Love Medicine, The Round House, and Tracks (Louise Erdrich); all of the work of Joy Harjo; The Way to Rainy Mountain (N. Scott Momaday); Almanac of the Dead and Ceremony (Leslie Marmon Silko), Winter in the Blood (James Welch)Non-fiction: Portrait of the Whiteman (Keith Basso); Custer Died for Your Sins (Vine Deloria Jr.); Braiding Sweetgrass (Robin Wall Kimmerer); The Sacred Formulas of the Cherokee and Myths of the Cherokee (James Mooney); Reclaiming Two-Spirits (Gregory D. Smithers)TV and film: Dance Me Outside, Reservation Dogs, Rutherford Falls, Smoke Signals, This May Be the Last Time, Winter in the BloodMusic: Anvdvnelisisgi (Performers), DJ Shub, The Halluci Nation, Maniac: the Siouxpernatural, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Tanya TagaqRPG Podcasts: Nunnehi episode from Walking Away from Arcadia, Creating Indigenous Stories episode from Werewolf: the PodcastVisual arts: Roy Boney Jr., Keli Gonzales This is just a quick handful of sources that came up in our discussions, both on-mic and off. But there is a wealth of media out there by Native American and First Nations creators to explore, and we strongly encourage you to go out looking for more (with the caveat to always be mindful about what you find, the context in which it was created, and how you engage with it). ... your hosts Josh Hillerup (any pronoun) was recording this episode from unceded territory in Anishinaabewaki. Pooka G (any pronoun/they) was recording this episode from unceded territory in Lenapehoking. That first cry opens the earth door. We join the ancestor road. With our pack of memories Slung slack on our backs We venture into the circle Of destruction, Which is the circle Of creation And make more— —Joy Harjo, "Memory Sack"