Changeling the Podcast

A merry solstice to all! Keep an eye peeled for any fae wheelings and dealings in your neighborhood today, and be sure not to stray into any mysterious mushroom rings... In the meantime, you can also have a listen to this state of the podcast for the first half of Season 2, where we do an assessment of how things are going so far and our plans for the rest of the year. (Just a short audio morsel to tide you over.) The biggest news herein is that we are finally converting episodes to video format for upload to YouTube. A link to the podcast channel will be included in our social media bundle moving forward, and the individual episodes uploaded so far—in case you want to go back to the beginning—are as follows: Episode 0 — introduction to the podcast: https://youtu.be/ienEt1JT3uo Episode 1 — introduction to Changeling: the Dreaming: https://youtu.be/ppCGutqzkRI Episode 2 — the fae before Changeling: https://youtu.be/OkOTqIdYDg8 Episode 3 — first edition corebook: https://youtu.be/r2zaimaaO-g The rest of the usual links: 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 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ChangelingThePodcast/ Thanks for your listens and supports! And we are steadily working away for our own late-summer Resurgence...

Our fiftieth (full-length) installment! Thanks to all who have been listening, especially those with us from the start, and we hope the next fifty are enjoyable. It seemed right to close out that milestone, and the first half of Season 2, with something a bit more relaxed. So here we are with another inspirations episode, this time on thirteen films that we think are particularly suited for Changeling: the Dreaming. (It would've been ten like the other inspirations episodes, but there was no way we could have kept it to that few.) This is a mix of movies officially recommended in the books and some of our own picks, a balance between overtly fae-themed films and others that more generally reflect the themes of the game. In order of discussion, here are the trailers. Some of them are excessively Hollywood, for which you have our apologies: Amélie (dir. Jean-Pierre Jeunet, 2001) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUECWi5pX7o Labyrinth (dir. Jim Henson, 1986) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2yd4em1I6M Mirrormask (dir. Dave McKean, 2005) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jd4DGnYk37A The Princess Bride (dir. Rob Reiner, 1987) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNNUcHRiPS8 Paprika (dir. Satoshi Kon, 2006) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yn7U1KIGeuQ The Fisher King (dir. Terry Gilliam, 1991) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E65wgbFGGeM Pleasantville (dir. Gary Ross, 1998) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-4pnXcqyt0 Hook (dir. Steven Spielberg, 1991) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrGpgcQHroY Spirited Away (dir. Hayao Miyazaki, 2001) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByXuk9QqQkk Pan's Labyrinth (dir. Guillermo del Toro, 2006) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcHasH-nLhU Tideland (dir. Terry Gilliam, 2005) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-80Zh60skLw What Dreams May Come (dir. , 1997) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmZ-FuBThuQ Were the World Mine (dir. Tom Gustafson, 2008) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLJe1QakzX4 We also mention like thirty others at different points, including those suggested by our listeners. And where can you get in touch with us if you have comments or contributions to share? Well: 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 Our freehold is always welcome to you, so do stop by. your hosts Josh Hillerup (any pronoun) moonlights as a nocker projectionist at the local cinema.. Pooka G (any pronoun/they) daylights as a sluagh handing out sentient bags of popcorn. "Un film est une source pétrifiante de la pensée. (A film is a petrified fountain of thought.)" —Jean Cocteau, Le testament d'Orphée

We'll be the first to admit that the Southern US is not our primary field of expertise, and to point out that TTRPG books—especially some of the 90s White Wolf ones—are not the greatest resource for learning more. That being said, the Kingdom of Willows supplement on the Kithain realm of the same name, covering that part of the world, is one of the more robust entries in the canon. It has its curiosities, and it has its cringes, but few Changeling books can match it for density. This week, we're talking about its usefulness for running games set in that part of the world and its approach to detailing the setting, as well as its crucial role in advancing the metaplot for 2nd edition. (We also fly through the seventy pages or so of NPC biographies at breakneck speed, because those things were lengthy.) The book is available on the Storytellers Vault at: https://www.storytellersvault.com/product/173?affiliate_id=3063731 As per usual, reach out and touch Glamour at: 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 And we also threw references to a couple STV supplements, plus a bonus item from the outro: Ian Lemke's Awakenings, set in Baltimore: https://www.storytellersvault.com/product/261757?affiliate_id=3063731 Andrew Goodman's Kithbook: Dullahan, featuring expanded rules for faerie steeds: https://www.storytellersvault.com/product/412514?affiliate_id=3063731 An example of the intriguing things one turns up on Atlas Obscura: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/land-of-oz-theme-park your hosts Josh Hillerup (any pronoun) is moss-covered, moonlit, and eerie as the Devil waiting by a crossroads at midnight. Pooka G (any pronoun/they) is sweat-soaked, magnolia-scented, and peculiar as that swarm of bees in the wisteria. "I agreed to spend the afternoon, if only to understand the mystery of how a place could feel so strange, and yet so familiar." —Edward Bloom, Big Fish

This week, we're headed back to the [dramatic music] theatre... of the MIND's EYE! [thunder, etc.] as we have a small LARP roundtable with Ash and Will. They are two of the movers and shakers for One World by Night (OWbN), a group that organizes live-action games worldwide! The conversation covers a lot of material following on the heels of Episode 44, where we talked with Pete Woodworth about the genesis of Changeling LARP with his book, The Shining Host. But this one is more about putting the rules and recommendations of that book into action, and how groups have evolved and adapted in the 25 years since it was released. Relevant links for our guests and their work include... One World by Night's main page: https://www.owbn.net/ For inquiries about OWbN's Changeling LARPs: changeling@owbn.net Discord link for OWbN Changeling LARPs: https://discord.gg/5FwXsR7p Discord link for the general OWbN network, to find/advertise local games: https://discord.gg/xtYWSNNs Haller Games, a well-respected site for LARPer resources: https://www.hallergames.com/ The Cosmic Omelet, which deserves freehold status: https://www.cosmicomelet.com/gallery Might as well throw the Shining Host PDF link on here again, too: https://www.storytellersvault.com/product/1491?affiliate_id=3063731 And you'd like to find us around the digital realm, here are some of your options: 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 your hosts Josh Hillerup (any pronoun) spices up the weekly supermarket run by adding in boffer shopping cart jousts. Pooka G (any pronoun/they) tried LARPing as a mandragora, but mostly that just involved standing in a corner being putredinous. "Imagination is one of the forces of nature." —Wallace Stevens

Well, we managed to get to Episode 47 without covering it, but it's time at last for our final(?) WoD gameline crossover episode. This time, we're talking about Vampire: the Masquerade and its points of connection, mechanical and thematic, with Changeling: the Dreaming. We're joined for the discussion by CtP Patron, fellow podcaster, and resident vampire expert (Bryce/)(Sand)Chigg(er), as we meander through clans and bloodlines, Camarilla and Sabbat, Disciplines and other sundries. If you're interested in getting the blood parasites and the dream/emotion/creativity parasites together, we encourage you to listen. (And yes, we acknowledge that an hour and a half is not sufficient time to plumb all the possible depths here, but there's only so much VtM you can talk about before the ennui just floors you.) Some of the usual places where you can find us online include: 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 And despite what the final bits of the episode might say—no, we have no plans to start up a TikTok in the immediate future. Sorry, #faemily! Meanwhile, some places you can find Chigg around the interwebs (besides our own Discord) include: Darker Days Radio podcast: http://podcast.darker-days.org/ Darker Days Discord: https://discord.gg/GGuRKAn Darker Days' Storytellers' Vault publications include things like this bundle of supplements for Chronicles of Darkness games and V5 demo scenarios like this one or this one Chigg's own Mastodon: https://dice.camp/@Sandchigger your hosts Josh Hillerup (any pronoun) put all five Background dots into Generation, because that's the way to do it. Pooka G (any pronoun/they) opines that if Aaron the Malkavian can have a feeding razor, David Ardry should get a mustache spoon. "People always ask me if I think vampires really exist, and I always say yes, because if I say no, and they do exist, they'd be like... "*tsk* Oh, right!" —Alyson Hannigan

There was a bit of a delay for this episode—sorry! When you party with the satyrs for the sake of episode data, you party hardy. But in the end, we have some thoughts about the kith and their presentation in Kithbook: Satyrs. To overcome the fairly one-dimensional sex maniac trope, the kithbook situates them within an extensive fae history of Greece, argues that passion can go in many directions, gives some insights into how satyrs age... not all bad stuff. That said, it's middle of the road for a splatbookl, introducing some interesting ideas without pushing the kith in any exciting new directions—which they could have benefited from. If they're your favorite kith, it's certainly worth the read. If you'd like to take a look at the book (perhaps to consider purchasing it), here's the link: https://www.storytellersvault.com/product/3468/Kithbook-Satyrs?affiliate_id=3063731 And if you want to drop us a line, you can find us at: 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 your hosts Josh Hillerup (any pronoun) has a Passion for pudding, but only the instant kind. Pooka G (any pronoun/they) insists that the "G" is not for "Goat," but nobody seems to believe that. "Passion persuades me one way, reason another. I see the better and approve it, but I follow the worse." —Ovid, Metamorphoses VII.19-21

When it comes to themes in Changeling, there are plenty of possibilities for discussion: the bittersweetness of time, the necessity of balance, alternative forms of horror (which we talked about back in Episode 24). Two closely aligned ones that interest us are queerness and kinship. The experience of the former is often paralleled by many of the game's core ideas, and the various forms of the latter come to the foreground in the game's setting. This episode is kind of a meditation on those two themes, drawing a lot on our personal experiences. It's a discussion that could take several more hours... for now, though, we kept ourselves to one (more or less) where we muse about some of the more prominent connections we see. Hopefully it will provide you with some food for thought! Feel free to let us know what you think about this themes episode, and these more wide-ranging discussions in general: 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 your hosts Josh Hillerup (any pronoun) sometimes uses the term "faemily" into conversation just to see what kind of impact it has on others. Pooka G (any pronoun/they) favors incorporating glitter into as many cantrip Bunks as possible. I've heard it too many times to ignore it. It's something that I'm supposed to be. Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection, the lovers, the dreamers, and me. —Kermit the Frog, "Rainbow Connection"

...no, not the pseudo-Kithbook: Sidhe. We already covered that book, if you'll remember Episode 11. This time we'll be talking about the similarly named but wholly different The Shining Host, Changeling's entry in the LARP (Live-Action RolePlaying) universe of Mind's Eye Theatre. Given the alignment between the themes and mechanics of Changeling: the Dreaming and, well, make-believe, it's a natural fit for this more performative style of roleplaying. Part book dive and part exploration of the role-playing style, this episode is also one of those situations where Josh has extensive experience and Pooka has basically zero, and the disparity in knowledge is quite apparent. But we have a special guest to help us out this time: the book's author, and eventual MET/C20 developer, Pete Woodworth! With such knowledgeable guides, surely even a pooka can come out of this episode having learned something. You can purchase the book at https://www.storytellersvault.com/product/1491?affiliate_id=3063731, for your LARP education and edification (edufication?), and check out Pete's other work at: His website, https://peterwoodworth.com/ A bluebird-feed, https://twitter.com/WriterPete Supplements for The Expanse RPG like this one, co-written with (among others) fellow CtD luminary Ian Lemke And then there's our usual social links in case you need to bother us for Things and Stuff: 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 your hosts Josh Hillerup (any pronoun) has the power to turn invisible with a mere fold of the arms. Pooka G (any pronoun/they) believes in the primacy of rock-paper-scissors-lizard-Spock. "We're actors — we're the opposite of people!" —The Player, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead

In case it wasn't clear, the sidhe are the star kith (some might say "Marys Sue" or "prime donne") of Changeling: the Dreaming. More metaplot space was devoted to their intrigues than any other, players seem drawn to play them (possibly for those sweet House benefits), and while they never got 72 or 96 pages of proper kithbook, they got ~400 pages of House book divided across three supplements. (And that's putting aside Nobles: the Shining Host and The Shadow Court, each of which could also arguably be called "Kithbooks: Sidhe"...) It is to the first of that trilogy that we turn this week, as we discuss Noblesse Oblige: The Book of Houses, covering the five "core" Seelie Houses from 1st edition. It's a weighty tome with a lot of information about the history and culture of these groups, but we do our best to get through them at a brisk clip...! Granted, you might not have time to listen to in-depth descriptions of the Houses and their role in the broader landscape of Kithain society. We thought it might be best to reduce each one to a phrase or two that summarizes their ethos, but we wanted to jazz it up a bit, so here they are as flavor profile descriptions, complete with cheese pairings: House Dougal: robust with little variation, notes of stone fruit, smoky finish; pairs nicely with a sharp Cheddar House Eiluned: complex and (actually) acidic, a succession of flavors, velvety mouthfeel; goes well with an aged Gruyère House Fiona: effervescent and bright, with a balance between vanilla and citrus; even out with a mild goat cheese House Gwydion: intensely flavorful with cedar notes, but a slight metallic aftertaste; only Roquefort can match its power House Liam: simple and bittersweet, with occasional tartness and a nutty finish; best with a smear of honey-coated Brie Feel free to agree or disagree with these picks on our social media, where you can also share and discuss other Changeling-flavored whatnot: 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 your hosts Josh Hillerup (any pronoun) grew up in the suburbs of Arcadia, where light rail is affordable and organic co-ops abound. Pooka G (any pronoun/they) isn't keen on adjectives gone wild, but syntax gone wild is something up with which they will gladly put. "I had been too long away from the nobility; I had forgotten how silly even the best of them could be." —Laurell K. Hamilton, "Geese"

It's been a while since we had one of our inspiration episodes, where we take a look at material outside of the CtD canon that we find helpful for grokking the themes of the game. We've had novels and spoopy novels, but in this episode (#THE ANSWER) we're turning to graphic novels and other visual narratives of the comic form. A professor might say, pairing text with image creates its own kind of media experience for the reader, tickling a particular set of imaginative centers in the brain that are good for conceptualizing the intricate mytho-fictive narratives of the game. But more simply put, MOAR COMIX BETTER GAME. (And even if you don't think of yourself as a "comics reader," these are worth a look.) The full list: Neil Gaiman with various artists, Sandman (and assorted spinoffs) — the original fan annotations website is archived here, but there is also an official Annotated Sandman out from DC Kieron Gillen and Stephanie Hans, DIE — and see the tie-in roleplaying game here! Jack Kirby and Stan Lee and so many others, X-Men Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda, Monstress Winsor McCay, Little Nemo in Slumberland (and variations on the title) — in the public domain, so you can see many of the old strips (along with the excellent Krazy Kat) at the Comic Strip Library [bonus! Jamie McKelvie, Suburban Glamour] Alan Moore, Watchmen — there was a film adaptation and everything, but here's the 80s cartoon the world deserved Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples, Saga — we're not going to link to merchandise websites, but you can get resin statues of plushies of the Lying Cat, if you so desire (and really, why wouldn't you?) Chris Ware, Jimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid on Earth Bill Watterson, Calvin and Hobbes Bill Willingham and (mostly) Mark Buckingham, Fables And then as usual, another list, where you can rail about how right or wrong we were about this list (although take note—limiting ourselves to eleven was tough, and we acknowledge there's a lot more out there): 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 If you join our Discord, feel free to send us your suggested stats for Hobbes the Lycian, or vote on which sidhe Houses you think Xavier and Magneto would fall into, or just talk about the episode to your hearts' contentments. our hosts Josh Hillerup (any pronoun) often trips over speech balloons and tumbles through the fourth wall. Pooka G (any pronoun/they) defies the square panel as a convention of story-binding, favoring instead the trapezoid. "Let's see if we can call time on this trend by demanding and creating big, wild comics which stretch our imaginations. Let's make living breathing, sprawling adventures filled with mind-blowing images of things unseen on Earth. Let's make artefacts that are not faux-games or movies but something other, something so rare and strange it might as well be a window into another universe because that's what it is." —Grant Morrison