Changeling the Podcast

Settle in, because this is a long one... the raw audio for this recording was the longest we've had by far. But that's because Nobles: the Shining Host, the first Changeling book to delve into Kithain nobility, covers a lot of bases. It's not quite "Kithbook: Sidhe," but there's enough about them in there to satisfy most players and STs who want to know more about the kith; on top of that, you have plenty about the social structure and cultural dynamics of nobles from any background. We get bits of history, an epic tale, political parties and secret societies, information about Concordia's monarchs, some new Traits (including two new Arts), a new House, character templates... the book really packs it in. We cover it in this episode as briskly, yet thoroughly, as possible—but even so, this is almost our longest episode thus far. (This is also the reason why it's going out a bit late this week. Nostra maxima culpa.) how to play a sidhe Just kidding—we're not going to tell you the exact answer to that, because there really isn't one. Ultimately, you do what you want to do. But, since the book focuses heavily (not entirely!) on this kith, we are going to point out a couple things about trends and possibilities. See, the traditional roles for sidhe in CtD games have tended towards: 1. pretty Mary Sues who are (or demand to be) able to do anything (especially when people just want to play a sidhe for that extra Boon), 2. uptight patricians who treat egoism and sucking all the oxygen out of a room (or gaming session) as a virtue, 3. as Josh put it, the real-life protagonists of soap operas (for the viewing pleasure of the commoners), or 4. all of the above, which is doable because the first three are stat-, personality-, and narrative-based, respectively. The exact shape of these things has waxed and waned over the years—"mysterious warrior-sorcerer with Appearance 7 and/or an ethereal presence" seems to be a common expression of (1) these days—but the common threads are quite visible. The unfortunate thing is that the early books, at least, set up a lot of alternatives to these archetypes, even as they also provide examples of them. And yet somehow, the alternatives seem to have faded more and more into the background. Maybe this is due to real-world ideals working their way into the game: commoners are moving front and center with progressive, anti-aristocratic ideas, and the sidhe have flattened more and more into these Tolkien-elf types with little variation. The sidhe are a kith; Title is a Background; nobility is a quality; and while the three may overlap more than most other kith-Trait-characteristic combinations, it is not a necessity. (Remember, those in the back: your sidhe does not have to have a Title/be part of a House.) We mention this because the sidhe fall into the trap most often, maybe, of becoming one-dimensional characters, with the only variation being the specific Trait build that represents their particular snottiness. It's true that kiths tend to shape characters; it's also true that more and more, especially with C20, there is pushback against such determinism. (Old fogies' note: it was always there, e.g., you could play soft-hearted Seelie redcap who liked macrame, but the game's willingness to foreground that varied.) So why would you not make a sidhe who is more interesting than the typical [insert Title here] [insert elaborate faux-Sindarin name here] [insert House here] [insert optional florid moniker here], knight and/or wizard and/or courtier par excellence? One of the first canon sidhe in fiction is Leigh from the Immortal Eyes trilogy, who is a teenage redhead knight struggling to reconcile her newly-discovered nature, princess memories, and swelling sense of honor with her upbringing as a working-class cop's daughter, as well as her fervent desire to be a chef. She has a soft spot for protecting childlings (though she's also a firm babysitter), she has a crush on the bad-boy Unseelie eshu, and she worries about making ends meet with her line-cook salary in her crummy one-bedroom (but she's also thrilled to be living away from her mortal family for the first time). She is far from perfect, but aspires to be better, and she has the capabilities of a beautiful warrior, but is far from defined by them. This book gives a lot of material to work with to navigate that level of complexity, as do many of the others—if you're willing to look for it. We encourage you, therefore, to think outside the box and make being a sidhe (or being a noble) not the most important thing about your character. It may not be the least important either, but give your character a little depth before working that piece in. Obviously, this advice can be applied to any kith—it's just that sidhe tend to suffer for it most than the others. ... the Trod Background Just because the headache that is this Background deserved to be reproduced in its entirety, here it is in table format. Pick the Background level you want in the first column, then choose one row within that level to determine which destinations the trod has access to across the world/Dreaming, and (in the last column) how often it's available: Destinations:localregionalnationalNear DreamingFar DreamingDeep DreamingAccessible...At Level 111/4 of the yearLevel 2 (choose one row)1 2-3 11/2 of the year 1/4 of the year all the timeLevel 3 (choose one row)2-3 2-3 2-31 1 00 1 01/2 of the year 1/4 of the year all the timeLevel 4 (choose one row)4-5 4-5 2-3 2-32 2 1 11 1 0 02 1 0 10 1 0 01/2 of the year 1/4 of the year all the time 1/2 of the yearLevel 5 (choose one row)4-5 4-5 2-33-4 4-5 12 4 02 2 10 2 01 1 01/2 of the year 1/4 of the year all the time Yes, we're aware that the first and third options for Level 2 are directly contradictory. The book also suggests that the accessibility be tied to natural cycles, e.g., a trod that's only open 1/4 of the year might be available during a certain season, and a trod open 1/2 of the year might only be available every other day or only at night. Surely there was some mathematical formula to figure out the balance of all this, but no idea what that might have been; heaven help you if you decide to have a single Background represent multiple trods, e.g., taking four dots in the Background allows you to choose two options from Level 2. Are we having fun yet? ... clancy brown We're not saying the sidhe on page 49 isn't noted actor and voice actor (including, ironically, in Trollhunters: Tales of Arcadia) Clancy Brown, but it's totally Clancy Brown. Publicity photo provided for comparison! ... parliamentary breakdown (but not the fun kind) In case you needed some statistics for who's in the Parliament circa this book's publication in late 1995/early 1996... all percentages are relative to the entire Parliament, not the specific group being described: Sidhe nobles make up 42% of the Parliament, even though they only make up 5% of the Kithain in Concordia (though that number may have increased a bit as more Houses have returned, and the Autumn Sidhe have become a thing in C20). The Traditionalists make up 20%, Reformers 15%, and Modernists 7%Commoner nobles make up 20% of the Parliament: Traditionalists 8%, Reformers 4%, Modernists 8%. Meanwhile, non-Titled commoners make up the remaining 38%, with Traditionalists 15%, Reformers 7%, and Modernists 16%, suggesting that commoner political affiliation is roughly the same, regardless of whether they're noble or not—and with a surprisingly high number of Traditionalists. Overall, when you see that the nobles have a majority, and the Traditionalists have a plurality, the feudal system sticking around as long as it has begins to make a bit more sense (as does the more reform-minded fae's frustration).Within the Parliament, sidhe make up 42%—therefore, all sidhe in the Parliament are nobles. The remaining breakdown is boggans at 14%, trolls at 9%, nockers at 8%, pooka and satyrs at 6% each, sluagh, redcaps, and eshu at 5% each. We don't have breakdowns by kith for nobles and political inclinations, but presumably the boggans and trolls have higher rates of both nobility and Traditionalism.Similarly, we don't get political inclination breakdown by House, but we're told that Gwydion makes up 12% of Parliament, Eiluned and Fiona 10% each, Dougal 6%, Liam 3%, and Scathach a pitiful 1%. We also have the note that 95% of the Parliament is Seelie—estimated, of course. Obviously, as new kiths have been made standard in C20, Unseelie power has become more openly displayed, and the Autumn World's political landscape has evolved, all of these are subject to change. But as a baseline for how things work, it's still a useful tool to start with... in the episode, we sort of poke fun at the voting system of Concordia. Nevertheless, there is undeniable nerdy pleasure to be had from a story centered around the electoral campaigns and machinations of the fae, if you want to work that into your chronicle. (Yes, one of us might be a fan of both Borgen on TV night and Die Mächer on board game night.) ... your hosts Josh Hillerup (he/him) flew into battle on a song and a prayer. Pooka G (any pronoun/they) strolled into Hell with some flowers in the hair. ... "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" (psst! email us at podcast@changelingthepodcast.com if you want) (and join our Discord at https://discord.gg/SAryjXGm5j !) (support us on Patreon! it's now live at https://www.patreon.com/changelingthepodcast)

Finally, we enter the double digits of episodes (well, unless you count our introductory one) as we discuss Rage Across Appalachia. Despite the cover art, the font and border styles, and the overwhelming majority of the content all suggesting this is a supplement for Werewolf: the Apocalypse, there is in fact the note that says it's also intended for Changeling: the Dreaming. Ergo, we're including it in our Lost in the Library series of book dives—however, this ended up being kind of a mini-sode, because really the entirety of the Changeling content fits into one chapter and some extra pages for the whole book. Still, we get some useful pieces, including the first substantive information on the Nunnehi, the Indigenous fae of the continent. somewhere in the dreaming... freehold heraldry Moving forward, the "Somewhere in the Dreaming" tag will be useful for instances where we speculate on alternate directions the Changeling universe might've gone, when we see hints of a decision about the canon briefly showing up in one book, and then disappearing again with little if any trace. In an alternate dimension—or a Dream Realm of some kind—perhaps there is a shape of the game-that-could've-been that contains some of these elements. And in the case of Rage Across Appalachia, there are two freeholds (Roan Mountain and Highcastle Eyrie) that have their own stained-glass style crests, as each of the kiths do. (Pooka was going to attempt to work some Photoshop magic and extract the line drawings to create a mockup of each, but they didn't have time, for even sorcery must give way to temporal logic in the absence of Chronos.) What this suggests to us is that in some other version of Changeling, there are icons like this for each and every freehold, and an entire system of heraldry based around fae affiliations with them. Boggans with a head for memorizing all this shit could be there at tourneys or pitched battles announcing the representative from this-or-that freehold, the pennons of each minor knight could feature the design, and so on. If you're thinking, "but there would be hundreds to thousands of such icons!" just... just look at how bonkers the system of European heraldry got, historically. However, it might be too much for the artists and designers of the game, so if this was ever a possibility, it's easy to see why it got cut. Still, though... ... ballads and bluegrass and reelbands (oh my) When you grow up with folk and traditional music, you learn about how important ballads are for passing along stories, warnings, wisdom, feuds, history, and so on. The oral tradition is alive and well, even if we don't always know its shape when we're living in the middle of it. (Maybe memes and the explanations for why they're funny will be what we pass down in the future.) Rage Across Appalachia has a nice little section in the Appendix where they talk about how to leverage these into a game—not just in the Appalachian setting, but it works quite well there—as sources of information and inspiration. Lots of this stuff is already scattered through the canon, because a nonzero number of the line's authors have been musicians of different sorts, sometimes (we believe?) in these genres. But just for an example, here's a classic about a noble vs. commoner duel: This kind of stuff makes good background music for a game with the right vibe; it's especially nice when you can get tracks from local acts (which are unfortunately kind of a pain to find online, if you have specific bands that, say, you went to see at the Renaissance Faire every year as a kid). The corpus for this music is vast, and extends far beyond the Celtic-immigrant-inflected flavor that this book in particular goes for. Check out traditional music where you can, and you'll find ways it can be incorporated into your chronicle, as both plot hook and atmosphere. ... nunnehi research As we mention in the episode: we're both white folks, with little personal connection to Indigenous groups or issues, so we're doing our best to handle them delicately as they come up in our read of these books. While we're glad to see the Nunnehi evolve in this book beyond the mentions they had in earlier ones (i.e., raiding war parties and nothing else), they're still a way off from really being three-dimensional to the degree that other changelings in the game are. Something important to bear in mind when dealing with the Nunnehi as a player or Storyteller who's not of Indigenous background is to ask yourself, why is it important to play/feature this character? Closely following that question in importance is, what research do I need to do? The answer to the first one should always be something more substantial than just "because they're cool," and the answer to the second one is "probably more than you think." Because citation is so rare on the internet, you can often find the same text over and over again, remixed and repurposed, but you may have no alternative unless you have an informant from the culture you're interested in who's willing to chat with you. (And if you do, be very up front about your reasons for that conversation.) In truth, you may not be able to separate the stuff that's useful and correct from the stuff that's not, and you'll have to decide where the line is that you're comfortable with. Briefly, for these show notes and related to the kiths introduced in this book: some cursory digging on http://www.native-languages.org (co-organized by a Cherokee retiree, and an excellent group of linguistic resources overall) led to a collection of tidbits on the Nanehi (note that this seems to just be a variant of "Nunnehi") and the Yunwi Tsundsi. For the Yunwi Amai'yine'hi, there are lots of recycled pieces around the internet (including on Wikipedia) from James Mooney's Myths of the Cherokee (section 78), the text of which you can find here because it's in the public domain. Given that it was written by a white ethnographer in 1900, take with a grain (or handful) of salt. And a lot of other pieces around the internet are... well, cribbed from Changeling, either overtly or more insidiously. These are springboards and nothing more; we encourage you to keep digging as deeply and carefully as you can. If that helps you decide whether incorporating Nunnehi into your game is an appropriate thing to do, then good; and if you're left unable to make a decision, at least you've tried to educate yourself further, which is rarely a bad idea. We encourage you to think about cultural appropriation in relation to Indigenous history, and how the act of using Indigenous lore in Changeling will place you in relation to that. ... your hosts Josh Hillerup (he/him) suggests the burrata with tomato, garlic, and pesto for the appetizer. Pooka G (any pronoun/they) has already beaten you to the dessert cart and cleaned it out entirely. ... "We all have forests on our minds. Forests unexplored, unending. Each one of us gets lost in the forest, every night, alone." —Ursula K. LeGuin, The Wind's Twelve Quarters (psst! email us at podcast@changelingthepodcast.com if you want) (and join our Discord at https://discord.gg/SAryjXGm5j !) (support us on Patreon! it's now live at https://www.patreon.com/changelingthepodcast)

This episode we'll be talking about The Autumn People, which gave extensive information and options about Banal antagonists for Changeling as part of White Wolf's first annual event, 1995's "Year of the Hunter." It's a short book, but densely packed with information, as well as some curious layout choices. Overall, it did its job of pushing out the boundaries of the game world, even if some of the text was left out by accident (and errata'd later), and other parts are a bit difficult to parse. Our conversation centers on the various ways that the Autumn People, Dauntain, and other Banal things are presented, and how they might be useful in a game. categorizations One of the hallmarks of this book is how there are numerous ways to divide up the Banal antagonists (Bantagonists?): mortal vs. fae, aware vs. unaware of other fae, passive vs. active, etc. Here's a graphic that hopefully will illustrate at least some of the many options the book introduces, which may or may not be diegetic and/or in-character; it's hard to tell at points. If you're slightly baffled by this, don't worry! We were too. Suffice to say, whatever particular spin you want to put on the Autumn Person in your chronicle, chances are this book gives it at least one label. ... powers of the autumn people There are a range of abilities that these antagonists possess. The Banal Chimera have Redes that can inflict Banality; Autumn Fae get Agendas; Dauntain get Stigmas, in addition to their (possible) retention of Arts and Realms. But then, Mundane (human) Autumn People also get little blindsiders like this: Any time a changeling comes into direct contact with an Autumn Person, the Storyteller may decide to check and see how the character is affected. This is done by rolling the Autumn Person's Banality against a difficulty of the character's Glamour. Each success causes the character to gain a point of temporary Banality. The Storyteller may choose to make this roll at any time in which the character has contact with the Autumn Person; additionally, this roll may be made multiple times if the character remains within the vicinity to the Autumn Person in question, though care should be taken that it is not overdone or the character will soon be lost to Banality. Given that Autumn People have Banalities of 8 or higher, and changelings tend to have Glamour in the 4 to 6 range, getting four or five successes on this roll is not unlikely. And that means four or five points of Banality just from bumping into (for example) an overprotective mother or restrictive librarian. No wonder changelings were seen as imploding at the slightest whiff of stasis in 1st edition. ... pooka's poetry corner On that subject, here's some shameless padding for the show notes in the form of a poem by Mark Strand that is, well, a little bit peculiar, but also has some nice pooka vs. librarian vibes: Eating Poetry by Mark Strand Ink runs from the corners of my mouth. There is no happiness like mine. I have been eating poetry. The librarian does not believe what she sees. Her eyes are sad and she walks with her hands in her dress. The poems are gone. The light is dim. The dogs are on the basement stairs and coming up. Their eyeballs roll, their blond legs burn like brush. The poor librarian begins to stamp her feet and weep. She does not understand. When I get on my knees and lick her hand, she screams. I am a new man. I snarl at her and bark. I romp with joy in the bookish dark. And just to end this post, here's an art piece from the book that shows an owl pooka becoming Undone, which apparently means his hair gets bleached out, his pupils and mouth go grey, and his brain gets filled up with math. Still, it's a cool picture; there's a lot of surprisingly good art in this book about the folks who would probably prefer to erase all creativity from existence. ... your hosts Josh Hillerup (he/him) is wanted for the theft of sixteen family-size jars of applesauce from the local commissary. Pooka G (any pronoun/they) can neither confirm nor deny their whereabouts during the hour when all of the reptile house cameras were switched off. ... "Life is intrinsically boring and dangerous at the same time. At any given moment the floor may open up. Of course, it almost never does; that's what makes it so boring." —Edward Gorey (psst! email us at podcast@changelingthepodcast.com if you want) (and join our Discord at https://discord.gg/SAryjXGm5j !) (support us on Patreon! it's now live at https://www.patreon.com/changelingthepodcast)

Another special guest joins us this week! Josh Heath from Werewolf: the Podcast is here to talk about Werewolf: the Apocalypse and its synergies with Changeling: the Dreaming. What are some of the similar themes? Do the Garou and Kithain have shared history to call out? How should one set up a crossover between the two? We tackle these questions and more, and natter for a bit about the Auspice we'd all be (because WtA astrology is a thing). mirror images One of the interesting bits of connective tissue between WtA and CtD to bear in mind is that characters in each can often do similar things, but from different perspectives (metaphysically, spiritually, grammatically, etc.) Various kiths have the ability to change shape, as the Garou and other Changing Breeds do, but they're rarely doing it to go into battle or even commune with their nature. Delirium hides the actions of the Garou as a remnant of primal human terror; the Mists hide the actions of the fae as a form of preservation (and maybe also a bit of human terror). Each group has an otherworld they can enter with relative ease—though stepping sideways is usually simpler—and with which they have a deep spiritual connection. But those realms are entirely different in terms of their atmospheres, level of danger, their denizens, and the lessons they teach. Maybe most importantly, both groups lean heavily into the importance of social (Title/motley and Rank/pack) and familial (Kinfolk and Kinain) ties, but have very different structures for dealing with both their fellow supernaturals and mortal Kin. There are also lots of points of similarity. There are redcaps as bloodthirsty as any Ahroun, raiding a Pentex facility is something many changelings will support just as much as a werewolf, and songs and epic tales are arguably essential to the survival of both. Aside from the mechanics that have to be organized for a crossover game, bearing thematic links like these is important to have the game feel right. Players can explore what it means to their characters to see their comrade doing the not-quite-same thing as they do, and consider whether it's an opportunity for one or both of them to grow a bit. ... assorted crossover notes Among the X20 books, there's more about crossovers in C20 than W20 (Werewolf mystics "can apparently travel to Arcadia"?? but changelings who go with them fall into Malfeas??) (these are not recommended as story elements for your game), but more solid material can be found in the older books. Some assorted tidbits that might be helpful: While C20 has walked this back a bit, traditionally the Black Spiral Dancers have had dealings and occasional alliances with the Shadow Court.There are three Fianna Kinfolk families (two of Irish background, one of Breton) called "The Kin" who have high rates of werewolf and fae blood in their lineage. 3 out of 10 of their children are Garou (triple the rate of most Kinfolk families), 1 to 3 out of the remaining 7 will be Kithain, and the rest are likely to be Kinain (in addition to Kinfolk).A Fianna elder apparently lives at Caer Palisades and is Queen Mab's advisor on Prodigal affairs in the Kingdom of Apples.House Balor insists that the fomori are not the Fomorians or their agents, and are only threats to Prodigals; they would know the difference.We talk about why the Get of Fenris despises the fae (especially sidhe) so much in the episode, but trolls and the Nunnehi are specifically exempt from their ire.In addition to the other Changing Breeds mentioned in the episode (Ananasi, Bastet, Corax, Rokea), the Kitsune and the Nuwisha are popular crossover choices, due to their tricksiness. And on top of that, we do have an upcoming episode about Rage Across Appalachia, the specific Werewolf/Changeling crossover book! (Spoiler: it's mostly Werewolf.) ... where to find josh heath Some places online where you can find Josh and his work: Werewolf: the Podcast feed (https://keepontheheathlands.podbean.com/)!...as well as its Twitter (https://twitter.com/podcastwerewolf) and Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/werewolfthepodcast/)We should also use this as an opportunity to once again shout out Mage: the Podcast (http://www.magethepodcast.com), of which Josh is technically a host......but also, for all things Trinity Continuum related, check out the OpCast (https://anchor.fm/opcast/)!Stealing shamelessly from the show notes of Mage: the Podcast's chat with Josh, here's a list of the many projects he's contributed to on Storyteller's VaultJosh can also sometimes be found in various places on Discord, distributing truth and beauty about the Garou Nation like a Jaggling in the night ... your hosts Josh Hillerup (he/him) asks, "Werewolf?" Pooka G (any pronoun/they) responds, "There. There, wolf. There, castle," thinking Josh wanted to talk that way. ... "The dream is not like the world of flesh... Here the same hunt can have many endings." —Hopper in Robert Jordan's The Dragon Reborn (psst! email us at podcast@changelingthepodcast.com if you want) (and join our Discord at https://discord.gg/SAryjXGm5j !)

As we enter the Seelie half of the year, it's time to talk about Freeholds and Hidden Glens, which gave us seven thorough descriptions of the spaces where changelings get together for the doing of all manner of sundry things. Each of the freeholds is rather different, offering a range of ideas and story setting possibilities for a game. Each of us were rather partial to one or two of them, but we'll let you be the judge of which ones sound the most interesting... uncanny places Something that came up briefly in the discussion (but will not be expanded here to the voluminous amount it could be) is Stephen King as a point of reference for the trope of semi-conscious places, most of which turn out to be creepy. This is slightly different than what you'd usually get with Haunts in Wraith, where the spookiness of a haunted house or wherever gets mostly attributed to the presence of the ghosts. But when the place itself begins to take on an intelligence of its own, that's another matter entirely. Works by King like The Shining and perhaps Rose Red have this thread of a place becoming corrupted by the violence or evil deeds that took place there, which causes it to gather a malevolence of its own, which leads to more such deeds, making the place stronger. It all seems very darkly Glamourous. But this isn't unique to horror literature, and obviously folklore is thick with mythology and superstition about the relationship between past events and present influences in specific locations. You could easily set a scene in a place that causes people to become joyful, or lustful, or whatever. The Dreaming is brimming with emotion, so it's not unreasonable that places in close contact with it, freeholds or otherwise, would have an outsize influence on the feelings of those who enter them. If the building or glade or skate park or whatever is set up as antagonistic to a motley as well, it presents slightly more of a puzzle for players: how do you fight a landscape? How do you reason with geography? How do you prevent yourself from becoming sucked into its emotional vortex when you enter to rescue the childling/find the Treasure/defeat the nocnitsa? Ghost stories do not have a monopoly on these topics, and folding them into your chronicle can be a clever way to give changelings something a little more nebulous to deal with. But equally, it's fitting for the themes of the game; that uncertainty and sense of being out of place, what theorists since Freud have called the uncanny, reminds us that sometimes the horror in a faerie-story is from the sense that your surroundings are just somehow, indefinably wrong. Food for thought! ... just because... It's always nice to see White Wolf folks poking fun at each other with their writing, and sometimes the artwork... So, one of the freeholds, Gangster's Hideaway, is situated along a trod where all the abandoned objects in the world eventually end up (supposedly). Here we have some keys, a pen, matchbook advertising a phone sex line, a thumbtack... and a curious book buried underneath that old-school Vampire players may recognize. Because of course, if the Endless Trod is the place where all lost and abandoned junk ends up, VtM books will and should be there. (J/k, VtM players. <3) Maybe that sweatstained sock is what you're supposed to use to bookmark the page with the Vicissitude 10 power. ... Your Hosts Josh Hillerup (he/him) can't find the microfilm, and he's meeting his contact at midnight. What to do? Pooka G (any pronoun/they) couldn't think of much to write for this week's show notes, because Beltaine was off the hook and life is tiring. Next time, Gadget. ... "The house shelters day-dreaming, the house protects the dreamer, the house allows one to dream in peace." —Gaston Bachelard (psst! email us at podcast@changelingthepodcast.com if you want) (and join our Discord at https://discord.gg/SAryjXGm5j !)

This week, we're taking a look at the (debatable) "first chronicle book for the World of Darkness", Immortal Eyes: The Toybox (not to be confused with its tie-in novel, The Toybox) (things gets complicated sometimes). The first in a trilogy of game supplements that follows the oathmates of the Immortal Eyes storyline, this is primarily a Kithain's guide to San Francisco and the Bay Area, with a few stories baked in that STs can run for their group. Although a lot of the setting information has been superseded in the last 25 years—and much of it is freely available online—there is enough depth of detail and hooks to grab onto for current groups to find some use. We highlight some of the bits we find most useful in this episode, so... give a listen! ... tourism One topic that came up early on in our discussion is tourism with relation to Glamour and Banality. Could a visitor to San Francisco seeing the Golden Gate Bridge for the first time generate Glamour, or does it simply add to Banality, flattening the rich tapestry of the city into icons to be checked off a list? Is it both, or neither? Does it depend entirely on the tourist, or possibly the landmark? There aren't any hard and fast answers in the books (that we can think of at the moment), but it's an interesting avenue of thought to wander down. As always, it raises the question of the relativity of Glamour and Banality, and might demonstrate that while Glamour is volatile, ephemeral, localized, and situational, Banality is more numbing, creeping, spreading, and generalized. We'll keep an eye out for other bits in the books that give more substance to this discussion, since it would be significant for groups running their game in a major city with lots of visitors. (Lookin' at you, NYC.) ... shameless self-promotion Late last year, Pooka published this homebrew Changeling book! It was simultaneously written to be an homage to this supplement, an update to some of the setting, a clunky pun, and an excuse for coming up with selkie business (since they make their first appearance in this book). It's available on Storyteller's Vault here: https://www.storytellersvault.com/product/375875/. Proceeds go to the medical fund for Nicky Rea, Changeling author emerita, so please consider having a browse and a purchase for a good cause. <3 ... moar boox! Josh is a fan of the October Daye series of novels by Seanan McGuire, as surely some of our listeners also are. (They are on Pooka's ever-lengthening to-read-someday list.) He muses that the author might have been directly inspired by CtD and/or this book, because they are set in a fae-inflected San Francisco with a changeling protagonist. There's a bunch of great inspirational reading material for the city as a whole, but this might be a particularly useful series to pair with The Toybox supplement, for a more contemporary urban fantasy feel for the place. If you like them, there are currently sixteen novels in the series—the most recent just came out!—and numerous stories, novellas, etc. McGuire has scored a few Hugo nominations for the series as well, which is a good sign. The official publisher's page is: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/series/BK8/october-daye. ... san fran travelogue The recording of this episode took place less than 24 hours after Pooka had returned from San Francisco for their first proper voyage in years. While we might be past the era of your parents renting a slide projector to inflict photos from the family vacation on everyone using a sheet hung over the living room windows (#Banality), here are a few hastily-snapped moments for your perusal and edification: The Japanese Tea Garden—a freehold, according to the Toybox supplement!—is one of my favorite spots in the city. I like to sit and meditate there; it's astonishing how much passers-by shut up when they see someone sitting with their eyes closed in that space. There's something indescribably powerful and mournful about being in the AIDS Memorial Garden, and seeing all the names etched into the stone. On this visit, my attention was especially captured by this particular note about Douglas Watson and Larry Silva, "who met the day humans walked on the Moon," given that event's connections to Changeling's story. For the Easter season, this one house had some kind of ostrich made of forged metal scraps on which they had placed bunny ears and a basket. Typical décor for the area. And along Macondray Lane, there are these disembodied trousers hanging out with plants growing out of them, which feels like a chimerical representation of something, or possibly some really messed-up Inanimae. Haight Street was the epicentre of the hippie movement, they say, and is the first setting we get (in the first corebook sample adventure) for Changeling. It's presented in pretty loving detail, and yet the last few decades have seen the neighborhood gentrify like so many other spots in the city. There are still some old head shops and clothing stores and whatnot, but then you have—for example—banking conglomerates trying to capitalize on the cultural cachet of the area. It's pretty gross. Less gross—some truly astonishing views after you've climbed some of the holy-Christmas-what-even-is-that-hills. On the right, here's a view of Alcatraz from Russian Hill. No particular vantage point, just some random sidewalk, and you still get that vista. One of the things I included in my selkie book above are these little faerie doors that are scattered at hidden points throughout the city. I found one my first day down the street from where I was staying and felt, yes. I chose the right place. (In my conception, there's a secret network of trods through the Bay Area that is much less onerous to travel than the local BART system.) And then, I also talk about this Poet's Chair at City Lights Bookstore, where I've sat for many an hour browsing poetry, as a Treasure that cures writer's block. I think this is kind of how Changeling settings and adventures accrue: you remix the personal experiences and moments you've had with Glamour and situate them in these broader ideas of creativity, passion, activity, etc. Then you set them up against their contrasts, be they hard expressions of Banality or other forms of Glamour or just everyday life, dump the characters in, and you're off and running. ... Your Hosts Josh Hillerup (he/him) is deeply committed to the advancement of the croissant as a fashion accessory. Pooka G (any pronoun/they) has all the tight-spot gumption and four-bit moxie of a ragamuffin turning handsprings down Baker Street. ... "It's an odd thing, but anyone who disappears is said to be seen in San Francisco." —Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Grey (psst! email us at podcast@changelingthepodcast.com if you want) (and join our Discord at https://discord.gg/SAryjXGm5j !)

Herein we talk about the first proper supplement for Changeling: the Dreaming, 1995's Book of Storyteller Secrets (not to be confused with the identically-named supplement for Vampire: Dark Ages the following year). Following hard on the heels of the corebook, Changeling's BSS clocks in at 64 pages, most of which are taken up by a jump-start adventure that's largely separate from both the overall metaplot of the world and the Immortal Eyes chronicle that shaped a lot of the early supplements. There are also a few pages of crossover rules which, as we discuss, are kind of... just there. The BSS also came with this swanky Storyteller's screen: Disclaimer: the story in the book is heavily centered around mental health, forced committal to an institution, and similar psychological issues, which may not be for everyone. (For listeners: we discuss these pretty directly starting around the 18 minute mark and 45 minute mark of the episode, if you want to kind of skip over a few minutes at those points.) But it's also worth saying that this is a theme deeply embedded into the game, especially its first edition, and a prime example of how Changeling handles "darkness" as a concept. It's a more subtle, personalized kind of horror than the gore or edgelordiness that people often point to when they talk about WoD games as a whole; arguably, that makes it more insidious, and many people are less practiced in examining it. Aside from this book, we also briefly discuss the Player's Kit, which is basically a pamphlet of kith-specific Bunks for each level of each Art (all six, at that point). The Kit also comes with a full-color pad of character sheets that are too pretty to use, really, and some additional templates for your cantrip cards. On that note...! Here are some of the cards Pooka managed to get their hands on, purely for the purposes of this episode. It's more of a historical curiosity than anything else, but we stand by our overall assessment of them as a concept: quirky and pretty as artifacts, clunky and unnecessary for the actual playing of the game. (There is an undeniable twinge of Glamour when riffling through them, though... connecting with the past, etc.) This is most likely the closest we'll ever get to an unboxing video on this podcast, but never say never, right? ... Your Hosts Josh Hillerup (he/him) rides a friendly tardigrade to work each Thursday. Pooka G (any pronoun/they) can tune a piano, but can't tuna fish. ... "One can't build little white picket fences to keep nightmares out." —Anne Sexton (psst! email us at podcast@changelingthepodcast.com if you want) (and join our Discord at https://discord.gg/SAryjXGm5j !)

Our first interview episode! This time around, we are chatting with noted White Wolf figure Ian Lemke. After helping to develop the Mind's Eye Theatre LARP system, he was tapped as an author and the first developer of Changeling: the Dreaming, which he steered through its formative years—note that the cantrip cards were not his idea. In this conversation, Josh and Pooka talk with Ian about his early involvement with White Wolf, some of the inspirations and conversations around the creation of Changeling, and what it was like to be involved in those halcyon days... After parting ways with the company not long before Changeling was wound down prior to the rest of the World of Darkness, Ian worked in a few jobs before coming back to the TTRPG industry a few years ago, just in time to help out with Changeling's 20th Anniversary Edition. Some of his other recent/upcoming projects include developing the Expanse RPG for Green Ronin, the Talisman Adventures RPG*, and Nevermore, an "American Gothic Horror" RPG from his own Nepenthe Games. * side note from Pooka: if you never played the 80s Talisman game, also known as "no, the other game from Games Workshop," this is the glorious chonky box from the 2nd edition, which sat on the games shelf in my childhood home: It was one of those ultra-generic 80s fantasy games that you could just keep playing forever, for example if you and your siblings had nothing better to do before you had the internet and you'd run out of money for the game shop, so you just kept adding characters and circling the board, keeping each other from winning. It was like the Monopoly of fantasy board games. Weeks. Months, in one infamous case (well, in my house, anyway). Did we tire of the official game expansions to the point that we made our own? Yes, of course we did. ... science and banality This will almost certainly have to be an episode of its own at some point, especially since it's one of the most contentious topics among fans, but it came up in our conversation, so—you heard it here, from the developer himself. Science does not have to be Banal. Ian makes the good point that what's Banal is when people's dreams of science, and technology for that matter, are crushed by the reality of doing the various forms of structural tedium that have been created around it. Grant applications, spreadsheets, and just gruntwork will all very quickly drain the wonder out of creating technological marvels or uncovering mysterious phenomena. The same is true for many non-scientific pursuits as well, of course. And certainly there is Banal science, and science whose application has caused mostly problems for the world. But it seems like it gets a worse rap in early WoD than most of the other things for which we could raise this debate. Maybe it's because as a set of disciplines, it tends to be seen as more inscrutable or more separated from the everyday public; people don't always get to see the science itself or how it directly (and hopefully positively) impacts their lives, in the immediate, emotional way that the arts very intentionally try to showcase. Part of this is why things like science museums, public demonstrations, and The Magic School Bus are so important. Keep science alive, because science is great! It's the greed and paperwork that has to go. /soapbox ... where to find ian Herewith some links and things! Ian's Twitter Page (https://twitter.com/theianlemke)!...and Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/ianlemke), where you can see and support several examples of the aforementioned RPG projectshis own outlet, Nepenthe Games (https://nepenthegames.com/), where you can keep up on the latest Nevermore news...and the Nepenthe Twitter (https://twitter.com/NepentheGames)!Ian's author page for Green Ronin (https://greenronin.com/blog/author/ianlemke/)a small collection of information about Talisman Adventures (https://www.talismanisland.com/category/talisman/rpg/rpg-rpg/) Otherwise, keep your eyes peeled on the trods for him... ... Your Hosts Josh Hillerup (he/him) was once spied emerging from the sewers under Parliament with a hatbox mysteriously similar to that reported purloined by the then-Premier. Pooka G (any pronoun/they) walks the left-hand path of more pastries than any body should reasonably contain, and if it means damnation, then a sweet damnation it shall be. ... "Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night." —Edgar Allan Poe, "Eleonora" (psst! email us at podcast@changelingthepodcast.com if you want)

This is the first of our deep dives into the individual books for Changeling, so naturally, we're starting at the beginning, with the First Edition corebook. Released in July 1995, it was the last of the original lineup of five games for the World of Darkness. We go through each section of the book in detail, discuss it both in the context of its original release and the more recent editions, and talk about various themes and ideas that the text summons up. (Because the book is just short of 300 pages, this is also our longest episode by a wide margin... for now.) art Briefly, here are two examples of the full-page spreads that make up the book's prologue: Given how the World of Darkness books are kind of grim and gritty, printed in black and white, the use of these photographs as both diegetic texts (the pages contain information about the game setting, written by one of the metaplot characters to another) and an aesthetic choice (note the signed photograph of Dr. Julian Bashir, emphasizing the 90s-ness of these pages) creates a marked contrast to the other lines. That's Changeling—starting off with a bang. As for the other art in the book: some of the most iconic pieces are the diTerlizzi kith portraits used at the start of each chapter, which eventually became the covers for the kithbooks. But then there are things like a somewhat cartoonish satyr and sidhe (possibly) about to have a tryst. Sublime to puzzling and everything in between. ... star trek Speaking of Dr. Bashir, some thoughts from Pooka that got cut from the episode... To me, there are some interesting parallels between the editions of Changeling and the Star Trek franchise. In the same way that the Original Series had its grognards from 20 or so years before the Next Generation came out, 1st edition Changeling is already set against a backdrop of a 20-year-old metaplot: the Resurgence and Accordance War. The characters, as a new generation of Kithain, are still positioned against that inherited history, which defines so much of the setting. Then you get 2nd edition, which complicates and develops the setting, moving away from the general-backdrop setting to a specific metaplot arc: the disappearance of High King David. Like Deep Space Nine (or Voyager, I suppose), following hard on the heels of TNG, there is a single continuous story arc that structures everything in the game for that era. And after a gap of several years without any active shows, C20 has come back to heavily re-invent the game—as Discovery, Picard, and Lower Decks have done, creating an entirely new audience (and potentially a new set of grognards, for those who are now 20+ years out from TNG, DS9, and Voyager). I don't know that the "edition wars" of Changeling get quite as vicious as the flame wars Trekkies sometimes engage in, but it's interesting to think about. This is going to stick in my brain like a piece of taffy on an August day. ... cantrip cards Briefly, here's how the cantrip system worked in 1st edition: You have bought cantrip cards in packs of 10 and/or photocopied the template at the end of the corebook and filled them in. These are divided into individual levels of Arts and Realms, Bunks, Nightmares, and Treasures. They are also collectible, with over 160 different illustrated cards.The Art and Realm cards go into your hand, and correspond to the dots in each you've bought and listed on your character sheet. A number of Bunks equal to the total number of dots in Arts you have get shuffled into a deck.You cast a cantrip by choosing the appropriate Art and Realm from your hand and placing them in front of you, then drawing a Bunk card. (You can spend Glamour to draw additional ones.) Each Bunk involves performing a specific action, and limits the number of successes you can gain on your cantrip roll.The actual cantrip roll is determined by the Attribute associated with the Art + the Ability associated with the level of the Realm you have, against a difficulty of the target's Banality. Failing the roll gives you a temporary point of Banality or puts a Nightmare card into your Bunk deck; botching gives you a permanent point of Banality. But, if the Bunk card matches the Art of the cantrip, you get a bonus success.All the cards except one are returned to where they came from; Arts and Realms go back in your hand, Bunks get shuffled into the deck. You can only regain all your cards after a "deep, satisfying and prolonged rest"—the book specifies that this occurs between stories, i.e., only after several game sessions—or by engaging in Reverie or Rapture (not Ravaging), which refreshes a number equal to the Glamour you gained... Beyond this, there are additional rules about how oathmates can share and trade cantrip cards, successes being automatically determined by the Bunk card when they're used in a freehold/on an enchanted being or chimera, changelings invoking Banality to resist a cantrip... and remember, you should be out there, buying packs of cards to shore up your deck! If it's not already apparent why this system didn't make it past the corebook (and indeed, the corebook itself has an alternate dice system), we're not sure how much clearer we can make it. But vestiges of it continue to pop up throughout 1st edition books, so we have to deal with it. As game props, they can be fun. As a necessary part of the already-complicated system of cantrip casting, they are punitive, confusing, and frustrating, so... best left out altogether, probably. ... There's plenty to love about 1st edition, and the corebook does a nice job of setting up themes and moods, foregrounding storytelling over mechanics, and introducing a number of concepts that are helpful for getting into the spirit of the game (and in a few cases, never appear again). As introductory books go, it's a friendly and colorful one on the surface—but still with plenty of depth and complication underneath. ... Your Hosts Josh Hillerup (he/him) believes in the saving power of disco. Pooka G (any pronoun/they) smells vaguely of fresh caramel and stale dreams. ... "What else is a story but a dream that has been shared with the world?" —Joanne M. Harris, Honeycomb (psst! email us at podcast@changelingthepodcast.com if you want)

In this episode, we discuss some of the conceptions of the fae in the World of Darkness before Changeling came out (and indeed, before it was even certain that it would). Behold some snippets of faerie lore from eons past, by which we mean the early 90s: ... From the 1st Edition Vampire Storyteller Handbook (1992): Older Cainites remember a time when Faeries ran free on this planet, going where they liked, doing whatever they would. Now Faeries are as rare as honest politicians (well, maybe not that rare). Those same Cainites who remember those long ago times speak of a great cataclysm which split our realm from Arcadia, the birthplace of the fey races. Some Faeries live here permanently, making their homes in out-of-the-way places where humans are unlikely to bother them. Others manage to sneak their way into our realm for their own purposes. Some of these get trapped here and quickly wither away and die. Some come to steal children to take back to Arcadia with them and some have been discovered living for years as humans. No Kindred claims to understand why Faeries come to steal children. The most popular theories have to do with the nature of Arcadia as a place of magic wholly lacking in reality. Some believe the Faeries need the children to provide an anchor of true creativity for their actions, for otherwise they would be caught in eternal loops of their own actions, unable to break old patterns. The few Kindred that have ventured into Arcadia have never returned. Most believe them to be deceased, while others think they have joined with the Unseelie court of Arcadia, doing battle with the noble Seelie. Some also believe the Tremere actively support the Unseelie, but then everyone believes the worst of that Clan. Faerie powers vary widely. Illusions and insight, entropy and energy, levity and levitation all seem to exist side by side. Even the results of drinking Faerie blood are not constant. Sometimes the Kindred will be filled with great power and other times the drinker will become lost in a land of hallucinations. Sometimes it acts as poison and other times as water. Faerie Kidnapper from the Storyteller's Handbook: Quote: "Hee hee hee. You mean you really don't know how you got here? Hee hee hee." Concept: The Faerie Kidnapper has come to our reality in hopes of capturing the characters. Whether he needs them as warriors in a great battle, prizes in a scavenger hunt or attractions at a new zoo, he will hunt them and his other prey down and bring them back to Arcadia with him. An expert at illusion and deception, the Faerie Kidnapper will bring his targets back with him by hook or by crook. He will use promises, lies, mind control or brute force to accomplish his goals. He has specific requirements regarding anyone he will bring back to Arcadia (they must be bound, willing, laughing or whatever), but once they meet the requirement they will find themselves in a new realm. Roleplaying Hints: Your type of logic is quite foreign to anyone you are likely to meet on this plane, just as theirs is likely to be alien to you. Laugh at totally inappropriate events, burst into tears for no apparent reasons and completely befuddle your targets. Nature: Deviant Demeanor: Jester Physical: Strength 3, Dexterity 5, Stamina 4 Social: Charisma 2, Manipulation 5, Appearance 4 Mental: Perception 3, Intelligence 2, Wits 4 Talents: Acting 4, Alertness 3, Brawl 4, Dodge 5, Subterfuge 3 Skills: Melee 3, Music 5, Security 3, Stealth 5 Knowledges: Linguistics 2, Occult 4, Faerie Lore 4 Disciplines: Auspex 4, Celerity 2, Chimerstry 5, Obfuscate 3, Presence 2, Protean 5 Virtues: Conscience 0, Self-Control 0, Courage 2 Humanity: 0 Willpower: 9 ... ... A few useful bits for Kindred from the Vampire Player's Guide 2nd edition (early 1993): Faerie Affinity: (2 pt Merit) Your presence does not frighten faeries; indeed, it attracts them, and you are naturally attuned to their ways. You are able, unlike most Kindred, to enter Arcadia, the mystical kingdom of the faeries, provided you find an entrance. Faerie Lore You possess information pertaining to the Seelie and Unseelie faeries, and know something of their great kingdom: Arcadia. Because Kindred are unable to travel to this realm, most of your knowledge is hearsay, and thus difficult to verify. * Novice: Your knowledge is largely speculation and hearsay. * * Practiced: You know some relevant facts. * * * Competent: You possess a general knowledge of their ways. * * * * Expert: You possess expansive knowledge. * * * * * Master: You think you know the secrets of these creatures. Possessed by: Faeries, Lupines, Occultists, Vampires, Magi, Witch-Hunters Specialties: Enchanting Music, Faerie Food, Somniare, Atlantium, Antrum, Caelum, Barathrum, Tartarus Spirit Thaumaturgy * * Spirit Eyes ("The Sight"): This power is very similar to Aura Perception, but the character perceives spirits instead of auras. He sees them in the forms they take: i.e. fox spirits, faerie plant spirits, etc. This power enables the Thaumaturgist to see ghosts. System: The vampire must roll Perception + Occult (difficulty of the target's Willpower). The more successes he scores, the more information is revealed. The character may speak with the spirits once he sees them. ... The footnote given at the end of the book for this passage states, "Faerie Lore dictates that the Arcadians are "too good for Hell, not good enough for Heaven." This may be Caine's way of expressing this middle state. Kindred who discover the Fey may do well to listen to their Father's words in this matter. Of all the fragments of the Chronicle of Secrets, it was this fragment that I found to be the most elusive, perhaps because it carries a good measure of truth about the Sidhe." ... The original Clanbook: Malkavian (spring 1993) has the following power: Visit Faerieland (Level Seven Obfuscate Discipline) The Malkavian can utterly disappear from the area and appear in Faerieland. From Faerieland, she can go anywhere on Earth she wishes to go. But, first, she has to pass the Faerie Keepers, who dislike capricious use of their land. They question the Malkavian about her purpose, and if they don't like her story, they push her back into the world she left, near the time she left it. The keepers are willing to listen to bargains, especially if the Malkavian will Prank the entity of the Keepers' choice. (who knew it was so easy for them to get there?) ... ... ... There are more references scattered throughout the early books of these lines, but we discuss these at length in the episode. Let us know if you find some other choice, pre-summer 1995 bits! (Note: all material here is (c) by White Wolf, and is only reproduced for discussion under the terms of Fair Use. Also, all of it is astonishingly out of date and not really useful for your game at this point.) ... Your Hosts Josh Hillerup recently petitioned the Canadian government to adopt the Tim Horton's maple-glazed boston cream doughnut as the official door snack for all state functions. Pooka G (any pronoun/they) can do a yoga headstand but doesn't really enjoy it. ... "The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams." —Eleanor Roosevelt (psst! email us at podcast@changelingthepodcast.com if you want)