Changeling the Podcast

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

At long last, we come to the end of the road... well, not the end, because that would (presumably) be Arcadia. But we are deeper into the Dreaming than we've yet been, as we deal this week with the final part of our dive into Dreams and Nightmares! Joining us is C20 author and longtime community bastion Charlie Cantrell, for a discussion of the Realms in the farthest reaches of dream, and the stories one might tell on the way there. While we are talking about the Deep Dreaming write-ups in particular, the conversation ranges across the entirety of the book and what it has to offer. Our conclusion: it's an indispensable one for players and Storytellers alike, even those who have never played 2nd Edition, but it's a springboard more than a proper guide. There are hundreds (thousands?) of ideas floating around its pages, with little to no guidance on how to use them. But for a representation of the infinite space that is the collective subconscious, it's hard to see how the book could have been anything else... If you missed the first two installments of this trilogy, check them out: Episode 39 (Near Dreaming): https://changelingthepodcast.com/podcast/episode-39-dreams-nightmares-1-near-dreaming/ Episode 40 (Far Dreaming): https://changelingthepodcast.com/podcast/episode-40-dreams-nightmares-2-far-dreaming/ The book continues to be available at https://www.storytellersvault.com/product/2173/Dreams-and-Nightmares?affiliate_id=3063731, and we continue to be available for your social contact needs (within reason) throughout the following constellation of sites: 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 Charlie can sometimes be spotted on our Discord, or else you might try your luck at: Twitter: @PookaKnight Facebook: Radio Free Arcadia for more info about the latest projects from Charlie and his team Kiths of Arcadia on the Storytellers' Vault: https://www.storytellersvault.com/product/299635?affiliate_id=3063731 Harbingers of Winter, a supplement on Thallain and Dauntain and Fomorians (oh my!): https://www.storytellersvault.com/product/388455?affiliate_id=3063731 Charlie's homebrew conversion guide to 5th Edition for Changeling can be found here your hosts Josh Hillerup (any pronoun) reminds the listener that we're each forever story-battling the subtle yet sinister extra-planar Fair Folk, each of us wielding the weapon that is An Entire Life. Pooka G (any pronoun/they) has one word for you, just one word: BALLOON. From star to star the mental optics rove, Measure the skies, and range the realms above. There in one view we grasp the mighty whole, Or with new worlds amaze th' unbounded soul. —Phillis Wheatley, "On Imagination"

We're continuing down the path into the Firchlis-warped wilderness as we dip into Chapters 2, the first half of 4, 6, and the Appendix of Dreams and Nightmares. Why the scattered approach? While we focused on the Near Dreaming along with general Dreaming cosmology and (meta)physics last time, in this installment we're talking specifically about the Far Dreaming, its Realms, and more of the mechanical side of things. If you want to know more about the specific rules you'll need to run a Dreaming-heavy game, or notes about the beasts and denizens one may find there, we've got a few treats (and headaches) in store for you... but if it's not entirely to your liking, don't worry. We've still got another episode in this trilogy to get through. Our own Dreaming 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 your hosts Josh Hillerup (any pronoun) is part shareholder of an artisanal butter outfit in the Fields Behind, because everyone needs a retirement plan. Pooka G (any pronoun/they) was awarded the key to the city of Quoxburg, but it turned out to be a miserably sentient three-day-old croissant with the word "KEY" written on it in royal icing. The road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom. —William Blake, third proverb of Hell