Changeling The Lost 2e Character Sheet

[Alysa Guillama]

Tome, the C:tL 2E character template is unique when I compared this section to the other Chronicles of Darkness gamelines I was familiar with and, as such, I spent more time thinking about what choices I wanted to make during this step.

For Needle, I choose Composer. Jack revels in the beauty of the word, even when others may not feel the same way. He can recover used Willpower by embracing the splendor of things that lack traditionally accepted definitions of beauty.

For Thread, I opt for Friendship. Having been alone, in service to his Mistress, Jack longs for human contact and connections. When Jack accepts disadvantageous or dangerous situations to help a friend, he can gain back previously used Willpower.

Contracts are the bargains made by the Fae Nobles with the Wyrd when the world was still young. Contracts allow changeling characters to use a specific spell by paying its associated price by spending Glamour or, occasionally, a point of Willpower.

Skinmask is a Royal Contract associated with the Mirror Regalia. It allows the wielder to assume the shape of a specific person, Fae, or Changeling after reciting three truths about that individual.

The Walls Have Ears is a Common Mirror Contract. It allows the user to speak a secret from his time in Arcadia aloud to an object, and have the object tell him a secret about itself in exchange. By using this Contract, Jack could learn things like the best way to utilize an object or find its weaknesses.

Elemental Weapon is a Common Sword Regalia Contract that allows the user to turn any element into a weapon; the character may choose to add extra damage, increase the range, or decrease any initiative penalty normally incurred during that combat round. The user may also mix and match the effects, depending on the number of successes rolled.

One of the main reasons for this trouble is the way the game is designed. The very concept of what a changeling is can shift dramatically from one character to the next. They are snatched from diverse backgrounds, shaped by fae magic for a multitude of tasks, and return to earth with disparate goals. They can be menaced by a dizzying array of foes, but what one changeling encounters constantly might be unknown to others. And with pledges, dreams, and Contracts, non-combat changelings can work, even in violent settings.

Merits that deal with the human world can help you consider what your character wants to do there. Having ideas about the family and friends they left behind can also be a boon. Think about these things:

Once characters are in play, they will encounter plenty of things they want to explore or conquer. The first goals you come up with may change, be resolved or abandoned - but you should rarely run out of things to do.

Storytellers also have decisions to make that should not be underestimated or ignored. There is likely to be unfinished business that will resurface when a changeling least expects it. They will face a world of fae intrigue and have two other realms - the Hedge and dreams - to explore. And unlike vampires, mages, and most other supernaturals, changelings live with a price on their heads. Their Keepers bear undying grudges, loyalists lurk, and other creatures can be sent to hunt them. If a player ever flounders for what their character can get into next, a Storyteller should have ideas ready.

Just a Pinch: In this approach, mystical forces make brief and rare appearances (but may be more powerful or strange as a result). Player characters may not rely on their supernatural gifts often or see many powers used by others. They will probably be more dedicated to their old lives and trying to fit in with mortal society. This could mean that they avoid other changelings, stick to a motley, or barely interact with freeholds and Courts. Trips to the Hedge will likely be limited, and visits to dreams will focus on symbolism more than fae incursions. Fae threats will be uncommon but can be more dangerous because they are unexpected and most characters will not be ready to meet them.

Pour it on Everything: At this end of the spectrum, fantasy reigns supreme. The player characters spend most of their time dealing with magical matters and rely on supernatural solutions. Enchanted objects are everywhere, along with passages to the Hedge and dreams. Changelings are more likely to encounter - and become - living legends, while mortals are more likely to be helpless victims. Real world threats make brief appearances and leave little impact; on the flip side, mystical dangers will likely be potent and elaborate. Characters will spend more time cultivating their standing in the fae world than anything else, investing heavily in Contracts, Court Status, tokens, and Hollows. Adventures in other realms are frequent, and taking the fight to Arcadia is a real possibility.

You can ask players about their preferences outright or take hints from their character goals. If players want their characters to have day jobs and try to recapture their mortal lives, they probably want hints of the fae, at least to start with. If most of their goals are supernatural in nature, they want to engage with the fae more often. If they have particularly grand fae schemes and give little attention to mortal affairs, they may want a lot more fantasy.

But never forget: Magical details can help every kind of Changeling game. Changelings are living fairy tales and fairy tale patterns follow them wherever they go. Just when they seem to be free from the fae world, they will be drawn back in. Reading fairy tales can provide a storehouse of tropes and twists to use. If things seem to be stagnating, inject a fairy tale element. If things are getting too hectic and strange, play up the normal aspects of life. Variety, in the end, is the ultimate spice.

You can break your game down to the most basic types - combat, political, or stealth - and present options through that lens. In a combat-heavy chronicle, for instance, fighting will be a way to overcome most obstacles and may be hard to avoid. Considering a genre for your game can also open up things for characters to do. In a romantic chronicle, relationships affect everything, form obstacles, and are goals, and what you do in one relationship can make or break another. Lastly, you may want to try alternative stories to the main Changeling narrative. A chronicle that features fetches, Loyalists, or privateers will provide unusual challenges. How will the player characters abduct, hold, and transfer people to Arcadia or goblins? How does a fetch respond when the person they replaced returns and begins to hunt them?

The Peter Pan story has such obvious Changeling applications and overtones that it is natural to want to use it in a game, which is what I had the pleasure of doing for one of my players. She was incredibly enthusiastic about setting up a Lost character who thinks she is the "real" Wendy Moira Angela Darling because she spent too much time away, enchanted by the story of her Keeper. My player whipped up a character sheet just to get the idea out of her head, and I had to admit that I was intrigued. I had read the tale by J.M. Barrie but I'd never looked at it with gaming in mind; it was a very different read the next time around, and very encouraging. I put my own spin on Barrie's excellent tale, as Storytellers are wont to do, and there is enough here for another Storyteller to use. If you can find a map of Neverland and the music from the film, I found that they add a special something to the experience.

Everyone knows the directions to Neverland: second star to the right, straight on till morning. Getting out of Neverland is far more difficult. The ability to fly is rare, and the air itself resists efforts to fly away. Still, it might be possible to make a deal for a dose of fairy dust. There are also rumors of a way out through the coral caves underneath the lagoon, but that requires the ability to breathe underwater and to get past the mermaids. Few have returned from ranging over the mountains or the smaller islands, so there might also be escape routes in those places.

Peter Pan, Hook, and the Indian Chief can be three Keepers that "share" Neverland, or three Actors of the same Keeper. They are forever in pursuit of each other, but the order changes: sometimes Hook hunts the Lost Boys, but other times the Lost Boys go on the offensive. Sometimes they meet and clash, and many changelings die as a result; other times, they meet and relatively peaceful pledges are exchanged, but they are always short-lived.

Peter is a young boy who seems to be anywhere from age 9 to 12, with vaguely elfin, mischievous features. He is adorned with skeleton leaves and tree sap that glistens on his cheeks. He has all of his first teeth, which is jarring for his size. He has courtly and gentlemanly manners but slips at times into boyish arrogance. Sometimes his Shadow scouts ahead of him, in Neverland and on earth. (It is said that interacting with Peter?s shadow will get you a one-way ticket to Neverland).

Peter is known to have a fickle alliance with a creature called Tinker Bell. When Peter is gone, she is a ball of light almost too bright to look at directly; when Peter is near, she reveals a glittering ultra-feminine frame. She seems to be bound to fulfill his direct orders but she has been known to twist them if she is able. Tinker Bell has particular hatred for any girl currently fulfilling the role of Wendy.

Children can visit Neverland temporarily in a misty dream form but they end up back home upon waking. This is arguably more common now than it used to be, what with the popularity of the Peter Pan story itself. Sometimes the familiarity someone builds with the realm draws the attention of one of the Realm's denizens, and they see to it that the visitor is brought over bodily. Other times, Keepers (namely the Chief and Hook) go hunting for adults who have been twisted by time but still have Neverland in their hearts.

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