Changeling the Podcast

Summer is arriving with a vengeance in the northern part of the globe, so it's a bit odd to be going back a season... and yet, we regret it not, as we open up the pages of Rites of Spring. This supplement for Changeling: the Lost 1e is a compendium of magics and Glamour, folklore and rumor, all of it steeped in the eponymous Court's energy of desire. In a sense, that emotion underlies the principle of magic to begin with: the desire to reshape the world as one wishes. But fae being fae, such workings are as treacherous as they are beautiful. We're looking at new Contracts, mystically-flavored Merits and Flaws, a thorough treatment of dream interpretation, and more scandalous ways to manipulate the Hedge than you can shake a stick at (if that's your idea of a good time). Like all the other books for the line we've examined so far, this one is dense with ideas, so bear with us as we navigate its primrose paths. And mind how the way seems to shift as you walk it, leading where you did not expect...

...but where you might indeed expect to be led is, first to the page for your own purchase of the book, namely, https://www.storytellersvault.com/product/54401?affiliate_id=3063731, and thereafter to our usual cross-platform Hollow:

Pooka G (any pronoun/they) regains one point of any given day's lost Clarity with each shot of espresso consumed the next morning.

Nitimur in vetitum semper, cupimusque negata.

Cantrips and oaths and Unleashings (oh my!) are all perfectly respectable kinds of magic, but what others might the fae be heir to? We're tackling that question with another entry in the Changeling 30th Anniversary Project lineup, as the anniversary itself approaches... The book-in-progress of our discussion today is Book of Gremayre, a compendium of systems and setting options that build upon what's in the C20 system. Inspired by the never-finished Book of Glamour for 2nd Edition, we've let our imaginations run riot with possibility when it comes to doing more with Glamour. Rarely-explored topics like infernalism and cantrip dueling make appearances; bespoke kith sorceries and new powers abound. We aim to have the final product ready this summer, but in the meantime, perhaps this chat will whet your appetite for what's to come.

We will be collecting suggestions on the Discord linked below for the next few weeks. In particular, we're gathering questions and contradictions that we can help resolve in the book's Q&A, and suggestions for creative applications of Arts. Do come hang out in our digital freehold or leave a message through one of our other portals:

Josh Hillerup (any pronoun) believes that Glamour should be like pizza: variegated, shareable, and just as good cold the next morning.

Wisdom never comes to those who believe they have nothing left to learn.

The emotion espoused by the Winter Court of the Lost is sorrow, but it's hard to feel too down about the sheer volume of material provided in their nominally associated book, Winter Masques. (Maybe we can shed a tear for the wild inconsistency in font sizes between sections?) While Autumn Nightmares was more of a Storyteller-facing guide, this one introduces a wealth of options that players can take advantage of as well: new kiths, new Contracts, alternate Court systems, and so forth. There are some deep dives into the nature of each Seeming and descriptions of new corners of Arcadia (and new Hedge-paths to reach them). The book insists upon diversity as a theme, and while its take might look a bit quaint nearly twenty years later, it still points to the vast potential scope of the game. So put on your thickest mittens and turn some pages with us as we delve into what's inside...

You might wish to pick up your own copy of the book, in PDF form or otherwise, at https://www.storytellersvault.com/product/51347?affiliate_id=3063731. And regardless, you can attend our own masquerade at:

Pooka G (any pronoun/they) isn't kithless, but plays one on TV.

How beautiful, if sorrow had not made

The nature of evil is a wiggly thing in all the World of Darkness games, but especially in Changeling. Who's to say whether a rabid beastie or a diabolical Eiluned is more dastardly than the other? Surely it's a matter of perspective. Still, among the various groups in the game, the Thallain and the Dauntain in particular are treated as Bad News, suitable as antagonists due to their extreme disalignment with the goals and values of Kithain and Gallain. Naturally, that hasn't stopped players from wanting to play them. We're talking today about whether that's a good idea—or perhaps, how to make that less of an evil idea. Can they mix with others in a motley? What sorts of stories can you tell with a thoroughly corrupt or broken changeling? The main takeaway is that you shouldn't just jump into playing a character from one of these groups without some extensive considerations. We've done our best to lay those out so that if you do indeed stroll down that primrose path, you'll be prepared to do these fiendish fae justice.

We're primarily discussing from a C20 perspective, but if you're unfamiliar with the older editions' takes that we reference here, it might behoove you to go WAY back in time and listen to our episodes on the books Autumn People (https://changelingthepodcast.com/podcast/episode-9-autumn-people/) and The Shadow Court (https://changelingthepodcast.com/podcast/episode-19-the-shadow-court/). For all your other communicative needs—the ones that have to do with our show, anyway—consider one of these links instead:

Josh Hillerup (any pronoun) runs a tasting event every second Wednesday of the month, pairing Nightmare Legacies with fancy cheeses.

Und wenn du lange in einen Abgrund blickst, blickt der Abgrund auch in dich hinein.

So, we had thought, surely the supplements for Changeling: the Lost's first edition can't be as dense as the corebook. Surely there will be some let-up in the sheer volume of material crammed into the pages. And yet, here we are with the first book in the line, Autumn Nightmares, applying nostrums to our eyes and brains after the sea of tiny text and dizzying array of concepts and creatures contained therein. Have we regrets? Always, but not about this one. The book is focused on antagonists for the Lost: their fellow changelings, their former Keepers, their fetches and so forth. Underneath it all is the idea that the Autumn Court's pet emotion of fear is a defining part of the Lost experience... so if we forged ahead through these pages without stopping, is that bravery? Better philosophers than us will have to answer. In the meantime, as we recover our wits, here are two hours of our findings!

The book is available for purchase at https://www.storytellersvault.com/product/50679?affiliate_id=3063731 if you're so inclined. And another inclination you may have is to get in touch with us! If so, a smattering of options include:

Pooka G (any pronoun/they) keeps a small farm of Hedge-squirrels who are superb dream-thieves, but have worryingly started to unionize.

Fear cannot be without hope nor hope without fear.

If you've been listening to our show for a while (or hanging out on our Discord!), chances are you've heard Josh mention Dr. Jenna Moran's game Nobilis. In some ways adjacent to the World of Darkness and Exalted, in some ways adjacent to its own distinctively hallucinogenic blossom-laden spatial warp of hyperconsciousness, it seemed like a good choice for our first discussion of games outside of our usual bailiwick. And indeed, there is lots of inspiring cross-pollination to explore! We're giving an overview of the game's third edition corebook in this episode—mostly Josh explaining and trying to alleviate Pooka's confusion—and some thoughts on parallels for Changeling players. Perhaps other entries in this series of episodes will follow, where we examine other games outside the WoD? It's always best to start with the trippiest and see how things go from there.

As discussed in this episode, Nobilis has had kind of a torturous publication history, but a version of the third and most recent edition—the one we talk about here—is available at https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/89003/nobilis-the-essentials-volume-1?affiliate_id=3063731 (and hey, it appears to be on sale at present!). Some other links that might be of use are the usual passel of socials we espouse:

Josh Hillerup (any pronoun) committed a level 9 Domain miracle and only got this lousy T-shirt.

There is no excellent beauty that hath not some strangeness in the proportion.

At long last, with this third installment, we are at last finished our readthrough of the Changeling: the Lost 1st edition corebook. Here's hoping that when we get to 2nd edition, we can just breeze through and say "nyaaahhh, it's mostly the same but here are things that have changed." (Doubtful.) This week, we're talking about Entitlements, the sample freehold setting of Miami, our thoughts overall on the book, and listener questions that we've been saving til the end. But of course, this is only the first step in our considerations of 1e Lost, for there's a handful of supplements that we will work through in the coming months, and after that, who can say? Until then, we hope this deep dive was informative, and whether you're learning about CtL for the first time or thinking "thanks the fates they finally got more into the other Changeling," may it have whetted your appetite for more.

One last time, you can pick up the PDF of the 1e corebook if you're so inclined, at https://www.storytellersvault.com/product/50010?affiliate_id=3063731. And more socially, points of ingress to our own digital freehold include:

Pooka G (any pronoun/they) can't believe that Appendix II passed up the chance for a manatee Beast motley politely guarding the coast.

The trick is to combine your waking rational abilities with the infinite possibilities of your dreams. Because, if you can do that, you can do anything.

Another week, another as-rapid-as-we-dare readthrough of the Changeling: the Lost 1st edition corebook. This time, we're having a look at Chapters Three and Four. "But Pooka and Fetch," you might say, "this was supposed to be a two-part series, not a trilogy. How could you spend just under two hours talking about two measly chapters?" Well, when those two chapters clock in at ~120 pages with small text, little art, and extensive detail on both the intricate bespoke systems of the game and how to run the damn thing... as you'll discover, we had plenty to talk about. Still, we hope that the brisk clip of our discussion and the occasional wisecrack will help keep you engaged. (And seriously, there's only one more episode left for this book before we put it down, if not for good, at least for a breather.)

As indicated previously, the 1e corebook is available for purchase at https://www.storytellersvault.com/product/50010?affiliate_id=3063731. Our usual passel of links below as well:

Pooka G (any pronoun/they) spun the Hedge like a roulette wheel, and just look what happened...

This was the way he had to go; he had no choice. He had never had any choice. He was only a dreamer.

As the light half of the year breaks over the horizon, it's time at last for us to take the deepest of breaths and open the tome that is the Changeling: the Lost 1st edition corebook. The density of the text and the number of pages meant that this was always going to be a multi-part endeavor, but we did our best to keep the wild tangents we could have gone down to a minimum. In this installment, we're covering the introductory material and the first two chapters... which is a solid 170 pages of material with very tiny font, so we really still had to pack it in. We're commenting on elements as they relate to Changeling: the Dreaming throughout, so for any veterans who haven't tried one of the games but are curious to know about what they could bring into the other, we hope it will be of use! And as a historical curiosity—for now the second edition has obviated many of our comments here—perhaps it will show the roots of the setting to newer Lost players. About this trilogy of episodes, we've got hopes and perhaps left and right. And what, besides abductions and transformations and oneiromancies, could be more fae than that?

If this preliminary dive inspires you to purchase a copy of the book, you can do so at https://www.storytellersvault.com/product/50010?affiliate_id=3063731. And if you are otherwise inspired to get in touch with us, that is also possible, through the links below:

Pooka G (any pronoun/they) greatly prefers hanging out with Alec Bourbon's lighthearted and garrulous cousin, Bill Tequila Sunrise.

I saw pale kings and princes too,

We're visiting other shelves on the bookcase again, this time to dig into World of Darkness: Hong Kong. As with the Tokyo citybook, this was a Year of the Lotus supplement that was ostensibly for all the oWoD gamelines, but in truth was more vampire-centric than anything. Still—the tilts at the other games are present, and to help us sort through the Prodigals, we were joined by Terry Robinson from Mage: the Podcast (recorded before his passing) and Josh Heath from Werewolf: the Podcast (with whom Pooka recorded a follow-up segment more recently). From a Changeling perspective, the book notably contains example of hsien that are not quite built like Kithain, but are still a far cry from those in Land of Eight Million Dreams, which would not come out for several more months. The book overall is a richly described take on the city, and while its approach and accuracy are... debatable, some of it surprisingly prescient for what would follow in the next 25 years.

If you'd like to go beyond taking our word for it, you can pick up a copy of the title at https://www.storytellersvault.com/product/344?affiliate_id=3063731. And as with the Tokyo episode, some links for the ad hoc World of Darkness Podcast Network:

And for our usual passel of links:

Josh Hillerup (any pronoun) warns you not to meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with hoisin sauce.

We all need stories. What happens in our daily lives changes our stories.