Changeling the Podcast

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.

It's rare that the fae and the dead have much to do with each other, which is surprising given that within the latter category, the wraiths called Sandmen are oneiromancers extraordinaire. Manipulating the dreams of mortals from beyond the grave, they should be one of the more likely sorts of Prodigal a changeling may encounter. They are suggested as antagonists (in the C20 corebook, if not elsewhere), but what do these dramatic ghosts get up to on their own time? We're opening up their splatbook, Guildbook: Sandmen, to answer this question and learn more about being a theatre person for all eternity, for better or worse. Perhaps you'll be inspired to introduce them on the fringes of dreams in your own game for an unsettling bit of mystery...

We previously talked about crossover between Changeling: the Dreaming and Wraith: the Oblivion waaaay back in Season One; check out that episode (#25) here: https://changelingthepodcast.com/podcast/episode-25-changeling-and-wraith-crossover/. And if you'd like to purchase the guildbook in question, you can follow the mist-shrouded path to https://www.storytellersvault.com/product/143?affiliate_id=3063731. Aside from all that, should you want to send missives in dreams to us, you have a range of options:

Josh Hillerup (any pronoun) makes use of a relic shepherd's crook to ensure no vaudevillian Sandmen get too fast and loose with Phantasm.

To die, to sleep; —

When talking about these games that we love, sometimes we may give the impression that we know more about the history behind the scenes than we let on. It's when we have the opportunity to interview an actually knowledgeable person that the extent of how much we don't know becomes obvious. So it goes today, as we talk with Pete Woodworth about the creation and development of Changeling: the Lost back in its earliest days. As one of the stewards of Changeling: the Dreaming who helped carry over some of the ideas in the new World of Darkness, Pete had anecdotes to share and perspectives to illuminate about how one game informed the other. (And secrets, too, that fall somewhere between curious and earthshaking, but we'll let you decide towards which end of that spectrum these tidbits fall closest.) We hope you'll find these stories as intriguing as we did for this rich and complicated game.

Pete's website, Positively Woodworthian, can be found at https://peterwoodworth.com/, from which you can check out his various works around the TTRPG sphere. As for various links on our end, you might try any of the following:

Pooka G (any pronoun/they) feels the lack of mixed goblin fruit salad mechanics was a significant oversight by the writing team.

If change is inevitable, predictable, beneficial, doesn't logic demand that you be a part of it?

For a solid year now, we've been going on about the Changeling 30th Anniversary project, a celebration of three decades of this game we all know and love and dedicate too much headspace to, probably. We've also mentioned that one of the things we're trying to do for this Season is a series of books produced by the podcast for release on the Storytellers' Vault. Well—the day has finally come. This week, we're talking with guest Andrew Goodman in his capacity as co-author on the first two volumes, The Changeling Cookbook and Kithbook: Swan Maidens. We recorded this back in early February, back when we foolishly thought that both books would be out in a matter of days. Here we are, nearly two months later, eating humble pie—for which there is not actually a recipe in the Cookbook, unfortunately. But may these nevertheless be a catalyst to get the other ones done in timely fashion; we'll be releasing episodes in tandem with the other books as they come out.

If you'd like to pick up the Changeling Cookbook, it's available now at: https://www.storytellersvault.com/product/517123?affiliate_id=3063731. Kithbook: Swan Maidens is coming soon, and this page will be updated to reflect its release.

And if you have comments on either book, or on this project as a whole, or you just want to chat about whatever fae-flavored business, herewith our usual passel of links:

Josh Hillerup (any pronoun) prefers diffident pie, which is like humble pie, but with more boysenberries and whipped cream on top.

A cookbook is only as good as its worst recipe.

Apologies for skipping an episode release last week—there's a point at which even a pooka must throw in the towel for a day or two to recover from the wheel of reading, preparing, recording, editing. Now that things are a bit settled, we're back on track as we delve into the Changeling-adjacent library again today to talk about Sorcerer[s]! The hedge magicians of the World of Darkness haven't made many inroads into the game line, but today we're talking about a few groups that might be relevant, a few fae-impacting powers they possess, and a few tips for including them in your chronicle. (How many fews does it take to make a several? or a many?) Scattered across a number of books all somewhat titled "Sorcerer", these unexpectedly powerful mortals provide potential antagonists and allies for any motley.

The three books in question, should you wish to snag them for your own:

And you too can start your journey on the sorcerous Path of Podcasting by getting in touch at:

Josh Hillerup (any pronoun) advocates for more dank eldritch grimoires on audiobook and in readable EPUB format.

Magic is not science, it is a collection of ways to do things — ways that work but often we don't know why.

The gravity of Changeling: the Lost's first edition corebook is slowly pulling us in... but before we get there, let's make a few stops along the way. Two whole months before the game was officially released at GenCon 2007, there were a number of introductory and ancillary materials that helped drive up interest. This includes the Demo rules summary and quickstart adventure, "Dwelling in Darkness", featured in previews on the White Wolf website, as well as the usual swag: Storyteller's screen, character sheet pad, fancy dice. While we're focusing mostly on the first one today, the others helped to set the aesthetic of the game that was about to launch, If you're looking to dip your toes into 1e, then the quickstart may be just the thing for you, before the headlong plunge. Listen along as we try our best to give comprehensive and spoiler-free summaries of what is found therein!

Naturally, things are available on the Storytellers' Vault, namely https://www.storytellersvault.com/product/28293?affiliate_id=3063731 for the Demo, https://www.storytellersvault.com/product/50484?affiliate_id=3063731 for the Character Sheet Pad (but why, in this day and age), and https://www.storytellersvault.com/product/126290?affiliate_id=3063731 for the Screen, although if you print it out, you'll want to stick it to something sturdy. Dice are unfortunately not yet available for print on demand.

And as for our own links...!

Pooka G (any pronoun/they) was forced to check for Clarity after snorting a handful of Pixy Stix.

Percy: Oh, Edmund, can it be true? That I hold here, in my mortal hand, a nugget of purest green?

The other gamelines in the World of Darkness rarely engaged with Changeling very deeply, but now and then, a book would have a chunk of pages illuminating some new corner of the lore. We're looking to Vampire this week, and in particular the first Dark Ages corebook and the original Dark Ages Companion. This first edition of Dark Ages, using the second edition Vampire ruleset, was contemporaneous with early Changeling—and it shows. These two books show glimpses into fae conceptions that didn't quite make it into the deep history, let alone Dark Ages: Fae when that finally dropped, but we're curious about how they might still be of use. And beyond that, the rich setting information in this line is useful for anyone looking to set up a medieval Europe game that is more CtD than DA:F. We promise this is not a deep readthrough of 500 Vampire pages!

That being said, as promised, the Fishmalk:

Even mad vampires can use a friend once in a while!

The two books in question are available for purchase at https://www.storytellersvault.com/product/2672?affiliate_id=3063731 and https://www.storytellersvault.com/product/100?affiliate_id=3063731, respectively. We are available but not for purchase at:

Josh Hillerup (any pronoun) rolls Chimerical Alchemy to distill dreamstuff into heraldic tinctures impossible for human eyes to discern.

Uns ist in alten maeren  | wunders vil geseit

It's the dawning of a new age here at Changeling: the Podcast, as we begin to eye that entity known as Changeling: the Lost... veteran Storyteller and noted gaming authority Fetch joins us as co-host for this run of episodes that will proceed through Season Four. We're beginning with a deep dive into the (new) World of Darkness 1st edition corebook, the central text for the games that succeeded the original run of World of Darkness. This edition ran from 2004 through 2013 (or thereabouts) before being succeeded by the "Chronicles of Darkness" that ended late last year. We're talking this time around about Fetch's background with the games, the context of the gaming landscape in the mid-Naughty Aughties, mechanical differences in nWoD, and the themes/moods of the setting—which are quite different as well as being quite the same. If you've never delved into the series, then this will be a primer for you to get your feet drenched, and if it's old news to you, we hope it will be an engaging refresher nonetheless.

If you're inclined to purchase the book, drop by https://www.storytellersvault.com/product/1124?affiliate_id=3063731. Otherwise, for communication purposes, you can drop us a line via any of the following:

Pooka G (any pronoun/they) is more "Horror Stylish" than vice versa, or so say the latest and greatest society rags.

O, brave new world

And so it begins...! meaning Season 4, of course. We have a nice little backlog of recordings to edit, bowdlerize, and disseminate to the masses in the coming weeks and months. While we're done with the core line of Changeling: the Dreaming, there are a number of books we'd like to consider from the old World of Darkness. First up among these is World of Darkness: Tokyo, a Wraith book pretending to be an all-the-lines book (with a smattering of Changeling material). This episode was recorded a few months ago, but delayed due to the passing of our friend Terry Robinson, who appeared in it as a representative of Mage: the Podcast (along with Josh Heath for Werewolf: the Podcast). We've decided to move forward with producing this one in his memory. And then who knows in which pages we'll be losing ourselves next week...?

Some links:

The socials, as usual:

Josh Hillerup (any pronoun) fashions ikebana out of used circuit boards mounted on skewers.

Tokyo, city of my dreams! Will you fulfill my one desire and give me a life of my own? Yes, I believe you will, I know you will, in spite of the hardships and trials in store.

One last minisode to tide you over through Winterregnum...! As you may or may not be aware, not all the audio we record makes it into the final episodes. It's been a while since an episode with some outtakes, so we've returned to the cutting room floor for random bits of conversation. Here's the list of disconnected items and the episodes they're from:

There's more where that came from, but probably this will suffice for now, as a sampler. And yes, this is really just filler material, but in these curious and uncertain times, we're doing what we can to stoke the balefire and keep ourselves grounded with voices and memories. Otherwise, we are as always available at the usual passel of links:

Josh Hillerup (any pronoun) keeps spare minutes in a chronometric piggy bank for future splicing into bonus hours of undiluted time.