A Brief Overview of Changeling Culture
Or, "So you wanna play a Changeling..." Any good game is like a jewel: many-faceted and, if done correctly, beautiful to behold. The Shining Host is no exception. This is as much a primer for those new to LARPing, to White Wolf (tm) games, or to Changeling, as it is a gentle reminder to the knowledgeable. Even if you have run Shining Host games, this section may be useful, if for no other reason than to let you know what we as StoryTellers wish to highlight in our game. With that said, read on!
Changeling is a storytelling game about the Dreaming. It’s about make-believe come to life, about imagination and insanity. Changeling depicts the invisible world of fantasy and magic that exists alongside our reality -- a place of delight, mystery and eenormous peril.
 The themes of this game are lost innocence, the cynicism of adulthood, and the definition of sanity; Alienation and Hope. When you play Changeling you will (hopefully) come to understand that fairy tales aren’t just for children (not that they ever were) and that they don’t always have happy endings.
 Changelings are exiles -- condemned to live in one world, yet born of another. Though our world is where they reside, their true home is and always will be Arcadia, the heart of the Dreaming. Ultimately, however, it is in our world -- this place of gloom, cynicism, hatred and logic -- that they must reside, and somehow survive.
 The setting of Changeling: the Shining Host (this game) is a world of mysterious revelations, hidden empires, black passions and high fantasy. You will discover a secret kingdom that lives and thrives in the shadows, the forgotten places, the nooks and crannies of the World of Darkness. Yet ever they know that this is not where they belong, and this world has stolen from them not only their home, but even their memories and their minds.
You are a creature of dream.
Changelings are creatures spawned from the collective dreams of the populace, and should be treated as such. This is not meant to limit you, but to inspire. Just because you're a creature of dream doesn't mean you have to be archetypical knight in shining armor, or damsel in distress, though many a good Changeling concept has been based on that archetype. You can be anything, from a cryptic jester who inspires through riddling, to the suave corrupter of kings, to a slightly mad tinkerer who will someday create new life, to the monster under the bed. Anything is possible, so long as it's imaginative. Since LARPing is its own form of storytelling, this should not be difficult, but it's always useful to remember that the story (and one's enjoyment in it) is most important.  You are also a real person.
Yes, this is dichotomous. One of the main themes of the game, some might say the primary theme, is the struggle between one's faerie and mundane seeming. Changelings struggle all their lives to maintain that balance, and though there are some who highly favor one side or the other (see the Legacies: Arcadian and Humanist in the Changeling Player's Guide from White Wolf), they are within the minority. What happens when the childling beast Monster-Under-The-Bed type is supposed to call its mommy? What happens when Baroness Alaron is expected at Ducal court at the same time as her Biochemistry final exam? These are simplistic questions, but are here to remind us that we are not MERELY playing archetypes. These are people, with thoughts, feelings, and responsibilities. And speaking of dichotomy...  Glamour and Banality are a double-edged sword.
Neither is inherantly "good" or "bad," and both are necessary for the Changeling to survive. Relying on either one too much will cause the Changeling to fall into Bedlam, or cause them to temporarily (or permanently) Forget themselves. This does not mean that a healthy fear of Banality is irrational, or even discouraged. Again, like most things, teetering on the edge of Forgetting or Bedlam is an interesting character choice, but it is a CHOICE, and will come with consequences. Glamour, the power of raw Imagination, Faith, and Belief must at some times be limited by Banality, which is a grounding in the "Real World" of Necessity, Lost Illusions, and Boredom. But it must never be dominated by it - that is the tightrope that is one of the key points of Changeling: The thin line between Madness (Glamour) and the Insipid (Banality). |
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The Escheat is in place for a reason.
They are not rules you might want to pay attention to, if you feel like it. They are the Changeling equivalent of the Ten Commandments, and some are taken closer to the letter of the law than others. Still, most every Changeling, Seelie or Unseelie, noble or commoner, takes the spirit of the Escheat to heart. Especially taken to heart are those rules forbidding the spilling the blood or killing of another Kithain, the responsibility to rescue a Kithain in danger of falling into Bedlam or Forgetting, the wisdom in keeping one's changeling existence hidden from mortals, and for most, the right for mortals to dream without Kithain intervention. Even if you're playing a Deviant-type, try to find loopholes in the Escheat, or at least have a reason not to follow one of its tenants at a certain point. Don't just skip out on the Escheat randomly. The feudal system is in place for a reason.
The current style of rulership has been going strong for centuries, its roots back in the Iron Age. Seelie and Unseelie alike often see the feudal system as, generically, the "right way" to rule, even if they'd like to change a detail or two. Many cannot imagine it another way. Your character may not be one of these people; there are clusters of Kithain who have opted to ignore the Treaty of Concord entirely and try to maintain autonomy by various means. However, these Kithain are, again, in the minority. The changeling hierarchy of leadership simply has not caught up to the "modern" first-world nations. The feudal system is backed by a long history and tradition, and some might say, some residual power of the Dreaming.  The Sidhe tend to rule for a reason.
The Sidhe's ability to rule is just as much a part of their kith as the Nocker's ability to craft or the Satyr's ability to perform. The Sidhe who cannot, or does not, rule in some capacity is an exception. And this, unlike the Escheat, is backed by more than history and tradition. To quote Terry Pratchett, "Elves are beautiful. They've got . . . style. Beauty. Grace. That's what matters. If cats looked like frogs we'd realize what nasty, cruel little bastards they are. Style. That's what people remember. They remember the glamour. All the rest of it, all the truth of it, becomes . . . old wives' tales." Even the ugliest Sidhe is gorgeous, the most slovenly sidhe dignified. From the very first day of their Kithain existence they have the innate ability to Lead Others. The most staunch opposer of the Sidhe should have difficulty not giving into a Sidhe's wishes. This does not mean that one has to do everything a Sidhe says. It does account for why they hold noble positions of authority so often. When it gets right down to it, one of the reasons Sidhe rule so often is because the Kithain populace expects them to rule.  There are some things that everyone will know.
For at least part of a changelings life, they will appear to most people as a normal, if somewhat imaginative individual. That is, until things start to get strange. At some point in the changeling's life, they begin to hear and see things that very few others can: the dreaming. Now if the young Kithain is in a family with some actual knowledge of the fae, this can be fine. However, most changelings do not have this kind of support. For a time the young changeling must fend for themselves against the whispers and half images that they see around them. Some of these children are ignored, others are institutionalized and others run away from home. In any even this weirdness comes to a head during the characters chrysalis. At some point in every character's past, the film of banality that covered them since birth was removed. This is the moment when a character first views the world wholly through their changeling eyes. Some of these new Kithain find mentors and friends among the fae and thus learn a little more, others go it alone. Either way, their lives are changed forever.  There are a lot of things you will likely not know about.
This is common sense, but should always be mentioned. Every culture has unknown or hidden elements, and the Kithain are no exception. Unless one has very good reason not to, the average changeling should not know anything but wild rumor and speculation about groups such as: The Shadow Court and their Houses, the Prodigals, the Nunnehi, the Gallain [Vampires, Werewolves, and Ghosts], and the Thallain. Finally, note that the Fae celebrate many festivals unto themselves, apart from mortal eyes. |
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Most of the stuff on this page is copyright by White Wolf Publishing Inc. Used without express permission, and without any intent to challenge their rights to the material. Much of the artwork is copyright T. Diterlizzi. You should visit his gallery and support this fine artist. The purpose of this site is to provide support for a Live Action troupe who create improvisational stories through Changeling:the Dreaming.
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