Changeling: the Dreaming

First on the list of character creation comes Changeling: the Dreaming. Changeling was originally the fifth game in White Wolf's old World of Darkness line. In the game, there was such a time as "once upon a time", when the faeries ran free and everything was possible. Thing is, mortal uncertainties, such as the Black Plague, led humanity to want a world that had all its borders wrapped up nicely... which was pretty much anathema for the fae. Those who didn't retreat to the faerie homeland of Arcadia (right before it got cut off from Earth) took refuge by bonding their souls to human bodies and becoming changelings, constantly reincarnating throughout the ages. Now, changelings try to fight to survive, keeping up the old ways while staving off the encroaching tide of Banality.

One of the reasons Changeling never really did well was because it was a game without focus. Was it urban fantasy with a strong Celtic bend? Was it about the inevitable death of childhood? Was it about fighting off conformity and keeping your culture alive? The supplements took it every which way but loose, meaning that no one could really find a focus for the game. Still, it did have its own devoted audience, who took the game every which way for their own personal enjoyment. I happened to be one of them, even though I got into the game long after it had stopped being published.

So, onto character creation. One of the major aspects of Changeling is the Dreaming, a world composed of the collective imaginations of mankind, for good or for ill. The creations of the Dreaming can only be seen and interacted with by changelings, as well as some children, mages, and other with low Banality or the right faculties. So, I've decided I'll make a character based on Susan Sto Helit in Terry Pratchett's Hogfather: the governess who knows very well that there are monsters under the bed, and thinks children do best if they know the monsters can get a good thumping.

The core defining qualities of a character in Changeling are Seeming, Kith, and Court. Seeming is based on the character's age: if he's between 3 and 13, he's a childling; 13 and 25, wilder; 25 and up, grump. The younger you are, the more Glamour (sheer faerie power) you have, and the less Willpower (strength of will) and Banality (lack of imagination) you have. I'm deciding our Susan wannabe is on summer break and looking for a steady job, so that makes her a wilder. That gives her a base Glamour of 4, base Willpower of 2 (we'll have to change that), and base Banality of 3.

Next comes Kith, which determines which kind of changeling Susannah (I think Susannah works, don't you?) is. In the core book, there are nine kiths: boggans (little hobbit-like craftsmen and caretakers), eshu (wandering talespinners), nockers (goblin mad scientists), pooka (animalistic tricksters), redcaps (nightmarish bullies), satyrs (passionate artists, athletes, and lovers), sidhe (beautiful and terrible lords and ladies of the fae), sluagh (creepy little secret discoverers), and trolls (big blue honor guards). The boggans seem appealing, but the sidhe win me over, as Susannah seems like the kind of girl who'd prepare herself for formal rule by trying to understand children. As one of the sidhe, Susannah gets two extra dots to her Appearance score, a -2 to the penalty of all Social rolls when impassioned, an immunity to any supernatural means that would make her look foolish, and the ability to make anyone who wants to attack her roll Willpower to do so. However, as a drawback, she accrues temporary Banality at double the rate of any other type of kith.

As for Court, there are two options: Seelie (honorable and lawful) and Unseelie (chaotic and unrestrained). Seelie seems the obvious choice, so I go that way. As part of her Court choice comes the choosing of Legacies, qualities that define the two sides of a changeling's personality. As she's Seelie, her Seelie Legacy, Regent (regain Willpower by solving a matter through leadership), defines her personality more than her Unseelie Legacy, Beast (regain Willpower by removing opposition to your goals).

Now, onto stats. As with any other old World of Darkness game, there are nine Attributes: Strength, Dexterity, Stamina (the Physical traits); Charisma, Manipulation, Appearance (the Social traits); and Perception, Wits, and Intelligence (the Mental traits). Each Attribute category can be assigned a certain number of dots to be distributed amongst scores. One gets 7 dots, one gets 5, and one gets 3. Each Attribute starts at one dot. I decide Mentals will be primary for Susannah, followed by Socials (as more dots will be freed up by the two to Appearance), and Physicals will come last.

Susannah likely gets by on her wits, but she's no slouch when it comes to academia. I put three dots in Wits, giving her a total score of 4; two into Intelligence, for 3; and two into Perception, for 3. For Socials, she already has an Appearance of 3, so I leave that as is. I imagine her as someone who gets her message across to monstrous chimera (beings of the Dreaming) clearly and brashly, so she gets three dots to Charisma, with the last two going to Manipulation. For Physicals, one dot each goes to Strength, Stamina, and Dexterity, making her basically your average girl.

Then come Abilities. Abilities are split into three categories: Talents, Skills, and Knowledges. The category breakdown is roughly 13, 9, and 5 dots. I decide that the breakdown will be 13 for Talents, 9 for Knowledges, and 5 for Skills. First off, Talents. 3 dots go to Dodge, indicating that Susannah knows how to get the hell out of the way, and 2 to Alertness, meaning she knows when to. Two dots go into Empathy, as she is someone who works with small children, and 3 go into Intimidation, as she is someone who deals with monsters under the bed. Two more go into Kenning, the ability to detect faerie stuff, and the last one goes into Persuasion.

Next up, Knowledges. Three dots go into Gremayre, or faerie knowledge. Two go into Investigation, and two into Law, as Susannah is studying to be a lawyer. The last two go into Politics, so Susannah knows who's who in the local changeling courts. Finally, Skills. Susannah gets two dots in Etiquette, as any good sidhe should have; one dot in Leadership, to help rally her charges; and two dots in Melee, to help thwack the hell out of bad chimera.

Now comes the magic stuff: Backgrounds, Arts, and Realms. Backgrounds are qualities of the character that are innate and part of their history before play begins. I have five points to distribute here. I decide that Susannah will need a regular source of Glamour, so she gets a two-dot Holdings, which represents a freehold that provides two temporary Glamour each day, likely awarded to her by a duke for some service. As she's a college student, she's short on cash, likely giving her one dot in Resources. She probably has minor Title, one dot worth, indicating that she's got some name and standing in the local court. Finally, I give her a 1-dot Treasure, an object of minor power that can affect both beings of flesh and Glamour. To complete the connection to Susan Sto Helit, I make it a steel poker that bestows a +2 to Intimidation rolls when used in physical threats. A bit crude, I know, but those nightmare beasts need to learn some way.

Next come Arts and Realms. In the game's magic system, changelings cast cantrips based on two measures: what they can do (Arts) and what they can affect with it (Realms). I get three dots for Arts, so I give Susannah one dot in Wayfare (giving her Hopscotch, the ability to make herself or others leap great distances), one dot in Primal (giving her Willow Whisper, the ability to communicate with anything she can affect), and one dot in Sovereign (giving her Protocol, the ability to enforce courtly manners even in the middle of a firefight-- if with some measure of difficulty). For Realms, I give her three dots in Fae (giving her the ability to affect "commoner" kiths, nobles, and chimera), one dot in Actor (giving her the ability to affect those she knows well), and one dot in Prop (giving her the ability to affect simple adornments, such as clothing).

Finally come the bonus points. As with many other old World of Darkness games, once initial character creation is done, there are fifteen bonus points left to spend. They can be spent on anything, including Merits (minor advantages) and Flaws (drawbacks that provide more bonus points). First comes Willpower. I decide to boost Susannah's Willpower to 5, spending six points in the process. I boost Susannah's Prop rating to 2, giving her the ability to affect swords, shields, and other simple objects without moving parts, which costs another three points. I spend five points to boost Susannah's Dexterity to 3. And, just because I can, I take The Bard's Tongue (an one-point Flaw making sure that Susannah says something once every session that ends up coming true, usually for ill), and Danger Sense (a two-point Merit that gives her a bonus to sensing threats).

Well. That's that. Let's see how it turns out:

Name: Susannah Helling
Seeming: Wilder
Kith: Sidhe
Court: Seelie
Legacies: Regent/Beast

Physical Attributes: Strength 2, Dexterity 3, Stamina 2
Social Attributes: Charisma 4, Manipulation 3, Appearance 3
Mental Attributes: Perception 3, Wits 4, Intelligence 3

Talents: Alertness 2, Dodge 3, Empathy 2, Intimidation 2, Kenning 2, Persuasion 1
Skills: Etiquette 2, Leadership 1, Melee 2
Knowledges: Gremayre 3, Investigation 2, Law 2, Politics 2

Glamour: 4
Willpower: 5
Banality: 3
Backgrounds: Holdings 2, Resources 1, Title 1, Treasure 1 (The Poker)
Arts: Primal 1, Sovereign 1, Wayfare 1
Realms: Fae 3, Actor 1, Prop 2

Merits: Danger Sense
Flaws: The Bard's Tongue

Well, that's that done with! Hopefully next time, I won't have to explain everything in so much detail. In fact, I think I'll be doing old World of Darkness all this week, so it's just like that.