Changling Merits [M-W]

Many mask (• to •••••)
Book: Equinox Road, p. 14
Prerequisite: Wyrd 7
Effect: For most, the Mask is a set thing — some innate reflection of one’s humanness or an unconscious costume of mortal skin and features. Some changelings learn how to project a whole new Mask, while others learn how to keep a mental and mystical closet of
several Masks one can wear. For each dot purchased in this Merit, assume that the character has another Mask. This Mask is of the player’s design, and is very likely formed consciously on the part of the changeling (though some changelings, especially those with multiple personalities, may forge them unawares). Each Mask must be of the same gender and same Size (a 90 lb. wisp of a girl must have all of her Masks be reflective of a 90 lb. wisp of a girl), but otherwise, all other cosmetic features are up for grabs. One might be buff and must achioed, another might be a pale slip who looks more like a chemo patient than a circus strongman. To slip into another Mask, the changeling merely needs to spend a point of Glamour as an instant action, and can do this as many times in a chapter (game session) as her Wyrd score.


Market Familiarity (• or •••)
Book: Goblin Market, p. 14 Your character is a Market regular and has no difficulty finding or entering the Market except under unusual circumstances. At •, the character’s familiarity applies to a single local Market. She can locate and attend that Market no matter how often it changes location or password. At •••, the character’s expertise extends to Goblin Markets in general. The character has a knack for rooting out the location of the Goblin Market in even the least familiar of freeholds. Non-changelings may not purchase this Merit.


Market Sense (•)
Book: Rites Of Spring, p. 94, Goblin Market, p. 33
The Goblin Markets are notorious for trading in anything, and while keeping track of currency exchange rates in the mundane world can be difficult enough, trying to translate how many enamored sighs a knife that glows in the presence of child molesters is worth is a Herculean task. While value is a relative term, those with the Market Sense Merit can generally tell whether a certain transaction is roughly equal or not. It doesn’t force a fair deal, and a changeling who dares to tell a hob that he’s being cheated on the basis of a “hunch”may well have social ramifications to deal with. Characters with this Merit receive a +3 bonus to any rolls made to see through cheating in a trade or to resist any powers that would occlude (interfere) the character’s perception of a deal’s fairness.


Market Stall (••••)
Book: Goblin Market, p. 34
Prerequisite: Goblin Merchant (•••)
Effect: The character has purchased a stall at the Goblin Market, usually to the tune of price •••••. The stall allows for storage of goods and is protected by the magic of the Market. When the Market is open, characters attempting to steal anything stored
within the stall suffer a -4 dice penalty. Items on visible display do not benefit from this protection. When the Market is closed, stealing from the stall is impossible. Unfortunately,when the Market is closed, the character can’t access his stall, either, so he’s advised not to leave anything in there he might need in the interim. Furthermore, owning a stall allows a vendor to take advantage of another magical property of the Market:he can buy and sell abstractions as if they were physical property. This means he can extract an abstraction(such as a memory, a Skill, or even experience points) from a permitting character and store it, use it himself,or sell it to someone else. For more on abstractions, see pp. 28-29.


Mantle (• to •••••)
Book: Changeling: The Lost Core, p. 97Mantle represents a mystical connection with the elements and emotions that a particular Court embodies. The higher a changeling’s Mantle rating, the more he has come to embody that Court’s ideal — even if he is a hermit who doesn’t involve himself in local politics, a character with a high Mantle is still given at least grudging respect by his peers because of his obvious commitment to the values his Court cherishes. From a descriptive perspective, as a character’s Mantle rises, his fae mien reflects this ascendance, displaying both literal and figurative signs of the season. A character with Mantle (Autumn) • might be followed by a slight brisk breeze, for example, while one with Mantle (Autumn)••• might have illusory leaves kicked up as she walks and at last at Mantle (Autumn) •••••, the character might be illuminated by late afternoon light and surrounded by a reflective hush similar to that found in a library. Specific examples of how a Court’s particular Mantle increases can be found in the “Courts” section in Chapter One. These trappings are not visible to mortals and have no real game effect, but should be used to enhance a character’s description and convey a sense of how rooted in her Court she has become. As a sign of brotherhood, Mantle adds to dice pools for social interaction with members of the Court in question. Each dot adds a +1 die bonus to relevant rolls with members of that particular Court. This Merit does not add to dice pools predicated on supernatural powers. Characters with no Court cannot purchase Mantle. Mantle also serves as a prerequisite for learning certain Court-related Contracts. A character may learn clauses from the relevant Contract path of his Court, which generally require a certain amount of Mantle to learn, though he must still meet any other prerequisites as well. Should his Mantle fall or he adopt the Mantle of a new Court, he might no longer meet the prerequisites for some of hi sold Contracts; in that case, he must spend additional Glamour to activate those Contracts. (See “Changing Seasons,” p. 94, and the note on Contract prerequisites, p. 174). Each Court has certain mechanical and descriptive benefits for all its members developing a Mantle rating,as outlined in the Court descriptions in Chapter One. In addition to those benefits, each Court has a benefit reserved for its leader, an advantage most commonly referred to its “crown.” A crown can only manifest in a freehold where there are at least a handful of members of a particular Court and they are able to choose a common leader, and generally manifests only during the appropriate physical season. Occasionally, a crown will manifest during the off-season if a Court is especially prominent or powerful in the area, as the Hedge reflects the Court’s potency, or a changeling who is elected leader of the freehold might manifest his crown out of season if he is sufficiently popular. Note that the leader of a Court is not always the member with a highest Mantle rating. Ultimately, the Storyteller is the final arbiter of when and how a crown appears, but asa rule, only one crown may manifest in a given freehold at a time.

Blessing of the Green (Spring):
A character who wears the crown of Spring may spend a Willpower point to bestow the Blessing of the Green, allowing her to add her Mantle rating as bonus successes to a single roll related to gathering Glamour. The changeling may use this ability up to a maximum number of times persession equal to her Mantle dots. A particular character may only benefit from one use of this ability persession, however. The Spring fae may cast this blessing on herself, or she may choose to bestow it on another with a touch, in which case the blessing must be used before the next sunrise or it is lost.

Challenge of the Black Spear (Summer):
This benefit applies in one-on-one situations such as duels. By spending a Glamour point, the character with the crown of Summer receives a bonus to his Initiative rating equal to his Mantle dots for the duration of the duel, and is not considered surprised by ambushes or other unexpected trickery, though if the duel shifts to mass combat this Initiative bonus drops to a simple +1. The changeling may use this ability multiple times per session, up to a maximum number equal to his Mantle rating. However, this ability may only be used once against a particular foe per combat.

Harvest of Whispers (Autumn):
Once per session, the Autumn leader may take a minute to reflect on what she has learned so far that session (and consult the Storyteller as to whether or not a particular bit of information qualifies for this ability), and then perform the Harvest of Whispers. For each valuable secret,important truth, revelatory fact or other significant piece of information she has uncovered this session, up to a maximum number equal to her Mantle rating, the character receives two Glamour points that are placed in a special pool apart from her regular Glamour points. These harvested Glamour points can be spent only to power Contracts, activate tokens, facilitate dream travel or cross into the Hedge. These points cannot be used for any other purposes, including seeming abilities, and cannot in any way traded or given away; anything left in this pool fades to nothingness at the end of the session. This ability may allow the character to effectively exceed the limit of Glamour points she can possess as dictated by her Wyrd, but the number of Glamour points she can spend per turn is still limited normally. Furthermore, as long as a character exceeds her normal limit of Glamour, she is considered especially noticeable by beings that can detect Glamour or magical energy, so unless she wishes to attract undue attention, it is also best to ready a concealing Contract or two to help dim this radiance. It is important to note that only new information learned that session can be used for the Harvest of Whispers even if a character learned something just last session, it’s old news and doesn’t qualify. Those whodon the crown of the Autumn Court are expected to always be seeking out new and interesting information,not rest on the body of knowledge they’ve already accumulated. The Storyteller is the final arbiter of whether a piece of information is new, valuable or important enough to qualify for this ability.

Feast of Ashes (Winter):
Once per session, a changeling wearing the crown of the Winter Court may devote himself to the Feast of Ashes, converting one point of Glamour to one point of Willpower, up to a maximum number of points equal to the character’s Mantle rating. He may even exceed his normal limit of Willpower points in this fashion, though any excess points are lost at the end of the session. In addition, for the remainder of the scene in which this ability is activated, the changeling’s Willpower rating is effectively increased by a number equal to his Mantle rating, making it extremely hard for others to undermine his confidence in his ability to survive.


Mobile Hollow (• to •••••; special)
Book: Swords At Dawn, p. 92
Prerequisite: Hollow (Size) •+, Wyrd 3
Effect: Some Lost are not contented with a secret hiding place tucked deep into the Hedge; they require that their Hollow be able to move, whether because they are nomads, as a security measure, or merely as insurance that it remains hidden. These changelings put great effort into constructing Hollows with wheels (a bizarre carnival carriage of briarwood planks and hedge spun curtains), sails (a decaying pirate vessel that slowly grinds through the earth as a ship plies the sea), or even legs (a small hut with a thatch roof crested by four arches that split at the center to twist down into thorn-crusted spider legs). Some Hollows don’t have any apparent mode of travel. By some quirk of fate they are one place at one moment, and another the next. The mobility of the Hollow depends on the number of dots purchased in this Merit.

• The Hollow moves a set distance chosen by the changeling when purchasing this Merit (no more than the changeling’s Wyrd in hours of Hedge travel) in a random direction at a regular interval of no less than a month and no greater than a season. The Speed of this travel depends on the mode of locomotion chosen, but can be as fast as instantaneous. Changelings with such Hollows may find this mobility more a nuisance than an advantage, and most take extreme pains to ensure that they are within the Hollow’s walls at its scheduled time of migration. If not, their own Hollow may be lost to them until such time as they hunt it down again via the usual rules for navigating the Hedge. Once the Hollow has been located again, any doors to the mortal world can be re-established at the changeling’s wont.

•• The Hollow can move a set distance chosen by the changeling (no more than the changeling’s Wyrd in hours of Hedge travel) when the Merit is purchased in a random direction at the changeling’s whim. This relocation can only be performed once per month and only when the changeling is within the Hollow. The Speed of this travel depends on the mode of locomotion chosen, but can be as fast as instantaneous.

••• The Hollow can move at up to Speed 10 in a direction chosen by the changeling for a distance chosen by the changeling (no more than twice the changeling’s Wyrd in hours of Hedge travel) once per month.

•••• The Hollow moves constantly at Speed 10. Doors into the Hedge tend to leave the character stranded in unfamiliar locations…and passing back through them only leads back into the Hollow if done within 10seconds. (Navigating the Hedge towards the Hollow suffers a –3 penalty to the usual roll.) Doors into the world do not similarly move, instead remaining fixed. Such doors are typically the preferred manner of entering and exiting the Hollow.

••••• The Hollow can move at up to Speed 10 for an unlimited distance and does so at the changeling’s whim. The changeling chooses the direction and can alter it at her discretion. Hollows moving through the Hedge ignore trods or other established paths; the walls of the Hedge part before the Hollow and close behind it. Furthermore, Hollows avoid other entities in the Hedge, instantly leaving pursuers behind (often by slipping through a Hedge wall that seals behind it) and circumventing any other individuals or obstacles along the way. A Hollow cannot be used as a weapon to ram other entities, nor can it be crashed into other Hollows. Space within the Hedge is subjective enough that even if another Hollow exists precisely where the character’s Hollow is traveling, it can set up a comfortable distance away.
Special: Like other aspects of the Hollow Merit, the cost for Mobile Hollow can be split amongst different characters as described on p. 96 of Changeling: The Lost. If the Hollow is shared, the Wyrd prerequisite changes. Instead of being a flat Wyrd 3, the sum of the characters’ Wyrd ratings must equal 6 or more.


Narrative Master (•••)
Book: Swords At Dawn, p. 78
Prerequisite: Wyrd 3
Effect: Talecrafting comes naturally to the character; she has an implicit feel for the weave and weft of the tale bound up in fate’s loom. As a result, on any Talecrafting rolls, the character can spend Glamour to gain bonuses on her Talecrafting rolls. This is in addition to the Glamour she must spend as part of the roll already. Each Glamour spent in this way gives her +1 to the roll. She can only spend a number of points of Glamour per turn as dictated on the Wyrd chart (p. 84, Changeling: The Lost). The initial point of Glamour spent on the Talecrafting roll counts toward this limit.


New Identity (•, •• or ••••)
Book: Changeling: The Lost Core, p. 98
Effect: Your character has somehow managed to acquire documents supporting a new identity since his return. In this age of background checks, paper trails and bureaucratic scrutiny, this is an incredibly handy resource to call upon, especially for changelings who have returned to find their old lives stolen by their fetches, or who have returned years or even decades after being taken and must forge new lives simply because it is functionally impossible to re-enter their old ones. You are encouraged to work with the Storyteller to determine exactly how your character acquired his new identity. If your character doesn’t seem to have any Merits or relationships that might explain how he got his new identity, presumably he had to ask favour from someone else who did — if so, what did she want in return? Many great story hooks can come from the process of acquiring a brand-new identity. The number of dots spent on this Merit determines how convincing and in depth the documentation surrounding this new life actually is.

New Identity (•) represents an identity that passes casual inspection, but not much else — a character can go shopping and get around in most daily situations, but any kind of trained scrutiny such as from a police officer or bureaucrat immediately identifies her identity as a fake.

New Identity(••) imparts an identity that will pass most forms of relatively cursory professional inspection, but cannot stand up to a sustained investigation — a police officer who has pulled the character over will not automatically pick up anything unusual if he runs the character’s license plates or calls up her name in a database, but should the character be arrested and the police begin a formal investigation, her identity will quickly unravel.

New Identity (••••) represents an identity that is essentially as real as any identity can be — it would take a truly dedicated, competent and time-consuming search by trained professionals to uncover any hint that the changeling isn’t exactly whom she claims to be, at least as far as her documentation is concerned. This Merit may be purchased multiple times at multiple ratings, each time representing a different identity,and an identity may also be upgraded later with the appropriate in-game explanation and experience expenditure. In the case of certain Merits such as Resources or Status, it might also be worth noting which identity these Merits are tied to, since a character may not easily be able to access or maintain them if that identity is compromised.


No Seeming (••)
Book: Equinox Road, p. 107
Prerequisite: Changelings only
Effects: Your changeling lacks both a seeming and a kith. As a result, her fae mien is largely identical to her original human form; the fae changes she has undergone are not distinct enough to have rewritten her body into a full seeming. Your character lacks any seeming blessing or curse, as well as any kith. However,retaining her human appearance also gives your character a better grip on sanity. As a result, she gains +1 to all Clarity rolls to avoid losing Clarity or gaining a derangement. Available at character creation only . The basic form of a changeling’s body is set once they come back from Arcadia.


Outsider Fetish (• to •••)
Book: Lords Of Summer, p. 150
Prerequisite: Changeling
Effects: This Merit allows the character to begin play with a talen or a fetish. Any supernatural character,including characters with both major and minor supernatural templates can use this fetish, but ordinary mortals cannot. Non-werewolves cannot begin play with a fetish rated higher than ••, however. One dot of this Merit indicates that the changeling owns a talen, two dots translates to a one-dot fetish and three dots means the character owns a two-dot fetish. The werewolf must then instruct the character in using the fetish since non-werewolves cannot activate the fetish normally. The character must enact the spirit’s ban in order to gain the fetish’s benefits. In order to use a fetish, the character must enact the spirit’s ban, which can be as simple as sprinkling some salt on the fetish or as complex as reciting a phrase in the werewolf language. The player then rolls Resolve +Occult.

Roll Results
Dramatic Failure: The spirit wrenches itself free of the fetish, which is promptly rendered useless. The spirit is hostile to the character, but doesn’t necessarily attack. The spirit might well alert other, more dangerous, beings to the character’s presence, depending on how well the character has treated the spirit.
Failure: The character performs the ban incorrectly and the fetish doesn’t work. Any subsequent attempts to activate it during the same scene incur a cumulative –1 penalty.
Success: The fetish works as described.
Exceptional Success: The spirit in the fetish looks favorably on the character. The next attempt to activate it receives a +1 bonus.


Perfect Stillness (•)
Book: Rites Of Spring, p. 94
Prerequisite: Stealth •
Effect: Your character has learned how to avoid the notice of her Keeper by remaining utterly motionless for hours at a time. Whenever she wishes, she can remain perfectly still for an entire scene. Except for breathing softly and silently, your character can stand without moving a muscle for an entire scene, even if the position she is in would be exceedingly uncomfortable for others. In addition to various other uses of this Merit, if your character remains stationary while hiding, all rolls to notice or locate her are made at a –2penalty. This Merit is common among Fairest Muses, some of whom spent much of their time in Arcadia as living statues.


Pledge smith (• to •••)
Book: Rites Of Spring, p. 94
Pledges are a vital part of changeling society, and those who craft them well can gain significant prestige among their fellows. Your character is noted for having an adept way with words, a skill that affords her a small measure of respect from other Lost, and others may seek her out for advice on crafting pledges. This Merit adds one die per level of the Merit to all social interactions involving pledges, either on topics related to them or in the actual crafting thereof (including manipulating a hesitant party into a pledge or creating a pledge that contains loopholes or hidden meanings.)


Prophet Circle (• to •••••)
Book: Rites Of Spring, p. 94
Benefit: Prophecy dreams come to changelings relatively infrequently. Some changelings possessed of particularly strong connection to the Wyrd (i.e., those with the Visionary Dreams Merit on p. 96) can call upon this gift more frequently, but other changelings are not so lucky, and must come up with alternative divinatory methods. This Merit represents your character’s ensorcellment of one or more mortals with a high level of psychic sensitivity. They have no special powers of their own (unless you also choose to buy the Retainer Merit for them), but they have clairvoyant dreams fairly frequently and, thanks to your Pledge of Horn and Bone, you can ride their dreams and witness these visions yourself. Once per story per dot you possess in the Prophet Circle Merit, you may dream ride one of your oath bound psychics and receive a vision that grants supernatural insight about a question or topic. This question may be about the future (“What will happen on the solstice night if the Spring Queen succeeds in her plans?”) or the present (“Where is Jack Tallowhiding?”) or even the past (“How did Jenny Tulips die?”). The prophets you have oathbound are assumed to be pledged to a token, so they don’t count toward your maximum number of vows. As with the Contacts Merit, the Storyteller is encouraged to flesh out these prophets as characters and use them as story hooks. You must spend a point of Glamour to “jump-start” the psychic vision, and roll Wits + Occult to interpret it. The results are as follows:

Dramatic Failure: A nightmare. You can interpret it any way you want, but it probably leads to more trouble than solutions.
Failure: Meaningless images.
Success: One or more clues (one per Prophet Circle dot), although they must be interpreted.
Exceptional Success: One or more clues (one per Prophet Circle dot), and a suggestion about their interpretation provided by the Storyteller. The information conveyed is hidden behind allegory, symbols and archetypes. The dreams rarely answer questions directly, typically relying on symbolism and imagery to convey information. A changeling seeking a specific person’s location wouldn’t see his address, but landmarks nearby could lead the way: a river, a tower or even the face of a man walking by at dusk. The answer has the potential to resolve the problem. It’s a tool for the Storyteller to help drive events of the story.


Rigid Mask (••)
Book: Rites Of Spring, p. 95
Prerequisite: Subterfuge ••
Effect: Your character is not merely a good liar; he has learned to completely hide his emotions from others. While he may have learned this skill from dealing with a particularly horrific Keeper, your character can use it equally well back in the mortal world. While this ability does not increase his skill at lying, anyone attempting to see through his lies or figure out what your character’s real emotions are suffers a –2 to all rolls to do so. In addition, all attempts to use devices such as lie detectors or voice-stress analyzers on your character are made at a –4 penalty, because your character can mimic emotions with great skill and has learned to suppress almost all of the physiological cues that would normally reveal his emotions.


Ritual Doorway (•••)
Book: Rites Of Spring, p. 95
Prerequisite: Hollow Doors (•••••)
Effect: In addition to its normal doors, a Hollow bearing this Merit can be entered anywhere in the mortal world, as long as a certain ritual is performed. Examples of such rituals include your character lighting three red candles in front of a mirror and saying a particular poem by Yeats or fully immersing herself in a bathtub, pond or other still body of water after anointing herself with special oils and cutting her finger and bleeding a drop of blood into the water. This ritual allows your character to enter her Hollow from any possible entrance to the Hedge where this ritual can be performed, no matter where in the mortal world this entrance is located. Each ritual is unique to one specific Hollow, and any changeling or True Fae who performs this ritual in the correct manner can gain entrance to this Hollow from any place in the mortal world. As a result, changelings whose Hollows possess this Merit are advised to keep their Hollows a closely guarded secret. Characters with this Merit are free to bring others with them when they use this ritual, but doing so risks the people learning the ritual. This ritual is part of the Hollow Merit, and if several changelings purchase a Hollow together, they need to purchase this ritual only once. Although character can use this ritual to enter her Hollow from a distant city or even a distant continent,this Merit does not provide a method of instant teleportation. Every ritual requires proper tools and ingredients, and every ritual should have at least one unusual ingredient, such as a series of seven pennies all minted in the same year, three candles of a particular color or special oils for anointing. In all cases, these ingredients are either used up in performing the ritual or left behind when the character enters the Hollow. Also, the ritual to enter a Hollow requires between five and 10 minutes to perform and cannot be performed while the character is on the run or in combat. The character must have at least five minutes to remain in one place and concentrate on performing the ritual. Also, the character must spend one additional point of Glamour to open a doorway into the Hedge using this ritual. If the ritual is interrupted, the changeling must begin again, and the additional point of Glamour is lost. However, the ritual is sufficiently simple that no roll is needed to perform it. If the ritual is successful, your character immediately enters the Hollow as though she had used one of the Hollow's normal doorways. However, all entrances created by this ritual are one-way. Characters cannot pass back through entrances created by this ritual. Your character can enter her Hollow from any appropriate location in the mortal world, but can only leave her Hollow via one of its normal doors. In addition, this ritual does not work in the Hedge. While in the Hedge, your character must find one of the normal entrances to her Hollow.

Special: Each Hollow with this Merit has only a single ritual that can be used to enter it. However, this ritual can be changed, which is typically done if strangers or enemies learn of the ritual. Changing the ritual requires one or more of the Hollow’s owners to spend a day in the Hollow crafting the new ritual. At the end of this time, the changeling leading this ritual must make a Wits + Occult roll and spend a sufficient number of experience point to purchase this Merit a second time. If several of the Hollow’s owners are present, they can share this expense among them. At this point, the old ritual that previously allowed entrance into this Hollow ceases to work, and only the new ritual can be used. Characters who previously knew the old ritual do not automatically know the new ritual, including the owners of the Hollow who were not present when this ritual was performed.


Second-Hand Skills (• to •••)
Book: Goblin Market, p. 26
Prerequisite: Wyrd 3
Effect: The character has aligned her destiny with that of someone who was skilled in a way the character is not. For a small tithe of magic, the character may gain access to this expertise. Upon purchasing this Merit,three Skills are chosen (generally corresponding to the Skills most used by the original owner). Once perchapter the character may spend 1 Glamour to gain a number of additional dots in one of those Skills equal to the dot value of the Merit, for the remainder of the scene. This Merit cannot raise the character’s effective Skill above 5.
Drawback: The Storyteller should determine the details of the fate’s original owner at the time of purchase and explain it to the player (and can add depth to the Market bargaining process). When benefiting from this Merit, characters often adopt some of the mannerisms or ideas of the fate’s original owner. While this is mostly a roleplaying consideration, such behavior can cause penalties to rolls in certain situations at the Storyteller’s discretion. (These should never be more encumbering than a Flaw.)


Seeming (•••)
Book: Equinox Road, p. 107
Prerequisite: Fae-Touched Mortals Only
Effects: Your character has a changeling seeming, and possesses the associated blessing and curse. Only faetouched mortals can purchase this Merit.
Drawback: Having been touched more deeply by the mad nature of Faerie, the character suffers a –1penalty to all rolls to avoid gaining a derangement.


Shared Guilt (Special)
Book: Autumn Nightmares, p. 103
Type: Milestone
Circumstance: The changeling’s motley must assist him in killing the fetch. Each character must inflict at least one point of damage on the fetch before it dies.
Effect: Because of the changeling’s motley’s help, he knows that the “version” of him that died was the fetch, and that the fetch was false. Each member of the motley must check for degeneration as usual, but as long as one member of troupe succeeds on the roll, none of the changelings loses Clarity. If all of the rolls fail, the breaking point is handled normally (roll Clarity to determine if a derangement surfaces, etc.). Thereafter, once per story, the motley can invoke the Shared Guilt Merit. This requires that all members of the motley who participated in the slaughter of the fetch have undergone or witnessed the same breaking point. The degeneration roll is handled in the same way — all of the players make the roll, and as long as someone succeeds, everyone succeeds.

Example: Jack Tallow and his motley track down and confront his embittered fetch, Rand all Vey (see p.254 of
Changeling: The Lost). They surround the fetch and stab it to death, each member inflicting one wound. All of the players roll three dice for the breaking point of killing a fetch, but as long as one player succeeds, the others do as well. Later in the chronicle, the motley enters the dream of a human rival, and one of Jack’s compatriots goes a little wild, poisoning his dreams and bringing him to harm. Since the entire motley was present, they can choose to invoke the Shared Guilt Merit — all of the players roll two dice, and as long as one succeeds, no one loses Clarity or has to check for a derangement. Invoking Shared Guilt requires unanimous consent from the motley (and the troupe). If the motley feels that the changeling who reached the breaking point acted on his own and that they could not have stopped him,they are quite justified in refusing to take the risk of losing their own Clarity for his sake.


Siren Song (•••)
Book: Rites Of Spring, p. 96
Your character’s voice has an attractive quality, in the literal sense. Whenever she speaks, those within earshot are drawn to her, distracted from whatever they were previously doing. Everyone within earshot suffers a –2 penalty on all actions performed while the changeling with the Merit is actually speaking. This penalty goes away as soon as she stops. While listeners may not actually move closer, their attention is pulled to her in an obvious manner. This Merit does not influence them to obey her or even to like her, but they will be hard-pressed to ignore her when she speaks. This can be useful for attracting a waiter’s attention, distracting an enemy shooter or having one’s side of an argument heard. It can, however, prove unfortunate when speaking to a cab driver en route,trying to carry on a private conversation in a crowded room or speaking within earshot of allies while in a fight. This Merit is always on and affects everyone (friend and foe alike) within earshot. The Siren Song does not carry through radio, electronic or recorded media, however — it must be heard live and unamplified.


Slave (• to •••••)
Book: Goblin Market, p. 23Your character has purchased a slave at Market. The creature is bound to serve you in almost any way imaginable, chained to your will. This chain always manifests in some way in the creature’s appearance: iron collars around the neck and silver cords about the wrist are typical markers, but brands, tattoos and even fur patterns have been known to manifest. So long as the slave’s fetters remain, it must make a successful Resolve + Composure roll to act against its master. The roll is penalized by -3 dice if the slave attempts to refuse, ignore or disobey a direct order, and -5 if it tries to physically harm the character. Even the most simple-minded slaves have feelings, however, and the Storyteller can reduce (or even waive) these penalties in the face of long-term abuse. The complexity and intelligence of a slave varies based on the value of the Merit.

At •, the slave is little more than a magical automaton, such as a lamp that follows its master or a broom that sweeps of its own accord.

For ••, the slave is a simple imp or wisp of limited intelligence, capable of carrying out relatively simple tasks but without any significant capacity for problem solving.

At •••, the slave has the intelligence(and often temperament) of a child. At this value, a slave can be large enough to provide its master with physical defense and may possess one dot in a single Contract.

A •••• slave is a familiar of average intellect and skill, perhaps possessing two dots in a single Contract.

For •••••, the slave is of greater-than-average intelligence or strength, able to think critically and creatively about problems and possessed of four clauses from one or two Contracts. At this level, the slave may even be a changeling or non-fae supernatural creature (with four of their appropriate powers), but keeping such powerful creatures as slaves is asking for trouble.

Drawback: Besides the dangers inherent in housing abused hobgoblins, owning slaves carries a social stigma among changeling society (composed, as it is, primarily of former slaves). Most changeling slave-owners take care to be discreet in their proclivities, lest they garner a reputation in their Freehold for being no better than the Others.

Special: Slaves at the Goblin Market come in two varieties: trained and untrained. The latter are most common and tend to come cheap, and have a value (see p. 28) equal to half the Merit’s rating. The character purchasing such a slave must also pay the usual experience cost of the Merit in order to “break in” the new slave. Trained slaves serve obediently from the moment of purchase (requiring no expenditure of experience),but cost an exorbitant amount. These have a value equal to the Merit’s rating.


Soul Sense (••)
Book: Rites Of Spring, p. 96
Prerequisite: A living fetch
Effect: Some Lost conjecture that a portion of each changeling’s soul is imbedded in her fetch. Whether this is true or not, your character feels some extra level of connection to the simulacrum crafted to replace her. Your character always knows the direction and approximate distance to her fetch. In addition, your character has a very general sense of her fetch’s moods and emotions. As a result, your character gains a +2 bonus to all Social rolls when interacting with her fetch.
Drawback: Your character also feels when her fetch is in pain and suffers an injury penalty equal to half of the fetch’s (round up). If her fetch is incapacitated due to injuries, your character suffers a –2 penalty to all rolls. If your character’s fetch is killed, your character takes a number of points of bashing damage equal to her Wyrd and must make a Stamina + Composure roll to not fall unconscious for several minutes.


Sublime (•••••)
Book: Equinox Road, p. 14
Prerequisite: Wyrd 9
Effect: The character’s mien has become truly otherworldly. Perhaps her human form is gone and she is just a being of pure light or darkness. Maybe she appears as a creature out of myth, or as an angel, or even a goddess. She may be the pinnacle or horror of beauty. While humans still see the Mask, they sense her transcendent nature. Mortal beings may not attack her (unless in self-defense), may not lie to her, and may not attempt to intimidate her. In addition, all humans who can see her must halve their Speed and Initiative scores(round down). Changelings, on the other hand, do not halve Speed or Initiative, but must succeed at a reflexive Resolve + Composure roll to attack her (unless in self-defense), lie to her, or intimidate her. Finally,the Gentry no longer see her as a direct enemy, and they see her as almost a kindred spirit. It doesn’t mean the True Fae won’t attack her, but it’s quite likely they’ll approach her first as something close to an equal.
Drawback: She also draws the attention of the Gentry. The Fae want her to come “home” to Faerie, and will do whatever they must to push her in that direction. That means her friends and family are subject to possible torment or death by the Fae, who think she must have her “fetters” to the mundane world removed. In addition, changelings don’t often trust her; why would they, when the Gentry seem so fond of her?


Subtle Liqueur (•)
Book: Swords At Dawn, p. 29
Prerequisite: Inebriating Elixir kith blessing When your use your Inebriating Elixir blessing to ferment a non-alcoholic beverage, the drink’s taste is not altered in any way; imbibers cannot tell that what they’re drinking is alcoholic, much less preternaturally so.


Token (• +)
Book: Changeling: The Lost Core, p. 98Fae lore is replete with stories of objects with magical powers, either “liberated” from former masters in Arcadia, discovered deep within the Hedge or even forged by skilled changeling craftsmen. Though these objects are seemingly mundane to the mortal eye, the Lost see these useful but double-edged objects for what they are. A character with this Merit has one or more such tokens in his possession. Each dot in this Merit translates into one dot’s worth of token, which can be divided up as the player sees fit. Thus, a character with Token •••• could possess one four-dot token, two two-dot tokens, one one-dot token and one three-dot token,and so forth. This Merit can also be used to purchase the expendable tokens called trifles at a cost of three trifles per dot, or even goblin fruits (p. 222) at the same rate. In most instances, a character does not need to spend experience points for tokens acquired during the course of play, only those in her possession at the beginning of the chronicle. At the Storyteller’s discretion,ownership of truly mighty tokens may require a partial or even complete investment of experience points,representing the time required to learn the complexities of using such epic items as well as safeguarding them from potential thieves. For more on tokens, see Chapter Three (pp. 201–210).


Token Maker (•••)
Book: Rites Of Spring, p. 150
Most tokens are crafted by the Fae or found in the Hedge and put to use by those clever enough to recognize their potential. Some changelings, however, learn the ability to create tokens themselves, a useful skill that often puts them in great demand by their peers (and by the True Fae who would prefer such craftsmen remained in their own “employ”).Creating a token is a long and arduous project that requires not only great skill but a commitment of personal energies as well. First, the character must be able to accurately create some sort of plans, recipe or blueprint for the creation. Creating a recipe from scratch is an extended Intelligence + Occult roll, with one day required per roll and total successes required of five per dot in the token. This research cannot be interrupted until complete, or all successes are lost. In some cases, the crafter may be able to discover a plan that some other changeling has created, and work directly from that. Such a discovery may be the focus of a story — and may result in an object with unforeseen quirks reflecting the unknown author. Tokens are created as an extended action (Wyrd + Crafts) with each roll representing two weeks of work and a target number of 25 per dot of Token. Thus a two dot token such as a Lantern of Ill Omen would require50 successes to create. Token Makers must expend at least one point of Glamour per two weeks into their work, and may expend up to five per month. Each point of Glamour above the first counts as an automatic success toward the total. The character must work for at least eight hours each day; working 16 or more hours a day adds an additional two dice to the roll per week that the character can maintain this schedule. If the crafter leaves off in the middle of her project, accumulated successes remain — but if she fails to pick up her tools again and resume work within two weeks, the successes are lost as the Glamour flees and her inspiration leaves her. Changelings possessing the Workshop Merit below may additionally halve the time per roll (if working na token made of a material which falls within one of their Workshop’s Specialty areas) should any points in Workshop focus on that specialty.

Example: Annie Bumble wants to create a Curious Paw Token (p. 207 of Changeling: The Lost). She’s a passable taxidermist and has a nicely appointed taxidermy table set up in her Hollow (one dot in Workshop:Taxidermy). She sequesters herself in her Hollow to work on it. Because she has a dot in Taxidermy allocated to her Workshop Hollow, she halves two weeks, making her time per roll one week. At the end of the first week of work, she spends one Glamour for the required investment and five more toward automatic successes. Her player rolls Annie’s Wyrd (3) + Crafts (4) + Crafts Specialty: Taxidermy (1) + Workshop (Taxidermy)(3) and gets 4 successes on the 11 dice. Adding in her automatic successes, Annie has now accumulated nine successes toward the 100 required to complete the Curious Paw. At the end of the next week of work, she spends another Glamour (with the option of spending up to five more) and makes another roll, accumulating the successes until she has reached 100 and the Curious Paw is complete.

Drawbacks: Token drawbacks are not within the control of their creator. They are a result of the cagey nature of Glamour, and cannot be guided by the token’s maker’s hand or will. As tokens are forged in part out of the maker’s own Glamour, however, the drawback often reflects a connection to the maker in some way. One Darkling craftsman’s token might cause temporary blindness after being used, while another item by the same artisan might attract spiders to the user’s home. For already published tokens, such as those found on pp. 202–209 of Changeling: The Lost or in Chapter Four of this book, Storytellers have the option of using the listed drawback or creating one that more closely ties the token to its creator’s nature.


Token master (•••)
Book: Equinox Road, p. 14
Prerequisite: Wyrd 7
Effect: The character’s Wyrd is truly potent: it radiates from her mien in unseen waves. Those objects she values and touches run the chance of becoming tokens. She must first be in somewhat constant contact with the object for a number of days equal to (10 minus her Clarity score). A knife hung at her belt or a bed she sleeps on at night counts: the coffee maker she uses every morning would not count. At the culmination of that time period, the Storyteller rolls a single die — if that die is a success (8 or above on the roll), the object becomes a token as her Wyrd has inadvertently infused it. It’s not impossible for a truly potent changeling to effectively create tokens left and right…
Drawback:…and that’s not always a good thing. First, she has no control over what the objects become—she cannot say, “I wish that this hand-me-down wallet from my deceased father magically makes money appear” and have that happen. The Wyrd does what it wants. Second, tokens can be dangerous, especially if they get into the hands of her enemies or into the hands of foolish humans who trigger dangerous catches.


Unseen Sense, Talecrafting (•••)
Book: Swords At Dawn, p. 78
Prerequisite: Wits •••, Academics ••
Effect: As per the Unseen Sense Merit on pp. 109–110 of the World of Darkness Rulebook, the changeling has a “sixth sense,” but in this case it’s not related to ghosts or spirits or anything like that, but actually triggers when she comes across na opportunity for Talecrafting. Any time a potential pattern lies in wait, ready to be manipulated with a tweak and twist of fate, the changeling’s hairs raise, she gets goosebumps, she feels her heart race, or she feels some other physical effect. No roll is necessary. It doesn’t tell her what kind of pattern awaits, only that a Hook is ready to be set.


Visionary Dreams (••)
Book: Rites Of Spring, p. 96
Prerequisite: Wyrd •••
Effect: Your character’s dreams can now range forward and backwards in time, providing hints of distant events and possible futures. Sometimes these dreams are of distant or long ago events that have no connection to your character, but often your character’s unconscious seeks out information about people and events that would be of interest to her. All knowledge contained in these dreams contains a mixture of metaphor and whimsy and requires careful thought and interpretation to fully understand. However, your character is always aware when she had had a visionary dream, since such dreams are always unusually vivid and easy to remember. Most of the time, the Storyteller chooses whether your character has a visionary dream and what the content will be. This Merit provides the Storyteller with a way to give your character information that may be unattainable by any other means. Your character can also choose to attempt to have a dream about a specific person or place. Doing so risks the character having confusing visionary and ordinary dreams, and your character has no conscious control about what her dream will reveal. However, if she succeeds, the dream contains some bit of useful information about the subject. To actively call upon this power, a character must spend a Willpower point and roll Intelligence + Wits. She must also have at least five hours of uninterrupted sleep. Characters may not use this Merit more than once per day.

Dramatic Failure: Your character has a normal dream about the character that your character mistakes fora visionary dream. The information in this dream is false and misleading, and represents your character’s hopes and fears and not any truth.
Failure: Your character either fails to have a visionary dream or her dream contains no information that is immediately useful, such as a dream about an enemy’s fifth birthday party, when the character was hoping for information about the enemy’s marriage.
Success: Your character has a dream that provides some clues about the subject your character desires. One image or clue is provided per success. However, these clues come in the symbolism and imagery of dreams and almost always require some interpretation to be deciphered correctly.
Exceptional Success: Per normal success, except the clues are significantly clearer and more obvious.

Suggested Modifiers
Dreams are independent of time and distance. However, it is far easier to have a dream about a subject your character knows well than about a subject your character is barely familiar with.

modifier: +1 Situation: Your character has a very close connection with the location or individuals involved.
modifier: -1 Situation: Your character has only a casual connection with the location or individuals involved.
modifier: +2 Situation: Your character has no real connection to the location or individuals in question.


Wholesale Wares (• to ••)
Book: Goblin Market, p. 35
Prerequisite: Market Stall (••••)
Effect: Owning a stall makes running a successful Goblin Market business significantly easier. The character has access to a stable supply of wares that he can sell or trade to visitors or other vendors. More importantly, the merchant knows who in the Market to go to for certain rare valuables, and how best to wrangle a deal from them. Once per chapter, the character may reduce the price of an item she purchases from another vendor by 1 for each dot she possesses in this Merit (to a minimum of 0), as long as the character intents to sell the item in her own stall. This allows her to make a higher than usual profit on the item.
Drawback: Goblin merchants typically make these back room deals to get items out of the Market and into the populace. A merchant who uses an item she obtains through this Merit herself defeats this purpose,typically appearing weak in the eyes of the other vendors. She loses access to this Merit for the remainder of the story, as the other vendors charge her full cost for wares, no matter what she intends to do with them.


Wisdom of Dreams (•••)
Book: Rites Of Spring, p. 97
Prerequisite: Wyrd ••+
Effect: Your character has especially close ties to humanity’s collective unconscious. When your character sleeps, his dreams can gather any knowledge known to a living human and allow him to make use of it when he awakes. This Merit allows your character to temporarily gain one dot in any Ability Specialty or one dot in any Language that is known to at least one living mortal. Knowledge of this Ability Specialty or Language persists until your character next sleeps and can be used just as any other Specialty or Language. If your character learns a Specialty such as Heavy Weapons or Pilot, where characters without the Specialty suffer special penalties when trying to perform certain actions, this Specialty acts as a normal Specialty and negates these penalties and also provides one additional dot for appropriate rolls. Having a dream to learn such a Specialty requires your character to make a meditation (Composure + Wits)roll immediately before he goes to sleep. Your character must then sleep for at least five hours to gain a Specialty or Language in this fashion. Characters may not use this Merit more than once per day.

Dramatic Failure: Your character’s dreams bring him false and useless information, and for the next day,he suffers an additional –1 to any rolls with the chosen Ability.
Failure: Your character fails to learn the desired knowledge.
Success: Your character gains the desired Specialty or one dot in the desired Language.
Exceptional Success: Your character’s dreams are exceptionally vivid and useful. If a Language is selected, he gains two dots in the Language until he sleeps again.


Workshop (• to ••••• special)
Book: Rites Of Spring, p. 97
Prerequisite: Hollow, Hollow Size equal to points in Workshop
Effect: Your character maintains, within her Hollow, a variety of equipment and tools that can help with the creation of natural and supernatural items. Whether in the form of a forge with metallurgy tools, an artist’s loft, a laboratory filled with beakers and crucibles or an orchard outfitted with the best gardening tools, your character’s Hollow has been outfitted with precisely the right things she needs to have on hand to create. Each dot in this Merit represents a level of equipment for one particular Craft Specialty. Thus, a Hollow with a three-dot Workshop Merit might include a single level of equipment for Blacksmithing, Weaving and Goblin Fruit Farming, or two levels of any one of those and one level of another or three levels in any one Specialty. For each level of Workshop focused on a particular Craft Specialty, changelings using the Workshop to produce items in that Specialty area gain +3 to their Crafts rolls. Possible Workshop Specialties include (but are not limited to) Calligraphy, Wood crafting, Blacksmithing, Mechanics, Painting, Goblin Fruit Farming and the like. Token Making is not an acceptable Specialty. Because of the diverse nature of tokens, each falls under the Craft Specialty of the particular item, so a Biting Grotesque would be under Sculpting, while a Blood Pennon would be under Sewing.

Special: Characters who share a Hollow can also share Workshop dots, with each contributing to a particular equipment area. These characters each receive the full benefits of the Workshops. It may happen that the crafters suffer a falling-out, in which case one or more might be asked to forfeit their Workshop privileges by the others. Those who are banned lose whatever dots they contributed, unless an agreement is worked out to split the equipment, allowing outcasts to take their tools and materials with them. Shared Workshops should be marked with an asterisk (*) on your character sheet. See the description of the Hollow Merit for details on how to allocate dots.


Wyrdskill (•••••)
Book: Equinox Road, p. 15
Prerequisite: Wyrd 6
Effect: As noted on p. 173 of Changeling: The Lost, each changeling gains a free Specialty to Athletics,Brawl or Stealth to represent the minor physical aspects that carry from mien to Mask and give the character an extra edge. With Wyrdskill, a character binds another Skill to his mien and seeming, and at every Wyrd dot gained starting at Wyrd 6, the character receives another free Specialty for the Skill chosen to be bound to one’s Wyrd. The mien literally grows to reflect the Skill: think of a Flowering Fairest who finds her Wyrd score is bound to her Subterfuge score. At Wyrd 6, her player grants her the Specialty of “Seduction” because her dizzying floral scent allows her to lie to get men into bed; at Wyrd 7, she maybe earns the “Swindle”Specialty because she finds that her “hothouse flower” veneer helps her with her many con jobs; and so forth.

Drawback: Upon finding that a Skill is bound to her mien and seeming, a character begins to rely on it too much, driven both by its potency and by the Wyrd itself. Other Skills may falter slightly: the experience costs to buy Skill dots or Specialties in other Skills in the same area as her Wyrdskill (Mental, Physical or Social)increase slightly. New Skill dots in the same area are now new dots x 4, and Specialties purchased for Skill sin that same area now cost 4 experience points. (So, if her Wyrdskill is Subterfuge, it would cost more to buy new Social Skills or Social Specialties, but not Physical or Mental ones).