Changeling FAQ
What books are needed to play Changeling on Hollow Dreams?
Players should have regular access to Changeling: The Dreaming 2nd edition and also to any of the Revised main books for the Revised dramatic systems. Any player wishing to play a Kith or House not detailed in the main book or to possess any traits not detailed in the main book should also have the book or books in which such things are detailed.
Can I get together with another player and make a set of characters with a shared history such as lovers, siblings, oathmates, liege and vassal, etc.?
Yes. Characters can be made in pairs or even in entire motleys if enough players desire to do so. However, this should not be used as an excuse for cliquishness or powergaming.
How do Lores work?
All Kithain characters get Changeling Lore 1 and Kithlore 1 for free. Gallain and Kinain get the equivalent Lores for their character type. Sidhe are advised to spend a dot in their Houselore although this is not required nor is it free. Each Kith and House is assumed to have its own sort of lore as is each sort of Gallain. Autumn Lore and Dreaming Lore are also available. The most common use for Lores in game is simply as a justification for your characters background knowledge. A character with Changeling Lore 1 knows the basics of Kithain society and can use that knowledge freely. Likewise, a character with Changeling Lore 5 knows all but the darkest secrets of the fairy world, although he would be unwise to throw such knowledge around loosely. However, there will also be times when no information known to players from the books is relevant but, logically, an intense knowledge of a subject might come in handy. These are the times when an ST might witness an Intelligence+Lore roll and give the player useful information depending upon the number of successes.
Is XP for buying things new or current?
Current, as per the book.
Do Commoners who serve a Noble House gain the House Boon and Flaw?
Commoners do not gain the House Boon and Flaw simply through serving a noble of a certain House or even through receiving a Title from that noble. In order to gain the House Boon and Flaw, Commoners must be formally admitted to a House and swear all the Oaths associated with that House. This is an extremely difficult process.
How do Commoners gain official membership in a Noble House?
The following rules cover the admission of Commoners into Noble Houses but they also cover the extremely rare situations where a noble wants to renounce his House and join another. A Sidhe may not do this more than once and a Commoner who renounces his House may not join another at all. In other words, no character may join a new House more than once.
There are two exceptions to the general rules below. Membership in House Dougal is granted at the discretion of a Master (Grump) regardless of her Title or position and cannot be granted by any other member of the House regardless of her Title or position. Membership requires the completion of a masterwork. It is not possible for any Commoner under any circumstances to gain entry into House Aesin.
The general rule is that someone must be sponsored in a House by any member of that House. After being sponsored, he is presented before the members of the House in the area. The members then decide whether or not to invite the new member to join them. This is done by what is, essentially, a weighted vote. Untitled members and Squires get one vote. Knights get two. Barons get three. The Count and Countess will not vote. This is generally up to the PCs in a given House. If the House does decide in favor of the new member, he must still go on a quest to prove himself before swearing the appropriate Oaths and being accepted in.
When a Pooka makes a Willpower roll to tell the truth, how long does the effect last?
A Pooka may tell the truth for five minutes for each success scored on a Willpower roll, difficulty 7. Pooka do not have to tell the whole truth or to spend this entire time telling the truth. For the allotted time period, they may choose to speak truth or lies at will, just like others do. It is true that with a moderate Willpower score, many Pooka could tell the truth almost all the time. However, Pooka who use this ability incessantly are violating their dream and are likely to incur Banality.
What abilities do Pooka have in animal form?
Pooka in animal form retain their Mental Attributes, Abilities, Arts and Realms. Physical and Social Attributes are those of the animal. Pooka also have any special abilities the animal might have in nature. However, they also share the animals physical limitations. Animal vocal chords are not designed for human language and thus Pooka, excluding parrots, have a great deal of trouble forming words. Generally speaking, this means that in order to speak a Pooka in animal form must make a Willpower roll, difficulty 8. They can speak for 5 minutes for each sucess. Pooka, other than apes and monkeys, generally can't manipulate tools or weapons as well as a human could. Any roll involving the use of a tool or weapon generally has the difficulty increased by 2. Common sense limitations apply. A fish, for example, is simply incapable of speaking or using a tool without magical help no matter what he rolls.
Is the Rarity Background allowed?
The Rarity Background is not so much banned as it is simply not required. Because the Rarity rules are not located in the main book, they cannot serve a restrictive function in a game where only the main book is required. Players can make their Pooka’s animal affinity ANY real, non-extinct animal without paying for any special Background to do so.
Are Childlings allowed?
Nope. Childlings are an important part of the Changeling setting but the potential for abuse is simply too great. I’m sorry to all the good players who might want a Childling out there but the perverts many chats have dealt with in the past have simply made it too risky. The Childling jeu for an Inanimae is an exception because it does not relate to the physical appearance of an Inanimae’s Husk or the actual age of an Inanimae but rather to how recently they awakened. All Inanimae Husks must be adult forms but Inanimae might be any jeu.
How does Dragon’s Ire work?
Successes from the Remembrance roll are added to your total combat pool before it is divided up for multiple actions.
Are there special rules for learning new Arts and Realms?
IC tutors are required for all Arts and Realms at levels 4 and 5 and for all Arts specific to a different Kith at any level. Kithain cannot learn Inanimae Arts and Realms although they can learn the Arts of other kinds of Gallain with the aid of a tutor. Inanimae can only learn Inanimae Arts and Realms with the exception of Mannikins.
What happens to a Changeling who spends an extended period of time around beings with high Banality?
Commoners in the presence of a being with Banality 8 gain one point of temporary Banality per hour. This increases to 2 per hour at Banality 9 and 3 at Banality 10. These numbers are doubled for Sidhe and a Sidhe who spends an hour in the presence of someone with Banality 7 gains a point of temporary Banality as well. Banality’s Curse hurts. Being around cold iron is the same as being around a person with a Banality of 10 for Changelings..
If a Changeling chimerically dies and is enchanted before the time found on the chart on p. 208 8 in the main book has passed, do they resume their fae self?
No. If he is enchanted, he will regain his memories but not his Seeming, his Arts and Realms or his Birthrights. He will be as any enchanted mortal until the allotted time has passed.
Do the Mists prevent Changelings from remembering what goes on when they are involved in storylines set partly or entirely in the Dreaming or from remembering day to day interactions in the two Freeholds located entirely in the Near Dreaming?
Only as much as the player chooses. Players are encouraged to roleplay the effects of the Mists on Changeling entering and leaving the Dreaming but, for practical reasons and to allow plots to proceed without undue hassle trying to remember events, there is no hard rule requiring characters to forget such information.
How do I join a noble court, a motley or some other IC organization?
As detailed in the creation rules, some secret societies are allowed at creation. Also, a group of players might create characters already bound in an oathcircle or motley and, with ST permission, a player might create a character already in the service of a noble court. However, joining or forming such groups is normally done in IC interaction with other PCs and with NPCs.
How does Title work on Hollow Dreams?
Currently, at creation, Sidhe can take Title up to 2 and Commoners cannot begin with Title. Here is the basic system whereby characters might obtain higher title. It is about as specific as it can be without taking away the drama and suspense of play.
Title 1
A Sidhe may receive Title 1 if any character with Title 2 or higher takes them as a Squire. This involves formal Oathing and the Knight seriously taking the Squire under his wing. The Knight does not need special permission for this, although squiring someone he knows to be an enemy of his lord is a violation of the
Oath of Fealty.
Things are harder for Commoners. Any character of Title 2 or higher
may seek to take a Commoner as a Squire. However, she must first obtain the permission of the Count or Countess, depending on the season. Once this is granted, the Commoner must undertake a quest to prove his or her worth. If the quest is a
sucess, the Commoner exchanges Oaths with her Knight and
becomes a Squire. After this point, the Commoner is considered
ennobled and, while not viewed in the same light and while still
subject to some prejudice in Noble circles, she receives
further honors through the same system as Sidhe.
Title 2
When a Knight believes his Squire is ready for Knighthood, he
informs his lord of such. If the lord does not object, the Squire is
sent on a quest. Once the quest is completed, he is Knighted by the
lord. Traditionally, he and his former Knight would free one another
from their Oaths and he would swear a new Oath to the lord who
knighted him.
Title 3
A Knight may be promoted by a baron in one of two ways. The first is to perform a truly extraordinary deed, such as slaying a major antagonist or saving the life of the Countess from a Dauntain. The other way is to sucessfully be a baronet of either Riverside or Fountains. Knights are eligible to be appointed as baronets when either of the baronies is lacking a baron and, if they fulfill their duties well over an extended period of time, they will eventually be created true barons.
What is a Glamour/XP report?
Every month, please FPM the ST a report with any new XP requests, their Glamour and Banality report and any other sheet changes that they might need. At the end of every month, temporary Willpower is restored so there's no need to mention it unless you're buying another dot or something has happened to permanently cost you a dot. From day to day, you are responsible for keeping track of your own temporary Willpower. This report is required. A character who missed two in a row is considered inactive.
How much Glamour does my character get each month anyway?
All Fae automatically gain 1 Glamour each month and an additional Glamour for each dot they have in Dreamers. Changelings may also get Glamour through RPed Ravaging, Musing, Rhapsody, Reaping, Harvesting or Epiphany. Characters get one point of Glamour for each full night of sleep spent in a Freehold and from the RPed harvesting of chimera or slaying of a chimerical monster. Characters use Glamour to cast cantrips, take certain Oaths, enchant mortals, negate a point of temporary Banality or call upon the Wyrd. Please include all of your Glamour gains and losses each month. If you have more temporary Glamour than your permanent Glamour rating, you must convert the excess into Dross.
How does crafting work?
The skill of Crafts is, in fact, as general as it seems in the main book. It covers things like woodworking, glassblowing, sewing, pottery, sculpture, etc. You do not have to buy Crafts separately for each of these skills. However, Crafts does not cover such things as Brewing, Cooking or Smithing. These must be bought separately, although (except for the obvious time limitations opposed upon Cooking) the same rules apply to these Skills in their own area as apply to Crafts.
A character can make one Crafts roll for every day of work. Boggans, provided they're working alone, can make three. If the Boggan in question is working with others, even other Boggans, he can only make one. If the character does absolutely nothing else that day, then the number of rolls is doubled to six for unobserved Boggans and two for others. Remember, you CANNOT RP your character doing ANYTHING but working if you select this option. Rolls are cumulative and more than one worker can add to the same work, although if any roll by any crafter involved botches, then nothing more can be added. The work is finished and the final number of successes is the total number of successes minus the number by which ones exceeded successes on the botched roll. If characters are crafting mundanely, this is more or less all there is to it. Nockers should remember that no matter how well they do on their rolls, they need to create some flaw for their creation.
Working with chimera is a little different. The most important distinction is between Crafted and Forged chimera. This doesn't relate at all to the difference between Crafts and Smithing, the Skills. A Crafted chimera is a chimera made from chimerical materials in more or less the same way that mundane crafts are made from mundane materials. However, one is added to the difficulty of anyone attempting to craft chimera other than Nockers and Boggans. A chimerical tunic might be made from chimerical cotton or chimerical silk or chimerical armor might be forged from chimerical metal but both of these would still be Crafted chimera. All chimera made by Boggans, by Sidhe of House Dougal or by any other non-Nockers meet this description. Forged chimera can be made from any sort of Dreamstuff into any sort of Dreamstuff by a Nocker in a Balefire Forge, like that the Bes Din controls in Starhold. In addition to the fact that they can be made from any sort of Dreamstuff, Forged chimera have their difficulties reduced by two on all rolls relating to Banality.
The following charts show the amount of Glamour required to create a chimera of a certain level and the number of successes required. Remember that for Crafting chimera, you must have that much Glamour already in the correct form. If you do not, you can either ask an ST for a scene to gather it or you can purchase it on the open Kithain market at an exchange rate of three dross per point of specialized Dreamstuff. You do need real Dreamstuff (Dreamed chimera) imbued with a significant amount of Glamour. While practically everything has some chimerical overlay, these are Incidental chimera and will fade almost instantly if removed from the real object they overlay.
Glamour Required
Level 1-Glamour 2
Level 2-Glamour 4
Level 3-Glamour 8
Level 4-Glamour 16
Level 5-Glamour 32
Successes Required
Level 1-10
Level 2-20
Level 3-50
Level 4-100
Level 5-500
How does the Chimera Background?
Characters may start with a number of chimerical items equal to their dots in Chimera, not counting voile. No individual chimerical item can be of a higher level than their dots in Chimera. If they obtain a chimera of a higher level, they must buy up the stat. The Chimerical Companion background and the Treasure background, however, each only refer to one item.
How do I make a Treasure?
To make a Treasure, you must first craft it. The system is the same for crafting a chimerical item only the difficulty is raised by one and the number of successes required are doubled. You must then roll the cantrip which you wish to imbue the Treasure at a difficulty equal to ten minus the Bunk level. You can only use cantrips your character knows. If the cantrip fails, the Treasure is completely destroyed and no further attempt can be made to create the exact same item for a year and a day. If the cantrip succeeds, you must invest the Treasure with Temporary Glamour or Dross equal to the level of the Treasure.
How do Holdings work on Hollow Dreams?
In addition to the major Freeholds, up to 3 PC Holdings are allowed. If there are currently less than 3, then PCs may establish new Freeholds. Full rules for doing so are not posted because players should discuss it with the ST first. New characters may also be created with the Holdings background. Once Holdings are created, they remain in the setting unless actually ICly. Characters may establish heirs for their Holdings who receive them if the character dies or is declared inactive after failing to make their monthly report twice in a row. If a Freeholder dies or becomes inactive without an heir, the Queen automatically gets the Hold but, in the case of the PCs Holdings, she will soon pass it out to another PC as a charge and a reward for service. Generally, she will give it to a Noble and accompany it with a raise in Title.
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