Changeling the Podcast

Now that we have fortified our knowledge of other Chronicles of Darkness gamelines, we are ready for Changeling: the Lost crossovers that involve them—and what luck, we happen to have a few in the second Dark Eras book. We're covering two of these today: Seven Wonders, a joint venture with Promethean: the Created; and Arthur's Britannia, where Hunter: the Vigil and Vampire: the Requiem both come into play. In the first instance, travel back with us to the classical Hellenistic world of the 200s BCE, where architectural marvels looming over the landscape provide a source of awe that doubles as a path towards understanding humanity and a bulwark against the Others. And in the second instance, the Dark Ages truly begin over war-torn Britain as different groups struggle for power over Camelot and its denizens. Once again, these modules offer a chance to explore how strong the themes and narratives of each game are, when displaced into new contexts. As always, we have some opinions about how well they've succeeded. For reference, our episodes on the crossovers with each game involved are at: Promethean: the Created: https://changelingthepodcast.com/podcast/episode-151-promethean-the-created/ Hunter: the Vigil: https://changelingthepodcast.com/podcast/episode-152-hunter-the-vigil/ Vampire: the Requiem: https://changelingthepodcast.com/podcast/episode-136-vampire-the-requiem/ You can purchase the Dark Eras 2 book at https://www.storytellersvault.com/en/product/300515?affiliate_id=3063731. And if you'd like to curry some favor at our own round table, do stop by: Discord: https://discord.me/ctp Email: [email protected] Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100082973960699 Mastodon: https://dice.camp/@ChangelingPod Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/changelingthepodcast YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ChangelingThePodcast your hosts Pooka G (any pronoun/they) has their own Web of Seven to follow towards enlightenment, but it's all bookstores and bakeries. Amelia Fetch (she/her) would rather be a knight of the Trapezoidal Ottoman. PAST, n. That part of Eternity with some small fraction of which we have a slight and regrettable acquaintance. —Ambrose Bierce, The Devil's Dictionary

The world is full of Mysteries that changelings don't always have time to investigate on their own, what with the hiding from Huntsmen and the Court politicking and the occasional joyride around an unsuspecting mortal's dreams. Luckily, there are Wise folk in the world who roll up their sleeves to take on that dirty job. They populate the pages of Mage: the Awakening, third and final game under consideration in this little trilogy of crossover episodes. Warping reality according to their own ways and whims, a mage has ample opportunity to cross a Lost's path and make life more interesting. We consider how, and why, and how many of the umpteen fancy terms one might need to drop a willworker into a Changeling game. If you'd like, pick up the second edition corebook that is the basis of our discussion at https://www.storytellersvault.com/en/product/181754?affiliate_id=3063731. If you'd further like, you can send us questions or comments or screams of terror via: Discord: https://discord.me/ctp Email: [email protected] Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100082973960699 Mastodon: https://dice.camp/@ChangelingPod Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/changelingthepodcast YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ChangelingThePodcast your hosts Pooka G (any pronoun/they) suggests you start at the corners when putting together the jigsaw puzzle of reality. Amelia Fetch (she/her) is less of a Guardian of the Veil and more a Sentinel of the Caftan (it's just comfier). The job is to seek mystery, evoke mystery, plant a garden in which strange plants grow and mysteries bloom. The need for mystery is greater than the need for an answer. —Ken Kesey, "The Art of Fiction"

You'd think that changelings would have enough headaches with the Huntsmen running around, but life is never easy in the Chronicles of Darkness, so why not some upstart mortals getting in on the fae-tracking action? We're taking a look at Hunter: the Vigil this week, to get a sense of how the cells, compacts, and conspiracies of that game might cross paths with the Lost, for better or worse for either. (And in an upcoming Dark Era crossover, cross paths indeed they might...!) There's something intriguing about playing a human with few to no advantages who decides to take on some corner of the supernatural world. As we draw ever closer to the spoopiest holiday of all, such pluckiness and/or foolishness in the face of the twisted and terrifying is to be, if not commended, at least considered. Also, grenades! Again, we are focusing primarily on a second edition perspective for this episode, the corebook for which you can pick up at https://www.storytellersvault.com/en/product/369633?affiliate_id=3063731. Otherwise, if you'd like to share some opinions about hunters and their whole Vigil thing, well: Discord: https://discord.me/ctp Email: [email protected] Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100082973960699 Mastodon: https://dice.camp/@ChangelingPod Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/changelingthepodcast YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ChangelingThePodcast your hosts Pooka G (any pronoun/they) proudly follows the hunters of the Homogenic compact (disc), organizing freedom and bringing back the goods. Amelia Fetch (she/her) has perfected the Tactic of getting an online game together on short notice, and it's well worth the Willpower risk. People are supposed to fear the unknown, but ignorance is bliss when knowledge is so damn frightening. —Laurell K. Hamilton, The Laughing Corpse

What does it mean to be a monster? While the Lost might certainly have an opinion or two (whether about themselves, their Keepers, or the other nightmares that stalk the Hedge), we turn this week to one of the more classic expressions of the concept: the constructed person, à la Frankenstein. It's time to open up the game dedicated to all their messy glory, Promethean: the Created, and see how we can integrate it into Changeling. Like our previous Chronicles of Darkness crossover episodes, we're tackling this one (and the next two) as preparation for dealing with the second batch of Dark Eras, all of which involve multiple lines. But for today, we're solely concerned with these shambling pilgrims on the road to humanity, with their alchemical Divine Fire and their tendency to generate torch-wielding mobs through no fault of their own. For the fae, will they be friend or foe? We'll do our best to give you the tools to decide for yourself...! The second edition corebook is our point of departure (even though we're pointing to some of the first edition material) and can be purchased at https://www.storytellersvault.com/en/product/189395?affiliate_id=3063731. And if you love the Prometheans as much as we do (unlikely! but not impossible!), tell us all about it through any of these: Discord: https://discord.me/ctp Email: [email protected] Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100082973960699 Mastodon: https://dice.camp/@ChangelingPod Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/changelingthepodcast YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ChangelingThePodcast your hosts Pooka G (any pronoun/they) follows the Refinement of Coffea, fueled by the Divine Fire of espresso shots. Amelia Fetch (she/her) peeked into Pandora's box after the ills of humanity and Hope had all escaped, and found $200. Not bad! I am buried here. You can resurrect me, but only piecemeal. If you want to see the whole, you will have to sew me together yourself. —Shelley Jackson, "Patchwork Girl"

A century and a half of full episodes! Or perhaps more appropriately, this is episode CL in Roman numerals, which obviously stands for "Changeling [the] Lost". And our theme today is to step back from our deep dives into the books for a minute, to look more generally about Storytelling Lost for novices and veterans alike. Reading the text is one thing; putting it into action at the table is another. We explore various ways to engage with the themes, draw upon interesting systems (or not), safety tools, story pacing, and more, because to be frank, at least one of the hosts (guess who!) didn't think the actual Storytelling chapter in the second edition corebook did enough. And while we tried to pick up the slack in this episode, there's naturally much more to say on the topic. To that end, here are a few other episodes from Seasons past that dug into it: Episode 38: Sessions Zero: So you want to start a chronicle but you're not exactly sure how? Maybe an intro session with your players would be good, and making sure to account for certain table elements is a necessity. Episode 51: Storyteller's Guide: While this is our dive into the book for Changeling: the Dreaming's 2nd edition, many of the techniques it explores are relevant to any would-be Storyteller. Perhaps you will find it useful... Episode 55: Advanced Storytelling Techniques: ...and if not, we followed up a few weeks later with this little number. Episode 100: Online Games: Another milestone episode! This one was focused specifically on games through the wild and wonderful world of the interwebs, which (we're given to understand) is how most of us run games anymore. Episode 131: Mirrors: This "blue book" for new World of Darkness explored various permutations of the setting and Storytelling tools to go with them, many of which found their way into the Chronicles of Darkness. May some configuration of these episodes be a springboard for you to run a chronicle of your own! And tell us about it once you do via any of the usual channels: Discord: https://discord.me/ctp Email: [email protected] Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100082973960699 Mastodon: https://dice.camp/@ChangelingPod Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/changelingthepodcast YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ChangelingThePodcast your hosts Pooka G (any pronoun/they) would like to be a modern day Shahrazad (but without all the pregnancy and threat of beheading, obvs). Amelia Fetch (she/her) ran her thousandth game session and all she got was this lousy token T-shirt. There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside of you. —Maya Angelou, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings