History TabletopGame / ChangelingTheLost

* PowerCreepPowerSeep: Second Edition grants Changelings a fair bit more potency than before. Each Kith has two enhancements - a Kith Blessing that causes a skill used in a particular way to achieve an Exceptional Success on three successes instead of five, and a "Trickery" that is a power unique to that Kith, usually activated by spending a glamour and rolling a die pool though some exceptions exist. Contracts in general are also more potent than they were in First Edition.

** Goblin Fruits in general have the potential to be like this; the corebook even contains a plot hook for a ''TabletopGame/VampireTheRequiem'' crossover in which a goblin fruit called "bloodroot" is being sold on to the local kindred. Bloodroot is harmless to changelings, but to vampires, it's a powerful narcotic -- and one they can actually feel wholeheartedly and without needing to use through human blood to enjoy.

** [[spoiler: BUT they don't have unlimited titles. If you take down one of a Keeper's titles, [[HopeSpot you've significantly weakened the whole creature. This may not sound like much, but Keepers DO end up banished from Faerie occasionally if they loose all of them, or even destroyed]] You CAN fight the mad things from beyond the world, and you CAN have real, meaningful, victories... but boy, oh boy the cost is steep. If you can pull it off at all, expect to have a lot of dead friends, and lost a lot personally, raising the question: Is it worth it?]]

* InvokedTrope: The book Swords At Dawn introduces a new mechanic called Talecrafting, which essentially lets canny players spot Tropes in motion (or good places to shoehorn them in) and tweak the Wyrd to cause them to come to pass. Changelings often get the inspirations for this power when they realize that they're, in a sorts, LIVING in a Faerie Tale, as they are Fae creatures. For example, a Changeling loses two huge bets at Vegas, but suddenly realizes that [[RuleOfThree the Third Time's The Charm]] and goes for one last bet, hoping to win it all just like in all the stories. Conversely, the same Changeling might set up events to fool the Wyrd into thinking it should enact the trope, such as using rigged 'failure' dice, intentionally blowing bets, etc. The Wyrd doesn't like it when it catches you doing this, and so inflicts a dice penalty on the attempt. The system has a dangerous caveat: unless the player gets very lucky on their Wyrd roll, their success comes with a Cruel Twist of Fate, such as the casino busting the Changeling for 'cheating', who gets a blunt lesson in AllThatGlitters. Needless to say, the possibilities in this system are as endless as this very website's bottomless resources, and this site indeed is [[JustForFun/NotableReferencesToTVTropes LINKED TO in the book itself as a resource.]] Ladies and Gentlemen, things just got Meta.

** It is worth noting that Clarity is somewhat unique amongst the various World of Darkness Morality tracks in that it can drop through no fault of the player- their sanity has become much more fragile, and general disruptions and chaos that disrupts their day to day routine can be just as jarring and detrimental to their mind as actively doing something reprehensible. Clarity is also far less forgiving than some of the other Morality scales of the [=CoD=] because it doesn't know the meaning of "extenuating circumstances", unless you're acting in accordance with your Virtue, which will usually give you bonuses to degeneration rolls but not avoid the need to roll at all.

** Fetchspawn are the True Fae's solipsism taken to extremes-they aren't even aware other beings exist.
** Low-Clarity lost are so wrapped up in their own warped perceptions that they don't see other people as people.

* MacGyvering: The highest level of artifice rivals the man himself in it's versatility. Need a gun? No problem, just take a lead pipe and a piece of string. An Airplane? A lawnmower and a roll of duct tape should suffice.

** The "Tokenmaster" merit from ''Equinox Road'' means that any object kept in close contact for a number of days equal to 10 - minus the changeling Clarity days, the object might turn int a token (on a roll of 8 or higher on a single dice), However, the Changeling can't control what Token the object turns into, plus the tokens could get into the hands of the changelings enemies, or into the hands of mortals that stumble across there catches.

* {{Mana}}: Glamour, the energy of Faerie, also connected to emotions and dreams. Changelings can recover glamour by absorbing it from the emotions or dreams of mortals, by fulfilling some Pledges, or by eating strange Goblin Fruits which grow in the Hedge between our world and Faerie.
* {{Masquerade}}: A variation - Changelings are, in general, not overly worried about human reactions to their presence. However, word of a horn-browed man transforming into autumn leaves and blowing away might travel the rumor mill until one of the True Fae learn of it, and ''that's'' what Changelings keep quiet for. Lucky for them they have the Mask to help (and Winter Courtiers to clean up if that fails)

* MorallySuperiorCopy: While usually, a Fetch is somehow...off compared to the changeling it was made to replace, there are cases where the Fetch is missing a character Flaw and is generally a better person than the original, making it even harder for the changeling to remove them to resume their old life in the rare cases not much time has passed in the real world or Arcadia.

*** No True Fae understands this greater than Dzarûmazh the Deathless, a giant dragon of immense power, who, after a fight with a changeling went badly, ended up with the tip of a cold iron spear inside his body. It is slowly worming its way towards his heart, which will kill him. He is searching for a way to make a pact with cold iron, and if he succeeds now only will he save his own life, but he will become immune to the True Fae's greatest weakness.

* InsertPaymentToUse: The Catch means that not only can Tokens work this way, but so can the Changelings' Contracts. Catches range from a putting handful of dead fireflies into a token, eating a live spider to activate a contract, or cutting off your own tongue to activate another Token.

** All Ogres have access to a Contract which benefits such behavior - while the contract is active, the Changeling can heal his wounds by gorging himself to unbelievable levels.

* BloodBrothers: Some Motleys form like this. Groups of changelings [[MagicallyBindingContract swear an oath on the Wyrd]] to come together for a common purpose, and usually gain mechanical benefits related to that area on the condition that they stand up for one another and don't flag in their pursuit.

* JackassGenie: Pledges bind you to the word of the agreement: no more, no less. That makes it fairly simple for a Changeling to take a poorly-worded Pledge and play this straight.
** In a more specific example, You always have to be careful of this when buying something at a Goblin Market. Market Law says that all products and services must work as advertised, but there AintNoRule that says the merchant has to fully disclose all negative qualities and side-effects of a purchase.
* KarmaMeter / SanityMeter: Clarity. This tracks how much a character has mentally grown to resemble her Fae captors, both in her moral uprightness and her ability to tell reality from the dreams and hallucinations that come from her fae perceptions.
** It is worth noting that Clarity is somewhat unique amongst the various World of Darkness Morality tracks in that it can drop through no fault of the player- their sanity has become much more fragile, and general disruptions and chaos that disrupts their day to day routine can be just as jarring and detrimental to their mind as actively doing something reprehensible.
*** Clarity is also far less forgiving than some of the other Morality scales of the [=CoD=] because it doesn't know the meaning of "extenuating circumstances", unless you're acting in accordance with your Virtue, which will usually give you bonuses to degeneration rolls but not avoid the need to roll at all.
** Clarity is also unique in that ''beneficial'' events can trigger potential drops (if they're not expected). Having to move to a new home (even if you're acquiring a nicer residence) triggers a chance at degeneration if your Clarity is 7 or above. Unplanned pregnancy explicitly is actually a larger trigger for degeneration (Clarity 4) than killing another changeling (Clarity 5). Changelings greatly desire a stable environment and routine.
*** On the plus side, as seen above under CreativeSterility, having an ''un''planned pregnancy is ''really'' hard for a changeling.
** Clarity is reworked in Second Edition to function more like Health, with each box able to take Mild or Severe damage. Meaningful interaction with a Changeling's Touchstones allows them to heal Clarity damage, and taking damage in their rightmost boxes causes them to take Conditions that affect their mental state. Interestingly, having all their boxes filled with Severe damage doesn't kill them - it simply puts them into a coma and allows a Huntsman to take them without resistance.

* NoodleIncident: "Changelings tend to avoid giving Freeholds too-obvious names derived from myth, ever since the disaster that befell the 17th-century legendary freehold of New Lyonesse."
** Can be considerably less noodle-ish if you know your Arthurian legends. [[spoiler: Lyonesse was drowned by the sea.]]

* SupernaturalAngst: Fully and horribly [[JustifiedTrope justified]] by the horrors Changelings have endured, and generally continue to endure.
** Let's see... the Beasts were turned into either savage predators or fearful prey and had the capability for rational thought ripped from them. The Darklings were taken for breaking some unknown law and submerged in nightmares. The Elementals were transformed into pure natural forces and still remain divorced from human thought patterns. The Fairest were used as sex slaves and underwent Durances that bounced between utter luxury and unimaginable hell. The Ogres were all, by definition, abuse victims. And the Wizened were turned into slaves and craftsmen, subjected to random spite, and often tricked into thinking they'd escaped from Arcadia, only to have their Keepers collapse the illusion in the cruelest way possible.

* FearDiscoverPower: The Contracts of Fleeting Autumn have type 1 and type 2 examples of this; appropriate for the Court of Fear.
** Each court's Fleeting contract list offers a similar emotion-sensing power as its first clause. Either it allows you to detect what would cause/has caused the emotion in the changeling, or to sense strong concentrations of the emotion in the world around you.

* IKnowWhatYouFear: The first Clause of the Contracts of Fleeting Autumn grants this ability. Somewhat recursively, this is one of the things that makes folks afraid of the Autumn Court - that any one of them has the ability to find out what drives you pants-soilingly terrified, then confront you with it.

* RedStringOfFate: Deconstructed. There's an actual race of entities that creates said Red Strings, the Crimson Weavers. It's their purpose to find compatible people and link them together as destined lovers... except that they are creatures of Fate, not Desire, meaning [[ShippingGoggles they have no idea how to recognize actual good chemistry]] and as often as not link people who [[StrangledByTheRedString have no compatibility at all]]. Worse, they're too arrogant to recognize this.

* TalkingInYourDreams: Possible through oneiromancy.

* TautologicalTemplar: [[WrongGenreSavvy Talecrafting addicts.]]

* FantasyKitchenSink: This game has everything. ''Autumn Nightmares'' even gives us Chrometooth, a True Fae [[{{Transformers}} Transformer]]. Let me repeat that: [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot TRUE FAE TRANSFORMER.]] His alternate form is a motorcycle, if you were curious. The reason for this that all the game lines are designed so that crossovers are optional. This includes werewolves and vampires, and even spirits. You can actually make your stereotypical [[TabletopGame/VampireTheRequiem Daeva vampire]] in this game as a Fae, and it's not even that difficult.

* {{Permafusion}}: A Changeling can merge with their Fetch, the [[ArtificialHuman faerie simulacrum]] left [[CaptureAndReplicate in their place when they were kidnapped]] to Arcadia. It's a mutual effort that [[DeathOfPersonality subsumes the fetch]], but gives the changeling the fetch's memories and a boost on the KarmaMeter.

Even if it isn't the bleakest thing White Wolf has included in the ''TabletopGame/ChroniclesOfDarkness'', it is almost certainly among the most melancholic and a stark contrast to its idealistic predecessor. There is no redemption, no way to go back to what you once were. The True Fae are infinite, their sorcery unstoppable, and their appetites impossible to slake. The Changelings can either resume their old lives knowing that they could be helping but aren't, or they can take on their new lives, safe in the knowledge that their endeavors will be at best a moist towelette on the raging bonfire of the Fae. [[HeWhoFightsMonsters If, by some miracle,]] [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope they do become powerful enough to]] [[AndThenJohnWasAZombie truly take on the True Fae, the results aren't pretty.]] On the other hand, there is a deep emphasis on relationships, interconnection, and ''wonder'' that isn't there in other ''TabletopGame/ChroniclesOfDarkness'' games. Being only slightly better than humans, Changelings must rely on others--their Motley, their Freehold, their Entitlement--to help them take on most threats and maintain their hold on what sanity remains to them. In addition, several sourcebooks note that for all the horrors of the Changeling existence, they also experience incredible beauty and fantastic marvels that most mortals can never see.

Even if it isn't the bleakest thing White Wolf has included in the ''TabletopGame/ChroniclesOfDarkness'' (that honor goes to ''TabletopGame/WraithTheOblivion''), it is almost certainly among the most melancholic and a stark contrast to its idealistic predecessor. There is no redemption, no way to go back to what you once were. The True Fae are infinite, their sorcery unstoppable, and their appetites impossible to slake. The Changelings can either resume their old lives knowing that they could be helping but aren't, or they can take on their new lives, safe in the knowledge that their endeavors will be at best a moist towelette on the raging bonfire of the Fae. [[HeWhoFightsMonsters If, by some miracle,]] [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope they do become powerful enough to]] [[AndThenJohnWasAZombie truly take on the True Fae, the results aren't pretty.]] On the other hand, there is a deep emphasis on relationships, interconnection, and ''wonder'' that isn't there in other ''TabletopGame/ChroniclesOfDarkness'' games. Being only slightly better than humans, Changelings must rely on others--their Motley, their Freehold, their Entitlement--to help them take on most threats and maintain their hold on what sanity remains to them. In addition, several sourcebooks note that for all the horrors of the Changeling existence, they also experience incredible beauty and fantastic marvels that most mortals can never see.

* MorallySuperiorCopy: While usually, a Fetch from TabletopGame/ChangelingTheLost is somehow...of compared to the changeling it was made to replace, there are cases where the Fetch is missing a character Flaw and is generally a better person than the original, making it even harder for the changeling to remove them to resume their old life in the rare cases not much time has passed in the real world or Arcadia.

* ColdIron: The specific [[WeaksauceWeakness vulnerability]] of the True Fae. The actual game definition of what qualifies as ColdIron is somewhat inconsistent from sourcebook to sourcebook, but generally boils down into two types: one, any iron which is pure enough to be called "iron" (as opposed to steel or any other alloy), and two, iron which has never been heated by the hands of man (which, since turning iron ore into usable iron in the first place requires heat, limits this to ThunderboltIron by definition.)

* CannibalismSuperpower: The faeire spider known as Marquise Tistresse, the Scarlet Widow can absorb a single supernatural ability from the corpse of a supernatural creature, as well as it's memories. This can lead to some interesting situations (and crossover hooks).