Books

What books are required to play?

Only the Core Book, Changeling: The Dreaming, 20th Anniversary Edition.

Which books are permitted?

Material from all official C20 books will be accepted during character creation except for what is explicitly forbidden in the posted creation rules. The Storyteller(s) will also draw on this material in creating NPCs and in portraying the world of Changeling. In addition to the core book, this includes Yours to Keep, Book of Freeholds, Kithbook: Boggans, and the Player’s Guide.

What about Radio Free Arcadia titles?

Although Radio Free Arcadia titles come from one or more official C20 writers, they are not official C20 books. While they serve as good inspiration, we will not treat them as canonical here.

Why no older books?

Changeling never had a Revised edition. Many of the books in the game line never even had a second edition version. Materials found in some of the older books are very distant from the rules as we know them today. When it comes to Merits and Flaws, some of the ones from previous editions have been given significantly different costs. Others have the same names but the mechanics are fundamentally different. Also, a huge benefit of the 20th Anniversary editions is their streamlining of the rules. Additional game mechanics spread over dozens of books are unnecessary complications.

Sexuality, Pregnancy, and Mature Play

Are there special rules for pregnancy?

In the Changeling venue, pregnancy storylines are done with the OOC consent of both players. If one player does not wish a pregnancy to occur or if the players cannot agree on the sex of the child or, in the case of a mixed Kith pairing, the heritage of the child, no pregnancy takes place.

What is the policy on adult roleplaying scenarios?

Players may OOC refuse to consent to sexual or romantic involvement with another character regardless of any game mechanics or even magic involved. Even if the scene itself fades to black, roleplaying the aftermath can be deeply upsetting for some players. It is the World of Darkness and darker scenes may be played, but only if both players are interested. We’re all here to have fun.

Please take explicit sexual play private.

Other sorts of mature scenes that do not deal with such potentially sensitive real life issues will come up as the Changelings confront their worst Nightmares. If something is a particularly sensitive issue for a player, please let a Storyteller know ahead of time.

Policy Explanations

Questions in this section do not deal with the substance of the rules but with the reasoning behind some rules and policies. These are why questions, not how or what questions.

Why can’t I play X?

In coming up with the creation rules, I’ve tried to abide by four basic guidelines.

C20 comes with a massive expansion in playable character types and thus the first guideline is to make sure players are able to experience that. That’s why all the Gallain Kiths which don’t seem too different from mainstream Kithain are allowed. So are the Jinn, the Lycians, the Inanimae, and the handful of Adhene not mortal enemies of Tuathan fae. Kinain are allowed with blood-ties to every allowable changeling Kith and Nobles are allowed to belong to the banner houses of Firinne, Tinean, and Barghest. Seelie and Unseelie are allowed, along with the surface level of the Shadow Court, now presented to most Kithain as a radical populist movement.

The second guideline is to facilitate player characters being able to interact and share adventures. They are the heroes of the story, after all, or at least the protagonists. Yes, it’s also nice to have the intrigue, the political and social struggles, and sometimes even the violence that comes with divided loyalties. Nobles and Commoners don’t always get along and neither do the Courts. Things remain tense between Kithain and Nunnehi. Political struggle is a constant and sometimes gets rough. Still, it should be a story. It shouldn’t be characters who will be in a fight to the death the instant they’re in a room together. That’s why Dauntain are not allowed as player characters. That’s why, even though they have a strong presence in the setting, Thallain and most Adhene are not allowed.

The third guideline is that the game makes sense given the world of Changeling. Yes, Changeling is a game about imagination, but dreams have their own internal logic. Changelings do not abandon their dreams lightly. That’s why new African Kiths tied strongly to specific cultures and places are not allowed. Neither are South American Kiths long separated from Northern fae by a barrier that is still raised every other year or Australian Spirit Beings deeply tied to their own country. River Hags tied to a specific river and Oba who reign in the Eshu Ancestral Lands fall into the same category.

The fourth guideline is to avoid things being too scattered. The conflicts between the Courts, between Nobles and Commoners, and between Kithain and Nunnehi are deeply intertwined and at the core of the game here. The stand alone Gallain Kiths and the Jinn integrate well into this existing conflict and the Inanimae and Lycians make interesting observers from a wholly alien perspective. There is little formal organization between the level of individual Inanimae and the Empire. On the other hand, Hsien would require a whole Dragon Nest to function properly. It would be a largely separate game from the core Changeling game. Hence they are not an option.