Changeling the Podcast

Maybe it's pretty obvious that we do a lot of gaming online nowadays, and that as hosts of a podcasts, we are thorough netizens who have thoughts and feelings about the interwebs. Nevertheless, online games have their own particular dynamics, opportunities, and cultures that we thought it might be good to explore, for people who are less or un-familiar with the experience. We're joined by veteran Storyteller of online gaming, Fetch, who shares wisdom from her extensive experience, which we compound with hoary reminisces about the forums and text-based ditherings of yesteryear (which we would not trade for anything of this world). This isn't an episode about the digital Dreaming itself, although maybe that's yet another entry for the Season 4 wishlist; this is an episode about how, through gaming, to dream digitally. Some of the links we discussed in the episode include: Lot-Casting Atemi, a tool for all your Exalted character management needs: https://www.lotcastingatemi.com/ Hammertime, the location-sensitive timestamper for Discord: https://hammertime.cyou/ Fetch's independent games including Necromancer and Do Androids Run on Electric Spoons?: https://ameliafetch.itch.io And her Bluesky as well: https://bsky.app/profile/ameliafetch.bsky.social As for ourselves: 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 Josh Hillerup (any pronoun) once used Metamorphosis with Prop 5 and Scene 5 to briefly transform all of mIRC into a single honeybee. Pooka G (any pronoun/they), upon seeing in online game a (╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻, will politely do a ┬──┬◡ﾉ(° -°ﾉ). On the internet, nobody knows you're a dog. —Peter Steiner

In the annals of Changeling history, there are many books that have been promised without coming to fruition. The Changeling atlas, Kingdom books beyond Willows, Book of Glamour... the litany goes on. Things are less clear for C20, but one title with a particular twisty path was By Night Studios' Mind's Eye Theatre: Changeling, which was almost official before it was de-officialized, and then eventually released on the Storytellers' Vault, but with a different team, even though their books for the other lines are official... or something. In any case, at nearly 400 text-dense pages, this is by far the largest homebrew Changeling product on the Vault, and its vaguely formal connections to the line meant that it was a candidate for reading. Pooka is joined by special LARP correspondent Amanda to talk about the book's evolution, particulars, and reception within the community. Much mixing of opinions ensues! You can purchase the PDF from https://www.storytellersvault.com/product/326469?affiliate_id=3063731 if you're so inclined. Amanda also recommends reading the essay "The Economy Cool" by Jason Andrews at https://jasonbandrew.com/role-playing-games/role-playing-game-articles/the-economy-of-cool/. And naturally, if you want to get in touch with us, you can reach out via any of the following: 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 host Pooka G (any pronoun/they) wonders if the mind's eye is covered by the company vision plan. The thing about performance, even if it’s only an illusion, is that it is a celebration of the fact that we do contain within ourselves infinite possibilities. —Daniel Day-Lewis

And so here we are. It's time to open up the last few chapters of the Changeling 20th Anniversary Player's Guide, thereby ending our readthroughs of the game's canon. Feels weird, to be honest. When we started the show, it felt like we'd be going through the library of official texts forever, and now that there are no more, there's a bittersweetness much like when the game was canceled (and then canceled again). We don't know whether it will reincarnate in the future, as the fae are wont to do, but if there's one thing the last three years have taught us, it's that the community is as vibrant and inventive as it ever was. So while we're discussing Síocháin and Imprints and Lycians and swan maidens on this episode, our thoughts are already reaching forward to see what new dreams are on the horizon. (And we hope you'll continue with us on that journey...!) Once again, the book can be purchased at https://www.storytellersvault.com/product/274520?affiliate_id=3063731, and if you want to listen to our previous two episodes on the title: Chapters 1 and 2: https://changelingthepodcast.com/podcast/episode-92-c20-players-guide-part-one/ Chapter 3: https://changelingthepodcast.com/podcast/episode-95-c20-players-guide-part-two/ And if you'd like to get in touch with us, the options are ample! 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 Josh Hillerup (any pronoun) jousts every Wednesday with the snarky Oppidan guarding the Chaudière Bridge. Or is that Pont de la Chaudière? Pooka G (any pronoun/they) wears Goth voile that gives all movements fierce angles and has unlimited throwing shapes up the fishnet sleeves. It is today that we must create the world of the future. —Eleanor Roosevelt

What do you get when you cross the infinity of the Dreaming's possibilities with eight billion humans? Questions about how many of them are changelings, that's what. This week, we're applying the art/science of demography to the fae, throwing numbers and proportions and calculations around like so much spaghetti, so that we can see what sticks. You may ask, why does this matter—but how many and what kinds of changeling are running around the setting for your game will impact its feel. And not just the fae themselves: a local expression of the game's themes and moods depends upon Dreamers, Autumn People, and even just those mundane humans we talked about last time. So take note, Storytellers! We hope that after listening, you too will be able to graph a demo, Dreaming-style. The spreadsheet to which Josh refers to throughout the episode, with some proposed numbers based on the population of various divisions of Concordia, can be found at: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1rv_S2aGs1VtfeCvhyOoq_iZ10w9Eag2ERlo-UONllcY. We also refer to two episodes from our sibling show, Mage: the Podcast, on the subject of games with high numbers of mages and low numbers of mages, and how adjusting those numbers creates a different play experience. Pooka may have been using Chronos when talking about these, as it appears only the former has actually been released thus far. Nevertheless, check it out at: https://magethepodcast.com/running-and-playing-low-mage-count-games/. Our own bureaux of statistics: 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 Josh Hillerup (any pronoun) bribes fae of the Kingdom of Northern Ice into filling out the census form with maple syrup dross. Pooka G (any pronoun/they) traverses the Kingdom of Apples in a balloon-ship, dropping leaflets about the benefits of mixed-use zoning. A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky, dangerous animals, and you know it. —Agent K in Men in Black

Changelings, lest we forget, are part human. Spending time in a meatsack isn't always Glamourous or exhilarating (though it can be both), but it's an inherent part of their experience that can be interesting both in and of itself, and as a contrast to the escapist fantasies that the Dreaming is built on. Yet players and Storytellers often gloss over those aspects of the characters that populate their games. So! We're here this week to try and redeem mortal life in Changeling a bit, giving due consideration to some of the more human elements that might come up at the table. Day jobs and homework, customer service interactions and strangers on the street, Dreamers and Kinain and Autumn People alike... there are many possibilities that you can explore. Naturally, we won't be covering them all, but maybe some of the tidbits here will help you craft a game experience that feels a little more real and useful for when you step away from the table at last. Our perfectly mundane contact information: 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 Josh Hillerup (any pronoun) is fourth on the leaderboard for messing with Autumn People in the halls of Canadian government. Pooka G (any pronoun/they) might not be Kinain, but plays one on TV. And you may find yourself living in a shotgun shack And you may find yourself in another part of the world And you may find yourself behind the wheel of a large automobile And you may find yourself in a beautiful house, with a beautiful wife And you may ask yourself, "Well... how did I get here?" —Talking Heads, "Once in a Lifetime"

It's that time again! This second installment of our trilogy of episodes on the Changeling 20th Anniversary Player's Guide continues as we flip through Chapter Three. What's that, you say? An entire installment on a single chapter of a single book? Well, yes, because this "World of Dreams" section takes up a third of a dense text and covers a lot of ground, visiting four continents in swift succession. We're taking an honest look at how the fae histories of these regions are handled, the kiths that dwell there, and the stories one might be able to tell that connect with the game as a whole. Slight spoiler: we have a bone or five to pick, and honestly two to three of them were immediately resolved by In the Realm of Gods and Dreams, which you can hear about at https://changelingthepodcast.com/podcast/episode-90-in-the-realm-of-gods-and-dreams/. But don't let all this stop you from learning a thing or two about changelings around the world and how they got that way...! As mentioned in our last C20PG episode notes, you can pick up the PDF (or print on demand book) at https://www.storytellersvault.com/product/274520?affiliate_id=3063731. Visit our own digital world of dreams around the various platforms below if you want to contact us: 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 Josh Hillerup (any pronoun) is still searching for Carmen Sandiego. Pooka G (any pronoun/they) just realized while typing this post that Brazilian Carnival didn't get mentioned once, which is getting added to this chapter's ever-lengthening list of iniquities. I'll put a girdle round about the earth / in forty minutes. —Robin Goodfellow, A Midsummer Night's Dream, II.i.175–176

What is love? (Baby, don't hurt me!) In the context of tabletop RPGs, sex and relationships and all the matter around them can be tricky business to navigate for players and Storytellers alike. In the context of romance and Changeling, there are all sorts of specific considerations to think about. What are the norms of chivalrous courtship in this or that noble's jurisdiction? How do cantrips complicate physical pleasure and emotional fulfillment? Can a redcap truly feel love? Questions of this sort abound in the pages of the supplements, as it sometimes seems like every other characters has some kind of sexual or romantic thread to their story. This episode is not an exhaustive treatment of everything that might come up in the game... but we try to cover some important topics and give some pointers about handling at the table. As for links...! We alluded to the recent episode at our sibling-show, Mage: the Podcast, on this topic; check it out at https://magethepodcast.com/adding-romance-to-games-with-friday-stout-and-sebastian-yue/. We made reference as well to our Session Zero episode (https://changelingthepodcast.com/podcast/episode-38-session-zero/) on hashing out discussion around sensitive topics before you jump into a chronicle. And as usual, you can reach out to us strictly platonically at: 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 Josh Hillerup (any pronoun) theorizes that non-binary polycules are held together by them-ical bonds. Pooka G (any pronoun/they) prefers to get to know people in the deuterocanonical sense. Love, love is a verb; Love is a doing word Fearless on my breath— —Massive Attack, "Teardrop"

Changeling: the Dreaming's tagline is as a "game of modern fantasy", and it deals with folklore, epics, and magic... so when you talk to most people about it, they rarely bring up science fiction as a genre that the game ties into. We beg to differ. Dreams of technology, visions of futures utopian and dystopian alike, the consequences of humankind's hubris, and alien anxiety all fit very neatly into the setting. We're taking the opportunity to discuss how you might incorporate some of sci-fi's themes and ideas into your game, both generally and specifically. As with most such discussions, the topic is waaayyyy bigger than we could cover in a single episode, but we hope that this tip of the asteroid—along with the many media we name-drop throughout—will serve as inspiration for you to make your game as bombastically SCIENCE!-y as can be. One of those name-dropped texts is the noteworthy homebrew Countless Dreams, available on the Storytellers' Vault at https://www.storytellersvault.com/product/314491?affiliate_id=3063731. Do consider giving it a flip-through and seeing if it's your kinda thing! And while you're clicking around on the intertubes, you might as well scope out some of our online presence as 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 Josh Hillerup (any pronoun) keeps appointments in stardates to three decimal places. Pooka G (any pronoun/they) built an ansible but couldn't connect it to 5G, so the superluminal calls keep dropping. It is said that science fiction and fantasy are two different things. Science fiction is the improbable made possible, and fantasy is the impossible made probable. —Rod Serling

It begins...! We couldn't bring ourselves to go through Changeling 20th Anniversary Edition Player's Guide (quite a mouthful, but we have to distinguish it from the original) in one go, both because it's an incredibly dense text and because it's the Last Book. So, we're splitting it up into a trilogy of episodes. This first one covers Chapters 1 and 2, with an overarching theme of "politics and society among the Kithain." One of our episode ideas was to talk about politicking in the context of Changeling, so this kind of gets at that. Yet there are also numerous setting pieces to cover here which are somewhat tangential to that topic: Banner Houses, "secret" societies, opinions about anarchy. We do our best to give everything a fair shake, even for the stuff that may not deserve one. The tome itself is available on the Storytellers' Vault at https://www.storytellersvault.com/product/274520?affiliate_id=3063731. And naturally, if you'd like to drop us a comment, you have a surfeit of options for doing so...! 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 Josh Hillerup (any pronoun) remembers when the Acadian sidhe had not a Resurgence, but a tintamarre. Pooka G (any pronoun/they) wonders whether there are any foodie Banner Houses who get to just lounge around eating Dreamer-made desserts (and if so, are they taking applications). POLITICS, n. A strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles. —Ambrose Bierce, The Devil's Dictionary

It's been a while since we've done a dive into media, so—here goes! Friend of the show Charles Siegel joins for Pooka for a discussion of how video games and tabletop games inform and resemble each other. We go through a shortlist of ten titles for inspiration to round out this series of episodes (for now) (the other big one is music, and no way are we getting the rights to do that one). In our opinion, each of these games features a variety of elements that tie into those of Changeling: the Dreaming. Obviously, there are a lot more out there, but a shortlist seems sufficient for our purposes. We're of the opinion that video and tabletop games inform each other If you'd like to acquaint yourself with the titles in question, behold some videos: American McGee's Alice (2000) — opening video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSMZsT4UhyQ Braid (2008) – trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqtSKkyJgFM Final Fantasy (so many years) — here's the piano collection for FFVI as one example of Uematsu's music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SJisxnVFZo Kingdom of Loathing (2003 – present): https://www.kingdomofloathing.com/ Persona 4 (2008) – opening video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h73LvR8V2LA Pokémon Go (2016 – present) – one of many rare Pokémon hunts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLdWbwQJWI0 Psychonauts (2005) – trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDbDShqvc_o Tandem: A Tale of Shadows (2021) – trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKiv1skvUJQ Untitled Goose Game (2019) longplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gruIyw_AHYE Yume Nikki (2004) – longplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yr4iJL1LZwY Meanwhile, Charles can be found around the following parts of the interwebsphere: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/charlessiegel Storytellers' Vault: https://www.storytellersvault.com/browse.php?author=Charles%20Siegel Tellurium Games: https://www.tellurium.games/ As for ourselves, drop us a line at any of the following: 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 host Pooka G (any pronoun/they) used to tear it up at Dance Dance Revolution and is still proud of that A+ on "So Deep". You have no chance to survive make your time. HA HA HA HA. —Cats, Zero Wing

For many years, the Changeling community has longed for a better take on the hsien of East Asia. In our previous episode on their introductory 2e supplement, Land of Eight Million Dreams, we discussed at length how these fae were portrayed in... not the greatest fashion, and it's a characterization that the 20th Anniversary didn't really fix. But! The latest release from Hsienfan on the Storytellers' Vault, In the Realm of Gods and Dreams, breathes new life into what was a sometimes confusing, often cringey group of changelings, and manages to re-write many of the assumptions about the game along the way, both systems and setting. We had the opportunity to sit down with the author and walk through the book in its entirety. The open dev process used for its creation means that you may have seen glimmers and drafts along the way; now we have a 300+ page chomker in all its glory to digest. lf you've been eagerly looking for some thorough information about its contents, well, here goes... (Hsienfan's appearance on our show is also dedicated to his wife, Coco Vanille, without whose publishing prep and prowess this book would not exist. Forgetting to mention this in the outro is purely on Pooka, who is terrible at reading everything in emails, and missed this request. Many thanks from us as well to Coco for helping make this tome a reality!) You can pick up the book at the Storytellers' Vault by visiting https://www.storytellersvault.com/product/492660?affiliate_id=3063731, and here are some other internet places to check out on the side: The RPG.net forum thread to ask author questions: https://forum.rpg.net/index.php?threads/in-the-realm-of-gods-and-dreams-q-a-on-asian-urban-fantasy.922068/ Reddit Q&A: https://www.reddit.com/r/WhiteWolfRPG/comments/1f115so/in_the_realm_of_gods_and_dreams_qa_hsien_nostalgia/ Our episode on Land of Eight Million Dreams, for reference: https://changelingthepodcast.com/podcast/episode-54-land-of-eight-million-dreams/ And as usual, you can bother us 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 Josh Hillerup (any pronoun) has waiting been waiting too many years already for the film Moderate Trouble in Sensible Canada. Pooka G (any pronoun/they) journeyed into the West and all they got was this lousy T-shirt. Half of the poetry of life would be gone, if we did not feel that life was either a dream, or a voyage with transient travelers. —Lin Yutang, The Importance of Living

And so we return! We're coming back from hiatus a little bit later than anticipated, both because it was a busy summer, and because we realized there aren't really that many episodes to get through before the end of the year. So, now that it feels more like autumn in this bit of the world, it's time to get through the rest of C20 and ancillary things on our list. One of the latter is Graceful Wicked Masques, the 2nd edition Exalted book that covers the Fair Folk. While this text is solidly outside the era of "Exalted is the prehistory of the World of Darkness kinda maybe", there's still a lot of connective tissue we see between this text and Changeling: the Dreaming. (If you need ideas for Deep Dreaming games or True Fae, for example, this is absolutely a good resource.) So we are once again diving into the library and seeing what gems we can unearth...! The book PDF can be purchased at https://www.storytellersvault.com/product/58880?affiliate_id=3063731, and our previous episode on the 1st edition Fair Folk book can be listened to at https://changelingthepodcast.com/podcast/episode-79-exalted-the-fair-folk/. For all other social media and communication needs, see if you can surprise us at: 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 Josh Hillerup (any pronoun) has commissioned a study on what happens when a Fair Folk gets re-un-shaped, but the PIs keep disappearing. Pooka G (any pronoun/they) applies Fair Folk charm names to baking; today is an Oats Enfolding Butter Berry-Surmounting Technique day. Free from desire, you realize the mystery. Caught in desire, you see only the manifestations. Yet mystery and manifestations arise from the same source. This source is called darkness. —Laozi, Tao Te Ching ch. 1, translated by Stephen Mitchell

One more minisode for the summer! We'll be back to our usual schedule of full episodes in September, but we thought we'd share a cross-production that we participated in a couple weeks ago. Barney Smith from Storycomic reached out to do an interview with us about Changeling: the Dreaming, our podcast, and associated thoughts. So we have shamelessly appropriated the audio from that interview and are sharing it here, which we hope will tide you over for a bit longer... Over at Barney's site, there are a dizzying number (nearly 400! how does one even) of chats with authors of all stripes. Go have a scroll through and find a few that interest you, why don'tcha? The website: https://www.storycomic.com/ The podcast (or one of them): https://storycomic.podbean.com/ The YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCm6frhFag219q2lHM7Fa4qQ And as usual, if you'd like to get in touch with us, our socials are below: 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 Josh Hillerup (any pronoun) has been spotted at anywhere that's anywhere in the best parts of Ottawa. Pooka G (any pronoun/they) has scuttled away from detection behind the finest trash cans in Philadelphia. Inject a few raisins of conversation into the tasteless dough of existence. —O. Henry

A surprise minisode, just in time for Highsummer week! We've talked about the Immortal Eyes novels, we've talked about the Anthology of Dreams, and we've even mentioned Pomegranates Full & Fine... but what about the rest of the Changeling fiction from the 90s? This includes The Splendour Falls, a short story collection released in tandem with 1st edition; "Playing with Fire", part of the Essential World of Darkness omnibus; and "The Muse", a story in the following Quintessential World of Darkness omnibus. Pooka managed to get their hands on physical copies of each—since they are not available in PDF form, and long out-of-print—to read and expound upon their contents. It's a bit of filler until we get into the second half of Season 3 (soon!), but hopefully will whet your appetite for more. For our previous episodes on TTRPG tie-in fiction and its relevance to the game, check out: Our episode on the original Immortal Eyes trilogy: https://changelingthepodcast.com/podcast/episode-33-the-immortal-eyes-novels/ Our conversation about Vampire/Changeling crossover, which touches on the novel of same: https://changelingthepodcast.com/podcast/episode-47-changeling-vampire-crossover/ Our recent diversion into the C20 fiction offerings: https://changelingthepodcast.com/podcast/episode-81-anthology-of-dreams-cup-of-dreams/ Per the announcement at the start of the episode, please also check out friend of the show Fetch's new game, The Necromancer, at: https://ameliafetch.itch.io/the-necromancer! This was written for the QUEER WRATH game writing jam (https://itch.io/jam/queerwrath) and has been simultaneously submitted to the Trans FURY jam (https://itch.io/jam/trans-fury-jam). And while we are lazing our way through the days of summer, you can find us as always at: 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 host Pooka G (any pronoun/they) believes that life is indeed stranger than fiction, but pretty mundane when compared to sea shanty. I am always at a loss to know how much to believe of my own stories. —Washington Irving, "To the Reader"

And so we come once again to a bit of downtime, as we wind up the first half of Season 3. It's just another minisode on the eve of the solstice, to let you know where things stand and what we've been up to, plus some of our plans when we return in six weeks, give or take. We're getting our schedule of recordings together and making plans for getting through some books we want to read, and thinking ahead to our Changeling 30th Anniversary celebration next year... but mostly we're looking forward to a bit of rest and relaxation. Thanks for your continued support, and keep an eye out for our return! In the meantime, stay up to date with our summery goings-on at: 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 Josh Hillerup (any pronoun) will be spending the break perfecting that flan recipe. Flan for everyone! Flan for ever. Pooka G (any pronoun/they) is typing this from the other side of the planet, due to Secret Piskey Tendencies. Vacation is what you take when you can't take what you've been taking any longer. —The Cowardly Lion in The Wizard of Oz

We were going to just release this bit of content as Patreon content because it's our shortest yet, but by popular demand, here it is as a minisode...! For all of you Storytellers who feel the need to hide yourselves away from your players, or maybe just shield your dice from revealing too much, the Storyteller's screen is a time-honored tool of the trade. Changeling has had three over the years, one for each edition: some flimsy cardboard, some slightly sturdier cardboard, and most recently for C20, a glossy masterpiece of solidity. For the next eight and a half minutes, we give some comparative notes on what one finds there. May it be helpful to anyone in the market for a physical piece of obfuscation! Ourselves, we hide behind the following: 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 Josh Hillerup (any pronoun) has a screen that just keeps unfolding until it fully encloses the Storyteller in an geodesic cardboard fort. Pooka G (any pronoun/they) prefers to Storytell from a raised dais, concealing dice rolls and notes from the plebs with lights and smoke. I have, as it were, my own sun and moon and stars, and a little world all to myself. —Henry David Thoreau, Walden

Yes, we already did an episode on those long-suffering boggans, but don't you think they deserve another? Having dealt with the fanmade "old" Kithbook: Boggans previously (check out https://changelingthepodcast.com/podcast/episode-77-old-kithbook-boggans/), we are now moving on to the new Kithbook: Boggans, released as a Kickstarter goal for C20. In the spirit of the older editions' kithbooks, the text deals with boggan history and society, some famous examples of their kith, and tidbits of lore for the discerning crafty-fae. This rounds out at last the full set of kithbooks from the original commoners (because the sidhe had plenty of their own books already), and also our slate of Lost in the Library episodes before our summer hiatus...! So we hope this will tide you over for book content, for the time being. You can purchase the book at: https://www.storytellersvault.com/product/242685?affiliate_id=3063731 Feel free to stop by our other spaces online, as long as you wipe your feet first: 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 Josh Hillerup (any pronoun) judged the Craftlympics this year and doesn't regret giving a "3" to that one wilder; they know who they are. Pooka G (any pronoun/they) wonders if the Wife of Bath would be on Tinder. It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to. —Bilbo Baggins in J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings

The freehold is the center of changeling life, providing safety, community, and a connection to the Dreaming for wayward Kithain. But what makes each of them unique? We get some extensive systems and suggestions to answer this question in Book of Freeholds, a C20 supplement that greatly expands previous editions' take on building them. It's a short but dense book, and in this episode, we scour it for the double handful of drossy tidbits that players and STs alike will find useful. You can purchase the book at: https://www.storytellersvault.com/product/239407?affiliate_id=3063731 And follow the trod to find us at: Discord (our digital freehold!): 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 Josh Hillerup (any pronoun) is well known hither and yon for keeping a tidy, ship-shape thorpe. Pooka G (any pronoun/they) tried to start a freehold, but bought too many decorative soaps and accidentally made a B&B instead. My house— 't's out of the ordinary! That's right— Don't wanna hurt nobody...! —Talking Heads, "Burning Down the House"

Alternate and/or historical settings for Changeling is always something that piques our interest. So we were keen to read the Gimme Shelter Player's Guide supplement (released April 2) that presents the fae of Swinging Sixties London. We're joined this week by the book's author, Bram Clark, who talks with us about his take on this slice of pre-Resurgence life. Clocking in at over 300 pages, the Guide is one of the longest homebrews on the entire Storytellers' Vault. Our conversation goes through the development, art, design... Bram's associated Player's Kit presaged something intriguing, but this was beyond what we expected. Hopefully this episode will give you some ideas about how to use it at your table! Many a link below! The book itself: https://www.storytellersvault.com/product/476344?affiliate_id=3063731 The pay-what-you-want Player's Kit to give you a taste: https://www.storytellersvault.com/product/408608?affiliate_id=3063731 Bram's website, Esoteric Orders: https://www.esotericorders.com/ Bram's Instagram, showcasing some of the art and inspiration in the book: https://www.instagram.com/bramclark/ We make reference to the generous character sheet work of Chris "MrGone" Leland, whom you can support by buying through the STV: https://www.storytellersvault.com/browse.php?author=Chris%20%22MrGone%22%20Leland And the links for our own stuff: 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 Josh Hillerup (any pronoun) asks that you not bend, spike, fold or mutilate. Pooka G (any pronoun/they) zhooshes their riah before a bona cackle with the omi-palones, and nanti scharda. If someone thinks that love and peace is a cliché that must have been left behind in the Sixties, that's his problem. Love and peace are eternal. —John Lennon

Now that we're through the corebook for C20, other supplements seem like small (but no less nourishing) potatoes. This time around is a double feature: we're flipping through Yours to Keep, the jumpstart and intro adventure for the edition, and Ready-Made Characters, a set of 13 write-ups (one for each core kith) and sample motleys to use in your game. Joining us is author of the first book, Christine Beard!, who talks about some of the process for reading, running, and writing jumpstart modules like this one. The two supplements feature some solid material to get you into the game beyond the corebook proper, so we encourage you to have a listen and hear what's what...! Links and things: Yours to Keep on the Storytellers Vault: https://www.storytellersvault.com/product/217594?affiliate_id=3063731 Ready-Made Characters on the same: https://www.storytellersvault.com/product/225641?affiliate_id=3063731 Christine's website, The Petite Warlock: https://thepetitewarlock.com/ Christine's Mastodon: https://dice.camp/@petitewarlock Christine's actual play podcast, The Cracked Die, for Pathfinder: https://crackeddie.com/ And our panoply of social media as per usual: 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 Josh Hillerup (any pronoun) runs games with ready-mades, but they are not Changeling characters; they are Duchamp sculptures. Pooka G (any pronoun/they) assumes that a horror RPG jump-start would be called a jump-scare, yes? End, begin, all the same. Big change. Sometimes good, sometimes bad. —Aughra in The Dark Crystal

And so we come to the third part of this trilogy, wherein we talk about changes to this edition. There are hundreds of little tweaks and adjustments to be found in the Changeling 20th Anniversary corebook, but we're focusing on a dozen of the most significant that stand out to us. (Slight spoiler: there's another big one that we realized after the fact we didn't talk about it... but luckily, it will apply in an upcoming episode as well.) We're looking at retconned metaplot, restructured magic systems, alternative ways of thinking about different groups of fae, and more. It's not that these three episodes have been the most comprehensive look possible at this edition and what it represents—it's just the most comprehensive we could bring ourselves to get through. If you need the first two episodes in the series, or to purchase the corebook itself: https://changelingthepodcast.com/podcast/episode-82-changeling-20-walkthrough/ https://changelingthepodcast.com/podcast/episode-83-changeling-20-the-new-stuff/ https://www.storytellersvault.com/product/210616?affiliate_id=3063731 Some other bits that found passing or heavy mention in this episode include: Our episode on War in Concordia, a text which goes deep into the late 2e metaplot: https://changelingthepodcast.com/podcast/episode-66-war-in-concordia/ And on the subject of Inanimae: the Secret Way, the text which previously talked about the nature fae: https://changelingthepodcast.com/podcast/episode-53-inanimae-the-secret-way/ The Changeling 30th Anniversary project we've been talkin about here and there: https://www.changeling30.com And the submission form for one of the books slated for that project, the Changeling Cookbook, can be found at: https://forms.gle/GMvvE26hfy628GBw9 Lastly, the places you can bother us gently and politely: 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 Josh Hillerup (any pronoun) would have liked to see the Concordia map re-drawn with lines that made sense. Pooka G (any pronoun/they) could have gotten on board with the pages of each chapter having their own musky aroma. And so the days float through my eyes But still the days seem the same And these children that you spit on As they try to change their worlds Are immune to your consultations They're quite aware of what they're goin' through. —David Bowie, "Changes"

Whew. Doing a walkthrough of the corebook was kind of a marathon, but treating it as a text in isolation is only part of the story. In this (thankfully shorter, because we recorded it the same day as the first) installment, we're drawing on our grump knowledge of the previous editions to talk about the new material in this one. There's a lot that we could have covered in that description, but we're sticking with some of the big items overall: the kith creation system, Revelry, new Thallain. Everything that builds on previous editions' systems will be covered in the third and final episode of this set, on the changes in the edition. For now, these are just some ruminations and opinions on the unexpected elements that stand out to us. Some links to bits that we mentioned in this go-through include: The kith creation workshop episode: https://changelingthepodcast.com/podcast/episode-67-kith-building-workshop/ Unofficial Kithbook: Boggans by the fans: https://changelingthepodcast.com/podcast/episode-77-old-kithbook-boggans/ Pooka's homebrew supplement, Kithbook: Ghille Dhu: https://www.storytellersvault.com/product/381967?affiliate_id=3063731 Minisode on Monde des Ténèbres : France: https://changelingthepodcast.com/podcast/episode-63-5-le-monde-des-tenebres-france/ Minisode on Trolle, Träumer, Tiefe Wälder: https://changelingthepodcast.com/podcast/episode-71-5-trolle-traumer-tiefe-walder/ And if you want to reach out to weigh in on what you think we should be doing next: 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 Josh Hillerup (any pronoun) wanted edible Treasure creation rules to roll up some nocker-crafted cheese puffs. Pooka G (any pronoun/they) demands mechanics for why so many changelings incarnate into human hosts with names nearly the same as their fae ones. Invention, it must be humbly admitted, does not consist in creating out of void, but out of chaos. —Mary Shelley, Frankenstein

Well, here we are at last...! After dozens of episodes covering the earlier days of the line, we are beginning our read of Changeling: the Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition, the corebook proper. This first in a trilogy of episodes will be a walkthrough of the book, giving some concise information and commentary about each chapter. It's primarily geared towards new players, but if you are a veteran at this point, we hope you'll still enjoy the refresher. Next up are an episode about the new features of this, and then some of the changes (and our feelings on them). We reference a whole bunch of past installments in this recording, including: Any of our media inspirations episodes, but maybe this one on films: https://changelingthepodcast.com/podcast/episode-50-thirteen-films-for-inspiration/ Kith creation workshop: https://changelingthepodcast.com/podcast/episode-67-kith-building-workshop/ Running a Session Zero for Changeling: https://changelingthepodcast.com/podcast/episode-38-session-zero/ Deep dive into Dreams and Nightmares (first of three): https://changelingthepodcast.com/podcast/episode-39-dreams-nightmares-1-near-dreaming/ Advanced Storytelling techniques: https://changelingthepodcast.com/podcast/episode-55-advanced-storytelling-techniques/ Nunnehi roundtable: https://changelingthepodcast.com/podcast/episode-31-nunnehi-roundtable/ Deep dive into Land of Eight Million Dreams: https://changelingthepodcast.com/podcast/episode-54-land-of-eight-million-dreams/ And if you want to reach out to weigh in on what you think we should be doing next: 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 Josh Hillerup (any pronoun) only needs eight more signatures for the petition to move the border of the Kingdom of Northern Ice. Pooka G (any pronoun/they) keeps accepting tokens of enchantment, and would you believe it, they're all caramel shortbread. The White Rabbit put on his spectacles. 'Where shall I begin, please your Majesty?' he asked. 'Begin at the beginning,' the King said gravely, 'and go on till you come to the end: then stop.' —Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

Behold, the bonus episode! Back in December, Pooka had a chit-chat at PAX Unplugged with Terry of Mage: the Podcast and Mike of Darker Days Radio. This was released on Mage: the Podcast a couple weeks ago, but we're cross-posting it here as some random content to tide you over until everything is ready for the C20 corebook dive in a couple days. It's just a meandering conversation about TTRPGs at conventions, the state of the hobby, and our random thoughts while sitting at a table in a room that (partway through) we were informed we really weren't supposed to be in. We're rebels like that. Go check out: Mage the Podcast at: https://magethepodcast.com/ Darker Days Radio at: http://podcast.darker-days.org/ And the usual get-in-touch-with-us biz: 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 host Pooka G (any pronoun/they) tried the Dallas RPG, and it was astonishingly good, but then it turned out it was all a dream. Consider that everything is opinion, and opinion is in thy power. —Marcus Aurelius

We've spoken before about what novels and short stories bring to the World of Darkness. At best, they can provide a naturalistic feel for a lived-in world that players and Storytellers can explore; at worst, they confuse the reader and muddle the rules of the setting. There aren't nearly as many items in the data set as for other World of Darkness games (looking at you, Vampire, with your multiple clan novel series), but we received two for the 20th Anniversary Edition that bookended the line. C20 Anthology of Dreams is a collection of ten short stories that appeared before the corebook, and Immortal Eyes 4: Cup of Dreams is the fourth novel in the Immortal Eyes saga, as well as the final text released for the edition. It may be a little weird for us to combine (technically) the first and last books in the C20 run, but we decided that tackling the role of fiction like this all at once made the most sense. So we came, we read, we opined, and herein our thoughts on what these two books add to the line. Our previous episode on the Immortal Eyes trilogy is at https://changelingthepodcast.com/podcast/episode-33-the-immortal-eyes-novels/, if you'd like to do a comparative listen. You can also buy these two books at https://www.storytellersvault.com/product/209390?affiliate_id=3063731 and https://www.storytellersvault.com/product/292748?affiliate_id=3063731 for a pittance! We'd also like to highlight the Changeling Cookbook project mentioned in the intro to this episode. This is a project for our Changeling 30 initiative, to be launched next year: a dozen books released over the course of 2025, in collaboration with members of the CtP community. For this one in particular, we welcome tasty recipe submissions from our audience, which you can send in at https://forms.gle/PJspJTuMsuj4tjmr7. More information about the particulars can be found on that form; we hope you'll consider sending something in! The usual haunts for otherwise contacting us: 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 Josh Hillerup (any pronoun) drank from the Cup of Dreams and only got this lousy T-shirt. Pooka G (any pronoun/they) used the Anthology's pages to press flower chimera, and now they're pressing back. "Go and tell your master that we have been charged by God with a sacred quest. If he will give us food and shelter for the night, he can join us in our quest for the Holy Grail. "Well, I'll ask him, but I don't think he will be very keen. He's already got one, you see." —King Arthur and the French soldier in Monty Python and the Holy Grail

As much as we enjoy flipping through pages and making sweeping claims about Changeling, we have never (alas) been directly involved in the production of the official game line. So for this roundtable, we invited some guests with insider knowledge: four of the writers and developers involved with the 20th Anniversary Edition. We obviously couldn't pull the curtain back too far, but these Bears With Balloons told anecdotes, shared insights, and gave us an idea of what it's like to work on a game line like this. Much laughter ensued, and we hope you'll enjoy listening as much we enjoyed chit-chatting. We've got a whole smörgåsbord of links this time, to point you towards everyone's various web presences and projects: Christine Beard's website is The Petite Warlock, at https://thepetitewarlock.com/ Christine's Mastodon: https://dice.camp/@petitewarlock Christine's Pathfinder actual play podcast, The Cracked Die: https://crackeddie.com/ Charlie Cantrell can be found as PookaKnight on many social media, such as: https://twitter.com/pookaknight?lang=en Charlie's Changeling project Facebook page is Radio Free Arcadia: https://www.facebook.com/RadioFreeArcadiaPublishing/ Ian Lemke develops material for Green Ronin: https://greenronin.com/blog/author/ianlemke/ Ian's company, Nepenthe Games, wherein the Nevermore Gothic horror RPG: https://nepenthegames.com/ If you'd like to late-back the Nevermore Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/nevermorerpg/nevermore-roleplaying-game Peter Woodworth's website is Positively Woodworth, at https://peterwoodworth.com/ Pete and Charlie both worked on Trinity Continuum: Aether; inform yourself at https://theonyxpath.com/category/worlds/trinitycontinuum/trinity-continuum-aether/ And for our own, should you wish to get in touch with us... 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 Josh Hillerup (any pronoun) should have realized that attending a Round Table would be followed by a quest for the Cup of Dreams. Pooka G (any pronoun/they) would have preferred an Oblong Dolmen, but you work with what you've got. You get ideas from daydreaming. You get ideas from being bored. You get ideas all the time. The only difference between writers and other people is we notice when we're doing it. —Neil Gaiman

When we covered Dark Ages: Fae, we mentioned that it was the one canonical historical setting kind of for Changeling. That's not entirely true, because in the earliest days of the Exalted line, its world was lightly framed as the "prehistory" of the World of Darkness. While that aspect fell out of the setting pretty quickly, the first edition still echoes many of the modern World of Darkness games, recycling terms and ideas in novel ways. The counterpart to Changeling is Exalted: the Fair Folk, wherein we learn about the mysterious patterns of chaos pretending to be people that live in the Wyld outside the borders of Creation. That's close enough for our liking—join us as we read through this chomker of a tome and see what we can extract to inform a Changeling: the Dreaming game experience. Maybe what we find will be unexpected...! Or, you know, it might not. We can neither claim nor dismiss any kind of surprise. If you've a hankering for old-school Exalted fatsplat corebooks, you can snag this one at https://www.storytellersvault.com/product/1602?affiliate_id=3063731 for your collection. Otherwise, our own Middlemarch Demesnes are as follows: 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 Josh Hillerup (any pronoun) practices Unexpected Magical Protagonist Style, the martial art that recounts a mass market paperback fantasy main character arc. Pooka G (any pronoun/they) searches for a Charm that reshapes those pesky human dreams and emotions into tasty baklava. HISTORY, n. An account mostly false, of events mostly unimportant, which are brought about by rulers, mostly knaves, and soldiers, mostly fools. —Ambrose Bierce, The Cynic's Word Book

Don't worry, we're not totally casting off our roots quite yet. While Changeling: the Dreaming was in deep freeze, the mantle of "modern personal horror fae game" was taken up by Changeling: the Lost, a rather different entry in the (new) World/Chronicles of Darkness. At a glance, Lost shares a lot of terms and concepts with Dreaming, but digging into it, the game diverges significantly from its predecessor. This doesn't mean it's a bad game! We're giving it a fair shake this week and talking generally about some of its setting, the unique position it carves out among the lines, and how we feel it relates to Dreaming—especially since this was maybe the primary replacement we had to work with until C20. Navigate the Hedge to leave us some goblin fruit at: 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 Josh Hillerup (any pronoun) has a Contract that runs maple syrup in the veins of enemies. Pooka G (any pronoun/they) prefers goblin viennoiseries. And in his brain, Which is as dry as the remainder biscuit After a voyage, he hath strange places cramm'd With observation, the which he vents In mangled forms. —William Shakespeare, As You Like It, II.7

As we alluded to in our minisode about the unreleased Book of Glamour and Keys to the Kingdom, there was one more title done dirty by the unceremonious end of Changeling's 2nd edition. The long-lamented Kithbook: Boggans was on the putative release schedule (and available for pre-order) until long after the line's conclusion. When it became clear that the book would not be materializing, [cue dramatic music] an intrepid band of netizens and boggan devotees, led by Thad Papke, took it upon themselves to assemble their own Kithbook. And this kithbook would be a beacon unto the community! For it would shine a light on the kith in all their misunderstood glory, completing the cycle and inspiring players and STs alike to rise up and say, our game! our kithbook! our Concordia! (OK, maybe the last part didn't quite happen like that.) Nevertheless, it's a solid piece of text from an era when the culture of homebrew was a lot more scattered (a historical context we discuss in this episode). Eventually, the boggans did get their own official kithbook—to be covered in a future episode—but for over a decade, this was what was on offer, setting an impressive bar for future fan efforts. Have a listen to our discussion at: You can also craft us a message 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 Josh Hillerup (any pronoun) proudly owns the boggan Treasure shoebox that untangles all the random wires and cables you store within it. Pooka G (any pronoun/they) absconded with the boggan Treasure toaster oven that perfectly reheats any kind of leftovers. Yet such is oft the course of deeds that move the wheels of the world: small hands do them because they must, while the eyes of the great are elsewhere. —Elrond, of Frodo, in J.R.R. Tolkien's Fellowship of the Ring

We're tackling a slightly heavy subject today, talking about neurodiversity and ableism in the context of Changeling: the Dreaming. There are numerous ways in which these arise allegorically and literally in the pages of the game. We cover a few broad topics, but really we're just scratching the surface here, framing our interpretations of the themes with our particular perspectives and experiences. Regardless of what your own may be, we hope this episode encourages you to pause and think, and maybe do some exploring outside the realm of the game itself. (And if it's not your cup of tea, we won't be offended if you skip—but we look forward to seeing you next time!) To get in touch with us: 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 Josh Hillerup (any pronoun) reserves Unleashings for dealing swiftly with the prejudiced and ignorant. Pooka G (any pronoun/they) swoons into phonological pleasure from the double dactylic rhythm of the word "neurodiversity". Difference is that raw and powerful connection from which our personal power is forged. —Audre Lorde

We're informed in Dark Ages: Fae that "the Oath-Truce falls with the darkening sky"... but it took another decade for the creators of the line to fulfill that promise. In this solo minisode, Pooka talks a bit about the eponymous supplement, Darkening Sky, released at last in 2014. This coda to the Revised line provides five stories centered around the eclipse of 1230 AD, whereby we get the only canon material for the Fae outside of the corebook. It's a quaint little adventure that draws on a few disparate threads, but also attempts to tie the Dark Ages setting more directly to Changeling: the Dreaming, with... a measure of success? Anyway, it's not very much content, and we're not in the business of spoiling adventures people might want to run—especially since this is the meatier of two total that the line received—so this is just a minisode for your midweek listening pleasure. For your purchasing pleasure, here's the link to the book on the Storytellers' Vault: https://www.storytellersvault.com/product/125594?affiliate_id=3063731 And from there, do darken (or better yet, brighten!) our own skies with your presence at: 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 host Pooka G (any pronoun/they) would like to encourage Tam Lin to keep his fiddle in its case for once, when a young mortal Janet wanders by. The reappearance of the light is the same as the survival of the soul. —Victor Hugo

And now for something completely different...! We're diving into one of the last books for the old World of Darkness this week—and we do mean OLD, for the book in question is Dark Ages: Fae. Technically a spin-off of Dark Ages: Vampire, and one of the standalone corebooks in the Dark Ages line, this is both the only full Revised book and historical setting that we got for Changeling: the Dreaming. Whether it's actually the latter is debatable, and we will indeed be keeping its suitability in mind as we flip through the pages. But there are also some hints of bridging the gap between the original run of the game and what came after, notably Changeling: the Lost and C20. We'll be talking Weavings and Echoes, Oaths and Origins, Firstborn and Fading Realms... whether it works well or not, there's plenty of material here to consider. There's a whole passel of links for things mentioned in the show this week: The Dark Ages: Fae corebook, itself! https://www.storytellersvault.com/product/710?affiliate_id=3063731 Friend of the show Andrew Goodman's book Roots of Legend gets mentioned...: https://www.storytellersvault.com/product/354523?affiliate_id=3063731 ...as does Pooka's Book of Days: https://www.storytellersvault.com/product/412055?affiliate_id=3063731 We also talk about the World of Dark Ages podcast and their two episodes on this tome, which can be found at https://wodarkages.squarespace.com/podcast/dark-ages-fae-part-1 and https://wodarkages.squarespace.com/podcast/dark-ages-fae-part-2 respectively. And then our usual social media whatnots: 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 Josh Hillerup (any pronoun) prefers the term "Slightly Overcast Ages". Pooka G (any pronoun/they) can't say the word "Hohenzollern" without breaking into giggles. Sumer is icumen in Lhude sing cuccu! Groweþ sed and bloweþ med and springþ þe wde nu— Sing cuccu! —Traditional round

Behold the minisode! Today we're diving into the Library of What Could Have Been, as we talk about two books that we never actually got for Changeling: Book of Glamour and Keys to the Kingdom. Long-promised, partly written, and much desired, the complete guide to fae magic and the globetrotting metaplot adventures lingered in the dreams of 2e players even after the old World of Darkness had been detonated. Presumably some of the material made it into the 20th anniversary edition; the signs remain unclear. Nevertheless, we managed to scrape together some tidbits and information to talk about, so for those of you who didn't live through the slowly suffocated hopes of these books, we're here to give you the story. (And yes, Kithbook: Boggans was the third of the cancelled triad, but at least we got an unofficial, and much later an official, version of it. To be addressed in future episodes!) As always, share your own thoughts 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 Josh Hillerup (any pronoun) dreams bittersweetly about the lost Art of Érablesse, the maple-themed magic of Canadian changelings. Pooka G (any pronoun/they) found a piece of the Triumph Casque's Key in a Dumpster behind the local Denny's. "It’s the hope that’s important. Big part of belief, hope. Give people jam today and they’ll just sit and eat it. Jam tomorrow, now—that’ll keep them going forever." —Terry Pratchett, Hogfather

Another week, another theme episode...! This time around, we're considering the role of morality in Changeling: the Dreaming, and the World of Darkness at large. Folklorically, the fae have always tended to dance to their own tune (and often drag hapless mortals along with them) when it comes to questions of right and wrong, good and evil, awesome and dastardly. And yet the changelings are half-human, caught between the memories of their inner nature and the modern values with which they were raised. We talk about this tension and how it is explored—or not explored—within the setting and mechanics, as well as some options for Storytellers and players to do so. It's just kind of a wide-ranging discussion this episode, which easily spawns all kinds of follow-ups that we didn't have recording time to fully pursue. So if you have Thoughts and Feelings about this aspect of the game, reach out and tell us about it, whydontcha: 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 Josh Hillerup (any pronoun) received a Title for wiping the floor with the competition during the Spelling Bee of Honor. Pooka G (any pronoun/they) went into hiding for nine counts of disorderly knowledge at the Geography Bee of Sleaze. "Everything's got a moral if only you can find it." —The Duchess in Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland

We're baaaack...! It's the start of Season Three here at the Podcast, and we're excited to once again be bringing you some weekly-ish discourse on Changeling: the Dreaming. As we proceed chronologically through the game's history, we're now in that wilderness between the end of 2nd edition and the launch of the 20th Anniversary edition. But that doesn't mean there's nothing to say about Changeling and it's place in the World of Darkness. We're talking today about Hunter: the Reckoning, Mummy: the Resurrection, and Demon: the Fallen, three WoD games that were concurrent with the sunset and slumber of the Dreaming. There's limited information with which to suss out how these three splats view and interact with the fae, but we never said we didn't like a challenge. If you're interested in purchasing any of the corebooks for those lines: Hunter: https://www.storytellersvault.com/product/639?affiliate_id=3063731 Mummy: https://www.storytellersvault.com/product/1251?affiliate_id=3063731 Demon: https://www.storytellersvault.com/product/636?affiliate_id=3063731 In the realm of shameless promotion, there's also the Bog Bodies book for Mummy "20th" that Pooka created here: https://www.storytellersvault.com/product/395251?affiliate_id=3063731, and if you'd like to hear Mage: the Podcast's dive into the 1st and 2nd edition Mummy books, check out https://magethepodcast.com/tomes-of-magick-a-world-of-darkness-mummy/ and https://magethepodcast.com/tomes-of-magick-mummy-second-edition/ respectively and respectfully. And of course, you can contact us through the following channels for all of your questions and musings on dank monstrosities and those who pursue them: 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 Josh Hillerup (any pronoun) suggests that sysops are prime candidates for Imbuing. Pooka G (any pronoun/they) swoons for the linguistically superb Hekau of Nomenclature. "If the apocalypse comes— beep me." —Buffy Summers

...and that's a wrap! For this year, at least; we intend to be back in a couple of months, after taking our usual winter constitutional. A happy solstice be upon you, and thanks again to everyone for sticking with us through the second half of the Season. We hope you'll help us make Season 3 one to remember as well. As reminded in the episode, we are putting together a passel of homebrew books over the course of 2024, for release on a monthly basis in 2025, in celebration of Changeling's 30th Anniversary. To that end, we are still open to knowledgeable people joining the crew for this project! Please see our public Patreon post at https://www.patreon.com/posts/changeling-30th-92652480 for more information. You're welcome to toss your name into the hat to help with any of the books listed, or to send us a pitch for another of your own. If you've been curious about getting involved in independently-created content for Changeling (or other TTRPGs), maybe this is the time? For more news and updates, click your way to any of our usual haunts, where we'd be happy to welcome you in: 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 Josh Hillerup (any pronoun) is waiting out the Winterregnum in a fort made of marshmallows. Pooka G (any pronoun/they) will sacrifice whatever to whomever for a proper snow day this year. "Never say goodbye, because goodbye means going away, and going away means forgetting." —J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan

It's strange to go back to the end of an era, but that's the feel of things this week as we pick up Time of Judgment, finale to the old World of Darkness. After the "Big Three" each got their own book of the end times, the remaining (lower-selling) games got one chapter each in this catchall supplement. And those were the last pages of Changeling for over a decade—so it's seems fitting to cover this as our last full episode of the season. There's some Storytelling guidance and five scenarios (about which we have thoughts), and a note of bittersweetness about it all. How else could it have (for then) ended? The book is available to add to your collection at https://www.storytellersvault.com/product/699?affiliate_id=3063731, and you'll get the chapters on Demon, Hunter, Kindred of the East, and Mummy to boot! We pointed to Harbingers of Winter as well, for incorporating the Tithed Ones but also other big baddies of Changeling. That one is at https://www.storytellersvault.com/product/388455?affiliate_id=3063731, and you can listen to our interview with Charlie here: https://changelingthepodcast.com/podcast/episode-12-harbingers-of-winter-with-charlie-cantrell/. Finally, if you're into Mage and want to hear about that game's finale book Ascension, Mage: the Podcast has an informative episode on just that very topic: https://magethepodcast.com/tomes-of-magick-ascension/. Ask ye and the digisphere shall provide. As for ourselves...! 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 Josh Hillerup (any pronoun) favors the apocalypse scenario where the nockers just try turning the Dreaming off and then on again. Pooka G (any pronoun/they) immanentized the eschaton and all they got was this lousy T-shirt. That's how it goes, you think you're on top of the world, and suddenly they spring Armageddon on you. —Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett, Good Omens

Another trip across the ocean...! Pooka put their linguistic skills to use in order to skim/translate (read: stumble through with a dictionary in one hand and a fervent prayer to the word-gods in the other) the long-lost book Trolle, Träumer, Tiefe Wälder. This German-only supplement was released near the end of 2nd Edition, and describes Germany from a Kithain perspective. (It's also the original source for the Wichtel and Wolpertinger kiths from C20, although they are rather different here...) The book is basically impossible to find for fewer than several hundred dollars at this point, so this minisode is an attempt to summarize the text and provide some information for the curious. Consider this a bonus listen before we get to—deep breath—the end of the original line... If you've got some feedback, in German or otherwise, drop us a line: 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 host Pooka G (any pronoun/they) insists that there are very few problems of the body or soul that can't be solved with a bowl of Kürbissuppe. Denn das Schöne ist nichts als des Schrecklichen Anfang, den wir noch grade ertragen, und wir bewundern es so, weil es gelassen verschmäht, uns zu zerstören. [For beauty is nothing but the beginning of terror, which we still are just able to endure, and we are so awed because it serenely disdains to annihilate us.] —Rainer Maria Rilke, first Duino Elegy (tr. Stephen Mitchell)

And now for something rather different... we're stepping out of the Changeling canon and into the wonderful world of late 90s/early 00s homebrew with Changeling: the Celtic Cycle. Written by three World of Darkness authors, CtCC radically re-imagines the world of Changeling: no Glamour and Banality, no Dreamers to cultivate, no Dreaming separate from the Umbra. Instead, the fae in this version of the game are directly inspired by Celtic mythology and epic. The supplement was released in three installments as part of a zine, in all its early-days-of-desktop-publishing glory, and is as much an interesting historical artifact for that context as for its contents. But the authors also went on to be involved in Book of Lost of Houses, Dark Ages: Fae, and Changeling: the Lost, with all of which we see a few subtle connections... The text is findable online, but we'll also have it available in our Discord (link below!). Some other links include: A few homebrew books by Pooka that poke at a couple of these themes are mentioned in this episode, which you can snag at https://www.storytellersvault.com/product/381967?affiliate_id=3063731, https://www.storytellersvault.com/product/418295?affiliate_id=3063731, or https://www.storytellersvault.com/product/412055?affiliate_id=3063731. While the links provided in the notes at the end of the supplement are mostly defunct or broken, a couple of them have stood the test of time... we would point you in particular to https://pantheon.org/, the Encyclopedia Mythica (a one-stop source for many a folkloric tidbit before Wikipedia was a thing), and https://www.luminarium.org/mythology/ireland/, a hefty collection of Irish myth in particular. Need some Irish curses on the spot? Take your pick from https://www3.smo.uhi.ac.uk/gaeilge/donncha/focal/features/mallacht (the modern one) or https://www3.smo.uhi.ac.uk/sengoidelc/donncha/maldacht (Old Irish). As always, our own passel of social media links: 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 Josh Hillerup (any pronoun) went looking for Changeling: the Danish Cycle, but only found a kith that could shapechange into flaky pastries. Pooka G (any pronoun/they) favors the Branch of Rhiannon, for which one sympathy is to wear a full-on Stevie Nicks ensemble. High on the mountain stands a boat But are they gods or real folk? We can't see the fire but we smell the smoke Who'll take the plough? Who'll be the yoke? –Horslips, "Trouble with a Capital T"

Wanderers and storytellers, tricksters and rapscallions... we're diving this week into Kithbook: Eshu and all that it has to teach about this most wonderfully wayward of Kithain. This was the last full-length Changeling: the Dreaming supplement for something like fifteen years, and as presumed final entries go, it was an intriguing one. (The last page of the original print edition, though, with the ad for a book that would never materialize... that was kind of heartbreaking.) We discuss levels of appropriateness for incorporating Yorùbá religion as this book does, get into the weeds about Birthrights, and ask important questions, such as "Talecraft: why?" It's a bittersweet sunset to 2nd Edition, all things told. And what could be more Changeling than that? Wend your way over to https://www.storytellersvault.com/product/174?affiliate_id=3063731 if you'd like to purchase the PDF. And why stop there? Let your path continue to any of the following places to find out more about the show and connect with us: 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 Josh Hillerup (any pronoun) travels by a compass that points in nonexistent directions, like "south–north-up" and "otherwards". Pooka G (any pronoun/they) will put a girdle round about the Earth in forty minutes. 千里之行始於足下。 Qiān lǐ zhī xíng shǐ yú zú xià. [A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step.] —Laozi, loosely translated

It's the weekend of PAX Unplugged, a three-day convention for all forms of non-digital gaming in Philadelphia, and Pooka got themself a media badge. So, in an effort to justify that, they went around doing on-the-spot quick interviews with a number of RPG creators whose work is Changeling-adjacent (mostly fairytale and mythology themed). Please forgive the sound quality; the interviews were conducted using a tiny microphone in a crowded and busy expo hall, and voices don't always travel well through N95 masks. Nevertheless, here's hoping these broaden your horizons, and if you're at PAX today, here are four booths you might want to check out... The interviews are presented in the order in which they were conducted, as are the information about the creators below: Andrew Valkauskas (Pendelhaven Games): https://www.fateofthenorns.com Fate of the Norns: https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/112998?affiliate_id=3063731 Charles Ryan (Monte Cook Games): https://www.montecookgames.com/author/charles-ryan/ Old Gods of Appalachia: https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/447290?affiliate_id=3063731 We Are All Mad Here: https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/327782?affiliate_id=3063731 Charles Ferguson-Avery: https://www.instagram.com/charlie_fergusonavery/ Feral Indie Studio: https://feral-indie-studios.itch.io/ Into the Wyrd and Wild: https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/264022?affiliate_id=3063731 Stephen Dewey (Cavalry Games): https://cavalrygames.com/ We Serve Her Wintry Hunger: https://cavalrygames.com/to-serve And as usual, for CtP's own points of contact: 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 host Pooka G (any pronoun/they) never met a fae-themed TTRPG they didn't like. Except for THAT one!

We're returning to the world of Live-Action RolePlaying this week, as we flip through the second and final of the Mind's Eye Theatre books produced for Changeling. Author and developer Peter Woodworth returns to talk about the creation of the Shining Host Player's Guide. Even if you prefer throwing dice around the table to dressing up and cantripping through the woods, there's plenty in this volume that enriches the setting. Mannikins with stories, Shadow Court slice of life, secret society emblems, elaborate court politics... as we draw ever closer to the end of the 2nd edition line, it's nice to be reminded that there was quality content even in the jaws of Judgment. (It's also nice to be reminded of the community's passion for keeping the game alive.) The book is available for purchase at https://www.storytellersvault.com/product/1490?affiliate_id=3063731, and you can find/contact Pete at his website, Positively Woodworthian: https://peterwoodworth.com/! For our part, behold a mishmash of social media: 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 Josh Hillerup (any pronoun) leads a secret society of Canadian nockers whose emblem is a maple leaf soaked in engine grease. Pooka G (any pronoun/they) hasn't tried to wear prosthetic ears since the Spirit Gum Incident of 2008. The thing about performance, even if it’s only an illusion, is that it is a celebration of the fact that we do contain within ourselves infinite possibilities. —Daniel Day-Lewis

Sometimes a House isn't so much lost as misplaced, but sometimes you misplace four and a half of them. This was how the sidhe did back at the turn of the millennium, but good news! Those waywards are coming back through the gates in Book of Lost Houses: The Second Coming, the tome that gave us Houses Aesin, Beaumayn, Daireann, Arcadian Scathach, and Varich to round out the complement of noble branches to thirteen. (Because if there's one thing Changeling needed, it was more nobles.) Even though they all differ slightly from their updated versions in the 20th Anniversary edition, the history and background in BoLH is helpful for any player who wants to run a character from one of these five. This is the first and basically last place they appeared, so listen in as we read through for the choicest tidbits. If you'd like to snag the book for yourself, pick it up at https://www.storytellersvault.com/product/44?affiliate_id=3063731. And as mentioned in the episode, we snagged the errata, which you can get from us on the Discord! How do you reach the Discord, you ask, and perhaps other social media platforms you hadn't intended to find? 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 Josh Hillerup (any pronoun) supports the expansion of Aesin industriousness into other occupations, like "numismatist" and "confiseur". Pooka G (any pronoun/they) prefers the Daireann meritocracy, where you get ahead by way of bear hugs and punches in equal measure. Все счастливые семьи похожи друг на друга, каждая несчастливая семья несчастлива по-своему. Vse schastlivyye sem'i pokhozhi drug na druga, kazhdaya neschastlivaya sem'ya neschastliva po-svoyemu. [Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.] —Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina

It's a time-honored tradition among Changeling groups to construct their own kiths, but the process has always been idiosyncratic. Doing justice to folklore and balanced game mechanics don't always go hand in hand. Luckily, the 20th Anniversary Edition has provided a basic template for creating them, so we're taking the opportunity to do a short kith-building workshop, wherein the nymphs finally get their due. (Yes, yes, Inanimae: the Secret Way tried to definitively re-cast them as Sessile Ones, but we defy that idea.) Join us as we scrape together the bits of precedent for the kith, and talk through the questions-and-answers process in C20 as applied to them. Perhaps it will give you some grist for the mill to create your own...! We mentioned two homebrew products by members of our community that informed the approach here. Check out Aaron Siddall and Andrew Goodman's Roots of Legend on the Storytellers' Vault here: https://www.storytellersvault.com/product/354523?affiliate_id=3063731, and Charlie Cantrell's 5th edition hack for Changeling here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XCSfDfJUNFm6d9f0omHzQ-rt7U0kkR7b/view. As for our own presence in various places online, you might have some luck with the following platforms. It's worth mentioning that subscribers to our Patreon are getting a peek at some bonus content related to this episode today... 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 Josh Hillerup (any pronoun) once slung syrup with the nymph grump keeper of a much-storied, well-loved sugar shack. Pooka G (any pronoun/they) hunts for faults in the game mechanics that will produce the MISSINGNO. kith. To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk. —Thomas Edison (like he would know...)

Just in time for Guy Fawkes Night (and a bit on the early side of our usual release day), we're looking at the breakdown of social order in fae realms... kiiiind of? Despite its title, we've uncovered in our reading that War in Concordia: The Shattered Dream is more about widespread political tensions, the occasional skirmish or violent incident, and a whole bunch of metaplot updates that, er, have all been retconned in the 20th Anniversary Edition. But! There is still plenty here to examine and appreciate, from the multifaceted accounts of then-current events to a gaggle of new and interesting NPCs. And then, there's plenty for which we wish they had done more, from the Kingdom of Apples overview (at last!) to Chapter 4's mass combat mathematical headaches. As we close in on the end of the game's original run, the chill of Autumn is in the air, but we hope the fires of revolution will warm you... The PDF of the book can be found at: https://www.storytellersvault.com/product/333?affiliate_id=3063731. Our own spaces for commoner liberation are scattered around the interwebs at places like: 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 Josh Hillerup (any pronoun) keeps a cabinet full of crackers for all the elements, from water to bug to sleaze to rubidium. Pooka G (any pronoun/they) wonders how many signal-lights to hang in the church if the attackers come by BALLOON. You tell me of degrees of perfection to which human nature is capable of arriving, and I believe it, but at the same time lament that our admiration should arise from the scarcity of the instances. —Abigail Adams, in a letter to her husband

They eat what they want—when they want—who they want. And what more do you need to know? Quite a bit, actually, if our readthrough of Kithbook: Redcaps is any indication. This is maybe the first book where we had serious differences of opinion about its utility: Josh says it's the best kithbook, Pooka thinks it's not worth much more than the nutritional value of the paper it's printed on. (OK, maybe that's too harsh.) But nevertheless, there are some tasty morsels in here for all kinds of would-be redcap player: connections to the primal history of mankind, details about eating habits, the usual battery of Treasures, and the wonderful bogginess of the River Hags. Join us as we make our way through this antepenultimate kithbook; whether the text nourishes you or not, we hope at least that our discussion will. For your culinary pleasure, the book is available at: https://www.storytellersvault.com/product/176?affiliate_id=3063731. And herewith the menu of social media courses filled with only the cuisine of good conversation: 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 Josh Hillerup (any pronoun) knows firsthand the bitter winds of the frozen North, and how they'd drive anyone to all-consuming hangriness. Pooka G (any pronoun/they) can't believe they ate the whole thing. Dis-moi ce que tu manges, je te dirai ce que tu es. [Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you what you are.] —Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin

Pardon us while we get a bit esoteric, but it's time to talk about time (and memory, and cyclicality). The way the fae experience it is rather different from your garden-variety fleshly linear human types—and yet at the same time, not so different at all. We're talking about the chaotic progression of time in the Dreaming and the magic that changelings use to harness it, but also their life stages and cycles of reincarnation, and how those inform the calendar they live by. As is usual for our theme episodes, we ramble our way through these and associated topics. As is unusual, we had So Many Issues with recording, which seemed appropriate. Nevertheless, we have persevered to bring you a few of our takes, so we hope you'll enjoy. This isn't a library dive, but we mention The Enchanted as a solid sourcebook for handling seemings and transitions, so if you'd care to pick it up, stop by https://www.storytellersvault.com/product/288?affiliate_id=3063731 for the PDF. And then, because Pooka is a shameless self-promoter, if you'd like to check out some of their homebrew Changeling work that deals with time and a kith largely defined by it, respectively, Book of Days (https://www.storytellersvault.com/product/412055?affiliate_id=3063731) and Kithbook: Ghille Dhu (https://www.storytellersvault.com/product/381967?affiliate_id=3063731) are both available on the STV as well! And in news from the temporal realm of Deadlines, we are still accepting submissions for our Build-a-Sluagh contest! As a reminder: email us at [email protected] with a sluagh character sheet and backstory, following the C20 character creation rules. (You have the option to spend up to 100 XP to make an advanced character.) Please include everything in the body of the email, else attach a DOC or PDF. We're hoping to pick a winner by the end of this week—get your skulkers in while the shadows are still squirming. your hosts Josh Hillerup (any pronoun) never felt that the song "Turn! Turn! Turn!" needed that many exclamation points in its title. Pooka G (any pronoun/they) enjoys nonstandard temporal adverbs like "betweenhand" and "hitherforth". And they all pretend they're orphans, and their memory's like a train— You can see it getting smaller as it pulls away And the things you can't remember tell the things you can't forget That history puts a saint in every dream... —Tom Waits, "Time"

Salut, gentlefae! It's time for a solo minisode to fill in the Banal void of the working week. In this installment, Pooka discusses Le Monde des Ténèbres : France, one of the few 90s World of Darkness books not developed by White Wolf. Published by Ludis International at the start of 1997, the book only exists in French, and was the start of a series of books (which would have eventually been translated into English) that... never materialized. Each of the five major WoD lines gets a chapter, with Changeling receiving a solid 40 pages or so of material, deeply informed by French folklore, politics, and probably the home games of its authors. Pooka puts their French degree to good use in order to summarize of what's therein (including the first appearance of the morganed and korred!), so that you don't have to seek it out and translate it yourselves. Ordinarily there would be a link here to purchase the book, but such a thing does not exist for this text. It's not too difficult to knock the PDF off the back of a truck, so to speak, if you want to find your own copy. Meanwhile, for the show's own social media, it's even less difficult to find us, because we provide the links like so: 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 host Pooka G (any pronoun/they) is, if we are what we eat, an actual sentient viennoiserie. La bonne grâce est le vrai don des fées ; sans elles on ne peut rien, avec elles on peut tout. (Gracefulness is the true gift of the fae; without them we can do nothing, with them we can do everything.) —Charles Perrault, Cendrillon

In they crawled through the long-shuttered gates, slowly they slithered into the world—the Dark-kin have arrived at last! And as we go on our flipthrough of Denizens of the Dreaming, we realized... well, not all of them are all that Dark. And they don't much act like kin. And are they even really all "of the Dreaming" any more than the Kithain? (OK, mechanically, maybe so.) We deal with these questions, and many more than we thought we'd have before we opened the thing, in this mid-Spooptober installment. The last major tranche of kiths introduced to the game, the adhene are a hodgepodge of ideas drawn from myths worldwide and tied heavily into the original game's sunset metaplot. Sworn to the Fomorians, they are the vanguard of Winter, and therefore Bad News... Check out the book at: https://www.storytellersvault.com/product/111?affiliate_id=3063731. We also mention material from Charlie Cantrell's excellent supplement, Harbingers of Winter, which expands on the Dark-kin and gives a write-up (finally!) for the aslynthi: https://www.storytellersvault.com/product/388455?affiliate_id=3063731. And the usual mishmash of social things from our side: 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 Josh Hillerup (any pronoun) keeps a jar of ground Tarrarom in the cupboard for chicken, fish, and egg dishes. Pooka G (any pronoun/they) greatly admires the films of Kureksarra. The darkness drops again; but now I know That twenty centuries of stony sleep Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle, And what rough beast, its hour come round at last, Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born? —W.B. Yeats, "The Second Coming"

Settle down, class! If you didn't mean to attend this first lecture for the Faelosophy major, then we suggest you exit gracefully now... but if you'd just like to stay and audit, that's fine too. We're talking about Changeling metaphysics today, hashing out some of the Deeper Questions about the nature of being, the relationship between dream and reality, and what really happens when a troll walks through a doorway. Joining us again is special guest and resident metaphysicist Terry Robinson of Mage: the Podcast, to help triangulate some opinions and lay down some knowledge. Do take notes, for there will be a pop quiz down the line. A few good places to find Terry around the interwebs include: Mage: the Podcast at https://magethepodcast.com/ (through which you can also find that show's Discord, etc.) Pain in the Dice podcast at https://www.paininthedice.com/, because game are fun, but sometimes hard You probably won't find Terry at the book page for Kelefa Sanneh's Major Labels: A History of Popular Music in Seven Genres, but because it came up in conversation, feel free to check that volume out... ...but also, as of this posting, Terry has just released a homebrew Mage 20 book on the Umbra, so consider heading over to https://www.storytellersvault.com/product/455874?affiliate_id=3063731 and giving it a purchase! And our usual arrangement of links: 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 Josh Hillerup (any pronoun) believes that whatever the dream of perfection might be, nockers are proof against its attainability, except when it comes to fashion. Pooka G (any pronoun/they) only exists as a concept in relation to pastries and coffees already/yet to be consumed. The subconscious is ceaselessly murmuring, and it is by listening to these murmurs that one hears the truth. —Gaston Bachelard, The Poetics of Reverie