Music Monday - Harpy Hare

I discovered this fae tune last week and can't get it out of my head. The accompanying illustrated video makes me love it even more. This will definitely be a bardic song in my games. 

C is for Changeling: The Lost

Changeling: The Lost is a game that I've posted material about before.

The premise of the game is that your character was a normal per
son, kidnapped for some reason by the otherworldly and inhuman fae (known as Keepers). While in the faerie world your body was changed to suit the needs/desires of your captor. You could have been made a soldier, a beastly hound, or even a doll to be admired and locked away. However, this wasn't the life you desired and you fought your way back through the Hedge (border between worlds, which appears to be a hedge of thorns) to the world.

Unfortunately once you returned, you found that you no longer belonged. The time in the fae world changes a person. In addition, one can't simply return to his or her former life. When a person is taken the Keeper replaces them with a construct double, known as a fetch. To protect themselves and find purpose, the Lost (as the changelings are called) band together in Courts (tied to Seasons and emotions).

Changeling is a fun game. Of the World of Darkness games, I think it is my favorite. It's a faerie tale game true to its origins. Faeries are big, bad, scary monsters. They are fearsome and unearthly. The work of Neil Gaiman is very Changeling-esque, especially Neverwhere, Coraline, and MirrorMask.

If you would like to try Changeling for yourself, you can download a demo here.

Faces of the Lost - Strawberry Gashes

Here's another npc from my upcoming Changeling: The Lost game. She was inspired by the Jack Off Jill song Strawberry Gashes.

Strawberry Gashes

Virtue: Charity

Vice: Sloth

Concept: Seductive Informant

Seeming: Darkling

Kith: Razorhand

Court: Spring

Attributes

Intelligence 2, Wits 2, Resolve 2

Strength 1 ,Dexterity 3 ,Stamina 4

Presence 2, Manipulation 3, Composure 2

Mental

Medicine 1, Politics 3

Physical

Athletics 1, Larceny 1, Stealth 2 (Crowds), Weaponry (Knives and Razors) 3

Social

Empathy 2, Expression (Dance) 3, Intimidation 1, Persuasion 2 (Seduction), Socialize 1, Streetwise 1 (Black Market), Subterfuge 1

Blessing:

“Dark Hearts Concealed” - Strawberry can spend Glamour to increase dice pools that include Wits, Subterfuge and Stealth — each point of Glamour increases one dice pool by one point. She also gains the benefit of the 9 again rule on Stealth dice pools.

“Ripper’s Gift” - By spending one Glamour, Strawberry’s hand becomes fingers turn into razors for the duration of the scene, allowing her unarmed strikes to inflict +1 lethal damage. In addition, she gains a bonus Weapon Specialty (Knives and Razors).

Curse:

“Daylight Ban” - Strawberry suffer a –1 die penalty to all rolls to enact Contracts during daylight hours. The penalty increases to –2 dice if the sun is directly visible to them.

Contracts: Darkness 3, Fleeting Spring 2

Merits:  Striking Looks 2, Resources 2, Spring Mantle 3

Wyrd: 1

Clarity: 7

Glamour: 5

Health: 5

Willpower: 4  

Size: 5

Defense: 2

Initiative Modifier: 5

Speed: 9

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 The darlking dancer known as Strawberry Gashes, doesn't know who she was before she was taken by the Gentry. She doesn't remember much of her time with her keeper either. Just flashes of silver, red, and pain. She stumbled out of the hedge and was taken in by Harvey, a beast of the Spring Court and owner of "The Rabbit Hole." The rabbit man took good care of her and she became quite attached to him. Quickly adopting the ways of the Spring Court and it's obsession with desire, she began to work at the strip club.

Not remember her true name, she decided to name herself after her favorite song to work to. Strawberry tends to stay covered from the neck down when she isn't working. Her body is a road map of scars, some souvenirs of her time with her keeper, some fresh. A darker sort, she's not above mixing pain and pleasure.

Currently, Strawberry serves as a source of information for the Spring Court and it's allies. She has a knack for getting useful information from her customers. She's extremely loyal to Harvey and gets along well with the dancers and other employees of The Rabbit Hole.

Faces of the Lost - Sir Ryan Avery

I'm getting ready to start a Changeling: The Lost game for my best friend. I'm a fan of the original Changeling, but she likes the newer version so that's what we're going with (plus the rules are much simpler). I'll post npcs and things from the game on here. The first character is an update of a Dreaming character that I always wanted to play. It's pretty apparent that when I came up with a darker Lost version of him I was influence by the movie Drive.

“Sir” Ryan Avery

Virtue: Fortitude

Vice: Lust

Concept: Modern Questing Knight

Seeming: Fairest

Kith: Romancer

Court: Courtless

Attributes

Intelligence 2, Wits 1, Resolve 3

Strength 2 ,Dexterity 3 ,Stamina 3

Presence 2, Manipulation 1, Composure 3

Mental

Crafts 3 (Automobiles), Investigation 2, Medicine 1, Occult 1,

Physical

Athletics 1, Brawl 2 (Blocking), Drive 4 (Stunts), Larceny 1 (GTA), Stealth 1, Weaponry 2

Social

Intimidation 2, Streetwise 2

Blessing:

“Fairest of them All” - Can spend Glamour to improve dice pools that include Presence, Manipulation and Persuasion. Each point spent increases one dice pool by one point. He also suffers no untrained penalty for using Social skills in which she has no dots.

“Narcissus’s Blessing” - Others viewing him are subject to a subtle illusion that emphasizes those aspects of the changeling that the subject find most appealing, sometimes going so far as to convince the subject that small aspects of the changeling are utterly different than they really are. (An observer who finds bright green eyes particularly appealing may believe that a blue-eyed Romancer has emerald eyes instead.) This manifests as a –3 to all characters’ subsequent attempts to accurately describe her to others, including characters attempting to create police sketches. The blessing applies to clothing as well, but a sufficiently extraordinary trinket might grant a bonus to the roll. This is not a disguise, however, and unless the subject’s standard of beauty has changed significantly between one meeting of the Romancer and the next, he recognizes her without any difficulty. Recording devices, which have no preconceived notions of beauty and no expectations, are affected by the Wyrd’s magic as well, recording the individual as remarkably average. The –3 penalty applies to attempts to identify the character based on recorded footage or photographs as well.

Curse:

“Unbalanced” - Suffers a –1 die penalty on dice pools to avoid losing Clarity

Contracts: Vainglory 2, Artifice 2, Goblin Contracts ( Trading Luck For Fate 1)

Merits: Direction Sense 1, Stunt Driver 3, Striking Looks 2, Token (Driver’s Little Helper) 1

Wyrd: 1

Clarity: 7

Glamour: 5

Health: 8

Willpower: 6

Size: 5

Defense: 1

Initiative Modifier: 6

Speed: 10

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Sir Ryan doesn’t remember much of his past before he was taken by the Gentry. Something about him struck the fancy of a noble who decided to make him her Gawain. Armed with sword, shield, and steed, Ryan searched the realms seeking the unknown token of his mistress’s affection. No matter how much he searched, no matter how hard he fought, or the scars that he returned with, he was never able to please her.

One day he realized that he would never find what he truly sought. His mistress would have him forever quest. He would never have the satisfaction of fulfilling his duty and pleasing his courtly lover. This is what caused him to leave the realms of the fae and return to Earth.

Back in the mortal realm, his trusty mount has been replaced by a steeds of iron, steel, and fiberglass. Ryan’s riding skills transformed as he entered the realms of the children of Adam and he found out that he was an amazing driver. Having no money, he acts as mechanic, stunt driver, courier, and as an occasional mercenary. Instead of shining armor, he wears driver’s gloves and a white jacket with a scorpion emblazoned upon it. Instead of a shining sword, he wields hammers, screwdrivers, and the tools of a mechanic.

Old habits die hard they say, and Ryan realized that even in this world (which was no longer his home) he sought something out. Determined to find this and bring himself peace and respite, Ryan still quests.