5 Questions Every Changeling: The Lost Player Should Ask

There are worlds beyond this one. If you catch the whispers from forgotten doors, or follow the smell of goldenrod down a crumbling alley, you may soon find yourself lost in a world of the impossible. Bizarre creatures stalk you from the underbrush, and the seasons change at a moment's notice. You hear horns in the distance, and before long, the pounding of hooves as the hunters catch your scent.

In Changeling: The Lost you step into the roles of people who are taken by creatures known as the True Fae. Spoken of in myth and legend, these figures come from a realm known as Arcadia. God-like in power, they can alter reality on a whim to be what they desire... but they cannot truly create anything. So they must acquire people, and bring them to their realms. Some are taken by force, others with a promise and a smile, but some will wander through the front gates, having slipped through the holes in the world only to find themselves on the shores of Arcadia itself.

These people become something more than human, but also less... changelings. Losing part of their soul, they are warped and changed by the magic of the fae. While some are relegated to service beneath the bootheel of the True Fae, there are others who manage to return to the mortal world. And when they do, they have to come to terms with their new reality, and the knowledge that they will never be truly safe.

Changelings come in a wide variety of shapes and styles, but there are a handful of questions that every player should answer about their characters before the chronicle begins.

For more Changeling content, consider checking out 5 Tips For Running "Changeling: The Lost" as well as 5 Films You Should Watch To Really "Get" Changeling: The Lost.

Also, for more World/Chronicles of Darkness content, check out Discussions of Darkness on the Azukail Games YouTube channel!

Question #1: Who Were You Before?

This is something that everyone should ask when it comes to their supernaturals in a World or Chronicles of Darkness game, as all of them led at least some of their lives as mortals... but this question is even more important for changelings. So before you get caught up in your kith, seeming, and contracts, ask who your changeling was before they found themselves beyond the Hedge, and in the clutches of the True Fae.

While the mortal self may be the least interesting part of the character for some players, it's where you plant the seeds of everything. Everything from their age, to what level of society they lived in, to their friends, families, coworkers, and others they were connected to, all of this is important both for the player to know, and for the Storyteller to be aware of because it influences every part of the story going forward.

Too often we end up playing characters with no family connections, no imprint on society, and no life worth going back to... but it's worth thinking about who you were before all this happened. Were you someone who was always looking for an escape for your hum-drum life? Someone whose home life was harsh enough that the True Fae's offer seemed especially enticing? Or were you someone who was snatched up by a privateer or a loyalist, who wanted nothing more than to get back to the people you'd left behind, whether it be your lover, your parents, or even your children?

Question #2: What Happened To Your Life (And Your Fetch)?

Time moves strangely through the Hedge, and in Arcadia itself. You might have been gone for a day, only to return and find that months have passed. Or years. You may have been gone for years, growing older and stranger, only to find that no time at all went by in the world you left behind. And even if your time away corresponded with your time in Arcadia, you often find that your life simply isn't waiting for you because your Keeper left something that looks like you, and sounds like you, to make sure no one even noticed you were gone.

That something is the fetch; a creature made of cast off rags, lies, magic, and possibly a piece of the person who was taken. It steps into the life you leave behind with little to no idea it is not, in fact, you.

Now, not all changelings have a fetch left behind in their place. However, it creates a lot of story and potential hooks going forward if your fetch existed. Whether you want to pursue the milestones associated with the fetch (either killing it, or merging with it), or you want to give your Storyteller another important NPC to act as an ally or an antagonist, it's worth asking what happened to your fetch, and how it's lived your life in your absence. Whether your fetch went on to achieve fame and fortune, living the life you once dreamed of, it's wound up a wanted criminal, a career soldier, or even tied down into a marriage you never would have imagined, it has woven itself into the world in all the ways you weren't allowed to. Not only that, but what your fetch has done will complicate your existence when you return to the mortal world. After all, there might be warrants out for you, enemies you don't even know you have, or you might be legally dead, meaning you shouldn't even exist as far as society is concerned.

Question #3: How Are You Re-Entering The Mortal World?

While changelings return from Arcadia through the Hedge, there's a difference between physically entering the mortal world, and actually managing to make a life there. This is particularly true for those who can no longer simply step back into the lives they left. For example, they might have grown to adulthood in a matter of days, they might have grown to monstrous size due to their diet in Arcadia, or so much time may have passed that they've long been considered legally dead.

In the event that one can't simply step back into the shoes they left, though, what do you do? How do you make a new life?

Mechanically, you simply take the New Identity merit, but the question should go deeper than that. For example, did you use the powers you gained in Arcadia to make a name for yourself? Did you become a supernaturally-charming conman, a brutish enforcer for a street gang, or perhaps using your ability to see the future in order to invest in the right stocks. Do you attempt to build a new life for yourself on false papers, or do you live on the fringes, staying off the grid as much as possible, getting by without any kind of I.D. or official footprint in society? Or do you build a life in the Hedge itself, only coming into the material realm when you have to?

While it might seem less important than all of the other problems changelings can get caught up in, it's important to ask what your day-to-day life is like, now that you've escaped. Have you taken up the mantle of your old life? Or is it going to take no more than a single I.D. check during a routine traffic stop for the cops to realize you're not who you say you are? Because these are things you should keep in mind as they balance the mortal half of a character steeped in the magic of the fae.

Question #4: What Are Your Duties With The Court/Freehold

When changelings return to the mortal world, they usually seek out the safety and support of a community of others who've gone through a similar experience. A freehold is made up of changelings in the local area, while a court are those who have dedicated themselves to a greater power structure, and the attached philosophies. Not all changelings choose to join these organizations, but it is common for most, and it provides yet another dimension that is important to consider.

Not just for which powers you have access to, and which emotions you harvest most easily, but for what your responsibilities are within the community of the Lost.

Every court has its own positions, in addition to the monarchs, and each of these positions requires individuals of a certain skill set to fulfill these duties. Whether someone acts as a messenger, an enforcer, a diplomat, a librarian, or a Hedge scout, there are countless duties that must be attended to... and there are no faster ways to get one's character stuck into the politics of the local scene than to ask what they are doing for their community. Especially since this role typically makes it much easier to fold a given character into the ongoing plot of a chronicle.

#5: What Was Your Keeper? And How Did You Escape?

The True Fae that took you is one of the most important aspects of your character. It's who took you, and changed you into this creature, after all. However, many changelings forget the entity, except for the vague details you might remember from a nightmare. Most Lost consider it a kindness of returning to the real world that the details of their time away grow fuzzy, and forgettable.

Much like the fetch, many players also leave their Keeper unrefined, or even entirely blank. This is often a disservice to yourself, and it deprives the Storyteller of something they can do to make a story more personal to you.

For example, were you taken by a True Fae who was like a terrible step parent out of an old tale? Were they an uncaring storm, the leader of a terrible pack of beasts, or something even more monstrous and inhuman? Or, on the other hand, were they a noble king, a fairy godmother, or even the kind, caring parent one wished for? And regardless of who they were, how did you get away from them? Did you complete a quest? Finish an agreed-on term of service? Kill them in a duel to the death? Or did you simply run away?

Not only is that important for your character at the start of the chronicle, but it is also important in the event they cross paths with their former Keeper again... or even one of their Keeper's enemies. This is particularly true if their Keeper has changed over the years, and remade themselves into a different image. Or if there was a piece of orange and blue logic that means despite the horrible monster they were, they are now obligated to provide aid to their former captive... or the other way around. The True Fae might offer to wipe out the debt a changeling owes them in exchange for a favor, or even provide an escaped changeling aid in a critical time for no reason that the Lost can understand.

But if you leave your Keeper blank, and your experiences with them undefined, then this is something your character won't be able to walk into organically.

On that note, designing a True Fae can be a trial. So consider checking out 7 True Fae in Arcadia for some inspiration on the subject!

Additional Reading

It takes a lot to build a Changeling: The Lost chronicle, and to keep it going. I've produced quite a bit of content for this game over the past few years, so consider checking out all of my Changeling: The Lost supplements available on Storyteller's Vault to help give you even more nonsense to add to your game!

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