Changeling
Overview
Changelings are touched by the realm of Summer, a realm of beauty and strength whose Eternals are potent symbols of might and majesty. They are proud, confident, individualistic people who know they are the best of the best and were born to excell at anything they turn their hands to.
Changelings prefer roles where they can take the lead or stand out. They are especially appropriate to military and political leaders, but they also make great champions and representatives for groups. Bands of changelings work well, they can regard themselves as amongst their peers and be confident of the group's abilities as a result.
The changeling lineage is intended to appeal to players who want to create proud characters who enjoy being the centre of attention. They are particularly suited to heroes; characters who lead from the front whether bold champions who bestride the battlefield or charismatic orators taking the floor of the senate.
Changelings obviously draw on images of elves from various settings, most especially Tolkien, with characters such as Glorfindel and Fëanor. However you can also draw inspiration from deities like Thor and Marduk as well as Greek heroes such as immortal-blooded Hercules; the heroes of the Illiad and Odyssey, Hector, Paris and Achilles as well as the proud leaders Hippolyta of the amazons and Jason of the Argonauts; and even vengeful Medea. Historical figures like Alexander the Great, Henry VIII and Elizabeth I are good inspirations for individual changelings while the Three Musketeers and the Arthur's Knights of the Round Table are an excellent inspiration for a group of changelings.
Villains can also make great role models for changelings, comic book villains like Magneto or Dr Doom or the Kurgen from Highlander. Any villain who likes to dominate the situation and defeat their foes by besting them rather than outwitting them possess some of the traits of a changeling.
What changelings are not
- Fairies. Changelings combine elements of traditional fae, but focus on the Tuatha-de-dannan, the lords and ladies of the fae rather than pixies or satyrs.
- Beastman. Changelings may have the antlers of a stag or a leonine mane but these characteristics add to their human features to enhance their majesty and prowess. They are not animals, they are neither animalistic or bestial.
Sobriquets
Elf, Fae, Feyling, Knife-ears, the proud
Changeling Trappings
The “required trapping” is intended to be the baseline thing that defines a Changeling as a Changeling. It's a starting point from which to build a look based on how “lineaged” a character wants to be. The strongest trapping is the traditional pointed ears. Several of the other trappings – antlers and “mane” – are intended to draw on images of physically powerful or symbolically proud animals (stags and lions).
Iconic Trapping: Pointed Ears
Ears that come to a marked point. They are noticeably different to human ears, with their rounded tips. They are not the long ears of the Night Elf.
Additional Trappings
- Fey Eyes: A Changeling may possess exotically coloured eyes. Cosmetic contact lenses can be used to simulate this. Examples of effects appropriate to Changelings might include vibrant blue, white, purple or green eyes or colours suggestive of primal animal elements (amber, brown).
- Primal Animal Elements.Changelings have some animal elements, but they are not beastfolk. They have elements that suggest power and potence. They don’t have “rat” or “badger” elements, they have lion, eagle, stag and even perhaps bear elements, especially those that suggest crowns. What this is categorically not is “tiger person” or “wolf person.” Examples might include:
- Antlers. Not limited to male Changelings, antlers are specifically branching horns, rather than the goat, bull or ram horns which are the mark of a Cambion.
- Mane. Leonine mane of hair, but horse might be appropriate as well for Empire if it could be done well.
- Feathered Brow. Eagle, hawk or even swan, feathers on the browline and maybe the cheeks, again suggesting majesty rather than pigeon.
- Spiral Markings. Changelings may develop marks on their body that resemble spirals or even intricate knotwork. These might seem to be tattoos, or birthmarks, or represent areas of raised or lowered skin.
- Hair. May exist in strange colours such as ivory white, jade green or ebony black.
Roleplaying Effects
Changeling blood influences the character who has it. Not every Changeling expresses these effects, but characters who strongly express them often possess stronger blood than those who do not.
- Changelings are confident. They find it difficult to entertain the idea that they could fail at tasks they set their mind to. They are the best person for a job. Their opinions are relevant. They gravitate towards positions of influence, authority and responsibility within groups. They are driven to achieve a degree of personal excellence that supports their view of themselves as superior, especially as a response to any apparent failure.
- Changelings are noble and bold. Around people who treat them with respect, around their friends and loved ones, they are solicitous, agreeable and gregarious. They feel a drive to take responsibility for others, to take charge, and to “do the job.” They are not necessarily altruistic. They love approval and adulation, they love being the centre of attention, but they don’t sit around doing nothing when there is something to be done.
- Changelings are vain. Their strong self image also expresses itself in careful attention to their appearance. They instinctively use their appearance to cement their image of themselves,and encourage others to see them as powerful and strong. They demand the best clothing, the best armour and the best weapons. Clothes may not make the man, but they certainly tell you a lot about them.
- Changelings are individuals. They like to stand out, and they like to be treated as if they are special. They hate being overlooked, and loathe being dismissed as “one of the crowd.” They don’t necessarily treat everyone else as individuals though. They may have problems following the orders of people they don’t respect.
- Changelings are wrathful. When thwarted, belittled, crossed or wronged they may fly into a devastating rage. These rages are like summer storms – intense but short lived. More than one Changeling has lost control of their emotions and done something that changes their life forever in the grip of a sudden rage.
- Some Changelings become consumed by arrogance or hubris. They treat others as if they are lesser creatures. They believe themselves to be stronger or wiser than they actually are, and brush aside anything that disagrees with that. They expect others to give them respect or obey them without earning that respect or obedience. They can become so blunt that they offend anyone they speak to, assuming that others will listen to what they say automatically just because of who and what they are.
- Some Changelings are demanding. Their desire for beautiful and perfect things becomes a lust that they make no effort to resist – casually demanding the best of everything and assuming that the mere privilege of satisfying their whims will be payment enough. They’re dreadful like Pratchett's "Lords and Ladies", in that they inspire dread.
The Blood
Changelings are still mortals. They tend to be healthy and live a little longer than their mortal neighbours (assuming they avoid accidents or malice). They tend to remain vital and spry until the very end of their life. Changeling blood makes the bearer more “extreme.” A delicate noble flower will be more delicate, more lithe, more sublte. The coarse labourer or warrior will be more solid. more muscular, more physical. It seems to bring out the traits of an individual and make them “moreso.” The lineage can lie dormant in the blood for a generation or two, then rear its head without warning. Some mostly human families have a history of producing Changeling children, and if both parents are from such families, the likelihood increases. Fey blood is a little delicate; the brute blood of humanity drowns it as a riot drowns an echo. This means that the children of a Changeling and a human tend to be humans, albeit humans who carry the blood of the Changeling lineage. The likelihood the child will be a Changeling increases if the human parent is from a Changeling bloodline.
Some Changelings talk of spending time in the Realm of Summer as guests, prisoners or even consorts of Eternals. Over the course of the timeless days spent in the Realm, humans may be slowly transformed into Changelings. There is a suspicion in some quarters that the food and drink of the Eternals of Summer is responsible for this change, though it is most likely due to the nature of the Realm itself rather than any specific element of it. The Eternals of Summer expect their Lineaged relatives to be strong and confident. A Changeling will have to “front up” quite a lot to be taken seriously by them but they’ll treat them as a “hero” if they do so.
Possible Advantage: Dreadful Wrath
A Changeling who is exposed to a roleplaying effect that creates fear or doubt can respond by becoming angry instead.
Lines of the Changelings
- The Faerie Knights of Dawn symbolise the attitude of Summer Lineage and Summer Nation beautifully. Confidence bordering on arrogance, and a boldness bordering on brash.
- The 'Unveiled' of Highguard include a few Changelings, ears severed.
- Changeling have a reputation as monster hunters in Varushka: mostly for good, although some Varushkans are suspicious of a tendency to recklessness.
- Changeling blood is a sign of good luck in Wintermark
