Changeling the Podcast

With apologies for last week's delay, we are back on track with today's readthrough of the last Changeling-focused Dark Era in the first collection, A Grimm Dark Era. The Dark Eras' not-quite-second-edition-ness stands out most of all in this offering, and it's... noteworthy. Set in early 19th-century Germany with the publication of the Grimms' faerie tales as a backdrop, we get some curious Courts, some tantalizing tokens, and a new Seeming(!) to throw into a game. Is it the kind of material with which we can live happily ever after? Opinions shall be shared, but remember that "ever after" rarely lasts as long as you think it will... If you'd like to secure a copy of your own, stop by https://www.storytellersvault.com/en/product/217370?affiliate_id=3063731. And if you'd like to secure our attention (well, maybe; we've got lives, you know), do reach out through any of the usual channels: Discord: https://discord.me/ctp Email: podcast@changelingthepodcast.com 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 Pooka G (any pronoun/they) got a five-album deal for the Town Musicians of Bremen, but yeesh, they party hard. Amelia Fetch (she/her) wants stories about the other wards of that sorceress who raised Rapunzel, named after less interesting leafy greens. Believable fairy-stories must be intensely practical. You must have a map, no matter how rough. Otherwise you wander all over the place. —J.R.R. Tolkien

To welcome in the Seelie half of the year, behold! a surprise minisode. The original Dark Eras were accompanied by a fiction volume, Tales of the Dark Eras, featuring a number of short stories associated with the modules in the supplement. The entry "Of Ravens and Roses" is set in the 17th-century France of Lily, Sabre & Thorn, so it seemed fitting to include that in the mix. (If only it had been lily of the valley instead of roses, in celebration of the day...) Pooka reads the story in this episode—a fairly traditional Lost narrative, bedecked with the trappings and intrigues of Louis XIV's court. Here's hoping that you enjoy it! If your appetite is whetted for fiction, you can pick up the story collection at https://www.storytellersvault.com/en/product/187316?affiliate_id=3063731. And as usual, some other links: Discord: https://discord.me/ctp Email: podcast@changelingthepodcast.com 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 Pooka G (any pronoun/they) would have been perfectly content with finches and wisteria, but you take the birb—flower combo you can get. Aucun chemin de fleurs ne conduit à la gloire. (No path of flowers leads to glory.) —Jean de la Fontaine, "The Two Adventurers and the Talisman"

Il était une fois... as we proceed through the historical dives in the first Dark Eras volume, we arrive at the next one for Changeling: the Lost—and the first one that is only for that game, though certainly no one could object if an enterprising Storyteller felt like squeezing in a random Promethean. In this installment, Lily, Sabre & Thorn, we're headed to 17th-century France and the court of Louis XIV, the "Sun King". Versailles drips with opulence as Paris swells with the unwashed masses; the Lost creep among both, leading lives as swashbuckling as they can manage. It's a time for musketeers and grand intrigues, highwaymen and masquerades, all through the thorn-edged lens of absolute monarchy and the beginnings of modernity. What's not to love? (Well, plenty, beginning with hygiene and inequality, but at least the write-up here is fairly decent.) Join us as we romp through the gardens, all for one and one for croissants. The module is available for purchase as a stand-alone at https://www.storytellersvault.com/en/product/217111?affiliate_id=3063731, and our own points of contact are, as always: Discord: https://discord.me/ctp Email: podcast@changelingthepodcast.com 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 Pooka G (any pronoun/they) enjoyed visiting Versailles, but thought it could use a few band posters on the walls and maybe some ficus. Amelia Fetch (she/her) occasionally plays a musketeer Lost character who specializes in the Contracts of Nougat. Et c’est une folie, à nulle autre, seconde, De vouloir se mêler de corriger le monde. (Of all follies, there is none greater / than wanting to make the world a better place.) —Molière, The Misanthrope

Time to hop in the ol' time machine as we open (at long last) the first Dark Eras book for the Chronicles of Darkness...! These smaller modules cover specific moments and places around the world through history, presented through the lens of one or more gamelines. The first collection, released in 2016, offers 16 of these chapter-length settings, with four containing material for Changeling: the Lost. We'll be proceeding through them in chronological order, so we start today with both of the crossover chapters: Three Kingdoms of Darkness, a Geist/Changeling romp through the war-torn horrors of 3rd-century China, and Requiem for Regina, a Vampire/Changeling presentation of London in the Elizabethan Age. Both of these are admittedly... light on the Lost-specific elements—which makes our job a bit easier this time, frankly. Nevertheless, we hope you'll find these settings engaging and the overall concept of the Dark Eras inspiring! Or else. If you're interested in the collection as a whole, you can snag it at https://www.storytellersvault.com/en/product/178583?affiliate_id=3063731. The individual chapters are also for sale as individual modules: Three Kingdoms of Darkness: https://www.storytellersvault.com/en/product/211949?affiliate_id=3063731 Requiem for Regina: https://www.storytellersvault.com/en/product/178595?affiliate_id=3063731 And after your buying spree, if you'd instead like to just drop us a friendly line or further episode fine structure concept: Discord: https://discord.me/ctp Email: podcast@changelingthepodcast.com 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 Pooka G (any pronoun/they) seeks the Wizened who could fashion a Hedge-pointing chariot and other mechanical curiosities. Amelia Fetch (she/her) has met the Invictus' demands of "no bloodshed on stage" by replacing all blood, real and fake, with glitter. O, call back yesterday, bid time return. —William Shakespeare, Richard II, III.ii.69

Another week, another exploration of nWoD/CofD crossover. This time, with an eye to the upcoming Dark Eras, we're taking a look at Vampire: the Requiem and approaches to integrating it with Changeling: the Lost. There are some thematic similarities: both vampires and changelings are parasites in different ways, both have a tricksy relationship with time and memory, and both are deep into politics. (We'd also pay good money to see a Daeva/Fairest walk-off, just saying.) But how do the games align mechanically? Do Keepers take notices of leeches or might Kindred try to feed on fetches? Is there proper, actual crossover material out there? We dig into these questions and more as we trapeze between editions, so get your grip powder and your... neckguards? is that a thing? in place. On we go! If you too have thoughts and opinions on bloodsuckers (the supernatural kind) or just, you know, whatever: Discord: https://discord.me/ctp Email: podcast@changelingthepodcast.com 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 Pooka G (any pronoun/they) prefers the Crone's other shapes, like the Trapezoid or the Hendecagram. Amelia Fetch (she/her) snagged some deep discount Coils of the Dragon at the corner store, but they turned out to be just expired licorice. I got the ways and means to New Orleans I'm going down by the river where it's warm and green I'm gonna have a drink and walk around I got a lot to think about, oh yeah... —Concrete Blonde, "Bloodletting"

The time has come to put aside the old new World of Darkness and move into the Chronicles of Darkness, as we read through the God-Machine rules update. This is the back half of the God-Machine Chronicle released in 2013, which revised and expanded the rules for nWoD's first edition and would later become the basis for the second edition ruleset in Chronicles of Darkness (which is also lightly being considered here). Some of the changes are small; some of them are large; and some of them are just downright baffling. But as we continue to advance through the wilderness between Changeling: the Lost's initial and subsequent conceptions, we're taking the opportunity to observe this museum of ludic experiments and delights along the way. So strap in, prepare yourself for the unholy abomination that is the God-Machine's brass-meat angels, and listen as we discuss the finer points of experience costs and Morality systems and whatnot. The God-Machine Chronicle book is no longer available for purchase, having been supplanted by Chronicles of Darkness corebook (https://www.storytellersvault.com/en/product/168428?affiliate_id=3063731). You can still get the rules update as a standalone (https://www.storytellersvault.com/en/product/114078?affiliate_id=3063731), but why would you want to? As we discuss in this episode, although the one was based on the other, the material from the update was not copied over to CofD wholesale; further tweaks and occasionally annoying omissions were made. Depending on how completionist you feel, get one or both, or neither! For non-book-buying purposes that are purely social in nature, some other links for reaching out to us include: Discord: https://discord.me/ctp Email: podcast@changelingthepodcast.com 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 Pooka G (any pronoun/they) "accidentally" made an angel out of glowsticks and VapoRub, for the God-Machine is a raver god. Amelia Fetch (she/her) favors the Goddess-Contraption, which is like the God-Machine, but looks way better with those shoes and that hat. And God created man; and man created machine; and machine— machine created music. And machine saw everything it had created and it said: behold. —Apoptygma Berzerk, "Kathy's Song (VNV Nation mix)"

A wild CROSSOVER appears...! Soon enough, we'll be getting into the historical Dark Eras settings for Changeling: the Lost, some of which involve pairings with other games in the new World of Darkness/Chronicles of Darkness line. We'll be moving through this semi-chronologically, and the first one on our list involves Geist: the Sin-Eaters, our topic of discussion for today. This game of mediums brought back from the brink of death with a mysterious passenger is sort of oblique to the themes of Changeling, but we have some connections to pull out from the text. Where the Hedge and the Underworld meet, there you'll find the krewe and motley, ectoplasmic hand in thorn-shredded paw. What stories might ensue? Of course, if you'd like to share your thoughts with us about either or both games and how they intersect, your best options are: Discord: https://discord.me/ctp Email: podcast@changelingthepodcast.com 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 Pooka G (any pronoun/they) runs with a krewe who's committed to adding more disco to funerals. Amelia Fetch (she/her) dropped her ring of Keys behind the burger joint and now the whole place is just crawling with meat-specters. Now it is the time of night, That the graves, all gaping wide, Every one lets forth his sprite, In the church-way paths to glide. —William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream, V.i.386–389

This week, we turn once more to the wonderful world of media as we consider ten films for Changeling: the Lost inspiration. We did this previously with Changeling: the Dreaming (check out episode 50!), so it seemed like the right time to pull a similar for the other fae game. There are a couple crossover titles whose themes and plots and aesthetics work equally well in both, in our opinion... but otherwise, this list has a slightly eerier, horror-inflected vibe overall, we suppose? We've tried to keep the discussion as spoiler-light as possible, but for your edification, here are the deets and some trailers for the films we discuss in this order: Alice (Něco z Alenky) (dir. Jan Švankmejer, 1988): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nxugr1jEYj8 Black Swan (dir. Darren Aronofsky, 2010): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jaI1XOB-bs Annihilation (dir. Alex Garland, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89OP78l9oF0 The Blair Witch Project (dir. Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez, 1999): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBZ-POVsrlI The Cell (dir. Tarsem Singh, 2000): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIpy4p_yMV0 Labyrinth (dir. Jim Henson, 1986): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2yd4em1I6M The Green Knight (dir. David Lowery, 2021): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sS6ksY8xWCY Rocky Horror Picture Show (dir. Jim Sharman, 1975): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldo_spDyLKc Spirited Away (dir. Hayao Miyazaki, 2001): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByXuk9QqQkk Smile (dir. Parker Finn, 2022): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcDK7lkzzsU Obviously, there were lots of other options that we could have discussed, but for the sake of keeping things trim, these ten will have to suffice. (For now...!) And for other shortlist goodness, further vectors of media include the various avenues to get our attention: Discord: https://discord.me/ctp Email: podcast@changelingthepodcast.com 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 Pooka G (any pronoun/they) is four degrees from Kevin Bacon, depending how broadly you want to count. Amelia Fetch (she/her) has secured three of five clauses in the Contracts of Blooper Reel. Mothers of America / let your kids go to the movies! —Frank O'Hara, "Ave Maria"

Rounding out our series of "blue books" from the first edition of new World of Darkness, today we're covering Glimpses of the Unknown, a rather brief assortment of story hooks, crunchy tidbits, and setting expansion for all the extant game lines at that point. And when we say "brief," we mean 48 pages, with lots of recycled art, so this episode is on the shorter side. We're considering the book through the lens of Changeling (which gets a massive Goblin Contract and... very little else), but mentioning other games is fortuitous, as we will soon be digging into the wonderful world of crossover...! For now, though, consider this a little intermezzo sorbet to cleanse your supernatural palate. If you'd like to preview this book and possibly add it to your PDF shelf, check it out at https://www.storytellersvault.com/en/product/93242?affiliate_id=3063731. And then carry on to check out our various spaces around the web at: Discord: https://discord.me/ctp Email: podcast@changelingthepodcast.com 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 Pooka G (any pronoun/they) didn't so much glimpse the unknown as give it a long, lascivious look right in the third eye. Amelia Fetch (she/her) made a collage out of Pat Loboyko art and inadvertently crafted a golem from thousands of flame-like flesh growths. We shall not cease from exploration And the end of all our exploring Will be to arrive where we started And know the place for the first time. —T. S. Eliot, "Little Gidding"

Through the looking glass we go, as we consider other shapes the World of Darkness might take. A collection to spark ideas along the way is World of Darkness: Mirrors for first edition nWoD, whose pages we're riffling this time around. Alternate systems, alternate settings, and a whole lot of Storyteller insights fill these pages, from the genius to the puzzling. Nearly everything can be adapted to all of the games, but naturally we're looking at this one through a Changeling lens. Both Changeling: the Lost and Changeling: the Dreaming can make use of many ideas in here. Care to build a system around social combat? get post-apocalyptic? give mortals in the setting one-off powers that slowly drive them mad? We had to keep a high-level view of this one, because this book could its own Season of mirrors going down forever. Hopefully this taste will sufficiently whet your appetite to do investigations of your own...! The book is available at https://www.storytellersvault.com/en/product/82477?affiliate_id=3063731 (with a PDF currently on sale). And if you speak our names in front of any of these mirrors, we shall appear: Discord: https://discord.me/ctp Email: podcast@changelingthepodcast.com 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 Pooka G (any pronoun/they) can do the Galadriel pool-of-liquid divination thing, but only with bowls of ramen. Amelia Fetch (she/her) just has Finesse as an Attribute nine times. A difference of opinion exists only as to the question to which of the two classes anything belongs; whether to the class of the impossible, or to that of the possible. —Maimonides, Guide for the Perplexed