Sunday, May 1, 2011

Why are there so many doors around here? / Changeling: the Lost antagonist

The Huntsman approaches through the Hedge
I'm itching to play Changeling: the Lost. It strikes me as such a mature and evolved game, with such a strong focus on humanity, loss, and of course, madness. Every time I read the core rules, or just think about the setting, my palms start to itch.

So, to partially appease my inner gaming urge, I have been working through scenarios in my mind: What would I do with a Changeling campaign? How would I run it? What would I focus on?

Here's one of the things I've come up with. This character presents a mystery for the players to uncover, and a problem to resolve. He's been statted as a legal starting character, with one fudge - I gave him an extra 1xp so he could purchase the Dream 1 contract. Other than that, somebody could pick this character up and play him.
Although I would advise against it..

The hook that gets the players involved is the growing number of gateways to Hedge that are appearing all over the city. At least one a day is being discovered, and the Freehold is concerned - these doors are in seemingly random sites, and present a growing risk from rival Freeholds, rogues, Loyalists, the True Fae themselves - the map of entrances and exists to the Hedge is changing daily, and the Freehold is struggling to keep up.
The Huntsman
The players should be tasked with tracking down whoever is opening these doors, and making sure that no more are opened.

The cause is a Changeling known only as The Quarry, freshly escaped from captivity and blundering through the near Hedge and local city.
The Quarry is a Runnerswift, taken by a Fae Huntsman some ten years ago and continually hunted with dogs and horses for all that time. The Quarry's only companion during this time was the constant fear of capture, fear of the dogs, fear of the horn. Now he has finally escaped, but he doesn't actually know it. All he knows is that he needs to run, to hide, to always make sure he has an exit, to fear everything.
Now he is in the players city, constantly jumping from the world to the Hedge and back in an effort to evade capture. He doesn't know where he is, hasn't even considered trying to reclaim his old life, and is terrified of everybody and everything, especially those people that look like the monster huntsman and his pack that took him.
If he sees the players, he'll bolt.
If surprised, he'll run.
If he sees a dog or horse, he runs.
The Hedge side of the city
If he feels trapped, enclosed or out of options, he will do anything to get away.

If the players can find a way to reassure him and quell his fear, he could talk to them.
He could alternately be scared away from the Freehold and the surrounding area, becoming someone else's problem.
And, of course, they could kill him or similar, although it should be made clear that they're not dealing with a malevolent threat, rather a terrified young man who's just like they were.



-----------------------------------------------------------------


The Quarry
The Quarry
Male, 18 years old
Beast / Runnerswift (rabbit/hare)

Virtue - Fortitude
Vice - Gluttony

Attributes
  • Intelligence 1, Wits 4, Resolve 2
  • Strength 2, Dexterity 4, Stamina 2
  • Presence 1, Manipulation 1, Composure 4

Skills
  • Crafts 1, Investigation 1, Medicine 1, Occult 1
  • Athletics 3 (sprinting, jumping), Brawl 1, Larceny 1, Stealth 3 (moving in woodland), Survival 2 (foraging) Weaponry 1
  • Animal Ken 3, Streetwise 1, Subterfuge 3
Merits
  • Hollow 1 (a basic burrow in the Hedge)
  • Fleet of Foot 2
Contracts
  • Contract of Smoke 3
  • Contract of Fang & Talon 2 (rabbit/hare)
  • Contract of Dream 1
Wyrd 3, Glamour pool 12
Health 7, Willpower 6
Clarity 5
Size 5, Speed 15, Initiative 8, Defense 4

Flaw: Phobia (dogs)

2 comments:

  1. Wow! That's a heck of a fine NPC there. Changeling is such a great game. There just so many wonderful opportunities for play. I'm surprised more fantasy fans aren't into it. The familiar elements of fae, magic, "monsters" and so on are all there to ease the transition.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you.
    I get quite excited about Changeling, and wish that more people could be persuaded of its charms.

    Your comment did flag the typo in the title to me as well, so double thanks.

    ReplyDelete