The Other Mother / Gaiman inspires Changeling (again)

We bought Coraline on DVD for our children (4 and 1) to watch this holiday period.
It's an awesome film, but not what I'd consider a traditional children's movie; what with the dead children, mutilation and horror.

The plot, briefly, is Coraline feels ignored and unloved by her parents, and discovers a passage way to another world, like our own, but better.
There she meets her Other Mother, who is prettier, nicer and a better cook than her real mother, and her Other Father, who is more fun and attentive than her real father.

The only jarring point is that everyone she meets in this other world has buttons instead of eyes.

Soon Coraline's Other Mother is inviting her to stay in the Other World forever. All she needs to do is replace her eyes with buttons (black is traditional, but they could be any colour she wants).

From there we meet the ghosts of the previous children who sewed buttons into their eyes, a talking black cat and see The Other Mother's true form.
Coraline must then save her real parents and retrieve the lost souls of the dead children (who were eaten by The Other Mother).

After watching the movie, I started thinking "This would make a kick ass Changeling: the Lost game".
The Other Mother serves as a member of the Gentry, luring children into Arcadia with promises and illusion before forcing them to accept a contract (the buttons) and imprisoning them.
She even manufactures Fetches out of sack cloth and sawdust.

The tunnel that Coraline crawls through to get to the Other World can only be opened by a special key, and is a fixed gateway to Arcadia.

I doubt that a whole Changeling campaign could be made of the film, definitely a story arc with incumbent Fae villain.
The players Motley learn that children keep disappearing from an old house, and suspect that a True Fae is involved. One child has escaped, and has now become an Elemental Mannequin, with visible seams and buttons for eyes.
One of the missing children could be linked to a member of the Motley, or maybe the house. The escaped child could even be a member of the Motley.

A moment of clarity / Levels of reality, magic and the Awakened Mage

A number of things have bothered me about Mage: the Awakening since I first read it, and a couple more since I read Changeling: the Dreaming.
These things are mostly to do with my understanding of the Awakened state, the Supernal realms and how magic flows from these realms to our realm.
And Paradox. Mostly Paradox.
Paradox made sense in Mage: the Ascension because magic was all about belief and consensual reality.
Not so in Awakening. There is no consensual reality in this game. Instead, Mages tap into another plane of existence and apply some of the laws of that realm to our own to achieve certain effects.
Apparently.
So, Paradox in Ascension is the rest of the consensus slapping the Mage down.
Paradox in Awakening, on the other hand, is possibly the Mage fucking up and slapping himself. It can also be nearby sentient beings slapping them down because, dammit, people obey the laws of thermo dynamics in this house.
I get that the concept of Paradox is fairly integral to both iterations of Mage, I am just not convinced by how it has been ported across to Awakening and how it has been applied. Without it, Mages (magi?) Would be pretty much unstoppable, able to chuck fireballs, lightening and cars with reckless abandon, control, after and wipe the minds of the rest of the world, transform us all into swine, conquer death and live in luxury.
So, yeah, Paradox.

 Then there's the Supernal realms and the Watchtowers.
Having read Mage: the Awakening, I understood that the Watchtowers were situated within the corresponding Supernal realm, and that's where an Awakening Mage's soul is called to to inscribed their name. Fine. Then I read Changeling: the Dreaming and flicked through its supplement, Equinox Road. Having done so, I had no idea if the Changeling Arcadia was the same place as the Mage Arcadia. Were Awakened souls bypassing the Hedge, and its very serious negative affect on Willworkers? Where in Arcadia is the Watchtower of the Lunargent Thorn?
The Tome of the Watchtowers states that it "...occupies the centermost point of Arcadia..." yet the common descriptions of Arcadia presented by Mages differ significantly to of the escaped Changelings, enough to raise serious doubt that they are talking about the same place.
 Then there's the thematic similarity between the Shadow realm, mostly frequented by Werewolves and Spirits, and the Primal Wild Supernal realm. Also the Underworld from Geist: the Sineaters and the Supernal realm of Stygia. Stepping outside the game world for a second, these duplications of function and theme confuse me.

From a setting design perspective, its not quite right. How do they interact and relate to each other? To my understanding, nWoD is supposed to play nice with itself, and all the different parts are supposed to fit into the bigger picture. These things are not quite fitting, for me.
From a strictly Mage perspective, disregarding any information from other game lines, it all makes sense. That's how the oWoD rolled, though, with it getting sticky the more info from other lines you introduced to your game. NWoD is supposed to be better than that.

 Which brings me to my moment of clarity.
 The Astral Plane. Mages have the ability to explore their own consciousness, sub-conscious and those of the collective human race, as they ascend (descend) through distinct layers of consciousness and dream and collective sub-conscious etc seeking enlightenment, knowledge and things mortal man should not wot of. Importantly (to my theory, at least), during their Awakening, a Mage travels to (or perceives) their Watchtower by way of the Astral plane. They don't physically enter the Supernal realm in question, their Astral form journeys to the Watchtower, leaving their sleeping or semi-conscious body behind.
Which got me thinking - what if the Watchtowers are not actually in the Supernal realms? What if they're in the far reaches of the Astral plane? Maybe the Watchtowers are located at the points of crossing between the Astral plane and each Supernal realm? This would make them more properly Gateways... I'm thinking that the Astral plane can be seen as a bridging point between the Earth and the Supernal realms, that the Exarchs have cut off entry to these realms, so the Watchtowers were built on the realm edges, and are close enough to channel mana from those realms to Earth.
Maybe.
There's probably some fundamental point this theory misses, probably something about how the Shadow forms part of the Fallen World... However, this theory does allow me to reconcile certain things.
Changeling Arcadia is the true Arcadia. The Watchtower of the Lunargent Thorn occupies an area of the Astral plane that reflects Arcadia and is heavily influenced by its proximity to Arcadia. The same also applies to the other Watchtowers.
The Primal Wild is an area of the Astral Plane adjacent to the Shadow.
Stygia is the gateway to the Underworld.
Pandemonium is an entrance to Hell.
The Aether is next to the realm of angels and power.
 All these Supernal realms retain their sovereignty, as do the Watchtowers, and any differences and conflicts that arise from the individual game lines can be rationalized using this model.

I bet if I read the Astral Plane source book, it'll contradict everything I've just said...

The Forbidden Corner / Changeling: the Lost LARP waiting to happen

It was my little boy's 4th birthday this weekend gone, so we took him to The Forbidden Corner in North Yorkshire (UK). I'd been there before, whilst he was still gestating in my wife's womb (4.5 years ago, date fans), and loved it then. I still love it now.

The place is a four acre folly in the Yorkshire Dales. It's am eccentric maze that doubles as a treasure hunt. It is brimming with character.

The entrance to
the maze

When I visited four years ago, I had not read Changeling: the Lost. This is an important point.
Whilst walking through the hedge mazes, wooded paths, tunnels and corridors, my overriding thought was:

This would be a fantastic location for Changeling: the Lost LARP

Now, I'm not into LARP anymore, but I would play a C:tL live game if it were run here. I just need somebody within the UK to organise it. 

The game would be very Hedge-centric, with occasional forays into the edges of Arcadia and Dream spaces. There is a great potential for Hollows, Freeholds, Gateways, Goblin Markets and fucking scary encounters with the True Fae and Hobgoblins.

Part I of a water
tunnel that leads to
the Greek Underworld

Logistically, the site would need booking for an entire weekend, with each attendee paying for at least a full day, maybe two. 

There are cottages on site, which is good, and a possibility for camping for everybody else. 

There's also a cafe on site. 

These steps ultimately lead to the Greek Underworld

The Gates to Hell
or something

A submerged dragon mural

Gates leading to an offshoot of the grounds - a long path of trees and wild boars

A representative wooded path

The view from the edge of the grounds

A gateway to the Hedge
or something worse

There are a fair few gateways and arches

The entrance to another off shoot from the main grounds
This one leads to a graveyard and a herb garden

Another wooded path

A warning to anybody who would meddle in the affairs of the Fey

This, and many of the following photos, reminded me of the insignia from Changeling: the Dreaming

An exit
Also a point of No Return
(in real life, it leads to the toilets)

Let Dream Combat Commence! / Changeling vs Mage vs Psychic

Supplemental to my earlier post about Changeling: the Lost and Inception style combat, I've been flicking through my other nWoD books, trying to determine what other supernaturals can indulge in Oneiromachy.

Reading Mage: the Awakening tells me that a Mage with Mind 4 can enter a sleepers dream and mess around with the content of the dream.

It also tells me that any Mage can enter the Universal Dreamspace, the Teneros, by meditating. They can also use their magic in much the same way as they can in the waking world, with the added bonus of being Paradox free.

There is a suggestion that Mages may encounter the True Fae whilst on an Astral Journey.

Reading Second Sight tells me that both Psychics and Sorcerers can enter dreams and interact with the sleeping world.

They are comparatively defenseless, though.

After all of this, it's also clear that in the dreamworld, Changelings kick ass.

I can see great potential for cross over, both conflict and cooperation, in this.

Posted via my geek phone

The Trouble with Dreams / Changeling: the Lost does Inception?

I'd always glossed over the Dream rules in Changeling: the Lost. Yeah yeah, they can enter dreams and do stuff. Blah blah blah. 

Whatever.
That is neither exciting nor awesome.

Then, on Friday night I finally watched Inception.
Now, Inception is not the best film in the world, not by a longshot, but it is chock full of ideas. It tries very hard (as my wife generously said), and features a lot of complex concepts (five layers of reality? WTF) though.

So, whilst watching it I found myself thinking 'this could be a good game if it was cleaned up a bit. What system would best support it?'

Duh! Changeling: the Lost. Obviously.

So I've been reading the Dream rules in C:tL again. And again. And again.

I really want them to make sense. I really do.
I've gone over them so many times, and keep feeling as though there's something missing.
A Changeling can clearly do some cool shit when in a dreamscape, i'm just at a bit of a loss on how they get into some dreamscapes.

I found this thread on the WW forums, which answers some of my questions, but not all.
The final entry in the thread goes some way to clarifying the rules, which to my mind are quite poorly articulated.

My current understanding of the rules for entering dreams are:

• Changeling enters own dreams - No cost
• Changeling enters own Fetches dreams - 1 Willpower
• Changeling enters the dreams of a person dream pledged to them - 1 Glamour
• Changeling enters the dreams of a mortal - Meditation roll, 8 successes required, must be in a Hollow or Hedge
• Changeling enters the dreams of another Changeling's Fetch - Meditation roll, 12 successes required, must be in a Hollow or Hedge
• Changeling  enters the dreams of a person Dream-tasked to another Changeling - Meditation roll, 16 successes required, must be in a Hollow or Hedge

Additionally, I believe that the Dream Contract 'Forging the Dream' allows a Changeling to sidestep the 'needing to be in the Hedge/Hollow rule, and enter a sleeping Mortals dreams by being able to see them instead.
I've come to these conclusions because I can't quite see why somebody would want to rape another member of their Motley's dreams, or why a Fetch would sign up to a Dream-Task Pledge.

I'd really appreciate it if somebody with experience of running Dreams in a Changeling: the Lost game could give me some pointers here.

Now, back to the cool shit - Using Changeling to run Inception/Extraction missions.
The Oneiromancy section in the core rules clearly states that a Changeling can Learn About the Dreamer, but limits that knowledge to statistical knowledge - Virtue, Vice, Derangements, Willpower, Social/Mental Merits and Flaws.
I would say that a Changeling could also Extract one secret per five successes on the Wits + Empathy + Wyrd roll. The Changeling would have to specify what they were looking for - the combination to a safe, the location of a kidnapped child, the missing ingredient to a potion - and roll for success. They couldn't just randomly fish.
Oneiroimancy also states that a Changeling can Convince The Dreamer, and load them up with additional dice to be used against them in a social situation.
I think this is where Inception comes in. I think a Changeling could implant one simple idea per 5 successes on the Wits + Empathy + Wyrd roll.

Looking for the Lost / Hunting Changelings and Fetches

One of the things I've been thinking about recently is how to use a Changelings pre-abduction family and friends in a Changeling: the Lost chronicle.
I suspect that there's a temptation to just play these folks as the innocent dupes of the Fetch, totally unaware of any sinister goings on, and completely shocked and surprised if the 'truth' comes out.
In fact, I imagine they are used as a tool for confrontation, in that they can serve as a dramatic device when supporting the Fetch and rejecting the Changeling.

The thing is, though, that folklore rarely tells its tale from the Changelings perspective, and instead favours the mortal who sees through the glamour and identifies the replacement for what it is - an alien imposter.
The core rules give several examples of this in the flavour text, and then neglects to go into further detail in the Antagonists/Storytelling sections.

I'm thinking that there's a great wealth of drama and story to be had from the friends and family that notice that this person close to them has changed somehow.
I can see a classic psychological horror playing out as they investigate the Fetch, testing its memories and personality, discovering its flaws; maybe it doesn't have a birthmark, or an allergy, or suddenly likes sea food, or has different finger prints. Maybe it understands advanced mathematics, or doesn't know how to speak French anymore.
What do these people do? Nobody believes them. How do they prove that this person is an impostor? Who do they think the Fetch really is? Do they have any theories as to why? Most people won't think of the Fae, and could instead think of any number of conspiracies, including:
Foreign nations
Super science clones
Aliens
Secret societies
If played correctly, the list is near endless, with Arcadia quite near the bottom.

So, what do you do, when you suspect this person you know nd care deeply about has been replaced or changed?
Do you confront them directly? What if they don't even know they're not real?

And then, what if a confrontation leads to violence, and the Fetch is killed, possibly exploding in a shower of twigs and newspaper, or reverting to a wire frame and rag construct in the morgue or during the open casket view?
How do you reconcile that?

I kind of see this as a perfect one shot Mortals game, or the lead in to a Hunter: the Vigil game.
I imagine a number of Hunters would investigate a Fetch, and give the mad assertions of individual friends and family credence.

One last thing. A question. What if the Changeling is just a by-product of the process? What if the Fetch is the goal, a sleeper agent with an implanted agenda even it is unaware of?
Maybe the Fetch is a breeder, or an agent tasked with opening more doors.

If you look closely, you can see the Hedge on the other side of this door...

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)

Little Boy Lost / Caught in the Thorns

I had this story idea back when I was running my Hunter game, and I've been prompted to think of it again following recent events in my personal life.
My idea for the Hunter game was to create a sympathetic antagonist that maybe they didn't want to stop, but probably should.
I settled on a Changeling freshly escaped from captivity and returned home from her time in the hedge, changed and confused.
The Changeling was taken when 10 years old, and has matured some 8 years whilst in Arcadia. Unfortunately time in our world has not moved as swiftly, and she has been gone only a year.
Of course, she hasn't been missing. A Fetch took her place and has been living her life for the past year.
When the Changeling turns up at her family home, she finds an 11 year old girl made of twigs and leaves who looks like she did and answers to her name.
Her family turn her away and call the Police.
She escapes, and with nowhere else to go, follows her family.
The Fetch fears discovery greatly, and begins manifesting powers to evade detection and to expose the Changeling, but not before a family member is convinced of the truth.
Acting together, this 'converted' family member and the Changeling kidnap the Fetch, their intent to find out what it is and what is happening.
At this point, the Hunters enter. They are alerted by the kidnapping, and the reports of the strange girl and her insane stories.
As they track and find the Changeling, she uses her obviously supernatural Contracts and abilities to escape.
She returns to where she has the Fetch imprisoned, and as the Hunters confront her again, the Fetch is killed and explodes in a shower of leaves, string and rags.
The Changeling collapses as if wounded, and the perceptive amongst the Hunters will notice a ragged shadow escape from the Fetch's corpse and flee to the dark corners of the room.
This story arc should take about two sessions to play out, and hopefully should surprise the Shit out of the players.

The best game I never played

Geek books are like crack. I see them. I want them. I do morally repulsive things to get them. Then, after I have them, and the euphoric buzz has faded, I feel a little guilty and maybe regret the purchase.
I can normally rationalise the purchase away though...
It's well written, so it's like buying a regular book
It's a good system that's got me thinking, so it's a mental exercise, which is good
Oh, I will use it, it's fucking awesome

Then, months or years later you look at your book shelf and realise that the literally hundreds of pounds you've spent could have gone on something more worthwhile, because you've never used the damn things.

Example
When my wife moved in, I showed willing and cleared out a load of my old RPG books. I sold off about 30 Mage: The Ascension books that I had never used.
I gave away about 15 Exalted books, 6 Orpheus books, 20+ Vampire: The Masquerade books, 1 Mummy: The Resurrection book, 20+ Ars Magica books and 4 Hunter: The Reckoning books that I had never used.

One of the rationalisations i used was that I was clearing house of everything I didn't use and was never going to use again.
I would start again.
Rebuild.

As of now, I have 22 New World of Darkness books, including core rule books, most of which I have never used. I've not used Mage, Vampire, Changeling and a number of supplements.
I have Ars Magica 5th Edition, which I have never used.
I have Exalted 2nd Edition, which i have never used.
I have Trail of Cthulhu, Fear Itself and Star Wars Saga Edition. I've not used any of them.

This is kind of depressing. A lot of these are great games (the exceptions being ArM5 and Exalted 2, which appear to piss all over the previous, stronger, editions).

Unfortunately i don't see an opportunity in the near future for play either, which is a real shame.

I'd really love to do something with Changeling: The Lost, which is a really rich game chock full of opportunities and creativity.
I have about three or four Star Wars games I could run, and could pull off a respectable Vampire: The Requiem game.
I think i'd prefer to play Mage instead of run it.

Now, if only my children would age about 5 years, i'd have a bit more time...

Lost?

Well, TV has now ended - Lost, Heroes, Flashforward, all consigned to the great DVD box set in the sky. Even Big Brother is about to end, although that's mercifully outside the remit of this blog.

Anyways, I, like many right thinking people, was disappointed by the resolution of Lost - i.e. there was no resolution, just a break for a spin off that will never happen and more questions.

So, I've been thinking about how I would have ended it, which tailed into how would I run a Lost game.

I'd always presumed that the World of Darkness / Storytelling System would work well, and stand by that presumption, however recently I started thinking about about using Changeling: The Lost the run a Lost type game.

Obvious puns aside, it kind of works. The player characters find themselves in a strange woodland environment, which could easily be an island, following a disaster / accident.
The Jacob / Man in Black (smoke monster) cold war works well in the context of two Fae beings engaged in an endless contest governed by strict rules, manipulating the players as pawns in their struggle.
The Man in Black (smoke monster) works especially well as a Fae, with Jacob kind of being a bit too benevolent (although he does display a fairly cavalier attitude towards the lives of the survivors, so he works ok).
The time delay and circuitous means of entering and exiting the island / hedge work within the setting, as do any bizarre electro-magnetic disturbances, walking dead people, misplaced animals and anomalous statues.

I'm less sure how to include the time travel and people like Desmond. I guess the hedge could allow for some degree of temporal dislocation, or the illusion of time travel.
I'll have to think more about it.

The major incongruity between Lost and Changeling: The Lost is that the survivors in Lost are human, and the player characters in C:TL are not human. You could use human PCs in the setting, but they'd die very quickly if you use the canon rules and antagonists. That's easily fudged though.

I think i'd like to do it, and see how it turns out. I do believe that the writers of Lost pretty much made up the lower level detail as they went along - I mean, it's kind of telling that they created the character of Hurley because they liked the actor, and Hurley became the 'new' Jacob at the end - so I think that a GM should be able to wing the individual sessions as long as they adhered to a main story arc.