Character Creation (12 Nights in the Garden)
See also Interpretatons and House Rules for some information that may affect your choices during character creation, and the Changeling: the Lost 2nd Edition lists for summaries of all (or at least most) available options.
Characters should be recorded using this character sheet.
Step One: Character Concept
At the first stage, come up with a rough idea of who you want to play. Who was she before she was taken? What purpose did she serve in Arcadia? What was her durance like? How did she escape? Don't worry too much about things like seeming or court at this step. Instead, try to filter down the idea of your character into a single statement. "Secluded rare bookseller" is a concept. "Impatient courier" could be another. It doesn't need to be complex, just a solid, archetypical idea. Think of how you'd describe your favorite character from a book or movie to a friend if you only had a couple of seconds to do it. That's a concept.
As you go through the character creation process, if ever you run into a hurdle or hard choices, you can always go back to your concept, and take the path that fits more closely. For our example above, if you're hard-pressed for Merit choices, you might take Language, Library, Trained Observer, Encyclopedic Knowledge, or even Safe Place. Those all evoke the feeling set forth by the concept.
The Queen of Air and Darkness
All characters in this game must have a connection to the Queen of Air and Darkness, and that connection allows the Queen to compel characters to come to the Garden when she desires it. Does the Queen hold a part of you that was torn away by the Thorns as you made your escape through the Hedge, and using it compel your return using her magic? Did you foolishly make a bargain with her, or a member of her court? Perhaps she has taken a hostage, somebody dear to you? Or are you a Loyalist, not truly an escapee from Arcadia at all? Make it interesting, and a compelling part of your story, and then tell the STs.
Aspirations
Aspirations are new in Chronicles of Darkness 2nd Edition games, including Changeling: the Lost 2nd Edition. Players are encouraged to consider how their character’s Aspirations fit within the game’s larger narrative.
Really, Aspirations are your opportunity to tell the STs what you would like to do with your character. They are an important communication tool to help us provide what you need to meet goals that you set, so please put some thought into your Aspirations, and discuss them with us (preferably at character creation sessions).
To fit with the style of this game, all Aspirations must require interaction with other players to resolve. The Aspiration might require that by its nature, or it could require the assistance of other players to overcome an ST-controlled obstacle, but Aspirations that are resolved by you acting alone, or by just monopolising the attention of an ST, will be rejected.
To help us keep track of what everyone is hoping to do in the game, Aspirations will be divided into three categories.
Session Aspirations
Session Aspirations are short-term goals. They should generally be simple enough that you can resolve them without ST intervention, often within one session.
Note that aspirations, especially session aspirations, don’t have to be particularly challenging to resolve. Nor is resolution the same thing as success. If your character’s aspiration is “Introduce myself to my Court Monarch,” you can resolve this by just walking up to the Court Monarch and introducing yourself (in character), even if you stutter and mispronounce your own name. If your character’s aspiration is “Make a good first impression on my Court Monarch,” you can still make a fool of yourself in front of that other character, and the aspiration will be resolved by way of failure - by determining that your Monarch’s first impression of you is a poor one, ensuring that it cannot be a good one. All it really takes is to put yourself out there and take some action.
Season Aspirations
Season Aspirations are mid-length goals which you expect to need several sessions (and usually ST assistance) to resolve. If you have at least one session aspiration, the STs will endeavour to create at least one opportunity to resolve a session aspiration every three sessions. Note that this will only count sessions that you attend, and we cannot make absolute promises; we will simply do our best, and intend to bring resolution to a season aspiration for each character within three sessions.
However, season aspirations also require ST approval. After all, we can’t commit to giving you an opportunity to resolve your aspiration if your aspiration is completely unreasonable or does not fit within the chronicle.
You may have multiple season aspirations at the same time. If you’re lucky, you may even be able to resolve them more quickly than one every three sessions. The STs won’t attempt to stop you completing all your season aspirations. We just can’t commit to helping you bring them to a resolution more quickly than once every three sessions.
Chronicle Aspirations
Chronicle Aspirations are your character’s ultimate goals. We suggest not having more than one Chronicle Aspiration at a time. The STs will endeavour to give every player one opportunity to resolve a Chronicle Aspiration some time over the course of the chronicle, as long as you attend at least six sessions after choosing your Chronicle Aspiration (which means choosing it no later than the downtime request following session 6).
Again, Chronicle Aspirations must be approved by the STs.
What level should my Aspiration be?
When you create your character, just take your best guess. If you can think of a plan to achieve an Aspiration without ST involvement, make it a Session Aspiration. If the Aspiration is a grand plan, and you wouldn’t know what to do with your character once it is complete, call it a Chronicle Aspiration. We will review your list, and if we think an Aspiration will be harder or easier than you have foreseen, we’ll advise so. Also, there’s no actual limit on the number of Aspirations you can have at each level; lower-level Aspirations means you’ll be focussed on “now”, whereas more higher-level Aspirations mean you’ve got more of a long-term plan for your character.
I choose my own path, and don't need your help to achieve my goals!
We know that some (most? all!) of you are fiercely independent roleplayers, capable of building interpersonal plots with other players unaided. You don't want an ST hovering over you to guide you to success in everything you do in the game, and so, you may not want STs trying to assist you in resolving Season and Chronicle Aspirations, or telling you that a Session Aspiration seems too hard. If that's how you feel, we won't actually stop you from writing down three challenging Aspirations and calling them all Session Aspirations. We just know more of what is coming up in future sessions than you do, and may be aware that you're choosing to seek out something that doesn't exist in the Garden at all. Reviewing your Aspirations lets us warn you about that, but as long as you don't hold it against us if you find an Aspiration difficult to achieve, you're welcome to work without the safety net.
What does the book say about Aspirations?
Most of these rules are edited versions of the character creation rules from the Changeling: the Lost 2nd Edition rulebook, but this section on Aspirations is pretty much entirely replaced. For reference, this is what the rulebook has to say about Aspirations:
As well, choose three Aspirations. When choosing your character's Aspirations, choose one or two that reflect her changeling existence. Does she want to become a leader within her freehold? Does she want to find an Icon? Then, choose at least one Aspiration pertaining to her associations with the mortal world. Is she trying to find her fetch and destroy it? Does she have a still-living family with whom she is trying to reconnect? Some of these Aspirations should be short term: Aspirations that are simple to complete, that you could accomplish in a single session. At least one should be something that may take a few sessions to complete, or even a full story arc. These long-term Aspirations help guide your character’s story and development over the course of a chronicle.
Aspirations are one of the most important ways you can earn Beats and Experiences, which advance your character. More importantly, they're clear statements to your Storyteller about the types of things you wish to see happen to your character. It's important that the Storyteller take note of all the troupe's Aspirations. This way, she can add hooks in the chronicle to touch on something for everyone.
Also, starting Aspirations are a great way to establish motley relationships. For example, if a motley consists of two Summer Court characters, one may have the Aspiration "Become Summer King," and another might have "Become a knight within the Summer Court." This helps put motley dynamics into a loose perspective, and can help chronicle momentum start strong.
Lastly, Aspirations make for great fodder for quick and easy goals. Don't be afraid to take at least one Aspiration without immense challenge or risk. For example, "Find a safe place to sleep" isn't an unreasonable goal, and it gives you something to do during the first session if you're struggling to find a place for your character. Look at easy Aspirations as story hooks. In play, try to involve the other players' characters in accomplishing them.
If you're having trouble with Aspirations, revisit this stage once you've fleshed out the character some more. Often, one part of the character creation process will stand out for a given character. These standout parts will help you determine goals.
Step Two: Select Attributes
Attributes define the most basic elements of your character's abilities. They define how fast, charismatic, and intelligent she is. Look to the three categories (Mental, Physical, and Social), and prioritize which you think is the most important for your character. Then, determine which is second-most important. When selecting Attributes, consider why your character's True Fae captor may have taken him. What drew her attention? How did his time in Arcadia shape him?
In your primary category, place five dots and split them between the Attributes. In your secondary, place four. In your tertiary, place three. No Attribute may start at higher than 5.
As you'll see on your character sheet, your character gets one free dot in each Attribute. A single dot represents a deficient Attribute, something below average. Two dots represents the average of human ability. Three dots is above average, highly competent. Four dots is a remarkable specimen, a rarity. Five dots is the pinnacle of human capability.
Step Three: Select Skills
Next, you'll select your character's Skills. These have the same categories as Attributes: Mental, Physical, and Social. Similarly, prioritize these three categories. You do not gain free dots for Skills. Your primary category gets 11 dots, your secondary gets seven, and your tertiary gets four. No Skill may start at higher than 5.
When choosing Skills, think about your character's background. Was she an athlete before she was taken? Then she might have a few dots in Athletics and maybe some Brawl. Did he have an advanced degree in physics? Then he might have several dots in Science and a few in Investigation. Was she forced to perform for her True Fae master? She probably has a few dots in Expression and maybe some in Athletics and Socialize.
Step Four: Skill Specialties
Skill dots represent training and experience with a broad range of techniques and procedures. Skill Specialties allow you to refine a few Skills, and show where your character truly shines. You define your own Skill Specialties. They reflect a narrow focus and expertise in a given Skill. For example, your character may have a Drive Specialty in Severe Weather or a Science Specialty in Physics.
Choose three Specialties. Again, use this as an opportunity to better understand who your character is, and who she was prior to her capture and subsequent escape. A character with Socialize (Seduction) is wildly different than one with Socialize (Small Talk). Computer (Hacking) says something completely different from Computer (IT).
In play, players tend to solve problems with the Skills their characters are Specialized in. The Storyteller should expect this and work with it.
Step Five: Add Lost Template
We have the basic aspects. Now to add the Glamour.
Seeming
A character's seeming forms from what happened to her in Arcadia, how she escaped it, or how she approaches the world now. This cannot change once play starts, but a kith may modify the character's seeming or make it more specific. Look over the six seemings: the Beast, the Darkling, the Elemental, the Fairest, the Ogre, and the Wizened, in the rulebook.
Seeming is more archetype than personality. While the Contracts and kiths associated with the various seemings may influence behavior, any person could be drawn into any seeming. There's something to be said for playing into stereotypes, but challenging established norms can be fulfilling, too.
Your choice of seeming determines a Contract Regalia with which your character has an affinity. As well, every seeming has three favored Attributes from either Power, Finesse, or Resistance traits. Take an additional dot in one of these. This can only take an Attribute to five dots.
| Seeming | Description | Favoured Regalia | Favoured Attributes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beast | Savage survivalists, passionate and deadly. | Steed | Resistance |
| Darkling | Lurkers hiding in the shadows, silent but ever watchful. | Mirror | Finesse |
| Elemental | Unbridled and unchained, the true forces of nature. | Sword | Resistance |
| Fairest | Stately and elegant, forever loved and craving true connection. | Crown | Power |
| Ogre | Warriors and brutes, blunt and to the point. | Shield | Power |
| Wizened | Crafters and builders, weary but not jaded. | Jewels | Finesse |
Kith
A kith is a refinement of seeming. If your character served a specific purpose in Arcadia, she was molded to that task. Kith is the resulting transformation, which spans all seemings.
As of this writing, Changeling: the Lost 2nd Edition has only 12 official kiths. Players may choose from amongst those without further restriction. Playing a character with no kith is also allowed.
However, in the new edition of Changeling: the Lost, there is more support and encouragement for creating custom kiths. Players who desire to do so are encouraged to write up their own kiths. All such kiths must follow the guidelines for custom kiths (especially the blessings - skill and trickery), and the STs will expect to see a full - although possibly brief - write-up of the kith in the same format as the standard kiths. (The description of the kith should not simply be a description of your character, although the overlap could be considerable if the kith is intended to represent a narrow concept.) The STs will examine the kith carefully for balance, and may be inclined to be conservative, so please don’t try to push the upper limits on blessing power. Usually, the blessing on a skill should be restricted in some way, not just all use of the skill (as can be seen in the 12 official kiths).
If you find yourself inspired by a kith from the 1st Edition of Changeling: the Lost, you may use the 1st Edition game material as the basis for a custom kith. Usually, you would be able to use the existing descriptions, and just re-work the mechanics to fit the new mechanical paradigm.
If more than one player gives us what is basically the same custom kith, the STs may combined the kiths into one, and both characters would use the same mechanics (which may differ from what you originally submitted).
A book of kiths for Changeling: the Lost 2nd Edition is being produced by Onyx Path Publishing. When it is available, we anticipate allowing the kiths published there to be used in the game.
Mien
Your character’s time in Arcadia shapes her fae mien. Her captor molded her from a human into something strange and alien. Her seeming can help suggest her purpose while in captivity — or the other way around — but her mien is unique. No two Wizened look exactly the same, even if they had similar tasks. Consider what your character’s role was, as well as how form inspires function. Was she a tracker, with long ears and large eyes? Did she stand as a statue with marble skin and crystalline eyes? These things inform what her mien looks like now. Select a few descriptive lines to describe how your character looks inhuman without her Mask.
Court
Courts are the changelings’ way of coping with the Fae. Courts represent strong emotions and the stages of grief that come after abuse, but also represent a practical way for changelings to defend themselves. Your character ultimately chooses her own court based on a variety of personal decisions, and it may change during play. You may choose to start play without a court.
If you decide to start play as a courtier, your character receives a free dot in the appropriate Mantle Merit for her court.
The only courts that will be permitted are the standard four seasonal courts (not the Seasonal Lög of the Council of Elves). Characters may choose to be courtless. Players are encouraged to tell others what court they intend to play, and to help arrange matters so that there are enough characters in each court to make it viable to play. If there are too few characters in a court, the STs may restrict the creation of characters of other courts with too many and/or courtless characters, until suitable balance has been restored.
Characters are generally expected to have joined the same court in their home Freeholds on Earth as they will join in the Garden. Holding two different Mantles is not permitted, in any case.
- The Spring Court exults in life and harnesses desire to make life worth living.
- The Summer Court gathers strength and power to turn their wrath upon their enemies.
- The Autumn Court utilizes a healthy fear to help them prepare for attack.
- The Winter Court uses the pain of their sorrow to strengthen themselves against further losses.
- The courtless walk their own paths, outsiders in a dangerous world.
Needle and Thread
Choose a Needle and a Thread for your character. Whereas a mortal character has a Virtue and a Vice, a changeling character has a Needle and a Thread.
Changelings approach problems and deal with challenges and people as defined by their Needle. Needle is like the changeling's Myers-Briggs personality type, her true self that she uses as a shield against becoming someone she is not. People see her Needle, they interact with her based on it, and it informs her actions.
Thread is the motivation that keeps a changeling strong. This is the tie that binds her to reality. Thread combines her innermost fears, desires, and needs that drive her forward and keep her grounded. When everything goes wrong, and she’s only just hanging on, Thread is what reminds a changeling how she overcame the vulnerability Arcadia forced upon her.
For each of these traits, choose an archetype from the appropriate sample list below, or craft your own. This is a simple statement of identity and motivation.
| Needle Archetypes | Thread Archetypes |
|---|---|
| Bon Vivant | Acceptance |
| Chess Master | Anger |
| Commander | Family |
| Composer | Friendship |
| Counselor | Hate |
| Daredevil | Honor |
| Dynamo | Joy |
| Protector | Love |
| Provider | Memory |
| Scholar | Revenge |
| Teacher | |
| Traditionalist | |
| Visionary |
Touchstone
Your character's Touchstone is a person, place, or thing that reminds her of what is real in this world, and helps her readjust to life after her durance. Name a Touchstone, and count a number of boxes from the left equal to your character’s Composure + 1. Write your Touchstone next to that box. See the rulebook for more on Touchstones. If you choose to take the Touchstone Merit, you may start with additional Touchstones.
Touchstones will be a very important part of this game. They are extremely important to Changeling characters, generally people, places, or things they care about greatly. All starting Changelings have one Touchstone for free, and you have the option to buy more using the Touchstone Merit.
In this chronicle, Touchstones will serve an additional purpose. The STs will use your Touchstones to help build plots that affect your character personally. It is expected that one or more of your Touchstones will appear in play at some point in the Chronicle. Note that this means your Touchstones may come under threat, so choose Touchstones you think you would enjoy striving to save. Be prepared to lose them, too; make sure that you can continue to play your character after the loss of a Touchstone. Losing a Touchstone will affect a character negatively, of course, so be aware of the possibility of having to play through the recovery of such a loss.
If there is a person, place, or thing that your character cares about greatly, but that you wish to be kept safe for the course of the chronicle, please do not list it as a Touchstone. You are welcome to include these in your character’s backstory, but for the purposes of this game, they are not Touchstones. Call these story elements out to the STs as well, to make sure we know not to mess with that aspect of your character, but find something else to list as a Touchstone.
The Fetch as a Touchstone
One possible Touchstone deserves to be called out for special attention: the Fetch. All changelings have fetches, but not all fetches are Touchstones. Some changelings never even encounter their fetches. In other cases, though, changelings feel very strong connections to their fetches. In cases when a changeling feels most strongly about their fetch (whether that emotion be positive or negative), the fetch may be a Touchstone. If you list your fetch as a Touchstone, the STs may sometimes call on you to play your fetch instead of your changeling character (possibly even for an entire session, or several). Don’t choose your fetch as a Touchstone unless you believe your would enjoy doing this.
Contracts
Contracts represent agreements made in the past between the True Fae and the natural world. A changeling can take advantage of Contracts he is familiar with, or has learned about. These bargains allow the changeling to defy the natural laws which normally bind a person, from being able to eat any substance regardless of hardness to disappearing in an ephemeral cloud of smoke.
Contracts have a variety of effects grouped into common themes called Regalia, such as Crown for leadership, or Mirror for perception. Most Contracts are freely accessible to all changelings, but each seeming has a particular affinity for one Regalia, and you choose a second favored Regalia for your character as well.
Your character begins with four Contracts chosen from among Common Regalia, Common Court, and Goblin Contracts; she must meet the proper requirements to take Court Contracts. Two of those starting Contracts must come from the character’s favored Regalia. She also gains two Royal Contracts from her court or favored Regalia.
Wyrd
Wyrd measures your character's connection to the strange and fantastical world of Faerie. The higher it is, the more fae and strange she becomes; the lower it is, the more grounded she is in her human life. It determines how much Glamour the changeling may store, and how rapidly she can expend it. It affects certain Contracts, and her ability to contest supernatural powers.
All Lost start play with a free dot of Wyrd. You may purchase one or two additional dots for five or 10 of your 10 starting Merit dots, respectively.
Step Six: Merits
Choose 10 dots’ worth of Merits. The Lost may possess any of the Merits from the Chronicles of Darkness core rulebook, except for those on the Supernatural Merits list, Vice-Ridden, and Virtuous (since changelings do not have Virtue and Vice traits). As well, consult the extensive list of Lost-specific Merits in the rulebook.
Stacking Merits
Characters with multiple Fighting Style Merits from the Chronicles of Darkness rulebook will be scrutinised closely for overpowered combinations, and may be disallowed if the STs consider them to make use of such. Similarly, Merits from the Chronicles of Darkness rulebook that modify mechanics that are also modified by Merits from the Changeling: the Lost rules will be subject to scrutiny. If you are stacking similar Merits (or other effects) from the two sources, please consider whether taking just the Merit from the Changeling-specific rules would be enough to build your character.
However, this does not mean that characters using Merits from the Chronicles of Darkness rulebook will be disallowed, nor that two merits with overlapping effect are necessarily problematic. We are simply aware that we cannot examine every combination of Merits to find possible abuses before allowing players to start building their characters. If you are worried about this, please ask for help in building your character.
Mystery Cult Initiation
If you wish to be a member of a mystery cult, please write up the fluff for it in a format suitable for adding to this wiki and making it available to other players. It should be interesting enough that we want to make it a feature of the game. You may suggest benefits, but the STs decide what benefits will be used.
You may not share a mystery cult with any other player character you have met prior to the start of play.
Players who propose mystery cults will be expected to create a version of their character that does not use this merit. If the mystery cult is approved, you and other players who wish to be members may modify your characters to gain the benefits of the merit. Gaining approval may require at least one other player to be interested in playing a member of your mystery cult (but remember, not a character known to your character).
Professional Training
The STs get the final say on what professions are available, and what Asset Skills apply to each profession. Please create a version of your character that does not use this merit, which you will be prepared to play if your profession is not approved. (If you aren’t willing to play a professional without the benefits of this merit, which are mainly cost reduction, we aren’t interested in having your character!)
These professions, with the Asset Skills as given in the Chronicles of Darkness rulebook, are unlikely to be disallowed: Academic, Artist, Athlete, Criminal, Detective, Doctor, Engineer, Hacker, Journalist, Labourer, Occultist, Politician, Religious Leader, Scientist, Socialite, Stuntman, Survivalist, Technician, Vagrant. Others (including Cop, Soldier, and Thug) will attract scrutiny.
As characters can mostly obtain the benefits of this merit via other mechanics at slightly greater cost, the STs are wary concerning whether this merit will benefit the game overall. If we find it is being abused, it will be disallowed entirely or nerfed.
Also note the entry for this merit in the house rules.
Step Seven: Determine Advantages
All characters have certain advantages, some of which depend on their Attributes, Skills, and Merits. Determine the following advantages with the given calculations and note them on your character sheet. A specific Merit or Contract that modifies your character's advantages will call that out in its text.
- Size: Characters start at Size 5.
- Health: Size + Stamina
- Speed: 5 + Strength + Dexterity
- Willpower: Resolve + Composure
- Maximum Clarity: Wits + Composure
- Initiative: Dexterity + Composure
- Defense: (Lower of Wits or Dexterity) + Athletics
Step Eight: Experienced Lost
Characters will have 25 Experiences available before the start of the game. These may be spent during character creation, and any not spent may be spent during any downtime request (see the downtime rules for details).
Experience Costs
- Attribute: 4 Experiences per dot
- Merit: 1 Experience per dot
- Skill Specialty: 1 Experience
- Skill: 2 Experiences per dot
- Common Regalia/Court Contracts: 3 Experiences
- Royal Regalia/Court Contracts: 4 Experiences
- Favored Regalia Common Contracts: 2 Experiences
- Favored Regalia Royal Contracts: 3 Experiences
- Goblin Contract: 2 Experiences
- Out-of-seeming Contract benefit: 1 Experience [1]
- Wyrd: 5 Experiences per dot
Lost Willpower dot: 1 Experience[2]
Step Nine: Initial Downtime
Players must perform an initial downtime. This will be handled as per the standard downtime rules, except for the following changes:
- Players should discuss their character's approach to harvesting Glamour with a storyteller, and reach an agreement concerning the Harvest Pool that is appropriate to represent that. This will be used for the initial and all subsequent downtimes.
- Experiences will not be spent, nor Aspirations replaced, as these mechanics have already been dealt with earlier in the character creation process.
Note that all standard downtime steps are optional (as per the downtime rules), so the player is not obliged to do anything here except set a Harvest Pool.