episode 146 — changeling: the lost 2e corebook (part one)

So we're gonna have to move pretty quickly and fairly shallowly to get through 348 pages of Chomker in a reasonable length of time, but we will take it chapter by chapter, starting with the introduction.

And I would like to start by reading the setting statement on page 11.

It's gonna be one of the few things I try to read verbatim in here because I think this sums up the game pretty perfectly.

So if you are totally new to Lost, listen up.

"Changeling: The Lost is set in the Chronicles of Darkness, which portray a world like ours but alive with supernatural wonder and terror.

For millennia, the enigmatic Gentry, or True Fae, have abducted humans from this world and taken them to Arcadia, a fairyland where the Gentry's will shapes reality.

The abductees are changed into fairy creatures to play particular roles in the True Fae's fantasies.

These roles are seemings, which correspond to fairy tale character archetypes like the Big Bad Wolf, Beast, the Ice Queen, Fairest, the Miracle Worker, Wizened, and so on.

Changelings turn the forms and powers forced on them against their Fae keepers and escape from Arcadia.

On the way back, each Changeling had to cross the Hedge, a surreal land that separates our everyday world from Arcadia.

Finally arriving back in the realm of humanity, most Changelings resolve to reclaim their lives or build new ones.

They're Lost, capital L, and it's time to find themselves.

That's where our story begins.

Changelings face many challenges.

The True Fae may have replaced them with duplicates called Fetches, who have been living the Lost's life in their absence.

They must often risk trips into the Hedge, which is full of bizarre creatures and dangerous temptations.

And most terrifying of all are the True Fae's Huntsmen, heartless shape-changers sent to drag the Lost back to Arcadia.

But Changelings have an advantage the Gentry will never fully understand.

They are not alone.

They band together in Courts, communities that practice supernatural defenses against the True Fae.

These Courts, in turn, make up Freeholds, local societies that provide and gather protection and resources to help their members.

These communities can be rife with intrigue and riven with infighting, but in the end, those are fundamentally human behaviors which defy the Gentry in their own way.

In Changeling, you'll play someone who's had their whole life taken away and who won't rest until they have it back or make a better one.

You'll face fears and uncover secrets, slay dragons, and bargain with goblins.

You'll walk the roads between dreams and penetrate the maze that lies behind every mirror.