I like how the new World of Darkness, and for that matter, Exalted, work. So, this game will use a combination of those rules.
The biggest most common change made will be how dice rolls are solved. Rather than having various difficulties that change depending on how easy or hard a task is, there will be a standard difficulty, depending on where the characters are:
When in a Freehold or the Dreaming, characters can stunt. Characters can recieve up to 1 stunt dice in a Freehold, and up to 3 stunt dice in the Dreaming. Unlike Exalted, no willpower or glamour may be gained from doing a stunt.
Characters who want to cast a cantrip, but do not have the correct realms may still attempt to cast the cantrip. Each realm missing is -1 to the character's dice pool.
Let's say Kandran, who is untitled, wanted to cast Hopscotch to help her get across that creek. If she had a wits score of 4 and the first level of the Fae realm (harty commoner), she would roll 5 dice. If she had no levels of the Fae realm, she would roll 3 dice.
Rules for creating a Changeling character are found in Changeling: The Dreaming 2nd edition. Basically, it's 7/5/3; 13/9/5; court; legacy; optional house; seeming; kith. If one needs to use the Changeling Quickstart, or the first edition of Changeling, let me know. There are some differences between the three documents. (Note, the Quickstart is a 5 meg PDF file and may take some time to download.)
Although changelings have legacies (p 129 of Changeling 2nd ed), we will be using the virtue/vice system found in the New World of Darkness (p 101). Basically, you choose one virtue (charity, faith, fortitude, hope, justice, prudence or temperance) and one vice (envy, gluttony, greed, lust, pride, sloth, wrath). If a character acts on a vice in a way that is potentially dangerous for the character, the character gets 1 WP. If the character acts on a virtue in a way that is potentially dangerous for the character, the character regains all WP. A bonous in WP, glamour, or stunt dice may be given if the virtue/vice is inacted in a way that reflects the character's legacy.
For example, Kandran has the Dandy/Ringleader legacies. Her virtue is hope and her vice is wrath. If she makes a speach to a group of commoners denouncing the tyraical Duke's latest laws and encouraging them to fight the good fight against him, she will gain all her willpower, and will gain a bonous dice to be used in the game session. If she later leads a group of commoners into the castle on a raid and encourages everyone to avainge themselves with their blades (and actually uses hers, possibly to kill an innocent sidhe childling), she will get 2 WP rather than 1.
On this note, please do not submit Childling characters. I know that Childlings are fun to play, but I would rather have Wilder and Grump characters. We will probably be facing some situations that are at least rated AA (if not R or X!), and having the characters be at least 16 will make things easier for your poor GM. :) Any Kiths from the main book are acceptable. Nunnehi, Inanimae and other Gallain are pending GM approval (especially if I don't have the book the Kith is found in...)
Kandran is 18 years old, and is still considered a Wilder.
We will be using the Birthrights and Aptitudes found in the Changeling Quickstart rather than what is in the 2nd edition rule book. I think this will fit in with how the dice rolls now work. (Note, The birthrights start on page 12.)
So, to continue the example in the Dice Rolls section, if Kandran was a Satyr, she would roll 6 dice, rather than 5, because satyrs get an extra dice on all athletics rolls.
Please disregard the specialty rules presented in Changeling! We'll be using the Specialty rules in the new World of Darkenss (p 35, 37 and 54 in the new World of Darkness main book.
All backgrounds are available, except Holdings (for plot purposes). If one wants to belong to a house, one must take the Title background. Starting characters may not have a title greater than Knight (Status **). Allies and Contacts use the nWoD rules (p 114). Allies must be mortal (for supernatural allies, use Merits) but contacts don't have to be.
Most World of Darkness games offer 15 free-be points, and up to 7 points in disadvantages. I'm limiting this greatly. You have 5 free-be points and can take up to 5 points in disadvantages. Merits and Flaws from the new World of Darkness or other Old WoD settings may be used subject to GM approval.
All sidhe must belong to a house. Houses have boons and flaws. A complete list of houses is in Changeling 2nd ed (p 106-110) and The Book of Lost Dreams (p 40-45). Availailable houses are:
| House Ailil | Boon: +1 dice to politics and subterfuge rolls | Flaw: Willpower roll -2 dice to back down from any challange. If successful, -1 dice on all social rolls 'till he can "save face". | |
| House Dougal | Boon: can use Glamour as WP once per story. | Flaw: a physical handycap, resulting in -2 (or more) dice, depending on the handycap. | |
| House Eliuned | Boon: +1 success on successfully cast cantrips | Flaw: must spend a WP to keep from meddling in plots, AND -1 dice to most social rolls due to lack of trust. | |
| House Gwydion | Boon: Successful Perception + Kenning - Person's WP to determine if someone is telling the truth. (Doesn't work on the Eliuned) | Flaw: Berserker rages if Wounded or insulted. Save = successful WP + 2 in the mortal world, 1 in a freehold, 0 Near Dreaming, -1 in the Far Dreaming, and -2 in the Deep Dreaming) | |
| House Liam | +1 dice when enchanting a mortal | Extra point of permanent banality at character creation, and often subject to discrimination. |
The characters are able to have 5 Arts at character creation (rather than 3), but these must be spread out between at least 3 different Arts. Characters have 7 dots of Realms (rather than 5). (This is why there are so few Free-be points available at the start of the game.)
If Kandran was a starting character, she could know Wayfare ***, Primal * and Soothsay *. Her sidhe friend Sir Rodrick may know Chronos *, Pyros *, Sovereign *, Legerdemain *, and Primal *.
Players have 5 points seperate from Free-be points to customize a character's fae meim. They can use these points to buy the following traits (based off of the Appoliptic Form rules found in Demon: the Fallen Player's Guide p 98-99:)
Armor (1-4 ponits)
Cast no reflection (2 points),
Teeth/Claws (1 point, Redcaps can not take Teeth, as they already have this),
Damage Resistance (3 points),
Enhanced senses (3 points, slugh can not take this as they already have it),
Horns (1 point, Trolls and satyrs can not take this as they already have horns),
Improved Attribute (3 points, sidhe can not use this for their social attributes, nor can trolls use this for their Strength or Satyrs use it for their Stanima.).
Other forms may be considered upon request.
If anyone has any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me.