Kiths of Arcadia

[MythAdvocate]

But they are sort of the exact opposite ends?

I'm also wondering if they can cover less obviously mechanical builds? I have an npc who's basically a mad scientist/mother of monsters who's very much fed heavily on the dreams produced by Jurassic park. She grows dinosaur chimera on in labs fed by the glamour of children awed by SCIENCE, feeding the flicker dinosaurs into greater life.

So I'm thinking about pushing it to the next step as a plot point as a "Cog" but i'm not entirely sure that work?

Yes, opposite ends. All part of a messy, argumentative family. Cogs, Krofted Inanimae (especially Manikins) and Lycian chimera. These along with Mechorgs could make for a potent force if they organized themselves.

LOVE that dino dream!

A Cog tied to "movie magic" and animatronics would be cool. And dinosaur Lycian chimera would work as well (Beast/Quixotic or Oppidian).

But a dinosaur Cog? That is a great idea! I would make use the "Animalistic Favor" Merit on pages 187 and 185 as well as Murderous Mien and Prehensile Tongue/Tail to make that Cog-beast snarl!

[PookaKnight]

How do Renegade Cogs interact with the Inanimae?

Renegade cogs might initially seen krofted Inanimae as kindred spirits, but the differences between them would probably become apparent pretty quickly. I could easily see the renegade cogs seeing Inanimae as born from the Dreaming like all the other fae instead of artificially created like themselves. Inanimae, for their part, would probably come to see renegade cogs as just another meat changeling. Renegade cogs would probably get along better with certain Lycian Guises, since they're both just as artificial. Lycians just haven't quite transcended into being fully fae yet.

From an out of character perspective, the kinds of stories you can tell with renegade cogs are also pretty different. I see their stories rooted heavily in Pinocchio, Mr. Data, and Frankenstein's monster.

I love the imps! How are the naga different from the Nagah in W:tA?

marin covered the big differences. Also, from a Changeling: The Dreaming perspective, these are the original nagas. The shapeshifter Nagahs are those who turned their backs on the Dreaming, forsaking their divine mandate, and cut themselves off from Glamour. They debase themselves in the petty struggles of the shifters instead of upholding the glory of the gods.

Edit: As for dino-cogs, sure! As long as they're an artificial creation, they should fit in just fine. I'll just second MythAdvocate's excellent response!

[PookaKnight]

Also, a quick request — Kiths of Arcadia has a big uphill struggle ahead of it to break even on production costs. If you enjoyed the book, please consider leaving a review or sharing a link to it on whatever social media platforms you use or fan communities you're part of. Most Changeling fans don't know it exists, and getting the word out there will go a long way towards making future books from Radio Free Arcadia viable.

[MagicJuggler]

I purchased it. As a ST, I look at Kith from a "do they open up options/plot devices," or whether they create compelling variant templates for players attempting to try for a particular type of "build/style". I will probably update my opinions based on playtesting/experience, but my initial impressions are as follows:

The good news is that most of the new Kith appear relatively easy to integrate into a preexisting Freehold/Motley. The protective nature of the Army Ant Platoon/the Dragonkin might make for some enforced tension between them and other players, but avoiding those frailties is "common sense" to some degree.

Dragonkin have a good deal of customizability due to their Birthright, though a lot of supernatural merits can replicate them; there is a lot of minmax potential for that one Birthright, while the second one is surprisingly niche. There is some RAW confusion over whether the Dragonkin bonuses are "always on," or require Invoking the Wyrd, but I aim for the former due to consistency with C20.

Mechorgs are cool. They're a very flexible template to play around with, and immediately bring up many many ideas to play with.

Imps feel like "merchant Boggans," more than truly devilish types. I'm not quite sure on them but I would need to think more on them.

Renegade Cogs definitely have the potential to play a Terminator/Blade Runner sort of game, but their primary Birthright has one really idiosyncratic clause worth houseruling away.

Tritons feel a lot like a "variant Troll," the Ronin/Mercenary to the latter's Knight. They seem to definitely have solid potential.

Overall, this is looking promising. My only issues are mostly quibbles, alongside feeling like the Naga seem a little...I dunno. Regardless, I would recommend the product.

[MythAdvocate]

Renegade Cogs definitely have the potential to play a Terminator/Blade Runner sort of game, but their primary Birthright has one really idiosyncratic clause worth houseruling away.

Do you mean Ghost in the Machine? What clause are you referring to?

Personally, I would treat this as the 3 dot Wraith Inhabit power Gremlinize. Allowing only minor, clumsy effects, such as turning a machine on or off, turning pages, locking doors, and the like. Use of Manipulation + Computer, Drive, Science or other Ability for more complex uses of the device.

[MagicJuggler]

The same Birthright, yes. The clause that a Cog instantly dies if the device it inhabits gets destroyed comes off as unnecessarily harsh, especially if attempting to inhabit a device with a "brick" killswitch. Personally, I would tweak it so that the Cog gains Banality or Nightmare from dealing with the psychological trauma of being booted out of the device.

[PookaKnight]

The cog dies if her mortal body dies while her consciousness is elsewhere. It doesn’t say anything about dying if the object is destroyed.

[Gryffon15]

Picked it up from Drive Thru RPG and I'm rather fond of that it, hope sales go well.

[MagicJuggler]

The cog dies if her mortal body dies while her consciousness is elsewhere. It doesn’t say anything about dying if the object is destroyed.

Ah, I misread "it," to mean the object rather than the body. That's a relief. What happens then if the object is destroyed or depowered before the Cog "ejects," so to speak? Or does the Glamour allow for motive force to power the object so long as the Cog possesses it? Eh, ST call there.

Either way, I will most likely use Cogs as an encounter in my campaign, as a "toy soldier" regiment based off the old German Nutcracker tale, or get trapped in a chess match with the Mechanical Turk.

[PookaKnight]

I had the opportunity to talk the guys at Walking Away From Arcadia about Kiths of Arcadia. They're always a joy to talk to. Give it a listen for our thoughts on the book.

https://walkingawayfromarcadia.podbe...hs-of-arcadia/

[Lian]

So what is the Healthy Rede? Is it meant to be healing or extra health levels?


Also I kind of want to make other swarm characters.. Bees.... add wings and Venom maybe to the Platoon?

[PookaKnight]

Extra health levels. It’s in the C20 Players Guide.

[MagicJuggler]

So what is the Healthy Rede? Is it meant to be healing or extra health levels?


Also I kind of want to make other swarm characters.. Bees.... add wings and Venom maybe to the Platoon?

I was thinking of replacing the Birthright where the Platoon turns into a swarm with a colony specialization. Fire Ants, Hunter Ants, Meateater Ants, etc. Maybe it would be done similar to the Dragonkin Birthright. I'll share testing results.

[PookaKnight]

There's an extremely in-depth review of Kiths of Arcadia over at RPG.net: https://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/18/18494.phtml

[MythAdvocate]

There's an extremely in-depth review of Kiths of Arcadia over at RPG.net: https://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/18/18494.phtml

And a very good interview too! The writer is clearly inspired by the book. Congratulations!