Changeling Historical Settings

[No One of Consequence]

More stuff:

Bohemian Rhapsody (Prague, 1583 - 1611), during the reign of Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II and his massive patronage of both science/alchemy and the arts.

The House of Wisdom (Baghdad, 765 - 1258), which is mainly a Vampire and Mummy thing, but also makes a fun Arabian Nights influenced setting for Dark Ages: Fae.

Harlem Nights (New York City, 1916 - 1935), during the Harlem Renaissance

Sunset People (LA, 1972 - 1984), focusing mainly on the creative weirdness of the Sunset Strip, it's geared toward Pariahs (the clanless/tribeless/tradition-less from WoD: Outcasts) and witchhunters, but can work perfectly well with Changelings (or Kinain) in the aftermath of the Sidhe return and conquest.

Dreams in the Darkness (Rhode Island, 1900 - 1938), which focuses on HP Lovecraft, and in the case of Changelings, just what impact his mixture of creativity and paranoid neurosis might have had on the local Dreaming.

Dark Skies (Western and Midwestern US, 1945 - 1970), the wave of initial UFO sightings and investigations, including the idea that Changelings are responsible for a lot of it.

[Astromancer]

Given that UFO lore is in many ways what America has instead of fairies, the last one is true brilliance.

Kudos!

[No One of Consequence]

Given that UFO lore is in many ways what America has instead of fairies, the last one is true brilliance.

Ken Hite used to mention the concept frequently in his Suppressed Transmission column for Pyramid Magazine back around the turn of the millennium. I've long been disappointed that UFO related stuff wasn't included in Changeling, including Nockers flying about in weird aircraft and a Hunters Hunted faction of "UFO abductees" who want revenge.

[Toby Weingarten]

For a while now, I've been toying around with Changeling finally getting a true historical setting game. Strangely enough, the one great stretch of time not yet covered by other game lines would be a good match for Changeling. I would call it Changeling: the Concordian Revolution. It would take place mostly in Colonial America roughly from the late 1600s to about 1790. The main focus would be the infighting between the European kiths and the native Nunnehi. A fragile peace is set up by the mid 1700s until a mysterious fleet sails in with the British military forces. Apparently, one last group of Nobles and their entourages are trying to find one last great reserve of Glamour to take them away to Arcadia before they fade. This turns into a three-sided fight for the last bits of Glamour. If the Nobles find the reserve, the Nunennhi will become powerless, even with undergoing the Changeling way. The commoner kiths wouldn't fare much better, struggling under the yoke of the Nobles. The endgame would be a last minute truce between the Nunnehi and commoners with a major faction of the Nobles, thereby saving the land and having most of the Noble host taking the Changeling way. Unfortunately, a previous unseen Noble kith betrays the truce, and steals the Glamour from a secondary source. This group makes it to the Dreaming, but faces a severe backlash for betraying their oath. Almost all of the kith is forgotten, and those still on Earth face a fairly slow fading away. A scant few became Siochian, but no other trace of them remain. The shock is still strong enough to break all ties to the land for the Nunnehi. In modern times, most of this war is forgotten, but enough clues remain that it could be reconstructed. The Glamour reserve is still out there, waiting to be found for its true special purpose.

[No One of Consequence]

I like to think that a good Changeling historical line would've been Changeling: The Golden Age, based primarily around England of Queen Elizabeth I and highly influenced by Edmund Spenser's epic The Faerie Queene, with its blending of Arthurian legends and English mythology with period political and religious commentary. Possibly including the idea that Elizabeth is one of the remaining Sidhe who has undergone the Changeling Way instead of fleeing back to Arcadia.
Unfortunately, given how Changeling's sales were in around the turn of the millennium and how poorly Werewolf: The Wild West and Mage: The Sorcerers Crusade faired, it probably would've had a very short run. But in an ideal world (one in which Mage's historical game was the Victorian Era instead of the Renaissance), I'd have probably plotted it out as such:

• Corebook (Changeling: The Golden Age), discussing the status of the Fae world in the closing period of the Shattering and at the start of the Interregnum, with the majority of them now being first generation Changelings - ie, Fae who have undergone the Changeling Way - with reborn second generation Changelings who undergo the Chrysalis being a brand new phenomenon. Also how they are adjusting to a society without their traditional rulers, the remaining Noble Houses (such as they are) and those "ennobled Commoners" who are trying to keep them going and claiming rite of leadership. The methods that have been established for harvesting (or taking) Glamour from mortals, the relationships of the Seelie and Unseelie Courts, and the status of popular mortal folklore about the Fae at the time and how it impacts Changelings. All of this would have a special focus on England and what is going on there, including Elizabeth's reign and its various struggles and conflicts, as well as the worlds revolving around people like William Shakespeare, John Dee, and Sir Francis Drake, among others. This would be very light on rules, requiring the use of the Changeling: The Dreaming core book to play.
• The Swashbucklers' Handbook - (Because Mage is doing Victorian instead), which goes into detail about court politics and intrigues among both mortals and the Fae, especially in regards to espionage, romance, and swordplay adventure. Also various rogues and criminals, probably. It would also spend a chapter looking at what is going on in Paris and France under the reign of Henry the Great.
• The Alchemists Handbook - Which looks at science and mysticism during the period, including Changeling Arts and Nockers leading the way in adapting the creation of Treasures and other objects do this new post-Shattering world. This one also gets a chapter about Prague, and to a lesser extent the rest of the Holy Roman Empire, under Rudolf II.
• The Inquisitors Handbook - Which looks at 16th century Religion and its conflicts, including where and how the Fae fit into it. Also their troubles with the Society of Leopold and its Shadow Inquisition, and probably those Changelings who focus on battling the Shadow Court as well as other threats. And this one takes a look at Spanish Empire of Philip II.
• The Explorers Handbook - The state of global exploration in the late 16th century, including trade and piracy. This includes the various New World colonies, trade outposts in Africa, India and Asia. And just what Changelings are doing with it, especially those who've tried to create new realms of their own in North America, as well as the contacts they are having with American, African, Indian, and Asian Fae (or their closest equivalents). And this one includes an in depth look at the Caribbean, because Pirates.
• The Golden Age Companion - The catch all book of everything else, including more details about the time period, discussing the idea of the PCs altering history, some stuff about the Ottomans and the Djinn, more about the 16th century theater of Shakespeare and others, and a brief look at what the other supernatural factions are up to during this period.

At least that would be an initial plan.

[Astromancer]

Myself, I saw similar possibilities. Since Mage: the Sorcerer's Crusade got there first, I was thinking of a crossover between M:tSC and historical changeling. The Corebook would be rules and London. The Companion would be the extra rules and the Royal Court (plus sections on the theatre and other subcultures). Then there would be books on England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Cornwall plus the Isle of Mann, France, and the Netherlands (a war zone as well as an exciting culture), and Italy.

Note: this was in response to APoNI's suggestion for a Changeling Elizabethan Historical.

[Dataweaver]

Who is “APoNI”?

[Astromancer]

A Person of No Importance.

Although I say he is of importance.