A Walk in the Hedge

[Omegaphallic]

http://forum.theonyxpath.com/forum/onyx-path-announcements/1077055-a-walk-in-the-hedge-changeling-the-lost

[Volke]

The Hedge is such a cool place, why do I have to live on Earth . All this does is make me screech for Changeling 2E release even more. PLEASE RELEASE IT GOD I'M SO EXCITED !!!!

I love some of the concepts for Changeling 2E like the Huntsman , God It's going to be so good ^-^ !

[Rose Bailey]

The Hedge is such a cool place, why do I have to live on Earth .

I mean, you can go live there if you like!

[Axelgear]

I'm... Honestly not sure what I was meant to take away from that. It felt too prosaic; too scattered. I don't have any idea what the Hedge looks like apart from a bit of a psychedelic experience, nor any sense of what it is, why I'd go there... There was more word count spent on the florid examples than on describing what the Hedge actually is.

Don't get me wrong, I didn't like the Hedge being taken in the "PAIN PAIN PAIN ONLY PAIN MY GOODNESS WHY DID YOU EVEN COME HERE PAIN PAIN PAIN" direction, so I'm refreshed to see that something different is taking shape, but I haven't really got any clue from that what that shape actually is.

What is the Hedge meant to be? What does it look like? What role is it fulfilling? Do I not have to relive my abusive father treating me to the Orwell Special to get some magic fruit anymore?

[LLegume]

What is the Hedge meant to be? What does it look like? What role is it fulfilling? Do I not have to relive my abusive father treating me to the Orwell Special to get some magic fruit anymore?

I agree with the assessment that it's exceptionally vague in where the Hedge stands now. I assume we still get hollows and all the fruit and 1ed goodness. Do we still get Dreams connected to the Hedge?

[Meghan Fitzgerald]

Hi all! I'm Meghan, Rose's co-developer on this book. I figured I'd pop in and say hello.

Dreams are indeed connected to the Hedge! The systems chapter delves into how to use and traverse the Hedge as a player character.

[Volke]

I mean, you can go live there if you like!

I can?!?!!?! Oh boy - I'm going to have all the goblins fruits ^-^.

Overall, I like the switch in writing between "Once" and "Now"...Now it has me wondering what caused it to change. I know the Hedge is ever-changing but it sounds like a big change happened. Hmm.. . I also feel it keeps true to much of 1E Changeling's feel. God I want the book now .

Excellent work Changeling Dev Team!

Also if I may - why is was Dreaming Roads redacted from the preview?

[Volke]

Hi all! I'm Meghan, Rose's co-developer on this book. I figured I'd pop in and say hello.

Dreams are indeed connected to the Hedge! The systems chapter delves into how to use and traverse the Hedge as a player character.

Hello Meghan - Keep up the excellent work; hyped for the book ^.^

Question: Will the book go into how other splats interact with the Hedge in more detail? Specifically for Cross-Over Games.

[YeOfLittleFaith]

It should be remembered this is an excerpt from chapter 2. More concrete details about the Hedge, which include the rules for navigating it and interacting with the thorns, are probably elsewhere, as was in fact previewed before.

EDIT: Sniped by a developer!

I like the poetic tone and the interesting bits and pieces of people finding the Hedge and individuals' relationships with goblins after being taken.

[Rose Bailey]

The Hedge definitely isn't pain and bad memories all the time! Sometimes, the Hedge does reflect what you bring in, but it's not the inside of your own head -- it's a place of its own, with its own geography and inhabitants.

As for what the Hedge literally is, from the introduction:

<<
Arcadia is separated from the human world by the Hedge. More than just a borderland, the Hedge is a world in its own right, full of people and places and strange sights. The Hedge often takes cues from the places where it touches the Ironsides or Arcadia, but develops them in its own way. For example, the late Widow Gulch's abandoned house at the end of your block might be echoed by a wooden frame and tattered insulation in the Hedge... but rather than a suburban neighborhood, it might be on an island in a flooded wonderland or used as billboard space in a goblin market the size of Manhattan. Changelings move frequently between the Hedge and the human world, but many hobgoblins live their entire lives in the Hedge's thickets and caves and odd little villages.

The Hedge is replete with secret passages and hidden niches, and since not even the True Fae know them all, changelings can carve out Hollows here and bargain with Hedge residents for advantages. The Hedge also affords Courts and characters the opportunity to claim fae territory as well as mundane territory.

The Hedge's tendency to change on its own can make it seem dreamlike and unreal... but changelings know that that it's as true and dangerous as anything else they experience.

Look to the Hedge for opportunities to make the journey as colorful as the destination, and as a source of obstacles and creative solutions to problems you didn't even know you had.
>>

[Charlaquin]

Oh, hey, Ironside(s) is getting canonized? That's cool. I'm bummed to see the Hedge lose the pain angle David was taking it in, as that has spoken strongly to me. This direction is interesting though.

Honestly though, the more I'm seeing of new Changeling, the more I'm glad David posted as much of his version as he did. This is looking more and more like it's going to be a completely different game than the one we've seen previewed, and it's still too soon to know if I will like this one as much as I did that one.

[LLegume]

Hi all! I'm Meghan, Rose's co-developer on this book. I figured I'd pop in and say hello.

Dreams are indeed connected to the Hedge! The systems chapter delves into how to use and traverse the Hedge as a player character.

That makes me so happy to hear! I loved the playtest of Dreams and it made so much sense for glamour from mortal dreams to trickle into the hedge and feed it, and for hobs and critters to be born out of those dreams. I've been very anxious that all my favorite parts would just be scrapped. I'm sure what you're doing is going to be good, but it's a question of Awesome Thing In Hand versus the Unknown Element.

[Rose Bailey]

Also if I may - why is was Dreaming Roads redacted from the preview?

We're probably going to talk about them more in the future. But, so as not to be cryptic:

Hidden trails lead from the Hedge into human dreams. They are quiet and furtive paths that wend their way around wonders and perils, leading into the Hedge just as the Hedge fades into Faerie. These are the Dreaming Roads, and the Gentry know them well… but so do their erstwhile captives. Through the little piece of Faerie within herself, one of the Lost can find upon the Dreaming Roads and walk among sleepers. By finding the entrance within herself, the oneiropomp — the wanderer of dreams — can follow the path into almost any dream.

[White Oak Dragon]

Speaking of dreams, are changelings still going to vanish when they sleep by default? That was one of the few things that I hadn't cared for in the previews. It seemed odd to me that choosing one of the two dreaming gates would result in no dreams at all. Granted, it is a simple house rule to say that one gate causes them to vanish into lucid dreams, one gives them normal dreams but removes their special defenses against other dream manipulators, or they can choose neither of them, resulting in no dreams at the cost of their Willpower.

[Rose Bailey]

No, changelings don't vanish when they fall asleep.