Court Creation

[ArcaneArts]

Well, it's not like you lost out on them. The Seasonal Courts are still in there. It's just not as central a feature now.

[Second Chances]

So I was reading and commenting on your mushroom blog the other day talking about how much I love world building. Between Changeling and Werewolf 2e, along with the ability to build Lairs in Beast, I think the OP teams are really hitting the nail on the head with the ability to allow people to customize and create. I could easily see a Changeling group sitting down at the start of a Chronicle, spinning a globe, and throwing a dart at to pick the setting of their next game, then the players and storytellers working together to flesh out the Changeling's history in that location, along with the courts. That can only be a good thing. This also works really, really well with my personal itch to customize and build settings of my own. Well done on making it so flexible and broadly applicable!

As for cities, here are some thoughts I'm hoping to flesh out when I get time:

Saskatoon - An ancient "court" based around the Cree Medicine Wheel and the four winds. The North and South cause the seasons to change, while the East and West cause the sun to move across the Sky. There's some debate amongst the Changelings as to weather the Winds were Changelings themselves or True Spirits, but the practice dates back to before the colonial period, and was almost wiped out in the early 1900s.

Istanbul - There could only be one story that does Istanbul justice, and that is the story of the city itself. Its bulwark is a year long symbolic ritual that reenacts the entirety of cities long history. It begins with the Greek Court, followed by the Rome Court, the Latin Court, the Ottoman Court, and the Ataturk Court, each playing their role before passing it off to the next group of players.

Abu Dhabi - Abu Dhabi has its history, although its shrouded in the mists of history much more throughly than that of the rest of the Middle East, hence the story that forms their Bulwark is considerably more modern, but even the mortals in the United Arab Emirates could guess it if they had to. Or at least, they could guess part of it. The story could be told in long form and stretch back for generations, but it is really about two brothers, one a staunch traditionalist, the other a genius forward thinker. Shakabut and Zeyad. The last ruler of the Bani Yas tribe before everything changed, and his younger brother, the very architect of that change and the Father of the Nation. Some have suggested that the Al Nayhan family may have been touched by the supernatural, but most are skeptical. The two brothers may not have been changelings, but they were forces of nature unto themselves, and even amongst mortals, the Wyrd must respect their stories. The courts of Abu Dhabi drawn on the city's traditional symbols, The Falcon, The Dhow, The Gazelle (Abu Dhabi means "Father of Gazelles"), The Date Palm, and The Camel.

[atamajakki]

Istanbul - There could only be one story that does Istanbul justice, and that is the story of the city itself. Its bulwark is a year long symbolic ritual that reenacts the entirety of cities long history. It begins with the Greek Court, followed by the Rome Court, the Latin Court, the Ottoman Court, and the Ataturk Court, each playing their role before passing it off to the next group of players.

I need this. I need this so very bad.

[Second Chances]

I need this. I need this so very bad.

Let's see if I can't nail down an emotion for each of them then. This is quick and off the top of my head, so I may revise them later.

Greek - Pride

Rome - Might

Latin - Zeal

Ottoman - Ambition

Ataturk - Independence

[LostLight]

really dig the new Court system. While I usually like the idea of global groups, the new system makes Changeling feels a lot more of how it is meant to feel, from explaining how the Lost protect them against the Gentry and up to how Courts are meant to be built. As a changeling, whether a story is true or false is less true then telling the story right. The Approach is truly my favorite adjustment- making yourself vulnerable to force your enemies to play the game you want to play? That just sounds awesome. I have to make a Court which its Approach should be a dancing contest :P

[Gaius]

I enjoyed this, as well as the Toronto writeup. ^_^ I honestly am just really loving the overall shift toward veiling things in terms of narratives and stories. I've always been a big fan of it, and it's done very well in here.

On approaches, how I read it is that it's bait, or like creating channels for water. By inviting the Huntsmen to come after you in a particular way, you force them onto your territory, narratively speaking, so you have more control over the outcome by being subversive.

Aye, that was my thinking, too. I'm curious if there are additional rules for Courtless Changelings. It could be that Huntsmen normally get Yearning when causing any sort of unpleasantness to a particular Changeling within a broad spectrum, and Court membership forces a more narrow set of tactics.

I definitely like the idea that a Changeling in joining a Court commits themselves to something meaningful, and Huntsmen have an easier time getting at them only after disrupting or creating cracks in that commitment. If the larger metaphor is maintaining one's self-determination... perhaps Yearning is the consequence of running into setbacks that undermine one's convictions in living one's life, and makes it easier to leave that real life and slip back into fantasy.

A freehold needs two courts because it's more interesting that way.

In addition, it seems a big part of the ritual that maintains the Bulwark is transfer of power between Courts -- or at least the chance of such. That's not really a plausible proposition if there's only a single Court.

[atamajakki]

Well, it's not like you lost out on them. The Seasonal Courts are still in there. It's just not as central a feature now.

That's not a good thing.

[ArcaneArts]

That's not a good thing.

Says you, I'm having a blast.

[wyrdhamster]

First, I think we need a Grimm Courts of 19th Century Germany for Dark Eras now, with Red Riding Hood, Sleeping Beuty, Cinderella and all others Courts.

As to Approches: I like the "con" feel of them, but mechanics do not work with it - I mean in particular Mantle Merit. Approches seems as both blessing and a "curse", so by this, I would rather put Personal Appoches as 2nd dot of Mantle, and change them with 4th dot. Most Court members should be able to make those, not only most powerfull, with 4 or 5 dots.

[atamajakki]

Says you, I'm having a blast.

Changeling's main appeal - for me, many of my players, and quite a few others I know - is how the game acts as a metaphor for abuse survivors. Straying away from that is like a Wraith game without depression; I hate to see the lessened focus.

[Second Chances]

Says you, I'm having a blast.

Likewise. If there is any splat that should be localized in its social groups, its changelings. 1e calls out the fact that there aren't enough of them for intercity communication to happen regularly. It seems illogical that the courts would spread so far. Plus, they are fae and stories are supposed to be important to them. It is wonderful that each table can now take time to craft their own city and story.

[PenDragon]

That's not a good thing.

They are as central as you want them to be. This system puts the choice into the storyteller's hands.

[ArcaneArts]

Changeling's main appeal - for me, many of my players, and quite a few others I know - is how the game acts as a metaphor for abuse survivors. Straying away from that is like a Wraith game without depression; I hate to see the lessened focus.

1) Well, it is now broadened out from abuse survivors to trauma survivors, sooooo. Yeah. You know, context.

2) The courts are now broadened out to explore more images and ideas to use as metaphors. Creating more room to explore an idea is a good idea.

Nothing's being strayed from, it's just being expanded. I, for one, enjoy creating local metaphors that make the courts more personal to the changelings in it as an expression of coping and moving on, rather than a unified and more distant expression of the idea.

And truth be told, I hated the entire "Courts are metaphors for stages of Kubler-Ross model!" argument. It always struck me as shallow. THis isn't a linear game where you hop from court to court. It can be, but it's not inherently.

[Charlaquin]

The trauma angle also seems much more emphasized in the Seemings now as well.

[ArcaneArts]

Also, another big thing is that I have not lost the Seasonal Courts. They are still right there, on my shelf(Well, bed right now), their richness and depth forever within my grasp. I have gained freedom and will only lose $30+ for a book that's not even out yet.