Whiny-Butthurt-Liberal
Guest
When I first read CtD, I thought it was too hopebright and edgy, compared to vampire, wraith, and other classic WoD games. Now that I'm coming back to it, I find the core concept infinitely more interesting and engaging than emo-goths moping around about how they have to suck cock to sustain their miserable undead lives.
CtL is an odd one, however. I really think this game line should have been called "Alien: the Abducted". It's deeply lovecraftian in its nature, and has only cosmetic ties to fairy tales, fae, nature spirits, folklore and legends. You could just as easily say that "changelings" are people who were abducted by extraterrestrial/extradimensional/mexican aliens, experimented upon, enslaved, mutated, and released back into the human world.
CtD, however, is all about fantasy trying to survive in a cold, harsh world of mundanity and banality. Imo, the core concept of the game is awesome, but a few adjustments need to be made for the game to be playable.
First, drop any age restriction concepts. Changelings "dying" after 20 and becoming mundane humans is retarded. I mean, there's an entire kith called "hags" who are hideous old witches, and you're telling me fae can't be old people?
Second, to make it clear that we're not larping a bunch of schizophrenics who are larping elves and dwarves while waving around hockey sticks that they think are swords, introduce the concept of "Fair Lands". This mechanic works the same way "Shadowlands" work in Wraith: the Oblivion: a plane of existence that overlaps with the physical world, but has its own vibe and twists the surroundings to fit these vibes. E.g. in shadowlands everything is dark, gloomy, haunted, decaying and in ruins. In fair lands, otoh, everything is more beautiful, natural, old timey and fantasy-like. A starbucks in the real world will be a good old tavern in the fairlands.
Unlike the shadowlands, the fairlands are (no longer) continuous. Banality shattered them into a multitude of tiny unconnected islands, so fairies have to retreat back into the "real" world every now and then. Fortunately, some still hold portals into the Deep Dreaming, which contain fantasy realms that are unconnected to the landscape of the planet Earth. Arcadia is still unattainable, however.
tl;dr Changeling: the Dreaming is a p. decent game and you should play it.
CtL is an odd one, however. I really think this game line should have been called "Alien: the Abducted". It's deeply lovecraftian in its nature, and has only cosmetic ties to fairy tales, fae, nature spirits, folklore and legends. You could just as easily say that "changelings" are people who were abducted by extraterrestrial/extradimensional/mexican aliens, experimented upon, enslaved, mutated, and released back into the human world.
CtD, however, is all about fantasy trying to survive in a cold, harsh world of mundanity and banality. Imo, the core concept of the game is awesome, but a few adjustments need to be made for the game to be playable.
First, drop any age restriction concepts. Changelings "dying" after 20 and becoming mundane humans is retarded. I mean, there's an entire kith called "hags" who are hideous old witches, and you're telling me fae can't be old people?
Second, to make it clear that we're not larping a bunch of schizophrenics who are larping elves and dwarves while waving around hockey sticks that they think are swords, introduce the concept of "Fair Lands". This mechanic works the same way "Shadowlands" work in Wraith: the Oblivion: a plane of existence that overlaps with the physical world, but has its own vibe and twists the surroundings to fit these vibes. E.g. in shadowlands everything is dark, gloomy, haunted, decaying and in ruins. In fair lands, otoh, everything is more beautiful, natural, old timey and fantasy-like. A starbucks in the real world will be a good old tavern in the fairlands.
Unlike the shadowlands, the fairlands are (no longer) continuous. Banality shattered them into a multitude of tiny unconnected islands, so fairies have to retreat back into the "real" world every now and then. Fortunately, some still hold portals into the Deep Dreaming, which contain fantasy realms that are unconnected to the landscape of the planet Earth. Arcadia is still unattainable, however.
tl;dr Changeling: the Dreaming is a p. decent game and you should play it.
