Changling Merits [G-L]

Gentrified Bearing (••••)
Book: Rites Of Spring, p. 92
Prerequisite: Wyrd •••
Effect: Your character’s bearing and aura carry some of the stamp of the True Fae. As a result, hobgoblins and the True Fae are capable of mistaking your character for one of the Gentry. Hobgoblins that interact with your character for a scene or more may make a Wits + Composure roll, with a penalty equal to the changeling’s Wyrd to realize that your character is not Gentry. Sapient hobgoblins may avoid your character or act significantly deferential, if not necessarily obedient. However, they are likely to become quite vindictive if they realize they’ve been tricked. The True Fae have a chance to be fooled only if they see your character at a distance or only find evidence of her previous presence in a location. Closer contact, such as touching her, hearing your character speak or being able to smell her scent will dispel the illusion. Still, it may buy a few moments’ precious respite if the Other would rather avoid any entanglements with rivals at the time.


Glamour Thief (••••)
Book: Swords At Dawn, p. 92
Prerequisite: Wyrd •••, Empathy ••, Occult ••
Effect: Sometimes the Wyrd blesses (or curses) a changeling with a little additional power above and beyond what is possible for other changelings. Such creatures can siphon Glamour from other Lost, stealing it for their own use. This works precisely as harvesting Glamour from the emotions of mortals, save that the roll is contested by the subject changeling with a Wyrd roll. If the character overcomes the subject’s roll, he takes from the subject a number of Glamour equal to the successes rolled; if he rolls fewer or an equivalent number of successes, he garners no Glamour at all. Stolen Glamour comes out of the subject’s Glamour pool. The sensation of having Glamour stolen is similar to the pain of being beaten with cold iron.
Drawback: Glamour taken from a changeling seems more concentrated with wild magic than that stolen from a human. A character that drains Glamour from another Lost suffers from an active derangement (either one of his own, one of the subject’s or one of the Storyteller’s choice) for a number of scenes equal to the number of Glamour points stolen. Furthermore, such an act of vampirism is a breaking point for changelings with Clarity 6 or higher (three dice).


Goblin Merchant (• or •••)
Book: Goblin Market, p. 34
Effect: Your character has convinced the local Goblin Market to let you sell wares to other Market-goers without having to worry about being price-gouged by the other vendors or forcefully removed by the Market toughs. For •, these are the only benefits. At ••• you’ve paid your membership in full and gain the protection of Market law.
Drawback: Selling wares at the Goblin Market is hardly a respectable profession. In most freeholds, this results in a loss of face among the other changelings. Goblin merchants find that the Court Goodwill Merit is limited to ••• for them. At the Storyteller’s discretion other social merits, such as Status and Allies, may be subject to similar restrictions when purchased to reflect ties to freehold society. Changelings find it difficult to hide their association with the Market; aspects of the Market always seem to seep into their mien.


Goblin Vow (• to •••••)
Book: Rites Of Spring, p. 38
Effect: Your character has an innate connection to some very specific purview of Wyrd reality that emulates, to a lesser degree, the Others’ connections thereto. This allows her to craft pledges with that purview off the cuff, without the need for another individual to serve as a witness or agent of the Wyrd. For each dot your characters has in this Merit, she has a connection with one purview of the Wyrd. These purviews are very specific. “Animals” is too general a purview, as is “canines,” but “dogs,” “wolves,”“coyotes” or “jackals” are all appropriate purviews. Similarly, “night-time” is too broad a purview, but “dusk,”“dawn,” “midnight” or “moonless nights” are all acceptable. A changeling with the Goblin Vow Merit can craft a pledge just as she would a one-sided pledge, choosing the task, boon and duration, which must equal out to a zero sum. (Note the missing sanction, which requires that the tasks are strong enough to equal out to both boon and duration. Thus, most Goblin Vows are very short in duration.) Elements of the pledge are all based on one of the particular purviews the character possesses, with the task serving that purview in some manner and the boon being some aspect of that purview the character can benefit from.

Purview Favors:
Similar to a traditional favor boon, the changeling in a Goblin Pledge asks a favor from the other entity in the pledge. However, unlike a traditional boon, the other party is not a mortal or changeling but a purview of the Wyrd itself. This allows a great deal of flexibility in the nature of the favor, but it must be in keeping with the purview itself. Purviews of fire, such as candles, fireplaces or bonfires, for example,might grant warmth, summon a small flame, illuminate an area or give protection from burning. Darkness purviews, such as various aspects of night, might hide one from attackers, grant restful sleep or even lull a bored enemy into dozing off. Midnight, however, could not grant one sharp claws or protection from hunters who are using scent, rather than sight.
Disadvantage: Unlike normal pledges, Goblin Pledges contain their own innate sanctions, which are separate from the balancing equation of task, boon and duration. Goblin Pledge sanctions are activated by the Wyrd, should the pledger fail to follow through on her tasks after making the pledge, and are equal in severity to the task total + 1.

Example: Annie Lida, a young Skitterskulk who has the Goblin Vow Merit •••• (Black Velvet, Cemeteries,Earthworms and Moonless Nights) finds herself being chased down a dead-end multi-story alley by an ill-intentioned gang of thugs. Exhausted and injured, her options are few. She can’t climb over the walls; they're too tall. It’s too late to double-back out of the alley, and every Contract that she has that might help her requires the use of Glamour, which she is out of. She looks up and realizes that the night sky is clear and dark — the moon is new and invisible. Desperate, she crafts a Goblin Pledge: “Dark night, dark night, hide your daughter from their sight. If I live through the day, I will break every lit streetlight I see for the next month.”She expends a point of Willpower to invoke the pledge, and finds herself shrouded in night darkness. The thugs look for her, but can’t pick her out of the shadows and eventually leave the alley in search of easier prey. In this case, Annie’s pledge task (breaking every lit streetlight she sees for a month) is a medial endeavor (–2), the pledge’s duration is a day (+1) and the boon was fairly minor (+1). (Had she asked for the ability to harm the thugs, it might have been a medial task, or to kill them, a greater one.)Annie has no control over the sanction of the Goblin Vow. She leaves the alley, still shrouded in darkness,and for the next three weeks, is fastidious about shooting out every lit streetlight she sees with her pellet gun. However, just before the task is completed, she finds herself in the street as night is falling, and as the lights come on, she chooses to go out with some friends rather than spend the evening destroying streetlights. The Wyrd is evoked with the breaking of the pledge, and the Storyteller chooses a greater curse sanction (see p.182 of
Changeling: The Lost) for the next day (the duration of the pledge).

Sample Wyrd Purviews Below are some of the potential Wyrd purviews that a Storyteller might allow a character with the Goblin Vow Merit to take. Note that the bolded categories are too broad to be taken as purviews, and are offered merely for ease of organization. If a Storyteller feels a particular purview is too restrictive or too broad, she is welcomed to create her own guidelines for what a purview can and cannot cover. Ideally, purviews should be narrow enough to not be useful in every situation but not so restrictive as to never be useful.

Animals: Stray Cats, Tigers, Birds of Prey, Ravens, Songbirds, Insects, Whales Buildings and Structures:Schools, Garages (Mechanical), Working Farms, Morgues, Hospitals
Emotions: Righteous Indignation, Unrequited Love, Phobic Fear
Items: Sports Cars, Trucks, Telephones, Books, Knives, Cash
Plants: Algae, Ivy, Kudzu, Moss and Lichen, Oak Trees, Roses
Time/Seasons: Midnight, Noon, Dusk, Dawn, Solstice, February 29th
Weather: Hurricanes, Moonless Nights, Monsoons, Blizzards


Harvest (• to •••••)
Book: Changeling: The Lost Core, p. 94
Effect: Glamour is a precious commodity, and one of the first things many changelings do upon coming to terms with their new existence is try to find some way to secure a steady supply. This Merit represents a relatively stable and consistent source of Glamour that the changeling is considered to have ready access to,allowing her to more easily refresh her supply of Glamour in times of need. This does not guarantee that the changeling will always be able to find the exact amount she needs — in all its forms, Glamour is an unpredictable energy at best — but it does give her a bit more security than a changeling who never knows where his next bit of Glamour will come from. Each dot of Harvest adds one die to certain rolls related to gathering Glamour. A character must specify what type of Glamour-gathering activities this Merit represents when it is purchased. The different types available include but are not necessarily limited to Emotions, Pledges, Dreams and Hedge Bounty. Thus a character adept at gaining Glamour from mortals would take Harvest (Emotions),while a changeling receiving Glamour due to upholding pledges would possess Harvest (Pledges) and a savvy scrounger who knows where some of the best groves in the local Hedge can be found would have Harvest (Goblin Fruits). The bonus applies only to rolls related to that type of collection, so a changeling with Harvest(Dreams) would receive no bonus on a roll to gain Glamour from a mortal’s waking emotions. The actual source of the Glamour can vary considerably, from a reserved room at the back of a local nightclub where the changeling brings her conquests (Emotions) to a secret glen in the Hedge where the goblin fruits ripen (Hedge Bounty).This Merit may be purchased multiple times, but only once per type of Glamour gathering. Note that the changelings receiving Glamour from pledges with mortals are still limited to the maximum number of vows determined by their Wyrd rating (see p. 176).


Hedge Beast Companion (• to •••)
Book: Autumn Nightmares, p. 132This Merit represents a positive relationship between the changeling and the hobgoblin in question. The Hedge Beast is not a servant or slave, although it is likely to aid the character in whatever reasonable ways the Hedge Beast can in exchange for the changeling’s aid, support and protection. The hobgoblin is not likely to put itself into overly hazardous positions; safety and support are a large part of why Hedge Beasts take companions in the first place. Especially in the human world, however, people tend to ignore animals,allowing the Hedge Beast opportunity to witness or overhear many things that might otherwise be hidden from the hobgoblin’s Lost companion. Unlike humans, Hedge Beasts do not begin with an assumption of one point in each Attribute. An insect companion may well have a Strength of 0, while a skitterish ferret may have no composure whatsoever. A companion is built according to the following guidelines; Hedge Beasts more powerful than these assuredly exist, but are not in need of changeling protectors, and therefore do not seek out such relationships.• Attributes 15 points total, Skills 18 points total, Merits up to five points, two dots of Contracts, Wyrd 1•• Attributes 18 points total, Skills 21 points total, Merits up to seven points, four points of Contracts, Wyrd2••• Attributes 21 points total, Skills 24 points total, Merits up to nine points, six points of Contracts, Wyrd 3It should be remembered that unique and exotic Hedge Beasts may be more difficult to explain to the mundane world. Cats and dogs are seen as common companions, and can even be registered as service animals to facilitate their presence in public places. Rats and other rodentia, birds, lizards or snakes may elicita bit more attention, but are still likely to pass without too much problem. Insects, fish and horses may be a bit more difficult to explain, while animals seen as dangerous (wolves, big cats or bears) or endangered(Tasmanian devils, lemurs or many birds of prey) may not only draw huge amounts of attention but the wrath of the human authorities as well. Likewise, horses and other “beasts of burden” as well as large animals of other sorts may be difficult for an urban changeling to house. Since the Hedge Beast is entering into the companion relationship predominantly for protection and sanctuary, boarding the creature away from the changeling, or having it remain within the Hedge for the majority of the time is dis satisfactory treatment. Changeling characters who lose their companions through neglect, abuse or disrespect, or those whose companions are killed receive no refund of their Merit points. Depending on the circumstances and whether the situation was their fault or simply bad fortune, characters may or may not have earned enough respect amongst other Hedge Beasts to encourage another to seek out their companionship. If so, the characters do not need to pay again for their new companions, but this circumstance is at the judgment of the Storyteller. Changelings and companions can enter into pledge bonds that will strengthen and define their relationship. This is not implied by the Merit; any pledge bonds can be formed in the usual fashion.


Hedge Gate Sense (•)
Book: Rites Of Spring, p. 92
While the Lost can enter the Hedge by creating a gateway almost anywhere, there are times when it’s safer to find an established way into the Hedge. Even more so, however, there are times when it’s important to be able to find an established way out of the Hedge. This Merit represents an increased sensitivity to the presence of gateways into and out of the Hedge. When attempting to find one’s way out of the Hedge, a character with this Merit can cut the time required to find an active gateway in half. As well, changelings with this Merit may make a reflexive Wits + Wyrd roll to notice an active gateway into the Hedge — a doorway that has been used as a gateway will glimmer with an ethereal light, or the stones that form an active gateway arch might seem to pulse slightly when the changeling nears.


Hidden Life (• to •••)
Book: Rites Of Spring, p. 92
Prerequisite: No dots in Fame, Wyrd equal to Hidden Life
Effect: The True Fae are occasionally known as the hidden folk because they are only seen when they wish to be, and your character shares some of this ability. Anyone attempting to gather or obtain any information about your character, by either supernatural or mundane means, must subtract a number of dice equal to your character’s dots in this Merit from all rolls to perform such activities. Mortals must also subtract an equal number of dice from all rolls to remember any information about her or her actions, including what your character looked like. Changelings with the Hidden Life Merit often live on the fringes of mortal society, since their records can easily become lost. While police officers forgetting to write up reports of minor crimes your character committed can be extremely helpful, having the company your character works for lose her pay check is far more problematic.
Drawback: If your character is ever noticed by the media or otherwise gains any significant degree of fame, she temporarily loses the Hidden Life Merit until her fame or notoriety fades. Fortunately, given the nature of this Merit, this occurs more swiftly than normal. However, changelings who are public figures, such as TV personalities, actors or politicians, cannot have this Merit, since they make themselves far too obvious for people to forget them.


Hob Kin (••)
Book: Rites Of Spring, p. 92
Prerequisite: Hollow •+
Effect: The roughly humanoid hobgoblins known as hobs are relatively ubiquitous in the Hedge. Whilealmost none have anything mortals or changelings would regard as friends, hobs treat their own kind somewhat less ruthlessly than they treat others. For some reason, hobs react to your character as they react to their own kind. The reason for this reaction could include everything from your character having performed service that aided several important hobs to your character having something in her nature that makes hobs react to her as one of their own. Your character may have no idea why hobs react as they do. This reaction does not alleviate the need for your character to do favors for hobs. Hobs never do anything for free; doing so would violate every precept of their nature. However, among their own kind, hobs have aquid pro quo arrangement, where a service is paid for by a favor of roughly equal magnitude. Instead of having to pay vast amounts for a simple but vital service, your character generally only needs to pay a hob what the service is worth. As a result, your character is free to have one or more hobs guard her Hollow in return for allowing them to live in it when they desire or to give her warning about the approach of the Gentry and er dangerous residents of the Hedge, if your character is willing to aid these same hobs against similar dangers.


Hobgoblin Trainer (••)
Book: Rites Of Spring, p. 93
The character is capable of training hobgoblins to serve her temporarily. Training requires an extended, contested roll. As most hobgoblins have intelligence greater than that of an ordinary animal, the changelings must use Persuasion. However, the often animalistic urges that drive a hobgoblin can be a potential asset to changelings used to dealing with animals. The changeling’s player rolls her Presence + Persuasion or Intimidation. If the changeling has Animal Ken•• or •••, she receives an additional +1 to the roll; if she has Animal Ken ••••+, she receives +2 to the roll. The hobgoblin must succeed on a Resolve + Composure roll. Each is competing to secure a number of successes equal to the hobgoblin’s Wits + Intelligence roll. Each roll is equal to an hour of training and interaction between the two. This interaction is not simple and requires different measures for different creatures. For the sake of a good story, we recommend playing out each hour as a kind of give-and-take between beast and changeling — the creature paces, nips at the changeling’s hand,but maybe the changeling discovers that a swift backhand to the nose curtails the creature’s will for a time. If the hobgoblin gets the success first, the creature’s will cannot be broken. The hobgoblin may attack or skulk off into the Hedge, done with such foolishness. If the changeling wins, she breaks the hobgoblin’s spirit and can give it some limited instruction. Instruction can never be overtly complex, but it can be more than what a normal animal would understand.“Guard the Hollow” works, or even “locate a specific token.” Note that it’s no guarantee the creature will be successful in a task, but it will try. Also note that few hobgoblins will totally sacrifice themselves for a given purpose unless that’s in the hobgoblin’s dream forged demeanor. Such training holds for only one day per a character’s Wyrd score. The exception to this is if the player spends the changeling’s experience points on the Retainer Merit, with the hobgoblin now representing changeling’s Retainer. (This Retainer is only in the Hedge, and still necessitates a regular relationship between changeling and creature — she can’t just “program” the beast to do as it’s told forever. It must be rewarded or punished, and dealt with like any animal or slave.)


Hollow (• to •••••; special)
Book: Changeling: The Lost Core, p. 94
Effect: A door under the old town bridge that opens up into a quiet forest grove. A broken-down old shack that contains a fabulous mansion for those who know the right secret knock. A town high in the mountains that can only be found by the outside world but once a century. All of these are examples of the pockets of reality that changelings call Hollows — places in the Hedge that have been cleared of thorns and shaped into a stable location for inhabitation. Some Hollows are little more than a clear patch of grass in the midst of thereat Thorn maze, while others are dwellings quite elaborate and fantastical. Changelings actively create many of these locations through sweat and toil, while other Hollows are simply found and adopted in an almost fully formed state. Although Hollows are always a welcome refuge from problems of the mortal world and Hedge alike, not all Hollows are created equal. A tiny cave in the Hedge might be easily overlooked by enemies but also be cramped and contain few escape routes. A fantastic Victorian mansion might be able to house an entire motley and be packed with all manner of amenities, but without the proper wards, the mansion will also act asa beacon for all manner of freeloaders and other undesirable entities. A Hollow’s strengths and weaknesses are thus tallied according to four factors — size, amenities, doors and wards. Players who choose this Merit must also choose how to allocate these four factors when spending points. Thus, a player who spends four dots on this Merit might choose to allocate two to Hollow Size, one to Hollow Amenities and one to Hollow Wards. Hollow Size is perhaps the simplest defining characteristic, governing the amount of raw space the Hollow encompasses. A Hollow with no dots in Hollow Size is barely large enough for a pair of changelings to fit comfortably, and has little if any storage space.• A small apartment, cave or clearing; one to two rooms.•• A large apartment or small family home; three to four rooms.••• A warehouse, church or large home; five to eight rooms, or large enclosure•••• An abandoned mansion, small fortress or network of subway tunnels; equivalent to nine to 15 rooms or chambers ••••• A sprawling estate, fantastic treetop village or intercom nected tunnel network; countless rooms or chambers Having a lot of space doesn’t always do much good if there isn’t anything occupying it, which is where Hollow Amenities comes in. Reflecting the relative luxuriousness of the Hollow as well as how well-stocked it is with supplies and other material comforts, this rating gives an idea of how elaborate the Hollow is as well as what a character can reasonably expect to find within it at a given time. (A character who wants a humble cabin doesn’t need to allocate much here, but a character who wants an elaborate treetop village stocked with delights should be ready to invest quite a bit.) A Hollow without any dots in Amenities contains few if any buildings or possessions — it might be big but it’s mostly empty space. At the other end of the spectrum, are treat with five dots in amenities is likely fully stocked with all manner of luxuries, and while most of these Amenities are made of ephemeral dream stuff and thus cannot travel across the Hedge or even that far from their origin within it, they still make for a very pleasing stay. (In other words, Hollow Amenities cannot be used as a substitute for other Merits such as Resources or Harvest, and if the character wants the things found in his Hollow to travel outside of it, he must purchase the appropriate Merits to represent these riches.) While a high Hollow Amenities rating often entails a high Hollow Size rating, exceptions do occur for example, a changeling might not invest much in Hollow Size, but then make that small cabin a veritable wonderland full of excellent food, interesting books and a magical fireplace that keeps itself at the perfect temperature all the time. Likewise, a motley might invest a lot in Hollow Size to get a giant Victorian mansion, but without much spent in Hollow Amenities, it will be sparsely furnished and likely a bit rundown. Although Hollows cannot have access to some high-tech facilities such as phone service, Internet connections or satellite broadcasts, some of the more impressive Hollows make up for it with minor magical touches. These magical elements should not mimic anything as powerful as Contracts, but can provide basic household services and serve as excellent descriptive details and flourishes to create exactly what the player desires for the look and feel of their Hollow. A game board with living chess or gwybdyll pieces that can play against a living opponent is a perfectly acceptable entertainment amenity, for example, as might be a battered arcade cabinet that changes every new moon to a different video game never seen in the mortal world.• A couple of homey touches, but otherwise quite plain •• A comfortable Hollow with a few notable features and decent fare ••• An elaborate Hollow with quite a few clever details and an excellent supply of refreshments and diversions •••• An impressive Hollow containing abundant mundane delights and even one or two noteworthy minor magical services as well ••••• A lavish dwelling with nearly every comfort of modern living as well as quite a few magical conveniences Hollow Doors reflects how many entrances and exits a Hollow has, which can be equally important if a character is cut off from her normal access point in the real world or finds herself in need of a quick escape route while staying in the Hollow. Without any dots in Hollow Doors, a Hollow is assumed to have one entrance in the real world and one small entrance in the Hedge — the Hollow can be reached through either side. (A character may waive either of these “free” entrances if he only wishes the Hollow to be accessible from one side.) With each dot in Hollow Doors, the Hollow has one additional point of entry/exit, either in the real world or through the Hedge. For example, with the expenditure of multiple dots, each motley member might have a door in his own residence that allows him access to the group’s private Hollow. Note that these doors must be tied to static access points in either realm — these places do not change. Of course, a changeling might have the most gigantic and elaborate Hollow imaginable, but unless it is properly warded and secured against intrusion, it will most likely be lost to opportunistic scavengers in short order — or worse yet, subject to an unpleasant visitation from the Others. Thus, it is wise to invest at least a few dots in Hollow Wards, representing the precautions both mundane and magical that protect the Hollow from unwanted visitors. Each dot invested in Hollow Wards subtracts one die from all attempts by unwanted visitors to find or break into the Hollow; in addition, those inside receive a +1 die bonus per dot on their Initiative compared to those attempting to break in. Lastly, the more dots invested in Hollow Wards, the less likely the location is to be found by True Fae or creatures from the Hedge; each dot subtracts one die from any rolls made to find the Hollow. Characters whose players spend no points at all on Hollow simply do not have access to any sort of special location in the Hedge. They might come as guests to another’s dwelling from time to time, but if they wish to have regular access to any particular location, they must purchase this Merit on their own or pool points with other changelings who already own an existing Hollow. Characters with no Hollow points simply do not enjoy the mechanical benefits of having spent dots on a better living space in the Hedge. Each aspect of the Hollow Merit has a limit of 5. In other words, Hollow Size, Hollow Amenities, Hollow Wards and Hollow Doors may not rise above 5 (to a maximum of 20 points spent on this Merit). The combined pool of points is used to determine the cost in experience points for raising the Hollow Merit during play.

Special: The Hollow Merit may be shared among characters in a close-knit group. They might simply be a motley whose members are devoted to one another and are willing to pool what they have, or perhaps their mutual reliance on an individual or trust could bring them together to share what they have in common. To share this Merit, two or more characters simply have to be willing to pool their dots for greater capability. A shared rating in the Hollow Merit cannot rise higher than five dots in any of the four aspects of the trait. That is, characters cannot pool more than five points to be devoted to, say, Hollow Size. If they wish to devote extra points to the Merit, they must allocate those dots to a different aspect of the Merit, such as Wards or Doors. Shared Hollow dots can be lost. Motley members or associates might be abused or mistreated, ending relationships. Group members might perform actions that cast themselves (and the group) in a bad light. Ravaging creatures from the Hedge might damage part of the location, or some True Fae could discover the Hollow and decide to make it their personal residence for a time. If any group member does something to diminish the Hollow, its dots decrease for all group members. That’s the weakness of sharing dots in this Merit. The chain is only as strong as its weakest link. The Storyteller dictates when character actions or events in a story compromise shared Hollow dots. Characters can also leave a shared Hollow. A rift might form between close sworn comrades, or perhaps a character falls in battle. Or one could simply be kicked out of the Hollow by the others. When a character leaves a shared- Hollow relationship, the dots he contributed are removed from the pool. If the individual still survives, he doesn’t get all his dots back for his own purposes. He gets one less than he originally contributed. So, if a character breaks a relationship with his motley, his two Hollow dots are lost by the group, but he gets only one dot back for his own purposes. The lost dot represents the cost or bad image that comes from the breakup. If all members agree to part ways, they all lose one dot from what they originally contributed. The Storyteller decides what reduced dots mean in the story when a character leaves a shared Hollow. Perhaps no one else picks up the character’s attention to the Hollow’s mystical defenses, causing Hollow Wards to drop. The Hollow might not be tended as fastidiously, causing a drop in the Hollow Amenities value. Maybe a portion of the Hollow falls into disuse or even collapses, causing an effective drop in Hollow Size. Whatever the case, a plausible explanation must be determined. A character need not devote all of her Hollow dots to the shared Hollow Merit, of course. A changeling might maintain a separate Hollow of her own outside the communal one represented by the shared trait. Any leftover dots that a character has (or is unwilling to share) signify what she has to draw upon as an individual,separate from her partners. For example, three characters share a Hollow and expend a group total of five dots. One character chooses to use two other dots on a private Hollow for herself. Those remaining two dots represent a Hollow entirely separate from what she and her friends have established together. To record a shared Hollow Merit on your character sheet, put an asterisk next to the name of the Hollow Merit and fill in the total dots that your character has access to thanks to his partnership. In order to record his original contribution, write it in parentheses along with the Merit’s name. It is not important to note which aspect of the Hollow Merit on which those points are spent, as this allows greater flexibility should a character ever decide to withdraw from the community arrangement. The result looks like this:


MERITS Hollow* (2) •••Hollow •• Allie •••
In this example, the character shares a Hollow Merit dedicated to the motley’s communal refuge. He contributes two dots to the relationship, and the group has a total of four dots that are made available to each member. The character also has his own private Hollow Merit rated •••, which he maintains by himself. And,the character has Ally rated •• that is also his own Merit.


Kiss Of Life (••••)
Book: Swords At Dawn, p. 24
Benefit: When you use your Sap the Vital Spark kith blessing, instead of using the stolen life energy to heal yourself, you may “store” the healing potential and deliver it to another character with a touch (despite the name of the Merit, this touch doesn’t have to be a kiss). Healing another character has the same effect as healing yourself (you heal one point of lethal damage or downgrade a point of aggravated damage to lethal damage). At any time, you can choose to use this stored healing to heal yourself. If your Wyrd is high enough that you can use Sap the Vital Spark more than once per scene, you can store up multiple points of healing and distribute them as you like with a touch. If you do not use the healing by the end of the scene, the vital energy dissipates.


Lethal Mien (••)
Book: Rites Of Spring, p. 94
Prerequisite: Wyrd 3Even while protected by the Mask, some aspect of the Fae’s mien has evolved to become offensively oriented and can be used as a weapon. This might be long nails, claws, teeth, hooves, spines or some other“natural weapon” or something wholly supernatural, such as icy or fiery skin, an “iron hand” or a secretion that acts as a low-level contact poison. The changeling inflicts lethal damage when brawling instead of bashing. If the changeling already has an innate lethal attack thanks to his kith (such as a Hunterheart’s clawsor a Gristlegrinder’s bite), the damage rating of that attack is increased by 1. Thus, a Hunterheart would inflict one lethal damage, and a Gristlegrinder would have a three lethal damage bite, though it would still require a grapple. The changeling is able to handle objects without harming them; claws are perhaps retractable, or perhaps precise enough that the changeling is able to still manipulate items.


Long of Days (••)
Book: Rites Of Spring, p. 94
Effect: Your character shares some of the ageless nature of the True Fae. Your character gains the longevity and infirmity bonuses of a changeling with a Wyrd four points higher than hers actually is. If your changeling had a Wyrd of 2, she has the longevity and infirmity bonuses of a changeling with a Wyrd of 6.The only limit on this Merit is that the maximum bonus remains that associated with Wyrd 10, +130 years with a +4 infirmity bonus. Characters who possess this Merit and a Wyrd of 6 or more all have the same maximum longevity and infirmity bonus.