CANTRIPS
Changelings use cantrips, the act of channeling Glamour into an Art, to rework the chimerical and even physical worlds to their whim.
All cantrips include a particular skill within an Art (represented by the dot rating of the Art used), one or more Realms (indicating the focus or target of the Art), and typically a bunk.
A Kithain’s magic is limited by her mastery of Realms; the character may not focus an Art on anyone or anything outside the scope of her character’s Realms when using a cantrip.
To invoke a cantrip, the player decides which level of the Art her character will use, adds at least one Realm known to the character to determine the target of the power, and spends Glamour based on the type of cantrip: chimerical or Wyrd.
Changelings may apply the effects of a cantrip to different kinds of targets simultaneously by using multiple Realms, but doing so increases the difficulty.
Step One: Art
The player decides on a specific dot rating of a particular Art to use.
Step Two: Realm(s)
The player determines the necessary Realms she needs for the desired use of the Art, including the modifier Realms (Time and Scene).
Step Three: Spend Glamour
The player spends one Glamour for any Wyrd cantrip, and adds an additional Glamour if she uses more than one Realm or “cheats” a Realm.
Step Four: Determine Dice Pool
The player rolls the character’s Art rating plus the rating of the lowest primary Realm (Fae, Actor, Nature, Prop) used in the cantrip. Time and Scene never influence the dice pool. The player replaces a number of dice in the pool equal to her current Nightmare rating, not to exceed the dice pool.
Step Five: Bunk
The player decides whether or not the character performs a bunk, and then either splits her dice pool or delays the cantrip roll until after the actions necessary for the bunk resolve.
Step Six: Determine Difficulty
The Storyteller determines the difficulty (base difficulty 8) with all relevant modifiers.
Step Seven: Complete Cantrip
The player rolls and consults the specific Art used for how to interpret the results of the roll.
- Target’s Banality > 7 +1
- Current location has Banality > 7 +1
- Using Scene Realm +1
- Using Time Realm +1
- Targets changeling with higher Title without their consent +1
- Voluntarily replace at least 3 dice with Nightmare Dice –1
- Cantrip cast in a freehold –1
- Cantrip cast on an enchanted mortal or Kinain –1
- Cantrip cast with a bunk –1 to –5
- Using Kith’s affinity Realm –1
BUNKS
Changelings use bunks, actions and events which remind the mundane world of the Dreaming, to ease the friction of focusing Glamour into the mortal world with a cantrip. The more elaborate or risky the bunk, the less difficult for the changeling to invoke the Art with the cantrip. A character can do just about anything when attempting a bunk, but it most often involves willingly putting herself in danger or taking a risk, drawing attention to herself, using or destroying some object or thing, timing the cantrip around a certain event, and/or repeating something a particular number of times.
Typically, bunks require the character to spend at least one turn acting before the changeling invokes the cantrip. Players may opt to split their dice pool and accomplish both the bunk and the cantrip in the same turn (assuming the action required for the bunk can be completed in a single turn) or the player may wait until after the actions necessary for the bunk and then use a full dice pool for the cantrip.
- Loud burp –1
- Spontaneous monologue –1
- Photobombing a group picture –1
- Throwing playing cards in a hat –1
- Burning a dollar bill –1
- Stuffing a whole cheeseburger in your mouth –1
- Casting the cantrip at sunset/sunrise –1
- Casting the cantrip at exactly 12:34 –1
- Saying the same thing as the target at the same time (Jinx!) –1
- Cutting a finger for blood –1
- Insulting a stranger –1
- Picking a fight –2
- Insulting a police officer –2
- Streaking in a crowded campus –2
- Performing for a large crowd –2
- Doing anything that makes people film you with their phones –2
- Destroying an expensive item –2
- Synchronized movement with target or partner(s) –2
- Re-enacting a relevant moment or scene from a movie –2
- Using a ceremonial sword in an elaborate ritual –3
- Being interviewed on the nightly local news –3
- Mooning the jumbotron at a packed football game –3
- Juggling chainsaws –3
- Getting or giving a tattoo –3
- Burning a cherished keepsake –3
- Running across a busy street –3
- Telling a dark secret to a lover –3
- Scattering thousands of dollars in a crowd –4
- Getting your picture on the front page of the paper –4
- Burning down your home –4
- Repeating an elaborate ritual at the same time over 3 days –4
- Casting a cantrip just as Halley’s Comet passes overhead –4
- Playing Russian roulette –4
- Giving a televised speech broadcast worldwide –4
- Starring in a viral video with millions of view –4
- Putting a mustache on a famous painting –5
- Dropping a priceless gem into the ocean –5
- Killing a son on the anniversary of his father’s death –5
- Standing in front of a speeding car –5
- Dueling with deadly weapons –5
- Leading an army into war –5
- Skydiving without a parachute –5
UNLEASHINGS
Changelings perform cantrips to focus Glamour through their Arts in specific, deliberate ways, but every Kithain possesses another, more dangerous method to do magic. Learning an Art unlocks a new door into the Dreaming, and a changeling desperate enough can kick that door open. Because the Unleashed Glamour reaches through the Dreaming by way of the changeling’s kith, an Unleashed Art always reflects the changeling’s nature.
A redcap Unleashing Wayfare yanks the target violently through the air or sends him hurtling through a nightmare world of blood and pain before emerging blocks away. An eshu Unleashing Contract, on the other hand, surrounds the target with the noises and smells of a busy marketplace as she is forced to accept a future favor from the changeling in return for handing over an item the character seeks.
The player chooses an Art to Unleash and states her character’s intent in a short, simple statement (“hurt that man,” “save my friend,” “restore the grove”).
She spends two points of Glamour and adds one to her character’s Nightmare rating.
The player is not constrained by the character’s Realms. Unleashed Glamour can affect anything, regardless of the caster’s knowledge of Realms.
The player rolls a number of dice equal to the character’s Glamour rating plus a number of dice equal to her Nightmare rating (difficulty 7). This is an exception to the usual rule about other Traits being added to Tempers
If the roll succeeds, the player must compare the number of successes to the rating of the Unleashed Art (see below).
Botch:
If the roll is a botch, the Dreaming floods through the character completely unchecked until Banality violently responds to the breach of the Mists. The character gains an Imbalance (but does not reduce her Nightmare dice pool as a result) and the Unleashed Art causes havoc around her for one turn. At the beginning of the next turn, Banality responds and cuts the character off from the Dreaming. The character suffers a Banality trigger, and she cannot spend Glamour or use Arts for the remainder of the scene.
Failure:
If the roll fails, the character is unable to Unleash. This triggers Banality, and the character cannot use the Unleashed Art for the remainder of the scene.
Success:
If the roll succeeds, but garners a number of successes equal to or fewer than the character’s Art rating, the changeling successfully invokes and controls the Dreaming. The character automatically invokes the Wyrd for a number of turns equal to her Glamour (the player can spend a point of Willpower to make it last for the rest of the scene), her fae mien becomes visible, and the player narrates the effect of the Unleashed Art.
If the player rolls more successes than the Art rating, though, the character loses control. The character’s intent is fulfilled, but in a twisted or unintended way that adds complications or puts everyone nearby at risk. The character gains one Nightmare, and the Storyteller narrates the effect of the Unleashing and should incorporate a complication or conflict into the result. The character automatically invokes the Wyrd for the remainder of the scene.