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View Full Version : Changeling (3.5 Template) (PEACH)



Solaris
2009-10-29, 11:52 AM
Changeling
Just about every culture has tales of changelings, fey creatures left behind in place of stolen human infants. The fate of the stolen babies varies with the story and the area, but it is almost never terribly pleasant. Oftentimes, the stolen baby becomes a lifelong slave of the fair folk while the bastard changeling grows up in its stead. Fortunately for changelings in the stories, their foster parents almost never realize what happened until they've grown attached to 'their' child - or they fear the fair folk too much to abandon the fey child. Whatever the reason, the child grows up with a sense of being very different from the people around her. According to myth, the changeling child's true mother returns to nurse her thirteen times in the year before her thirteenth birthday, and on the new moon after her thirteenth birthday she disappears to rejoin her fey kin.

There are tales of foster parents who interrupt this feeding, saving her from becoming one of the fair folk. Old wives' tales hold that putting an iron manacle on the changeling child protects her from her mother and prevents her from escaping on the new moon. Even if the changeling child is saved in her youth, her fey kin may one day come to claim her.

These stories are all true. Changelings are the result of dalliances between hags in the guise of comely young women and mortal men - sometimes, but not always, the father who raises the child. The majority of them are female, but the rare few are male.

Personality: Much like the half-elves, who similarly lack any true culture or nations of their own, changelings have varied personalities, usually quite similar to those of the race they grew up with. They tend to be somewhat quiet and reserved, especially around those they don't trust. They can be capricious and outright cruel at times, betraying their evil mother's influence.
Most changelings won't reveal that they are changelings under any circumstances. They very rarely tell their lovers, friends, or comrades that they're anything but what they appear to be and usually wish they weren't changelings. Some, especially those who were accepted for what they are growing up - a situation more common in hamlets than one would think - embrace their supernatural nature, but both dread and long for the day their true mothers come to claim them.

Physical Description: Changelings, for the most part, appear to be ordinary humans, half-elves, or whatever their parent race is. They tend to have elfin features and are usually quite appealing in appearance, an irony given what they're doomed to become. While most have normal eye and hair colors, a good portion of changelings have more unusual traits such as violet eyes. Red hair is also fairly common among changelings, particularly in southern Avalon and Sanctuary. A common trait to nearly all changelings is fingernails that have the strength of steel, though they're not often sharp enough to use as weapons.

Relations: If they are not found out, changelings have the same relations with other people as the race they resemble. Changelings generally regard humans with a fair bit of mistrust, a well-founded feeling based upon years of mistreatment and superstition. Changelings who are open about their nature usually hail from southern Avalon or Sanctuary, as those lands are more tolerant of fey creatures. Changelings are quite thoroughly unwelcome in Manitol due to the dwarves' paranoia about them, and the Dunadorians and Galganians especially dislike changelings. In some of the wilder parts of the northlands, a changeling who is open about her nature is very likely to wind up dead or running for her life.

Alignment: Changelings often share the ethical and moral outlooks of the people they were raised with, but could just as easily be rejecting them as they reject those people. They tend to be chaotic and cruel, but a good number are simply free spirits.

Changeling Lands: Changelings do not have lands of their own, but instead try to integrate in with pre-existing settlements or wander on their own. Changelings do not form societies, as there are only a handful of them in any given nation.

Religion: Changelings are usually as religious as the people they grew up with, but, as with alignment, could just as easily reject their religious teachings. They are often fairly casual about their religion, but some can be quite fervent and zealous.

Language: Changelings have no language of their own, but their natural talent with learning languages means they often speak just about everybody else's. Changelings are even capable of learning elven clan languages well enough that an elf could stomach hearing them speak. With most languages, a changeling naturally picks up the accent and is indistinguishable from a native speaker going by sound and speech patterns alone.

Names: Changelings usually keep the names their foster parents gave them.

Adventurers: Changelings, like half-elves, make natural adventurers if only because they tend to be rather unwelcome in human society. Though they have a natural ability for deception and thus are often rogues and scoundrels, changelings have few restrictions. They can be just as heroic or villainous as any human.

Changeling Racial Traits
'Changeling' is an inherited template that can be added to any humanoid or monstrous humanoid. (referred to hereafter as the "base creature"). A changeling uses all of the base creature's statistics and special abilities except as noted here.

Size and Type: The creature's type becomes fey (augmented). She retains her parent's racial subtypes, such as elf or orc.

Special Qualities: A changeling has all the special qualities of the base creature, plus the following special qualities based upon the type of hag she will someday become. All require an action point to activate. (If you're not using action points, then they don't.)

* Monstrous Growth (Su): A changeling with an annis mother can transform herself into a horrific giant version of herself. Her size increases by one step, gaining +4 bonus to Strength and a -2 penalty to Dexterity, and her fingernails transform into vicious claws. She gains two claw attacks that deal 1d6+Str points of damage and the rend extraordinary ability. A changeling that hits with both claw attacks latches onto the opponent's body and tears the flesh. This attack automatically deals an extra 2d6+1.5x Str points of damage. A changeling can do this 1/day for a number of rounds equal to 3 + her Charisma modifier at 1st level, gaining another use per day at fourth level and again at eighth level to a maximum of 3/day.

* Weakness (Su): A changeling with a green hag mother can drain the strength from her victim with a touch. If she succeeds at a special touch attack, the victim must make a Fortitude save or take 1d4 points of Strength damage. The save DC is 10 + 1/2 changeling's Hit Dice + changeling's Charisma modifier. She can perform this attack 1/day at first level, gaining an additional use per day at 4th level and again at 8th level to a maximum of 3/day.

* Evil Eye (Su): A changeling with a sea hag mother can lay a curse on someone with a glare. By casting her dire gaze on someone within 30 feet, she dazes him for three days. A Will save DC 10 + 1/2 changeling's Hit Dice + changeling's Charisma modifier negates this attack, and the changeling can use it 1/day at first level, gaining an additional use per day at 4th level and again at 8th level to a maximum of 3/day.

* Dream Haunting (Sp): A changeling with a night hag mother has a supernatural gift with nightmares and fear. By tapping into a creature's deepest subconscious, she can cast phantasmal killer with an effective caster level equal to her Hit Dice. The save DCs are 10 + 1/2 the changeling's hit dice + the changeling's Charisma modifier. She can use this spell-like ability 1/day at 4th level, gaining an additional use per day at 6th level and again at 8th level to a maximum of 3/day.

Abilities: Adjust from the base creature as follows: +2 Dexterity, -2 Wisdom, +2 Charisma: Changelings are agile and personable but a bit flighty.

Feats: The changeling receives 1 less bonus feat at 1st level.

Skills: The changeling receives 1 less skill per level (and 4 less at 1st level).

Favored Class: Sorcerer. This is in addition to the base creature's normal favored class, if any.

Level Adjustment: Same as base creature +1.

Zovc
2009-10-29, 01:09 PM
At a glance, Monstrous Growth should increase size by one category, not make a creature large.

Solaris
2009-10-29, 01:18 PM
It should. I'd neglected that on account of pretty much every humanoid being Small or Medium.

TabletopNuke
2009-10-31, 08:27 PM
Are hags fey in your campaign? They're usually monstrous humanoids or outsiders, depending on the species.


A common trait to nearly all changelings is fingernails that have the strength of steel, though they're not often sharp enough to use as weapons.

How do changelings trim their nails? I imagine using a file would take a lot of time and effort.


Feats: The changeling receives 1 less bonus feat at 1st level.

Skills: The changeling receives 1 less skill per level (and 4 less at 1st level).
This punishes players who want to play human changelings. Not many other races grant extra feats and skill points, and that's almost all humans have. Their only other racial trait is a any favored class, which renders the changeling's extra favored class useless as well.

If you need an extra drawback to balance out some of the other racial features, maybe you could give them vulnerability to cold iron, which would fit well with the flavor of the race. Maybe changelings have difficulty wielding cold iron weapons, like the killoren from RotW.

Solaris
2009-10-31, 08:41 PM
Are hags fey in your campaign? They're usually monstrous humanoids or outsiders, depending on the species.

They are and they aren't. They're a part of the Fey Courts, but they (usually) retain their normal type.


How do changelings trim their nails? I imagine using a file would take a lot of time and effort.

It would.


This punishes players who want to play human changelings. Not many other races grant extra feats and skill points, and that's almost all humans have. Their only other racial trait is a any favored class, which renders the changeling's extra favored class useless as well.

If you need an extra drawback to balance out some of the other racial features, maybe you could give them vulnerability to cold iron, which would fit well with the flavor of the race. Maybe changelings have difficulty wielding cold iron weapons, like the killoren from RotW.

It also punishes nonhuman characters even more.

Zeta Kai
2009-10-31, 09:31 PM
I'm not sure about the mechanics, but the fluff is awesomesauce. The fey need more love in 3E, & WotC never did do changelings the right way. That's why I was glad that I got a chance to do my own version (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=5821910#post5821910), which this reminds me of quite a bit.

Tobi_goodboy
2009-10-31, 11:01 PM
you know, i kinda feel sorry for people who post their homebrews--you've already done everything :smalltongue:

The Tygre
2009-10-31, 11:12 PM
you know, i kinda feel sorry for people who post their homebrews--you've already done everything :smalltongue:

And how is that, exactly? It seems to me we haven't done nearly enough.

Tobi_goodboy
2009-11-01, 12:21 AM
just noting the trend of me glancing into an interesting-looking homebrew thread only to find that twelve posts down zeta has pointed out that he made the same thing as well, at an earlier date.

and this isnt meant in a negative sense, i just find it a little funny and somewhat similar to a 'simpsons did it' situation.

Zeta Kai
2009-11-01, 10:42 AM
Sorry, I'm not trying to invalidate anyone's work, or say that I'm so original & pioneering. I was just noting some similarities; on the whole, this template is fundamentally different & unrelated to anything I've done. This project, for example, is much more focused on the fluff, & offers a compelling contribution to a campaign's storyline. It's also mechanically quite different than my little monsters. I like it, overall, & I mean no slight by noting a passing resemblance to one of my past works.

TabletopNuke
2009-11-02, 02:28 AM
It also punishes nonhuman characters even more.

How so? I feel like I'm missing something. (I get that feeling a lot)

Admiral Squish
2009-11-02, 02:50 AM
How so? I feel like I'm missing something. (I get that feeling a lot)

you lose your first level feat. This is normally the only feat you have as a nonhuman. Humans would still have a feat.

Same applies to skills. Human's bonuses would negate the penalty.

Solaris
2009-11-02, 05:06 AM
you lose your first level feat. This is normally the only feat you have as a nonhuman. Humans would still have a feat.

Same applies to skills. Human's bonuses would negate the penalty.

That's exactly it.

EDIT: Looking at Zeta Kai's critter, I'm thinking pretty much all they have in common is the lore. His is designed as a monster, while mine is intended as a modification to a player race.

sigurd
2009-11-02, 08:12 AM
I like it but there are certainly other varieties of changeling. Why not call it 'Hag Child'.

You might also say that these children are drawn from the few children that survive being eaten by their mother. So either they are placed for a reason or through some mercy by another agent.

Also, do you changelings replace a missing child? What happens to them.


S

Solaris
2009-11-02, 04:36 PM
I like it but there are certainly other varieties of changeling. Why not call it 'Hag Child'.

Because I don't have those other changelings in my game. Hag Child works spiffiliciously for games that do have those other changelings.


You might also say that these children are drawn from the few children that survive being eaten by their mother. So either they are placed for a reason or through some mercy by another agent.

Being placed through mercy is a possibility, but I'd say it's the more uncommon one. Most hags leave their offspring with foster parents on account of they can't be bothered to raise them.


Also, do you changelings replace a missing child? What happens to them.

Often. Hags get hungry, too.

TabletopNuke
2009-11-03, 04:55 PM
you lose your first level feat. This is normally the only feat you have as a nonhuman. Humans would still have a feat.

Same applies to skills. Human's bonuses would negate the penalty.

Ah. I thought it only meant racial feats and bonus skills. That makes more sense.