Changeling: The Lost Campaign Help <NWoD>

[Tokuhara]

I'm in the works on a Campaign revolving around a motley of Dual Kith'd Changelings who all escaped from the same keeper. Their keeper is a truly sadistic Fae who tortured all of them all in unique ways to create other supernatural beasties through their durances. In the human world, there is a war between Vampires and Werewolves has come to the surface with Humans getting caught in the crossfire. The Changeling courts refuse to pick a side and are trying to bring the war to an end in a neutral way. Mages are not involved with a side, but are acting much like magical arms dealers selling to both sides.

The party is being given two merits for free: Resources (based on their former jobs) and Dual Kith (2 or 3 at player's choice). This is my first real DMing experience and I can use a lot of help. Anyone?

[mint]

Changeling is awesome and I hope you have fun!
And now, some help,

Things to keep in mind because its your first time:

Don't be fancy. Keep it simple. Limit your scale and the scope of your story to start. Expand as needed. A lot of new GMs are overly ambitious with plot arcs and rule/splat inclusion.

Keep a good pace. Your group looks to you for setting the pace at which things happen and to frame a situation. What is happening now? What may be expected of the players in the current situation? These are things you want to make sure to keep the players aware of. This is pretty much how you set the pace of the game, how you present interactions with the world to the players.

Make up a few stock voices and personalities you can shift into easily. It is often easier to act out an NPC (something I find exhausting) if you use a different voice.

You may not want to go with including all the other nWoD stuff. Here are some reasons:
It can detract from the mood of changeling with the courts and the true fae if you mix in the whole of nWoD. You have to split your focus and it might require a lot of exposition.
Further, not all supernaturals are created equal. If other supernaturals have a strong presence, the players will compare themselves to the other types. If the characters feel they have to measure up to another type of supernatural there is a lot less room for the fun whimsical and weird contracts (which may frankly be the majority of contracts).
Werewolves and vampires are far more martial and suited for combat than changelings.
Consider having two courts duke it out with a third (with a lot of wizened in it maybe?) acting as your arms dealers. Then you can have a fourth court be neutral and try to bring peace along with any appropriate courtless. Similar premise, less goths and furries (or not, as it were - YMMV).

Nitpickery:
There is a merit (I think in Winter Masques?) for getting more than one kith. Giving it out for free is the type of custom thing I recommend going easy on as a new GM.

True Fae don't need a reason! This is just me trying to sell you my way of playing C:tl but I'd try to drive this home by not explaining the keeper's motives.
The lords and ladies aren't sadistic, they're just True Fae. If they are sadistic, sadism is just an attribute they could wear like a sweater, it might be itchy, comfy or too small. They are weeeeiiiird and follow a narrative rather than reason. They act the way they do because it is the story. In the story, that may be because of logic but if you pick at it, you can see the narrative underneath.

Example: A keeper could be a sweet old lady who lives in a little cottage on a hill, baking pies and knitting. She would still completely mess up the little boy she turned into a cat for some company on long evenings. Because she is completely other and the boy spent a 101 years as a cat before getting lost in the garden one day. The cat wanders into the thorns, starts to remember he was a boy at one point and once back in the world he finds no time has passed at all. But he still prefers to lick himself over bathing and has forgotten how to speak.
Mechanically he could be anything now.
He caught the mice and kept the pies safe. Now he is a wizened house cat.
The little ole lady spoiled him, showered him with love and praise and affection. Now he is a fairest with all the arrogance and sleekness of an excellent cat.
He was frightened all the time and no matter how sweet the lady was he hid from her and only came out to drink her milk at night. Now he is a darkling, a little black stray.

[Tokuhara]

Changeling is awesome and I hope you have fun!
And now, some help,

Things to keep in mind because its your first time:

Don't be fancy. Keep it simple. Limit your scale and the scope of your story to start. Expand as needed. A lot of new GMs are overly ambitious with plot arcs and rule/splat inclusion.

Keep a good pace. Your group looks to you for setting the pace at which things happen and to frame a situation. What is happening now? What may be expected of the players in the current situation? These are things you want to make sure to keep the players aware of. This is pretty much how you set the pace of the game, how you present interactions with the world to the players.

Make up a few stock voices and personalities you can shift into easily. It is often easier to act out an NPC (something I find exhausting) if you use a different voice.

You may not want to go with including all the other nWoD stuff. Here are some reasons:
It can detract from the mood of changeling with the courts and the true fae if you mix in the whole of nWoD. You have to split your focus and it might require a lot of exposition.
Further, not all supernaturals are created equal. If other supernaturals have a strong presence, the players will compare themselves to the other types. If the characters feel they have to measure up to another type of supernatural there is a lot less room for the fun whimsical and weird contracts (which may frankly be the majority of contracts).
Werewolves and vampires are far more martial and suited for combat than changelings.
Consider having two courts duke it out with a third (with a lot of wizened in it maybe?) acting as your arms dealers. Then you can have a fourth court be neutral and try to bring peace along with any appropriate courtless. Similar premise, less goths and furries (or not, as it were - YMMV).

Nitpickery:
There is a merit (I think in Winter Masques?) for getting more than one kith. Giving it out for free is the type of custom thing I recommend going easy on as a new GM.

True Fae don't need a reason! This is just me trying to sell you my way of playing C:tl but I'd try to drive this home by not explaining the keeper's motives.
The lords and ladies aren't sadistic, they're just True Fae. If they are sadistic, sadism is just an attribute they could wear like a sweater, it might be itchy, comfy or too small. They are weeeeiiiird and follow a narrative rather than reason. They act the way they do because it is the story. In the story, that may be because of logic but if you pick at it, you can see the narrative underneath.

Example: A keeper could be a sweet old lady who lives in a little cottage on a hill, baking pies and knitting. She would still completely mess up the little boy she turned into a cat for some company on long evenings. Because she is completely other and the boy spent a 101 years as a cat before getting lost in the garden one day. The cat wanders into the thorns, starts to remember he was a boy at one point and once back in the world he finds no time has passed at all. But he still prefers to lick himself over bathing and has forgotten how to speak.
Mechanically he could be anything now.
He caught the mice and kept the pies safe. Now he is a wizened house cat.
The little ole lady spoiled him, showered him with love and praise and affection. Now he is a fairest with all the arrogance and sleekness of an excellent cat.
He was frightened all the time and no matter how sweet the lady was he hid from her and only came out to drink her milk at night. Now he is a darkling, a little black stray.

I'm using the one printed in a later book about the "Leaving the Hedge Unique."

And I dig the Court War. Maybe day and night are duking it out, and Dawn/Dusk is selling Weapons. I'm still dropping Vampires (Italian Mob), Werewolves (Neo-Nazi), and Mages (Weapons Cartel), but in a more contact way. For instance, to find the McGuffain, they have to make a deal with the Vampire Family or to get a Cold Iron weapon enchanted, they talk to the mage cartel. I'm using the other Supernaturals as resources that the players can use as needed. They can also enter the Goblin Market of Chicago hidden under the interstate.

As for their Keeper, I want to make her scary as all hell. The little old lady is creepy, but I wad thinking almost an S&M Woman who needed multiple people for her twisted needs.

And the party would be the only known Dual Kith'd Changelings and have "Weird Destiny" about them. I'm allowing all Changeling: the Lost suppliments (have then all on pdf minus Goblin Market) and so do my players. My goal is to allow for strange durances which make Chimera/Shadow Souls or Hunterheart/Draconics or even Soldier/Gargantuan.

My group is relatively experienced with WoD, just not Changeling. We had a Mage, a Werewolf, 2 Vampires and a Promethian. Then I read Changeling and was hooked. But thanks for the advice. Definately not out of the Hedge yet.

[Tokuhara]

Any other help?

I also plan on adding a Deus Ex Machina in the form of the Lord of Autumn, a Tri-Kith'd (Winter Masques Wyrd-Based and the Rites of Spring Character Creation Version) Shadowsoul/Chatelaine/Chimera who is also the head of the Scarecrow Ministry

[comicshorse]

Just the obvious (but not to obvious, I hope), have the NPC's well thought out and plots will spring for them. Dawn and Dusk are at war but how does this effect each indvidual Changeling ?
Are they for the war, just scared of their leaders, seeking secretly to end it, or betray their own Court for advantage, or just hoping to profit from it ?
Are the other Courts neutral, secretly aiding one side, plotting to crush both Dawn and Dusk when they're exhausted or just think that the war is playing into the Gentry's hands.
Is it, is the war stoked by Loyalists for their masters or Privateers just looking to make a profit.
How will the P.C.s be regarded ? As saviours, people untainted by the war with no grudges held for or against who can act as neutral ambassadors or simply as newbie cannon-fooder ?

Completely seperate question which this has raised for me. What is so great about Dual Kithing, I really don't see the attraction either as background or as an efficient way to spend XP

[ocel]

Still looking for players?

[The Glyphstone]

Still looking for players?

The context implies it's a RL gaming group.

[ocel]

True, but if there's a chance I could join via other means, such as Skype, than I would wish to know if their able to.

But back to the thread's primary subject, I share similar opinions, questions, & answers with comicshorse on your most recent response.

[Tokuhara]

Just the obvious (but not to obvious, I hope), have the NPC's well thought out and plots will spring for them. Dawn and Dusk are at war but how does this effect each indvidual Changeling ?
Are they for the war, just scared of their leaders, seeking secretly to end it, or betray their own Court for advantage, or just hoping to profit from it ?
Are the other Courts neutral, secretly aiding one side, plotting to crush both Dawn and Dusk when they're exhausted or just think that the war is playing into the Gentry's hands.
Is it, is the war stoked by Loyalists for their masters or Privateers just looking to make a profit.
How will the P.C.s be regarded ? As saviours, people untainted by the war with no grudges held for or against who can act as neutral ambassadors or simply as newbie cannon-fooder ?

Completely seperate question which this has raised for me. What is so great about Dual Kithing, I really don't see the attraction either as background or as an efficient way to spend XP

Ok. Here's the plot thus far:

The court of Night recently assassinated a major member of the Day court. Dawn and Dusk sided with their allied courts (Dawn & Day, Dusk & Night)and the "Cold War" of Day & Night is about to go white hot. East is making profit from the coming war.

The party has obtained knowledge of the killer, a member of a cult who wishes to bring about a new order with Changelings ruling over humanity by destroying all courts and rebuilding them in their image.

Later, the party will stop the cult from destroying the changeling world, obain some xp, and later find out how to stop the war (still a work in process)

The Courts of Dawn and Dusk have aligned themselves, East is selling to both sides. The other directions are seeking to maintain balance within the coming war, and the Seasonal courts want it to end.

The players are more/less not known yet, but Scarecrow (My Deus Ex Machina) is seeing them as the only hope.

Dual-Kith allows for greater customization, as well as a little bit more power for the changelings. For instance: A Draconic/Hunterheart would be better at fighting unarmed than either of the two halves alone. One of the Motley is an Incubus/Apsaras and is a "Diplomancer" who uses his elemental Kith's ability to change his "prey's" vice to lust, thus giving him his Incubus bonus. It simply allows for more options

and to Ocel, I can add one member to the group. We have 3 players (My Friend, His Fiance, and His Little Brother). PM me and I'll give you my Skype username.

[Kallisto73]

Example: A keeper could be a sweet old lady who lives in a little cottage on a hill, baking pies and knitting. She would still completely mess up the little boy she turned into a cat for some company on long evenings. Because she is completely other and the boy spent a 101 years as a cat before getting lost in the garden one day. The cat wanders into the thorns, starts to remember he was a boy at one point and once back in the world he finds no time has passed at all. But he still prefers to lick himself over bathing and has forgotten how to speak.
Mechanically he could be anything now.
He caught the mice and kept the pies safe. Now he is a wizened house cat.
The little ole lady spoiled him, showered him with love and praise and affection. Now he is a fairest with all the arrogance and sleekness of an excellent cat.
He was frightened all the time and no matter how sweet the lady was he hid from her and only came out to drink her milk at night. Now he is a darkling, a little black stray.

May I say: I really like your explanation of the same combo (cat changeling, old lady Fae) can turn into 3 different seemings and kiths depending on the durance. It really explains it very well.
He could also become a Truefriend Beast, I believe.
I'm going to run a game this year and am putting together ideas that I can use to explain how the Fae work. Do you mind if you quote you to my players?

[Tokuhara]

May I say: I really like your explanation of the same combo (cat changeling, old lady Fae) can turn into 3 different seemings and kiths depending on the durance. It really explains it very well.
He could also become a Truefriend Beast, I believe.
I'm going to run a game this year and am putting together ideas that I can use to explain how the Fae work. Do you mind if you quote you to my players?

It is very nice to play in a Changeling game with a group willing to be creative. Perhaps influence an Ogre player to use Giant & Arcadian Body (Strength) to promote a "Big Dumb Guy" stereotype.

I personally love playing this with a Gargantuan, making me easily the biggest guy in the room. Total Blast

[mint]

May I say: I really like your explanation of the same combo (cat changeling, old lady Fae) can turn into 3 different seemings and kiths depending on the durance. It really explains it very well.
He could also become a Truefriend Beast, I believe.
I'm going to run a game this year and am putting together ideas that I can use to explain how the Fae work. Do you mind if you quote you to my players?

Knock yourself out, I'm glad someone found it useful.

[LadyGareth]

A small piece of advice that I have found most helpful. Sometimes your players can make up a much better story than any you ever came up with. Every now and again, stop and ask them what their characters are thinking and feeling. I have turned mediocre games into fantastic games just by listening to my players spout their idea's and theories as to what is going on. It makes your game a lot more fun, and makes the players feel awesomely smart for figuring at least some of it out.

Of course, I tweak what they thought was happening a little, just to make it interesting.

Also, I'm interested in the way you have blended so many different court systems with one or more freeholds into one mesh. I usually keep my freeholds to a max of two per city and no more that two court systems per freehold. It makes things a little easier.

Changeling is my favorite nWoD game and I own all but two of the sups, so if you need anything, feel free to PM me. I have most of it memorized.


@ Kallisto

May I say: I really like your explanation of the same combo (cat changeling, old lady Fae) can turn into 3 different seemings and kiths depending on the durance. It really explains it very well.
He could also become a Truefriend Beast, I believe.
I'm going to run a game this year and am putting together ideas that I can use to explain how the Fae work. Do you mind if you quote you to my players?

Equinox Roads explains a lot about the True Fae and the Wyrd. Some of the stuff in there just makes you stare at the pages slack jawed as your brain goes "does not compute *fizzle Fizzle spark*"