Changeling: The Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition is a role playing game supplement published by Onyx Path Publishing. This is the 20th anniversary edition of one of the five core books that made up the original World of Darkness.
The supplement is available from DriveThruRPG as a PDF for $24.99, as a standard hardcover print on demand book for $49,99, as a premium hardcover print on demand book for $115.99, as standard hardcover and PDF for $54.99 or as premium hardcover and PDF for $120.99. The PDF is the version reviewed although it was purchased at a reduced price during a sale. The primary PDF has 503 pages with one page being the front cover, seven the front matter and dedications, four the Table of Contents, 17 the Kickstarter backers, 19 the Index, two the character sheet and one larger page being a map of Concordia.
Book One: Childling starts with a brief piece of fiction.
Prelude: Both Sides of the Coin continues with a longer piece of fiction.
The Introduction explains that this is a game about adventure and romance and a cynical world that crushes both, and these concepts colliding. There’s a history of the game and a brief explanation of the Dreaming, deep within which is Arcadia, home of the Fair Folk. Changelings are Fae who took human form to survive Banality; they can awaken to their true form. An overview of using the book is next, followed by a lexicon and list of various media that can be inspirational.
Chapter One: A World of Darkness covers the Autumn world, the everyday world, and Arcadia, located in the Dreaming. It gives a history of the Kithain from early conflicts with the Fomor through to most of the sidhe leaving the Autumn world due to the rise of Banality through to the modern day when their return, and their expectation to regain the positions they abandoned, led to a war. The nature of the fey and the importance of Glamour and the Dreaming that arise from it are covered. The different courts, with the Seelie and the Unseelie being the main two – there is a Shadow Court – and the organisation of Changeling society are next.
Chapter Two: The Kithain covers the changelings themselves. Seeming is whether a changeling is childling, wilder or grump; the differences between these are covered and it’s entirely possible for grumps, usually older changelings, to revert to a younger seeming. Kith describes the thirteen types of kith in detail with a description, their mechanical differences and opinions of other kithain. Kith Creation is a six-step process for creating a new type of kith, with an example. Noble Houses describes the houses of the Seelie and Unseelie courts, with descriptions of them and their unique properties.
Chapter Three: Character Creation and Traits is on creating changelings. This is divided into a nine-step process; Character Concept, Traits, Advantages, Tempers, Birthrights and Frailties, Merits and Flaws, which is optional, Specialities, Antithesis and Spark of Life. This process is then put on a character creation chart, along with Legacies, Kith, Houses, Seelie Houses, Unseelie Houses, Backgrounds, Arts and Realms, with hyperlinked page references for further information on these. There is then a very detailed example of creating a character. Prelude, the introductory session, is mentioned here, though detailed later for the Storyteller, and then the motley, which is the group of player characters, looking at what the motley has and what its relationships are like.
Personality Archetypes: Legacies explains that all changelings have a Seelie and an Unseelie Legacy, which are archetypical roles a changeling plays. Both Seelie and Unseelie Legacies are then described in the same way, each of which has a description and a Quest, which models the changeling’s archetype, and Bans, which run counter to the archetype.
Changelings have Attributes, the basic, inherent Traits, which mostly run the range from 1 to 3, although exceptional individuals and powerful chimera may have 4 or 5, and some changelings and beings from the Dreaming may have even higher ratings. Physical Attributes are Strength, Dexterity and Stamina, Social Attributes are Charisma, Manipulation and Appearance and Mental Attributes are Perception, Intelligence and Wits.
Abilities are the Traits that are what a character knows and what they have learned how to do. There are 30 Abilities in total, with ten being Talents, ten being Skills and ten being Knowledges. Talents are innate Abilities improved through practice. Skills require instruction or a training period. Knowledge Abilities are from the mind. The different Abilities have details on what they are, what different levels can accomplish and additional information such as who might have it and specialities.
Backgrounds are advantages possessed due to a character’s station, possession, network and influence, and as such can change as the story unfolds. There are different categories of Background Traits, and each come in different levels like other Traits. Chimera can be chimerical items and chimerical companions, the latter being living chimera. Contacts are those the changeling can call on for information and assistance. Dreamers are the mortals from which a changeling draws Glamour. Holdings are freeholds, which are always rare and valuable and produce Glamour. Mentors are the fae who claim and educate a changeling after Chrysalis. Remembrances are what a character remembers from former lives. Resources are financial resources, from cash at the lower levels to income-producing assets at the higher ones. Retinue are Kinain, enchanted humans and other retainers under the character’s sway. Title is a title in Kithain society. Treasures are mundane items imbued with Glamour. Finally, there are some details on Pooled Backgrounds, shared resources of a motley.
Willpower is the character’s determination; it comes in permanent and temporary. Temporary Willpower can be worn away by hardship, and recovered in a number of ways, including sacrificing a point of permanent Willpower. Glamour is used to cast cantrips, call the Wyrd, enchant mortals and seal an Oath. It is covered in more detail in Chapter Six, though how Glamour can be gained is done here. Banality is existence by rote and is the enemy of changelings. It slowly suffocates Glamour and there are various ways of gaining and removing it. Health is how badly injured, or how healthy a changeling is. The lowest level is incapacitated. Experience is used to advance a Changeling character, improving Attributes, purchasing and improving Traits, increase or buy new Arts and Realms and increase Willpower and Glamour. Experience points are awarded by the Storyteller and are given out in ones for achieving certain things. Merits and Flaws are further ways of customising characters, divided into physical, mental, social and supernatural.
Book Two: Wilder starts with a brief piece of fiction.
Chapter Four: Arts and Realms is on magic. Magic itself is collectively known as the Arts whilst Realms determine the scope and focus of Arts. Knowledge of some Arts used to be taboo, but this is no longer capable of being enforced. Cantrips are used to rework the world; unlike in other games, cantrips are not minor spells. How difficult a cantrip is to cast depends on various factors, including its Realm in some cases. Bunks are used to make casting a cantrip easier by disrupting Banality’s hold in an area and can include the changeling putting themselves in danger, drawing attention or destroying items. There are guidelines as to modifiers bunks generate. Unleashing is the most dangerous way of using magic; an Art is chosen and a general goal is stated and then the magic is Unleashed in such a way as to make this happen.
Eighteen different Arts are then described, all in the same format. There is a summary of the Art and how it manifests, followed by what happens when it is Unleashed, various bunks associated with the Art and then five different levels of cantrips for the Art. There are six different Realms, which are combined with an Art when used. Each Realm is described along with five levels of magics. Finally, there are examples of magic being used in game.
Chapter Five: Rules covers the basics of the rules, with more specific examples found throughout the book. It begins by saying that rules come second to the story being told. The basics as a whole are essentially the same as in other games in the system. Changeling uses d10s, and quite a lot of them; at least 10 are recommended. Dice are rolled whenever an action is in doubt or there’s a chance it might fail, with various factors and character abilities affecting the roll. It’s also recommended that the Storyteller judges when a roll can be failed interestingly; no potential for failure can make a roll unnecessary.
Actions are anything done by a character than might produce an interesting outcome. This is followed by an explanation of ratings; almost everything is rated 1 to 5 dots, with 1 being the bottom and 5 being the top (some things may be rated up to 10), including character Traits. The player rolls one dice per dot, amended by any other relevant factors, from situational modifiers to abilities. When a 1 is rolled on a dice, it cancels out a success. With no successes and at least one 1, the roll is a botch, a dramatic failure. Things go badly wrong. Success can sometimes be automatic and in some situations a character can try again. There are then rules for more complicated rolls, including opposed and assisted. The basics of time in-game is explained and then there are examples of rolls.
Chapter Six: Systems and Drama are the systems and rules covering a variety of different situations. It starts with Dramatic Systems, which supply rules for a number of common activities. Automatic feats are what a character can do without requiring a role and it also includes how to calculate movement speed. Feats that do require a roll are divided into physical, social and mental and each of these categories has various different feats that fall into them, from climbing a wall to oration to research. It’s explained what each feat is used for and tables are included where required.
Tempers are the three Temper Traits, Willpower, Glamour and Banality, and these determine how strong willed a character is, how connected to the Dreaming and the fae they are and how tainted they are by the mortal world. These three Traits are handled differently to others, as they have both a permanent and a temporary score. The permanent score is a character’s potential; the temporary score is their current state, is known as their pool and is measured in points. Willpower and Glamour start with a pool of points equivalent to their rating; Banality starts with an empty pool. Changelings may invoke the Wyrd by expending a point of Glamour and Willpower, which brings their fae heritage to the fore and gives them a number of advantages. Finally, there are five paths to Epiphany, which is how changelings gain Glamour from mortals, and each is described, including the forbidden use of Rhapsody.
Book Three: Grump starts with a brief piece of fiction.
Chapter Seven: The Dreaming looks at the Dreaming, a place that is described as being Glamour. Everyone is born with the possibility of becoming a true Dreamer. There are three different levels of the Dreaming, Near, Far and Deep. The Dreaming is antithetical to the Banality of the normal world, and this can eventually result in an imbalance in changelings who visit the Dreaming. Changelings are altered by entering the Dreaming, as their ability to wield magic and their faerie nature are strengthened. The effects on Banality and the different effects of the three levels of the Dreaming are described. Entering and leaving the Dreaming has a different effect on people, depending on their level of Glamour or Banality. Each of the three levels of Dreaming is then given an overview, with a sample location for each and the effects of the Autumn World on the Near Dreaming. Trods are the pathways within the Dreaming, and different ways of opening gateways to them are covered, along with a method for the Storyteller to develop gateways and trods, with examples.
Freeholds are places built around wellsprings protruding from the Dreaming into the mundane world. They are where changelings meet, trade, attend functions and often live. Who owns freeholds, and different types are also covered, followed by how freeholds are created by changelings. There are some example freeholds of different levels.
Chimera is the term used to describe anything and everything within the Dreaming, and falls into different categories, from animate to inanimate, incidental or dreamed and sentient or non-sentient. These differences are then described. Incidental chimera are only dreamed into existence for a few seconds whilst dreamed chimera last even after the dreamer stops dreaming. Inanimate may be half or more formed but animate are almost always fully realised. Non-sentient chimera lack sentience, though they may be able to fake it, whilst sentient chimera are fully intelligent.
Shaping Dreamstuff is how the stuff of the Dreaming may be formed into items, which can range from simple clothes to weapons to more complicated items. There are rules on how to craft chimera from dreamstuff.
The Nature of Chimera looks at what these are and the purposes they serve, with many serving the roles of animals in a medieval society, as Changeling society is a feudal one. This looks at chimerical birth and death and how chimerical companions are created, as well as stats for the various different abilities they may have.
Treasures are artefacts built from the stuff of dreams and there are crafted Treasures, which can be made by characters but is incredibly difficult, and imbued Treasures, which are mundane items that had a significant impact on inspiration and creativity and them imbued with Glamour. There are details on the powers of Treasures and some examples.
Chapter Eight: Storytelling is advice for the Storyteller, the game and the entire system’s name for the GameMaster (and much of the advice in this chapter will likely be generally familiar to those who have run other games). It starts by looking at different ways of driving the chronicle, which is the game. In story driven, the Storyteller has an idea for a tale, and characters created to fit, whilst in character driven, the characters are created first and the story created to fit. There isn’t really a right or wrong way; they are personal preference. It then looks at the character creation process from the Storyteller’s point of view and how to make characters connect with each other.
It also covers build a setting, using fictionalised or real settings and how a fictionalised version of the real world creates something familiar, yet not totally so, though Chronicles/World of Darkness as a whole is noted for not using a fictionalised setting, but the real world with fictionalised elements. The game as a whole is the chronicle, which is divided into scenes, with one playing session usually being at least two scenes, chapters being individual game sessions and story, which consists of several chapters. The chronicle is made of multiple stories, and may include subplots. The different elements that go into making a story are covered, and some advanced techniques.
The prelude is a short introduction to the game, which may be a single scene or an entire session, which may be played out one on one between Storyteller and player. This is sometimes called Session Zero. Finally, there are general tips on running the game, dealing with problems and problematic behaviour, letting wins and losses stand and handling the logistics of real-world supplies, such as snacks and drinks.
Chapter Nine: Nightmares & Stranger Things looks at other creatures than changelings, starting with Prodigals. Prodigals are said to be the fae races that have forgotten their true natures. These are Vampires, Werewolves, Magi and Wraiths, along with older beings, Mummies and Demons, and there are stats given for examples of these.
Nightmare chimera are hostile creatures of the Dreaming and are divided into different groups: feral chimera, nervosa, nocnitsa and urban legends. Examples with stats are given of all four types. Feral chimera are often the counterparts of mundane wild animals; some are birthed fully formed by Dreamers and some used to belong to someone but were separated from them. Nervosa haunt the urban Dreaming and are highly unpredictable. Nocnitsa are the monsters from humanity’s ancestral memory. Urban legends are new chimera that some believe spring from popular culture.
The Dauntain are changelings that should not be. They are fae that awaken wrong, soul scarred and mind broken. Dauntain are branded, with six brands described. Following are instructions on how to create Dauntain, along with a new, destructive, art and examples of Dauntain.
The Harbingers of Autumn are Autumn People who are not just mortals with extreme Banality but are so invested in it that they spread Banality wherever they go. Autumn People have powers known as stigmas, which are weaponised Banality. There are examples of Autumn People and groups.
Stranger Things has more potential dangers and some treasures of Banality, which are rare and dangerous to Glamour.
Thallain are the ghost stories of the Kithain, but they’re real. They inhabited the Dreaming before the Kithain or even the Tuatha de Danaan. They were birthed by the Fomorians in their own image, and when the Fomorians declined, the Thallain and the Dark-kin were banished and precluded from returning. Over time, as the Tuathan Dream lost its hold on the world, the ban against the Thallain weakened as horrors were inflicted by humanity and they were finally able to return, and they now work to undermine and attack the Kithain. This is followed by details on creating monsters, their seemings and nineteen Thallain kiths, which are described like other kiths, though in less detail than the Kithain.
Dark-kin, like the Thallain, were barred from the mortal world, but have gradually been able to walk in it again. They are descendants of the Formorians and the Tuatha de Danaan and there are details on creating these and their Ariá, a trio of behaviours and forms. Adhene are the Dark-kin equivalent of kiths, and there are seven of these, described in a similar manner to the Thallain.
Appendix I: Gallain covers those beings similar to changelings, but are different, apart from the final section, and about whom less is known, known as Gallain, who live in other regions of the world. There are four different types of Gallain and each is described in detail that varies depending on the type. The necessary information is provided to create characters of each Gallain, though the precise details do vary. Nunnehi are the native faerie folk of the Americas, Menehune are those of the Hawaiian Islands, Hsien are from the Far East and the Inanimae are elemental faerie who never left the Autumn world.
Finally, Other Kiths are like those from Chapter Two, but less common. Eight more kiths are described here, though in less detail that those described earlier. The important game details are covered, but there is less descriptive detail, nothing on what the kiths are like as childlings, wilders and grumps and nothing on how they relate to other kiths.
Appendix II: The Enchanted looks at the Kinain and the Enchanted. The Kinain are the children of changelings who inherit some of their parents’ magic. This looks at the history of them in regards to changelings, what happens as a Kinain ages and their mechanics, for playing them as either characters or antagonists; Kinain are unaffected by Banality. The Enchanted are humans who have been touched by Glamour; they can see the Dreaming and have Glamour, but if they expend it all, they are swallowed by the Mists. Again, the mechanics are covered for the Enchanted as using them as characters or antagonists.
There are three supplementary PDFs, two with two pages and one with four, all being different versions of the character sheet.
Changeling: The Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition in Review
The PDF is bookmarked, with major and some subsections linked, though the bookmarks do not go as deep as they could. The Table of Contents is to a similar level of depth and is hyperlinked. The Index is very thorough, but isn’t linked. There are also internal links where other parts are referenced. Given the size of the book, navigation could be better. The text maintains a two-column colour format and appeared to be mostly free of errors. There are various colour images, up to a few full page in size. Some of these images may be custom but others may be from previous editions; the styles do not always seem complimentary. Presentation is decent.
Despite the length of the supplement, the basics of the game, as explained in Chapter 5, are really quite simple, though there are specific subsystems scattered through the book in various locations. The overall way that the book is laid out, in terms of what information is where, is perhaps not ideal; it doesn’t always feel that logical and, in digital form, the internal cross-referencing isn’t as easy.
This is a complete game and setting in a book, even if it does reference some of the other inhabitants of the World of Darkness. Those creatures, and their books, aren’t required to play the game, which is fortunate as the supplements tend to be similar in size to this. The game, given its appearance, may initially seem to be a bit more upbeat than most of the grim and gothic World of Darkness games, but in truth it still fits; it’s just more colourfully presented. It has also suffered through less changes than some of the other games, making this game closer to the original in design and setting than other games, but this is largely because Changeling: The Dreaming wasn’t as popular. There are differences, but not as many.
This is still a big and complicated book, and not the easiest to read. Trying to read it before running the game is going to be difficult for both players and Storytellers, though those familiar with other 20th anniversary games will find the mechanics are not difficult. But new players may well be best first starting with the easier to digest Yours to Keep: A Changeling: The Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition Jumpstart, which is less than a tenth of the size of this book. Changeling: The Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition can be found by clicking here.
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