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changelin [2021/06/17 20:08] – maitregobchangelin [2025/12/11 15:20] (current) – external edit 127.0.0.1
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 +/* À compléter */
 +====== Changelin ======
 +
 +<WRAP box fgblack 400px left :en> <panel type="primary" no-body="true">
 +{{:olga-drebas-dnd-ig-eberron-3.jpg}}
 +^Grandeur|5'7" - 6'0"|
 +^Poids  |120-160 lbs.|
 +^Terre Natale  |[[:khorvaire|]]  |
 +^Langue  |[[:commun|]]  |
 +
 +</panel> </WRAP>
 +
 +
 +{{:changeling.jpg|changelin.jpg}}
 +{{changeling_new_look.jpg}}
 +
 +
 +<blockquote>N'importe qui, n'importe où, caché à la vue de tous</blockquote>
 +
 +**Les changelins** sont une race d'[[:humanoide|humanoïde]] qui descendent de loin des [[:doppelganger|]] et qui partagent leurs capacités de métamorphose. Ces {{tagpage>métamorphes}} subtils sont capables de dissimuler leur apparence, faisant d'eux des espions et des criminels accomplis, ce qui a, à son tour, conduit à la méfiance des habitants de [[:khorvaire|]].
 +
 +CHANGELING Changelins originated from unions between doppelgangers and Humanoïdes in the distant past. Eventually, their descendants became the changelin race. Like Férals, they are a unique race that breeds true. Unlike Férals, they have no distinct community and culture as a species. For most of their history, they have lived in Humainoid settlements, often mistrusted and rarely at ease. This scattering and dispersion of populations with no central cultural focus has led to a variety of coping techniques, expressed differently by each of the three major changelin philosophies.
 +
 +Members of most other races have a clear answer to the question “Who am I?” Nains are clever with stone, stable, and skillful against Gobelins and Géants. Elves are graceful and observant. Half-orcs are strong and gruff. Each of the civilized races has a sense of belonging and the comfort of the society of others like them. They are accepted by and accepting of others of their kind. Not so with changelins. The mutability of changelins means that they have no one clear place in the world. Most changelins live scattered among communities dominated by other races. These other races view them with suspicion. While a minority group with a stronger sense of self might react to this prejudice by banding together and forming a strong community of their own, changelins are anything but unified. Many changelins view each other with suspicion, too, and are often prejudiced against their own kind. Roleplaying Application: Changelins have no preset place in society. They feel driven to adopt another race’s persona, create multiples of their own, or find out what roles fate and destiny intend for them. Almost all changelins hold to one of three philosophical viewpoints and see themselves as passers, becomers, or reality seekers. You should choose one of these philosophies during character creation. It can provide guidance in handling many situations. When considering others of their kind, changelins tend to have more stereotypes and prejudices than even the most opinionated of species. They tend to be very dismissive of changelins who have different mindsets from their own. Changelins judge each other harshly and with little tolerance.
 +
 +
 +====== Personality ======
 +
 +Changelins are Communly harmless, passive people and are uninterested in politics and social affairs. Due to their capricious ways of life, many people have come to distrust changelins which has led to them becoming social recluses or more Communly has pushed them to create fake identities to escape persecution.
 +
 +Having no culture of their own, changelins slip into other's societies and blend in. Rather than creating their own art and achievements, changelins are happy with claiming other societies' as their own. This nomadic lifestyle has led changelins to become exceptionally adaptable people. Changelins will not simply shapeshift into a new person but rather create a new whole one. Most changelins will set up a handful of personas so if one is compromised they can disappear and switch to one of their others. Their personas are incredibly realistic and have their own personality traits, backgrounds, and a network of friends. Changelins can be evasive and will often try to avoid confrontation or anything that will draw attention to themselves.
 +
 +====== Description ======
 +
 +{{:changeling1.jpg |A male and a female changelin.}}Changelins can look like anyone at any given time though they do have a true form. Their natural look can be scary to some due to their lack of detail and distinctive features. Their skin tone is always pale, the darkest tone some have is a light grey. They have large colorless eyes and are circled by thick black rings. Their noses are small and subtle with no detail.
 +
 +The changelin's body structures are slender, even more so than [[:elfes|Elfes]] and border on being frail. Their hair color is most Communly a light shade of silver followed by platinum and blonde. In rarer cases, their hair can be pale shades of green, pink, and blue. Also similar to Elfes, changelins lack body and facial hair.
 +
 +MASKS AND PERSONAS In their true form, changelins are pale, with colorless eyes and silver-white hair. It is rare to see a changelin in that form, for a typical changelin changels their shape the way others might changel clothes. A casual shapeone created on the spur of the moment, with no depth or history-is called a mask. A mask can be used to express a mood or to serve a specific purpose and then might never be used again. However, many changelins develop identities that have more depth. They build an identity over time, crafting a persona with a history and beliefs. This focused identity helps a changelin pinpoint a particular skill or emotion. A changelin adventurer might have personas for many situations, including negotiation, investigation, and combat.
 +
 +
 +Personas can be shared by multiple changelins; there might be three healers in a community, but whoever is on duty will adopt the persona of Tek, the kindly old medic. Personas can even be passed down through a family, allowing a younger changelin to take advantage of contacts established by the persona's previous users.
 +
 +===== Lifespan =====
 +
 +Changelins reach maturity at 15 and live as long as Humains do.
 +Age. Changelins mature slightly faster than Humains but share a similar lifespan-typically a century or less. While a changelin can transform to conceal their age, the effects of aging affect them similarly to Humains. Alignment. Changelins tend toward pragmatic neu­ trality, and few changelins embrace evil.
 +
 +
 +===== Alignment =====
 +
 +Most changelins are Neutre. They prefer to keep a low profile and often do not take passionate stances that would draw attention. However, changelins can be any [[:alignment|]], and often readily adapt to the culture they are raised in.
 +
 +===== Gifted or Cursed =====
 +
 +Changelins have long been persecuted by other [[:races|Races]], seen at best as tricksters and con-artists, at worst as thieves and assassins. Many people find it hard to trust changelins, and while their talents make them natural spies and criminals, in reality, a changelin is just as likely as any creature to turn to good or evil. Some changelins work hard to remove this stigma, but each time a changelin is caught robbing from a wealthy merchant or sneaking about where they are not welcome, it only perpetuates the stereotype.
 +
 +===== Wary and Deliberate =====
 +
 +In general, changelins are prudent and cautious, preferring to take risks only when they feel that their chances are good or the payoff is worth it. They appreciate the finer things in life and take great pleasure in the comforts of a wealthy lifestyle when they can obtain it. They avoid direct confrontation, preferring stealthy strikes and hasty retreats whenever possible. In conversation, they are soft-spoken but have a gift for drawing out more information than the other party usually plans to reveal.
 +
 +===== Searchers =====
 +
 +Without a longstanding history or home of their own, changelins have a natural curiosity about the cultures of other races. Many strike out as adventurers to learn (and adopt) as much as they can.
 +
 +===== Changelin Names =====
 +
 +A changelin might use a different name for each mask and persona and adopt new names as easily as they change faces. The true name of a changelin tends to be simple and monosyllabic; however, there are often accents to a changelin's name that are expressed through shapeshifting, something single-skins will likely miss. So, two changelins might have the name Jin, but one is]in-with-vivid-blue-eyes and one is]in­ with-golden-nails . Changelins have a fluid relationship with gender, see­ ing it as one characteristic to change among many.
 +
 +Changelins have a fluid relationship with gender, seeing it as one characteristic to changel among many.
 +
 +Changelin Names: Aunn, Bin, Cas, Dox, Fie, Hars, Jin, Lam, Mas, Nix, Ot, Paik, Ruz, Sim, Toox, Vil, Yug
 +
 +===== Naturally Deceptive =====
 +
 +Changelins' inborn abilities leave them uniquely suited to professions that rely on subterfuge or disguise.
 +
 +:**Assassins** Changelin assassins, thieves, and spies avoid detection by adopting the form of an unassuming Communer or trusted ally to get close to a target. :**Performers** Due to the persecution and mistrust of their race, many famous changelin performers (such as actors and acrobats) keep their true form hidden from their audience at all times. :**Diplomats** Changelins have a gift for languages and are quick to pick up the social cues and manners of other cultures.
 +====== Changelins in Eberron ======
 +
 +Virtually all changelins take up one of [[:trois|]] philosophical beliefs when it comes to their mutable forms and these philosophies guide many aspects of a changelin's day-to-day life.
 +
 +:**Passers** are changelins who wish to fit in with conventional society and live life in only one form or at the least suppress their shape-changing abilities to better fit in with those around them. Other changelins will often view passers with contempt and use slang words such as "pretender" or "actor" to mock them. :**Becomers** believe that to be a changelin is to possess many different shapes and often different identities and lives altogether. A becomer takes the concept of a dual life to a whole new degree and some will successfully live as several "different people" for many years. :**Seekers** or "reality seekers" are convinced that a great truth exists which only the changelins can discover; they suppress their shapechanging abilities even more than passers and prefer to live or socialize with other changelins.
 +
 +Changelins do not manifest [[dracomarques]].
 +
 +Changelins are born to one of three paths. A few are raised in stable communities where changelins are true to their nature and deal openly with the people around them. Some are orphans, raised by other races, who find their way in the world without ever knowing another like themselves. Others are part of nomadic changelin clans spread across the Cinq Nations, families who keep their true nature hidden from the single-skins. Some clans maintain safe havens in major cities and communities, but most prefer to wander the unpredictable path of the god known as Le Voyageur.
 +
 +===== Sarlona =====
 +
 +The changelins of [[:riedra|]] experience far more respect than those that inhabit Khorvaire due to them being embraced by the [[:inspire|]]. Any hopeful changelin can make their way to Riedra in search of acceptance - however, it comes at the price of losing ones' individuality as [[:riedran|]] changelins are specifically tutored on how to relinquish all sense of individuality so that they may further serve [[:the_inspire|the Inspiré]].
 +
 +Riedran changelins are invariably drawn into the service of either the [[:thousand_eyes|Thousand Eyes]] or [[:iron_gate|Iron Gate]] and most are deeply loyal. Due to their devoted service to the Inspiré, changelins are feared and distrusted in the other lands of [[:sarlona|]]. This devotion is often exploited by the changelins who serve the Inspiré's enemies. The [[:dragon|]]s of [[:argonnessen|]], for example, use changelins to infiltrate the ranks of the Inspiré and other nations often find changelin agents are better suited for operations in Riedra.
 +
 +===== 5e Rendition =====
 +
 +Changelins do not build cities of their own, but live among [[:humains|Humains]], [[:gobelinoides|]], or other races, blending in among them and living in their [[:ombre|]]. They are most Communly found in large cities, where they form the backbone of the criminal underworld, though many find more respectable work as entertainers, government agents, and sometimes adventurers. Even in large cities, they do not cluster into extremely large groups. A changelin “clan” is actually a voluntary association of changelins grouped together for mutual protection rather than a group of blood relatives. Clan heads govern by the consent of the clan, and this position tends to changel hands frequently. Bosses maintain order and help organize the clan for Commun purposes.
 +
 +====== Histoire ======
 +
 +Due to their nature, changelins do not have much recorded history however what is known is their creation was a result of many years of interbreeding between Humains and [[:dopplegangelrs|Dopplegangelrs]], leading to the birth of the first changelins.
 +
 +During the [[:derniere_guerre|Dernière Guerre]], changelins were often employed as spies and assassins, only reinforcing the stigma still observed in the present day.
 +
 +====== Religion ======
 +
 +LONG AGO THERE WAS A WOMAN NAMED JES, AND SHE had one hundred children. Her rivals conspired against her and swore to kill her children. ]es begged the Sovereigns for help, but their only answer was the wind and rain. In the depths of her despair, a lonely traveler took her hand. "I will protect your children if they follow my path. Let them wander the world. They may be shunned and feared, but they will never be destroyed."]es agreed, and Le Voyageur gave her his cloak. When she draped it over her children, their old faces melted away and they could be whoever they wanted to be. And so it remains. Though the children are shunned by all, the gift of Le Voyageur protects them still. -Chance, changelin priest
 +
 +Many changelin revere [[:channel_divinity_the_traveler|]] of the [[:sombres_six|Sombres Six]] whilst others seek out their own philosophies. However, there are many changelins who follow a religion simply to make their disguise more realistic.
 +
 +====== Notable Changelin ======
 +
 +  * [[:te_oma|Te'oma]]
 +
 +ROYAL EYE OF AUNDAIR The Spy Master of Les Yeux Royaux d'Aundair employs several changelins as agents. She often assigns specific personas to her changelin spies. Frequently, even when working as a team, they don’t know the real identities of their allies.
 +
 +DUSK STEELGLEAM, OWNER OF THE CHAMPION détective AGENCY Ot is a very enterprising changelin who uses many disguises to pursue her chosen career of a professional détective.
 +
 +
 +CHANGELING PSYCHOLOGY
 +
 +PASSERS 
 +“Trouble has keen eyes. Why wave?” —Passer adage 
 +Passers are the most Humainlike of changelins in their thoughts and perspectives. They are ordinary people. They just want to be part of a community and live their lives. A passer endeavors to repress or deny his mutable nature. Since living as a changelin brings suspicion and distrust, passers use their minor change shape ability to fit into society more easily, to “pass” in their chosen communities. Each most likely has one form he chooses and keeps. Most often, it’s Humain, but in a community not dominated by Humains it matches the majority race. Some so thoroughly adopt the new identities that they closely identify with the races portrayed. They rarely travel or adopt other identities. Becomers, reality seekers, and many changelins who have chosen more adventurous lives view passers with contempt, calling them “actors” or “pretenders” who have denied their true selves. Roleplaying Application: Of the three changelin philosophies, the passer is the least adventure-oriented. A passer works hard to be perceived as a member of a more accepted race. If you’re playing a passer, you have a single cover identity to which you cleave, and you take pains to maintain that persona. Good feats include Persona Immersion and Racial Emulation (described in Chapter 6 of this book), both of which help you with your masquerade. As an adventurer, you put yourself in stressful situations and constantly risk discovery. In attitude, you’re apt to be suspicious and more than a bit paranoid. No one is entirely trustworthy. How can you be sure someone is the person she represents herself to be?
 +
 +Passers act to hide their changelin nature. They do not want the conflict and challenges associated with Passers the species. Passers always choose one gender and feel very odd or A passer adopts a single identity, including race uncomfortable at the thought of not being that gender. and gender, and endeavors to live his life in this way, They follow the sexual norms of their portrayed races without change. The passer lives in constant fear of but often live celibate lives. discovery. Most communities that discover they’ve They find the gender-flexible becomers disgusting been harboring a passer react harshly, occasionally perversions, and the often genderless reality seekers even violently, against the changelin. even more disquieting.
 +
 +
 +BECOMERS
 +“Life is short, but I’m not limited to just one.” —Becomer adage 
 +For becomers, living is being not just one person, but many people. These changelins actively use their minor change shape ability and live life in many different forms. They disguise, deceive, and lie as needed to further their individual goals. At the core of a becomer’s identity is the belief that the central aspect of a changelin is his mutability. To fully be a changelin, one must change, convincingly and frequently. For many, however, there is a purpose and integrity to these changes. A becomer considers himself simultaneously to be both a mutable changelin and the individual he portrays. Those most adept at grasping this duality of nature and devoted to the Truth of the Now often pursue the chameleon prestige class (described in Races of Destiny). Roleplaying Application: Becomers like challenges. Taking risks is part and parcel of the nature of your multiple impersonations. The risk is limited by your willingness to drop an identity and create a new one. Many becomers at least dabble in the rogue or bard class because of those classes’ long lists of social interaction and deception class skills. Good feat options include Master Linguist, Persona Immersion, and Quick Change. Some also take Racial Emulation to enhance their different personas. (These feats are described in Chapter 6 of this book.) As a becomer, it’s hard for you to admit that something might be beyond your abilities or to say “I can’t.” When a becomer rogue feels firmly immersed in the role of a wizard, it’s possible for him to forget, for a moment, that he can’t really cast spells.
 +
 +Becomers A becomer knows that he has multiple identities inside him. He brims with the potential to become a young male elf, an old female half-orc, a middle-aged male gnome, and many, many other personas. Becomers usually feel comfortable switching between genders. A becomer tends to adopt whatever gender most suits his role of the moment. A becomer wants to explore and stretch these multiple identities. He likes to sample the grand variety of Humainoid life as if eating from a grand banquet table, adopting one role after another. Some of these assumed identities become favorites, to be returned to many times; other personas are discarded after only short trials.
 +
 +Becomers so thoroughly adopt the multiplicity of personas they represent that it can cause incredible confusion in relationships. Take, for example, the tale of Bin the Legendary Lover. Bin was a becomer who held many different identities and was extremely true to them all. The changelin was Fitron Trueheart, a male Nain merchant devoted to his Nain wife and staunchly adhering to their vows of monogamy. Fitron was away from home quite a bit for reasons of “business.” Alternatively, Bin was Loopmottin “Stumbleduck” Nackle, a female gnome who occasionally worked at a brothel in Sharn. At other times, Bin visited Rainhaven to meet with her mate as a Féral named Carson. Identity after identity unfolds, and tale after tale is told of this changelin hero and his many loves and escapades. Most show Bin on the edge of being discovered and tell of how he cleverly manages to conceal his identity. The longest version of the popular tale links Bin to more than fifty different long-term relationships and hundreds of other more casual liaisons.
 +
 +
 +REALITY SEEKERS
 +“Every question has an answer.” —Reality seeker adage
 +A few changelins reject the passers’ notion of conformity at the cost of identity and spurn the becomers’ philosophies of transience and impermanence. These introspectives believe that there is an ultimate Truth, a Perfect Form, and a Way of Being. Reality is out there, and it can be sought and understood. Their quest is to discover what’s real. The reality seekers, also known as perfecters, prefer their natural form and the society of their own kind. These changelins hold strong convictions and tend toward lawful alignment. Most do not engage in deception, but the definition of deception varies among them. Some reality seekers find any thing remotely deceptive to be disgusting, while most hold this high standard only in reference to their own kind and feel that absolute truth and integrity are only due other changelins. Since the La Dernière Guerre ended, many reality seekers have looked with envy or admiration at the struggles of the newly free Guerrier de Fer and some of their attempts to develop communities. Building on this idea, several utopian changelin communities led by reality seekers have formed in various parts of Khorvaire. Roleplaying Applications: The quest for Truth and the Perfect Form can manifest in a wide variety of ways. Any of the feats suited for changelins (see Chapter 6) make a good choice for a reality seeker. Decide how you view deception and deceptive acts. The minor shape change ability is a natural part of the changelin nature and one that all reality seekers acknowledge. This ability gives the changelin a great deal of power to deceive. When is doing this acceptable? Do you act without guile in dealings with everyone? Only with other changelins? With changelins and your fellow party members? Just with your closest friends and associates?
 +
 +A reality seeker may adopt other forms but is first and foremost a changelin with his own true form. The concept of ideal form and ultimate truth occupies a treasured place in a reality seeker’s identity. Each reality seeker adopts a personal code of conduct that defines these concepts and then strongly adheres to it. GENDER AND SEXUALITY An important aspect of a changelin’s identity is the issue of gender. Unlike doppelgangers, which are entirely genderless, a changelin does have a default gender and often responds to change this restriction by changing form more often (while retaining her gender).
 +
 +Reality seekers prefer other reality seekers as their romantic companions or mates. For them, the most important aspects of a relationship with another changelin are truth, honesty, and trust. Their worldaccepted by its parents whether or not it’s a changelin.
 +
 +CHANGELING LIFE
 +
 +No one guiding principle is Commun to all changelins. The most significant factor determining how a changelin leads his life is that of his guiding philosophy. As a changelin, every aspect of one’s upbringing and aspirations varies based on one’s worldview.
 +
 +Central to how a changelin behaves is his self-concept. Does he think of himself as a female half-elf, many different people of either gender, or as a thin, gray, genderless creature?
 +
 +Changelin Reproduction Two changelin parents breed a changelin child. A changelin and a Humainoid can mate to produce an offspring with the child having a 50% chance to be of either race. If a changelin in a female form conceives a child, she loses the ability to change her gender until after the child is born.
 +
 +
 +gender that manifests in adolescence, but each changelin can adapt his or her form to be of either gender, hermaphroditic (both genders simultaneously), or entirely genderless. A changelin can alter his or her gender (and reproductive abilities) as part of using the race’s minor shapechange ability.
 +
 +
 +
 +CHANGELING HOLIDAYS The Feast of Le Voyageur is celebrated by changelins and nonchangelins alike. It is a day to honor the most mysterious member of the Sombres Six. The focus of the event is offering kindness to strangers, for Le Voyageur can walk the land in any one of a thousand guises. This is the day to celebrate and share. In most communities, this holiday becomes a grand street festival with everyone bringing food and drink to be distributed and enjoyed. No business is conducted and nothing is given with expectation of gain. This is a day when people relax and give gifts. The recipient of a present receives it, laughingly quoting the proverb “Beware the gifts of Le Voyageur,” and raises a glass to toast the Sombres Six.
 +
 +For some, it is the day they mastered some aspect of their minds or bodies (generally when one acquires a new feat tailored to changelins). For others not raised with the philosophy, it is the day they decided to become reality seekers.
 +
 +HISTORY AND FOLKLORE Long ago, a changelin legend says, Le Voyageur decided to create a new race. Why he did, no one knows, and even powerful divination magic produces ambiguous answers to the question. Was it a passing whim? A retaliation for some conflict among the Sombres Six? The first move in an ingenious, far-reaching plan? What is known is that Le Voyageur channeled his will and desires through doppelgangers, granting them additional powers for a time while he sent them out to create his new progeny by interbreeding with Humains and other Humanoïdes. The offspring became the first changelins. In addition to this origination story, changelins have a wide variety of inventive, unverifiable tales and heroes. Some make wild claims, such as that Roi Galifar I was a changelin, a story researched and refuted by sages but persistent as a changelin urban legend. In truth, most of the changelins who have contributed most dramatically or profoundly to the events of history did so in the guise of other Humanoïdes, and only a few notable personalities, such as Bin the Legendary Lover, feature openly as changelins in historic folk tales. A fair number of legends and tales about changelins have surfaced in the folklore and superstitions of other Humainoid races.
 +
 +Passers Passers A passer faithfully observes all the holidays that Some parents tease their children by declaring that are celebrated by those belonging to the race of his they are not their offspring, but instead are changelins adopted identity. who were substituted for their own flesh and blood. Occasionally, an irked parent threatens to trade a misBecomers behaving child to the changelins. These tales contain Becomers celebrate all sorts of holidays. They often some grains of truth. think nothing of disguising themselves and joining other people’s parties and festivities. They have little Becomers in the way of unique changelin holidays, but in any When tales of changelins are told, they are usually about Becomers. A large number of stories are urban given week, they have usually been part of some festival legends focusing on changelins. They all feature a or organized merriment. member of the race in disguise, duping someone who later finds out that what happened couldn’t have been Reality Seekers true. Most are couched in very dubious frameworks, The experimental communities recently formed such as “the cousin of a friend of my sister knows a by reality seekers usually commemorate the date of man who swears that . . .” Perhaps the most popular their founding. The individuals are also important to tale after Bin the Legendary Lover is that of Madam the larger group, and as such every person has at least Mas and the Bard.
 +
 +
 +
 +CHANGELINGS AND OTHER RACES
 +
 +As a race, changelins have no bonds with members of other races, who are viewed with suspicion and distrust. That said, certain groups of hobbits and changelins have recently displayed attitudes of cooperation with, or at least tolerance for, members of the other group (see below). Changelins often view each other with the same prejudice they feel for other races. Most live as a minority among other races and go about in disguise. Those who choose to reveal themselves as changelins are rare and have only recently been forming their own all-changelin communities removed from other settlements. Hobbits: Hobbits are truly the most accepting and tolerant of races. The hobbit values of independence and individuality make them good potential allies for changelins. They tend to see changelins as curiosities and challenges. In urban settings, they often share interests and partnerships in illegal or underworld activities. The reality seeker changelins who have recently founded their own communities have often chosen to erect their settlements in hobbit-controlled areas because they expect little if any objection or resistance from the hobbits.
 +
 +Changelins can shift their forms with a thought. Many changelins use this gift as a form of artistic and emo­ tional expression. It's also an invaluable tool for grifters, spies, and others who wish to deceive. This leads many people to treat changelins with suspicion.
 +
 +A HIDDEN PEOPLE Wherever Humains live, changelins reside also; the question is whether their presence is known. Changelins are born to one of three paths. A few are raised in stable communities where changelins are true to their nature and deal openly with the people around them. Some are orphans, raised by other races, who find their way in the world without ever knowing another like themselves. Others are part of nomadic changelin clans spread across the Cinq Nations, fam­ ilies who keep their true nature hidden from the sin­ gle-skins. Some clans maintain safe havens in major cities and communities, but most prefer to wander the unpredictable path of the god known as Le Voyageur.
 +
 +<ifauth @admin><alert type="warning">
 +
 +====== Dragonmarks: Changelins ======
 +
 +//Long ago there was a woman named Jes, and she had a hundred children. Her rivals conspired against her, and swore to kill her hundred children. These enemies numbered in the thousands and wielded dark magic, and the Children would never prevail against them. Jes begged the Sovereigns for help, but their only answer was the wind and rain. She sought the aid of the Silver Flame, but its keepers would not hear her. In the depths of her despair, a lonely traveler took her hand. ‘I will protect your children if they follow my path. Let them wander the world. None will know them. They will have no kingdom but the road, and no enemy will find them. They may be shunned by all the world, but they will never be destroyed.’ Jes agreed, and the traveler gave her his cloak. When she draped it over her children, their old faces melted away, and they could be whoever they wanted to be. And so it is until this day. Though the Children are shunned by all, the gift of the traveler protects them still, so long as they follow his path.//
 +
 +The changelin tribes refuse to let their stories be bound by the written word. The Taleshapers maintain that writing down a story traps it in a single shape; like a changelin, a story should be free to choose the face that suits the moment and the audience. This makes it difficult to pin down changelin history. Morgrave’s Handon Dal believes that this apocryphal tale suggests that the changelins were born in the Sarlonan nation of Ohr Kaluun, a realm known for its bitter feuds and mystical eugenics. Dal asserts that “Jes” was likely a clan matriarch in Ohr Kaluun, who sought aid from Pyrine and Khalesh, whose religions form the foundations of the modern Sovereign Host and Silver Flame, before resorting to changelin transformation as a way for her clan to survive a forced exodus.
 +
 +Whatever the truth of this tale, it is the foundation for the tribal traditions. Each of the tribes traces its roots back to a group of the Hundred, and ‘The Children’ remains a common term for the changelins as a whole. The Taleshapers say that the Children scattered so that they couldn’t be caught in one place and destroyed. Following the precepts of the tale, they say that they will never raise a kingdom, but that it is their place to be forever unknown, to survive in the face of fear and scorn. Their shapeshifting is a divine gift given to them to preserve them against their enemies, and they are entirely justified in using it to fool the single-skins and take what they need to survive.
 +
 +In my Eberron, there are three primary changelin cultures in Khorvaire.
 +
 +  * //Foundlings //are changelins raised by other species. This could be due to interspecies romance, or the child could be orphaned or descended from an outcast… or part of a family of foundlings. Foundlings have no knowledge of changelin cultural traditions, and rarely have contact with changelins outside their own families. Foundlings develop a wide variety of philosophies, including those described in //Races of Eberron//. Some foundlings hide from their true nature, adopting a single face and never changing. Some are sociopaths who prey on those around them, stealing the faces of those they kill. There’s no predicting the beliefs of a foundling, and they can be found anywhere.
 +  * //Stable //changelins live in changelin communities that are recognized and known to the people around them. They are often comfortable wearing the skins they were born in, feeling no need to hide their changelin nature. In the Five Nations, Breland is the only nation with stable changelin communities (notable Dragoneyes in Sharn); other stable communities include Lost in Droaam and the Gray Tide principality in Lhazaar. Stable communities were founded by tribal changelins, so some traditions overlap; however, many have been abandoned as the members of the community don’t feel threatened.
 +  * //Tribal //changelins cling to traditions stretching back to their origins in Sarlona; they refer to themselves as ‘The Children’. Their culture is defined by the hostility and distrust of outsiders; they hide their communities and their true identities from others, revealing just enough to keep strangers from seeking more. They live in the shadows of the other races, using their wits and their gifts to survive. Most tribal changelins spend their lives in motion, traveling from place to place and never staying long enough to draw unwanted attention. They are seen as tricksters and tinkers, and this reputation is often deserved; tribal changelins don’t consider it a crime to deceive single-skins. The tribes are based in Thrane, Aundair, and Karrnath, but wandering tribals can be found across Khorvaire.
 +  
 +The relationship between changelins and **doppelgangers**  is in the hands of the gamemaster. “Doppelganger” could simply be a term used to describe a changelin sociopath who uses their powers in a predatory fashion. Alternately, doppelgangers could be a parallel species possessing greater telepathic and shapeshifting abilities; they may consider themselves the true heirs of Ohr Kaluun, asserting that changelin bloodlines are the result of interbreeding with other species. Meanwhile, tribal changelins assert the opposite; doppelgangers aren’t the predecessors of the changelin race, rather they are a cursed offshoot of it.
 +
 +In the past I never had an opportunity or reason to develop changelins further. //Races of Eberron //is the canon resource on changelins and it didn’t come up in other projects, until I wrote the article on Lost for //Dungeon//. However, when 5E started up a friend of mine launched an Eberron campaign and I decided to play a changelin rogue I called Tel, though the name the party knew her by was Max. I decided that Max was a tribal changelin, and so I worked a little more on their culture.
 +
 +For me, one of the pillars of tribal culture is the idea of //Personas//: distinct identities that serve a personal and cultural role. I wrote the following as part of my character write-up for Max.
 +
 +//While Max can wear any face that she wants, such a disguise has no depth. A disguise she makes up for a task is a newborn, with no voice or history of its own. These personas have their own history and personality. Each one is a real person, with friends, enemies, and goals of their own. One way to think about it is that each persona is a **story**  … and that while Max is wearing the persona, it’s her duty to further that story. Tel is true neutral. Max is neutral good; it’s important to her to help people, and she wants to make the world a better place. Bronson is a criminal who has survived a hundred streetfights and has a reputation as a ruthless torturer. He’s going to want to see profit in a venture, and won’t hesitate to kill or cause pain. Bronson also doesn’t speak Elvish, even though Tel does; she’d have to shift to another persona to do that.//
 +
 +Personas are tools. They have established identities that can be useful to the changelins who use them; in this example, Bronson has connections in the Saputo Clan established before my character was born, and the persona provides Max with access to those contacts. But it’s also a way for the changelin to focus their thoughts and talents. Personas are more than just faces. Mastering a persona is like learning to think in another language. It’s about //being //that person. Max is soft hearted and dislikes violence; Bronson is a ruthless killer. So when she knows violence is around the corner, Max will give way to Bronson and let him handle the fight. Likewise, Max knows people and is good at friendly manipulation; she’s the persona Tel uses when she plans to rely on Deception and Insight. While Bronson specializes in Intimidation. From a //mechanical //perspective, Max the rogue has the rogue’s specialization in different skills. From a //story //perspective, that specialization reflects her personas. So the raw character has specialties in Intimidation and Insight; but if I’m going to use Intimidation, I’ll switch to Bronson, because that’s //his//  specialty.
 +
 +Every changelin can assume any number of faces. As noted above, these are newborns with no history, no fixed behavior; you might use them once and forget about them. Each changelin creates their own personas, creating one or more people they want to be. But they can also //inherit //personas from other members of their tribe. This involves training, with a living master of the persona teaching the youth how to //be //that persona. Many personas are unique, with only one member of the tribe being allowed to use the persona at any time; this prevents someone from doing something with the persona that could spoil it for others. However, there are also personas shared by the tribe. These are generally travelers – merchants, bards, tinkers, mercenaries – people no one knows exceptionally well, so it’s easy for different changelins to play the part without getting tripped up by recent events.
 +
 +Again, to be clear: Not every face a changelin assumes is a persona. A tribal changelin can impersonate a guard for a momentary advantage and then throw the face away, or wear a particular guise for a party. Personas are a deeper part of the culture.
 +
 +A second concept for tribal changelins is the ideas of //skin cant//. This is the concept that tribes employ cosmetic details – tattoos, birthmarks, scars, patterns of freckles – that have specific meaning to other members of their tribe. A particular facial scar (which could be added to any guise) might tell other members of the tribe //I need help //or //everything I’m saying is a lie//. It’s a simple way for a changelin to share information that also allows members of a tribe of identify one another even if they are wearing unknown faces.
 +
 +**LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT MY CHARACTER: TEL & MAX**
 + 
 +So, now you’ve seen my ideas for tribal changelins… here’s an example of how I put these into action. At the start of the campaign, I developed four distinct personas for Tel. Here’s my notes on each one.
 +
 +  * **Max **  (female Karrnathi human) is Tel’s first face, the first persona she created on her own. She’s a freelance inquisitive (licensed by Tharashk). This fits, as she is extremely inquisitive by nature. If she sees someone in distress, she’ll ask what’s wrong… and if she can easily help, she will. She likes to make friends and help people when she can do it without personal cost. As a result of this, she has a lot of friends in a lot of places both people she’s done favors for, and people who she owes favors to. While she is an inquisitive, Max’s specialty is people. She’s as much a con artist as she is a detective, though she tries to use these talents to help rather than hurt. She has the changelin knack for seeing beyond the surface and an exceptional talent for sincerity and disguise. Max generally refers to herself as “Max” even when she’s using temporary faces simply because the things she’s doing are Max things; Tel is about helping the tribe, and if she’s just helping her friends, it’s Max doing it. As a Karrn who grew up near the Ironroots, she speaks (and curses in) fluent Dwarvish; she understands Elvish and Goblin but doesn’t speak either well. She’s prepared to fight, but doesn’t enjoy it, especially if it comes to killing; she prefers to leave bloodletting to Bronson and Meriwether.
 +  * **Bronson Droranath **  (male Brelon dwarf) is a freelancer with the Saputo Clan… sometimes a fixer, sometimes a legbreaker, but he’s best known as an interrogater. He has a reputation in the Clan as someone who specializes in causing pain – not the deadliest dwarf in Dura, but if you get into a fight with him, he’ll leave a scar. Bronson has endured a great deal of pain, both physical and emotional, and he enjoys sharing it with others. He believes that the world is a cesspool and feels no remorse for his actions. Technically, he believes in the Sovereigns, but he also believes that they are cruel bastards. He despises Dassk and has a few enemies among the monsters. Tel inherited Bronson from her mother, Galiandrya. He’s been active in Sharn for seventy years, with long leaves of absence; once Garrow rose to power, Gal didn’t use him often. Bronson was the primary tool Gal used to teach Tel the intricacies of shapechanging. While he’s very familiar to her, Tel doesn’t like Bronson much, and she’s actually a little afraid of him… but there are certain jobs he’s good at and many of her useful Sharn contacts will only deal with him. He speaks Common and Dwarvish.
 +  * **Rael Hess D’Médani**  (male Brelon Khoravar) is a foundling, a dragonmarked heir who had to earn his way back into his house after his grandparents were excoriated. He was taken in by the Hesses, who have always been noted for eccentricity; Rael lives up to that reputation. He’s a brillant inquisitive, but has little patience for working within house protocols, and he’s never bound himself to the Guild. He shows up when he wants and disappears just as quickly. He’s helped the Sharn Watch, and worked with the King’s Guard during the war; as he had a distant connection with his house, he could provide direct assistance without the house taking sides. As such, he has a few distant acquaintances in the Guard and Watch who might call on his talents. Rael knows many trivial details, and can pontificate for hours on how a particular clue relates to a story. With that said, he’s astonishingly perceptive and intuitive. Rael is an heirloom persona created by Tel’s uncle Hol, who was a brillant inquisitive in his own right. Hol groomed Tel to assume Rael, and this is the source of her inquisitive talents; Max still sees Rael as a wise mentor. Hol was eventually murdered; Rael still hopes to solve that case. Rael was sponsored by Uther Hess d’Médani, who knows his true nature but considers Rael a friend; Uther has also been a good friend to Max. While Rael doesn’t actually have a dragonmark, he often uses his mark as a form of meditation. He speaks all the languages Tel knows.
 +  * **Meriwether**  (female Lhazaar elf) is a Phiarlan excoriate; technically she was Thuranni, but she left the house before the Shadow Schism. Before she was cut off from the house, she was a member of the Serpentine Table and a professional killer. Max saved Meriwether when the assassin was on the run, shortly after Max had begun wandering the world. Meriwether took in the changelin girl and taught her many things, honing her natural instincts for stealth, teaching her to spot a threat, and showing her how to use a rapier and blow and the trick to striking a lethal blow. Eventually, Meriwether died (a story that will need to be told at some point), and Max chose to continue her memory. Max knows a great deal about Meriwether and can get by fairly well even when dealing with her acquaintances (and she had very few friends). However, she certainly doesn’t know EVERYTHING about Meriwether. There also exists the possibility that Meriwether herself planned for Max to carry on in her name… that there’s some long game at work, and that Max could have suppressed memories or magic tattoos that won’t reveal themselves until the time is right. In connection with this: Meriwether was a storyteller as well as an assassin. She often told Max stories of the Valeus Tairn, who preserve the spirits of their ancestors by emulating their deeds. Following Tairnadal tradition, Max has kept a silk scarf of Meriwether’s and pulls it up to cover her lower face when she’s on a “Meri mission.” Is she actually preserving Meri’s spirit? Who knows. Meri wants her to become an assassin; Rael wants her to be an inquisitive. So Max is entirely Tel’s creation. Bronson and Rael are inherited personas. And Meriwether is a real person who played an influential role in Tel’s life, who she adopted as a persona after the real Meriwether died. At the table, I’d switch between personas as best suited the current scenario. In addition to that, each persona provided different hooks the GM could play with. Did Meriwether have plans for Tel/Max? Could an old rival of Bronson’s show up with a grudge?
 +
 +In addition to all this, there was one more twist. This campaign was a follow-up to a previous Eberron campaign that had lasted for years. In that campaign, the changelin Garrow – introduced in //Shadows of the Last War //as an agent of the Emerald Claw – ended up overthrowing Kaius and ruling Karrnath on behalf of Erandis Vol, until finally being brought down by the player characters. This new campaign was set a decade after the original, and I wrote up the following as part of Max’s background.
 +
 +//Max’s true name is Teliandyri, painted in blue and gold. She is a changelin of the true lineage of the Dawn Wanderers, a tribe of the Children based in Karrnath and the Lhazaar Principalities. Long ago, the Dawn Wanderers integrated the faith of the Blood of Vol into their beliefs, maintaining that the lesson of the Traveler is that every changelin has the potential to become the Traveler. The first Wanderer to present this faith spoke with the voice of Garrow, and Garrow has remained in her line as a champion of both Blood and Children. This proud tradition came to an end when Max’s mother Galiandyra (Gal) assumed the role of Garrow. GarrowGal betrayed her people and her faith for the promise of power, joining Erandis Vol’s corrupt Order of the Emerald Claw and ultimately seizing power in Karrnath. GarrowGal was defeated by Queen Bellandra ir’Wynarn, and her death sparked a backlash against both Children and Seekers.//
 +
 +//Max comes from a proud line. Her ancestors created heroes, stories, and priests. Her people have always provided leadership and inspiration for the Dawn Wanderers, and the same things are expected of her. Garrow is hers by right of blood. But Galiandyra’s actions have cast a shadow on her blood, both in the eyes of the tribe and Tel herself. She has vowed to wander until she finds a way to redeem Garrow and undo the harm her mother has done to both Seekers and Children.//
 +
 +//She left Karrnath when she was twelve — young for a wanderer, but changelins mature more quickly than humans. She has spent the last eight years roaming the Five Nations, drawing on the faces she has inherited and making names of her own. Max is her favorite face; she’s curious and always searching for mysteries. She has friends, enemies, and contacts in many places, and has many safe havens… but nothing she’d call a home. There is always a place for her among the Dawn Wanderers, but neither she nor they will rest until she has resolved her vow.//
 +
 +So Max also had a fifth Persona: Garrow. But the idea was that she’d never use Garrow until she had an opportunity to redeem him. And, of course, while they were playing different characters, all the other //players //in the group had been in that game where Garrow was a recurring villain… and I was looking forward to bringing him back and playing out that story.
 +
 +As it turned out, the campaign didn’t last as long as the one before; people moved and life interfered. But I’ve always liked Max’s story.
 +
 +Let me know what you’ve done with changelins in your campaign! Meanwhile, here’s a few questions that have come up.
 +
 +//**A rogue has a wide variety of skills that can easily be adapted to several personas, what about ideas for some of the other classes?**  //
 +
 +Personas can be tied to skills – as the example of Max, where Bronson was used for Intimidation and Rael was the expert in Perception. But personas can also be about different approaches to the same thing. A changelin fighter could have a one persona for each of the three faces of war – a monster-hunting champion sworn to spread the light of Dol Arrah, a stoic soldier who fought for Breland during the Last War, and a ruthless mercenary who will use any dirty trick to achieve victory (and who has ties to House Deneith). As a player, it’s the question of whether this situation calls for a hero, a stoic, or a pragmatist – and each of these personas further has different connections in the world that could play a role in an adventure.
 +
 +Beyond this, personas can have roles within the tribe or community that go beyond skills. The same changelin fighter could have a persona that’s a martial champion of the tribe, a hero who defends them from their enemies. Like Max and Garrow, it’s not a question of when it’s useful for the PC to assume this role; it’s a question of when they are prepared to live up to it and have the skills necessary to take on that mantle. For Max, becoming Garrow was a long term goal.
 +
 +The same principle could apply to any class. A changelin wizard could have different personas for different schools of magic; if he primarily memorizes illusion spells, he’ll use his sly illusionist persona, while he uses a fiery dwarf when focusing on evocation. Or he might have an elderly sage for scholarly work and lore, along with a young battle mage persona who handles combat.
 +
 +//**Like the Valeus Tairn, do you think changelins have a certain standard of reputation a persona needs to gain before they’d pass it on or is it more abstract along the lines of this persona still has a story to tell?**  //
 +
 +There’s a few issues to consider…
 +
 +  * Does this persona have a strong enough identity that it //can //be passed on? Can you teach someone else to be this person?
 +  * Does this persona have any value to the tribe? Is there a REASON to keep this persona alive? Bronson provides valuable underworld connections in Sharn and as a dwarf, we could keep him going for another century.
 +  * In some cases a persona is essentially an office. Garrow is a spiritual leader within the Dawn Wanderers, and for Tel to assume the role is like becoming the Dalai Lama; she wouldn’t become Garrow until she can both redeem the identity and until she believes she can live up to the duties of //being//  Garrow.
 +
 +Looking to Garrow specifically, with the Tairnadal they keep the //spirit //of their heroes alive; here the point is that the changelin who takes on the persona of a hero has to be prepared to actually //be //that hero.
 +
 +//**Would it be safe to say that most major “political” roles in a stable settlement may have personas attached? For example, you don’t go to Grey Tide healer, you go to Vim. There might be two or three changelins who could be Vim at any given time, but the healer is Vim. **  //
 +
 +It would vary from community to community. And unlike Tairnadal, inherited personas don’t have to be legendary figures. In one village, the healer develops a persona for his healing work – Vim, a kindly, knowledgable man who puts patients at ease. As this is a persona, he can set it aside when he goes home to his family; Vim is the healer. People react well to Vim, and his apprentices learn the persona, so that way everyone who deals with “Vim” has that same sense of confidence and comfort (even though they //know //they may not be dealing with the original Vim). Over time Vim //becomes//  the job, outliving the originator.
 +
 +//**If there’s a major plague or something, would it be odd to see all three of these in the Vim persona at the same time?**  //
 +
 +Well, the apprentices have the skills whether they’re Vim or not, so they could heal without being Vim. On the other hand, they’ll be at their best when they’re Vim, because that persona is entirely focused on being the best healer. In a stable community, I think you //could //see this – three Vims at once – because the persona isn’t a deception; again, it’s basically an office and a focusing tool. It would certainly be rare among tribal changelins, where it’s generally important to maintain the illusion that the personas are real people.
 +
 +//**So when they need leadership, they find Prince Kel, when they need healing, they find Vim, though these both may be assumed by a changelin named Rhett who makes his living as a farmer. More or less correct?**  //
 +
 +Close. Rhett may have been a farmer as a child. But being Vim requires significant training, and having mastered the form it’s unlikely those skills would be wasted on farming; if Rhett doesn’t serve as Vim full time, he’s probably apprentice to the primary Vim. Skill doesn’t come with the shape; rather, the shape serves both as a mnemonic focus for the changelin and as an identifying factor to those coming for service. Max’s mother taught her to be Bronson, and that work included learning to fight and to intimidate. Hol taught her the art of detection, and Rael was the focus for those skills. Rhett would be taught to be Vim, learning the art of medicine at the same time that he learns the mannerisms and features of the old healer.
 +
 +And looking again to Max, she possesses all her skills in all her forms. The idea is simply that she is most comfortable using the skills in the persona associated with them. When she’s Bronson, she thinks like Bronson, ruthless and cruel; this is the best match for close combat. But she can still use a rapier as Rael without mechanical penalty. So going back to Rhett, assuming Vim’s form doesn’t make him a healer; training makes him a healer. It’s just that his training in medicine went hand in hand with being Vim, and people know to look for Vim when they need healing – trusting that someone who’s learned to mimic his form has also learned his skills.
 +
 +//**How do you deal with Changling characters who have met and spent time with humanoids with wings, or who can breath underwater, like Aarikocra or Tritons?**  //
 +
 +Per the //Eberron Campaign Setting //book, the Changelin ability mimics //Disguise Self//, which specifically DOES NOT provide the abilities of the assumed form; this is in contrast to //Alter Self//, which does allow the user to create functional wings. Per the ECS, a changelin can LOOK like a Triton or an Aarikocra, but they can’t breathe water or fly.
 +
 +//**How do the wandering tribals wander? Do they do so as individuals or as communities? If as communities, how do they travel without being immediately spotted?**  //
 +
 +Generally, individually or in small groups. A small group would have a nondescript wagon designed so it can easily be converted to appear to fill a number of different roles; it could be a merchant wagon, a coach of tourists, an entertainer and their entourage, and so on. this would be customized based on the region, the relevant personas they have with ties to the area, and what they plan to do in the area. If they have something to sell, they’re merchants. If they’re flush with cash, they’re tourists. If they’ve got a bard, they’re entertainers. And bear in mind, the changelin entertainer could have a legitimate Phiarlan license and be ready to put on a show. Beyond this, they are generally traveling through regions they know. So they //know //village X is strongly religious but has no priest and always responds well to a traveling preacher, while town Y has a soft spot for soldiers.
 +
 +Beyond this, you also have individual tribals who remain stationary for periods in larger communities. They serve as anchors, passing messages between groups of wanderers, helping to gather resources, and filling wanderers in on local news or important changes in the community (along with things like “Jal was publicly killed while using his Old Barmy identity, so Barmy is dead in this region.”). When the anchor gets tired of the post, they can trade places with a wanderer familiar with the anchor persona. Typically, an anchor is someone who sees a fair amount without drawing a lot of attention or having too much responsibility – beggars, barmaids, etc – but some anchors hold more significant positions. For example, a changelin with healing skills may serve as a healer in a small village. That village is a central hub for the migration patterns of wanderers of that tribe, and they all know that the village is a safe place for an injured member of the tribe to go for healing and recovery without having to worry about being exposed and drawing hostility.
 +
 +//**However, with personae which are deliberately passed from one changelin to another (at last the question!), are magical or psionic means ever used to transfer actual memories from one to the next?**  //
 +
 +It’s possible. Part of this depends on your view of the relationship between changelins and doppelgangers. Traditional doppegangers are fully telepathic and can //detect thoughts //at will. You could assert that changelins and doppelgangers are different species, or you could say that they are the same species; that the telepathic talent is something that exists in the race but must be honed; and thus, that doppelgangers have mastered this particular gift but that all changelins possess it on some level. When I first created the setting, my idea was that they WERE the same species and that there would be a “monster class” (this was just after //Savage Species //had been released) allowing a PC changelin to hone those doppelganger abilities. The racial skill bonuses of a changelin – Insight, Intimidation, and Bluff – are based on the idea that all changelins have some innate, instinctive telepathy, even if it’s not consciously controlled. One of the things I always liked about this is the idea that changelins essentially judge people by their thoughts/body language more than by their appearance.
 +
 +If you embrace this idea, you can say that there are some tribes that have harnessed this ability and use telepathy in this manner. However, even if you don’t go this far, you could also say that a changelin persona teacher does develop a strong psychic bond with their student – that while this isn’t mechanically represented by a general telepathic ability, for story purposes it is possible for them to telepathically share memories through a process of meditation (a sort of mind meld).
 +
 +//**When a changelin has multiple strong personae, is the root identity always in total control? Do personae ever “fight” for dominance? Or slip out suddenly? Say Max is performing normal duties, when she spots one of Bronson’s arch-enemies. Could Bronson suddenly take over? Or would that only happen in a changelin who is somehow mentally damaged?**  //
 +
 +There’s some fine lines to define here. First of all, as *I* run them, the core personality is always in control of which personas are assumed. When Tel is being Max, the only personas involved are Tel and Max, and Bronson can’t suddenly jump in and take over. If a fight breaks out, it’s a question as to whether Tel WANTS to shift to Bronson.
 +
 +Now, when Tel is Bronson, she is entirely in control in the sense that Tel’s desires and long-term goals drive Bronson’s actions. He’s not going to suddenly murder her friends. But she is embracing Bronson’s feelings and instincts, and letting those guide her response to a situation. So I describe Tel as being “afraid of Bronson” because she’s more likely to be ruthless or cruel when she’s Bronson. But she’s never ENTIRELY out of control, and she can always switch out of Bronson. Part of this means that if you have three changelins who have the Vim persona, they are still shaped by their own unique motives – they aren’t the EXACT SAME PERSON when they are Vim. But Vim will be a lens that filters that core personality.
 +
 +Now, you could certainly present a mentally unstable changelin whose personas have fully taken on their own lives, but that’s not the standard.
 +
 +======   CHANGELINGS   ======
 +
 +
 +Changelin Origins
 +Changelins are spread across Khorvaire and Sarlona. They can interbreed with many other humanoid species, and the offspring of such a union will either be changelin or the other species—there are no “half-changelins.” So just as you can be a Brelon elf with no ties to Aerenal, you can be a changelin with no connection to any changelin culture or community. There are changelin students in Arcanix and Morgrave, changelin agents in the King’s Citadel and the Royal Eyes of Aundair, and any number of changelins devoted to the nations they call home. So you don’t need deep cultural ties to play a changelin character, but if you want to explore a connection to your changelin roots, here are a few ideas.
 +
 +Travelers
 +Nomadic changelins are often referred to as “travelers,” a name referencing both to their wandering lifestyle as well as the Traveler of the Dark Six—who, legend holds, gave them the ability to change their form, and whose chaotic nature is echoed in the lives of many travelers today. The oldest traveler tradition is that of the Children of Jes. Inspired by the Traveler, the Children follow migratory patterns that slowly evolve, keeping them from becoming too predictable to outsiders. Many travel in small groups—a troupe of entertainers, a merchant convoy, a stagecoach of exotic travelers. Others prefer to travel alone. Regardless, they believe in the importance of change, taking on many personas during their wanderings. Tinker, bard, courier, and priest are common roles, and the changelin might well be quite talented at their trade. Traveler priests can preach a sermon to the Host in the morning and lead Flamesong in the evening. As they conceal their true changelin nature, Children are usually invisible to the people around them; they use a secret language of tattoos and scars to identify one another, along with a set of shared personas. Few people in the Five Nations understand the culture and values held by changelin travelers. Some are unnerved by the concept of a hidden culture, that a stranger might not be the human or hobgoblin they appear to be. Others assume that because changelins have the uncanny ability to change their faces at will, that they will use it for malevolent ends, cheating honest folk before moving on. Changelin traditions predate Galifar and its laws, and indeed, some deem it fair to “obtain” another’s possessions as long as they’re replaced with a gift of equal value. And a few travelers assert the Traveler’s blessing is their license to prey on the “single-skins”—a term for races lacking the changelin gift for shapeshifting. However, travelers are no more innately dishonest than any other people—whether dragonmarked heir or Gatekeeper druid—though those that respect local customs are still subject to much suspicion due to their shapeshifting abilities and nomadic preferences. As a player character, the changelin traveler background presented in chapter 6 can allow you to be part of a secretive network of changelins spread across the nation. As a DM, you could present the Children as a stereotypical source of thieves and charlatans. But they could be more enigmatic— an unexpected ally that can appear almost anywhere.
 +Stable Changelins
 +Under the rule of Galifar, many changelins chose to emerge from the shadows and live in the open, and today they can be found in most major cities of the Five Nations. Changelins in stable communities—such as Dragoneyes in Sharn or the Blackleaf district of Wroat—rarely hide their true nature. This allows them to sell their services openly and to pursue careers that make use of their unique talents, as explored in the “Changelin Careers” sidebar. However, many still make use of shared personas, and outsiders can be confused by the changelins’ fluid relationship with identity. Settled changelins don’t face the same level of prejudice as travelers, but there are still many single-skins who believe no changelin can be trusted. In addition to changelin neighborhoods in the cities of the Five Nations, there are two unique changelin cultures. The Gray Tide principality of the Lhazaar Principalities is a nation of changelins with a strong mercantile tradition; some say that the Gray Tide engages in a great deal of piracy, using their shapeshifting gifts to shift the blame to other princes. In Droaam, changelins are said to have a stronghold in the city of Lost. However, no outsider knows the location of Lost, and it’s said that the city itself is alive, and can freely move and change its shape. Regardless, the changelins of Lost have been strong allies of the Daughters of Sora Kell, and changelins can be found serving Daask.
 +
 +Passers
 +While changelins are well represented in the major cities, there are many villages and towns where they’re treated with fear and suspicion. You might have been born into such a community, possibly never even knowing another changelin. As a passer, you’ve crafted a single identity that you consider to be your true face. You may live your entire life as a human warrior or an elf priest, engaging your shapeshifting abilities only as a last resort.
 +If you grew up as a passer, how do you live today? Do you want to learn more about other changelin cultures, or do you deny any connection to other changelins? Do you acknowledge your changelin nature, or do you consider your passer identity to be your true self? Do you pretend that your changelin abilities come from another source—claiming that your nonmagical cap is a hat of disguise or pretending that you’re casting disguise self when you shapeshift? Passer can be an interesting choice for an urchin, outlander, or a changelin who’s lived through oppression and is only now coming to understand their true nature. With NPCs, passers can add an element of chaos—if a slain villain is revealed as a changelin, did they use a body double and escape, or was the villain always a passer?
 +Others
 +Changelins are as diverse as any other species, presenting many other cultures and paths you could explore. Reality seekers are settled changelins who prefer their natural form and avoid deception, instead searching for the ultimate truth. Becomers actively seek to live many lives in order to more fully understand the experiences of others. The Cabinet of Faces is a secret society devoted to the Traveler, and its members actively seek to challenge traditions and cause chaos. Do you have ties to any of these movements?
 +Personas
 +For a changelin, an identity is like a set of clothes. Within a changelin community, a persona may serve the same role a badge of office or uniform would for a human. The local priest is Father Hes. The sheriff is Big Dol. The healer is Lela. Whoever takes on the job assumes that persona. There may be three different priests, but whoever is currently on duty assumes the identity of Hes. In part, this is visual, but it’s also about adopting a personality—not just looking like Father Hes, but becoming Father Hes, giving the people a sense of continuity. This is especially important for the traveling clans. Travelers use well-established personas as anchors in potentially hostile communities. A trusted merchant, a beloved storyteller, or a reliable mercenary—any traveler can use one of these established personas to ensure a warm welcome. Of course, when using an established persona, it’s up to you to preserve its reputation. If you’re exposed as a changelin or if you ruin the reputation of the persona, you’re destroying a valuable tool.
 +
 +Many changelins develop their own unique personas. If you’re a fighter with proficiency in the violin, you might use a grim half-orc form in combat and an elegant elf when you play the violin. You’re not required to use a persona—the violinist could fight in their elf form—but the persona can serve as a way to focus on that particular skill. The Focused Personas feat in chapter 6 provides a concrete reflection of this.
 +
 +Changelin Careers
 +People often think of the shapeshifting talents of the changelin as a tool for deception. But in places where changelins live openly, including Droaam and the major cities of the Five Nations, there are many practical uses for shapeshifting. Changelins have long dominated the industry of paid companionship, using their talents to fulfill fantasies. While this can be sexual, there are many other changelin companions who specialize in giving a client the opportunity to have a meal or conversation with a distant loved one, or to practice a difficult conversation with a changelin stand-in. Many artists use changelins as versatile models. Changelins can also often be found as beauticians; in addition to possessing a deep understanding of the shifting nature of appearance, a changelin can use their own form as a palette on which to perfect the look a client is aiming for. Impersonation is also a viable career. Do you need to be in two places at once? Do you want a local celebrity to appear at your child’s birthday party? Hire a changelin impersonator. The Defender’s Guild of House Deneith has recently begun training and licensing elite changelin bodyguards, capable of serving as body doubles or posing as harmless bystanders until needed. Many changelins pursue a career in entertainment. After all, a changelin with the proper shiftweave outfit can play five roles! However, House Thuranni and House Phiarlan have been accused of denying opportunities to changelins. In licensed Phiarlan companies, changelins are typically relegated to serving as understudies and stunt doubles for dragonmarked superstars.
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