Tokens
A token is an item enchanted with fae magics.
How to use:
IF your character took tokens. Name Of Token/ ** Ranks or Cost what its or does/ and how to use it
Trifles
Not every token contains enough magic to last. Some are strictly one-use items whose magic fades after its initial sorcery. Changelings call these tokens ‘trifles.’ A changeling activates a trifle in the same way that she would a token, except that there is no drawback. Only changelings can use trifles; no catch exists that allows others to access the enchantment within. Creating a trifle out of an item in the Hedge or from Faerie requires only that a single Willpower point be expended in harnessing and directing the magic. All trifles require some kind of physical action to activate or “release” the magic.
Ace in the hole * This token appears to be a playing card, usually an Ace or a Queen. When taped over the interior lock of a closed door and activated, this token makes it difficult to pick any of the locks attached to that door (even if the card is taped over the knob lock, the deadbolt lock above it gains the advantage as well). Attempts to pick the lock of that door are made at a –2 dice modifier, and the presence of this token also removes the 10 again rule from any lockpicking attempt rolls. This token doesn’t work on security systems, only physical locks (though rumors of a higher-dot token exist that do confer the penalty against attempts to crack security systems). The protection lasts until the user or any other character opens the door.
Action: Instant
Mien: When active, the card appears to be a dirty, dusty Tarot card — often the Empress or Fool. The figure on the card sometimes blinks and mouths silent words. The card’s edges drip with a dark, viscous liquid as it works its magic.
Drawback: When using the Ace in the Hole, the wielder always cuts himself with the card — a stiff paper cut that causes one point of bashing damage. No matter how diligently he protects himself, he’ll slice his thumb, skin between fingers, even his chin. It cannot be avoided.
Catch: Use of this supposedly lucky icon actually drains a little of the luck from the user as the cost. For the rest of the day, until he sleeps, the character no longer gains the 10 again advantage on any of his rolls.
Aspersorium ** Gotten by joing the Blackbird Bishops only. The Aspersorium is a small, fist-sized container, appearing usually as a small pail or cup. Most such cups feature ornate filigree or scrollwork, and are generally made of metal (silver, brass, pewter), though a few are glass and are instead rimmed with metal ornamentation. The changeling puts any kind of water inside of the cup and whispers a few prayers offered to the weave and weft of Fate itself, asking for a moment of lucidity and perspective. The water, now “blessed,” can be flicked onto or sprinkled upon another character’s brow. Upon activation, the blessed water helps restore that person to some measure of sanity. If that person possesses any mild derangements, those derangements disappear for a single scene. If that person possesses any severe derangements, then those derangements downgrade to their mild counterparts (i.e., Paranoia becomes Suspicion) for the scene. The Aspersorium also grants the affected person +1 bonus to any Perception rolls he makes during the rest of the day (until he sleeps).
Action: Instant
Drawback: The martyrs of the Bishopric believe that what this token grants to others is able to do so only because it draws it away from the Bishop who uses it. Upon using this, the Bishop suffers a –1 die penalty to any Perception rolls made on his behalf over the rest of the day — his eyes sometimes sting or tear up, and he may even feel a minor headache stirring behind them. This lingers until he gets at least four hours of sleep. This penalty is cumulative — if the Bishop blesses a motley of five changelings, the Perception penalty grows to a –5 modifier.
Catch: In addition to the drawback noted above, the character also takes on the target’s derangement (mild or severe, whatever is possessed) for the rest of the scene. If the token is used on a character who does not possess any derangements, then the user of the Aspersorium takes on one mild derangement of the Storyteller’s choice, which lasts for the scene.
Baby cat’s eye *** This old porcelain doll in her ratty red dress
has one good eye, and one eye that is a cat’s eye marble. Upon activation, a character can put this doll anywhere, and for the following 12 hours, is able to see through the token’s eyes as if they were her own. She must close her own eyes to see through the doll’s. The doll’s eyes literally move left and right, up and down, as the changeling scans the token’s field of vision. Whatever the doll is capable of seeing, the character can see when concentrating. Once the 12 hours are up, the doll cannot be reactivated until two full days (48 hours) have passed. (A changeling cannot end the doll’s perceptive power prematurely.)
Action: Instant
Mien: The doll appears much the same, except in one’s peripheral vision she appears to move. When looking indirectly at her, she may appear to wave, turn her head, even stand up and stagger forward. But looking back at her confirms that she never moved at all.
Drawback: After the 12 hours are up, one of the changeling’s eyes grows crusty with a sand-like sediment and turns hazy white, as if discolored by a minor cataract. The changeling suffers a –2 dice penalty to her Perception rolls until six hours of sleep are obtained.
Catch: During the time in which the doll’s power is active, the character suffers from the Suspicion derangement. If he already possesses the mild version, he assumes the severe form, Paranoia. This lasts until the 12 hours are up.
Bilefruit trifle Bilefruit is a greasy, oblong fruit that hangs in the Hedge close to the ground. Past the bilefruit’s tough, waxy skin one finds a bitter meat. Eating the entire fruit allows the changeling to hide her seeming, including her Shadow, for eight hours. Her fae mien remains completely concealed, and for all intents and purposes, the character looks wholly human. Once the bilefruit is consumed, she cannot turn off this effect
Biting grotesquerie **** When inactive, it looks like some kind of misshapen grotesque monster carved out of a fist-sized hunk of coal. The idol is an ill-fitting amalgamation of monster or animal parts. Each one is different. Curling ram horns might sit on the side of a toad’s squat face, all perched upon a round belly overlooking a priapic lower torso. When active, the small coal statue animates into a grotesque hobgoblin. The hobgoblin has one function, and that function is to bite. The token’s bite, however, causes potent hallucinations, per a strong psychoactive drug. Those bitten with by the hobgoblin suffer a three-dice penalty to all Traits including Defense and Initiative. The victim suffers confusing hallucinations both auditory and visual, giddying and terrifying. Effects cannot be resisted, but a victim can attempt success on a Wits + Empathy roll (with the –3 dice in place) to recognize that he is indeed on a drug trip, and that the people on the street aren’t all monsters or that the parking meters aren’t laughing at him and trying to steal his blood (or whatever other hallucinations assail him). The effects of this “trip” persist for (8 minus the victim’s Stamina) hours. The hobgoblin can only remain animated for a number of turns equal to the user’s Clarity (or equivalent Humanity, Morality or Harmony) score. The hobgoblin has only one direction it will accept, which is to bite a particular person (who must be somewhere in the user’s range of sight). Some changelings possess such creatures so that they themselves can experience the psychoactive bite. Stats for the hobgoblin can be found below in the sidebar following.
Action: Instant
Mien: The idol carved from the hunk of coal (generally found in the Hedge, but some True Fae are said to collect them and keep them in vast glass cases) becomes animated. The idol’s skin remains black, but is now dry and leathery.
Drawback: For some unknown reason— something to do with the properties of the coal the grotesquerie is encased within, perhaps — when active, the token causes intense magnetic disruption that causes all electronics within 50 yards to fail. Media devices emit loud static. Cars stop working. Lights flicker and go out. This doesn’t stop when the token returns to a hunk of carved coal, either. The disruption persists for one hour afterward in the vicinity of the token like a rolling blackout.
Catch: If a character fails to pay the proper costs, all it takes to animate the token is a gob of spit hocked upon it and a Willpower point. However, because the proper costs are then bypassed, the token becomes a one-time-only deal. Upon the end of its limited lifespan, it crumbles into a pile of coal dust.
Blood pennon **** This short, swallow-tailed banner seems to be nothing more than a swatch of burlap or sackcloth marked with an ugly swipe of red paint. When unfurled and waved about (which takes one full turn and may be done in the changeling’s hand or at the end of a long pole), the Blood Pennon grants the changeling and his motley powerful battle prowess throughout the remainder of the scene. For the rest of the scene, all members of the changeling’s motley — no matter where they are — gain a number of combat bonuses. They each find that their Defense is doubled, they have +4 to their Initiative modifiers and they can ignore any wound penalties. Moreover, any all-out attacks become more effective, providing each of the changelings with an additional two bonus dice on such attacks (in using an all-out attack, the changeling still forfeits his Defense, however).
Action: Instant
Mien: The Pennon, likely stolen from a Knight’s lance somewhere in the Hedge or within Faerie, no longer seems made of sackcloth and now appears cut from silk. The smear of red paint becomes an odd heraldic symbol, different every time it’s used. (The symbol might be a horse with a forked tongue, a crooked dragon’s skull, even a painted garland of roses wreathing a severed head.) The symbol oozes blood.
Drawback: Use of the banner draws the attention of enemies — often the Others or a particularly strong type of hobgoblin for changelings, potent spirits for werewolves and so on. The enemies might not know what has drawn them to the user (except perhaps the Gentry, who recognize the banner’s power), but they can sense the presence of someone or something they hate. The enemies don’t show up instantly, but are more likely to arrive at an inconvenient time.
Bug cudgel **** This token needn’t be an actual cudgel — any blunt
instrument is appropriate, from a length of rust-encrusted pipe to a wooden Louisville slugger. The changeling activates it upon receiving a successful hit that confers damage to the target. At the moment of activation, nothing happens beyond the normal bashing damage. However, one hour later, the area that received the hit begins to bruise and swell suddenly. It turns mottled red and purple, and causes terrible pain. The bump because to rupture within minutes, spilling out several insects or bugs — a small cloud of black flies, a dozen spiders or maybe a passel of centipedes. This causes such intense pain that, while no actual wounds occur (in addition to those received from the bashing hit), the victim suffers a dice penalty equal to the token user’s Wyrd score (maximum –5). (If a non-changeling uses the token, assume that the penalty is equal to that user’s Resolve score, again with a maximum penalty of –5.) The target suffers this penalty for a number of hours equal to the token user’s Willpower score. The Bug Cudgel’s power can be used on a victim only once per day, although it can still be used for straightforward damage, of course.
Action: Reflexive
Mien: The weapon occasionally shudders and trembles. Wisps of diaphanous spider’s web trail from its tip.
Drawback: The night after using the Bug Cudgel, the changeling suffers a number of dreams and hypnagogic hallucinations involving bugs. The nightmares are bad enough to confer a one-die penalty on all rolls for an hour after waking.
Catch: Eschewing the roll to activate or the Glamour cost, the subject suffers the nightmares as mentioned in the drawback as well as the penalty associated. However, the nightmares also confer the Phobia derangement (mild), with the focus being of that phobia being insects. The bug phobia (entomophobia) goes away after a week.
Bugbear’s mask*** the Scarecrows of the Ministry use this upon joining this so-called noble order, one is allowed to pick out his own mask (either from a local store) or from another Minister’s potentially egregious collection. This token appears to be like any rubbery Halloween mask that one could buy for $10 down at the Wal-Mart or corner store. Whether the mask is the visage of a bandage-swaddled mummy or the angry face of a Frankenstein monster, the resultant supernatural effect is still the same. When the mask is worn, the changeling chooses a single target and meets the victim’s eyes. The victim gains the Phobia derangement (mild), with the mask-wearer as the focus of the derangement’s dread. The victim literally sees the mask as real flesh and actual bone, its grisly countenance appearing as wretched as the human’s imagination can make it (often manifesting as something the person was already afraid of, whether that be a face of crawling spiders or the countenance of a violent alcoholic father). The derangement lasts for the rest of the scene. This token can only be used once per day.
Action: Instant
Drawback: The changeling who uses this token suffers his own mild derangement for the rest of the day: Narcissism. (A character who already possesses the Narcissism derangement sees it become the severe version, Megalomania.) This derangement lasts until the changeling sleeps.
Catch: A mortal or any other character who uses the token without paying the proper cost (Wyrd roll or Glamour point) finds that the mask is particularly stubborn to remove. The rubbery fringe at the bottom of the mask seems to literally bond with the flesh of the neck. Removing the mask also removes a layer of skin, conferring one lethal point of damage.
The cracked mirror * When staring into this dingy mirror whose glass iscracked and flecked with red rust, a changeling is able to see the face of his fetch and communicate briefly with him. Upon a successful activation, the fetch’s face appears, and the two can have a conversation capable of lasting a number of turns equal to the user’s Willpower score. (The fetch becomes immediately aware that his changeling “twin” is looking upon him.) Spending Willpower extends this by one minute per point spent.
Action: Instant
Mien: The crack in the mirror melts away. A cool fog drifts up from the glass as the fetch’s face is present.
Drawback: The fetch becomes aware of the changeling’s exact location.
Catch: The changeling must first cut his own face in such a way that it becomes visible in the mirrored glass. This visible cut confers one lethal point of damage. The cut must be fresh, still dripping, for the token to be of use. This token is of little use to non-changelings, though it may reveal the face of someone posing as the user in more conventional fashion.
Curious paw **** This talisman, which may hang from an expensive chain or from a ratty piece of fraying rope, always comes from some kind of freak-of-nature animal found in the Hedge or within Faerie. The animal may have been diseased. It might’ve been some kind of mutant. Or maybe it was an oddly exceptional creature (or even an animal forged of dying dreams). The Curious Paw doesn’t always have to be a paw, either, any part of the aberrant animal will do. Examples include the whole carcass of a three-legged frog, a deer’s hoof mottled with shriveled red cysts or several feathers plucked from an abnormally intelligent and talkative magpie. Activation requires the user to stroke the amulet three times. If activation is successful, the talisman grants the changeling and his motley an additional measure of luck for the remainder of the scene, allowing them access to the 9 again rule on all rolls except Glamourbased rolls or Contract rolls. Those motley members hoping to gain the bonus must be within the user’s eyesight to receive this advantage.
Action: Instant
Mien: The token moves. Not as if alive, but as if caught in the throes of death — a crow’s foot might find the feet retracting suddenly, an eyeball might shake and the pupil could dilate.
Drawback: Being the focal point of such luck is enervating. After the scene is up, any changelings within the motley, whether or not they gained the 9 again advantage (in other words, no matter where they are) begin feeling foggy, sluggish, even queasy. All rolls are now made at –2 dice penalty for the hour after the Paw’s powers wear off. For two hours after the token’s effects fade, the motley also suffers –1 die penalty to any Defense rolls and –3 dice penalty to their Initiative modifiers.
Catch: One piece of information from the character’s mind is lost forever and cannot be relearned. The information chosen is usually small but critical — the character’s own phone number, a spouse’s name, a child’s birthday, an important street address. The token takes such knowledge as payment.
Dead man’s boots *** These shoes, taken from the feet of a corpse found in the Hedge, allow a changeling to double her Stealth score when wearing them. This effect lasts as long as the user has Willpower (see the item’s drawback) or until she chooses to end it. The shoes feel ill fitting when worn, and appear dirty or scuffed.
Action: Reflexive
Mien: The shoes grow dark with shifting shadow, and Hedge thorns poke out from the eyelets or from other rips in the material. From time to time, the shoes waft the odor of a fruiting corpse, though only the user can smell it.
Drawback: The shoes literally “drink” the user’s Willpower points at a rate of one point per hour (at the beginning of the hour; thus, once when put on and then again every hour after that). Why this is, nobody really knows. Some suggest it’s because the dead possess incomprehensible thirst, and do what they must to quench it.
Catch: In addition to the Willpower point, the Dead Man’s Boots drink health levels, too. The wearer takes one bashing level of damage every time a Willpower point is consumed by the token.
The diviner’s instrument Can only be used by a neophyte diviner upon affirming his oath to it's college. Every diviner within the College of Worms is expected to possess a divining tool suited only to her. She chooses the nature of the tool: a pouch of runes, a cup of pigeon bones, a hand-drawn Tarot deck, a scrying mirror made from an old Maybelline compact. Upon joining the order, the pledge to become a diviner connects this instrument to the strands of fate, if only with a few perfunctory threads, enough to grant the token a small and relatively safe measure of power (anything greater would wreak havoc upon the poor changeling who carried it). The token’s power is passive. The changeling uses the device (tossing the bones, reading the cards or whatever mechanical action one normally performs to “use” the diving tool), and upon activation receives no insights at the time of use. The insight comes later. When about to make a roll, the player determines that the insight is finally revealed to the character and helps grant her feelings (be they instincts or an odd déjà vu sensation), which translate to bonuses on that roll. The character can take a number of dice equal to the character’s Wyrd score and add them to that roll. However, this must be done within a number of hours equal to the changeling’s Clarity score. If she goes beyond that time limit, she cannot access the hidden insight provided by her divining tools, for they are lost. The Diviner’s Instrument is a fickle thing, much as fate itself, and can only be used once per game session.
Action: Instant
Drawback: All Perception rolls made during the time the “insight” is active (i.e., during a number of hours equal to the changeling’s Clarity) suffer a –1 die penalty. The only exception to this is if the changeling chooses to make a Perception roll the recipient of the token’s Wyrd bonus (at which point no penalty is given, and the full bonus is received). The reason for the Perception penalty is that, when considering fate, the changeling looks for fate’s fickle fingerprints— often in the wrong place. She becomes easily distracted. When she’s supposed to see a blue truck driving past, she may instead be looking skyward, examining the contrails left by an airliner.
Catch: If the changeling chooses to eschew theGlamour expenditure or Wyrd roll, or if a character uses the token who does not possess either, then the Diviner’s Instrument confers a significant penalty in addition to its bonus. After the player chooses which roll gains the bonus his character gained by using the token, the Storyteller chooses another roll made later in the day to receive a penalty equal to the character’s Wyrd score (maximum –5 dice). As noted, fate can be quite fickle, especially when it is not paid its proper due.
Driver’s little helper * This token is an icon representing a game
of chance or skill, stolen from Faerie. The changeling must place this token somewhere inside her car. The token might appear to normal eyes as a pair of ratty pink dice dangling from the rearview, a scuffed-up eight-ball topping the gearshift or an old air freshener shaped like a playing card. When used, Driver’s Little Helper grants the changeling (who must be driving) a number of small bonuses. First, the token allows the car to run without expending gasoline or any other fuel. Second, the token confers a small bonus to the changeling’s Drive rolls (+1). And third, the token allows the changeling to cut his driving time by about a third (so, a journey that might take 30 minutes now takes 20, instead). Driving time isn’t cut by supernaturally speeding up — but it just seems that the changeling always makes propitious turns, finds sudden shortcuts and discovers that she’s “lucky enough” to hit all the green lights. This lasts for one hour.
Action: Reflexive
Mien: Any flaws the token possesses disappear, and it appears in almost perfect condition. Stranger, though, is that when the token is used, the distant sound of a Fae keeper’s carriage rattling and bouncing down the roads of the Hedge can be heard. No radio or traffic noise can drown out this sound. For some changelings, this is quite unsettling.
Drawback: After the hour is up, the car overheats. Steam vents from the front, and the car shuts down. It cannot return to serviceable driving condition for at least 15 minutes, unless the changeling makes a successful Wits + Craft roll (which at least requires her enough time to tinker around in the engine).
Catch: The token will operate without the expenditure of Glamour or use of a Wyrd roll if the character pours a pint of her own blood into the gas tank or transmission. Taking this pint of blood will, when drawn, causes one lethal point of damage (or one Vitae in the case of vampires).
glimmer braid trifle This section of braided hair — bravely stolen from a True Fae or simply thieved from a figure (living or dead) in the Hedge — casts a powerful, though temporary, illusion upon the holder of the braid. To activate the glimmerbraid, the changeling merely needs to hold the braid in one hand and tug on it with the other. For the rest of the scene, whoever has the braid upon his person gains the benefits and drawbacks of the Fame Merit at three dots. Humans see the wielder as whatever public personality (celebrity, politician, athlete) that they most want to see at that moment. A changeling might use this herself to gain a measure of adoration and favor, or she may sneak it into some other fool’s pocket and let that person wonder why he’s suddenly mobbed in front of the club with screaming “fans.” The braid’s power works for one scene, after which is dissolves into a tangle of burnt hair (it stinks like burnt hair, too). Changelings are not affected by this, and see through the illusion without effort.
Hedgespun raiment *_*** Hedgespun clothing is not quite a token in the literal sense, though it qualifies as such for purposes of being purchased via the Token Merit (p. 9 cool . These clothes come in a near-infinite variety of forms — glittering mail jackets carved from unmelting ice, weightless gowns of palest cobweb, rich silks dyed the vibrant hues of a season at its height, form-fitting black leather crafted from the hide of no earthly beast. While quite ordinary clothing by any other measure, Hedgespun garments are often better-fitting and more comfortable than mortal clothing. Most importantly, Hedgespun clothing is protected by the Mask. A beautiful Winter Queen’s gown of snowflake and silver chain appears as an elegant white evening dress to the mortal eye. The basilisk-skin bodysuit of a lithe Darkling highwayman seems to be the leather jacket and pants of an urban gangster. While possessing no actual supernatural power, Hedgespun is something of a status symbol among the Lost, and many courtiers wouldn’t be caught dead at a grand Revel in simple mortal clothing. The one-dot version represents an entire outfit of Hedgespun clothing; Storytellers are encouraged to allow any character a single small article of Hedgespun clothing (a bloody red cap, a flame-colored scarf, a glittering monocle) at no cost. Armor can be crafted of Hedgespun, as well. The two-dot version is the equivalent of a Kevlar vest, and the three-dot version is the equivalent of a flak jacket (see the World of Darkness Rulebook, p. 170). Though the armor appears as elaborate leather, wood, metal, ice or other armor in its true mien, the Mask disguises the armor as more modern-seeming protective clothing (a soldier’s flak jacket, hockey pads or the like). Hedgespun armor cannot be mistaken for ordinary clothes. Hedgespun clothes can also be crafted by the Lost, not simply discovered. This requires an appropriate Crafts roll, and must be performed in the Hedge. The changeling must make a small donation of her own energy to “finish” the garment (represented by the experience cost.)
Action: None
Mien: Practically infinite. Each piece of Hedgespun raiment is a work of art in its own right.
Drawback: Hedgespun cannot abide the touch of cold iron. Armor made of Hedgespun provides no protection against cold iron (see p. 174). Delicate garments may even unravel or burn at its touch.
Catch: Hedgespun tends to chafe uncomfortably or provide little protection against the elements when worn by a non-fae. The discomfort can provide a one-die distraction penalty to dice rolls if the circumstances seem appropriate, such as attempting to concentrate on picking a lock.
Hedgespun wardrobe *** This item may appear as a battered wardrobe, steamer trunk or other well-used receptacle for clothing. The Wardrobe always possesses a lock, and its key hangs from a chain attached to the object. The key will not turn in the lock, however, unless the token is activated. Its owner may command it to produce a new Hedgespun outfit (p. 203) once per day. The garments provided roughly suit the changeling’s demands (“a courtly Winter gown,” “something in dark leather”), but the Wardrobe cannot create protective garments sturdy enough to count as armor.
Action: Standard
Mien: The Wardrobe rattles slightly, and may shift as if alive. A chest with clawed feet may flex its toes slightly from time to time, and the moths engraved on a wardrobe’s door may seem to move their wings. Opening the object releases a musty, warm (or cold) rush of air like a breath.
Drawback: The garments produced are physically real, but temporary in nature. Each one dissolves into mist, smoke or dust at the next sunrise, whether it’s worn at the time or simply lying on someone’s bedroom floor.
Catch: The user must moisten the key with his own blood. The wound aches slightly while the Wardrobe’s clothing is worn, distracting the wearer and imposing a–1 die penalty to any Composure rolls. A user who cannot see through the Mask cannot request a specific outfit, not that she could see it for what it is anyway; she simply sees a quaint old dress or elegant suit within the Wardrobe once it’s open.
Hoarfrost Spine *** This thorn, broken off from somewhere in the Hedge where the briar is glazed with frost or encased in ice, can help a changeling succeed in hand-to-hand combat. The spiny thorn must be worn on a piece of jewelry or held somewhere on the changeling’s body. When the token is activated, for the remainder of the scene the changeling becomes surprisingly slippery to those who want to harm him. He gains +1 to his persistent Defense against all incoming Brawl attacks. Moreover, his Defense doubles when any grapple attacks are made against him. If a grapple attack is successful against him in this scene, the changeling’s “break free” roll does not subtract the attacker’s Strength from it. To activate this token, the changeling must grip the thorn in her hand for a full turn and feel the cold crawl through her veins (it feels like a chilled saline injection).
Action: Instant
Mien: The token appears normally as a long, dead thorn. When active, however, it becomes wrapped in a thin sheen of clear ice, and the thorn becomes vibrant and green beneath the frost, as if recently plucked from a living vine.
Drawback: First, the changeling’s seeming shifts slightly; for the next 24 hours, her seeming reflects some kind of minor icy effect (frosty breath, ice crystals clinging to eyelashes, abnormally cold touch). During this time, the changeling also becomes painfully vulnerable to fire. For the next 24 hours, the character takes aggravated damage from fire, not lethal. Vampires and other supernaturals who already take aggravated damage from fire take an additional point of damage from any given source.
Catch: The character finds that things become slippery for her over the next 24 hours, as if all things are slick with ice. Any Athletics rolls made during this time suffer a three-dice penalty.
home spinner’s needle ** It appears as nothing more than a simple sewing needletucked away in a tiny velvet envelope. For those who know its power, Homespinner’s Needle can bring great advantage. To use it, a character simply conceals the token beneath something in a room — beneath a rug, under a couch cushion, even beneath the heel of her boot. When activated, the Needle gives the room a homely, warm glow— a faintly perceived sense of comfort. Even the dankest prison cell can be made to feel restful and serene for a short time. The advantage is that any who enter the room have+1 to any Presence or Manipulation rolls made while within the needle-affected room (they feel cordial, hospitable, even gregarious). The changeling who activated the token gains+2 to her Presence and Manipulation rolls. The Needle’s effects last for one scene.
Action: Instant
Mien: The Needle turns from silver to gleaming gold.
Drawback: Any affected by the Needle (meaning, they
gain the Presence and Manipulation bonus at any point) will suffer a one die penalty to any Social rolls made in the scene following. They find that they trip over words, or simply cannot articulate themselves quite as well. The changeling who used the Homespinner’s Needle gains a –2 to her Social rolls for the scene following.
Catch: The Needle demands its user whisper the rhyme, “Needle, needle, sharp and fine, clean up the house for the suitor of mine” and then stab herself in the palm with it. The Needle literally disappears beneath the flesh and worms its way through the body. This process causes one lethal point of damage at the moment the needle-tip is thrust into the hand. The Needle comes out of the body three hours later, hacked up into the mouth and spit out.
Lantern of ill omen ** This handheld Lantern has neither candle nor bulb within. In the spot where the light source normally sits is a small jar, and within this jar are two reagents: a handful (about a half-dozen) of crushed-up fireflies and seven hairs plucked from the user’s own head. (Some say those hairs carry the echoes of memory, necessary for the attunement process.) The user attunes this Lantern by spending one Willpower point and concentrating for a single turn on an individual she has met in the past. Now, when activated, the Lantern will glow and buzz when that individual is within a half-mile radius, providing ample warning to the changeling (though some use this token to verify their accuracy in a tracking attempt — if it glows, then she knows they’re at least getting close to their prey). Activation lasts for a number of hours equal to the user’s Willpower score. The Lantern of Ill Omen can be re-attuned once per day to a new target, but each time this costs another Willpower point (and a turn to concentrate). The Lantern can be attuned to a True Fae, though it can only be attuned toward a Fae that the user has met previously, and this costs two Willpower points instead of one. Alternately, if the user tunes the Lantern to her fetch, no Willpower expenditure is necessary. Note that the Lantern must be within 10 feet of the character to work.
Action: Reflexive
Mien: Parts of the Lantern seem etched with mad whorls of filigree and scrollwork. Within the token, the supposedly dead fireflies sometimes twitch or flutter a broken wing.
Drawback: Once the lantern glows for a full hour, the light source “burns out” and must be replenished. Hairs from the head are easy to replenish, but fireflies are not so simple to obtain in some areas or seasons.
Catch: Those refusing to pay the Willpower cost or submit to a Wyrd roll find that the Lantern still works, but glimpsing its glow damages one’s sight— the user’s vision is suddenly filled with floating orbs and flashes of light. Any sight-based Perception rolls are made at –3 dice. This penalty lasts for one full hour after the glow finally recedes.
The murmuring coin * Some Murmuring Coins are taken from Faerie — the strange ducats that the True Fae use as money make for easy pocketing if one has fast hands. Others are pennies, dimes, quarters or other coins taken from the pockets of dead men or changeling corpses found in the Hedge. The Coin, in the real world, looks grungy and feels greasy, but otherwise appears as any normal coin. The changeling must keep the Murmuring Coin touching her skin somewhere to use it — some keep it in a shoe, under the tongue or in a pocket so it can be held tightly in one’s palm. At the time of purchasing something with money, the changeling activates the token. She can, for this single transaction, buy the item as if she had one more Resources dot than usual. (For instance, if the user possesses Resources 1, but is attempting to buy a light revolver at Resources 2, she can now do so.) The magic of the token is expressed in various ways: the merchant suddenly drops the price “for a friend,” or maybe he’s willing to barter down to “clear out inventory.”
Action: Reflexive
Mien: The Coin turns a burnished bronze color. The head’s side of the Coin develops a new, strange ornamentation
— one that’s different every time. It might reveal a big ‘X’ slashed across the president’s face, or perhaps has the user’s own scowling face embossed upon the metal. The Coin whispers, too — incomprehensible murmurs (hence its name) that only changelings can hear.
Drawback: For the following day, the changeling’s Vice changes temporarily to Greed. During this time, she cannot gain Willpower through the expression of her old Vice, and only gains it if she performs avaricious actions. If her Vice was already Greed, she regains only half the Willpower she would ordinarily regain by following her Virtue, though she may regain Willpower through Greed as usual.
Catch: A loved one will suddenly suffer some misfortune that reduces that person’s Resources dot by one. A kitchen catches fire, someone breaks his leg at a job site and cannot work, someone steals a credit card and runs up astronomical fees, etc. If it’s a changeling who is eschewing her Wyrd roll or Glamour expenditure, then the unfortunate drop in Resources may happen to one of his own motley.
Ribbon of never miss ** This token is a ribbon taken from a
human’s loved one — a ribbon from a little girl’s pigtails, from a gift given to a boy, clipped from a wife’s negligee, or so on. When tied around the barrel of a firearm and activated, the Ribbon of Nevermiss provides the shooter with a bit of luck and keen insight. The shooter’s next shot can effectively double the ranges associated with that particular weapon. If its ranges were, for instance, 20/40/80, they are now 40/80/160 for the purposes of that shot.
Action: Reflexive
Mien: The Ribbon smolders. Curls of steam and gun smoke rise from its length.
Drawback: A firearm can only make three shots this way before it starts to damage the gun’s accuracy. After three times are used, the gun’s Damage rating falls to 0, and the Ribbon can no longer provide its benefit to that particular weapon.
Catch: The token demands one of the user’s teeth. If the user refuses to remove a tooth on his own, fate will conspire over the next 12 hours and take one (he’ll trip and do a face plant into a doorframe, a hockey puck will hit him in the mouth or he’ll find an alarmingly accelerated case of rot in one molar). Some believe this cost is steep, but others are just happy it doesn’t ask for an eye.
Squall knife ***** In Faerie, the True Fae consider it lucky to
place a knife beneath the cradle of a sleeping infant (one abducted from the human world). This knife blesses their new servant, assuring that the child will have the good health and fortitude necessary to endure the many tortures and strange labors the slave will suffer as though adolescence and adulthood (until the creature is spent, of course). From time to time, a changeling may abscond with one of these knives, bringing it back to the world. In this world, it appears as nothing more than a dull knife with a wooden handle, its blade nicked. However, when activated, the weapon provides a key benefit that remains active for the remainder of the scene. Every time the weapon causes lethal damage, the victim cries out, and the token’s wielder can choose to heal one lethal point of damage or three bashing damage (this token will not heal aggravated wounds). If for some reason the victim is somehow stopped from crying out (he’s mute, his mouth is taped shut, he’s unconscious), the power does not work. An exceptional success on an attack roll increases the healing to two points of lethal damage or five bashing.
Action: Reflexive
Mien: The Knife’s blade appears to be preternaturally sharp, and the unflattering wood suddenly becomes something impressive — a rosewood handle, or it perhaps gains a smooth pearl inlay. Also, every time the Squall Knife is swung or thrust forward, the user hears the howling squalls of human children unable to tolerate the strange foods of Faerie and incapable of finding peaceful rest.
Drawback: Using this weapon causes a kind of griefstuck backlash within the changeling. The character feels gripped by loss of her own humanity, recalling her youth as a child and hearing the distant echoes of infants wailing. For the following 12 hours after using this weapon and activating its token effect, the character suffers from the Melancholia derangement (mild). If the mild version is already possessed, she now suffers from full-blown Depression (severe).
Catch: A character who uses this weapon suffers from garbled memories of childhood as a strange and horrible time of powerlessness. Other people intrude on the character’s sensibilities as potential predators from this time, filling him with hostility and paranoia. The user suffers a three-dice penalty to all Social rolls for the following 24 hours.
sting seed trifle This small seed, dug up out of the Hedge, allows a single bullet to do additional damage when the seed is nestled into the lead tip (usually via a hollow point reservoir, though a changeling can easily dig out a hole in the lead). When put into the bullet, the seed must be watered — only a single drop of water, or even a bit of spit, does the trick. The bullet must be used in the subsequent scene for the trifle’s effects to work. Those harmed by a stingseed bullet suffer a –1 die penalty until half of the lethal bullet damage (round down) is healed. Small plants grow from the bullet wounds, thus causing a low level of constant pain (hence the penalty). If more than one stingseed is used, the penalties stack to a maximum of –3 dice.
Sweetblood trifle The blood of any dream creature fuels this trifle. The blood on its own is unpleasant to drink and provides no benefit. If, however, just before quaffing a changeling sprinkles one teaspoon of sugar upon it and then drinks it, the trifle’s powers come into effect. For the following scene, the character gains the 9 again rule on all Socialize rolls. She finds her tongue loose, and others find her manner pleasing. If she already benefits from this rule (such as from a Contract or blessing), she gains an extra die to such rolls.
thimble black trifle It’s said that the True Fae can, when wearing a thimble, craft vast artifice spun from lies and myth. This pewter thimble, painted black, demands that a single drop of the user’s blood be drizzled into its well. It doesn’t grant the user the full measure of the Fae’s power, but grants her a small portion of it. She doesn’t wear it upon a finger, however. Once the blood is in the thimble, the user places the trifle beneath her tongue. Upon activation, the thimble allows the character to add her Subterfuge score to any Crafts or Computer rolls she makes during the following scene (without speaking, she is effectively “lying” to the devices to make them comply with her wishes). After the scene is up, the thimble turns to metallic dust that tastes of moldy pennies.
tumble glass trifle The True Fae collect strange baubles made of glass —delicate things made of odd spheres and discordant colors. A changeling can take one of these things and activate the trifle’s power by breaking it beneath his foot. During the next scene, the character gets one free “fall” that causes no damage at all, up to 100 yards (if more than 100 yards are fallen, the character incurs full terminal velocity damage). The character doesn’t land on her feet, and may require a Stamina roll to be able to act immediately after.
utter barb trifle A single scratch from this hooked Hedge thorn (requiring a successful “touch” attack) causes no damage to the victim, but it steals his voice for a single scene. He can only communicate in breathy whispers barely heard. Upon a successful attack, the thorn disintegrates into an oily cellulose paste.
Waxen violet ** (Only available to Magistrates of the wax mask) The violet — that small, purple flower with the sweet smell — is sometimes considered a symbol of one’s humility and trustworthiness. That is, at least, how the Magistrates hope it will be perceived, and this token goes a good way toward ensuring that. This small flower, preserved in a thin coating of wax, is a token that one pins to his clothing (or skin if he’s willing to suffer a pinch and a few beads of blood). When activated, the Violet gives off a pleasing aroma that seems to linger around the Magistrate. Those who are within 50 yards must succeed on a Resolve + Composure roll, and must achieve successes that equal or surpass the Magistrate’s Wyrd score. Failure to do so indicates that the Magistrate appears — as the flower suggests — humble, and ultimately trustworthy. He gains +3 Social dice against those affected. The effects of this token last for the remainder of the scene.
Action: Reflexive
Drawback: The Violet has its effect on the changeling who uses it, as well. Except for him, the effect is somewhat soporific. The lingering aroma has a sleep-inducing effect that, while thankfully delayed, is still quite potent when it finally strikes. The changeling has two remaining hours left awake after using the Waxen Violet. If he does not find a place to sleep before that time, he will collapse into slumber unless he spends a Willpower point. That Willpower point only earns him a single turn, however (though several points can be spent to grant several turns). Once asleep, the character sleeps for eight hours straight. If at any point he’s forced awake during this time, he suffers a –2 dice penalty on all rolls until he is able to go to sleep and finish his eight hours.
Catch: In addition to the Drawback, a mortal or other character using this token without the requisite Glamour expenditure or Wyrd roll suffers one lethal wound upon its use. The Violet literally numbs the flesh beneath where it rests and “drinks” a wound level (its petals turning deep reddish-purple in the process). This wound always leaves a small, puckered scar shaped like a flower.
Catch: The strong magic put forth by this token soon hobbles the users. The character who waved the Pennon about will, after the scene is up, find himself utterly spent and with a dearth of combat ability. The character loses half his Initiative, Speed and Defense (round down) for the rest of the day. This is usually when the True Fae come calling, and instead of simply reclaiming a lost Pennon, they often see an excellent opportunity to drag the enervated victim into the Hedge and back to their horrid lands.
Welkinstick trifle This dead branch or brittle twist of vine helps a changeling achieve a significant boost when making a jump. The trifle must be taken from somewhere higher up in the Hedge or in Faerie — at least 50 yards up (perhaps cresting the top of the tangled Thorns or some tree that clings to an old, decrepit Fae tower). When the welkinstick is snapped in half, the distance achieved is doubled in the changeling’s next jump roll (which must be made within three turns of breaking the stick). In a vertical jump, the changeling gains two feet per success, and in a broad standing jump, she crosses four feet per success. In a running jump, the character can cross a number of feet equal to twice her Size per success rolled. All other jumping rules apply (see “Jumping,” p. 66, the World of Darkness Rulebook).
