A friend pointed me towards Changeling: the Dreaming in high school when he was trying to sell me on the Vampire: the Masquerade game he was building. If you’ve got basic knowledge about the World of Darkness, you’ll have some idea about how fundamentally incompatible the two games are — the Kindred are active agents of Banality, the force of disbelief that’s severing mankind’s tie to the Dreaming, after all. Even still, we made my first pooka character and that was that. I fell in love, and for several years Changeling was my jam.
Now the 20th Anniversary Edition of Changeling: the Dreaming is out and of COURSE I helped fund the Kickstarter campaign at the highest level. As part of the sweet stash of goodies, I will (hopefully) have two(!) character concepts drawn by one of the game artists for the new edition. I’m incredibly excited.
As soon as I knew I could get two characters (thanks to my wonderful and generous husband), I knew exactly who I’d submit — Sergei Kolov, the Troll Knight and his loyal Pooka Squire Bunkin Johnson. When I run a chronicle — and you’d better believe I will — these two will be fairly prominent players in the Duchy of the Blue Crab (that’s the faerie name for Baltimore City).
I thought I’d do a quick write-up on Sergei and Bunkin, then post them here. If you’re thinking about writing a Changeling game or story, feel free to use them as you wish. I’m just really happy to be able to play in the world of the Kithain again!
SERGEI KOLOV, THE SILENT KNIGHT
Background
Sergei Kolov was born William Jackson Covington, the oldest son of a farming family scratching together their existence in rural North Carolina. He came into the world oversized and grew bigger from there; by the time he was 13 he was nearly six feet tall and his reputation as a gentle giant had been cemented. Bill’s father told him being meek wasn’t just what God wanted him to do — it was also the way he would have to survive in the world. No matter what he was like on the inside, people we see him as a big black man and be afraid. Bill took this to heart. He said only what he had to, when he had to, and he only made use of his God-given strength to defend people who couldn’t defend themselves. And there were a lot of those.
Things took a turn during Bill’s first year of high school. He quickly gained a reputation as a defender of geeks and underclassmen, but that kind of guardianship wouldn’t be tolerated for very long. One day before Christmas break, he was jumped by six upperclassmen and beaten into a coma. He woke up over a fortnight later, on New Year’s Day — unable to speak, but healthy for the most part. His parents knew, however, that something had changed; Bill’s eyes would dart to thin air frequently, and…odd things would happen around him from time to time. The Covingtons didn’t mind too much when their son told them he was going to move out after graduation; there was something off about him in a way that made his superstitious family uneasy.
He left home when he graduated high school to make his fortune in Baltimore, and he’s been penniless ever since. For the past two years, however, he’s made a name for himself in the Duchy of the Blue Crab through countless heroic deeds; the “Silent Knight” has earned the goodwill of Charm City’s commoners and the attention of the ruling Court. For now, he’s content to accept the charity of the local fae but has refused a more official position within anyone’s freehold — noble, or commoner.
Mortal Seeming
In his mortal guise, Sergei is an enormous black man standing well over 6 feet tall with 300+ pounds of hard-earned muscle. Even in the hardened streets of Baltimore, he cuts an imposing figure. Almost everything about his demeanor is meant to soften that image: he favors loose and functional clothing, almost constantly walks with a bend in his back, and only looks directly at someone when he’s smiling. He’s as well-kept as a homeless man can be, with a small mane of dreadlocked hair and a thick (but somehow groomed) beard.
Fae Mien
As a fae, Sergei is truly towering — he gains more than two feet in height and an even more Herculean build. His skin is shaded more slate than blue, but his eyes are as clear and bright as a cloudless sky. His bearing is more confident and self-possessed, his gaze steadier. His clothes are still loose and functional, but well cared-for. It’s impossible to miss the large broadsword at his hip and the table-sized wooden shield slung across his back; despite the amount of space he takes up (a lot), he never seems to bump into things with them.
Vital Statistics
Court: Seelie
Legacies: Saint/Fatalist
House: Commoner
Seeming: Wilder (19)
Physical: Strength 4, Dexterity 2, Stamina 4
Social: Charisma 3, Manipulation 1, Appearance 2
Mental: Perception 4, Intelligence 2, Wits 2
Talents: Alertness 3, Brawl 3, Empathy 2, Intimidation 1, Kenning 2, Leadership 1, Streetwise 2
Skills: Drive 1, Etiquette 2, Firearms 1, Melee 3, Stealth 1, Survival 2
Knowledges: Academics 1, Enigmas 1, Gremayre 1, Law 1, Medicine 1
Arts: Dragon’s Ire 1, Primal 2, Wayfare 1
Realms: Actor 2, Fae 1, Prop 2, Time 1
Backgrounds: Chimera (items) 3, Contacts 2, Treasures 1
Tempers: Glamour 5, Banality 3, Willpower 5, Nightmare 0
Merits: Languages (ASL, Russian) 2; Reputation 2
Flaws: Mute 4
Chimerical Items
Broadsword (Str+Melee/6; dmg. Str+3 or +4 if two-handed, lethal) – 2
Wooden Shield (Armor Rating 2; diff. Increase +2; Dex -1) – 1
Treasures
“The Listening Horn” – This is an old-fashioned brass horn, intended as a crude hearing aid. However, anyone who puts the horn to their ear and invests a point of Glamour into it can read “between the lines” of what their target is saying. This duplicates the effects of the Naming 1 cantrip.
From the Desk of Jakebe T. Rabbit 