Changeling the Dreaming (Chronicle Assistance)

[Lady Tialait]

I'm about to start a Chronicle for a small group of friends, and I have a vague idea of what i'm doing, but I don't feel like the idea is strong enough on it's own. So, I thought I would ask for some suggestions.

This is what I have so far:

The group run a traveling carnival that has been around sense the 20's that goes from cost to cost bringing joy and inspiring imagination to children of all ages. In 2017 attendance has been hit or miss depending on various factors, but mostly low. However, the latest town they have stopped at, attendance is abnormally high, to the point to where there is a massive line to enter the carnival and that hasn't happened with the current ownership ever. The plan is during after they get to bring joy and imagination and do their various shows and events the carnival will have it's closing on the most successful day financially they have ever had, but when they check to see how much Glamour they have reaped, it'll be shockingly low. This will point to another changeling stealing the harvest. My hope is that is enough for them to investigate.

Assuming they investigate, they will find out that in the town they are in (as it doesn't matter, I'll let them pick. They DO run the carnival after all) there are no other Changelings. There is evidence that there were (various places of wonder, different portals hidden by glamour that kinda thing) but no changelings can be found. During their investigation, they will find a chimerical book, it's glamoured to be a copy of Mother Goose, but is in truth a census taken by the Sidhe the amount of changelings were absurdly large. Other chimerical books will be found outlining that they started vanishing at first, one here, and one there. Everyone assumed they got lost in the Dreaming, or left town. As time went on, the disappearances sped up. The Sidhe had banned anyone from connecting to the Dreaming for fear that the Nightmares were upon them, this made the disappearances speed up significantly. The final book they find will tell them that the Sidhe leader of the Changeling courts had finally figured out what was happening, it was a group of human hunters attacking them, and they were going to go to the Dreaming to hide for ten years as to not get captured, and pleas for anyone who finds the book to flee this town before they are captured.

The vanished glamour and the disappearances are due to a group of human hunters, but they arn't killing the changelings, they are capturing them much like the Society of Leopold does with vampires often times. Their leader is a man cursed with banality and cannot muster imagination or joy within himself, but has become addicted to glamour processed through fey.

The plan is that during the investigation, they are attacked a few times by various supernatural creatures, perhaps even red herrings suggesting other things going on. To get all the pieces of the puzzle they will have a run in with local law enforcement most likely. The locals won't trust carnival folk very much so it's unlikely they will get much help.

I'm just unsure if this plot works well for a changeling chronicle or not, if anyone has any suggestions as i'm afraid it'll be far to short as well, as this is meant to be a full chronicle not just a story.

[LibraryOgre]

No, this looks like a GREAT start to a chronicle. The main thing I would make sure you develop is

a) Hooks to make them WANT to investigate. The low glamour yield might, but I'd find one or two other things to drag them along
b) What's actually going on. Who is behind this banal man? Is he part of a network? Is he just some random greyface? Why do his people follow him?

[Lady Tialait]

No, this looks like a GREAT start to a chronicle. The main thing I would make sure you develop is

a) Hooks to make them WANT to investigate. The low glamour yield might, but I'd find one or two other things to drag them along
b) What's actually going on. Who is behind this banal man? Is he part of a network? Is he just some random greyface? Why do his people follow him?

a) I was thinking of introducing an NPC Changeling who gets kidnapped by them, or something like that. Any suggestions?

b) I was thinking the Banal man was head of the network. My inspiration was King Haggard from the Last Unicorn for him, perhaps he leads a secret society, or he an unwitting pawn of the Thallain. Not sure. Perhaps some help here.

[LibraryOgre]

a) I was thinking of introducing an NPC Changeling who gets kidnapped by them, or something like that. Any suggestions?

b) I was thinking the Banal man was head of the network. My inspiration was King Haggard from the Last Unicorn for him, perhaps he leads a secret society, or he an unwitting pawn of the Thallain. Not sure. Perhaps some help here.

a) Obviously, it should be a carny kid. Someone who is either long with the carnival and therefore an emotional hook, or a new addition that they've taken under their wing.

b) I wouldn't be inclined towards head of the network, but certainly a node within them. I wouldn't make banality their uniting function, but, rather, their addiction to glamour. They trade it and abuse it. Some are rich and want a thrill. Some are trying to grab what magic they can. It lets you introduce all sorts of odd Prodigals, who are nonetheless connected to the Fae.

[Lady Tialait]

Ooo, I really like the idea of a world wide network of glamour junkies. All walks of life, and different power levels. Connections to different prodigals...maybe even break out Freak Nation for making some of them. This is what I was looking for, a hook that could make use of the traveling nature of the carnival, and give stakes.

My favorite oWoD organization is the Society of Leopold, but this could be an even better version, sprinkle in some Pentex along with it. Thanks for this idea, also....give me more of your brain juice I may bottle it and sell it on the black market.

[LibraryOgre]

Ooo, I really like the idea of a world wide network of glamour junkies. All walks of life, and different power levels. Connections to different prodigals...maybe even break out Freak Nation for making some of them. This is what I was looking for, a hook that could make use of the traveling nature of the carnival, and give stakes.

My favorite oWoD organization is the Society of Leopold, but this could be an even better version, sprinkle in some Pentex along with it. Thanks for this idea, also....give me more of your brain juice I may bottle it and sell it on the black market.

Think about how this organization is going to work. In some cases, you'll have glamour junkies with a direct supply... access to a changeling who can get it for them. You'll have ancient Kiasyd vampires who want what they've lost (IMO, a likely culprit to be at the center of these webs). Mages interested in that kind of Quintessence. Hedge Wizards who do weird things with it. Werewolves who are protective of what they see as Gaia's energy. Technomancers who want to harness it, others who want to stamp it out, and some Pentex folks who want to corrupt it... and a bunch of fae in the middle.

[Lady Tialait]

I'm getting breaking bad vibes from this, making this first greyface that is head of the local glamour cartel (demotion..) will be a blend of two characters, King Haggard from Last Unicorn and Gus from Breaking Bad. He is unable to feel joy, or experience flights of fancy. He is not in this market for the glamour, but because it's extraction from changelings directly inspires a very near feeling to joy in him. The man has a trama in his past that has lead him to his being greyfaced and dead inside.

I'm thinking something for a backstory for him may be he was put into mental hospitals for most of his childhood, and given psychological drugs. But in truth he was going through a Chrysalis, and a combination of the questionable treatment (I want the man to be in his 60's and the setting his modern, so I'll say he was locked away in the 70's) damaged the fae and sent it reeling into banality.

The organization he's part of shouldn't be some ancient evil I'm thinking comparatively new. Started in like, the late 90's. I don't really like the Kiasyd vampires being behind it, as it's almost always vampires behind everything. Perhaps it's a plot by the Cult of Ecstasy, and not because of quintessence. I'm thinking a street drug.

Right off the top of my head I'm thinking the organization will be headed by a cabal of Ecstatics, under them an unaware group of Giovanni Family ghouls acting as go-betweens trying to get embraced for bringing in profits. The Vampires themselves not being involved for the most part. Pentex could even be brought in to produce the drug in their factories with proper paperwork to make it nice and legal. That being the supply side of things, on the acquisition, you have various mortal junkies perhaps even of them true hunters who have the calling to attack changelings. They kidnap the changelings and bring them to the local node's head who then extracts the glamour using ritual provided by the Cult. The Ecstatics use spirit magic to manipulate local spirits to transport the goods through the Umbra, given that the Umbra and Glamour are being connected, Fianna werewolves are especially sensitive to that and tend to attack anyone along the way to the Ecstatics without question.

I could even have a few wraiths in there who died tragically trying to master the ritual to extract the glamour, or even the changeling host's souls who died when the ritual was done incorrect. Ghosts are fun like that. I like the whole trade of Glamour being from one organization.