This didn't sit right with me or my players for several reasons. One was the issue of what those characters did during the other 9 months of the year. Also 3 months is very short time to pick up a new task, get up to speed on the issues, and begin effectively governing. Add to the mix the kind of political backstabbing one might expect from tricksy fae and it seems like it shouldn't work.
A more important reason for reevaluating their use was that my game doesn't use the True Fae. With no such threat to hide from, the whole reason for a shifting government system, which is to confuse the True Fae, vanishes.
So I applied myself to looking at what sort of system of governance would arise naturally from the basic setup of the game. I decided that since the Goblin Market would be the center of society, mercantile interests would dominate Changeling society. Moreover since I was setting the game in Detroit, a union might make sense.
This wouldn't be a union working to balance the power of some employer but more of a guild, centralizing training and resources to lower internal costs while allowing the members to dominate the market.
To balance the power of the union, I ran with one of my player's ideas of a guild that combined aspects of the old Summer and Autumn courts. Specifically those parts involving protecting mortals (i.e. scaring them away from Fae related activities) and gathering occult lore. This guild would control the law enforcement aspect of the market, marshaling defense and seeking to control magic as a whole. Thus the Guild of Shadows was born.
Finally since the main actors in my game are children on the fringes of local society, I thought a group of popular (and pretty) Changelings might make sense to be a counterpoint to their own status. This Court of Jewels would also arrange the social activities of the community, functioning as a mini-Spring Court.
Finally I worked out the mechanics of the Courts, giving them their own merits and in some cases their own Contracts. These contracts were from other books of the Changeling: the Lost series, but with the activation rolls adjusted to use that Guild's mantle.
Patriotic Union of Alchemists, Artisans, Bakers, Chirurgeons, Clothiers, Cobblers, Machinists, Mechanics, Smiths, Spinsters, Weavers, Welders, and Other Sundry Employments
This rough collection of professional craftsmen runs most of the Hedge-spinning trade in the Market. They use their clout to keep other craftsmen from selling their goods in the market, driving them to other less reputable markets.New Merit: Mantle (Union) (1 to 5 dots)
This merit makes one a full member of the Union. This merit adds to dice pools for social interactions with members of the Union. Each dot adds +1 die bonus to relevant rolls with members of the Union. Mantle (Craft) allows one to treat the contracts of the Forge and Animation as Favored contracts as well as allow the use of the favored dice rolls.Membership also give several bonuses. At one dot they gain a free Craft specialty. At 3 dots they can draw on the Union coffers (increase Resources by 2). Finally at 5 dots, they gain a second Kith from either the Wizened or Elemental Seemings.
Membership also comes with costs. Members are expected to contribute new creations to the market on a monthly basis.
Dots in Mantle are also reflected in the changeling’s Mein as they gain a steam-punk look. This can take the form of a partly mechanical limb or an imaginatively Victorian sense of dress. Perhaps they are followed by clouds of steam or smog. Alternatively they may grow to resemble the work the city is famous for with shiny teeth of steel, blazing eyes, and a voice like an engine.
New Merit: Guild Goodwill (Union) (1 to 5 dots)
This merit makes one an associated member of the Union. This merit adds to dice pools for social interactions with members of the Union. Every two dots (round up) adds +1 die bonus to relevant rolls with members of the Union. Guild Goodwill (Craft) allows one to use of the favored dice rolls with the contracts of the Forge and Animation.One is also allowed to sell crafted items at the Market though one is expected to craft or sell an item each month.
Leadership
The current Union Boss is a mysterious figure known as the Machinist. Rarely seen outside the Guild headquarters, he is rumored to be as much machine as mortal.Guild Contracts
Contracts of Animation (from Winter Masques):
- Knowing Touch 1: Manipulation + Crafts + Mantle (Union), must be Union Member
- Instant Expertise 2: Wits + Socialize + Mantle (Union), must have Mantle (Union) 1 or Guild Goodwill (Union) 3
- Inanimate Communion 3: Wits + Empathy + Mantle (Union), must have Mantle (Union) 2 or Guild Goodwill (Union) 4
- Animate Device 4: Manipulation + Persuasion + Mantle (Union), must have Mantle (Union) 3 or Guild Goodwill (Union) 5
- Command the Inanimate 5: Presence + Crafts + Mantle (Union), must have Mantle (Union) 4
Contracts of the Forge (from Rites of Spring):
- Rewriting the Image 1: Manipulation + Expression + Mantle (Union), must be Union Member
- Trivial Reworking 2: Intelligence + Crafts + Mantle (Union), must have Mantle (Union) 1 or Guild Goodwill (Union) 3
- Discreet Conjuration 3: Manipulation + Crafts + Mantle (Union), must have Mantle (Union) 2 or Guild Goodwill (Union) 4
- Hidden Reality 4: Wits + Investigation + Mantle (Union), must have Mantle (Union) 3 or Guild Goodwill (Union) 5
- Paths of Desire 5: Intelligence + Academics + Mantle (Union), must have Mantle (Union) 4
The Guild of Shadows
This guild of nightmare spinners verges on a cult. Nominally the control the security of the Market, but they also verge on being to de facto rulers of the realm. Using fear to scare people and Hobs straight, they claim they are protecting people. Those who transgress them however often vanish. It is said they keep a prison in the depths of the Hedge.New Merit: Mantle (Shadows) (1 to 5 dots)
This merit makes one a full member of the Guild of Shadows. This merit adds to dice pools for social interactions with members of the Guild. Each dot adds +1 die bonus to relevant rolls with members of the Guild. Mantle (Shadows) allows one to treat the contracts of the Moon and Spellbound Autumn as Favored contracts as well as allow the use of the favored dice rolls.Membership also gives several bonuses. At one dot they gain a free Intimidation specialty. At 3 dots they gain +1 bonus to Stealth and Empathy rolls. Finally at 5 dots, they gain the ability to reroll a failed Occult roll once per scene. They must take the result of the second roll.
Membership also comes with costs. The initiation rituals are particularly horrible. Once one is a member they can be called upon to hunt down those who have violated Market law, or just the Guild. They might also serve as sentries near particularly dangerous locations, warning off mortals.
Dots in Mantle are also reflected in the changeling’s mein as they gain a disturbing appearance. Shadows grow darker around them and their eyes shine like a cats. The air grows cold around them.
New Merit: Guild Goodwill (Shadows) (1 to 5 dots)
This merit makes one an ally of the Guild of Shadows. This merit adds to dice pools for social interactions with members of the Guild. Every two dots (round up) adds +1 die bonus to relevant rolls with members of the Union. Guild Goodwill (Shadows) allows one to use of the favored dice rolls with the contracts of the Moon and Spellbound Autumn.Leadership
The current head of the Guild is the Queen of Shadows.Guild Contracts
Contracts of the Moon (from Rites of Spring):
- Lunatic’s Knowing Glance 1: Wits + Empathy + Mantle (Shadows), must be Guild Member
- Maddening Eye 2: Manipulation + Persuasion + Mantle (Shadows), must have Mantle (Shadows) 1 or Guild Goodwill (Shadows) 3
- Touch of Bedlam 3: Presence + Intimidation + Mantle (Shadows), must have Mantle (Shadows) 2 or Guild Goodwill (Shadows) 4
- Madness of Crowds 4: Presence + Expression + Mantle (Shadows), must have Mantle (Shadows) 3 or Guild Goodwill (Shadows) 5
- Lurking Insanity 5: Manipulation + Subterfuge + Mantle (Shadows), must have Mantle (Shadows) 4
Contracts of Spellbound Autumn (from Lords of Summer):
- Warlock’s Gaze 1: Wits + Occult + Mantle (Shadows), must be Guild Member
- Barrow Whisper 2: Intelligence + Expression + Mantle (Shadows), must have Mantle (Shadows) 1 or Guild Goodwill (Shadows) 3
- Smith’s Wisdom 3: Intelligence + Occult + Mantle (Shadows), must have Mantle (Shadows) 2 or Guild Goodwill (Shadows) 4
- Arcadian Commandment 4: Presence + Intimidation + Mantle (Shadows), must have Mantle (Shadows) 3 or Guild Goodwill (Shadows) 5
- Oathbreaker’s Honesty 5: Resolve + Subterfuge + Mantle (Shadows), must have Mantle (Shadows) 4
The Court of Jewels
Structured like a gentleman’s club (though not limited to men) with an unhealthy touch of high school cliquishness, this group could loosely be called a Guild. Its members dominate social functions of all sorts and count most luminaries of the Market among their number.New Merit: Court Status (1 to 5 dots)
Members of the Court gain certain benefits as well as acquiring the look if not the power of aristocracy. Each member styles themselves as nobility taking titles like Duke or Countess.Each level of the merit gives a bonus.
- 1 dot: the character gains a +1 bonus to Socialize rolls.
- 2 dots: due to their connections they gain or improve the Harvest Merit at 1 dot.
- 3 dots: they gain 2 dots to spend between Allies and Contacts.
- 4 dots: they gain the Thief of Fate merit as even Wyrd becomes their ally.
- 5 dots: they reduce the number of Doors for Social manipulation by 1.
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