Clarity

Changelings can come out of Arcadia with a distorted sense of what is real and what is not. "Clarity" is a measure of their ability to distinguish reality from dreams, fae magic, imagination, and so forth. Clarity is not mental illness, nor does it correlate with mental illness, but it can sometimes read as such when trying to describe it. This is because we don't have adequate words for describing the in-game phenomena of magic-infused once-humans trying to navigate the dual worlds of Human and Fae while constantly being aware of the fact that their perceptions may be (and in some cases probably are) wrong. 
Why do many Changelings struggle with their perceptions and how much to trust them? Well, let's take an example. You have a craving--a very strong craving--for a cupcake right now. You want to drop everything you are doing and go get a cupcake. That's a perfectly normal feeling and certainly nothing to be paranoid about, right? Yet if you are a Changeling, you may well be aware that this desire for a cupcake may come from the fact that: 
* Someone has hit you with Fleeting Spring 2, to desire a cupcake. 
* Someone has hit you with Fleeting Spring 5, to desire a cupcake and pursue one above all other desires. 
* Someone has hit you with Dawn 4, shifting your vice to Gluttony. 
* Someone has hit you with a goblin contract to influence your opinion on cupcakes.
* Someone has hypnotized you and planted cupcake-related hypnotic suggestions.
* Someone has dosed you with any variety of emotions, desires, or commands in order to make you eat a cupcake. 
...and all that? Is just off the top of my head. There are so many ways your immediate perceptions and internal processes can be influenced by magic in this game. And most Changelings are aware of this and have to navigate their lives with that constant knowledge hovering around them. That's enough to make some of them doubt their perceptions of reality. 
==Game Impact==
Game-mechanics-wise, I do not plan to make players roll for Clarity. However, some NPCs will have low clarity and will be referred to as such. Again it is important to note that (a) this is a relatively-common phenomena that Changelings are familiar with in their society, (b) this does not correlate with mental illness, and (c) characters with low clarity may have very good reasons for any paranoia they exhibit... or they may only think they do. 
In-game, many of the characters will be aware of the existence of Changelings who call themselves Bishops of Blackbirds, and whose job it is to help others gain back lost clarity. It is important to note, however, that a Bishop's help does not come without a price: in order to receive a Bishop's aid, the Changeling must promise them an unnamed favor to be collected later. Many Changelings would have good reason not to agree to such a price, and some would see such terms as being inordinately fae-like.
Category:Gameplay