Changelings

in: Races

## Introduction

During the long millenia in which the True Fey were thought to be removed from the mortal world forever, the experiments of the Fey continued on in the realm of the Otherlands. These experiments, however, required subjects and a need arose to snatch away the lesser races from the comfort of their homes. With this need came a means to replace those they stole without raising suspicion as to why they were disappearing.

Changelings– forged in the reflective waters of the Lightless Depths–  quickly became their method for replacing those people stolen away from the mortal realm, leaving abnormal and anomalous decoys in their place to confuse and perhaps even lure more victims to being stolen away from their families. These strange, shapeless creatures are mere husks that steadily evolve by feasting off the knowledge and memories of their victims' minds provided by their flesh, granting them the ability to mirror them almost entirely.

## The Basics

* **Other Names:** Mimics, Doppelgangers, Face Stealers, Body Snatchers, Nixies, Water Sprites
* **Appearance:** A Changeling in its most natural form is a strange, nearly shapeless creature; practically alien to those who are so unlucky to lay eyes on them. They are creatures with dark, muted skin and glowing, haunted eyes created without identity or even gender, capable of taking the shape of almost any race. Though even these decoys are far from perfect as there is always something that just seems… off about them.
* **Lifespan:** Ageless (but not Immortal)
* **Height:**
	+ **Changeling Form:** 170 cm - 190 cm
	+ **Stolen Image Forms:** Varies on the height range for the race they take the shape of.
* **Regions Found:** Changelings can be found hidden in nearly every culture around the world.
* **Culture:** Changelings are often lone creatures devoid of any emotion when outside of a realm beyond their own. Even when they find themselves as part of a court, they are distant both physically, emotionally, and mentally; preferring the role of an observer.
* **Common Character Roles:** Infiltrators, Decoys, Spies, Informants, Hunters, Observers, Scholars, Sociopaths, Cult Leaders
* **Common Allies:** Fey, Fey-Touched, The Other; relations with other races may vary
* **Common Enemies:** Sirens, Nienne, Will o’ Wisps; relations with other races may vary
* **Architecture:** These creatures can very easily adopt the structures and buildings that their victims once resided in. Though often they are drawn to moving closer to bodies of water they can inhabit in times of need or comfort.
* **Religion:** The concept of religion is foreign to a Changeling. Though they are malleable and capable of conversion to better fit their circumstances.
* **Views on Magic:** These creatures are entirely made of and grown from magic. Though they are adverse to pyromancy, holy, and mental magics.
* **Abilities:** Nightvision, Waterbreathing, Luring Lullaby, Mark of the Mimic, Vocational Consumption, Stolen Image (Ritual), Mirror Image (Ritual Locked), Shattered Reflection (Ritual Locked)
* **Weaknesses:** Blank Slate, Feeble Frame, Pyrophobia, Mental Weakness
* **Quirks:** Mimicry, Impassive, Vacant, Curious, Otherworldly, Creeps, Watchers

## Appearance

It is often difficult for one to describe the appearance of a Changeling at first glance. Even more so to readily recognize one right away should they come face to face with a Changeling as one of the central methods in which they choose to walk on land is through an unusual mastery over the art of shapeshifting. With this natural ability, they are able to mirror the image of almost any race, adopting a near perfect replication of their body and voice with the intention of acting as a decoy under the directive of their True Fey masterminds. Though even with such skill in magic yet unseen, something is left wanting of these creatures. Be it a lacking level of cognitive thought, intelligence, or an otherworldly force some might describe as the Law of Mimicry, something about the forms they take just isn’t ever quite right.

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> ### Law of Mimicry
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> Magical mimicry is imperfect. A creature taking the form of another will ALWAYS have something slightly off. The greater the mastery, the more accurate the mimicry, yet even with complete mastery, the illusion is still an illusion. While the illusion is flesh and bone, and thus, present to the five senses, those produced through mimicry will seem somehow… wrong.
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> For Changelings, whether that be an inability to hide the haunting appearance of their eyes, match the color of a person's skin, or perhaps even hide their misshapen, cloven hooves; something always peeks through that near perfect illusion. This also means they are incapable of mimicking creatures who already have illusion forms, including: Demons, Sirens, Huli Jing, Shifters, Faeries, Nienne, Will o’ Wisps, and Cambions with Shrouded Form.
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With how often a Changeling might take the shape of another, many are left to wonder if they have any true shape at all. An answer that is somewhat complex. While largely shapeless – flat and drab – they come in a variety of sizes. Most commonly, they can be described as skinny and gangly creatures. But more than this, the few who have glimpsed their true forms would ever describe Changelings as anything but extremely off-putting in their appearance. Their eyes are often large, round and colorless – like the bloated, vapid gaze of a waterlogged corpse with an eerie glow;  mouths far too wide and lifeless, elongated slits gated by malnourished, thin-fleshed lips.

The skin of the Changelings most typically comes in a narrow palette, one heavily muted and desaturated due to their time spent dormant within the pitch black waters of the Lightless Depths. Their flesh can range from pitch black to dark gray or even a desaturated blue, and it is often slick and slimy to the touch. Their hair – should they have any – is usually wet or oily looking, prone to sticking to their face in tangled clumps with bits of seaweed or kelp dangling from their head. It usually is the same color as their skin, ranging from pitch black to dark gray or blue that is heavily desaturated. Beyond this, a Changeling often sports various other unusual aquatic features; fins, hooves and elongated, forked tails are all common. They may even have tentacles, monstrous, prehensile tongues or other strange and alien facets. All the more reason for them to seek out and steal the shape of another better fitted to walk on land in the mortal realm they find themselves in.

## History & Culture

Following their banishment into the realm of the Otherlands, the True Fey found themselves locked away behind the veil, left to stew in their anger and hatred for those responsible for locking them away in their imprisonment. Subsequently, they were given a great amount of time to ponder their creations prior to their imprisonment. This led to an imposing desire to further experiment and discover what more they could create. Though this time, their desire to create was no longer rooted in good will to simply see new life flourish but to also wreak havoc and perhaps one day reclaim the world that they had built for those who had stolen it from them.

The reasons why the Fey might abduct members of those interloper races into their realm were myriad. The requirement for experimental subjects and material for their Fey-Touched servants was their greatest need. Others of the Fey would find themselves simply hungry, craving the different sources of sustenance only creatures of flesh and bone could provide.

With this practice came the need for discretion, and with that need came the Changelings. Left in the cultivating hands of the Purveyor, these creatures were created within cyst eggs found within the Lightless Depths. When need arose, a Changeling was grown – not born – fashioned to serve as the solution to the True Fey’s problem. Their need for subtlety was one achieved when someone was stolen away by the Fey and a Changeling was sent out to take their place, serving as no more than a mere decoy to ward off any suspicion or even to lure other beings to the same fate through means of treacherous magic cast from the strange creatures that targeted them.

Starting as little more than blank slates and emotionless husks, the Changelings feed off the intricacies of those they replace, subsuming the image, voice, and even knowledge of their victims, claiming it as their own. Bit by bit, these acts begin to shape the Changeling: physically, mentally and even culturally. With each new victim – each new act of infiltration – they integrate parts of these fake lives into their own as amorphous personas.

With the various fey creatures unleashed upon the world, Changelings have emerged in droves to further follow the directives passed to them from their True Fey masters. Stepping freely from the tears on the veil granting them access to the mortal realm, they kept to the shadows and fled for the waters, swimming swiftly across vast oceans to further infest and infiltrate many different cultures. There they would claim victim after victim, devouring or devoting their captures to the Lightless One, using the freedom of the Yawning Portals summoned by their Fey masters to transport their victims to the Otherlands before assuming their role as decoys as they were created for, living out their lives under the unsettling guise of their newly acquired face or moving onto the next unfortunate passerby unlucky enough to catch the eye of these devious body snatchers.

## Society

Changelings will rarely mirror the courts of their True Fey masters, unlike their Fey-Touched cousins. Even rarer are there more than one or two Changelings at a time to a court beyond the realm of the Otherlands. While these courts are populated by various Fey creatures with varying responsibilities, when a Changeling does join, they are distant creatures; removing themselves from any higher forms of decision making. A Changelings role is to serve these courts as informants, decoys and infiltrators when they are tasked to. Otherwise, they live a fairly isolated existence.

These curious creatures, after all, are lone creatures who favor living in solitude when they are not melding in with the communities they infiltrate. Should they survive their time acting as a decoy, they may begin to take on the identity of who they became and can easily forget who and what they really are. Over time, their social values begin to reflect those of their victims, their minds often growing muddled, confusing and disassociated.

Accordingly, Changelings do not truly have a society of their own but rather adopt that of their victims, learning through periods of careful observation how best to play their new parts. Changelings freshly surfaced through the Yawning Portals from the Lightless Depths do not tend to survive long enough to master their methods, too awkward and alien to avoid discovery for long. But an experienced, artful Changeling might meld to different societies as easily as one might don different hats: a staunch, devotee of Sol one day, a hedonistic, Satyr celebrant the next.

## Architecture

Changelings can adapt to living in any type of architecture they might inhabit when acting as a decoy. They may even come to enjoy it, often claiming the homes and settlements of their victims for their own. Accordingly, one might encounter a Changeling in any architectural setting. As creatures of the Lightless Depths, many Changelings may always feel a constant draw to water. Should they spend too long in the guise of another, they may move near the water but still adopt the architecture of whatever house they were living in before. This can result in some strange and unusual outcomes: desert-dwelling houses in the tundra, or nordic architecture in a jungle.

Like sirens, they may have underwater areas dedicated to rest, restoration, or a collection of things they obsess over or find most fascinating; these things often might have some significance to their past guises, personal effects that may have been of great value to their victims before the creature took their place, or even just things that remind them of the societies they infiltrate and emulate.

## Religion

Changelings have no religion as they do not wield an understanding of the concept when they first emerge and are introduced into the world. Though as they evolve and come to understand the meaning, the beliefs and structure of what makes up a religion, some might argue that the Purveyor– being their creator– would constitute the True Fey as a God or deity to them. Changelings have also come to associate the God known as Nostrum as a mirrored image of the Purveyor and his daughter, Evtune, the Oracle. The Deep known to the Sirens is referred to as the Lightless Depths to a Changeling.

Beyond this, Changelings may also come to adapt and convert to any religion they know their victims to follow in order to inherit and better try to blend in when acting as a decoy. Though they do not readily know all practices performed which requires them to watch and learn them over time. Without doing so, they can easily make a mistake or do something entirely wrong in worshiping a God they know nothing about, revealing themselves to a congregation of zealots. At which point, they are targeted and, at most times, mistaken and accused of being foul, face stealing demons.

Those Changelings who are able to learn and practice a religion well, however, may convert and– in time– begin to believe in the tenets and beliefs behind whatever religion they adopt. This can lead to a Changeling further forgetting themselves and what they are, leading to an evolution of emotion, autonomous thoughts and desires. These Changelings will do anything to stay hidden and keep themselves from being revealed. Cults of various religions led by Changelings is not uncommon.

## Racial Relations

Changelings are aberrations of nature, and they share little camaraderie with anyone beyond other Fey. Among other Fey, Changelings are far more accepted, though even then, they prefer to remain isolated, only interacting with courts as needed. Even among their own kind, Changelings prefer solitary existences.

The only exception falls to that of the Will o’ Wisps. Time and time again, these emotionally draining creatures– born of the emotional connections the True Fey have with one another– have tried and failed to feed off the emotions of Changelings before, even going as far as to mistake a disguised Changeling as one of their victims. To their dismay, however, a Wisp is quick to find themselves disappointed by the lack of emotions a Changeling can have as even an experienced Changeling’s emotions are far from their own. This can upset a Will o’ Wisp, causing friction and aggression between two very differing Fey creatures.

While acting as a decoy, a Changeling’s mind may become temporarily muddled with false precepts of loyalty and friendship the longer they commit to the guise of one of their victims; sometimes the act is so compelling. They may even fool themselves into befriending or allying themselves with other races beyond that of the Fey. Despite this, a Changeling in their true form should expect nothing but animosity from those mortal fleshlings who glimpse them as they really are; as there are surely few who would gladly endure the presence of an otherworldly abomination created for the sole purpose of replacing abducted members of their society. But a Changeling would rarely have reason to mingle with mortals in their true form.

## Perception of Magic

As Changelings are created by fey magic, they are accepting of magic being utilized for various means. With what magic they themselves are able to wield at their disposal, they are capable of discerning different aspects about someone with just a look of their haunting eyes. When opportunity presents itself, they may also feed off the magical knowledge and skill of their victims. For this reason, they wield no sphere of magic or profession themselves but are able to steal and mimic the skills and abilities from those individuals they might target.

Changelings are, however, wary and will be adverse to any and all those who wield pyromancy, mental magic, and holy magic. Due to their fragile minds, Changelings are susceptible to mental magics cast on them while the sheer amount of light from pyromancy and holy magics will burn the skin of the creatures made from the shadows of the Lightless Depths. Even using these magics should they manage to steal them from one of their victims will burn the hands of those Changelings that cast them.

## Racial Abilities & Weaknesses

> **RPR Racial Bonuses:** Coming soon.
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### Weaknesses

> **Blank State**
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> Changelings start as blank slates, created with the intention of stealing the image and gain the knowledge of their victims by feasting on their flesh. As such, they do not start with an illusionary form and are incapable of starting with a sphere of magic or profession. *All Changelings start as Mundane.*
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> **Feeble Frame**
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> No matter the size or natural musculature of individuals they may take the shape of, Changelings are incapable of mirroring the strength of even the larger races due to their own frail and fragile bodies.
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> > **RPR Effects:** -10 Strength
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> **Lightless Creatures**
> Changelings have a weakness to fire and holy magic. The sheer light from both these magics will burn a Changelings skin. Because of this they are highly adverse to wielding it as much as they are to being targeted by it.
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> > **RPR Effects:** -10 Resist Fire, -10 Pyro Resistance, -10 Holy Resistance
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> **Mental Weakness**Changelings are weak against mental magic and may also be made into Marked familiars(?). Changelings have a passive decrease in mental resistance.
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> > **RPR Effects:** -10 Mental Resistance
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### Abilities

> **Nightvision**
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> Changelings were made in darkness; molded by it, making it possible for them to see through it. All Changelings have Nightvision. *Gain Racial Nightvision (Togglable) in-game.*
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> **Waterbreathing**
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> This race is able to breathe underwater. *Gain Racial Waterbreathing (Accessory).*
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> **Luring Lullaby**
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> Similar to the Siren’s of the Deep, a Changeling will sing a haunting tune to try and lure their victims into a deep sleep. With their victims lulled into a slumbering state, a Changeling can better kidnap their target from wherever they are.
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> Targets affected are given the Sleeping/Unconscious status for two hours but the effect can end prematurely  when either the target or the Changeling leaves hearing distance or whenever the scene ends. This is meant to be a roleplay attempt first and foremost and an RPR attempt second, and the feelings of sleep can be resisted however the targeted player feels comfortable roleplaying it. Players affected by RPR will also gain a single attempt to wake up from this magically induced slumber.
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> > **RPR Effects:** Targeting another player, a Changeling can put a single target to sleep for two (2) hours on a successful roll. Players affected by the Sleeping/Unconscious status can resist through RP or use the single attempt offered to them to try and wake up.
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> **Mark of the Mimic**
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> Over an extensive amount of time and interaction, a Changeling can stalk, watch, and learn a great deal about their prey. This effort can last sometimes up to days depending on how close their target allows them to get, requiring a Changeling to watch or curate the right moment before they make their move. Through this prolonged method of close observation, a Changeling will need to get up close to their intended target and make prolonged eye contact in order to mark their victims.
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> If successful, they are then able to discern several different characteristics of their target. They learn what race of creature they are, if they are using an illusionary form, any curses or afflictions that creature may be suffering from and what sphere of magic or profession they make use of if any. This can be resisted if the target breaks eye contact or moves out of range of the Changeling. The target will also feel a sudden unease washing over them and always feel like something or someone is watching them following being marked.
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> > **RPR Effects:** Every 24 hours (CD), a Changeling can target a single player they wish to mark. This will require them to be within the same tile (0 Range) of the target and will be **Magic vs. Magic Resistance** rolls. If successful in their attempt, the targeted player will DM the Changeling player their race, if they are using an illusionary form, any curses or afflictions that creature may be suffering from and what sphere of magic or profession they make use of.
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> **Vocational Consumption**
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> By consuming a substantial amount of flesh and blood, a Changeling can in turn consume the knowledge of their victims and assimilate their sphere of magic or chosen profession as their own.
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> This ability can only be used after marking a victim with Mark of the Mimic and has a cooldown of **7 Days**. Changelings may not double up on classes using this ability. Once this ability is used, a ticket must be issued to admins with screenshot proof of the RP of bodily consumption and proof of the ability being used through an RP attempt or the RPR ability being used. When approved, the Changelings sphere or profession will be overridden with the newly consumed sphere or profession.
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> RPR sheets will not receive a reset following the use of this ability. *The use of this ability would fall under heavy maiming and requires OOC consent from the player being targeted.*
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> **Stolen Image (Racial Ritual)**
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> After days hunting, stalking, and after marking their victims with Mark of the Mimic, a Changeling will seek to undergo its directive to lure and replace an individual as a decoy. Through a grueling and sometimes lethal ritual, the targeted individual is drugged with a mixture of Cadaverine and Pufferfish Concentrate while within a transmutation circle enchanted by gems. Their blood and flesh laced with this potent drug concoction is then feasted on and consumed by the Changeling performing the ritual, allowing the parasitic creature to transform and assume the near perfect image of their victim. Should the victim survive, they are left in a weakened and drained state, unable to utilize their magic for several days. *The use of this ritual would fall under heavy maiming and requires OOC consent from the player being targeted.*
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> As per the Laws of Mimicry, however, something is never quite right about these distorted reflections. Whether that be an inability to hide the haunting appearance of their glowing eyes whose color does not change, properly match the color of a person's skin, or perhaps even hide their misshapen, cloven hooves; something always peeks through that near perfect illusion. They are also incapable of mimicking creatures who are capable of illusion forms, such as: Demons, Sirens, Huli Jing, Shifters, Faeries, Nienne, Will o’ Wisps, and Cambions with Shrouded Form.
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> * **Ingredients:** Scroll of Transmutation, Cadaverine, Pufferfish Concentrate
> * **Gem Requirement:** 2 Chunks of Amber, 2 Chunks of Ruby, 2 Chunks of Onyx
> * **Effect(s):** A Changeling steals the image of the targeted player and undergoes a physical transformation, assuming their appearance and sphere of magic or profession of their victim.
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> > At the time the ritual is approved, the player targeted by the ritual is required to share an export of their character’s ToT Custom profile. This profile must be altered in some way by the Changeling to fit the Laws of Mimicry. Racial accessories used by the targeted player will be provided to the Changeling at this time. Armor and accessory export files are optional to share.
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> > Players targeted by this ritual are then given a 12 hour Injury Timer and cannot cast magic, use their profession skills, or actively join PvP during this time.  They may only PvP Flee or PvP Surrender.
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> > After a Changeling performs this ritual, the appearance of their victim is theirs to use with the use of the RPR skills unlocked and listed below. For 24 hours following the ritual, a Changeling will receive the Voracious Glutton status. In this time, they cannot access any of their other racial abilities including: Luring Lullaby, Mark of the Mimic, and Vocational Consumption. They will also have a 48 hour ritual timer for when they can make use of Stolen Image again.
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> > **Mirror Image**
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> > Every 24 hours, Changelings have the ability to physically transform their grotesque true forms to mimic the identity of any of the appearances they have acquired through the use of their Stolen Image ritual, disguising themselves within the means of the Laws of Mimicry. Changelings disguising themselves as another character using this ability must use an ACT which follows the rules of our illusion forms.
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> > **Shattered Reflection**
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> > When a Changeling reaches 0 HP in a dice PvP Intent or is downed in a mechanical PvP Intent, their disguise is dropped and they physically transform, revealing their horrifying, true Changeling form. *Changelings injured receive a Severely Injured timer that lasts for 6 Hours.*
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## Attachment & Kit Items

The items listed in the kits below are made with the Season 6 modlist. They have been updated as of **14th December 2023**.

*Expand for Changeling Racial Kit*

## Lore Contribution

> **Credit for Lore Contribution:** QT
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