House Dougal

*My heart is Dougal’s heart. My arm will take up his hammer. My body will take on his burden. My heart will take on his will. I will work until the end of my days, doing his work.*

**Pronounced:** DOO-gul

**Court:** Seelie

**Nicknames:** Smiths, Broken (derogatory)

Some fae believe the sidhe are allergic to hard work, but only if those changelings have never met a member of House Dougal. This ancient house finds Glamour in craftsmanship of all kinds and prides itself on its willingness to get its hands dirty in its endless quest for mastery of its many trades. They are also consummate patrons of craftsmen, doing their best to seek out talented new Dreamers and support them as they literally forge a brighter world.

It’s said that the Smiths are as honest as a hard day’s labor, and while Dougal are certainly no strangers to politics and diplomacy, there’s still a lot of truth to that stereotype. After all, craftsmanship doesn’t lie — you either have the skills or you don’t. It’s an attitude that shapes a lot of the house’s philosophy, and gives them a reputation for gruff honesty. Either you’re the kind of person who does what you say you’re going to do, or you’re not. And they don’t have much time for the latter.

Often called “Gwydion’s right hand” due to the close ties between the two houses, House Dougal remains a steadfast ally of the leaders of the Seelie Court, though in recent years a rift of sorts has started to develop over the Smiths’ increasing involvement in the Autumn World. In particular, the house has made concerted efforts to popularize science and invention in an effort to turn humanity away from a cold, sterile future and back toward one of wonder and imagination. It’s a cause the Dougal have rallied behind — as the Smiths like to point out, it was the moon landing that sparked the return of the sidhe, not a renaissance faire.

With that in mind, the Smiths have embraced the DIY revolution and emerging maker culture that puts production in the hands of local crafters as opposed to relying on massproduced factory goods. More than one popular instructional video series has a Dougal patron, and they are also fascinated by the possibilities of 3D printers and other home fabrication devices. The potential dangers of such technologies are not lost on the Smiths, but they strongly feel the possibilities are worth the risks, and are working hard to try to steer their development in the right direction.

While staunchly Seelie in outlook from a political standpoint, the Dougal still have their share of Unseelie members. Perhaps the best way to sum up the design philosophy of these outliers is “could, not should” — while other Smiths respect how a little chaos fosters innovation, their Unseelie members are also notorious for inventing without regard to the larger consequences of their creations. They are thus watched carefully to make sure their designs don’t cause a great deal of damage, but so long as they avoid too much collateral damage, they are left to work in peace.

## House Boon

House Dougal members inherit some of their founder’s iron resolve, as well as the legendary talents of their ancestors. Once per story, a Smith may convert Glamour points to Willpower points, or vice versa, provided they are engaged in some difficult and consuming creative or physical endeavor — forging an item, carving a sculpture, locked in battle, shut away painting, enduring a grueling athletic contest, etc. In addition, once per session a player may spend a point of Glamour to subtract 2 from the difficulties of all Crafts rolls for the rest of the scene, as her Smith channels the skills and insights of her forbears.

## House Flaw

Craftsmanship is so much a part of the Smiths that their own bodies gradually change to incorporate it. For each level of the Title Background a member purchases, a part of her body is replaced with a fully-functional artificial component: a clockwork eye, a stained-glass heart, a steam-powered brass hand, etc. Many Smiths forge and replace their own components, while others simply find their bodies changing over time. Acquiring these replacements is part of assuming a title in this house and does not require a roll or pose a threat to the Dougal. As they are fully-functional components, these replacements are not necessarily evident in a Dougal’s mortal seeming, unless the mortal seeming has need of a prosthetic. A Smith who loses a hand in a car accident, for instance, might have a mundane prosthetic as well as a chimerical replacement.

In game terms, these replacement parts provide no innate mechanical benefits, though they could potentially be used to justify purchasing related Merits or even Treasures. However, for every two replacements a character possesses (round up), she suffers a –1 penalty to all dice pools related to Animal Ken, Empathy, and Subterfuge, as her increasingly artificial nature makes it harder to relate to others. In addition, a replacement part stops functioning if it comes in direct contact with cold iron; such failures inflict penalties or even damage as the Storyteller feels appropriate. A hand that stops functioning would inflict dice penalties on tasks requiring manual coordination, for example, while an iron collar around an artificial throat might inflict damage as the character begins suffocating.

## Exile

Technological progress is alien to the nobles of Arcadia, or at least so it would seem to House Dougal, who recall being exiled for their interest in human technology — and perhaps more importantly, their insistence that the “perfect” beings of Arcadia could learn from it. Darker legends tell of devices that went catastrophically wrong; one such story about a siege engine haunts the house’s current leader, High Lord Donovan, much to his chagrin.

## Factions & Societies

* The Discordian Engineers, hackers who believe strongly in the “information should be free” doctrine and sabotage security networks.

* The Epicurean Caravan, roving foodies dedicated to the blossoming food truck world and pop-up restaurant scene.

* The Temperance League, hooligans who “temper” the passions of Smiths whose aspirations are getting out of control.

* The Fabrication Society, patrons who find and cultivate local and online crafters alike, with a special eye toward high tech and innovative talent.

* Serious Business, a tongue-in-cheek group of costumers and cosplayers who compete to have the most striking props and outfits.

* The Antiquarians, scholars who seek to study the past and collect important treasures related to the house’s history.

* The Loricas, sorcerers who seeks to forge peerless works of chimerical craftsmanship with skill and potent Arts.

## Notable Members

High Lord Donovan, a taciturn machinist with a love of siege engines and thoughtful silences, Duchess Prya, a boggan with a rare affinity for kindling and cultivating balefires, Countess Volk, fae cyberneticist advocate of the Fabrication Society, Baron Weyland, the appointed Mentor of the house and archivist of its history, Baron Ben “Eyepatch” West and Baroness Trisha Newton, cosplayers extraordinaire and de facto leaders of Serious Business, Squire Greg Gannaway, milkshake truck entrepreneur and the unassuming voice of the Epicurean Caravan, and Dame Oona Kinane, a seasoned nightmare stalker who specializes in hunting gear and improvised traps.