Changelings

Native to Bingtown , Changelings are seen as the result of an ancient curse upon those who have settled the Cursed Shores of Blightfall, affecting nobodies and nobles alike. Usually manifesting in any family with strong roots within the city, it is rare for any family with more than two or three native generations to not have a Changeling relative.

Reception

The Churches and Temples of Bingtown decry the existence of the Changelings, treating them as unfortunate victims of a deadly disease at best, and an outright danger that must be put down at worst. Regular sermons are given at the Temple of Erathis, explaining that the Changeling Curse is a dark manifestation of the land. These sermons teach that they can only be treated by spreading civilisation further inland and moulding the lands to fit the will of pure-blooded settlers. This commonly held belief makes friends hard to come by for a Changeling that reveals their true nature, as religious distrust is a powerful motivator for the poor and rich alike. One notable exception is the district of Northpoint, which makes a point of shunning anything celebrated by the upper class and celebrating that which is shunned.

Masks and Personas

In their natural form changelings are slender and pale, with colorless eyes and silver-white hair. A changeling can alter its physical appearance with a thought. While this can be used to deceive others, it is a natural form of expression for the changeling. A changeling shifts shapes the way others might change clothes. A casual shape — one created on the spur of the moment, with no depth or history — is called a mask. A mask can be used to express a mood or to serve a specific purpose and then never used again. However, many changelings develop identities that have more depth. They build an identity over time, crafting a persona with a history and beliefs. This focused identity helps a changeling pinpoint a particular skill or emotion. A changeling adventurer might have personas for many situations, including negotiation, investigation, and combat. Personas can be shared by multiple changelings; there might be three healers in a community, but whoever is on duty will adopt the persona of Tek, the kindly old medic. Personas can even be passed down through a family, allowing a younger changeling to take advantage of contacts established by previous users of the persona.

Changeling Names

A changeling might use a different name for each mask and persona and adopt new names as easily as they develop new faces. The true name of a changeling tends to be simple and monosyllabic; however, there are often accents to a changeling’s name that are expressed through shapeshifting, something single-skins will likely miss. So, two changelings might have the name Jin, but one is Jin-with-vivid-blue-eyes and one is Jin-with-golden-cheeks. Changelings have a fluid relationship with gender, seeing it as one characteristic to change among many others. Changeling Names: Bin, Cas, Dox, Fie, Hars, Jin, Lam, Mas, Nix, Ot, Paik, Ruz, Sim, Toox, Vil, Yug.