Changeling Merits

Hedge Sorcery takes time and having a protector increases chances for success. While your coven prepares their sorcery rituals, you are the bulwark that keeps them safe; even donating your own blood, sweat, and tears to their efforts.

Prerequisites: Athletics ••, Brawl ••, Weaponry ••

Your character gains access to the following abilities at their respective dot levels. Coven Guardian abilities can be used together in the same turn, but not with other fighting styles.

The Crone's Armor (•) Your character stands her ground for her temple, and remains unshaken. During any turn where your character is not attacking, ignore the first level of damage from any attack that hits her.

Circe's Defense (••) Your character defends her sisters at all costs. So long as your character has access to her Defense, she can reflexively move up to her Speed in yards to intercept an attack against another character. The attack roll is made against your character’s Defense (multiple attacker penalties apply normally), and she suffers any resulting damage.

Godwie's Glory (•••) Your character’s relentless defense of her sisters inspires them to greatness. Any turn where your character takes lethal or aggravated damage from a successful attack, choose an ally to gain the Inspired Condition. Additionally, any wound penalties your character suffers add to her allies’ Hedge Sorcery rolls. Since Hedge Sorcery takes time, this barely helps in a fight. But your character’s blood and suffering bolsters her allies off the battlefield.

Your character benefits from the blessings of two different kiths. Upon taking this Merit, you may select an additional kith, subject to any restrictions set by the Storyteller. You gain the benefit of both kiths’ blessings, and your appearance may reflect both aspects.

Drawback: Having two purposes in Arcadia is difficult on the mind. All Clarity attacks roll with one additional dice, and Clarity damage has one success.

This merit represents a positive relationship between the changeling and the hobgoblin in question. The hedge beast is not a servant or a slave, although it is likely to aid the character in whatever reasonable ways the Hedge Beast can in exchange for the changeling's support, aid and protection.

By nature of this agreement to work together, a Hedge Beast Companion has a mask and is able to accompany its changeling Ironside. This mask is usually an animal of some kind and larger creatures will require the appropriate means of housing such an entity outside of the hedge should the need arise. Likewise, Hedge Beast Companions are subject to the the same frailties as Changelings based on their Wyrd rating and should be noted accordingly.

Use of this merit uses the same rules as the Retainer merit found in Geist presented on Pg 88, with the following adjustments: at the 1 dot mark, the HBC has Wyrd 1 and 1 Contract, at 3 dots, the HBC has Wyrd 2 and 2 Contracts, and at 5 dots the HBC has Wyrd 3 and 3 Contracts. These Contracts can only be common or goblin and cannot be pulled from Courts. All HBC possess 3 dread powers chosen at the time of creation. Dread powers follow the same restrictions as the Retainer merit, which makes "Beastmaster" a nonviable option. Glamour is calculated at HBC dots + Wyrd which puts them on par with Hobgoblins per the chart on page 252.