the Changeling

I don't know what's happening to me! I'm normal!

This isn't supposed to happen to normal people!
I just want everything to go back to the way it was before!

A Monster of the Week hunter playbook.

Billy Pomerleau (order #17315467)

 To make your Changeling, pick a name. Then follow the in-
structions below to decide your look, ratings, moves, and NAME:
gear. Finally, introduce yourself and pick history.
LOOK:
look, pick one from each list:
• Man, woman, boy, girl.
• Odd colorations, alluring voice, frightful aura, strange Ratings
eyes, wings, or other odd feature. Whenever you roll a highlighted rating, mark experience.

• Friendly face, alluring face, laughing face, trustworthy face, Charm: c -1 c0 c +1 c +2 c +3

average face, serious face, sensual face
• Normal clothes, ragged clothes, casual clothes, goth Basic moves: Manipulate Someone
clothes, sporty clothes, work clothes, street clothes, nerdy
Highlight: c
clothes.
Ratings Cool: c -1 c0 c +1 c +2 c +3
Pick one line, then mark each rating on the right à
Basic moves: Act Under Pressure, Help Out
c Charm+1, Cool-1, Sharp+1, Tough+0, Weird+2
Highlight: c
c Charm-1, Cool+1, Sharp+0, Tough+1, Weird+2 Sharp: c -1 c0 c +1 c +2 c +3
c Charm+1, Cool+0, Sharp-1, Tough+1, Weird+2
Basic moves: Investigate, Read a Bad Situation
c Charm+0, Cool+1, Sharp+1, Tough-1, Weird+2 Highlight: c

c Charm+2, Cool-1, Sharp+0, Tough-1, Weird+2 Tough: c -1 c0 c +1 c +2 c +3

Moves Basic moves: Kick Some Ass, Protect Someone

You get all the basic moves, and four Changeling moves. Highlight: c
You get this one:
Weird: c -1 c0 c +1 c +2 c +3
g Glamour: Your appearance is noticeably inhuman, mak-
ing it difficult for you to interact with bystanders and other Basic moves: Use Magic
normal people. However, if you stay calm, you can maintain
an illusion of humanity. You can also use your glamour to Highlight: c
automatically succeed on a manipulate someone as if you
had rolled a 10, but if you do then later on you reveal an in-
how connected to your magical background. This could be a
human feature at a bad time
pixie, a magical animal, a goblin or other mythical creature.
And three more: Optionally, it might also be a human friend who keeps you
grounded in your humanity. Either way this operates as an
c Know When to Bluff: Something about you makes other
ally. You determine the exact nature of the companion.
monsters cautious and you know how to play off of that. Roll
Choose one of the following categories.
+Sharp. On a 10+ you give the impression of being much
more dangerous than you really are and the monster will • Subordinate (motivation: to follow your exact in-
avoid combat for the entire encounter, preferring to talk. structions)
On a 7-9 You've bought some time, but the monster will
realize you're mostly bluffing eventually. On a miss, the • Lieutenant (motivation: to execute the spirit of
monster laughs as he realizes you're completely in over your instructions)
your head and you take a -1 forward to affect him. • Friend (motivation: to provide emotional support)
c Nature over Nurture: The way you were raised is
• Bodyguard (motivation: to intercept danger)
clearly dominant over your instincts. If you persist in your
goals in the face of your Unknown Heritage you gain a +1 • Confidante (motivation: to give you advice and per-
Forward. If you give up, you only suffer a -1 ongoing for that spective.)
scene or encounter, not the whole session.
• Backup (motivation: to stand with you)
c Inhuman Talent: You have a particular theme of magic
that you are exceptionally skilled with. Perhaps its plant c The Uncorrupted: You are a rare, pure example of a
magic, controlling cloth or illusions. When you Use Magic, particular type of supernatural that is generally only seen in
you gain a +1 to rolls if you remain within that theme. a corrupted and evil form. You gain a +1 when you Act Un-
der Pressure to resist that type of creature's powers. How-
c They are my people: Once per session, when you move ever, taking this move will mean that your corrupted people
to protect a bystander or a human hunter from harm, you will be drawn to either kill or corrupt you as well.
can act as if you rolled a 12.
c Force of Nature: You have a supernatural means of at-
c Constant Companion: You have acquired a friend some- tack. This is related to your particular heritage and could be

Billy Pomerleau (order #17315467)

 lightning, maddening illusions, summoned insect swarms, If the character gains any useful knowledge of himself from
magically created blades or anything else. Choose two of the the locals, he can mark one experience.
following features including at least one base attack.
Note that these minor spirits often have limited or unusual
• Base – Psychic Assault – 1 harm close ignores ar- perspectives and thus might not give as complete an answer
mor, magic as a human with the same information would.

• Base – Energy Assault – 2 harm close (appropriate c Renewal: The Changeling can focus her powers to ad-
energy tag) vance the healing of those around her. Once per session
when the hunters get a chance to rest and recover, the
• Base – Summon Assault – 2 harm close messy Changeling can roll +Weird. On a 10+ every Hunter resting in
the same building as her recovers 3 harm that day. On a 7-9
• Swarm – Add “Area” every hunter recovers 2 harm that day. On a miss, everyone
• Intense - +1 Harm in the building is plagued by strange, possibly disturbing
thoughts and dreams and no one recovers anything.
• Flexible – add either Hand or Far range
c Set to Nature: The Changeling may try to remove a su-
c Lockdown: You have a method of bringing the enemy to pernatural transformative curse or infection. Roll +Weird.
a halt. This is related to your particular heritage and could On a 10+ the curse or infection is removed entirely. On a 7-9
be a petrifying gaze, illusionary maze they must traverse in the curse or infection is rest back to its starting point,
their minds, freezing them in a block of ice or something granting the victim more time to find another cure. On a
else. Roll +Weird. On a 10+ the target will be immobile for miss, the end manifestation is influenced by the nature of
the remainder of the scene. On a 7-9 the target will be im- the Changeling (a gorgon failing to cure the onset of vam-
mobile for only as long as the Changeling focuses their at- pirism would find her friend becoming a rather snake-ish
tention on them. On a miss, the lockdown fails dramatically, vampire.) This may only be attempted once per infection or
possibly causing backlash to the Changeling or people sur- curse.
rounding the target. The target cannot be harmed while
the lockdown is maintained. Keeper and Monster moves c Strange Paths: The Changeling can walk (or drive)
can still allow the target to escape, but should be used spar- between the worlds, however, as she is lacking proper tutel-
ingly. age, she doesn't know the ways very well. Once per mystery
you may travel by rolling +Weird. On a 10+ the Changeling
c Faerie Trods: Your unknown nature allows you to com- can find a path to the desired location in much shorter time
mune with local benign spirits such as pixies, brownies, ele- than the team would otherwise have traveled. On a 7-9 the
mentals, kami, dryads or animal totems. You may roll Changeling finds a path through, but they experience some
+Weird to Investigate the Mystery by questioning these oth- trouble that may delay them. Examples include:
er locals. If you do so, you may also ask the following ques-
tions.
• Is there anywhere that the supernatural environ- • They come out only part of the way to their destin-
ment is being affected? ation. Or they overshoot the destination.

• How long has it been in the area? • They encounter natives of the Ways who demand a
toll of some sort. (money, food, blood, conversa-
• When did it first arrive? tion...)
Last, but not least, the Changeling always has the tempta- • They get momentarily lost and arrive later than de-
tion to ask one other question, which may not directly bene- sired but still quicker than they otherwise would
fit the current mystery. have.
• What do you know about me? On a miss, they arrive later than intended or else have a ma-
jor mishap occur within the Way.

Unknown Heritage
Your non-human or psychic heritage has some pitfalls that you would be forewarned about if you were raised by your prop -
er family. Choose three tags.
c Dietary Requirement – Your physiology requires something need it, sometimes it comes out too powerful.
specific in order to remain healthy. Alternately, there are foods
which are perfectly fine for other people which you can't eat c Strange Thoughts – All teenagers find strange feelings coming
without being severely ill or at risk of death. over them, but you have emotions truly unusual for most humans.

c Reputation – Whatever you are, it or they have a reputation c Madness – Rather than force your body to withstand the rigors
that you are expected to live up to. Good reputations can be just as of your uncontrolled power, you tax your mind instead. The fits
problematic as evil reputations in this case. are passing, so far, but if someone doesn't teach you how to prop-
erly control yourself then you might find yourself becoming per-
c Pain: You haven't been properly trained in the use of your manently insane.
powers and because of this, you sometimes experience crippling
pain. c Sensory Bombardment – You have senses you haven't been
trained to deal with, whether physical or mental, and sometimes
c Emotional Use – Sometimes when your emotions are riding the clash of information is too much for you to deal with.
high, your powers activate on their own and this is rarely a good
thing. c Alienation – Your human family reacted poorly when your su-
pernatural heritage started to develop. Almost no one you knew
c Erratic Power – Sometimes your power fizzles when you most from the old days will have anything to do with you. If you're a

Billy Pomerleau (order #17315467)

 minor, you haven't been reported as missing. The feeling of aban- it.
donment creates a behavior that makes strangers have difficulty
trusting you above and beyond just your inhuman appearance, en- c Attraction – Some substance, sound or object attracts you
hancing your feeling of alienation. You can still have a companion greatly. You can barely pull yourself away from it.
while suffering from feelings of alienation. c Obsession – Whether it's possible or not, you're obsessed with
c Allergy – You have a weakness. Something that would normally going back to being normal. You have a tendency to look for any
be harmless to humans causes you great pain from mere contact. possible solution to “fixing” yourself, even things other people
consider to be obvious scams or traps. You may even jeopardize
c Repulsion – Some substance, sound or object repulses you the current mystery to pursue a new lead. Alternately, you might
greatly. You can't even bare the slightest smell, sound or sight of be obssessed with learning more about your true nature.

The Keeper can use these tags to present obstacles or dangers to your goals. These would present a small scene which your
character must surpass. If he succeeds in pushing through whatever obstacle his heritage places in front of him, perhaps by
earning a bystander's trust despite your alienation tag, you mark an experience. If you fail to overcome the obstacle, per -
haps by deciding to pursue a cure, then you take a -1 ongoing for the rest of the session due to the loss of confidence and
other mental strain.
Act Under Pressure is likely to be a common move faced in these circumstances, but others can be used as well.

Gear
You have a few remnants of your old life and a weapon to serve your new one:
Transportation, choose one: c Hunting Rifle (3 harm far loud reload)
c Skateboard c Sledge-hammer/Fire-axe (3 harm hand messy)
c Roller Skates c Talisman or Artifact (1 harm magic close ignore armor)
c Bicycle Momentos and Gear, choose two:
c Old Pickup Truck c A childhood toy
c Motorcycle c A laptop
c Van c A knapsack/backpack/purse
c Fairly new car in decent condition c An mp3 player/mobile gaming platform
c Classic Car in poor condition c Photo keepsakes
Weapon, pick one: c A locket/ring/necklace/other jewelry
c Golf Club/Baseball Bat/Cricket Bat/Hockey Stick (2 harm hand c A favorite piece of clothing
innocuous messy)
c A journal
c Useful Knife/multi-tool (1 harm hand useful small)
c Letters or email from home (unlikely if alienated)
c Small handgun (2 harm close loud)

Introductions
When you get here, wait for everyone to catch up so you can do your introductions together.
Go around the group. On your turn, introduce your Changeling by name and look, and tell the group what they know about
you.

Billy Pomerleau (order #17315467)

 History
Go around the group again. When it's your turn, pick one for each of the other hunters:

Hunter History Notes

They first explained to you that you weren't human. Ask them how they realized
and tell them how you reacted.

You suspect that they know more about your heritage than they are telling.

They tried to slay you, but eventually decided you were innocent or at least not
evil. Ask them what convinced them.

You see them as your anchor to humanity. Ask them if they're a stable choice
or not.

You are romantically involved with them or one of their close relatives. Decide
amongst yourselves the exact nature of the relationship.

They treat you as bait to bring in bigger prey. This may be a facade, ask them
what their true feelings are.

They claim you and your kind are part of their destiny. Tell them what your
reaction to that is.

They see you as a protege to train for hunting. Ask them how persistent they
are in this agenda.

One of you saved the other's life once before. Tell them which of you saved
whose life. Ask them what the details were.
Luck
You can mark off a Luck box to either change a roll you just made to a 12, as if you had rolled that; or change a wound you
have just taken to count as just 0-harm. If your Luck boxes all get filled, you've run out of good luck.
Okay c c c c c c c Doomed

Harm
When you suffer harm, mark of the number of boxes equal to harm suffered. More than four harm is especially dangerous.
Okay c c c|c c c c Dying Unstable: c (Unstable injuries will worsen as time passes)

Leveling Up
Experience: c c c c c
Whenever you roll a highlighted rating, or a move tells you to, mark an experience box.
When you have filled all five experience boxes, you level up. Erase the marks and pick an improvement from the list below.

Improvements:
c Get +1 Weird, max +3 c Take another Changeling move
c Get +1 Cool, max +2 c Meet another Changeling of a different sort who becomes
an ally
c Get +1 Sharp, max +2
c Mark Use Magic as Advanced
c Get +1 Charm, max +2
c Take a move from another playbook
c Take another Changeling move
c Take a move from another playbook
After you have leveled up five times, you qualify for advanced improvements in addition to these, from the list below.

Advanced Improvements
c Get +1 to any rating, max +3. c Change this hunter to a new type.

Billy Pomerleau (order #17315467)

 c Make up a second hunter to play as well as this one. May take the following option:
c Mark two of the basic moves as advanced. ◦ Gate – You can enter this realm from any loca-
c Mark another two of the basic moves as advanced. tion by performing Use Magic.

c Retire this hunter to safety. c Change or remove one Unknown Heritage tag. This doesn't
mean it has gone away, you might still have alien thoughts
c Erase one used luck mark from your playbook. for example, but they no longer interfere in your life.
c Choose one of the following: c Your character “retires” to evil and becomes a Threat.
Either she gave in to her heritage, was corrupted by others or
• A human community that has accepted you for what
else is pursuing what she believes to be the greater good, but
you are. Create similar to Professional's Agency, with
the end result is that she is a threat.
only one Asset and one Red Tape.
c Your character “retires” to a position of supernatural re-
• A supernatural sect based on your heritage, loyal to sponsibility that prevents them from involving themselves in
you. Create similar to Initiate's Sect with one positive mortal matters. For example, sacrificing themselves to entrap
and one negative tag. an evil in an eternal stalemate within an alternate plane of
• A supernatural realm you've discovered and claimed. existence. Or becoming an integral part of the natural cycle
Create similar to Expert's Haven with two options. of the seasons.

Unknown Heritage

Billy Pomerleau (order #17315467)

 Notes (moves, holds, etc)

This is a hunter playbook for Monster of the Week. Find out more at http://genericgames.co.nz

Billy Pomerleau (order #17315467)