House Rules
General
Banality?
One of the biggest complaints about hsien are their lack of a true "weakness". They do not even suffer Banality as do Kithain and indeed, their Gallain cousins. In many ways, the only real thread the hsien share in common with the fae is their habitation of a mortal body to cope with the darkness of the physical world (i.e., changeling).
However, much like the Nunnehi and Menehune, the Shinma at least (the Mu Courts may be a different story...) are bound by their cultural livelihood. For some reason, White Wolf decided that the hsien would not suffer Banality due to the dying of culture as have the Native American changelings. One may account this to the fact that Asian culture is not nearly as endangered as Native American culture.
Therefore, that is the rationale we shall assume: the Shinma are bound to their culture. Should it ever be so overwhelmed with Western commercialism and even Western ideologies and religions that it is on the brink of extinction, then shall these hsien acquire a Banality Trait and face the Undoing.
That does not mean that the hsien have nothing to worry about. Their power is tied to mortal beliefs. This is as much a demographic concern as it is a spiritual one. So long as a decent population -- at least a few hundred mortals -- follow the "old ways" (at least in action if not truly believed in their heart; believers don't have to have True Faith) of East Asia -- religion, holidays, and overall ideologies (e.g., bushido for Japanese), the Shinma may thrive. Away from these epicenters of cultural strength, the Shinma's power begins to wane.
The radius of this belief core is based on demographic locale. So long as a hsien remains within even 100 miles of a large group of mortal "believers" -- whether those believers are in Asia or in an isolated district of the American Midwest -- a hsien's strength will stay firm. Once the Shinma leaves these areas, his power fades remarkably. The following effects apply:
- All dice pools for Wu Tan are halved
- Two points of yugen are required to change forms from Hotei to Wani to animal and back again
- The Mask of Shintai cannot be assumed at all.
Shinma may regain yugen normally even while away from their cultural epicenters.
These limitations help explain why Shinma loathe leaving the Middle Kingdom and help counter their great (and previously all but unchecked) power.
Miscellaneous House Rules for Changeling
Oba
An off-shoot Kith springing from the Eshu, Oba are territory-bound fae, which is obviously the opposite of the wandering Elegbara. Oba become, beginning their lives as Eshu before some series of Dreaming-sanctioned events directs them to occupy a particular freehold or similar territory as the rulers. Oba thus become a kind of nobility in their own right.
However, the Eshu Kithbook describes the Oba as being specifically bound to their ancestral lands in Africa and Asia. This conflicts with the essence of the fae, even for more exotic Kiths like Eshu. Faeries aren't bound to the earth like Tzimisce vampires or even Gaia-worshiping Garou. They are bound to culture. This house rule alters this proscription: Oba may establish a territory in any land where a significant number of mortals that follow some form of the traditional cultures of Eshu homelands (so, Africa, Middle East, or India) have gathered. This opens places for Oba, while still rare, to be found in continents beyond their traditional. In North America alone, Oba will be found scattered across the Caribbean and even into Louisiana, blending in with the West Africa syncretionist cultures of slaves' descendants. "Little Ethiopia" or "Indiantown" neighborhoods found in some major metropolises around the world may even host an Oba. They are still bound to that territory, which is often smaller and bound to compete with Sidhe and others.
Scathach
Various Changeling supplements released late into 2nd edition of this core game, which means they tend to share both tone and metaplot elements with Revised (3rd) editions of other games, re-visit the Scathach. One decision made about the Scathach seemingly made to constrain characters intended to be "great warriors" was to eliminate their appeal by making them lesser in other ways. Thus enter the Autumn versus Arcadian Scathach. The former stayed during the Shattering, undergoing the Changeling Way, while the Arcadians returned during the Resurgence (and lean decidedly Unseelie for some reason).
Per this Chronicle's house rule, Scathach are "Autumn" only. This means the Scathach as presented in the supplement Nobles: The Shining Host rather than the Book of Lost Houses are the default use, including the Birthrights/Frailties as listed. There are no "Arcadian Scathach", or if there are, there are no significant (statistical) differences. Why should Autumn Scathach lose Appearance points for undergoing the Changeling Way if trolls did not lose their Strength? Also, who cares? Scathach, especially if one sticks to the "darkness" part of the World of Darkness, would be interpreted accordingly as blood-soaked psychopaths. Does it matter if a Scathach is Appearance 3 or 5 or 7 when her violet eyes are wide with battle-madness and she's splattered with her enemies' gore?
Forbidden Arts
Speaking of blood and gore! Certain Arts are discussed as "forbidden" or even unknown to the Kithain. Some of these Arts were not even designed with Kith use in mind but rather invented for other creatures of the Dreaming, like the Adhene. While some Adhene Arts are not so much forbidden as they are unnecessary and/or useless to Kithain, two deserve mention: Oneiromancy and Discord. Both of these Arts, while rare, can be learned and used by the Kithain. Discord especially is valuable to more war-like Kithain, especially those who expect to clash with Prodigals. Certain Arts already garner mistrust or even outright exile if their use is provably demonstrated. Chicanery and Surfeit, for example. Oneiromancy and Discord fall neatly into that category.
Blood-Dimmed Tidal Language
In certain supplements, an entire undersea civilization of sorts is suggested though only superficially explored. This civilization is made up of pockets of various supernatural species: cities of Merfolk, grottos of weresharks, naval battlefields of sunken ships rife with the Restless Dead, and so many spirits, with so thin a Wall in such a vast domain (far vaster than the surface lands) that any given encounter with a maritime life form is just as likely to be a spirit as it is a fish.
White Wolf's supplements hint that there is a thin sense of community between many of these races. But how would they communicate? There are "fishy" methods but those aren't universal and therefore unreliable. This house rule establishes that the "natural" (so, not Kin-jin rogues hiding in the ocean depths) denizens of the oceans and even their murky freshwater estuaries have a common language. This language is not spoken or verbalized, nor signed through somatic gestures, nor is it some sort of bio-electrical network. It is entirely spiritual--a form of telepathy that enables Merfolk, Rokea (including Same-Bito), and ocean-born critters (such as Mokolé of the "saltie" Varna) to speak to each other. It does not include mind-reading and it does not decipher "natural languages" (so, a Rokea could hold a diplomatic conversation in this telepathic language with a Merfolk while using the Sending to his slewmates to attack and the Merfolk wouldn't be any the wiser...assuming it didn't share a shark Apsara).
It should be noted that "natural denizens" excludes the undead (including unfortunate wraiths, who must rely on Arcanoi to speak across the thin Shroud to such beings) but includes servants of C'et and Q'yrl, who are evidently considered "natural". This also includes all Umbrood spirits in the vicinity even if they're not Materialized (so, the Periphery), which means a Spirit Speech Gift is not necessary here.
The source of this universal language, which ignores geographical surface limits (so, for example, a Same-Bito wereshark could converse with a mermaid from the North Sea with no linguistic limits), is itself spiritual. In fact, research connects it to Rorqual. In the vicinity of the largest, oldest, and most powerful Rorqual, this language is amplified, enabling these oceanic people to hear each other from miles away. Conversely, where Rorqual are almost never to be found, the telepathic speech demands almost physical contact in proximity. This means underwater telepathic acoustics will vary widely, since Rorqual rarely sit still (especially the big ones). This rarely bothers Rokea (who prefer open and honest communication) but on occasion bother the Merfolk to the point where some Mer politicking takes place in deep caverns under the seabeds to avoid eavesdropping.
This telepathic language has regional names (the Same-Bito call it Uta), but colloquially it is known as the Buoy.
