Changeling the Podcast
by Joshua HIllerup and Pooka Gar
Changeling the Podcast is a weekly exploration of the roleplaying game Changeling the Dreaming. Episodes range from readthroughs of books, to interviews with people relevant to Changeling, to deep dives into various topics. We are two fans of the game who are excited to share our love for Changeling with you all.
Episodes
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episode 152 — hunter: the vigil
You'd think that changelings would have enough headaches with the Huntsmen running around, but life is never easy in the Chronicles of Darkness, so why not some upstart mortals getting in on the fae-tracking action? We're taking a look at Hunter: the Vigil this week, to get a sense of how the...
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episode 151 — promethean: the created
What does it mean to be a monster? While the Lost might certainly have an opinion or two (whether about themselves, their Keepers, or the other nightmares that stalk the Hedge), we turn this week to one of the more classic expressions of the concept: the constructed person, à la Frankenstein.…
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episode 150 — storytelling lost
A century and a half of full episodes! Or perhaps more appropriately, this is episode CL in Roman numerals, which obviously stands for "Changeling [the] Lost". And our theme today is to step back from our deep dives into the books for a minute, to look more generally about Storytelling Lost for...
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episode 149 — hearts on trial
So, you've gone through the corebook for Changeling: the Lost's second edition and you want an adventure to run for your table. Or maybe you're not yet ready to snag that chomker of a tome and you'd like something lighter to dip your toes into the setting and systems. Or you're putting together a...
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episode 148 — changeling: the lost 2e corebook (part three)
One more, for our sins. Or at least, for the Thorns. We wrap up this trilogy of episodes today by talking about second edition changes in the corebook for Changeling: the Lost, from the handling of themes and the role of the Courtless, to the way Contracts work and the nature of the True Fae.…
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episode 147 — changeling: the lost 2e corebook (part two)
Part the Second! This time, we circle back once more through the Lost corebook as we examine new stuff in Second Edition (compared with the first). This is new stuff in the corebook sense: some of the material here is similar to and/or derived from what we covered in the supplements for First...
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episode 146 — changeling: the lost 2e corebook (part one)
And so we arrive at the Tome of Tomes, the Volume of Volumes, the Boondoggle of Boondoggles, that is the Changeling: the Lost Second Edition corebook. Because there's way too much here to discuss in a single standard-length episode, we are splitting this into a trilogy. First is just a basic...
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episode 145 — the huntsmen chronicle anthology
We live again.. again! In the spirit of the Autumn Court and their occasionally ill-advised sense of discovery, now that their season has come, so too has the moment where at last we dive headlong into the second edition of Changeling: the Lost. The thorny glory that is this game will need a slow...
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episode 144.5 — state of the podcast, midseason 5
Halfway through! Now that the actual play trilogy has concluded, it's time for us to treat ourselves to a bit of a break... but of course, that doesn't mean we're putting everything on pause. Today's discussion of the state of the podcast for mid-Season Five covers where we've lately been, where…
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episode 144 — c30 actual play, part three
And so we come to the final act, part three of our actual play, wherein the heroes make a last-ditch effort to accomplish their goals. What will success look like? What will they learn or gain? Where does the story go from here? All the usual questions, and a fair number of answers, will be dealt...
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episode 143 — c30 actual play, part two
The legend continues as we present part two of our actual play run by Fetch, to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of Changeling: the Dreaming. In this installment, our intrepid band of heroes (and we use most of those words loosely) conscript allies for their meetcute plan. The place and time are…
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episode 142 — c30 actual play, part one
Long foretold and lately managed, we finally present our three-part actual play of Changeling: the Dreaming as part of our ongoing-if-sporadic series of things for the game's 30th Anniversary year. Storyteller Fetch leads players Elerus, J, and Medi through the chimerical landscape of Phoenix,...
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episode 141 — twilit eildon
Before the sun finally goes down on Changeling: the Lost's first edition, we've got one more text to talk about. What's that you say? We've gone through all the books and all the Dark Eras, so what could possibly be left? Well, as we prepared those final episodes, author Thomas McVey released...
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episode 140 — tribebook(s): fianna
It's been a while since we stepped into the old World of Darkness, so today we take a quick look back for one more in our series of crossover book dives. We flipped through both the original and Revised editions of the Fianna tribebooks for Werewolf: the Apocalypse. These are the most…
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episode 139 — a grimm dark era
With apologies for last week's delay, we are back on track with today's readthrough of the last Changeling-focused Dark Era in the first collection, A Grimm Dark Era. The Dark Eras' not-quite-second-edition-ness stands out most of all in this offering, and it's... noteworthy. Set in early...
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episode 138.5 — of ravens and roses
To welcome in the Seelie half of the year, behold! a surprise minisode. The original Dark Eras were accompanied by a fiction volume, Tales of the Dark Eras, featuring a number of short stories associated with the modules in the supplement. The entry "Of Ravens and Roses" is set in the…
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episode 138 — lily, sabre & thorn
Il était une fois... as we proceed through the historical dives in the first Dark Eras volume, we arrive at the next one for Changeling: the Lost—and the first one that is only for that game, though certainly no one could object if an enterprising Storyteller felt like squeezing in a random...
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episode 137 — dark eras
Time to hop in the ol' time machine as we open (at long last) the first Dark Eras book for the Chronicles of Darkness...! These smaller modules cover specific moments and places around the world through history, presented through the lens of one or more gamelines. The first collection, released…
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episode 136 — vampire: the requiem
Another week, another exploration of nWoD/CofD crossover. This time, with an eye to the upcoming Dark Eras, we're taking a look at Vampire: the Requiem and approaches to integrating it with Changeling: the Lost. There are some thematic similarities: both vampires and changelings are parasites in...
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episode 135 — the god-machine update
The time has come to put aside the old new World of Darkness and move into the Chronicles of Darkness, as we read through the God-Machine rules update. This is the back half of the God-Machine Chronicle released in 2013, which revised and expanded the rules for nWoD's first edition and would…
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episode 134 — geist: the sin-eaters
A wild CROSSOVER appears...! Soon enough, we'll be getting into the historical Dark Eras settings for Changeling: the Lost, some of which involve pairings with other games in the new World of Darkness/Chronicles of Darkness line. We'll be moving through this semi-chronologically, and the first…
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episode 133 — ten films for the lost
This week, we turn once more to the wonderful world of media as we consider ten films for Changeling: the Lost inspiration. We did this previously with Changeling: the Dreaming (check out episode 50!), so it seemed like the right time to pull a similar for the other fae game. There are a couple...
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episode 132 — glimpses of the unknown
Rounding out our series of "blue books" from the first edition of new World of Darkness, today we're covering Glimpses of the Unknown, a rather brief assortment of story hooks, crunchy tidbits, and setting expansion for all the extant game lines at that point. And when we say "brief," we mean 48...
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episode 131 — mirrors
Through the looking glass we go, as we consider other shapes the World of Darkness might take. A collection to spark ideas along the way is World of Darkness: Mirrors for first edition nWoD, whose pages we're riffling this time around. Alternate systems, alternate settings, and a whole lot of...
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episode 130 — proverbial monsters
Good things come to those who wait... so forgive us for the day of delay, but we are back with a discussion of Proverbial Monsters. This slim bestiary of creatures inspired by sayings and superstitions seemed like a natural follow-up to our dive into Urban Legends. It's not specifically a...
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episode 129 — urban legends (nWoD)
And so, with some variable amount of fanfare, we are taking a deep breath and plunging into Season Five. Taking a machete to the wilderness of nWoD, we are beginning by carving a path from the last books of Changeling: the Lost's first edition towards the Hedge of the second, tackling various…
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episode 128.5 — state of the podcast, winterregnum 25–26
And thus we come once again to a moment of pause in our madcap readings, as winter's chill settles over the land (in this bit of the world, anyway). We may have an episode or three up our sleeves in the coming weeks, but assume that things will be fairly quiet until about mid-February—so we hope...
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episode 128 — victorian lost
Ahoy ahoy! We've moved forward to step back (in time) as we reach, at long last, the final supplement for Changeling: the Lost's first edition, Victorian Lost. This short-ish volume nevertheless packs in the information as the one historical book for the line, although we will get some shorter…
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episode 127 — book of worlds
Changelings aren't the only ones who step outside the fleshly realm from time to time. Human magi have also been known to wander the farther spaces, and it's not unreasonable that a fae might encounter one of these upstart travelers. Mage: the Ascension's 2nd edition supplement Book of Worlds...
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episode 126 — the fear-maker’s promise compilation
Once in a while, you actually want to play the game you're into. But if you can't think of a good complex plot for your players or don't have the time, what to do? Why, the pre-packaged story, of course! The first edition of Changeling: the Lost had two of these released in the "Storyteller...
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episode 125 — goblin markets
Whatever you need, chances are you can find it—along with a few things you absolutely don't—in the goblin markets of the Hedge and similarly liminal spaces. The market is a dumping ground for any and all story hooks, an opportunity to dole out all kinds of boons, and a space to explore the more...
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episode 124.5 — pax unplugged expo hall 2025
Once more unto the breach, dear listeners, once more... Pooka is doing the PAX Unplugged thing this weekend, and spent their Friday accosting various TTRPG creators in the expo hall for short on the spot interviews. Herewith the fruits of those labors! As always for these convention minisodes,...
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episode 124 — swords at dawn
The start of each day is the beginning of a new world, or so they say. As we open up the other half of our pair of liminal books, Swords at Dawn, we are reminded that this is a time of change and transition, new opportunities and new directions... in theory, at least. Whether or not the book…
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episode 123.5 — sueños en guerra
Back to the Dreaming bookshelf this week...! Pooka once again attempted to flex some language skills (with a little bit of help from WordReference) to read through Sueños en Guerra, a supplement produced as part of the Kickstarter to translate Changeling's 20th Anniversary Edition into Spanish....
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episode 123 — dancers in the dusk
The fae are all about liminality and change, an idea reinforced by the next pair of books we'll be considering in Changeling: the Lost's first edition run. We begin with Dancers in the Dusk, a hodgepodge of strange mechanics, curious foes, subtle magics, and new allegiances that all hearken back…
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episode 122 — night horrors: grim fears
It's the most spoopiest tiiiime of the year...! As we enter Halloweek, it seems appropriate that we're delving into a stack of antagonists gruesome and strange for Changeling: the Lost's first edition, namely Night Horrors: Grim Fears. Heartless changelings (literally, in at least one case),...
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episode 121 — equinox road
We're about a month late to the balance-of-day-and-night party, but it's still very much a season of shifting light, so it's appropriate that we're wandering down the Equinox Road this week. As the last book planned for the original run of Changeling: the Lost 1e, there was a lot riding on this...
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episode 120 — lords of summer
At long last...! So, one thing after another happened in our lives this summer, and the hiatus lasted longer than we anticipated or intended. But! We are back for another handful of episodes to round out the Season, kicking off today with a readthrough of Lords of Summer. This volume for...
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episode 119 — on the umber road
Shh, we're not really back yet... it's still the lazy days of summer, and much needed rest and recuperation is taking place. But the slow grind of content waits for no fae, and so we are dipping our toes back into the airwaves with an episode here and episode there for the next handful of weeks.…
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episode 118.5: state of the podcast, midseason 4
As we drift into midsummer night dreams, it remains only to give an accounting of the State of the Podcast before we take a semi-hiatus for the next several weeks. There are a couple episodes planned, but otherwise we'll see you on the airwaves again in mid-August or thereabouts. In the meantime,...
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episode 118 — rites of spring
Summer is arriving with a vengeance in the northern part of the globe, so it's a bit odd to be going back a season... and yet, we regret it not, as we open up the pages of Rites of Spring. This supplement for Changeling: the Lost 1e is a compendium of magics and Glamour, folklore and rumor, all…
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episode 117 — c30: book of gremayre
Cantrips and oaths and Unleashings (oh my!) are all perfectly respectable kinds of magic, but what others might the fae be heir to? We're tackling that question with another entry in the Changeling 30th Anniversary Project lineup, as the anniversary itself approaches... The book-in-progress of…
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episode 116 — winter masques
The emotion espoused by the Winter Court of the Lost is sorrow, but it's hard to feel too down about the sheer volume of material provided in their nominally associated book, Winter Masques. (Maybe we can shed a tear for the wild inconsistency in font sizes between sections?) While Autumn...
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episode 115 — thallain and dauntain pcs
The nature of evil is a wiggly thing in all the World of Darkness games, but especially in Changeling. Who's to say whether a rabid beastie or a diabolical Eiluned is more dastardly than the other? Surely it's a matter of perspective. Still, among the various groups in the game, the Thallain and...
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episode 114 — autumn nightmares
So, we had thought, surely the supplements for Changeling: the Lost's first edition can't be as dense as the corebook. Surely there will be some let-up in the sheer volume of material crammed into the pages. And yet, here we are with the first book in the line, Autumn Nightmares, applying…
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episode 113 — nobilis
If you've been listening to our show for a while (or hanging out on our Discord!), chances are you've heard Josh mention Dr. Jenna Moran's game Nobilis. In some ways adjacent to the World of Darkness and Exalted, in some ways adjacent to its own distinctively hallucinogenic blossom-laden spatial...
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episode 112 — changeling: the lost 1e corebook (part three)
At long last, with this third installment, we are at last finished our readthrough of the Changeling: the Lost 1st edition corebook. Here's hoping that when we get to 2nd edition, we can just breeze through and say "nyaaahhh, it's mostly the same but here are things that have changed."…
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episode 111 — changeling: the lost 1e corebook (part two)
Another week, another as-rapid-as-we-dare readthrough of the Changeling: the Lost 1st edition corebook. This time, we're having a look at Chapters Three and Four. "But Pooka and Fetch," you might say, "this was supposed to be a two-part series, not a trilogy. How could you spend just under two...
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episode 110 — changeling: the lost 1e corebook (part one)
As the light half of the year breaks over the horizon, it's time at last for us to take the deepest of breaths and open the tome that is the Changeling: the Lost 1st edition corebook. The density of the text and the number of pages meant that this was always going to be a multi-part endeavor, but...
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episode 109 — world of darkness: hong kong
We're visiting other shelves on the bookcase again, this time to dig into World of Darkness: Hong Kong. As with the Tokyo citybook, this was a Year of the Lotus supplement that was ostensibly for all the oWoD gamelines, but in truth was more vampire-centric than anything. Still—the tilts at the...
About this show
Changeling the Podcast is a weekly exploration of the roleplaying game Changeling the Dreaming. Episodes range from readthroughs of books, to interviews with people relevant to Changeling, to deep dives into various topics. We are two fans of the game who are excited to share our love for Changeling with you all.
Hosted by
Joshua HIllerup and Pooka Gar