Changeling: the Lost (ISBN 1588465276)

New World of Darkness TOO dark for my tastes:
DISCLAIMER: First off, this is MY PERSONAL OPINION and I know many people will not agree. It's important to remember however that we're all entitled to our opinions and we all have different preferences. My negative review doesn't mean I think the book should be pulled from the shelf or that people should not be permitted to play it, but rather that *I* personally did not find it enjoyable or pleasant. If you do, fantastic! It's just not MY cup of tea. Onto the review. I'm a long time fan of this book's predecessor, Changeling: The Dreaming. (Henceforth "C:tD") I collected all the books and I greatly enjoyed the theme, setting and style of the books. I never read any of the other lines (Vampire, Mage, etc.) but I did really enjoy what was created with C:tD. There was a brightness to C:tD; a sense of hope and promise. That despite things being bleak, Spring would always still return. Set in a darker version of our real, modern world, it was ultimately a game about hope, promise and Beauty. I appreciated that since far too often we only celebrate ugliness in our society. So when White Wolf ended the original World of Darkness for their New World of Darkness ("nWod"), I wasn't originally terribly interested. As I said, I never read any of the other lines so it didn't matter to me that they'd relaunched them in different forms. Until, that is, when I heard there was going to be a new Changeling edition. When I finally got it and started to read, I realized it was VASTLY different from the old C:tD. Gone was the sense of lightness, whimsy and beauty and in it's place was something MUCH darker, ugly and sinister. Changeling: The Lost ("C:tL") isn't so much a revised version of C:tD as it is an entirely different concept all together. Which is perhaps part of why I disliked it so much. I expected more of the same C:tD. What I found wasn't the same at all. In C:tL you play a human who was abused by the True Fae that has now escaped back into the mortal world. The book makes it VERY clear that every single person was tortured, abused, raped, hurt, beaten and/or any other combination of unimaginably cruel events. That the True Fae are utterly without hearts, morals or understanding and that they put your character through Hell - physically, emotionally, mentally, sexually and more. That you had to fight to get back, tearing yourself further into shreds only to find that when you returned, you were changed. You're now more like they are. Worse, your human life is utterly unreachable to you. You fought through all of it to find either you're now believed dead, too much time has past, or you've been replaced by an impostor who now IS you. All that and there's nothing waiting for you upon your return. Your family is lost to you. Your life is lost to you. Your spouse/partner is lost to you. Your job/career is lost to you. Everything you were before is gone. Pretty bleak, hu? Changeling: The Dreaming was, at it's core, about hope. That though things now weren't great, they were going to get better. Changeling: The Lost has no hope. All hope was ripped away from you prior to the game's beginning. You're now left broken utterly to fend for yourself. Oh yeah, and to live life looking over your shoulder to ensure you're not recaptured by the True Fae you escaped from who may or may not be actively hunting for you. This just isn't my cup of tea. You're forced to play a victim. And, you're constantly reminded how awful things were and how terrible your past was. I feel that the world is already too dark and too bleak and I rather not spend my free time encouraging MORE of that attitude. Now, I want to be clear that if you like it, more power to you. I make NO judgment calls on anyone who plays the game in ANY way. I'm just saying it's not for me. And I think for many people who may have been the victim of abuse, it may not be for you either. I can greatly see this book and this concept being triggering to people. So in summary... If you do not like horror situations, or dark settings, or concepts of abuse, kidnapping, torture and related are troubling to you, do yourself a favor and avoid this line. C:tL is NOT like C:tD at all. If you're expecting something airy and light like the original, you'll be sorely disappointed. When they say it has mature themes, they mean it for these reasons.

ONLY THE STRONG FIND THEIR WAY HOME:
Changeling the lost is a game of coming home to a world that you no longer belong to. Taken from home by the dark fey (something straight out of grimms)an imposter left in your place. The man returns home months or years later to find he no longer has a home, a family a life. This game is wonderful. The dark tones the nod to classic conceptions of fey creatures this is no disney cartoon or happily ever after this is darkness and urban legends in all its glory. Of all the WOD supplements i find this one to be the most complete. It is a well thought out system of pacts and promises as well as containing insight into all you'll need to play a character it also gives the story teller almost all he needs (except for what is in the WOD book) it even contains a full account of a setting in miami and the main players there. overall i love the setting and the tones set by this book i read it from cover to cover over the course of a week and enjoyed every minute. If you love world of darkness or even just the darker aspects of happily ever after i reccomend this game to you.

Typos Ain't So Bad:
This is the first White Wolf product to actually entice me into the World of Darkness. Accomplishing that was done by making the setting truer to the myths of changelings. If you're like me, and like to get a basic understanding of the whole book before you attempt to run or play, be warned: it's long, and it's heavy; armchair reading it ain't. Knowing that it was part of limited run series, I understand White Wolf had to cram a lot of information into only a few books. Although I understand why role playing books do it, I don't like seeing things I already understood re-explained ad infinitum. The largest problem with this book is that certain words are missing from sentences, and in one case, the whole first part of a paragraph is missing. Sure, I can tell what is intended, but it's more distracting than simple typos. Overall, a good buy, maybe they just need a better editor?

Grim Fairy Tales:
The second in White Wolf's limited run RPGs for their World of Darkness gameline, Changeling takes you into the world of the fae. Not your white-washed Victorian fairy tales for children, but the darker stories of trolls that lurk under bridges looking for mortal flesh, goblins who kidnap children, and dark things hiding under beds; creatures born of nightmare and madness. Like I said before kids, its the World of DARKNESS. It's all about Gothic horror! Whereas in it's predecessor, of sorts, 'Changeling: the Dreaming' you took on the role of a human with a fairy soul, Changeling: the Lost goes back to the original folklore. This time around, you take on the role of a human who was kidnapped and abused by the Lords of the Fae, warped by the very nature of Arcadia, yet somehow, through sheer force of will, escaped and made your way back through the Hedge to find your old life gone. Changeling is a very intense game, but thats part of what makes it so appealing. If thats not up your alley, though, you might want to consider looking for a different game. I've found that theres not necessarily any correlation between fans of Changeling: the Lost and Changeling: the Dreaming. Some fans of C:tD absolutely LOVE Changeling: the Lost, others hate it with a passion. For that matter, some people who hated the old C:tD love the new C:tL. Go figure. This book is the core of the gameline. Although it contains everything you need to run a Changeling, you still need the 'World of Darkness' corebook in order to play the game (for the basic rules). This book expands upon the life and society of the Changelings - it gives full details on the different Seemings and Kiths, the four Seasonal Courts of the Changelings, the basic Contracts (Changeling's 'magic'), rules for Oneiromancy, information on the Fae, Hobgoblins, Arcadia and the Hedge, sample Tokens and Pledges, systems for Wyrd and Clarity and even a number of sample Entitlements for more advanced characters. Of all the gamelines in the new World of Darknes, Changeling is perhaps the most rich, evocative and inspired. Almost every part of the book will give both Storytellers and Players new ideas. In addition to giving all the details necessary to run a Changeling game, it also includes the sample Freehold of Miami (Changeling's signature city) and several NPCs. This is great for ST's planning on running a game set in or around Miami. If you are a fan of White Wolf's World of Darkness, then you have to check out this gameline. Its a perfect fit for anyone who wants to incorporate the darker side of fairy tales into their games, or just add trolls, bogeymen, goblins and other creatures from folklore and nightmares. And the book has several supplements available as well: Autumn Nightmares (which expands on the True Fae), Winter Masques (a book for customizing Seeming and Kith to fit your favorite myths), Rites of Spring (all about Changeling magic) and Lords of Summer (covering the politics of Freehold, Court and Entitlements), all of which are brilliant, as well as the forthcoming Equinox Road. However, you can run Changeling with just this and the corebook. Either way, you'll definitely want to pick this book up.

Amazing.:
My friends and i were huge fans of VtM, and were sad to see it go, but optimistic about a new WoD line. I liked VtR, but it lacked the ability to captivate me or anyone i played it with. Some time passed without much playing, then when we decided to start again, i came across this game. i never played the old changeling, but its unfair to compare the old and new WoD games anyway. they aren't different versions of the same game, they're completely separate entities. this game has however, stood out to me as the current masterpiece of the NWoD lines. take this with a grain of salt though, as i havn't played mage, werewolf, or Promethean, just read about them and the nuts and bolts of each game. as for the game itself, its theme of wonder and horror rolled into one works wonders alone, especially since it does so naturally, without having to exert much brain power into theme when creating a story. I'll spare the details most reviews hang up on and mention the highlights of the game. character creation is more in depth for CtL than in any of the NWoD lines, with even more options being available the the other books of this limited run. the powers and abilities available are numerous, but balanced by their very nature, so it comes across as making sense rather than a laundry list of things a changeling can do. the political side of the game can have as much or as little with gameplay as desired, but the court systems still come across as more logical than those of VtR. IF you're thinking about this book, but can't decide, I would recommend this title over any WoD line. it can make your head spin at times with just the sheer amount of possibility in just the core alone, but it all fits in a way that makes it just work. this title is at this time up for numerous awards and is becoming a favorite among WW gamers, so the numbers alone should balance out the negative reviews of bellyaching fans of CtD. changeling is the game of beautiful insanity and endless possibilities, and has been worth every penny.