GL Regional Lost VSS
From Changeling Venue
Part 1: Basic Information
Venue Name Everything’s Got a Moral (If only you can find it...)
Region Great Lakes
Venue Changeling: the Lost
aRST Lost Nathan Emery
aRST Lost Cam # US2006067987
aRST Lost Contact gl.arst.lost@gmail.com
Regional Storyteller Kevin Levesque
RST Contact gl_rst@yahoo.com
Foreword
Rules are nothing to story. Any time the rules stand in the way of telling a good story the rules are at fault. Obviously, pains will be taken to remain as close to the letter of the rules as possible because this is the easiest way to maintain the intent of the rules themselves, but when there is a conflict, the intent of the rules and the progression of the story will win out every time.
Above all, this is a story. Each of you are the stars of your own. It should always be remembered that while bad things happen to your character, nothing bad has happened to you. There is a big difference.
Part 2: Styles of Play
Theme and Mood
One of the core themes of the game will be finding one’s home. Whether a changeling attempts to reclaim their old life or forge a new one, finding a place in this world is an important aspect of this venue. The mood of the game will be bittersweet. Everything has a price and changelings know this all too well. For every wondrous beauty experienced in Faerie, there was terrible agony and despair that went with it in equal measure. For all the horror there is wonder, and for all the beauty there is madness.
Another strong thematic element of the venue is brotherhood and community. The Lost know all too well that there are safety in numbers, and while you may not like your neighbor you are similar in ways you may not realize. Promises and pledges are the mortar that hold changelings together, and they are the only way the Lost can tell who to trust and who to avoid. But like the bittersweet mood of the venue implies, brotherhood is counterpart to deception and community is contrasted by mistrust. The life of a changeling is hauntingly reminiscent of the faerie tales of legend.
Action (Combat and challenges) 3
The wilderness that surrounds the region offers many opportunities for changelings to run into the dark things that go bump in the night. Worse still, the remote nature of the region has made the Hedge more dangerous. Strange and creepy things are more apt to cross over and cause problems for changelings who make the Great Lakes their home.
Character Development (Personal dilemmas and choices) 5
The changeling lifestyle is a complex one. To keep the balance between a changeling’s fae nature and human nature is incredibly important, for madness creeps at the edges for those who stray. On the flip side, changelings must also deal with the trust and safety issues that plague their interactions due to the trauma of their imprisonment in Faerie. These problems are the cornerstone of character development in this venue and will be a prominent focus in storylines.
Darkness (PC death or corruption) 4
The real fairy tales rarely had happy endings. This fact reflects the life of changelings in southern Illinois. Between maintaining their Clarity and dealing with the ominous threat of the True Fae, there will be more than one tragic story told before all is said and done.
Drama (Ceremony and grand story) 2
The Lost population of the Region is small and insular, and little regular interaction goes on between freeholds at the present. As a result, Court presence and any kind of grand formal ceremony is very rare outside the local freehold level. This may change if more changelings decide to make contacts outside their homes.
Intrigue (Politics and negotiation) 3
Local mortal politics is quite active as they chafe under the leadership of a the state government that seems almost destined to destroy it’s own middle class. This may present unique opportunities for changelings who are politically inclined to make a name for themselves rather easily. Amongst the Lost, the Courts of the area are fairly informal. The amount of intrigue in this context is minimal, but does have room for growth if there is an influx of more Lost to get the Courts more organized on a regional level.
Manners (Social etiquette and peer pressure) 3
The Great Lakes is a perfect example of polarizing extremes when it comes to social niceties. You get that good old fashioned southern hospitality sprinkled liberally with the callous attitudes of bustling communities. The further North one travels, the more inverse these proportions become.
Mystery (Enigmas and investigation) 4
The Hedge in the region is particularly dangerous. As such, most changelings rarely venture into the Thorns for fear of what awaits them on the other side. Due to the limited knowledge of the Hedge’s ancient history, most of the strange occurrences remain a mystery except to those brave enough to risk life and limb to find out.
Part 3: Description of Venue
Changeling Common Knowledge
It is no secret that the trods are long and the Hedge is a dangerous place to get lost. It is evident that there were once major byways cut through the Hedge, leading from one freehold to another, but they have long since been retaken by the wild growth. Who or what is responsible for their construction is a mystery. It is commonly accepted that they are remnants of a long forgotten civilization. For the purpose of traveling long distances, mundane methods are the wisest choice. The price of gasoline may be on the rise, but the risks of traveling the Hedge outweigh the benefits.
While there are more than a dozen small groups of hob marketers operating out of the region, the most popular (and by far the largest) team is called the Bagvianii troupe. More reminiscent of a gypsy family, the Bagvianii are renown for their ability to obtain goblin fruits even in the winter months when it is notoriously scarce. The Bagvianii goblins host a grand bazaar once a year, in January, to peddle their wares to the citizens of the region (and get as much out of their fruit as they can while it’s in demand). This bazaar event is always preceded by the appearance of a new trod just inside the door that typically leads to each freehold’s local goblin market. This new trod branches off of an existing trod and seems to wind it’s way away from the freehold in which it appeared. This is one of the only times that traveling long distance via the Hedge is considered safe. While the bazaar is always followed by a winter festival, January 2008 was the first time changelings were permitted to attend the festival itself. Time will tell if this remains the custom.
Coming into the Region
The region is surrounded on all sides by thick, impassable areas of wild Hedge that serve to cut the area off from the rest of the nation on all sides. Those coming into the area from another region will not immediately note that their trip has at all changed. The transition from “Great Lakes region” to “not Great Lakes region” is an informal boundary at best. The Hedge here is a vast expanse of grassland and temperate forest, wound tightly with the vines and underbrush of the hedge briars that serve as the hallmark of the realm. Stabapple trees dot the landscape, and fear gortach blends seamlessly with the harmless grasses around it. Wild hobgoblins take the form of aggressive coyote-like briarwolves as often as they take the form of harmless, four-horned wooly cattle that wandered away from their herds once upon a time when they were average cows. Bloodsuckle vines wind their way through the underbrush and fae swarms lie in wait amidst seemingly tranquil fields. The Hedge of the Midwest only seems at peace, but like the poppy fields outside the Emerald City, threats are often mistaken for sanctuary.
Evidence of past civilizations are everywhere, if one takes the time to look. The land is dotted with things that were once infused with Glamour, and still resonate to those quiet enough to hear it. Sometimes a weathered rock formation that may have served as a ceremonial site for Native Americans also serves as a long forgotten door to the Hedge. Hollows lost to the ages still wait for the fae to find them once more, and their presence is evidence of a Lost civilization that once called the Midwest it’s home. The strange glyphs that decorate the rock walls of the cliffs and caves that were once the hotspots for changeling activity seem to indicate that this society adhered to a different Court structure that the changelings of today. It is believed that the Southern reaches of the region were dominated by tribes of fae who resonated themselves with the growing and planting seasons, through whose hieroglyphs scholars can identify as a sun-worshiping culture. Cahokia Mounds are believed to be the constructs of these native changelings, though their purpose is still mysterious. The North is dotted with ruins of a different society. The Northern changelings espoused the harvesting season, and some freeholds even further north in Wisconsin and Minnesota are representative of a season of stasis and death. Given this fact, it is no small wonder that everything that lies between these contrasting civilizations is representative of war.
Battlefields and the ruins of destroyed Hedge bastions litter the midsection of the region, but like the Incan ruins of central America, nature has long ago retaken most of the evidence that either of these societies ever existed. All that remains now is the oddly curious artifact and the empty shells of massive and elaborate temple Hollows. Exactly what happened to either of these civilizations remains a mystery to this day. They both simply vanished.
Antagonists
Though the Hedge is as dangerous as it ever was, travelers of the Midwestern byways must also be wary of goblin pirate raids, especially along the banks of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers. These beasts make no secret that they seek to drag unwary changelings kicking and screaming back to their Keepers. Though their activity is usually confined to the river itself, especially along the banks of the river confluence in the South of Illinois, the privateering goblins have been known to make treks inland if their quarry’s price is high enough.
Goblin marauders are sometimes the least of a freehold’s worries. It is common knowledge that the goblin raiders are under the command of a bona fide Privateer. In 2001, the Gravewight called Barton Blight emerged from the Hedge near Metropolis, Illinois and has terrorized the region’s Lost ever since. Blight commands a crew of the most vicious goblins and most disturbed changeling madmen ever known to stalk the Hedge. His ship has proven itself capable of traveling upstream, from St. Louis to Chicago, in five hours. He and his crew are solely responsible for the majority of Privateering in the area, and Blight makes no bones about the offense he takes to other Privateers working his territory. Unfortunately, Blight’s “territory” is anything but well defined.
Not often seen on land, Blight leaves the footwork up to his second in command, a massive ogre by the name of Gator. More often mistaken for a beast, both Gator’s patience and his temper match his namesake. Though often slow to anger, his relentlessness and his ferocity is legendary. Rumor has it that Gator once lie in wait for seven days, without food or sleep, waiting for his opportunity to strike. He is Blight’s hound and first mate. One’s best chance of survival when standing between Gator and his prey is to step out of his way. While Blight may forbid Gator to kill his target, the monster is renown for his willingness to murder everyone else should they prevent him from finishing his task.
Part 4: Storytelling Mechanics
Special Setting Material
Freehold histories of individual domains within the region should not predate 1600 AD without first discussing it with the aRST Lost. There is special information regarding the setting of the region from that era that must be taken into account.
Approvals Process
Any item not covered in the Camarilla addendum or the appropriately sanctioned sources is considered an approval item requiring Global approval.
High notification applications need to be submitted to the Approvals Database with a required High approval. In the case of applications for things like Entitlements, both the required Low or Mid approval and the High notification can be handled in the same application by setting the required approval to High. The aRST Lost will note your approved item when it reaches the regional level.
Travel Risks
Mundane methods of travel are usually best. The Hedge is thick, and it’s thorns are sharp. While there are trods that branch out across the region, they obviously have not been used in quite a long time. They often prove no safer than the wild Hedge.
Proxy Rules
Standard rules for proxy play provided in the Camarilla Approvals Addendum apply. See local VSTs for specific proxy policies. Proxies intended specifically to enter GL DPoMs must be handled by the aRST Lost.
Venues
This VSS is here to supplement your venues, not vice versa. Never feel like you have lost any measure of creative freedom over your own games. The moods and themes presented here serve to establish baselines for the regional setting, but it is your local games that paint the actual picture.
