Changeling the Podcast

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 we presently are, and where we'll eventually be (or so we suspect). Plans for the book dives that will restart in a couple months? We've got those. A wish list for topical episodes? Sure, why not. Deep paranoia that the God-Machine has taken notice of our humble media offerings? You bet (and please keep your biomechanical appendages to yourself, O Lord). Enjoy this bite-sized summary of the season's first half as the solstice dawns, and we wish safety to you and yours. Naturally, we won't be totally silent, if approached through the proper channels: Discord: https://discord.me/ctp Email: podcast@changelingthepodcast.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100082973960699 Mastodon: https://dice.camp/@ChangelingPod Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/changelingthepodcast YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ChangelingThePodcast your hosts Josh Hillerup (any pronoun) baked some tarts, for which the Knave of Hearts offered an actually quite fair market value. Pooka G (any pronoun/they) dances through thunderstorms and takes shelter from reality, or maybe it's the other way around? Amelia Fetch (she/her) will be offering dross mocktails with little paper umbrellas on the patio at sunset, by invitation only. Summer is butter on your chin and corn mush between every tooth. —Calvin and Hobbes

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 this report on the state of the podcast will tide you over until then. The usual episode data, some reflections on accomplishments from 2025, and fervent plans for Season Five(!) make up the core of our discussion, but as with all things of the Dreaming, you never quite know where the discussion will lead you... In the meantime, if you want to keep in touch with us, the doors of the digital freehold are always open: Discord: https://discord.me/ctp Email: podcast@changelingthepodcast.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100082973960699 Mastodon: https://dice.camp/@ChangelingPod Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/changelingthepodcast YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ChangelingThePodcast your hosts Josh Hillerup (any pronoun) will be building an army of snow people to defend the Kingdom from syrup-smuggling ne'er-do-wells. Pooka G (any pronoun/they) plans to brew some eggnog from whichever oviparous chimera are available. Sphinx nog? Fenghuang nog? Amelia Fetch (she/her) has the aurora borealis localized entirely to her kitchen (but no, you may not see it). There’s a certain Slant of light, Winter Afternoons – That oppresses, like the Heft Of Cathedral Tunes – —Emily Dickinson

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 provides an in-depth treatment of how these willworkers perceive and navigate the Otherworlds. The text mainly deals with the Umbrae, but also contains the first detailed description of the Dreaming—or "Maya", to use their term. (It was early 1996, so very little had even been written for Changeling: the Dreaming at that point.) In this episode, Josh and Pooka pull some highlights from the book that are most relevant to CtD players, from the dreamscapes of Hollywood to mysterious spirit-muses, a smattering of those corners of the Dreaming mages have thus far explored, a space that is indeed vast... but what percentage of infinity is that? If you'd like to flip through the Otherworldly gazetteer yourself, check out https://www.storytellersvault.com/en/product/62217?affiliate_id=3063731 for options. Other links you might wish to click include our socials, such as: Discord: https://discord.me/ctp Email: podcast@changelingthepodcast.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100082973960699 Mastodon: https://dice.camp/@ChangelingPod Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/changelingthepodcast YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ChangelingThePodcast your hosts Josh Hillerup (any pronoun) is only two planets away from a free gift on the Magrathea punch-card! Pooka G (any pronoun/they) grudgingly accepts Leibniz's principle that this is the best of possible worlds, but only because baklava exists. As for me, I am tormented with an everlasting itch for things remote. I love to sail forbidden seas, and land on barbarous coasts. —Herman Melville, Moby-Dick

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 ordinary side of fae socialization. While markets are regularly featured in Changeling: the Lost books, the eponymous book Goblin Markets goes into brisk yet exquisite detail about their mechanics and possibilities. It's a short one, clocking in at less than 50 pages, but the density of crunch gives us plenty to talk about the wonders and dangers lurking behind every tent flap. Get your fistful of trinkets for trade at the ready as we delve into the winding passages of changeling commerce. Who knows what deals you might find today? If you're in the mood to explore a more digital market for things fae, you can pick up this volume at https://www.storytellersvault.com/en/product/64285?affiliate_id=3063731. And while you wander the online Hedge, maybe you'll stumble through one of these gateways and therein find us: Discord: https://discord.me/ctp Email: podcast@changelingthepodcast.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100082973960699 Mastodon: https://dice.camp/@ChangelingPod Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/changelingthepodcast YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ChangelingThePodcast your hosts Pooka G (any pronoun/they) prefers night markets where nobody can see how many goblin fruit you've quietly pilfered. Amelia Fetch (she/her) is ranked #17 in the Professional Hagglers' league due to judicious deployment of the table-flipping gambit. Commerce! beneath whose poison-breathing shade No solitary virtue dares to spring. —Percy Bysshe Shelley, Queen Mab, IV.45–46

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 itself bears out that theme is something we discuss at length in this week's episode. This is the "player-aspected" book of the dusk/dawn pairing for Changeling: the Lost's first edition, and the last of the full-on hardcovers to be produced for that line. Information about wars and duels, new talecrafting systems, a passel of tokens and treasures, and the optimistic Dawn Court round out this volume, each of which we consider in turn. Join us for the readthrough and see what light through yonder podcast breaks...! The book can be purchased at https://www.storytellersvault.com/en/product/63362?affiliate_id=3063731, to which we herewith add our usual smattering of links for chitchat and whatnot: Discord: https://discord.me/ctp Email: podcast@changelingthepodcast.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100082973960699 Mastodon: https://dice.camp/@ChangelingPod Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/changelingthepodcast YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ChangelingThePodcast your hosts Pooka G (any pronoun/they) has perfected the art of hitting Snooze on the alarm and diving back in for the last dream's post-credits scene. Amelia Fetch (she/her) suspects that there is a secret conspiracy of early birds bent on cornering the worm market. Mole stood still a moment, held in thought. As one wakened suddenly from a beautiful dream, who struggles to recall it, and can re-capture nothing but a dim sense of the beauty of it, the beauty! Till that, too, fades away in its turn, and the dreamer bitterly accepts the hard, cold waking and all its penalties... —Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows, "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn"