Bucolic Lycians are born from naturally-occurring objects and consider the unspoiled wilderness their home.
Overview[]
Plants and animals are their brothers and sisters, and rocky outcroppings and babbling brooks are among their closest friends. They love open spaces far away from the glare of city lights, where they can feel the sun on their backs and see the entire Milky Way stretch across the night sky. While their personalities vary greatly — thorny rosebushes have completely different temperaments than stalwart boulders — Bucolics tend to be the most introspective of the Guises and the most likely to awaken still rooted in place.
Appearance & Lifestyle[]
Though many eventually learn the Two Places at Once Rede, they still enjoy the quiet contemplation that accompanies stillness. Bucolics born in urban environments tend to be incredibly lonely, understanding the whispers of the wind and the language of a mycelial network far more easily than the gossip of the fae and the languages of people.
Bucolics take central roles in their local ecosystem, helping keep balance. They remove blockages to keep the creek water flowing and call forth winds to ensure pollen spreads as needed. They even do their best to keep invasive species, real and chimerical, contained or help them integrate safely with the ecosystem. Most importantly, they act as the protectors of wild spaces by making sure hunters who kill for amusement never use a weapon again, by permanent means if necessary. They also rise up in rebellion against chronic polluters. These events are often interpreted by the uninitiated as natural disasters or storms of the century.
| “ | They call their city civilization, but out here is where things truly live. | ” |
- Humanoid: Humanoids are the most social of the Bucolics. Feeling a certain affinity for beings who share their Shape, they’re willing to help people who are lost or stranded in the wilderness. They forge relationships with park rangers, ecologists, and environmentalists — anyone who respects their homes and accepts nature on its own terms, who doesn’t try to force its inhabitants to be something they’re not. They’re also the most likely to involve themselves in changeling affairs, usually when changelings need help reaching people or assistance interacting directly in Autumn affairs.
- Animal: Animals are the keepers of their own — other Bucolics and the inhabitants of the wilds. They have a philosophy of “family first,” and deal with outsiders only when necessary. They have little patience for humanity since destruction often follows in its wake. They protect animals from hunters, trees from loggers, and minerals from miners. Even still, some form bonds with humans. Occasionally an animal Bucolic will awaken in the heart of civilization, usually a beloved family pet or persevering landmark in a city park. These Lycians love their mortal family as their own and form unbreakable bonds with changelings who prove themselves trustworthy.
- Mythic: Mythics tend to lead the most solitary lives of the Bucolic Lycians. They keep to themselves, far away from prying mortal eyes. They maintain the natural founts of Glamour deep in the wilds which are inaccessible to most changelings. They also drive away those who would despoil such Glades. Because of this, they have little contact with changelings. Their most cordial relationships are with the Inanimae, Nunnehi, and Menehune. Changelings they do have contact with often assume mythics lead lonely lives. Nothing could be further from the truth. Tree roots run deep. Mineral veins spread far and wide. Whale songs reverberate across the globe. Very little of note happens in the world that mythic Bucolics don’t hear about.
- Example Guises: A stony dragon keeps watch high atop a mountain, born from a rock outcropping known to be impassible for even most experienced climbers. Local legends say a ghost-white deer attacks anyone who dares hunt in its forest. A beautiful seashell appears as a young woman with shimmering, iridescent skin. A race horse owned by a sidhe gained sapience and assists the local nobility in their games. An infamous eddy in a whitewater course loves to scare riders on its waters.
Birthrights & Frailities[]
Birthrights[]
- Animal Intuition — Bucolic Lycians have an innate understanding of animal thought processes and how they relate to each other. They gain an additional 2 dots of Animal Ken, even if this takes them above 5. Additionally, they can’t botch Animal Ken rolls.
- Language of the Wilds — Everyone has a story to tell; the listener only needs to understand the language. Rocks, trees, and other naturally occurring items are no different. Changelings can interpret bits and phrases with their cantrip Willow Whisper, but Bucolic Lycians are native speakers. By spending a point of Glamour, they may speak to any naturally occurring object for a scene: a river, the wind, a mountain face, a jellyfish. Anything that may awaken as a Bucolic falls under their purview.
Frailities[]
- From Different Worlds — Although they are completely at home in the wilderness, Bucolic Lycians find humanity and most changelings absolutely inscrutable. They suffer a +2 difficulty to all social rolls involving mortals and changelings bound to a human body.
References[]
- Changeling: The Dreaming 20th Anniversary Player's Guide, p. 150, 151.