Enchantment (CTD)

Enchantment is the practice of infusing a mortal with Glamour so they can interact with the Dreaming.

Overview: Why Enchant Mortals?

It is often expedient, useful, or necessary for one of the Kithain to bring mortals or other supernaturals into their world and sometimes for less-than-savory reasons. This process is called Enchantment.

Why enchant mortals? "Because we can!" Most Kithain enchant mortals simply because they can, because they desire the mortals to experience or understand the Dreaming, or because they are looking to inspire the mortals with a vision of the Dreaming and perhaps stave off the encroachment of Banality for a moment.

Enchanting also has its practical uses in getting mortal aid and convincing mortals that the changeling is not crazy (or at least convincing them that they're all crazy...) It also has its fun side where mortals get to have a day or two of fantastic experience, and the changeling gets to have fun, and maybe even add something to the Glamour of the world.

For Fun

Much of the time, the only reason for enchanting a mortal is the simple desire for fun, to give the mortal a glimpse of the world of the Kithain, and let everyone have a good time. This is often done under the guise of a celebration like Mardi Gras or some similar wild party where Banality does not have as strong a grip on the mortals present. Any unusual experiences will later be fogged over by the Mists and remembered only as a strange dream, bad trip, or lost weekend for most of the participants. What is "fun" depends on the Kithain performing the enchantment, though. Satyrs and party-loving Kithain are known to enchant mortals for the sake of a good time for all. A pooka may love to see the look on a mortal's face when they see the dragon in their basement for the first time. The Unseelie idea of fun may be much darker, up to and including a Wild Hunt.

For Help

Enchantment does have a more practical use. Mortals are unable to perceive or interact with the realm of the fae unless they are enchanted; Banality and the Mists shield their senses from the true nature of things around them. Sometimes the Kithain bring a mortal into their world so they can deal with the mortal on their own terms. This allows the Kithain to use there chimerical weapons and items on the mortal as well as more easily effect them with cantrips.

This may be to the mortal's benefit if they are in need of some help from the Kithain, or if the changeling needs mortal help help and must convince them that what they are talking about is real. Childlings often enchant their parents, guardians, or other adults in order to gain their cooperation, and some older grumps under the care of their mortal children do the same. Mortal allies sometimes need to be convinced of the truth of what the changeling says simply so they won't think their friend is mad and imagining things.

Authority figures are sometimes enchanted as well to gain their trust or help. Unfortunately, some particularly banal individuals disbelieve in the faerie realm even when they are able to see it with their own eyes, chalking it up to some kind of hallucination, drug, or other cause. In cases like this, enchantment may hurt a changeling's case more than help it.

Mortals can also be enchanted so that they are more easily effected by cantrips and chimera. This might be to help the mortal with Primal cantrips or useful chimera or treasures. More likely, it is so that the changeling can combat hostile mortals on more equal terms. An adult who thinks a childlike is helpless before them is in for a surprise when the Glamour falls upon them and they see instead a troll warrior or sidhe knight wielding a shining sword with a fire-breathing dragon backing them up. (There are limitations to this as discussed below.)

Planting the Seed

Bringing a mortal into the world of the Kithain can help accomplish a goal near and dear to the heart of every changeling: inspiring the mortal, which in turn slows the progress of Banality, staving off the inevitable Winter. By enchanting mortals, Kithain give them the gift of inspiration, a brief return to the sense of childlike innocence and wonder where dragons lurked in every dark cave and magic was everywhere. Even though the Mists eventually cloud the mortal's memory, a small spark of the experience lingers like a wonderful dream, and is sometimes enough to encourage the mortal to see life a little differently. Kithain call this practice "planting the seeds of Spring," and hope it will help to increase the Glamour in the world and loosen Banality's grip.

The most common mortals to be enchanted this way are Dreamers that the changeling patronizes as a muse, so that the dreamers can create new things that generate more Glamour in the world and allow the Dreaming to survive. Enchanting and inspiring mortals to a vision of the Dreaming can be a quest for a changeling looking to reduce their own Banality and regain some faith in the coming of Spring and the power of Glamour.

A mortal Dreamer may or may not know about their faerie muse, depending on the relationship between the the two.

Methods of Enchantment

There are two ways that changelings may enchant mortals. One is through the gift of a Token invested with Glamour that allows the mortal to see the world of the Kithain for some time. The other (considered the quick and dirty way) is to overcome the mortal's Banality with some of the changeling's own Glamour. It works for a shorter time than token, but usually long enough to suit the enchanter's immediate purposes.

Tokens

For more information, see the article Token (CTD).

Forced Enchantment

A changeling and briefly enchant a mortal by using Glamour to overcome the mortal's Banality. This requires only the expenditure of a point of temporary Glamour and a roll of the changeling's Glamour score against a difficulty of the mortal's Banality. If a mortal is carrying or wearing anything made of Cold Iron on their person, the difficulty to forcibly enchant them is +1. A single success is enough to enchant the mortal. Kithain use this method of enchantment when a mortal has to be enchanted immediately and there is no time to prepare a token, or when a mortal must be enchanted against their will, usually so they can be more easily affected with cantrips or chimera.

A forced enchantment lasts a fairly short time, usually about an hour, although the time can vary from one mortal to another depending on their Banality and personality. As with many things Glamourous, the time is rarely consistent. For most purposes, the Storyteller can assume the enchantment lasts for the duration of the scene that it takes place in and perhaps longer as the story demands. One of the reasons changelings prefer not to use forced enchantment is the fact that it provides so little return for their investment of Glamour. The mortal's Banality quickly reasserts itself, and the Mists cover their memories of the enchanted experience.

Forced enchantment can come as quite a shock to a mortal, especially if they are suddenly confronted by hostile Kithain wielding chimerical weapons or chimera like dragons and griffins. Even under pleasant circumstances, being pulled suddenly into the world of the fae can be a shocking experience for a mortal, especially one with high Banality. Changeling's prefer not house forced enchantment on mortals they like and trust for fear of harming them with a sudden shock to the senses.

Effects of Enchantment

For all intents and purposes, an enchanted mortal can interact with the world of the fae just like Kithain. Simply seeing a changeling's fae mien can be quite an experience for the newly-enchanted. Add in the chimerical natures of buildings and landscapes, any chimera the changeling is carrying, and a few curious chimerical creatures, and it's no wonder that shock overwhelms many mortals. Depending on where and when the mortal is enchanted, the scene that might appear as a fantasy version of the mundane world, or an even more nightmarish rendering of the already dark Gothic-Punk reality. A mortal's first experience of being enchanted will color their future opinions of enchantment and the Kithain, depending on how much they recall of the whole experience when the enchantment ends.

Enchanted mortals can be affected by cantrips without any need for the caster to overcome their inherent Banality, which has already been done by the enchantment itself. This can be a benefit in the case of cantrips like Heather Balm or Oakenshield, or it can be quite dangerous if the changeling intends to ensnare the mortal's heart or transform them into something else. Unseelie (and even a few Seelie) changelings can use Haunted Heart and Captive Heart to make the enchanted their slaves, especially if they bring the mortal into a freehold where the duration of the enchantment is suspended. Such people simply disappear and return years later looking not a day older and with fuddled memories of what actually happened to them.

Enchanted mortals are all but helpless against cantrips, which makes enchantment so fearsome to hunters and those who oppose the Kithain. They fear it as much as (or more than) death, since they know that becoming enchanted means falling under the sway of their enemies. Some changelings simply toy with an enchanted hunter, leading them astray and tormenting them with pranks before letting them stumble out into the Mists. Others, particularly the Unseelie, are not so kind to hunters they enchant. They prefer to terrify their enemies with nightmare visions, sending them screaming into madness, or kill them outright. Redcaps are especially effective at seeing that the bodies of such unfortunates are never found.

The Experience of Enchantment

The result of enchantment is unpredictable at best. It's impossible to tell how any given mortal will react to experiencing the world of the Kithain for the first time. Some see their dreams brought to vivid life, while others find only horrors or weird hallucinations that challenge their beliefs in mundane reality. Changelings are advised to "cultivate" carefully before planting their seeds of Spring, but in the end, even they can never really tell what's going to happen. It is enough to make some changelings at least a little cautious about enchanting their friends and loved ones for the first time.

Enchantment can be a good trip or a bad trip, but it's always a trip. Some are inspired by their experience, and some are driven mad. Being exposed to the Dreaming in certainly never a dull ride. Only the most Banal mortals can react to being enchanted with disregard, and even they may find themselves somewhat shaken by the experience.

Of those mortals who are aware of the existence of changelings, many see enchantment as a threat. The rationalists among the Autumn People consider enchantment to be some kind of delusion created through hypnosis or some kind of chemical. They, like Ebenezer Scrooge, doubt the evidence of their own senses, and attribute enchanted experiences as "a bit of bad beef, a blot of mustard, a crumb of cheese, ,a fragment of an underdone potato," or something else they can understand, rather than admit that faeries exist.

Changeling hunters who believe all Kithain to be threats to humanity consider enchantment to be an attack, a means for changelings to gain control of a helpless mortals senses and drag them into there own shadowy realm. These hunters avoid contact with any potential tokens with considerable paranoia, and will either attack or flee from changelings who forcibly enchant them.

Inspiration

Many mortals find the experience of being enchanted awakens their imagination and fires them with the power of Glamour. They feel refreshed, renewed, and inspired by the experience to create new things. The crushing weight of Banality is lessened on them, for at least a little while.

Enchantment can be used to "jump start" a mortal's efforts to create and produce a Reverie. It is somewhat like priming a pump, in which a changeling invests a bit of Glamour to enchant the mortal in hope of a greater return of Glamour wen the enchantment helps inspire the Dreamer. If a Dreamer is enchanted, they may make an appropriate Attribute + Ability role (difficulty 6) to determine when they will feel inspired to create again.

Of course, regularly enchanting a mortal produced potential problems of its own. Changeling muses may find Dreamers they frequently enchant in danger of becoming Dream-Struck or slipping into madness from their experiences with the fae world.

Madness

Some mortals are driven mad by the experience of being enchanted. Their banal minds simply cannot deal with the Dreaming, and they snap. This is generally judged by the amount of Banality the mortal possesses; the more banal the mortal is, the more likely that enchantment is a threat to their sanity. Some Unseelie enjoy driving mortals mad; other fae are more careful about who they enchant since there is always some risk.

As always, the Storyteller has final say on which mortals are driven mad by the experience of being enchanted. As a general rule, such madness is fairly rare, and happens only to the most banal of mortals. Whenever a mortal is enchanted, the Storyteller should roll the mortal's Banality against a difficulty of 10. Each success causes the mortal to experience one level of Bedlam. One success, results in the first threshold of Bedlam, two in the second, and three successes push the mortal over the third threshold into total madness.

Worse yet, the effects of this madness are cumulative. A mortal enchanted once again gains one success on the Banality roll, causing them to slide over the first threshold of Bedlam. If they are enchanted at a later date and scores two successes on the Banality roll, they are pushed over the edge into madness.

The unsettling effects of this madness wear off over time as the mortal's memory becomes obscured by the Mists (See the Mists Chart). A mortal with a fairly low Banality will get over the mind-wrenching experience more quickly than someone with a high Banality, who might require years to recover fully from the experience.

Kinain & Glamour

Kinain are easier to enchant than mortals, requiring only an investiture of Glamour to awaken their faerie heritage. Tokens are not necessary to enchant them. They also remain enchanted longer than banal mortals.

To enchant a kinain, a changeling need only end a point of temporary Glamour and overcome the kinain's Banality by rolling their Glamour against a difficulty equal to the kinain's Banality minus their level of Faerie Blood (minimum difficulty of 2). Only one success is needed for the kinain to become enchanted. The changeling can perform this effect on any kinain that they can see or touch, and the kinain does not have to be willing or even aware of the enchantment attempt.

Once enchanted, kinain are aware of the Dreaming and able to interact with it normally, just like enchanted mortals. They can see and interact with chimera and take damage from chimerical attacks. They can also see the fae mien of Kithain. Most kinain find the transition into the fae realm easier than mortals; blood calls to blood, and kinain often find the world of the Kithain to be the dream-realm that they have longed for all their lives.

How long a kinain remains enchanted depends on their Banality and the amount of Faerie Blood they have. The base time is seven days, plus a number of days equal to the kinain's Faerie Blood Background and minus a number of days equal to their Banality, with a minimum of one day. This means that it is generally easier to enchant kinain for longer periods of time than other mortals, particularly if the changeling has a source of Glamour to regularly renew the enchantment. Once the enchantment fades, the kinain's mind is clouded by the Mists much like any other mortal's and they may forget much of their fae experiences.

Enchanted kinain who get a chance to experience the world of the Kithain are often overcome with wonder, while some others are crushed by the truth of the reality they cannot reach on their own. Many become fascinated, even addicted to experiencing the fae world, and will do whatever they can to remain enchanted. For many this means swearing loyalty to a changeling liege or patron who can continue to supply them with Glamour, provide them a place within a freehold, or both. Living in a freehold is not without its dangers for kinain, though.

Since kinain can be enchanted against their will, they are vulnerable to being enchanted by hostile changelings, especially Unseelie, who may use hapless kinain as puppets or toys in their dangerous games.

Mortals & Glamour

Effects of Enchantment

The enchanted being enters fully into the world of the Fae. They can see and interact with Chimera and take damage from chimerical weapons. They can also be harmed by chimerical creatures the same as the Kithain.

Ending Enchantment

When the period of enchantment is over, the mortal ceases to be able to interact with the Dreaming and falls unconscious for a time determined by the Mists. These unconscious mortals seem to be in a coma and tend to remember very little of what occurred while enchanted.

Using Glamour

Enchanted mortals generally can't learn Arts or cast Cantrips; their Glamour is only borrowed. They can, however, use their own Banality to defend themselves from Fae magics but each time they do they lose a point of their imbued Glamour.

Kinain

The exception to mortals using Glamour is with the Kinain; mortals who posses faerie blood. Some of these special mortals do posses a limited amount of Glamour of their own but have problems replenishing it; it must be recharged by one of the Kithain. Some have been even known to learn a few cantrips taught to them by their faerie kin.

Staying in Freeholds

Staying in a Freehold has a peculiar effect on the Enchanted. The time limit on their enchantment is suspended while in these Glamour-rich places. Also, like changelings, they do not age while in the boundaries of said freehold. As long as they do not stay for long periods of time this is hardly noticeable to others. If they stay for years then people may begin to notice. The Mists may then make the mortal think that years have passed in days.

Supernaturals & Glamour

Vampires, Werewolves, Wraiths, and Mages must all be enchanted just like mortals to see and interact with the Dreaming. However, some of them have the ability to "enchant" themselves through their own abilities. Among these are certain mages who know the fae, Sandmen wraiths, and perhaps some of the Fera. The above effects of Glamour on mortals hold true for supernaturals though the Mists may or may not affect them at all or only in part. Wraiths must manifest on this side of the Shroud to be enchanted. Vampires may become enchanted by drinking fae blood but it often has unforeseen consequences and can lead to addiction.

Glamour in Combat

There are two other ways to effect the enenchanted with chimerical reality: the Enchanted Stroke and the Dolorous Blow.

Enchanted Stroke

By spending both a point of Glamour and Willpower, a fae can use a weapon to enchant someone. The target suffers no damage but will probably be startled to be suddenly facing the fae mien of the attacker. Only chimerical weapons can be used for the Enchanted Strike; Treasures may not be used.

Dolorous Blow

One of the Kithain can make a chimerical object, usually a weapon, real to any one being by spending a point of Willpower. The effect lasts only a turn or until the object is removed from their sight, whichever comes first, and the Mists quickly take effect. Some Unseelie ravagers use this effect to kill the mortal, causing all sorts of confusion to bystanders.

References

1. CTD. Changeling: The Dreaming Second Edition, pp. 210-211, 245.
2. CTD. The Enchanted, pp. 17-18.