Wizened

Wizened
Plural	Wizened
Pronounce	wizz-END
Contracts	1E: Artifice, Animation, Forge 2E: Jewels

The Wizened are one of the changeling seemings. They are the subtle and ingenious crafters of Arcadia, the wise and cunning wondermakers.

Overview

Wizened are those changelings who embody the "little people" and "wise men" of fairy myth. They are unmatched artisans and tinkerers, and generally excel at a particular skill or occupation, whether butler or artisan, clerk or fortune teller.

While they always seem like "little people", the Wizened are not necessarily small in size: some may be tall and thin, but walk with a stoop, while others may be normally proportioned yet give the feeling that there's somehow less of them.

The Wizened often seem to have less in common than other Seemings - they come from a diverse number of backgrounds. Many were taken on a whim or stumbled into the Hedge through bad luck. They may have served any number of functions for their Keepers or merely been the butt of cruel "jokes", but they are without exception known for their cunning and nimbleness - traits necessary to escape the clutches of the true Little People.

Wizened Blessing

The Wizened are, without exception, blessed with extremely dexterity and nimbleness, a trait that applies equally in combat; though few are great warriors, all are good at avoiding the blows of enemies.

The player can spend one point of Glamour to gain the benefit of the 9 again rule on all dice pools involving Dexterity for the rest of the scene. This same nimbleness enables the Wizened to avoid harm in ways other beings can't imagine. The player can also spend one point of Glamour to add the character's Wyrd dots to his Dodge total (normally calculated as double Defense), for the rest of the scene. This only applies when the character is dodging.

Wizened Curse

The Wizened's long suffering, however, has cursed them in a way; they are ill-equipped to deal with others, and their social skills are somewhat lacking.

Spite infects the Wizened. It comes out in their appearance and their manner. Their appearance, which is rarely attractive, and their general tendency not to be approachable means that the Wizened don't benefit from the 10-again rule on dice pools involving Presence. For the same reason, while Social Skills aren't completely barred to them, the Wizened suffer a -2 dice untrained penalty when trying to use a Social Skill in which they have no dots, rather than the usual -1.

Kiths

Wizened are sub-divided in the following kiths:

• Artist - master craftsmen, artisans or artists; gnomes, elves and goblin-smiths. Blessing: Impeccable Craftsmanship. (CtL 121, WM 92)
• Author - writers, poets and archivists of superb skill. Blessing: Polyglot’s Riddle. (WM 96)
• Brewer - possessors of secret faerie recipes. Blessing: The Inebriating Elixir. (CtL 121, WM 92)
• Chatelaine - the perfect butlers, manservants without peer; in formal circumstances their social skills are second to none. Blessing: Perfect Protocol. (CtL 121, WM 93)
• Chirurgeon - Changelings able to work magic with blade and scalpel. Blessing: The Analeptic Charm. (CtL 122, WM 93)
• Drudge - fast menial workers who take after boggans and house-elves. Blessing: Unseen Labor. (WM 96)
• Fatemaker - shapers of fate's patterns. Blessing: Turn of the Tale. (SaD 64)
• Gameplayer - riddle-makers and gamblers who love puzzles and games. Blessing: Grandmaster’s Stratagem.
• Gremlin - culture-themed kith of malevolent tinkerers. Blessing: Gremlinizing Touch. (WM 110)
• Inventor - Victorian-era kith adept with gadgets and devices. Blessing: Inventive Genius. (VL 22)
• Miner - Kobolds and other tunneling sorts. Blessing: Tappingspeak. (WM 96)
• Oracle - Changelings with the ability to tell fortunes. Blessing: Panomancy. (CtL 122, WM 94)
• Pamarindo - culture-themed kith of pot-bellied butchers. Blessing: Gourmand's Grotesquerie. (WM 110)
• Smith - forgers of Faerie weapons and superb equipment. Blessing: Steel Mastery. (CtL 122, WM 94)
• Soldier - drafted into Faerie armies, these Wizened find battle is second nature to them. Blessing: Blade Lore. (CtL 122, WM 95)
• Thusser - culture-themed kith of compelling musicians. Blessing: Fiddler's Delight. (WM 110)
• Woodwalker - nature's allies and protectors. Blessing: Wildcraft. (CtL 123, WM 95)

References

• CTL: Changeling: The Lost Rulebook, p. 120-123
• CTL: Winter Masques, p. 48-52, 92-96
• CTL: Swords at Dawn, p. 64
• CTL: Victorian Lost, p. 22