Inspiration

Can any of you list books or stories, ect. (besides the Changeling ones of course) to use for inspiration? I have been reading some of Grimms fairy tales and they really just don't do it for me...Fables the comic series is something that keeps popping up but I have yrt to get to read it... Help appreciated...

One or two of the stories by Hans Christian Anderson might provide a bit of inspiration, granted his tales are less darker usually than the Grimms tales.

A Friend of mine reccomends Terry Pratchette, I'm not a fan of his so I wouldn't know what to expect when one reads his books or watches his movies.

The X-Men or Runaways comics might prove useful, a group of individuals who have to hide their gifts (and sometimes their appearances) whilst using them for the benefit of humanity and to survive could certainly be related to Changeling in some respects.

My friends and I tend to take a bit of inspiration from movies and video games too if I can as they are full of wonderful scenes and chliche's that could easily be used for inspiration. A friend whilst GMing took inspiration from scenes involving Slavers from Fallout3 and though he didnt do a great job hiding his references it still made for a decent game.

If to take inspiration from TV I'd reccomend Buffy - whose cast suffers experiences that could cover any WoD game really. And if nothing else it's a fun show to watch!

hope I could help!

Dresden Files - the books that deal with the Fae (Summer Knight especially) are good inspirations; Spring/Summer and Fall/Winter just have a united front.

Alice in Wonderland, Oz, the Merlin television show...   basically, any modern fantasy story based on older stories.

You want modern takes on old legends; I find that the old legends themselves are a bit dull.   Hit your local Border's fantasy section and browse around for any story involving fae or fantasty realms.    There's a good chance that its worthwhile.

I think basically anything by Neil Gaiman is good stuff for Changeling. The way we weaves dream-like stories with incredibly complex myth and folktale material with pure craziness is right up Changelings' alley. I really like Tad Williams' War of the Flowers. The Dragons of Babel and Iron Dragon's Daughter by Michael Swanwick are both good looks at what Arcadia(or some corners of it) might be like.

I have a few long-standing recommendations for Lost-flavored fae and/or madness:

The King In Yellow - Hastur/The King makes a smashing Gentry with Carcosa being his Arcadian realm. The sanity rending bit is all there as well as the inhuman perspective.

Text of the book can be found here. Though readers may note that The King in Yellow is actually a collection of short stories, some of which have little or nothing to do with the so called "Hastur mythos". A couple are even romances rather than horror.  The first three or four are probably what you want to look at.


The Book of Lost Things - Taking place during WWII, this is another book that fits well with the dark fairy tale genre.  A good portion of the tale follows a young boy's journey through an alternate world heavily steeped in twisted versions of traditional fairy tales. Although there are few distinct "realms" within the world, certain characters he encounters strongly fit the model of Gentry as portrayed in C:tL.

The tone and descriptive details are strongly evocative of traditional fairy tale forms, with a delicious hint of danger and foreboding, especially toward the beginning of the story.  The ending is a little ho-hum, but in general the story is pretty good.


A Cabin on the Coast - Short story by Gene Wolfe (I think the full text can be read through the link).  It's almost like he wrote it with the idea of a C:tL-style Durance in mind.

I'm still rather new to changeling, but Jeff Noon's book Vurt would probably be a great source, and it's an awesome read.

It deals with dreamlike realities, parallel regions where physical rules and senses are easily distorted, and even the characters within fit with the Changeling style and story very well.

Nah- Already an expert on X-men and Buffy- thnx though.

I really want to sit down and read American Gods- but haven't gotten to it just yet. Have you read it? Is it good?

Thnx for all the suggestions!

Hivemind:

I really want to sit down and read American Gods- but haven't gotten to it just yet. Have you read it? Is it good?

Heard it on audiobook.  Parts of it seemed pretty interesting, but I don't know if I'd consider it great C:tL fodder per se.  Magic does seem to have "catches" of a sort in American Gods.  But in my recollection the gods themselves are a bit off from Changelings and the Gentry, too tied to human belief and the mortal world.

I've never really taken a close look at Scion, but suspect that American Gods is a better fit with that game.

On the other hand Gaiman's Coraline does seem to fit the C:tL model of Gentry pretty well (though Coraline herself might be "fae touched" rather than a true Changeling).

Books
The Sandman comic series, Neil Gaiman (I'm still in the middle of them)
Lords and Ladies, Terry Pratchett's
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, Susanna Clarke
Lullaby, Chuck Palahniuk
Lords and Ladies, Terry Pratchett
It, Stephen King
Peter & Wendy, J.M. Barrie
The Thief of Always, Clive Barker

Movies/Television
MirrorMask
Pan's Labyrinth
Stardust
Dark City
Hellboy 2: The Golden Army
The Little Mermaid
Beauty and the Beast
Hellraiser
Howl's Moving Castle
Spirited Away
Labyrinth
"Small Worlds" episode of Torchwood

kismetrose:

The Sandman comic series, Neil Gaiman (I'm still in the middle of them)

Sandman doesn't really fit well with Changeling the Lost. Dream and the rest of the Eternals have very human motives and have compassion. which the True Fae do not.

I always thought that the courts of shaos from Roger Zelazney's Chronicles of Amber were a good inspriration for Arcadia.

I can see where you're coming from in that, and of course your mileage may vary.  I mentioned it because so far the series has inspired me in a Changeling the Lost kind of way.  Maybe it's the symbolism and the dipping into dreams, more than the Endless themselves.

I have heard something amusing, but suddenly it struck me as... well very very possible. Gremlins (the movie). A strange and mysterious store, with all sorts of junk being sold... and a magical, one of a kind creature... with very special rules.

Oh and Needful Things. I forgot that.