White Wolf Publishing

The word you're looking for is Seeming.

And you're right that in many ways the Wizened are the least "fantasy" looking Seeming. What makes the Wizened special is what the Gentry took away from them more than what they added (which is too say, Wizened can certainly have additions, but they usually represent loss as well).

But so what? Looks are cosmetic. You can exaggerate them more than the book illustrations do. Play with other senses than sight too.

I'm not sure what you mean by, "[they're] kinda odd ones out in EVERYTHING." What does that mean? CtL isn't about playing fancy-fancy characters, so not having the fanciest looks doesn't really hurt them.

There's nothing about the Wizened that makes them easier to ignore than anyone else. If anything, most changelings consider the Wizened being the ones that need to be watched to closest because of they tend to be subtle and crafty instead of direct (and being subtle and crafty is when the Lost are at their best).

I don't get why you think other Seemings would look at the Wizened as "at the wrong place at the wrong time" (Wizened does not mean anachronistic) or unworthy of position (especially as the Wizened have some of the most practical Kiths for positions in the Freehold).

As for looks: The Fairest are the only ones that resemble traditional images of fairies. All of the other Seemings draw on different sorts of imagery. The Wizened are shaped by their Kith and their nature as being lessened by the Fae world. They tend to look more like hags, goblins, lepers, and such in terms of more fantasy inspirations.

Also, I'm really not sure at this point where you're going with "fantasy." CtL is not a game about playing elves, dwarves and goblins. It is a game that uses the mythology and symbolism those fantasy creatures come from. I don't understand why going balls-to-the-wall crazy with your Mien is important.

From that perspective the comment still seems pretty off. Most Lost aren't going to look down on the Wizened because the Gentry's choices made less sense for them. Becoming a changeling (for the PCs anyway) isn't a blessing. Hell, I'd imagine most of the Lost would reject even trying to apply that much logical thinking to the Gentry to draw a line that says all other Seemings equate to a human being chosen for something specific about them and only the Wizened being chosen by random happenstance.

I read the books just now and it says in WM "Although the common perception is that literally anyone can be abducted and transformed into a Wizened" also in the core it says in the Background exactly what I said "The Wizened are often the most unfortunate of Changelings, for they were most often taken for no reason at all and no fault of their own" Those quotes bring me to think that the Seemings consider Wizened to be just very unlucky and have no real reason to be Lost or have power also in WM it says that the other Changelings ignore the Wizened and they are too shy to ask for attention when they deserve it. Anyway still no one given me suggestions to make a fantastical Wizened is it so hard to see a player have their Changeling look very fantasy like? I believe if its a fantasy why be subtle when the creature is not hiding its true form?

Fantastical like you can tell their not human no matter how unfocused they are how do I put it? I want my Chatelaine to look very magical looking but have no idea how to do so. I also like Artists and Game Masters form WM but they are so very subtle looking they can look human even without Mask. In fact all Wizened can look as a slightly odd human without Mask imho. I want my Changeling to need the Mask in terms of looks does that make sense?(and I was never thought Grammar use)

I did separate my sentences not like I didn't use spaces O.o And whats wrong with having my chars be really not mortal looking no matter how low their Wryd is? Nowhere in the core book does it say in bold huge font letters your char positively can't scream magical until a certain wyrd show me where it says that in the book and I'll shut up.

If you read the preceding posts, you'll notice nobody actually says this.

Nowhere in this thread has anyone said this.

…

I used to worry about this a lot before I realised one thing;

People you play with won't care if you make your wizened look supernatural. They really don't.

Yes, the books and art look specific, but generally I have never had problems with making my chars look anthro or strange. It's just not an aspect of the game that matters to a majority.

So, have as magical looking thing as you want, just make it fit the kith you choose.

Right so any ideas for a Chatelaine its kinda hard to make a manservant look magical.

Wildwing? I don't have that kith in my books and really? I take things too literal O.o.

(book spells it WindWing btw) Oh ok then thanks.

OK, perhaps I didn't stress this enough:

"What's important to the looks of a changeling is how that look works with the character. Subtle or crazy far out should be something that goes with the character concept."

What a changeling looks like, beyond anything else, stems from what happened during their Durance. Every Durance is unique, so every Lost has unique things about them.

What makes your character fantastic needs to stem from more than just their Kith to have any meaning. Otherwise you're just tossing features on them for the sake of it. If all you want is pure cosmetics, throw in whatever you want as long as it's non-functional (that is wings that don't work, or fiery hair that's not real fire, etc.) or even make it functional with Merits (like Dual Kith). Then all the matters is making sure you keep to the Seeming theme of being lessened. If they've got fiery hair, they should look burnt out. If they have wings they should be frail and ragged not little pixie wings. Etc.

If you want something that actually means something to a character, give us a character, not a Kith.

I'm not sure what you're referring to. Most changelings don't run into the Thorns until they've escaped their Keeper. Going through the Thorns is how the Lost can escape; the Gentry aren't going to follow them there. And the Thorns leave their scars on those that pass through them.

However, the more fundamental changes that lead to Seemings are part of the Durance.

As has been said, durance determines a lot about appearance. How someone became a chatelaine will give inspiration. Sure, being a good at etiquette doesn’t call forth images of high fantasy most of the time but think about it from a different angle. These changelings were in a position of trust very close to their Keeper. They were the heralds of dragons, the bookkeepers of angels, the advisors to demons and the worm in the ear of arcane horrors. What do you imagine the servants of these beings looking like? Just because they were in the background in Arcadia doesn’t mean they look mundane.

Give them features of the Keeper they served. A fiery servant of the genies, a semi-transparent ghost of the lich king, the horribly twisted form of the food taster for the mistress of poisons are all valid. Another good way to add features is to give your wizened animalistic features. Not because they ever had a Beast’s mentality but because they were made to a “lesser” creature in the fey Realm. Vermin like rats, mice, squirrels, insects, or spiders are appropriate. Foxes, dogs, some beasts of burden or small birds might also be good inspirations. Lastly, give them items permanent to them. The mein can extend beyond personal being. You clothes might appear to tatter, fray and molder as you put them on. That one changeling is always wearing specticles because they cannot take them off. The broken shackles on your wrists and the collar on your neck can never be unlocked. The bookkeeper has a registry of glowing runes chained to his flesh. These things are an inescapable part of what you are now. Be careful when choosing these features. They should add to the character but don't make them too functional. They are still only part of your mein.

If you’re still having trouble, take a changeling appearance you would normally consider for another seeming and twist it slightly to a wizened. As important as looks can be they are in some ways unimportant. What is important is the mental changes of the seeming. Wizened are defined by spite and cleverness and the lessening of themselves. If you sense your character was affected more by callous cruelty and the unimaginable beauty of Arcadia, you might be better off with the Fairest seeming.