Wayfinder's Guide to Eberron

(Nancy Kaufman) #1

60 CHAPTER 3 | CHANGELINGS


Changelings ...............................................................


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—Chance, changeling priest

A changeling can shift its face and form with a
thought. Many changelings use this gift as a form
of artistic and emotional expression, but it’s an
invaluable tool for grifters, spies, and others who
wish to deceive. This leads many people to treat
known changelings with fear and suspicion.

HIDDEN PEOPLE
Wherever humans can be found, there are
changelings; the question is whether their
presence is known.
Changelings are born to one of three paths.
A few are raised in stable communities where
changelings are true to their nature and deal
openly with the people around them. Some are
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way in the world without ever knowing another
like themselves. Others are part of nomadic
changeling clans spread across the Five Nations
who keep their true nature hidden from the
single-skins. Some clans maintain safe havens in
major cities and communities, but most prefer to
wander the unpredictable path of the Traveler.
In creating a changeling adventurer, consider
the character’s relationships with people around
them. Does the character conceal their true
changeling nature? Do they embrace it? Do they
have connections to other changelines or are they
alone and in search of companions?

MASKS


AND PERSONAS
In their natural form changelings are slender and
pale, with colorless eyes and silver-white hair.
A changeling can alter its physical appearance
with a thought. While this can be used to deceive
others, it is a natural form of expression for the
changeling. A changeling shifts shapes the way
others might change clothes. A casual shape—one
created on the spur of the moment, with no depth
or history—is called a UI[S. A mask can be used
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and then never used again. However, many
changelings develop identities that have more
depth. They build an identity over time, crafting
a persona with a history and beliefs. This focused
identity helps a changeling pinpoint a particular
skill or emotion. A changeling adventurer might
have personas for many situations, including
negotiation, investigation, and combat. Personas
can be shared by multiple changelings; there
might be three healers in a community, but
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