ᚺᚹᛖᚱᚠᚱ
Mortal men and women of the Four Kingdoms hate the fae for many reasons, most justified. The greatest reason for this hatred, for many, is the fae tradition of sneaking into a human’s house and replacing a newborn child with a fae infant. In most cases, the fae infant’s behavior or body shape gives away its fae nature, and the heartbroken parents do their best to return the fae infant to the fae, but in some cases the fae infant—canny and instinctively capable of shapeshifting, even while only days old—is able to fool the parents into thinking that no swap has taken place, and that the fae child is the parents’ real child.
These fae children—changelings—are raised normally, but inevitably leave their parents’ home and seek out other fae, to learn more of the changelings’ history and purpose. As they quickly discover, the purpose of a changeling is to subvert and bring down human kingdoms and to help reassert fae supremacy over the British Isles. This appeals to the changelings’ temperament and is something they are well-equipped to do.
Centuries ago, there were fewer changelings. Now it seems like there is at least one changeling among the high officials of every kingdom, all doing their best to wreak harm upon humans. Rarely there comes a changeling who feels affection for their human parents and tries to help people.
Changelings appear wearing a variety of dress and armor and using a variety of weapons, though never iron ones. They are visually similar to humans except for a certain elongation of the ears and an almost cat’s-eye look to their pupils.
The entry below is for a changeling who is in civilian garb.
Medium fae, orderly and evil
Armor Class 15 (natural armor)
Hit Points 52 (8d8+16)
Speed 30 ft
Str 11 (+0) Dex 18 (+4) Con 14 (+2)
Int 11 (+0) Wis 15 (+3) Cha 16 (+3)
Saving Throws DEX +6
Skills Deception +5, Insight +5, Perception +5, Stealth +6
Condition Immunities charmed
Damage Vulnerabilities iron weapons
Senses darkvision 60 ft, passive Perception 15
Languages Old English
Reaction to loathing and an instant desire to put a long dagger into its stupid face
Challenge 3 (700 XP)
Fae Vulnerabilities. A changeling rolls with disadvantage for all actions taken while they hear the sound of church bells ringing or while touching silver.
Innate Spellcasting. The changeling’s innate spellcasting ability is CHA (spell save DC 13, spell attack bonus +5). It can innately cast the following spells:
- At-will: change face, alter self, detect thoughts, disguise self
- 1/day: charm person, suggestion
Iron Anathema. A changeling rolls with disadvantage on all actions taken while touching iron.
Changelings have disadvantage on saving throws involving iron and on any spell they cast against someone wearing iron armor or wearing an iron holy symbol.
When a changeling takes damage from an iron or steel weapon they gain the distracted condition (from the pain) until the end of their next turn.
Shapechange (at will). As an action a changeling can polymorph into a Small or Medium humanoid it has seen. Its statistics, other than its size, are the same in each form. Any equipment it is wearing or carrying isn’t transformed. The changeling reverts to its true form—a fox-eared, hatchet-faced fae humanoid—if it dies.
ACTIONS
Multiattack. A changeling can make two stone long knife attacks each round.
Stone Long Knife. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft, one target. Hit: 8 (1d6+4) piercing damage.
MOTIVES
Changelings act as if they are programmed from birth: they always betray their adoptive families, visit Faerie or some other fae enclave, and then proceed to help the fae subvert and destroy human towns, cities, and kingdoms. The changelings’ desire is to do this subtly, through guile and cleverness, rather than in an overt fashion.
ALLIES
Changelings do their dirty work by themselves, but always have allies standing by to do the fighting for them, whether human soldiers serving the queen who the changeling has been impersonating, or a variety of fae allies stationed around the area the changeling has been working in, waiting for the signal to begin harassing and distracting the humans. Changelings are plotters and planners, and never allow themselves to be caught without a backup plan that involves a lot of other creatures sacrificing their lives so the changeling can get away.