The Kithain aren't limited to life on land. Underneath the sea live Seelie and Unseelie fae creatures who have undergone the Changeling Way. They have had little contact with their cousins on land since the Sundering, however, shunning the "dirtwalkers"; even their knowledge of the Changeling Way came via the selkies. Recently, however, the encroachments of humanity -- and thus Banality, which they call "the Coldness" -- have made it necessary for these arrogant fae (who in their opinion rule most of the world, after all) to swallow their pride and seek aid from the changelings who make their homes in the "Not-Sea."
This is not meant to be a complete primer on the merfolk
and their Thallain counterparts, the murdhuacha; rather, these are supplemental
rules for playing aquatic fae in live-action using the Mind's Eye Theatre
system and the rules for changelings published in The Shining Host.
Anyone who wants to play one of these creatures should read the relevant
chapter in the World of Darkness supplement Blood-Dimmed Tides.
Tempers: Willpower, Banality, and Glamour ratings are based on Seeming in the usual fashion. (Optional rule: Storytellers may allow merfolk and murdhuacha characters to begin with one less Banality trait than normal because of their limited contact with humanity.)
Trait maximums are also the same as for regular changeling characters.
Abilities: Because of their Frailty (see below), most merfolk and murdhuacha are limited in "dirtwalker" Abilities like Drive, Computer, Streetwise, Firearms, etc. With the exception of characters belonging to House Melusine (see below), none of the Sea-Dreamt may purchase these Abilities as part of their basic allotment of 5 Ability traits, having to take Negative traits or Flaws in order to buy them; moreover, none of the "forbidden" Abilities may exceed one level at the start of the game.
Arts: There are three new Arts (Aphrodisia, Kryos, and Skycraft) available to merfolk or murdhuacha characters, who may of course also know the more common Arts practiced by other changelings. These are on the New Arts page, naturally. -- Note that the mer have a slightly different arrangement of levels in the Fae Realm: Level one allows casting cantrips on other merfolk, level two on murdhuacha (obviously reversed for the merrow), selkies, and aquatic chimerical creatures, and level four on other fae creatures, including land-dwelling kithain. Levels three (Manifold Chimera -- non-aquatic) and five (Dweomer of Glamour) remain basically unaltered. (Edited 6/19/2001: before today I had forgotten that Manifold Chimera was level three, thinking it was four. Oops.)
Merits and Flaws: There are no specific Merits and Flaws published for the Sea-Dreamt. Particularly appropriate ones from the core rules might include Water Baby (which should probably be cheaper), a form of Natural Appreciation, Celestial Attunement, Confused (when on land), Changeling's Eyes, Slipped Seeming, Fae Songs, Banality's Curse, Cyclical Court Change, Overconfident, Driving Goal (save the oceans), Vengeance / Intolerance / Hatred (damn polluting dirtwalkers), or Curiosity (about the Not-Sea). Some of the Merits and Flaws for pooka, selkies, satyrs, ghille dhu, and sidhe detailed elsewhere on this site might also be useful.
When a young nereid (roughly equivalent to a childling, at least for assigning Tempers) of the merfolk is ready, she enters an enchanted Grotto to undertake the Rite of Vatea; there, they receive their Apsarae -- fish-spirit forms -- from the first sea creature to enter; before this point, their fae miens appear as gray-skinned, fish-eyed babies with webbed fingers and toes. Merfolk bond with fish, cetaceans, sea turtles, eels, snakes, even the occasional aquatic bird; nereids whose Apsarae are squids, octopi, or crustaceans have been chosen by Dagon and become Thallain murdhuacha. When they receive their Apsarae, they have become nixes (wilders), and spend most of their lives in this form. The eldest of the merfolk are naugs (grumps), valued advisors and teachers of the merfolk. Female merfolk are usually called mermaids, males tritons.� As nixes and naugs, their fae miens appear as strangely beautiful combinations of human and their chosen Apsara.
Affinity: Nature or Fae (none given in BDT)
Birthrights:
Apsara of Vatea: When in their fae mien merfolk gain the abilities of the sea-creatures they are bonded to. Thus a dolphin mer would have sonar, or a sea turtle mer an armored shell. Merfolk also gain an extra Physical, Mental, or Social trait appropriate to their Apsarae (a shark mer might have a "Ferocious" trait, a dolphin "Graceful" or even "Clever," etc.), even if this takes them over their maximum. A mer's Apsara also determines what House she belongs to; all mer are nobles and thus must purchase at least one level of the Background: Title.Frailties:Gills: Merfolk can breathe underwater, or, in the case of House Melusine, have blowholes and nostrils that may be closed off to allow lengthy periods underwater before they must surface and breathe.
Ocean's Beauty: Merfolk are beautiful and seductive, and gain an additional appropriate Social trait, as well as a free retest in challenges related to their appearance.
The Coldness: The merfolk literally need Glamour to survive, at least when in their natural element. A mer who is out of Glamour or worse, Undone, may breathe only air, which is obviously a problem if she is deep underwater. Even chimerical combat can thus be truly deadly to these fae, although they do not shun a fight.Houses:Out of Touch: As the mer have cut themselves off from human society, they know little of the Not-Sea and its ways. Except for fae of House Melusine, the mer are limited in what Abilities they may take at the start of the game (as mentioned previously).
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House Lorelei: This house of warriors and hunters typically have shark, eel, barracuda, or other predator Apsarae. They serve as bodyguards and soldiers, and are devastating combatants with the trident, the chosen weapon of the Sea-Dreamt.� Boon: Lorelei mer gain an additional Brawl, Melee, or Dodge Ability; this bonus is doubled underwater. In addition, they gain a "Brutal" trait in bite attacks. Flaw: At the smell of blood, Lorelei fae must spend a Willpower trait or fly into a feeding frenzy and attack anything that moves for the next five turns.House Melusine: A house of scholars and lorekeepers, Melusine Apsarae are sea creatures without gills: whales, porpoises, pinnipeds, otters, sea snakes, turtles, diving birds, etc. They are thus subject to some prejudice from other merfolk, but their knowledge, particularly of the surface, is invaluable and thus they are tolerated. Boon: Melusine must breathe air and are more aware of the surface world. Melusine fae are exempt from the "Out of Touch" Frailty. Flaw: That air-breathing thing again. Every six hours or so, Melusine merfolk must surface to breathe or they will drown.
House Syrinx: The ruling House of the merfolk, they consider themselves the "true chosen of Vatea," the sea-father. Syrinx Asparae come from any bony ocean fish. They make up the majority of merfolk and serve both as aristocrats and artisans. Boon: Syrinx fae have a claim on rulership of the sea, and may command mundane and "normal" chimerical sea-creatures for one Scene with a successful Social challenge; controlling more than a single school of small fishes or one individual larger creature will probably require the expenditure of Social traits. Flaw:� A mer of House Syrinx must spend at least one hour a day immersed in water; for every day she does not, she loses a Willpower trait. Willpower thus lost can only be regained by spending several hours underwater.
Like the merfolk, the merrow do not breed with humans, but do frequently use human corpses as depositories for their eggs which the females lay hundreds at a time; these, against the received wisdom, hatch into what appear to unenchanted observers to be human babies, but to fae sight are indistinguishable from mer nereids. Very few of these survive to undergo the Rite of Dagon, in which the young nereid receives his Apsara and becomes a nix. Female merrow are often called "sirens" and the hideous males "nucks."
Affinity: Scene or Fae (again, I'm making it up)
Birthrights
Apsara of Dagon: The merrows' Apsarae grant them powers much like those of the mer; jellyfish murdhuacha are poisonous, sea urchin merrows are covered in sharp spines, and so on. Murdhuacha likewise gain an appropriate additional Attribute trait.FrailtiesGills: All murdhuacha have gills, and can stay underwater indefinitely.
Pelagic Nightmare: While the females can be strangely alluring, male murdhuacha have jellyfish-like flesh that make them appear skinless horrors from the waist up. (Females gain an additional "Seductive" or "Beguiling" trait; males two "Fearsome" or "Intimidating" traits -- but also a "Repugnant" trait.) Both sexes are an unsettling mix of humanoid and cephalopod, jellyfish, annelid, or other such creature. Anyone seeing a murdhuacha for the first time must spend a Willpower trait or be frozen in shock for one turn (supernatural creatures may elect to attempt a static Willpower challenge against the merrow before having to part with that trait).
The Coldness: As above, although the merrow are fond of spending their precious Glamour to call upon the Wyrd, making it easier to procure warm human bodies for their eggs.Out of Touch: Also as above.
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