In my first Changeling game, I played an Autumn courtier trying to move up the ranks because knowledge was already his passion, and it was a lucky thing, too, because the benefits of the Autumn Mantle were less than inspiring.  We never really fixed it to complete satisfaction and since there's a brand-new Autumn Court member in our new chronicle, I figured I'd try my hand at it.  What I came up with below focuses on the occult and investigative aspects of the court.  I'm not sure I'm 100% happy with the level 3 and 5 options, though I'm pretty pleased with the first one.

* gain a specialty in Investigation or Occult

*** add 1 die to all rolls to navigate the Hedge

***** re-roll any failed Clarity degeneration roll involving contact with the Fae or noncontact with humans

It seems like I'm fated to homebrew tokens for my games, if only because I love the personal touch and the idea that changelings can crawl out of the Thorns with at least some symbol of their Durance.  The book suggests giving each starting character a piece of hedgespun clothing, something like a cap, which looks cool but doesn't necessarily have any powers.  But these remnants, having spent so much time in Arcadia and having probably been the focal point of so much emotion, seem ripe for showing their true colors once they're on the other side of the Hedge.

In our new Changeling game, the PCs have some choice pieces.  The Fairest who was taken to be Peter Pan's Wendy still has his kiss, which I took right out of Barrie's Peter Pan and used in her prelude.  When I reminded her that it could be a token, she jumped on it with experience points.  The Elemental who was sold to his Keeper by his treacherous wife lost everything - except for his wedding ring, which aroused such emotions in him that his Keeper delighted in letting him hold onto it.  The Beast who was trying to save yet another changeling on his way out was given her dying gift, which just might help him save others in the future.  I just can't help but offer the option to infuse the bits and bobs that characters bring with them with some real fae potential.

But I've found that handcrafting tokens is more difficult than making magic items in D&D, for example.  I've found it pretty easy and fun to come up with the item's look, both to mortals and to fae.  Sometimes it's been difficult to put my finger on the token's power, since there are so many possibilities and I usually have a power level to work with, so that restricts options somewhat.  But balancing drawbacks and catches has been a bitch on several levels.  On one hand, fae magic always has a price, and I dig that concept - but the cost has to be equivalent to the power level yet not so severe that the character will avoid using the item.  That last part conflicts with my running and designing philosophy about such things.  If a player puts their hard-earned experience points into an item (or otherwise invests their efforts), I want them to feel like it was worth it.  I want them to enjoy their item overall, even if it has some restrictions for balance.

And sure, there are examples in a number of books to work from.  A number of tokens just take a price in blood (and damage), though, so the examples aren't as broad as you'd think.  This is why I usually post what I'm working on somewhere to get some kind of feedback and why it takes me more time before I'm satisfied with the results.  During my recent design process, I was surprised when most of the feedback I received suggested making the token something that the character had to give away, something that only worked once, or something that could be destroyed for using it.  Trifles are one thing - they're meant to be temporary, one-use things - but tokens generally are longer-lasting and - well, special.  I know that as a player I would usually not be okay with spending my points on something that could be gone just for using it, through no other fault of my own, even though the book supports tokens as permanent items.  I was glad for the responses and the considerations that were raised, but I was forced to realize that even feedback wouldn't be an automatic saving grace.  Different design philosophies would mean that I'd really have to sort through the replies carefully, as well.

Even though it's been a bit more work all around I find myself continuing to be excited by tokens and their possibilities, and eager to place well-balanced results in my players' capable hands.  I've found myself pondering on it enough to want to unravel the whole problem and get it out in front of me, and perhaps this rambling will engage some other Storyteller somewhere down the line.

Athyas — These changelings are marked by a terrible beauty that reaches down into the subconscious minds of those who look upon them. Their sleek flesh often gleams mellowly of bronze, silver, or a gemstone’s colored radiance, though others manifest an otherworldly sheen in a glowing nimbus around their perfect limbs. Their blessing (and some say their curse) is the ability to Pique the Passions: The character can spend a Glamour point and roll Presence + Empathy vs. a target’s Resolve + Composure in an attempt to arouse their emotions. The target must be within 50 feet (or line of sight, whichever is closer) and can only be marked once per day. If the target fails, the intensity of whatever they are feeling is doubled (or tripled, if the character rolls an exceptional success). 1 success = 1 turn; 2 = 1 hour; 3 = 6 hours; 4 = 12 hours; 5 = 1 day. The character has no control over which emotion is stirred or how the target expresses it.

 

These are tokens that each of the player characters had on their person when they returned from Arcadia.  They're 1 dot tokens, but kitchy.