Changling

“Changling” – This young woman has a slender frame and a beautiful face, yet there’s something vaguely unnerving about her appearance. Her skin is unnaturally pale, her hair is dark, and each of her eyes is a different color.

Changeling CR 1/2

XP 200 Female changeling witch 1 LN Medium humanoid (changeling) Init -1; Senses Darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +2

DEFENSE

AC 10, touch 9, flat-footed 10 (-1 Dexterity, +1 natural) hp 8 (1d6+2) Fort +1, Ref -1, Will +4

OFFENSE

Speed 30 ft. Melee 2 claws +0 (1d4+1) Special Attacks hexes (cauldron) Witch Spells Prepared (CL 1st; concentration+3) 1st – hypnotism (DC 14), sleep (DC 14) 0 (at will) – daze (DC 13), light, touch of fatigue (DC 13) Patron transformation

STATISTICS

Strength 10, Dexterity 8, Constitution 12, Intelligence 15, Wisdom 14, Charisma 15 Base Atk +0; CMB +0; CMD 9 Feats Brew Potion, Combat Casting Skills Craft (alchemy) +10, Heal +6, Knowledge (arcana) +6, Spellcraft +6 Languages Common, Draconic, Elven, Orc SQ hulking changeling, witch’s familiar (spider)

ECOLOGY

Environment any Organization solitary Treasure standard (quarterstaff, other treasure)

Born of mysterious origins and raised by unknowing foster parents, changelings are the children of hags and their tricked lovers. Most do not know of their monstrous origins, but there comes a time in every changeling’s life when these roots begin to call out to their host, urging the confused girl toward some end she cannot identify.

Changelings are always female, tall, and slender. A changeling’s hair is typically dark and her skin abnormally pale, but she otherwise looks for all practical purposes like a member of her father’s race. A frequent but not universal trait of changelings is their mismatched, different-colored eyes. Upon reaching puberty and adulthood, the average changeling stands approximately 5-1/2 feet tall and weighs about 110 pounds.

Ecology

When a hag of any sort conceives a child with a man, the result is a changeling. The male parent is usually eaten or killed by his partner before he can see the offspring, or else flees the area in shame upon discovering the true nature of his lover, and the hag herself interacts with the child just long enough to set it on the stoop of some unsuspecting family or temple. Depending on the race of her father, a changeling can resemble any type of humanoid, including dwarves, gnomes, and even orcs and goblins.

A changeling and her new family are never aware of the strange child’s true parents, but in most cases everyone involved is keenly aware that there is something odd about the frail child with the ghostly pallor. Even the young girl herself can easily see that she possesses abilities others do not ‘powers that are subtle at younger ages and only truly begin to manifest themselves when she reaches adolescence. It is around puberty that the changeling begins to hear what hags refer to as ‘the call,’ a hypnotic, spiritual voice that only she can hear and that beckons her to travel. To where, the changeling does not know, but the underlying prospect of finding out her true origins is often enough to drive
the girl to seek out the source of this mystical voice.

The voice is in fact that of the changeling’s birth mother, who forms a coven with two others hags in order to summon her child back to her, now that she is old enough to fully transform into a hag. This transformative ritual is a barbaric one that only the most determined changelings willingly go through; upon arriving at the coven, it is usually too late to turn back for changelings who were merely drawn to the voice by curiosity. Those who seek power, however, identify with the hags, and happily go through the ordeal in order to unlock their dormant abilities.
Regardless of her desires, though, a changeling who has undergone the transformation cannot go back; once she becomes a hag, she remains a hag, and her mind turns as wicked as her form has turned hideous.

Changelings who ignore the call eventually cease to hear it. In this case, a hag mother sometimes disguises herself and ventures into civilization, seeking out her daughter. If she finds her, she lures the girl back to the coven, where she can perform the ritual of transformation. The process of performing the call or physically retrieving the changeling is taxing, though, and many hags find it easier to simply lure in another mate and birth another changeling in hopes that this one will heed the ever tantalizing call.

Habitat & Society

Raised wherever she will be accepted, a changeling has no real say in the habitat she grows up in. Families who inadvertently raise changelings often react in one of two ways toward the strange child’s development of supernatural powers: they either embrace the girl, nurturing her and her gift, or they disown her as an abomination, casting her out into a world of loneliness and resentment. Of course, this reaction to her power often has a huge influence over the changeling’s course of action as a young adult. Changelings who are accepted by their adopted society often don’t see the need to follow their mothers’ voices, instead using their powers for their own ends, whereas shunned individuals almost always answer the call and become treacherous hags with embittered hearts and shattered souls.

Hags usually prefer to mate with humans, producing changelings that resemble humans. Changelings of other races do occur, but their attitude and outlook are much more dependent on the attitudes of their adoptive parents than on their racial background.

Changelings rarely band together with other changelings, as hags only seldom allow their unions to result in offspring, and changelings encountering others of their type may never recognize their shared origins. Thus, the abandoned offspring graft themselves into whatever society will accept them, adapting to new roles with remarkable ease. If a changeling chooses to heed the call that beckons her as a young woman, she quickly finds herself in an entirely different sort of society: hags, though accepting of their own brood, are quite unlike any other creatures, and their form of culture is so primitive and evil that it can hardly be called culture at all. A changeling turned-hag follows the same patterns as her mother and other brethren, eventually charming an unwitting suitor and creating a changeling offspring of her own, repeating the vicious cycle.

Having no innate predisposition toward evil, a changeling’s values are solely a product of her environment, and any given individual is just as likely to perform evil as she is to act righteously. Often, though, a changeling’s slightly unusual appearance marks her as the target for harassment, potentially leading her toward a vengeful path. Any means of releasing innate magical energy is good enough for the changeling, and many become witches.

Section 15: Copyright Notice

Statistics from Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Bestiary 4 © 2013, Paizo Publishing, LLC; Authors: Dennis Baker, Jesse Benner, Savannah Broadway, Ross Byers, Adam Daigle, Tim Hitchcock, Tracy Hurley, James Jacobs, Matt James, Rob McCreary, Jason Nelson, Tom Phillips, Stephen Radney-MacFarland, Sean K Reynolds, F. Wesley Schneider, Tork Shaw, and Russ Taylor.

Ecology from Pathfinder 43: Haunting of Harrowstone. Copyright 2011, Paizo Publishing, LLC, Author: Michael Kortes

Changeling Characters

The children of one sidhe parent and one non-fey parent, and they may be ignorant of their unusual heritage. They look mostly human but may have slightly pointed ears, unusual birthmarks, or strangely colored eyes that hint at their sidhe parentage. This inherited template can be added to any Small or Medium humanoid, monstrous humanoid, or outsider.

Changelings are the offspring of hags and their lovers taken through magic or madness. Dropped off on doorsteps of prospective foster parents, changelings are raised by strangers. Typically tall, slender, dark haired, and attractive, changelings otherwise resemble their fathers’ race. They are always female, and their mismatched colored eyes and abnormally pale skin hint at their true heritage. At puberty, changelings receive ‘the call,’ a hypnotic spiritual voice that beckons them to travel and discover their true origins. Changelings who ignore this call choose their own destiny; those who heed it discover their ‘mother’ and may come into great power by transforming into hags themselves.

Changelings

Random Changeling Starting Ages
Adulthood	Intuitive1	Self-Taught2	Trained3
15 years	+1d4 years (16 – 19 years)	+1d6 years (16 – 21 years)	+2d6 years (17 – 27 years)
1 This category includes barbarians, oracles, rogues, and sorcerers. 2 This category includes bards, cavaliers, fighters, gunslingers, paladins, rangers, summoners, and witches. 3 This category includes alchemists, clerics, druids, inquisitors, magi, monks, and wizards.

Random Changeling Height and Weight
Base Height	Height Modifier	Base Weight	Weight Modifier
4 ft. 2 in.	+2d4 in. (4 ft. 4 in. – 4 ft. 10 in.)	85 lbs.	+(2d4×5 lbs.) (95 – 125 lbs.)

Standard Racial Traits

• Ability Score Racial Traits: Changelings are frail, but are clever and comely. They gain +2 Wisdom, +2 Charisma, -2 Constitution.
• Size: Changelings are Medium creatures and have no bonuses or penalties
  due to their size.
• Type: Changelings are humanoids with the changeling subtype.
• Base Speed: Changelings have a base speed of 30 feet.
• Languages: Changelings begin play speaking Common and the primary language of their host society. Changelings with high Intelligence scores can choose from the following: Aklo, Draconic, Dwarven, Elven, Giant, Gnoll, Goblin, and Orc.

Defense Racial Traits

Natural Armor: Changelings have a +1 natural armor bonus.

Offense Racial Traits

Claws: Changelings’ fingernails are hard and sharp, granting them two claw attacks (1d4 points of damage each).

Senses Racial Traits

Darkvision: Changelings see perfectly in the dark up to 60 feet.

Other Racial Traits

A changeling inherits one of the following racial traits, depending on her mother’s hag type:

Hulking Changeling 

(Annis Hag): The changeling gains a +1 racial bonus on melee damage.
Green Widow (Green Hag): The changeling gains a +2 racial bonus on Bluff
checks against creatures that are sexually attracted to her.
Sea Lungs (Sea Hag): The changeling may hold her breath for a number of rounds equal to three times her Constitution before she risks drowning.

Alternate Racial Traits

The following alternate racial traits may be selected in place of one or more of the standard racial traits above. Consult your GM before selecting any of these new options.

• Mist Child When the changeling has concealment or total concealment, the miss chance of attacks against her increases by 5%. This racial trait replaces hulking changeling.
• Object of Desire The changeling adds +1 to her caster level when casting charm person and charm monster. This replaces green widow.
• Ocean’s Daughter The changeling gains a +1 trait bonus on Swim checks. She automatically succeeds at Swim checks made to avoid nonlethal damage from swimming. This racial trait replaces sea lungs.

Favored Class Options

The following favored class options are available to all characters of this race who have the listed favored class, and unless otherwise stated, the bonus applies each time you select the favored class reward.

Oracle Add +1/2 to the oracle’s level for the purpose of determining the effects of the oracle’s curse ability.

Rogue The rogue gains 1/6 of a new rogue talent.

Witch Add one spell from the witch spell list to the witch’s familiar. This spell must be at least one level below the highest spell level she can cast. If the witch ever replaces her familiar, the new familiar knows these bonus spells.

Racial Archetype

The following racial archetype is available to changelings:

Dreamweaver (Witch; Changeling)

Racial Feats

The following feats are available to a changeling character who meets the prerequisites.

Mother’s Gift

Section 15: Copyright Notice

Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Advanced Race Guide © 2012, Paizo Publishing, LLC; Authors: Dennis Baker, Jesse Benner, Benjamin Bruck, Jason Bulmahn, Adam Daigle, Jim Groves, Tim Hitchcock, Hal MacLean, Jason Nelson, Stephen Radney-MacFarland, Owen K.C. Stephens, Todd Stewart, and Russ Taylor.