PIXIE (version 1)

(pix-EE)

By Jay Gray (jg260595@hvcc.edu)

History

Before the Shattering the Sidhe ruled the faeries of Wales. Their rule, however, was not always a benevolent one. In the West Country they dominated their subjects with a fist of iron. The Sidhe there had little regard for the commoners under their rule, the land they ruled over or the humans they had to co-exist with. The Pixies were a kith native to the West Country and they loved their homeland. They could not stand by and watch it be tarnished by the greed of the Sidhe nobility. Together, with other dissatisfied commoners of the West Country they rebelled against the oppressors.

The war was long and bloody, leaving many kithain on both sides dead. However, the Pixies had the conviction of a just cause to support their efforts. For their homeland they fought fiercely and even the Redcaps hesitated in the face of their savage determination. The final battle was fought on the banks of the river Parrett. The Pixies, with their allies, forced the Sidhe armies across the river. After that, everything west of the Parrett was known as Pixyland.

The Pixie's victory was to be short-lived. Very soon, the Shattering came. The Pixies were loathe to leave their homeland, but many saw that the survival of their kith required they cross the paths into Arcadia and leave the mortal world for good. This was not to be, for the memory of the Sidhe was long. The ultimate punishment of the Pixies for their rebellion was the denial of an escape route from banality. The route to Arcadia was closed to them. Like most of the commoner kithain left, they were forced to take refuge in mortal forms and bury themselves in the mundane. Now, centuries later, the Pixies find themselves spread out all over the world.

More often than not their mortal host had already moved from the West Country to lands such as America, India and Australia by the time the Chrysalis occurred. Occasionally, a Pixie developed the courage to lead a colony of her people to a new homeland. As the English Empire spread, so did this kith.

Description

A Pixie is the protector of her homeland. Nothing is more sacred than this duty. After the Chrysalis is completed, it is customary for a Pixie to chose a territory to dedicate herself to. The actual size and nature of what a Pixie considers a home varies from individual to individual. The homeland might me a specific house or an entire city. On occasion, a Pixie will have an even wider vision and dedicate himself to an entire country. The Pixie protects both the land and those who live there. Pity those who prey on innocents in the home of a Pixie, for they will be punished severely.

This kith can be as passionate as a Satyr when the mood strikes them properly. A Pixie attending a game of one of her city's sports teams will be louder, more raucous and wild than anyone else in the stadium. They can also be as ferocious as a Redcap when it comes to defending that city and the people in it from enemies.

Those Pixies that are of the Seelie court are good natured and will more often than not see slights to their homeland as part of a friendly rivalry, recognizing that others value their homelands as much as the Pixie values hers. Those of this kith that are Unseelie, though, are easy to provoke. A slight to their homeland will most probably result in a physical confrontation.

Appearance

It has been said that green is the Pixies' color and that most certainly is true. Their skin has a greenish hue that grows darker with age. Their red hair frames a short face with an upturned nose. Like many of their kin, they have pointed ears. Pixies prefer to be snazzy dressers. No matter what they are wearing, it will always be well-pressed and immaculate. They have been known to throw entire outfits away due to stains that could easily be dry-cleaned out. Pixies proudly wear accessories to identify their homelands such as baseball jackets, buttons and hats.

Seemings

Childings of this kith are the good guys of the playground. They protect the other children from the bullies and keep the older kids from stealing lunch money. In their faerie seemings, their skin only has a green tint though this darkens as they get older.

Wilder pixies are fair and slim. Their skin is no longer merely tinted green, but is instead the gentle green of dandelion stems. Pixies at this age embrace their homeland fully, moving into positions where they can help protect and nurture their home and the people in it.

Grumps tend to shrink and wrinkle in their old age. They can best be described as wizened. Their skin is now a dark green. Grumps try to move into positions where they can help their homeland in less noticeable ways, often giving financial or political support.

Lifestyles

Pixies are sedentary, choosing a territory and staying there. They work tirelessly to protect their homeland and can most often be found in professions that aid them in this endeavor, such as politics, police and social work.

Affinity

Scene

Birthrights

Pixy-led: Pixies can control other's perceptions of their territory. By tricking another into following them, they can confuse their pursuers and cause them to become lost. This is a mental disorientation and not a physical one. The pursuers can just as easily become lost in a singler room as in a maze. It amuses Pixies to no end to see someone who would harm them wandering aimlessly around a small room looking for the exit. In order to successfully pixy-lead someone, the player must roll Manipulation + Subterfuge against a difficulty equal to the target's willpower. The number of successes determines how long the pursuer is pixy-led. If necessary, the target's banality must be overcome.

Defense of the Homeland: Pixies value the safety of their homelands more than anything else. Because of this, whenever they believe they are defending their homeland or anyone in it, all difficulties related to that task are reduced by two.

Frailties

Homeland ties: Pixies are at their best when in their homeland. They are at their worst while outside it. When a Pixy is outside her home territory, the difficulty to all tasks not directly relating to the protection or well-being of the homeland is raised by one.

Quote

"That's my home you're messing with, my friend. I suggest you leave now, before I'm forced to hurt you."

Outlook

Boggans: They work hard and give something to the community and the people in it.

"I've never seen a Pixie who wasn't willing to help someone inside her territory. They couldn't care about someone outside of it, though."

Eshu: Wanderers and lay-abouts. They contribute nothing. Worthless.

"They are much too hidebound for their own good. If only they would see the world outside their little homes, then they would be true faerie."

Nockers: Their attitude leaves a lot to be desired, but like the Boggan they can give a great deal to the community, if they chose to do so.

"Now these guys are serious about something. They see their territory like we see our inventions and are just as demanding about perfection."

Pooka: The world has a place for their kind, I suppose but I don't know what it is. They do try to save the nature contained within the community, though.

"These guys can be a blast under the right circumstances, but don't let them catch you playing a jolly on one of the people they protect! WHEW! Their sense of humor goes right out the window then!"

Redcaps: We need our warriors, but there is a point when war must stop and peace should begin. The Redcaps don't seem to know that.

"Have you ever seen one of them defend their territory? Christ! They can be fierce!"

Satyr: More often than not we end up protecting our charges from these ones. Rowdy drunkenness and reckless abandon are appropriate occasionally, but not all the time.

"They can be fun at a ball game, but anytime else forget it!"

Sidhe: At their best they are kind rulers and good for the land. They rarely are at their best, though. More often than not they are corrupted by the power they wield.

"We will never forget the battle at the Parrett. Never."

Sluagh: We don't really understand these ones, but they leave us alone and we leave them alone.

"They protect us without even knowing it."

Trolls: These were our greatest allies when we freed the West Country from the Sidhe. If your cause if worthy, these noble ones will come to your aid.

"Like us they are protectors and seek to keep their charges from harm. If only they were not so narrow in their view of who to protect."

Afterward

I know, it seems a bit odd, an afterward for just a kith. It's not like I made an entire game or something. I wanted to let you all know, however, where the Pixies come from and why they exist. My greatest inspiration was the entry of Pixies in The Encyclopedia of Fairies, Hobgoblins, Brownies, Bogies, and Other Supernatural Creatures' which was written by Katharine Briggs. I highly recommend all her work on faeries.

I've heard some complaints in the past about how Changeling doesn't really fit into the World of Darkness because of its lack of horror. To me, those complaints are unfounded. The people who registered them just need to look at what horror really is. The world presented in Changeling, that sterile, grey, banal place where creatures of the imagination are starving for just a glimmer of Dreaming, is more terrifying to me than the politics of the Vampires, the war of the Werewolves, the struggles of the Mages or the depressing gloom of the Wraiths.

I want to thank White Wolf Games for creating the World of Darkness, especially Changeling. It is a game I enjoy greatly. I want to thank all those out there who helped me with the rough draft of this kith. The final copy, I think you'll find, has changed a bit. By the way, feel free to E-mail me about my work, I love to hear feedback of any kind.

Here is my creation, my child. I hope you enjoy the ideas I've laid down here. I hope you take the Pixies and make them your own. Remember, faeries pollinate flowers much better than bees.