Spring

Misery

A Sourcebook for

Changeling: The Lost

 Spring Misery
“Achoo!”

Eric glanced sideways as another sneezing fit took Audra, “Jeeze, are
you ok?”

“I don’t get it,” Audra moaned and wiped her nose on her sleeve. “I’ve
never had allergies before! Is this what you go through every May?”

“Sucks doesn’t it? Welcome to the club.” Eric gestured grandly to the
open air. “All this is yours to suffer through.”

Audra closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. “I’ll never
make fun of your medicine cabinet again,” she replied solemnly. “When do
the antihistamines kick in?”

“Give it some time. You only just took it.” Eric hopped off the couch
and walked to the kitchen. “I’ll get you some water,” he called over his
shoulder.

Audra wilted sideways on the couch stewing in her misery and

glanced out the window where she saw a passerby stop and sneeze
themselves. A grim smile spread over Audra’s face, at least she wasn’t the
only one suffering. Just as she was looking away, something happened to
the man outside her window that made her double take. As his sneezing
spell came to an end, he seemed to flicker and change. Audra saw long
horns growing out of his head, and his legs were covered in a brown fur
under his shorts. Eric came back and sat a glass in front of her on the coffee
table blocking her view of the man. Audra jumped and ran to the window
but all she saw was a regular man wiping his nose walking down the
street. “Are there any side effects with what you gave me?”

“Not really, maybe a little drowsy but otherwise no. What’s up?”

Audra didn’t take her eyes off the man as he walked further
down the street. “Nothing just-” Another sneeze built in her sinuses
and cut her reply off. When it passed Audra groaned, exasperated.
“You know what, it’s fine. Maybe I’ll go lay down for a minute.”

Lying in bed, Audra felt the chemical tug her eyelids down and
thanked whatever god of over the counter pharmacies that she
wouldn’t have allergies if she was dead asleep to the world. As sleep
took her, she imagined she could hear a faint buzzing. In her mind’s
eye she dreamed of endless fields covered in strange flowers.
Countless bees and butterflies flit between violet petals and crimson
blossoms. “This is nice,” she thought to herself. “Beautiful sun, clear
blue sky, no allergies even.” She looked down as a single bee landed
on her hand and tickled her wrist. “This is nice. I could stay here
forever...”

The next day, the allergies worsened. With Eric gone for work
and the pill bottle empty, Audra braved the outdoors to a local corner
store for more medicine. As Audra struggled with the medicine
packaging in the parking lot the faint hum and buzzing she had heard
the day before filled her ears. A smooth voice cut through the sound.
“You know that stuff doesn’t work very well, don’t you?”

Audra turned around and a woman in a yellow sundress stood

with her hands behind her back. She smiled, and Audra instantly
took a liking to the stranger. “Something’s better than nothing though.”
 The stranger shook her head, but the friendly smile never left her face.
“You know, sometimes you should just get outdoors more, breathe fresh air.
Nature has a way of fixing you up.”

Audra snorted, or tried to, despite her stuffed up nose, “Nature is what
did this to me. You think I need more of it?”.

The woman’s serene smile never faltered, and the buzzing in the air
returned. “Wouldn’t it be nice? Out in the sunshine, clear blue skies, not a
care in the world? Just you and nature?” A single bee landed on her
shoulder. “And our little friends?” The stranger held out her hand.
“Wouldn’t it be nice? We can show you a place like that.”

Audra felt her hand rise on its own and take the woman’s hand.
Everything felt totally natural to her, and it made perfect sense to listen to
the woman in the yellow sundress. In a pleasant trance, Audra followed the
woman to a nearby park. She thought she heard someone calling after her,
but she couldn't be sure over the buzzing that filled her ears.

The woman stopped under two trees and Audra could see two
beehives up in their branches. Looking through the trees, instead of seeing
the park, Audra saw a vast field of endless flowers: the same field from her
dream, she noted absently. Just before Audra stepped through, she heard,
again, someone trying to get her attention. She glanced behind her and saw
a man running toward her. It was the same man she saw outside her
window, yesterday. Audra could see the horns coming out under shaggy
brown hair as he sprinted toward her on goat legs the same color. He had a
pained, panicked expression as he reached out towards her, but when
Audra passed beneath the beehives and through the trees, all she saw was
more fields of even more flowers. The woman in the yellow dress was gone.
It was just her and the sun, and the sky, and the bees.

“This is nice,” Audra thought to herself as she lounged in the soft grass
while a single bee landed on her. She felt the sensation of roots growing
down into the earth, and she turned her face toward the sun. Breathing
deeply and swaying in the wind, unconcerned as the bee crawled
up her skin now taking on a green tint, a breeze drifted through
her violet petals and crimson blossoms.

“I could stay here forever...”

CREDITS
Author: Travis Crockett SPECIAL THANKS
Cover Art: Stock Photo Thanks To D.M. Hubbard for his endless
Other Art: White Wolf/Onyx Path advice and gracious editing, as well as J. Bell for
reading through my first drafts.
Also, thank you for reading. May your allergies
be minor and your insect problems manageable.

© 2019 White Wolf Entertainment AB. All rights reserved. Vampire: The
Requiem, Werewolf: The Forsaken, Mage: The Awakening, Changeling: The Lost,
Hunter: The Vigil, Giest: The Sin Eaters, Demon: The Descent, Mummy: The
Curse, Beast: The Primordial, Promethean: The Created, Chronicles of Darkness,
Storytelling System™, and Storytellers Vault™ are trademarks and/or registered
trademarks of White Wolf Entertainment AB. All rights reserved.
For additional information on White Wolf and the Chronicles of Darkness,
please visit: ww.white-wolf.com, and www.storytellersvault.com.

6 Spring Misery
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

SPRING MISERY 9
Hedge Pollen 10
Hedge Bees 12

Table of Contents 7
8 Spring Misery
 “It was as if a morning-glory had bloomed in her throat, and all that blue and small pollen ate into my heart,
violent and religious.” Anne Sexton, The Fury of Guitars and Sopranos
As creatures of the Hedge, Changelings are
accustomed to traveling in and out of the thorny
boundary between the mundane world and Arcadia
with a simple thought. But for one week out of the
year, the Changeling community stocks up on goblin
fruit, supplies, and settles down for a week of no
travel either into or out of the Hedge. Permanent
gateways are barricaded to the best of their abilities,
and Changelings are forbidden to open personal,
temporary portals into the Hedge. The reason is not
a fleet of Huntsmen or Gentry on the loose but
something more innocuous and a hundred times
more difficult to combat; Hedge Pollen.
For a certain week in Spring a golden, green
pollen stirs and coats the Hedge gates around the
city. If the gate is left open or unattended, the Hedge
Pollen is picked up by even the weakest breeze and
spreads quickly covering everything nearby. In a
strong wind, a seemingly endless amount of pollen
can pour from an open Hedge gate and coat an
entire block.
While Changelings may have varying allergic
reactions to Hedge pollen, the danger of Pollen
Week is the effect it has on mortals. While Hedge
Pollen is still thick in the air, mortals have a chance
of catching mild “Fae Symptoms”. Symptoms may
vary based on the individual. Some have a small
ability to subconsciously enact minor contracts.
Others begin to see flickers of Changelings behind
their masks. One peculiar side effect of all mortals
afflicted with Hedge Pollen is a Changeling’s
inability to harvest Glamour off them and a low
grade resistance to Changelings using the Wyrd to
influence them. What is most distressing for the
affected mortal is the near constant pull of the
Hedge. Once exposed to enough Hedge Pollen a
mortal is drawn to the gateway left open and wanders
into the Hedge, or becomes a beacon for other
Hedge creatures.
For the most part, Changelings simply lay
low and hope no one is stupid enough to open a
portal into the Hedge while Pollen Week is in full
swing. Unfortunately, other forces are at work
during this time. A strange threat called Hedge Bees
creep around the gateways and search for cracks in
the Hedge to slip through. Because of their mein’s
connection to pollinating insects, anywhere a large
bee hive or bee swarm are present Hedge Bees can
make temporary Hedge Gates into the mundane
world to seek out mortals covered in the pollen.
Some Changelings consider Hedge Bees to be fellow
Lost, too deeply enmeshed in their Fae durance to
be reached and brought back. Others consider them
to be yet another strange hobgoblin family of the
Hedge like Briar Wolves. Others still think Hedge
Bees to be minor Huntsman in service to a True Fae,
9
or worse, are each a small part that makes up one
larger hive mind Huntsman. Hedge Bees tend to
ignore Changelings, or at least do not actively seek
them out. Their primary targets are mortals covered
in Hedge Pollen.
Killing Hedge Bees or swarms is certainly
one way to protect mortals from getting lost in the
Hedge, but there are consequences. With each
Storytellers can decide on one specific
mortal or group to be afflicted with Hedge Pollen
for narrative purposes, or for random encounters
can roll a d10 to determine how many people out
of 10 in an area could be afflicted when a blast of
Hedge Pollen is present. Some mortal NPCs could
develop affinities for low grade contracts in
correspondence with their Virtue, Vice, or basic
guiding character concept: a mortal who has
Fortitude as a Virtue, Wrath as a Vice, or who in
general lends themselves to combative altercations
could roll half the dice pool for a Summer Court
contract. These are not meant to be “powers” they
begin to rely on regularly, but if a mortal NPC is
dedicated to a certain behavior, they may pick up
on certain scenarios working out in their favor.
Storytellers can decide to create dice pools for
individual NPCs, or opt to have times when NPCs
simply miraculously enact powers they would
otherwise never have due to game mechanic
purposes.
Mortals covered in Hedge Pollen receive a
temporary Wyrd rating of 1. This cannot be raised
by any means and if not exposed to any more
pollen from the Hedge, will go away after a few
days. Mortals retain their Morality score and do not
take on a Clarity rating but, due to the added
supernatural trait, are able to subconsciously enact
minor Common Contracts. Also because of their
Wyrd rating, mortals would gain one additional die
in pools to resist changeling contracts where
appropriate.
10 Spring Misery
Hedge Bee killed, Changelings will have increased
difficulty finding goblin fruit in their area of the
Hedge until new Hedge Bees repopulate. If players
were to destroy a swarm or find an actual nest of
Hedge Bees and destroy that, the ecological
ramifications of pollinating the Hedge could have
wider consequences in the game making goblin fruit
even more scarce.
Hedge Pollen can affect Changelings as well.
Much like a regular mortal with allergies, Hedge
Pollen can inflict changelings with anything from a
minor annoyance to debilitating misery. Players can
take the Allergic Condition (see below) at character
creation as a permanent condition (though only
applicable during Pollen Week or other relevant
instances), or Storytellers can simply ask players if
they think their character may have had allergies
before their durance. Specific effects of Hedge
Pollen on changelings can vary by the players’ or
Storyteller’s discretion, but any changeling with
this condition suffers at least one similar problem.
When players enact contracts while suffering
from Hedge Pollen, Storytellers roll a dice pool equal
to the player’s Wyrd. A successful roll will have the
character sneeze and for that instant the changeling’s
mask drops. Any onlookers, mundane or otherwise,
will see the changeling’s mien for the second during
the allergy attack. Further, any roll involving Resolve
suffers a dice penalty equal to the character’s Wyrd
when in the presence of Hedge Pollen.
Beat: The player fails a role involving Resolve.
Resolution: The character closes every gate to
the Hedge in a five mile radius. This Condition can
also resolve when Pollen Week ends.
 OTHER SUPERNATURAL CREATURES
Vampires: Though Kindred do not need to breathe, they need to feed. A mortal
afflicted with Hedge Pollen will taste similar the way a changeling does; their blood is rich
and conjures emotions in the otherwise unfeeling undead.
Werewolves: Uratha who engage with a Hedge Pollen covered mortal might
mistake them for a spirit. Since werewolves can still be affected by seasonal allergies,
penalties to dice pools involving scent could occur.
Mages: While a mage could probably enact the equivalent of a changeling
contract at will, if afflicted with Hedge Pollen their spell work can go awry. Mages not of
the Acanthus Path risk penalties while casting spells, while Acanthus will-workers might find
their spells working a little too well.
Hunters: Hunters could easily mistake a mortal covered in Hedge Pollen as a
creature to be slain, even one of their own. Attempts to identify mortals as threats are
difficult to carry out and suffer appropriate penalties.

11
 “You've never seen death? Look in the mirror every day and you will see it like bees working in a glass hive.”
Jean Cocteau
[Ominous buzzing]
Background: Exactly what Hedge Bees are is up
for debate among the changeling community. Are
they changelings stuck in a durance? A variety of
hobgoblin? Servants of True Fae? Whatever their
actual existence, hedge bees operate on a mental
plane difficult to understand or communicate with.
Attempts to read their motives result in strange
commands and a chorus of voices all working toward
the same goal: to find Hedge Pollen and serve the
Hive. Individual thought is absent and only the
needs of the hive fill the insect like drives of these
creatures.
Unless threatened, hedge bees tend to
ignore changelings in the Hedge. Found wherever
there are plentiful flowers for pollination, hedge bees
are content to go about their endless work. The only
time hedge bees act aggressively is when perceiving a
threat to the hive or when attempting to take a
mortal back with them to the Hedge; though when
doing this hedge bees typically rely on guile and
charm. Mortals unfortunate enough to catch the
attention of a swarm of hedge bees are often
“planted” near the hive for the hedge bees to
pollinate. It is because mortals can be captured and
turned into a changeling, the Lost suspect hedge bees
serve the Gentry, though how or to whom
specifically no one can say. Changelings who were
cultivated to produce pollen for a hive are often
Elementals with a heavy emphasis on flowering
plants, while changelings whose durance was to serve
the hive itself are typically Beasts with insect like
features.
Description: A Hedge Bee’s mien individually
resembles an incredibly large insect the size of a small
bird, essentially a Size 1 creature. Their mask,
however, resembles a large bumblebee. When five
Hedge Bees pass through a gate into the mundane
12 Spring Misery
world, they are referred to as a swarm and their mask
can appear as a small swarm of normal bees.
Conversely, if a swarm is attempting to lure or
capture a human to take them back into the Hedge,
they can merge their smaller forms together and
reassemble into the mask of a human. The disguise
is usually off putting to anyone not afflicted with
Hedge Pollen (a stranger whose face they don’t quite
recall, an eerie person generally avoided), but to
those under the influence of hedge pollen the mask
and suggestions of a swarm is very appealing and
convincing. When Lost and others who can see
through the mask see a swarm in this form, they see
a humanoid shape of writhing insect parts constantly
shifting and melding into itself. If engaged in
combat, the Hedge Bee swarm can either attack in
humanoid shape (see below) or as a swarm of bees.
A single Hedge Bee is a minor threat, but a
swarm of five or more in a human mask poses as a
Wyrd 1 creature. If there are two swarms present,
both swarms are treated as Wyrd 2; three Swarms as
Wyrd 3, and so on. Any number of swarms can act
in perfect unison with one another because of a hive
mind connection shared by all hedge bees. Though
the humanoid form of a swarm cannot fly, if in
danger of falling the swarm can disengage itself back
into its original five Hedge Bees.
Storytelling Hints: As mentioned above,
Hedge Bees operate on the singular purpose of
gathering pollen. Mortals under the thrall of a swarm
of Hedge Bees accept their words as natural and
sensible, though to others listening in a hedge bee’s
speech can come across as stilted, foreign, or
disjointed. Often, Hedge Bees will speak in the
“royal we”, and never refer to themselves in first
person singular; something quick witted changelings
can use to recognize a swarm of hedge bees looking
for pollen dusted mortals.
The mask of a swarm is again dependent on
who is looking at it. To those under the influence of
Hedge Pollen, a swarm in humanoid shape is an
appealing stranger. To others, an eeriness permeates
their character. The person they see doesn't quite
grasp the finer points of how to behave like a human.
They may crouch on top of their feet instead of
actually sitting on something or jump in line not
understanding the concept of a queue or common
courtesy.
Hedge Bees have typical attractions and
frailties of regular bees. They are drawn to sweet
smelling or brightly colored things and grow
confused and easier to handle around smoke.
HEDGE BEES (SWARM IN
HUMANOID SHAPE)
HEDGE BEE (SINGULAR)
Mental Attributes: Intelligence 4, Wits 1,
Mental Attributes: Intelligence 1, Wits 0, Resolve 2
Resolve 0 Physical Attributes: Strength 3, Dexterity 4,
Physical Attributes: Strength 0, Dexterity 2, Stamina 3
Stamina 1 Social Attributes: Presence 3,
Social Attributes: Presence 1, Manipulation 2, Composure 2
Manipulation 0, Composure 0 Mental Skills: Investigation 5 (Find Pollen)
Mental Skills: Investigation 2 (Find Pollen) Science 3 (Biology)
Physical Skills: Athletics 2 (Flight) Brawl 2 Physical Skills: Athletics 4, Brawl 3
(Sting) Stealth 1 Social Skills: Animal Kin 3 (Insects),
Social Skills: Intimidate 2 Subterfuge 3
Wyrd: 1 Wyrd: 1+ (number of additional swarms)
Glamour/per Turn: 6/1 Glamour/per Turn: 6/1
Virtue: Hive Mind Virtue: Hive Mind
Vice: Gluttony Vice: Gluttony
Aspiration: To find Hedge Pollen Aspiration: To lure Pollen covered mortals
Initiative: 2 into the Hedge.
Defense: 2 Initiative: 6
Size: 1 Defense: 5
Speed: 8 Size: 5
Health: 2 Speed: 12
Weapons/Attacks: Health: 6
Type Damage Dice Pool Special Weapons/Attacks:
Sting 1L 5 Cloth Piercing Type Damage Dice Pool Special
Dread Powers: Fairy Swarm Sting 1L 8
Reinforced Clothing Piercing
Dread Powers: Beast Master, Fairy Swarm,
Pied Piper
Contracts: Glib Tongue, Wayward Guide,
Wyrd-Faced Stranger
Merits: Lethal Mien

13
 Spring.

A time of rejoicing, rebirth, and rejuvenation – for some.

For others, Spring is a harbinger of suffering.

With pollen rampant in the air and the outdoors teeming with insects,

it’s no wonder that many can find only

misery in the gifts of Spring.

14 Spring Misery