Hedgeways
Posted: Tue Nov 19, 2019 9:09 am
The following rules are slightly different from those in the rulebook.
To enter the Hedge, a Changeling must have access to a door, window, or other closeable portal that they could reasonably walk, climb, or wriggle through. Closeable implies openable, and does not work on locked doors or other barred portals. With the door closed, they spend a point of Glamour, opening it to reveal the Hedge on the other side. If unused, the portal remains open for a number of turns equal to the Changeling’s Wyrd before vanishing as though it had never been there, but once the Changeling has walked through, it remains open until the door is closed once more, allowing any creature curious enough to wander through.
The same is true of the Hedge, but finding adequate portals often proves more difficult. When traversing the Hedge, a player may state “a nearby Hedgeway” or “the closest portal that I can open and close” as their goal.
CREATING A HEDGEWAY
Once a portal has been used and closed, it becomes a Hedgeway: a dormant portal that exists in both the Hedge and the mundane world. Hedgeways persist until the change of the seasons, at which time they vanish, leaving no sign. Multiple Changelings may create a Hedgeway in the same portal, however this triggers a Clash of Wills against the creator of the original Hedgeway as the Glamour interacts with the Wyrd unpredictably. Failure on this roll does not refund the Glamour spent.
OPENING AN EXISTING HEDGEWAY
While the Hedgeway is closed, the Changeling that created it can choose, as a reflexive action, whether the portal opens to the “other side” or not; this does not cost Glamour, allowing easy access in and out of the Hedge.
Anyone else opening the door does not see the Hedgeway, though Changelings can detect closed Hedgeways with a Kenning roll. Any Changeling, or other creature that can spend Glamour, can activate a Hedgeway they have discovered, costing them 1 point of Glamour.
For 1 point of Glamour, the Changeling that formed the Hedgeway can create a Key that will allow anyone possessing the Key to open the portal without needing Glamour (or even the ability to spend Glamour). A Key can be an object, a phrase, a special knock, or just about anything the Changeling desires. Physical Keys, such as an amulet or a battered rusty tin, only need to be in the possession of the person opening the portal. Non-physical keys must be spoken or acted in the presence of the portal to work. Keys cease to work at the end of the season when the Hedgeway they are attached to vanishes, and must be created anew if the Hedgeway is reopened.
There may be ways to “lock” a Hedgeway against being opened with Glamour, or even to dispel a portal before its time, but such things are currently unknown.
To enter the Hedge, a Changeling must have access to a door, window, or other closeable portal that they could reasonably walk, climb, or wriggle through. Closeable implies openable, and does not work on locked doors or other barred portals. With the door closed, they spend a point of Glamour, opening it to reveal the Hedge on the other side. If unused, the portal remains open for a number of turns equal to the Changeling’s Wyrd before vanishing as though it had never been there, but once the Changeling has walked through, it remains open until the door is closed once more, allowing any creature curious enough to wander through.
The same is true of the Hedge, but finding adequate portals often proves more difficult. When traversing the Hedge, a player may state “a nearby Hedgeway” or “the closest portal that I can open and close” as their goal.
CREATING A HEDGEWAY
Once a portal has been used and closed, it becomes a Hedgeway: a dormant portal that exists in both the Hedge and the mundane world. Hedgeways persist until the change of the seasons, at which time they vanish, leaving no sign. Multiple Changelings may create a Hedgeway in the same portal, however this triggers a Clash of Wills against the creator of the original Hedgeway as the Glamour interacts with the Wyrd unpredictably. Failure on this roll does not refund the Glamour spent.
OPENING AN EXISTING HEDGEWAY
While the Hedgeway is closed, the Changeling that created it can choose, as a reflexive action, whether the portal opens to the “other side” or not; this does not cost Glamour, allowing easy access in and out of the Hedge.
Anyone else opening the door does not see the Hedgeway, though Changelings can detect closed Hedgeways with a Kenning roll. Any Changeling, or other creature that can spend Glamour, can activate a Hedgeway they have discovered, costing them 1 point of Glamour.
For 1 point of Glamour, the Changeling that formed the Hedgeway can create a Key that will allow anyone possessing the Key to open the portal without needing Glamour (or even the ability to spend Glamour). A Key can be an object, a phrase, a special knock, or just about anything the Changeling desires. Physical Keys, such as an amulet or a battered rusty tin, only need to be in the possession of the person opening the portal. Non-physical keys must be spoken or acted in the presence of the portal to work. Keys cease to work at the end of the season when the Hedgeway they are attached to vanishes, and must be created anew if the Hedgeway is reopened.
There may be ways to “lock” a Hedgeway against being opened with Glamour, or even to dispel a portal before its time, but such things are currently unknown.