Strange Changeling Child

Text-Only Edition, v. 1.2

Safety Note: This is a game about autism, ableism, the pain of pretending to be neurotypical,
and the difficulties that neurotypicals place upon autistic people. It uses a metaphor that
paints autistic people as literally non-human, which I personally resonate with in a positive
way, but can be uncomfortable or triggering for others. Please be gentle with yourself as
you read or play. This is a solo game, in part so that no one ever feels obliged by other
players to continue playing when it’s no longer safe to do so.

Introduction
There’s a story that sometimes, fairies take children away and replace them with changelings:
fairy-children of their own, who have strange mannerisms like being unwilling to look others
in the eye, being more articulate than their age would suggest, or speaking with woodland
creatures. All your life, people have whispered that you were a changeling, because you didn’t
act the way they expected you to, didn’t fit in the way they wanted you to. This is mostly a case
of unreasonable expectations on their part, but at the same time… you do have a little bit of
fairy magic, don’t you? You’re already on such thin ice, will you reveal that magic to the people
you care about, even if it might alienate you even further?

This is a solo game played with a single piece of paper, two six-sided dice that you can
clearly tell apart from each other, and a writing implement. You can also play with a digital
notepad file instead of a pencil and paper, but I suggest analogue if you’re able. Through
play you’ll write or narrate a story about a changeling, and the way they reveal their truth
to their loved ones - but remember that the story isn’t as important as your own well-being.
If ever it becomes too heavy, it’s okay to take a break or stop entirely.

Setup
Take the piece of paper and fold it into three, like a pamphlet. This should leave you with six
sections on the paper, three on each side. Each of these sections is going to be dedicated to a
different character in your story, and will have short notes about things that you know
about that character.
The first section is for your character. At the top of one of the sections, write your
character’s name and pronouns, and immediately under it, write the word “changeling”,
because you know that you have fairy powers that others don’t, and you don’t quite act the
way others think a normal human ought to act.

Then, write a few Banes. These are situations or stimuli that, due to your fairy nature, cause
you great distress that humans don’t fully understand or sympathize with. Some example
Banes might be “the feeling of iron against my skin”, “the sound of large bells”, “bright
lights”, or “the sound of too many people speaking at once”. Circle your Banes in a sharp-
edged, jagged, or otherwise menacing way. Whenever you have to endure a Bane for longer
than you can handle, Suffer a Meltdown.

Sidebar: Text in Bold refers to a move, which will be explained in more detail later on.

Then, write any other notes you might have about yourself, like “Talented piano player” or
“Rides a horse named Mopsy”. You can add more here later, so don’t worry if you get stuck.

Define one to five Confidantes - people whose opinion you care about, who you’re afraid of
alienating or disappointing, and who you wish you could be open with about your fairy
nature. The game ends when they all know that you’re a changeling, so the more
Confidantes you have, the longer the game will be. Give them each their own section of the
pamphlet, where you write down their names and pronouns, the phrase “ordinary human”,
their relationship with you, at least one thing you know about them, and at least one
Expectation that they have of you.

An Expectation should be something that you sometimes (or frequently) struggle with,
either due to your fairy nature, or for other reasons. Perhaps it involves something that
comes naturally to humans, but as a fairy, you don’t quite understand; maybe it involves one
of your Banes and humans don’t understand why it’s so difficult for you; or maybe it’s just
something that anyone would struggle with, made even harder by the weight already on
your shoulders.

Some example Confidantes might be...

“Cynthia (she/her), normal human, younger sister, never without her pet rabbit Mr. White,
expects me to entertain her and generally be in a good mood”

“Anthony, (he/him), normal human, piano teacher, always has advice even if it’s not always
good and not always asked for, expects me to spend a great deal of my time practicing.”

“Mom (she/her), normal human, used to read me fairy tales every night, expects me to eat
anything put on my plate even when I can’t, to always do well in school, and not to go into
the forest alone.”
“Keigh, (he/they), normal human, best friend, very good at parkour, expects me to listen to
them vent and to keep their secrets.”

Finally, set aside a single six-sided die, set so that the number three faces upwards. This
represents your Fey, a measure of how mystical, uncanny, or abnormal you seem to non-
changelings. When your Fey changes, adjust the die so that the new value is facing up. This
die is purely for tracking your Fey and is never rolled - if a move calls for you to roll a die,
roll a different die. If your Fey ever falls below one, then the strain of pretending to be a
normal human takes its toll on you - Suffer a Meltdown and raise your Fey back to one, or
else end the game in tragedy. If your Fey ever rises above six, then the jig is up and one of
your Confidantes Discovers your Fairy Nature.

Moves
Over the course of play, you’ll write or narrate the story of your confidantes discovering
that you’re really a changeling. Whenever a condition In Bold (called a move) happens in
the story, follow the instructions for that move listed below, describing what happens with
each step. Sometimes a move will cause a chain reaction by calling for you to use another
move right away, changing your Fey so that you must Suffer a Meltdown or have someone
Discover Your Fairy Nature, or turning the story to a course where it feels natural to use
another move immediately. This is all fine, there’s no limit to the number of moves you can
make in a row. If you’re ever stuck or not sure what to do, look at the Expectations that your
Confidantes have of you, and create a scenario where you might Struggle to Meet an
Expectation - this is also a wonderful way to begin the story.

When you Struggle to Meet an Expectation, use one of the following moves:

● Suffer a Meltdown, either due to failing to meet the expectation, or due to pushing
yourself too hard to achieve unreasonable standards.
● Work Fairy Magic to complete the goal in a way that only you can.
● Be honest with your Confidante about why you’re struggling and have them
Discover Your Fairy Nature.
When you Work Fairy Magic, raise your Fey by one to accomplish something incredible,
such as speaking with animals, accomplishing a day’s worth of work in a single hour of
fixation, or flying a short distance. If this does not bring your Fey above six, roll a die:

● If you roll your Fey or higher, then everything goes smoothly and your magic is
uninterrupted.
● If you roll under your Fey, then one of your Confidantes sees you: either make an
immediate effort to Hide Your Fairy Nature, or else they Discover Your Fairy
 Nature.
When you Suffer a Meltdown, draw a messy, painful-looking scribble on your own section
of the pamphlet in such a way that it partially conceals some of the text without making it
entirely illegible. If you’re playing with digital notes, then a frustrated keysmash is a good
substitute for a scribble. Then, roll a die:

● On a one or a two, one of your Confidantes sees you breaking down over something
they deem unreasonable to be upset over - decide who, and raise your Fae by two.
● On a three to five, you break down in private but must return to pretending that
everything is fine before you can fully calm down.
● On a six, the moment was cathartic - adjust your Fey by one in whichever direction
you like.
When you make an effort to Hide Your Fairy Nature in front of a Confidante, reduce your
Fey by one, then roll a die:

● If you roll your Fey or higher, then they’re convinced for the moment that you’re an
ordinary human capable of ordinary human responsibilities, and place a new
Expectation upon you accordingly. Write the new Expectation on their section of the
pamphlet.
● If you roll below your Fey, it goes badly: either your confidant Discovers Your Fairy
Nature, or the act of pretending to be human takes its toll on you - once the situation
passes, Suffer a Meltdown.
When you tell a Confidante that you’re a changeling, or they figure it out themself, they
Discover Your Fairy Nature. Write on their section “Knows that I’m a changeling” and roll
a die to see how they react:

● On a one or a two, they react poorly, thinking that you replaced the normal human
that they thought you to be. Scribble over or erase their section of the pamphlet -
you can no longer confide in them.
● On a three to five, they don’t fully understand, but continue to love and support you
as best as they can.
● On a six, they reveal that they too are a changeling, and that you’re not alone. Cross
out the phrase “normal human” on their section of the pamphlet and replace it with
“changeling.”
Then, set your Fey to three.

When all of your Confidantes know about your fairy nature, the game is over. For better
or worse, the weight of pretending to be a normal human has been lifted from your
shoulders.

For each Confidante who left your life because their expectations of you didn’t match
reality, consider how you might be better without them.
For each Confidante who stayed by your side, consider how your relationship with them
has been enriched now that they know who you are.

Credits
Written and designed by Alexa Fae McDaniel

She can be found on Twitter @lexi_the_fae and digital copies of this game are available on
her itch.io at https://lexi-the-fae.itch.io/

Interior art and visual design assistance by Valis Teoh. They can be found on twitter
@valistarri and their own games can be found at https://valistarri.itch.io/

Royal Signage font by Tobias Saul

Cover images use the works of Arthur Rackham, edited by Alexa Fae McDaniel

Thanks to my playtesters and proofreaders (ploofreaders?) Emily Care Boss, Al Cusack,

Additional thanks to everyone involved in the 2020 IGDN Diversity Sponsorship, especially
Camdon Wright and Kate Bullock, for helping me get established in the TTRPG industry.