Titles (4): The Royal Red of Passion (Actor), The Scarlet Render of Hearts (Prop), Liveried Servant that Pleases the Master (Wisps), and the Palatial Garden of Unearthly Delights (Locale).
The Tell:
The tell for this Fae is a bit of heraldry alongside a general preference for different shades of red. All titles of this True Fae have somewhere upon them the heraldic symbol of a scarlet crown perched atop a crimson heart that seems to have been set afire with curving pale red lines. This might be affixed to a Wisp's coat, attached to the pommel of the sword, engraved onto the actor's head, or found in numerous locations around the gardens or palace.
Storytelling Hints:
The Red Queen is a True Fae that mimics the passions of the human heart even though she neither understands nor feels them herself. In all of her forms, she is a feminine creature of luxuriant fabrics and indulgence although she is neither entirely lusty nor gluttonous. Instead her moods flow constantly and according to strange triggers. Sometimes they even mimic the moods of any others who are at the location.
Favored Changeling Creations:
She may be an ex-Keeper for all forms of changeling kiths due to the Night of the Red Gala where she purchases the Taken from other Fae (or Hobgoblins) or steals the Lost from Earth. However, she is more prone to creating Lost who can see to her palace or to her own needs while she accumulates other Lost in preparation for the next Night of the Red Gala. She generally creates Succubi, Minstrels, Woodwalkers, Flowering Fairest, Dancers, Chatelaines, Asparas and Thussers, etc. As she slays or sells Changelings who fail to be selected on the Night of the Red Gala, only Flowering Fairests, Woodwalkers and Woodbloods from her garden are likely to remain out of her original creations. She always leaves a Fetch behind and steals humans from many European countries and colonies. You can find a neat link to all of the kiths and their book locations over here if you want to track down a kith name that you don't recognise.
Feuds:
- The Red Queen must host the night of the Red Gala on a particular night every 10 years and at least a dozen Changelings must be arrayed as potential 'suitors' for the Snow Princess. If she fails in this, she forfeits a title to the Snow Princess. If the Snow Princess falls 'in love' (a mimicked affair) with one such Changeling, then the Red Queen wins one of the Snow Princess' titles unless the Red Queen kills that suitor within a month, in which case she must return the title. If she doesn't kill that suitor within a month, the Red Queen forfeits a title to the Seamstress. If the Snow Princess ever falls in love with a Seasonal King, then the Red Queen and the Snow Princess must battle for his hand. The woman he chooses earns a title and the stale male is broken. If neither woman is chosen (an unlikely proposition considering their powers), then the Feud is simply over.
- If Jack Frost can successfully disrupt the Red Queen's Night of the Red Gala so that no Changeling 'suitor' is present and prevent the Snow Princess from arriving, both of them will forfeit a title to him. If he fails to do so after three sincere attempts, he must provide a title to the first one who can catch him.
- The Red Queen wishes to own children from the fifteen families that Jack Frost has developed a Fae-touched mortal within and she has offered assistance to the Pied Piper as an ally in a Feud of his choosing if he can provide them for her without Jack Frost becoming aware of their presence in her realm. If he does become aware, she is allowed to keep half of those relatives. None of these relatives will be played in the Red Gala and instead will be kept in another chamber. She has a deal with the Hunter & The Hounds to one day assist him in hunting down and slaying Jack Frost on the Winter Equinox - if they are successful, then they will each gain one of Jack Frost's titles. If Jack Frost manages to defeat both of them, they must give him both a title and one of their most powerful tokens.
Story Seeds:
The Red Queen has cultivated a few Loyalists using pledges and pleasures in order to locate the Freehold and find herself a Changeling with the seasonal crown. It's up to the player characters to root out the conspirators and ensure that the Freehold monarch isn't stolen away. If this monarch is stolen, than the other seasonal monarchs are endangered as the crown won't last the season (and likely not even that once the monarch enters Arcadia).
The Changelings are attending the local Goblin Market when they notice a sudden surge in activity as the hobs prepare their stalls to look the best they could be. Word is passed around that the Red Queen is coming in person with her retinue to purchase Changelings from the market. Unless the player characters have appropriate pledges in place with the markets, they could find themselves up for sale. They'll probably want to flee though a foolhardy few might decide to fight instead. Alternately, the player characters might recognise someone in the Red Queen's retinue and be moved to try and spring them out.
Word is out that the Night of the Red Gala is approaching. The hobgoblins and privateers are eager for trade items (people) and so neither human nor Lost is safe. The Red Queen pays very well for unique specimens who may well have a chance at thawing the Snow Princess' heart so a particularly socially savvy or unique (dual kith, perhaps) Lost is likely to have a lot of attention drawn their way.
Title Information:
You can find more in-depth information on the various titles over here. They won't be all shiny and underlined until they're all posted however:
Story of the Red Queen and the Snow Princess
Actor: The Royal Red of Passion
Wisps: Liveried Servant That Pleases The Master
Back To The Start:
Or you could just take a look at the main article from which all of this has sprung.
There's more coming for that NPC? Cool, really like it, though as of now I didn't get to use it in my game. Placed a few hints but the players haven't found those yet.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I'm developing all of the different props for her, the Snow Princess, and several other London Fae. Not sure when I'll be able to use them but, hey, the internet means I can track it down whenever I need to do so.
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