Physical Merits

Acute Sense (1pt. Merit)
You have one exceptionally sharp sense: hearing, touch, smell, vision or taste. The difficulties for tasks involving the sense in question are decreased by two.

Ambidextrous (1pt. Merit)
You have a high degree of off-hand dexterity and can perform tasks with the “wrong” hand at no penalty. The rules for taking multiple actions still apply, but you do not suffer a difficulty penalty if you use two weapons or are forced to use your off hand.

Double-Jointed (1pt. Merit)
You’re unusually supple. Reduce the difficulty of any roll involving body flexibility by two. Squeezing through a tiny space is one example of a use for this Merit.

Friendly Face (1pt. Merit)
You have a face strangers are inclined to trust. The effect doesn’t fade even if you attempt self-deprecation, leaving you at –2 difficulty on all appropriate Social rolls (yes for first impressions, no for Intimidation, for example) when a stranger is involved. This Merit only functions on a first meeting.

Poison Resistance (1pt. Merit)
It could be you’ve a natural resistance, or perhaps you’ve built up your defenses against all known types of poisons. Any time you need to make a soak roll against the effects of a poison or toxin, reduce your difficulty by three.

Wheelman (1pt. Merit)
You have a natural affinity for driving motorized wheeled vehicles. The difficulties of all rolls requiring risky or especially difficult driving maneuvers are reduced by two.

Crack Shot (2pt. Merit)
Whether pointing a gun, arrow, or dart, you hit your target with great accuracy. You receive no increased difficulty when targeting any specific location and reduce the difficulty of rolls not involving specific targeting by one.

Dexterous Toes (2pt. Merit)
Anything you can do with hands (firing a gun, drawing, playing a musical instrument, etc.) can be done just as well using your feet. Polite society tends to frown on such behavior, but sluagh and pooka laugh at such prissiness.

Granite Skin (2pt. Merit)
A Trait held most commonly by trolls and redcaps, Granite Skin is quite literally an epidermal layer of thin, hard stone. You’re a great deal tougher than you might be normally, but have the undesirable effect of leaving small flakes of stone behind every time you bend or flex. You possess the equivalent of chainmail armor at all times (see p. 285). Granite Skin does not cause a Dexterity penalty, but does impose a +1 difficulty to all rolls involving moving quietly.

Murderous Mien (2pt. Merit)
Something about your mien screams danger. Previous infamies mark your appearance like open wounds. With a look or gesture, you can terrify another changeling into obedience. Any rolls you make to threaten or coerce changelings and faetouched humans have their difficulties reduced by three. Other beings find you unsettling, imposing a +1 difficulty to attempts at charming.

Nightsight (2pt. Merit)
Night blinds many eyes, but not yours. Regardless of the lighting conditions, your eyes adjust automatically, so you can see equally well at high noon, midnight, or entering pitch darkness. The adjustment is instantaneous, so if you are standing in a dark room and someone lights a candle, you’re not blinded.

Surreal Beauty (2pt. Merit)
You possess a beauty far beyond that of normal mortals, unsettling in its perfection. People stand in awe of your ideal, yet alien, form while an inexplicable nausea subconsciously rises to the fore. Reduce the difficulty by three on any roll in which you try and acquire a changeling or faetouched individual’s attention, or win them over with your looks. Other beings find your beauty unnatural, imposing a +1 difficulty on attempts at winning such a person’s trust.

Increased Pain Threshold (3pt. Merit)
You feel pain as much as others; it just doesn’t affect you to the same degree. Legends are rife with tales of heroes who fight on, even while mortally wounded, only collapsing into death once the battle is won. The dice penalty for each of your Health Levels is reduced by one level. For example, a troll who is Hurt reacts as if Bruised, and is only incapable of action when killed.

Perfect Balance (3pt. Merit)
Whether through constant training or inherited skill, your sense of balance is akin to that of a circus performer or bird on a wire. It’s very unlikely you’ll ever fall during your life. You may trip, but you’ll always catch yourself before you fully lose your footing or handhold. This Merit functions for such actions as tightrope walking, crossing ice, and climbing mountains. All difficulties involving such feats are reduced by three.

Prehensile Tongue/Tail (2 or 4pt. Merit)
An additional prehensile limb is a useful, yet potentially disgusting, feature to possess. At two points, your tongue acts as a two-foot (60cm) long limb, capable of grasping and wielding objects. While not the best of weapons, it can be used for a poke in the eye or revolting slap. When the tongue is extended, speech is incomprehensible. In order to use a prehensile tongue successfully, you must roll Dexterity + Athletics (difficulty 7). A success allows full control of the extra limb for the scene. A failure indicates the specific attempt fails; a botch leaves the protruding tongue hanging disgustingly limp down your front. At four points, you possess a tail like a monkey’s. This tail is two feet long (60cm), and can perform simple manual tasks such as pushing buttons and lifting objects with a Strength equal to half the changeling’s rating (rounded up). A prehensile tail can wield a weapon with a Melee rating equal to half the changeling’s rating (rounded up).You may use a prehensile tail with the same dexterous capability as any of your other limbs.

Sex Appeal (3pt. Merit)
You put it down to your looks and charm, but the dark truth is you have a dangerous, and perhaps unconscious, level of control over your pheromones. Your sexiness and sensuality attracts lovers to you like moths to a flame. You are the irresistible center of attention at any gathering. All rolls where sexual attraction matters have the difficulty reduced by three. This Merit cannot be used to seduce someone lacking a baseline of sexual attraction to the character.

Huge Size (4pt. Merit)
Your mortal seeming is abnormally large in size, over 6’10” and 300 pounds in weight (well over two meters tall and over 130 kgs). You are extremely noticeable in public, but gain one additional Bruised Health Level.

Eidetic Taste (4pt. Merit)
Possessed most commonly by redcaps, Eidetic Taste allows you to remember the taste of everything you’ve ever eaten, and be able to identify it instantly if you taste it again. Furthermore, you’re granted the ability to sense where the nearest supply of that taste might be. If you’ve ever had a bite of someone, it serves as an excellent way to track that meal. Creative changelings have found other uses for this power, including tracking down poisons.

Blessing of Atlas (5pt. Merit) Remarkable among trolls and seen as a true miracle among other kiths, the Blessing of Atlas permanently raises your Strength by one, and raises the potential maximum Strength rating by one. You’re only slightly larger than your fellows, but defined as if carved of marble. Should it become known by others you possess this Merit, you’ll be expected to act the hero or be feared as a budding warlord.

Mental:

Common Sense (1pt. Merit)
You possess significant practical, everyday wisdom. Whenever you’re about to act in a way contrary to common sense, the Storyteller can make suggestions or warnings about the implications of said action. This is a very useful Merit for beginning players unfamiliar with the game.

Concentration (1pt. Merit) Nockers have an uncanny way of shutting out distractions, but this Merit isn’t limited to that kith. You’re unaffected by any penalties stemming from distracting circumstances (e.g., loud noises, strobe lights, or a troll holding you upside down).

Higher Purpose (1pt. Merit)
All changelings have some vision of their path, but you’ve a special commitment to it. You don’t concern yourself with petty matters, because your higher purpose is everything. Though you sometimes behave in ways contrary to the needs of survival, your purpose grants you great personal strength. The difficulty of any roll that has something to do with this higher purpose is reduced by two. Decide what your higher purpose is, and make sure you discuss it with the Storyteller.

Introspection (1pt. Merit)
You routinely meditate on your own ulterior motives, applying them to others like you. Through this nightly exercise, your incredible insight reduces the difficulty by two when you use a Perception-based action against someone in your Court.

Language (1pt. Merit)
You know a language in addition to your native one. You can take this Merit multiple times, each reflecting a different language.

Lightning Calculator (1pt. Merit)
You are a savant when it comes to mental arithmetic, making you a natural when working with computers or betting at the racetracks. The difficulties of all relevant rolls are decreased by two.

Mechanical Aptitude (1pt. Merit)
You are naturally adept with all kinds of mechanical devices. The difficulties of all dice rolls to understand, repair, or operate any kind of mechanical device are reduced by two. This Merit doesn’t help you drive. This Merit affects your aptitude with chimerical mechanical objects as well as the mundane. Specific Interests (1pt. Merit)
You are specialized in an obscure or arcane field or niche interest and on this subject specifically you are an encyclopedia. Choose one rare area of knowledge. In this field, reduce the difficulty for all mental rolls by two. Example fields include the study of a dead language, a culturally-specific hobby, expertise in mythical demon names, and in-depth biographical knowledge of one celebrity.

Eidetic Memory (2pt. Merit)
You remember, with perfect detail, things you see and hear. Documents, photographs, conversations, etc., can be committed to memory with minor concentration. If you as the player forget an important piece of information the Storyteller believes your character would recall, the Storyteller will jog your memory. Under stressful conditions involving numerous distractions, you must make a Perception + Alertness roll to concentrate and absorb what your senses detect.

Loyal Heart (2pt. Merit)
While all fae are conscious of the bonds of oaths, for you it’s almost of a religious nature. Whenever you’re overwhelmed, the thought of your duties is enough to give you the strength to persevere. In game terms, you reduce the difficulty of rolls pertaining to the fulfillment of your oaths by three. Similarly, the power of your sense of duty may be sufficient to allow temporary immunity to other supernatural effects (Storyteller’s discretion). No Willpower may be spent on actions having to do with the breaking of oaths. This is not cumulative with the effects of the Merit True Love (see p. 185), though it can be combined for purposes of roleplaying.

Natural Linguist (2pt. Merit)
The well-travelled changeling knows the use of being able to comprehend many languages. You may reduce the difficulty of any task involving the study of written or spoken languages by three, and each purchase of the Language Merit gives you two languages instead of just one.

Iron Will (3pt. Merit)
To your detractors your head is full of rocks. In truth, your determination and stubbornness makes you unshakable once your mind is set. Characters attempting any mind-altering magic against you are at +3 difficulty, up to a maximum difficulty of 9. This Merit does not affect powers dealing with emotions. Characters with Willpower scores below 5 cannot take this Merit.

Master Craftsman (3 pt. Merit)
When designing, building, or repairing something, the difficulty of your rolls is reduced by two. Additionally, you require three fewer successes on any extended rolls required when working on large or complex projects.

Gut Instincts (4pt. Merit)
You’ve got a direct line into the more primal of your instincts, and benefit from the ability to act without thinking first. You may not always know why you do what you do, but once the dust clears, you realize the correct move was made. This Merit nullifies the effects of surprise and permits you to act normally, though you may only defend. In cases where you’re not surprised, you may preempt your opponent’s action.

Jack-Of-All-Trades (5pt. Merit)
You’ve a large pool of miscellaneous skills and knowledge obtained through extensive travels, the jobs you’ve held, or all-around know-how. You automatically have one dot in all Skill and Knowledge Dice Pools. This is an illusory level, used to simulate a wide range of abilities. If you spend experience in any untrained Skill or Knowledge, you must still pay the point cost for the first level.

Because I Think I Can (6 pt. Merit)
When you declare you are using a point of Willpower and roll for successes, your self-confidence may allow you to gain the benefit of that expenditure without losing the Willpower point. You do not lose the point of Willpower unless you fail your roll. This also prevents you from botching. This Merit may only be used when the difficulty of your roll is 6 or higher.