Bound in Dreams: Freehold Tools

"Shapers' Sanctuary" by Zezhou (unmodified) is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0

 

 

A freehold is a gathering of local changelings who ensure each other's safety and counteract the influence of the True Fae in the mortal world. It's a safe haven for escapees, a social crossroads, and a larger stage for the Courts in the area. It also serves as the meeting place between the fae world and everyday life, where changelings can be themselves amongst their own kind. While smaller freeholds are more easily hidden and protected, larger freeholds have more to offer, from magical services to mundane benefits like a place to stay. Larger metropolitan regions may have several freeholds vying for resources, territory, and respect. Whether they like it or not, changelings need each other and most will eventually end up requiring a freehold’s aid.

Coming up with a nuanced organization of changelings isn’t necessarily a simple task, however. The core books provide basic details about freeholds, Lords of Summer went further in-depth for first edition, and Oak, Ash and Thorn put the basics in the players' hands in second edition, with only a few key concerns to cover. If you want a more detailed freehold, it can be difficult to know where to begin, what to include, and where to stop.

I can now offer three resources I've made for Freehold creation: a Google workbook and Google Doc to record as many details as you'd like, and a generator file you can use at RPGChartMaker to whip up freeholds with the press of a button. If you use either of these tools, I'd love to hear how they worked for you or any problems you encountered; I'm always open to constructive feedback and happy to fix any errors. 

Random Generator File

My random generator can quickly be loaded and used at RPGChartMaker. It's a great tool for coming up with a freehold in the middle of a game session. You can use the worksheets to record and organize the info, and fill in other aspects later. Learn more about how to customize and use it here and check out a preview below:

The Google Versions

The entire workbook can be downloaded in Google Sheets (save a copy to your Google Drive or download it from the File menu). Below is a preview of the worksheets. If you find errors, want to suggest additions, or have other feedback to help me make the worksheets even better, please feel free to contact me.

The Google Sheets version has suggestions sheet with lists of ideas you can choose from and the worksheets can be a great way to organize quick details. If you want to over more details, check out the Google Docs version. In either case, fill in as much as you wish. You can also use these documents to record the results you get from the random generator above.

Some Special Details

Names

The Freehold Basics section starts with names. A long-standing freehold can have a historic name, nickname, and/or an official name used in pledges and such. Here are some examples of freehold name sources which can reflect a lot about a freehold you create:

• Named after founders or local heroes (Arlene's Gather, first edition)

• Named after an activity the founders favored (Fair Coin, second edition)

• Named after a main focus of the freehold (see above)

• Named after symbols or objects important to the freehold (Shield of Rust, first edition)

• Named after places of origin (The Hollywood, first edition)

• Named after an historic period (perhaps when it was founded)

• Named after city nicknames, street names, neighborhoods, geographical features, or area codes (The River Refuge, second edition)

• Named after historic buildings (The Inverted Pyramid)

• Named after features of predominant Seeming (The Hundred Claws)

• Named with descriptors (colors, directions, feelings) (Crimson, first edition)

• Named with archaic terms or in dead languages (Galimaufry)

For on-the-spot or quick freehold names, consider adding the following together:

• description (colors, directions, new/old, substances, temperament) + thing (The Iron Lake)

• action + thing (The Roaming Rule)

• thing + thing (The Shield of Rust)

Virtues & Vices & Freeholds

Here are some examples of how Vices can affect (and be reflected by) freeholds:

• Freeholds rooted in Avarice might sabotage, attack, or plunder nearby freeholds, neighbors, or other rivals who have what the freehold craves. Unscrupulous members can use dreams, pledges, and Hedge gateways to harm targets before they even know what's going on.

• Carnal freeholds may do a steady business in catering to the physical desires of mortals, with some services only available to changelings. They might hold parties that devolve into pits of intoxication that leave the freehold or its allies open to attack.

• Freeholds that embody Corruption might have compromised local officials, forcing them to do nothing about crime (which could be the freehold's business). This is likely to be to the detriment of any neighborhood where the freehold keeps its holdings.

• Freeholds given to Despair might turn inward, hunkering down in hidden bunkers, playing video games and eaten hoarded food because its members don't believe they can really improve the world. Others may abandon allies out of self-loathing.

• A Slothly freehold could rely on a vast network of mortal agents for most of its needs, enjoying newly reclaimed lives and worrying about little else. However, their mortal servants might rebel out of sheer resentment, or the freehold could be unprepared to handle supernatural threats that arise.

• Vain assemblies have a way of biting off more than they can chew.  Perhaps they threaten the police, or take the juiciest tract of real estate beside the best local trod and ignore how bad the repercussions could be from the goblins who used to live there.  Either way, they won’t see the payback coming.

• Wrathful freeholds may strike out at targets even when they should be conserving their strength, or when they risk drawing the attention of every cop for miles, putting everyone in danger. Others spend their anger on each other and forget about the greater costs.

Freehold Specifics

The Duties & Restrictions section covers the various expectations of members; some of these might be included in the freehold pledge, while others are reinforced by peer pressure. Duties refer to actions courtiers are expected to perform on behalf of the freehold, while Restrictions refer to actions that are forbidden. Generally speaking, the more a freehold offers, the more it demands from members in return. The Benefits section is divided up for visitors, charges, and members. Those who aren't pledged to the freehold aren't likely to get as many perks or the greater ones that are available to members.

The Heraldry & Pageantry section notes the freehold's symbols, colors, holidays, and common entitlements. It’s also the place to record the meeting days for freehold members. In some areas, freeholds call meetings or have events often, while in other cities, Courts meet far more often than the freeholds they're part of. Keep in mind that changelings are paranoid for good reason and probably won't want to big gatherings too often.

The Courts section briefly outlines the Courts within the freehold. If you want help with creating or organizing Courts, click here. Last but not least, the Basics worksheet includes a section for various locations that are important to - and possibly owned and run by - the freehold in question.

Following that is a section for characters called Freehold Faces. This sheet starts with details about the crown rulers of the Courts. Then, there's space for the changelings who have secondary roles in the freehold due to services they provide. This can help to add new layers to your freehold and give characters special jobs and influence in local changeling politics. Not every freehold will have an archivist or space for a library, but many will have scouts.

The workbook contains a Simplified Sheet that covers only the bare bones about a freehold in a quick and easy format. In any case, you can choose to fill in as much or as little as you want, whether you're using Sheets or Docs. If you'd like, you can use the random generator first and then record the results you want to keep in one of the Google files.

 

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