What does it take to identify a changeling

[Foxy Quickpaw]

In a game I have a changeling character. Typical childhood for a changeling: Found in a basket on the temple stairs, raised by humans.

Now in game, someone noticed that the changeling could see in the dark, and that this is not normal for a human.

The question followed: What are you?
Answer: I don't know.

I can simply open my ARG and see what changelings are, and that they are the larvae (juvenile form) of hags.

But for the average commoner that knowledge would be unavailable. What might be known is, that foundlings sometimes have unusually pale skin and mismatched eyecolors. But as the ARG states: "Some races are so uncommon that their very existence may be the subject of debate".

Changelings might not be so uncommon, but as the hags don't do onlinedating, and their offspring is not labeled there are two questions that are relevant for mentioned changeling character.

1. Is there a chance anyone would be able to recognize her as changeling, meaning recognizing the individual as belonging to an own race different from human with it's own specifics like hard nails, but nothing more?

2. What would it take to know that the character is in fact a baby hag?

As I see it,
- The baby making with the Hag is a thing noone knows about
- The birth of the changeling is also unobserved
- The changeling is publicly found and adopted
- It either stays a changeling all her life. End of story.
- Or disappears after travelling the wide world (dragged by the call). A lot of people disappear while travelling the world.
- Then she finds her mother and becomes a hag, a process well hidden from the public.

So even someone who knows hags and also knows changelings from personal encounters would not be able to make the connection. Or would they?

I'd say identifying the changeling (You belong to these thick skinned, pale, hard nail, mismatching eye color changelings) would be a DC 16 Knowledge(local) check for rare humanoid(changeling).

For Identifying her as baby hag I'd set it to DC 31 Knowledge(Nature) for very specific detail information about a monstrous humanoids reproduction (10 + CR6 + 15)

It's not about combat, but how much knowledge her party members would need before they were allowed to mob her calling her a baby monster. Or other more grown up roleplaying about it.

Also, if she stays a changeling, and reproduces herself what will her offspring be?

What are your thoughts?

[Balgin]

In all honesty your answer should probably be along the lines of "I don't know. MY parents always said there was something different about me. We never could work out why 'though. Perhaps we should try to find out."

A canny GM would pick up on this. You might find yourselves going to visit scholars who could subject you to questioning, maybe even some tests (they could examine your urine).

Of course all this would be leading you closer towards the hags that are calling you. The more you find out about your origin, the more dangerous it becomes (not to mention the shocking revelation about your parents not actually being your parents). Hopefully the other character who prompted such a line of investigation would comfort you in your hour of need.

I'd rather see this roleplayed out than reduced to a single skill check. That way the other player will hopefully become invested and enjoy the memorable search for information.

[Foxy Quickpaw]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

The part of being adopted was already known, so no shocking there.
Propably actually going to find her real mother would be too big a side quest at the moment.

As I try to be the canny GM here, the DCs I suggested were just an attempt to put a number on it, to get an idea where to start.

Like:
- Noone in the party could know this even on a nat. 20. At least about the hag part.
- The party might get some information if we ask a local sage like Brodert Quink in Sandpoint, or not.
- Or they would have to search for the knowledge at the Magnimar University, if we get there by chance.
- Or how big a chance would one have to meet another cangeling (as NPC)

Also I'm bored at the moment so I'm spinning tales, what could evolve out of this. I'm not sure yet, If the groups changeling will take up this search.

The part with some testing by scholars is a really promising idea. But I would propaby skip the urine test, for that might lead to too much giggling and rolling ranged touch attacks to fill the offered jar ;)

[Zhangar]

By RAW, it'd just be a DC 15 or 16 knowledge (local) check to ID a rare humanoid (like a changeling).

But that's no fun.

To represent that changelings (especially adult changelings - mommy hag usually recovers the larva for transformation around 16 or so) are very, very rare and also easily mistaken for a member of the host race, in my game I made it a DC 30 knowledge (local) check to successfully recognize a changeling as a changeling.

The DC then dropped to a 20 because that person had actually ID'd a changeling and actually knew what to look for in the future.

(Though a ranger with favored enemy (host race) might figure out really quickly that something is just wrong with the changeling, but not exactly what, and may start suspecting the changeling of being a shapeshifter or other fun thing.)

But yeah, I made the DC high enough that under normal circumstances, a changeling and the people she grew up with wouldn't be able to pass the check to figure out what she was. She'd probably figure out she wasn't (host race), but nothing beyond that without meeting mommy. Or meeting (or becoming) a very well educated individual.

(Which I think fits with F. Wesley Schneider's intent with the race - most NPCs changelings that I've seen in print have no clue what they are. (Though on the other hand, there's also places where hags and changelings are simply living together. A hag coven dedicated to Mahathallah may behave very differently from a coven dedicated to Gyronna.))