So I am aware that I am very very late to the party but why were changlings officially changed? I am quiet sad that when pouring over an old character my visage ability and persona ability were nowhere to be seen. Could I be pointed in an official direction as to why?
Near as I can tell... they were just a bit too good. Getting a free alter self at will is already a massive boon to a player, especially since it's in a manner that's completely undetectable through magic. Changelings were partly intended to be balanced by the fact that, within the story, they're widely distrusted and often discriminated against, but if you don't play with those as part of your game world then they were just a really good, versatile race that's crazy customizable and also has some great abilities on top of their shape shifting.
The "original" changeling was playtest/UA material. (While it showed up in Wayfinder's Guide to Eberron before it showed up in Unearthed Aracana, Wayfinder's was itself originally playtest content). Playtest character options are almost always OP (overpowered) and have to be ratcheted down before official publication. WOTC staff have said that it is easier to tone down playtest material than beef it up.
That said, unless you changed the race of your character at some point, if you built the character in question using the UA/early Wayfinder's version of the Changeling, it should have kept those traits, and the race should have read Changeling (Archived). Now, if at any point after the publication of Eberron: Rising from the Last War (when the Changeling became an official published race, with the traits it has now), you changed the race to the updated Changeling, that would explain it. If you are confident you didn't change anything and that the character started out with the playtest version of changeling, you might submit a support ticket (the contact us link below) and see if that can fix it for you.
If your DM is o.k. with you continuing to use the UA version, you could also homebrew a race that reflects the original UA changeling race.
Near as I can tell... they were just a bit too good. Getting a free alter self at will is already a massive boon to a player, especially since it's in a manner that's completely undetectable through magic.
There’s always true seeing. And, because these are the exact circumstances in my game, a Tharashk character with inquisitive’s goggles can identify a changeling with ease.
That's a good point... it's very misleading of me to state that a Changelings transformation is completely undetectable by magic. Still, a traditional Disguise Self or even Alter Self can be discerned, to some degree, by a simple Detect Magic spell, whereas it takes a 6th level spell to spot a Changeling in a crowd.
That's a good point... it's very misleading of me to state that a Changelings transformation is completely undetectable by magic. Still, a traditional Disguise Self or even Alter Self can be discerned, to some degree, by a simple Detect Magic spell, whereas it takes a 6th level spell to spot a Changeling in a crowd.
Shapechanger can't be dispelled either.
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So I am aware that I am very very late to the party but why were changlings officially changed? I am quiet sad that when pouring over an old character my visage ability and persona ability were nowhere to be seen. Could I be pointed in an official direction as to why?
imo i've always had the view that of the shapechangers (at least between changelings, dopplegangers, and malaugrym anyways), changlings were the weakest and easiest to see through.
I'm not sure about Malaugrym, but I know that doppelgangers, on top of their shapeshifting, are also psychic so they can more easily impersonate specific people rather than just being able to look and sound like a different humanoid.
So I am aware that I am very very late to the party but why were changlings officially changed? I am quiet sad that when pouring over an old character my visage ability and persona ability were nowhere to be seen. Could I be pointed in an official direction as to why?
imo i've always had the view that of the shapechangers (at least between changelings, dopplegangers, and malaugrym anyways), changlings were the weakest and easiest to see through.
Probably why the other two didn't get the nod for player character race. ;-)
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So I am aware that I am very very late to the party but why were changlings officially changed? I am quiet sad that when pouring over an old character my visage ability and persona ability were nowhere to be seen. Could I be pointed in an official direction as to why?
imo i've always had the view that of the shapechangers (at least between changelings, dopplegangers, and malaugrym anyways), changlings were the weakest and easiest to see through.
Probably why the other two didn't get the nod for player character race. ;-)
But a PC may be a Doppleganger in Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden, but not by choice due to it being a secret card.
So I am aware that I am very very late to the party but why were changlings officially changed? I am quiet sad that when pouring over an old character my visage ability and persona ability were nowhere to be seen. Could I be pointed in an official direction as to why?
imo i've always had the view that of the shapechangers (at least between changelings, dopplegangers, and malaugrym anyways), changlings were the weakest and easiest to see through.
Probably why the other two didn't get the nod for player character race. ;-)
But a PC may be a Doppleganger in Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden, but not by choice due to it being a secret card.
Totally just my opinion, but that to me is an idea that sounds cool but is a lot less great in practice. The secrets are all over the place, you're expected to keep them a secret (which means not actually shapechanging), and if they're supposed to foment distrust that'd be more effective if so many of them weren't benign and/or silly. For the privilege of getting to play a doppleganger (again, encouraged not to do anything with, at least not unless it can be done without tipping off the rest of the party), you also give up ability mods and racial proficiencies. I'm sure this can be absolutely fantastic on the rare occasion the stars align and you get the right type of player in the right type of group, but as some random thing? Eeeeehhhh...
(as an aside, Rime gives the opportunity to become a werebear as well but leaves out most of the details involved in this)
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So I am aware that I am very very late to the party but why were changlings officially changed? I am quiet sad that when pouring over an old character my visage ability and persona ability were nowhere to be seen. Could I be pointed in an official direction as to why?
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Near as I can tell... they were just a bit too good. Getting a free alter self at will is already a massive boon to a player, especially since it's in a manner that's completely undetectable through magic. Changelings were partly intended to be balanced by the fact that, within the story, they're widely distrusted and often discriminated against, but if you don't play with those as part of your game world then they were just a really good, versatile race that's crazy customizable and also has some great abilities on top of their shape shifting.
Watch Crits for Breakfast, an adults-only RP-Heavy Roll20 Livestream at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty
And now you too can play with the amazing art and assets we use in Roll20 for our campaign at Hazel's Emporium
The "original" changeling was playtest/UA material. (While it showed up in Wayfinder's Guide to Eberron before it showed up in Unearthed Aracana, Wayfinder's was itself originally playtest content). Playtest character options are almost always OP (overpowered) and have to be ratcheted down before official publication. WOTC staff have said that it is easier to tone down playtest material than beef it up.
That said, unless you changed the race of your character at some point, if you built the character in question using the UA/early Wayfinder's version of the Changeling, it should have kept those traits, and the race should have read Changeling (Archived). Now, if at any point after the publication of Eberron: Rising from the Last War (when the Changeling became an official published race, with the traits it has now), you changed the race to the updated Changeling, that would explain it. If you are confident you didn't change anything and that the character started out with the playtest version of changeling, you might submit a support ticket (the contact us link below) and see if that can fix it for you.
If your DM is o.k. with you continuing to use the UA version, you could also homebrew a race that reflects the original UA changeling race.
Trying to Decide if DDB is for you? A few helpful threads: A Buyer's Guide to DDB; What I/We Bought and Why; How some DMs use DDB; A Newer Thread on Using DDB to Play
Helpful threads on other topics: Homebrew FAQ by IamSposta; Accessing Content by ConalTheGreat;
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There’s always true seeing. And, because these are the exact circumstances in my game, a Tharashk character with inquisitive’s goggles can identify a changeling with ease.
That's a good point... it's very misleading of me to state that a Changelings transformation is completely undetectable by magic. Still, a traditional Disguise Self or even Alter Self can be discerned, to some degree, by a simple Detect Magic spell, whereas it takes a 6th level spell to spot a Changeling in a crowd.
Watch Crits for Breakfast, an adults-only RP-Heavy Roll20 Livestream at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty
And now you too can play with the amazing art and assets we use in Roll20 for our campaign at Hazel's Emporium
Shapechanger can't be dispelled either.
Want to start playing but don't have anyone to play with? You can try these options: [link].
imo i've always had the view that of the shapechangers (at least between changelings, dopplegangers, and malaugrym anyways), changlings were the weakest and easiest to see through.
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I'm not sure about Malaugrym, but I know that doppelgangers, on top of their shapeshifting, are also psychic so they can more easily impersonate specific people rather than just being able to look and sound like a different humanoid.
Watch Crits for Breakfast, an adults-only RP-Heavy Roll20 Livestream at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty
And now you too can play with the amazing art and assets we use in Roll20 for our campaign at Hazel's Emporium
Probably why the other two didn't get the nod for player character race. ;-)
Want to start playing but don't have anyone to play with? You can try these options: [link].
But a PC may be a Doppleganger in Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden, but not by choice due to it being a secret card.
Totally just my opinion, but that to me is an idea that sounds cool but is a lot less great in practice. The secrets are all over the place, you're expected to keep them a secret (which means not actually shapechanging), and if they're supposed to foment distrust that'd be more effective if so many of them weren't benign and/or silly. For the privilege of getting to play a doppleganger (again, encouraged not to do anything with, at least not unless it can be done without tipping off the rest of the party), you also give up ability mods and racial proficiencies. I'm sure this can be absolutely fantastic on the rare occasion the stars align and you get the right type of player in the right type of group, but as some random thing? Eeeeehhhh...
(as an aside, Rime gives the opportunity to become a werebear as well but leaves out most of the details involved in this)
Want to start playing but don't have anyone to play with? You can try these options: [link].