Changeling: The Lost vs When Sky & Sea Were Not Named

Compare Changeling: The Lost and When Sky & Sea Were Not Named side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, and more.

	Changeling: The Lost	When Sky & Sea Were Not Named
Genre	Horror, Fantasy, Modern	Fantasy
Tags	Urban Fantasy, Dark Fantasy, Fear & Stress Mechanics, Superpowers, Faction Play, Social Intrigue, Character-Driven, Exploration, Strong GM Support, Lore-Heavy	Tactical, Theater of the Mind, Resource Management, Faction Play, Lore-Heavy, Base-Building, Exploration
Core Mechanic	Build a d10 pool, usually from an Attribute plus a Skill, and count each 8, 9, or 10 as a success. One success is enough for most simple actions, and five or more normally make an exceptional success. Tens in a normal pool are usually rerolled for a chance at more successes. A pool reduced to zero or fewer dice becomes a single chance die that succeeds only on a 10, has no 10-again, and suffers a dramatic failure on a 1. A character can spend a point of Willpower to add three dice to a roll.	Each hero has four action dice, one for each action type (Attack, Brace, Compel, Maneuver), with the die size set from d4 to d12 by the relevant attributes. To act, roll the matching die and read it against two thresholds. Against an obstacle, the Guide sets a failure threshold and a struggle threshold. Against a foe, the target's attribute is the failure threshold and its defense is the struggle threshold. Beating the higher number is a Success, beating only the lower is a Struggle that costs something, and beating neither is a Failure. Attacks deal damage equal to the roll minus the target's Guard and Armor, so one roll settles both the hit and its severity.
Dice	d10 dice pool	d4–d12
Complexity	High	High
Availability	Paid	Free core rules
Runnability	5 of 5 book tools	3 of 5 book tools
License	All Rights Reserved	All Rights Reserved
Third-Party Publishing	Commercial publishing allowed — Storytellers Vault	Not yet researched
Summary only, not legal advice. Check current terms before publishing.
Publisher	Onyx Path Publishing	Purple People Games
Year	2019	2023
Languages	English, French	English
Best For	Groups who want modern fairy-tale horror about surviving abduction and rebuilding a life, with seasonal court politics, binding oaths, and journeys through the Hedge. It suits tables willing to explore trauma and abuse themes within agreed limits.	Groups settling in for a multi-session campaign who want combat built on resource trade-offs, spellcasters that each play differently, and a Guide comfortable improvising rulings. The island-hopping rescue-and-rebuild structure rewards tables that enjoy both tactical fights and settlement-scale stakes.
Highlights	Clarity tracks a changeling's trust in her own perceptions, and Touchstones attached to the track reduce the damage that breaking points deal to it. Every Contract has a Loophole, a condition of the fae bargain that lets a changeling invoke its basic effect without spending Glamour. Hedgespinning spends surplus successes and Glamour from ordinary actions in the Hedge on changes to terrain, equipment, or Conditions.	Each of the four defenses both resists incoming actions and doubles as the resource a hero spends to power abilities, so every turn weighs guarding against acting. A hero rolls a different die size for each of the four action types, so strengths and weaknesses live in which die they pick up rather than in numeric modifiers. Invoking an Ideal after a roll spends Spirit for an advantage die the Guide sizes to how dramatic the moment is, linking vivid roleplay to a mechanical boost.
Considerations	Abduction, abuse, and trauma are core subject matter, so the group needs to agree on limits before play. Breaking points risk Clarity damage that can eventually leave a changeling comatose. Goblin Contracts normally add a point of Goblin Debt on each successful use, which the Storyteller can spend to penalize rolls or impose Conditions.	The three spellcasting callings each run a separate resource economy, creating a real skill gap between players who take a magical calling and those who do not. The Shinarian origin locks Agility at 0, which bars the Wanderer calling and leaves those heroes unable to evade, outflank, or hide effectively. Sizing invoked Ideal dice, setting challenge thresholds, and reading the Dreamshape table all rest on Guide judgment rather than fixed numbers, which favors improvisational Guides over those who want firm procedures.