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< Contracts | Rules Stuff | Tokens N Trifles >

Hedge Bounty - Goblin Fruit & Other Oddments

Of all the reasons that Changelings enter the Hedge, the most common is to acquire the bounty of Goblin Fruit that grows within its boundaries. Most motleys do their best to have at least a few of these useful fruit on hand, and most Motleys develop their own ways of preserving their harvests over time. Many Freeholds have traditional recipes all their own, some of which are popular across entire regions. Indeed, while not exactly brisk, trade in Goblin Fruit is one of the most common reasons for inter-Freehold trade. Some Motleys are particularly renowned for some particular kind of Hedge Preparation, and there have even been entire Entitlements (such as the Knights of the Knowledge of the Tongue, a New England offshoot of an elder English Entitlement that itself is in stiff competition with both its French and Irish-branches. The American entitlement is more eclectic, not really intending for Knight to be taken literally, quite unlike their European counterparts) based around such.

A Few Quick Notes

I've gone ahead and reproduced the table for determining how many Hedge Fruit any given Changeling can keep with him here to the left, mostly because I dislike constantly looking it up given that its buried way in the end of the book for some godawful reason. In addition to their personal stores, many Motleys that share a Hollow designate a Larder or Pantry which can hold additional Fruits in common for the entire Motley. In game mechanical terms, a Changeling can donate as much or as little of his Capacity as he desires to the Hollows' larder. A motley of three Changelings each with a Wyrd rating of 4, for instance, could have a Larder that can hold anywhere from 1-40 hedge fruit. The advantage of such a Larder is that the fruit so stored can be looked after by the Motley as a whole, or any given member thereof. The downside, of course, being that his capacity to keep Hedge Fruit on his own is weakened.

A Hollow with a Larder must have at least a Size of 1, and an Amenities of 1. One of its rooms must be devoted to a related task, such as a kitchen or dry storage. The size of the larder should also be noted somewhere, in terms of how many Goblin Fruit can be stored within. A Changeling can regain as much of his Larder capacity as he wishes at any time, this usually involves physically grabbing Hedge Fruit (a larder without any actual fruit only technically has a capacity).

Hedge Fruit

• Clustersnap Berries look like tiny grapes clustered and with their skins fused together. They have to be carefully handled otherwise one berry will snap, thereby creating a chain reaction where the whole cluster pops. The prime ingredient in Sparkling Clustersnap, Clustersnap Berries are unique to New England, and make for a delightful beverage that is mildly intoxicating and that feels somewhat fizzy without being carbonated. Drinking an entire bottle of Sparkling Clustersnap will get one totally plastered, and causes a bitch of a hangover, but also restores all lost willpower.
• Midnight's Repose is a delicate black flower that blooms in the Hedge every new moon. The actual flower is useless, as it is the leaves of the Midnight's Repose that are eaten which give the subject the rote quality on all Manipulation and Subterfuge rolls for the rest of the hour. Found only in Boston, Repose is something of a rare find around the Beacon Hill area, with only a harvest of five or six flowers every lunar month. The leaves can be dried and turned into a powder, soluble in water, which has the same effect.
• Mandranthine is a large red eggplant like Goblin Fruit identical to the equally rare Amaranthine except for purplish striations through the meat of the fruit. When eaten, Mandranthine is a powerful prophetic agent, sending the Changeling into a deep sleep in which he has prophetic dream after prophetic dream. It is also a powerful poison, eating away at the dreamers future with every vision granted. In addition to its insights, each prophetic dream inflicts one level of aggravated damage. If the dreamer is awakened before death, the dreams and the damage both stop, but the subject must roll one die for each level of aggravated damage he has taken. A success on this roll indicates that he will die within one month.
• Thorn Slugs are tiny slugs that live off various Hedge Fruits known to have healing properties, sometimes considered a pest and sometimes delicacies. The slime of a thorn slug is thick and rich, and easily hardens into large sharp crystals that can be harvested. When used in the production of liquor, these can make a thick substance that has to be cut with a knife to separate. With some salt, it can be thinned further until it is drinkable. Some Knights of the Tongue use them for gravies, as well, though their secrets are heavily guarded. The slugs themselves are also considered a tasty treat, and heal one bashing damage when eaten raw.

Seasonal Fruit

• Winterwilly appears as a small reddish plum, covered in frost, with a delightfully minty flavor. When eaten, Winterwilly makes the Changeling completely comfortable in even the most horrible cold for the next eight hours. This can allow her to go skinny dipping in Winter Seas, walk naked through the snow, or otherwise take activities that would normally be most uncomfortable or swiftly lethal. Winterwilly can be made into a tasty jam that retains its special ability, and only grows in Winter.

Oddments

• Pocketful are shiny polished stones, always found under some amount of fast moving water within the hedge. Both beautiful and useful, Pocketful are called such because you're supposed to keep them in your Pocket, and are particularly sought after by particular members of all four Seasonal Courts. If kept in ones pocket when a Changeling uses Cupid's Eye, Baleful Sense, Witches' Intuition or The Dragon Knows a Changeling ignores any Resistance trait that would normally be applied to the Clause (or adds +3 dice, for Baleful Sense) and gains the benefit of the 8-again rule on the Contract Activation roll. After being used once, one stone melts away into wet mud. If you have any pocketful, you'll automatically use it when you activate one of the above contracts.
• Hell's Bells appear like tiny silvery bells, dangling from certain flowering hedge vines. If very carefully cut away from the vine itself, and then stored properly for five minutes or so, the Bell itself hardens and the sap from the "wound" solidifies into the Bell's plunger. While lacking in any overt magic, the tinkling of these little bells is commonly associated with Gentry that are hunting in the Hedge around New England. A Changeling who strings three or four such bells to his clothes, mimicking these hunters of the Gentry, might thus scare off various threats within the Hedge. Of course, the downside is hopefully obvious.