The Library at Ben Bison contains a variety of materials, from histories of the kithain and the County, to military theory, romances and songs, and even a collection of mortal publications which have earned the admiration of a kithain collector. This page cannot hope to offer all that the Library at the Brugh does. Instead, it provides a variety of game resources for use by Rowan-Oak players. Submissions of materials in the public domain as well as players' own writings are encouraged. This page will grow as more contents are added.
Heraldry and Courtly Arts
A Herald's Guide to the Principal Noble Houses: This slender folio provides a visual guide to recognizing the armorial insignia of the nine houses of the nobility, and acquaints the reader with the character of each, prominent members in Rowan-Oak, as well as the role each has played in the County's history. Attatched is a Roll of Arms displaying the personal emblems of the current nobility of the county.
A Letter Patent investing the satyr Callipoe Chelios with the honors of knighhood, a fief, and her own coat of arms. Although not ever document and decree is going to be available here, this is provided as a visual reference to how such honors are conveyed. A Letter Patent is an open letter under the seal of a noble, with a formal "to whom it may concern" address. Such legal documents are traditional unpunctuated. Large image, opens in a new window.
The Book of the Courtier by Baldesar Castiglione: This is the 1561 Enlish translation by Sir Thomas Hoby of a classic handbook of the Italian Renaissance. The copy in Ben Bison's library seems to have once belonged to that of Blackstone University. No doubt someone forgot to return it.
Histories
The Fall of Baywood: Benjazet Johnson, eshu herald of Ben Bison, tells of how a barony was lost to the County in years gone by.
Of the Hidden Ones: Old Ben spins another tale of a time before the Resurgence when a team of Prodigal scientists tried to investigate the magic mountain.
The Accolade: Almond ap Fiona, heir to Rowan-Oak, is ennobled by the ancient rites of knighthood at New Agengard Freehold.
A Duel of Honor: Master Coulkan's addition to the annals, an account of a duel upon Fiddler's Green which his Arts discovered to him.
A Thumbnail History of Firnost: excerpted from his bardic dissertation, A Geomantic Survey of Necropolis, Almond ap Fiona tells how the famous mews was founded, the origins of its infamous curse, its history before the Resurgence, through the Accordance War, and on to the present day. Included is Sir Vincit Morraine ap Eiluned's synopsis of the longer work.
Draocht & Driabhar
Cantrip Casting Guide: a player resource bringing together in one place essential information and systems for changeling magick.
Military Theory
An Army of Lovers: the Sacred Band of Thebes: House Fiona is famous for valor as well as romance, and the story of this legendary military unit shows how well the two can work together.
The Map Room
It is unfortunate but unavoidable that these nocker-printed mpas are fragile and may need to be unrolled slowly, as they are also large.
County of Rowan-Oak: showing the relative positions of baronies, freeholds and trods throught the county, and providing clickable links for quick navigation.
Kingdom of Apples: Locations for most published freeholds in the northern Kingdom that is the setting also for EverWyrd Hall and the County of Bergen.
Sun & Serpent: The desert border between the Kingdom of the Burning Sun and the imperilled Kingdom of the Feathered Snake is notorious as a danger-zone. Just how badly did that attempted Flicker-Flash botch, and where are we?
Fiefs of Bright Paradise: These Islands of the Carribean were never decisively won by any faction in the Accordance War, and this far from the High King, anything goes. Eshu pirate utopias vie with sidhe-owned plantations and villas in lands where dreams of glittering promise are born from the bleakest poverty. Largely unexplored by most Concordian fae, this map awaits your own journeys of discovery.
Kingdoms of Hibernia: shows the four kithain kingdoms in Ireland, and the location of chief cities and royal freeholds.
Kingdom of Neustria: shows the great sidhe kingdom in France, the independent demesne of Aquitaine, chief provinces and adjacent realms.
Kingdoms of Iberia: shows the four kithain kingdoms in the Iberian Peninsula, chief provinces and adjacent realms.
The Stacks
These are books available from your local bookstore or library (OK, P.C. Hodgell's may be tough to find), amongst the
many, many books I have read and enjoyed which have influenced my interpretation of
Changeling: The Dreaming. Obviously, not all will suit all tastes, but I recommend you at least give each
of these authors and titles a look.
Fiction
The Book of Wonder, by Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett, 18th Baron of Dunsany. This etext features several short works by this early fantasist of the 20th Century. Lord Dunsany was a pioneer in fantastic literature. his book The King of Elfland's Daughter is currently in print and well worth a read.
God Stalk, Dark of the Moon and Seekers Mask by P.C. Hodgell - Hard to believe I overlooked these books when I first put this page up. Hard to find, but very much worth it. Think of it as a quest. They may not be the Holy Grail, but they come pretty close, for me. Impossible for me to adequately describe, I really suggest you just go ahead and read more about them here.
Little, Big by John Crowley - I cannot reccomend this book highly enough.
Crowley's masterpiece recounts the tale of the Drinkwater family and their various interactions with
the enchanted word from the late Nineteeth Century into an indefinite near-future. Very much a modern fanatsy,
set in what is recognizeably, poignantly, even humorously our own world or perhaps one step closer to the Dreaming.
It is a book any Changeling player, whose other hobbies include reading, should thoroughly enjoy.
Tam Lin by Pamela Dean - A modern retelling of the famous border ballad, set at and
around a college campus. This reminded me of my own college years, and helped establish the setting in my mind for the
Countess Rosamund's court of Caer Ondomorna, only Dean's faerie court is considerably more sinister.
Nine Princes in Amber (and others) by Roger Zelazny - Modern fantasy, and obviously amongst the
books which inspired Changeling : The Dreaming. Essential reading in noble politics and House rivalries, especially
the first five books. After that they get much stranger and less apropos to Changeling, but still entertain.
The Ivory and the Horn (and others) by Charles de Lint - Perhaps the most prolific exponent
of modern fantasy dealing in faerie themes, de Lint's many books are all richly rewarding. The one listed here contains a collection of
short stories with various moods and, to my mind, provides an alluring introduction to this gifted author.
Nonfiction
The Fairy Faith in Celtic Countries by W.Y. Evans-Wentz - This scholarly work is uncontested
as the standard authority on what is and has been believed regarding fairies in Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Cornwall, Brittany and the Isle of Man, even eighty-nine years after publication.
Filled with documentation of folktales and oral traditions, collected between 1907 and 1910, this is the work of a scholar, successfully submitted for a doctoral degree from the University of Rennes in Britanny, and in a later form comprising Evans-Wentz's
thesis for his Bachelors of Science degree from Oxford in 1911 and paving the way for a doctorate in Comparative Religion from Oxfortd twenty years later.
The style may therefore seem somewhat dry, but the material is fascinating.
The White Goddess by Robert Graves - If Evans-Wentz is dry, then Graves is labyrinthine in the extreme. Not a genuinely scholarly work, this book describes itself as "a historical grammar of poetic myth". Graves makes many unsupported leaps
of logic here, but the material, if historically questionable, is still invaluable for players who wish to add historical, cultural or mythic depth to their
chronicles. Eyecrossingly dense and chock-full of obscure references, it is not light reading but is so very full of any number of interesting bits that I recommend you give it a try in any case.
The Golden Bough by Sir James George Frazer - this book (or books, if you are lucky enough to find the multivolume edition) is rather dated, and many of its theories have since been disproven and discarded. Nonetheless, it is a classic, and a
landmark study of magic, mythology and comparitive religion, and can provide a reference for symbolism
and perhaps some plot ideas.
The Hero With a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell - This book defined the "hero's journey" motif as a universal of human culture,
and is the source from which the authors of Changeling adapted their twelve-stage template in chapter nine of the core rulebook. Campbell treats the subject in more depth, and his snippets from non-Western
mythology might prove useful for stories set off the beaten path. Again, a scholarly work which established its author's reputation, and again somewhat dry but rewarding for the determined reader.
