Editing Changeling (section)

===Shadow Fey Changeling===
[[File:Changeling tSR.png|thumb|left|200px]]
[[File:Changeling shadow fey.jpg|thumb|The only problem is she drools on whatever dish she makes.]]
In the [[Demiplane of Dread]] live a race of Gothic Horror themed [[fey]]; the Arak, or [[Shadow Fey]]. As such, they have their own form of changelings. These are humans who, for whatever reason, impressed a shadow fey with their skill enough that the shadow fey chose to "preserve" them. Through a complicated ritual that involves feeding the soon-to-be-changeling some fey food to put them into a coma, before lighting a magical candle, sprinkling the victim with special mystic dust, ritually cutting away their shadow with an enchanted silver sickle, bunging the shadow into an enchanted sack, and legging it for the Shadow Rift before the candle burns out (or is extinguished). If the shadow fey succeeds at it, the victim's shadow is transformed into a changeling; an unaging, mindless drone that resembles its "donor", but with a fey trait based on its creator and a permanent vacuous expression, which lives on to exercise its specific skill, be it medicine, fighting, gardening, baking, smithing, whatever.

As you might expect, the shadow-less donor is not left in a particularly good condition; having lost a fundamental chunk of their soul, these "elf-shot" individuals become mindless zombies, shuffling through life without direction and swiftly starving to death if not cared for. The shadow fey see nothing wrong in what they do; as far as they are concerned, creating a changeling from a mortal's soul is a gift, as it preserves the most useful and valuable part of the mortal for all eternity.

Shadow Fey Changelings are also known as "Kin", referring to which of the breeds created them and which thusly defines their traits; all of the "common" breeds of Arak create them, but it's unknown if "lesser" breeds like the Waff and Gwytune either do or can.

These changelings were around in both [[Advanced Dungeons & Dragons]] 2nd edition and in [[Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition]], being covered in the Shadow Rift and in [[Van Richten's Guide]] to the [[Shadow Fey]] sourcebooks, respectively.

The known shadow changeling breeds are:
* '''Alvenkin:''' Inoffensive by nature, these changelings serve as farmers, gardeners, herbalists and other horticulturalists, much like the alven do.
* '''Bragkin:''' Those who are chosen to become Bragkin changelings are always involved in tasks of physical engineering; they are architects, builders, carpenters, masons... if it involves making things through a lot of heavy labor, then that's the role these changelings fill. As such, they tend to be quite strong.
* '''Firkin:''' [[Artificer]]s and technical artisans are made into changelings to serve the Fir. Clockwork, trap-crafting, anything involving mechanical devices is the domain of these changelings.
* '''Muryankin:''' One of the few changeling breeds inclined to violence, Muryankin are the muscle of the Arak, serving as expendable guardians and soldiers through their combination of fighting skill and berserk fury.
* '''Portunekin:''' A rare breed indeed, Portunekin were doctors, physicians, and other healers in their old life, which is why they were taken; to become the healers of the Arak. 
* '''Powriekin:''' The other changeling breed most likely to be sent on missions of blood, Powriekin were changed for their skills in stealth, theft and murder; they work for the Arak in the wider world as [[rogue|thieves]] and [[assassin]]s.
* '''Sheekin:''' Performers and entertainers of all stripes are snatched up by the Shee, making these soul-less "living performance machines" perhaps the most common changeling breed.
* '''Sithkin:''' Pale and ghostly, to the point they are often mistaken by the unwary for the [[Undead]], Sithkin don't have as clear a purpose as the other breeds; they seem to serve the Sith as general dogsbodies, being sent to receive items of importance to their [[necromancer]] masters from places of death, such as graveyards and mortuaries.
* '''Tegkin:''' As feral as the Tegs that made them, these changelings are the hunters of the Arak, thinking only of bringing down whatever quarry they are directed to, and supplying meat and hides to the Shadow Fey as a whole.