Changeling Oaths

An Oath is a sacred vow between two or more Changelings.It forms a contract of specific obligations each Kithain agrees to meet in the Oath. This contract might oblige those who swear an Oath to defend a freehold, uphold true love, or undertake a dangerous quest. Some Oaths bind Kithain together for eternity while others last a shorter period of time. Many reaffirm their Oaths of allegiance at Beltane or Samhain (see Bunks, page 258) and Changeling society is designed to enforce Oaths. Those who break an Oath are declared Oathbreaker (see Greater Moniker, page 251) and punished harshly.

Clauses and Stipulations
Changelings are born of flesh with souls formed in dreams. Words matter to them in both a physical and metaphysical sense. The literal and figurative meaning of words bind those in contracts. A famous story tells of a Shadow Courtier who swore that should a Seelie Troll surrender, she could leave with anything she could carry. She dropped her armor and weapons, then lifted her Lord and her entire motley onto her back and carried them out of enemy lands. Oaths are composed of clauses and stipulations, the building blocks which form the basis of an agreement. A clause is a statement describing an action that must happen for a contract to be upheld and include such things as:
 * To take a specific action.
 * To allow a specific action.
 * To never take a specific action.
 * To protect or defend a person, item, group, or place.
 * To complete a quest.

A stipulation is an exception to the agreed-upon clause. They include such things as:
 * Except: Remove a person, group, or item from a clause.
 * Qualifier: A quality that applies to a clause within the terms.
 * In addition: Adding other clauses or even contracts to this contract.

Types of Oaths
There are three categories of Oaths, with the same names as Quests:
 * A Simple Oath is a short-term Oath. Most times it can be completed within a single game session and has a low-level impact. The aftermath rarely lasts beyond the current game session. Simple Oaths have easy-to-achieve outcomes, such as successfully traveling to the Near Dreaming.
 * A Complex Oath challenges a character to keep their commitments over the course of multiple game sessions. Often, they last over a period of a year and a day. The players engage with a new component of the scenario in each session until the Oath is complete or the person can no longer keep it.
 * A Heroic Oath carries many more requirements and risks than a Complex Oath. A person under a Heroic Oath most often has to keep to its tenets for a lifetime, with clauses that challenge many. Heroic Oaths represent epic commitments.

Benefits of an Oath
Oaths empower Changelings to reach for goals beyond their normal means. When creating an Oath, the Storyteller will determine a benefit the character receives when the Oath is upheld.

Benefits are detailed below. The list below contains the benefits a Changeling could receive once per night for keeping their Oath:
 * Duty: Regain one trait of Fleeting Prestige spent in service to an Oath, returned at the end of the session.
 * Devotion: Changelings that take acts to fulfill their Oaths gain one point of Glamour.
 * Resolve: Changelings that risk themselves to meet the requirements of their Oath gain a free Willpower retest.
 * Motivation: A Changeling can add a +1 Wild Card skill bonus to their pool for a test related to their Oath.