CW: Animal abuse, body horror
In the first parts of this series (here, here, and here), I reviewed White Wolf’s Chronicles of Darkness character Template for the Skinchanger and the four books it appeared in. In the conclusion to this story, I summarize the high points of the character while considering what still needs to be developed in order to bring the Skinchanger into their own.
WHY DIDN’T SKINCHANGERS GAIN A WIDER FOLLOWING?
Over fifteen years, two systems, and four books later, I’m circling back to the original consideration that turned this into a series: Why did this character Template get its own sourcebook and various levels of support, yet remains obscure and overlooked. In a universe with vampires, werewolves, mages, faeries, hunters, mummies, demons, Frankenstein’s monsters, wraiths, geists, ghosts, beasts, deviants, psychics, slashers, and more, how did the Skinchanger warrant a whole sourcebook and several followups, but not find its place among the other masses?
While you can do a chronicle about Skinchangers (I’m speaking from firsthand knowledge), these characters and their world are less of a full campaigning option than side characters in a larger chronicle. To date, they lack the mythology to really build a layered, complex modern urban horror tale. Add to that, they do not strike fear into the hearts of the other supernatural beings of the wider Chronicles of Darkness universe. A skinchanger couldn’t win in a fight with a werewolf or a vampire. They lack the powers to deal with anyone stronger than a lone, novice hunter. Sure, they might be able to put up some resistance against a true supernatural adversary, more than a mere mortal, anyway, but the conclusion is foregone. In its original incarnation, Skinchangers were for use with the New World of Darkness Rulebook (1st Edition), but didn’t truly fit in.
It’s not their lack of clarity within their lore, it’s the core concept. The World of Darkness and Chronicles of Darkness deal with deep, personal horror. Bad things happen to people in these games. But, generally, bad things do not happen to animals in these games. Sure, people get eaten and the like, but skinning a dog and wearing the hide is a big step into player discomfort.
In stories, there’s a character device named “Pet the Dog.” This storytelling technique has the hero literally be kind to a dog or other animal so the audience knows they are a good character. Consider that as you consider one of the more difficult aspects of their character canon: A skinchanger gains their power by wearing the skin of an animal, one that they skinned, typically. How they obtained the skin (hunting and skinning or being presented it in some fashion) varies, but the end result is the kind of horror that many players avoid. People love their pets. Threatening them, even in fiction, can be a step too far.
That said, some of the books I’ve shared contain options to remove the central horror element from this narrative. Your character can get their power from a spirit and make the change without using a skin. In other words, there’s an option in which no animals were harmed in the making of this chronicle. The central concept of Skinchangers involves horrific acts that many would be uncomfortable with. Thus, having a gore-free option makes sense. That said, without the central anchor, this game loses its brand of personal horror. If your character can get their power and no one is hurt, what’s the cost to the PC’s humanity? Within the wider world of the Chronicles of Darkness, this removes its connection with the terrors that drive the rest of the series.
WHAT NEEDS TO SHIFT
The available skinchanger books lay a great foundation for the mechanical side of the concept, but each has a flaw: What’s the story? In Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone when Rubeus Hagrid states, “You’re a wizard, Harry!” every member of the audience understands the adventures those words make possible because, as a culture, we all know what wizards are. To give another example, take Vampire: The Masquerade. The title sums up the whole of its adventures: You’re a vampire but you need to blend among your prey.
In contrast, Skinchanger is a power, not a story. Storytellers and players may not be sure what the overall goal is, and after four supplements with limited adventure ideas, that’s a fair concern. How do Hunters feel about skinchangers? Do Werewolves kill them as perversions of the Wyrm? Do ghost hunters and psychics hear and see the horrors that skinchangers have visited on their animal victims?
Counter to the obvious significance of words like “werewolf” or “hunter,” Skinchanger, or even the more descriptive Skinthief, do not throw open the doorway to epic adventures. Most likely players will deem it more of a power than a plot. In fact, that’s part of the genius of Chronicles of Darkness: Dark Eras and Borrowed Power’s move from a Template to a Merit. As a Template, there must be a larger reason for these characters to exist because Templates are a foundational part of your character. But flipping the scope from the Template to a Merit, this just becomes an option that a character might possess.
Of the four books, Chronicles of Darkness: Dark Eras gave the most world. Just by saying you’re a shapechanger in the jungles of central America during the height of the Aztec Empire, there’s a concept to sink your teeth into. That setting gives the powers of skinthieves context. Yet, it’s also the book that first moves the power from a character level concern to a Merit which takes the focus off of Skinchangers as a class in need of a specific narrative. The other books focus more on the powers and the types of characters that would have this power without tying the concepts into a world.
This is to say, with the next book or revision that includes Skinchangers as a Template, a setting that ties the skinthieves into the wider world would be a welcome addition to their mechanics. Expanding on their existing mythology would offer a wider world worth exploring.
Beyond that, an animal bestiary would be a welcome addition for this concept. This is a hard game to throw together since the number of animals with stats in CoD is limited. A book of animals, even if they’re just broad categories like “Canine, Small” and “Feline, Large”, would open up more gaming options for the Skinchanger.
SHOULD YOU CHANGE SKINS?
Should you add Skinchangers to your Chronicles of Darkness campaign? Will they fit or cause challenges. There’s two considerations with this: Your narrative and your tastes.
Narratively, this class could add some spice to any CoD story focused on Mortals. As a power, Skinchangers aren’t game changers, they have some unexpected enhancements, but not so much that they’ll dominate a fight against another mortal.
Going deeper and exploring a Skinchangers campaign, that’s where you’ll need to get creative. Your characters can take an animal’s power and transform into that animal, what do you do with that? Can you come up with a scenario? Yes. Can you carry it through a campaign and achieve all that you wanted to? Yes. But it’s not as easily spelled out as some other gaming options.
Switching from PCs to NPCs, Skinchangers are a great villain option between Hunters and Werewolves. As antagonists, a group of Skinchangers that wear Werewolf pelts would be a great mystery for a pack to deal with. Not too powerful, but a specific threat, and one that’s parallel to the Wyrm. They might even be co-opted by Hunters to put more pressure on Werewolves. Going the other direction, Hunters facing off against a Skinchanger or a group of them could be interesting.
Let’s change tack and talk about Skinchangers and your gaming table’s tastes. To be blunt and grotesque, Skinchangers capture and kill animals for barbaric purposes. This concept may not sit well with your gaming table or you as a storyteller. Before you can enter into a Skinchangers campaign or even a character option, you need to be sure that no one is going to be hurt by the concept of wearing a skin in order to take its power.
Overall, if your table approves of the core concepts of this horror and you have a story to tell with the Skinchangers, then I recommend sampling the below books. You can select the system and character type that works best for your campaign. Best of all, if you write up your own Skinchanger ideas, you can add them to the community content available via the Storytellers Vault.
FURTHER READING
If you are interested in the books featuring Skinchangers, then try out these publications.
- World of Darkness: Skinchangers [New World of Darkness/Chronicles of Darkness 1st Edition]. Published in 2006 by White Wolf Publishing. Written by Chris Campbell, Jess Hartley, and Peter Schaefer, along with developer, Ethan Skemp. Physical copies of the book are available via Noble Knights. PDF and Print On Demand copies are available via Storytellers Vault service.
- Chronicles of Darkness: Dark Eras [Chronicles of Darkness 2nd Edition]. Originally published in 2016 by Onyx Path Publishing. Written by Peter Schaefer, along with developer, Eric Zwadzki. The chapter related to the Skinchangers was reprinted by Onyx Path Publishing as its own product in 2017 and titled, Dark Eras: Beneath the Skin (Skinchangers and Demon: the Descent). PDF and Print On Demand copies are available via Storytellers Vault service.
- Borrowed Power [Chronicles of Darkness 2nd Edition]. Published in 2018 via the Storytellers Vault community content program. Written by Chris Falco.
- Chronicles of Darkness: Beneath Shifting Skin [Chronicles of Darkness 2nd Edition]. Published in 2021 via the Storytellers Vault community content program. Written by Travis Legge, TJ Wilson, and Sam Young.
If you’re looking for more detailed history on the World of Darkness and White Wolf, check out these options.
- World of Darkness documentary. This film debuted in 2017 and gives an overview of the history of the World of Darkness from its origins to the run-up to Vampire: The Masquerade Fifth Edition.
- If you’re looking for a history of White Wolf, check out Designers & Dragons: The 90s: A History of the Roleplaying Game Industry, also available via DriveThruRPG. Published in 2014 by Evil Hat Productions. Written by Shannon Appelcline.
Egg Embry participates in the OneBookShelf Affiliate Program, Noble Knight Games’ Affiliate Program, and is an Amazon Associate. These programs provide advertising fees by linking to DriveThruRPG, Noble Knight Games, and Amazon.
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