There is already a race called changelings in Pathfinder, but those are the offspring of mortals and hags. In mythology, changelings are fey (or sometimes troll) children who are secretly exchanged with human babies by their supernatural mothers. Changeling is therefore the natural choice for the name of a race of half-fey, in the style of tieflings and aasimar. I'm honestly not sure why Paizo made the half-hag changelings, let alone called them 'changelings', when there is still no half-fey race. I suggest renaming the half-hag changeling race to 'hag-spawn'.
Presented below is the half-fey changeling race, modeled on the lines of tieflings and aasimar. I have also included ten alternate racial traits to further customize your changeling character, including one for small-sized changelings and one for talking to animals. After all, 'fey' and 'mortal' are broad categories - the offspring of a halfling and a leprechaun is going to be different from the offspring of a nymph and an elf, or a dwarf and a dryad.
Changelings (8 RP)
The offspring of fey creatures with the mortal races,
changelings are wild, exotic, and full of mystery. In mortal cultures, they are often looked on
with derision for their bastard ancestry and all the implications thereof -
many a married couple has been broken up by the arrival of a changeling
baby. So too are they often derided in
the fey lands for having mortal, 'imperfect' blood. Changelings are separated from both worlds,
either because of the strange traits and powers they have, or because of the
ones they don't.
Physical Description: Changelings often
exhibit some alien trait that marks them as different from the population they
were born into, be it horns, a tail, strangely-colored hair or eyes, glowing
skin, wings, or what have you. Many changelings,
however, are almost indistinguishable from the general population, though their
strange otherworldliness comes through in other ways.
Society: Changelings have no society of
their own, and are often outcasts in mortal and fey societies. Some changelings are run out of their home or
abandoned in the woods as a child, some form their own social groups from other
outcasts. While some primitive societies
may treat changelings as a curse, others may see them as a blessing and treat
them and their family with great respect.
Although the fey
see changelings as imperfect and corrupted by mortal blood, they also recognize
them on some level as kindred spirits and do not wish for them to come to
harm. Instead of abandoning a changeling
child, the fey mother will often secretly switch it out with a newborn human so
that it might at least be raised well.
In rare cases, regretful fey mothers may seek to steal the changeling
back from the human world.
Relations: Although often rejected by
mortal and fey society, changelings can usually find common ground and sympathy
from half-elves, tieflings, aasimar, and other such 'half-breeds.'
Alignment and Religion: Changelings
often find themselves drawn to religions that reflect their fey, nature-loving
heritage, though some actively seek to reject that legacy and avoid any such
connotations. The majority of
changelings trend toward chaotic alignments due to their fickle and spritely
personalities.
Adventurers: As outcasts so often do,
many changelings find themselves drawn to a life of adventure. Changelings make excellent sorcerers and
druids due to their innate connection with the arcane and natural world, and
many changelings channel their otherworldly charisma into fine bardic performances. Particularly successful changeling
adventurers may find acceptance in the societies that rejected them at birth,
even amongst the fey court, but some may choose to make their own path through
their adventures and spurn the advances of those who treated them so
indifferently before.
