Changeling - Players Guide.pdf

The Algonquin tribes told stories about the maymay-gway-shi,
"little people" that dwelled in caves
behind waterfalls or in rock faces along the sea
shore. Notorious for their fondness for fresh fish,
the may-may-gway-shi would make daring raids
on the nets of nearby tribes, escaping pursuit
if spotted by disappearing — canoe and all
— into nearby rock or cliff faces, where
they could not be followed.
The may-may-gway-shi consider
themselves spirit brothers and sisters
of the tribes that once inhabited the
northeastern coastal areas of
America — the Abnaki, Maliseet,
Penobscot and other related
peoples. In hard times, these
Nunnehi used their power to fill
the fishing nets of their mortal
kin, in repayment for the fish
they availed themselves of in
more plentiful seasons.
Their reputation for possessing
strong Medicine sometimes
prompted mortal shamans to exert
their own power to pass
through the rocks that protected
a may-may-gway-shi encampment.
Those who were brave
and determined enough to succeed,
and those who brought
gifts of tobacco or fresh fish,
were rewarded for their courage
with smallstones imbued
with Medicine.
While younglings and
braves are prone to daring
escapades such as raiding
nets, painting their hands
red and marking the rocks
near mortal dwellings, and
leading pursuers on fruitless
(Rock Fishers)
chases, the elders of the Family prefer to practice their artistic
skills, decorating the walls, and sometimes the exteriors, of
their cave-dwellings with intricate petroglyphs and pictographic
designs. They are also adept at sculpting and
shaping rock (either with or without tools).
All may-may-gway-shi leam swimming, boating
and fishing at an early age, and practice these skills
all their lives. Their society is patrilineal, like that
of their mortal kin, hut they have adopted a
less gender-oriented lifestyle in modern times
than their ancestors. They can be found in
the Middle World making a living as
fishermen, artists (sculptors or painters)
or raft and canoe guides.
Occasionally Dreamspeakers
or shamans from tribes who recognize
the may-may-gway-shi
and remember the old tales will
still attempt to win power from
one of these native faeries, usually
through proving themselves
in some fashion that gains the
approval of the individual.
Although the tribes of
the Abnaki Confederation
have largely left their native
lands and now live on reservations
in Maine or are
disseminated throughout
the general population,
some few may-maygway-shi
can still be
found in encampments
in their
ancestral lands. Others
dwell near their
mortal kin.