Wechselkind

A mother hears a sound in the night and worriedly checks on her sleeping toddler. Nothing appears amiss, but weeks later the glamour fades and the true horror is revealed: the child has been stolen by the faerie, and a wechselkind is left in its place. The faerie are callous and unchanging beings, so nothing sparks their fascination (and their envy) more than the malleable, bright spark of a young human child.

A wechselkind is a construct crafted of wood, clay, and ceramic in the form of a small child, animated by faerie magic and concealed in a glamour that makes them appear identical to a stolen mortal babe. Once the glamour fades and the lie is revealed, the wechselkind is often cast out by its foster family, if not destroyed. Occasionally, though, a family takes pity on the poor creature and attempts to raise it as they would a child, only to find that while their mind develops normally, a wechselkind is forever bound in the unchanging form of a childlike doll.

Whether nurtured or shunned, the wechselkind eventually finds itself an outcast in the world and must fend for itself as best it can. With few physical needs, the wechselkind often wanders from place to place, watching the people it encounters with envious eyes, hoping for a place to finally fit in.

The residual magic of its faerie glamour allows it to conceal itself in the guise of a human child, and a lone wechselkind often takes to begging by the side of the road or doing odd jobs around an isolated farmhouse, searching for some scraps of acceptance or a small trinket or two to take with it when it must inevitably move on.

Recently, with the advent of the Weeping Pox, the wechselkind have started to emerge from hiding and be recognized as a separate race of creatures. With their immunity to disease, a number of wechselkind have offered their services as nurses and doctor’s assistants in plague-stricken regions, gaining recognition and praise from those able to see beyond their tragic beginnings. These wechselkind are grateful for a sense of purpose and a place to belong, but remain wary. Once their usefulness is at an end, they know they may be cast out once more.

P. 9 Grim Hollow Players Guide
Use Poppit Ancestry from Pathfinder 2e Rules