Faeries teleport?

[Imaro]

Yeah, I don't really get the teleportation thing either... In my mind...

Fey = glamour, illusions, trickery, mimicking voices, etc. these type of things.

I honestly think of Nightcrawler from the X-men with the teleportation thing, and I mean Wolverine did call him an elf on more than one occasion.

 

[Ktulu]

I'm trying to think of examples that fit and I keep going to Hercules the legendary journeys.

Every faerie, nymph, and woodland sprite would always appear and seem to move about the scene without moving; from this tree to the next (with the exception of Centaurs, they're just lazy and didn't move much) in front and behind.

To me, teleportation is an easy form of trickery and mystery. If you're speaking to a pixie and you turn away for a second and she's sitting on your sword the next, that's disconcerting. You're uncomfortable with her unnatural movement. I think it works quite well, actually.

Also, was it Puck from Merlin? He would constantly appear all around the scene when talking, from popping out of shadows and such. It just feels fairy-like and unearthly.

 

[Raven Crowking]

What? I thought that blink elves appeared in most mythologies. Isn't there a story about blink elves in the Elder Edda?


RC

 

[LostSoul]

If that's the explanation, then they wuoldn't be able to use it while in the Feywild, because that's the place they "step into" when they teleport.

That's when they step into the World.

This is particularly jarring when I look at the Feypact warlock. It just doesn't behave mysteriously or anything on the battlemat. It's just "My curse guy died - now I move 3."

Roll 1d20. On a 1, he brings something back with him.

edit: I like that idea, could make for some interesting encounters.

- The starting/desitination square is filled with butterflies from the Feywild, glowing with witchlight. Make an attack: Burst 1; PC level +4 vs. Will; the target is Dazed (save ends).
- A gust of icy wind howls from the Feywild. All non-magical light sources (torches, lanterns, etc.) are extinguished in a Burst 5, requiring a minor action to re-light.
- A tree appears in the starting/destination square and begins to grow rapidly. 1st round - That square is considered difficult terrain. 2nd round - the tree provides cover to someone standing in its square. 3rd round - the tree becomes impassable terrain and provides cover to all adjacent squares. 4th round - the tree withers and dies. Any character in the same square as the tree on the start of the tree's turn is Pushed 1- A waterfall appears in the starting/destination square, creating a mist and a small pool of water. The waterfall provides cover in a Burst 1 and those squares become difficult terrain. The waterfall disappears at the end of the encounter.
- A swarm of impish pixies appears in the starting/destination square and attempts to play a prank on the nearest creature. Make an attack: Melee; +8 vs. Dex; the target is prone, disarmed, or dazed (DM's choice).
- A fey spirit enters the World and enters a nearby plant, awakening that plant. A dryad appears in that space in the next round. If there are no suitable plants nearby, the fey spirit dies at the end of the encounter.

etc.

 

[Rechan]

That's when they step into the World.

Except that I thought fey just couldn't jump into the World so easily; they had to pass through the same paths that mortals have to in order to reach the Feywild. (Ergo why the place isn't overrun with Fey). Also, if time moves different in the Feywild than in the World, then their movement would likely be effected.

 

[Sir Brennen]

Except that I thought fey just couldn't jump into the World so easily; they had to pass through the same paths that mortals have to in order to reach the Feywild. (Ergo why the place isn't overrun with Fey).

They're not stepping fully into the Feywild, more just the "overlap" area between the world and the feywild. Sort of like the border ethereal in previous editions. And since they aren't fully in the feywild, this is why they re-appear at the end of the movement. So they're literally "walking between worlds".

 

[Scribble]

Except that I thought fey just couldn't jump into the World so easily; they had to pass through the same paths that mortals have to in order to reach the Feywild. (Ergo why the place isn't overrun with Fey). Also, if time moves different in the Feywild than in the World, then their movement would likely be effected.

Once long ago the planes were as one. The prime the fey and the shadow; a place without time, and a place without change. The fey and the mortal races lived side by side, and death was unheard. But then one day things DID change. The three planes seperated and the border between them became greater. The mortal races moved away from the wilds, and after a time grew older and began to enter the state of non-life. Over time even this non-life state grew shorter, until eventually people began to call it death, and considered those whom had passed on to be gone.

One common theory states that the distance between the planes grows ever larger, with the end result being three distinct planes with an almost impossible to cross border between them. Some evidence for this theory can be seen in the races of the fey.

When the change was just beggining, crossing between the worlds was a simple matter. For a time even humans found the it as simple as leaving one room and entering another. But now, even the magically inclined fey can only step but a moment into another realm without the aid of ritual.

Some sages argue that the mortal races quicken this change through their use of magic. They say when the final stage of the seperation is complete the prime will be a world devoid of all magic, and the supernatural. They point to a distinct increase in the amount of fey who stay mainly in the wilds, and an increasing difficulty to perfom magic arts as evidence of their claims.

Others say this is simply hogwash, and fearmongering without any real proof- but neither side will deny that something is happening.

 

[Tuft]

I love 4e. I love the Feywild. And I love the emphasis on the Fey.

But one thing that has had me scratching my head is that universally, fey related powers = teleportation. The Fey Pact warlock has tons of teleportation powers. The Feyborn template has a teleportation related power. And tons of fey in the MM have Fey step or equivalent teleportation powers.

What is it that makes fae = teleport? How does it feel thematic? I don't recall anything in the lore about just being in one spot, and not in the next. And, I can't really come up with a good visual of the teleportation (especially depending on the species). Dryads I get - the tree stride is thematic. But otherwise?

Gameism vs Simulationism.

To use a Computer analogy: 4E is a RISC system - that is, powers are put together from a small set of basic building blocks, such as Pull, Push, slide, buff until end of your next turn, debuff until the end of your next turn, attack using attribute X vs defense Y, etc.

(Almost) all powers have to be put together from these building blocks, Lego style. The short-range teleport is such a basic building block. "Illusion", or "Glamour" isn't - if you make an illusion power it has to be built from other blocks. See e.g. the illusionist spells that were published in Dragon. Instead the fact that it is an illusion is put into the cursive flavour text - but it's not part of the game mechanics.

The RISC design of powers probably makes them much easier for WoTC to write in a extremely homogenous and balanced form.

 

[TerraDave]

I assumed it was modeling the ease with which they slip in and out of our world and into the Fey realm. Just like Eladrin, they physically cover the distance when they "teleport", just not necessarily on the same plane. At least for fey-step powers.

Its the old dimension door...and yes, it works both ways.

 

[Pbartender]

Look at it this way...

In the new 4E cosmology, the Feywild, has taken on all the major aspects of the old Ethereal Plane. Looking at it that way, Faeries as a group are now much like any of the old creatures that could briefly or partially turn ethereal -- displacer beasts, blink dogs, phase spiders and the like.

They effectively teleport by slipping from the Material Plane over into Feywild, moving, and then slipping back. It still works in the Feywild, becaus ethey simply do the reverse... slip into the Material for a bit and then back into the Feywild after they've moved. That bit of planar side-stepping allows them to avoid obstacles that would normally prevent or hinder their movement. While you could technically sat that it isn't teleportation per se, the mechanical effect is the same.

Or at least, that's how I'd explain it away.