Fey Lore

[Voadam]

Mythic Races by Fantasy Flight Games has a fairy race (size tiny, invis at will and winged, +3 ECL) and some stuff on the fairy plane.

Arcana Unearthed has a small fey like race that can take racial levels to metamorphose into size tiny and winged as well as more spell like abilities.

 

[Raven Crowking]

Removed

 

[carpedavid]

I recently created a list of "feytouched" feats for a campaign that has lots of fey activity. Mechanically, they work the same as FR's Regional Feats or OA's Ancestor Feats; they're more powerful than a standard feat, but you can only take one, and you can only take it when you're creating your character.

Here's the list. Feel free to use them however you wish.

Feytouched Feats

Due to the heavy interaction between the fey world and the mortal world, almost everyone in the Green Lands has some amount of fairy blood in them. Some people have a stronger connection than others, however, and these people exhibit some of the magical qualities of their fairy heritage. Feytouched feats can only be taken at character creation.

Danu's Youth [Feytouched]

The blood of the Goddess grants you long life and extraordinary vitality.

Benefit: Your maximum lifespan is triple that of a normal member of your race; multiply the age at which you enter each age category by three. You still suffer the effects of aging normally. Additionally, you gain a +2 bonus to Fortitude saves.

Dryad's Skin [Feytouched]

Your skin is thick and bark-like, which makes you harder to hit and provides you with protection from harm.

Benefit: Your natural armor bonus increases by 1. Additionally, when required to make a Reflex save for half damage, you may make a Fortitude save instead.

Firbolg's Strength [Feytouched]

The blood of ancient warriors makes you stronger than the average bear. You've got a stocky, solid build, and are taller and heavier than average.

Benefit: You have the carrying capacity of a creature one size category larger, and any armor check penalty to strength-based skills is reduced by 2.

Nixie's Breath [Feytouched]

Your nixie blood allows you to feel right at home in aquatic environments.

Benefit: You can breathe underwater and gain a +4 racial bonus to Swim skill checks.

Nymph's Charm [Feytouched]

Your nymph ancestor's beauty and charm allows you to more easily influence others.

Benefit: You gain a +2 bonus on Bluff, Diplomacy, and Gather Information skill checks.

Pixie's Bow [Feytouched]

The pixie magic that you've inherited allows you to imbue arrows with sleep magic.

Benefit: Once per day, you can replicate the effects of a pixie's sleep arrow. The arrow in question does no physical damage, but if it hits, the target must make a Fortitude save (DC 10 + 1/2 character level + Cha bonus) or be affected as though by a sleep spell.

Puck's Trickery [Feytouched]

You've inherited a minor version of a puck's ability to change form, which allows you to change your appearance in subtle ways. Your normal appearance is somewhat androgynous, and your age is hard for observers to pin down.

Benefit: You gain a +4 bonus to Disguise skill checks. Additionally, you do not suffer penalties for attempting to disguise yourself as a member of the opposite sex, and your penalty for attempting to disguise yourself as a different age category is reduced by 2.

Quickling's Step [Feytouched]

Your quickling heritage makes you faster than normal.

Benefit: You gain a +2 bonus to your Reflex saving throw, plus your base speed (for any movement rate you may possess) increases by 5 feet.

Satyr's Musicality [Feytouched]

The satyr blood that you've inherited provides you with flashes of inspiration when you create music. You have an uncommonly good voice, an intuitive understanding of most instruments that you touch, and a natural rhythm.

Benefit: You gain a +4 bonus to any Performance skill check that involves melodic or rhythmic elements.

Sidhe's Wisdom [Feytouched]

You are able to tap into the collected wisdom of the ancient fey.

Benefit: You can use any Knowledge skill untrained. If you possess ranks in a particular Knowledge skill, you gain a +1 to the check.

Sylph's Wings [Feytouched]

You possess gossamer wings which are as wide as you are tall, though they can be folded up behind your back, and even hidden under cloaks or clothing. They are not strong enough to allow you to fly, but they will slow your descent through the air.

Benefit: As long as you are able to deploy your wings, you are treated as though you are under the effects of a feather fall spell.

 

[Raven Crowking]

Removed

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I wrote a book called "The Complete Guide to Fey" for Goodman Games. I'm usually pretty hard on my own stuff but I like how this one turned out. Last I knew it was at the printer. It should be coming out soon.

The CG to Fey presents a set of rules for creating new fey (which can be used for reconstructing the MM Fey almost flawlessly-to within an ability point or two) but more importantly it allows you to adapt fey from any source you like and have the mechanics work.

It's not all crunch- there's tons of flavor- it answers all the common questions about what it is to be Fey, what their minds are like, what their motivations are and why, etc etc, etc. All through the book are adventure hooks.

There's really enough material here to run a Fey-centered or Fey-only campaign. In such a campaign, the book would be nearly as useful to the players as the GM. I really think it's going to be a hit. As the Donald would say, "This is gonna be 'uge."

I think it manages to be both 100% D&D, and yet do service to the traditional stories of the Fey.

I hope I don't sound like I'm bragging, but I'm proud of how this book turned out.

Where does it fall on how alien fey are? I think the WotC site stuff is very well-intentioned, but I find it far too cutesy without any real hard edges. I like my fey more in the "Lords & Ladies"/"Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell" vein; beautiful, strange and scary. I think the "Valley of Frozen Tears" PDF does them right, for instance.

Your book has intrigued me since it was announced, but I'm always concerned about the tone of fey books, most of which are far too cuddly. (White Wolf might partially be to blame, IMO, since their "Changeling" line was heavy on the cuddly and depressingly light on the strange and alien, even though the scariness was allegedly a key element of the line.)

 

[Afrodyte]

other inspirations for fey

Although people normally believe that the fey are a purely Celtic phenomenon, if you look at the creatures, myths, and legends of other cultures, fey are notoriously widespread. The gods and spirits of other cultures come remarkably close to the powers and natures of fey.

Devas, xian (also spelled hsien), orisha, kami, angels and demons, spirits (not ghosts), and minor deities all have bear a striking resemblance to what you'd come across with Celtic faeries. They are like us but distinctly Other for one main reason: magic. For instance, the Olympian gods. Mount Olympus resembles a faerie court more than it does a vortex of cosmic powers. Another example: anime demons. In a lot of cases, when I hear the word "demon" on English translations of anime, it sounds like a misnomer because the creatures seem very similar to fey. Wicked City's creatures from the Black World and Inuyasha's demons are two well-known examples of this.

While most people are more familiar with faeries from the Celtic angle, introducing elements from other cultures can do a great deal to make things more interesting. Not to mention, it helps players and GMs realize that taking things for granted when dealing with Faerie is a surefire way to end up with a fate you don't want.

 

[RSKennan]

Where does it fall on how alien fey are? I think the WotC site stuff is very well-intentioned, but I find it far too cutesy without any real hard edges. I like my fey more in the "Lords & Ladies"/"Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell" vein; beautiful, strange and scary. I think the "Valley of Frozen Tears" PDF does them right, for instance.

Your book has intrigued me since it was announced, but I'm always concerned about the tone of fey books, most of which are far too cuddly. (White Wolf might partially be to blame, IMO, since their "Changeling" line was heavy on the cuddly and depressingly light on the strange and alien, even though the scariness was allegedly a key element of the line.)

Fey as presented in the CG to Fey are very alien to start; but you can swing them one way or the other as you like. There is one race that starts out a bit 'cute' (urchin) but that's about it. I think that an innocent race like that works well in a dark fantasy game ("The Quest to Save the Children's Dreams"...). Urchins are the antecedents to various animal-featured fey from fiction, but they don't have to go that way.

I made every effort to point out how the fey do *not* think like us, but to give a good framework for why they think they way they do. GMs and players of fey will know why they act the way they do, but outsiders will be clueless. The Fey are fairly inscrutible from the outside looking in. Without giving away too much info, these fey have strange laws and protocols which bind them- and if they fail to live up to them, they will die or be transformed into something else, usually darker.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Fey as presented in the CG to Fey are very alien to start; but you can swing them one way or the other as you like. There is one race that starts out a bit 'cute' (urchin) but that's about it. I think that an innocent race like that works well in a dark fantasy game ("The Quest to Save the Children's Dreams"...). Urchins are the antecedents to various animal-featured fey from fiction, but they don't have to go that way.

I don't mind some fey being like this by any means -- the petal in MM3 were long overdue, IMO. I just want the red caps there, too.

I made every effort to point out how the fey do *not* think like us, but to give a good framework for why they think they way they do. GMs and players of fey will know why they act the way they do, but outsiders will be clueless. The Fey are fairly inscrutible from the outside looking in. Without giving away too much info, these fey have strange laws and protocols which bind them- and if they fail to live up to them, they will die or be transformed into something else, usually darker.

Cool. I'll give it a peruse when it hits stores, but this sounds like what I'm looking for.

 

[DM_Fiery_Fist]

Thanks for the link, Raven. I've read through a few of the posts there and I can already tell that you know your stuff. Also, many thanks to carpedavid for the excellent list of feats. Those are perfect for my campaign - I'll be sure to give credit to you if I use any of them.

Afrodyte, your post got me thinking as well. Has anyone worked with the fey-like equivalents of other cultures (besides the Celts, that is)? That might be an interesting twist on an old topic. I do recall reading somewhere about an ancient African story of tiny tribal men that would come out of the ground - I don't recall much more than that, but it would be a good spin. Are there any resources for non-Celtic fey you guys might recommend?

 

[Afrodyte]

Fiery Fist,

RPG resources on non-Celtic fey are not plentiful, and the examples I do know of don't come cheap (Exalted: The Fair Folk springs to mind). However, the following can be inspirational:

• Journey to the West (book) by Wu Cheng-en. You can find translations in a college library or a decent bookstore.
• The Ramayana (book). Translations abound in bookstores and college libraries.
• Inuyasha (anime). Comes on Cartoon Network. If you want to watch at your own pace and find out about "demons," you can buy the entire first season at Suncoast or (preferably) at online discount anime vendors.
• Wicked City (anime). The hentai elements aside, it's a good source for seeing what interaction between the human world and Faerie would look like.
• 3X3 Eyes (anime). It contains some elements of Hindu cosmology in it, but it's still accessible and enjoyable.
• Ovid's Metamorphosis.
• Euripedes' The Bacchae and The Medea.
• Folktales and legends from around the world, especially those dealing with spirits that are not ghosts.

There are many, many more sources than these listed here. But these are the ones that most easily spring to mind when I think of non-Celtic fey.