Fey - the little people

[Andrew D. Gable]

and Grain respectively.

I was gonna add Vodyanoi, but he's not really small. How about Leshy? The Poleviks were cool, the stories I've heard say they'll strangle you if you fall asleep on the job in the fields.

Specifically small fae -- Leprechauns, Sluagh, and Abbey Lubbers.

 

[fusangite]

I'm currently the co-GM of a campaign about faeries. There are a number of theories about the way we got to our modern idea of faeries that seems to have gelled sometime in the 16th century.

Without a doubt, the most undervalued contribution to faerie lore is the Persian peri (notice the linguistic similarity). The diminutive stature, hierarchical organization and femininity we associate with faeries seems to have entered our culture from there. Of course, some people still argue that our term "faerie" comes from the Latin fatum referring to the three fates.

The peris were once evil but became sort of good over time but retained the trickster qualities of their murky past. This is a change that actually did take place over time; back in the days of the magi, all the peri stories were about evil little magical people but, over time, with the advent of Islam, the peris became nicer but because the oldest tales didn't die out, it was understood that the nice peris of today were sort of reformed demons.

Anyway, there are some great peri stories from Persian myth; if you can find a Persian folktales book, it will probably be worth your while.

If one is looking for other faerie-like things, an evil version are the Japanese tengu who share the diminutiveness and small stature of the peris. They are also shape-shifters.

I'll leave others with more enthusiasm and knowledge to supply any data on Celtic or Germanic faeries.

 

[Len]

Smurfs, and their higher-CR brethren.

 

[LondonReign]

Hybsils and Quicklings!

Eh, okay, I have strange taste in fey (but hybsil can be made into fine sausages!)

 

[reanjr]

When you think of little faerie people, what sort of creatures does that make you think of? (Small size or smaller, specifically)

Satyr is the first thing that pops in to mind. Which, of course, inspires nymph to pop into mind. Then on to little gossamer-winged faeries and pixies. Which brings me to brownies. Which jumps me over to the evil, demonic, powrie from Ravenloft. Which jumps me to redcaps...

 

[Megatron]

Tinkerbell and Nymphs

 

[WmRAllen67]

When you think of little faerie people, what sort of creatures does that make you think of? (Small size or smaller, specifically)

For "little" fey, the sprites, a la Fantasia, is what pops up first...

Otherwise, if you say "Fey" to me I immediately think of the Sidhe...

 

[TheAuldGrump]

I was gonna add Vodyanoi, but he's not really small. How about Leshy? The Poleviks were cool, the stories I've heard say they'll strangle you if you fall asleep on the job in the fields.

Specifically small fae -- Leprechauns, Sluagh, and Abbey Lubbers.

Leshy (singular, there is only one of him - at least per forest) is not always described as small - at other times he was described as 'towering over the woods and mountains'...

And yeah, the blood thirsty grain... Which reminds me of a non slavic one - Granny Rye, with her blue stained breasts... (Sign of advanced ergot poisoning.)

Ah, Vodyanoi - Grandfather Drowner, decorating his club with bright and pretty ribbons...

Powry or Redcap, Galley beggar, Boggart, Kobolds (the ones based on the boxed children's corpses sometimes found in the northern countries.), Gnome, Goblin, Brownie, Trash Hound, Pwwk, There are a slew of them.

I wish I still had my copy of A Field Guide to the Little People, it was a cool, cool, book.

The Auld Grump

 

[diaglo]

pixies, nixies, sprites, slyphs, grigs, brownies, leprechauns, smurfs, quicklings, nymphs, hybsils, satyrs

 

[Robbert Raets]

Nac Mac Feegle!!