D&D (2024) Fey Video Critique & Alternate Perspective

[QuentinGeorge]

They talk about what has been happening in their game - i.e. in the published adventures. They make no claims about anyone else's adventures.

Since you don't play WotC adventures, you would not have noticed that goblins have been fey for four years now.

"We changed them to Fey because we changed them to Fey".

 

[Paul Farquhar]

"We changed them to Fey because we changed them to Fey".

In effect, yes. They are saying they are bringing the core rules in line with changes they made earlier. They don't explain why they made those earlier changes (it's down to the post-movie collapse in the popularity of Tolkien, and rise in interest in pre-Tolkien "fairy stories").

For reference: goblin market

 

[MonsterEnvy]

Remember the Mad Max war machines that dominated marketing for Descent into Avernus, yet were remarkably absent in the actual adventure?

They were a notable part of the adventure.

 

[Chaltab]

"We changed them to Fey because we changed them to Fey".

Yes. This is what they said, essentially. I don't know why people care so damn much about this, but this certainly hasn't been represented as some sort of fan-demanded change in their videos.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

They were a notable part of the adventure.

Adventure Paths are not the railroads people who don’t play them think they are. It’s up to the players if they want to be road warriors or not.

 

[Corinnguard]

we got some details here on the fey goblins

This Effin’ GM (@thiseffingm.bsky.social)

Fey in Monster Manual 2024 are defined not only as creatures of the feywild but also as those who embody forces of nature. Goblinoids have been recast to fey Goblins represent embodiments of recklessness and ruin. They are often used by more powerful creatures to cause evil.

bsky.app

It looks like the Goblinoids are going to be Unseelie Fey in 5.5e. So, who gets to be their Seelie counterparts? IMO, it ought to be the Elves (who also have the Fey Ancestry trait) and Gnomes (who could embody the creative spirit of the Fey). Plus, Hobgoblins kind of look like robust elves with a lot more body hair (at least the one in the 3e MM had that look).

 

[Paul Farquhar]

So, who gets to be their Seelie counterparts?

There is a fairy player species in Wild Beyond the Witchlight. Just stick those characteristics on any NPC stat block.

Fey are extremely diverse in any case.

 

[Parmandur]

MotM gave a number of species (not just goblinoids) "Fey Ancestry" which was an advantage against saves vs. Charm. In most games, that comes into play more often than creature type -- whether you are vulnerable to hold person or not.

And, in MotM, goblinoids were still humanoids and were not fey.

Playable Goblinoids were Humanoid, the stat blocks were all Fey.

But they've gone "all the way" with goblinoids, but (apparently) not with all the fey-ancestry species.

At the same time, there were playable species that were fey: Centaur, Satyr, Fairy, etc. Claiming that the game had already migrated to goblins=fey simply does not seem true, and it seems like they are trying to ret-con something they clearly hadn't done beforem in order to justify it now.

The other Species that they made Fey in MotM are now also Fey in the MM, such as Centaur.

 

[Micah Sweet]

They talk about what has been happening in their game - i.e. in the published adventures. They make no claims about anyone else's adventures.

Since you don't play WotC adventures, you would not have noticed that goblins have been fey for four years now.

I wrote off WotC's lore and game design (mostly) right around that time, yes.

 

[Kobold Stew]

The other Species that they made Fey in MotM are now also Fey in the MM, such as Centaur.

What about the other species that were humanoid with the Fey Ancestry trait? Are elves fey?
If not, that is where the inconsistency lies.