D&D General How to design fairies without them looking like tiny humans with bug wings?

[Casimir Liber]

I mean like, tiny forest creatures/spirits. The ones that my 2nd edition DnD manual shows like this:

https://monstersc1.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/sprite2.gif?w=300

Which by the way would be a perfect approach to fairies.... I like them.... anthropomorphic insects. Perfect. It's just that there's already been enough bugs and insects so far in the campaign. Unless maybe I postpone to fairy encounter to much later on so it doesn't feel like they keep meeting bug humans.

grigs in 1e?

 

[RuinousPowers]

Maybe something like the Kakamora from Moana, but maybe stone based instead of coconut? Or use a more setting appropriate plant/bark?

 

[Bird Of Play]

Thanks so much for these ideas!!
I really appreciate, this kind of braingstorming helps a lot in getting out of the "writer's block" and defining how faeries should look.

I didn't know about chwingas. They certainly seem like a way less creepy-looking version of the Mononoke Hime's little dudes, and that's roughly what I was looking for. I'd like for the faeries to not look very unsettling, because there's already plenty of unsettling stuff in my campaign.
I like the fact they wear a mask because it ties up with my version of dryads. My version of dryads is a living being (90% of the times, an elf) that magically bounded with a treant (in my campaign, treants are just tree, except they're imbued with magic and can sometimes even move, but they don't have a face or any humanoid shape). I've already planned a dryad elf lady that's the priestess and leader of a hidden elf city, and she was inspired by this image:

https://www.artstation.com/artwork/e0NglP

Notice the mask. Now, you guys gave me the idea that I could use the same mask concept, for the faeries. It'll make a visual link between them.

And then I could use the idea of the kakamora in that the faeries -are- the mask. The rest is spirit, magic, and perhaps wines and rocks that give it a shape?

The result could be something like this:

https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/a617c4eb-0d73-4d78-92fd-eed5297195b8/dem27ny-d5748905-da3d-40df-ab0e-605358f9af57.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6W1t7InBhdGgiOiJcL2ZcL2E2MTdjNGViLTBkNzMtNGQ3OC05MmZkLWVlZDUyOTcxOTViOFwvZGVtMjdueS1kNTc0ODkwNS1kYTNkLTQwZGYtYWIwZS02MDUzNThmOWFmNTcuanBnIn1dXSwiYXVkIjpbInVybjpzZXJ2aWNlOmZpbGUuZG93bmxvYWQiXX0.MZ6cHGin3aRTd_hALX9rEVSHo_fVONuXHxZBWS9VPh4

 

[Imaculata]

There are plenty of myths of fey being disguised as toadstools, plants, acorns. And giants can be covered entirely in hair, as well as trolls, with exaggerated horrible facial features.

 

[Bird Of Play]

I think a good starting point is to think about what niche fairies occupy in your world.

Are they alien-seeming trickster types with orange-and-purple morality?

Are they personifications of nature? If so, do they represent both its nurturing and pitilessly destructive qualities in equal part, or do they lean toward one or the other?

Are they aristocratic hedonists who view humans as their own personal playthings?

Are they delightful beings who bring joy into an otherwise grey world?

Are they basically benevolent (though prone to anger if slighted) or basically malevolent (though capable of occasional kindness)? Are they beautiful? Scary? Are they tiny or human-sized? Do they steal children?

Fairies/fae have been and done all these things and more, and that's just in European folklore. I think if you figure out the core "vibe" of your fairies, you'll have an easier time choosing an appropriate visual form to convey the feeling you want.

By the way, I really appreciate this food for thought.

 

[Tonguez]

You can look at the works of Brian Froud for inspiration. He has a number of flowery mini-human faeries, but many more styles as well.