steeldragons
Steeliest of the dragons
Working on/picking away at a Bestiary/Menagerie/Monster book/entries for something and wanted to share this write up under "Faeries."
Trying to keep things both folkloric and traditional to D&D without being, specifically, D&D. They are much more flavor-based without so much of "rules" or "stats" worked up. That'll come later.
How's this sound, just for starters? Is there anything quintessentially "fairy" that I'm missing?
21. Faerie: Brownie, Pixie, Redcap
The Land of Faerie, Fairyland, the Seelie Court, realms of the Faye, the Folk under the Hill, there are as many names as there are worlds for the dimension of the faye and their ilk that skirts the physical world (Prime Material Plane) of "the mortal races." Where the land of Fairie touches the Prime Material there are portals, some constant, some open only by special circumstance (a special ritual, full moon, certain nights of the year, etc...). These portals might appear as any number of things, usually some hidden secret natural place of untouched beauty (a ring of toadstools, a seemingly normal cave in a hillside, a very large old tree, pristine pond or fountain, etc...) through which the creatures of Faerie move relatively freely between their world and ours. Some come simply out of curiosity, some enjoy living among the mortal races, some quite by accident or mistake. Some are actually "exiled" to the Prime Material Plane by the mysterious rulers of the Faye realms. Others are just seeking to wreak mischief, sometimes harmless, sometimes quite dangerous mischief or worse, sinister purposes. A complete catalog of the creatures of Faerie is unknown. For now we'll detail three of the most commonly encountered. All faeries have the following traits in common:
--"Cold iron" will inflict double damage and can contain or block (they will not be able to cross/pass over it) not only a creature of faerie, but constrains their magic as well. They have a near phobic fear of the metal and avoid it at all costs.
--All faerie are able to see in up to complete darkness at a range of 90'.
--All faerie are able to use the following innate at will magical powers: faerie fire, phantasmal force (minor image), and can speak with animals.
--Unless otherwise stated, Faeries are all considered to be Chaotic in nature, valuing freedom and individuality almost to a fault with little concern for "Order" or "Law", other than the decrees/laws of their own Fairy Kings and Queens, which are a complete mystery to anyone but them. Their minds and ways of thinking are somewhat "alien" to most of the mortal races (though gnomes and sprites, especially, seem more in tune with them).
--Most faeries, regardless of alignment, tolerate each other and will not fight among themselves. Whether this is some unspoken fairy law or not is unknown. Also, any creature of the fairy land has an innate respect and appreciation for sylvan creatures (centaurs, satyrs, dryads, etc.) including elves, gnomes, sprites and druids of any race. Their reaction toward such creatures should be one bump toward a "friendly" response/interaction with such characters.
Brownie: The brownies are one of the most kindly and helpful faye. They stand about 3' tall with dark brown skin, brown or black hair and eyes. Their clothing is also often browns, with accents/shades of yellows or greens, curly toed shoes or boots and pointed or floppy caps. Their somwhat large pointed noses and large pointed elf-like ears lead many to believe them related to gnomes. Though no brownie or gnome will ever speak to this supposition. Brownies are very fond of visiting or inhabiting out of the way rural communities or lone cottages in the woods. They will help with cleaning, cobbling shoes, mending clothes, and other simple household chores. In exchange for these services, they seek only a bowl of cream and crust of bread in payment. A gift of a cap or any type of clothing is considered a great honor and will win the brownie's undying loyalty to that particular household. Failure to meet the brownie's payment, at least once per week, will result in the brownie either simply leaving the house OR undoing some of its own work (putting holes back into clothes or shoes, throwing dust and dirt around the house, etc.) before leaving. (50/50 chance). Brownies are generally of a Good disposition and temperment and have been known to serve households (that treat them well!) for several generations. A brownie has the following innate magical abilities usable at will: Mending, Prestidigitation and once per day may turn themselves Invisible. Brownies are almost always solitary creatures. No more than 1 brownie will ever live/work in any single home.
Pixie: Also known as the "piksy" or "picty", a pixie is often mistaken for a sprite and many sages consider the two winged fairies to be related somehow. They are, however much smaller than sprites, only 6" to 1' in height, with insect wings. They wear anything from simple clothes to glittering gowns made of leaves, flower petals, spider or glowworm silk, and sometimes (if it is available) woven wool they "harvest" from unsuspecting herdsmen's animals and then dye in bright colors. They look, basically, genderless though some might exhibit traits that are more masculine or feminine. Their skin, hair and solid/pupil-less eyes (and often their wings) are all usually shades and hues of the same base color, which may be any color found in nature. Pixies are invisible as their "normal" state of being. They may make themselves visible at will but often require some magical means to see them. Once they've been discovered, they will usually make themselves seen, but will turn invisible and flee at the first sign of trouble.
Pixies are very interested in "fun", frolic and harmless mischief, and very little else. Playing tricks or pranks on those they come across or who come across them. These are always more for entertainment and humor and never intended to cause harm or physical damage. Such things as braiding hair, tying one's shoelaces together, changing the color of one's skin (to purple with yellow polka dots for example), repeatedly (while invisible) blowing out candles or dowsing campfires, festooning a mount (or knight or wizard's staff) with garlands of flowers to "make it pretty" are all samples of pixie fun.
If threatened or attacked, 3 pixies can work together to lay a curse upon the offender. This curse is also, generally not harmful, but may impede or stun the assaulter, allowing the pixies to make a quick, invisible, escape. The curse will wear off about 10 minutes after the pixies have left. Pixies are Neutral in nature, seeking only to have fun and not be threatened. They have the innate magical ability to alter the color of any natural material (hair, flesh, cloth, wood and plants, stone, etc...) along with the ability to once per day perform: Plant Growth (most often used to make plants na flowers bloom to make things "pretty!") and may Enlarge themselves to a full 3 feet tall. These effects only last for about 10 minutes. Pixies can, of course, fly at will (via their wings) but will tire eventually, requiring 1 hour of not-flying for every half hour they do. So flitting from place to place in short bursts is the preferred mode of travel.
Pixies are very social and can be quite talkative if you get on their good side. Finding a glade or field inhabited by a pixie will almost surely indicate a community of 3d8 pixies (living in a hollow tree, village of birds' nests or toadstools, etc...) in the immediate vicinity even if you only directly encounter or see 1. If forced, somehow, into a battle situation, the pixies fight with small bows that shoot darts (d2 damage) tipped in a sleeping poison. Failure to make their save results in the creature remaining utterly unconscious for 24 hours, during which time, the pixies will remove the creature far from their vicinity (usually leaving them lost somewhere so the creature has little chance of finding the pixies again). Pixie "generals" or nobility (1 for every 12 pixies encountered together) will also use small needle-like blades(d4) that are enchanted with some sort of fear inducing hallucinagenic toxin (failed save sends the target into a paniced raving retreat as fast and far from the pixie as they can run before dropping in exahustion and sleeping for 24 hours. Again, with no useful memory or way to find their way back to where the pixies were.). These pixie "swords" are only used if pressed into hand-to-hand combat, which is practically impossible to do to a pixie. Their weapons' size makes them practically unusable to any other race. The making of the sleep and fear poisons is a pixie-kept secret.
Redcap: The faye creatures known as Redcaps are wicked and cruel beings. They stand about 3' feet tall, like brownies, and resemble them a bit, with large floppy pointed ears and pointed noses, but with dark blue or dark green, bordering sometimes on black, oily looking skin. Often they have disproportionate facial features and oddly large hands and feet. They are fairly repulsive in both appearance and odor. Many scholars of the faye believe there to be a connection between Redcaps and Goblins, as many attribute the relation of brownies to gnomes. Their name comes from the fact that they are always seen wearing a cap of bright blood red color (what lies beneath those caps has been the topic of much speculation among scholars). As stated, they are nasty, rude, ill-tempered, and sadistic. Redcaps are always looking to cause harm, if not torture and kill,
anything lovely or good they come across. Where a pixie is content and entertained to cause harmless mischief, a Redcap is only entertained in the causing of chaos and pain, often physical involving the spilling of blood, but inflicting emotional pain is "fun" for them too. Many fairy tales involving faye beings that make bargains with mortals and then in some way hurt the person they have "deal" with are attributed to Redcaps. Stealing -or eating!- a first born, making someone lost or leading them to danger when they promised to guide them to safety, burning down barns or food stores, flat out attacking with daggers or clubs or their own claws (d4 each) are all common Redcap pasttimes. As should be obvious, Redcaps are decidedly Evil in their disposition and intent and almost always encountered alone/solitarily (they don't even like being around others of their kind, so ill-tempered are they). In addition to the usual fairy abilities, Redcaps are also able to Blink and Produce Flame at will. Redcaps are also known to have a particular weakness for gold and will agree to just about anything if offered enough of the valuable metal.
Trying to keep things both folkloric and traditional to D&D without being, specifically, D&D. They are much more flavor-based without so much of "rules" or "stats" worked up. That'll come later.
How's this sound, just for starters? Is there anything quintessentially "fairy" that I'm missing?
21. Faerie: Brownie, Pixie, Redcap
The Land of Faerie, Fairyland, the Seelie Court, realms of the Faye, the Folk under the Hill, there are as many names as there are worlds for the dimension of the faye and their ilk that skirts the physical world (Prime Material Plane) of "the mortal races." Where the land of Fairie touches the Prime Material there are portals, some constant, some open only by special circumstance (a special ritual, full moon, certain nights of the year, etc...). These portals might appear as any number of things, usually some hidden secret natural place of untouched beauty (a ring of toadstools, a seemingly normal cave in a hillside, a very large old tree, pristine pond or fountain, etc...) through which the creatures of Faerie move relatively freely between their world and ours. Some come simply out of curiosity, some enjoy living among the mortal races, some quite by accident or mistake. Some are actually "exiled" to the Prime Material Plane by the mysterious rulers of the Faye realms. Others are just seeking to wreak mischief, sometimes harmless, sometimes quite dangerous mischief or worse, sinister purposes. A complete catalog of the creatures of Faerie is unknown. For now we'll detail three of the most commonly encountered. All faeries have the following traits in common:
--"Cold iron" will inflict double damage and can contain or block (they will not be able to cross/pass over it) not only a creature of faerie, but constrains their magic as well. They have a near phobic fear of the metal and avoid it at all costs.
--All faerie are able to see in up to complete darkness at a range of 90'.
--All faerie are able to use the following innate at will magical powers: faerie fire, phantasmal force (minor image), and can speak with animals.
--Unless otherwise stated, Faeries are all considered to be Chaotic in nature, valuing freedom and individuality almost to a fault with little concern for "Order" or "Law", other than the decrees/laws of their own Fairy Kings and Queens, which are a complete mystery to anyone but them. Their minds and ways of thinking are somewhat "alien" to most of the mortal races (though gnomes and sprites, especially, seem more in tune with them).
--Most faeries, regardless of alignment, tolerate each other and will not fight among themselves. Whether this is some unspoken fairy law or not is unknown. Also, any creature of the fairy land has an innate respect and appreciation for sylvan creatures (centaurs, satyrs, dryads, etc.) including elves, gnomes, sprites and druids of any race. Their reaction toward such creatures should be one bump toward a "friendly" response/interaction with such characters.
Brownie: The brownies are one of the most kindly and helpful faye. They stand about 3' tall with dark brown skin, brown or black hair and eyes. Their clothing is also often browns, with accents/shades of yellows or greens, curly toed shoes or boots and pointed or floppy caps. Their somwhat large pointed noses and large pointed elf-like ears lead many to believe them related to gnomes. Though no brownie or gnome will ever speak to this supposition. Brownies are very fond of visiting or inhabiting out of the way rural communities or lone cottages in the woods. They will help with cleaning, cobbling shoes, mending clothes, and other simple household chores. In exchange for these services, they seek only a bowl of cream and crust of bread in payment. A gift of a cap or any type of clothing is considered a great honor and will win the brownie's undying loyalty to that particular household. Failure to meet the brownie's payment, at least once per week, will result in the brownie either simply leaving the house OR undoing some of its own work (putting holes back into clothes or shoes, throwing dust and dirt around the house, etc.) before leaving. (50/50 chance). Brownies are generally of a Good disposition and temperment and have been known to serve households (that treat them well!) for several generations. A brownie has the following innate magical abilities usable at will: Mending, Prestidigitation and once per day may turn themselves Invisible. Brownies are almost always solitary creatures. No more than 1 brownie will ever live/work in any single home.
Pixie: Also known as the "piksy" or "picty", a pixie is often mistaken for a sprite and many sages consider the two winged fairies to be related somehow. They are, however much smaller than sprites, only 6" to 1' in height, with insect wings. They wear anything from simple clothes to glittering gowns made of leaves, flower petals, spider or glowworm silk, and sometimes (if it is available) woven wool they "harvest" from unsuspecting herdsmen's animals and then dye in bright colors. They look, basically, genderless though some might exhibit traits that are more masculine or feminine. Their skin, hair and solid/pupil-less eyes (and often their wings) are all usually shades and hues of the same base color, which may be any color found in nature. Pixies are invisible as their "normal" state of being. They may make themselves visible at will but often require some magical means to see them. Once they've been discovered, they will usually make themselves seen, but will turn invisible and flee at the first sign of trouble.
Pixies are very interested in "fun", frolic and harmless mischief, and very little else. Playing tricks or pranks on those they come across or who come across them. These are always more for entertainment and humor and never intended to cause harm or physical damage. Such things as braiding hair, tying one's shoelaces together, changing the color of one's skin (to purple with yellow polka dots for example), repeatedly (while invisible) blowing out candles or dowsing campfires, festooning a mount (or knight or wizard's staff) with garlands of flowers to "make it pretty" are all samples of pixie fun.
If threatened or attacked, 3 pixies can work together to lay a curse upon the offender. This curse is also, generally not harmful, but may impede or stun the assaulter, allowing the pixies to make a quick, invisible, escape. The curse will wear off about 10 minutes after the pixies have left. Pixies are Neutral in nature, seeking only to have fun and not be threatened. They have the innate magical ability to alter the color of any natural material (hair, flesh, cloth, wood and plants, stone, etc...) along with the ability to once per day perform: Plant Growth (most often used to make plants na flowers bloom to make things "pretty!") and may Enlarge themselves to a full 3 feet tall. These effects only last for about 10 minutes. Pixies can, of course, fly at will (via their wings) but will tire eventually, requiring 1 hour of not-flying for every half hour they do. So flitting from place to place in short bursts is the preferred mode of travel.
Pixies are very social and can be quite talkative if you get on their good side. Finding a glade or field inhabited by a pixie will almost surely indicate a community of 3d8 pixies (living in a hollow tree, village of birds' nests or toadstools, etc...) in the immediate vicinity even if you only directly encounter or see 1. If forced, somehow, into a battle situation, the pixies fight with small bows that shoot darts (d2 damage) tipped in a sleeping poison. Failure to make their save results in the creature remaining utterly unconscious for 24 hours, during which time, the pixies will remove the creature far from their vicinity (usually leaving them lost somewhere so the creature has little chance of finding the pixies again). Pixie "generals" or nobility (1 for every 12 pixies encountered together) will also use small needle-like blades(d4) that are enchanted with some sort of fear inducing hallucinagenic toxin (failed save sends the target into a paniced raving retreat as fast and far from the pixie as they can run before dropping in exahustion and sleeping for 24 hours. Again, with no useful memory or way to find their way back to where the pixies were.). These pixie "swords" are only used if pressed into hand-to-hand combat, which is practically impossible to do to a pixie. Their weapons' size makes them practically unusable to any other race. The making of the sleep and fear poisons is a pixie-kept secret.
Redcap: The faye creatures known as Redcaps are wicked and cruel beings. They stand about 3' feet tall, like brownies, and resemble them a bit, with large floppy pointed ears and pointed noses, but with dark blue or dark green, bordering sometimes on black, oily looking skin. Often they have disproportionate facial features and oddly large hands and feet. They are fairly repulsive in both appearance and odor. Many scholars of the faye believe there to be a connection between Redcaps and Goblins, as many attribute the relation of brownies to gnomes. Their name comes from the fact that they are always seen wearing a cap of bright blood red color (what lies beneath those caps has been the topic of much speculation among scholars). As stated, they are nasty, rude, ill-tempered, and sadistic. Redcaps are always looking to cause harm, if not torture and kill,
anything lovely or good they come across. Where a pixie is content and entertained to cause harmless mischief, a Redcap is only entertained in the causing of chaos and pain, often physical involving the spilling of blood, but inflicting emotional pain is "fun" for them too. Many fairy tales involving faye beings that make bargains with mortals and then in some way hurt the person they have "deal" with are attributed to Redcaps. Stealing -or eating!- a first born, making someone lost or leading them to danger when they promised to guide them to safety, burning down barns or food stores, flat out attacking with daggers or clubs or their own claws (d4 each) are all common Redcap pasttimes. As should be obvious, Redcaps are decidedly Evil in their disposition and intent and almost always encountered alone/solitarily (they don't even like being around others of their kind, so ill-tempered are they). In addition to the usual fairy abilities, Redcaps are also able to Blink and Produce Flame at will. Redcaps are also known to have a particular weakness for gold and will agree to just about anything if offered enough of the valuable metal.
