Need ideas for Fey scenarios

[tylerthehobo]

Playing 4E Forgotten Realms with my usual crowd of lunatics, and I've started down a path in our sandbox game that they're really enjoying - having them explore a forest filled with fey creatures and eladrin intrigue. As a matter of fact, it's completely sidetracked them from any of our usual "creature of the week" kind of scenarios that we crank out at our friendly neighborhood games shop.

The set up that I have is that a Fey site has mysteriously appeared near Loudwater (using the albino forest hook from the FRCG). The party is Level 10. Through their exploration, the party have battled some rather evil-seeming eladrin (an out of character piece of armor one of them was wearing suggests they're part of a cult of Lolth...), a few Ettins, a dark unicorn, and more.

Any of you have any particularly effective and memorable fey encounters that you've run?

 

[Gilladian]

A village on the edge of a dangerous forest had a little old lady villager living near it. She turned out to be a hag with ogre henchmen who kidnapped our cleric (who obligingly walked her home at dusk). We had to go in and rescue her and several other villagers. It was quite fun; the ogres were a challenge, butthe hag was brutal (we made 8th level with the encounter, and there ware 5 players). What made it fun was we were convinced the old woman was a victim of prejudice in town when one old farmer warned us she was "a witch" who had "cursed the village". Boy, were we wrong!

 

[Rechan]

http://www.enworld.org/forum/d-d-3rd-edition-house-rules/86637-faerie-encounters.html

 

[Raven Crowking]

IMHO, the important thing when making fey seem....well....fey is that each fey creature (or group of fey creatures) represents something else. They are not just races with ecologies, they are representations of powerful undercurrents in nature and human relations.

So, in looking at your adventure, the first question to ask is "Why here?" What is in the town that is attracting this manifestation of hate and (spidery) deviousness? Who is spinning what web?

Then go through the monsters you want to use, decide what they represent, and describe them accordingly. If you want, you can also adjust their powers to make them more like what they represent.

In the thread Rechen linked to, for example, a faerie party is described that is intended to represent a swarm of bees. Bryne of Lig represents fire. Etc.

Pull out your classic fairy tales (not the Disneyfied versions), and decide how you could use them as D&D encounters. I recommend the "Coloured Fairy Book" collections by Andrew Lang, editor, or the collection of the Brothers Grimm.

RC

 

[Dedekind]

The LFR adventure AGLA 1-1 (I think that is right) had a neat skill challenge where you had to entertain pixies to get them to help you out. It was immensely entertaining to DM.

 

[The Maze Controller]

I find this a great source of inspiration ===> [ame=http://www.amazon.com/Faerie-Tale-Raymond-Feist/dp/0553277839/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1264960464&sr=8-4]Amazon.com: Faerie Tale (9780553277838): Raymond Feist: Books[/ame]

 

[tylerthehobo]

Thanks for all the help, folks. Cracking out my well thumbed copy of the Brothers Grimm and thinking up skill challenges...

 

[Quickleaf]

Here are two archfey from my campaign setting that may jog some ideas for you...

Acale the Hungerer
The false promise of eternal summer, gluttony and short-sightedness, gnawing hunger of winter driving men mad, failing to sow seeds or sowing seeds in the sand. The Hungerer Acale is lord/lady of The Feasting Fields, a sunlight realm of faerie fruits, glazed boar, and sumptuous custards offered by sly and ingratiating fey hosts...but none of the foods end the hunger...eventually mortals begin eating themselves or each other...those who escape often die of starvation upon returning to the world. Acale appears as a dazzling beautiful man/woman (the opposite of his observer) with gaudy clothes sewn out of acorns, seeds, meat jerky, dried fruits, and nuts; however this illuson is visible on the coldest nights when Acale's skin becomes transparent and one can see the bone beneath. Acale is always attended by "bloodberry sprites" which roll out a "carpet" of smeared berries and cow's blood before Acale. He/she most properly belongs to the Summer Court, though he/she has ties with both the Winter and Gloaming Courts as well, making him/her a bit of a chameleon.

Daimoras the Dawn Prince
Trill notes of a flute summoning buds to blossom before their time, a premature babe barely survives birth, early snowmelt catches a village unprepared washing away their crops, a musician drives his young apprentice mad demanding too much too soon. The Dawn Prince is lord of the Gates of Dawn, a verdant realm with the sickly sweet smell of fragrant blossoms where nature is thrown off kilter - everything happens too soon. Plants struggle to emerge through soil still thawing from frosts while others are burned by an unusually high sun. All the inhabitants expect each other (and visitors) to guess their desires and fulfill them, to jump into marriage before friendship, to challenge a lusty suitor to a duel without provocation (yet), to teach a 6 year old the lessons of adulthood. Everything here is too full of the rush to grow. Damoiras appears as a large shaggy satyr with gleaming green hair and eyes radiating primal vigor, though his form is somewhat lopsided with one arm hanging lower and one horn larger; he is attended by a group of fauns who change every dawn, beginning the day as baby goats and ending as goat headed people. Damoiras shares allegiances with the Green Court, though his nature binds him (often against his desires) to the Summer and Winter Courts.

 

[unan oranis]

I'm just starting up a feywild campaign too, in fact my group just jumped into it a couple days ago.

I'm using a kind of "time bandits" style map; attached

Here's the list of random non-combat encounters from the last sesh:

They are my personal notes, so possibly incoherent, and clearly you won't recognize my
home-brew skill challenge information, nor likely have access to a random animal generator, and you might not like inserting your own damage for the traps but here it is anyway...

----------------------------------------------------------------

non combat encounters;

feywild



1. Beast people; bandits

- Spy on the pc's,

- Approach and chat, real friendly like

- pick a fight, tease, steal (run away)




2. Beast people; migrants, family band

- spy on the pc's

- meet the pc's, offer a feast

- crazy party action, gambling games for prizes,
drinking



3. Beast people; big herd

several thousand beast people traveling as a loose band

- greetings

- run with the pc's all day? big party at end,
maybe some quest requested.

- trade available

hopefully a group of merchants or something remain behind
to deal with pcs and an attack can happen on them lurking
and hanging out.

if hostilities break out the beast men escalate;

- wave of scouts

- Giant beast riders harry

- Local squads

- Swarm attack




4. sunbeam from the feywild

a patch of land the pcs are in becomes surreal,
soft focus and glowing. A euphoria washes over the
group, restoring them as if a full rest.

The beautiful garden with its many paths of mystery
disappear as the clouds cover the sun, returning the
pc's from the feywild.

if any body grabbed anything, it is normal looking now.

(tack on story element here if possible)




5. A green glowing door on a tree.

open it, and you get teleported in to live the life
of a random animal.

the life should be a challenge of one of the stats

skill challenge:

go through each life phase:

juvenile, young adult, mature, old

dc 10 (could take you out)

dc15 (dangerous milestone)

dc 20 (bleak prospects)


first failure: add +2 to the difficulty of the next roll

second failure: limp along, best rating is bleak prospects

third failure: death

death in animal form means one healing surge
is lost.

success:

You may appear to be that animal
from more than 20 squares away, as a sustain
minor encounter power.

The primal powers that be will try to influence the pc
to stay away from towns,
and this ability will either strengthen or lessen
according to the characters decision.






6. Ringling and tingling, wind and drums,
bells and smells are in the air...
do the pc's search for where the noises are coming from?

skill challenge, 6/3 dc 15

one failure splits you from the party

second failure means you are lost, forget way back

third failure, permanently lost, cant succeed at challenge.


finding the source of the noises:

spirit elves are enjoying a feast with music,
chit-chatting casually.

to disturb their harmony is to invoke their wrath..

they teleport the whole scene away, but are forced
to leave behind some of the sauce and snacks,
which are magical.

- levitation champagne

- snacks that grant 4 temp hp until next encounter

party hears the sounds again, but the second time disturbed the
spirit elves flee, possibly dump some
monsters on the party, or leave a poison wine trap (strong damage).




7. Fomorian interloper trap...

Stone tomb-looking block in a field, sort of a pill-box covered in elf runes,
shiny amethyst geode inside. smaller amethyst
out front, sending a signal out, luring scavengers.

perception of 22 to notice the elf carvings are fake.

door slams shut from behind, wont open.

ringing siren bell blares...

Fomorian servant coming to open/capture...

umber hulk tracks nearby



8. Fomorian gorilla trap...

Totems, with pit traps nearby.
some will have been sprung by others, a gorilla perhaps,
moaning for help.

bottom of pit trap is iron cage that snaps closed.

umber hulk tracks nearby


-------------------------------------------