Sell me on fey!

[freyar]

Let me start by saying that I don't feel the same way as Jason Bulmahn. Still, when I see all the folks on this site asking for a fey-themed monster book, I wonder what is it about fey that really grabs people. I mean, certain fey seem like good adversaries or allies, but I'm not sure I see the overarching idea that pulls it all together (unlike, say, abberations or dragons). There are the friendly ones, and the nasty ones seem basically like monstrous humanoids except for mechanics purposes. (Case in point: why is a centaur a monstrous humanoid and not a fey?)

So, tell me what's the big thing about fey! Why do you like fey so much?

Edit: And maybe make your case for a WotC fey monster book!

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

For one, they are an archetypal European fantasy creature type. Many of them show up in D&D in non-fey forms.

Their innate links to nature and magic make them an ideal component of fantasy gaming.

There are countless literary references to fey, familiar and obscure, that can be lifted for gaming purposes.

Unlike many archetypal critters, they are not monolithic in their behaviors, mores and attitudes towards humanity- IOW, they can have any alignment (in D&D terms). This makes them potentially complex characters in a game, for good or ill.

 

[takyris]

The thing about fey that I love is the fact that they're so tied into folklore and mythology. They're not just happy little pixies -- they're the things that went bump in the night way back when, the things that people called the Fair Folk with nervous smiles on their faces, because they didn't want to talk unpleasantly about them and incur their wrath.

And while a dragon can lay waste to an entire village, the fey can make that village just disappear into the mists forever. Or make YOU wander off in the wrong direction while trying to get there. Dragons are powerful and deadly and over-the-top awesome, and aberrations have the "my unknowable plan will rend the fabric of your very MIND" thing going for them, but fey can have both of those things going for them, too, along with the ability to look good in an outfit made entirely of strategically placed leaves.

Good fey can play like good outsiders, except that they're not so monolithically limited in terms of alignment. Evil fey can play like mind flayers or other powerful aberrations -- they have a major plan, a plan that you can't even conceive of, because you've never been to their world, and your heart would break from its beauty if you ever did... and that plan requires that your human nation go to war, in much the same way that humans cull their herds from time to time.

In many ways, they fey are at their coolest when they're the major monsters of a campaign -- when they're the incomparable masters of magic (and not having to compete with liches and dragons and mind flayers) from a mysterious realm beyond the limits of mortals (and not having to compete with demons and devils and mind flayers), and humans line their windows with salt and their gates with cold iron to keep the spirits from stealing them away in the night.

 

[Razz]

For one, they are an archetypal European fantasy creature type. Many of them show up in D&D in non-fey forms.

Their innate links to nature and magic make them an ideal component of fantasy gaming.

There are countless literary references to fey, familiar and obscure, that can be lifted for gaming purposes.

Unlike many archetypal critters, they are not monolithic in their behaviors, mores and attitudes towards humanity- IOW, they can have any alignment (in D&D terms). This makes them potentially complex characters in a game, for good or ill.

It's not just European, it has Asian roots, too.

As for the OPs question, I want a fey-themed book because it's never been done before. For 3 editions of D&D, they're still as elusive and mysterious as they were when they first penned about the Seelie Court, Plane of Faerie, and given fey creatures their own creature type and caste in D&D 3rd Edition.

WotC likes to talk about doing NEW things and trying out crazy models. Let's see them put their money where their mouth is and write us a Fey Book.

 

[Asmor]

I'm in the same boat as OP. Aside from some... ahem... "Pleasing" artwork, I've never seen any fey that seemed especially cool to me. Well, I take that back. I can't wait for a chance to use the Joystealer from MM4, and its artwork is also one of my favorite pieces of art in any D&D book. Check it out:

 

[Moon-Lancer]

well fey are what bring legends to life in my opinion. it sounds like author of the linked article has immature players. Fey can be beautiful and horrid. alot of what comes from d&d is fey based, but they don't get any of the credit. its about time they got their own book. they get shafted at every turn. races of the wild had avarials be the star. wtf? I could care less about Harvey the bird man. races of the wild would have been an amazing chance to re invent the fey in d&d

The very idea of magic tends to come from stories of fey. why wouldn't you have a fey based book?

 

[RichGreen]

Hi,

For me, it's because the fey come from the fairy tales, myths and books I grew up with and therefore have a mythic resonance that you don't get from say, gnolls (which I think were created for D&D). They appear in Shakespeare, Sandman, Disney, Pan's Labyrinth and hundreds of other books and films. Their morals are grey rather than black and white: even the good ones are mischievous and can be cruel, and the evil ones (redcaps and so on) are genuinely creepy. When used correctly, fey encounters will always be memorable. (For some good examples, see En Route from Atlas Games).

I'd much rather have seen a fey book than a drow one!

Cheers


Richard

PS I can't wait to use the joystealer too.

 

[EyeontheMountain]

Well, I can certainly agree that a fey book is better than a drow book,

But that is not saying much. Very little in fact.

I certainly agree that fey have a strong historical and cultural background that some people find appealing, and others like the grey in their natures, but to me they are very hard to fit into a campaign setting. Perhaps some kind of alternate earth is best, with portals scattered around and deep forest glens and unspoiled glens co-existing in both worlds equally, or jsut dump htem into old forests, deep enough for most everyone to never encounter one.

A lot of work, but IMHO, not worth it. I leave fey out of my games.

 

[Jdvn1]

Let me start by saying that I don't feel the same way as Jason Bulmahn. Still, when I see all the folks on this site asking for a fey-themed monster book, I wonder what is it about fey that really grabs people. I mean, certain fey seem like good adversaries or allies, but I'm not sure I see the overarching idea that pulls it all together (unlike, say, abberations or dragons). There are the friendly ones, and the nasty ones seem basically like monstrous humanoids except for mechanics purposes. (Case in point: why is a centaur a monstrous humanoid and not a fey?)

I'd like a fey book because I don't know what's so great about them either. I don't get their motivation, I suppose.

 

[Sejs]

Pan's Labrynth.

Lords and Ladies.

Any of the mountains of old folklore from europe, asia, or the americas.

The fey have an alien, ephemeral cool that D&D up to this point has utterly, utterly failed to grasp. That needs to be rectified.