GreatLemur said:
I do think some really cool and interesting things can be done with the whole fey concept, but I think a slightly deconstructionist approach is necessary, something less concerned with reproducing the creatures of folklore than of analyzing and rationalizing the common roots of various "fey" conceptions, and beating them into a coherent whole. A fey-specific D&D book ain't exactly high on my list of priorities ..... but I'd like to see a book that actually quantifies exactly what all creatures with the "fey" type have in common, and how they're distinct from humanoids, monstrous humanoids, elementals, outsiders, and others.
I don't feel like writing a book but I can sum up what makes 'fey' separate from other creatures.
Fey are, for all intents and purposes, spirits made flesh. More emotion than meat. The more primal the spirit the more explicit the link; Dryads are the spirits of a forest tied to the biggest oak, sirine are the soul of a brook made flesh from its water. Others less explicit but still symbolic; the Redcap are violent little boggins that need the blood of mortals to stay strong.
It is the less primal, more complex creatures that blur the lines. Sprites, pixies, and the like are the weakest of these more complex beings. They are essentially laughter and playfulness incarnate; typically good but mischievious. Unfortunately they are, like a 3 year-old, unable to recognize when the target of their prank/joke ceases to find things funny. When angered they can go to the same extremes as any celestial outsider but with greater remorse afterwards. When angry they become the embodiment of cruel, mocking laughter and jokes at the expense of others.
Fey are generally seen to be divided along four axis; High and Low Court, and Bright and Dark Court.
High and Low Court can be seen as Noble and Common fey. The Low Court consist of all the more primal spirits; typically those that are either tied to a given place or that are more primal. High Court are the more complex spirits that are typically humanoid and charismatic.
Birth determines High and Low Court, though complex politics can elevate or demote a fey.
The Bright/Dark Court (aka Shining/Shadow, Seelie/Unseelie) is one of individual nature. Some creatures (like Nymphs and Redcaps) are always tied to a given court but others can cross the line. Bright court is more concerned with creation, daylight, and honor while the Dark court enjoys destruction, shadows, and treachery. The Bright Court is just as dangerous as the Dark, being easily insulted, but they tend to be more specific in targeting their anger. An angry Seelie will hunt down a particular family or group of people while the Unseelie may unleash the Wild Hunt until they grow bored.
Nymphs are always part of the High and Bright Court. Redcaps are always part of the Dark Court, and usually Low Court.
As spirits, their forms express their nature. Siblings who follow different courts (Shining vs. Dark) can be seen as different beings by mortals. E.g. sirine vs. glaistig and kelpies vs. nixies.
The "true fey" are best represented in D&D by the LeShay (fyi: sidhe is a gaelic word meaning "faerie" pronounced "shay", so this is french for "the fey") in the
Epic Level Handbook. They are powerful, magic weilding, supernatural beings from beyond.
As far as the humanoid "faerie" races, there's a simple answer. The fey are prone to taking human servants so all those races are actually the descendants of the fey human servants. Elves were servants of the High Court, Orcs of the Dark Court, Dwarves of those underground fey. They are not fey themselves but they bear the mark of the fey. The racial dislike of elves and orcs would be a legacy of that; the fey magic still shaping their bones.
Half-elves, duergar (dwarf-human), and half-orcs all show the racial foundation. Even the lack of ability to interbreed could be a result of those sidhe magics.
