Suggestions for Fey

[DMH]

This thread inspired someone with new technology for evil fey:

http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=128562

You have to read it to believe it (though I still think my varients I posted are cool).

 

[arscott]

Get rid of Elves, dwarves and the rest as player races. That right there will make the fey twice as mysterious.

 

[kigmatzomat]

Get rid of Elves, dwarves and the rest as player races. That right there will make the fey twice as mysterious.

A campaign idea I had a while back was that elves and orcs are really humans, hence the ability to crossbreed. Elves were human servants of the Seelie Court while orcs were the servants of the Unseelie. Over millenia, the humans were mutated by the fey magic. This was to be a giant secret where the orcs have forgotten but the elves want to hide it. (Elven and Orcish crossbreeds aren't possible due to the affects of opposing fey magic. )

The elven people to refer to themselves as "elven" ("belonging to elves" or "of elves") but never as an elf as the fey (envisioned similar to Leshay before the ELH came out) were the true elves.

That leaves dwarves and gnomes as distinct species and their own particular view of the other races. The distrust of elven and half-elven individuals comes from the fact that a true elf can dominate an elven or orcish person automatically, so even your bestest friend would kill you in your sleep if ordered to do so.

The elven people dread the return of the Courts for their eventual re-enslavement and hate the orcs because a)there is an inherent rivalry between Seelie and Unseelie and b) the orcs will be the minions of the Unseelie who will use them as foot soldiers in a campaign of terror. The Seelie are bad because they are fairly unfeeling; the Unseelie are worse because they hate.

 

[arscott]

In the spirit of my previous "ditch the phb races" post, I whipped up a new NPC version of the gnome that emphasizes it's fey roots:

GNOME

 	Tiny Fey
HD:	3d6+3 (2 hp)
Init:	+4
Speed:	15 ft. (3 squares)
AC:	17 (+2 size, +2 Dex, +3 natural), touch 14, flat-footed 15
BAB/Gr:	+1/–9
Attack:	Spear –1 melee (1d4–2/x3) or Spear +3 ranged (1d4–2/x3)
F Atk:	Spear –1 melee (1d4–2/x3) or Spear +3 ranged (1d4–2/x3)
S/R:	2-1/2 ft./0 ft.
SA:	Spell-like abilities
SQ:	Alternate form, damage reduction 5/cold iron,
	illusion focus, low-light vision
Saves:	Fort +2, Ref +5, Will +4
Abils:	Str 6, Dex 15, Con 13, Int 6, Wis 12, Cha 13
Skills:	Hide +10*, Listen +9, Move Silently +8*, Spot +9, Survival +7
Feats:	Alertness, Track
Env:	Temperate forests
Org:	Solitary or cete (2-5)
CR:	2
Treas:	No coins; 50% goods; 50% items
Align:	Usually chaotic good
Adv:	By class
LA:	+1

Gnomes are small fey that can assume the forms of badgers. They are generally employed by more powerful fey as scouts and spies. They have bark-colored skin, and grey or white hair and beards. They typically wear primitively made kilts or tunics and often adorn themselves with body paints or tattoos. Particularly vicious gnomes are known to wear pointed caps died red with the blood of their slain enemies. A gnome stands 1-1/2 feet tall and weighs about 2 pounds.
Gnomes speak Common, Sylvan, and Terran.
COMBAT
Gnomes try to avoid unnecessary combat. When they do choose to fight, they almost always do so in dire badger form.
Alternate Form (Su): A Gnome can assume the form of a badger or dire badger at will as a standard action. This ability functions as a polymorph spell cast on itself at its caster level, except that the gnome does not regain hit points for changing form and can only assume the form of a badger or dire badger. The gnome can remain in its badger form until it chooses to return to its natural form.
Illusion Focus: Gnomes have a +2 racial bonus on saves vs. Illusion effects, and a +1 racial bonus on the save DCs of their own Illusion spells and spell-like abilities.
Spell-Like Abilities: At will—dancing lights, ghost sound (DC 12), prestidigitation, speak with animals; 1/day—faerie fire, magic fang, pass without trace, silent image (DC 13), ventriloquism (DC 13). Caster level 3rd. The save DCs are Charisma-based and include the +1 racial bonus.
Skills: *Gnomes have a +8 racial bonus on Hide and Move Silently checks in a forest setting.

 

[Munin]

Get rid of Elves, dwarves and the rest as player races. That right there will make the fey twice as mysterious.

Actually, I was already thinking of doing this. And the more I think about it, the better it sounds. I especially like the write-up of the gnome fey.

Thanks for all of the suggestions.