| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Aryalómë |
Posted - 30 Apr 2013 : 03:40:03
Okay, so I just thought of this and really would like your all's feedback! (Keep in mind that it is quite alpha  )
So basically, I've been reading my Changeling: The Lost and Dark Ages: Fae books (World of Darkness game lines, for those who don't know) and have been creating True Fae (the very first Fae, and in the case of CtL and to somewhat lesser extent, DA:F, godlike beings) character. It got me thinking about D&D and its faeries.
D&D, unfortunately, has a very underdeveloped fae scene. 4e has, thankfully, tried to bring a lot of attention to it, but I feel that they didn't quite make it as mysterious or inhuman as they should have or could have. To me, it just seemed like a Points of Light prime that was much more verdant and magical, with the Eladrin* ruling it, pretty much.
Now, here is my new take on it (pretty much restructuring the entire world of Faerie).
True Fae - While the idea might not seem so original, it can pack quite a lot into something and be twisted and turned and fine tuned into something much more original - with preexisting D&D lore.
I'm going to make the Fae just what they are: Fae. What does this mean? They're going to be extremely inhuman - Cthulhu-esque, one could say. Gone are the goody faeries who protected nature and all of that.
My option to fill the role of True Fae? The AD&D Eladrin. Who is much more perfect for the role? Queen Morwel has already been called the Faerie Queen of the Eladrin, so it makes even more sense and adds to their claim to that title as well as being epically powered.
Tulani - These are the most fair, luminous, shining lords and ladies of Faerie. They are paragons of beauty so radiant and perfect that it can be devastating to those who see them in their purest form. These Fae are masters of Fae magic and wield it completely unchallenged in Faerie. They are the supreme lords of Faerie (much to the displeasure of the other Eladrin) but rarely exert their full authority over the realm. They are mostly content to while their time away with exploring whatever catches their fancy. As all Fae, they are fascinated by mortals. This curiosity can lead Tulani Eladrin to steal away mortal children and adults and bring them to their far flung castles and palaces and do whatever they please with them. The Tulani are also feared swordsmen (coming within a fraction close to the perfection of a Shiere) and unparalleled musicians and bards. However, should a Tulani devote their lives solely to the study of either of these, they can surpass the other Eladrin who are paragons of these concepts. (Modeled after the Fairest Seeming from C:tL and the Bright One, Dancer, Muse and Telluric Kiths of that Seeming as well a the biggest heaping of Warriors of Heaven AD&D supplement)
Shiere - These Fae are the paragons of perfect knights. They have unparalleled battle prowess (except for the Tulani, who are almost equals with them in this respect). These Fae are the most often seen of the True Fae as they wander the Prime in search of duels. While their looks may seem noble, they are not noble in any sense of the mortal understanding of it. Their code of honour differs wildly with that of mortals and can't truly be understood by them, no matter how much a Shiere would try to explain it. This has led to much fear of them, for those who know of them; an entire village slaughtered in but thirty minutes at night can be seen as honourable by one of the Shiere. They look much like Grey Elves but with much more powerful bodies and other otherwordly tale tell signs. (Warriors of Heaven was the only source used)
Firre - The Firre are master crafters and makers. They can make art so perfect and so brilliant that it would move even the most jaded demon of the foulest depths of the Abyss to moving tears. The skin of these Fae has a marble-like appearance to it and have long, fiery red hair. Their eyes glow like hypnotic, beautiful embers in a dying fire. (Modeled after the Fairest C:tL Kith Flamesiren and Warriors of Heaven AD&D supplement)
Noviere - The lords of the depths and waters of Faerie. The Noviere delight in creating all sorts of strange aquatic phenomenon. (Warriors of Heaven; I honestly can't think of much to say about them right now)
Courre - The Courre are a very childish and puckish sort of Eladrin. No other Eladrin ever take them seriously as they should not - the Courre are paragons of the perfect pranksters. Just about every word they say, just about every action they do, involves some sort of prank (they do not understand the difference between playful pranks or downright mean pranks; actually, that whole concept doesn't even exist to them).
Bralani - These Fae are the paragons of the wild frenzies, the beast of faerie. They are savage and wonderous - the perfect hunters, the perfect hounds, or both at the same time. Their entire existence is revolved around all of these concepts. (Beasts Seeming from C:tL and Warriors of Heaven).
So, this is it. What do you all think? What would you all suggest? |
| 13 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Barastir |
Posted - 02 May 2013 : 12:11:42
quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
One day a fey/fae might help you out, and the next day try to kill you. Its not because they are 'crazy' (chaotic, whatever), but because they are unfathomable by human standards.
I also see them that way, and that's why I use the term "chaotic": it would be only a description, based on human standards. By the same reason I see dragons as alien creatures, good dragons included. They would have not much patience with lesser races, even though they can help occasionally.
And yes, this division between seelie and unseelie faeries would also be important. My campaign's seelie faeries would be really unpredictable, while my unseelie faeries would be deeply cruel and sadistic. |
| sleyvas |
Posted - 02 May 2013 : 07:24:55
After thinking on it more, I'm thinking that maybe it would be better as a feat than a prestige class. That way it doesn't inhibit which class might seek it because it has a bad BAB or a lack of spellcasting increase or poor saves where they need it. The below is my first try at it. The main stickler I see is that I'm requiring the person to already be a proven leader (i.e. have the leadership feat), so basically the person already has one cohort. In the case of say a druid that takes this on, that gives them a cohort, an animal companion, and a fey cohort (they become almost their own little army). It'd be interesting though to see some NPC who plays this fey line to the hilt (maybe they have a cohort that is a fey... maybe they have a unicorn mount... maybe my idea for a Rashemi prestige class that focuses on its telthor companion). I see most people choosing the lower powered fey as their cohorts just to get the higher levels in spellthief, but I could definitely be wrong (especially with some of the evil fey that get sneak attack damage already). The feat will also depend a decent amount on diplomacy skill if the fey cohort is killed, so classes that don't build this skill will have to be very careful with their little friend. I didn't really have any other feat to compare against, so if anyone can think of a similar mechanic besides the leadership feat, I'd be interested.
Fey Court AmbassadorPrerequisites: Leadership feat, Charisma 15, knowledge (nature) 3, knowledge (arcana) 3, diplomacy 5, speak language (sylvan), must have aided either the Seelie or Unseelie Court
Benefit: The character gains a second cohort in the form of a member of the Seelie or Unseelie Court. This second cohort is usually in the form of a small sprite type character, though faerie dragons are not unheard of as well. This cohort is several levels behind the character, with any need for class levels fulfilled by levels in the spellthief class (see below for more detail). The cohort must have at least one level of spellthief, therefore some types of cohorts may not be available until the character advances in level (thus, a character wanting a faerie dragon cohort would need to be at least 9th lvl). In addition, a special ritual bond exists between the fey cohort and the character, such that any spell stolen by the steal spell or steal spell effect ability of the fey cohort may be transferred to the character. In return for the services of this fey cohort, the character offers his services as an ambassador or agent to the Seelie or Unseelie Court (this is picked when the character chooses this feat and is usually based on which court he aided in the past).
If the character's cohort is slain, he may petition the Court for a replacement "assistant", but usually this is only granted after the character performs some service for the Court (these services become progressively more and more dangerous each time that the character returns and requests a new "assistant", so characters are advised to be very careful of the lives of their fey cohorts). After completing the service for the Court, a diplomacy check (DC = 10+ <character level x2>) will need to be passed, otherwise additional services for the court will be required followed by subsequent diplomacy checks (reduced by 3 for each cumulative service provided).
In addition, the Court may call upon the character in times of need (at the whim of the DM) and refusal to provide aid will require a diplomacy check (DC = 10 + character level), failure of which will break the ritual bond between the character and his fey cohort and cause the fey cohort to desert the character. The character can only regain his fey cohort by performing a service at the request of the Court and thereafter succeeding at a diplomacy check (DC =15 + character level), though this request may not come immediately as the Court will want to punish the character for not helping them earlier (and fey memories can be long, such that some ambassadors have secretly created issues so that they will be requested to fix them, woe be to those who were caught in this act). It should also be noted that Fey Court "assistants" are an important responsibility not to be taken lightly. One cannot take on one fey "assistant" and simply change their mind later and want a new type of Fey without risking the displeasure of the Fey Court (swapping fey "assistants" requires a diplomacy check DC= 15 + character level, failure resulting in the current fey cohort deserting the character with no replacement, see above for recruiting a new fey cohort after being deserted).
Seelie Court
eladrin, coure (BoED) - add character level minus 7 levels of spellthief (example, 15th lvl character would get an eladrin,coure with 8 levels of spellthief)
Faerie Dragon (Draconomicon) - add character level minus 8 levels of spellthief
Gloura (Underdark) - add character level minus 8 levels of spellthief
Grig - add character level minus 4 levels of spellthief
Petal (MM3) - add character level minus 3 levels of spellthief
Pixie - add character level minus 5 levels of spellthief, (NOTE: does not have memory loss arrows nor Otto's irresistible dance spell-like ability).
Thorn (MM3) - add character level minus 8 levels of spellthief
Sylph (MM2) - add character level minus 7 levels of spellthief
Unseelie Court
Devious Gloura (Underdark) - add character level minus 8 levels of spellthief
Joystealer (MM4) - add character level minus 8 levels of spellthief
Spriggan (FF) - add character level minus 7 levels of spellthief
Thorn (MM3) - add character level minus 8 levels of spellthief
Young Redcap (MM3) - add character level minus 8 levels of spellthief (note, these redcap cohorts do not advance like other redcaps as present in MM3, rather they advance in levels of spellthief)
Sylph (MM2) - add character level minus 7 levels of spellthief
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| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 01 May 2013 : 22:11:29
Since this is a discussion on faeries in D&D, I feel obligated to once more refer people to the 3E book Faeries, by Bastion Press, a tome that some of our own Realmslords worked on.  |
| Markustay |
Posted - 01 May 2013 : 22:00:48
Well, my point was that the original (plain vanilla) familiar was actually some sort of Outsider in an animal form from the very beginning. In-story, the character would learn what type of familar he had as he leveled and the familiar became more powerful (and was able to assume its alternate form). In reality, the player will be deciding which kind he has as he goes along (the same way that he picks his own classes, Feats, and abilities as he goes along).
At one point I was trying to combine all the animal companion, familiar, Sha'ir, Paladin's mount, etc rules together into one universal set of 'special animal' rules. Basically, all of these become 'awakened' at some point, and become some sort of outsider as the game progresses. I just couldn't stand that we had all different sets of rules for things that were all very similar. I guess the idea was that the creature in question was always this other thing - it just took the link to the mage (etc) to awaken its true potential.
So going along with your own thoughts about Fey familiars, it wouldn't be too hard to conceive of a tiny fey with a very limited (animal-like) intelligence - at first - that becomes a more powerful type of fey as time goes on. Something along these lines. |
| sleyvas |
Posted - 01 May 2013 : 21:23:06
you know, the more I think on it, the more I'm thinking maybe not turning in the familiar... just to open this class up to non-wizard/sorcerors. For instance, I could definitely see a bard or ranger or druid or even an elven warrior who might choose to ally with the faerie courts in this method. I think what got me more than anything was picturing a pixie riding a druid's owl companion or a tressym. Hmm, this bears some thought. |
| sleyvas |
Posted - 01 May 2013 : 21:15:54
quote:
Originally posted by Markustay
Just reading what you wrote in your first post on that subject: Why would you need to 'trade in' your familiar? Couldn't they adapt/transform? Just slap a template on them.
I had something similar in some of my house rules regarding regular familiars, based on the RW witch-lore surrounding them. At first level they were just 'ordinary animals', but in reality they were 'spirits' (fiends, gen, Cherubim, fey, etc) bound into an ordinary animal form. At higher levels, they could take the their true form, and even 'graduate' to higher versions of whatever type of Outsider it began as (thus a Type I demon could become a Type II, and so on).
So if you went that route, your fey familiar could look like a normal cat, or rabbit, or whatever, at first, but then develop some strange-looking traits as you and it leveled (so a normal rabbit could look like a Jackalope by level 3, or a regular could become a tressym, etc).
From a "game rules" perspective, it would make little difference. It more comes down to flavor, and I see people wanting to do this wanting to have a little humanoid companion (or maybe a faerie dragon). I will admit, having some template that you slap on an animal (for instance the half-fey template) would make the design easier.... but it doesn't feel as right.
So, why trade in his familiar instead of just keeping the familiar and having this extra little person? Basically, the fey familiar needs to build the same bonds with the wizard that they would normally build with an animal familiar..... and thus them actually continue having this animal familiar just gets in the way.
My thoughts are to give a small selection of fey to choose from to fulfill the role, and unfortunately, I haven't seen many evil fey that fit the look (the gloura, maybe the redcap, and the jermlaine). However, that being said, maybe another option would be for someone to have some kind of magical beast (I do like the tressym idea... but I've always like tressym familiars). |
| Markustay |
Posted - 01 May 2013 : 20:40:02
Just reading what you wrote in your first post on that subject: Why would you need to 'trade in' your familiar? Couldn't they adapt/transform? Just slap a template on them.
I had something similar in some of my house rules regarding regular familiars, based on the RW witch-lore surrounding them. At first level they were just 'ordinary animals', but in reality they were 'spirits' (fiends, gen, Cherubim, fey, etc) bound into an ordinary animal form. At higher levels, they could take the their true form, and even 'graduate' to higher versions of whatever type of Outsider it began as (thus a Type I demon could become a Type II, and so on).
So if you went that route, your fey familiar could look like a normal cat, or rabbit, or whatever, at first, but then develop some strange-looking traits as you and it leveled (so a normal rabbit could look like a Jackalope by level 3, or a regular cat could become a tressym, etc). |
| sleyvas |
Posted - 01 May 2013 : 16:18:46
quote:
Originally posted by Bladewind
Quite a fun concept, that spell stealing fey familiar. Gonna try it on an NPC in the near future (it seems like a powerful mid to high level ability though).
depends on how you develop it. If its a prestige class that maybe you can't get into until 5th lvl, and if you literally follow what I said, you have to go 4 levels into the class before your familiar can steal 2nd lvl spells or higher. You could however modify it such that maybe their "steal spell" ability increases at every level (skipping say 6th level so max spell level is 9th at 10th lvl)... I'd recommend against that however. What might be a better solution is that your faerie familiar starts off with 4 levels of spellthief (which makes a jermlaine (MM2), petal (MM3) grig or pixie spellthief more survivable). If you allow more powerful faerie familiars (such as a faerie dragon (draconomicon), thorn (MM3), or gloura (underdark), I'd recommend making that they don't get their 1st lvl of spellthief until the second level in the class (or in the case of a redcap maybe they start as 2nd lvl spellthieves)). Note that this gives your faerie sneak attacks, trapfinding, and other abilities. Of some of those other abilities, perhaps they can transfer said abilities to their wizard as well (such as the steal spell effect ability to steal spells currently cast on another person, steal energy resistance, but I'd recommend against steal spell-like ability, absorb spell, ). If this prestige class goes to say 10th lvl, then at the end your fey familiar is a 13th lvl spellthief. I'd recommend stopping there, with the possibility of an epic version of the prestige class. |
| Markustay |
Posted - 01 May 2013 : 14:10:26
quote:
Originally posted by Bladewind
WoD Fae are monstrous, and have quite scary motivations. <snip>
This is how I've always seen them, and always portrayed them, except instead of 'monsters', I would use the term 'alien'.
One day a fey/fae might help you out, and the next day try to kill you. Its not because they are 'crazy' (chaotic, whatever), but because they are unfathomable by human standards. The core D&D races have been interacting for over 20K+ years, so they have 'rubbed off' on each other, to the point where the cultures have many similarities... but I am sure thats not how it was 'in the beginning'. When it comes to fey and other non-core races, all bets are off. We just can't relate.
It could just be that you are wearing the wrong color shirt on the wrong day - what they think is important may seem trivial to us (and vice-versa). |
| Bladewind |
Posted - 01 May 2013 : 09:09:07
Quite a fun concept, that spell stealing fey familiar. Gonna try it on an NPC in the near future (it seems like a powerful mid to high level ability though). |
| sleyvas |
Posted - 30 Apr 2013 : 16:37:12
One thing I had developed back during second edition was a variation of Sha'ir that I called the "faerie sha'ir". I never put it into use except for one NPC, though I always pictured it in Rashemen. I must admit that I'd like to see something like it see a return, but not using the sha'ir rules. What if a mortal wizard or sorceror could go into a prestige class which allows them to "trade-in" their current familiar for a faerie familiar. Then have said faerie familiar provide some boost in magical capability. One of the first ideas that comes to mind is maybe the faerie familiar advances with the wizard everytime he levels, but the faerie familiar advances in the spellthief class. Also, while the faerie familiar CAN cast the stolen spell himself, maybe he can also GIVE said spell to the wizard (a reversal of the normal casting a spell through the familiar) after a few levels into the prestige class. There should be some other advancements, but I wanted to throw out this initial idea and see what kind of response it gets.
Oh, and the faerie would be from either the Seelie or Unseelie Court and the wizard would have to swear fealty accordingly, which could lead into some interesting twists. |
| Bladewind |
Posted - 30 Apr 2013 : 15:50:12
WoD Fae are monstrous, and have quite scary motivations. I like how you captured that element, but I'd emphasize it a bit more. They might give knighthood to a mortal for a certain geass he has performed (even without their will), or reward them with a boon that is terrible in a way (like forcing them to perform a few months of dancing, while they don't know they are starving to death because of it). I'd say that most of the beauty of fey is tied to their illusion magics, which hold special potency in Faerie. If one disbelieves the glamours put up by most fey, one can see them for the sometimes emaciated and frail forms some truly are.
Seelie and Unseelie courts are a large part of the Fey lifestyle, and its intricate politics are a source for many adventures, aspecially if PC's want to gain favours from one or the other court nobles. Most of the holding of fey in Faerie are made up of 'real' illusions, and retain a certain pristine quality and beauty because of the glamours bound onto them. Seelie swords never rust, flowers never wilt and paintings seem to come to life when observed. Unseelie objects are wickedly exaggerated, and plants are stunted and wilted and seemingly in a constant state of decay. Seelie fey objects and creatures represent vibrant life, with saturated colors and strong fragrances, while unseelie fey represent overpowering decay, with its fey creatures showing signs of old age, shadow, death and corruption. Both too much seelie and unseelie fey are bad for ecosystems on the prime, causing the balance of nature to swing in the direction of respectively overgrowth or decay. Its important to remember fey are motivated by one or the other.
Elves are luckily far enough removed from Seelie and Unseelie Faerie courts (Corellon once was a favorite champion of the court, untill he chose to ascend and therby offend the lord Oberon and lady Titania) that they won't show erratic behaviour like that, but they still would sometimes 'reward' friends with fey gifts that spell doom for those without long lifespans or afinnity to nature. They retain a part of the frailty of fey, but most have enchored their spirits for so long in the prime material plane that they are just as "mundane" as non-fey (and thus suscpetible to powerful fey illusions).
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| Barastir |
Posted - 30 Apr 2013 : 11:46:34
I like this approach, just like I think good dragons should be more distant, inhuman and alien. Another aspect of faeries I try to put on my fairy NPCs and even in my elves to a lesser extent is they being truly chaotic, passionate, capricious and impredictable, going easily to emotional extremes.  |
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