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Bladewind
Master of Realmslore
Netherlands
1280 Posts |
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boddynock
Learned Scribe
Belgium
258 Posts |
 Posted - 04 Apr 2007 : 17:17:04
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With a lil' bit of conversion you can create so called "jungle dryads" who protect the ancient mammoth trees of the jungle. A primitive branche of sprites could live in the deep forest. I would give them more a neutral alignment than a good one.
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36804 Posts |
Posted - 04 Apr 2007 : 18:23:51
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quote:
Originally posted by boddynock
With a lil' bit of conversion you can create so called "jungle dryads" who protect the ancient mammoth trees of the jungle. A primitive branche of sprites could live in the deep forest. I would give them more a neutral alignment than a good one.
And have the primitive sprites ride compies.  |
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boddynock
Learned Scribe
Belgium
258 Posts |
Posted - 04 Apr 2007 : 19:19:02
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| lol Wooly, that reminds me on one of my first sessions where my cousin played a sprite with a compsognatus :p |
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KnightErrantJR
Great Reader
USA
5402 Posts |
Posted - 04 Apr 2007 : 20:24:34
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| Well, from the Realms of the Dragons anthology we know that Chult has at least one Faerie Dragon, though its technically a "dragon" as far as species is concerned. Sorry I can't cite the story/author, but I'm at work right now. At any rate, where there are faerie dragons, there are usually other fey creatures. |
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Gray Richardson
Master of Realmslore
USA
1291 Posts |
Posted - 05 Apr 2007 : 06:08:18
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Perhaps some centaur variants, I am thinking maybe with jaguar lower-halves, they could scale the trees and drop down from above with spears or javelins. You could maybe adapt them from wemic stats or use the tauric template or try to ballpark it crossing centaur stats with an appropriate big cat stat block. I would suggest that you could even use a displacer beast but that might be more of an aberration than a fey... could be interesting though.
Here is a weird thought, there are not many gargantuan fey, you could make an elephant centaur that thunders through the jungle. Could make for a very cool encounter.
There are a lot of interesting bugs and insects in the jungle, which might make for some cool sprite variants. There are bugs that look like leaves that blend in well with trees. You could have sprites that look very leafy that camouflage into the trees (high hide bonus when next to trees). They could look more like dragonflies or walkingsticks or beetles or cicadas or wasps.
Other interesting jungle animals are toucans, parrots, macaws, flamingos, egrets and the like. You could use aarakocra variants that have features of these birds, or maybe something like a swanmay that shapeshifts from human to bird.
Then of course, for your unicorn variant you could use a zebra.
In the jungles of Chult there are dinosaurs, so you might consider some sort of dinosaur fey. Tiny raptors with sprite wings could be cool. One might be cute, but if they started to swarm, it could get scary.
Malaria is a concern in jungles, it is spread by mosquitoes. D&D has stirges and they are a hundred times more scary. Not fey per se, but still a nifty encounter.
Then of course, you have your monkeys, lemurs and sloths. I'm not sure how you make them into fey, but if you just made them talk and say strange things, it would seem very magical and might make for an interesting social encounter. A "monkey king" could make for a charismatic NPC.
In the Jungle Book, Mowgli was always talking to the animals and it seemed very cool. All the animals had exotic names, so if you have names for all the talking animals it could help create a strong sense of place and culture. |
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Kajehase
Great Reader
Sweden
2104 Posts |
Posted - 05 Apr 2007 : 16:26:03
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quote:
Originally posted by KnightErrantJR
Well, from the Realms of the Dragons anthology we know that Chult has at least one Faerie Dragon, though its technically a "dragon" as far as species is concerned. Sorry I can't cite the story/author, but I'm at work right now. At any rate, where there are faerie dragons, there are usually other fey creatures.
The story is called Faerie Ire and is written by Erin Tettensor (and is, incidentally, one of the funniest pieces of writing in Realms-fiction I've read). |
There is a rumour going around that I have found god. I think is unlikely because I have enough difficulty finding my keys, and there is empirical evidence that they exist.
Terry Pratchett |
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sleyvas
Skilled Spell Strategist
USA
11829 Posts |
Posted - 06 Apr 2007 : 15:51:57
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Hmmm, jungle fey. I would think look for things like spirits. I'd also make them nasty fey rather than good for the most part.
The river spirit being a crocodilian shape changer which can take on human form and then drags people into the river.
Sprites are always shown with wings, but what about some kind of tiny unseelie wingless sprite that rides winged snakes.
A fey who represents disease and lives to spread malaria.
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Alavairthae, may your skill prevail
Phillip aka Sleyvas |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36804 Posts |
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Foxhelm
Senior Scribe
Canada
592 Posts |
Posted - 06 Apr 2007 : 17:51:02
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| What about adapting the faeries from the movie Ferngully to the Black Jungle? |
Ed Greenwood! The Solution... and Cause of all the Realms Problems! |
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Fellfire
Master of Realmslore
1965 Posts |
Posted - 26 Mar 2011 : 06:04:14
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I just found this scroll while searching for pics of an Unseelie Faerie Dragon. I thought it may be of interest. I particularly like Gray's idea for elephant-centaurs or sleyvas' suggestion for malaria spreading mosquito men.
Hmmm. Rainbow colored Gripli, Snail-Fairies? |
Misanthorpe
Love is a lie. Only hate endures. Light is blinding. Only in darkness do we see clearly.
"Oh, you think darkness is your ally? You merely adopted the dark. I was born in it, molded by it. I didn't see the light until I was already a man, by then it was nothing to me but.. blinding. The shadows betray you because they belong to me." - Bane The Dark Knight Rises
Green Dragonscale Dice Bag by Crystalsidyll - check it out
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Edited by - Fellfire on 26 Mar 2011 06:38:54 |
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Dalor Darden
Great Reader
USA
4211 Posts |
Posted - 26 Mar 2011 : 06:51:15
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I made an Unseelie Ratman Faerie once...their favored prey were insect-like Fairies; especially Grig.
Jungles are an awesome place for Fey though! |
The Old Grey Box and AD&D for me! |
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Ayrik
Great Reader
Canada
7989 Posts |
Posted - 26 Mar 2011 : 08:23:02
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I'm having a little difficulty trying to imagine jungle leprechauns. Would they be Irish or African?
Those nasty little pixie vermin things firing jungle-poisoned blowdarts has some appeal. Jungle treants and dryads and sylphy creatures would be interesting. Jungle centaur/wemic sorts are a given. Half-gorilla jungle korreds would make my female PCs run and my male PCs run faster ... I'm imagining swarms of flying feathered fey piranhas as well, just for fun.
Fey, to my mind, are attracted to places of arcane-styled magic. What magic can they harvest in the fantasy jungle that isn't primal? They also don't seem durable enough to survive long in such an environ, not like hardy jungle dwarves, beastmen, and scaly folk of all kinds. I suppose the reptiles have to eat something, so they might as well dine on fey. Meazels and mongrelmen might make magnificent malaria-multiplying menaces. And don't forget the jungle goblins! |
[/Ayrik] |
Edited by - Ayrik on 26 Mar 2011 08:54:33 |
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Fellfire
Master of Realmslore
1965 Posts |
Posted - 26 Mar 2011 : 13:32:27
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I suppose Nightshades are a given. I'm thinking instead of traditional tauric, wemic like creatures, instead a satyr-like being with only the hind quarters of a jaguar stalking through the jungle. Definitely some cool imagery.
Hah! feathered flying pirahna, aboriginal pygmy leprchauns, good ones! |
Misanthorpe
Love is a lie. Only hate endures. Light is blinding. Only in darkness do we see clearly.
"Oh, you think darkness is your ally? You merely adopted the dark. I was born in it, molded by it. I didn't see the light until I was already a man, by then it was nothing to me but.. blinding. The shadows betray you because they belong to me." - Bane The Dark Knight Rises
Green Dragonscale Dice Bag by Crystalsidyll - check it out
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Edited by - Fellfire on 26 Mar 2011 13:36:23 |
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Bladewind
Master of Realmslore
Netherlands
1280 Posts |
Posted - 26 Mar 2011 : 14:27:19
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Ah, totally forgot about this thread. Nice catch.
Over the years I have had some good ideas for jungle (fey) cretins to throw at players. Carnivorous plant dryads were one of the several ideas I had with adapting dryads. These dryads are sanguinovores with a huge thirst, that prowl and crawl over uncharacteristically large distances to get a taste of humanoid or mammalian flesh and blood. Another was inspired by the dragon arum, which imits a rotting flesh like aroma when it flowers every 5 years or so, to attract flies and enable pollinisation. The stationary jungle dryad version emits a pheromone that attracts male humanoids (up to 120 ft far downwind), who inturn are seduced by the dragon arum dryad and are charmed to collect water, small vermin and other neccesities for the fey.
I like the brazilian myths about freshwater mermaids and were-dolphins (Iara and Boto), that tempt unsuspecting travellers in and near lakes and rivers of the jungle. Also cool is a jungle genie called Cururpira, that has backwards feet and hands to confuse trackers, that protects animals and treespirits. Dry Corpses are cursed men and women that were so evil that they don't decompose normally after death but wander the jungle, trapped in dry cadaverous bodies with maddening thirst and hunger.
Also very dangerous are giant sized bugs (mosquitoes, bees, wasps) titanic catterpillars and centipedes other oversized vermin. Cool nocturnal threats are the large to huge frogs, which sing in very loud croaks after dark and that spit venom or fire when threatened; ancient huge-sized sloths with druidic or sorcerous abilities; feral were-jaguars active in the hunt and good at laying painful traps. |
My campaign sketches
Druidic Groves
Creature Feature: Giant Spiders |
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Quale
Master of Realmslore
1757 Posts |
Posted - 26 Mar 2011 : 17:43:54
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| Bisan, bamboo spiritfolk, nat and con-tinh from Kara-Tur, chac (Maztica), zin (Al-Qadim), biloko (Pathfinder: Racing to Ruin), bolandi, dark naga, pavillion dragon, bakhna rakhna, possibly tasloi, dark tree, ettercap, marrashi. |
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Ayrik
Great Reader
Canada
7989 Posts |
Posted - 26 Mar 2011 : 17:53:13
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| Wimpy little fey are supposed to survive in this environment? |
[/Ayrik] |
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Bladewind
Master of Realmslore
Netherlands
1280 Posts |
Posted - 26 Mar 2011 : 18:07:10
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Jungle ecosystems are so large and abundant that they sustain a certain form of 'stratification of life'. At ground level the larger and feroucious organisms can find a niche to maintain populations, at normal tree height the nubile or agile creatures eke out their existence, while in the heighest treetop levels multiple highly mobile critters dominate the environment.
So yes, wimpy little fey would thrive in jungles. Mostly unseen for the beastmen, scaley folk, human, goblin and dwarven tribes lumbering about at ground levels and nearly unreachable for the tree climbing agile groups of yuan-ti, flesh eating monkeys, hunting cats and others. |
My campaign sketches
Druidic Groves
Creature Feature: Giant Spiders |
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Dalor Darden
Great Reader
USA
4211 Posts |
Posted - 26 Mar 2011 : 20:27:55
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The Jungle isn't that violent folks. That is a Hollywood driven stereotype.
It is an extreme environment only in that there is a super-abundance of food sources...Faerie-folk would be fine there; just as they are fine in woodlands where there are orcs, trolls, displacer beasts and dragons... |
The Old Grey Box and AD&D for me! |
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Fellfire
Master of Realmslore
1965 Posts |
Posted - 27 Mar 2011 : 19:46:19
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| Also while exploring Paizo's offerings, I discovered Heart of the Jungle said to contain jungle treants and other arboreal goodness. |
Misanthorpe
Love is a lie. Only hate endures. Light is blinding. Only in darkness do we see clearly.
"Oh, you think darkness is your ally? You merely adopted the dark. I was born in it, molded by it. I didn't see the light until I was already a man, by then it was nothing to me but.. blinding. The shadows betray you because they belong to me." - Bane The Dark Knight Rises
Green Dragonscale Dice Bag by Crystalsidyll - check it out
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 27 Mar 2011 : 21:27:59
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Some great ideas here. I'm surprised no-one mentioned the Zebrataur from one of the Dragon issuues. In fact, IIRC, there was at least one entire issue dedicated to 'things Jungle'.
You could use Kech, and Su-Monsters. Korred would work just fine (just make them more 'junglely').
And I wish my drawing skills were better - I'm picturing that giant elephant-Fey; something with a human-like head, but with pointed elephant ears and a smallish trunk (relatively) - the face would look kinda like a Killmoulis (which would also work in a jungle, come to think of it). They should have thick, three-fingered hands (don't know why - it just seems better that way).
Very deep, dense jungle environment (where little sunlight pierces through the canopy all the way to the ground) would allow some Underdark-critter adaptions. 'Jungle Drow' are a given (think Xendrik), but most creatures would work (Hook horrors, grimlocks, etc). Not precisely Fey, but could work in faerie-Jungle environment. A great resource for this type of campaign would be Lynn Carter's Green Star series; far from his best work, but it takes place on such a world (where you are never sure if everything is gigantic, or the people are just really, really tiny).
I'm also thinking a lot of nocturnal fey (like the Hsiao), which works for fey anyway, and perhaps some bat-like variants on the more common sprites.
There's also the elephant-like Baku: it was in the 1e MM2 - not sure if it was written-up in later editions.
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"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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Edited by - Markustay on 29 Mar 2011 21:32:31 |
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Razz
Senior Scribe
USA
749 Posts |
Posted - 28 Mar 2011 : 04:49:34
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Since you're asking for mainly Fey, yes, Paizo's "Heart of the Jungle" has some neat creatures, I don't think any are fey.
There may be a jungle fey creature in WotC's webpage article "Corners of the World" when they covered their jungle enviornment, I'm positive. Other fey can be adapted.
Also, someone mentioned centaur zebras? I believe there's officially a breed of centaur in the Realms that have zebra hides. Not fey, but useful as guardians.
Google the "Creature Catalog" for some very great older edition monsters being converted. The authors have published in Dragon Magazine articles (for the same thing, converted monsters). Don't forget Tom Costa's "Realms Bestiary" 1 and 2. (He was supposed to update the creatures in 1 to 3.5e, but guess he never got to it) |
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Markustay
Realms Explorer extraordinaire
USA
15724 Posts |
Posted - 29 Mar 2011 : 21:42:57
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AFAIK, if they are centaurs, then they are fey.
I don't recall the zebrataurs being FR-specific, but their are desert (Zakahra) and Steppe (Hordelands) variants that are canon.
There are a few creatures in the Malatra/Islands portions of the Kara-Tur material, but most of them sound like undead to me. In the main campaign area of Kara-Tur, however, are tons of great jungle creatures that work as Fey.
I just searched 'Jungle Fey' over at DeviantART for inspiration - here's a great pic for the setting (the guy looks like he can be a jungle Elf). The only other that caught my eye was this one, which looks like some sort of goblin-dryad thingie (interesting, anyway).
EDIT: Actually, that artist - lordeeas - has a very nice gallery. Not all of it pertains to this thread, but definitely some good raw material there for RPGing ideas. I'll have to see if he does (free) commission work. |
"I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me" --- Dudley Field Malone
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Edited by - Markustay on 29 Mar 2011 21:49:05 |
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Bladewind
Master of Realmslore
Netherlands
1280 Posts |
Posted - 30 Mar 2011 : 12:25:14
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I love those pics!
They inspired me to think about how to design the stratified layers of a jungle ecosystem into adventuring sites.
The Undergrowth layer
Jungle terrain that can hide lots of unseen depths covered in heavily decaying undergrowth can be treacherous to traverse (a covered pit can be a natural trap, search or spot dc 17 fall 10 to 100 ft for 1d6 to 10d6 damage). Huge fallen trees provide relatively safe passageways through these parts but are usually moist and covered in loose moss (balance dc 10 to 15 to traverse or 5 to 10ft mvment to cross). 5 to 10 ft wide Gulleys are common (especially in the unseen depths of the undergrowth jungles) and are mostly not deeper than 5ft. Less than 2% of the sunlight reaches this layer, so it is usually covered in near darkness and shadowy illumination during the day.
Some forests are so ancient that even this layer is stratified, forming intricate labyrinths composed of complexes of immense tangled roots broken up with wooden caverns cut out of huge fallen trees by gulleys, and decomposing plant material heaped up into immense hills or valleys. Amphibious creatures (Crocodiles, Constictor Snakes and Poisonous Salamanders) and recycling specialists (myconoids, giant wolftrapspiders, otyughs, ettercaps) are likely to be encountered in or nearby the lowest and wettest parts of the Undergrowth. In the more dry parts the largest lifeforms (think mega fauna, dinosaurs, jungle mammoths/elephants) make a home out of this layer.
The Understory
Bushes and medium sized trees with very large-surfaced leaves are prevalent here, providing sparse light undergrowth at certain elevated places. Massive Treetrunks dictate the line of sight and means of traversal. Again, fallen trees and lianas provide a relatively safe way of traversal. More light is present here (up to 15% of the daylight), so mostly shadowy illumination is found pierced with the occasional open spots bathed in sunlight.
The suped up fantasy versions of this layer would likely be dominated by specialist plant and animal species. Poisonous orchids, flesh eating plants that attract prey by scent or color, parasitic plants that drop on or brush against those that travel nearby and monstrous animals that traverse the layer by powerful jumps off treetrunks.
The Canopy
A thick green canopy absorbs most of the light and rain falling on a rainforest. The massive trees from the understory branch out here to form a thick tangle of branches that can be traversed quite easily (climb dc 10) most of the time. Gaps of up to 40ft exist, making travel in certain directions considerably more difficult. The abundance of light is usally converted into a wildgrowth of fruits, seeds and other consumables, so most of a jungles population (70 to 90%) tries to actively live up here. Great encounters in this layer consists of Large Vipers, Carnivorous Monkeys, Great Black Leopards or Shadowcats, Insect Swarms and See the DMG pg 87 for further info on elven treetop villages that can be found in this layer.
Some of the largest trees effectively form a new layer up and beyond the canopy, towering up to 200 ft above all other trees. Every 500 square feet one of these massive tree giants tower above the green sea, to house colonies of the more mobile lifeforms. Birds, large bats, pterodactyls, flying insect-nests and small (flying) monkeys congregate here when not foraging and being preyed upon from below by the more agile hunters (hunting cats, flesh eating monkeys) or across other supertrees by the more mobile hunters (such as green dragons or birds of prey). |
My campaign sketches
Druidic Groves
Creature Feature: Giant Spiders |
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Ayrik
Great Reader
Canada
7989 Posts |
Posted - 30 Mar 2011 : 13:01:21
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I spent much of my childhood playing and skulking in Pacific Northwest rainforest, and I mean deep within the brambles and barbs and undergrowth, days and miles away from paths and trails. Not all that much different from jungles insofar as density of vegetation and animal life - though of course temperate (instead of tropical) and most of the dangerous or predatory animals stay well away from urban regions. Insects, crawlies, and spiderwebs are everywhere all the time, but the bloodsucking nuisances only come out in force during the warmest months of the year. Everything is wet and sticky all the time. Terrain is indeed difficult to navigate unless one has a quick and light step, even balancing on logs isn't reliable since most are wetted until slick and rotten, plus of course slippery moss and algea and lichen grow on every surface. It's often easiest to wade through the streams when covering distance, there's no piranhas (only minnows, crayfish, and spawning fishes; sometimes leeches in still water); terrain is especially treacherous near the many rapids and waterfalls, because of the mountains it seems like everything is always on a hill or grade, mountain climbing gear is as often helpful as an axe or machete. There are innumerable tasty berries, plus all manner of edible plants and leaves and barks, though most of them taste awful. Fresh water is abundant all the time, though sometimes carries microscopic parasites (which are easily neutralized through boiling). Don't forget the fact that it rains almost 300 days each year, so things are often even wetter and muddier and mistier (and colder) than they really need to be, it's really quite easy to remain hidden even when only a few feet away. Moving quietly, however, is slow and very difficult and takes much practice. Plus there's always squirrels, birds, and small things scurrying about and giving away your position.
(Jungles, as I've seen 'em through Hollywood eyes at least, always seem to give away your position by having the animals in your immediate proximity fall strangely silent. Not so in the rainforest. Most animals instead converge on your location (in the trees, safely out of reach, of course) where they angrily chitter and screech and caw and flap and raise as much of a big accusatory ruckus as they can. They also don't calm down until you go away. There's always tales about coyotes and raccoons and even eagles stealing unguarded infants, but most animals smaller than a bear or hunting cat are harmless.)
So I imagine jungle is basically exactly what I'm already used to ... except oppressively hot and full of hungry (often poisonous) animals. I imagine D&D jungle is also populated by monsters and hostile races. |
[/Ayrik] |
Edited by - Ayrik on 30 Mar 2011 13:23:05 |
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Jungle fey creatures?
