The Fey Folk (homebrew creatures)

[Yora]

For my homebrew setting I have a number of custom creatures that inhabit the Spiritworld, which plays a major role in the setting. Now I'm coming up with final stat blocks on these creatures, and I'd like some input on the quality of my work.




Huge picture!
http://fc00.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2010/127/0/c/Fey_Folio__the_Nightshade_by_Kid_Eternity.jpg

Though neither the most numerous, nor the most powerful race of the Spiritworld, the shee are surely the most influential and civilized inhabitants of the plane. A shee appears as a slender but strong humanoid of up to 7 feet height. Their hair covers a wide aray of colors like black, silver, green, blue, or red, and their skin tone varies by area from almost white to a reddish brown or purple. Most noticable however are their eyes, which are completely monochromatic and often appear black, blue or sea green. Being very resistant to the extreme weather of their home plane, shee rarely bother with too much clothing, which they wear more for modesty than protection against the envvironment.
While not true fey, shee have a strong connection to the spirit world. They mature very slowly for about 100 years and then stop aging completely. Their life spans are practically unlimited, but many grow weary of their physical existance over the centuries and seek out ways to join with the essence of the Spiritworld. However, shee are very daring and a great number of them die from other causes long before such a day.

Shee certainly have one of the most humanoid appearance of the creatures of the Spiritworld, but their mindset can be highly alien to mortals. For the most part, they don't really pay much attention to mortals. Quite often they treat them like small children or pets who want attention, mostly ignoring them while doing "important things". They can be very attentive and kind when it pleases them or they think a mortal has something really important to say, but there's as good a chance they'll tell you to go do something else and they will attend to whatever business you have later. That is not to say that shee are oblivious to the things happening around them, but they can often give things very different priorities.

Though shee may appear frail from the distance, they have no body fat at all and are pure muscle and bone and are very agile. They only wear light armor and prefer fighting with curved short swords, bastard swords and great swords, spears, or glaives and don't use any shields in their martial traditions.

Shee ************ CR 4
Often CN Medium Monstrous Humanoid (spirit)
Init +4; Senses Listen +7, Spot +7; Low-light vision
Language Sylvan
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
AC 16 (+3 armor, +2 Dex, +1 natural), touch 12, flat footed 14
hp 22 (4 HD); DR 5/cold iron
Immune Disease, sleep
Resist Cold 10, electricity 10, fire 10; SR 14
Fort +2, Ref +6, Will +6; +2 vs. enchantment, +4 vs poison
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Speed 30 ft., base speed 30 ft.
Melee Masterwork bastard sword +7 (1d10+3/19-20)
Ranged Composite longbow +6 (1d8+2/x3)
Space 5 ft; Reach 5 ft.
Base Atk +4; Grp +6
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 4th):
3/day - protection from evil; 1/day - aid, bless, detect evil
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Abilities Str 14, Dex 14, Con 12, Int 12, Wis 14, Cha 14
Feats Combat Reflexes, Improved Initiative
Skills Bluff +4, Hide +3, Listen +7, Move Silently +5, Search +3,
Spot +7, Sense Motive+5, Survival +6 (* +2 to Listen,
Search, and Spot.)
Advancement By class level
Possessions Masterwork longsword, composite longbow,
studded leather armor

It's based on a half-celestial elf with the Monstrous Humanoid type and 4 racial HD. I think it looks pretty workable, but I'm unsure about the CR and I'm not yet satisfied with the spell like abilities and the lack of any other active special abilities.
Please, tell me what you think.

[hamishspence]

Manual of the Planes does recommend using Half-Celestial Elves (and half-fiend elves) for the Seelie and Unseelie Sidhe.

So there's certainly precedent.

[Temotei]

For the "CR 4" part at the top of the block, you can use several
tags or you can use
, though that might put it too far to the right for your liking.

The picture doesn't work.

Other than that, I've not looked through it.

[Calmar]

For my game I took a similar approach. My sidhe are technically elves with the half-fey template (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/sp/20040213a), but without the wings and the Con penalty (not even nympphs or dryads get a penalty).

I think the shee looks quite good. Maybe the above link can give you some useful inspiration for other spell-like abilities.

Why did you decide to give them racial Hit Dice?

[Mulletmanalive]

While it doesn't look worth it's CR as it stands, it would certainly be more powerful with Elite stats.

Tricky to kill, i'll admit, so probably about right really.

Shee [though this is from the PoV who's been reading a lot about fairies lately] isn't a particularly evocative name. It literally just means "fairy/spirit" and when you realise it's part of words like Cooshee and so forth, it seems a little lame.

How about Alfar, Teg or maybe just taking a fearful, euphamistic name for them and using that, like "the Strangers" or "the Goodly Folke?"

[hamishspence]

I've seen "Sith" used.

These days, it's rather evocative of unpleasantness- which may be a good thing if it's Unseelie fey.

[Eldan]

May I ask why you made them monstrous humanoids instead of fey?

[Mulletmanalive]

I've seen "Sith" used.

These days, it's rather evocative of unpleasantness- which may be a good thing if it's Unseelie fey.

That's just the Scottish way of spelling Shee, which in Irish is spelt Sidhe. It means "mound" as in "barrow." A Sith or Aes Sidhe just means "people of the mound."

I suggested Alfar first because they were the ones with the actual scarymofo rep, being the inspiration for Tolkien's elves...

[hamishspence]

Maybe tap heavily into Star Wars imagery- if the guy with pointy ears has scary black tattoos, and when asked "What are you?" replies with "I . . . am a Sith." then (if the players know Star Wars) they will be worried.

[Calmar]

Maybe tap heavily into Star Wars imagery- if the guy with pointy ears has scary black tattoos, and when asked "What are you?" replies with "I . . . am a Sith." then (if the players know Star Wars) they will be worried.

I don't know... I think it would damage my 'willing suspension of disbelief'. I'd feel as if he told me "I . . . am a Terminator. :smallconfused:

[hamishspence]

Even though the word is technically valid?

Probably true. Sidhe probably sounds better.

Having peasants speak of "the sith" in terrified terms, referring to the hounds of the Wild hunt as Sith Hounds, and so on, might work- especially if you suggest that the Star Wars EU Sith culture draws from legends of the elves.

I'm not sure if this is true- but it would be a nice idea.

[Yora]

Name: I'm bad with names and it's short, generic, and people know how it's pronounced when they read it.

Creature type: I treat fey kind like elementals of the Spiritworld. While the shee and other humanoid and non-humanoid creatures are native of the Spiritworld, they are not manifestations of the Spiritworlds magical essence. They are roughly modeled after a botchered understanding of japanese monsters. Monstrous Humanoids are yokai, but they are not kami.
Also, Fey HD really suck for non-caster creatures.

Racial HD: I want to place them in the company of yuan-ti, ogre mages, medusas, and lamias, all of which have racial HD. And even a "common" shee can still beat up most mortals easily. I could also have done it by setting them at a minimum character level 4th, but racial HD seems the better solution.

Abilities: They are really not THAT impressive, but what I would assign a "1st level commoner". If you use the standard 1st level warrior array or even the elite character array, you end up with something quite impressive.

[Mulletmanalive]

Yokai = Monster
Kami = Spirit

So they're monsters instead of spirits. Fair enough, though the connotation with the term is that they're going to eat you. Or at least part of you. Anyways...

The array is really pretty impressive when you look at it and yes, they're going to be absolutely mental with an Elite array. Don't forget to include the +1 for being 4HD. I agree on the Fey hit dice thing, never got that. Prefer the 4e thing of fey being a descriptor.

Just to point out, while Sidhe and Sith are spelt like that, they're both pronounced Shee. Just to make that clear. If the spiritworld is supposed to be kind of an underworld, may i suggest Teg Anoon [Teg Annwn in Welsh script]? It means "family/folk of the underworld"

[hamishspence]

Just to point out, while Sidhe and Sith are spelt like that, they're both pronounced Shee. Just to make that clear.

True- though the Star Wars pronunciation, while incorrect when applied to elves, still has a certain sinister sound.

[Mulletmanalive]

True- though the Star Wars pronunciation, while incorrect when applied to elves, still has a certain sinister sound.

True dat.

Though thanks to Darth Maul and the 4e Shadar Kai, i'm left with a mental image of elvish goth posers.

[hamishspence]

That is a possible problem with "evil elves" concepts.

Maybe draw from Lords and Ladies they may be beautiful, but they are utterly without empathy- and exceptionally cruel.

Or make them a little alien in appearance- overlong necks- impossibly sharp cheekbones- inhumanly long fingers, and so on.

Skip the eladrin glowing coloured eyes- and instead make them pure white or pure black.

And possibly small, razor sharp, triangular teeth, something like that of a shark or a piranha.

[Yora]

Prefer the 4e thing of fey being a descriptor.
That's what the (spirit) subtype is for. It applies to all creatures of the Spiritworld.

My concept of the Spiritworld is a copy of the material plane, but with both natural forces and magic turned up to 200%. Looks beautiful at first, but even when you survive sunstrokes, exposure, drowning, avalanches, and lightning strikes, there're still the local critters looking for something that is easy to catch. If you want to survive there for more than a few hours, you have to be a veteran adventurer or get taken in by the locals.
The spirit world is where all spirits spend the most of their time. Local nature spirts are aware of what's going on in the same spot on the material plane, but only manifest themselves there when talking to shamans or punishing tresspassers. Humanoid spirits sometimes travel to the material plane, but mostly either because they like mortals, or because mortals make great pawns.