RPG Blog Carnival - A Band of Fair Folk

Image (cc) amorphisss

Fae don't seem to feature much in Dungeons and Dragons games (that I have played) and I think it's probably because they're low challenge in combat. But why would faeries, who are essentially physically weak extradimensional magic users, be interested in engaging in combat when they could be playing to their strengths?

By their nature, the Fair Folk are otherworldly, capricious, playful, powerful, and broadly disinterested in us and our world unless they can derive some entertainment or gain.

Here are my thoughts on how to take advantage of this nature to have fun at the table:

The faerie realm (or the Feywild if you insist) is not part of our realm, so have fun with geometry and geography:

• Faerie roads can join places in our realm with little concern for their true geographical - or even temporal - relationships.
• A moment in the faerie realm could be years in ours, or vice versa.
• Things that are small in one realm can be vast in the other.
• Fae settlements and buildings do not need to follow our understanding of topography - how fun a dungeon could you design if the rules don't apply?

The fair folk have their own politics and are not interested in ours as other races are, but they might enthral or manipulate human(oid)s for their own ends or amusement:

• Enslave them for their own entertainment; have them dance all night or partake in a Wild Hunt.
• Enslave them as tools in their own bickering - have you read how Oberon and Titania carry on in A Midsummer Night's Dream?
• Take a shine to a person and elevate them to greatness in human(oid) society - funnier when the target doesn't want the "help" of their patron.

Fae folk are inherently magical so have fun playing with curses, charms, enchantments and the like.  Unbind them from the magic rules of your system and see what they could do:

• A warrior is cursed to guard a bridge for eternity, challenging and slaying all who try to cross.  But when defeated, the curse passes to the champion and the cycle continues.
• Charmed human(oid)s act out a play on a grand global stage - or are pawns in some childish game.
• Enchanted areas or items can appear, disappear, or change locations on a whim.

Their treasures are not our treasures, and they will only bargain when they stand to gain:

• Bags of gold given in payment for the party's services turn to hay or disappear overnight.
• Magical items given by faeries will likely share their nature and be fickle, manipulative, or otherwise troublesome.
• The fair folk often demand something immaterial as payment; the colour of your eyes, the name of your firstborn child, your fondest memory of a loved one.
• Magical secrets are never given away wholly, or easily, or truthfully!

This month's Blog Carnival is hosted over at Pitfalls and Pixies, please make sure you drop by, and of course you should check out the RPG Blog Carnival hub and archives.

If you're roleplaying faeries then think of the unusual, the playful or deceitful, and always the extraordinary.  I hope you like these ideas, please feel free to contribute more in the comments!