Feykin

...But faeries live for hundreds of years and they're as cunning as snakes. They can't lie, but they love to engage in creative truth-telling. They'll find out whatever it is you want most in the world and give it to you—with a sting in the tail of the gift that will make you regret you ever wanted it in the first place."

The Curse of Beauty

Feykin are a unique race in appearance with more variety than any other race in Verity. They are split between five broad subraces each named, partially as a joke by the Fey that named them and partially as an accurate description as far as the rest of Verity is concerned, Curses. Feykin appearance even within each subrace varies widely, so the descriptions given are broad overviews without delving deep into all the things that are possible.
   The first subrace is the Eladric Curse. These Fey are humanoid and share similar tall and thin builds to the Elden though the similarities end there. They have either extremely pale skin or tones of light to dark brown with little in between, and long, pointed ears that mark them obviously as one of the Fey. Their faces are similar to Humans in shape, except they are angular and sharp to the extreme and beautiful in the eeriest way possible. Eye colors are usually one solid color relating to the season of the Feykin's birth. Some Eladric Fey have multiple sets of eyes down their face, others can have horns like a stag or unicorn, still others might have skin that glows like a starry sky. Some Eladric Fey even grow wings like the Pixie Fey, though theirs are unable to be used for flight.
   The second subrace is the Pixie Curse. These Fey are also humanoid, though they are universally extremely short and light, ranging from 5 inches to 2 feet in height and weighing nearly nothing regardless of their height or how heavy they look. These Fey take on traits of various insects, usually just their wings but sometimes more while often leaning towards butterflies, dragonflies, moths, and beetles. Apart from those features, which can go from wings to antennae to chitinous plates over parts of their body, they look similar to the Eladric Fey with pale skin and long pointed ears along with a similarly angular face.
   The third subrace is the Dryadic Curse. These Fey are humanoid, with similar builds to the average Human in both height and weight. Their skin appears to be made of bark, though remains somewhat soft to the touch despite the strange texture. Their hair can look like hair or leaves, and many Dryadic Fey make their clothing out of similarly plant-based things that it might match their bodies. These Fey change with the seasons. A Dryadic Fey in the winter may be bald and withdrawn, while in the summer it has a full head of flowing leaves and becomes extroverted and loud. These Fey can take their appearance from any tree in terms of their barkskin and leaves, some even mix and match. Eye colors for Dryadic Fey range from oranges to yellows to golds and are all solid colors with no pupils or irises.
   The fourth and fifth subraces are the Satyric and Tauric Curses.

The Satyric Fey are humanoid, resembling humans from the waist up in both appearance and build apart from the angular facial features of the Fey, along with the solid colored eyes and long ears. Satyric Fey sometimes grow horns as well. From the waist down they have digitigrade legs that take on the appearance of a Deer, Goat, or other similar animal complete with hooves and fur. Personalities of these Fey often follow the animal they are connected to, a Deer Satyric Fey for example may be skittish and wary of outsiders.

The Tauric Fey, often called Centaurs, look the same as the humanoids from the waist up, but below that is the body of a horse, deer, or other similar animal that acts as their legs. These Fey can grow extremely tall or remain short depending on the animal their lower half takes after and like the Satyric Fey they will take on some common qualities of that animal.

Enigmatic and Reclusive

The Feykin, of all the races in Verity, are the least likely to leave their homeland in the Faery Courts to live elsewhere in the world. This is for two reasons. Firstly, Feykin are created in two ways - reproduction between two Feykin of any type will usually produce another Feykin of a random type. The second though, is that any person who stays within the boundaries of the Faery courts for too long will begin to take on features - randomly - of one of the Curses. Should these people stay too long after that they transform fully into a Feykin in both mind and body. This leads to a distrust from many people in Verity, especially when combined with their actions during the Leviathan War of seemingly playing two sides at once.
   The second reason is that for most Feykin there is little reason for them to want to leave their home. Even those not from the Faery Courts will remark that it is one of the most beautiful and otherworldly locations in Verity, and there are almost endless things to keep one occupied while there. Some more adventurous or restless Feykin may eventually leave their homes and explore Verity as they get older, but even then most do return eventually.
   Feykin have a universal reputation as being tricksters. Usually simply for fun or to sow some mischief, but there are Fey that take things to extremes. Beyond this Feykin vary widely in their impressions around the world.

A Deal Made and a Friend Earned

The most common reason for a Feykin to become an adventurer is that at some point in their past a person made a deal with them that involved them offering their services to that person. Essentially a trade is made, and the Feykin then leaves the Faery Courts to explore the world with the person that made the deal. Whether these Fey go home or not after the deal has been resolved varies, and some who truly take to the adventuring life choose to stay in the world at large and continue their career.
   This is not to say that some Feykin don't simply leave of their own wonderlust or restlessness, as this occurs as well just in smaller numbers
   Feykin take on a wide variety of roles, with their numerous subraces leaning towards different applications of their natural skills.

Feykin Traits

All Feykin characters receive the following traits.

Age. Feykin reach maturity at 25 years old, and none have yet been seen to die of old age. Some are over 1000 years old.

Alignment. Feykin take on the alignment of the culture they are raised in, but tend towards Chaotic wherever that is.

Size. See the Subraces for sizes.

Speed. See the subraces for speeds.

Ability score increase. Choose one: Increase 1 ability score of your choice by 2 and another by 1 OR Increase 3 ability scores of your choice by 1. Pixie Cursed Feykin may not choose Strength as one of these scores for either option.

Fey. You have advantage on saving throws against being charmed, and magic can't put you to sleep. Your creature type is Fey rather than Humanoid.

Trance. Feykin don't need to sleep. Instead they meditate deeply, remaining semiconscious, for 4 hours a day. While meditating Feykin may choose to enter the realm of dreams, a place where they can essentially dream of whatever they choose. After resting this way you gain the same benefit that other races do from 8 hours of sleep.

Darkvision. The eyes of the Fey can pierce non magical darkness. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can discern color this way, unlike most Races.

Subrace. Feykin have 5 subraces. Eladric Fey, Pixie Fey, Dryadic Fey, Satyric Fae and Tauric Fey. Choose one Subrace.

Eladric Fey

As an Eladric Fey you are the most regal and 'normal' looking of your kin. You have an affinity for charming magics and are almost always disarmingly beautiful despite your strange appearance.

Size. Eladric Fey are usually between 7 and 8 feet tall, and weigh between 120-160 pounds as they are extremely thin. Some Fey may be heavier than this, though few are lighter. Your size is Medium.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Otherworldly Beauty. As an action, choose one target creature that can see you. They must make a wisdom saving with a DC of 10 + your Charisma modifier + your proficiency modifier. On a failure, they are unable to take any actions on their turn, and must spend their entire move action to move towards you by the safest and most direct route possible as you transfix them with your beauty. They will not enter dangerous or deadly terrain during this movement. You may spend an action on each of your turns to continue this effect.

After using this feature, you must take a long rest before being able to use it again.

Innate Magic. As an Eladric Fey you have innate magic that you can use to cast some spells. At first level you may cast the Friends cantrip at-will as many times as you like. Starting at third level you may also cast Charm Person once, refreshing on a long rest. At fifth level you may cast Charm Person twice before needing to rest, and you may also cast Suggestion once, refreshing on a long rest.

Charisma is your spellcasting ability for these spells.

Illustration by Joenni z.

Charismatic Demeanor. You gain proficiency with one of the following skills: Deception, Persuasion, or Intimidation. Checks you make with this skill add double your proficiency modifier to the roll.

Pixie Fey

As a Pixie Fey you are small and light, able to fly like an insect through the air and shrink things down to your size.

Size. Pixie Fey stand between 5 inches to 2 feet tall, and weigh almost nothing. Your size is Tiny.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 10 feet. You have a flying speed of 30 feet.

Pixie Prank. As an action you may touch any object that doesn't contain anything, isn't inside a container, is not held or worn by another creature, and shrink it to a size appropriate for your use. The item remains shrunk for as long as you hold or wear it, or for a number of hours equal to your Charisma modifier (Minimum of 1 hour) after you lose contact with it. This does not affect the stats of armor or other items, but it does reduce their weight to 0. Two-handed or versatile weapons shrunk this way reduce their damage dice by one level for as long as they remain shrunk e.g a d10 would become a d8, and Versatile weapons must be used two-handed. You cannot use this to shrink items that have the 'Heavy' Property, or items that weigh more than 35 pounds.

Pixie Dust. As a bonus action, you sprinkle dust from your wings on a creature within 5 feet of you. That creature gains a flying speed of 30 until the end of their next turn.

Once you use this feature, you may not use it again until you complete a short or long rest.

Speak with Animals. You gain the Speak with Animals spell and can cast it as a ritual.

Once you use this feature, you may not use it again until you complete a long rest.

Dryadic Fey

As a Dryadic Fey you are more attuned with nature than nearly any other race or subrace. You can become one with the forest, and the trees treat you as one of their own. Dyradic Fey are always female, and resemble humans apart from their bark skin and leafy hair.

Size. Dryadic Fey can vary in height from under 5 feet all the way to over 6 feet. Their weight varies just as much, but they tend to be slightly heavier than they look thanks to their barkskin. Your size is medium.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Barkskin. Your skin is made of a slightly soft bark. You have disadvantage on all saving throws against anything that deals fire damage. However, your AC becomes 12 + your Dexterity modifier so long as you are not wearing any other armor.

Forestkin. You gain the Speak with Plants spell and can cast it once with this feature and regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest. When you cast this spell, you may only target plants that can be found in forests such as trees, grasses, moss, flowers, etc. In addition, you gain advantage on any Charisma based checks made when speaking with plant creatures that the spell doesn't let you influence magically.

Foresthome. While in forested areas or around trees in general, you ignore all non-magical difficult terrain and increase your walking speed by 15 feet. In addition, if you take a short rest within a forest or near trees you heal the maximum possible amount on any hit dice you roll.

Seasonal Changes. As a Dryadic Fey, you are influenced by the seasons of the world around you. You gain the following effects:
                                         Winter. During the winter you become                                            more withdrawn and lethargic, your                                         bark loses its sheen and if you have                                         leafy hair it will fall off. During winter                                        it takes you an extra 2 hours of rest to                                          get the benefits of a long rest, and the                                            AC from Barskin decreases to 11 +                                               your Dexterity modifier. However,                                                winter also can turn your thoughts                                                      and feelings to more negative                                                      and harsh places. Whenever                                                  you deal damage to a creature,                                               you may add additional damage                                               equal to either your Charisma or                                              your Wisdom modifier.

                                        Spring. During the spring you                                           become excitable and filled with a                                        desire to explore and learn and grow.                                     Your bark returns to its normal health,                                     and your leafy hair regrows if it was lost.                                     Because you find it difficult to sit still for                                  long periods of time during the spring, you                                  may only perform 1 short rest between                               each long rest. Any others you attempt are                               simply too boring, and you find yourself                               wandering around and exploring the                               surroundings or other such strenuous                                  activities.

However Spring is a time of growth and learning as well. Whenever you heal yourself or another creature during spring (not including short or long rests), you may increase the amount healed by your Charisma or Wisdom modifier plus your Proficiency modifier. You may use this feature twice, and regain expended uses when you finish a long or short rest.

Summer. The summer is a time of confidence and leadership for you. You are more assertive, brave, and generally louder about your opinions on all things, sometimes verging on rude. You gain advantage on all saving throws against being Frightened. In addition, you may choose to gain advantage on any one roll as your newfound confidence brings you to new heights. You may use this feature once, and regain the use of it after completing a long rest.

Autumn. In the Autumn, you begin to become more quiet and shy. Your leaves and bark start to change color to match the season, and you approach the coming winter with the wisdom you gained the previous year. You gain advantage on all Wisdom saving throws. In addition, you may camouflage more easily with other trees thanks to the brightened colors, giving you advantage on any stealth checks made in forests that match your coloration. However, your Barkskin AC becomes 11+ your Dexterity modifier as it begins to weaken.

Satyric Fey

As a Satyric Fey you are more wild and chaotic than most of your kin except for your closer relatives the Centaur. You are gifted with the fast gallop of your animalistic legs, and are often extremely bold, confident, and outgoing. At least until something scary happens.

Size. Satyric Fey can vary in height from under 5 feet all the way to over 6 feet tall. Their weight varies just as much, and depends mostly on what their diet is. Your size is Medium.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 35 feet.

Fueled by Revelry. You lose the Trance feature that Feykin receive. Whenever you are in a large crowd or party you find it difficult not to join in. However, doing such things - drinking, dancing, singing, and other party or festival activities are more restful for you than other races. Instead of taking a long or short rest, you may join a party or start one yourself. Both must include at least 5 other people to count as a party. If you party for 30 minutes, you and a number of targets equal to double your Charisma modifier gain the benefits of a short rest. If you party for 2 hours, you and a number of targets equal to your Charisma Modifier gain the benefits of a long rest.

Kinship with the Prey. Prey animals of all shapes and sizes innately trust you. Birds will land on your shoulders and arms as you walk through a forest, deer will treat you as a member of their herd, and rabbits will cuddle up to your hooves. If either you or your allies harm the animals in any way they will flee and similar animals in that area will avoid you as well. In addition, you gain advantage on any Animal Handling rolls you make on prey animals.

Skittish and Frightful. You have disadvantage on any saving throws against being frightened. In addition, you may choose to become frightened of any creature within 30 feet of you that you can see as a free action. While frightened, you may Dash as a bonus action and your Speed increases to 40 feet.

Illustration by Jeremy Chong

Tauric Fey

As a Tauric Fey, or Centaur, you are truly wild and open, enjoying the freedom of open spaces and of doing what you want, when you want to do it. Tauric Fey have a desire for movement and freedom built into their souls, and of all the Fey they are the most likely to leave the Faery Courts for greener pastures elsewhere in Verity.

Size. Centaurs vary in height depending on the animal of their lower half. Deer Centaurs tend to be shorter, averaging from 4 to 5 feet tall with their tauric bodies ending at about 3 feet at the withers. Horse Centaurs in contrast stand between 7 to 8 feet tall and about 4 feet at the withers. Weight varies based on the animal as well. Your size is Medium.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 40 feet.

Tauric Build. You count as one size larger when determining your carrying capacity and the weight you can push or drag. A Medium or smaller creature may ride on your back without hampering your movement.
In addition, any climb that requires hands and feet is especially difficult for you because of your equine legs. When you make such a climb, each foot of movement costs you 4 extra feet, instead of the normal 1 extra foot.

Charge. If you move at least 30 feet straight toward a target and then hit it with a melee weapon attack on the same turn, that attack deals an additional 1d6 of damage to the target. This can only activate on the first attack you make after your movement.
Upon reaching 5th level, the damage of your Charge increases to 2d6. Upon reaching 11th level, the damage of your Charge increases to 3d6.

If you hit with them, you deal bludgeoning damage equal to ld6 + your Strength modifier, instead of the bludgeoning damage normal for an unarmed strike.

Mounted Combat. If a creature is riding you, you may use your reaction during their turn to move up to your speed in any direction. This can trigger your Charge feature, giving them bonus damage on their attack, but only the first attack they make after the movement.

Feykin Quirks

Roll on this table, choose, or create your own quirk to add some Fey flavor to your character!

Feykin Quirks

1d6	Quirk
1	You find joy in playing harmless pranks on your friends and companions. Replacing all their socks with unmatching pairs is an example of a harmless prank.
2	You are unable to tell a lie.
3	When you sleep, a vision of what you're dreaming about floats around your head for all to see.
4	You were once, or currently are, a wizards familiar. This is why you left the Faery Courts.
5	You don't understand the concept of gender, and think the other races are pranking you whenever they mention it.
6	You were once another Race, but you spent too long in the Faery Courts and became one of the Fey. You hardly remember your past.

The Faery Courts

The Faery Courts are split in half between the Seelie and Unseelie courts, and each have their own ruler. The Seelie Court is ruled by the Prince of Summer Unending, and the Unseelie Court is ruled by The Lady of Winters Depths. Both of these rulers fought their way through the courts of the Fey to reach their position of power, and at any point another clever and ambitious Fey may try to claim their place the same way they did - politics.

A Culture of Intrigue, Deals, and Emotion

The Faery Courts are a magical place that aren't like anywhere else in Verity. The forests themselves bend and change around its people, changing weather according to strong emotions or changing geography to get people lost, or to force two people to run into each other. The reasons or ways it does this are unknown, but the results have been a culture that is focused deeply on the subtle. Manipulation, negotiation, and subterfuge are all commonplace in the Faery Courts, and there is a focus on gaining power and prestige within those courts that fills the entire nation.

Deals play a central role in the lives of the people in the Faery Courts . A deal is binding to any Fey. While not all Fey are required to tell the truth at all times, once a deal has been made and agreed to by both parties that deal is binding in every way to the Fey that took part. They may not break the deal, or change it after the fact, but there is often room for creative interpretation of the wording of deals. Fey have made exploiting this into a science, and many Fey will make deals that seem bad for them only to create some technically correct loophole or interpretation that puts it in their favor once again.

Apart from the politicking and deal making, the people of the Faery Courts are a people of passions. When they find something they enjoy, they indulge. When they find someone they love, they swoon and write poetry and put their everything into seducing that person. When they are angry they are wrathful, taking it out on the people around them. And when they are sad, the Feykin often sink into deep periods of depression. This is partly due to the influence of the wilds that they call home, and partly because they believe very firmly that all emotions are meant to be experienced to their fullest as they are gifts from the Gods themselves. If it weren't for emotions, after all, what better would we be than beasts?

This is not to say that all Fey take things to such extremes. Many are able to more subtly embrace and move through their emotions, and it is these Fey that people must be most careful around, for these are the Fey that have lived for many years and they are often cunning, clever, and manipulative should they desire to be.

Deals and Curiosity

Adventurers from the Faery Courts generally fit into two categories. Some choose to leave the Courts out of sheer curiosity and a desire to see the rest of the world.

Others do so for love with another Race, knowing that if they stayed within their home they would transform the object of their affections into a different person - and many do not want to take the risk that they wouldn't love that person anymore. Or they left as a result of a deal.

Feykin are known for joining wizards as companions if a deal is made for them to do so, acting as assistants or guards or helpers. These Feykin are either still familiars while they adventure, usually they are the familiar of a member of the adventuring party, or they finished their deal with a wizard or other magical person and decided to stay in Verity at large, rather than returning home.

Adventurers from the Faery Courts vary widely depending on the person, though many are skilled at being the face of the group.

Faery Court Names

Names in the Faery Courts are usually gender neutral as the Fey take on names that appeal to them, or name their children whatever they please. Usually people name themselves or their children after seasons, colors, or plants, specifically those that they believe they or their child invoke.

Example Names: Wintersong, Autumns Laugh, Splotch of Pink, Summer Warmth, Black Leaf, Oak, Bluebell, Bite of Peppermint

Faery Court Traits

All characters that were raised with the culture of the Faery Courts have the following traits.

Alignment. People from the Faery Courts often fall in either Lawful or Chaotic alignments. Lawful are more common, due to the focus on deals and courts in Faery society, but many from the Faery Courts enjoy tricks or pranks that can push into Chaotic territory.

Languages. You can speak, read and write Primordial and Sylvan. Sylvan is a language full of long, complicated words that change based on the emotion being conveyed with the word, meaning someone saying 'hello' angrily would say a different word than someone saying 'hello' happily.

Faery Intuition. Feykin are used to a culture of political games and manipulation. You have proficiency in the Insight skill, and one of the following: Persuasion, Deception, or Investigation.

A Mind for Deals. Whenever making a deal, be it a formal contract, a faery deal or an informal arrangement, you notice any loopholes or alternative interpretations that may benefit or harm both parties, and you are able to write airtight contracts that are difficult to get out of without similar skills. When dealing with other Faeries this only puts you on an even playing field, rather than giving an advantage, and the DM need not provide you any extra information.

In addition, whenever you personally are making a deal that deal becomes a Faery Deal. You are incapable of breaking or going against a deal of this type once it has been agreed upon, and will fulfill the terms to the best possible way you are able.