I have a contemplation and I'm wondering what people think of it!
The Feywild is very much a land for faeries and the like, and one of the things in traditional mythology about the fey is their aversion to Iron. They are also supposed to be traditionally tricky creatures.
I am considering a global houserule for my feywild (which is not common knowledge for the players) that the fey have this aversion to iron, in so much as normal creatures have an aversion to magic. My plan is to swap out "immune/resistant to nonmagical weapons" to being "immune/resistant to magical weapons or damage" on fey creatures, so that if you want to kill a magical fey creature, using a magical sword is actually less effective than a traditional steel one.
This is intended as something of a reveal on the way through, when they start using all of their shiny toys and find they are not that remarkable, what with the Feywild being a realm of magic! Fortunately, I have also neglected to specify the material used in magical weapons, so I am considering "Fey Iron" as a substitute for regular iron as a magical-compatible material. Alternatively, as things are magical, I can simply make them of cool brass, bronze, copper, and other materials, because it is the magic that makes them dangerous, not the material!
Anyway, what do you all think? I think it lends itself a little to match the druids arbitrary "non-metal armour" restriction, and should make the feywild a suddenly more challenging place for the party!
I like it and think it is a good idea. I might try using that. I always love it when I find things that can make the feywild and the fey more strange and interesting.
I might go further to say that while a fey spirit is in contact with Iron it cannot cast spells or use its magical abilities like shapeshifting and stuff.
I like it and think it is a good idea. I might try using that. I always love it when I find things that can make the feywild and the fey more strange and interesting.
I might go further to say that while a fey spirit is in contact with Iron it cannot cast spells or use its magical abilities like shapeshifting and stuff.
That's a really good idea. I love the idea of the world being a puzzle, rather than a "I hit it, did that work? Maybe if I hit it more..."
Will this apply to fey PCs? Characters with the feylost background? What about fey on the material plane, or is this only in the feywild?
Iirc, in D&D, it wasn’t iron, but “cold iron” that hurt fey. Not that you need to use that mythology.
Personally, I get hesitant to start having different creatures resistant to different weapon types as a step on the road to golf bag style play from 2 and 3e. But I could see it working for just one creature type in a limited way like this as adding flavor without getting too annoying.
Another thing that deters fey in folklore is wearing your coat inside out. Maybe a way to translate that into the game would be that it has the same effect as the sanctuary spell against fey.
And maybe it even casts dispel magic on fey spells and effects.
I would say that only a certain level of fey are prevented from harming people with inside out coats. Maybe 5th level or lower. Or maybe even 10th level.
I have a contemplation and I'm wondering what people think of it!
The Feywild is very much a land for faeries and the like, and one of the things in traditional mythology about the fey is their aversion to Iron. They are also supposed to be traditionally tricky creatures.
I am considering a global houserule for my feywild (which is not common knowledge for the players) that the fey have this aversion to iron, in so much as normal creatures have an aversion to magic. My plan is to swap out "immune/resistant to nonmagical weapons" to being "immune/resistant to magical weapons or damage" on fey creatures, so that if you want to kill a magical fey creature, using a magical sword is actually less effective than a traditional steel one.
This is intended as something of a reveal on the way through, when they start using all of their shiny toys and find they are not that remarkable, what with the Feywild being a realm of magic! Fortunately, I have also neglected to specify the material used in magical weapons, so I am considering "Fey Iron" as a substitute for regular iron as a magical-compatible material. Alternatively, as things are magical, I can simply make them of cool brass, bronze, copper, and other materials, because it is the magic that makes them dangerous, not the material!
Anyway, what do you all think? I think it lends itself a little to match the druids arbitrary "non-metal armour" restriction, and should make the feywild a suddenly more challenging place for the party!
Make your Artificer work with any other class with 174 Multiclassing Feats for your Artificer Multiclass Character!
DM's Guild Releases on This Thread Or check them all out on DMs Guild!
DrivethruRPG Releases on This Thread - latest release: My Character is a Werewolf: balanced rules for Lycanthropy!
I have started discussing/reviewing 3rd party D&D content on Substack - stay tuned for semi-regular posts!
I like it and think it is a good idea. I might try using that. I always love it when I find things that can make the feywild and the fey more strange and interesting.
I might go further to say that while a fey spirit is in contact with Iron it cannot cast spells or use its magical abilities like shapeshifting and stuff.
That's a really good idea. I love the idea of the world being a puzzle, rather than a "I hit it, did that work? Maybe if I hit it more..."
Make your Artificer work with any other class with 174 Multiclassing Feats for your Artificer Multiclass Character!
DM's Guild Releases on This Thread Or check them all out on DMs Guild!
DrivethruRPG Releases on This Thread - latest release: My Character is a Werewolf: balanced rules for Lycanthropy!
I have started discussing/reviewing 3rd party D&D content on Substack - stay tuned for semi-regular posts!
Will this apply to fey PCs? Characters with the feylost background? What about fey on the material plane, or is this only in the feywild?
Iirc, in D&D, it wasn’t iron, but “cold iron” that hurt fey. Not that you need to use that mythology.
Personally, I get hesitant to start having different creatures resistant to different weapon types as a step on the road to golf bag style play from 2 and 3e. But I could see it working for just one creature type in a limited way like this as adding flavor without getting too annoying.
Another thing that deters fey in folklore is wearing your coat inside out. Maybe a way to translate that into the game would be that it has the same effect as the sanctuary spell against fey.
And maybe it even casts dispel magic on fey spells and effects.
I would say that only a certain level of fey are prevented from harming people with inside out coats. Maybe 5th level or lower. Or maybe even 10th level.