I'm working on designing a playable "Fairy" race. This is my first stab at it and it's a little rough - but I'd love your feedback/suggestions on this.
Ability score: Consider a -2 STR, you're tiny and have magic.
Age, alignment, size all seem fine.
Speed: flying speed 60 for a player race is overpowered. Consider lowering speed to 30.
Skills: Consider adding stealth, investigation, and/or performance as options. To reflect a sneaky, curious, and playful nature.
Fairy weaknesses are just flavor and go with description unless you add mechanics to it.
Fairy magic is a bit overpowered as is, I'd go with: "You know the dancing lights cantrip. At 3rd level, you can cast faerie fire once with this feature per long rest. At 5th level, you can cast invisibility once with this feature per long rest."
Languages: Stick with common and sylvan. Players can get more from backgrounds.
Seelie and unseelie courts are flavor and go with description unless you add game mechanics to it.
Change appearance has a lot of stuff going on that I think just muddies up the race. I recommend dropping all of it.
Fairy godmother: flavor.
Soulless: flavor.
Wish: remember that this is a playable race not a monster. I could write a whole paragraph about why, but to make it short: No wish.
Are you familiar with the monster manual? Consider checking out pixies.
I get that you have a lot of ideas, but I feel like you are trying to make a monster rather than a player race. It has way more abilities than other races. Seriously, you could make 2 or 3 sub races for fairy with these...
Fairy instincts: 2 skill proficiencies is pretty much the standard.
Fairy weakness: kind of clunky. How cold is "cold iron?" Because I imagine there will be a lot of iron in medieval settings, same goes for bells. At least give the fear a wis save to end early, or reduce it to disadvantage on skill checks for 10 minutes.
Fairy magic: went a bit overboard with my suggestion. Cantrips should just be known at level 1 with no use limit. That said, I dont think magoc stone makes sense for this race. For leveled spells, races don't usually get anything over 2nd level spells. (I forgot to suggest invisibility be self only last time). I recommend limiting to 1 cantrip, one 1st level, and 1 2nd level spell.
Fey ancestry is a good add, since you are a Fey, you can probably just be immune to charm, but this race has a lot of upside already.
Fairy hex: this is basically half of a hex spell without concentration. It's not a bad ability, but the race already has more abilities than a subclass.
Change appearance: I still think you should remove it, but I'll break down what's here as a learning opportunity. You are already a tiny race, the rules don't acknowledge anything smaller. Stealth is used to avoid detection. 7 in game days is a hard thing to keep track of. Sometimes you will spend 4 sessions on a single night, sometimes you will skip week's ahead. Just say "become medium size" and the race already gets +2 charisma, more charisma for a size change makes no sense.
Fairy ring: this is closer to being a spell than an ability. Again with the week? Why does it last so long? Need to mention ways to break it early like dispell magic. I say remove it.
Wish: at least they gain it later than a wizard does, but still this ability makes no sense. Characters should not have a self destruct button.
First. This is most definitely meant to be a player race, not an NPC monster. Everything I have included has direct roots in folklore and mythology regarding fairies.
Re: Magic Stone. I included magic stone as a nod to old folklore (predating modern medicine) that strokes and heart attacks were caused by attacks from fairy bolts.
Re: Change Appearance. This is a nod to tropes in film and television (see "Legend" starring Tom Cruise and Mia Sara, and "Hook" starring Robin Williams and Julia Roberts). It's a harmless thing but fun. And it is always a huge moment when the fairy assumes full human size, revealing themselves, so to speak. I've deliberately limited their use of changing to full form because it is a thing that should have impact.
Re: Fairy Magic. These abilities are core to being a fairy. I liked your suggestion of applying levels to them and have done so.
Re: Faerie Fire. Faerie Fire is NAMED after fairies! Of COURSE they would have it! =)
Re: Cold Iron. It's just iron. Cold iron is a poetic old term for it.
Re: Hex. You are correct that Fairy Hex is half of the hex spell. I want them to be able to play harmless tricks - but I don't see them doing necrotic damage (the other half of the hex spell).
Re: Fairy Ring. Fairy ring does not last for one week. It lasts for 24 hours. (Maybe there is a typo? I will check.) Fairy rings are well-established in fairy lore and this rare and unusual race would surely know how to use them.
Sub-races are something I was considering from the start - but I needed a jumping off point. This race is very much still under development and modifications will continue.
Note. They have another innate weakness. As fairies have no souls, if they die, there is no possibility of resurrection for them. They only have one life.
First. This is most definitely meant to be a player race, not an NPC monster. Everything I have included has direct roots in folklore and mythology regarding fairies.
Re: Magic Stone. I included magic stone as a nod to old folklore (predating modern medicine) that strokes and heart attacks were caused by attacks from fairy bolts.
Re: Change Appearance. This is a nod to tropes in film and television (see "Legend" starring Tom Cruise and Mia Sara, and "Hook" starring Robin Williams and Julia Roberts). It's a harmless thing but fun. And it is always a huge moment when the fairy assumes full human size, revealing themselves, so to speak. I've deliberately limited their use of changing to full form because it is a thing that should have impact.
Re: Fairy Magic. These abilities are core to being a fairy. I liked your suggestion of applying levels to them and have done so.
Re: Faerie Fire. Faerie Fire is NAMED after fairies! Of COURSE they would have it! =)
Re: Cold Iron. It's just iron. Cold iron is a poetic old term for it.
Re: Hex. You are correct that Fairy Hex is half of the hex spell. I want them to be able to play harmless tricks - but I don't see them doing necrotic damage (the other half of the hex spell).
Re: Fairy Ring. Fairy ring does not last for one week. It lasts for 24 hours. (Maybe there is a typo? I will check.) Fairy rings are well-established in fairy lore and this rare and unusual race would surely know how to use them.
Sub-races are something I was considering from the start - but I needed a jumping off point. This race is very much still under development and modifications will continue.
I can definitely see where (most of) these abilities are inspired by, but so many abilities bloat the race.
If "bolts" are your thing then maybe firebolt or shocking grasp. Or maybe a crossbow bolt from an invisible fairy.
In d&d inpactful abilities are restricted to long rests.
You spread the spells out too much, races should have all their abilities by level 5 if not earlier.
I didn't say anything about faerie fire, I think it should be one of the few spells it keeps.
I still stand by iron as a weakness in medieval age as a bad idea.
This race has enough tricks, it doesn't need hex. Don't forget it will have a class too.
There's no typo, but there was some confusion in my critique. It is used once a week and lasts a day. Why a week? Why a day? And faerie circles can be naturally occurring without a tenth ability.
Note. They have another innate weakness. As fairies have no souls, if they die, there is no possibility of resurrection for them. They only have one life.
That is a weakness to the character, not so much to the player. A player will just roll up a new fairy. If anything it is a nuisance to the DM, since the character has to change.
I think I do need to pull back on the "Fairy Magic." There is too much there.
I think "shocking grasp" is touch range? I'm not sure a fairy would be able to handle a crossbow because of its size? There's a thing about smaller sizes and larger weapons somewhere. I forget exactly.
Fairies being allergic to "cold iron" is a thing. But it doesn't necessarily HAVE to be included. It could be problematic in game. Perhaps vulnerability to damage from weapons forged of iron? It's a thought.
I like Fairy Hex but it doesn't HAVE to happen.
Fairy Rings. It's a powerful ability. The limitation to using it only once per week is to keep it from being abused. Having the fairy circle fade after a day is also to limit its power. In some lore, fairy circles are gates to the Faewild, and I haven't even included THAT part of the ability.
Believe it or not, I actually AM holding back a ton of stuff that COULD be included with this race.
There are technical difficulties with the build right now. I went in to make a Test Fairy character and the drop downs are all wrong. Trying to figure out what went wrong there. So this isn't really playable yet due to glitches.
Re: Wish. Fairies are known for granting wishes. It's a thing! They should have it!
In order for this ability to NOT be abused - I have tied a dire consequence to it as well as a level limitation.
Also, this ability explains the rarity of the race. They have been hunted to near-extinction because of their ability to grant the wish spell.
Now, if a fairy should decide to be a fairy wizard, then that would negate the need for this ability.
If you make a race that has every ability of every fairy in folklore including granting wishes, it is not a "fairy" it is an archfae. I get that you are passionate about your brew, but if you want this rase to be considered by DM, it needs to be balanced to the other races.
Go easy on me. This is the first time I've homebrewed a player race. Homebrewing items is one thing. Homebrewing an entire player race takes a lot of work. I really do appreciate your feedback. It's incredibly helpful. Trying to figure out the technical glitches now. When creating a character the drop-downs are all wrong. Missed something.
By any chance. Do any of you know how to set skill options? You know... Choose two out of these 6 skills... etc. when setting up a new player race? My interface is not playing nice on this.
By any chance. Do any of you know how to set skill options? You know... Choose two out of these 6 skills... etc. when setting up a new player race? My interface is not playing nice on this.
Add skill. Select all the options you want them to choose from. Repeat for number of skills you want them to choose.
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Hello all,
I'm working on designing a playable "Fairy" race. This is my first stab at it and it's a little rough - but I'd love your feedback/suggestions on this.
Thank you,
Wolfgang
aka Singerspell
Ok, from the top:
Ability score: Consider a -2 STR, you're tiny and have magic.
Age, alignment, size all seem fine.
Speed: flying speed 60 for a player race is overpowered. Consider lowering speed to 30.
Skills: Consider adding stealth, investigation, and/or performance as options. To reflect a sneaky, curious, and playful nature.
Fairy weaknesses are just flavor and go with description unless you add mechanics to it.
Fairy magic is a bit overpowered as is, I'd go with: "You know the dancing lights cantrip. At 3rd level, you can cast faerie fire once with this feature per long rest. At 5th level, you can cast invisibility once with this feature per long rest."
Languages: Stick with common and sylvan. Players can get more from backgrounds.
Seelie and unseelie courts are flavor and go with description unless you add game mechanics to it.
Change appearance has a lot of stuff going on that I think just muddies up the race. I recommend dropping all of it.
Fairy godmother: flavor.
Soulless: flavor.
Wish: remember that this is a playable race not a monster. I could write a whole paragraph about why, but to make it short: No wish.
Are you familiar with the monster manual? Consider checking out pixies.
Great suggestions. Thank you!
New version of "Fairy" is here.
I get that you have a lot of ideas, but I feel like you are trying to make a monster rather than a player race. It has way more abilities than other races. Seriously, you could make 2 or 3 sub races for fairy with these...
Fairy instincts: 2 skill proficiencies is pretty much the standard.
Fairy weakness: kind of clunky. How cold is "cold iron?" Because I imagine there will be a lot of iron in medieval settings, same goes for bells. At least give the fear a wis save to end early, or reduce it to disadvantage on skill checks for 10 minutes.
Fairy magic: went a bit overboard with my suggestion. Cantrips should just be known at level 1 with no use limit. That said, I dont think magoc stone makes sense for this race. For leveled spells, races don't usually get anything over 2nd level spells. (I forgot to suggest invisibility be self only last time). I recommend limiting to 1 cantrip, one 1st level, and 1 2nd level spell.
Fey ancestry is a good add, since you are a Fey, you can probably just be immune to charm, but this race has a lot of upside already.
Fairy hex: this is basically half of a hex spell without concentration. It's not a bad ability, but the race already has more abilities than a subclass.
Change appearance: I still think you should remove it, but I'll break down what's here as a learning opportunity. You are already a tiny race, the rules don't acknowledge anything smaller. Stealth is used to avoid detection. 7 in game days is a hard thing to keep track of. Sometimes you will spend 4 sessions on a single night, sometimes you will skip week's ahead. Just say "become medium size" and the race already gets +2 charisma, more charisma for a size change makes no sense.
Fairy ring: this is closer to being a spell than an ability. Again with the week? Why does it last so long? Need to mention ways to break it early like dispell magic. I say remove it.
Wish: at least they gain it later than a wizard does, but still this ability makes no sense. Characters should not have a self destruct button.
Hey Singerspell,
Not sure if that new link to 'Fairy' shows any updates you made. Looks like the same information as your original post.
It does show his updates (I can testify to that), but both links go to most recent version.
Got it, thanks for clarifying!
First. This is most definitely meant to be a player race, not an NPC monster. Everything I have included has direct roots in folklore and mythology regarding fairies.
Re: Magic Stone. I included magic stone as a nod to old folklore (predating modern medicine) that strokes and heart attacks were caused by attacks from fairy bolts.
Re: Change Appearance. This is a nod to tropes in film and television (see "Legend" starring Tom Cruise and Mia Sara, and "Hook" starring Robin Williams and Julia Roberts). It's a harmless thing but fun. And it is always a huge moment when the fairy assumes full human size, revealing themselves, so to speak. I've deliberately limited their use of changing to full form because it is a thing that should have impact.
Re: Fairy Magic. These abilities are core to being a fairy. I liked your suggestion of applying levels to them and have done so.
Re: Faerie Fire. Faerie Fire is NAMED after fairies! Of COURSE they would have it! =)
Re: Cold Iron. It's just iron. Cold iron is a poetic old term for it.
Re: Hex. You are correct that Fairy Hex is half of the hex spell. I want them to be able to play harmless tricks - but I don't see them doing necrotic damage (the other half of the hex spell).
Re: Fairy Ring. Fairy ring does not last for one week. It lasts for 24 hours. (Maybe there is a typo? I will check.) Fairy rings are well-established in fairy lore and this rare and unusual race would surely know how to use them.
Sub-races are something I was considering from the start - but I needed a jumping off point. This race is very much still under development and modifications will continue.
Re: Wish. Fairies are known for granting wishes. It's a thing! They should have it!
In order for this ability to NOT be abused - I have tied a dire consequence to it as well as a level limitation.
Also, this ability explains the rarity of the race. They have been hunted to near-extinction because of their ability to grant the wish spell.
Now, if a fairy should decide to be a fairy wizard, then that would negate the need for this ability.
Note. They have another innate weakness. As fairies have no souls, if they die, there is no possibility of resurrection for them. They only have one life.
I think I'll make a "Selkie" player race next. (Kidding!)
I can definitely see where (most of) these abilities are inspired by, but so many abilities bloat the race.
If "bolts" are your thing then maybe firebolt or shocking grasp. Or maybe a crossbow bolt from an invisible fairy.
In d&d inpactful abilities are restricted to long rests.
You spread the spells out too much, races should have all their abilities by level 5 if not earlier.
I didn't say anything about faerie fire, I think it should be one of the few spells it keeps.
I still stand by iron as a weakness in medieval age as a bad idea.
This race has enough tricks, it doesn't need hex. Don't forget it will have a class too.
There's no typo, but there was some confusion in my critique. It is used once a week and lasts a day. Why a week? Why a day? And faerie circles can be naturally occurring without a tenth ability.
That is a weakness to the character, not so much to the player. A player will just roll up a new fairy. If anything it is a nuisance to the DM, since the character has to change.
I think I do need to pull back on the "Fairy Magic." There is too much there.
I think "shocking grasp" is touch range? I'm not sure a fairy would be able to handle a crossbow because of its size? There's a thing about smaller sizes and larger weapons somewhere. I forget exactly.
Fairies being allergic to "cold iron" is a thing. But it doesn't necessarily HAVE to be included. It could be problematic in game. Perhaps vulnerability to damage from weapons forged of iron? It's a thought.
I like Fairy Hex but it doesn't HAVE to happen.
Fairy Rings. It's a powerful ability. The limitation to using it only once per week is to keep it from being abused. Having the fairy circle fade after a day is also to limit its power. In some lore, fairy circles are gates to the Faewild, and I haven't even included THAT part of the ability.
Believe it or not, I actually AM holding back a ton of stuff that COULD be included with this race.
There are technical difficulties with the build right now. I went in to make a Test Fairy character and the drop downs are all wrong. Trying to figure out what went wrong there. So this isn't really playable yet due to glitches.
If you make a race that has every ability of every fairy in folklore including granting wishes, it is not a "fairy" it is an archfae. I get that you are passionate about your brew, but if you want this rase to be considered by DM, it needs to be balanced to the other races.
Go easy on me. This is the first time I've homebrewed a player race. Homebrewing items is one thing. Homebrewing an entire player race takes a lot of work. I really do appreciate your feedback. It's incredibly helpful. Trying to figure out the technical glitches now. When creating a character the drop-downs are all wrong. Missed something.
Races are difficult.
And yeah tiny weapons are a thing. Small races just have disadvantage with heavy weapons.
I hope I don't have to tell you that creating portals to other planes is too powerful for a race.
Portals are not included. LOL
By any chance. Do any of you know how to set skill options? You know... Choose two out of these 6 skills... etc. when setting up a new player race? My interface is not playing nice on this.
Add skill. Select all the options you want them to choose from. Repeat for number of skills you want them to choose.