With the upcoming release of The Wild Beyond the Witchlight, now is a good time to brush up on your Feywild lore. In this article, we will be discussing the important factions of the Plane of Faeries, how they might interact with adventurers from the Material Plane, and what they might be plotting. 

Factions of the Feywild

Denizens of the Feywild are usually referred to as fey. These tricky, magically-infused creatures are as dangerous as the environment they have been shaped by. One of the most dangerous parts of the fey is that there are few truly dim-witted creatures amongst their ranks. Even small, woodland creatures can exhibit intelligence similar to that of an adult humanoid.

As with most intelligent creatures, fey of similar mindset and ideologies have banded together to form a number of powerful factions in the Feywild. Some, like the seelie and unseelie courts, are made up of fey creatures that are native to the Feywild. These factions are led by extremely powerful, god-like creatures called archfey.

Other factions, like the eladrin and the fomorians, consist of creatures that have migrated to the Feywild and made it their home. These creatures have been shaped by their time in the Feywild, causing them to lose traits passed down by their ancestors and adopt more fey-like mannerisms.

Eladrin

Eladrin are elves that have been exposed to the unbridled magic of the Feywild for enough time to have fundamentally changed their very being. While they are still similar to elves that live outside of the Feywild, the strange magic of the plane has changed the nature of eladrin to match its chaotic temperament.

The Feywild and the birthplace of the elves, Arvandor, share an intensely emotional magical energy, causing the eladrin to share similarities with the first elves. Elves that live on the Material Plane have become stoic and in control of their emotions, whereas eladrin are ruled by wild impulses. One moment, you could be having a cool-headed conversation with a somber winter eladrin. The next, the blade of a furious summer eladrin’s knife is at your throat because of a single, accidental slight.

While the Feywild might have molded the eladrin into fey-like beings, only some of them have been turned into true fey creatures. You are unlikely to see eladrin that have held onto their elven heritage in either the seelie or unseelie courts, though they might align themselves with either court if the need arises. Instead, eladrin have created a society for themselves in the Feywild. The eladrin have used their long-lasting life and powerful magical abilities to erect glorious cities full of spectacular elven architecture that are truly unique in the Feywild. Most of these eladrin cities are hundreds, if not thousands of years old. Brimming with knowledge, their scholars and universities have forgotten more ancient secrets than their Material Plane counterparts have ever known.

Seelie

The seelie fey are loyal to the archfey Queen Titania and her Summer Court. The Summer Court is primarily made up of sylvan creatures, such as centaurs, dryads, satyrs, pixies, and sprites.

Although neither the seelie nor unseelie are particularly concerned with the safety and well-being of mortals that cross into the Feywild, the Summer Court has a greater tolerance for mortals, and members usually have less of a desire to eat them. The Summer Court, however, is known for abducting playwrights, musicians, and poets from the mortal world so that they can provide entertainment. These artists become enraptured by the lavishness and beauty of the Summer Court and might be surprised to find that dozens of years have passed in the Material Plane by the time they stumble out of a fey crossing.

Seelie fey tend to live with a boldness and aggression that suits the warm temperatures and bountiful harvest of summer. Though, like the hot days of summer, a summer fey’s welcoming nature can quickly turn to a thunderstorm of anger. Once angered, members of the Summer Court are eager to vent their wrath upon those that wronged them.

Unseelie

The unseelie consists of the members of the Feywild that lurk in the dark and cold, which is why they are often referred to as the Gloaming Court. These isolated creatures are usually the hunters of their ecosystem, wanting to kill rather than grow.

Creatures that follow the Queen of Air and Darkness and her Gloaming Court usually consist of darklings, red caps, displacer beasts, and other blood-thirsty creatures. The nature of these beings makes them more unpredictable and dangerous than their seelie counterparts. While it might be possible to bargain with a centaur to gain passage through a glade, you likely won’t get the chance to see a yeth hound before it strikes.

Fey of the Gloaming Court tend to view the world with a somber, cold grace, like that of a silent winter’s night. Less frivolous than their summer counterpart, the winter fey still revere beauty in their own right. Gathering in castles of intricately designed, sculpted ice, the Gloaming Court’s parties are more apt to contain a single violinist playing for a silent crowd of winter fey, rather than a cavorting mass of dancing summer fey.

Fomorians

Fomorians are giant-kin that, in ancient times, lived in the Feywild alongside elves. The two societies were able to coexist because of a mutual love for the magic that emanated through the chaotic landscape.

Over time, the fomorian’s love for magic twisted into lust, turning into a craving for power that began to consume their hearts. The fomorians went to war against the eladrin, hoping to conquer their rival race and claim the magic for themselves. Just when it was thought that the fomorians' bloodlust and hatred would overtake the eladrin army, the native fey of the Feywild sided with the eladrin. The alliance managed to drive the fomorian armies into the cave systems that extend deep into the earth.

As the defeated fomorians retreated into the underground tunnels, already planning their assault on the above ground’s forces, they fell victim to their inner foulness and the evil that gripped their hearts. A curse took hold of their bodies, warping the fomorians such that their physical appearance was as vile as they were on the inside. This change blocked their access to the magic that drove their lust for power, as well.

The fomorians now call the Underdark of the Feywild home. Here, their tribes constantly fight and always fail to cooperate enough to be a significant threat to those who dwell on the surface. The fomorians hate all other fey, capturing and enslaving creatures that stumble into their underground fortresses. Occasionally, raiding parties are sent from fomorian camps into the upper regions of the Feywild to search for powerful magic items or ways to undo the curse that has plagued them for so long.

Social codes in the Feywild

Because each faction holds devastating power, there are ancient and elaborate social codes that help maintain the balance between the fickle members of the Feywild. These social codes are imperative to ensure that the Feywild remains in a relative, if somewhat uneasy, state of peace. Open war between any two of these powerful factions could cause the total destruction of the plane and hold serious ramifications for the multiverse as a whole.

Most creatures in the Feywild are so adept at complex politics and subtly worded contracts that they can ensnare mortal travelers in unfavorable deals with relative ease. Mortals that are able to abide by the etiquette befitting members of the fey, and spar using clever negotiations, are likely to gain favor faster than those who tend to approach situations with brawn.

The Wild Beyond the Witchlight is D&D's next big adventure storyline and is now available for preorder on D&D Beyond! It brings the wicked whimsy of the Feywild to fifth edition for the first time and offers new characters, monsters, mechanics, and story hooks suitable for players of all ages and experience levels! 

Mike Bernier (@arcane_eye) is the founder of Arcane Eye, a site focused on providing useful tips and tricks to all those involved in the world of D&D. Outside of writing for Arcane Eye, Mike spends most of his time playing games, hiking with his girlfriend, and tending the veritable jungle of houseplants that have invaded his house.