Surviving the Feywild: A Cautionary Tale About Harold the Halfling

Halfling skipping rocksWhile we can only imagine at the wonders that The Wild Beyond the Witchlight will bring to light, the following is a sampling of what I have learned of the fey and their ways. I came about such findings through extensive interviews and reports about a curious halfling by the name of Harold Spitstew.

A couple of things are clear from my research: it pays to be polite, and fey rituals are intricate. Without further adieu, here are some tips to help you think like a fey and survive the Plane of Faerie.*

*D&D Beyond is not responsible for any death, dismemberment, or loss of memory you may incur while in the Feywild. Restrictions may apply.

Do manage your appeal

Harold the halfling rogue, fresh to the Feywild, was wandering about when he came upon a soirée of satyrs. Excited for a new guest, they promptly insisted he partake in their revelry and join them in their singing. Harold sheepishly refused, informing them that he was without pitch. Displeased by his refusal, the satyrs began to loudly complain.

Wanting to avoid any animosity, Harold volunteered that while he may be unable to sing, he was a sprightly dancer. Overjoyed, the satyrs had him dance with them night after night, Harold lost in their hedonism.

While talking yourself up can help you avoid becoming that evening’s supper, fey creatures can’t resist some good entertainment, and they are not above kidnapping to get it. Favorite abductees include musicians, poets, and playwrights, among others. Essentially, don't be boring, but don't be too interesting either.

This, of course, only applies to the seelie fey of the Summer Court. When encountering the unseelie of the Gloaming Court, they are more likely to kill you on the spot. Their idea of fun tends to be more malicious in nature. Either way, denizens of the Plane of Faerie are more concerned with what you have to offer them in the moment than if your feet are sore from all that dancing.

Don't accept gifts from the locals

Harold thought it curious that when he broke into a pixie's house, they offered to wrap the few items he'd pocketed. He thought it curious too when they asked him to stay for tea, and offered biscuits and even some food for the road. He never suspected that in accepting these delightful gifts, the pixie had taken something much more from him: his freedom.

Favors are never just favors in the Plane of Faerie, and there’s no such thing as a free lunch. Like Persephone and the pomegranate, eating food of the realm, especially when offered, can tie you to it as surely as any hempen rope.

Pixies may be opposed to violence, but that doesn’t mean they don’t enjoy a good trick, and for fey creatures, the line between what's appropriate and what's taking things too far is fuzzier than the inside of a bag of tricks. While you don’t want to be cruel or impolite, accepting gifts can often be a double-edged sword. You might be expected to return something in kind — usually more than you’re willing to give.

bag of tricks

Don’t be fooled by a bit of helpfulness

One fine evening, Harold happened upon an assembly of eladrin imbibing. They invited him to partake. Having felt particularly parched, Harold was elated at the selection of wines offered for him to sample. The halfling was sure that he had finally found the good fey this time. Little did he know.

Many fey creatures are either amoral or simply have a different idea of good and evil than those of us from the Material Plane. You simply cannot judge a fey creature's moral character by how helpful they may or may not be in a given moment. For many fey, their goal is to have a good time. How this is accomplished can vary, but the ends justify the means. Those from the Material Plane who adventure to the Feywild are new and interesting. If you're not careful, you can easily become ensnared in arbitrary rules and become a plaything of the fey.

Don’t give away your name

“You have such a luminous spirit!” one of the drunken eladrin exclaimed.

“Would you give us your name, young sir?" another asked.

“Harold Harrison Spitstew!” he proudly proclaimed.

“Oh! That name shall do nicely, indeed,” they coyly replied. By this point, Harold was a bit too deep in his cups to register this odd response.

The keyword here is “give.” Don’t go around giving every Theren, Erdan, and Sariel your name willy-nilly. If you give away your name to a fey, it belongs to them.

For players with tricksy Dungeon Masters pulling from the realm of fairy tales, true names can have power. Any fey creature with a modicum of power over you can easily spell disaster. If your DM decides to go this route and you have a middle name, keep it to yourself. This confidential information can act as another layer of protection against fey creatures attempting to exert control over your person. Nicknames or pseudonyms can be your best friends in the Feywild for the same reason.

Do read the fine print

Feeling maudlin from the sweet elvhen wine, Harold expressed to his eladrin company how he felt as though he was being hounded by the dark shadow of misfortune. When they inquired what he would give to have this dark shadow banished, Harold exclaimed, “Anything!” before promptly passing out. The next morn, he awoke alone without even his shadow to keep him company.

Be careful what you wish for. While a devil might need a formal signature to close a deal on an infernal contract, for the fey, a verbal agreement can be just as binding. Making deals with the fey is a quagmire full of entanglements. Don’t let them fool you into signing away your firstborn or some other similarly ridiculous collateral over inane loopholes.

Bring out your inner rules lawyer and pick apart any wording that gives you pause. Don’t leave anything up for interpretation. And whatever you do, don't make promises you have no intention of keeping.

Do try to keep calm

Fed up with the whims of faeries and filled with terror at the loss of his shadow, Harold ran off into the dark of the woods to settle down for some sleep. But a creature that lurked in those woods discovered Harold and decided to toy with him. The halfling's dreams were filled with ghastly sounds and flashes of horrifying things as the creature invaded his mind.

Jolting awake in a panic, Harold discovered the monster that had telepathically tormented him in that moonlit forest. He fled deeper into the forest, escaping the paralyzing fear and claws of the creature.

KillmoulisFor all intents and purposes, a cool head can be indispensable. Basically, try not to freak out. The Feywild is a realm of heightened emotion and any melodrama on your part will cause the realm to react in kind. Cry under a tree, and the tree might shed its leaves.

Beyond that, many a creature are drawn to intense feelings — positive or negative — and can even be created by them. Killmoulis are spontaneously created in the Feywild whenever someone does something charitable; meenlock are born out of fear; and screaming devilkin spawn in moments of panic. While these creatures feed off these emotions, they can also subtly influence you to them, like the mites who exist to perpetuate the frustration that created them.

Even encountering the nominally harmless killmoulis can become a bane. If you anger one, it will hold a grudge until allayed.

Don’t be deceived by appearances

Hopelessly lost in the forest, Harold spotted what he thought was his saving grace — a cottage. Hungry and tired, he politely knocked to plead for respite. When a kindly looking elderly woman opened her home to him, he was gracious. Unfortunately, he failed to notice the hunger in her eyes.

Harold just fell for one of the oldest tricks in the book. While they may appear to be a kindly old woman, this elderly lady was, in fact, a hag.

Many hags, particularly green hags, enjoy using illusion magic to disguise themselves in order to lure their victims into a false sense of security. Green hags in particular love to employ manipulation, twisting words and duping others into doing their bidding.

Mimics and hags in disguise

Don't lose track of time

Finally free of the Feywild, Harold was determined to return to his old haunts and bask in the comfort of familiarity. But as he reached his destination, he discovered that there were many new buildings in his old town, and none of the friends he often caroused with.

It was not until he found his apartments now occupied by a stranger who told him the tale of a halfling rogue who disappeared into the Feywild so many years ago that he realized how much time had been lost.

Time runs differently in the Feywild. On the extreme ends of the spectrum, days could become either minutes or years. The only known way to mitigate this effect is the magic of a wish spell. Unless you’re the type who plays fast and loose with your time, you might want to conclude any business you have in the Feywild promptly. Otherwise, you might be late picking your spawn up from goat-ball practice.

Watch: The latest on The Wild Beyond the Witchlight

Feeling adventurous? The Wild Beyond the Witchlight is your key into the Feywild. The adventure book introduces two new races, the fairy and the harengon, as well as new backgrounds, monsters, and classic characters from Dungeons & Dragons history. The book is available for preorder now. D&D Beyond subscribers with a Master-tier subscription will get to share the book and other official content they've purchased with friends in their campaigns!


  


Mira Alwan is an avid Dungeon Master, prolific player, and a glutton for lore. A lover of roleplaying games of all types, they first picked up a d20 in 2015. In their free time, they create homebrew and slowly work their way through video games, completing every side quest.

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