Homebrew Fae Species Details

I am a merry wanderer of the night

— Robin Goodfellow, William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream

Faeries, commonly known as fae, are an ancient and magical race, holding large amounts of power that has been diluted over the ages. They are known for their trickery, changing themselves and the world around them to meet their needs. Accompanied by a faint light, an air of chaos, and a twinkle in their eye, it is generally known that when a fae is in company, it is rarely a dull time. 

Beautiful and Unnerving

Known for their beauty, the fae folk are often so pristine that it provokes a sense of unease from others. Their teeth are just slightly too sharp, or eyes are slightly too bright, and so they appear just slightly off but in such a way that many can't quite pinpoint how. Other identifiable traits of the fae are pointed ears and wings, similar to those of dragonflies, bees, and other insectoids. When fully grown, the males average around 5'6" and 140 lbs, and the females average 5'3" and 120 lbs, though that can easily be altered by the innate illusion magic of the fae. 

Fae coloration encompasses the normal human range, though usually pale, and also includes skin in shades of copper, bronze, and silver. Hair colors are just as diverse, ranging from ebony black to crisp white, with all natural colors in between, and their eyes are typically earth tones, such as hazels, browns, and greens. They tend to prefer monotone clothing, blacks and greys, with larger, more baggy clothing items. Scarves, hooded items, and large jackets to cover their wings are common. 

Trickery Refined By Time

It is well known that the fae are a mischievous and sly bunch. They have a way with words, often making deals with those they meet in such a way to have some specific terms that initially go unnoticed but benefit them in the end. They also gain power with knowledge of names, seeming to have a way with persuasion over who have given their names. Knowledge of trickery is one of the primary ways the fae bond, passing down certain spells and tricks from one generation to the next, each new generation finding ways to add their own twists to the classics. 

Hidden Within A Crowd 

Due to their innate magic and history of being treated as dangerous or misleading, the fae folk have a way of slipping into the crowd. They can join a group of people and quickly change themselves and their mannerisms to fit in flawlessly. That skill means they can be useful for intel missions and gaining information, and that hey can also make rapid exits from situations they don't wish to be in.

Courts of The Fair

The fae folk are split into courts, and tend to take large amounts of pride in the court that they are from. Each court has its own subdivisions, but the four primary courts that people use to identify the fae are Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter. The court a fae is from will often influence how they dress, their appearance, their preferred conditions, and most prominently influences their court name. 

AMBITIOUS BUT CARING

The fae people look for opportunities in everyone they meet. They are a critical people who will do anything they can to get ahead. They enjoy to keep the company of those they consider to be useful, but will sometimes grow affectionate towards their companions no matter their usefulness. 

Elves. “Elves have gotten their power from us, yet act as though they are greater. However, their ego makes them easy to trick through flattery so they are good to keep as company.”

Gnomes. “Gnomes are a creative and simple folk. Quite crafty, they are able to solve many problems our magic can not. It is nice to have some different points of view when most rely on magic.”

Humans. “All that haste, their ambition and drive to accomplish something before their brief lives pass away—human endeavors seem so futile sometimes. But then you look at what they have accomplished, and you have to appreciate their achievements.”

Fae Names

One of the largest parts of fae power is primarily based in names, so they take great care with theirs. Names given to the fae by their family are not gendered, and they have family names that are often associated with their courts, referred to as their court names. Though they do have their given names, many will also take another name based in the culture of the people they are with most often. That will lead to fae often having elven, human, dwarve, or other types of names. Similar to tieflings, some fae may also opt to take virtue names. 

Fae First Names: Avon, Cai, Cecil, Flix, Glain, Liri, Nissa, Nye, Pyro, Quinn, Rhys, Robin

Fae Court Names: Dee, Evanan, Florale, Glace, Jardins, Morrigan, Orchard, Tempest

Fae Virtue Names: Artifact, Bright, Cherish, Eternal, Hero, Hope, Recovery, Time

Fae Traits

Your fae character has a variety of traits and skill attributed to their magical origin, common amongst all faeries

Ability Score Increase

Your Dexterity and Charisma score each increase by 1.

Age

Although fae reach physical maturity at about the same age as humans, they stop physically aging fairly quickly after that. They are often considered immortal, as they often outlive all of their peers, but that is not true. Fae often reach 2,000 years of age.

Alignment

Fae love freedom, variety, and self-expression, so they lean strongly towards chaos. They will often act with priority towards themselves and their own goals over those of others. 

Size

Fae range from under 5 to over 6 feet tall and have slender, lanky builds. Your size is Medium.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 30 feet. Your base flying speed is 15 feet.

Darkvision

Accustomed to twilit forests and the night sky, you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. 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’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.

Fae Origins

You have advantage on saving throws against being charmed, and magic can’t put you to sleep.

Chaos Casting

You know the light cantrip. When you reach 3rd level, you can cast the faerie fire spell as a cantrip twice per long rest with this ability. When you reach the 5th level, you can cast the polymorph spell as a 3rd-level spell once per long rest with this ability. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for these spells.

However, this magic comes with a price. After every casting of a spell with this ability, you must roll for a wild magic surge. The roll fails if a 1 is rolled, difficulty increasing with each time a spell is cast with this ability and doesn't prompt a wild magic surge (ie, starting with a failure on a 1, then on a 1 and a 2, etc etc). This continues until a surge occurs, or gets reset every 2 long rests. When a failure occurs, the DM rolls for the effect on a wild magic table. 

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Common, Elvish, and Sylvan. Elvish is fluid, with subtle intonations and intricate grammar. Sylvan is the language of the Fae, sounds similar to Elvish to the untrained ear, and is written in Elvish script.