The Fair Folk - The Project

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The Fair Folk - The Project

Post by NeoTiamat »

Children of the Night: The Fair Folk

Well, this is a pleasant step up from a random thread of sample Faerie.

Goal of this thread is to keep all participants in this project (which is getting bigger at a rapid rate) informed of what everyone else is doing, and to discuss the various behind-the-scenes stuff.

On the whole, I want to keep this project fairly simple, and hopefully get it off to 'press' sometime in the nearby future. The bulk of the submissions are done, so let's work towards getting this out in the nearby future.

===============================================

The Production Crew

NeoTiamat = That is, me. I'll be taking overall reins over the project by virtue of having written upwards of 85% of it. I'll be doing rewrites, adding supplemental material, and probably working on statistics.

Kaitou Kage = Kage has written the remaining 15%, and is second in command. He has overall responsibility over getting the art done, and over the eventual conversion to PDF.

EO = EO is our editor, and it going to be his job to organize my fairly raw writings into a good netbook. I'll help where I can, but this is best done with a fresh eye.

A G Thing = Our supporting artist. Between him and Kage, this should be a pretty well illustrated netbook, if I do say so myself. :)

Sorti = Sorti shall be our Stat-Maker for 3rd Edition versions of the menagerie.

There's also a few people who have offered a bit of help (or whom I have asked to help), but don't have a specific role:

Nathan of the FoS = I've asked Nathan to help with the editing and such, though he may end up being too busy (and too lacking in current internet access) to help much.

Lostboy = Lostboy offered to do the PDF conversion.

===============================================

The Final Product

Basically, what we have here is a collection of ten unique Faerie and three unique Faerie-related locations. The way I envision the final netbook is going to be something like this:

-Cover Page: Some lovely piece of art, perhaps of the Midnight Market. I believe Kage has ideas regarding this.

-Introduction & Essays: Here will go all my various ramblings on the Fair Folk, on such topics as Faerie Names, Faerie Wars, etc, etc. Basically, Van Richten's Guide to the Shadow Fey Lite.

-Individual Entries: Now for the thirteen Faeries. Each Faerie will consist of the write-up I have for them, along with a piece of portrait art, and at the end a stat-block and some combat notes (an expanded version of what exists now). These will be in 4th Edition (See below for my reasons for this)

As far as order goes, I am thinking that we want to arrange the individuals in ascending order of CR, starting with the weakest (Lucas Silver) and ramping up to the strongest (The Linnorm). The locations could go either before or after.

-Appendix/Player's Guide: This is a section that is, as of yet, theoretical, but may include a collection of feats and items for PCs

-Appendix/Monster Manual: Another theoretical section, this would contain a variety of minor-Faerie that don't have writeups, but exist to provide supporting cast and minions for Faerie campaigns. You might have a stat-block of Redcaps, for instance.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Why 4E? = I'm going for 4th Edition statistics here for two main reasons.

First, I have concluded that I'm pretty dismal at making 3E stat blocks. 4E seems easier to use.

Secondly, as a newer Edition, 4E doesn't have as many Faerie monsters for DM's to use. If a 3E DM needs a Faerie, he has five Monster Manuals, two Ravenloft Denizens books, and a wide assortment of miscellaneous books to choose from, many of which have quite good Faerie. 4E doesn't have as wide an assortment yet.

===============================================

Google Documents

One thing that I've learned doing the VRS Files is that it can get quite confusing when you have multiple documents flying around, and its entirely possible for edits to get lost.

As such, I'm going to use modern technology. For those not aware of them, Google Documents is a function of Google that lets you edit an uploaded document in real-time. So two people can be looking at a Faerie, and as soon as one of them edits, the others can see the edits. The advantage here is that we can see the editing done immediately, and thus everyone can be kept as up to date of the current product as possible. Go to Google Documents, and you see an up-to-the-minute accurate version of the Faerie project.

There will be two Google Documents uploaded. The first is the actual Faerie book, which will be available to all participants to view, and to myself, EO, and Nathan of the FoS to edit. The second is the Appearance Briefs, which are more in-depth descriptions of what the Faerie look like, based on a template Kage provided. It will also be available to all to view, and to myself, Kage, and A G Thing to edit.

I'll upload everything as soon as I have the time, probably later today. If I don't have them yet, please send me your emails (I believe I have everyone's but EO's), so that I can give you access to the Google Documents.

===============================================

Questions

A few things left to discuss, which I'll throw open now.

Title = What do we call this thing? Currently the name is Children of the Night: Fair Folk, to link it to the tradition of CotNs in Ravenloft, both standalone and in the Monstrous Compendiums. That said, I am open to new suggestions for titles.

Appendices = The main reason for the two appendices is to give me something to do while everyone else is editing and drawing (which I expect to take a while). That said, it may be extraneous and too much work, particularly if I have to do monster stats as well.

Monster Statistics = We could also try to do 3E monster stats, and thus have both 4E and 3E, but that would require someone else volunteering to do them, as I am not good at it.

Essays = I've quite a number of them, but they're fairly haphazard. Should I trim them back to the basics, or try to expand to cover weak areas? In either case, what should I cut / write?

===============================================

Questions, comments, observations or lamentations?
Last edited by NeoTiamat on Wed Jan 14, 2009 8:01 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Kaitou Kage »

4e is easy enough to make monsters with that it may be possible for us to come up with several different versions of each creature for different levels -- maybe one version of the fey for each of the tiers. Thanks to handy programs like the Monster Generator, a solid creature can be created in just a couple minutes, so we wouldn't be looking at any tremendous increase in workload here.
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Post by EO »

For the appendix, looking at the entries, some of the fey are "generic", so could go there:

-Goblins (mostly a rehashing of goblin/kobold stats I think, but still relevant)
-Fey-Folk (as a template?)
-Hounds/Ravens from the Midnight Market
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Post by NeoTiamat »

New member onboard!

Sorti has offered to provide 3rd Edition monster statistics for our little menagerie. So big hello to Sorti!
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Post by NeoTiamat »

Google Docs have been sent out, so everyone check their emails. If for some reason you can't access it, contact me and we'll figure out what to do.

I would also, as a matter of course, prefer if people email me instead of using the board's PM system. Simply put, GMail has a lot more memory for me to store old stuff than the PMs.

My address is in my profile.
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Post by EO »

Glanced it over some more.

For the sake of making it look coherent, there are two things that come to mind right now:

1) The actual name used for faeries. The terms Fey, Faerie, Good People, Fair Folk and maybe one or two more are used alternatively. It's not a bad thing to have variants, but it may cause confusion to have so many titles. Personally, right off the bat, I'd not use "Fey" because it can be misleading since these Fey are nothing like the normal DnD Fey.

2)Creatures format. At the moment, we've got Short fluff text, Introduction, Appearance, Nature, Truth, Defeating ..., DM Notes, Combat Info, though some don't follow that template. I'd suggest we keep it simple and close to the other COTN books for ease of use. What about: Fluff Text, Introduction, Appearance, Stats, Nature/Current Check, Combat, DM Notes (or Adventure Hooks). I'm purposevely not mentionning Background since most of them don't have a Background, in the case where they'd have one, it can be added, but Faeries don't really need backgrounds, most of them just "are" since they are concepts/narratives.
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Post by NeoTiamat »

EO wrote:1) The actual name used for faeries. The terms Fey, Faerie, Good People, Fair Folk and maybe one or two more are used alternatively. It's not a bad thing to have variants, but it may cause confusion to have so many titles. Personally, right off the bat, I'd not use "Fey" because it can be misleading since these Fey are nothing like the normal DnD Fey.
You should see the list of names Wikipedia offers. "A fairy (also fay, fey, fae, faerie; collectively, wee folk, good folk, people of peace, fair folk, and other euphemisms)"

As far as names goes... I agree that Fey is a bad idea, and I'd shy away from Fairy (it has too many connotations of Cottingley Fairy).

If we're going to use only one name, I'd say 'Faerie' is most accurate, though I kind of like Fair Folk personally, so I'd vote for using just those two.
EO wrote:2)Creatures format. At the moment, we've got Short fluff text, Introduction, Appearance, Nature, Truth, Defeating ..., DM Notes, Combat Info, though some don't follow that template. I'd suggest we keep it simple and close to the other COTN books for ease of use. What about: Fluff Text, Introduction, Appearance, Stats, Nature/Current Check, Combat, DM Notes (or Adventure Hooks). I'm purposevely not mentionning Background since most of them don't have a Background, in the case where they'd have one, it can be added, but Faeries don't really need backgrounds, most of them just "are" since they are concepts/narratives.
Well, Combat Notes is going to disappear or merge with the stat-blocks as they get created, so I would stick the Stat Blocks between Defeating and Adventure Hooks.

Nature/Current Check is going to end up taking up the majority of the article, along with Background where it appears. Might be a good idea to somehow break it up a bit, and find a more descriptive title.

How the locations are going to look I don't even want to imagine...
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Post by Irving the Meek »

"The Kindly Ones" is an old term for the fey that's oddly scary - especially when you consider that it's said more as a fervent hope than an accurate description. "The Still Ones" is also good.
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Post by NeoTiamat »

Well, the Kindly Ones, the Euminides, was originally applied to the Greek Furies, the Erinyes, again, out of the hope of placating them.

That said, Fair Folk, Good People, etc., is all out of the same idea. Be really nice and polite to them, since if you aren't.... doesn't end well.

Haven't heard the Still Ones before, though off-hand it sounds more like what you'd apply to the living dead.
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Post by Kaitou Kage »

I can spend a bit of time going back over my entries and editing them according to the original template if you like. Mostly, I just started writing and let the flow take me away before I cropped things too much.
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Post by EO »

If we're going to use only one name, I'd say 'Faerie' is most accurate, though I kind of like Fair Folk personally, so I'd vote for using just those two.
What about using mostly Faerie, but sometimes Fair Folk? I dig Good People and Fair Folk as I feel they have a sort of charm. I figure that in the in-character texts, we could use the Good People and Fair Folk. Sort of unofficial names that are widely used in folklore.

And perhaps in the introduction section explaining what faeries are, we could mention how they have been given countless different names around the Core, then mention them.
I can spend a bit of time going back over my entries and editing them according to the original template if you like. Mostly, I just started writing and let the flow take me away before I cropped things too much.
Best agree to a template then apply it to the articles.

We've got:

1) Flavor Text
2) Introduction to the creature
3) Appearance
4) Background - where applicable
5) Nature - what about renaming that section Folklore? after all, that part is really more a limited view of the creature, not the full one
6) Current Sketch - what about renaming that Lore? or something along those lines, it's the more intricate knowledge of the creature
7) Combat
8) Stats
9) DM Notes / Adventure Hooks

It may seem like a lot like that, but considering 1/2 are very short and 4 is only there for a few creatures, it's not all that much. The core is really points 3, 5, 6, the meaty part.
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Post by A G Thing »

Organization is gooooddddd!!!! Anyways I am glad to see so many people on the project and hope to make a stellar product of our collaborative efforts...
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Post by NeoTiamat »

EO wrote:What about using mostly Faerie, but sometimes Fair Folk? I dig Good People and Fair Folk as I feel they have a sort of charm. I figure that in the in-character texts, we could use the Good People and Fair Folk. Sort of unofficial names that are widely used in folklore.

And perhaps in the introduction section explaining what faeries are, we could mention how they have been given countless different names around the Core, then mention them.
Sounds good to me.

Note to self: Expand section on Faerie Names
EO wrote:
Best agree to a template then apply it to the articles.

We've got:

1) Flavor Text
2) Introduction to the creature
3) Appearance
4) Background - where applicable
5) Nature - what about renaming that section Folklore? after all, that part is really more a limited view of the creature, not the full one
6) Current Sketch - what about renaming that Lore? or something along those lines, it's the more intricate knowledge of the creature
7) Combat
8) Stats
9) DM Notes / Adventure Hooks

It may seem like a lot like that, but considering 1/2 are very short and 4 is only there for a few creatures, it's not all that much. The core is really points 3, 5, 6, the meaty part.
Hrm. For 5 & 6 perhaps Folklore and Research? (Lore is a part of Folklore, so it would look on the strange side, I think, as another section).

Otherwise, sounds like a plan!
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Re: The Fair Folk - The Project

Post by Gonzoron of the FoS »

NeoTiamat wrote:Title = What do we call this thing? Currently the name is Children of the Night: Fair Folk, to link it to the tradition of CotNs in Ravenloft, both standalone and in the Monstrous Compendiums. That said, I am open to new suggestions for titles.
While I can't really contribute to this project, I just want to say that I retract my former concerns about this name. It looks like what you're heading towards is close enough to a CotN that it is worthy of the name.

I also like that it's CotN: Fair Folk, which leaves open the option of CotN: Shadow Fey at some point. (While on the topic, might I suggest your intro & essays section include some few words about how your version of the fey interacts with and/or relates to the Shadow Fey.)

I look forward to the finished product with great interest.
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Post by NeoTiamat »

Brum of the Mound Level 18 Solo Brute
Huge Fey Humanoid (Earth, Giant) XP 10,000


Initiative +9 Senses Perception +21; Tremoresense 10
Uncooperative Earth (Earth) aura 10; enemies treat the area within the aura as difficult terrain.
HP 910; Bloodied 455
AC 32; Fortitude 35, Reflex 26, Will 31
Immune Petrification Resist 15 Variable (2/Encounter)
Saving Throws +5
Speed 6
Action Points 2

[BM] Adamant Axe (standard; at-will) * Weapon
Reach 2; +21 vs. AC; 3d8+7

[R] The Sky Wakes (minor; at-will) * Lightning, Thunder
Ranged sight; +19 vs. Reflex; 1d10+7 Lightning and Thunder damage.

[C] The Earth Quakes (standard; encounter)
Close Burst 10; +17 vs. Fortitude; 3d10+6 and targets are knocked prone and slowed until the start of Brum's next turn. Flying creatures are immune to this power.

[C] And Brum Takes (standard; at-will) * Weapon
Requires Adamantine Axe; close blast 3; +19 vs. AC; 3d8 + 7 damage

Eternal (free, when first bloodied; encounter)
Brum of the Mound gains regeneration 10 until the end of the encounter.

Alignment True Neutral
Skills Athletics +24, Endurance +24
Str 30 (+19) Dex 11(+9) Wis 16(+12)
Con 30 (+19) Int 13(+10) Cha 19(+14)
Equipment Huge Adamantine Work Axe, various tools

===============================================
Tactics: Brum is a fairly simple, straightforward does not equal easy. He is quite nearly invulnerable, and he can lay to waste entire cities once his temper snaps. Generally, Brum simply wades into battle, trusting his Uncooperative Earth aura to keep foes within range.

Once a sufficient number of enemies are within range, Brum lays about him, sweeping this way and that with his monstrous axe, while thunderbolts strike the ground about him. Brum usually waits until his enemies are gathered in a convenient (3x3) clump before using his Earthquake, then burning action points on this and the next rounds to chop through them with his axe.

===============================================

First Faerie done, though this is still me fiddling around with the 4E rules for monster-making. I may come back to Brum later.

I think most of the Faerie will end up being Paragon tier, with a couple of Epic and a couple of Heroic. I figure most of the Faerie will be Solo types, with a smattering of Elites (ironically, at the higher level where they get followers). The Linnorm will probably the single most powerful entity.
Last edited by NeoTiamat on Sat Jan 17, 2009 10:44 pm, edited 4 times in total.
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