This selection of Monsters are drawn from Alan E Paull's Faerie Denizens in White Dwarf 38 and 39 and a couple of my own.
All fey creatures have the illusionist power of Glamour: they can change their appearance at will to anything of similar stature but they must show their true form if touched by cold iron or called by name. Even under a Glamour, some feature of their true form remains consistent (wearing a distinctive colour, alien eyes, a precious jewel, a patterned shawl). Fey creatures have True Names and someone who knows the name gains +1d6 to AC and saving throws against that fey and can charm it to obey one command; this bonus is reduced by one for each other person who knows the name or each time the charm is used and when the bonus disappears the fey acquires a new name.
All fey creatures have the illusionist power of Glamour: they can change their appearance at will to anything of similar stature but they must show their true form if touched by cold iron or called by name. Even under a Glamour, some feature of their true form remains consistent (wearing a distinctive colour, alien eyes, a precious jewel, a patterned shawl). Fey creatures have True Names and someone who knows the name gains +1d6 to AC and saving throws against that fey and can charm it to obey one command; this bonus is reduced by one for each other person who knows the name or each time the charm is used and when the bonus disappears the fey acquires a new name.
Avanc
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Armour Class: 4 [15]
Hit Dice: 4 Attacks: Claws or Dart Special: Invisibility, Stupor Move: 9/15 swimming HDE/XP: 5/240 |
Avancs are fey lizard people. They tend to be solitary and lair in underwater caves. They enjoy a special sort of invisibility that cannot be detected by any spell. However, somewhere in the cave where they lair there is an Adder Stone that allows the bearer to see the Avanc clearly. Otherwise, combat against the invisible creature is at -4 to hit. Avancs often employ barbed darts which cause the target struck to save vs Death or fall into a stupor that exactly resembles death for 12 hours. So long as the victim is not buried (or eaten by the Avanc) he or she will recover the next day.
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Bean-Nighe
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Armour Class: 6 [13]
Hit Dice: 2 Attacks: Chill Touch Special: Shriek Move: 12 HDE/XP: 3/60 |
The Bean-Nighe (pr. BEN-nee-ya) is a type of Fey Undead, supposedly the soul of a mother who died in childbirth. It appears as an old woman washing red linens in a river, well or tub. No amount of washing whitens the linens. It is said to appear to people who are fated to die or before a battle, washing the blood-soaked clothes of the dead. The Bean-Nighe attacks with a chilling touch but can shriek twice a day, inflicting 1d6+1 damage on all listeners within 20ft who fail to save vs Death; listeners also gain 1 Trauma whether or not they save. The Bean-Nighe is immune to normal weapons and is harmed only by magic or silver. It cannot be affected by charm, ESP, hold or sleep.
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Black Annis
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Armour Class: 9 [10]
Hit Dice: 3+3 Attacks: Claws Special: Staff of Winter, Spells Move: 9 HDE/XP: 5/240 |
Also known as the Blue Hag, this is the Unseelie personification of Winter. She is often worshipped by evil creastures and lairs in a temple where she demands the sacrifice of mortal infants to feed her hunger. Once per day she may use three spells from this list: sleep, know alignment, cause fear, cause light wounds, detect invisibility. Black Annis wields the Staff of Winter, a long gnarled hawthorn staff capped with an unmeltable ice crystal. The staff's powers include (1) inflicting 2d6 damage on a hit vs AC 10 (Dexterity/magical bonuses apply), (2) create a sheet of ice in a 20ft radius for 1d4 turns which causes other creatures to fall if they fail a save vs Staff each round; (3) create a blinding snowstorm in an area 50ft diameter and 15ft height up to 120ft away causing all creatures inside to take 1HP damage per round and save vs Staff or be blinded for 1d4 rounds after leaving. The Staff has 25 charges and can be replenished by Black Annis only at 5 charges/day. The Black Annis is harmed only by silver, magic or cold iron weapons. She is immune to sleep, ESP, hold and cold-based magic but fire attacks do +1 damage per die.
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Bogle
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Armour Class: 3 [16]
Hit Dice: 2 Attacks: Claws (1d6+1) Special: Charm Move: 6 HDE/XP: 3/60 |
Bogles are goblins who prefer to harm liars and murderers. They have very pointed features, hooked noses and sharp
chins, while their bodies are thin, angular and knobbly, which gives them a high AC; however, cold iron weapons cause them great pain (+1 To Hit and damage). Bogles inhabit underground caverns and graveyards, being fond of the companionship of the dead and undead for whom they have great respect. Regrettably, this respect is matched by their love of killing: the bodies of those killed by bogles will be neatly laid out on the ground above the bogles' lair the day after the deaths occurred. Bogles cannot be surprised and when confronted by those stronger than themselves they may try to tempt or bribe people to evil ways. All bogles have the ability to use charm person once per day. |
Cu Sith
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Armour Class: 7 [12]
Hit Dice: 3 Attacks: Bite Special: Bark Move: 18 HDE/XP: 4/120 |
The Cu Sith (pr. coo-shee) are fey hounds with white fur and red ears and muzzles. Their barks produce fear in listeners and they bark three times: once when approaching, once when joining battle and again after 1d6 rounds of combat. The entire pack barks together. Listeners must savs vs Spells or flee in terror from the first bark, be paralysed with terror for 1 round by the second bark or be struck dead by the third bark. Characters who make one saving throw save at +2 vs the other saving throws.
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Duergar
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Armour Class: 9 [10]
Hit Dice: 1 Attacks: Knife (1d6-1) Special: Illusions Move: 9 HDE/XP: 2/30 |
The Duergar are twisted and corrupt Unseelie Dwarves. They are misshapen of limb and they favour many-pocketed
robes of sombre colour. They only rarely wander from their secret underground laboratories. There exists an ancient enmity between the Duergar and Gnomes. Like Gnomes, Duergar are powerful illusionists. They can cast invisibility and phantasmal force once per day and also create fool's gold (a pile of leaves or stones resembles 100-1000gp but the spell fades after 1d6 days, when disbelieved or when touched with cold iron). Their illusions have such potency that saving throws to disbelieve it are at -4 and even Gnomes may be fooled (although they save normally). |
Fey Raven
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Armour Class: 5 [14]
Hit Dice: 1-6 Attacks: Weapon or Beak Special: Eye Pluck Move: 12/24 flying HDE/XP: 2/15 to 7/600 |
Fey Ravens are birds that can take human form, either a chivalrous knight (Seelie) or a murderous assassin (Unseelie). In raven form they can speak and know much gossip and news (treat as Bardic Lore 3). They attack with their sharp beaks and if they roll maximum damage (6), the target does not lose Hit Points but instead has an eye plucked out. The Raven might return the eye in exchange for a service. In human form, the raven will be either a Lawful Fighter or a Chaotic Assassin of level 1d6. In human form, they still carry some emblem of their raven identity (such as a design on a shield or wearing raven feathers). No Fey Raven can resist the challenge to play the fey chess game of Fidchell. Defeating a Fey Raven at Fidchell is difficult (roll to hit AC 0 [19] using Intelligence bonuses) but if the Fey Raven loses it must perform a service for the winner (or return an eye!).
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Fey Stirge
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Armour Class: 8 [12]
Hit Dice: 1-6 Attacks: Weapon or Bite Special: Spells, Blood Drain Move: 12/24 flying HDE/XP: 3/30 to 8/800 |
Fey Stirges are blood-sucking vampires but some (known as leanan-sidhe, pr. LAR-non-shee) inspire their lovers to become great poets, who live brilliant though short lives. Fey Stirges possess exceptional beauty and allure. In fey form they may use charm person once per day and they have the powers of a Houri of the same level as their Hit Dice. They can shapechange at will into a giant stirge which bites for 1d6 damage and then drains the victim's blood at a rate which inflicts 1-6 points of damage per round until the victim dies. In stirge form it can only be affected by magical or silver weapons or by spells, though it saves vs magic at +3 and is immune to charm, hold, ESP and sleep spells. They may not be turned by normal Clerics.
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Gremlin
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Armour Class: 7 [12]
Hit Dice: 1/2 Attacks: Tiny dagger (1 point of damage) Special: Invisible Move: 12 HDE/XP: 1/15 |
More mischievous than their cousins the leprechauns, Gremlins are highly inquisitive and acquisitive and will search out and steal all manner of valuables, which they hide in unlikely places and then forget about. They have a Thievery score of 5. Gremlins are by nature invisible, though they may become visible at will, so they are extremely difficult to detect although the touch of cold iron forces them to reveal themselves. Moreover, a natural arrogance leads them to leave clues as to their presence. Some gremlins have been known to break into elaborately trapped and protected chests only to lay out all the contents without stealing anything, just to prove that it could be done.
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Gwyllion
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Armour Class: 9 [10]
Hit Dice: 5 Attacks: Claws Special: Fey powers Move: 12 HDE/XP: 5/120 |
Always seen in pairs, these Seelie elf-like beings sit among the rocks on either side of a mountain path and silently watch passing travellers. They will reward courteous greetings with tales and information: they have a Bard's Lore ability of 5. Answers to questions put to them will always be truthful but unless they are well paid with other information, they will respond in rhymes and riddles. They dislike fighting, though they are not above provoking others, and if attacked they become invisible and flee.
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Loathly Worm
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Armour Class: 7 [12]
Hit Dice: 3-8 Attacks: Bite (1d6+2) Special: Constrict, Shapechange Move: 12/18 swimming HDE/XP: 4/60 to 9/1,100 |
A Loathly Worm is a legless, wingless dragon that inhabits rivers and swamps. It can take human form (often a beautiful maiden or a handsome minstrel with Charisma 17) to lure lovers to the river bank, whereupon it reveals its true form and devours them. In human form, the Worm is a Houri or Bard of level 1d6+2 but it always carries a clue to its dragonish identity (scales, lizard eyes, forked tongue or dragon symbols on livery or jewellery). In dragon form, the Worm regenerates all damage at the start of a melee round, so it must be entirely destroyed in a single round to be defeated. It constricts a victim in its coils, causing 1d6 damage each round after that, while attacking other targets with its bite..
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Phooka
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Armour Class: 7 [12]
Hit Dice: 3 Attacks: Kick, bite or gore Special: Enchanted mount Move: 15/18 flying HDE/XP: 4/60 |
The cunning Phooka of moorland, mire or hill country is a strange, perverse creature with the ability to shapechange into a variety of forms. It is normally found in the form of a goat, a shaggy pony or a giant eagle. Favouring solitary travellers or stragglers it uses its power to enchant an unwilling victim into mounting (those who fail a save versus magic will mount, unless restrained; the phooka can carry two heavy people, chosen randomly if more than two fail their saving throws). If ridden, the phooka will go on a wild and terrifying gallop, causing victims to gain 1d6 Trauma, eventually dumping its rider(s) in mire or ditch and chuckling as it gallops away. In appearance it is generally jet black with blazing eyes. The phooka is also capable of changing into a hound, cat or bull.
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Redcap
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Armour Class: 6 [13]
Hit Dice: 5 Attacks: Weapon (1d6+2) Special: - Move: 6 HDE/XP: 6/240 |
The fey ogres are 12 feet tall) and inhabit old ruined towers and castles in remote areas, particularly those with a history of evil. Redcaps have a goblinish appearance, and may sometimes be found leading their smaller brethren. Their favourite weapons are pikes and halberds of huge size. These creatures are known as redcaps because of their unsavoury habit of dying their caps in human blood. Tales say that unknown wizards used redcaps as guards and strengthened them by making their hides impenetrable to normal weapons; thus magic or silver is required to affect
these creatures. |
Spriggan
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Armour Class: varies
Hit Dice: 4 Attacks: varies Special: Change size Move: 9 HDE/XP: 5/120 |
Spriggans are an unusual form of goblin with a particular hatred for humankind. They live in underground locations especially mines, as they enjoy digging. When initially encountered, Spriggans are only two feet tall, but will immediately begin to grow in size, taking four melee rounds to grow to their maximum size of 10 feet. As they grow, their vulnerability to weapons increases, but their claws become bigger and more effective (see table below).
Spriggans take great delight in the fear their special ability causes, and may deliberately slow down their advance to melee in order to heighten their menacing appearance.
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