Archfey

The Feywild landscape creates a fantastical mirror image of the material plane, echoing its features and magnifying its wonders. The archfey who keep their kingdoms in the Plane of Faerie are likewise echoes of inhabitants of the material plane: jealous rulers, vicious peasants, greedy merchants. They are archetypes made manifest, sometimes even verging on parodies of the folk they represent. These archfey delight in mischief and revelry, but their sense of what is humorous and what is clever does not correspond to that of a mortal. The archfey described below take their entertainment from stealing children, controlling their subjects, and trapping hapless mortals in labyrinths as much as they enjoy riddles, mimicry, and flattery.

The Fallow-Fallen

The Fallow-Fallen embodies the anger of a downtrodden serf. The Fallow-Fallen seeks to feel powerful, so they exert their will over whatever unfortunate beings pass through their demesne. The Fallow-Fallen loves violence and gore more than most of their kin among the archfey, with a special taste for those who look down on others. They command a pack of faerie hounds to chase down trespassers, but a respectful guest may be rewarded with a harvest bounty or a fey steed faster than any mortal horse.

The Thistlewise

The Thistlewise echoes the territorial nature of a solitary druid. The Thistlewise wants nothing more than to be left alone, but they have great knowledge and gifts beyond the ken of most mortals, making them a desirable endpoint of a Feywild pilgrimage. The Thistlewise tangles the mind, misleading and misdirecting creatures who dare disturb them. Their realm is overrun with tangling vines and thorny brambles that form a twisting labyrinth with neither entrance nor exit; escape is virtually impossible without a magical aid. The Thistlewise sees mortals like insects, but from time to time, a rare species might catch their eye and their aid.

The Marioneer

The Marioneer mirrors a grasping chancellor, constantly scheming for control and approval while in service to the whims of a good-natured satyr king. They command a court of puppets, strung up and charmed by them to both entertain their satyr liege and serve the Marioneer’s own desires. The Marioneer cannot keep constant control, but in their immediate presence, fey and mortals alike struggle to retain their sense of self. The Marioneer requires nothing less than absolute deference, but visitors may still garner their favor–as long as they recognize the true power behind the throne.

The Kegling

The Kegling maintains an unusual feature of the Feywild landscape: the ubiquitous tavern. A bawdy and cheerful brawler, the Kegling loves to engage in a physical challenge with their patrons only to turn about and offer a drunken riddle-contest. The Kegling is a masterful host who stands on barroom ceremony, but is over-indulgent. Less overtly sinister than most other archfey, once you’ve met the Kegling they seem ever-present, their tavern appearing on the roadside or in the midst of the Seelie Court. As lord over common knowledge and common sense, information given to the Kegling will be spread around or held in reserve for later blackmail.

The Paper King

The Paper King is no king at all, but the manifest ego of a powerful mage. They are a hoarder of knowledge and memory, particularly the memories of those who visited the Feywild and lost their recollection of those times. The Paper King’s true prize is a vast repository of spells, transcribed from lost spellbooks and tomes that found their way to the Feywild. In fact, any book lost or misplaced eventually finds its way here, to the towering retreat of the Paper King. The Paper King might allow a courageous mortal to peruse the collection, but only at the cost of a few memories of their own.

The Hungerhanded

Born of the greed of the owner of a trading company, the Hungerhanded seeks nothing more than to obtain. The Hungerhanded gives nothing without receiving more in return. They see all mortal passersby as beneath them, simply delivery carts of precious treasures who are unaware of their true purpose. The Hungerhanded will happily provide protection for their little treasure-deliverers, as well as any reward that costs them nothing. The Hungerhanded’s negotiation skills are unparalleled, and they always know when they have the upper hand.

The Autarch

The Autarch is the Feywild’s adaption of a motivational speaker, one whose words are unsettlingly persuasive. The Autarch rules a dominion of followers who each believe they are acting in their own self-interest, self-governing in ways that always seem to benefit the Autarch. Self-deceit is the name of the Autarch’s game; even they themself are convinced that everyone within their domain is acting according to their own nature. Their way, it seems, is simply the best way. Why else would so many people choose to follow this philosophy of self-rule? The people of the Autarch’s realm often speak in the Autarch’s voice, repeating the archfey’s philosophy unthinkingly. The Autarch claims to want nothing but a few moments of a creature’s time; they know that is all they need to win hearts and minds.

The Askew

The Askew exaggerates the features of a traveling minstrel. A performer and pantomimer, they are one of those rare Archfey who make their way to the material plane more often than most. They enjoy the attention, of course, but they also enjoy luring children from their homes and bringing them to the Feywild to serve in their own court for years. Sometimes even decades pass before they are permitted to rejoin their kind, but when they return, they have been made feral by their time in the Askew’s service. The Askew loves nothing, hates nothing, and fears nothing. It wants only companionship and joy, and a mortal who can offer either–even for a brief time–could please it enough to receive a rare boon. A creature who dares disturb its reverie, however, invites a curse upon their head.

The Heavens Are Empty Masterpost

To provide easy access to any who would want to use the celestials I made for this project. Please let me know how it goes if you use any of these creatures, I’d love playtest notes.

Celestial Herald; CR 7; a messenger for when Sending won’t do it. Excels at ranged and skirmish combat with a magical returning javelin.

Apiarian Worker; CR 1; a bee-like celestial with a healing death burst ability. Skilled at both ranged and melee combat, particularly in groups.

Apiarian Queen; CR 5; a bee-like celestial civic leader. Ranged combatant, deadliest when her workers are with her to allow the use of her legendary actions.

Prism Heron; CR 1; a bird with a radiant tail, native to the shores of Mt. Celestia. Skirmish attacker with a blinding tail attack.

Kinderwachter; CR 1; a child’s guardian taking the form of a stuffed animal. Good at protecting a target, alone would rather flee than fight.

Bariaur and Bariaur Defender; CR 2 and 4; ram-centaur celestial nomads. Both skilled charge-attackers with ranged options and many attack types.

Celestial Witness; CR 3; spy, observer, and sometime defender for the heavens. Flying battlefield controller and debuffer.

Guiding Beetle; CR 4; beetle-like travelers who seek and aid the lost. Slow but equipped with good defenses and many ranged attack and control spells.

Brux Lightstalker; CR 5; forest warden and hunter in the Beastlands. Ambush and skirmish attacker with a light-blend ability.

Pax Pollinator; CR 4; conflict-averse heavenly field lurker. Multiple ways to nonlethally discourage or end combat, a radiant pollen attack for when the enemy won’t take the hint.

Mudsinger; CR 6; salamander-like patron of the arts and mountain wanderer. Likes to either mix it up in melee or stick to long-range combat, depending on how deadly it wants the fight to be.

Celestial Introspector; CR 7; heavenly therapist and advisor on mortal affairs. Can actually make you fight yourself, has touch attacks that prevent movement.

Belieren Warden; CR 6; steward of the Upper Planes’ prison on Elysium. Skirmish attackers specializing in isolating single enemies and locking down their foes.

Winterbird; CR 9; icy stormbird that rescues those in frozen reaches. Skirmisher with a protective aura of heavy obscuring winter weather.

Tarn Steward; CR 25; elephantine guardian of the Glass Tarn and its prophetic powers. Powerful charger and melee combatant with many options to shape the battlefield and move enemies around.

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post-maester

6 months ago

Rant about feeling guilty about ranting.

Do you ever start to type a rant or a vent post and just... delete it all? "It's not worth making a fuss," or "you don't need to air your dirty laundry." Fuck. I want to just talk about my worries and frustrations without feeling upset with myself. I promise I'll actually post this one. I deserve to speak about my feelings, but sometimes it's hard to prioritize my own feelings over someone else's comfort. Stupid.

Adventurous Locale - The City of Sunsets

Adventurous Locale - The City of Sunsets I came up with a sort of trade hub for the Upper Planes and wanted to get my thoughts written down somewhere - why not here? #ttrpg #dnd #planescape

I’m trying to get a few new ideas written out and somewhere visible for people to give me feedback. This is the first one. Somewhere close to one of the Upper Planes of existence sits a strange and unnamed demiplane – a world sandwiched between two impenetrable stone disks. Around its edges slowly pass falling reddish stars, giving the world a sunset glow at all times; once one star dips below…

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post-maester

3 years ago

My Complete Homebrew Catalogue

In the past I have made master list posts whenever I added a large brew to my portfolio… but that got to be a huge hassle. People would reblog it, and then things wouldn’t get updated evenly.

So, after some work, I’ve made a spreadsheet. This sheet will have a static link that I can update on the sheet side so that when something new gets added the link will be the same and people can find it relatively easily. I’ll still post things here when I complete them, but it’s nice to have a little treasure trove of just my things.

HERE IS THE LINK TO ALL MY BREWS

And I’m talkin’ classes, sub-classes, spells, items, creatures, books, and everything else too. Just click the link above.

An added bonus is that I (and I guess you, if you trust me flat out to balance things well for your games) can just pin this link to a discord channel and my players can reference it super easy if they are using any of my homebrew content.

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post-maester

2 years ago

Gith Marauder Token on Patreon for FREE

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post-maester

8 months ago

Lorn's Lure is a sci-fi free-climbing adventure scale a massive megastructure in search of a glitchy ghost owl!

Lorn's Lure is out now on Steam

Gameplay Video:

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post-maester

6 months ago

The Transfeminine Review

12 Spooky Books by Transfemmes to Read This Halloween (CW #7)

Vampires, living dolls, and dysphoria, oh my!

As the clock strikes midnight at the dawn of Halloween, I come bearing spooky books! Check out these cool recs for horror and paranormal novels by transfeminine authors that'll make your day a little darker 🖤

Archfey

Archfey

More Posts from Post-maester and Others

The Heavens Are Empty Masterpost

Adventurous Locale - The City of Sunsets

My Complete Homebrew Catalogue