This article is about a specific race. For the creature type, see Fey.
Fairies are small winged fey, similar to sprites and pixies, but not as wee.[1]
Contents
- 1 Description
- 1.1 Appearance
- 1.2 Personality
- 2 Abilities
- 3 History
- 4 Notable fairies
- 5 Trivia
- 6 References
Description[]
Appearance[]
Fairies are like small elves with wings, usually insect-like, that allow them to fly. However, there's a variety of features that these fey can display, from animal-like anatomy (not necessarily connected to insects) to unexpected smells or visual magical effects.[1][3]
Personality[]
Fairies can be very diligent creatures performing duties for the different courts for the Feywild.[4] However, like many of the inhabitants of this realm, they can have a certain reputation for being troublemakers.[5]
Abilities[]
As a playable race, fairies have the following abilities:
- Flight: Due to their wings fairies have a flying speed of 30 ft. That flying speed can increase along with the walking speed. However, they can't fly properly while wearing medium or heavy armor.[1][6]
- Fairy Magic: All fairies know the Druidcraft cantrip. If they reach 3rd level, they also acquire the ability to cast Faerie Fire, and at 5th level, they can cast Enlarge/Reduce. Different fairies can use different spellcasting abilities to cast those spells.[1][7]
Note that since the fairies are fey, instead of humanoids, some spells have no effect on them, since they target humanoids exclusively, while other spells will affect them precisely because of their fey nature.
History[]
Fairies are native to the Feywild, where, due to their fast flying speed, they are sometimes used as couriers to carry messages between courts and domains of this plane.[8] Their interactions with visitors from the Material Plane in the past have encouraged them to learn new languages in addition to the ones they use to communicate with other fey.[1][9]
At some point before 795 PD[10] a fairy barbarian called Bramble was hired as part of the security team during the Musetide Festival of Drobanagos in Athova-Rae, an island in the Shattered Teeth. After fighting some monsters and accidentally interferring with the main attraction of the festival (process during which Bramble impressed her love interest, Ranthiel Volthor), the group decided to leave the archipielago with Dr. Dranzel's Spectacular Traveling Troupe, who were sailing to Tal'Dorei.[11]
By 843 PD, while Bells Hells were traveling to the Heartmoor Hamlet, they were approached by a fairy-like entity that approached their camp at night. Fearne Calloway, being also a fey, was woken up to see it, but she reacted with annoyance,[12] although after a few moments she decided to go talk to it, asking if it pretended to take their stuff.[13] However, the fairy turned out to be an illusory element attached to a vine, part of the hunting strategy of a fairy-lure mantrap, that tried to eat the druid and fought her party soon after.[14]
When Fearne and her friends visited Ligament Manor in the Fey Realm the Fatestitcher allowed them to see her collection. Among her "treasures" she had dead and dried faeries pinned to corkboard[15] that could have been fairies, sprites or pixies.
Notable fairies[]
- Bramble, a barbarian[16]
Trivia[]
- While they are their own race, it's common that the name fairy is used sometimes as a general term to refer to small winged fey like sprites and pixies, or interchanged with the similar term faerie (which acts as a synonym for fey).
- Matthew Mercer confirmed their presence in Exandria when he was listing different fey that could act as couriers in the Feywild, actually differentiating the fairies from pixies or sprites.[17]
- According to Fearne fairies are like rats, but it is unclear if that is her personal opinion or if it is a common belief in the Fey Realm.[18]
- In 5th Edition rules fairies are said to live for about a century,[1] while in Critical Role canon fey usually live upward to three centuries.[2] This article assumes that fairies can potentially reach the three centuries of age, especially in the Feywild, where time works in weird ways.
- Fairies can look similar to air nymphs due to their wings,[19] but it is unknown if there is an actual connection between them.
References[]
Art:
| Races of Exandria | |
|---|---|
| Mixed races | |
| Beastfolk | |
| Dragonkin | Dragon • Dragonborn • Kobold |
| Giantkin | Cloud giant • Cyclops • Ettin • Fire giant • Fomorian • Frost giant • Goliath • Hill giant • Ogre • Oni • Stone giant • Storm giant • Troll |
| Goblinkin | |
| Fey | Archfey • Changeling • Fairy • Hag • Nymph • Pixie (Wisher pixie) • Satyr |
| Aberrations | Aboleth • Beholder • Mind flayer • Morkoth |
| Other | |
| Conditions | Aevilux • Hollow One • Lycanthrope • Ruidusborn • Vampire |
