Author's Note: I cannot emphasize strongly enough that "Fey Elves" are for use as NPCs only. If you use them and allow a player character to select Fey Elves as a race, be prepared to deal with what you have wrought!
Elf, Fey - By Bill Silvey
Frequency: Very Rare
No. Appearing: 20-200
Armor Class: -2
Move 12"
Hit Dice: 7
% In Lair: 75%
Treasure Type: S,T,U,V,X
No. Of Attacks: 1
Damage/Attack: By Weapon Type
Special Attacks: Magic Spells
Special Defense: Nil
Magic Resistance: 30%
Intelligence: Very
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
Size: M (5')
Psionic Ability: Nil
Attack/Defense Modes: Nil
Level/XP Value: V/550 + 8 per HP
Fey Elves are a a particular culture of Elves who have become estranged from all other demihuman and human societies over the
millennium; indeed there is some speculation that they never considered themselves associated with those groups. Totally alien in their thoughts, they are social
dilettantes, eschewing contact with outside societies in favor of self-gratification, sensualism, and an almost total embracing of the abstract over the concrete.
There is, however, a dark side to the Fey. As they have grown apart socially from other races, they have begun to view all save themselves with great contempt. They view humans as little better than beasts, halflings as vermin, and have unreserved hatred for Gnomes and Dwarves and all
sub kinds thereof. They, like all elves, view Orcish races with total hostility as well. With regard to other elves, they hold their brethren in contempt and view even the Grey Elves as simplistic bumpkins and will call them "consorts of animals" for their occasional dalliances with humans. They view Drow elves as crass and incapable of understanding the subtleties of the pursuit of pleasure.
The Fey are not above simply kidnapping or spiriting away any number of humans or other elves for entertainment (see below). They will also enslave members of other races for menial work in their great estates and cities.
The Fey live in the most remote and hard-to-reach sylvan forests, and the area their cities occupy are always veiled in mist. This is because their cities themselves are not on the Prime Material plane but instead are located on the Ethereal Plane; the mist itself is a phenomenon created by the interface between that plane and our own. If anyone finds themselves lost in this mist, they must save versus Magic or suffer as from a Confusion spell; they will (50% of the time) wander towards the Fey city instead of away from. If wanderers so unfortunate are of good Charisma (15 or better) and of Human or Elven stock, when they reach the city (1-6 hours of wandering, during which time there is the chance they will encounter creatures roaming the Ethereal Plane), the Fey will greet them as welcome guests and initially offer to help them.
Fey Elven cities are huge, baroque things, of
wildly different architectural styles from street to street, yet all seeming to
blend harmoniously. The majority of the construction is done with a pale
marble which upon first inspection seems white, yet if stared at will shimmer
with all the colors of the rainbow. Platinum, gold and bronze are woven as
thread throughout their structures. Their cities are perhaps
representations of the chaos within the cold hearts of these strange
eldar.
The Fey, however, have much more sinister designs on any "visitor", however. Typically, the more sagacious of the Fey will consult with the lost
persons and discuss matters of planar travel and various methods of "getting home" with them (they will insist that the barrier is one-way only and to cross back in to it is to risk total destruction). During this period (1-10 days), the Fey will be greatly
hospitable towards their victim, offering them all manner of delights - feasts, access to great libraries of knowledge and art, pleasures of the flesh, and so forth. Usually by the tenth day, unless the wanderer has realized that the Fey have no intention whatsoever of assisting them, the Fey will announce that a great revel is to be held in the "visitors" honor. During this time, the victim will be asked to dance, imbibe, eat, sing, perform - essentially engage in any number of sensual activities. What is happening in their great hall, however, is any thing but beneficial. For every hour the victim engages the Fey, he or she is drained one level (no saving throw). When they reach zero life levels, they will collapse and be carried to the planar barrier and thrust out by the Fey - arriving back on their own world, horribly aged (by default their age will now be at the top end of Venerable for their race as described in the Dungeon Master's Guide) and totally drained of energy, a wastrel.
However, if the victim realizes they are being duped (the Fey tend to speak in a circular fashion, and the Dungeon Master may choose to allow a saving throw versus Magic to avoid the effects of the Fey's rambling), they may choose to attempt to escape. The Fey initially treat this as a delight - they will "hunt" the character and try to capture him or her and if the succeed, compliment the captive on their great humor and good sportsmanship. However, if the victim struggles or attacks in an attempt to escape, all niceties will be dropped and the Fey will lash out with great anger.
If the powerful Fey have weaknesses, one is in their absolute loathe of holy symbols, Holy Word spells, and the like. If a Holy Word is used in the presence of the Fey, any within a 20' radius must make a save versus death or collapse into a coma state for 1d20 years. The sight of a Holy Symbol will cause the Fey to recoil in disgust, and unless they save versus magic, all Fey who see the symbol (providing it is of a Good deity, particularly a Lawful good deity) will suffer 1d4 hit points of damage. The reason for this is simple: the Fey are totally soulless, and as such cut off from any direct contact with any gods or goddesses.
Additionally, cold iron weapons inflict twice their normal damage to Fey elves,
leaving a smoldering wound and a slow-to-heal scar.
The true power of the Fey lies in their command of magic. Above and beyond all other elves, the Fey can use magic spells of any level. For every one hundred Fey encountered, there will be 1-2 Magic Users of 17th level. In a small city of a thousand, a ruling council of ten 20th level Magic Users will reign.
All male Fey are capable of fighting as a 7th level fighter; every fifty so encountered will be led by a Fighter/Magic-User of the 9th level in each.
The Fey consider themselves immortal; this is not so. Most Fey live for approximately five thousand years. The Fey appear as Grey Elves of exceptional beauty; their eyes betray malice and contempt, however.
When creating fully-developed Fey NPCs, for Charisma and Intelligence characteristics, use 12+1d6. For Strength, 10+1d3. Wisdom, Constitution and Dexterity characteristics are generated normally.