Game Mechanics Summary: Base Movement of 9//, Base AC of 9, non-natives to Gaianar, full flight capability, able to assume an ghostly, energy form for limited periods, able to fire wind blasts at foes, motion-vector detection, ultra-vision, very vulnerable to iron, suffers an experience penalty.
The only race on Gaianar that is alien to Gaianar, the Fey were once energy creatures that lived in a dimension far different than that of the Gai system. But it was during the period that Scaxathrom ruled Gaianar that his summoner-priests learned to tap into other worlds and bring forth creatures to do their Master's bidding. Mostly, the Scaxathrom Priests raised demons in the form of elementals, spiritual spies, and dark warriors. But occasionally the blasphemous clerics would tap into the realm that was the home of the Fey.
The first thing about understanding the Fey is this: They don't want to be here. Their native plane of existence is a universe where energy is more common than matter, and the speed of light makes this universe's light seem like molasses. They come from a bright universe where change is constant, and where the background radiation of the cosmos sounds like an eternal symphony. In the realm of the Fey, they look like angels of light and live forever, for energy doesn't decay there, it only changes form and frequency.
From a world of light they were summoned into the cold, hard iron shackles of Scaxathromite slavery. Ensnared by the Scaxathrom Priesthood, these creatures were forced to commit all manner of atrocities against the people of Gaianar during the Great Cataclysm. Though it took several generations to best their masters, they at last did gain their freedom (at the cost of thousands of Scax-Priest lives, and tens of thousands of bystanders.)
Faced with the extinction of their soul-light (for energy in this universe does decay), and taking on a solid, organic form, they grudgingly chose the latter. But in their minds, they still think like energy creatures. They are drawn to bright lights. Fire is sacred to them. Energy is like sustenance. So much is this patterned in their minds, that they frequently forget that their physical bodies do need food. And this is why most of the Fey are very thin. They take no joy in eating, for each bite of food is a reminder of their captivity and their status as refugees.
Their thoughts are quite linear. For as energy automatically takes the path of greatest resistance to least resistance, so it is true that once one of the Fey fix an idea in his or her head, no force can dissuade them from the resultant course of action. Some call the Fey stubborn, but in truth, they can act no other way. They hate slavers. They will kill those who trade in sentient flesh. Regardless of alignment or faith, The Fey will kill slavers when encountered.
Very few of the Fey are Priests, for even the presence of good-aligned clergy leaves a bad taste in their mouths. The Priesthood (of Scaxathrom) brought them to Gaianar, enslaved them, and marooned them. The Fey have a racial memory for their home realm. Those successive generations who have never seen the Realm of the Fey still know what it looks like. And to stare into a night sky that is silent and cold and black is quite a bitter thing indeed. In their solid form, the Fey appear as small winged Humans or winged Changelings. They stand on average 4' tall and are sturdily built, though not so well as the Dwarves. Their skin is smooth and nearly albino white and does not tan. They have little in the way of body hair except that which grows from the scalp. Their hair colour is usually white, or of a colour that matches their wings. Their blood is clear, not red.
No one outside the Fey community exactly knows this race's method of reproduction. And while a Fey may identify "himself" or "herself" as male of female, the race has so little in the way of secondary sexual characteristics that the exact gender of a fully clothed Fey is nearly impossible to determine - but the Fey, they know. And how they propagate is a secret they kill to defend, regardless of alignment or legal consequences. The Fey still have primary sexual characteristics (thus making it possible to engage in sex), but while fully clothed, the look androgynous.
Their own secret reproductive methods doesn’t prevent the Fey won’t be promiscuous with other races. That, they do for entertainment and fun, but not for reproduction. However, it is still unknown if Fey reproduction even involves a sex act, or whether it somehow involves an exchange of energy while assuming the Phoenix flight mode. Regardless, some Fey, particularly the Amber Fey, have frequent carnal relations with members of other races.
As indicated by the presence of their wings, a Fey has the ability to fly. With wings unfurled, they span 4' for every 1' the Fey has in height. A Fey's wings are not feathered but instead have a texture somewhere between a bat and a butterfly's.
A Fey can fly indefinitely, unlike the Changelings. However, their flight speed is not quite as rapid or agile. Under normal conditions, a Fey has a flight speed of 24// (twice the speed of a running man) and a maneuverability class of "B" (able to hover and turn 180 degrees in the same action.) At the cost of one point of Endurance per three rounds, however, a Fey can boost flight speed to 32//.
In dire emergencies, however, a Fey can assume his or her true form as an energy creature and fly for brief periods at 60// with maneuverability class "A". This form of flight is called "the phoenix flight", as the Fey assumes a form that looks somewhat like an Angel of light, swirling wind, and eldritch fire. In this form, they can phase through wooden structures without effort, and can even pass through stone, so long as it is less than an inch thick. Iron, however is always impenetrable, and the Fey dislike iron in any case, as will be explained later.
Resuming their true form is not without its price. A Fey loses one hit point for each round in phoenix flight and these lost points cannot be recovered with healing invocations, only with time. A Fey recovers hit points lost to the phoenix flight at a rate of one point per hour.
Like a bat or a dolphin, those of the Fey can sense distance and movement by unseen ways. This ability is called Detect Motion Vectors. A Fey employing this ability can detect movement and direction of creatures and objects as far away as 15// (150'). This ability, when used, covers a 360° radius. It can be used at will, and maintained indefinitely, but it does require a small amount of concentration. Thus combat is possible, but supernatural invocations are not. Noise cancellation powers or spells will render Detect Motion Vectors inoperative. If the Fey is actively seeking invisible or cloaked creatures, this power will reveal them to the Fey if successful on a Perception check.
Being creatures of energy, a Fey can summon and hurl vortices of wind that cause 1d6 damage to its victim. The vortices have a speed of 90//, and have a range of 45//. Implementing this power costs the Fey one-quarter point of Body-Mind-Spirit per use.
A Fey's vision is somewhat complementary to that of the Dwarves. While a Dwarf can see in infrared, but is blind to the upper spectrum, a Fey can see into the ultraviolet band, but is blind to red. As a result, a Fey's day vision is excellent, giving him or her a +1 to all visual tasks (including combat.) At sunset, however, they are more deeply blinded than most, and therefore suffer a -2 to visual tasks unless properly aided with a light source. This penalty is in addition to any ordinary low light penalties.
Despite the apparent superiority of this race, they do have limits and weaknesses. The Fey are intolerant of iron. Wielding an iron weapon leeches a point of Endurance per turn. Iron armour costs a point per round. Being chained in iron shackles costs two points per turn. While this power drain cannot kill a Fey, it can incapacitate. Moreover, a Fey cannot engage the phoenix flight while in physical contact with iron.
A Fey has a base armour class of 9, a ground speed of 9//, and an empathic resistance of 10%. A Fey has a life span of 165 years on average. Members of the Fey race incur a 5% experience penalty.
Fey Racial Subtypes. Like the Humans, there is more than one kind of Fey. Below are listed the four Fey sub-races and a description thereof.
§ Blue: The blue Fey are the most numerous of the four races. Like the name implies, their wings are deep cobalt at the base, and pale sky blue at the top. Their eye colour, too, is blue, like the sky at most times, but the colour deepens when the Fey is emotionally charged. Blue Fey are almost always Ordered in alignment, although a few are Saintly. Societies in control by Blue powers are very efficient, safe, and organized.
§ Indigo: Fey of this type are the most rare. Most of the indigo Fey dragged into the world of Gaianar were of a priestly caste of a benevolent god, and therefore most indigo Fey concern themselves with the welfare of others. Indigo Fey have the power to heal by laying on hands once per day for 1d4 points. Indigo Fey do not deal with governments or politics and tend to arrange their small and reclusive societies in something of a noninvasive Theocratic rule. Indigo Fey are usually Benevolent, although a few are Saintly or Heroic.
§ Amber: It is a shame that most of the amber Fey are cheerfully insane. Amber Fey are drunken brawlers, bards of renowned, and players of all sorts of games. They tend to have a prepubescent approach to most of life's problems. They are promiscuous with other races. If an amber Fey wants something, he takes it. If he breaks something, it's always someone else's fault. But amber Fey as a whole are not mean or cruel, and neither do they steal just to be malicious. But they were damaged in some way during their original summoning and subsequent captivity, and now they never emotionally mature to adulthood and are instead like rambunctious teenagers for their whole lives. An amber Fey is almost always Chaotic or Heroic.
§ Green: Unlike the amber Fey, insanity made the green Fey nasty. They hate all ground-bound races on Gaianar, and will seek to destroy any Human Priest, regardless of their faith. Moreover, they view the Dwarven race as a non-sentient animal race and use them for slave labour and/or food. Green Fey never become Priests of any kind, but instead are Thieves, fighters of all sorts, and hired assassins. Green Fey are always Satanic, and have forsworn supernatural practices to the point that they now have a 25% resistance to all spiritual powers.