Fey

Fey

(Creature)

2E1E

Common

Fey

Level

Varies

Adjective

Fey

Images of fey

Source: Monster Core, pg(s). 362

Also defined in Bestiary 308–309.

Type

Fey

CR

Varies

Environment

Varies; the First World

Adjective

Fey

Images of fey

Source: Fey Revisited

Ⅰ

Ⅱ

Fey are soul-bearing✝ supernatural creatures originating from soul energy in the First World. While effectively immortal in the First World, they still have mortal souls, if of a different nature than those of the Universe. They cannot die without extremely powerful magic, and simply reform from the matter of the First World after some variable amount of time. From dryads and satyrs to gremlins and nuckelavees, fey are varied beyond imagination.

Creation

The First World serves as a conduit of new souls from Creation's Forge toward the Ethereal Plane and Universe, a process that also creates new fey from the soul energy left in their wake. While the souls are unaligned at creation, they gain some of their earliest traits from their journey through the First World.

Fey can also be reincarnated from former First World inhabitants or devout worshippers of the Eldest judged to be sent to the First World by Pharasma. Rather than becoming shades, souls of mortal worshippers of the Eldest assigned to the First World immediately reincarnate as a type of fey whose behavior aligns with the soul's mortal personality. Some such souls retain more of their mortal memories than shades of other planes but not enough to recall their mortal lives.✝

Culture

Fey creatures can often have customs that are unintentionally murderous to outsiders due to their immortality in the First World. They see death as a nebulous thing that rarely has real consequence.

While no one can truly rule the First World, the most powerful fey are known as the Eldest, who command great respect and influence.

Many fey in the Verduran Forest play a team sport called Prismati.

Fey bargains

Fey sometimes make magical agreements, fey bargains, in which they imbue the trade partner with limited supernatural power in exchange for something that is always unusual and personal, such as the first syllable of the person's name, or the ability to see the moon. Breaking such a bargain brings a significant curse upon the oath-breaker, and attempting to end the bargain prematurely always heightens its cost. Bestowed magical powers always are of the primal tradition, and the more powerful a fey, the more potent its boon.

Death

Natives of the First World are blocked from the River of Souls, making its inhabitants effectively immortal as long as they remain on the plane.✝ Fey refer to this exclusion as the Great Abandonment. When a native of the First World "dies" on the plane, their energy simply returns to the First World and reforms within 10 days; in some cases, such as sprites, they return as a new form of fey. Should a fey native to the First World die on another plane, they cease to exist in true death.

This discourages First World fey from visiting other planes and also makes them relatively reckless with life in the First World, including the lives of mortal visitors, which can have tragic consequences.

On Golarion

See also: Category:Fey, Category:Fey creatures, and dark fey

Featured fey

• Cold rider
• Nixie
• Naiad

References

Paizo published a Pathfinder Campaign Setting sourcebook about fey titled Fey Revisited, and a sourcebook about fey and the First World titled The First World, Realm of the Fey. They are also among the subjects of an article in Sound of a Thousand Screams titled "The First World".

For additional as-yet unincorporated sources about this subject, see the Meta page.