First World Problems

Saturday, May 18, 2013

Illustration by Emily Fiegenschuh

In the forthcoming Pathfinder Campaign Setting book, Fey Revisited, we examine ten classic fey creatures in the context of how they function and fit into the world of Golarion. Each article presents details on the ecology of the creature (life-cycle, habitat, and so forth), its aspect of nature, and a sample creature of the type as well as a description of the sample's home. We also provide some background about each fey creature's real-world mythological origins and the fairies' tokens.

A fey token is an item, generally crafted by the fey giving it, that can be provided to another creature as a sign of the fey's blessing or approval for a short period of time. Each fey creature in the book has different conditions upon which it grants its token, and each has a limited magical effect that generally lasts about a day before its magic fades. As an example, here's the token granted by the evil water fey known as nuckelavees.



Illustration by Helge C. Balzer

Token of the Nuckelavee
Nuckelavees are rarely pleased by anything other than bloody vengeance, but occasionally they take a liking to a mortal—usually one with some connection to nature—who has a reputation for being a friend of the waters, perhaps by virtue of clearing a river of debris or driving a coven of polluting hags from a shore. In such instances, the nuckelavee bestows its token upon the do-gooder. The recipient awakens one day to find a bracelet made of cold, gray skin that smells of brine and constantly drips water. (Some say the nuckelavees craft these bracelets from strips of their own skin, which is why they have none left to wear.) Upon donning the bracelet, for the next 24 hours the recipient gains the ability to make contaminated water clean enough to drink (as per the spell purify food and drink, but only for water). However, the fey token has a cost. For the same duration, the water inside the recipient's body becomes tainted, lowering his or her Constitution by 2. When the token's power expires, there is a chance that the devil of the sea comes after the recipient to reclaim the bracelet.


Ok, so maybe that's not the fey token most PCs would want, especially given that last bit about the nuckelavee maybe coming for them. The rest of the tokens presented in the book totally don't have hitches and gotchas like that, though. I swear. Really. Why wouldn't you trust a fey creature not to try to trick you?

Fey Revisited is available for preorder now and will start shipping to subscribers this month!

Mark Moreland
Developer

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Tags: Emily Fiegenschuh Fey Helge C. Balzer Pathfinder Campaign Setting
Paizo Employee Developer

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Argh! M'beard! Dangit! My gold!

it, you pesky things, git!

Sczarni RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32

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Adam Daigle wrote:

Argh! M'beard! Dangit! My gold!

it, you pesky things, git!

Sounds like some new gremlin stole some of his letters...

I don't think I would want a token from a pugwampi. Or a redhat.


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There is a reason why The Fair Folk trope exists, I never trust a fairy.


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Fey are like the Doctor. They're fun, dangerous, and they lie.

Contributor, RPG Superstar 2010 Top 4

Looks like a fun book Mark!


Ooh, a gift from a nuckelavee? How could this possibly go wrong?

This one ought to be a great book.


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Probably easier to handle than Fourth World problems...

Liberty's Edge

Looks very interesting ... and I really dig the illustration!


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Pathfinder Rulebook Subscriber

Nuckelavee, nuckelavee, you're big and evil and heinous...

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