Help Creating Archfey for a campaign.

[MalTheMelter]

So I have the grim hollow setting and I am working on a campaign idea. The first adventure would see the party getting into debt with Archfey and having to work off their debt by running errands for him. In Grimhollow the gods are dead and the heavens are being run by powerful but overworked Archangels. Demons are starting to run rampant.

This brings us to the Archfey the players end up working for. The Hunstman is heavily based on Odin as the lord of the Wild Hunt. He has a plan that the players would not know at first. recruit other Archfey and form and ascend as a new pantheon while the Angels and Demons fight one another. He is not after being a God of the hunt, he is thinking bigger. He wants to be the god of agriculture, the most important for daily life everywhere the head of this new pantheon. Creative stretching of his specialty of hunting into providing food.

His first recruit is the "Old man of the sea" who he wants to become not just the god of the seas, but the god of commerce, but after that, I am not sure who to include. I had an idea for a sort of "proto-raven-queen" because she was already being fey styled in 5e, but I don't really love that idea. The Huntsman is attempting to find fey he could convince to take on domains that would be essential trappings of civilization and important to day-to-day life. It is a big risk for those fey to try and change themselves like that so it takes some convincing.

The first phase of the campaign would be the party doing favors on behalf of the Huntsman for all of these archfey to get them to agree to some form of meeting. Then once they have reached a sufficient level the meeting comes and the plan is revealed. The players have met and worked for these archfey then have to choose whether to try and stop this or willingly help the fey ascend.

Any ideas for other archfey to fill out this would be pantheon. I am still early in the brainstorming process.

[Shinizak]

Do you need ideas for fey/gods? I can shot gun some ideas and see what sticks:

A god of water (literally the most important building block for life)

A god of culture and art to spread the "theme".

A god of day and/or night.

A god of laws (to keep people in order)

A god of money.

A god of medicine.

A god of prosperity

A god of craft and design

A god whispers and secrets.

A god of kings.

A few extremely specific local gods of mountains and rivers that have heavy influences on the culture that's being built.

A god of children.

A god of death (builds his own, fresh new afterlife)

[Shinizak]

I suppose it'd be easier to design if we knew the kind of society your fey wants to make. In their eyes, what is the perfect society they what to run?

[MalTheMelter]

Do you need ideas for fey/gods? I can shot gun some ideas and see what sticks

Thank you! Those are good ideas. I am looking more for an existing archfey that could be convinced to take over a critical domain.

I have the leader of the Wild Hunt, who is trying to take over the patron of Agriculture and food production in general.

I have a fey of the oceans who he is trying to convince to become the god of the seas and through extension trade and commerce.

I think there also needs to be a death god, but I am not sure what to make that Archfey like.

So what I am trying to think of is less "Gods of civilization" but rather fey that could try and become those Gods if that makes sense.


I suppose it'd be easier to design if we knew the kind of society your fey wants to make. In their eyes, what is the perfect society they what to run?
This is mostly opportunistic. Grimhollow has an existing civilization where the Gods died, and now their is a celestial vacancy that is causing many things in the world not to function properly. The Huntsman's idea is that with the Angels and the Demons fighting he does not see why he should not throw his hat in the ring. The Huntsman himself is inspired a lot by Odin. He is rather flexible about what the other Archfey would demand or want. Mostly his goal is to stabilize the world in the current crisis and do so while increasing his own power dramatically.

So gradually they would change society, but they also need to grow and change themselves to co-opt the existing civilizations which is why this plan is a gamble he needs to convince the others of. The rewards though if he can do it are immense, and each fey can begin to alter their domains to be how they like.

[tyckspoon]

I think there also needs to be a death god, but I am not sure what to make that Archfey like.

So what I am trying to think of is less "Gods of civilization" but rather fey that could try and become those Gods if that makes sense.



This would seem to be a fairly natural fit for the ruler of whatever faction of Unseelie/Dark Fey/Winter Court/etc the world might have; they're already associated with the time of year when things 'die' and everything goes sterile and passive, as well as generally representing the things humans don't like to think about. The concept of eventually having dominion over Every Living Thing Ever (because all things must pass in due time, even so-called 'immortals' will eventually fail.. except the Winter King, of course, he's smarter than that) should appeal to them enough to take a chance on the bet. You'll wind up with a pretty unpleasant Death God that way (ie, a 'God of killing things/making things dead' more than a 'God of guarding or guiding the dead')

Nature spirits in general should have a lot of things they could attempt to become; dryad or treant-like creatures or a self-proclaimed 'guardian of the woods' type could transition into being the God of (the Forest/Seasons/the Hunt/similar concepts). Fey associated with the underground might have openings for becoming gods related to mining, forging, commerce in general, crafting, or a more friendly/neutral take on a god of death, especially if burial is a standard funeral practice or the cultural concept of 'where people go when they die' includes an Underworld.

[Shinizak]

Gods should represent the world or story they are in. Therefore, I'm gonna nitpick your sentences for ideas:

*** "The Huntsman's idea is that with the Angels and the Demons fighting he does not see why he should not throw his hat in the ring." ***

He should get a demon and angel combo who don't want conflict. A pair that represent hell and heaven choosing a 3rd path away from the conflict.

*** "The Huntsman himself is inspired a lot by Odin. He is rather flexible about what the other Archfey would demand or want." ***

This should be a key fey who is INFLEXIBLE either has an important component the huntsman/Odin can't quite seem to bargin with, or maybe flat out opposes Huntsman/Odin? Maybe both! Someone who represents Odin's opposite.

*** "Mostly his goal is to stabilize the world in the current crisis and do so while increasing his own power dramatically." ***

This should be another key asset. You can take it literally. An archfey of order. Maybe some sort of hive being who who runs an especially resilient society who he wants to outsource to. The order Archfey gets more territory and resources while The Huntsman/Odin gets an exceptionally management middle man for the OTHER archfey he's bringing on.

*** "So gradually they would change society," ***

Okay, maybe he gets some sort of servant or agent fey/god. He/she/they don't anything on their own, but sort of show up, make strategic changes here or there to mortal society, and generally guide smaller settlements in the direction Huntsman/Odin wants.

*** "but they also need to grow and change themselves to co-opt the existing civilizations which is why this plan is a gamble he needs to convince the others of. " ***

A Bardic god of diplomacy, a trustworthy sweet talker who could sell a desert home to a fish, but can also inspire others to be better and get along.

*** "The rewards though if he can do it are immense, and each fey can begin to alter their domains to be how they like." ***

Maybe the land itself is a Genis loci who can be bargained with to give up literal riches and literally transform a landscape.

[MalTheMelter]

This would seem to be a fairly natural fit for the ruler of whatever faction of Unseelie/Dark Fey/Winter Court/etc the world might have; they're already associated with the time of year when things 'die' and everything goes sterile and passive, as well as generally representing the things humans don't like to think about. The concept of eventually having dominion over Every Living Thing Ever (because all things must pass in due time, even so-called 'immortals' will eventually fail.. except the Winter King, of course, he's smarter than that) should appeal to them enough to take a chance on the bet. You'll wind up with a pretty unpleasant Death God that way (ie, a 'God of killing things/making things dead' more than a 'God of guarding or guiding the dead')

Nature spirits in general should have a lot of things they could attempt to become; dryad or treant-like creatures or a self-proclaimed 'guardian of the woods' type could transition into being the God of (the Forest/Seasons/the Hunt/similar concepts). Fey associated with the underground might have openings for becoming gods related to mining, forging, commerce in general, crafting, or a more friendly/neutral take on a god of death, especially if burial is a standard funeral practice or the cultural concept of 'where people go when they die' includes an Underworld.

I do like that idea. One of the things I want to do is have the choice that the players make to willingly support this plan or not be a meaningful one. I want him to be a neutral figure, his rule would probably be an improvement over the current state of the world, but adding a rather unpleasant member or two like that would help make this choice more ambiguous.

[MalTheMelter]

Gods should represent the world or story they are in. Therefore, I'm gonna nitpick your sentences for ideas:

He should get a demon and angel combo who don't want conflict. A pair that represent hell and heaven choosing a 3rd path away from the conflict.

This should be a key fey who is INFLEXIBLE either has an important component the huntsman/Odin can't quite seem to bargin with, or maybe flat out opposes Huntsman/Odin? Maybe both! Someone who represents Odin's opposite.

This should be another key asset. You can take it literally. An archfey of order. Maybe some sort of hive being who who runs an especially resilient society who he wants to outsource to. The order Archfey gets more territory and resources while The Huntsman/Odin gets an exceptionally management middle man for the OTHER archfey he's bringing on.

Okay, maybe he gets some sort of servant or agent fey/god. He/she/they don't anything on their own, but sort of show up, make strategic changes here or there to mortal society, and generally guide smaller settlements in the direction Huntsman/Odin wants.

A Bardic god of diplomacy, a trustworthy sweet talker who could sell a desert home to a fish, but can also inspire others to be better and get along.

Maybe the land itself is a Genis loci who can be bargained with to give up literal riches and literally transform a landscape.

Thanks for those ideas!

[Psyren]

Pathfinder has a pantheon of Archfey known as The Eldest (https://pathfinderwiki.com/wiki/Eldest) that you could probably use for inspiration. You can read up on each one, including their personalities/spheres of influence/etc, on the linked page. Archives of Nethys (https://aonprd.com/DeitiesByGroup.aspx) also has their game statistics, e.g. domains, favored weapons, heralds etc.