Fairy [PEACH] [3.5e]

[criticalstriker]

Hey, long time no post This is a fairy I drew up a while ago, I decided I might as well post it and see what you forumites think of it. The purpose was to create an LA0 fairy that would meet my visions of what a fairy is, to supplement the Core fairy as presented in the MM.

My players received the fairy well, and played it quite a few times. I haven't had many issues with in-game balance related to it in any of my games, so I imagine that is a good sign.

Fairy
Hailing from northern Xair, the fairies of Nivair are diminutive, cheerful, and playful creatures that live out their lives amidst the flower fields of Xair, inside their vast underground caverns.

Society
The social structure of any fairy colony is an odd one indeed. There are no true “laws,” it’s just assumed that each member of the society will do what they need to in order to preserve the colony. Those who fail to meet this expectation are often met with scorn, and will have jokes pulled on them consistently by their peers.

Each fairy colony is ruled by a royal fairy – a direct blood descendant of the Risen One. While the royal fairies are considered the leaders, they don’t normally make decisions beyond which color flowers should be planted or how best to handle the growing problem of insects in a colony. The only time a royal fairy becomes a leader in the truest sense of the word is when the colony is threatened by an outside force – at which time they take over as protector of the colony, and make far more serious decisions (such as the use of community magic to ward off potential threats).

The distribution of female to males in any given fairy society is very disproportionate. On average, there are 10 females for every 1 male in a colony. Fairies reach sexual maturity around 8 years, and can live upwards of 80 years before dying. Regardless of the age of a fairy, they almost always (save for those who are on their death beds) remain looking young and vibrant. This is with the exception of the royal fairies, which can live upwards of 200+ years, with the oldest known one being 280 years old.

Interactions with other races
Fairies are naturally curious and friendly creatures, and often assume that anyone, or anything, that comes near one of their colonies wants to be their friends (which can sometimes end very badly for the fairies). They often use their magic (when in large swarms) to shrink their new “friends” down to the size of a fairy, so they can play various games with them in their colony.
Other races have often exploited fairies and their kindness, which has resulted in the state of Xair declaring fairies a protected race. Anyone (other than a fairy) who kills a fairy is guilty of a capital offence, and can be put to death.

Religion
Fairies rarely subscribe to any religion (believing that one should live only for the moment, instead of following the commands of a God), but they do show a certain amount of reverence for a figure that they call the “Risen One,” supposedly the first fairy. She is said to have been born of the earth, and then gave birth to two children. One was a royal fairy, and the other was a normal one. These children then gave birth to their own children, and the race of fairies was created.

Game statistics:
Fairies are Diminutive Fey and receive the below bonuses and penalties:
+6 Dex, -10 Str (from size), +2 Cha, - 2 Wis. Fairies are small, and thus fast, but this also weakens them greatly. They’re naturally outgoing creatures that can normally warm even the hardest of hearts some, but they are also very trusting, and likely to do unwise things if a “friend” tells them it’s alright.
-2 to saves vs Charm. Fairies have a natural tendency to want to befriend everyone.
+4 vs Fear, Compulsion, and Intimidation. Fairies are not a race to be told what to do – their spirit is typically the only thing that orders them around.
Bluff +4: Fairies are natural tricksters, and are very adept at telling lies.
Land speed of 5 feet, Fly 30 speed of feet (perfect): Fairies primary mode of transport are their two, colorful, wings that grow out of their back, but their tiny legs only allow them to run very slowly.
Hide + 12 (from size)
+4 to AC (from size)
+4 to-hit (from size)
They gain spontaneous use of the following spells, and can cast a total number of spells per day equal to their Cha modifier: Presto, Ghost Sound, Dancing Lights, and Detect Magic. The order in which a fairy casts these spells doesn’t matter (so a fairy with a Cha of 16 could cast 2 Presto’s, and 1 Ghost Sound, or 3 Ghost Sound’s, or 2 Dancing Lights and 1 Detect Magic in a day).
Groups of fairies gain spell casting of a Druid. For every 30 fairies in a group, they add 1 to their total Druid level. So, a group of 120 fairies would count as a 4th level Druid for the purpose of casting. They use the highest Wis modifier in their group, for the purpose of total number of spells, and for the DC’s for their spells.

[Bulwer]

I love it, and it looks quite balanced. What does being Diminutive do to one's reach?

Ooh, think of the fun with feats that give bonuses when fighting things a number of size categories larger than you. That might be the only things rules-wise that worries me.

[Inkyrius]

I think that this is very good. But I was wondering if you could perhaps make a fairy race for 4e? I wanted to do one for my campaign wiki, so if you make one I could put it on there.

[Yuki Akuma]

I love it, and it looks quite balanced. What does being Diminutive do to one's reach?

If you're smaller than Small your reach is 0 and you need to enter your opponent's square in order to hit him in melee.

Which means if you're Diminutive you really should focus on ranged attacks.

[criticalstriker]

I love it, and it looks quite balanced. What does being Diminutive do to one's reach?

Ooh, think of the fun with feats that give bonuses when fighting things a number of size categories larger than you. That might be the only things rules-wise that worries me.

I don't think you have reach when you're Diminutive. I believe you need to enter the persons square to attack.

Beat to the punch :P

I think that this is very good. But I was wondering if you could perhaps make a fairy race for 4e? I wanted to do one for my campaign wiki, so if you make one I could put it on there.

I would gladly make you a fairy for 4e, but I don't really play it :/ Sorry mon, I've just not been a fan of it. Thank you for your input, though.

[Bulwer]

I think that this is very good. But I was wondering if you could perhaps make a fairy race for 4e? I wanted to do one for my campaign wiki, so if you make one I could put it on there.

Isn't every PC race in 4e Medium?

[The Rose Dragon]

Isn't every PC race in 4e Medium?

I think Halflings are small.

[Inkyrius]

That's cool :) I'm gonna have to use your 3.5e for a template-of-sorts though, to make one.

[Krazddndfreek]

gnomes are also small (in PHB2 they have become a player race)

[Inkyrius]

Hey, does this 4e Fairy race look balanced enough to everyone? I used this one as a rough template, but I'm not sure. Check it out: http://freylyncampaign.wikia.com/wiki/Fairy
*Edit: Btw, I cited you as a source on the Discussion part of that article.

[Mando Knight]

Hey, does this 4e Fairy race look balanced enough to everyone? I used this one as a rough template, but I'm not sure. Check it out: http://freylyncampaign.wikia.com/wiki/Fairy
*Edit: Btw, I cited you as a source on the Discussion part of that article.

Except that no 4E race has a stat penalty. Also, Fairies, as Fey, should have Elven (unofficially the official language of the Feywild) rather than Primordial.

[Inkyrius]

Hmm...that is a good point about the stat penalty, but I felt that they needed the stat penalty because fairies are puny. Also, although they are Fey, I felt that Primordial was a way better secondary language(if you read the fairy backstory i'm working on right now, you'll understand). I'm going to change the origin ASAP. But, I really do appreciate your input.

*EDIT: Read this and the choice of Primordial will make more sense.

[Baron Corm]

Am I the only one that thinks this race deserves LA +2 at least?

Imagine a sorcerer playing as a fairy. He has no use for Strength, and doesn't much mind a -2 to Wisdom. He gets +4 AC, +6 Dexterity (+3 AC, +3 to hit with rays, +3 initiative), +2 Charisma (breaks even with most other LA +0 sorcerer races), +4 to hit (with rays), and perfect mundane flight. Name me another LA +0 race which even comes close to comparing.

This race is also excellent for any Dexterity-based fighter, though the cut in damage will hurt. Not to mention the ridiculous skill bonuses for a skillmonkey.

[criticalstriker]

Am I the only one that thinks this race deserves LA +2 at least?

Imagine a sorcerer playing as a fairy. He has no use for Strength, and doesn't much mind a -2 to Wisdom. He gets +4 AC, +6 Dexterity (+3 AC, +3 to hit with rays, +3 initiative), +2 Charisma (breaks even with most other LA +0 sorcerer races), +4 to hit (with rays), and perfect mundane flight. Name me another LA +0 race which even comes close to comparing.

This race is also excellent for any Dexterity-based fighter, though the cut in damage will hurt. Not to mention the ridiculous skill bonuses for a skillmonkey.

I see your point with everything you listed, and really I have no retort for them. You seem to be absolutely right. I've not yet had to deal with any real balance issues yet, though. So at the very least my players don't take advantage of situations :P (most of the time...).

[purplearcanist]

You just inspired a new spell, thanks. Anyways, I posted a metal vulnerability feature on my thread which might be useful. After all, metal is thought of as against magic.

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=112292