You probably shouldn’t read this, unless you’re playing a character who is fey.

These notes pre-date work on Outsiders, and need some adjustment to blend with those mechanics.

WORK IN PROGRESS

Fey are outsiders native to the Dream. Some of them started in another realm (astral, material, elemental… even the Shadowlands) and became fey later in life.

All fey have a cynosure, which is an object, a person, a place, a people, or an ideal to which they are tied, and lesser fey almost always seek the protection of an Anchor. The Anchor is more than a liege lord to the fey, she is a patron and a bulwark against the vagaries of fey existence. [These rules blend material from Goodman Games’ Complete Guide to the Fey and Mongoose Publishing’s Encyclopedia Divine: Fey Magic.]

Cynosures tie the fey to the living world, and are thus as important to them as a mortal’s body. The cynosure’s role in the Dream grounds and connects the fey to the world. Change to the cynosure will change all fey tied to it, and sudden change or damage can destroy the associated fey. Anchors can usually delay the effects of cynosure alteration for their subjects, during which time the fey work to repair the damage (or at least exact retribution). [Cynosures function as in the Complete Guide, but Anchors are only rough analogues to Rememberers.]

Dwindling

While fey can dwell within the Dream indefinitely (and indeed most do), some bravely venture into the material world. What mortals consider “fey” races are actually merely material manifestations of the fey, who might describe the experience as a mortal swimming underwater.

Should the fey leave the vicinity of her cynosure, violate Dream rules, or overextend herself, she may be stranded in the material world, where she quickly fades. Losing touch with the Dream, fey enter a state called dwindling, in which they lose Dream essence, and start losing fey class levels. Dwindling can happen anywhere, but is particularly devastating in the material world. Even if materialized fey survive the ordeal with some fey class levels remaining, they cannot return to the Dream through their own power, nor can they contact their Anchor; they must be rescued by another fey before circumstances cause them to dwindle further. If the dwindling fey loses all fey levels but has mortal class levels, she might survive by becoming mortal (usually elf, gnome, or goblin). If she was once mortal, her body reverts to its original mortal form, and resumes aging normally. [This is analogous to the “Crux” described in the Complete Guide, but fey-touched mortals only lose their fey character levels and revert to the age at which they became fey. The Dream rules mentioned here include the Laws of the Cycle.]

The dwindling occurs when something jeopardizes the fey’s tenuous connection between the material world (her cynosure) and the Dream. If she runs out of Dream essence, violates the rules of the Dream, or travels too far from her cynosure, or if her cynosure experiences sudden change, she must make a dwindling check (DC 15 + character level). Success means that nothing happens, but failure strips her of one fey class level. If she is materialized, her connection with the Dream is disrupted, and she must continue to make dwindling checks (at her new character level) until she either has no fey levels remaining, or she succeeds. If she exhausts her fey class levels but has mortal class levels, she becomes mortal (typically one of the former fey races). Otherwise, she simply vanishes forever. While fey who have “died” in the Dream can return to life through a variety of means, those who dwindle away are destroyed forever.

Life as Fey

Fey cannot create significant alterations in their environment in the Material without disturbing the Dream (mostly due to difficulties with the Laws of the Cycle), but they can foster changes in a number of ways. Since the Dream is adjacent to the dreams of mortals, fey can easily slip into a mortal’s dreams and bend them to her whims. This is often enough to influence behavior after the mortal wakes (or at least keep them from a good night’s sleep). In addition, fey can use charms magical and mundane to persuade mortals to do their bidding. If necessary, the fey can even make a concerted effort to channel the Dream into material objects, creating enchanted places and items. [Enchanting places and items is equivalent to the Great Art and crafting Fey Items in Fey Magic.]

Mortals who enter the Dream tend to behave as they would in an ordinary dream, reflexively following dream-logic and obeying the tides and dictates of the Dream. While adrift in Dream (or even in dream), mortals remember details clearly from waking life, but are largely incapable of threading together those details into a logical or coherent narrative. Mortals with a racial connection to the Dream can make Knowledge (Dream) or Wisdom checks to keep their wits about them, but only with difficulty (DC 20+, 15+ for dwarves and dromites, 10+ for elves, gnomes, goblins, and orcs). Elves, gnomes, goblins, and orcs may choose to Take 10 on their rolls.

Some races, such as dragons and treants, are naturally fey-compatible. For them, Knowledge (Dream) does not require training (and for some it is always a class skill). If they venture into the Dream, they may “go fey” without taking further class levels or being the subject of fey transformative magics. Once they have become fey, they may choose to take fey feats even without any fey classes, and they may choose to cast spells as fey or not. Only their fey class levels are subject to dwindling.

When mortals interact with the Dream, their physical bodies remain in the material world. If mortals join the fey (by taking fey class levels), their bodies become part of their cynosure, and are often hidden away from prying eyes. When a sleeping mortal leaves the Dream, she either returns to her own dreams, or she awakens. When a fey-touched mortal enters the mortal world, she returns to her mortal body, which is augmented to resemble her Dream-self. When a true fey enters the mortal world, she materializes within (or within reach of) her cynosure. If an Anchor steps into the material world, it may do so anywhere it can perceive, though it is as vulnerable as any other fey outside the reach of its cynosure.

Fey Classes

Several mechanics of fey existence hinge upon the concept of “fey classes,” most important of which are dwindling and spellcasting. While dwindling, a fey character loses levels in any fey classes, and the amount of Dream essence she can spend to boost her spellcasting is dependent on her fey class levels.

There are several classes that form the core of fey being. Only fey may take levels in these classes. If a character has dwelt among fey for more than a year, she may take one of these levels, but by doing so she becomes fey. The following classes are always considered fey classes: Hero, Empyrian, Mysterial, Ruffian. If a character is fey, the following classes are also counted as fey classes: druid, ranger, spellthief, feydancer. Also counted are racial levels in former-fey races: dromite, dwarf, elf, gnome, goblinoid, orc.

Dream Essence

The fey draw essence from the Dream, which bolsters their spellcasting and allows them to create fey tokens and perform other feats of power. The character simply plunges deep into the Dream, casting herself in its weft and weave, where she becomes a part of dreams both mundane and cosmic. By the end of her journey, she has had the chance to glean several points of essence. Most fey spend much of their lives in this state, flitting through dreams, and at turns drawing essence from the Dream and casting it back in. Others who enter the Dream may also absorb some of its essence, though not without peril. Waking minds are ill-suited to host such power, and tend to buckle under its weight.

To absorb essence, a character must be in the Dream, and throw herself into the stories playing themselves out therein. After a certain time (4 hours for fey, 8 hours for non-fey), the character earns a roll of Knowledge (Dream) to glean essence (divide the skill roll by 5, round down; this is the amount of essence gleaned — fey may Take 10 on this roll). While infused with Dream essence, mortals appear flush and especially alive, their eyes alight with creativity and passion. The first time mortals absorb Essence, they must make a Sanity check, or suffer 1d4 points of sanity loss (members of former-fey races suffer 1d2 points on a failed roll).

Each time a mortal goes to sleep, the essence is inclined to bleed away. To prevent this, the mortal must make a Will save (DC = 10 + current essence total). On a failed roll, all essence is lost. A succcessful roll, on the other hand, requires a Sanity check (with a penalty equal to the current essence total). Failure on this roll results in 1d6 points of sanity loss (1d3 for former-fey races).

Beings who do not naturally Dream cannot gain the benefits of rest while they are gleaning essence from the Dream. During any sleep in which a non-Dreamer tries to glean essence, she will not heal damage, nor regain spell points. Beings who do not naturally engage in normal dreaming cannot Dream (or dream) without a dedicated guide, unless their racial description specifically states otherwise.

Essence can also be gleaned from a fey who is dwindling, though only orcs and goblins are known to make a habit of this. Even fey of the Nightmare Court rarely indulge in such cannibalism. Non-Nightmare fey who attempt to draw energy from their dwindling kin must immediately make a dwindling check of their own.

Druids and casters of fey magic can spend essence to boost the effect of their spells. For each point spent, the character may raise their effective caster level by one for that casting of the spell. Alternately, points may be spent to raise the DC or overcome spell resistance (one point each per point of essence spent). The maximum amount of essence spent for these three effects is equal to the character’s caster level.

For every three points of Dream essence stored by a character with druid class levels, her existing class abilities function as if she were one level higher. This affects the length of time she can remain in wildshape, the difficulty of her Wild Empathy checks, and similar abilities, but not spell points or class abilities that are not yet available at her level.
Dream essence can also be spent to create fey tokens (via the Craft Token feat), or invested in spaces and objects via the Great Art.

Fey Sanity

The fey are subject to different conditions for Sanity checks. They regularly witness events of vast grandeur and horror, and the world of dreams (and Dreams) can change in a heartbeat. Fey do not make Sanity checks for incredible events, they make them for especially banal events. In the mortal realm, they most often make Sanity checks when witnessing indifference to beauty or suffering.

Non-fey may add their Knowledge (Dream) or essence pool total (whichever is greater) to all Sanity checks for incredible events. Anyone with Dream essence may spend a point to ignore Sanity loss. If subject to an attack that would damage their Sanity, non-fey may add their essence pool total as a bonus to their Sanity checks, and fey may add their Knowledge (Dream) and their essence pool total to the roll.

At the DM’s discretion, attempts to alter the Sanity of a being with Dream essence may occasionally force a Sanity check on behalf of the other party (whether it’s an attack that does Sanity damage or a healing attempt). This is especially likely during an attack where the target spent essence to ignore Sanity loss.

Dream Mechanics

While in dreams or the Dream, mortals are largely helpless, unable to make most skill checks. They can only make Knowledge (Dream) or Knowledge (lucid dreaming) skill checks. They may make a Wisdom check to awaken or alter a dream, as follows: attempting to awaken is usually DC 15, and attempting to change the dream along specific lines is DC 20, and an awakening check at DC 20 must be made immediately thereafter. Guiding a dream through Knowledge (Dream) and Knowledge (lucid dreaming) only trigger an awakening check if they fail by 10. Any other parties present in a dream may use the Aid Another action to alter those rolls, or make opposing rolls (which fey often do, since they typically resent mortals’ attempts to project waking reason into the dreaming and Dreaming realms).

In the event that a mortal in the Dream succeeds an awakening check, she immediately falls into a regular dream-state, unless a specific effect rouses her to full wakefulness. During this dream-state, the mortal usually has enough time to forget all but the broadest details of the Dream experience, as the Dream adventure fades from conscious memory. The mortal is still bound by any oaths, charms, and compulsions, but will usually cover her lack of memory with confabulation.

Some non-fey may make other skill checks while in dreams or the Dream, instead of resorting to the difficulties of Wisdom checks. Dromites, dwarves, half-elves and half-orcs may make skill checks at a -4 penalty, elves and orcs at a -2 penalty, and gnomes and goblins may do so without penalty. If the check fails by 10, the player may opt to make a DC 20 awakening check as a free action.