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They are the stuff of legend and of myth made real and they live among us in Sanctuary. They have many names: The Daoine Sidhe, the Alfar, the Fada. For years, not everyone had to accept their reality, but now they do. The Fey have always been a presence across the globe and in many cultures. They vary from regional area to area and each has their own particular characteristics and attributes. Many of the legends regarding the Fey are firmly steeped in truth while others are based on poetic license-usually because they have a tradition of remaining a subtle and thinly veiled presence in the world of mortals.
Since its early inception Sanctuary has been known as a place of welcome to the many denizens of the Realm of Faery and all the rich variety that such a vast Otherworld entails. The Fey have been a presence across the globe. The myths and folktales of their heritage and history can be found in nearly every culture to some degree or another. Their regional names and certain distinctive attributes may vary but there are also strong universally held beliefs regarding the whole of Faeriekind and many parallels can be found between societies.
They became legally protected as resident aliens in 1968, when the Supernatural Equal Rights Amendment was passed. The Fey enjoyed an unprecedented legally protected status as resident aliens. Prior to this act the Fey were subject to the same persecutions that the other supernaturals suffered, with no legal recourse to turn to for aid. However, with privilege comes responsibility. As part of the laws designed to protect the "everyman" from being victimized by magic, the inherent Fey glamour and magicks are subject to the same laws strictly forbidding magic or power of any kind to be used without the explicit consent of the subject(s) to be affected. Period. Fey that violate these laws are immediately handed over to the proper authorities to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. This can range anywhere from deportation for a minor offense to execution for the more serious crimes.
Sanctuary welcomes Fey of all manner but certain rules apply in their manifestations:
Many of the European Fey are loosely aligned with one of two Courts, the
Seeligh/Seelie and the Unseeligh/Unseelie. The terms are actually of Scottish
origination, but for purposes of simplification, the majority of Fey from the
Scottish, British and Irish Courts will fall under these two categories.
Again however, one must remember that when dealing with the Fey, they may
have split loyalties or simply decide not to follow or recognize either
Court.
Seelie/Seeligh Court: Unseelie/Unseeligh Court:
Structurally, each geographic division of Fey has their own Rulers, and there can frequently be more than one Ruler within a geographic group (particularly within the scope of division between Seelie and Unseelie Fey), or one that spans several--it depends on their structuring. For example: all of the Daoine Sidhe in Ireland have Finvarra as their Sovereign, while the other British Isles (Scotland, Wales, and Britain) have other tributary Kings and Queens. Another example would be the Middle Eastern djinn: both the Believing djinn and the Unbelieving djinn have their own caliphates set up. The Unbelieving djinn prefer to remain separate and live in the City of Brass, away from the Believing djinn. It is wise to remember that the Fey (Seelie and Unseelie alike) are NOT, strictly speaking, of this world and they have beliefs and outlooks that frequently will seem alien to those born and raised here. For example, a trickster Fey (i.e. Phooka) might consider their actions perfectly normal while a member of the Daoine Sidhe might consider the action, while not being over nice, not something to be concerned about as long as not harmful intent was meant. And even what is considered harmful intent will be viewed differently by certain Fey.
Defining High Court and Low Court Fey:
Included here are some very brief examples of types of Fey and their main regions of origin Please realize that this is only a smattering of categories and variations, and by no means the comprehensive list:
High Court Fey:
Welsh Fair Folk or the Tylwyth Teg (especially found in the Arthurian myths
and Avalon stories; NOT Mallory's version);
Teutonic/Scandanavian: Light and Dark Elves, or the Liosalfar and Dockalfar,
respectively. (This is where TSR got early inspiration for the Surface Elves
and the underground-dwelling drow, incidentally);
Middle Eastern: Djinn: elemental creatures, usually depicted as human, powers
and temperament vary greatly between Believing Djinn-Seelie and Unbelieving
Djinn--Unseelie); the Pari (Near/Middle Eastern: similar to the djinn, more
Sidhe-like).
Low Court Fey:
Low Court Fey: Brownies and buca (found in both Scottish and Germanic traditions, generally the potentially helpful house faerie sort); dwarves. Teutonic/Scandanavian: short and stocky frequently living underground with affinity to metals and the earth; gnomes (Germany, Scotland, Russia--in Russia known as Domovoi: earth dwelling faerie, small frequently depicted only as males); winged fairies/sprites/pixies (nearly universal: usually diminutive and often represent the nature spirits in folklore, often depicted as being ethereal, flighty, carefree and capricious); leprechauns (Irish: small humanoid males, tricky and wily creatures, treasure-hoarders), puca or phooka (Celtic: shapeshifters, often depicted as tricksters with an overgrown sense of fun); fauns (Greek/Roman: half human /half deer); satyrs (Greek/Roman: half human/half goat, often shown as both fierce and wild revelers) nymphs(Greek/Roman: usually show as unusually beautiful females); goblins/kobolds, bogeymen (Germany: usually depicted as smallish, ugly foul tempered creatures causing harm); Manitou (Native American: nature spirits similar to fairies although often behaving more as wise mentors; often also depicted as totem animals or "spirit guides").
By far the first and foremost guideline in creating a Fey character is in doing your homework. Almost any derivation for a Fey character can be well received in the approval process if they have been researched through the folklore from the particular region you wish them to be from and it harmonizes with those Fey. The Fey can be found in some form in every geographic region of the planet; if you need or want help in finding information please contact us and someone will try to assist you.
Powers:
Most of the Fey are blessed with one form of GLAMOURIE or another, which is a
way of manipulating natural as well as personal energies to effect the people
and objects within their vicinity. The degree of successful manipulation or
magical effect is dependent on the relative power of the Fey in question and
certain types of Fey have a tendency towards particular usage or application
of their glamour and magic. It is important to note that the High Court Fey
are the strongest and most powerful of the Fey; those others that fall under
Low Court Fey tend to have lesser strength and/or limited Glamour and magic
at their disposal.
A glamour ... 'Could make a ladye seem a knight, A nutshell seem a guilded
barge, A sheeling seem a palace large, A youth seem age and age seem youth
All was delusion, nought was truth.' -The Lay of the Last Minstrel, by
Reginald Scott
Glamouries range from manipulations of how a person regards another (ie.
bewitching a person so they fall desperately in love with the Fey,); how the
Fey interact with their environment (ie. the disappearing maiden trick, in
which a beautiful woman is glimpsed in an isolated setting but when the
person reaches the spot where she stood, there is no trace of her existence,
or a Brownie doing chores that would take several humans all day to do within
the space of a single night.)
However, a Fey's glamourie, while it may contain the aspects of empathy,
illusion, or telekinesis, is none of the above. It is unique to the Fey and
although vampires and lycanthropes have a weak imitation, their glamours
compared to a strong Fey glamourie would be like far-off stars to a swollen
moon, or a penlight to a lighthouse. Glamours are not infallible, however.
Resistance to a glamourie is possible and alpha weres, Master vampires and
strong human psychics or magic users have some degree of invulnerability,
although they are not completely immune to a strong, clever Fey wielding his
or her glamourie with talent and finesse. Shields can block out some of a
glamourie's effect, although the most effective way to cut through any Fey's
magic is cold iron.
Although many of the Fey are also magic users, psychic or shape-shifters,
their main source of power is their glamourie. The glamourie supports and
underlies any effort they undertake and to those knowledgeable about such
things, they are as unique and distinct as fingerprints or auras. The most
common form of glamourie is a simple ability to hide one's self from prying
eyes, and although your vision may slip over the Fey in question, they are
*never* invisible. This also effects the sounds that the Fey may make while
moving about, but it does nothing to conceal scent. The second most common
form of glamourie is the ability to manipulate how others perceive the Fey,
but the effectiveness of this depends on how strong the glamourie in question
is.
Weak glamouries could make the Fey in question seem slightly more human,
slightly more un/attractive, or slightly more Other. A strong glamourie can
fool the viewer into believing that they are madly in love, that they are
looking at the most attractive person/thing on this plane, or that they are
speaking with someone else entirely.
The ability to do many things in a short space of time is more race
specific; a brownie, a glastig or a kobold would be able to achieve this,
but a High Court Fey, a phouka, or a nymph would not.
By far the first and foremost guideline in creating a Fey character is in
doing your homework. Almost any derivation for a Fey character will be well
received in the approval process if they have been researched through the
folklore from the particular region you wish them to be from and it
harmonizes with those Fey.
The Fey can be found in some form in every geographic region of the planet;
if you need or want help in finding information please contact us and someone
will try to assist you.
The other main stipulation is that your Fey character NOT (read: no, nix,
nil, nein, don't *even* bother to try it) be from RPG land (ex. no characters
going under rules from TSR, White Wolf, RhyDin, etc.) This rule also extends
to not trying to bring in a specific character, or a thinly disguised copy,
from fantasy/fiction (i.e. Drizzt Do'Urden from the Dark Elf series,
Tinkerbell from Peter Pan, etc.). We do this to avoid copyright infringement
as well as to encourage you to use your creativity to its fullest. So, if you
plan on having a Fey character in Sanctuary, then please do your research
carefully and make sure that the bio you submit conforms to whatever
mythology and geographic area that your Fey comes from.
In addition, and this is EXTREMELY important. Despite the fact that the Fey can be capricious and their glamorie might allow them access to dwellings that would be difficult to enter otherwise, keep in mind that in no way should this give you carte blanche to force interaction or enter a private dwelling without clearing it with another writer. Nor should glamourie be used to 'entrall' another character or manipulate another characters actions without clearing with the other characters writer first. When in doubt as to the capabilities and scope of your characters powers, clear it with the Admins. first-especially if it involves magic. We have clearly defined rules for Witches/Mages and in some respects many of those rules may apply to your Fey character-especially in regards to High Court Fey.
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