Fey

Defining Fey is very difficult. They are both wild and civilized, dishonest and true to their word, chaotic and following a strict rule, and both free and bound. They represent parts of nature, but not like raw Elementals do. You can put most of them in a forest encounter, but they aren't Plants. They are nature spirits, tricksters, and beings of mischief. What should not be forgotten is the shadow side of the Fey. Not all of them look and act like pestering little fairies. Sometimes they look and act like the most terrifying horrors that come out at night. These are the bogeymen, the bad dreams, the reason kids shouldn't stay up late at night, and why the farmer's crops are ruined.

• They are created from magic and emotions or are transformed by powerful magic

• They are inherently magical

• They are mysterious, capricious and/or whimsical

• Most of them are bound to their location

• Most have an elusive ability that makes them hard to hit, to spot or to catch

• In rare cases, it is able to lure creatures towards it or enchant/charm them

Fey are categorized in mainly two courts: The Seelie (summer) Court and the Unseelie (winter) Court. The Seelie Court stands for warmth, energy, and light. Fey from this court are at an understanding disposition towards humans and are willing to respectfully warn them or return kindness with favors of their own. Their pranks are mostly innocent and they usually forget any sorrows quickly.
The Unseelie Court stands for cold, bitterness and darkness. Fey from this court disrespect humans. Their pranks were usually violent and torturous or become downright assaults. Humans that they like could be treated like pets or companions of a low status. Still, these courts don't represent good or evil, but light and dark. Even Seelie Fey can show an evil side and not all Unseelie Fey are malevolent.
Many Fey creatures like to prank people. Regardless of how big, small, friendly or malicious they are, a good prank can make their day. Most of them are made for deception, trickery, and getting away with it. Here are some pranks that can start some conflict:

• Replacing wine with water

• Putting an acorn inside a shoe

• Putting traces of gunpowder in a fireplace

• Writing fake love letters to people

• Bribing with fake gold

• Shrinking someone's underwear

• Casting Speak With Beasts on a farmer without him knowing it

• Starting a game where you can't give the right answers

• Smearing grease on a flight of stairs

• Placing chestnut husks on a seat

• Filling someone's pleasant dreams with ugly trolls

• Placing an illusory bridge

• Destroying every scarecrow the farmer places

• Taking an item from a house and teleporting to a different one to place it there

• Tying shoelaces together while invisible

• Putting glue on a toilet seat

Basic Information

Anatomy

Most Fey are impossibly beautiful and colorful because they believe they are. They can modify their appearance in minor ways at will, all they need to do is to just think it.

Behaviour

Lots of creatures follow normal alignment system with two axis signifying Good vs. Evil, and Lawful vs. Chaotic. However, Fey are different. The Fey divide themselves on axis of Spontaneous/Methodical, and Natural/Constructed. Basically, Natural vs. Constructed boils down to their tolerance of human-created stuff, and I map it to Seelie vs. Unseelie courts. There can be exceptions, but not for long - if the Fey changes its mind, it literally converts from one court to another. As for the other axis, Methodical has got plans to work on, while Spontaneous does what it finds the most fitting at the moment. While I usually avoid giving stuff alignments in my games, I find these pretty nice since they aren't directly mappable as "Good" and "Evil". Yes, one could argue that Natural is Good, but there's always another point of view. Whenever I create Archfey, I need to give it alignment like this.

Civilization and Culture

Major Organizations

The Summer Court Yellow
The Summer Court (known also as the Seelie Court) controls the Land of Summer and is led by Queen Titania (also known as the Summer Queen), the sister of Mab.
Oberon is the King of the Summer Court, though he is still subservient to Titania.
There are two Princesses of the Summer Court. They are Aurora, the Dawnmaiden, and Sarissa, the Lady of the Sun.
There are currently no princes in the Summer Court.
Summer Lords Include:

• The Lord of the Wild Hunt

• Mesikammen, the Bear Lord

• Iliene, the Nixie Queen

• Verenestra, the Lady of the Woods

• Mialee, the Shepherdess

The Winter Court Blue
The Winter Court (known also as the Unseelie Court) controls the Land of Winter and is led by Queen Mab (also known as the Queen of Air and Darkness or the Winter Queen), the sister of Titania.
There is no current King of the Winter Court. It is theorized that Mab killed the previous King (the father of Maeve and Auril), but there is not much evidence to support this claim.
There are two Princesses in the Winter Court. They are Maeve, the Maiden of the Moon, and Auril, the Frostmaiden.
There is one Prince of the Winter Court, called the Prince of Frost, or sometimes the Pale Prince.
Winter Lords Include:

• Morrinn, the Ice Maiden, the Crystalline Lady

• Brianag, the Shadowed Lady

• Onchu, the Houndmaster

• Teàrlach, the Instigator

The Spring Court Green
The Spring Court is led by King Eòghann (also known as the King of Spring) and controls the Land of Spring.
The Spring Queen is Ceana, the Lady of Flowers, but she is still subordinate to the King of Spring.
There is one Spring Princesses, Sorcha, the Leaf-maiden.
There are two Spring Princes, Imrion the Hunter and Damil the Laborer.
Spring Lords include:

• Jorlais, the Mad Lord

• Ulorian, the River Lord

• Reynard, the Fox Lord

• Hyrsam, the Prince of Fools, the Satyr Lord

The Fall Court Orange
The Fall Court is led by King Muireach (also known as the King of Fall) and controls the Land of Fall.
The Queen of Fall is Eithne, the Sower, but she is still subservient to King Muireach.
There is one Fall Princess, Ròs, the Maiden of Color.
There are two Fall Princes, Ailean the Rock and Connall the Lord Magister
Fall Lords Include:

• Bertcha, Grandmother of the Wood

• Relkath of the Infinite Branches, the Treant Lord

• Taog, the Wise Lord

• Pantihir, the Lord of Mazes

The Dawn Court Pink
The Dawn Court is led by King Fylawirn, the King of Day (also known as the Bright King), and rules over the Isle of Sunrise.
The Queen of Dawn is Queen Teàrlag the Pious, though she is still subservient to King Fylawirn.
There are two Dawn Princesses, Sìleas the Devoted and Latharna, the Lady of the New Day.
There are two Dawn Princes, Fearghas the Righteous and Finnean the White.
Dawn Lords Include:

• Chelas, the Lord of Rays

• Liciperos, the Lord of Blazes

• Caebis, the Lady of the Power

• Anasaris, the Lady of Healing

The Dusk Court Purple
The Dusk Court is led by King Kannoth, the King of Dusk (also known as the Vampire King), and rules over the Isle of Sunset.
The Queen of Dusk is Queen Leandra, though she is still subservient to King Kannoth.
The Dusk Princesses are Mehira the Seducer and Selene the Graceful
The Dusk Princes are Dorian the Illustrious and Vasile, the Watcher
Dusk Lords Include:

• Quillian the Drained, Lord of Hunger

• Thorne the Sleeper, Lord of Domination

• Lavinia, the Lady of Youth

• Valaine, the Lady of Passion

The Day Court Gold
The Day Court is led by Queen Cylrynna, the Queen of Day (also known as the Fair Queen), and rules over the Island of Day.
The King of Day is King Uallas, though he is still subservient to Queen Cylrynna.
The Princess of Day is Niamh, the Innocent.
The Prince of Day is Sèitheach, the Wolf Lord.
Day Lords include:

• Aranbaver the Bright Dancer, Lord of Joy

• Hornis, the Cobbler, Lord of Ways

• Magrynna, the Lady of Doves

• Elyse, the Lady of Hares

The Night Court Black
The Night Court is led by Queen Sarastra (also known as the Queen of Night and Magic) and controls the Island of Night.
The King of Night is King Colm the Wretched, though he is subservient to Queen Sarastra.
The Princess of Night is Catriona, the Darkmaiden.
The Prince of Night is Bairre, the Spellbinder.
Night Lords include:

• Nicnevin the Moonweaver, Lady of Witches

• Neifon, the Lord of Bats

• Uriwyn, the Darkhidden

• Ailíse, the Silent Keeper

The Star Court Silver
The Star Court is led by King Ludomir (also known as the Moonlit King, or the Star King) and controls the Isle of Stars.
The Star Queen is Queen Ainfean the Sagacious, but she is subservient to King Ludomir.
The Star Princesses are Illazane the Brilliant and Caelynna the Twin.
The Star Princes are Tavlias the Shrewd and Correth the Bold.
Star Lords include:

• Lurue, the Unicorn Lady

• Anthea, the Pixie Lady

• Galthas, the Stardust Lord

• Dayvier, the Lord of Maps

Wild Fey Chromatic
The Wild Fey (wyldfae in Sylvan) are powerful fey who hold no allegiance to any court. They have been known to ally with certain courts from time to time, but hold no binding connection or title in any of them.
Some of the more prominent wild fey include:

• Count Ranalc, the Traitor (currently banished to the Shadowfell)

• The Erlking

• The Lantern King

• The Lost Prince

• Magdh the Seer

• Ng, the Hooded

• Ragadahn the Water Lord

• Shyka the Many

Common Myths and Legends

They can't lie
Self explanatory. They simply can't lie, that's all. If they want to lie, they either avoid telling or tell something that is technically true.
True name
Widely known. I'll spare you the long explanations - if you know the True Name of Fey, it has to serve you. This is why they keep their true names a secret from anyone, even other Fey. Archfey usually know though.
Lack of Boundaries
The Fey have troubles telling differences between stuff. For example, they often mistake humans for other Fey, or can't tell whether something is or isn't safe to eat or drink. They can steal stuff that normal creatures couldn't, like face, mood or memories, and their Wild Hunts consider anything their prey. On the opposite end, they can also consider intangible things completely real and tradeable. In my game, I consider Respect of Archfey a currency of Fey. Even I can't tell how many GP it's worth, and you have to earn it to earn it.
Fair Folk
They like to make deals, and when they make a deal with someone, both sides are bound to fulfill it. Whether it's a trade of a material stuff, intangible stuff or service, both sides are compelled to give to the other side their part of bargain.
Eldest
These are the Titans of the Feywild. Okay, they might not be that big in size, but they are a big deal anyway. These are the oldest of the Fey, even older than the Archfey. There are lots of them imprisoned, each Archfey has got at least one hidden somewhere at their home. As for their prisons, get creative - amber walls, eternal sleep, chains, marble graves... Point to their existence is, that any of their prisons is broken each 10001 years. When they are released, they are extremely dangerous and could attack at any time, and so Archfey have to deal with them. What's so dangerous about them though, besides them being able to kill Archfey? Well, I added one more detail to make them scarier - when they kill Fey, they "reset" their souls. By reset I mean that the memories of these souls, their personalities and attitudes are removed and it has to learn anything and everything all over again. What kind of Archfey would want to lose followers in this way?

Interspecies Relations and Assumptions

Fey love anything about humans, with some exceptions that is. Once they figure out there's a human within their proximity, they try their best to keep their attention on themselves, and to figure out anything and everything about them. They don't get many chances to meet humans, this might be the only one! Elves? Pshhh. Dwarves and Halflings? Okay, maybe. But HUMANS?! YES PLEASE! They try to figure out their mannerisms, wear clothes just because humans do too, and imitate their qualities as best as they can - both good and bad. Imagine a 5 year old girl excited about fairies. The Fey are this excited about humans and getting to know them.

Origin/Ancestry

The Feywild