Bestiary of the Bladeseekers #20 - Nymphs

Finally a topic on which I can skip the annoying research part. There is nothing an expert could tell me that I do not know about nymphs.

— Tyson MacBogard, Lord Founder.

Nymphs throughout the world

Nymphs are female nature spirits of many kinds, which have counterparts in Satyrs, Tritons and Potamoi. The term nymph is the catch-all which the male side of nature spirits lacks. Subcategories of Nymphs are Naiads (sometimes also called Nixe), Nereids, Oreads and Dryads and each represents a different type of natural feature. Naiads are river nymphs, Nereids belong to the sea, Oreads are found in the mountains, Zophoids in the deep and Dryads are of the forest.

Appearance

Nymphs rarely show themselves to mortals, but if they do they take a mortal form as well. Their mortal form resembles a woman of their choosing, where age can vary, but skin tone and general appearance somewhat matches that of the surrounding civilisations. Nymphs are usually also vain and take good care of their appearance, each choosing a certain style they have perfected over the centuries of their immortal life.
A nymph also has a lair which she covets with just as much attention. Nymph lairs are dependent on the type of nymph (so their location).

Who are Tyson MacBogard and the Bladeseekers?

Tyson MacBogard, was one of the founding members of a adventurers/mercenary guild in a place outside of the world.
He does not exist within the world of Focis at all, but somehow his writings in the form of the Bestiary of the Bladeseekers have found their way to the world.
More strangely, many of his descriptions match beings that exist on Focis and even more so he sometimes accurately described beings that did not exist in the world of his origin, but do exist on Focis.
The existence of the Bestiary is a mystery still unsolved and the book and its many copies are prized curiosities among many civilisations.

• Naiad lairs are found in grottos and behind waterfalls, where they are close to their river.
• Nereid lairs are found on islands and coves, but sometimes also in small cavelike huts at the bottom of the sea.
• Oread lairs are mountain caves filled with gemstones, that grew there naturally.
• Zophoid lairs are found deep underground in lightless caves with metal veins, molten rock or dripstone.
• Dryad lairs are inside hollow trees, behind thick bramble bushes and up in the canopy of large trees.

Habits

Nymphs are generally harmless and seek no conflict. I in fact brokered peace between the orcs and nymphs of the mountain to our south, who now live in a cooperative symbiosis. As a result the Bladeseeker doctrine applies that you should not harm them.
That being said, nymphs have a history of enchanting men and women they fancy to steal them away to their lair. There they live with them for years and years as the nymphs lover. The gnawing passage of time is delayed in this stasis, but not stopped so if the Nymph does not release the person, they are doomed to grow old and die there. So, if you find yourself with unwanted attention of a nymph, be wary of the following:
Nymphs are inherently magical spirits and their enchanting magic can be very hard to impossible to break once it has taken hold. In addition, nymphs can instantly travel back to their lair whenever they choose and speak the tongue of animals and plants in their area. To a limited extent they can also control the elements of their surroundings. Finally, the nature of their being also means, that nymphs possess a great deal of knowledge about the immediate area surrounding their lair.

Very early in my career as an adventurer, I was bewitched by a Naiad of a frozen lake. I spent months in her company, which felt like the blink of an eye to me. Luckily she let me go on friendly terms.

— TMB, Lord Founder.

Weaknesses

The greatest weakness of a nymph is her direct tie to her home. If her tree is felled, or her river redirected, she must die an agonizing death. It is for this reason that most humans never get to see a nymph. As a result Nymphs are very protective of their home.They also cannot go too far from it.
Apart from this, Nymphs can be harmed by conventional weapons. A blow to the head or heart kills them just as well as mortals, though other blows that would be lethal to humans (such as the gut or the lung) can take far longer to incapacitate them.

Advice

As always, the best fight is the one you end before you or friends get hurt. Consider retreating and either regrouping or avoiding the nymphs area. If the nymphs lair is near a point of interest that you need to get near, plan your approach before you execute it, chaos always favors the side with simpler goals, such as abducting someone from you midst.
Secondly, these are beings of reason. If you can determine something the Nymph wants, bartering or negotiating around it can work as a strategy. Be aware however, that nymphs as immortal beings will have different wants and needs than you and you cannot count on them being open to otherwise viable strategies. For example, Nymphs have no need for currency and care little for precious metals. They do however like shiny things, so jewellery can be used as a bartering option. This usually however only works if the nymph expresses interest in it before you offer it. Otherwise it becomes a bartering chip in their mind and they place less value in it.
If combat can not be avoided, go for the kill quickly. The longer the fight, the likelier that one or more of your companions or you falls under her enchantment. Having to kill a nymph is a tragedy I do not think the world ever deserves, so making sure she does not suffer is the least a Bladeseeker can do.
Good luck and keep the blades honored, Tyson

Sometimes I wonder if nymphs, and by proxy all other nature spirits, and humans are fundamentally incompatible. Every generation we humans shift the balance further, making room for more of us and I see that ending in the extinction of the nymphs. What a tragedy.
If only we could learn something from the orcs in that way.

— TMB, Lord Founder.