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Summary
Faeries are prominent creatures of folklore, representing all manner of extraordinary happenings in human history. Capricious, cruel, and beautiful, the fey prove themselves to be worthy of fascination. It should come as no surprise, then, thatDungeons & Dragonswished to bring the fey to the game, building them a realm of delight to inhabit while manipulating the whims of mortals.
This realm is known as the Feywild, a tempestuous, carefree domain that resides somewhere between the sun’s setting and the moon’s rising. Magic runs through the veins of every living thing, so potent that every creature, tree, and stone is laden with it.
What Is The Feywild?
Similar to the concept of the Shadowfell being a twisted echo of the Prime Material Plane,the Feywild is a more natural, greener mirrorto the Material Plane.
Though many areas of the Feywild could be mapped similarly to their analogues in the Material Plane, they boast a sharper, more beautiful bent: if a tree was pleasant in the Material Plane, it would be downright exquisite in the Feywild.
In contrast to the Shadowfell’s tendency to sap their visitors of emotional feeling, the Feywild heightens whatever experience a creature may have. For example,one’s vision may be more acute, the ability to taste may be strengthened, or one may notice their hearing has sharpened.
Time In The Feywild
Timefunctions differentlyin the Feywild. Stories may often tell of mortal men crossing into the realm of Faerie and traveling for a day, only to return to their home and find that sixty years have passed.
While traveling within the plane, a creature may find that a trip to and from a landmark is shorter every time it undergoes it.
One of the more common experiences for mortals is forgetting all of their time within the bounds of Faerie,especially if they have little in the way of fey ancestry.Others may experience the years they missed on the Material Plane rushing back to them all at once, killing or incapacitating them severely.
Then again, they may also find that no time has passed at allor experience little to no effectsfrom spending three hundred years on the plane. There is nothing about the Feywild that makes perfect sense, and Dungeon Masters may play with this as they see fit.
What Is The History Of The Feywild?
Created byPrimordials, titan-esque gods with domains over rawer magic, the Feywild was speculated to have been theoriginal homeland of many of the setting’s many deities.From there, the elves were created alongside a more fey-like species that would give way to many of the fey creatures in the Monster Manual.
Though the connection between the Prime Material Plane and the Feywild frayed over the years,the connection was re-established with “gates” opening to allow travelbetween the two as “crossroads” and “faerie pools” opened up across Toril.
Faerie pools are small bodies of water that induce hallucinations in passersby.
Who Are The Denizens Of The Feywild?
The Feywild is home to… well, fey! Fey range fromkorreds, to verdant princes, to hags, and they can possess great ugliness or otherworldly beauty at the flip of a coin. Their natures are much the same:mercurial and capricious.
A fey’s mind can change suddenly, leaving the recipient to wonder what they could have possibly done to offend the faerie in question!
What Are The Faerie Courts?
Though many fey live in the wilds of the plane, many choose to live within “courts,“loosely structured hierarchiesprotected by a self-styled monarch. Often, these monarchs will grow to become archfey and may hold sway over great swaths of the Feywild.
These courts are usually divided up by two different titles:The Seelie and Unseelie courts. While both have the capacity for impulsive cruelty, the courts remain vastly different in characterization.
Unseelie
The Unseelie Court focuses onmight and conquest. Generally regarded as the more bloodthirsty and militant of the two, the Unseelie have anchors in death and decay, oftenkilling for sport or pleasure.
Seelie
The Seelie Court has a great appreciation forart and beauty, relying on diplomacy and appealing to the good nature of mortals. While they tend to come off as the “softer” of the two, they are, in fact,frequently just as brutal as the Unseelie.
Other Domains Within The Feywild
Like most of the planes in D&D, the Feywild also has demiplanes and alternate domains within its borders.
Domains Of Delight
The Domains of Delight are a series of demiplanes created by archfey to rule over.They often contour themselves to the emotions of the archfey, colliding with other domains and creating power struggles as their power wanes and waxes. The most famous of these isPrismeer, introduced inThe Wilds Beyond the Witchlight.
Feydark
TheFeydarkis the Underdark’s echo within the Feywild.The ecology of the Feydark is similar to the Underdark, except its mushrooms are bigger and more impressive.Fomorianstend to make up most of the inhabitants of the Feydark, making homes within the gem-encrusted caves.
