Chwinga

Look at the widdle elementals.

Chwinga are a race of Tiny fey (well, Elemental, officially, but c'mon, everything about them screams "Fey") native to the Forgotten Realms, with specimens having been reported in both Chult and Icewind Dale. Chwinga resemble tiny genderless humanoids with doll-like physical traits, most notably the featureless but painted masks they wear in lieu of having a normal face. Chult chwinga typically go naked, whilst those in Icewind Dale sometimes wear protective clothing woven from straw in imitation of humanoids. Their coloration varies wildly; Chult chwinga are usually black, with wild black hair, whilst Icewind Dale chwinga are sometimes seen with pale bluish-gray or green skin and aurora-like swirling colored light in lieu of hair.

The presence of chwingas is typically foreshadowed by mild natural phenomena appropriate to their natural environment.

Incredibly shy in most aspects of their lives, chwingas are naturally curious and fascinated by humanoids, whose signs of civilization are alien to chwingas. Beings that wore armor, carried weapons, cooked food, and used tools are of particularly great interest to them. Those that pique a chwinga's interest enough can find themselves tailed by the diminutive elementals, and given minor magical boons. The features that drew chwinga to individuals seem completely arbitrary, ranging from height and hairstyle to artistic talent or other strange abilities.

Chwinga have the power to bestow various supernatural aids on those who caught their curiosity and compassion. They are agile and hard to pin down, primarily due to their hiding skills. They possess the ability to take shelter and hide inside their natural surroundings, like in rocks or trees, becoming totally impervious to danger. Like most elementals, chwingas do not eat, drink, or breathe, but unusually they do sleep, melding into a specific bit of local terrain to do so. Dead chwingas transform into tiny bits of elemental debris, such as petals, pollen, a puddle, or a stone.

Real World Stuff

Chwinga are an invention of 5th edition, and appeared in the adventure Tomb of Annihilation before making a surprise return in Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden, with a handwave that they migrated there with Chult migrants.

The real-life inspiration for chwinga are the Mmoatia (singular, Aboatia), a species of forest fairy from Medieval Ghana and Ashanti mythology. To residents of /a/, they are more likely to bring to mind the Japanese Kodama (the bobble head things from Princess Mononoke), and the stats would perfectly for such in an Oriental Adventures setting.