Editing Fairy (section)

==Fairies in D&D==
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Dungeons & Dragons has a long, ''long'' history with fairies - or faeries, as it prefers to call them. Aside from the iconic [[Sprite]] & [[Pixie]], which most other "fairies" are usually described as being subraces of, fairy-like beings have appeared under various names and throughout the editions.

''Gorse Faeries'' are the tiniest known fairy species in D&D - roughly 1/4 the size of the already pretty damn small Atomie. Resembling diminutive [[elf]] children with two pairs of dragonfly-like wings, gorse fairies hide in dense, thorny bushes - their namesake is preferred - and just try not to get eaten by the abundance of much bigger nasties that plague the typical D&D world. They have been known to barter with those willing to be non-threatening and to make gifts of milk, honey, bread and fruit, and those who do favors for them can be assured that the gorse fairies won't forget it.

''Bramble Faeries'' are believed to be more malign relatives of the gorse faeries. Flightless, instead having long spines sticking out of their backs, they adorn themselves with carefully worked spiky armor to ward off threats, and are considered the most aggressive and vicious of all faeries. They often tame "spiky" creatures like hedgehogs, porcupines or [[al'miraj]] to serve as their steeds. Roughly 1 in 10 of these faeries has the ability to secrete a burning muscle-attacking venom (-2 penalty to all attack & damage rolls for 2d10 rounds, multiple doses have cumulative effects) from their back-spines; these invariably become the leader of their tribes.

''Squeakers'' are distorted, chibi-like spritely faeries that are believed to have been created by a [[wizard]] spell that went wrong. They are generally considered a nuisance if they are considered anything at all.

''Stwingers'' are nauseatingly cute faeries that just want to have fun in their own silly, child-like way - mostly by swinging from hair or beards. They actually secrete a pheromone that enraptures anyone who fails to resist it, functioning like a powerful charm spell. This pheromone can be milked from its glands and used as an ingredient to make love potions ("Philters of Love", in D&D terminology).

''Faerie Fiddler's'' are short, almost [[halfling]]-like figures known for their masterful skill at playing the fiddle, which gives them almost [[bard]]ic magical abilities.

The list of D&D faeries is really quite extensive, and goes well beyond the "little elf with wings" archetype. There's a reason that Fey became a creature type from 3rd edition onwards.

Generally speaking, "generic" fairies haven't been a playable race in D&D - that role is left to the [[Sprite]] and [[Pixie]] instead. But, the March 2021 [[Unearthed Arcana]] article offers the generic fairy as a PC race, with the following stats:
::Ability Score Modifier: +2 to one ability score of your choice and +1 to a second ability score of your choice, or +1 to three different ability scores of your choice
::Creature Type: Fey
::Size: Small
::Speed: 30 feet
::Fairy Flight: You have a magical levitation-based form of flight, granting you a 30ft Fly Speed with the Hover trait.
::Faerie Magic: You know the Druidcraft cantrip and the spell Faerie Fire. You can cast Faerie Fire without a spell slot 1/day, as well as by sacrificing appropriate spell slots. Choose at character creation if these spells use Intelligence, Wisdom or Charisma.
::Fey Passage: You can squeeze through spaces as small as 1 inch wide.

The Fairy subsequently went on to become a canonical 5e PC race in the adventure "The Wild Beyond the Witchlight".