Orias, the Sylvaa, and Fey

As we know her now, Orias is the Archfey. Queen of the faeries, higher than all courts. She is one of the Archlords, and the only one most people would designate as "good."

But it wasn't always so.

A dozen-thousand years ago, there existed a race on Loom called the Sylvaa. They were a race of plants with humanoid forms, usually appearing to be made of green vines. They usually have broad, flat heads to absorb sunlight.

Sunlight being their primary object of worship - though Orias, then called the Archsylvan, created them, she was humble and protested their earliest offerings. Whole flower fields were arranged for her and trees mystically modified to grow in her image. While Orias appreciated the beauty of their altars, and loved her creations deeply, she also wanted to remain distant so that they could form their own culture. So they came to, for the most part, worship Loom's sun.

Jesper Eising

They created the first clocks, obelisks whose shadow would reveal the time and date. They pioneered many light-producing spells. They named the sun Ianap, or "mother of hearths," for it was Her light that allowed their Mother Trees (known to them as Voria) to grow.

Voria grew from Sylvaa graveyards, which resemble thickets of vines spread across vast swathes of ground. All Sylvaa have seeds for hearts, and when they die they sink to the ground and allow the seed to seep into the earth, where it can be nourished. Eventually, if enough Sylvaa died in the same place, a network of these seeds would form and birth a new Voria - which resemble dozens of thin trees twisting around each other to form one thick trunk, with hundreds of branches.

Most Sylvaa who hailed from the same communities resembled each other, so to distinguish individuals they often carved their names into their skin. It's similar to tattoos for humans, and many Sylvaa went further than just a name - they might have entire handwritten works across the length of their body. Sylvaa were known for being fantastic writers, and in modern times original Sylvaa literature is priceless. All writing was deeply personal for them - Sylvaa were telepaths (communicating with other lifeforms by intermingling roots), and so the chance to create something that truly existed in isolation from their brethren was deeply important to them.

As lovely as this all was, it didn't last.

The Fall

Ten thousand years before the start of the most popular calendar on Loom, there was an event known as the Fall of the Archlords. Orias and the five other creator deities split across lines that most mortals don't understand, descending into civil war. Loom was their theatre of battle, and the planet was ravaged. Many of the battlefields still remain visibly damaged today, with civilizations living in a celestial body's scars.

At the end of this war, drastic measures were taken that would ensure no side was a true victor. Ianap, the star at the center of Loom's solar system, was destroyed.

Continents were ripped from Loom's surface in the shockwave. The seas boiled off into steam, and the atmosphere was destroyed - even today it exists only as a weak blanket, scarcely able to produce rain without magical prompting. And, though the creations of all the other Archlords had left petty Loom for extraterrestrial pursuits, the faithful Sylvaa had remained. And so they were all destroyed.

Orias, weeping, reunited with her other Archlords to forge a new sun. They then all departed Loom, bitter and resentful of one another. Orias created a whole demiplane simply to find isolation. It was a perfect mirror of the planet, but entirely devoid of other life - as though it were an empty house, and only she had the keys to it.

Orias, as she is usually depicted after her mourning. (Daniel Kamarudin)

She stayed in this other place for a long time, mourning. And eventually, though it took her thousands of years, she left it. She had made her peace with her lost people, and the land of this demiplane had begun to bloom again as Orias's emotional state recovered.

And that was when the Fey entered.

Redeemed

Fey are spirits, denizens of the Astral Plane born from the experiences of sapient mortals. Like many spirits, they feed on magic and emotion - which were both in abundance within Orias's private demiplane. Once she left, they infiltrated the plane and began to glut themselves, growing fattened and powerful.

However, they were eventually discovered. Orias used her demiplane as a shelter for wounded innocents during the War of Ichor, and that was when she discovered the spirits. She was furious, and ready to destroy them - kind as she was, she was no longer tolerant of anything remotely close to betrayal. However, four quick-witted individuals struck a bargain with her: they would attend to the wounded she had brought in, and the rest of the demiplane, caring for them both. They would do this for the rest of time, becoming stewards of this place that was paradise to them.

Orias, having missed calling herself the mother of a people for a long time, accepted. She named the spirits fey, "redeemed" in Sylvan. She named the plane the Feywild, and changed her long-defunct title to the Archfey.

However, it was not the fate of the Sylvaa to be remembered only as the creators of a language. Their graveyards are not just the resting places of the dead - they are cradles for new generations.

Regrowth

Eventually, the Sylvaa reappeared on Loom. In its 14th century after the War of Ichor, the planet was invaded by a hostile alien force. These were the Yugoloths, hailing from a planet or two over. This event was called the Shattering, but it isn't the point of this paragraph. What is relevant is what they brought over.

Unbeknownst to Orias, a small amount of her original progeny had developed incredibly powerful teleportation magic. The Sylvaa were the original builders of Loom's massive teleporter pads, but some had grander aspirations than just that. These nine Sylvaa wanted to travel to the sun itself, so that they might worship it directly (they were also working on a way to not be burnt to a crisp in this process).

One of their test-runs, to push the limits of how far they could travel, was to Yugo. They all went together, and upon arrival they all perished. Yugo's atmosphere is toxic to most of Loom's inhabitants, and Sylvaa were no exception. Their seeds were buried in foreign soil, an environment that could never host them.

Marco Nelor

Around ten thousand years passed. The seeds of these nine burrowed into Yugo's earth, right into deposits of iron. They were eventually discovered by prehistoric Yugoloths, who cherished them as curious relics. Ose, their adoptive god and another Archlord, saw the seeds for what they were. He was exiled from Loom, and so could not return them himself - but from this point forward he nudged them closer and closer to space travel, so that they might eventually visit Loom and return the seeds.

His efforts were successful, but the visit from Yugo was hardly peaceful. A story for another time. The point, again, is that these nine seeds, able to be nourished by sunlight from Loom's new central star, Vant, jump-started Sylvaa society. They had been reborn into a curious new world, and they found they had much work to do.

Sylvaa Stats

If you want to play a Sylvaa, here are the stats I would recommend. They're tuned for 5E, but if you use another system hopefully this provides a decent-enough framework. Roleplay-wise, Sylvaa are known for their great literature, sun worship, and general confusion at much of modern society. They primarily speak Sylvan.

Ability Score Increase. Your Wisdom increases by 2, and your Constitution increases by 1.
Empath Network. You may communicate telepathically with any creature or plant within 30' of you that is touching the ground, by way of your root network. You do not need to share a language with a creature to be able to communicate with it this way, but it must be able to speak at least one language. You may communicate with plants in this way regardless of their ability to speak.
Photosynthesis. You may gain the benefits of a long rest by entering a dreamlike state while immersed in sunlight for 4 hours. During this time, you are considered to be asleep, and are not aware of your surroundings. After 4 hours have passed, you gain the benefits of a long rest and become fully nourished for the next 24 hours. You may still eat and sleep normally, and will need to do so when you lack access to direct sunlight.
Natural Spellcasting. At 1st level, you may cast Dancing Lights. At 3rd level, you may cast Entangle once per long rest. At 5th level, you may cast Daylight once per long rest. You use your Wisdom score for the purposes of casting these spells.

(I should note these stats are almost wholly borrowed from the Sprouting Chaos Player's Companion by BoltNine Homebrew. People on Loom have played Sylvaa before and I wanted to keep the statblocks consistent-ish.)

Fey Statblocks

Gonna take my first crack at writing system-agnostic monster statblocks. Here's some general rules:

• HD is hit dice, obviously. If you're playing 5E or something more modern/with generally larger statblocks, double whatever amount I give you. If monster level or CR are important for some reason, just refer to its HD.
• Size is most important for determining what dice the monster uses for health. Medium sized = d8, going up or down a die step with monster size. General sizes will be Tiny (pixie), Small (goblin), Medium (human), Large (ogre), and Huge (giant).
• AC and Speed stats will be given in reference to something else in the system for ease of translation.
• Attacks will be given with damage dice, any bonuses, and if deemed necessary damage type. They're given with a DC to beat, but if you roll attacks for monsters just take ten off the DC and add it to the attack.
• Multiattacks are written as: "Attack 1 + Attack 2."
• Creatures with a choice between two attacks are written as: "Attack 1 / Attack 2."
• Attacks with two different damage types are written as: " Type 1, Type 2."
• Any ability scores that seem noteworthy (read: not common sense/easily interpreted) will be given. Otherwise, just use your best judgement.
• Special languages, senses, and/or damage/condition immunities or vulnerabilities will be given if they exist.

With the housekeeping done, let's get to the monsters.

Krovatilde

When a fey gets venerable and senile enough, they are magically transformed into a Krovatilde and usually dumped onto the Material Plane (which the fey see as a vacation spot) as a reward for their service. This makes them, above everything else, very sleepy. They usually know a lot about whatever location they're in, as the fey who decide where they take their rests usually pick someplace they had an interest in.

They look like a big snail, pretty much. The snail shifts across all colors, lava-lamp style. The shell is usually black, with star or sheep designs on them that also glow in rainbow colors.

They're quite pleasant when they're not sleeping. Only problem is that they sleep 24 hours a day. The magical programming in their shells kicks in to defend them whenever somebody gets near. The party probably won't realize this and will just think that it's a mollusk monster. But if the party puts two and two together, upon waking up Krovatilde usually feel really bad for attacking you and will offer whatever assistance they can provide (they're usually pretty good spellcasters or can put in a favor with local fey).

Krovatilde
HD 8 Size Large AC As Platemail Speed As snail
Arcanopods: Dodge 16, 1d8 + 1d8

Comatose - While sleeping, the Krovatilde is unaffected by visual illusions. Damage won't wake the Krovatilde up (it's done to the shell), but the following things might: exceptionally loud noises (roll on random encounter table), the sensation of falling, or putting bright light down the shell's aperture.

Magic Murmurs - The Krovatilde sleeptalks. Whenever a spell is cast near it, flip a coin. On heads, it casts that same spell on a random target on its next turn as a free action.

These guys were inspired by Jirachi's fights in the PMD games.

Dullahan

I wrote about them here.

General Dullahan tactics are to restrain and behead whoever looks like the party's leader. They'll run if alone (usually after casting Mass Restrain), but they might let you kill them if it looks like you'll follow them back to their Court.

Dullahan
HD 2 Size Medium AC As Goblin Speed As human
Guillotine Blade: Dodge 11, 1d12

Courtly - While in their Court, the Dullahan have doubled HD and no limit on their spells. If killed outside their court, they reform in it in eight hours.

Headless - Critical hits deal no extra damage against Dullahan.

Spellcasting - Spell save DC = HD + 10.
At-will: Wheel of Fortune
3/day: Restrain
1/day: Mass Restrain

Grig

Members of one of the Low Courts. Like centaurs, but the bottom half is a grasshopper instead. Want to help you compose new songs about your epic deeds. This will usually involve you fighting something while they make it harder with their spells.

Grig

HD 1 Size Tiny AC As Hawk Speed As Dwarf, but moves via jumping

Courtly - While in their Court, the Grig have doubled HD and no limit on their spells. If killed outside their court, they reform in it in eight hours.

Spellcasting - Spell save DC = HD + 14.

At-will: Cure Wounds, Invisibility, Irresistible Dance

2/day: Mass Irresistible Dance

Fey Spells

Available to your party members if you really feel like it. I'd make them quest for 'em, personally. Mass spells replace "target creature" with "all creatures within a 30-foot area."

Irresistible Dance

Standard Action, Range 60 ft.

Target creature must make a Save or become unable to take any action but dance. Target gains no benefit from Dexterity to dodging and moves at half speed. On their turns, they may either attempt to make a new Save or take evasive maneuvers, restoring their Dexterity modifier to their dodging. If someone kills the partying mood (tells a really bad joke, does something particularly grim) the effect is ended.

Restrain

Standard Action, Range 30 ft.

Target creature must make a Save or become prone and restrained. Slashing weapons automatically crit targets in this condition.

Wheel of Fortune

Initiative Action (free action taken after the last creature in initiative order acts)

All creatures within the current combat reroll initiative.

Dullahan

Courting Rebellion

All spirits are born from mortal want - similarly to how gods (most of them, anyways) rise from mortal hope. Pixies slip from in between flower petals when a child laughs, and when a wizard ponders how to gain more power a familiar spirit seeps from her shadow. And Dullahan crawl up from between the cracks in pavement when the impoverished overthrow the ruling class.

Once, they were a court of low fey who wished to upturn the power structure. They fashioned a guillotine and intended to dispose of the highest-ups on their home plane with it. They were eventually discovered, and their own tool used against them. Most died, of course. But it's said that some waited for the rabble to run off, collected their heads from off the ground, and fled onto the Material Plane. Now only the foolhardy speak of them, with the epithet of the Headless Court.

They're usually found in abandoned buildings. The old church in the woods that's only used for its graveyard nowadays. On top of a stretch of aqueduct left behind by an ancient civilization. The room at the end of the hall in your tenement building. These are where they hold their court, spinning their great wheels (also used as coat racks, but for heads) and dancing. The guillotine, blade polished to a mirror shine, sits in the center of the space - which seems much bigger on the inside. They are waiting. Waiting for you!

Jevil is a Dullahan.

Because everyone knows the Headless Court has helped with all the world's greatest revolutions. The Lightclaimers, the Tenth Empire, the Alquari - all danced with the Dullahan, and they were the builders of nations for it. The foundations of which were laid, of course, with skulls.

And when you come, they will whisper their words, sweet as honey mead, bitter as wine-turned-vinegar. They will tell you that history is a cycle. A society is born, and the ambitious corrupt it, placing themselves as the ruling class. They plunder the labor from the poor, who then rise up to put them to the sword. And a new society is born - one turn closer to perfection. But the wheel has stagnated - won't you give it a nudge? Look how it glitters in the moonlight. It's waiting for you, dear.

Inevitably, someone does nudge it. The wheel of history turns, and there is much rejoicing. The rest of the night is spent in revelry, wild dancing and ball-games with the laughing heads of the Good Folk. And when morning comes, the spinner wakes up alone. And gets to work.

Start your revolution. Make it successful. The more join your cause, the more new Dullahan are born. Bring a noble back to the abandoned room every fourth Rimhrset, and we'll liberate them of their head for you. There will be more rejoicing, and all your new friends are welcome, too!

And if you come empty handed?

Not to worry, dear. Your own head is quite pretty. It will make a fine substitute.