Dec 31

Pixies



An elf, a PC pixie, and a standard pixie. The elf and PC pixie have the same weapon and armor.

[NOTE: A "prestige race" is similar to prestige classes in that they must be "unlocked." A prestige race cannot be chosen for a player's first character in TKL. However, a player's second and any subsequent character applications may be a character with a prestige race. Prestige race characters are subject to more scrutiny during the application process.]

You're In the Fairy Army Now

Pixies are perhaps the least fey-like of the fey races. Some call them "the dwarves of the fey." Pixies are serious. Pixies are devoted to an ideal. Pixies dislike pranks... okay, they dislike doing more than one or two pranks a week

The pixies do not have a nation. They have an army. While other fey races have clans, pixies have platoons. Where other fey races have families, pixies have units. Where other fey races have father and mothers, pixies have fathers and mothers they salute to and call General Father and Major Mother. Pixies are in a constant state of readiness, chomping at the bit to defend the Plane of Faerie against its foes.

There is only one problem: the fey don't have any foes.

There was a time when if you were a really lucky pixie, then you got stationed in a forest in The Known Lands. Then you might have a chance at seeing some real action. If you were really lucky, some orcs would start rampaging through your territory and you'd have to defend it. Other times... well, every now and then a woodcutter taking a piss on a tree thinks he's been stuck by a bee, never knowing he's tasted the wrath of a very bored pixie.

But times change. For the pixies, times changed in Year 3055. That was of course the year that Gilden was destroyed and an orc horde two hundred thousand strong threatened to flatten the human nation of Kerond. Fey living in Kerond played a small part in the war - some defending their homes against orc invasion, others siding with the Lorae'eth - but those living on the Plane of Faerie were neither involved in nor affected by the conflict. The pixies on the Plane of Faerie wanted to join in the battles, and their leader, Prince Pan'zee, lobbied the Seelie Court, but their request was denied. However, the founders of Ligis somehow persuaded the Seelie Court to join in their undertaking and a portal connecting Ligis and the Plane of Faerie was created.

When news of this portal was announced to the Seelie Court's subjects on the Plane of Faerie, those subjects spent a lot of time scratching their heads. The fey rarely make more than what they need, don't use money, and though they like chatting just fine, haggling over buying and selling prices doesn't interest them in the slightest. So who would want to go to this Ligis and do all that labor?

The pixies, however, saw it differently. For the first time ever, the Plane of Faerie was, in a way, touching another realm. And when two realms touch, between them is... a border. And a border must be defended!!

Prince Pan'zee once again lobbied the Seelie Court, and this time his request was quickly and unanimously granted. The pixies sent troops to Ligis and built a barracks and started guarding the portal to the Plane of Faerie with great fervor. The commander at Ligis sent regular reports to Prince Pan'zee back at headquarters.

"Day 1: Guarding the portal steadfastly sir!"

"Day 2: Guarding the portal steadfastly sir!"

"Day 3: Guarding the portal steadfastly sir!"

"Day 59: Still guarding the portal sir!"

"Day 122: Guarding portal."

"Day 173: Guarding. Send more wine."

"Day 201: Some human women came by the barracks in the evening while we were dri- guarding. A terrorist attack was suspected, so we plied them with wine in order to get them to talk. They took off their clothes and started dancing and singing. An obvious tactic meant to distract us while the real terrorists attacked, I had half the men watch the women, and half the men stand lookout. Every ten minutes the men switched posts. I took the cute one to my office for deep interrogation."

"Day 237: Julie and her friends came by again. They always come at night, but various tests have proven that they are not vampires. Some of the locals also showed up at the barracks to watch them dance and sing. They carried on like you wouldn't believe, throwing up and breaking windows. I told them they'd have to pay us to cover the damages. They threw gold at us and said it was the best time they ever had. Requesting thirty-seven more casks of wine."

"Day 316: Sergeant Tinkerballs had the idea to set up poles in the barracks so the dancers have something to hold onto and won't keep falling into the crowd when they get too drunk. We have also taken down some of the bunk beds and erected a stage; so many people keep bringing instruments, this way they are all in one place, and sometimes they even manage to bang out a song. We don't think anyone's got through the portal, but you might want to check on your end."

"Day 320: We suspect an information leak on your end, sir. Some satyrs came through the portal today, saying they wanted entry into The Night Club. Apparently that's what people have come to call the barracks. We turned them away until sunset, since the girls and the band don't arrive until then anyway. Need more wine."

"Day 332: People are paying us in advance to cover the damage they do to the barracks; they have come to call it the Cover Charge. However, damage has steadily decreased since we put colored glass over the lanterns and installed the dance floor. We are sending the extra gold to you, minus our commission. Portal's still there."

"Day 335: We have received numerous complaints from the locals, which they have demanded be forwarded on to you: not enough varieties of booze, only open six nights a week, expand mud wrestling to twice a month, need more elf dancers. Also, two guys in robes, a human and a sun elf, keep coming by and asking for a 'lap dance', whatever that is."

"Day 347: Some elves came by last night. They recommended we hang a mirrored ball from the ceiling, said it would be really fey. Will investigate. Portal probably still there."

In this way the pixies unwittingly created The Known Lands' first dance club, and though completely oblivious to the fact themselves, have pioneered a new business model, namely getting people to pay you to make drunken fools of themselves.

Constant State of Readiness

This phrase is drilled into a pixie's mind from the moment he can fly, which is not long after birth. Of course, when you live as long as a pixie (see below), it takes on a different meaning than it would for a shorter-lived race like humans. Pixies are disciplined, from a fey point of view, but to a human the pixie army looks more like a bunch of half-drunk amateurs. This is evident in their battle tactics, or possible complete lack thereof. It is also evident in their way of fighting; pixies seemingly waste any advantage their flight has to offer by eschewing formations in favor of flying about haphazardly and stabbing at whatever's closest, in a style of swordmanship uncannily close to that of Astigani, pirates, and many a bard's fictional fencing hero. It is a wonder they do not kill each other.

Another example of pixie discipline is evident in the number of them which can now be found wandering freely about The Known Lands. When asked what they are doing away from the army, a variety of answers are gleaned. Some are on shore leave, which can last for years (considering pixies' longevity, there is actually some sense to that). Some have been sent on some sort of mission: reconnaissance or other information gathering, the relay of a message, "independent training," or some other description of dubious believability. And some will plainly admit that they have gone AWOL.

Everything You Wanted To Know About Pixies But Were Afraid To Ask

Pixies are immortal. That simply means they cannot die of natural causes; they can still be killed. Pixies grow to maturity after about a hundred years and after that they stop aging. A dead pixie can be raised or resurrected, if the magic is used soon after death. Otherwise, the pixie is reincarnated like all fey are when they die.

Since they are immortal, pixies reproduce infrequently. Pixie females apparently have a unique vaginal muscle which, when contracted, prevents any fertilizing material from entering her reproductive tract. (This has led to the fey idiom "tight as a pixie," which has gained common use in The Known Lands since the creation of Ligis.) Druids close to the fey postulate that pixie women unconsciously relax this muscle when pixie populations run low, allowing themselves to get pregnant.

Though the different fey races cannot interbreed, pixies are thought to be one of the fey races which can successfully mix with humans and some dehihumans and humanoids. Half-breeds are not possible (it is thought that there are no half-pixies), but fey traits can be passed to humans and other races, giving rise to "feykissed." In the case of pixies some sort of size alteration or polymorphing magic is usually necessary for the reproductive act to be made possible. Note that only male pixies can pass along these traits to female non-fey; while female pixies can interact sexually with non-pixies given the proper conditions, it seems that their "pixie muscle" prevents them from being impregnated by non-pixies.

Pixies have four wings, similar to those of a honeybee or dragonfly. Pixies can are almost always in flight, and are rarely seen walking. Pixie flight seems to be partially magical; Known Lands sages have presumed this for centuries, simply for the fact that a pixie's wings are too small, and the pixie itself too heavy, to allow it to fly. Indeed, a pixie's ability to fly seems to be tied to the land (druids think that ley lines, veins of power running through the earth, may play a part), for they cannot fly very high (see below for details).

Pixies take meticulous care of their wings. Very few fey worship deities, and as a result very few have healing powers. A pixie's wings do not grow back naturally, so pixies who lose their wings often lose them for good.

Pixies speak their own racial language as well as Sylvan, which is used as a common tongue among the fey. Those stationed at Ligis usually also learn Common.

Personality Traits

Nonchalant - since they live forever, pixies are rarely in a hurry to do anything. Some of them are natural-born procrastinators - "why do something today when you can do it a hundred years from now?" They also rarely seem to get phased. As one dwarf remarked, "Pixies are like elves without the prickishness."

Curious - pixies spend the bulk of their lives, which can be centuries, on the Plane of Faerie. If it's on the Plane of Faerie, a pixie has probably seen or done it. So many pixies who come to The Known Lands are very curious about its people and customs.

Classes

Barbarian - pixies cannot start as barbarians, but if they somehow find themselves in a situation where they would revert to barbarism, they can take the class starting from 2nd level or later.

Arcane or Divine Caster Classes - pixies can start as these classes, but any training they receive in these classes would have to start after they have left the Plane of Faerie.

Stat Adjustments: +2 INT, +2 CHA, -2 STR, -2 WIS

Favored Class: Swashbuckler

ECL: 1

Racial Abilities

Tiny: Pixies count as size class Tiny. They are granted +1 AC and Dodge as a bonus feat due to their size. However, Tiny-sized creatures are heavily restricted in terms of weapons. Small weapons can be gripped with two hands, or in one hand if the pixie takes the Monkey Grip feat. Medium and large weapons cannot be wielded (medium weapons can be wielded two-handed if Monkey Grip is taken).

Wings: Pixies have wings which grant them flight. They automatically gain the Wings feat, which grants them a 20% movement rate increase. Pixies cannot fly higher than a hundred feet from the ground. This is not to be confused with sea level - if a pixie were at the top of a mountain, he could fly up to a hundred feet above its peak. This only applies to pixies who are unencumbered; lightly encumbered pixies can only fly up to thirty feet high, and heavily encumbered pixies can fly no higher than ten feet.

Pixie Magic: Pixies have an innate ability which they can use up to three times a day. They can use this ability to simulate either an Invisibility, Dispel Magic, or Entangle spell, with their hit dice used as the spellcaster level.

Elfin Qualities: Like elves, pixies are granted Low-Light Vision, Skill Affinity: Listen, Skill Affinity: Search, and Skill Affinity: Spot (granting them a +2 bonus to each skill) as bonus feats.

Spell Resistance: Like many fey, pixies are naturally resistant to spells. Pixies are granted an SR equal to 10 plus their character level.

Fey Nature: As a result of being fey, pixies are granted Fey Heritage, Fey Legacy, and Fey Skin as bonus feats. This grants them DR 3/cold iron and the ability to cast Confusion.

(( OOC Note: not all of the special abilities have been fully tested. If you select this race, please notify the team if odd behaviour with the abilities is noted. We thank you in advance for your assistance and patience. ))



Tags: