The Fae Folk

Creatures of dream and magic, Faeries are not all benevolent, and the wise know how to keep them at bay.   True fae are not mortal; they are not born, they do not age and they do not die excepting from violence or other mischief. They come into existence fully grown and knowledgeable at the founding of a new Court, which typically happens when an old Court's leader dies. Upon their death the Court they were leading dissolves, and its members either found new Courts or join existing ones. Mortals do not understand what it takes to found a new Court, but the Fae prefer it that way. Physically and socially there are several common kith of Fae, but as they do not breed in the traditional sense there are never half-kith. The Sidhe are beautiful, slim, pale and graceful, with eyes like mirrors. The Gremlins are squat (a bit smaller than dwarves) and hairy, with large batlike ears. The Fauns are boisterous, well-muscled and possess hooved goat-legs and horns. The Nosferatu (or Bogeymen) are hairless and ugly, with exceptionally long clawed fingers. The Pixies are very small, around knee-height to a human, and bear antennae and bug-wings. A Court of any significant size will have all of these kith and more. Fae can and do interbreed with humans, elves and dwarves, but the children of such unions vary wildly.   All Fae possess the power of Glamour, the ability to make things appear not as they are; this allows them to disguise not only themselves but also the items in their possession. Thus there are tales of Fae passing off a purse full of dead leaves as if it were silver, or frightening attackers with a stick that appears as a sword. However, Glamour is unreliable, as it can be seen through with a simple effort of will even without any training. Some Fae have mastered other talents as well, such as physical shapeshifting, enchanting the minds of others, stepping through shadows, or even the sought-after Grammarie: the ability to make things that are what they appear. These talents are not separated along kith lines, however; they can appear among any of the Fae. Fae also can master physical talents such as swordplay and archery, or mundane crafts like weaving and painting   The banes of Fae are several and varied. Fae cannot stomach grains, nor things made from grains, and thus never eat bread or drink beer or ale. If you are being polite, Fae prefer wine, brandy or milk to drink and fresh fruit to eat, but are omnivorous and can eat any food that doesn't contain grain or flour. The touch of raw iron is painful to them, and iron weaponry is especially damaging; as such, they prefer to carry weapons of high-quality steel. For this reason they also avoid blacksmiths, who smell like iron to them. Fae are not bound to tell the truth all of the time, however oaths that they swear are physically binding to them, and so they rarely do such things; more than one Fae in the past has been caught between multiple conflicting oaths and literally died from the pressure. Similarly, when asked a direct quesion Faeries must either answer honestly or avoid answering at all. The boon of the Fae Folk is simple: mortal emotions. Love, hatred, anger, lust, disgust, and fear all strengthen them over time. The most polite way to get a Fae to leave is to act as if they do not matter.