A Pseudo-Fey-ish Generator Table

Category: World Building and Concept Design

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In part of my ongoing series to revitalize and reshape the fey, I’ve come up with a table for generating fey appearances. Up until two days ago, this was a hand-written table that I’ve had taped to the inside cover of my primary campaign notebook for several years now. I decided it was time to update it, and in the process, I may as well digitize it (for future-proofing).

It possibly needs a bit of explanation. First of all, in my idea, the elder fey (who I’ve named the Aedryn in my campaign & articles I’m working on) are all one race/species, but with infinite unique appearances. For instance, this elder race does not make distinctions such as one being a “boggart,” and another being a “nixie,” and so on. Rather all the fey are the same race, but have different appearances. This is somewhat taken from my own personal preferences, as well as interpretations I’ve taken from The Mabinogion, Of Gods and Fighting Men, and Katharine Briggs’ An Encyclopedia of Fairies, as well as from various blogs I’ve been reading and podcasts I’ve been listening to for the last few years.

So below is my table (to be expanded upon as I think up other ideas) for generating fey appearances. There are two separate columns – the second one is basically an expansion to add more grotesque and creepy aspects, but the first table will likely suit most people just fine.

Some Notes:

  1. If you roll something that conflicts with something else (like on one table, roll your fey has cat-like eyes, but on another, roll that it has no eyes), just pick which one you like better. It’s your fey after all.
  2. On some of the tables, I gave higher % chance for the the creepier stuff to show up than on other tables – this is just my own personal preference on which types of aspects make more sense to show up (even rarely) than others.
  3. Some of these aspects may seem very un-fey-like to you. That’s okay, they’re for my specific campaign, so just don’t use the ones you don’t like!
The Fey Has Skin Like (or Covered In): Roll d100 for Natural and/or Weird Stuff Roll d100 to also include slightly more Creepy/Grotesque stuff
Normal Humanoid Flesh 01-20 01-18
Thick Lamb’s Wool 21-30 19-27
Snake’s Scales 31-40 28-36
Raven’s Feathers 41-48 37-45
Animal Fur 49-56 46-52
Thick Pine Bark 57-65 53-59
Plant Matter 66-73 60-64
Stone 74-79 65-69
Old Leather 80-85 70-74
Transluscent Silk Sheets 86-91 75-79
Diamond (or other Gemstone) 92-94 80-83
Shifting Mist 95-97 84-87
Fine Bone China 98-100 88-91
Gums and Malformed Teeth 92-94
Tumors 95-97
Cephalapod Suckers 98-100
Its Head Has: Roll d100 for Natural and/or Weird Stuff Roll d100 to also include slightly more Creepy/Grotesque stuff
No Hair 01-18 01-16
Unkempt/Tangled Hair 19-36 17-32
Beautiful Silky Smooth Hair 37-54 33-48
A Crown of Leaves 55-65 49-57
A Bed of Growing Flowers 66-74 58-65
Twisted, Tangled Vines 75-83 66-72
Strands of Shells 84-92 73-77
Asymmetrical Antlers 93-100 78-83
Long, Thick Yarn 84-87
Writhing Worms 88-92
Bloodied Fingers 93-96
Ivory Horns (like a rhinosaurus) 97-100
Its Back is Covered In: Roll d100 for Natural and/or Weird Stuff Roll d100 to also include slightly more Creepy/Grotesque stuff
Nothing Special 01-70 01-70
Spines of a Porcupine 71-78 71-76
Jagged Spikey Branches 79-85 77-82
Beehives with Swarming Bees 86-93 83-87
Hairy Warts 94-100 88-94
Oozing Boils 95-98
Grasping Hands 99-100
On Its Back are Wings Like: Roll d100 for Natural and/or Weird Stuff Roll d100 to also include slightly more Creepy/Grotesque stuff
No Wings 01-40 01-40
A Butterfly 41-50 41-50
A Bat 51-60 51-59
A Ciceda 61-70 60-68
Locust 71-78 69-75
A Raven 79-85 76-82
A Dragonfly 86-91 83-87
A House fly 92-96 88-92
A Pterosaur 97-100 93-96
Tendrils of Shadow Stuff 97-98
Ripped/Shredded Tapestries 99-100
Its Entire Lower Body Has (or is): Roll d100 for Natural and/or Weird Stuff Roll d100 to also include slightly more Creepy/Grotesque stuff
Two Normal Humanoid Legs 01-50 01-40
Two Hairy Goat Legs 51-60 41-50
Four Horse Legs and Body 61-66 51-56
A Massive Scuttling Beetle 67-72 57-63
A Four-finned Fish 73-79 64-70
A Rickety Two-Wheeled Cart (like that one badass goblin in Hellboy II) 80-85 71-76
Scaley Bird Legs and Claws 86-93 77-82
A Crab-like Body and Legs 94-98 83-87
Eight Octopus Tentacles 99-100 88-92
The Bloated Body and Legs of a Massive Spider 93-96
A Crawling Mass of Worms 97-99
A Crawling Child’s Body 100
Its Head is Shaped Like A: Roll d100 for Natural and/or Weird Stuff Roll d100 to also include slightly more Creepy/Grotesque stuff
Normal Humanoid’s 01-55 01-50
A Horse Head 56-61 51-58
A Goat Head 62-69 59-67
A Feline Head 70-77 68-73
A Canine Head 78-85 74-80
A Bird Head 86-92 81-86
A Large Wilted Flower 93-97 87-92
A Ball of Rotten Leaves 98-100 89-93
A Mass of Chains 94-97
An Atrophied Baby’s Head 99-100
It Has Hands Like (or with): Roll d100 for Natural and/or Weird Stuff Roll d100 to also include slightly more Creepy/Grotesque stuff
Normal Humanoid 01-55 01-50
Extra Long Fingers 56-64 51-58
Really Long, Sharp Nails 65-73 59-66
Crab-like Pincers 74-82 67-74
Bee Stingers in Place of Fingers 83-91 75-82
Multiple Oddly-Placed Knuckles 92-100 83-88
Toes in Place of Fingers 89-93
Biting Snake-like Fingers 94-97
A Working, Blinking Eye in Each Palm 98-99
Throbbing Phallus-like Fingers 100
Its Eyes Are (or are Shaped Like): Roll d100 for Natural and/or Weird Stuff Roll d100 to also include slightly more Creepy/Grotesque stuff
Normal Humanoid 01-50 01-35
Large Hunting Cat’s 51-65 36-45
Shining Gemstones 66-80 6-55
Large Almonds/Nuts 81-87 56-65
Flowers 88-95 66-70
Berries 96-100 71-76
Ivory Buttons 77-83
Empty Black Holes 84-90
Doubled, With an Extra Pair Above the Normal Eyes 91-94
Small Mirrors 95-97
Multi-faceted like a Fly 98-100
Its Nose Is (or is Shaped Like): Roll d100 for Natural and/or Weird Stuff Roll d100 to also include slightly more Creepy/Grotesque stuff
Normal Humanoid 01-50 01-50
Long and Pointed 51-66 51-57
Squat and Bulbous 66-80 58-64
An Aardvark’s Trunk 81-85 65-69
A Butterfly’s Proboscis 86-90 70-74
A Crow’s Beak 91-95 75-79
A Pig’s Snout 96-100 80-84
A Wasp’s Stinger 85-88
A Bloodied, Gaping Hole 89-92
A Writhing Snake 93-96
A Knotted Mass of Worms 97-98
Radially Symmetrical Grouping of Cephalopodian Tentacles 99-100
Its Mouth Is (or its Teeth Are): Roll d100 for Natural and/or Weird Stuff Roll d100 to also include slightly more Creepy/Grotesque stuff
Normal Humanoid 01-60 01-40
Fanged 61-70 41-50
Spider’s Mandibles 71-78 51-60
Boar’s Tusks 79-86 61-70
Octopus’ Beak 87-94 71-79
Lion’s Maw 95-100 80-86
A Venus Flytrap 86-90
A Massive Perfectly-Circular Hole with Razor Teeth 91-95
A Toothed Vagina 96-100
Its Chest Has (or Is): Roll d100 for Natural and/or Weird Stuff Roll d100 to also include slightly more Creepy/Grotesque stuff
Normal Humanoid 01-80 01-70
Extra Breasts 81-90 71-78
Warts 91-100 79-86
Covered in Wiggling Toes 87-95
A Large Face of a Frog (or Other Reptilian/Amphibian/Ichthyoid) 96-100
Its Stomach Has (or Is): Roll d100 for Natural and/or Weird Stuff Roll d100 to also include slightly more Creepy/Grotesque stuff
Normal Humanoid 01-88 01-80
A Tarnished Brass Doorknob 89-95 81-86
A Stainglass Mural 96-100 87-92
A Fish’s (or other Ichthyodian) Mouth 93-96
Stretched Taut and About to Explode 97-100
It Moves By: Roll d100 for Natural and/or Weird Stuff Roll d100 to also include slightly more Creepy/Grotesque stuff
Normal Humanoid Movement 01-88 01-82
Floating Above the Ground 89-92 83-85
Walking Backward/Sideways 93-96 86-88
Hopping Like a Frog 97-100 89-91
Slithering On its Belly 92-94
Twirling/Dancing 95-97
Spastic Japanese Horror Girl Shit 98-100
It is Sized Like: Roll d100
Normal Adult Humanoid 01-50
A Small Human Child 51-75
A Tall Tree 76-80
A Wide Barn 81-85
A Thin, Short Reed 86-90
A Smallish Beetle 91-95
A Minuscule Ladybug 96-100

Roll on this table as many times as you want for extra features

Roll d10/d8/d6 Normal-ish/Natural-ish Stuff Weirder-ish/Bizarre-ish Stuff Grotesque-ish/Creepy-ish Stuff
1 Covered in Piercings Skin is an Odd Color (like Purple) Wears a Wooden Mask Mean to Look Like a Small Child
2 Covered in Tattoos Wears a Wooden Mask Painted in Arcane Symbols Pulls a Small Child’s Wagon Wherever it Goes,
3 Wears a Wooden Collar with Attached Chain Glows in the Dark Its Fingers/Toes/Nose/Somethings Leak Orange-Green Slime
4 Speaks Only in Whispers Always Carries a Small Lantern Often Changes Form to Look Exactly Like Whoever it’s Facing/Talking to
5 Always Wears a Globular Helmet of Red Gemstone Only Walks in Perpendicular Cardinal Directions, Body Pierced by Large Hooks
6 Wears an Orange Ascot Eyes Are Always Looking Up at Something in the Sky Eyes Roll Around In Its Head
7 Hangs Out With a Talking Mule Often Stops Conversations to Dance in Circles for a Few Moments
8 Smells of Old Mothballs After Every Sentence, Will Whistle Like a Songbird
9 Covered in Ridged Battle Scars
10 Surrounds Itself with Butterflies

About the Author

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Ishmayl

nerdgame player with too much time on his hands

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2 thoughts on “A Pseudo-Fey-ish Generator Table”

  • Adam W. says:
    July 11, 2016 at 12:54 pm

    Looks great for generating really bizarre unnatural creatures, fey or otherwise. Thanks for this, I’ll add it to my game.

    Reply
  • Brandon Daggerhart says:
    July 13, 2016 at 2:44 am

    That's the general idea. Since posting this, I've remade this list a bit (for a book I'm working on) that focuses more on the weird natural ideas for the fey, and has a completely separate section for horrific aberrations.

    Thanks for reading!

    Reply

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