Procedurally Generated Fairy Tale Style Fey
Category: World Building and Concept Design
Awhile back I created what I called a Random Fey Generator. Though at the time I created it I received a lot of positive feedback, I’ve become less satisfied with it as time’s gone by for several reasons. So it’s time for a change. Below is my new “Procedurally Generated Fey” table.
Recently, +Jacob Hurst made a fascinating post about his thoughts on procedurally generated game content. He brings up several points near the end about what should be involved in creating a table for procedural generation, and quite frankly, I like his advice. So I’m going to follow that. Let’s see where it goes.
So first of all, I took out pretty much all the creepy stuff. I left a bit of weirdness at the very ends of each table (very low % chance of rolling on the bell curve), but all the grotesque / body horror stuff is pretty much gone. I’m saving that for if/when I do my Lovecraftian generator. Part of getting rid of all the grotesque stuff also led to me trimming some of the fat in other ways. If it got too much into the “not very natural-feeling” side of things (other than one noted exception), I cut it.
Next, like Jacob recommended, I outsourced some ideas. I went to google plus and got some thoughts from some people I highly respect in the various RPG circles there.
Finally, I changed the format. I decided it made more sense to set up this generator specifically for encountering fey, not just creating weird fey, so the format is now based around creating an entire encounter, with motivations, numbers, and everything that needs. Hopefully this makes this a bit more useful.
Enjoy!
Procedurally Created Fairy Tale – style Fey Encounters
[(1) Number of AND Type of fey], [(2) Size of fey], with [(3) First physical trait] and [(4) Second physical trait], who [(5) Personality trait / motivation], and is/are attended by [roll 2d6-number of] [(6) Minion size], [(7) Minion movement style], [(8) Minion descriptive adjective] [(9) Minion creature type] with [(10) Minion some objects or other descriptors].
| d20 | (1) Size of AND Type of fey |
|---|---|
| 1 | (2d4) willow sisters |
| 2 | (2d2) night dukes |
| 3 | (2d4) shapeshifting bogies |
| 4 | (2d6) fungus maidens |
| 5 | (2d6) water sprites |
| 6 | (1d4) stone luminary(ies) |
| 7 | (1d3) tree warrior(s) |
| 8 | (1d2) headless horsemen |
| 9 | (2d3) dusk nymphs |
| 10 | (2d6) dawn guardians |
| 11 | A forest warden* |
| 12 | (2d2) mountain spirits |
| 13 | (1d3) longshadow soldiers |
| 14 | (2d4) moon dancers |
| 15 | (1d4) sidhe sorceresses |
| 16 | (2d6) seaweed asrai |
| 17 | (1d6) hill hosts |
| 18 | (2d4) vine glaistigs |
| 19 | (3d6) peat fairies |
| 20 | (2d4) deformed pookas |
* A forest warden will always be solo, and will always be either (1d2) 1:barn-sized or 2:castle-sized.
| d8 | (2) Size of fey |
|---|---|
| 1 | sized like a small child |
| 2 | as tall as a tree |
| 3 | as large as a barn |
| 4 | sized like an adult human |
| 5 | as small as a ladybug |
| 6 | sized like a dog |
| 7 | as large as a horse |
| 8 | tall and wide as a castle |
| d20 | (3) First Physical Trait |
|---|---|
| 1 | goat head |
| 2 | glowing eyes |
| 3 | circular fanged maw |
| 4 | insectoid probiscus |
| 5 | hair like a bed of leaves |
| 6 | canine head |
| 7 | stone-like skin |
| 8 | eyes of fire |
| 9 | tusks like a boar |
| 10 | asymmetrical antlers |
| 11 | furry, lamblike skin |
| 12 | eyes like ivory buttons |
| 13 | beak like a falcon |
| 14 | hair like twisted vines |
| 15 | thick, barklike skin |
| 16 | head like a large, wilted flower |
| 17 | large almonds/nuts for eyes |
| 18 | pig snout |
| 19 | horse head |
| 20 | translucent skin |
| d20 | (4) Second Physical Trait |
|---|---|
| 1 | back covered in porcupine spines |
| 2 | legs like a goat |
| 3 | wings like a ciceda |
| 4 | crablike pincer hands |
| 5 | back covered in jagged tree limbs and branches |
| 6 | lower body like a massive, scuttling beetle |
| 7 | wings like a raven |
| 8 | long, spindly arms and fingers that end in points |
| 9 | dragonfly wings |
| 10 | lower body of a horse |
| 11 | back covered in beehives |
| 12 | surrounded in shifting mist |
| 13 | wings like a bat |
| 14 | scaley bird legs and claws |
| 15 | hands have biting, snakelike fingers |
| 16 | octopoidian tentacles in place of arms |
| 17 | lower body replaced by a rickety, two-wheeled cart |
| 18 | wings of shredded tapestries |
| 19 | back covered in boney, ivory ridges |
| 20 | soaking wet, lower body like a large frog |
| d20 | (5) Personality trait / motivation |
|---|---|
| 1 | carries multiple crystal vials to contain the blood of Hollow Lamias, who only appear in the nonlight of a new moon |
| 2 | changes form to look like whoever it is talking to |
| 3 | collects wooden masks, grows angry at anyone in possession of one it doesn’t own |
| 4 | only walks in cardinal directions, as this is the only way to find the Cauldron of Rebirth in the Resonant Enclave |
| 5 | is always looking up at something in the sky |
| 6 | is a Knight of Lurus, the Wind Shepherd, and randomly stops what it’s doing to spastically dance in circles |
| 7 | speaks only in whispers, attempts to shush any sounds louder than a trickling brook |
| 8 | sings meloncholic poetry about elusive cloud magic |
| 9 | wears a wooden collar attached to a golden chain, claims to be a slave to the Heralds of Khet-lui |
| 10 | walks in a cloud of butterflies |
| 11 | can only speak using lines from burned love letters |
| 12 | always carries a lantern and speaks rhyming prophecy |
| 13 | will not walk across moving water |
| 14 | whistles a tune you’ve only heard before in your dreams |
| 15 | promises (truthfully) to grant you one wish for the price of your left eye |
| 16 | hates starlight more than anything, claims to be a Knight of Lurus, the Wind Shepherd |
| 17 | walks sideways when no one is looking |
| 18 | carries a live frog and occasionally talks to it |
| 19 | is scared catatonically of inks, dyes, and tattoos |
| 20 | ignores you, searching for a missing relic to help in the foretold battle with the Cloven Strand |
| d4 | (6) Minion size |
|---|---|
| 1 | tiny |
| 2 | small |
| 3 | normal |
| 4 | large |
| d10 | (7) Minion movement |
|---|---|
| 1 | slithering |
| 2 | hopping |
| 3 | crawling |
| 4 | gliding |
| 5 | floating |
| 6 | dancing |
| 7 | swinging |
| 8 | twirling |
| 9 | flying |
| 10 | charging |
| d10 | (8) Minion descriptive adjective |
|---|---|
| 1 | stone |
| 2 | albino |
| 3 | golden |
| 4 | lace |
| 5 | silk |
| 6 | leathery |
| 7 | clockwork |
| 8 | cellulose |
| 9 | lichen |
| 10 | stainglass |
| d20 | (9) Minion creature type |
|---|---|
| 1 | beardogs |
| 2 | spiderkin |
| 3 | sabertooth rats |
| 4 | redcaps |
| 5 | boggarts |
| 6 | nereids |
| 7 | porcupine folk |
| 8 | will-o-wisps |
| 9 | jack-o-lantern men |
| 10 | homunculi |
| 11 | spriggens |
| 12 | changelings |
| 13 | giant ravens |
| 14 | sparrow folk |
| 15 | reed children |
| 16 | leprechauns |
| 17 | lurdanes |
| 18 | grogochs |
| 19 | merrows |
| 20 | satyrs |
| d20 | (10) Minion descriptors / objects |
|---|---|
| 1 | saucer-sized eyes |
| 2 | hair like spun silver |
| 3 | tattoos over all exposed skin |
| 4 | numerous bone piercings |
| 5 | globular helmet of red gemstone |
| 6 | flowers woven around the head |
| 7 | lustful songs on the tongue |
| 8 | hundreds of battle scars |
| 9 | a bandolier of lion’s teeth |
| 10 | a rotting, swamplike smell |
| 11 | multi-faceted eyes of a fly |
| 12 | blood songs on the tongue |
| 13 | dead whipporwills tied around its waist |
| 14 | a snakeskin sash that shimmers |
| 15 | a walking stick that crackles with blueish lightning |
| 16 | sack filled with [brass doorknobs] / [tarnished manacles] / [ancient scrolls depicting prehistoric rituals] / [glass bottles filled with dead worms] |
| 17 | a sash made from the feathers, beaks, and claws of ravens |
| 18 | silver coins minted with grotesquely grinning men on one side, and dead snakes on the other |
| 19 | a small lambskin wallet filled with fern leaves, crab grass, rose thorns, and dried lavender petals |
| 20 | flicking shadows, and an aura of buzzing like bees |
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