Fiend Factory 5E. White Dwarf 38: The Leanan-Sidhe

Issue 38 The Leanan-Sidhe

The Fiend Factory this week actually forms the middle instalment in a three-part series by Alan E Paull about the Land of Faerie. In Issue 37, Alan introduced the concept of adventures using the fey, and next issue there is a scenario; here, he gives us a bunch of fey creatures, mostly based on Celtic (Irish/Scottish) mythology, and some of which have seen, or will see, publication in the Fiend Folio and the Monster Manual II for 1^st Edition in a different variant.

First up is the Gwyllion (and these creatures are repeated in a Fiend Factory mini-scenario much later on, well past the span of issues that I’m using). These are hermaphrodite figures that hang around in mountain passes, for … reasons. They’re not really “monsters” as such, more a mix of NPC and scenery, since their main function is to provide information in the form of riddles.

 

Remember the Bogy? Well, here we have Bogles, another route to the same concept. Here, Alan does what I didn’t, and makes them goblinoids, but then the appearance of his bogles are of a warty goblin-like creature, rather than the four-armed goat-headed bogy of issue 5.

They have good camouflage against wood, and like to hang out with undead.

 

I’ve seen Redcaps statted up numerous times in D&D and RuneQuest – they seem an interesting concept on the surface, but I’ve never quite seen any conversion of them that, in the end, makes them particularly notable in terms of abilities. Here, again, they’re really just ogre-like creatures, and so the red cap, dyed with human blood, is merely a flavour note.

 

The Bean-Nighe is the soul of a woman who died in childbirth, seen as a bad portent when she appears, washing the clothes of the dead. Bean-nighes can utter a banshee-like wail, which reminds me that I think that “banshee” is a corrupted version of “bean-sidhe”, and so these two are likely the same thing.

 

Spriggans can be found in the old Monster Manual II, although not goblinkind as they are here, but instead an evil cousin of gnomes. The signature ability of the spriggans is their ability to transform into giant-size, which both Alan’s version and the Monster Manuall II version include.

 

The Duergar appeared in the Monster Manual II (although as I recall, they were originally in The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth), and have been with the game throughout the various editions. The notion of them being dwarves twisted by dark magic is the same as it is in Alan’s version, however. Alan has them with illusionist abilities, rather than the psionic powers that the “official” version tends towards.

 

I’m guessing that the unusual picture for the Phooka is meant to show it shapeshifting into its eagle form. These creatures are a bit like the various kelpie/nuckalevee and other water-horse creatures that entrap their riders and drown then, except that in the case of the phooka all it does in the end is toss its rider into a muddy ditch. I thought that these guys were in the Fiend Folio, but that’s the Booka, a kind of household sprite, and completely different.

 

Black Annis is kind of like Baba Yaga – a winter hag with godlike attributes, and a singular figure, not a species. Although she has an arsenal of innate spellcasting, much of her power comes from the Staff of Winter that she carries. Monster Manual II gives us the Annis as a race of hags, rather than an individual, who have less in the way of spellcasting and very little to do with the notion of winter (except for the ability to cast fog cloud); the MM2 annis is more of a physical creature with iron-hard skin and grasping talons.

And so, as promised back in Issue 31, I come to the Leanan-Sidhe, or Fey Vampire, or, as Alan calls her, the Fay Stirge. I’m going to see if I can combine Alan’s version, with Craig Cartmell’s Leanan-Sidhe from issue 31, as well as a similar creature called the Woods Vampire that crops up in a scenario in Issue 61.

There’s a range of different concepts to choose from there, but Alan’s variant says that some are “mere bloodsucking vampires” whereas Craig’s notes that they must be “killed in the traditional way of all vampires”. So the obvious starting point is with vampire statistics, at least for the special abilities. However, there’s nothing about the leanan-sidhe that suggests either the ability to assume a misty form nor any power over creatures of the night (these being replaced by the mirror access and greater charm ability against humanoids). And the shapechange ability I’ve combined the manx cat and dove from Craig’s version with the stirge from Alan’s. For the sake if ease, it’s a normal-size stirge, but feel free to use the giant version from The Lazy GM: Dungeon Beasts (cheap plug). I originally kept the vampire weaknesses, but during editing I realised that using the sidhe weaknesses from the daoine-sidhe was more in keeping with the flavour, and helped link the two creatures.

In terms of ability scores, the leanan-sidhe is more a creature of charm and quicksilver, so Dexterity and Charisma are high, the other ability scores more than regular human but not exceptional. And I’ve kept the 6 Hit Dice from Craig’s variant.

Finally, there are two unique abilities possessed by the leanan-sidhe – the ability to enter mirrors (in Craig’s version at least), and the attraction towards bards and other musicians (in all three, and in the end this was the only part that ended up from the Woods Vampire). What I came up with is a fairly basic kind of symbiosis where the bard gets some small boosts (not much more than with a reasonable magic item), but suffers temporarily if they botch things up. You could increase the bonuses, say maybe advantage on all Charisma checks, but then make the abandonment by the fey more fatal, say instantly drop to 0 hit points and dying.

 

Leanan-Sidhe

Medium fey, any alignment

Armour Class 14 Hit Points 82 (15d8 + 15) Speed 30 ft.

STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 13(+1) 18 (+4) 12 (+1) 12 (+1) 14 (+2) 20 (+5)

Proficiency Bonus +4 Skills Deception +9, Perception +6, Performance +9, Persuasion +9, Stealth +8 Damage Resistances bludgeoning, piercing and slashing from nonmagical attacks Senses darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 16

Languages Common

Challenge 10 (5,900 XP)

Immortality. The leanan sidhe does not age, and is immune to disease. Legendary Resistance (3/day). If the leanan-sidhe fails a saving throw, she can choose to succeed instead. Muse. The leanan-sidhe can choose to patronise a bard or musician; any character that has a Charisma of at least 18, and proficiency with Charisma (Performance) or with a musical instrument. The leanan-sidhe can only patronise one creature at a time. The protégé gains a +2 bonus to Charisma (Performance) checks and to checks using a musical instrument. If the character is a bard, any enchantment magic that it casts has a +2 bonus to the saving throw DC. The character also gains an inspiration die that it can use once per day, adding 1d10 to any check, attack roll or saving throw. The character can add this after the check is made but before the result is known. Should the protégé ever roll a natural 1 on any Charisma check or check using a musical instrument, the leanan-sidhe abandons them. The protégé’s Charisma score drops to 3 for one week, before restoring at the rate of one point per day. Shapechanger. The leanan-sidhe can polymorph into a cat, a dove, or a stirge, or back into her true form. The leanan-sidhe gains the size, natural attacks and movement rates of her chosen form, otherwise her statistics remain the same. Sidhe Vulnerabilities. The leana sidhe takes an extra 2 (1d4) damage from iron weapons. She can be turned as if undead, but cannot be destroyed. Holy water will affect her as if she were undead, and salt causes 2 (1d4) damage per pound if used as a thrown weapon, or if placed as a barrier. ACTIONS

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d8 + 4) piercing damage. Against a willing creature, or one that is grappled or incapacitated, the leanan-sidhe can choose instead to cause 8 (1d8 + 4 piercing) damage plus 10 (3d6) necrotic damage. The target’s hit point maximum is reduced by an amount equal to the necrotic damage taken, and the leanan-sidhe regains hit points equal to that amount. The reduction lasts until the target finishes a long rest. The target dies if this effect reduces its hit point maximum to 0. Charm. The leanan-sidhe targets one humanoid shecan see within 30 feet of it. If the target can see the leanan-sidhe, the target must succeed on a DC 17 Wisdom saving throw against this magic or be charmed by the leanan-sidhe. The charmed target regards the leanan-sidhe as a trusted friend to be heeded and protected. Although the target isn’t under the leanan-sidhe’s control, it takes the leanan-sidhe’s requests or actions in the most favourable way it can, and it is a willing target for the leanan-sidhe’s bite attack. Each time the leanan-sidhe or the leanan-sidhe’s companions do something harmful to the target, it can repeat the saving throw, ending the effect on itself on a success. Otherwise the effect lasts 24 hours, or until the leanan-sidhe is destroyed, is on a different plane of existence than the target, or takes a bonus action to end the effect. Enter Mirror. The leanan-sidhe can enter any mirrored or shiny surface that she can see. While in the mirror, the leanan-sidhe cannot be harmed, but she can be trapped if the mirror is covered. The leanan-sidhe appears only as a reflection in the surface, and can use a bonus action to exit at any time. She can use her Charm and Muse abilities while in a mirror, but cannot perform any other actions. The leanan-sidhe can force a charmed creature into the mirror instead. A creature trapped this way is unable to exit on its own, and cannot be heard by anyone on the outside of the mirror. It can be freed with a remove curse spell or similar magic.