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Thursday, May 11, 2017

RMA: Pixies


Rounding off the BX fairy-tale types is the pixie. This one is probably closest to the classic "fairy" that many people think of. They are small (1-2' tall) elfin humanoids with insect-like wings. They can be encountered in dungeons (Level 2 wandering monster) or in wilderness on the Flyer subtable and -weirdly- Desert humanoid. This makes me smile as I imagine a strain of pixie with scarab beetle shells and wearing tiny keffiyehs.

Pixie (from Moldvay) - 

AC: 3
HD: 1
Move: 90' (30') Fly 180' (60')
Attack: 1 (dagger)
Dmg: 1d4
No. App: 2-8 (10-40)
Save: E1
Morale: 7
AL: N

Like most fae, they aren't terribly powerful in combat, but seem to be present mostly to add to the "fantastic" element of the game. The most fun aspect of the pixie is its powerful invisibility ability. they can turn invisible at will and it is "improved" invisibility (they can attack and stay concealed). They always surprise under these circumstances and cannot be attacked during the first round! Even after you can spot their shadows, etc. you're still at -2 to hit them as they flit about.

That's actually a bit daunting if you are facing off against more than a couple of these little buggers, and there can be up to forty if you've stumbled upon their little village, etc. Their daggers do normal weapon damage, though their low HD means they aren't so great at hitting with them. Their low morale makes me think they would flee pretty quickly, but if they had a vested interest in hurting or killing someone, I can imagine them whittling someone down over time with periodic surprise attacks. 

To fight them, I imagine area of effect spells and things like sleep as being fairly effective. That said, I also suspect they aren't usually hostile. 

Befriending some pixies and having them use their invisibility to scout for the party would be a fun roleplaying situation to introduce. I can also imagine them as being servants to a more powerful being, possibly a high level elf sorcerer(-ess)?



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