1. I've always viewed there as being a distinct difference in terms of physical appearance (and the D&D developers seem to think so, too). While males are still slightly effette, we can see that female fairies have breasts, and males do not. I always imagine male fairies voices as being a high tenor, and females being a soprano or near soprano.

2 & 3. Yes, most assuredly. According to the Fey type (which Fairies are a part of): Fey eat, sleep, and breathe.

4. I believe so. I built a rather unique Ecology of the Fae for my own world, but in stock D&D I don't think we have any proof of this either way. No reason why they shouldn't, though!

5. Stock D&D answer is that any Supernatural Abilities will cease to function in an anti-magic field, and they can't use their Spell-like abilities. If you want, though, you could tie them to magic (like I have on my world) and say that anti-magic fields are to a Fae like drowning is to a human. It's kinda fun. :D

The theory of drowning is interesting. I think that would add a new dynamic. Since my group hasn't encountered an anti-magic field yet, and the fairy in the group is only six years old (she knows nothing about this world), it might be amusing since she wouldn't realize the true issue until it actually happened.

Thank you for the input!

Be careful with this, however. If you're going to make it so that Fae + Antimagic = Drowning Fae, then provide a way for her to get around it. A human can use a spell of Water Breathing, or leave the area. Either make sure that anti-magic fields are rare and small enough that she can take a single round (or two rounds at most) to get out (that would likely scare the crap out of her once she realized she was 'drowning' per se). If you're going to make it a large area that she's going to have to cross (large meaning takes more than the time she could possibly servive), make up some magic item or even /mundane/ item that allows a Faerie to survive in that environment for a time. I'd probably use a paste or pill or something else she has to injest ... potion ... you get the idea. It'd last for like 1d4 minutes or ... well however long you need it to last.

I can see that. I think of it more as a roleplaying experience than something of huge detriment (like, as you explained, the case with water having water breathing potions.) Again, thank you for the advice. :-)

(tongue firmly in cheek)

1) A very very VERY small Y chromosome

2) Unless the want to get even skinnier

3) Only after too much of #2.

4) Where do you think more fairy's come from?

5) The same thing that happens to a dragon, a gorgon, or a minotaur?

Fairies are born of magic, not from normal copulation like humans--at least, that's how I've set it up. Which was the curiosity for if they would all be the same gender and/or if they would age.

I tend to go with what the traditional fables and modern works I have read suggest.

1. Yes, they're more or less like people. Certain types of fairies (usually nobles of some kind) are actually compatible with humans in this fashion.

2. Definitely. I usually like to throw in that whole "don't eat fairie food!" thing.

3. Probably. But not much. And during the day, mostly.

4. I would guess there is a childhood. Fairies that are plant-spirits would probably have very short ones from sprout to mature plant.

5. Their magical powers stop working.

Now that you mention that, is there a half-fey template floating around somewhere in the Monster Manuals?

Not that I'm aware of, but I don't buy a lot of gaming books.

Well, there's for certain Half-Nymph in an issue of Dragon Magazine (I'm at work so can't find the issue for you). I think there's a Half-Fey (with a rather cute example) in a Dragon, too. :)

Dragon Magazine Issue #313 has all sorts of half templates. From what it looks like, it has Half-Fey.

That's so interesting!

Thanks for opening my mind to other possibilities. Thinking about a half-nymph made me consider the fey/human relationship more.

there is a half-fey template in the fiend folio. ^_^ I'll post it later if you want.

Can you post it for me please? It would be greatly appreciated :-)

Sorry this took so long! Anyway, here it is!

"Half-fey" is an inherited template that can be added to any corporeal living creature. The creature's type changes to fey. It uses all the base creature's statistics and special abilities except as noted here.
Hit Dice: Change to d6.
Speed: All half-fey have butterflylike wings unless the base creature has wings already. A half-fey that did not already have wings gains a fly speed equal to twice the base creature's fastest mode of movement, with good maneuverability.
Special attacks: A half-fey with wisdom or charisma of 8 or higher (after the ability score adjustments noted below) gains spell-like abilities, using HD as its caster level. These abilities are cumulative; a half-fey with 3 HD can use the abilities on the 1-2 HD row on the table as well as those on teh 3-4 HD row. WHen a half-fey gets a choice between two abilities (such as faerie fire or glitterdust at 1-2 HD), it can choose anew between these abilities each day.

1-2: 'Charm person' at will, 'hypnotism' 1/day, 'faerie fire' or 'glitterdust'
3-4: 'detect law' 3/day, 'sleep' or 'enthrall' 1/day
5-6: 'protection from law' 3/day, 'Tasha's hideous laughter' or 'suggestion' 1/day
7-8 'confusion' or 'emotion' 1/day
9-10 'eyebite' or 'lesser geas' 1/day
11-12 'dominate person' or 'hold monster' 1/day
13-14 'mass invisibility' 1/day
15-16 'geas/quest' or 'mass suggestion' 1/day
17-18 'insanity' or 'mass charm' 1/day
19+ 'Otto's irresistible dance' 1/day

Special qualities: Half-fey have low-light vision and are immune to enchangement spells and effects.
Abilities: adjust from the base creature as follows: Dex +2, Con -2, Wis +2, Cha +4.
Skills: A half-fey has skill points equal to (6 + its Int modifier)x(its Hit Dice + 3). Treat skills possessed by the base creature as class skills and other skills as cross-class. If the creature has a class, it gains skill points for class levels normally.
Challenge rating: same as base creature +1
Level adjustment: Same as base creature +2
Alignment: usually chaotic

This is copied virtually verbatim from the Fiend Folio. Oh wait... this is probably illegal. Oops.

Fiend Folio. It gives any race a number of fey powers and a set of butterfly wings that I've never seen on any official D&D parent fey come to think of it.

Basically it's up to what you want for your world's concept/mythology. There are no correct answers; except possibly for 2) since there is a fey subtype definition(but what the hell, if you don't like it scrap it).

An interesting idea I've seen is that they certainly have gender and sex, but not within a type-ie all brownies are male, all nymphs female etc; which could be why the legends of seeking human lovers etc. It would also explain the changling idea of stealing human children and making them fey. Another variation is that two types could mix eg satyrs and nymphs and the offsprings sex would determine which was born(or vice versa).

Perhaps elves could be the offspring of human/fey interaction(at least initially-or always maybe).

The concepts of different types/different genders and the mixes of them is interesting, especially with the nymph/satyr example. Thanks for the input! :-)

There's a handful of fey, particularly in MM3 and Fiend Folio that are all one gender and tied to a particular geographical formation. Actually, I think the only male of those lived around waterfalls. Certainly makes creating a central Seelie Court a pain in the bollocks if nobody can travel more than 300 ft to see each other.

I will now speak with authority about things that have no correct answer. To disagree with me is to be WRONG.

1) Faeries can be androgynous or very, very male (Satyrs) or very, very female (Dryads, Nymphs). They definately have sex - Dryads are notorious for keeping human males as toys, Satyrs are notorious for carrying off human women, and Nymphs are just notorious. As for the smaller varieties, pixies and sprites and whatnot, whatever. Maybe they find babies under toadstools. Maybe they have rich and fulfilling sex lives. I really don't know.

2) Faeries defiantely eat and drink - thus the whole thing about it being a bad idea to eat faerie food and drink faerie wine.

3) They probably sleep - carefully hidden away, of course.

4) They're immortal until slain, but they do have a childhood. Of course, under certain mythologies no faerie children have been born for centuries, thus their penchant for stealing human babes. Some faeries may come into being fully formed, particularly nature spirits or the smaller, less-noble, less-intelligent fey.

5) Fey sicken and die in an anti-magic field. This is immediately and viscerally obvious to both the faerie and anyone who can see her - her light goes out, her wings (if any) droop, and she begins to grey around the edges. How long this takes is up to the GM - I reccomend one Fortitude save per x time (I'd say per day, but that may be too slow for your tastes, so make it per hour or even per minute if you like), failure resulting in 1d4 Con/Str/Cha damage. And of course none of their magic works in such a place - and for flying faeries, I'd say this means they can't fly.

Now here's my question:

Anyone know where we can find stats for the some of the really NASTY faeries? I'm talking about redcaps and Jenny Greenteeth, here, just for starters.

Redcaps are in MM3. They get the powerful build quality so they can hold medium-size weapons without a problem. There's a type of warfey in MM3 that walks around in impossibly well-built armor and has living spells following it. Also a kind of kill-happy fey in Fiend Folio, all about being angsty and spilling blood. I can't remember any names beyond Redcaps because they're impossible to pronounce.

Are MM3 and Fiend Folio 3.5 or 3.0?

MM3 is 3.5, FF is 3.0 but you can just insert DR 10/cold iron where appropriate