Call of

the Feywild:
The
By Logan Bonner
Illustration by William O'Connor

Wayfaring Bards

Now heed my words, for I best know Of peril telling tales may sow When small, my mind saw wondrous things Conjured up through honeyed words Coupled with the purr of strings My callow mind misled me then To search for folk in faerie glen And O, did I step bright beyond Mortal peace and places known Home and friends and young mans bond My opened eyes saw green so bold To make my forests pale and cold My memry dear of owered eld Died as sweeter savors came Beauty true I saw revealed Opening Stanzas of Sigarunes Tale, Continued Throughout

TM & 2010 Wizards of the Coast LLC. All rights reserved.

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The crumbled libraries and expert scholars scattered around the world carry historys songs and tales into the present, but nothing in the realms of humanity can match the deep traditions of art and lore that endure among the folk of the Feywild. Any bard wise enough to see the value of fey knowledge and brave enough to face the dangers of the Feywild seeks out ways to travel to the plane. By visiting the eladrin cities, carefully seeking out gnome warrens, or confronting the natural dangers of the elves woods, a wayfarer can hear chronicles never told by any denizen of the natural world. To cross over, one must use the Fey Passage ritual (see page 150 of Manual of the Planes) or plan to arrive at one of the few times the crossing opens naturally. This schedule might be based on lunar cycles, weather events, or even fey holidays. Consequently, bards visit the Feywild at the same time every year. And they make sure they get back before the crossing closes again, trapping them away from their home plane. Worldfallsevents that move expanses of land from one plane to anotherattract visitors to fey realms. Rather than visiting the Feywild, a bard can wait for a worldfall that brings an eladrin city (for example) into the natural world. Places that frequently fall across planes take on an esoteric character to become exotic bazaars, tourist destinations (for those few tough or privileged enough to travel in relative safety), or meeting places between fey families with members dwelling on both planes. Of course, theyre like this only during worldfall, and a wise bard knows how to tell when a city that appears inviting would be dangerous if encountered outside an interval of worldfall.

The Native Tongue

Any visitor who expects to travel to the Feywild and communicate should know the Elven language. If your characters race doesnt allow you to choose Elven as a language, you can take one of these options (and more are available at a higher level). F A background related to the Feywild or Elvenspeaking creatures F The Linguist or Mark of Scribing feat F A polyglot gem (Adventurers Vault), a level 6 wondrous item F The Comprehend Language ritual (if youre desperate)

Reaching the Feywild

While sylvan creatures voices roused And light fell hazy through the boughs My eyes grew weightyfull of dream Weary now, my body lazed Slumbered nigh to tree and stream The natural world is rife with cautionary tales of hapless folk who wandered through fey crossings and overambitious iconoclasts who traveled through foolishly, compelled by their wanderlust (such as with Sigarunes Tale, retold here). A clever bard who can separate out the red herrings can find the approximate locations of fey crossings buried within heaps of legend and local alterations. Failing that, any high concentration of fey monsters in the world hints that a fey crossing might be nearby. After getting close, a bard bent on crossing the planes can use arcane skills (and knowledge of the typical signs that mark fey crossings) to find their exact locations.

Socializing with the Fey

On waking ill from arcane spell I saw my bed was now a cell In court of elven finery Pet! they cried, and bade me sing Mortal ballads happily Prominent eladrin make an ideal audience for balladeers and frequently act as patrons for the arts. Their esteemed artists share fables, poems, and drinks in the dining halls and library towers within the eladrin cities. Becoming part of this inner circle is no easy act, though. Only impressive artistic skill, off beat

presentation, a striking appearance, and no small amount of flattery gains patronage for a newcomer. Wayfaring bards can use their rareness to advantage; an eladrin patron might not resist the novelty of sponsoring a skilled performer from the natural world. Parties and summits bring fey from many regions (and many races) together. Although some can be an exercise in tedium, most provide a bard with an always-welcome opportunity to impress the crowd and meet new people with other tales to tell. More connections in different societies mean a bard has more places to research storiesor gather allies in times of danger.

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Lore of the Fey Cultures

Why Should an Adventurer Care?
The descriptions of travels to the Feywild in this article might seem like background info, or actions the adventurer takes during downtime at best. So how can you incorporate travels to the Feywild into adventures? First off, provide some details about your previous travels so your Dungeon Master has the option to use them if your party travels to the Feywild or meets nonplayer characters from there. Second, pepper your roleplaying with details of your time abroad. Toss in an occasional mention of the time I spent in Toruliels court or the bloodthirsty equinox hunt with the Tribe of the Southern Wind, where I made my first kill. Your character might carry trinkets or presents from fey patrons or allies. Third, your time in the Feywild could influence your mechanical choices. Pick powers or backgrounds from this article, multiclass in primal or arcane classes tied to the societies you visited, and take magic items with a fey theme (such as feystep lacings from Adventurers Vault or the fey-blessed circlet from Adventurers Vault 2). On oaken lute shone silver strings A tool to please the faerie Kings For Queen most high, for noble elf Bade this bondman reminisce Private tunes held dear to self As summer after summer went White winter powder branches bent And autumns blazed in red unmatched Verse and ode made weak appeal Cold and mute, my cage stood latched Creatures and cultures of the Feywild focus their stories and art on different aspects of the pasteach race has its own tales to tell. A bard might seek out different groups depending on what sort of legends he or she prefers. Each group detailed below has an entry that lists the types of art forms in which the group specializes. Eladrin: Blessed with long lives, eladrin scribes and poets use their centuries of life to unearth every obscure detail of the historic events that fascinate them. Their detailed depictions, crafted with both words and visual arts, describe the wars of old. They spent perhaps more care cataloging the political maneuvering and familial connections that bound and reshaped the eladrin houses and cities. Though thorough and meticulously written and rewritten, these accounts can be too dry and rambling for any human to endure. Furthermore, eladrin artists owe tremendous loyalty to their patrons (typically highranking members of eladrin houses, and occasionally archfey), causing their odes and chronicles to conform to whatever version of history the patron wishes to present.

Exceptional Arts: Architecture, romantic balladry, historical epic poetry (slightly fictionalized), painting, silverwork Gnomes: Any chat with a gnome sage can provide the visitor with an interesting story. But thats the only guarantee. To the gnomesincluding their poetsan exciting tale well told beats a boring truth any day, and tall tales outnumber true accounts by a wide margin within their culture. Though many bards feel the same way, placing artistry above veracity, others feel the need to sift a gnomes story to collect the nuggets of truth hidden within it. Most gnomes know the truth, or have guessed at it. A wayfarer who wants the full truth must learn the gnomes price. Typically, the inquiring party needs to best the gnome in a game of skill (such as a riddle contest or board game) or perform a truly riveting tale of the natural world. Exceptional Arts: Satire, illusion crafting, debate, improvisational theatre/expository oration Elves: Though their numbers are smaller than in the natural world, the elves of the Feywild are just as proud. The races greatest hunters call the Feywild home, as do storytellers whose tales reach back to before any elf left for the natural world. To study with the elves means living a hard life, but it pays off in battle skills and stories of elven heroism. Tribes in the Feywild rarely call one forest home as their counterparts in the natural world do; they must follow a nomadic lifestyle to keep up with the changing landscapes and migrating creatures of their plane. Exceptional Arts: Storytelling, weaponmaking (especially bows and arrows), woodcarving, leatherworking Fomorians: A bard possessed of true daring might seek the rarest stories: the ancient records suppressed by the paranoid, possessive fomorian rulers.

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These cruel tyrants demand their cyclops scribes take good care to keep libraries current, and each one frequently sends a cyclops digging through the histories for any small bit of guidance that might help with the fomorians current focus of worry. Any bard trying to access a fomorian library needs stealth and trickery to make it inside the place, but he or she can find rare tales that exist nowhere else. In fact, some of the lost histories of eladrin houses rest within fomorian libraries, which were stolen in ages past. With their keen interest in magic, fomorians also keep stores of rituals and arcane texts. The fomorians have little interest or skill in the arts, but their cyclops servants create beautiful works for their masters. Exceptional (Cyclops) Arts: Magical crafting, blacksmithing, stonecarving, gemcutting Satyrs: As far removed from the formal records of the eladrin houses as you can get, satyr songs reveal the scandalous side of life in the Feywild. Full of drunken boasts, bawdy tales, and fey secrets (especially risqu ones), satyrs keep the hidden history the other fey would prefer to bury forever. If a bard has an enemy in the Feywild, chances are a satyr can reveal some skeletons in that enemys closet. Exceptional Arts: Drinking songs, bawdy limericks, wine-making, pipe music, dance Treants: Most treant stories can bore any nontreant to tears. Season-by-season recountings of the growth of specific trees, or an ode to the ninety-three types of rain, dont matter much to an adventurer. However, patience can be rewarding. The treants also know taleswhich they share only with those they trustof the forest primordials in the days before the Dawn War. Exceptional Arts: Wilderness histories, parables about nature Firbolgs: Blood and battle fill the sagas told by the firbolg skalds. Arrogant, gory depictions describe spear thrusts, sprays of blood, and cracking bones. Beyond just the bards, each warrior or hunter knows the full tale of at least one Wild Hunt from the past. Exceptional Arts: Saga oration, weaponmaking, tattooing, ritual dancing Centaurs: Like firbolgs, centaurs focus on war stories. However, they know more about other cultures since they work closely with them. Centaur family lines strongly influence the tales they remember: A centaur storyteller has a duty to describe the actions of ancient ancestors and to pass on these tales to his or her descendants. Exceptional Arts: Storytelling, genealogy out gnomes, reveling in the trials and trickery of their artists. The Blue Balladeers: It might be difficult for minstrels to visit the followers of the Sea Lords, so they gather at riverbanks and the shores of the brilliant blue sea to share songs and stories. The Nightingales: This small fellowship follows the Gloaming Fey. They use dusk, stars, and surreal imagery to create their dreamlike songs and poems. The Nightingales also attract followers to the Prince of Hearts. Their odes to unrequited love and smoldering passion are among the few fey creations that make their way into the repertoires of bards in the natural world. The Reclaimers: Dedicated to restoring the annals of eladrin history, the Reclaimers sneak into fomorian libraries. They especially rely on their fellows, since their work carries so much danger. Reclaimers might provide a distraction so one of their number can sneak into a fomorian stronghold. Theyre rewarded with part of the haul. The Sunsingers: Formed within the court of the Summer Fey and spreading to the courts of all its affiliated houses, the Sunsingers create odes to the beauty of clear skies, sun, and the Summer Queen. Due to Tiandras fondness for mortals, this fellowship is especially easy for wayfaring bards to join. Rumors indicate she might be seeking a skilled mortal to serve as her court minstrel. As is to be expected, the fellowships tied to the different courts within the Court of Stars dont allow overlap. A member of the Sunsingers shouldnt expect any courtesy or troubadour camaraderie from the Voices of Winter. Voice and Spear: To the fellows of Voice and Spear, heroic sagas mean nothing if you dont create a tale of your own in their mold. Running among the

Bardic Fellowships
And as my corpse grew gray and frail My masters ceased my long travail In faerie hall Id earned a place Hated lock now gone, I thrilled Walking free by fortunes grace As lorekeepers and artists meet amid eladrin houses or other congregations of fey, they form bonds that become fellowships. These organizations consist of wayfarers and Feywild natives, and they command respect from the fey. This section refers to the Court of Stars described on pages 3639 of Manual of the Planes. The Badgers: A peculiar federation, the Badgers thrive on secret rituals and bewildering rules. Essentially, theyre in the organization to do all the things you do in an organization. As its silly name indicates, the Badgers is practically a parody of other bardic fellowships. Those who appreciate that sort of thing seek

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elves and firbolgs, theyre as much hunters as they are poets. Scattered far apart between vast wildernesses, groups of Voice and Spear gather to inspire their tribemates before large hunts. The Voices of Winter: Writing poetry as bleak as their namesake, the Voices seek to please the Prince of Frost and the other Winter Fey. Some artists consider their works depressing and joyless, but others admire the way their words evoke the biting chill of a winter wind and the listless sensation of enduring winters long nights. Prescient Bard: Because you follow the traditions of the bow and possess deep wisdom, you find kinship with the elves of the Feywild. Your excursions might take you back to dense treetop canopies where you trained with master elven archers, or bring you back in time for ritualistic seasonal hunts. Valorous Bard: The fey have less respect for valor than you find in the mortal world. Eladrin and other powerful forces value courage only when its convenient. They might call on you as a mercenary, relying on your battle prowess and caring less for your poems or songs. Despite this indifference toward valor, the Feywilds history swells with tales of brave heroes; studying the stories of the fey gives you new sources of inspiration.

Builds for Wayfarers

If captors thought this brave reward Should make my heart accept their lord My mortal song untrue did ring Freedom led my path to seek Mist-enshrouded faerie ring My spirit clasped in cold embrace I walked amid a well-known place My world again became my world Seeing hearth and hill of old Scrolls my shaking hands unfurled Bards who travel to the Feywild do so for varied reasons, and interact with varied groups. Your build and the reasons you cross the planes might influence one another. Cunning Bard: Many types of fey appreciate trickery and the deft use of words. Eladrin houses could welcome you for your talent, or because you tricked them into becoming patrons years ago. You might know a secret song to bring gnome allies out from their hidden warrens. Your Feywild allies collect stories and rumors about your exploits and look forward to listening to you tell the truth about these eventsor perhaps an even more exciting fabrication.

Wayfaring Bard Backgrounds

From stolen rag, from parchment scrap Came shards of verse, a poets map The finest words, my jailors missed Secret sagas mourned for home Phrases born from muses kiss Cross time abroad neath foreign stars This home once white fell gray and marred No eager public opened their ears Lonely stones and witless beasts Heard my song and glimpsed my tears By choosing one of these backgrounds, you can represent the time your bard spent in the Feywild. Most nonfey choose to speak Elven as their background benefit. Friend of an Eladrin House: In your wanderings far from the mortal world, you met illustrious members of an eladrin house. They found you charming
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and became your patrons. Did they teach you magic and song, or were they impressed by the gifts you already possessed? Do they have other allies in the world? Are you a mere friend, or were you born a member of the house? Associated Skills: Arcana, Diplomacy Associated Language: Elven Trapped in the Feywild: A reluctant traveler, you became imprisoned or lost in the Feywild against your will. While there, you had your first brush with arcane magic and the odd fey creatures that inhabit the realm. Did you wander into the Feywild by mistake and lose your way home? Were you captured and placed in bondage by fomorians or other cruel fey? How did you escape from the Feywild? Do you want to go back and clean up some loose ends, or do you want to avoid the plane for good? Associated Skills: Arcana, Endurance Associated Language: Elven

Heroic Tier Feats

The following feats are suitable for any character who meets the prerequisite.

Powers
The home once had I never found For monstrous beast and hate abound My art now dead, my land now dark Longing sends these brittle bones Seeking inspirations spark As a master of traveling to the Feywild, you can quickly create portals to that plane. They dont last long, but your spells take advantage of the ability well.

Bardic Wayfarer
Prerequisite: Bard, majestic word class feature Benefit: Once per turn when you teleport an ally with a power, you can also teleport 1 square as a free action. In addition, when you use majestic word you can teleport the target 1 square instead of sliding the target.

Level 1 Encounter Spell

Victim of the Feywild
Bard Attack 1
You send your allies stepping across planes, recreating one of the innumerable tales that describe fey warriors springing from nowhere to attack wanderers in their realm.
Encounter F Arcane, Force, Implement, Teleportation Standard Action Ranged 5 Target: One creature Attack: Charisma vs. Will Hit: 1d8 + Charisma modifier force damage, and you can teleport one or two allies within 5 squares of the target each to different squares adjacent to the target.

Envoy to the Fey

Prerequisite: Bard Benefit: You can speak, read, and write Elven. When you make a Bluff, Diplomacy, Intimidate, or Streetwise check against a fey creature, you can roll twice and use the higher result.

Feats
Though broken echo rasps for you My aged throat then sang like new On final verse, my torch alight Set afire evry scrap Man once more illumined night After visiting the Feywild numerous times, you learn to step quickly to the plane in a manner similar to an eladrin using fey step.

Paragon Tier Feat

The feat in this section is available to any characters of 11th level and above who meet the prerequisites.

Level 2 Utility Spell

Beguiling Ballad
Bard Utility 2
Just as your foe thinks victory is assured, you weave a curtain of fey magic that makes it think its enemy was never there.
Daily F Arcane, Illusion, Teleportation Immediate Reaction Close burst 10 Trigger: An enemy in the burst hits an ally Target: The triggering enemy Effect: The target cannot see the triggering ally (save ends). The triggering ally can teleport 5 squares as a free action.

Walk Among the Fey

Prerequisite: 11th level, bard Benefit: Whenever you use a power that slides a creature, you can teleport that creature an equal number of squares instead. Where you teleport the creature remains subject to any restrictions on the original slide.

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Level 3 Encounter Spell

Unicorns Charge
Bard Attack 3
Your song describes the nobility and magic of a Feywild unicorn, inspiring your ally to come to the rescue.
Encounter F Arcane, Healing, Teleportation Standard Action Ranged 10 Target: One creature Effect: One ally within range can charge the target as a free action. If the ally hits, each ally adjacent to the target can regain hit points equal to your Charisma modifier or, as a free action, teleport 1 square.

Level 7 Encounter Spell

Drums of the Wild Hunt
Bard Attack 7
You mimic the pounding beat that drives the fury of the Wild Hunt, imparting its savagery to your allies.
Encounter F Arcane, Implement, Teleportation, Thunder Standard Action Close burst 1 Target: One, two, or three creatures in burst Attack: Charisma vs. Fortitude Hit: 1d10 + Charisma modifier thunder damage. You can teleport an ally within 10 squares of you to a square adjacent to the target. If you do, that ally gains a +3 power bonus to its next attack roll against the target before the end of your next turn.

Level 22 Utility Spell

Queens Clemency
Bard Utility 22
Your tune calls across the planes, imploring an archfey ally to pardon your ally and provide an escape.
At-Will F Arcane, Teleportation Minor Action Melee 1 Target: One ally Effect: You teleport the target 1 square.

Other Thematic Powers

These powers appear in other sources, but represent the types of illusion and teleportation magic that typify the bardic wayfarers spell repertoire. F Level 9: Hymn of the daring rescue (Players Handbook 2) F Level 10: Illusory erasure (Players Handbook 2), veil (Players Handbook 2) F Level 16: Blink zone (Players Handbook 2) F Level 17: Song of summons (Players Handbook 2) F Level 19: Spring to action (Arcane Power) F Level 22: Invisible troupe (Players Handbook 2), mirrored entourage (Players Handbook 2), song of transition (Players Handbook 2) F Level 25: Vision distortion (Players Handbook 2)

Level 5 Daily Spell

Timeless Trek in Mithrendain Bard Attack 5
You tear your foe away from the world and send it on a journey like that of Dourlion, who spent untold days in the timeless Autumn City of the eladrin.
Daily F Arcane, Implement, Psychic, Teleportation Standard Action Ranged 5 Target: One creature Attack: Charisma vs. Will Hit: 2d8 + Charisma modifier psychic damage. Effect: The target is banished to the Feywild (save ends). While banished, it is removed from play. When the effect ends, the target reappears in the space it last occupied or in the nearest unoccupied space of its choice.

Level 15 Daily Spell

Whispers of the Dream King Bard Attack 15
Your friend takes on the role of the archfey Dream King as you retell a folktale in which a mortal protected the king and was repaid in kind.
Daily F Arcane, Charm, Implement, Sleep, Teleportation Standard Action Ranged 5 Target: One creature Attack: Charisma vs. Fortitude Hit: The target becomes unconscious (save ends). When the target takes damage, it can make a saving throw against this effect. Aftereffect: Each ally within 3 squares of the target can teleport to a square adjacent to the target as a free action. Miss: The target becomes dazed (save ends). Aftereffect: Each ally within 3 squares of the target can teleport to a square adjacent to the target as a free action.

Level 6 Utility Spell

Echoing Steps
Bard Utility 6
Your incantation pulls its subject into the Feywild long enough to move freely. Arcane reverberations enable shorter return trips.
Daily F Arcane, Teleportation Minor Action Ranged 10 Target: You or one ally Effect: The target can teleport 6 squares as a free action. Until the end of the encounter, the target can teleport 1 square as a minor action.

About the Author

Logan Bonner designed and edited 4th Edition products at Wizards of the Coast until 2009. He now lives in the Seattle area and works as a freelance game designer, writer, and editor.

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