Roleplaying creatures

Land mythicals : fairies, pixies, sprites and nymphs

Fairies :

Fairies or faes as called in Medieval Western European folklore and romance, are spirits or supernatural beings. They're commonly depicted as a tiny woman with delicate butterfly or dragonfly wings, however, there are many different varieties of fairies. Fairies are related to demons and have a nature that falls somewhere between humans and angels. Like men, angels, and demons, fairies are both malevolent and benevolent as well as neutral. They delight in helping those who do as they see fit and are quick to turn on those who do not. Their punishments are often severe. They are shapeshifters, able to change form at will, they also change form according to the eyes that see them, in other words two people may see the same being yet describe something different.

Notes :
- some say fairies are fallen angels who were not good enough to be saved, nor bad enough to be lost. They were cast out of heaven but weren't filled enough with sin to sink them all the way to hell, so they stay here, on Earth.
- they do not exist wholly in our universe, they have bodies composed of subtle material and are able to move between the seen and unseen worlds, as well as appear and interact in dreams.
- earthly, not heavenly beings.
- humans with second sight and the very young are able to see them best, they are most easily seen at twilight.
- they are well known to abduct humans especially women and children, when they are taken a mirror image of their being is left in their place. When they steal children, the copy that is left behind is called a 'changeling' (here comes Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream where Titania, the queen of all fairies, had a changeling boy and Oberon argues with Titania about the child)
- they are shy around humans and hide quickly when they come near.
- a bunch of mushrooms that are grown in a circular formation may be called as a 'fairy circle, where most myths and legends say, the fairies get together in that circle and have celebrations or just gather around the circle.

Pixies :

Pixies are short, child-like, benign creatures who are fond of dancing, and sometimes gather in huge numbers to dance or wrestle. They are usually depicted with pointed ears, wingless, and often wearing a green suit with pointed hats

Notes :
- pixies are considered mischievous, but not overtly malevolent creatures of nature.
- they can be mean to humans, but they will help out humans who befriend them.
- pixies are excellent metal workers and often help out the dwarves.
- the dust that their metal working produces is magical, and is commonly called 'pixie dust' by humans.
- pixies are drawn to blooming flowers, and like to live under toadstools.

Sprites :

A sprite is a spirit with magical powers. They are often associated with natural objects and places such as forests, trees, the sea, etcetera and are respectively known as wood-sprites, tree-sprites, sea-sprites, and so on. They can possess things, and by doing so, assume the shape of whatever they have possessed.

Note :
- sprites are possession type of creature, they have no set form or shape of their own.
- their possession is not evil, as in the case of Demonic possession, but is generally harmless.
- sprites are gentle creatures, but they are playful and like to play tricks on people and animals just like Pixies and elves.
- in some elemental magics, the sprite is often believed to be the elemental embodiment of air or water.

Nymphs :

A nymph is any member of a large class of female nature entities, either bound ti a particular location or land form, such as mountains, groves, springs, rivers, valleys and cool grottos or joining the retinue if a god or a goddess. They can also be best described as nature spirits or minor goddesses. Although not immortal, they lived extremely long lives.

Notes :
- nymphs were the frequent target of lusty satyrs, their male counterpart. (For example in the disney movie of Hercules, Phil was spying on certain nymphs that were enjoying themselves with female things)
- they were seen to be care givers of the land and life in general.
- in the case of the tree nymphs, by cutting down a tree you kill the nymph who lives in it. One could only escape the revenge of an angered tree nymph by begging for her blessing before cutting down her tree.

There are different types of nymphs
Alseids - glen and grove nymphs
Autonaids - pasture nymphs
Dryads - tree nymphs (hamadryads, epimeliads, leuce, meliads)
Epimeliads - apple tree nymphs
Hanadryads - oak tree nymphs
Hesperides - nymphs that reside over the Tree of Hesperides
Lampades - preside over the Underworld, depicted as baring torches
Leimakids - meadow nymphs
Naiads - fresh water/fountain nymphs (naiads have healing powers, but they would bring madness to those who angered them)
Nephaeae - mountain valley nymphs
Nephelae - cloud nymps
Nereids - sea nymphs
Meliads - ash tree nymphs
Melids - fruit tree nymphs
Oreads - mountain/cave nymphs
Orphne - underworld nymphs
Oceanids - ocean nymphs
Pleiades - constellation nymphs