Fir [Shadow Fey]

Fir are slender, almost sprite-like shadow fey with very long fingers that narrow to needle points. Long silver hair, pallid skin and wide, clever eyes mark them, and they dress in purples from indigo to violet. A fir can be a hedgehog for up to twelve hours in any day, switching freely within that total. They speak the common fey tongue in long, ornate sentences, never more so than when describing an invention.

War bores fir, though siege engines fascinate them. Forced into a fight, a fir jabs with its pointed fingers for 1d4+1, but it would far rather let others protect it or release tiny machines (clockwork men, wind-up attack birds, traps) to tie up attackers while it slips away. Captured devices work for no one else.

Talk is its best weapon. Anyone stuck listening to a fir describe a planned design saves vs. spell or is confused as per the spell; the DM may babble aloud to play this out. The constant sparkle in its eyes can become a charm person whenever it likes, holding a captive audience; meeting its gaze calls for a save vs. spell, and a charmed listener endures hours of excruciating detail about some unfinished clockwork project. Fir are also 5th-level clerical casters of the creation and guardian spheres.

Only tin weapons or weapons of +2 or better harm a fir. Stone weapons, even magical ones, and cold or ice do nothing. Direct sun inflicts 2 points per round as its skin burns and it shrieks, dropping to 2 points per turn when clouds soften the light.

Fir repair clocks and other complex mechanisms with ease and sometimes build brass clockwork men to haul loads (AC 5, 2 HD). Their deft fingers pick pockets with 75% success, and they have 120-foot infravision.

Their homes are warrens of small compartments on many levels, stuffed with gears, tools and diagrams, carved into hollow trees or caverns and always well hidden (90% camouflage). A fir alternates between frantic, nonstop work and long stretches of brooding over the next project.

A working fir eats whatever is to hand without noticing and may forget meals for days. In its contemplative phase it prefers slugs, plus grubs, worms and bugs. Fir slip into mortal lands to steal small devices, parts and tools, and an exceptional craftsman found on such a trip may be carried to the hidden shadow realm to become a changeling.