Fan art of Artagan, an archfey, by David Rodrigues.[art 1]
An Archfey (not always capitalized[1][2]) is a powerful fey creature with the influence, understanding, and power to bend the surrounding Feywild to its will. Most Archfey belong to the Seelie Court, the Unseelie Court, or one of the other courts, but may even be unaffiliated,[3] like Artagan.[4]
Known Archfey[]
Fan art of Lady Elmenore, High Warqueen of the Burning Vale, by Micaerys.[art 2]
Some of the Archfey of the Feywild have been identified in the Material Plane, either by scholars or mortals making deals with them:[5]
- Lord Artagan of the Morncrown: A courtless Archfey. He was in the Arcana Pansophical records as of 836 PD,[4] but around a decade later[6] he was transformed into a powerless mortal by decree of the Seelie and Unseelie courts.[7]
- Lady Elmenore the Unforgiving: Matriarch of the Seelie Court. She was in the Arcana Pansophical records as of 836 PD.
- Keeper of the Moontides: A mysterious Archfey. A spy of the Arcana Pansophical went missing while investigating them.[8]
- Potentate Sammanar: Master of the Unseelie Court. They were in the Arcana Pansophical records as of 836 PD.
- Lord Saundor the Forsaken: Master of the Shademurk and former wielder of Fenthras. He figures in the Arcana Pansophical records as "reportedly deceased".[9][8]
- Queen Titania: Queen of the Summer Court. A powerful Archfey who sets traps in the Feywild for outsiders.[1][10]
Morrigan the Fatestitcher, the powerful hag keeper of a fane that not even the agents of the great courts dare to enter,[11] was described as something different than an Archfey, and not even she saw herself that way.[12] However, after the end of the Era of Reclamation, when the gods had been reborn as mortals and the Fatestitcher was the main entity interacting with the skein of fate, she described herself as an "Archfey creature", likely signifying her higher status, especially in the age that was coming (even if her powers were still limited outside of her domain).[13]
Other fey individuals hold Archfey-like powers, even if they lack the title or are as yet unknown to outside scholars:
- Naviask: A former balor transformed by Titania to defend nature.[14]
- Vesh: Also known as the "Bloody Siren", a mysterious and immortal woman who feasts on pain, blood and pleasure without distinction.[15][16]
According to the Fatestitcher, only five of the mentioned entities can be considered "major archfey",[17] presumably the same five that are known enough to appear in the Arcana Pansophical records.
In The Wild Beyond the Witchlight, outside of Critical Role canon, there is another Archfey, Zybilna, whose domain was visited by at least two Exandrians.[18]
History[]
Pre-Divergence[]
In the eve of the Calamity Asmodeus, honoring an ancient pact between him and the fey,[19] warned Lady Elmenore the Unforgiving (and presumably the archfey rulers of other courts) about the Betrayer Gods returning to Exandria. Several portals in the Material Plane were open, giving each of the fey subjects in Exandria a chance to return to the Feywild and to safety if so they chose.[20]
Before the Divergence, Artagan tricked a nascent civilization of elves into worshipping a whale carcass. This drew the ire of the elven god Corellon, who banished Artagan from the Material Plane.[1]
Also before the Divergence, Naviask was a powerful balor bent on the destruction of the Feywild until he fell into one of Queen Titania's traps, and she transformed him into a fey spirit whose mission is to use nature to heal scarred lands.[1]
Post-Divergence[]
After the Divergence, Naviask was drawn to the Material Plane to heal the devastation that war had caused.[1]
Campaign One: Vox Machina[]
When Syngorn was in the Feywild during the Chroma Crisis, Artagan helped some fey, including a pixie prince named Windybranch, to slip through the city's defenses, where they occupied a noblewoman's manor and transformed it into a fun slice of the Feywild; she tried to reclaim her home for years afterward.[21]
Fan art of Vex'ahlia fighting Saundor, by Thomas Brin.[art 4]
Artagan played an important role in Vox Machina's adventures. He guided Vox Machina on their quest to slay his fellow Archfey Saundor (which yielded Saundor's mighty bow Fenthras for Vex'ahlia) and when they retreated to the Feywild, he ensured they could get a full rest and stop Vecna before the lich's miracle of terror was completed. As part of the deal for his aid, Vox Machina built Artagan a doorway back to the Material Plane.
In the meantime, several members of Vox Machina had taken a vacation to the Feywild. Against Artagan's advice to avoid the Theater, they snuck in to watch a performance of the Royal Troupe of the Unseelie Court; at the end they saw an "entity" step back into a doorway, signaling it was time to leave;[22] this entity was presumably Sammanar.
Campaign Two: The Mighty Nein[]
Artagan used the doorway Vox Machina built for him, and thereby became the childhood friend and patron of Jester Lavorre. Through his ongoing and evolving relationship with her, he guided the Mighty Nein throughout their campaign. He had amassed hundreds of followers, but wished to unburden himself of almost all of them. With the help of the Mighty Nein he gathered them all on the island of Rumblecusp in an event known as Traveler Con and tried to trick them into believing he had always been Sehanine in disguise. This went awry when one of that goddess's powerful servants appeared and nearly re-banished him.
As of 836 PD, Naviask's followers said he still wanders the wastes of Xhorhas, seen only by those whom he wishes to see him. He was by then an Archfey patron for warlocks, seeking those of a similar heart and offering them power to help heal the land.[1]
Exandria Unlimited[]
Lady Elmenore had some kind of possessive relationship with the faun Fearne Calloway, but Fearne's grandmother helped Fearne travel from the Feywild to the Material Plane. During her adventuring party's travels, Fearne was drawn into a confrontation with a dark, more powerful version of herself wearing the Circlet of Barbed Vision, and this dark alter ego said the Warqueen wanted Fearne back.[23] After the battle that followed, Fearne could feel Elmenore's displeasure at the dark alter ego's failure.[24]
Trivia[]
- Unlike the rest of the fey, archfey are immortal and immutable.[25]
- The only exception seems to be a transformation caused by the sentence of a fey court trial.[26]
- In other Dungeons & Dragons materials outside Critical Role lore, archfey cannot be permanently killed if they die inside their domains.[27]
- In the rare cases where firbolgs become warlocks, it is common for their clans to make arcane deals and pacts with powerful fey such as archfey.[28]
- Theoretically, an archfey could survive being the target of Ludinus Da'leth's harness.[29]
- According to Nana Morri, archfey collect titles, since they love such honors.[30]
External links[]
Archfey on The Forgotten Realms Wiki (note)- Archfey on the Eberron Wiki
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 See Explorer's Guide to Wildemount, p. 32.
- ↑ See Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting Reborn, p. 39. See also p. 42. Contrast with pp. 111, 126, 219–220, and 274, where it is capitalized.
- ↑ See "The Echo Tree" (1x63) at 1:29:02.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Matthew Mercer confirmed on Twitter that Artagan was a "courtless Archfey" (source).
- ↑ See Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting, pp. 123–124.
- ↑ See Dani Carr's tweet about it. Credit to Kasia for her assistance.
- ↑ The Tales of Exandria: Artagan #4
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 See Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting Reborn, p. 220.
- ↑ See "The Echo Tree" (1x63) at 1:28:24.
- ↑ See "The Echo Tree" (1x63) at 1:28:24.
- ↑ See "Dark Portents" (3x29) at 3:13:16.
- ↑ See "Axiom Shaken" (3x43) from 3:54:08 through 3:54:31. Ryn explains that while Morri might have enough power and life force tether to the land, she's something different than an archfey.
- ↑ See "A New Age Begins" (3x121) at 7:50:50.
- ↑ Vesh is an "Archfey" warlock patron. See Explorer's Guide to Wildemount, p. 33.
- ↑ Vesh is an "Archfey" warlock patron. See Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting Reborn, p. 40.
- ↑ See "To Hurt Is to Heal" (3x79) at 1:24:49.
- ↑ See D&D: The Wild Beyond the Witchlight, 5th ed., p. 156. See also page 176
- ↑ See "Fire and Ruin" (E3x04) at 3:31:30.
- ↑ See "Fire and Ruin" (E3x04) at 3:33:43.
- ↑ See Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting, pp. 83–84.
- ↑ See "One Year Later..." (1x95) from 41:39 through 46:12.
- ↑ See "By the Road" (E1x04) at 51:31.
- ↑ See "By the Road" (E1x04) at 2:15:50.
- ↑ See Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting, p. 123.
- ↑ The Tales of Exandria: Artagan #4
- ↑ Wizards of the Coast, Domains of Delight (5e), p. 15.
- ↑ See Explorer's Guide to Wildemount, p. 170.
- ↑ See "Embattled in Bassuras" (3x70) at 3:43:39.
- ↑ See "To Hurt Is to Heal" (3x79) at 1:25:55.
Art:
- ↑ Fan art of Artagan, an archfey, by David Rodrigues (source). Used with permission.
- ↑ Fan art of Lady Elmenore, High Warqueen of the Burning Vale, by Micaerys. Work contributed to the Critical Role Wiki by the artist.
- ↑ Fan art of Naviask, by Weradd (source). Used DM response with permission.
- ↑ Fan art of Vex'ahlia fighting Saundor, by Thomas Brin (source). Used with permission.
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