Pixie: Pranksters of the Glade

Petal downs and acorn caps are so last summer!

Rivergleam, Pixie Fashionista

Oh god. We’re not dealing with a monster. This is something far worse. We’re dealing with a basic bitch!

Lore: Friendly Little Tricksters

Highly excitable and energetic, pixies enjoy spying on creatures as they pass. While they have an almost irresistible urge to approach and introduce themselves to try and strike up a friendship, the fear of being captured keeps them at bay. Travelers wandering through its glade may never see the creature, but they will hear its little gasps, sighs, and giggles.

Pixies dress as ornately as any prince or princess. Well, at least if said royalty dressed in silk and flowers or acorns, leaves, bark, or squirrel pelts. Complimenting a pixie on their fashion is a surefire way to earn their affection.

Thanks to their powers of invisibility, pixies are rarely, if ever, seen unless they want to be. While hiding in plain sight, they go about the Feywild or the Material Realm, spreading beauty through nature wherever they go.

Should they be visible as they fly, they will leave a trail of glitter like shooting stars in their wake. That powder is said to be possessed of magical qualities, granting flight, causing confusion, or sending one into a deep sleep. Many hunt pixies in the hopes of harnessing this powder, but only the pixies themselves can use it to its full potential.

When visitors pass through their glades, they’ll spend some time observing them from a safe distance before beginning to play harmless tricks. An untied shoe here, dancing lights there, some minor illusions, etc. Should the pranks be met with hostility, the pixies will steer clear. Should the travelers respond good-naturedly, then the pixie may be emboldened to approach to guide their new friends down an easier, safer road.

Oh, and they hate weapons. So much so that they’ll flee at the first sign of a fight.

You can write some pretty fun stories with this. It could be a simple encounter, wherein the party is tested by a pixie and can either scare it off or make a new friend. Or it could be a side-quest, where they have to save one after it’s captured. Or you could integrate it into a larger plot; maybe your BBEG wants pixie dust for some reason and your players need to earn their trust and protect them. For lore so simple, it’s fairly rich with possibility!

Design: Old and New

I mean… if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, I guess.

This is an effective design. It manages to put a creative spin on the creature while still being clear enough that anyone can recognize it for what it is at one glance. It may not be as creative or interesting as some other creatures higher up on the list, but it’s still alright.

I love all the little touches on this thing. The wrinkles of its leaf-dress. The sparkles of its magic glitter. The mosaic-like pattern of its insect wings. It gives the pixie the appropriately magical aura that it needs.

Overall, the design is good. Not absolutely incredible by any means, but good. It leaves nothing to complain about.

Stats: RUN AWAY!! RUN AWAY!!

Don’t go expecting a rich and compelling boss fight here. Remember the lore? These little guys and gals are all about avoiding combat!

For starters, pixies are among the most fragile monsters we’ve ever discussed. Their AC isn’t terrible, but their HP is locked right below 5. Not fifty or even fifteen. Just 5. If you hit it even once, it’s dead.

Not that hitting it will be easy. Thanks to Magic Resistance, it has advantage on every saving throw related to magic. It’s primary (and only) action, Superior Invisibility, is the perfect tool for escape.

Even its list of spells is all about distracting you and getting away from you!

• At will: druidcraft
• 1/day each: confusion, dancing lights, detect evil and good, detect thoughts, dispel magic, entangle, fly, phantasmal force, polymorph, sleep

Will all of this make for a good fight? No. It isn’t meant to! If you’re going to make the players fight pixies, then you’re going to have to get really creative to make it work!

But if you wanna be that psychotic, go right ahead.

Placement

Placing this one is gonna be kind of tricky. It succeeds in all three categories, particularly the lore. But how do you place a monster that you aren’t designed to fight onto a list of the best monsters for fighting?

That is why we’re here, though. So, let’s find a spot.

After careful consideration, I’m going to place the Pixie at #75 on the Best of the Bestiary.

1. Beholder
2. Death Tyrant
3. Mind Flayer
4. Dragon Turtle
5. Mummy/Mummy Lord
6. Nagas (all three of ’em)
7. Green Dragons
8. Red Dragons
9. Blue Dragons
10. Black Dragons
11. White Dragons
12. Silver Dragons
13. Couatl
14. Behir
15. Aboleth
16. Sea Hag
17. Lamia
18. Bronze Dragons
19. Brass Dragons
20. Copper Dragons
21. Gold Dragons
22. Chuul
23. Kuo-Toa
24. Gibbering Mouther
25. Kraken
26. Intellect Devourer
27. Chimera
28. Death Knight
29. Fomorian
30. Bone Devil
31. Dracolich
32. Faerie Dragon
33. Gelatinous Cube
34. Lich
35. Peryton
36. Orcs (all four of ’em)
37. Magmin
38. Kobold
39. Kenku
40. Hobgoblins
41. Night Hag
42. Green Hag
43. Black Pudding
44. Ankheg
45. Hook Horror
46. Oni
47. Storm Giant
48. Hill Giant
49. Empyrean
50. Efreeti
51. Grimlock
52. Minotaur
53. Dao
54. Cloud Giant
55. Manticore
56. Drow (all four of ’em)
57. Shadow Demon
58. Modrons (all five of ’em)
59. Marilith
60. Drider
61. Aarackockra
62. Azer
63. Demilich
64. Spectator
65. Gray Ooze
66. Ochre Jelly
67. Hydra
68. Marid
69. Harpy
70. Werejackal
71. Otyugh
72. Half-Dragon
73. Cambion
74. Fire Giant
75. Nothic
76. Pixie <—————-
77. Animated Armor
78. Banshee
79. Basilisk
80. Yochlol
81. Bulette
82. Cloaker
83. Darkmantle
84. Doppelganger
85. Ghoul and Ghast
86. Ettin
87. Medusa
88. Pit Fiend
89. Erinyes
90. Chain Devil
91. Bearded Devil
92. Barbed Devil
93. Spined Devil
94. Ice Devil
95. Mimic
96. Djinni
97. Merrow
98. Nalfeshnee
99. Glabrezu
100. Chasme
101. Grell
102. Barlgura
103. Horned Devil
104. Balor
105. Shadow Dragon
106. Myconids (all four of ’em)
107. Piercer
108. Werebear
109. Lizardfolk
110. Vrock
111. Dretch
112. Gnolls (all three)
113. Goristro
114. Hezrou
115. Manes
116. Frost Giant
117. Weretiger
118. Werewolf
119. Duergar
120. Quasit
121. Dryad
122. Flumph
123. Goblin
124. Nightmare
125. Wereboar
126. Wererat
127. Githyanki
128. Owlbear
129. Planetar
130. Imp
131. Ogres/Half-ogres
132. Clay Golem
133. Flameskull
134. Displacer Beast
135. Carrion Crawler
136. Githzerai
137. Grick
138. Invisible Stalker
139. Rug of Smothering
140. Bugbear Chief
141. Bugbear
142. Flesh Golem
143. Vine Blight
144. Twig Blight
145. Needle Blight
146. Mephits (all six of ’em)
147. Bullywug
148. Hellhound
149. Ettercap
150. Gas Spore
151. Cockatrice
152. Lemure
153. Homonculus
154. Merfolk
155. Solar
156. Deva
157. Gorgon
158. Hippogriff
159. Griffon
160. Cyclops
161. Centaur
162. Ghost
163. Pegasus
164. Fire Elemental
165. Water Elemental
166. Air Elemental
167. Stone Giant
168. Deep Gnome
169. Dinosaurs (All six of them)
170. Iron Golem
171. Stone Golem
172. Earth Elemental
173. Galeb Duhr
174. Helmed Horror
175. Flying Sword
176. Crawling Claw
177. Violet Fungus
178. Shrieker
179. Gargoyle