Fey Knight

A knight in shining armour riding atop a magnificent shimmering horse comes towards you. His shield is green and bears the heraldry of Faerie; a golden pennant flutters from the end of his bright lance. His visor is open, revealing a handsome but cruel face.

Monster Encyclopaedia I: Ravagers of the Realms
Author August Hahn, Gareth Hanrahan, Lizard
Series Monster Encyclopaedia
Publisher Mongoose Publishing
Publish date 2004

Fey knights are highly skilled warriors of the Faery courts who serve as bodyguards and champions of the fey royalty. They are said to be the bastard children of liaisons between noble and common fey, although it is also rumoured that mortal warriors who succumb to the enchantments of the woodland folk are also inducted into the ranks of the fey knights.

The knights are usually encountered in the remote forest glades where dryads and nymphs are found, where they defend the gentler fey from those who would trouble them. Other knights are more cruel, capturing and tormenting mortals or hanging them from the trees as grisly trophies. Fey knights have all the nobility, heroism, arrogance or brutality that mortal knights might have, only touched with the animal grace of the faerie kind.

The fey knight described above has six levels of fighter; this is generally considered the minimum needed to be a full-fledged fey knight. Lesser fey knights are still in training in the deep reaches of Faerie and are rarely seen save by those who travel into such distant realms.

Fey Knight
Medium fey
Hit Dice	4d6+6d10+20 (67 hp)
Initiative	+4
Speed	20 ft. (4 squares), Ride 50 ft. (10 squares).
Armour Class	27 (+1 Dexterity, + 2 natural, +10 +2 full plate, +4 +2 heavy steel shield), touch 11, flat-footed 26
Base Attack/Grapple	+8/+11
Attack	+2 longsword +14 melee (1d8+7/19-20) or +1 lance +12 melee (1d8+6/x3)
Full Attack	+2 longsword +14/+9 melee (1d8+7/19–20) or +1 lance +13/+8 melee (1d8+6/x3)
Space/Reach	5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks	Challenge, fey charger, magic arms and armour
Special Qualities	Damage reduction 5/cold iron, glory
Saves	Fort +8, Ref +10, Will +6
Abilities	Strength 16, Dexterity 18, Constitution 14, Intelligence 12, Wisdom 10, Charisma 14
Skills	Diplomacy +14, Handle Animal +11, Intimidation +12, Knowledge (nature) +, Knowledge (nobility & royalty) +6, Listen +3, Perform (dance) +8, Perform (sing) +8, Ride+16, Sense Motive +6, Survival +6
Feats	Dodge, Mounted Combat, Ride-By Attack, Spirited Charge, Weapon Focus (lance), Weapon Focus (longsword), Weapon Specialisation (lance), Weapon Specialisation (longsword)
Environment	Any forest
Organisation	Solitary, honour guard (4) or hunt (4-12)
Challenge Rating	9
Treasure	Double standard
Alignment	Usually neutral
Advancement	By fighter class
Level Adjustment	+13

Combat

Fey knights are expert warriors and horsemen. They are always encountered with their fey chargers, magical steeds bred from faerie stock. They prefer formal jousts and duels to the rough brawl of open combat, although they can fight in the fashion of the tourney field if necessary. Ideally, a fey knight challenges the most powerful opponents in order and defeats each of them one by one.

Challenge (Su): A fey knight can issue a challenge to single combat to any opponent or group of opponents. The target of the challenge may nominate a champion to fight in his place, but the champion must agree and be immediately present (so the challenged cannot nominate, say, the Dragon Who Lives In The Sun unless that dragon is present and willing to fight). If the challenge is refused, then the challenged character is branded a coward and suffers a -2 penalty to skill checks and saving throws against fear effects for a year and a day. This penalty is not cumulative if incurred more than once, and should multiple fey knights challenge a single character on the same day he incurs no such fey curse as long as he accepts the challenge from at least one of the knights. If the challenge is accepted, the two must fight without any interference from others. The battle must be fought within a day of the challenge being issued. No outside aid is permitted, nor may further spells be cast on either fighter (spells already in effect stay in effect).

If the rules of the challenge are broken (by spells cast on either fighter by a third party, enemies ganging up on the fey knight and so on), then both the challenged and the individual who has broken the rules are automatically cursed by the fey knight. This curse can only be laid if the rules of the challenge are broken.

Fey Charger (Su): The fey knight is mounted on a magical steed. This fey animal has the same statistics as a normal unicorn, but can be of any alignment and lacks the magic circle against evil ability.

Glory (Su): As a free action, a fey knight may invoke glory. This gives him a +4 morale bonus to attack rolls and saving throws and a +4 enhancement bonus to his Charisma. The knight may use glory for a number of rounds equal to his Charisma each day, but can switch the ability on and off at will (so he could use glory for five rounds in the morning, then for another nine rounds later in the day). Anyone who defeats a fey knight in the challenge gains any of his remaining uses of glory for the day and can invoke them at any point in the future as a free action. For example, if the fey knight is defeated in battle when he has five rounds of glory left that day, then the character who defeats him can invoke glory for five rounds at any time in the future.

Magic Arms and Armour (Su): A fey knight can conjure a single suit of +2 full plate, a +2 heavy steel shield, an ornate +2 longsword and a +1 lance at will. He may also dismiss these items freely. These items can be taken by those who defeat the knight or given away, but the knight will always control their existence. They vanish when the knight dies. In rare cases, a fey knight has been known to garb and equip a mortal in the accoutrements of the fey.