Fairy Warband Quest

Fairy Warband Quest started on October 22, 2011 on /tg/. The quest has now exceeded all expectations and it's popularity has soared beyond all previous hopes of the Narrator. Narrator, the Quest Master, took inspiration from the short lived Fairy Meat miniature wargame. The only aspects the two setting share is warlike fairies who carve each other up with glee and happiness. This page is intended to be used as a way to streamline information to new members of the quest quickly without them having to skim through archives.

The Setting Itself

Fairies aren't technologically inclined like mankind is. They don't really understand anything around them. They have no chemistry, or no metal working of any kind. And a good example for their technology prowess is the dark ages, before Charlemagne. But, they have no reason to have technology. Food is in abundance, and only magic can kill fairies so regular metals don't effect them at all. The only natural metal that can harm a fairy is cold iron.(It's actually magnetized metal. It's mistranslated, but fairies have never cared to correct it.)

When a human, or animal's head is cut off, signals from the brain to the heart and lungs cease. Because of this, the heart and lungs stop. The brain, without oxygen and blood flow, dies. That is why a human or animal dies when his head is cut off. A fairy dies when her head is cut off because it kills a human or animal.

Thread Synopsis

Thread One

Our Avatar is given the name Trixie Buttercup and designated an androgynous, purple, Trickery Magic user. She is a four sparkle fairy with the ability to teleport. Trixie has two friend-minions, Bloomstar and Twinkle. Play begins with a group of four fairy hatchlings frolicking their way toward us. They are handily defeated and broken into sparkles or interrogated. The last hatchling, Wibble, is adopted. From them it was learned that there is a hatching ground nearby, under control independent of the Fairy Queen. This is highly unusual, valuable information, and quickly investigated. A tree bearing fairy-pods is located, along with its guardians. Trixie assembles the rest of the team to begin a raid. Two pods are close to ripeness; the first is carefully carried down from the tree and hidden nearby. While lowering the second, a patrol spots the group whom abandon it and run. Four pursuers catch up, but are crushed. Upon return, their twelve sparkles are divided; Trixie learns Invisibility.

Thread Two

Using her magic, Trixie distracts the guards of the Tree while the others recover the hidden pod before joining them. The next morning, the pod is found to be slightly withered, and so bathed and watered, which perks it a bit, but it is decided that it is best opened now. Of the four fairies within, two are stomped to sparkles and given to the remainder, their loyalty demanded. They are dubbed Thing 1 and Thing 2. Spying on the Tree, it's forces and movement are assessed, and it's leader, Arcanella, is identified. She wears a majestic, fluttery cape. Trixie must have it. Asymmetrical warfare is assumed, and a trapfield prepared. The next morning's away group, six strong, is led to the traps and ambushed. They are defeated without casualties, earning us 23 sparkles. The group pulls back, and after seeing Arcanella's offensive magic, retreats.

Thread Three

Sparkle level-ups are had. Wibble gains Trickster magic:Teleportation; Thing 2, Curse magic: Leaden Feet, and Trixie gains the Backstab skill. The Tree is scouted again and found to be abandoned, then put under surveillance. It is eventually attacked by Arcanella who destroys the ripest pods. Trixie is able to spy on them after the next attack, finding they have decided to take up her own previous tact. The next attack is ambushed, and from their sparkles Trixie gains Magic Sniffer, able to identify magic and its character; Bloomstar gains health Regeneration, and Twinkle gains Backstab. Arcanella is pursued and defeated, her sparkles and cape secured. Moonbubble, their other caster, is spared. She can shape magic, as seen with swords wielded by the enemy.

Thread Six

With the worm dead, there was nothing to do but continue with the various projects already underway.

Worm leather weapons and magic water dipped weapons, as tested by the latest group of hatchlings, proved ineffective. Glowy mushrooms and big mushrooms, as tested by the survivors of the previous tests, are safe to eat, but glowy mushrooms taste bad. Bloomstar successfully installs a sparkle in a worm leather garrote. We successfully install a sparkle in a drone, which catches the interest of our queen bee.

The magic garrote performs decently in its first test against a small group of fairies. However, our sparkle gains are minimal, as one fleeing fairy grabbed the majority on the way out, giving herself enough power to escape.

Mechanics

Most of Fairy Warband Quest is freeform with the odd random roll. Combat has fairly solid mechanics, and some effects of sparkles involve random rolls as well.

Sparkle Effects

When fairies absorb sparkles, they gain random power boosts. The exact mechanics are secret. There is at least one other chart detailing random sparkle effects.

Sparkles can also be used on beetles, bees, presumably other animals, magic worm leather, and presumably other objects. This makes the recipient magic for the purpose of attacking. In addition, sparkled animals become more intelligent and generally obedient to fairies. The total, exact effects are still something of a mystery.

Combat

On her turn, a fairy can move her speed in hexes and either attack, grapple, or cast a spell.

When attacking, a fairy rolls a d6 for each point of attack she has. For every roll of 3+, she does damage to her target's health, minus her target's DR. Fairies who run out of health are incapacitated, but roll a d6 on their turns and stand up on a result of 6. Attacks against incapacitated fairies are automatically lethal, regardless of stats, and require no rolls.

When grappling, a fairy rolls d6s as if she was attacking. Her opponent does as well. The character with the largest number of successes is considered to be winning (on a tie, both count as losing). Regardless of the result, the attacker moves into the defender's hex. The winner of a continuing grapple does one damage to the loser, and may exit the grapple voluntarily. Any fairies involved in a continued grapple also move one hex in a random direction, with any fairies in the new hex joining the grapple. If multiple fairies team up to grapple one enemy, they combine their rolls.

Spells are special and each one follows its own special rules. Most spells take up the action used to attack, but Trixie's teleport, for example, only costs one movement point.

Absorbing a sparkle costs one movement point. Storing it in a container costs two.

Flanking adds one d6 to attack and grapple rolls.