Fae Grass
RARITY: ★★☆☆☆ | THREAT: ★★☆☆☆ SIZE: Patches of fae grass vary greatly in area they cover.
HABITAT:
Meadows and farmland, though they can also be found in town in large, flat areas like the Common or soccer fields. Not generally found at high altitudes or in crowded woods.
OVERVIEW:
Some trickster fae – most often pixies or sprites – are known to enchant patches of grass or plant their own seeds. These often grow into fae grasses (or fairy grasses as they are sometimes called) that can have negative effects on people who walk through them. Some of the most well-known examples include stray sod, which causes people to lose their way, and hungry grass, which can cause rapid starvation. Fae grasses are typically found in meadowland and farmland. They’re less likely to be found in the middle of town, but fields and yards can be a draw. Sometimes it’s planted near the homes of fae to keep intruders away, and other times it’s just planted for the fun of it; in either case, the fae responsible often hangs out nearby to keep watch.
ABILITIES:
These grasses are harmless to look at and be around, but once stepped through, they will cause problems. Fae grass may have a variety of effects on people, often unpredictable to even the fae who planted them.
Unfortunately, fae grass is hard to spot. It just looks like ordinary grass, and while wardens can sense it, they can only do so very weakly.
WEAKNESSES:
Fae grass cannot be killed or destroyed by most people. Burning it with fire or having a fae dig it up will work in the short term, but the grass will quickly re-grow.
The only permanent way to get rid of it is to strike some kind of deal with the specific fae who planted it; they will repay a favor with the removal of the grass.
Fae are not affected by it, nor are most wardens.
Some people choose to put a small fence up around the plot of grass that’s causing them problems.
VARIANTS
HUNGRY GRASS:
This grass looks no different from ordinary grass, making it dangerous to those who can’t sense it. Anyone who walks through hungry grass will become ravenously hungry and, if they don’t eat something, they will gradually become weaker until they eventually collapse on the ground and die. Not a fun way to go. Fae can be jerks. Don’t step in it, and if you do, make sure you’re carrying food on you. Someone who eats after stepping in hungry grass will make a fast and full recovery. Perhaps sharing some of that food with the fae who planted the grass will encourage them to remove it.
STRAY SOD:
Anyone who steps on a clump of stray sod will instantly become disoriented and lost, even if they’re familiar with where they are. This has led people to wander further away from familiar settings and into danger. In fact, sometimes there’s a group of more dangerous fae waiting around the corner, hoping to snatch up whoever wandered in. Oddly, someone wearing their shirt inside out will not become lost and disoriented upon stepping on the grass.
