Archfey

The Archfey are the god-like rulers of the fey creatures of Dungeons & Dragons, as you have probably surmised due to their sharing a naming system with the Archangels, Archdevils and Archomentals. Of all their kin, the Archfey are the least detailed and most forgotten, which is understandable given that D&D couldn't even decide if faeries were or weren't extraplanar beings until 4th edition. They are most commonly utilized as patrons for Warlocks.

As a general rule, one can divide the Archfey of D&D into two groups, based on cosmology; those of the Great Wheel and those of World Axis.

Great Wheel Archfey

In the Great Wheel, the archfey were first introduced as the Seelie Court, a cluster of deities united by their shared patronage of various fey races. They inhabited a wandering demiplane that shifts between the Upper Planes as it sees fit, mostly wandering between the Beastlands, Ysgard and Arborea. In comparison, the Unseelie Court was located in Pandemonium, where it served as the underlings of the outcast fey goddess known as the Queen of Air and Darkness. Then 5e rolled around, and all the Fae got lumped together into a single inner plane called the Feywild, which filled roughly the same cosmological niche as the Positive Energy Plane did in prior editions (emphasis on "roughly", since the Positive Energy Plane is still around, it's just been moved to "outside" of the Great Wheel rather than being part of the Inner Planes).

These gods first appeared in the 1992 sourcebook "Monster Mythology", which looked at the gods of the various non-human races; here they were simply described as "The Sylvan Gods". They would receive some minor expansion in 1996's "On Hallowed Ground", in the form of a clear-cut table denoting their areas of concern, holy symbols, and places of residence in the cosmological setting of Planescape, whilst the Forgotten Realms god splatbooks "Faiths & Avatars" and "Powers & Pantheons" offer some minor fey-related deities unique to the Realms. And, of course, there's always the blurring of whether nature deities like Silvanus and Mielikki are technically sylvan gods or not, since they often count those creatures amongst their faithful.

The archfey of the Great Wheel faded into obscurity with the coming of 3rd edition. Most notably, the Plane of Faerie was presented as an optional co-terminous Outer Plane (Mildly Neutral Aligned, Enhanced Magic, Flowing Time (1 day Faerie = 1 week Prime), Light Gravity, Infinite Size, Alterable Morphic, No Elemental or Energy Traits) in the 3e Manual of the Planes, with the Seelie & Unseelie Fey being presented as fey creatures with the Celestial or Fiendish template respectively. Skerrit would receive an update to a 3e patron god in "Complete Divine", whilst The Queen of Air and Darkness would reappear only in brief as one of the Forgotten Faiths in the back of Dragon Magazine #359.

The Planewalker fansite for Planescape created its own, modified version of the Faerie Pantheon as part of its unofficial 3e update, most notably portraying Titania and the Queen of Air & Darkness as different sides of the same fey deity, Queen Mab.

Non-godly portrayals of Oberon, Titania and "Puck", an analogue to Squelaiche, appeared in Dragon Magazine #263, whilst an alternative "Fairy Queen" goddess named Rhiannon is presented in Dragon Magazine #155.

Titania is the Queen of All Faeries, a goddess whose portfolio consists of faeries, the kingdoms of faeries, friendship and magic. She is described in Monster Mythology as a beautiful female faerie, only three and a half feet in height, with gossamer wings, pale skin, a perfect complexion and cheek bone structure, and penetrating blue eyes, carrying a diamond-tipped wand. Sister to the Queen of Air & Darkness, she is also believed to be somehow connected to Cegilune, the malign moon goddess who serves as the patron goddess of hags. Her symbol is a white diamond with a blue star glowing in its center. Whilst all non-evil fairies respect her, worship of Titania is most prominent amongst the brownies, pixies and sprites.

Oberon is Titania's prince consort, a fey god of nature, wild places, and animals who spends most of his time roaming Arborea and the Beastlands, hunting wild beasts for his entertainment. His holy symbol is a white stag, and he appears as a male fairy of perhaps unusual size (4' 6") with no wings, and strongly muscled by fey standards. He is known to be allied with Corellon Larethian and Sehanine Moonbow. Unlike his wife, no particular fey race is especially close to his heart, though all seelie fey love and respect him.

The Queen of Air and Darkness is said to be Titania's corrupted evil sister, a malign fey deity whose portfolio covers magic, illusion, darkness and murder. Normally invisible, this cold and emotionless creature, whose true name has been forgotten for ages, can be perceived magically as a faerie with pale, angular features, blood-black eyes, and a mane of black hair. She is beautiful, but hers is a terrible, eldritch beauty that chills the bone. Her unholy symbol is a black diamond. Because she embodies the corruption that can take root in the heart of the elvish race, many members of the Seldarine - Corellon Larethian, Erevan Ilesere, Rillifane Rallathil, Sehanine Moonbow, and Solonor Thelandira - all despise her, and consider her to be as much an enemy as Lolth. In 3rd edition, she grants access to the Cleric Domains of Air, Chaos, Darkness and Trickery, and her portfolio is given as being darkness, magic, murder and evil fey.

Verenestra is one of Oberon & Titania's children, and is the fey goddess of female faeries, charm and beauty, whose holy symbol is a filigree-edged silver mirror. Needless to say, her worship is most popular amongst dryads, nymphs and sylphs.

Damh is Verenestra's brother, and the only other member of Oberon & Titania's family to sit amongst the archfey of the Great Wheel. In appearance, he resembles a korred or a satyr; a humanoid fairy with the cloven-hooved, digitigrade legs of a goat and long, tawny-auburn hair tied into braids. Fey god of dance, song, and celebrations, his holy symbol depicts flutes, pipes, drums and harps, all instruments that he himself plays. In addition to being the patron of all fey bards, he is the racial patron of the korreds, satyrs and the atomies - the tiniest breed of sprites. He has a demipower daughter called Shiallia who is only worshipped on Faerun.

Squelaiche is the fey god of leprechauns, trickery and illusions, and is basically a masterful leprechaun illusionist who serves as the Seelie Court Jester. He uses both a clover leaf and a red pointed hat as his holy symbols.

Caoimhin is the fey god of kilmoulis, food, shyness and friendship. His symbol is a tiny bowl and pin and he wears enchanted fey armor under a thick coat of rags.

Eachthighern, who may have the worst name of the entire mock-Irish/Celtic faerie pantheon, is the god of unicorns, pegasi, healing, loyalty and protection. Appearing as a majestic winged unicorn, with a unicorn's horn as his holy symbol, Eachthighern is known for serving as the steed of Oberon. Any connection between him and the Faerunian demipower Lurue is unknown.

Emmantiensien is the god of treants, trees, and the magical energy that rises from deep, hidden places. His worshippers use a dual-acorn symbol to show their faith, and he appears as a massive treant with well-sheened bark and a mysterious magical crystal clutched in his roots. He known to be closely allied with Rillifane Rallathil and Corellon Larethian.

Fionnghuala is the goddess of swanmays, communications, and sorority. Her symbol is a white feather.

Nathair Sgiathach is the fey god of mischief and pranks, which you might suspect to be a rather redundant position. He appears as a Faerie Dragon, and may in fact be the same deity as Hlal, just in a different identity. Whilst he is considered the racial god of faerie dragons, he is also popular amongst pseudodragons, sprites, pixies, and grigs. He made a surprising return in 5th edition after having been ignored since 3rd, although he is no longer a deity here - instead, he's just a Faerie Dragon greatwyrm, and thus exists on multiple parallel dimensions simultaneously.

Skerrit is the racial god of centaurs, although he is also considered the fey god of forests and those who would live in harmony with them, as his title of "The Forester" and his holy symbol (an oak sprouting from an acorn) would suggest. He is the least-connected to the archfey pantheon, but simultaneously the most well-known- he had his own appearance in the Planescape supplement "Warriors of Heaven", which was all about playing angel and aasimar PCs, whilst in 3e he was promoted to full god status in the official splatbook "Complete Divine", as well as appearing in its 3.0 precursor "Defenders of the Faith". Aside from centaurs, he's also popular with satyrs and with sylvan elves.

World Axis Archfey

The Prince of Frost is the unofficial ruler of the Winter Fey faction of the Court of Stars.

When 4th edition came out, one of its design statements, declared as early as "Worlds and Monsters", was this: Make the Fey Interesting. Thus, the Feywild came to be, and the Archfey were given a complete makeover.

First appearing in the 4e version of the Manual of the Planes, the archfey are described as the godlike rulers of the Feywild, beings that originated from its innate magic and ascended to rule over it, strengthening the fey's nature as being as much powerful extraplanar beings as angels, fiends or elementals. The Archfey themselves are an eclectic array of beings, ranging from elemental-like spirits of natural phenomena to ascended eladrin to elder fey beasts to extraordinarily powerful individuals of the various fey races. This eclectic group meets at random intervals to form the Court of Stars, which is sort of like the United Nations of the Feywild. They further organize themselves into various factions based on certain shared themes.

The Summer Fey represents the largest and most powerful faction within the Court of Stars, namely as its leader, Tiandra, the Summer Queen, is without question one of the mightiest of all archfey. She also happens to look with the most favor upon mortal races, which is a good thing.

The Green Fey faction covers those fey most associated with the wilderness. Its current leader is Oran, the Green Lord, Tiandra's tempestuous on-again, off-again lover.

The Winter Fey are from the icy lands to the north of the Feywild, and have a reputation as one of the more sinister and dangerous factions to mortals. Its unofficial leader is the Prince of Frost, once the son of Tiandra and known as the Spring Prince until the fey maiden he loved broke his heart by choosing a mortal man over himself.

The Sea Lords are those fey who are tied to the waters of the Feywild, such as merfolk and nixies. Their current leaders, the youngest of the faction leaders within the Court of Stars, are former-eladrin twins called Elias, who takes charge of the shallow waters, and his sister Siobhan, who takes charge of the deep waters. This faction is also referred to as the Court of Coral in Heroes of the Feywild.

The Gloaming Fey are more abstract in nature than the Green Fey or the Sea Lords, and are associated with things such as dreams, darkness, stars, twilight, dusk and other nocturnal phenomena. The most loosely organized of the factions, they are also the most secretive. Archfey associated with this faction include the Maiden of the Moon, who does endless battle against nightmares, werewolves and therianthropes; the Prince of Hearts, a meddler who seeks to manipulate the loves of mortals for his own amusements, and the dread prophet known only as the Witch of Fates.

The Unseelie Court is only mentioned in passing in the sourcebook "Heroes of the Feywild". It is described as less a faction and more a general term for fey creatures associated with evil, maliciousness or corruption.

Articles appearing in Dragon Magazine & Dungeon Magazine that covered various named archfey were called Court of Stars in honor of this.

Dragon #374 covers The Prince of Frost, mightiest of the Winter Fey, extensively detailing his origins and even providing details on how to use him as a patron for a fey pact Warlock, complete with Paragon Path in the Long Night Scion.

Dragon #376 mentions the names of several archfey associated with the island of Sarifal in the 4e Forgotten Realms, but only their names: Relkath of the Infinite Branches, Lurue the Unicorn Queen, Verenestra the Oak Princess, Sarula Iliene the Nixie Queen, and Aurilandür the Frost Sprite Queen. It also mentions Deep Sashelas, a member of the Seldarine associated with merfolk and aquatic elves in the Great Wheel.

Dragon #420 covers The Carrion King, patron lord of the Myconids of the Feydark. A strange thing even by fey standards, the Carrion King's mind is many-splintered, scattered in different individual personalities and memory traits across his many bodies, which all flow through the Feydark. However, he is one of the most friendly of all archfey, and welcomes adventurers with open arms - unless they try to destroy him.

Dragon #420 also covers Thrumbolg, First Lord of Mag Tureah, who is the mightiest and maddest of the dread fomorians, prophesied by Baba Yaga herself to be immortal until struck down by one of his sons - a prophecy that can only be fulfilled with the lost relic-blade known as Fragarach. Controlling Mag Tureah and its endless array of portals, Thrumbolg is one of the few fomorians that the archfey are forced to treat with on equal terms.

Dragon #422 covers Hyrsam, Prince of Satyrs, a wandering minstrel with a dark secret and mad dreams of anarchy. The son of Oran of the Green Court, he yearns to destroy civilization within the Feywild and revert it to primal wilderness.

Dragon #428 covers Cerunnos, the Horned Lord, an outcast firbolg adoptive son of Oran, cursed by the Prince of Frost and the Summer Queen both, so that now has nothing left but the leading of the Wild Hunt.

Dungeon #185 covers Selephra, the Bramble Queen, a fallen Green Court fey who may have once been a dryad or a proto-hag, but who is now a monstrous thing that yearns to make mortals suffer. She is also briefly mentioned in Dungeon #195's "Bestiary: Flowers in the Darkness", where it is said that she cultivates vampire roses.

Dungeon #196 covers Baba Yaga, Mother of All Witches, one of the most powerful hags in the whole of the Feywild.

Dungeon #205 covers Tuxil, The Trinket Lord, a mad gnome with the ability to assume the shape of a fox who has become lord of a strange place where all lost things end up.

In addition to the above, a number of other archfey are mentioned in passing. "Manual of the Planes" refers to Scamander, the Cat Lord and the Monkey King. "Dragon Magazine" and "Dungeon Magazine" mention several more.

Dragon #386 mentions The Rose King, an archfey who claimed to be the son of Corellon and who got killed leading a crusade against the Drow; his legacy, ironically, survives in the form of his half-drow daughter and the drow-fighting organization dedicated to him and Corellon that remains.

Dragon #393 features The Lady of the White Well, a cursed bastard daughter of Sehanine who is condemned to never leave the proximity of the pool where she was conceived until she gives her heart to a worthy lover, so she empowers hexblades who agree to quest and prove worthy of becoming her husband.

Dungeon #162 features the adventure "Winter of the Witch", where the party must battle a Winter Court archfey named Koliada, reputed to be the daughter or sister or lover (or more than one of those) of the Prince of Frost himself.

In Dungeon #166's "Throne of the Stone-Skinned King", the party must impress an airy archfey known as the Skyshaper to complete their quest.

In Dungeon #178, mention is made in "Backdrop: Chessenta" of Sebakar, a malevolent archfey of the Forgotten Realms concerned with crocodiles who was born of a union between the Mulhorandi god Set and a bestial archfey called Mornach.

Dungeon #178's article "Explore Taer Lian Doresh" presents a mad, malevolent archfey of Eberron called Shan Lian Doresh, Lord of the Fading Dream.

Dungeon #190 has the adventure "Force of Nature", in which the party must stop a mind-controlled archfey in the form of a bull elk so huge it can crush castles under its hooves.

Finally, Dungeon #217 has the adventure "A Rhyme Gone Wrong", where the party must defeat the machinations of a malevolent, dream-haunting archfey called Felsa, the Slumbering Queen, a would-be conqueror who escaped punishment by placing herself in an enchanted slumber.

Mystara

The Archfey of Mystara are mentioned in Tall Tales of the Wee Folk as being friendly-ish rivals of the Immortals (Mystara's equivalent of gods). Having emerged at around the same time as their Great Wheel counterparts, they share their fundamental nature of being a mixture of obscure Great Britain pagan deities and Shakespearean inventions, with Oberon as the all-powerful ruler of all the fey.

Mr. Welch has made a number of videos on Youtube about Mystara, a few of which deal with the Archfey. No link is posted here because we're pretty sure that you know how to use a search engine.

5th

Being that it maintains the Feywild as part of its new cosmological makeup, you'd expect Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition to maintain the archfey's presence as well. And... well, sort of. They're definitely mentioned to exist, but not a lot of details on them has been shared thus far.

• Zybilna: ruler of Prismeer and patron of the Witchlight Carnival.

Midgard

Having originally begun as more of a Medieval European Fantasy in concept, the fey naturally have a strong presence in Midgard, albeit occupying the Shadow Realm rather than something akin to the Feywild. And of course, where there are fey with an actual civilization,, there are also archfey - or "Fey Lords & Ladies", as Midgard prefers to title them. So far, all lore and mechanics for these figures, at least in Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition, have appeared in the Tome of Beasts series of bestiaries, with the fey society beyond them being covered in the splatbooks "Courts of the Shadow Fey" and "Book of Ebon Tides", explaining that the fey of the Shadow Realm are organized into a quasi-feudal patchwork of independent nations known as the "Fey Courts".

Mesikammen the Bear King, also known as "Old Honey Paws", a fey barbarian king who rules over Bjeornheim the Groaning Crag, a mountainous realm populated largely by bearfolk and werebears. A jovial sort with an explosive temper, Mesikammen largely occupies himself with hunting, feasting, brawling and drinking. This Archfey appears in the Tome of Beasts I.

The Lord of the Hunt is the mysterious and enigmatic ruler of the Wild Hunt, a figure about which little is known. This Archfey appears in the Tome of Beasts I.

Ludomir Imbrium XVI, the Moonlit King was once one of the most powerful rulers of the Shadow Fey, before he went completely stark raving mad. He is now a prisoner in his former domain, the Tower of the Moon, and during his bouts of lucidity weaves dark bargains with demons and devils of night, shadow and moonlight in a bid to free himself. This Archfey appears in the Tome of Beasts I.

Sarastra Aestruum, Queen and Night of Magic, is the wife of the Moonlit King and now the sole true ruler of the Shadow Fey. As powerful as she is beautiful, and as devious. This Archfey appears in the Tome of Beasts I.

Nicnevin, Queen of Witches appears as a towering, muscular woman with a great mane of bright copper hair, more like a warrior than a witch. Nonetheless, she is one of the most powerful sorceresses of the Shadow Realm, and given homage by hags and witches throughout Midgard and the planes. This Archfey appears in the Tome of Beasts I.

Ulorian the River King rules over the fey of water, and is equally loved and feared for his power, his fierce temper, and his mercurial nature. This Archfey appears in the Tome of Beasts I.

Morinn the Snow Queen is the archfey daughter of the God of the North Wind, Boreas, and rules over the icy realm of Grokeheim, from which she claims dominion over all fey connected to ice, snow and frost. This Archfey appears in the Tome of Beasts I.

Berchta the Guide is the archfey who controls the tapestry of fate, appearing as an old yet still vital and happy human woman in her true form. She seeks to guide souls to their ultimate fate, making her a bitter enemy of the undead, but is also legendary for her status as a protector of women and children. This Archfey appears in the Creature Codex.

Reynard the Fox Lord is a trickster and a schemer, appearing as a humanoid fox. He despises the stuffy, the stody, the boring and the authoritarian, and his pranks are primarily aimed at tweaking the noses of those in power. This Archfey appears in the Creature Codex. This Archfey appears in the Creature Codex.

Kaedrin Blackwind, Commander of Horn and Gold is a high-ranked military official of the Shadow Fey, responsible for defending the holds in the Mistcall Mountains from which his people mine the majority of the magical mineral known as shadow gold. This Archfey appears in the Tome of Beasts II.

Phylomara Gladrienne, Mistress of Midnight Teeth appears as a beautiful and voluptuous female gnome with long locks of dark blue hair and disturbingly sharp teeth. She commands the gnomish order of stylists and tailors known as the Blue Barbers, secretly a spy ring that is stretching across both the shadow and mortal realms, and is also secretly a voracious cannibal with an almost ogre-sized appetite for flesh and blood. This Archfey appears in the Tome of Beasts II.

Tarkun the Dessicated was exiled to the deserts when he attempted to lead a coup against his queen and failed. She expected him to die, but he instead bound himself to a leyline running through the astes, gaining power over sand and heat at the cost of being forever deformed. Now he yearns to build up his power until he can take revenge on those who exiled him. This Archfey appears in the Tome of Beasts II.

Kirana the Coral Queen is the ruler of the fey of the oceans, a counterpart to the River King. She commands the loyalty of undines, merfolk and most aquatic elves. In fact, she used to be a thing with the River King, but she called it off because he kept cheating on her. Like her followers, she loathes the sahuagin. This Archfey appears in the Tome of Beasts III.

Lizbet Anthur, Countess of Garlands is the archfey who holds dominion over gardens, holiday celebrations and formal gatherings, which means she has a lot of soft power to wield in the byzantine social nightmare that is fey society. This Archfey appears in the Tome of Beasts III.

Calpe Belinapter, Mother Moth is a socially ousted archfey who commands dominion over moths, spiders, and all other creatures that produce silk. Asking if she might actually be an Animal Lord rather than an archfey is sure to incite her wrath. This Archfey appears in the Tome of Beasts III.

Kashama the Rainforest King' is the ruler of all the fey and beasts of the rainforests, from the tropical to the temperate, which gives him a surprisingly diverse array of followers. This Archfey appears in the Tome of Beasts III.

Pathfinder

Fufilling the same role as Archfey in Pathfinder are the Eldest. The Eldest are the most powerful of the fey that inhabit the First World (the god's first draft of the world with weird physics and infinite lives.) and are capable of granting spells. Since the First World is an entire plane and thus infinite, there are a lot of Eldest, but only a dozen have been named since most vistors never go that far beyond the equivalent of their home planet. Surprisingly, Eldest can be of any alignment, but no good Eldest have been revealed.