Quillian’s Folio of Fantastical Fauna
Fair greetings to you all…
Before venturing forth into dark and unknown lands, many are the times that Heroes, Travelers, and other Diverse Folk, seek out the wise counsel of Sages, such as I, Quillian Valeniel. Such counsel is not merely meet, but prudent, for one never knows what Foul Fiends and Dangerous Denizens may haunt the Wilds that lie betwixt the gleaming Bastions of Civilization. Arming oneself with Sagely advice may make all the difference between a triumphant feast at your journeys end – or becoming the banquet of some monstrous beast in the wilderness!
And so I will share an excerpt from mine own treatise, the Folio of Fantastic Fauna, regarding lore of a sometimes beautiful, and oft times deadly, dweller of the Feywild – the Glaestag.
On Glaestags
Rare and elusive, the Glaestag (pronounced GLAY-stags) is a fey and intelligent creature, calling home the wooded banks of the rushing streams and rivers of the Feywild. In appearance, the Glaestag resembles either a dusky-hued yet comely lass with golden tresses braided long, or a grey-skinned hag of terrible visage with mop of matted straw-like hair. Their raiment is always that of a silky dress, of long length, woven from leaves and rushes by a skillful art known only to their kind. For beneath that leafy gown is hidden the mark of the Glaestag’s fey nature – the befurred and bent legs ending in cloven-hoofed feet, not unlike that of a stag!
Now many learned sages and scholars have hazarded that the golden lass – known as a Green Maiden – and the horrid hag – called a Ban’Nyahain or Night Washer – are actually the same creature, transposing between two forms on a whim, or perhaps by way of some external impetus, such as moon cycles or season’s change. However, Glaestags of the Green Maiden kind have been, at odd times, seen in the company of the Ban’Nyahain (pronounced BAHN-nyah-HANE), so one can not speculate as to the their dual nature with any certainty.
It has been known that a Glaestag may also find its way, by quirk of happenstance, into the Mundane Realm by means of a fey crossing, such as a fairy ring or ring stones. Glaestags removed from their habitual haunts in the Feywild have been known to lurk near to rural settlements, and their presence can be both boon and bane to those dwelling nearby. For whilst the Green Maiden is a gentle fairy creature, her sister fey – or perhaps her own darksome other self – is a murderous blood-drinking monster.
Of Folklore on Glaestags
Many are the legends told of Glaestags dwelling near some village or castle in the Mundane Realm, but not all may be countenanced as truth. Therefore, one should have a care upon meeting these fairy women, and depend not much upon folklore as guide.
Of Green Maidens
Legends are often spun of Green Maidens acting as defenders of herdsmen and their cattle, and driving away such mundane beasts as wolves or lions. Or if some greater threat should loom, like a ravening Owlbear or worse, then they will give warning to the herders, to drive their cattle to some other place, and with great haste!
It is also known for these gentler Glaestags to guard the young and innocent, or even the addle-pated, from harm. Stories abound of lost children being guided back to their cottages, of drunkard peasants steered clear of precipices, and of the village fools protected from their own follies – all by lasses gowned in green, dancing gracefully as she came and went, on tiny hooves.
When villagers find themselves under the fey protection of a Green Maiden, they are wise to leave milk or honey in earthen bowl as an offering to keep their defender happy and well-fed.
Of Ban’Nyahain or “Night Washers”
Frightful tales are woven under tavern roof, or round campfires at night, of the Ban’Nyahain and her ghastly ways. It is said the taloned fingers of this fairy Hag can rend the flesh of hapless travelers, so that they might lap their blood with abandon. Their shrill, screeching voices call down curses of death and malediction upon their enemies, amidst cackles of glee. And it is claimed their visage is so frightful, that if the Ban’Nyahain should fix her hoary gaze, even the bravest warrior might quail in his tracks.
But most terrible still is the gruesome charm of these Fey Hags that gives rise to name them as “Night Washers”. For many claim, that upon first beholding the Ban’Nyahain upon the riverbank, they glimpse within her taloned grasp their own bloody clothes, staining the waters red. Or as darker legend tells, if the hapless wanderer is fated to soon die, the Night Washer it is his own burial shroud that is scrubbed in the river.
There is told a legend of a great Fey Lord, an eladrin Knight, who sojourned into the Mundane Realm to fight a terrible war at the side of his friend, a mortal King. It is said that setting forth to the final battle, he beheld an old woman doing her washing in the moat about his castle. But when he approached, he instead espied a leering Hag washing his blood-drenched tabard, and his very own burial shroud. And he knew then that whether battle lost or won, he would not return from the field that day – and it is said, that battle was indeed his last!
In Conclusion
So do take heed – if ever one should find one’s path through wild lands, crossing some river or stream, and it should happen a green dressed woman tarries there, wait not to see if she be maiden or hag. Idle curiosity may be one’s undoing.
Green Maiden Tactics
A Green Maiden only attacks to defend herself or another that she has chosen to protect. If forced to fight, she will try to dominate a foe with Alluring Prance to use as an ally, while she makes an escape. A Green Maiden defending another will use her Alluring Prance and Dance of Dismay to control her enemies, singling out weaker victims for her Capering Kick.
Green Maiden Lore
A character knows the following information with a successful Arcana check.
DC 15: Green Maidens are beautiful fey creatures native to the Feywild. They are related to Hags but are benign and known to protect the weak or lost.
DC 20: Green Maidens will not fight unless provoked, and are dangerous opponents when threatened. Their dances can charm or confuse their foes, and their fey natures make them elusive on the battlefield.
Night Washer Tactics
A Ban’Nyahain will use her Change Shape ability to draw her victims to her riverbank, within range of her Omen of Mortality. She will utilize her Hideous Glare to maintain her advantage and Fey Leap as needed for offense or defense.
Encounter Groups
A Night Washer typically intimidates lesser fey creatures to do her bidding, in return for a small share of the spoils from her kills. Ban’Nyahain are partial to gnomes as troops, but will sometimes use goblins or red caps.
Level 6 Encounter (XP 1250)
- 1 Ban’Nyahain
- 2 Bugbear Warriors (MM)
- 2 Goblin Skullcleavers (MM)
- 1 Bugbear Strangler (MM)
Level 7 Encounter (XP 1500)
- 1 Ban’Nyahain
- 1 Gnome Mistwalker (MM2)
- 3 Gnome Entropists (MM2)
Night Washer Lore
A character knows the following information with a successful Arcana check.
DC 15: Night Washers are hags that dwell near riverbanks and come from the Feywild.
They are evil creatures that thirst for the blood of their foes.
DC 20: Night Washers terrify their foes by showing them omens of their doom and filling them with trepidation. Their hideous screeching voices sap their victims strength and their iron hard talons can leave deep bleeding wounds.
Editor’s Acknowledgements
Glaestags were inspired by information found in Wikkipedia concerning the Glaistig found in Scottish Folklore.
Stat Blocks by DDI Adventure Tools – Neuroglyph Games is a registered D&D Insider Subscriber.
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