Virtual Gary Con was a blast! Thank you to everyone who participated and who watched our panels! For those who missed the panels live, they’re available on our Youtube channel.
In our monster design panel, we polled the viewers, asking them what kind of monster they would like the panelists to create. The poll results were a CR 6–10 Huge Fey. While waiting for the panelists to wrap up their chat before creating the monster, the viewers came to the conclusion that the huge fey would have to be a cow of some kind. Our panelists (James Introcaso, Meagan Maricle, Shawn Merwin, and Bryan Syme) rolled with this idea and created the Dairy Fairy. (Please note the creature has not been playtested to verify mechanical accuracy.)
Dairy Fairy
A massive cow with fur the colors of autumn sits in a field of other cows, its tail swatting at flies. An iridescent swirling brand decorates her flank, and two large, blue, glowing eyes dominate her skull.
Keepers of Fey Herds. The dairy fairies watch over and protect herds of cattle, sheep, horses, and other domesticated animals of the fey. On the rare occasion a dairy fairy finds herself outside fey pastures, she quickly finds a herd to call her own, often to the distress of local farmers and shepherds. Dairy fairy milk is magical, and calves birthed or nursed by a dairy fairy remain healthy and strong throughout their lives, further securing the safety of the herd.
Prized Possessions. Dairy fairies are valuable possessions of fey nobility. Most fey lords and ladies have at least one herd with a dairy fairy at its heart and often bestow the cow’s magical milk on favored servants and underlings. Given the high rate of theft by rivals, fey nobles often brand their dairy fairies with magical, swirling symbols, which allow them to magically track the stolen livestock.
Mothers of Fey Minotaurs. Dairy fairies give birth to a single, nonmagical calf about once a year with or without the presence of a bull in a herd. Every 100 years, the calf a dairy fairy births is another dairy fairy who grows quickly and soon leaves to find her own herd. By some quirk of fey magic, dairy fairies occasionally give birth to fey minotaurs instead of standard calves.
Fey Minotaurs
A minotaur birthed from a dairy fairy is infused with fey magic and resilience. Fey minotaurs have bright blue eyes and the same autumn coloration as their dairy fairy progenitors. They are more docile and loyal than their kin, and they are favored as bodyguards for fey nobility. Â A fey minotaur uses the statistics of a minotaur, except as noted below.
Alignment. The fey minotaur has a neutral alignment.
Ability Score. The fey minotaur has a Charisma score of 12 (+1).
Condition Immunities. The fey minotaur is immune to the charmed and unconscious conditions.
Languages. The fey minotaur knows Common, Elvish, Sylvan, or Umbral, depending on its birth location and its mother’s owner.
Magic Resistance. The fey minotaur has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
A Dairy Fairy’s Lair
Dairy fairies prefer to make their homes in pastures or lightly forested areas, but they otherwise make their homes in any climate suitable for herds of herbivores.
Lair Actions
On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), the dairy fairy takes a lair action to cause one of the following effects; the dairy fairy can’t use the same effect two rounds in a row:
- Cow pies bubble up from the ground on up to six points the dairy fairy can see within 120 feet of her. Each creature within 5 feet of that point must succeed on a DC 14 Dexterity saving throw or be coated in the cow pie’s grime. Beasts in the dairy fairy’s herd and minotaurs have advantage on melee weapon attack rolls against creatures coated in a cow pie’s grime. A creature, including the coated creature, can use an action to remove the cow pie’s grime from the coated creature. Cow pies remain on the ground until the dairy fairy uses this lair action again or until the dairy fairy dies.
- The ground rumbles around a point on the ground the dairy fairy can see within 120 feet of her. Each creature within 10 feet of that point must succeed on a DC 14 Dexterity saving throw or be knocked prone.
- Weeds and grasses grow rapidly in a 20-foot radius centered on a point on the ground the dairy fairy can see within 120 feet of her. The area becomes difficult terrain and any creature that enters the area or starts its turn in the area must succeed on a DC 14 Strength saving throw or be restrained by the weeds and grasses. A creature, including the restrained creature, can take its action to remove the weeds by succeeding on a DC 12 Strength check.
Regional Effects
The region containing a dairy fairy’s lair is changed by its magical presence, which creates one or more of the following effects:
- The weather within 6 miles of the dairy fairy’s lair is mild for its climate and never reaches that climate’s extremes.
- Herbivorous beasts with an Intelligence of 3 or lower residing within 1 mile of the dairy fairy’s lair are healthy, vibrant, and often larger than average.
- Milk produced within 6 miles of the dairy fairy’s lair is more appetizing, nutritious, and filling than normal.
Dairy Fairy
Huge fey, chaotic good
Armor Class 14 (natural armor)
Hit Points 189 (20d12 + 72)
Speed 50 ft.
STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
20 (+5) | 14 (+2) | 19 (+4) | 5 (–3) | 11 (+0) | 15 (+2) |
Saving Throws Dex +6, Wis +4
Skills Perception +8
Damage Resistances bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks not made with cold iron weapons
Condition Immunities charmed, frightened, prone
Senses truesight 60 ft., passive Perception 18
Languages understands Common, Elvish, Sylvan, and Umbral but can’t speak
Challenge 10 (5,900 XP)
Disappointed Gaze. When a creature that can see the dairy fairy’s eyes starts its turn within 30 feet of the dairy fairy, the dairy fairy can force it to make a DC 16 Charisma saving throw if the dairy fairy isn’t incapacitated and can see the creature. On a failure, a creature is charmed by the dairy fairy until the start of its next turn. If a creature has committed an evil act within the last 24 hours fails the saving throw, that creature is instead incapacitated until the start of its next turn.
Unless surprised, a creature can avert its eyes to avoid the saving throw at the start of its turn. If the creature does so, it can’t see the dairy fairy until the start of its next turn, when it can avert its eyes again. If the creature looks at the dairy fairy in the meantime, it must immediately make the save.
Limited Telepathy. The dairy fairy can magically communicate simple ideas, emotions, and images telepathically with any creature within 100 feet of her that can understand a language.
Magic Resistance. The dairy fairy has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
Mother’s Milk. The dairy fairy produces magical milk that provides enough nourishment to sustain a creature for one day and acts like a random potion. A creature within 5 feet of the dairy fairy can use an action to retrieve 8 ounces of milk from the dairy fairy. To nonhostile creatures that were freely given the milk, the magical milk acts as a random beneficial potion when drunk. Roll a d4. On a 1, the potion is common. On a 2, the potion is uncommon. On a 3, the potion is rare. On a 4, the potion is very rare. To hostile creatures that stole the milk from the dairy fairy, the milk acts as a potion of poison.
Actions
Multiattack. The dairy fairy makes two gore attacks and one kick attack.
Gore. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 14 (2d8 + 5) piercing damage.
Kick. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 16 (2d10 + 5) bludgeoning damage, and the target must succeed on a DC 16 Strength saving throw or be pushed 10 feet away from the dairy fairy and knocked prone.
Mother’s Children (1/Day). The dairy fairy magically calls 1 fey minotaur. The minotaur arrives in 1d4 rounds, acting as an ally of the dairy fairy and obeying her telepathic commands. The minotaur remains for 1 hour, until the dairy fairy dies, or until the dairy fairy dismisses it as a bonus action.
Reactions
Baleful Moo. When a creature within 5 feet of the dairy fairy hits her with a melee weapon attack, the dairy fairy moos at the attacker. The attacker must succeed on a DC 16 Charisma saving throw or be teleported to an unoccupied space the dairy fairy can see within 30 feet of her.
Legendary Actions
The dairy fairy can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature’s turn. The dairy fairy regains spent legendary actions at the start of her turn.
Detect. The dairy fairy makes a Wisdom (Perception) check.
Kick (Costs 2 Actions). The dairy fairy makes one kick attack.
Detonate Cow Pies (Costs 3 Actions). The dairy fairy detonates up to three cow pies within 120 feet of her, destroying the cow pie. Each creature within 5 feet of a cow pie must make a DC 16 Dexterity saving throw, taking 10 (3d6) poison damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. Creatures that fail the saving throw are coated in the cow pie’s grime, as described in the dairy fairy’s lair actions.