RE: [DL] Faeries/Sidhe in Deadlands - a touch of Changeling

["Matthew M. DeForrest" <mmdeforrest@worldnet.att.net>]

Players Git!




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Just wondering if anyone has had any musings about the
existence of faerie/sidhe in Deadlands. A number of
fae folk are mentioned in Back East: The South alone,
and as I've just purchased that particular book, it's
got me to thinking about sidhe and all things faerie.
One idea I'm running with is that the Hunting Grounds
is just the Indian term for a broader spirit world
which covers -everything-.

[snip]
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Hi, James!

I've got a couple of thoughts along these lines for you.  First, if you are
going to muck about with the idea of the Hunting Grounds, _Ghost Dancers_ is
a must.  It contains most of the info we have on the Hunting Grounds proper
as Marshals/Players.  The most important bit, in terms of what you are
talking about, is that the Hunting Grounds are plastic and mold to the
perceptions of the perceiver.  If you think of Heaven and Hell, that's
what's there.  Indian?  Manitou and Nature Spirits.  Celtic spiritual types
would get a vision of the Seelie and Unseelie Courts (On a side note, does
anyone know where these terms came from?  I've been trying to track down a
source for dogs years.).

As for the Sidhe (the Irish term for the faerie), I don't know what White
Wolf has done with them but I can tell you this about them: They are utterly
alien.  As such, I'd recommend that you think of all the spirits in the
Hunting Ground as the Sidhe rather than dividing it up into a World of
Darkness angst-fest.  Irish (and most other Celtic) traditions tends to view
them as being neither good nor bad as a group but as individual as we are in
the mundane world.  Likewise, they reflected the local rulership of the
Celts , which meant that there was no one adversary and no one court of
goodness and righteousness.

I know you have my semi-official version of the sidhe I sent, so I won't
bore you by repeating it (The Faerie Doctor for those following along in
their playbooks).  If you have any questions on the specific points in it,
though, I can pass along the Celtic myth sources I used.

I hope this helps.  Take care.

Matt