Monster Mash: D is for Dactyli!

Few creatures have the same sort of old wives tale feel to them as the "little people"; there are countless stories of diminutive fairy folk that live in the walls and under the floorboards, like mice, and come out at night to steal away food and trinkets. It's a whimsical excuse for the disappearance of valuable odds and ends from socks to jewelry to the last piece of cake that are, more than likely, the result of bad memory or filching servants or midnight cravings.

But, in a fantastic setting, all fables and myths have a little truth in them. And the little people are real.

They are called the dactyli or "finger-folk" and they are split between three tribes: brownies, duende and fenodyree.

Brownies, duende, & fenodyree.

Brownies are considered to be the "domestic dactyli" subspecies. They are also called "house elves" because they like to live in the homes of humanoids.

Brownies make their homes, carefully, hidden away under the floors or in the walls and, much like the fairy tales, and only come out at night to steal away small things to feed themselves or improve their homes. While this might seem to be the tendency of a pest, brownies are considered good luck by the wise because they keep out vermin like rats and spiders. Furthermore, the stories of brownies fixing shoes and leaving coins on bedside tables are not inaccurate. They usually prefer to stay to themselves and to be allowed to go about their little lives. A brownie doesn't want to cause too much trouble for their housemates.

Each brownie is about four to six inches tall and resemble humans, though they often have exaggerated features, and wear elaborate clothing stitched together from bits of this and that stolen from the household above. Their clothing often says a lot about them. They are craft creatures and are capable of making small machines and gadgets that help them get around the home unnoticed.

If they have a choice, though, brownies prefer the homes of gnomes and elves, who are less superstitious than humans, and have been known to befriend them. In some elf and gnome communities, they even help build little homes for the brownies and cooperate with them. In exchange, brownies keep an eye and ear out for trouble.

When threatened by the residents of a home, they will turn to the wild for safety and have a way with small animals.

Duende are pests.

While brownies try to go unnoticed, duende like to irritate or frighten larger humanoids or "biggins" as they like to mockingly call them. They make messes, break and steal valuables, make noises, invite in vermin (who they also enjoy preying upon), and generally stressing their housemates out. To be frank, duende give their kin a bad reputation.

These foul sprites are the smallest dactyli, standing around three to four inches tall, with exaggerated fey features and bitter little eyes. They prefer to dusty attics and dank basements, riding spiders and rats to get around faster, and steal more precious materials and jewellery to make their ornate outfits.

They particularly dislike their kin and go out of their way to run any brownies or fenodyree out of their territory.

Fenodyree are even more reclusive than their smaller kin.

Fenodyree can stand about eight to ten inches tall and are distinctly different than their domestic kin with long faces, furry bodies and tails. They do not like wearing pants, perhaps as a result of their fur and tails, but do wear smocks and robes. Despite their more exotic and animalistic features, fenodyree are the least likely to bother humanoids or animals for that matter.They live in burrows and caverns under the ground, only leaving their homes out of curiosity or to steal vegetables and fruit from local farms and orchards.

While seen as less industrious, fenodyree are known, strangely enough, for being the most artistic of the dactyli. They have a rich story-telling tradition, through art and music, that makes them the loremasters for their species. They even like to tell stories about the above-world but often miss out on details or misinterpret events.

All dactyli like sweets and are capable of small feats of magic.