D&D 4e: Fey races and Archfey? Summer & Winter Court?

[The Colonel]

This:

http://dungeons.wikia.com/wiki/Tome_...ity_and_Fiends

is the "giant frog" guy. He's put a fair bit of effort into expressing some of the issues with Alignment. The "Law and Chaos" bit is specifically germane.

[Johnny1A.2]

Originally Posted by The Colonel

Defining fae is really half the battle - the original legends aren't clear on what they were, so pretty much anything can go in the bag. Greek origin should by no means be a bar to fae classification - although you'd have to decide what the jurisdiction of the fae courts looks like (is it global or local, if global what meaning to "summer" and "winter" have to fae dwelling at the equator). Pretty much every culture has fae like things - the Scandinavian "trolls" seem very similar, as do a large number of Japanese yokai, various Russian critters like dormovoi and kikimora and and countless things in other places that I don't know the names of. You could even argue the Roman penates to be fae like.
D&D's other problem with fae is that they have good and evil ones ... blue and orange would be more likely. Likewise tagging them as inherently chaotic when they were famously rule bound...

But when the other guy is iron-bound by complicated rules that you don't know, and can't find out, he can easily come across as totally chaotic. The more so if the rules in question are irrational by human standards.

Which means, as JRRT pointed out, that the fey probably find us equally fascinating and confusing, they probably have trouble fitting us into their world view as well.

[roguebfl]

Originally Posted by Johnny1A.2

Which means, as JRRT pointed out, that the fey probably find us equally fascinating and confusing, they probably have trouble fitting us into their world view as well.

I mean were willing to use the iron bane! how could we do something so contry!

[The Colonel]

Originally Posted by roguebfl

I mean were willing to use the iron bane! how could we do something so contry!

Jim Butcher lampshades this by pointing out that a human carrying iron in fae territory is sort of like someone carrying high level nuclear waste around in a human context... just having it will annoy people.