Minutia urbanis
In every crowded city, there are people who live where no one thinks to look.
At a glance
Darkvision 60 ft.
Languages Common, Sylvan
Height 2 to 3 feet
Weight 20 to 40 pounds
Lifespan 120 to 160 years, adult at 20
At the table
Your creature type is Fey, rather than Humanoid. You are Small.
Your walking Speed is 30 feet. You also have a Climb Speed of 20 feet.
Accustomed to dim rooms and narrow city passages, you have Darkvision with a range of 60 feet.
You have Advantage on saving throws you make to avoid or end the Charmed condition on yourself.
You know the Mage Hand cantrip. Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for it. The hand appears as a small, translucent wisp shaped like a fluttering scrap of paper or thread.
Common, Sylvan
Nooklings often cultivate quick hands, steady nerves, and sharp instincts, tending toward Dexterity and Wisdom. For D&D 5E (2024), assign ability score increases as you wish, such as +2/+1 or +1/+1/+1.
Soft, soot-dark fur along the ears and forearms, and exceptional comfort in warm, dim places.
Often found in bakeries, inns, and apartment blocks, Hearth Nooklings tend gardens in pots and help maintain the quiet bonds between neighbors. They are known for hospitality and practical craft.
In every crowded city, there are people who live where no one thinks to look. Nooklings make homes in cracks, forgotten rooms, and the warm spaces behind the walls, carrying news and useful scraps through a world built far too large for them. They can be wary of the big folk, but a neighbor who offers respect may find a quick-witted friend, a reliable guide, and a keeper of secrets no map records.
Nooklings are compact, wingless fey with nimble hands, expressive faces, and eyes adapted to dim corners.
Their ears, hair, and skin vary widely, much like those of the city's larger inhabitants, though some bear faint freckles that glimmer in moonlight. They dress in carefully mended remnants: a cuff becomes a vest, a ribbon becomes a belt, and a button may serve as a treasured badge. Their clothes are practical rather than uniform, often padded against splinters and weather.
Urban
A child learns the safe routes through a home, alley, and neighborhood before being trusted to travel alone.
A young adult gathers a first collection of useful castoffs and chooses a trade, route, or community to serve.
An adult often becomes a craftsperson, scout, caretaker, or keeper of local agreements.
An elder is valued for remembering old city plans, vanished doorways, and the promises made between neighbors.
Nookling communities are organized around trust, shared routes, and the careful exchange of useful things.
A neighbor might be known by their work, the place they watch over, or a memorable scrap in their clothing. Elders teach children which doors open, which cats are gentle, and which big folk can be trusted. Nooklings salvage what city life leaves behind, but they are not merely scavengers: their craftspeople mend, tailor, build, and adapt with extraordinary care. Many serve as couriers, guides, or quiet witnesses to city events.
Nooklings honor a varied collection of household spirits, local fey, ancestors, and city deities associated with hearths, roads, craft, or luck.
Their observances are usually modest: a crumb left beside a warm pipe, a polished button placed in a shared shrine, or a song whispered through a wall. They have no common alignment, though their close-knit communities often prize mutual aid and fair dealing.
Nooklings are friendly by inclination but cautious by experience.
They appreciate people who ask before entering their homes, avoid treating them as pets or curiosities, and keep agreements. Some city residents trade food, cloth, or protection for nookling help with messages and repairs; others do not know their tiny neighbors exist. Nooklings are often especially protective of children, the poor, and anyone made vulnerable by a city that overlooks them.
Nookling homes occupy the overlooked seams of city life: spaces behind pantry shelves, dry hollows in old walls, abandoned rain cisterns, and the warm cavities beneath bakery ovens.
Their rooms are braced with matchsticks, thread, folded paper, and slivers of tile. A well-established nookling quarter may include a communal market inside a disused pipe or a meeting hall tucked beneath a stair. These places are carefully screened, but many have discreet entrances known to trusted neighbors.
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