Bacchae

Bacchae were petitioners possessed by the wild Dionysian spirit of revelry. In life, these spirits were well-meaning drunkards, gourmands, gluttons, and other types of hedonists.

"If they let you do it, it isn't worth doing."

- An anonymous bacchae

Description
Most bacchae looked like attractive humans, albeit with a feral glint in their eyes, while others resembled satyrs. Their appearance was always dirty and disheveled, with tears in their clothing or stains from blood, dirt, or wine.

Bacchae typically wore tunics or loose robes, sandals or crude leather shoes, and crowns made of mistletoe, grape leaves, or laurel leaves. During the winter season they would wear bulky layers of shawls, woolen leggings, and scarves.

Personality
Bacchae were rarely cruel or malevolent beings, their lives revolving entirely around partying, though they could be very careless when it came to the lives or property of others. They placed little value on appearance, cleanliness, conventional rules, or manners to the point of practically despising them. They appreciated good humor, wit, endurance, and a joy for life, often daring each other to perform ridiculous stunts.

Bacchae also had a mercurial nature to them. It was easy to incite them to acts of violence through acts such as refusing share alcohol with them, offering them inferior wine, not offering them wine, not having wine they could steal, resisting their magical abilities, or by interfering with their revelry. Brewers, musicians, and vinters were usually spared their wrath.

It was not uncommon to see bacchae caught up in a frenzy to suddenly end their attacking with little or no reason before offering their opponents peace offerings in the form of ale, wine, or other food. Sometimes this turn of face lasted only a short time, being a mere pause to catch their breath. At other times, this was an attempt to patch things up, and a sincere recognition of an opponent's skills, especially when they were outmatched, but it could also be a sign of contempt over the brawl posing no challenge for them. Refusing the peace offerings of a bacchae would drive them back into a frenzy.

Abilities
Bacchae could move at blurringly fast, magical speeds, moving as if they were affected by the shadow walk spell. They could tear apart the armor or clothing of any opponent.

Bacchae possessed an innate spellcasting ability that allowed them to cast charm person and Tasha's hideous laughter three times per day, as well as emotion once per day. They could also fly into a rage, much like a barbarian. Wounded bacchae could be whipped up into such a rage in the throes of combat whenever they first witnessed the sign of any weakness or a combatant falling. They could not be raised from the dead or resurrected.

They were immune to spells of charm, enchantment, and polymorph, and were resistant to electricity and acid. As outsiders, it was impossible for them to be raised from the dead or resurrected.

Transformation
Anyone who drank and partied with the bacchae long enough would eventually become one themselves, their bodies infused with the Dionysian spirit. This could occur over simply the course of a long evening of revelry. Once transformed a person abandoned their previous lifestyle, becoming obsessed with revelry, and were willing to turn on former allies that attacked the bacchae.

Those transformed into bacchae could be restored to their former self by means of the spells heal, limited wish, wish, miracle, or shapechange. Some claimed that the spell polymorph other could restore one's form, but bacchae were immune to such effects.

Combat
Bacchae disdained the use of weaponry, instead preferring to fight in a frenzied manner with their teeth, fists, nails, and legs. Those on the sidelines would hurl any loose items at their disposal, such as rocks and tankards.

Society
Bacchae traveled in groups, being almost never seen solitarily. They tended to carry around tankards of beer, jugs of wine, and a variety of musical instruments. They brought discord and revelry to wherever they visited, trying to drag other creatures into their frenzied life. They often demanded any beer or wine from those they came across. Outside of settlements they were commonly found reclining in glades or running wildly through forests.

Bacchae rarely attacked strangers outright, often inviting others to join them for a night of dancing, drinking, and fighting before passing judgement on them. Sometimes they would beguile strangers into joining them through use of their spell-like abilities. Once someone was accepted they were considered a new member of the tribe, they had to act in character or risk being attacked or cast out.

Homelands
Bacchae were known to nomadically roam throughout the planes, often following their patron god Dionysus. However, they were typically found throughout the plane of Arborea's layer Arvandor, being most common in the realms of Olympus and Brightwater. In Olympus, the palace of Dionysus acted as sort of a home base for them, but they could also be encountered within the caverns of Mount Olympus.

Outside of Arvandor, traveling bacchae were sometimes seen in the halls of Ysgard, partying and doing battle with its petitioners, as well as in chaos plane of Limbo.

Languages
Bacchae generally spoke Common and Sylvan. They also typically knew the language of whatever region they lived in, as well as the unique languages of dryads, oreads, and satyrs.

Religion
Dionysus and Pan were the patron deities of bacchae.

Relationships
Bacchae viewed other creatures with a tribal mentality &mdash; either someone was part of their revelry or they were an enemy. They could only be convinced to be accepting of those who were as dirty, drunken, and frenzied as them, with the aforementioned exceptions of those who provided/created music and drink.

The rowdy creatures were despised and feared by authority figures, seen as forces of anarchy and revolution. They in turn were opponents of lawful beings, disapproving of any authority figure or group that tried to impose any rules on their lifestyle. They were frequently hunted by lawful organizations; the githzerai for example were likely to kill them on sight.

Bacchae were generally on good terms with a wide variety of fey, including dryads, satyrs, sprites, and the Seelie Court. They were also on good terms with some of the hardier partiers of Ysgard. And many bacchae were members of the Children of the Vine, an offshoot of the Society of Sensation.

Centaurs, satyrs,  dryads, oreads, some members of the Society of Sensation, and hardy elves (usually wild elves) could often be found engaging in their revels.

Bacchae sometimes acted as servants of the deity Erevan Ilesere and the Olympian pantheon as a whole.

Trivia
Bacchae could be summoned by the spell summon monster III.

Appearances

 * Novels
 * Tymora's Luck
 * Card Games
 * Blood Wars