Fae are known for stealing babies...

[Novembermike]

So what do they do with them? I was figuring I could use them as minor "X Knight" light npcs, who don't necessarily have sponsored magic but might have minor supernatural abilities. They'd have been eating Fae food for their entire lives so they'd be under compulsion, but they'd still have free will as well.

It's just a thought that came to me, and I'm curious about what other people think you could get from it.

[Sh33p]

Prospective Knights, prospective Emissaries, potential Changeling factories, old fashioned entertainment, and also snacks.

[sinker]

There are a lot of different possible answers in folklore. One of them is serving the fae as you mentioned, but there are also stories of the fae feeding on the children, or being given as souls in the tithe to hell (as mentioned in the death emmisary thread). There are even stories of them being raised lovingly as fairy children.

[Silverblaze]

I assume some (like bridge trolls) eat them? Yes I realize bridge trolls prefer naughty children but the idea still stands.  The other answers are likely better and more useful, but this is a possibility I figure.

[evileeyore]

I assume some (like bridge trolls) eat them? Yes I realize bridge trolls prefer naughty children but the idea still stands.  The other answers are likely better and more useful, but this is a possibility I figure.

Not sure it's a "preference" so much as a "it's what was negotiated".  For instance Trolls may prefer good children, but they were willing to settle for naughty ones during negotiations.



Also in some stories the Fae can no longer have their own children, thus the stolen children aren't just "raised as" but become new Fae themselves eventually.

[Team8Mum]

A significant number in folk lore are not so much 'stolen' as 'swapped' with a changeling being left in its place so it can be raised 'cuckoo like' in the relative safety of the mortal realms away from the machinations of the Sidhe court - where they were in danger of being kidnapped or murdered by faerie enemies.

Unfortunately often the mortals parents did not know how to look after them and they withered away and died, so it was assumed by the humans that the Faerie wanted the human child and the babe was a distraction.

(Personal theory - this was a very early explanation of conditions like Autism where and apparently 'normal' child becomes strange and withdrawn as they fail to develop socially in comparison with their peers. Or 'cot deaths' where an apparently healthy child would suddenly fade and die.)

Another possibility is that Sidhe (and even the Wild-fae)would never lower themselves to the role of servant, and as a result they need a lot of mortals to keep the place ticking over. Most of these are kept too busy to 'breed' hence the regular need for 'force immigration' of a young and compliant work force.

[Silverblaze]

Not sure it's a "preference" so much as a "it's what was negotiated".  For instance Trolls may prefer good children, but they were willing to settle for naughty ones during negotiations.



Also in some stories the Fae can no longer have their own children, thus the stolen children aren't just "raised as" but become new Fae themselves eventually.

Good call on both counts.