Brownies stand about 3-4' tall. They have brown skin and hair all over their bodies. They usually remain naked or dress in rags and scraps. If a brownie violates a rule of the household, they will become grotesque, losing their noses and only having a single hole in their face, and losing their fingers and toes.

No brownie works for free. Individual brownies will choose a household to serve, doing tasks in the night such as tidying up, cleaning rooms, fixing broken tools and toys, mending clothing and furniture, completing farming tasks, mowing lawns, etc. In exchange, the household leaves food on the hearth for them. This relationship has lasted for Ages between brownies and other fey or brownies and mortals. Most households brownies serve are peasants, workers, or low-ranking families or individuals among the nations; very rarely do they serve the rich. Instead, those they work for often become prosperous. They become attached and devoted to the households they serve, but even the slightest mistake will offend them and send them away. The deep personal friendships they have with their households often do last generations, however. They will go the extra mile for their households in times of need, and the households will create special hooks as swings for them or keep a little extra milk, corn, or mushroom from the harvest.

When not serving a household, brownies return to their own communities, located in the forests and hills near to where those they serve live. They work nights, sleep through the mornings, and have leisure in the afternoon and evening. The families they serve are usually very grateful and keep the often unspoken contract of food for labor. The food is taken back to the community and shared amongst everyone. Though brownies often find themselves, for instance, picking fruit or milking cows, they never take without being offered. It is a violation of the agreement between them. They get equal to what they work, measured by their own standards, and never take without being offered first. They never even ask, if they can help it. If they are given anything other than food, they consider the contract broken and leave permanently.

Clothing is considered a major violation in terms of payment. Finery is associated with old ruling classes long gone, and fine clothing is a form of insult. Instead, brownies prefer to wear working clothes, rags, and scraps. They rarely have need of clothing except in the worst weather, anyway. Brownies are very particular about their working conditions. They do not like to be seen. Their work cannot be criticized without great need. They do not like to be laughed at. And they will not tolerate rudeness, contempt, condescension, or insults of any kind. These are violations that will get a household blacklisted. If a household decides to fire other workers in favor of the brownies, they will refuse to work until everyone is rehired. Conversely, if workers in the household are being maliciously lazy, the brownies will pinch them in their sleep or cause other mischief to remind them that their work affects the work of others.

Brownies live in small communities led by the local elders, chosen informally and often by general consensus based on age, respect, and leadership skills. These communities are part of a wider regional group called a district, and each district is led by a group of four elected figures: the constable, the judge, the chief, and the labor officer. The constables head the constabulary, or volunteer police; the judge handles disputes and disagreements; the chief handles administrative tasks; the labor officer makes sure everyone is paid for their work. Every district also elects a representative to the national council, called the parliament. The parliament is made up of 32 representatives. From them is elected the bealdor, who is the head of the nation for 100 years. The constables and judges have their own separate councils, from which they elect leadership to help coordinate nationally, but all of these bodies answer to the bealdor and parliament. Labor officers answer only to the workers, but they hold a workers assembly every 25 years to make major decisions, which the parliament must take up and discuss and ratify unless a unanimous rejection occurs.

In brownie communities, children are raised by their parents and extended families until the age of nine, at which time they are sent to a regional school until they are 21. At 21, they may choose to continue another four years in school or go on to take up working. At 25, all brownies are adults with voting privileges, the right to run for office, the right to work a household, and the right to marry freely. Courtship is mostly casual, and monogamy is not uncommon but not enforced. Gender diversity is respected, but overall, most brownies hold to the common binary--indeed, most brownies are male. Marriage is a very serious proposition and is only undertaken with deep consideration for all parties involved. Couples rarely marry except for social or political reasons rather than for love; lovers have more children in less formal relationships.

Every brownie community has its own traditions, but they all share a love of seasonal festivals, celebrations of the home, and their faiths. Brownies hold freedom of religion in high esteem, but almost all brownie communities worship the Hearthmother. Any attempts to convert them to another faith by their households will result in the breaking of the contract. Some brownies will make a mess in the homes they depart from as well.

Some believe that brownies guard treasures, though this is almost never the case. It has caused conflict between them and other fey or mortals before. They are very careful and only send one brownie to serve at a home, partly to avoid being seen and partly to make sure no one's jobs are taken.

Brownies who violate the rules of the household they serve without any reason become altered. They become frightening to see, losing noses, fingers, and toes. They begin to engage in mischief and mayhem and torment their household until they are driven out. In this state, they speak only in rhymes and are known to cast people over cliffsides.