Species Name: Harpy, Harpie, Harpyia, Harpia
In Greek mythology and Roman mythology, a harpy was a female monster in the form of a bird with a human face. They stole food from their victims while they are eating and carry evildoers (especially those who have killed their family) to the Erinyes. They seem originally to have been wind spirits. Their name means "snatchers". Homer wrote that a harpy was the mother of the two horses of Achilles sired by the West Wind Zephyrus. Hesiod calls them two "lovely-haired" creatures, the daughters of Thaumas and Electra (not to be confused with Electra, daughter of King Agamemnon), who were sisters of the Iris. In this form they were agents of punishment who abducted people and tortured them on their way to Tartarus. They were vicious, cruel and violent. They lived on the islands of the Strophades. They were usually seen as the personifications of the destructive nature of wind. The harpies in this tradition, now thought of as three sisters instead of the original two, Hesiod's two Harpies are named Aello ("storm swift") and Ocypete ("the swift wing"), Virgil's added Celaeno ("the dark") as a third. Homer knew of a Harpy named Podarge ("fleet-foot"). Harpies remained vivid in the Middle Ages. In his Inferno, XIII, Dante envisages the tortured wood infested with harpies, where the suicides have their punishment in the seventh ring of Hell.
The harpy is the magical hybrid offspring between an avian race and a humanoid race.
Type: Humanoid Avian
Physical Traits: A harpy is a maligned humanoid creature with an avian lower body and a pair of
wings. It subdues its prey by its ability to magically sing, inducing a trance
in those that hear, drawing them closer, and then tormenting them. Harpies have
the upper body of a humanoid and the lower body of a reptile, with scaly,
clawed feet and hands. They have filthy, tangled hair on their heads; black
eyes; and possess wings which render them capable of flight.
Harpies have the appearance of female humanoids with grotesque, avian features.
The hands and feet of a harpy end in long, sharp talons. Most harpies are
unclean creatures, who have no regard for their appearance. They tend to wear
little or no clothing, so as to not restrict their flying mobility, and what
little they do wear usually consists of baubles and tokens stolen from the
corpses of those whom they have slain. Harpies are generally on the lithe end of
the humanoid spectrum-even with hollow bones and large wings to keep them
aloft, harpies must remain light, and are rarely larger than an average
human woman. Harpies can tuck their wings fairly snugly at need, and in bad
light or elaborate costumes may even pass as human women-at least until
their prey is lured close enough to smell their stench and note their feral
faces and clawed limbs.
The feather colouration of a harpies varies based on the regions they are native to.
In
tropical areas they have colourful plumage similar to parrots or other birds of
paradise. They can fly at a speed of 35 kph with a ceiling of 8 kms.
Height: 5-6 ft and wingspan of 15 ft
Weight: 50-100 lbs
Abilities: The most insidious ability of the harpy is its song. When a harpy sings, all creatures (other than harpies) within a 300-foot spread must succeed on a Will save or become captivated. This is a sonic mind-affecting charm effect. A creature that successfully saves cannot be affected again by the same harpy’s song for 24 hours. A captivated victim walks toward the harpy, taking the most direct route available. If the path leads into a dangerous area (through flame, off a cliff, or the like), that creature gets a second saving throw. Captivated creatures can take no actions other than to defend themselves. (Thus, a fighter cannot run away or attack but takes no defensive penalties.) A victim within 5 feet of the harpy stands there and offers no resistance to the monster’s attacks. The effect continues for as long as the harpy sings and for 1 round thereafter. A bard’s countersong ability allows the captivated creature to attempt a new Will save. It is possible, but difficult, to resist the song of the harpy, and creatures who cannot hear are unable to be affected by the magical song. Elves are naturally resistant to the effects of the harpy's song. Despite their savage minds and appearances, harpies are able to sing beautifully.
Mobility: Legs and wings
Sensory Organs: Visual
Communication: Vocal
Reproduction: Sexual, females are able to lay as many as twenty eggs at will from the age of two, but only around three of those will successfully hatch, and any deformed young are killed by a parent. Harpies tend to bear children about once every 2 years over the course of their twenties. Since there are no male harpies, they use humanoid males to reproduce. Harpies tend to look for physical power and aggression in such genetic donors, and warriors tend to be chosen over farmers, artisans, and magic users. Because of their need to mate with humanoids, no harpies stay entirely away from civilized lands, and the presence of harpies in the deep wilderness is sometimes a sign of a hidden aboriginal tribe or isolated village.
INT: 3D6, WIS: 3D6, STR: 3D6 -1, DEX: 3D6 +1, CON: 3D6, CHA: 3D6, MR: 3D6, HPs: CON +D8
Orbit/Climate: See Earth
Feeding Habits: They are almost exclusively carnivorous, but if meat is unavailable, they will resort to eating vegetation. Harpy babies are born with the ability to chew and at least partially digest meat, though they are often not strong enough to rip it off a carcass, in which case their mothers rip victims into bite-sized chunks before giving the tidbits to their hungry young, even going so far as to regurgitate partially digested morsels for newborns. Harpy mothers have a duty to care for their young until the offspring can fend for themselves, but if the mother is killed, the entire tribe shares those duties.
Lifespan: 50 years
Technology: 2
Culture: Xenophobic. Fearful of others, harsh but still some redeeming features. Harpies do not wear clothing, but will adorn themselves with jewellery or trinkets from their victims. They will always take at least one possession from a victim back to their lair as a symbol of their kill, but are otherwise uninterested in treasure or wealth. They are not particularly intelligent creatures, and are prone to cowardice in the face of superior power. Harpies use primitive weapons; usually bone clubs, but they can also bite and rake with their claws. Harpies make homes in groups of six or more individuals within marshlands or in caves near shorelines which are preferably near well-traveled routes. An entire tribe (known as a "scream"), although very rare, can be as large as two hundred. Harpies venture out to hunt, and their victims are often brought back to the lair to be killed and eaten. There is no social structure to harpy life, and there are constant quarrels as a result, sometimes resulting in a fight to the death. If a death should indeed occur, harpies are quite content to eat their own kind.
Harpies can live almost anywhere, though they don't do well in extremely cold environments. They especially like marshlands and mountainous regions where they can lure powerful prey into bogs or over cliffs. Harpies prefer sentient creatures for their nourishment. Harpies are inquisitive and bright creatures, though they tend to have short attention spans. They appreciate song and beauty, and have a penchant for shiny objects, which in some more evil harpies can become an almost draconic level obsession with accumulation and hoarding of glittering treasure. Harpies tend to forget all but the most severe slights against them as quickly as they lose focus on other things, so most are fairly easy to get along with. Harpies like excitement and interesting new things, so adventuring or just travelling is not at all uncommon once a harpy reaches sufficient age. Harpies sing frequently, and often whistle like birds when happy.
A flying or gliding harpy can make a diving attack, which functions like a charge except the harpy must move at least 30 feet and descend at least 10 feet before the attack. She can also use the run action while flying, providing she only flies in a straight line. Harpies possess several natural attacks. Their clawed legs give them two claws that deal D6 damage, and their wings grant them two slam attacks dealing D6 damage. Unlike normal creatures with multiple natural weapons, a harpy cannot attack with all her natural attacks as a full attack action. A harpy can only attack with one wing or claw as an attack action, plus additional attacks if her base attack bonus is high enough to grant iterative attacks. As a full attack action the harpy can make second attack with a natural weapon as an off-hand weapon, taking all the normal penalties for two-weapon fighting. A harpy cannot make slam attacks with her wings while in flight.
Goblins have an extreme and entirely justified fear of harpies. They are sensitive to signs of harpy presence, and can smell harpies from a long way off. Rangers sometimes use this fact to their advantage-when travelling in goblin-infested areas, they apply specially treated harpy musk to their armour, or use it to guard their camps and caches. Any goblins who get close enough to smell the musk assume there's a harpy in the area and quickly flee. The musk is a combination of old sweat, aged filth, and unique pheromones exuded by a harpy, and a typical harpy has enough of these on her person to create 1 vial of harpy musk per month (provided she doesn't bathe). Typically, the crafter scrapes the congealed sweat and muck from a dead harpy and boils it down with water.
Government: None
Population: 450,000