Homebrew Harpy Species Details

"Only one with a strong heart, mind, or soul can take a stand against the mindset that all are evil. A Harpy I may be, but a devil I am not."

Coming from no one set home, the origin of Harpies is hearsay. Very few work to change the name painted on harpies as evil or monstrous. The few that work to change the name usually go into hiding, or are forced into the life of crime in the end, as most commoners either run in fear or turn point and draw their blades.

The alignment of Harpies vary; some are chaotic, some neutral, some both. All harpies keep some form of their wild self, be it in their neutrality, or their chaotic nature. Many are evil, those who change to the light, neutral, or even on the rare case lawful sides are hated by other harpies. They do not have many heroes to their name, any harpies going against their norms is frowned upon. Marriage is foreign to them, as when a female mates, she will more than likely leave her mate and raise the child alone until they can talk, fly and fight. Though there are cases of harpies living as a couple, or even a family. Similar to the Drow, Harpies are a primarily female run race. The men are there for fodder, as mates, and to look pretty in most harpies eyes. But their social construct is scattered, as they live in isolation or small packs that break apart and grow sporadically. So it is not uncommon to see a man leading a group. Harpies also have a strong sense of pride. Be it in their looks, their fighting style, what they make, or what they kill. Trophies are common. Be it something as simple as a wood carving, or a skull strapped to their hips. In line with their sadistic nature, many chaotic harpies don the skulls of their kills around their hips.

Many Harpies, although considered the hags of nature, can actually be quite attractive sometimes. The women are slender, curvy, busty, and well built. The men are muscular, toned, and sometimes ferocious and handsome. Some use this for good, but many for evil. With their song in hand, they lead many to their doom. Those who work to change the name tend to hide in cloaks, even though many do not have a concept of clothing, or just plain hate clothes. Harpies' talons and feathers vary. Some can have black, others blue; maybe even green or white. The talons are always curved, but maybe some broke theirs to change people's thoughts. Others may have kept them long and let them grow to the malicious curve. They have them on both their hands and feet, as all harpies have the "bird legs."

Their names sometimes sound like mixes of french and german, or even babylonian or greek. The names are meant to sound beautiful and powerful. Adopting a human/humanoid sounding name is common for those who attempt to blend in with society.

 Harpies reach full maturity at around age 15, and usually live to be up to 40-50 years old.

 

Harpy Traits

A harpy combines the body, legs, and wings of a bird with the torso, arms, and head of a human. Their sweet songs have lured countless adventurers to their deaths. Once separated or cast out from their clan, these creatures tend to serve their own interests and needs first; however, they are willing to hunt or fight in a group as long as it benefits them.

Darkvision

Thanks to your predatory heritage and being accustomed to twilit forests and the night sky, you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.

Size

Harpies normally stand at around 5 feet tall and weigh about 100-125 pounds. Their size is Medium.

Ability Score Increase

Your Dexterity score increases by 2.

Monstrous Nature

Your creature type is considered to be both humanoid and monstrosity.

Talon Strike

Your talons are natural weapons, which you can use to make unarmed strikes. If you hit with them, you deal slashing damage equal to 1d4 + your Strength or Dexterity modifier, instead of the bludgeoning damage normal for an unarmed strike.

Additional Languages

You can understand Primordial and Auran.

Auran is a breathy, relaxed language that has been described as a slow exhaling of air. Auran is in the Primordial language family, and is used by air elementals and air-based creatures. It is considered to be a dialect of Primordial so that creatures who spoke one of the other elemental dialects such as Aquan, Ignan or Terran could understand Auran and vice-versa.