Harpies
- "Harpies are just birdbrained scavengers, looting and stealing whatever they need. That includes men... or anyone with a manhood. Nothin' matters to a harpy more than her next egg."
—Garth
Writer Credit
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Codex
Name: Harpy (pl. Harpies)
Sexes: Female
Height: Ranges from between 5'0 and 6'0 on average
Weight: Roughly 25% lighter than a human female of the same height
Skin: Harpies have soft human skin, ranging in the same colors. However, their lower legs devolve into scaled bird-like appendages, and their forearms are covered in downy feathers.
Hair: Harpies have feather-like plumage on their heads and wings, and a smaller patch on down on the pubic mound.
Eyes: Harpies have standard, human-style eyes with exceptional vision.
Ears: Harpies can have either feathery or bare-skinned ears, usually of elven shape.
Lifespan: 40 to 60 years
Maturity: 3 years
Description
Harpies are feathery females native to the mountains of the Frost Marches. Though their stature is much like that of a human woman, the difference is immediately visible in their taloned, scaled feet and the feathered wings that stretch from their underarms to wrists. In addition to these obvious features, harpies have tapered ears similar to those of elves, and large eyes with hawk-like vision. Their hands are clawed and, along with their arms, are covered in down the same color as their wings.
Traditionally, harpies have small breasts (from flat-chested to C-cups), but exceptionally wide hips and plush rumps that they are all too happy to use in enticing men to mate with them.
Reproduction
As an all-female species, harpies rely on other races' menfolk to reproduce — and they are voracious breeders, rarely content to go without an egg in their bellies for more than a few days. The higher in status a harpy is, the more likely she is to be pregnant at any given time, as she is able to effectively hoard captured (or seduced) men to herself to ensure her own line's supremacy, and keep her flock-mates in line based in their own growing desperation to breed.
A harpy pregnancy takes twelve to fifteen days from conception until the egg is laid. Once a harpy lays her egg, she will jealously guard it from all comers, including her own flock-mates and sisters. The only individual she will allow near her nest is the egg's father, and even then, only if she has built up some measure of trust with him.
Harpies will tend to their eggs by bodily holding for warmth and decorating them with stolen coins, jewelry, and cosmetics. This process will last for roughly a month, whereupon the harpy's egg will hatch into a small, defenseless little chick. Harpy chicks grow quickly, reaching maturity in just three years. During their youth, the chicks will rely on their mothers for food, but harpies only lactate a vestigial amount; they feed their chicks with soft foods and meats until they are able to handle full meals after a few months.
When a harpy reaches maturity, she will usually remain with her mother's flock as a neophyte thief and fighter. When a flock grows too large the sustain itself in one place, the youngest members of the group will often wing off to form their own new clan, with better prospects of finding mates.
History
Harpies have been around since time immemorial, and lack any real "civilization" of their own. They are, in short, barbarians and outlaws living on the borders of remote towns where they can scavenge for food and treasure, and seduce or force men to breed with them.
Society & Culture
Harpies typically divide themselves into blood-related clans, centered around a single matriarch who leads the flock on raids and directs their scavenging efforts. Her eldest and strongest daughters take up sub-leader roles under their mother, leading their own sisters and daughters in smaller groups to find men and treasure to return to their nests in the highest reaches of the mountains.
As far as folk understand, harpies have no true culture of their own: no literature or poems, and only crude art drawn on the stone near their nests. Most of what would pass for culture, including their language, is taken directly from other races.
Codex Acquisition
Only one of the conditions below must be met to unlock the Harpies Codex entry:
- Having stepped into the Foothills and met the Harpy Matron