Harpy

A harpy was a malign humanoid creature with an avian lower body and a pair of wings.

Description
A harpy was a winged creature having the upper body of a humanoid and the lower body of a reptile, with scaly, clawed feet and clawed hands. They had filthy, tangled hair on their heads; black eyes; and possessed powerful wings which they used to fly away with their victims.

Harpies had the appearance of female humanoids with grotesque, avian features. The hands and feet of a harpy ended in long, sharp talons. Most harpies were unclean creatures, who had no regard for their appearance. They tended to wear little or no clothing, so as to not restrict their flying mobility, and what little they did wear usually consisted of baubles and tokens stolen from the corpses of those whom they had slain.

The feather coloration of a harpy varied according to the region of Toril that they were native to. Rumors even abounded of beautiful harpies found in tropical lands that boasted the colorful plumage of parrots or other birds of paradise.

There was no physical difference between male and female harpies. The males possessed breasts just like the females did, leading to the misconception that male harpies did not exist.

Song
Despite their savage minds and appearances, harpies were able to sing beautifully. A harpy's song, once heard, acted like a charm, inducing a trance-like state in which the victim was compelled to move towards the harpy, regardless of any dangers that might obstruct his or her path. Once within reach of the harpy, the victim was in the harpy's control.

It was near impossible to resist the song of the harpy, but creatures who could not hear were unaffected by the magical song. Elves were naturally resistant to the effects of the harpy's song.

Harpies used this song to lure in victims to slay.

Ecology
Females were able to lay as many as twenty eggs at will from the age of two, but only around three of those would successfully hatch, and any deformed young were killed by a parent. Similar, when old age weakens a harpy, it is also killed by its kin. It was unclear whether harpies looked after their young or not, but if they did, it consisted of nothing more than feeding their young, similar to birds.

Society
Harpies did not wear clothing, but would adorn themselves with jewellery or trinkets from their victims. They would always take at least one possession from a victim back to their lair as a symbol of their kill, but were otherwise uninterested in treasure or wealth. They were not particularly intelligent creatures, and were prone to cowardice in the face of superior power. They communicated with a language of shrieking and cackling, which dramatically contrasted with the beauty of their magical singing.

Harpies used primitive weapons; usually bone clubs, but they could also bite and rake with their claws. They had no preference over their victims, and enjoyed the killing and torture of any creature. They were almost exclusively carnivorous, but if meat was unavailable, they would resort to eating vegetation. Their preferred food was fresh demihuman meat, especially elves. Due to the natural resistance elves had to the harpy's song, harpies viewed their meat as an especially rare delicacy. The lifespan of a harpy typically ranged anywhere between twenty-five and fifty years old.

Harpies were spiteful, hate-filled beings that would attack anything that they took offence to. This could include beautiful things, living creatures, or inanimate objects. The savage mind of a harpy was often fraught with insanity.

Harpies made homes in groups of six or more individuals within marshlands or in caves near shorelines, which were preferably near well travelled routes. A large group of harpies, known as a scream, could be as large as two hundred. However, there was no social structure to harpy life. The constant quarrelling sometimes resulted in a fight to the death. If a death should indeed occur, harpies were willing to eat their own kind.

It was not unknown for harpies to cooperate with other evil humanoids if it served their interests.

Lands
Harpies dwelt in and around the Kingdom of Nix, a goblin realm that lay upon the high Forbidden Plateau in the Utter East, beside a glacier in the Wu Pi Te Shao Mountains of the Yehimal. The harpies of Nix were known as merciless hunters, and were depicted as having long tails. Swooping from the skies, they caught foes in nets and carried them off. They would drop their hapless victims in the cauldrons of Nix; their demise produced a burst of mana to power the bloodforges. These harpies were instrumental in Redfang the Reaper's reign of terror over Vanesci Hamlet, by kidnapping villagers for the cookpot.

Appearances

 * Computer Games
 * Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realms
 * Icewind Dale II
 * Gateway to the Savage Frontier
 * Neverwinter Nights: Hordes of the Underdark
 * Pools of Darkness
 * Treasures of the Savage Frontier
 * Novels:
 * Elfsong
 * Finder's Bane