I am thinking of using harpies in a game for 6th level PCs sometime in the (hopefully) near future. I am interested in harpy ideas.
My thought is that the PCs encounter harpies who are looking for people to sacrifice in a dread ritual to an evil tree.
I am thinking of using harpies in a game for 6th level PCs sometime in the (hopefully) near future. I am interested in harpy ideas.
My thought is that the PCs encounter harpies who are looking for people to sacrifice in a dread ritual to an evil tree.
disguise them. make them attractive and alluring , perhaps so much the PC don't even know they are harpies to begin with. have thier wings designed as capes.
and have their requests for followers/volunteers seem perfectly reasonable to the group.
you say harpy's and someone will remember they are CE and the whole party will be spoiling for a fight.
even better is if you come up with a way to have the harpy's request help from the group to find them said people for the ritual or even participate themselves ;)
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One step past Phasic's suggestion, have an unusually cunning Harpy posing as an angel, tricking people into willingly bringing people to be 'cleansed of evil' by some ritual where she dunks them in the river. She allows some up in time that they don't drown and pronounces them cleansed of the wickedness that has been plaguing the village (a wickedness her sisters are spreading by fouling wells and poaching livestock, etc. at night).
Every now and then (when she and her sisters are hungry for human flesh), one of the supplicants drowns, and she explains regretfully that the evil within them was too strong, that they struggled to expel it, but that their soul have to be freed of their corrupt body to save it. That person is in a better place, and their body will be taken away to be ritually burned high in the hills. She then flies away with the body, and the villagers may even see the smoke from the 'purifying ceremony' as she and her sisters eat the unlucky soul that the villagers dragged to her for 'cleansing...'
Villagers who turn against the angel and her cleansing are generally the first ones to be dragged to the angel at the waterfall, because 'obviously' they are tainted by corruption, to be saying such terrible things about the angel!
(Perhaps she doesn't fly away with the bodies, perhaps there is a cave behind the waterfall that leads upwards to dry lair where the sisters live?)
The villagers still remember how the angel saved them from a pack of goblins or something, singing a heavenly song so filled with rapture and holiness that it froze them in their tracks, and left them easy pickings for the townsfolk. (The harpy isn't willing to risk serious harm to protect her 'cattle,' but it was just goblins, and she was feeling territorial... Her sisters and herself picked off the fleeing survivors, to make sure that they never returned to threaten their source of free meat.)
The village is more isolated than one would expect, as lone travellers who might roll into village don't usually make it past the vigilant harpies that roost near the mountain pass, keeping their little valley a private hunting preserve.
I was going to suggest that the harpies are holding a sphinx hostage, but those other ideas are much more cool!!!
Harpies are fun to give class levels to. I usually give them archer levels (fighter, ranger, maybe rogue or bard). An oracle harpy might be interesting as the big boss of the faux-angel-harpies.
Phasics and Set's idea is cool, and I will have to save it for future reference.
It doesn't quite fit what I need though. I have an idea to update an old and awful 1st edition adventure from an ancient White Dwarf issue. Since I've already established that harpies exist in the area the PCs are, I decided to replace some of the monsters that adventure has (the obligatory new monster) with harpies.
I'm making a bunch of other changes too.
I like the sphinx idea. Is the sphinx a hostage, or are the harpies working with the sphinx?
One wrinkle, the setting is supposedly based on the norse myths, but I have harpies in it, so obviously I am not being very concerned about mythological purity.
I statted this harpy villain up for my newsletter:
Aello is a harpy. "These are the vilest of all monsters. No plague or visitation of the gods sent up from the waves of the river Styx has ever been worse than these. They are birds with the faces of girls, with filth oozing from their bellies, with hooked claws for hands and faces pale with a hunger that is never satisfied." Virgil. The Aenied, III.212-218. Translated by David West. Penguin Classics: revised edition, 2003.
AELLO, Harpy Ranger 4; CR 8
XP 4,800
CE Medium monstrous humanoid
Init +4 (+6 in plains); Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +11
DEFENSE
AC 20, touch 15, flat-footed 15 (+4 armor, +4 Dex, +1 dodge, +1 natural)
hp 82 (11d10+22)
Fort +11, Ref +14, Will +8
OFFENSE
Speed 20 ft., fly 80 ft. (average)
Melee masterwork morningstar +14/+9 (1d8+2), 2 talons +8 (1d6+1), or
Melee (vs. humans) masterwork morningstar +16/+11 (1d8+4), 2 talons +10 (1d6+3), or
Ranged masterwork composite longbow with +1 arrows +13/+8 (1d8+9/x3, 110 ft. range increment), or
Ranged (vs. humans) masterwork composite longbow with +1 arrows +15/+10 (1d8+11/x3, 110 ft. range increment), or
Ranged (vs. humans) masterwork composite longbow with +1 human bane arrows +17/+12 (1d8+13 plus 2d6/x3, 110 ft. range increment)
Special Attacks captivating song, favored enemy (humans) +2
SPELLS
Ranger Spells Prepared (CL 1st)
1st - resist energy
STATISTICS
Str 14, Dex 19, Con 14, Int 9, Wis 12, Cha 15
Base Atk +11; CMB +13; CMD 27
Feats Ability Focus (captivating song), Deadly Aim, Dodge, Endurance (B), Flyby Attack, Great Fortitude, Far Shot (B), Skill Focus (Bluff)
Skills Bluff +11, Craft (fletching) +6, Fly +14, Intimidate +12, Knowledge (local) +8, Perception +11, Perform (song) +8, Stealth +15, Survival +11
SQ favored terrain (plains) +2, track +2, wild empathy +6
Languages Common
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Captivating Song (Su) Aello's song has the power to infect the minds of those that hear it, calling them to her side. When she sings, all creatures aside from other harpies within a 300-foot spread must succeed on a DC 17 Will saving throw or become captivated. A creature that successfully saves is not subject to Aello's song for 24 hours. A victim under the effects of the captivating song moves toward Aello using the most direct means available. If the path leads them into a dangerous area such as through fire or off a cliff, that creature receives a second saving throw to end the effect before moving into peril. Captivated creatures can take no actions other than to defend themselves. A victim within 5 feet of Aello simply stands and offers no resistance to her attacks. This effect continues for as long as Aello sings and for 1 round thereafter. This is a sonic mind-affecting charm effect. The save DC is Charisma-based.
Favored Enemy (Ex) Aello enjoys a +2 bonus on Bluff, Knowledge, Perception, Sense Motive, and Survival checks against humans. Likewise, she gets a +2 bonus on weapon attack and damage rolls against them. She make a Knowledge (local) skill check untrained when attempting to identify humans.
Favored Terrain (Ex) Aello gains a +2 bonus on initiative checks and Knowledge (geography), Perception, Stealth, and Survival skill checks when is a plains terrain. When traveling through plains, she leaves no trail and cannot be tracked (though she may leave a trail if she so chooses).
Hunter's Bond (Ex) Aello can spend a move action to grant half her favored enemy bonus against a single human to all allies within 30 feet who can see or hear her. This bonus lasts for 1 round. This bonus does not stack with any favored enemy bonuses possessed by his allies; they use whichever bonus is higher.
EQUIPMENT & BACKGROUND
Treasure NPC gear (+1 studded leather, quiver with 10 +1 human bane arrows and 10 +1 arrows, cloak of resistance +1, potion of blur, two potions of cure moderate wounds, masterwork composite longbow [Str 14], masterwork morningstar, two vials of alchemist fire, two tanglefoot bags, plus 45 gp)
Aello the Swift Storm hunts well-traveled plains for human prey, a task for which she is frighteningly well-suited. She can drop most humans with a single arrow fired with Deadly Aim. Against more experienced humans, she attacks using magical arrows, preferring to stay at the upper limits of her bow's first range increment. Too sow confusion and disorient her prey, she may make strafing runs using alchemist fire and tanglefoot bags. Victims of her captivating song are typically ignored while free-willed foes remain a threat.
Worst of all, Aello seldom hunts alone. She is usually accompanied by a flight of six regular harpies armed with light crossbows. (This makes Aello and company roughly equal to a CR 11 encounter). Aello keeps her harpies under control by threats, violence, and a share of the spoils, including the choicest morsels cut from victims' bodies.
Aello earned her nickname the Swift Storm due to her preference for ambushes and hit-and-run tactics. Especially against ground-bound opponents, Aello doesn't see the need to risk too much injury on her hunts. Most often she and her followers retreat after suffering minor to moderate damage. They then lick their wounds and look for an opportunity to attack again, hoping to wear down their prey through attrition. A favorite tactic is for Aello and company to all focus their ranged attacks against a single victim. Then, they fly away for a few minutes before returning to strike again.
The Swift Storm sometimes sells her services to evil masters, especially when doing so gives her an opportunity to torment and kill humans. She is not an especially loyal henchmen. Still, her skill with ranged combat and ambush tactics have their uses, and more than one evil creature has sought Aello's services.
Cool bad guy
Cool bad guy
Danke. :)
I like her.
I like her.
Like? Nay, you *fear* her. Fear her! Muahahaha!