Harpy (Vulture) - "Harpies"
Realm: Hellas
Typical Height Ranges: Females - 3'9" to 5'
Typical Weight Ranges: Females - 60 to 100 lbs
Typical Alignments: Chaotic
Typical Marks: Scylla, Echidna, Hera
Forcemarks: Scylla, Echidna
Instinctive Traits: Salvage, Scavenging, Hostility to outsiders, Family-pack instinct
There is a fair deal of size variation among harpies, partly for biological reasons, partly because Scylla and Echidna are partial to using size increases as rewards. Their wingspans are very broad, several times wider than they are tall. Their legs are not powerful, though their talons have excellent dexterity and grip. They have all the neccessary flight surfaces, including primary feathers and tail, but require ambient magic for flight. Without it, they cannot sustain powered flight. With it, some can carry double their own weight for very short flights. Their faces and chests are unfeathered, and their heads tend to have unkempt hair which has a tendency to clump into feathery clusters, leading some to believe that they have feathered heads.
"Wild" harpies reserve bathing to the exclusive purpose of attracting mates. Since the species is female-only, and most other species find harpy odours repugnant, they will clean for the purposes of their flings. Harpy immune systems are quite robust, as per their dietary preference for "aged" meat. Harpies often flock together for mutual strength. They often extort lone travellers and poorly defended vehicles. They very rarely actively hunt food, but are perfectly capable of doing so. Harpies can breed with nearly any other species, but only within realm, and the resulting chick will always be a harpy.
It is extremely rare, but not unheard of, for harpies to live with the fathers of their chicks, or vice versa, and form interspecies family units that way.
http://gamera1985.deviantart.com/art/Harpy-hunting-70420879
http://ladydove7.deviantart.com/art/Commission-Nathan-and-Dawn-104139397
http://kittehness.deviantart.com/art/LIAR-LIAR-LIAR-9861534
Realm: Hellas
Typical Height Ranges: Females - 3'9" to 5'
Typical Weight Ranges: Females - 60 to 100 lbs
Typical Alignments: Chaotic
Typical Marks: Scylla, Echidna, Hera
Forcemarks: Scylla, Echidna
Instinctive Traits: Salvage, Scavenging, Hostility to outsiders, Family-pack instinct
There is a fair deal of size variation among harpies, partly for biological reasons, partly because Scylla and Echidna are partial to using size increases as rewards. Their wingspans are very broad, several times wider than they are tall. Their legs are not powerful, though their talons have excellent dexterity and grip. They have all the neccessary flight surfaces, including primary feathers and tail, but require ambient magic for flight. Without it, they cannot sustain powered flight. With it, some can carry double their own weight for very short flights. Their faces and chests are unfeathered, and their heads tend to have unkempt hair which has a tendency to clump into feathery clusters, leading some to believe that they have feathered heads.
"Wild" harpies reserve bathing to the exclusive purpose of attracting mates. Since the species is female-only, and most other species find harpy odours repugnant, they will clean for the purposes of their flings. Harpy immune systems are quite robust, as per their dietary preference for "aged" meat. Harpies often flock together for mutual strength. They often extort lone travellers and poorly defended vehicles. They very rarely actively hunt food, but are perfectly capable of doing so. Harpies can breed with nearly any other species, but only within realm, and the resulting chick will always be a harpy.
It is extremely rare, but not unheard of, for harpies to live with the fathers of their chicks, or vice versa, and form interspecies family units that way.
http://gamera1985.deviantart.com/art/Harpy-hunting-70420879
http://ladydove7.deviantart.com/art/Commission-Nathan-and-Dawn-104139397
http://kittehness.deviantart.com/art/LIAR-LIAR-LIAR-9861534