Ravens_cry
2010-06-07, 01:05 AM
Half-Harpy
+2 Charisma, +2 Dexterity, -2 Constitution:
While exotically alluring and preternaturally agile, half-harpies are fragile creatures with thin, weak bones.
Medium: Half-harpies are Medium creatures and have no bonuses or penalties due to their size.
Normal Speed: Half-harpies have a base speed of 30 feet.
Low-Light Vision: Half-harpies can see twice as far as humans in conditions of dim light.
+2 on Perform: Sing
Echoes of the harpies alluring cry lives on in these half-breeds.
+2 on Fly checks, and Fly is always a class skill
Though lacking the wings of their progenitors, the instincts of flight still run strong in their blood
1d4 claw attack:
Strong, sharp, almost claws, nails leave their mark.
Languages: Half-harpies begin play speaking Common. Half-harpies with high Intelligence scores can choose any languages they want (except secret languages, such as Druidic).
An extraordinarily new race, thought to have started with the love between a paladin hero and a harpy sorceress, some of the other harpies who have incorporated themselves into Humanoid societies have added their number to this infant culture.
Their unsettling appearance often invites disdain and prejudice, as does their unusual origins.
While females are more common then males, both genders can and do exist and breed successfully.
Some jaded pallets, hungry for novelty, find them exotic, and the trafficking of these rare folk as slaves has proven profitable to some less scrupulous merchants
Physical Description: They largely resemble half elves, only with feathers interposed in their hair (which tends to be spiky and stick straight up), eyes with cats like slits and their nails are uncommonly sharp and pointed. Their hair and feathers runs to unusual, for humans, colours and patterns, taking after various birds, usually predatory ones.
Society: Far and few between, they do not have anything like a unified culture, though they will seek out others of their kind if word reaches them. Most think themselves unique in the world.
Relations: Struggling to form lasting bonds with the other more populous races, they are most comfortable in the company of other half breeds, though will take any acceptance they can.
Alignment and Religion: Like most of their mothers, they too struggle with inner demons and temptation to abuse their potential influence over others. Some succeed, some fail.
Also, their oddness and rarity means they generally don’t blend in well with other humanoids. Chaotic neutral is the most common alignment, though only on average.
As far as religions go, to some half-harpies they are a place they can escape from the pressures of the world. To others, they are just another potential source of rejection.
Adventurers: Your appearance doesn’t matter if you are quick with blade or spell, or so many half-harpies hope. In the company of misfits, their oddness stands out less.
***
OK, long story short, my paladin in a recently finished campaign, Legacy of Fire is awesome by the way, fell in love with a certain harpy, and at the end of the campaign, got hitched to said harpy.
Ah love, it makes fools of us all. I kneeled down and proposed and everything.
Actually, it was one of my, no, was my favourite role playing ever, superseding the shouting match in the same campaign. The party rogue was my best man. It was beautiful.
Anyway, considering there is half dragons, half fiends, half orcs, half elves and centaurs, why not half harpies, I thought.
So here is my home brew of this unusual race. Yeah, they are a little emo in fluff, but wouldn't you be though? Which is a better option for flight as far as balance for the Fly bonus is concerned, or do you have a better suggestion?
There, I made a choice.
Should +1 on damage for unarmed strikes be added due to the sharp nails? Thought so.
Any other thoughts and critiques and thoughts on fluff and power level are more then welcome.
Just as a reminder, this is balanced for Pathfinder, not Dungeons and Dragons 3.5.
+2 Charisma, +2 Dexterity, -2 Constitution:
While exotically alluring and preternaturally agile, half-harpies are fragile creatures with thin, weak bones.
Medium: Half-harpies are Medium creatures and have no bonuses or penalties due to their size.
Normal Speed: Half-harpies have a base speed of 30 feet.
Low-Light Vision: Half-harpies can see twice as far as humans in conditions of dim light.
+2 on Perform: Sing
Echoes of the harpies alluring cry lives on in these half-breeds.
+2 on Fly checks, and Fly is always a class skill
Though lacking the wings of their progenitors, the instincts of flight still run strong in their blood
1d4 claw attack:
Strong, sharp, almost claws, nails leave their mark.
Languages: Half-harpies begin play speaking Common. Half-harpies with high Intelligence scores can choose any languages they want (except secret languages, such as Druidic).
An extraordinarily new race, thought to have started with the love between a paladin hero and a harpy sorceress, some of the other harpies who have incorporated themselves into Humanoid societies have added their number to this infant culture.
Their unsettling appearance often invites disdain and prejudice, as does their unusual origins.
While females are more common then males, both genders can and do exist and breed successfully.
Some jaded pallets, hungry for novelty, find them exotic, and the trafficking of these rare folk as slaves has proven profitable to some less scrupulous merchants
Physical Description: They largely resemble half elves, only with feathers interposed in their hair (which tends to be spiky and stick straight up), eyes with cats like slits and their nails are uncommonly sharp and pointed. Their hair and feathers runs to unusual, for humans, colours and patterns, taking after various birds, usually predatory ones.
Society: Far and few between, they do not have anything like a unified culture, though they will seek out others of their kind if word reaches them. Most think themselves unique in the world.
Relations: Struggling to form lasting bonds with the other more populous races, they are most comfortable in the company of other half breeds, though will take any acceptance they can.
Alignment and Religion: Like most of their mothers, they too struggle with inner demons and temptation to abuse their potential influence over others. Some succeed, some fail.
Also, their oddness and rarity means they generally don’t blend in well with other humanoids. Chaotic neutral is the most common alignment, though only on average.
As far as religions go, to some half-harpies they are a place they can escape from the pressures of the world. To others, they are just another potential source of rejection.
Adventurers: Your appearance doesn’t matter if you are quick with blade or spell, or so many half-harpies hope. In the company of misfits, their oddness stands out less.
***
OK, long story short, my paladin in a recently finished campaign, Legacy of Fire is awesome by the way, fell in love with a certain harpy, and at the end of the campaign, got hitched to said harpy.
Ah love, it makes fools of us all. I kneeled down and proposed and everything.
Actually, it was one of my, no, was my favourite role playing ever, superseding the shouting match in the same campaign. The party rogue was my best man. It was beautiful.
Anyway, considering there is half dragons, half fiends, half orcs, half elves and centaurs, why not half harpies, I thought.
So here is my home brew of this unusual race. Yeah, they are a little emo in fluff, but wouldn't you be though? Which is a better option for flight as far as balance for the Fly bonus is concerned, or do you have a better suggestion?
There, I made a choice.
Should +1 on damage for unarmed strikes be added due to the sharp nails? Thought so.
Any other thoughts and critiques and thoughts on fluff and power level are more then welcome.
Just as a reminder, this is balanced for Pathfinder, not Dungeons and Dragons 3.5.