Harpies of Eberron
Harpies were once eladrin from Thelanis, the Faerie Court, but their forms were warped by the twisted magics of the fomorians; giants that were trapped in Thelanis during the attack on the feyspire city Shae Tirias Tolai, the City of Silver and Bone. These giants, intent on plundering knowledge of the magics and power controlled by the Faerie Court, crossed over to Thelanis while the city was being sacked.
After crossing over, the giants quickly found themselves embattled against the united might of the native fey. For a time, they were able to hold off the fey creatures. However, the archfey were able to afflict giants with a curse that drained most of their magical ability, and warped their bodies to reflect the evil in their hearts.
In a desperate attempt to save themselves, the giants, now calling themselves fomorians, captured a group of eladrin and used their remaining magics to twist their forms and minds, much like the giants themselves had been warped. The result was a mixture of eladrin and carrion bird; a creature with a humanoid form but also having monstrously clawed hands and feet, patches of feathers on their arms and legs, and large wings protruding from their back. The magics also granted them beautiful singing voices as a weapon to use to twist the minds of their enemies. These poor souls would become known as the first harpies.
Despite the aid of their creations, the fomorians were still nearly obliterated. The remaining few were driven into hiding, fleeing into the tunnels and caves of Thelanis. Once free from the fomorians control the harpies found themselves to be ostracized and outcast. It was decided they were to be treated to a form of mercy, banishment from Thelanis, instead of death. Using powerful magics the archfey of Thelanis worked together to mystically transport all harpies to Eberron.
On Eberron, harpies developed a culture of their own, grouped into flights, with both female and male harpies known for their entrancing voice and large wings. They have lived in the Byeshk Mountains, in the southwest of Khorvaire, for tens of thousands of years. Many flights live there still, now considered part of the nation of Droaam, under the rule of the Daughters of Sora Kell.
Harpy Traits
Harpy characters have a number of traits in common with all other harpies.
Ability Score Increase. Your Charisma score increases by 2, and your Dexterity score increases by 1.
Age. Harpies reach maturity at about the same age as a human and routinely live to be upwards of 60 years old.
Aligment. Most harpies lean towards chaotic alignments, however those who have fully integrated into the society of Droaam tend slightly more towards lawful.
Size. Harpies have retained the same size as their eladrin cousins, ranging from 5 to 6 feet tall and have slender builds. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Harpy talons are not very conducive to walking. Your base walking speed is 20 feet.
Flight. You have a flying speed of 30 feet. To use this speed, you can’t be wearing medium or heavy armor, and you must be in an area that can accommodate your wingspan (twice your height).
Harpies require assistance from an updraft in order to fly higher than 15 feet. If attempting to fly indoors, or in any area without wind to assist with lift (DM's discretion), you must land at the end of your turn.
Drifting Descent. Using your wings, you can slow your descent when falling from a height of 10 feet or more. If you are not incapacitated, you do not take falling damage.
Harpy's Talons. The talons on your hands and feet are considered natural weapons, which you can use to make unarmed strikes. If you hit with them, you deal slashing damage equal to 1d4 + your Strength modifier, instead of the bludgeoning damage normal for an unarmed strike.
Bewitching Voice. A harpy's voice is laced with magic, allowing it to bewitch and control their foes. Harpies can duplicate the effects of the following spells using the magic of their voice alone. You can cast these spells without requiring somatic or material components.
You know the friends cantrip. When you reach 3rd level, you can cast the charm person spell once with this trait and regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest. When you reach 5th level, you can cast the suggestion spell once with this trait and regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for these spells.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common, Harpy, and Goblin. Harpy is derived from the elvish language, which is in fact the eladrin language.
