PLAYER ANCESTRY: HARPY

They are the fulfillment of humanity’s oldest and fondest wish: that we might join the birds we envy in the unbounded blue of the depths above. Despite forsaking the ground they have renounced none of their ancestors’ pride and the creatures are famed for their mercurial tempers and capacity to hold a grudge. 

The harpies of Ostriel are shaped like predatory birds with vibrantly coloured feathers, possessed of the visages and metacarpi of pale, aristocratic humans. Their clawed feet are as dextrous as any hand, and they are known as expert archers.

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Special Rules

Hollow Bones – you take double damage from crushing or bludgeoning attacks.

Flight – you have powerful wings and can fly freely. You can carry another human-sized character aloft, so long as you have five or more empty item slots. 

Ancestral Enemy – when you encounter characters from Sargattea, all reaction or persuasion rolls are made with Disadvantage.

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Spark Tables

d20	BODY	FACE	PLUMAGE	FEET
1	Lanky	Sly	Thundercloud Blue	Child-like
2	Hunched	Powdered	Simmering Orange	Elegant
3	Slender	Pale	Purple and Teal	Tattooed Palms
4	Plump	Ritually Tattooed	Moonlit Grey	Extravagantly Jewelled
5	Sinuous	Sculpted	Regal Blue	Recently Injured
6	Bony	Young	Gory Red	Always Gloved
7	Robust	Harsh	Emerald Green	Missing Fingers
8	Imposing	Blank	Gold and Yellow	Ancient Battle Scars
9	Delicate	Bashful	Iridescent Silver	Victory Bangles
10	Aged	Ancient	Olive Drab	Gnarled
11	Muscular	Beguiling	Scar White	Malformed, Clumsy
12	Angular	Tranquil	Indigo and Scarlet	Gilded Talons
13	Wiry	Sharp	Raw Umber	Huge, Unclipped Talons
14	Claw-Scarred	One-Eyed	Dusk Pink	Soft and Perfumed
15	Elegant	Glowering	Bottle Green	Once Badly Burned
16	Round	Languid	Burgundy	Swollen
17	Dainty	Concealed	Lustrous Black	Palms Dyed Black
18	Towering	Enticing	Turquoise	Knuckle Warts
19	Stooped	Jewelled	Powder Blue	Bear Shameful Brand
20	Tiny	Hungry	Warning Yellow	Skeletal

d20	NAME	ROOST SIGIL	DEMEANOUR	GRUDGE
1	Khazri	Broken Tower	Abrasive	Great-grandmother Executed Unjustly
2	Sarma	Hanged Man	Callous
3	Barguzin	Ailing Moon	Cynical	Passed over for Prestigious Office
4	Kali	Red Talons	Devious
5	Amihan	Bitter Wind	Fanatical	Spurned by Potential Spouse
6	Habagat	Barbed Arrow	Foolish
7	Rashaba	Empty Goblet	Greedy	Mother Killed in Battle with Sargatteans
8	Simoon	Regal Moon	Haughty
9	Alize	Crowned Eye	Impulsive	Treated Dishonourably by Twin Sister
10	Karabura	Falling Star	Jealous
11	Coromue	Gilded Talons	Melodramatic	Mother Assassinated by Krypteia Agent
12	Foehn	Pale Blossom	Morbid
13	Bise	Scornful Sun	Obsessive	Snubbed by the Queen Beyond the Sky
14	Kosava	Ouroboros	Paranoid
15	Ostro	Mad Eye	Pessimistic	You Were Punished for the Failings of Another
16	Mistral	Hollow Crown	Pretentious
17	Vendavel	Sacred Blade	Resentful	Given an Inadequate Gift at a Wedding
18	Bora	Green Star	Superstitious
19	Xlok	Bloody Tongue	Vain	Absurd Grievance; Only Matters to You
20	Zonda	Rising Moon	Volatile

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Sample Character

Finally, let’s put it all together. For body we roll Elegant, for face we roll Pale, for plumage Powder Blue, and for feet we get Extravagantly Jewelled. Our name is Bise, our roost’s sigil is a Scornful Sun, and our demeanour is Melodramatic. Bise’s current grudge is that she was Given an Inadequate Gift at a Wedding.

Bise seems to be a minor daughter of the Scornful Sun’s Chatelaine. One wonders what’s keeping her lower than she’d like in the pecking order. It’s possible that the Scornful Sun Roost just hasn’t been fighting that much in recent years, and the upper perches of the hierarchy have grown heavy with elder daughters who would otherwise have died in battle. Junior harpies like Bise often receive paltry gifts at weddings and other feasts (when there are twelve sisters above you, there’s only so much your host can do). Naturally such scenes cause simmering resentment, but calling out her older siblings isn’t something Bise can do lightly.

Such are the rewards of caution and prudence: a roost full of squabbling sisters. If I were the Scornful Sun Chatelaine, I would get involved in a minor vendetta as soon as possible, or perhaps enter some skirmishes with Sargattea. Hopefully some of Bise’s elder siblings will get thinned out in combat, and she will be able to move up the ranks. Failing that, it might be an adventurer’s life that calls for Bise, far from home.