#twenties are not for the weak slash srs.

[odetolovers]

everyday i wake up and have to repeat in the mirror "babe you're not cursed you're just in your twenties"

[thecreaturecodex]

Stygian Harpy

“Monster Hunter Challenge - Harpy” © Filip Acovic. Accessed at his deviantArt gallery here

[Commissioned by @wannabedemonlord, based loosely on the Talking Devil-Bird of Millville newspaper hoax, in the middle of Jersey Devil mania. The wood-like texture of the “bird” got me thinking about the harpies in Dante’s Inferno, which feed on the souls of suicides, imprisoned inside of trees. This isn’t the first monster I’ve written that turns people into trees, and it likely won’t be the last]

Stygian Harpy CR 12 LE Monstrous Humanoid This hideous creature appears to be a hybrid of humanoid and vulture, its wingspan stretching twenty feet. Its hands and feet are both capped with gnarled claws, and where its skin is visible beneath its feathers, it has a strangely wooden texture.

Stygian harpies are avian humanoids native to the depths of Hell, where they torment souls, mortals and fiends alike. They are capable of slipping between the boundaries of planes, and may be contracted by devils to provide them with transport. As living creatures, stygian harpies require food, but their favorite food is odd indeed. Their bite turns skin into bark and flesh into wood, and their victims become trees, still aware of their form and plight but unable to do anything about it. Stygian harpies feed almost entirely on the leaves and branches of trees that used to be creatures.

In combat, a stygian harpy usually opens with its song, which instead of luring victims towards it, instead distracts and debilitates them with urges of self-harm. It delights in targeting the weak and defenseless, flying over the front rank to snatch a mage or healer in its claws and carry them off. Stygian harpies prefer to leave their enemies alive in order to turn them into trees at their leisure, and may even pause to stabilize the wounds of a bleeding creature. Their wooden skin can only be penetrated by slashing weapons infused with good, and even a devil may carry a blessed axe when traveling in the haunts of stygian harpies.

Stygian harpies can be found wherever forests grow in Hell. Most of them are found among the swamps of Stygia, as their name suggests. The woods of the Maleboge and the blighted jungles of the Promised Land in Avernus both have their own populations of these monsters. Stygian harpies may also be found on colonies on other planes, and have a fondness for grabbing a mortal and dragging them to Hell with their plane shift ability. Those that survive the experience may be tracked for some time by the stygian harpy, who delights in their misery and offers them the release of lignification as an alternative to the horrors awaiting them. That the transformed victim will be sapient and aware while immobilized and helpless as a tree is a secret the harpies keep to themselves.

Stygian Harpy    CR 12 XP 19,200 LE Large monstrous humanoid (extraplanar) Init +8; Senses darkvision 60 ft., Perception +20, see in darkness Defense AC 26, touch 13, flat-footed 22 (-1 size, +4 Dex, +13 natural) hp 168 (16d10+80) Fort +12, Ref +14, Will +14 DR 10/good and slashing; Immune paralysis, poison, polymorph, sleep effects, stunning; Resist acid 10, fire 10; SR 23 Offense Speed 40 ft., fly 80 ft. (good) Melee bite +22 (2d6+7 plus lignify), 2 claws +22 (1d10+7/19-20 plus grab) Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft. Special Attacks pounce, rake (2 claws +22, 1d10+7), song of remorse Spell-like Abilities CL 16th, concentration +20 3/day—plane shift (DC 21) Statistics Str 25, Dex 19, Con 21, Int 14, Wis 18, Cha 18 Base Atk +16; CMB +24 (+28 grapple); CMD 38 Feats Blind-fight, Critical Focus, Flyby Attack, Great Fortitude, Improved Critical (claw), Improved Initiative, Power Attack, Staggering Critical Skills Bluff +17, Fly +22, Heal +8, Intimidate +20, Knowledge (planes) +15, Perception +20, Stealth +16, Survival +20 Languages Common, Draconic, Infernal Ecology Environment any forests (Hell) Organization solitary, pair or flock (3-12) Treasure standard Special Abilities Lignify (Su) A creature bitten by a stygian harpy must succeed a DC 22 Fortitude save or take 1d4 points of Strength and Dexterity drain. This drain can only be removed with a remove curse or break enchantment against DC 22. A creature reduced to 0 Str or Dex by this effect is immediately polymorphed into a tree one size category larger than its original size. A victim so polymorphed is conscious, but can take no actions. The save DC is Charisma based. This is a curse effect. Song of Remorse (Su) As a standard action, a stygian harpy can sing, affecting all creatures within 60 feet that can hear it. On a successful DC 22 Will save, the creature is merely staggered for 1 round, and is immune to the song of remorse of that stygian harpy for the next 24 hours. On a failed save, the creature deals 1d8 + Strength modifier damage to itself each round as a swift action on its turn. Each round, an affected creature may attempt another DC 22 Will save to break the effect. Stygian harpies are immune to the song of remorse of other stygian harpies. This is a sonic, mind-influencing emotion effect, and the save DC is Charisma based.