Roman Bestiary: Page Two

 

Usually depicted as winged women, usually with their lower half as the body of a bird or with unusually ugly faces. the Harpies were spirits of sudden, sharp gusts of wind. They're known for constantly stealing food from the king of Thrace, Phineus, who was punished by Jupiter by revealing too much information, since he was a seer. Jupiter punished the king by binding him and putting him on an island with a buffet that he could never eat. Before he could satisfy his hunger, the harpies would swoop down and steal it from his finger tips. This eventually stopped when the sons of Boreas, the North Wind, succeded in driving off the Harpies without killing any of them.

Strengths: With long and wide wings, they do have the ability to fly quickly. They have quick reflexes and their sharp claws have the tendency to rip through plates of armour.

Weaknesses: If their wings are in any way immobilized or broken, most of their strategies and tactics will become useless. Any basic attack or elemental attack to its flesh will cause it harm.

Strategies: Usually, they use a combination of their claws and their wings. They will swoop towards the ground and try to claw you, before you hit them. They will try to lift you up into the air and drop you, so make sure its feet never reach your shoulders.

Tactics: The best way to defeat a Harpy is by dodging from the wings and attacking it. Immobilizing its wings will give you the best advantage to defeating it.

