The harpy eagle is a very large natural bird of prey, second only in size to the Andean condor. Rainforests are their natural habitat. They can grow as tall as 41″–the height of a seated man! Fully grown, the birds weigh up to 20 pounds/9kg for females and 11 pounds/5kg for males (typically, male raptors are considerably smaller than females of the same species) with a wingspan of 6.5′.
They can take prey as large as monkeys and sloth and their talons, larger than a bear’s, can kill prey instantly. Harpy eagles can be handled and trained by falconers, like any other bird of prey–although only a large, strong person could bear the weight of a harpy eagle perched on their arm for long. Surprisingly, considering their size and weight, these birds are quite stealthy and agile, even flying straight up! Like all raptors they have very good long distance vision. While capable of bursts of speed, they spend hours perching quietly, watching and waiting for prey.
Harpy eagles are dark grey and their spread wings are white and grey on the underside. When threatened, some of the head feathers fan out into a crest. Harpy eagles also have a “facial disc,” an arrangement of feathers around the front of the head that may focus sound waves.
Design & Play Notes: The harpy eagle (Harpia harpyja) is a very real bird of prey I discovered surfing the internet. As usual, I couldn’t resist creating stats. Last month, I presented D&D 5e and Mutants & Masterminds 3e stats.
As real-life birds, harpy eagles could appear in any number of genres from traditional fantasy to pulp adventure to modern and superhero. This makes them a good candidate for a universal system like the Genesis RPG. What roles could they fill in your Genesis campaigns? The big raptors could be opponents for lower-XP fantasy and pulp adventurers, on Earth, Terrenoth, or your own worlds. Pulp heroes–and their descendants, the higher-powered superheroes–have visited any number of “lost worlds/islands/valleys” in comic books over the decades. In modern, realistic (or even super-powered) games with environmental themes, PCs might champion this endangered raptor–and so might some of their adversaries.
Harpy eagles could also appear in your Star Wars RPG campaigns, on temperate or jungle planets. Maybe Kashyyyk or the Forest Moon of Endor? Change the name, then use the below stats and the “Flying” sidebar from any SWRPG core book.
HARPY EAGLE [Rival]
Animal
Characteristics
Brawn 3
Agility 3
Intellect 1
Cunning 3
Willpower 1
Presence 1
Skills: Brawl 3, Coordination 1, Perception 2
Abilities
Silhouette 1
Flyer (See”Flying” sidebar, Genesis CRB, p. 100)
Soak: 4 Defense (m/r): 0/0 Wound Threshold: 10
Equipment
Talons (Brawl, Dam 5, Crit 3, Engaged range, Pierce 1)
Beak (Brawl, Dam 4, Crit 3, Engaged range, Pierce 1)
Linda Whitson
Latest posts by Linda Whitson (see all)
- Astral Projections – The Ripperdoc Is In - May 8, 2023
