More fleshing out here please

Given the recent work done on the Naga species, I was reminded that a number of other species could use a little more attention, Sphinxes especially. For now I'm going to propose a few changes and additions to (take a guess) Harpies (I'll bet at least one of you out there expected me to say something else).

The thing about Harpies is:

Wiki wrote:

They are all female, mating with males from other species to reproduce. A harpy baby inherits a small amount of genetic material from her father, which goes into trait and features that don't alter her physiology as a member of her mother's species.

Why should there not be exceptions? Why shouldn't Harpies occasionally gain some measure of physical or magical traits from their fathers? If there are, let's explore them. I don't know if this has been brought up before, sorry if it has, because I'm going to be putting forth a few more bad ideas for your consideration. I'm almost certain these will not be very popular. Keep in mind these are not ideas for entire sub-species; the inherited traits do not get passed on to later generations.

These are rare occasions.

Faepies Resulting from the union of a fairy and a harpy, Faepies tend to have shiny and some times glass-like feathers. Their feathers are believed to store magic in the way that fairy wings do, allowing them to use their inherited size shifting magic. They have the ability to shrink to tiny size or grow to giant size, but so far none have shown the ability to change the size of anything other than themselves.

Centharps The offspring of a deerataur and a harpy typically have an earthy color schemes. They also possess the ability to use the ambient magic radiating from the soil to accelerate the growth of plants, though not with the same efficiency as their fathers. They tend to be more mild mannered than most harpies and have good relationships with Dryads.

Voluptas Resulting from the rarest of unions, the offspring of an incubus and a harpy stands a good chance of inheriting exceptional beauty, an affinity for dark magic, and a VERY sharp mind. It has been suggested that the occasional incubus vacationing from his duties in the Underworld finds the company of harpies quite enjoyable, while the harpies are probably even more happy to see him.




Three are all I have for now. Anyone else want to try their hand at it? Comments?

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Why should there not be exceptions? Why shouldn't Harpies occasionally gain some measure of physical or magical traits from their fathers?

Well, it does say in the wiki article that some of the father's DNA is used, and can donate itself to physical features (hair color, appearance, etc). I imagine the father's magical talents could have some impact as well.

The reason the child is always a Harpy, is because the Harpy reproductive system is highly fine-tuned and specialized. If it wasn't, then the species would die out. Come to think of it, could Harpy reproduction be considered a form of parasitism? Well, i guess if there's love in the relationship, it could be a symbiosis of sorts.

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Faepies Resulting from the union of a fairy and a harpy, Faepies tend to have shiny and some times glass-like feathers, and two antennae on their heads. Their feathers are believed to store magic in the way that fairy wings do, allowing them to use their inherited size shifting magic. They have the ability to shrink to tiny size or grow to giant size, but so far none have shown the ability to change the size of anything other than themselves.

I just can't get behind the genetic transfer of fairy magic. We've already established that it is impossible in human-fairy unions, unless the child inherits the fairy wings as well. It could be something to do with the unique internal structure, or physical composition of the fairy wings.

The rest of the idea isn't bad though. Much like a human/fairy hybrid, it could be possible for harpy/fairy hybrids to inherit greater magical powers and skill. As for the antenna...ehh, then you're combining insect and bird traits, and then we're getting into some very wierd territory. Maybe just a set of feathers growing from their heads that look like antenna? Maybe the fairy genes got mixed up with the bird ones?

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Centharps The offsprings of a deerataur and a harpy may have earthy color scheme and sport small budding antlers on their heads. They also possess the ability to use the ambient magic radiating from the soil to accelerate the growth of plants, though not with the same efficiency as their fathers. They tend to be more mild mannered than most harpies and have good relationships with Dryads.

This is a solid idea, besides the antlers. The rest of it makes sense. I just think that, given how well the Harpy reproductive system suppresses male traits, that any hybridization would be more subtle. Nothing as radical as antennas or antlers.

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Voluptas Resulting from the rarest of unions, the offspring of an incubus and a harpy stands a good chance of inheriting exceptional beauty, an affinity for dark magic, and a very sharp mind. It has been suggested that the occasional incubus vacationing from his duties in the Underworld finds the company of harpies very enjoyable, while the harpies are probably even more happy to see him.

Nothing really wrong with this idea at all. Plus it actually acknowledges that Incubi should probaboy exist somewhere within the setting.

I admit that I was reaching for visual cues with the antennae and antlers, they can certainly do without those.

As for Faepies (which I know is a bad name) and the inherited ability to change their own size, I thought that much might be acceptable as the most untouchable characteristic of fairies was the ability to change the size of persons or objects other than themselves. Why any form of size shifting magic is so restricted to fairies in Felarya feels unfair. But I'm not here to rock the boat, I'll just suck it up and move on to new ideas.

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As for Faepies (which I know is a bad name) and the inherited ability to change their own size, I thought that much might be acceptable as the most untouchable characteristic of fairies was the ability to change the size of persons or objects other than themselves. Why any form of size shifting magic is so restricted to fairies in Felarya feels unfair. But I'm not here to rock the boat, I'll just suck it up and move on to new ideas.

Whether you're changing yourself, or others...it still uses the same type of highly rare, highly energy-intensive dimensional magic. I think it should be unique to Faries, barring some VERY rare and/or defined exceptions. We know that human/fairy hybrids who inherit the wings can do it. I believe Karbo has hinted that some extremely powerful mages have done it before. Depending on if you regard some of zoekin's stories as canon, angels and demons can do it as well.

Its just one of those powers that needs to be rare, since it grants the user so much power over the world around it, and requires so much responsibility not to be abused.