Songbird race! (And other stuff.)

[Metastachydium]

And today, Birdy Month concludes with a last, double entry. This time there won't be an intrinsic connection between the two; one is a fix of sorts, the other the first ever template of this humble thread.
Let's see what we've got here!

♣

There's a lot of things that bugged and annoyed me about D&D harpies for quite a while. My gripe is that they are not actually harpies, but rather ugly sirens that were made less birdlike for some reason (I tend to view that one as a feature rather than a bug, though: official harpies are lame). I have too much respect for the canonicity of canon, however, so instead of ditching them, I came up with a rival species resembling the Antique original a fair bit more, namely the

Strophadic Harpy
Strophadic (or as they like to put it, true) harpies have the feathered lower body and wings of a bird, with a torso reminiscent of a human woman. Enigmatic and mischievous, they spend most of their time hunting, thieving and pestering the civilized folks. They are vengeful and unpredictable like the winds, and they hold a deep grudge against regular harpies, killing them on sight.

Size/Type: Medium Outsider [Air, Native]
Hit Dice: 10d8+30 (70 hp)
Initiative: +2
Speed: 15 feet (3 squares), fly 50 feet (perfect)
Armor Class: 22 (+2 Dex, +5 +2 chain shirt, +4 natural), touch 12, flat-footed 20
Base Attack/Grapple: +10/+19
Attack: Talon +16 melee (1d8+6) or +1 shocking burst scimitar +16 melee (1d6+6+1d6 electricity, 18-20/×2)
Full Attack: 2 talons +16 melee (1d8+6) or +1 shocking burst scimitar +16/+11 melee (1d6+6+1d6 electricity, 18-20/×2) and talon +5 melee (1d8+6)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Snatcher, soil
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft., DR 5/adamantine, low-light vision, spell-like abilities
Saves: Fort +10, Ref +9, Will +9
Abilities: Str 22, Dex 15, Con 16, Int 10, Wis 15, Cha 11
Skills: Balance +15, Diplomacy +8, Intimidate +13, Jump +11, Knowledge (local) +9, Move Silently +2, Search +0, Sense Motive +7, Sleight of Hand +15, Spot +15, Survival +14, Tumble +15, Use Rope +2
Feats: Flyby Attack, Improved Grapple^B, Power Attack
Environment: Temperate and warm mountains
Organization: Solitary, trio or flock (5-15)
Challenge Rating: 7
Alignment: Often chaotic neutral
Advancement: By character class
Level Adjustment: —

Combat
Strophadic harpies will often attack unprovoked, but rarely to kill. They prefer not to stay in melee range, opting for flyby attacks instead, and will usually attempt to snatch up at least one opponent and drop them from high up or deposit them at some spot high above the ground and difficult to approach for the flightless.

Snatcher (Ex)
If it succeeds in initiating a grapple, a strophadic harpy can snatch up an opponent or unattended object of medium size or smaller and carry them away. If the snatched creature imposes medium encumbrance upon the strophadic harpy, its maneuverability drops to average. If the snatched creature imposes heavy encumbrance upon the strophadic harpy, its maneuverability drops to clumsy.

Soil (Ex)
Strophadic harpies can secrete a viscous, foul smelling musk as a standard action that they can release on food or water by simply flying over it, affecting up to 3 cubic feet of food or water at once. This secretion doesn't render the affected food or water unfit for consumption, but to eat or drink such food or water, the creature attempting to do so must succeed on a DC 18 Fort save or become nauseated. A creature that succeeds on this saving throw becomes sickened instead. The save DC is Constitution-based.

Spell-like Abilities
3/day: augury.

♣

The other entry of the day is a much simpler affair. It is a relatively cheap means of gaining a fly speed while becoming fluffy and cute. Without further ado, I give you the

Avian Creature
A curious lot, avian creatures are birdlike, winged and feathered specimens of their race. It is often theorized that avian families trace their lineage back to creatures of the Plane of Air, but conclusive evidence to that effect is yet to be found. Although they are sometimes ostracized by the societies they are born into (oftentimes out of envy for their mastery of the sky), they are rarely outcasts since their abilities are usually viewed as a blessing for them and their compatriots alike.

Sample Avian Creature
Avian Stone Giant
Size/Type: Large Giant (Earth)
Hit Dice: 14d8+56 (119 hp)
Initiative: +3
Speed: 40 ft., fly 40 ft. (average)
Armor Class: 25 (-1 size, +3 Dex, +11 natural, +2 leather armour), touch 12, flat-footed 22
Base Attack/Grapple: +10/+21
Attack: Greatclub +16 melee (2d8+10) or beak +16 melee (1d6+7) or slam +16 melee (1d4+7) or rock +12 ranged (2d8+10)
Full Attack: Greatclub +16/+11 melee (2d8+10) and beak +6 melee (1d6+3) or 2 slams +16 melee (1d4+7) and beak +11 melee (1d6+3) or rock +11 ranged (2d8+10)
Space/Reach: 10 ft./10 ft.
Special Attacks: Rock throwing
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, rock catching
Saves: Fort +13, Ref +7, Will +7
Abilities: Str 25, Dex 17, Con 19, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 11
Skills: Climb +10, Hide +7*, Jump +10, Spot +12
Feats: Combat Reflexes, Iron Will, Point Blank Shot, Power Attack, Precise Shot
Environment: Temperate mountains
Organization: Solitary, gang (1 plus 1–4 stone giants), hunting/raiding/trading party (2 plus 4–7 stone giants and 1 elder), or tribe (5–10 with 11–20 stone giants plus 35% noncombatants plus 1–3 elders and 3–6 dire bears)
Challenge Rating: 9 (elder 10)
Alignment: Usually neutral
Advancement: By character class
Level Adjustment: +5 (elder +7)

Covered in stony grey feathers, this towering creature is nearly invisible against the mountainside until it spreads its huge wings, letting out a sharp cry from its short, thick bill.

Almost as strong and just as stealthy as their brethren, avian stone giants are well respected members of the mountain tribes, often serving as scouts and ambushers.

Combat
Stone giants fight from a distance whenever possible, but if they can't avoid melee, they use gigantic clubs chiseled out of stone. A favorite tactic of stone giants is to stand nearly motionless, blending in with the background, then move forward to throw rocks and surprise their foes.

Rock Throwing (Ex)
The range increment is 180 feet for a stone giant's thrown rocks. It uses both hands when throwing a rock.

Rock Catching (Ex)
A stone giant gains a +4 racial bonus on its Reflex save when attempting to catch a thrown rock.

Skills
*A stone giant gains a +8 racial bonus on Hide checks in rocky terrain.

Creating an avian creature
"Avian creature" is an inherited template that can be applied to any corporeal humanoid, monstrous humanoid, giant, animal, magical beast or outsider.
An avian creature uses all the base creature's statistics and special abilities except as noted here.

Size and Type: Size and type are unchanged.

Speed: An avian creature has feathered wings instead of arms or forelegs and gains a fly speed equal to its land speed with average maneuverability.

Attack: Avian creatures develop a stout beak and gain a primary beak attack. If the base creature can use weapons, theavian creature retains this ability. An avian creature fighting without weapons uses its beak when making an attack action. When it has a weapon, it usually uses the weapon instead.

Full Attack: An avian creature without weapons uses its beak when making a full attack. If armed with a weapon, it usually uses the weapon as its primary attack and its beak as a natural secondary attack.

Damage: Avian creatures have a beak attack. If the base creature does not have this attack form, use the damage value in the table below. Otherwise, use the values below or the base creature's damage value, whichever is higher.

Size	Beak Damage
Fine	—
Diminutive	1
Tiny	1d2
Small	1d3
Medium	1d4
Large	1d6
Huge	1d8
Gargantuan	2d6
Colossal	3d6

Abilities: Increase from the base creature as follows: Str -2, Dex +2

Environment: Same as the base creature.

Challenge Rating: Same as the base creature +1.

Level Adjustment: Same as the base creature +1.