Harpy

A harpy is a monster with a woman's head and a bird's body.
== ==
There are a number of different kinds of harpies in the game.
Regular harpies will give experience upon kill up to Level 22.
The harpies spawned around the Visionary's house are somewhat weaker than the regular harpies which spawn in the Forest Ravines and the Old quarry hence they cease giving XP when killed at a much earlier character level. On the other hand, their loot tables are exactly the same as regular harpies which is useful for players going Mutagen hunting or looking for crafting components in Dark Mode.
=== Journal entry ===
: Some are repulsed by rotfiends, other cannot stand tales of bullvores, but I find harpies, beasts of ugly temper and penchant for thieving, the worst of all. Fortunately, harpies prefer wild, mountainous areas, full of rocky ledges they can build their nests on. However they always establish themselves near a human settlement. This is done for thus simple reason that they wouldn't be able to steal much from animals.
: There are many harpy species, and all are kleptomaniacs, though some steal dreams instead of baubles. They especially like dreams laden with strong emotions, such as nightmares that recur time and again. The harpies' victims lose such dreams - which is actually a blessing in the case of nightmares - and the beasts enclose them in crystals, creating items that strongly radiate magic. Mages desire the dreams stolen by these creatures, so much so that they breed harpies in order that they may filch their booty at daybreak. Yet it is rare for a stolen dream or nightmare to be powerful enough, or to come from a powerful enough creature, to satisfy a sorcerer.
: As winged creatures, harpies attack swiftly, from a great distance, before their prey can notice them. After landing a blow, they flee for a safe spot. Pinning them to the ground and denying them flight is often the only solution. Thus incapacitated, they become as clumsy as hens. Stunned with a bomb, hit with the Igni or Aard Sign, the beasts prove easy to kill, especially with the fast fighting style.
: The harpies' greatest strength is their ability to fly, but they can be grounded with the use of a trap. Because the creatures' wings are feathered, they are easily set aflame, so using the Igni Sign against harpies always has good results. The beasts have an excellent sense of direction and balance, and even when flailing about near the ground they can easily regain the sky, so attempts to knock them down are doomed to fail.
=== Associated quests ===
* The Harpy Contract
* The Queen Harpy Contract
* A Sackful of Fluff
== ==
A bestiary entry can be obtained by reading Journey to the End of the World.
=== Bestiary entry ===
: Most monsters don't actually keep any treasure in their lairs. Harpies, though - they like shiny things.– Letho, Viper School witcher
: It is hard to say what is most repulsive about harpies and their cousins, the shishigas: their hideous appearance, the overwhelming stench of rot and bird excrement that clings to them or their bloodcurdling screech. Suffice it to say that even rats, who dwell happily among the rankest fecal matter and rotten waste, give their nests wide berth.
: Harpy nests are most often found atop high cliffs or rocky ravines. Sure signs of having strayed near one are crumbling human and animals remains, guano-streaked rocks and feathers littering the ground.
: Harpies and shishigas hunt in flocks consisting of a handful to up to twenty individuals. Though rather cowardly and cautious, harpies fiercely defend their nests and will not hesitate to attack when outnumbering their foes.
: During combat they use their ability to fly to dive swiftly to strike their victims one by one before soaring back up out of reach. They can kill with their wings or their sharp beak and talons. Once on the ground they move slowly and clumsily, and thus no longer present much of a threat.
=== Combat tactics ===
Like many other swarming enemies such as wolves or Drowners, individual Harpies are quite weak, fragile and easy to deal with. Problem is, you almost never deal with an "individual" Harpy. In some ways they're even more annoying than land-based swarming monsters because as you're focusing your attention on one or two in front of you, several others are flying around where you can't see them and can suddenly swoop in out of nowhere from quite a distance away from you and hit you from behind. If you have built it up, Aard in the omnidirectional Aard-Sweep form combined with the Far-Reaching Aard upgrade will be a godsend against them.
=== Associated quests ===
=== Notes ===
* Not all harpies can drop mutagens, but there isn't a reliable pattern to determine which ones do. Each individual group seems to be have been randomly "gifted" with the extra drops or not.
* There is a Harpy Gwent card in the Monsters Gwent deck.
== Gallery ==
Harpy RPG.jpg|A harpy from PnP RPG. Illustration by Tomasz Łaz
Tw2_Harpies.png|Harpies in 
Tw2_Erynia.png|An Erynia
Tw3 cardart monsters harpy.png|Gwent card art
Gwent cardart monsters harpy.jpg|Gwent standalone art
== External links ==
*
es:Arpía
de:Harpyie
fr:Harpie
it:Arpia
pl:Harpia
ru:Гарпия
uk:Гарпія
pt-br:Harpias
Category:Creatures
Category:The Witcher 2 bestiary
Category:The Witcher 3 bestiary
Category:Wiedźmin: Gra Wyobraźni bestiary