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Harpy 5e: Luring Song, Line by Line, and How to Run It
A harpy is a CR 1 Medium Monstrosity with AC 11, 38 hit points and a 40-foot fly speed. Its attacks are weak. Its Luring Song is not: every Humanoid and Giant within 300 feet makes a DC 11 Wisdom save or becomes Charmed and Incapacitated, and walks toward the harpy by the most direct route, cliff edges and all. The 2014 song needs to be heard and a bonus action each turn to keep going. The 2024 song lasts as long as the harpy keeps Concentration, so hitting the harpy can end it, and the 2024 harpy loses its Multiattack.
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Harpy Stat Block (2014)
The harpy from SRD 5.1:
Harpy
Medium monstrosity, chaotic evil
Armor Class 11
Hit Points 38 (7d8+7)
Speed 20 ft., fly 40 ft.
STR
12 (+1)
DEX
13 (+1)
CON
12 (+1)
INT
7 (−2)
WIS
10 (+0)
CHA
13 (+1)
Senses passive Perception 10
Languages Common
Challenge 1 (XP 200; PB +2)
Actions
Multiattack.The harpy makes two attacks: one with its claws and one with its club.
Claws.Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (2d4 + 1) slashing damage.
Club.Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 3 (1d4 + 1) bludgeoning damage.
Luring Song.The harpy sings a magical melody. Every humanoid and giant within 300 ft. of the harpy that can hear the song must succeed on a DC 11 Wisdom saving throw or be charmed until the song ends. The harpy must take a bonus action on its subsequent turns to continue singing. It can stop singing at any time. The song ends if the harpy is incapacitated. While charmed by the harpy, a target is incapacitated and ignores the songs of other harpies. If the charmed target is more than 5 ft. away from the harpy, the must move on its turn toward the harpy by the most direct route. It doesn't avoid opportunity attacks, but before moving into damaging terrain, such as lava or a pit, and whenever it takes damage from a source other than the harpy, a target can repeat the saving throw. A creature can also repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns. If a creature's saving throw is successful, the effect ends on it. A target that successfully saves is immune to this harpy's song for the next 24 hours.
Stat block from the SRD 5.1 (2014 rules) by Wizards of the Coast, licensed under CC-BY-4.0. Check an encounter with this monster in the encounter calculator.
The 2014 Luring Song, step by step:
•Starting it takes the harpy's action. Every Humanoid and Giant within 300 feet that can hear the song makes a DC 11 Wisdom save. On a failure it's Charmed until the song ends.
•Keeping it going takes a bonus action on each of the harpy's later turns. It can stop singing at any time, and the song ends if the harpy is Incapacitated.
•While charmed, a target is Incapacitated (no actions or reactions) and ignores other harpies' songs. If it's more than 5 feet from the harpy, it must move toward the harpy by the most direct route on its turn, and it doesn't avoid opportunity attacks.
•Repeat saves happen at the end of each of the target's turns, before it moves into damaging terrain (lava, a pit), and whenever it takes damage from a source other than the harpy.
•A creature that succeeds on any of these saves is immune to that harpy's song for 24 hours. Other harpies can still sing at it.
Note what the harpy doesn't have: darkvision. Its senses line is passive Perception 10 and nothing else.
The Harpy in the 2024 Rules
SRD 5.2.1 keeps CR 1 (200 XP), AC 11, 38 hit points, both speeds, the DC 11 save and the 300-foot reach.
Luring Song.The harpy sings a magical melody, which lasts until the harpy’s Concentration ends on it. Wisdom Saving Throw: DC 11, each Humanoid and Giant in a 300-foot Emanation originating from the harpy when the song starts. Failure: The target has the Charmed condition until the song ends and repeats the save at the end of each of its turns. While Charmed, the target has the Incapacitated condition and ignores the Luring Song of other harpies. If the target is more than 5 feet from the harpy, the target moves on its turn toward the harpy by the most direct route, trying to get within 5 feet of the harpy. It doesn’t avoid Opportunity Attacks; however, before moving into damaging terrain (such as lava or a pit) and whenever it takes damage from a source other than the harpy, the target repeats the save. Success: The target is immune to this harpy’s Luring Song for 24 hours.
Stat block from the SRD 5.2.1 (2024 rules) by Wizards of the Coast, licensed under CC-BY-4.0. Check an encounter with this monster in the encounter calculator.
Humanoids and Giants within 300 ft. that can hear it
Humanoids and Giants in a 300-ft. Emanation when the song starts
Repeat saves
End of each turn; before damaging terrain; when damaged by others
Same
Three changes matter at the table:
•Damage can stop the 2024 song. When a concentrating harpy takes damage, it makes a Constitution save, DC 10 or half the damage, whichever is higher. With Con +1, it fails 40% of the time against any hit of 21 damage or less. In 2014, damage does nothing to the song unless it drops the harpy to 0 or Incapacitates it.
•Hearing stops mattering. The 2014 text only affects creatures that can hear the song, so a deafened character is safe. The 2024 text has no "can hear" condition: it hits each Humanoid and Giant in the 300-foot Emanation. Read as written, wax in the ears no longer helps. Some DMs will still rule that a song has to be heard; decide before the fight.
•Timing matters. The 2024 song affects creatures in range when it starts. A character who walks into range a round later isn't affected. The 2014 wording is looser; deciding that latecomers within 300 feet who can hear the song must save is a reasonable ruling.
How Harpies Fight
A harpy can't win a fair fight. Its claw is +3, which hits AC 15 on a 12 or higher (45%), for 6 damage. A 2014 harpy adds a club for 3. Expected damage per round is about 4 (2014) or about 3 (2024). The song is how it kills: it walks people into danger.
Pick the ground. Sing from somewhere the party can't reach on foot, with something dangerous between the harpy and the party: a cliff edge, a ravine, fast water, a bog. A charmed character moves toward the harpy by the most direct route. Before stepping off the edge, it gets one more save. With Wisdom +0 that save fails half the time.
Sing in waves. A creature already charmed ignores other harpies, and a creature that saves is immune only to the harpy it resisted. So three harpies shouldn't sing at once. The first sings. Next round, the second sings at whoever saved. Then the third. A character with Wisdom +0 has a 50% chance to resist each song; the chance of resisting all three is 1 in 8.
Hit the charmed ones carefully. Damage from the harpy doesn't give the target a new save, but damage from anything else does. A harpy clawing its own victim keeps the charm going. If allies (crocodiles in the river, a giant spider at the bottom of the ravine) attack the victim instead, they give it a free save.
2014 action economy. After round 1, the 2014 harpy keeps the song with its bonus action and still makes its full Multiattack. The 2024 harpy keeps the song for free (Concentration), but has only one Claw per turn, and every hit on it threatens the song.
Flee by air. At 40 feet of flying speed, a harpy below half hit points just leaves. On foot it manages only 20 feet, so it should stay in the air while the party is armed.
Running a Harpy Encounter
A harpy is 200 XP. For four characters with the 2024 XP budget (SRD 5.2.1):
Under the 2014 Dungeon Master's Guide guidelines (used by our encounter calculator), three harpies are 600 XP × 2 = 1,200 adjusted XP: Deadly for four level 2 characters and Hard for level 3.
The XP doesn't account for terrain. Three harpies in an open meadow are a nuisance; three harpies above a 100-foot drop can kill a level 5 character. Decide what's between the harpies and the party before you pick the number.
How Players Beat Harpies
•Shoot the singer (2024). Any hit on a 2024 harpy forces a Concentration save it fails 40% of the time. Ranged attacks and cantrips are the best answer. Magic Missile never misses.
•Stop the singer (2014). Damage alone doesn't end the 2014 song. Kill the harpy (AC 11, 38 HP) or Incapacitate it. Command works too, since the harpy understands Common: "Grovel" knocks it prone, which drops a flying harpy out of the air, and ends its turn without the bonus action it needs to keep singing. In 2024 the song survives Command, but the fall damage forces a Concentration save.
•Hit your friend. Damage from anyone other than the harpy gives a charmed creature a new save. A single unarmed strike is enough.
•Grab your friend. Charmed characters keep walking. Grappling one sets its speed to 0 and holds it back from the edge.
•Cover your ears (2014 only). A character who can't hear the 2014 song is unaffected. Under the 2024 wording, that no longer protects.
•Calm them.Calm Emotions suppresses the charm on allies in its area. Elves (Fey Ancestry) roll with Advantage on saves against being charmed.
•Fight at night. Harpies have no darkvision. On a moonless night they can sing, but they can't see where the party went.
Harpy Encounter Ideas
The switchback. A mountain trail zigzags across a cliff face. Two harpies sing from a ledge across the gorge, 150 feet away and 40 feet below. A charmed character walks toward them, which means off the trail. The party has one save, one grab or one hit to stop each fall.
The ford. Travelers keep drowning at a river ford. Harpies roost in the dead trees on the far bank and sing when a group is halfway across. Charmed characters walk into the deep channel downstream, where a pair of crocodiles waits. Crocodile bites give the victims a new save; the harpies want them to drown first.
The lighthouse. A lighthouse keeper has been paying harpies in fish to sing ships onto the rocks, and splitting the salvage with wreckers. The party arrives as passengers on the next ship, in fog, when the singing starts.
Frequently Asked Questions
What CR is a harpy in 5e?
A harpy is CR 1 and worth 200 XP in both the 2014 and 2024 rules. It has AC 11, 38 hit points, a 20-foot walking speed and a 40-foot fly speed.
How does a harpy's Luring Song work?
Every Humanoid and Giant within 300 feet makes a DC 11 Wisdom save or is Charmed and Incapacitated, and must walk toward the harpy by the most direct route. It repeats the save at the end of each of its turns, before entering damaging terrain, and when it takes damage from anything except the harpy. A successful save makes it immune to that harpy's song for 24 hours.
Does being deaf protect against a harpy's song?
In the 2014 rules, yes: the song only affects creatures that can hear it. The 2024 Luring Song doesn't mention hearing, so as written a deafened character must still save.
Does damaging a harpy stop its song?
In the 2024 rules it can. The song lasts until the harpy's Concentration ends, so damage forces a Constitution save. In the 2014 rules, the song only ends if the harpy stops singing, is Incapacitated or dies.
How many harpies should I use for a level 3 party?
Four harpies (800 XP) fit the Moderate budget for four level 3 characters under the 2024 rules (900 XP). Terrain changes the difficulty more than numbers, so add a cliff or a river for a dangerous fight. Loreify can record the session and keep track of who walked off the cliff and who caught them: see the D&D note-taking app.
Stat blocks: System Reference Document 5.1 (2014) and 5.2.1 (2024), Wizards of the Coast, CC-BY-4.0. Tactics, encounter math and ideas are Loreify's own.
This page includes material from the System Reference Document 5.1 and 5.2.1 by Wizards of the Coast LLC, available under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Loreify is not affiliated with Wizards of the Coast.