#nagpa

Uh'ntohrn

Our campaign's main villain, who we just call 'H.' Once an elf on the council of the Raven Queen, he and his fellows tried to usurp her power. He was cursed for it and became a Nagpa, the carrion bird of knowledge, only able to understand something after it has been destroyed or tainted.

You hit the nail on the head friend, Nagpa are Skeksis with the serial numbers filed off, along with some extra details that we can use for some delightful adventure hooks. Here's some Nagpa lore, with some of my own revisions:

Originally a coven of thirteen wicked mages, The Nagpa sought power above all things, eventually getting it into their heads that if they devoured the flesh of a god, they could ascend to a state of semi-divinity. This led them to attempt to summon, bind, and slay a god/throw their lot in with a divine civil war/whatever blasphemous action works with the backstory of your campaign

For this action, they were cursed so that their appearance befitted their monstrous character (withered vultures) and forced to wander eternally, abandoning their fine holdings and preventing them from easily congregating in one place. Still in possession of their great magic however, it's not unusual to find a Nagpa in possession of a number of lairs, a portable fortress, or flying domicile, skirting the rules of the curse while allowing them to maintain their opulence.

Because of their secretive dealings pre-curse, all Nagpa have an ability to detect when anyone within 100 miles speaks of them or any of their conspirators. They usualy hunt and kill those who are loose lipped about their existence, allowing them to remain secret for centuries and making them amazing narrative boogymen.

Maintaining schemes that last for generations at a time, it's not uncommon for a down-on-their-luck Nagpa to attach itself to some group using its lifetimes of knowledge and magical ability to bargin for what it desires.

Before We get into the adventure hooks, I wanted to share this amazing youtube comment that I found while doing research for this post:

Phileas Liebmann:

This is such a great scene. In just a few shots we learn everything we need to know about the Skeksis: they're decadent, they're cruel, they hold themselves higher than all other life, they despise each other, but are obligated to dine together nonetheless, hinting that they are traditional folk. Show, don't tell at its finest!

Hooks:

The locals speak of a withered figure who stalks about the badlands, trading treasures for secrets and enacting powerful magic at terrible prices. After dealing with one or two knockon effects of this entities dealings, the party end up meeting it through dumb luck or desperate need, at which point the vulture headed man introduces himself with humble modesty as "Your humble Grandfather Greatest". Grandfather can pay in rare treasures if they're willing to do him some favours, each a small step towards his return to true power.

A beloved sage is dead, murdered by magic, and his young apprentice is on the run. The bounty is steep, but when the party catch up to their quarry they hear a very different tale from her recounting: She and her teacher had spent years delving into a trove of lore from a fallen elven kingdom, but were attacked by some kind of vulture-witch after finishing their latest translation. Apparently the creature is still after her, and by telling them she's put them in danger as well.

Finding that a rover's life quite suits her, one of the nagpa has set herself up as advisor to a clan of travelling marauders, making herself indispensable by using her sorcery to aid their raids on various settlements. Convinced that the initial nagpa ritual still could have worked, she steers these brigands towards temples and other holysites looking to strip the meat off demigods and knaw the marrow of saintly relics.