Yuan-Ti
Devious serpent folk devoid of compassion, yuan-ti manipulate other creatures by arousing their doubts, evoking their fears, and elevating and crushing their hopes. From remote temples in jungles, swamps, and deserts, the yuan-ti plot to supplant and dominate all other races and to make themselves gods.
The yuan-ti build their massive temples in lands inhospitable to other peoples. Humanoid emotions are likewise foreign to most yuan-ti, which understand sentiment only as an exploitable weakness. A yuan-ti views the world and the events of its own life with such extreme pragmatism that it is nearly impossible to manipulate, influence, or control by mundane means, even as it seeks to control other creatures through terror, pleasure, and awe.
A yuan-ti lets its silent, inhuman presence terrorize the humanoids it fights, granting it a killing edge. As intricately as yuan-ti plot the rise and fall of civilizations, they plan elaborate traps in battle, taking advantage of their surroundings with tactical prowess. Yuan-ti leaders are cunning and ruthless tacticians who readily sacrifice lesser yuan-ti if potential victory justifies such losses. They have no sense of honorable combat and strike first in decisive ambush if they can.
Forsaken Humanity
The yuan-ti were once human who thrived in the earliest days of civilization and worshiped serpents as totem animals. They lauded the serpent's sinuous flexibility, its calculated poise, and its deadly strike. Their advanced philosophy taught the virtue of detachment from emotion and of clear, focused thought.
Yuan-ti culture was among the richest in the mortal world. Their warriors were legendary, their empires always expanding. Yuan-ti temples stood at the centers of ancient metropolises, reaching ever higher in prayer to the gods they longed to emulate. In time, the serpent gods heard those prayers, their sibilant voices responding from the darkness as they told the yuan-ti what they must do. The yuan-ti religion grew more fanatical in its devotions. Cults bound themselves to the worship of the serpent gods and imitated their ways, indulging in cannibalism and humanoid sacrifice. Through foul sorcery, the yuan-ti bred with snakes, utterly sacrificing their humanity to become like the serpent gods in form, as well as in thought and emotion.
Serpent Kings of Fallen Empires
The yuan-ti view their physical transformation as a transcendent moment for their race, allowing them to shed their frail humanity like dead skin. Those that did not transform eventually became slaves or food for the blessed of the serpent gods. The yuan-ti empires withered or were defeated by those who fought against their cannibalism and slavery, and the serpent folk were left in the ruins of their great capitals, far removed from other races.
Cold of Heart
Humanoid emotions are foreign to most yuan-ti, which understand sentiment only as an exploitable weakness. A yuan-ti views the world and the events of its own life with such extreme pragmatism that it is nearly impossible to manipulate, influence, or control by non-magical means, even as it seeks to control other creatures through terror, pleasure, and awe.
Yuan-ti know that the world they hope to rule can't be bound for long by brute force, and that many creatures will refuse to serve. As a result, yuan-ti first influence other creatures with the promise of wealth and power. Time and again, humanoid cultures make the fatal mistake of trusting the yuan-ti. They forget that a yuan-ti that acts honorably or lends aid in a time of trouble does so only as part of a grander design.
Yuan-ti leaders are cunning and ruthless tacticians who readily sacrifice lesser yuan-ti if potential victory justifies such losses. They have no sense of honorable combat and strike first in decisive ambush if they can.
False Worship
Yuan-ti life revolves around their temples, yet yuan-ti don't love the gods they worship. Instead, they see worship as a means to attain power. A yuan-ti believes an individual who attains enough power can devour and replace one of the yuan-ti gods. The yuan-ti strive for ascension and are willing to commit the darkest atrocities to achieve it.
Yuan-Ti Abomination
Monstrous serpents with burly humanoid torsos and arms, abominations for the highest caste of yuan-ti society, and they most closely resemble the race as the serpent gods intended it. They mastermind elaborate schemes and perform dark rites in the hope of one day ruling the world.
Yuan-Ti Malison
A malison is a hideous blend of human and serpentine features. Three different types of malisons are known to exist, and other types are possible. Malisons form the middle caste of yuan-ti society and hunt with arrows tipped with their own venom. They use their magical powers of suggestion to force their enemy's surrender.
Yuan-Ti Pureblood
Purebloods form the lowest caste of yuan-ti society. They closely resemble humans, yet a pureblood can't pass for human under close scrutiny because there's always some hint of its true nature, such as scaly patches of skin, serpentine eyes, pointed teeth, or a forked tongue. Wearing cloaks and cowls, they masquerade as humans and infiltrate civilized lands to gather information, kidnap prisoners for interrogation and sacrifice, and trade with anyone who has something that can further their myriad plots.
Civilization and Culture
Naming Traditions
RPG Datasheet
Your yuan-ti pureblood character - called a pureblood for short - has the following racial traits.
Ability Score Increase. Your Charisma score increases by 2, and your Intelligence score increases by 1.
Age. Purebloods mature at the same rate as humans and have lifespans similar in length to theirs.
Alignment. Purebloods are devoid of emotion and see others as tools to manipulate. They care little for law or chaos and are typically neutral evil.
Size. Purebloods match humans in average size and weight. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Darkvision. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can't discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.
Innate Spellcasting. You know the poison spray cantrip. You can cast animal friendship an unlimited number of times with this trait, but you can target only snakes with it. Starting at 3rd level, you can also cast suggestion with this trait. Once you cast it, you can't do so again until you finish a long rest. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for these spells.
Magic Resistance. You have advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
Poison Immunity. You are immune to poison damage and the poisoned condition.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common, Abyssal, and Draconic.
The Serpent Gods
The yuan-ti revere a number of powerful entities as gods, including the following.
Dendar, the Night Serpent. Dendar's followers say that one day she will grow so large from feasting on the fears and nightmares of the world that she will devour it whole. Yuan-ti that serve Dendar terrorize other creatures in any way they can, growing and nurturing the fears of humanoids to feed the Night Serpent.
Merrshaulk, Master of the Pit. Merrshaulk is the long-slumbering chief deity of the yuan-ti. As worship of Merrshaulk waned, he went into slumber. Merrshaulk's priests are yuan-ti abominations that maintain traditions of living sacrifice and cause suffering the god's name. With enough vile acts, the abominations believe that Merrshaulk will reawaken and restore the yuan-ti to their rightful place.
Sseth, the Sibilant Death. Sseth appeared to the yuan-ti of antiquity in the form of a winged yuan-ti claiming to be an avatar of Merrshaulk. Speaking with Merrshaulk's voice, Sseth vowed to pull the yuan-ti out of decline and build a new empire. Many of Merrshaulk's devout turned to the worship of Sseth. Some yuan-ti have long suspected Sseth as an usurper taking advantage of Merrshaulk's slumber to make himself a god. They believe Sseth might even have devoured Merrshaulk, and now answers the prayers of Merrshaulk's followers, as his priests convert or consume Merrshaulk's more stubborn adherents.
Genetic Ancestor(s)
Comments