Sloth Viper

This large emerald snake has bands of gold and black ringing its body and a black-tipped tail.

Sloth Viper (CR 3)

Large Magical Beast
Alignment: Neutral
Initiative: +7
Senses: Darkvision 60 feet, Low-Light Vision; Perception +9

Speed: 30 feet, Climb 30 feet, Swim 30
Space: 10 feet

Defense

Armor Class: 17, touch 13, flat-footed 13 (+4 Dex, +4 natural, -1 size)
Hit Points: 27 (5d10)
Saving Throws: Fort +4, Ref +8, Will +2

Offense

Melee: bite +8 (1d4+1 plus poison)
Reach: 5 feet

Special Attacks: quickness

Statistics

Str	Dex	Con	Int	Wis	Cha
13 (+1)	19 (+4)	11 (+0)	2 (-4)	12 (+1)	2 (-4)

Base Attack Bonus: +5
CMB +7
CMD 21 (can't be tripped)

Feats: Improved Initiative, Skill Focus (Perception), Weapon Finesse

Skills: Acrobatics +16, Climb +13, Perception +9, Stealth +8, Swim +15

• Racial Modifiers: +8 Acrobatics, +4 Perception, +4 Stealth

Languages:

Special Abilities

Poison (Ex)

Bite-injury; save DC 14; frequency 1 round/6 rounds; effect slowed for 1 minute as the slow spell (CL 7th cure 2 consecutive saves. The save DC is Constitution-based and includes a +2 racial bonus.

Quickness (Ex)

A sloth viper is inherently quick and can take an extra standard action or move action during its turn each round.

Ecology

Environment: Temperate or Warm Forests or Marshes
Organization: solitary or pair
Treasure: none


The sloth viper is a lightning-quick predator most often found in dense, thick jungles or overgrown swamplands. The typical sloth viper is 9-10 feet long, though they can grow to a length of 20 or more feet. They subsist on a diet of small animals, preferring birds, lizards, and small mammals to others. They are fearless however, and do not hesitate to attack much larger prey such as cheetahs, leopards, and even lions. Once the sloth viper has fed, it often recoils high above the ground, under the thicket and blanket of leaves, branches, and limbs where it sleeps for the next 1d6 days.

The sloth viper is a solitary predator; rarely is more than one encountered. If such an encounter takes place, they are often a mated pair, with a nest of eggs nearby. A sloth viper's lair is a dense thicket of natural underbrush and trees. A typical nest contains 1d4 emerald colored eggs.

Sloth vipers are hunted by some humanoids for their scales and poison (which is rumored to be valued by spellcasters for its properties). Sloth vipers are ambush hunters and wait patiently among the limbs and branches of trees for potential prey to pass underneath it. When unsuspecting prey is in range, the viper either drops on it from above, or snaps down quickly with its vicious bite, recoiling back into the trees afterwards.

Copyright Notice Author Scott Greene.