The serpent creatures known as yuan-ti are all that remains of an ancient, decadent human empire. Ages ago their dark gods taught them profane, cannibalistic rituals to mix their flesh with that of snakes, producing a caste-based society of hybrids in which the most snakelike are the leaders and the most humanlike are spies and agents in foreign lands.
Humans Transformed
The people who became yuan-ti were one of the original human civilizations. Their society built great temples of stone and forged metal into armor, tools, and weapons. In their ceremonies they paid homage to the snake as the embodiment of the qualities they most appreciated. They developed a philosophy of separating emotion from intellectual pursuits, allowing them to focus their energy on personal advancement and expanding their territory. They believed themselves to be the most enlightened mortals in the world, and in their hubris they sought to become ever greater.
The serpent gods of the primordial world heeded the prayers of these people and hissed dark demands into their ears. The people tainted their souls by performing human sacrifices in the name of the gods, debased their flesh by cannibalizing their victims, and then performed a sorcerous ritual while writhing in pools filled with living snakes that enabled them to mix their flesh with that of serpents, becoming like the gods in body, thought, and emotion. Freed from the limitations of their human bodies, the yuan-ti used their new abilities to conquer new lands and expand their borders.
One Race, Many Forms
The bodies of all yuan-ti have a mix of humanlike and snakelike parts, but the proportion varies from individual to individual. After the initial metamorphosis of the humans, their society quickly coalesced into a caste system based on how complete a person's transformation was. The vast majority of yuan-ti fall into three categories-abominations, malisons, and purebloods-while the mutated broodguards and exceedingly rare anathemas have their place in the hierarchy as well.
All yuan-ti can interbreed. Females usually lay clutches of eggs, which are stored in a common hatchery, although live births aren't uncommon. A mating between yuan-ti of different types almost always produces eggs that hatch into yuan-ti of the weaker parent, so most choose partners of the same type in the interest of maintaining the strength of their personal bloodline.
The yuan-ti have abandoned their humanity and consider non-serpentine humanoids to be lesser creatures, barely more civilized than common apes. Although some purebloods are able to reproduce with humans, most are disgusted by the idea and would do so only if seduction is necessary for a pureblood to preserve a role as a confidant or advisor in human society. The very rare offspring of such a union are always purebloods, although they may appear fully human at birth and for several years afterward.
The yuan-ti know rituals that can transform an individual into a more powerful type. The cost and time required to perform the ritual is prohibitive, and as a result most yuan-ti never get the opportunity to undergo such a transformation. Every use of the ritual must be modified to suit the individual undergoing transformation, and requires rare herbs, exotic magical substances, snakes, and one or more humans to be sacrificed and eaten as part of the procedure.
Undercover Empire
The human civilization that gave rise to the yuan-ti was among the richest in the mortal world. It rapidly progressed in metalworking, using keen intellect and magic to discover the secrets of making steel. Its military shattered rival tribes and developed advanced tactics for fighting in forests and open plains.
The civilization grew into a cluster of allied city-states. Conquered neighbors were allowed to keep their leaders and culture so long as they paid tribute, swore allegiance to the victors, and incorporated their conquerors' serpent gods into their religions. These victories sent a constant influx of food, ore, and slaves back to the home cities.
The wealth of the empire allowed the ruling elite plenty of time to focus on intellectual pursuits. These nobles turned to philosophy and prayer, offering gifts of magic and animal sacrifices to their serpent gods, paying homage to the perfection of the ophidian form. The serpent gods taught the humans how to take on aspects of the snake, but the cost of the change was high, requiring many sacrifices for each person to be transformed. Entire households of slaves in one city-state were killed and eaten to create the first yuan-ti, and once the news of how to perform these rituals spread to other leaders, the call for slaves to fuel the process increased. As the serpent gods began to demand more and more sacrifices, the yuan-ti stepped up their raids on bordering settlements to meet this need.
The physical and magical prowess of the yuan-ti empire allowed the former humans to retain their holdings for several hundred years, until a combination of drought, attacks by enemies (including dragons and nagas), civil war, torpor among the serpent gods, and the development of iron weapons by the some of their conquered enemies finally loosened the yuan-ti's hold over nearby lands. The serpent people withdrew to their fortified cities and underground temples, ceding the rest of their territory to their former minions. The yuan-ti crawled away and hid in a matter of weeks, all but disappearing from the world. Yuan-ti structures throughout the land were torn down to celebrate liberation from the snake-bodied oppressors, and within a few generations the yuan-ti were all but forgotten by the new humanoid civilizations.
For over a thousand years after their empire fell, the yuan-ti remained ensconced in their hidden strongholds, biding their time until they were ready to strike again. Today, with their numbers greatly depleted and their enemies much stronger than in ages past, the yuan-ti know they can't resort to direct attacks in order to reclaim their rightful place in the world. Operating out of the subterranean ruins of their buildings in foreign lands, yuan-ti agents infiltrate enemy governments to discover weaknesses that their leaders can exploit. The yuan-ti look forward to the day when their empire rises again and spreads across the world like venom through the blood, as it once did.
Because their population is so small, the yuan-ti are aware they are vulnerable in open warfare. Instead, their current plans assume they will never rule outwardly in human society, so they gain influence by controlling enemy rulers-and those close to them-through blackmail, drugs, magic, and the subterfuge of disguised purebloods.
Gods of the Yuan-ti
The detached, intellectual nature of the yuan-ti doesn't lend itself to fervent or devout worship in the manner that others revere their deities. Nonetheless, they acknowledge a wide range of supernatural and divine entities. Some of these are true deities, some are primordial spirits as powerful as gods, and some are creatures of questionable origin.
In addition to the three primary deities discussed below, the yuan-ti worship over a dozen other "serpent gods"-lesser beings such as animal spirits, ascended heroes, divine servants of more powerful gods, and demon lords. Many of the cults devoted to these lesser gods are unique to a particular city, and followers of the three main yuan-ti deities usually consider these religious practices quaint rather than threatening.
Dendar
The Night Serpent came into being before recorded history, spawned from the feverish dreams of the first intelligent creatures. She subsists and grows stronger by feeding on the fears that plague the folk of the world. Her followers believe that Dendar is a harbinger of the end of things, which will come when she amasses enough power to consume the world. Another legend concerning her speaks of an iron door to the underworld behind which she lurks; when the time is right, she will tear it down, then eat the sun, plunging the world into darkness before she finally devours it.
Yuan-ti worshipers of Dendar are led by nightmare speakers, malison warlocks that honor their deity through acts of terror and receive magical power in return. Rather than killing enemies, these followers of the Night Serpent prefer to threaten and torture them, the better to feed and strengthen the goddess.
Merrshaulk
The leaders of Merrshaulk's worshipers, called pit masters, are malison warlocks that uphold and advance the age-old yuan-ti traditions. They sense that it has become easier to wake him in recent decades, and believe this to be a sign that he will soon fully awaken, shed his skin, and-renewed by transformation-restore the yuan-ti to their rightful place as masters of the mortal world.
Sseth
His most devout followers, known as mind whisperers, use their god-given magic to emulate Sseth's tactics and principles. They strive to succeed by offering an alternative choice to contesting viewpoints or plans, and in so doing they exude an air of self-importance that gives them a less than savory reputation among yuan-ti that follow other gods.
Gods of Other Worlds
In worlds other than the Forgotten Realms, yuan-ti make pacts with deities of the pantheons presented in appendix B of the Player's Handbook. The following are suggested yuan-ti deities for each pantheon.
Serpent Gods
The yuan-ti's dispassionate attitude toward religion is especially evident among the powerful yuan-ti that take one of the lesser serpent gods as an object of worship. The worshiper of a serpent god pays homage not out of respect or fear, but because it aspires to emulate the entity, beseeching it to reveal the secret of transcending mortality. Then, once armed with that knowledge, the yuan-ti sets out to supplant its deity and become a new serpent god.
The serpent gods don't wish to be brought low, or to be bled of power as Merrshaulk was, so they mollify their worshipers with pronouncements that hint at what the supplicants seek. The truth is never easy to ferret out, but rarely an exceptionally clever yuan-ti succeeds in attaining divine form and vanquishing its benefactor. This cannibalistic pressure from mortals means that the lower ranks of the serpent gods experience a change every century or so, although often it is the newest yuan-ti godling that falls prey to the next one's ambitions.
Structured Society
The goal of every yuan-ti is to transform itself into the ideal combination of snake and humanoid. This attitude is reflected in yuan-ti society by a caste system, with status predicated on where a particular form of yuan-ti lies along the ladder of transformation.
The basic form of yuan-ti society is a pyramid with abominations at the top, malisons in the middle level, and purebloods at the base. The outliers are the anathemas, the most powerful yuan-ti of all, and two castes that lie beneath all yuan-ti: broodguards and slaves.
Statistics for yuan-ti anathemas, yuan-ti broodguards, and new kinds of yuan-ti malisons appear in chapter 3. Two new malison variants are presented in the "Yuan-ti Malison Variants: Types 4 and 5 sidebar in this chapter.
Yuan-ti Anathemas
The exceedingly rare yuan-ti known as anathemas look much like abominations, but larger, with clawed hands, and six snake heads sprouting from where the head should be. Each anathema is the product of a unique ritual that alters its original abomination form, increasing its size, power, and intelligence. Other yuan-ti treat anathemas like demigods, and they naturally assume a leadership position over all others in the area.
An anathema's aggressive presence brings about a transformation in a yuan-ti city, pushing it to become more warlike and expansionistic. The anathema directs the yuan-ti to wage small-scale wars on humanoids, usually through proxies such as cults and allied creatures, and uses these conflicts to gather riches and slaves until it has enough resources to establish the yuan-ti as the rulers of a region.
Yuan-ti Abominations
Mostly ophidian, but with humanlike arms that can wield weapons and use tools, abominations closely resemble the perfect form that the serpent gods envisioned. Absent the presence of an anathema, yuan-ti abominations are the leaders in most yuan-ti cities.
Yuan-ti Malisons
The various kinds of malisons are imperfect compared to abominations but still a step above humankind in the eyes of the serpent gods. Malisons tend to be receptive to religion, seeking insight about how they can improve toward the serpent ideal, and many of them become leaders in the worship of one of the serpent gods.
Yuan-ti Pureblood
The most numerous of the yuan-ti, purebloods are also the most humanlike, exhibiting only one or two snakelike features such as slitted pupils or patches of scales on the skin.
Yuan-ti Broodguards
The devolved creatures known as broodguards are created by feeding humanoids a special elixir, which gives them scaly skin and a compulsion to follow orders. Because their minds are crippled by their transformation, broodguards are less useful than slaves for many tasks, but because of their unwavering loyalty they make capable guardians for yuan-ti eggs.
Broodguards are technically slaves, but because of their loyalty and the expense of the potion that creates them, they have slightly higher status than common slaves-meaning that a pureblood is more likely to give a suicidal order to a slave than to a broodguard.
Slaves
Every yuan-ti settlement has a number of other creatures under its control, including intelligent humanoids, charmed or trained beasts, and even undead or conjured minions. Regardless of their nature, all are treated as slaves: no creature that is not a yuan-ti is fit for anything other than menial labor and subservience. Slaves that fail to follow orders or lag in their duties are dispatched or turned into broodguards.
Emotionless Evil
During their ascension ages ago, the yuan-ti freed themselves from the yoke of their human emotions. Now they view the world from a pragmatic and dispassionate perspective. They understand emotional connections in a detached, intellectual way, and recognize that these feelings in others can be exploited through bribes, favors, or threats.
As creatures devoid of emotion, yuan-ti exhibit behavior and use tactics that exemplify that outlook (or lack of one). Whether in combat or in daily life, the following principles guide the yuan-ti in all they do.
Other Lives Are Cheap
Yuan-ti put little value on humanoid lives, even those of their own slaves and cultists. They would poison children to carry out a threat against their parents, or turn one person into a broodguard in order to show her family the consequence of resistance. They might refrain from provoking others' feelings if doing so could adversely affect the yuan-ti's plans, but they understand humanoid psychology well enough to know that they can get away with this casual disregard for life almost anytime.
Furthermore, in the yuan-ti caste system, a greater yuan-ti's life is worth far more than a lesser one's.
Weaker citizens are expected to lay down their lives to protect their betters. Leaders rely on this zealotry in their plans, and although they don't needlessly waste the lives of purebloods on futile actions, most strategies include a fallback option in which mobs of purebloods and slaves are thrown at opposing forces in the hope of allowing the malisons and abominations time to escape.
Survival First
Yuan-ti are likely to retreat or flee from conflict if they don't believe they have a reasonable chance of success. This reaction isn't out of cowardice, but practicality-yuan-ti value their own lives much too highly to risk them when the odds aren't in their favor. A short retreat might be just the thing to reach a better tactical position, find allies, or to allow the yuan-ti the opportunity to study their opponents and implement better tactics. Any enemy who chases a group of fleeing yuan-ti might be on the victorious side of a rout or could be heading into a trap; if the enemy has been encountered before, it is likely that the yuan-ti have prepared a special ambush at the end of the pursuit.
Capture, Not Kill
The objective of the yuan-ti as a race is to conquer and enslave others; they don't espouse the sort of evil that calls for them to butcher or eradicate all who oppose them. In keeping with their goal of domination, the yuan-ti would rather capture potentially useful opponents than kill them. They use many methods for capturing enemies, such as poisoning, knocking out an opponent instead of making a killing blow, throwing nets, using magic such as suggestion, or restraining them in the coils of a giant snake.
To force their compliance, enemies might be brainwashed, charmed, tortured, or transformed into broodguards. Those that prove intractable still have their uses, either as sacrifices to the gods or as food.
Depend on Deceit
Yuan-ti have no sense of honorable combat. They are naturally stealthy, and if they can sneak up on enemies, either in an ambush or to murder them in their sleep, the yuan-ti will do so-and they actually prefer these tactics to open warfare. Because abominations and malisons can change into the shapes of snakes, they can keep their presence hidden and get into places their normal forms couldn't enter.
Their immunity to poison gives all yuan-ti a tactical advantage in dealing with other creatures. A pureblood serving as a food taster for a royal family could poison a meal and declare it "safe" after taking a bite.
Serpent Cults
Some humans believe that not only are the yuan-ti superior to humans and worthy of emulation, but they are also the blessed emissaries of the serpent gods. From these entwined beliefs are born the serpent cults, groups of devout mortals who serve the yuan-ti either directly or in foreign outposts. Fanatical in their ideals, these cultists are willing to die for the yuan-ti and their gods, whether from an enemy's weapon or at the point of a sacrificial knife.
The yuan-ti use the cults devoted to them as a steady supply of willing minions and sycophants. Many yuan-ti establish or encourage cults to gather the special herbs and magic they need to perform the ritual for evolving into a more powerful form. And just as the yuan-ti have rituals to transform their own bodies, they have a ritual that can change a human into a pureblood. They sometimes use the promise of this ritual as an enticement for power-hungry followers or a reward for their most devoted cultists.
In civilized society, cultists ingratiate themselves into the local populace, usually by promising perfection of the flesh (sometimes including the healing of afflictions), freedom from the ideas of sin and guilt, and hedonistic delights to those who join the cult. The leader of a cult is usually advised by a pureblood that relays orders and information between the cult and a yuan-ti city.
Physical Variations
No two yuan-ti look exactly the same. Both the snakelike and the humanlike portions of a yuan-ti's anatomy exhibit a wide variety of shapes and colorations. Because a yuan-ti's appearance is mostly inherited, in small settlements all the yuan-ti look somewhat alike, while larger settlements see more intermixing, which produces a wider range of results.
Use the tables below to create descriptions and other details for different Yuan-ti types.
Yuan-ti Snake Body Type
| d20 |
Snake Body Shape |
| 1-5 |
Thick |
| 6-15 |
Normal |
| 16-20 |
Sleek |
Yuan-ti Humanoid Skin Color
| d20 |
Humanoid Skin Color |
| 1-4 |
Dark brown |
| 5 |
Green-brown |
| 6-9 |
Light brown |
| 10-15 |
Medium brown |
| 16 |
Pale brown |
| 17-18 |
Red-brown |
| 19-20 |
Yellow-brown |
Yuan-ti Scale Color
| d100 |
Scale Color |
| 1-6 |
black |
| 7-12 |
black and brown |
| 13-18 |
black and green |
| 19-23 |
black and red |
| 24-26 |
black and white |
| 27-30 |
black and yellow |
| 31-36 |
black, gold, and red |
| 37-42 |
black, red, and white |
| 43-45 |
blue |
| 46-48 |
blue and black |
| 49-51 |
blue and gray |
| 52-54 |
blue and yellow |
| 55-60 |
brown |
| 61-66 |
brown and green |
| 67-73 |
green |
| 74-79 |
green and tan |
| 80-84 |
green and white |
| 85-90 |
green and yellow |
| 91-96 |
red and tan |
| 97-100 |
albino |
Yuan-ti Scale Pattern
| d20 |
Scale Pattern |
| 1-5 |
Mottled |
| 6-7 |
Random |
| 8-10 |
Reticulated |
| 11-15 |
Speckled |
| 16-20 |
Striped |
Yuan-ti Tongue Color
| d6 |
Tongue Color |
| 1 |
Black |
| 2 |
Blue |
| 3 |
Orange |
| 4 |
Pale |
| 5-6 |
Red |
Pureblood Characteristics
| d20 |
Pureblood Characteristic |
| 1-3 |
Fangs |
| 4-5 |
forked tongue |
| 6-9 |
scaly arms and hands |
| 10-11 |
scaly face |
| 12-15 |
scaly torso |
| 16-18 |
serpentine eyes |
| 19-20 |
Roll twice, re-rolling results of 19 or 20 |
Yuan-ti Eye Color
| d6 |
Eye Color |
| 1 |
Blue |
| 2 |
Brown |
| 3 |
Green |
| 4 |
Red |
| 5 |
Tan |
| 6 |
Yellow |
Yuan-ti Snake Head Shape
| d20 |
Snake Head Shape |
| 1-5 |
Broad and rounded |
| 6-9 |
Flattened |
| 10-11 |
Hooded |
| 12-15 |
Slender |
| 16-20 |
Triangular |
Type 2 Malison: Arms
| d10 |
Malison Type 2 Arm* |
| 1-4 |
Cluster of small snakes |
| 5-9 |
One large snake |
| 10 |
Scaly humanoid with snake head for a hand |
* Roll once for each arm
Type 4 Malison: Lower Body
| d20 |
Malison Type 4 Lower Body |
| 1-7 |
Human legs and large snake tail |
| 8-10 |
Human legs and multiple small snake tails |
| 11-16 |
Scaly human legs and large snake tail |
| 17-20 |
Scaly human legs and multiple small snake tails |
Unusual Abilities
The variety among yuan-ti doesn't end with their physical characteristics. Some of them are born with powers that are unusual or even unique among their kind. High-ranking yuan-ti might have one or more of the following abilities, either replacing or augmenting what a normal yuan-ti can do.
Traits
You can customize a yuan-ti by giving it one or more of the following traits.
Acid Slime (Abomination, Anathema, or Malison Only). As a bonus action, the yuan-ti can coat its body in a slimy acid that lasts for 1 minute. A creature that touches the yuan-ti, hits it with a melee attack while within 5 feet of it, or is hit by its constrict attack takes 5 (1d10) acid damage.
Chameleon Skin. The yuan-ti has advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks made to hide.
Shapechanger (Pureblood Only). The yuan-ti can use its action to polymorph into a Medium giant poisonous snake, or into a Large constrictor snake, or back into its true form. Its statistics are the same in each form, except for the size change noted. Any equipment it is wearing or carrying isn't transformed. It doesn't change form if it dies.
Shed Skin (1/Day). The yuan-ti can shed its skin as a bonus action to free itself from a grapple, shackles, or other restraints. If the yuan-ti spends 1 minute eating its shed skin, it regains hit points equal to half its hit point maximum.
Action Options
The following action options are restricted to certain kinds of yuan-ti.
Bite (Pureblood Only). Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 3 (1d4) piercing damage plus 3 (1d6) poison damage. If the pureblood uses Multiattack, it can make two melee attacks, but can use its bite only once.
Polymorph into Snake (Abomination or Malison Only; Recharge 6). The yuan-ti targets a creature it can see within 60 feet of it. The target must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or be transformed into a Tiny poisonous snake, as if affected by the polymorph spell. The save DC is the same as that of the yuan-ti's Innate Spellcasting ability.
Snake Antipathy (Abomination or Malison Only; Recharge 6). The yuan-ti targets a creature it can see within 60 feet of it. The target must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or feel an intense urge to avoid snakes and snakelike creatures (including yuan-ti), as if affected by the antipathy effect of an antipathy/sympathy spell. The save DC is the same as that of the yuan-ti's Innate Spellcasting ability.
Sticks to Snakes (Abomination or Malison Only; Recharge 6). The yuan-ti transforms a pile of sticks, arrows, or similar-sized pieces of wood into a swarm of poisonous snakes. The swarm acts as an ally of the yuan-ti and obeys its spoken commands. The swarm remains for 1 minute, after which it turns back into the original materials.
Roleplaying a Yuan-ti
Yuan-ti are emotionless, yet feel completely superior to humanoids, in the same way that a human can feel superior to chickens or rabbits-in a matter-of-fact, completely objective way that doesn't brook any second-guessing. To a yuan-ti, there are only three categories of creature: threat, yuan-ti, or meat. Threats are powerful creatures such as demons, dragons, and genies. Yuan-ti are any of their own kind, regardless of caste; although a rival yuan-ti might be dangerous, and a weak or dead one might be potential food, it is first and foremost one of the true people and deserving of some respect. Meat includes any creature that is neither a threat nor a yuan-ti, possibly useful for a base purpose but not worthy of other consideration.
Most yuan-ti consider it beneath themselves to speak to meat. Abominations and malisons rarely communicate directly with slaves except in emergencies (such as for giving battle orders at other times, slaves are expected to constantly be aware of the master's mood, anticipate the master's needs, and recognize subtle gestures of hands, head, and tail that indicate commands.
Only purebloods-which walk among humanoids and therefore have to learn how to speak to them civilly-practice interacting with meat-creatures. Much of their training involves suppressing their innate annoyance at having to speak to lesser beings as though they were equals, or being obliged to kowtow to a humanoid ruler as if the pureblood were merely an advisor. Pureblood spies feel a sort of aloof contempt toward meat-creatures, but they can affect a pleasant tone, and speak to such creatures with a silver tongue that disguises their true feelings.
Under normal circumstances, yuan-ti are always calmly deferential to those of higher rank. They tend to be curt and formal with those of lower rank, for the differences between them aren't a source of anger or disgust (emotions that the yuan-ti don't feel anyway), merely a fact of the natural order, and their culture long ago realized that treating the lower castes with a measure of detached respect prevents rebellion and advances the cause of the entire race.
Yuan-ti Personality Traits
| d8 |
Personality Trait |
| 1 |
I see omens in every event and action. The serpent gods continue to advise us. |
| 2 |
I have very high standards for food, drink, and physical pleasures. |
| 3 |
I prefer to be alone rather than among other creatures, including my own kind. |
| 4 |
I sometimes become consumed by philosophy. |
| 5 |
I believe I am superior to others of my caste. |
| 6 |
I am driven by wanderlust and want to explore lands far from our cities. |
| 7 |
I am interested in modern human culture, even as primitive as it is. |
| 8 |
I await the day when we again conquer lands by force, as we did in the old times. |
Yuan-ti Ideals
| d6 |
Ideal |
| 1 |
Greed. I display my wealth as a sign of my power and prosperity. (Evil) |
| 2 |
Aspiration. I strive to follow the path toward becoming an anathema. (Evil) |
| 3 |
Unity. No leader shall put personal goals above those of our race. (Any) |
| 4 |
Kinship. My allegiance is to my caste and my city. Other settlements can burn for all I care. (Any) |
| 5 |
Inspiration. My actions set an example for the lesser castes to emulate. (Any) |
| 6 |
Power. Everything I choose to do is determined by whether it will make me smarter and stronger. (Evil) |
Yuan-ti Bonds
| d6 |
Bond |
| 1 |
I will see our empire rise again and, in so doing, win the favor of the serpent gods. |
| 2 |
I am enamored with the culture and trappings of another society and wish to be part of it. |
| 3 |
I respect my superiors and obey them without question. My fate is theirs to decide. |
| 4 |
I have an interest in an unsuitable mate, which I can't suppress. |
| 5 |
I respect and emulate a great hero or ancestor. |
| 6 |
An enemy destroyed something of value to me, and I will find where it lives and kill the offender. |
Yuan-ti Flaws
| d6 |
Flaw |
|
I feel twinges of emotion, and it shames me that I am imperfect in this way. |
|
I put too much credence in the dictates of a particular god. |
|
I frequently overindulge in food and wine, and I am impaired and lethargic for days afterward. |
|
I worship a forbidden god. |
|
I secretly believe things would be better if I was in charge. |
|
If I could get away with it, I would gladly kill and eat a superior yuan-ti. |
Yuan-ti Names
Yuan-ti names have meanings that have been passed down through the generations, although spellings and inflections have changed over time.
Some yuan-ti add more sibilants to their birth names to create an exaggerated hissing sound, based on one's personal preference and whether an individual's anatomy can more easily pronounce the name in this altered form. An adopted name of this sort is recognized as a variant of the birth name, rather than a unique name unto itself. A yuan-ti might refer to itself by its birth name, by its adopted name, or (especially among purebloods) by a name it borrows from the local populace.
The Yuan-ti Names table provides yuan-ti birth names suitable for any campaign.
Yuan-ti Names
Asutali, Eztli, Hessatal, Hitotee, Issahu, Itstli, Manuya, Meztli, Nesalli, Otleh, Shalkashlah, Sisava, Sitlali, Soakosh, Ssimalli, Suisatal, Talash, Teoshi, Yaotal, Zihu
Yuan-ti Cities
Most yuan-ti cities were built during the height of their empire centuries ago. Since they no longer have the vast number of expendable slaves necessary for large work projects, the yuan-ti content themselves with maintaining these ancient places rather than building new ones for their needs. Although these sites are hundreds or even thousands of years old, they don't look or feel primitive-the yuan-ti empire was once very advanced, and although it has declined, its culture is still thriving on a smaller scale.
Because the yuan-ti were previously human, their architecture reflects human ideas about art and beauty. Over time this perspective was skewed toward the concept that the snake is the perfect form, so serpents are a common theme in their aesthetic.
The major buildings in a city usually have four sides and a sloped or staggered pyramid-like exterior. It is customary for stone buildings to have a series of tiles or carvings of snakes encircling the ground level at head height. These features are sometimes trapped or magically warded to prevent anyone from climbing the building's exterior. Interior walls usually have floor-level holes or tunnels that a Medium or Large snake could pass through, allowing the yuan-ti's serpentine pets, as well as abominations and malisons in snake form, to bypass human-style doors for convenience or in order to respond quickly to invaders. In well-traveled areas, ramps replace stairs, making it easier to snake-bodied yuan-ti to move between levels.
A yuan-ti settlement usually has a paved plaza, and major roads are also paved. Fountains, gardens, and carved, freestanding columns are common elements. Six-foot-high walls divide the community into city blocks or districts, with open arches allowing traffic to pass through.
Yuan-ti lairs in human settlements are nothing like the accommodations in their own cities. Because these locations are used mainly by humanoid purebloods and cultists (or were built by humanoids and taken over by yuan-ti), stairs and humanoid architecture are the norm. Each of these sites resembles the headquarters of a spy ring, a thieves' guild, or a hedonistic cult rather than the outpost of an evil empire bent on cannibalism and world domination, but it usually has a sacrificial slab tucked away in a corner for special events.
Particularly in their cities, yuan-ti rely on poison traps to keep intruders, spies, and rebellious slaves out of sensitive areas.
Cannibalism and Sacrifice
The ritual that produced the first yuan-ti required the human subjects to butcher and eat their human slaves and prisoners. This act of cannibalism had several ramifications It broke a long-standing taboo among civilized humanoids and set the yuan-ti apart from other civilizations as creatures not beholden to moral values. It corrupted their flesh, making the yuan-ti receptive to dark magic. It emulated the dispassionate viewpoint of the reptilian mind, a trait the yuan-ti admired.
Today, cannibalism is practiced by the most fervent of yuan-ti cultists, including those who aspire to transform into yuan-ti themselves. In yuan-ti cities, the activity persists in the form of human sacrifice-not strictly cannibalism anymore, but still serving as a repudiation of what it is to be human and a glorification of what it is to be yuan-ti.
Yuan-ti don't have a taboo against eating their own kind; a starving yuan-ti would kill and eat a lesser without a second thought, and a group of them would choose the weakest among them to be killed and eaten. Under normal circumstances, however, they bury or cremate their dead rather than eating them, but a great hero or someone of status might be ritually consumed as a form of tribute.
Traps are commonly placed on door locks, chests, and fake objects designed to attract looters. One insidious delivery method uses blocks of special incense to fill a room with poisonous faint smoke that disguises the presence of the poison until it takes effect.
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