Yuan-ti

Basic Information

Anatomy

The appearance of yuan-ti varied greatly from nearly human-like to nearly snake-like, but all had some serpentine features. Scale colors were usually simple greens and browns, but more elaborate swirls, stripes, or diamond patterns were possible, even in blues and reds.
Yuan-ti gave off almost no scent that a human could detect, but animals could sense a dry, musty odor from their bodies.

Major Subraces

The yuan-ti came in several distinct castes or breeds. The three most prevalent were as follows:

• Purebloods
• Purebloods appeared mostly human, with minor reptilian features, such as slit eyes, a forked tongue, or patches of scales on their skin.


• Halfbloods
• Also called malisons, halfbloods were humanoid in shape but had a wide variety of noticeable serpentine features, such as a snakelike tail in place of legs, a complete covering of scales, a hood like a cobra, a snake's head, or snakes in place of arms.


• Abominations
• Abominations were almost completely snakelike, with only a few human features, such as arms or a humanoid head.

Minor Subraces

In addition to the three main breeds, other breeds have been described as well:

• Anathemas
• By far the most powerful and loathsome of yuan-ti, anathemas were worshiped as divine incarnations of Merrshaulk. They were truly bizarre in appearance, with a body like a 25-foot-long serpent; a pair of humanoid arms with clawed, three-fingered hands; and six serpentine heads rising from its shoulders.


• Holy guardians
• A rare breed specifically bred as temple guards, holy guardians uniformly had a serpentine tail in place of legs and a snakelike head.


• Mageslayers
• Another rare type of yuan-ti, mageslayers were bred for the special purpose of battling or hunting down human magic-users, and most of their abilities are magical rather than psionic. They had a human-like head but a snakelike tail instead of legs.

Genetics and Reproduction

Female yuan-ti lay eggs in brood chambers, marking each clutch with its parentage, then abandoning them to the care of broodguards. Yuan-ti hatchlings are hatched from these eggs, which are always curious and eager to explore, and will seek food immediately, even eating each other if sustenance is not at hand. Their initial training is provided by broodguards, which also monitor the hatchery. Young yuan-ti are trained in the use of their powers almost after being born. They will turn into tiny vipers and slither to the nearest cover when they see danger or hear a warning.
Yuan-ti in their prime will scheme, breed, and work on behalf of their tribes. Breeding is carefully controlled, seen as a holy act, in order to produce the "best" offspring. Prospective partners will coldly measure one another and if both agree that the match is promising, they usually mate, regardless of their personal affections towards each other.

Growth Rate & Stages

Often elder yuan-ti grow lazy when they reach great age, sleeping or lying in torpor for longer and longer periods - first for days, then weeks, then seasons at a time, and finally years upon years. At last, they fail to wake at all.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Yuan-ti were consummate carnivores, eating any kind of warm-blooded flesh, including humans. Besides human meat, they also enjoyed birds and thus kept large herds of flightless birds captive for food.

Additional Information

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Yuan-ti had superb intelligence compared to other races.
Human-headed yuan-ti were able to cast the following magic innately: cause fear, darkness, snake charm, stick to snakes, neutralize poison, suggestion, and polymorph.

Civilization and Culture

Major Organizations

The abominations ruled over the other breeds of yuan-ti, leading from the temples.
Purebloods, being the most human-like, were the caste involved in negotiations with outside races.

Average Technological Level

Combat

The yuan-ti took advantage of their great intelligence during battle, planning traps and making excellent use of their surroundings. They favored ambushes over direct attacks. If in groups, they sent their least valuable members forward first, meaning that purebloods advanced before halfbloods who advanced before abominations.
Yuan-ti favored bladed weapons. They used slow-acting poisons in their elaborate traps but not typically on their blades.

Architecture

Yuan-ti buildings were often circular. In place of staircases, they often had ramps or poles instead, since most of them could slither and many of them could climb.

Major Language Groups and Dialects

Yuan-ti had their own language, which used the Draconic alphabet, and most could also speak Common. Draconic and Abyssal were also typically known. Some sages reported that all yuan-ti could also communicate readily with any snake or snake-like creature.

Common Dress Code

Only the most human-like forms wore clothing, but all varieties wielded weapons if they had means to carry them.

Culture and Cultural Heritage

Society

The yuan-ti preferred to make their homes in tropical jungles.
Yuan-ti call themselves vrael olo (which means "favored ones"). Daily use typically uses the shortened "vrael", and can be modified to "auvrael" (meaning friendly or known yuan-ti) and duthrael (unfriendly or unfamiliar yuan-ti). In general, the more serpentine features a yuan-ti possesses the higher its status in yuan-ti society. Abominations are at the top of their society, followed by halfblood, and finally purebloods. Within their subraces, yuan-ti are ranked by achievements and the demonstrated favor of Sseth.
Yuan-ti culture centered around their temples, which often were found in ancient ruins or hidden deep underneath human cities. The locations of these were well-guarded secrets.
Outside their temples, they usually only appeared in small groups of less than five.

Common Customs, Traditions and Rituals

The yuan-ti were devout demon-worshipers. Their worship often involved bloody sacrifices. Most worshiped Sseth, with other serpentine deities that some have worshiped over the years either being masks worn by Sseth or a false deity of the Scaleless Ones. All yuan-ti must act in accordance with the Sacred Way of Sseth - that is, subtly. Whenever possible, yuan-ti choose manipulation over open confrontation, the whisper over the fang. Followers of the Sacred Way of Sseth know their foes, think ahead, and plan forward.

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 longslumbering 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 in 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 that 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.

History

The yuan-ti were once human. Long before humankind dominated the continent of Faerûn, the Creator Races ruled Toril. The reptilian Creator Race, the sarrukh, were foremost amongst these and built up great empires. They bred the first yuan-ti by magically experimenting with and breeding men with snakes. This way they also created naga, and through a similar process, lizardmen. They eventually fell from power and the resourceful yuan-ti rose up to claim their Creators' power vacuum, even while sustaining the empire of Mhairshaulk. Of the fragmented World Serpent deity that the sarrukh had worshiped, the yuan-ti venerated the strongest aspect, a cruel and despotic deity, Merrshaulk, who grew distant and aloof.
As the yuan-ti's power became less visible on Faerûn, and they instead fell to infiltrating human and demihuman society through their organizations and long-sighted plots, Merrshaulk had sunk into a slumber, ignoring his followers. Eventually, around the time of the collapse of the human empire of Netheril, Merrshaulk himself was also reborn as a winged yuan-ti avatar named Sseth, who became the yuan-ti's new primary deity. In the end, though, Sseth too sank into somnolence.
At this point some sarrukh, long suffering a heavy war on other planes or sunken in hibernation in their ruins, began to return in some numbers. They crucially needed help from their deity, but Sseth was not answering prayers in his slumber. So for aid in their endeavors some of the sarrukh made a bargain with the Mulhorandi deity Set, that put Sseth into a deeper sleep but allowed Set to assume Sseth's mantle and grant the sarrukh their aid. Most yuan-ti do not even know of this transaction, though now Sseth struggles at his bonds some are being made aware of it.

Historical Figures

• Zstulkk Ssarmn, a member of the ruthless trade and slaving consortium the Iron Ring
• Nhyris D'Hothek, nephew of Zstulkk Ssarmn, and one time possessor of the Crown of Horns
• Sibyl, whose body was used as Sseth's avatar during the Time of Troubles
• House Extaminos, the ruling family of Hlondeth.
• Zelia, powerful psion featured in the House of Serpents trilogy.

Interspecies Relations and Assumptions

Most yuan-ti were evil beings, usually of the chaotic variety.
The yuan-ti had a great respect for reptiles of all kinds.