Yuan-ti were a collective race of serpent folk, also known as the snake people of
The Horde , who were seen as corrupt and degenerate monsters by other races. Their empire spans across much of the
Astral Sea mostly the uncharted regions.
Physical Description
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.
Only the most human-like forms wore clothing, but all varieties wielded weapons if they had means to carry them.
Varieties
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,[citation needed] 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. Known subgroups of halfbloods included mind whisperers, pit masters, and nightmare speakers.
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.
Ignans
A volatile subspecies created by infusing yuan-ti with elemental energies.
Culture
The yuan-ti preferred to make their homes on tropical planets.
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.
Yuan-ti found the body odor of humans repulsive, so much so that on planets controlled by yuan-ti, humans wear perfume to conceal their body odor.
Government
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.
Religion
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.
Comments