Order of the Viper

Yuan-ti have long been viewed as dangerous backstabbing cultists, using human sacrifice and excessively cruel magics to empower themselves towards godlike heights.  However, not every yuan-ti agrees with this endless pursuit of power, and some have even gone so far as to begin to work in secret to oppose those that chase down godhood in this way.  While the most depraved yuan-ti use the sacrifice of others to acquire their ascensions, those of the Order of the Viper believes the road to true strength comes from self-sacrifice.

 

Rite of the Bite

When you join this order at 3rd level, you learn the Rite of the Bite as part of your Crimson Rite feature. When you activate the Rite of the Bite, the extra damage dealt by your rite is poison damage. Additionally, while that rite is active on your weapon, you gain the following benefits:

• You have resistance to poison damage, and have advantage on saving throws made to end or avoid the poisoned condition.
• When you deal damage to a target with Rite of the Bite, you can forgo that damage and force the target to make a save against your Hemocraft save DC {{savedc:int}} or be poisoned until the end of your next turn on a failed save.  You can only force a target to make this save once per turn.

Serpent's Tongue

Starting at 3rd level, you gain a bonus to your Charisma checks equal to your Intelligence modifier, as your order trains you in methods to root out secretive cultists, sniff out monstrosities hidden behind deception, and sniff out occult information from suspects.

Additionally, you gain one proficiency of your choice from the following: Deception, Insight, Intimidation, Performance, or Persuasion.

Ophidian Transformation

Upon reaching 7th level, as a bonus action on your turn, you can choose to manifest your Ophidian Transformation. When you gain this feature, you may choose one of the three forms to be able to transform into, with another option becoming available at level 11 and 15.  Your choices of specific forms are listed below.

Your form lasts for 10 minutes, until you use a bonus action to revert or go unconscious or die.  While you are in this form, you may speak, use equipment and wear armor as normal.  You may use this feature once, and at level 15 you gain an additional use of this feature.  You gain all uses of Ophidian Transformation back on a short or a long rest.

Adder Form

Your arms coil and stretch, while your form condenses into a more lithe, serpentine-esque form.  While transformed in this way, you can squeeze through spaces as if you were one size smaller, and your arms become writhing serpent's heads.  You can still wield weapons and use items as normal, but your hands become natural weapons with the following properties:

• You may use Dexterity in place of your Strength when determining the attack and damage rolls of this weapon.
• Your attacks deal [roll]1d4[/roll] piercing and [roll]1d4[/roll] poison damage.
• You may apply your Crimson Rite to these natural weapons.
• If you attack with your bite, you can make one additional attack using your bite as part of the same action.
• You have disadvantage on Sleight of Hand checks and saving throws to be disarmed of any item you are holding.

Constrictor Form

Your lower half ripples, your legs quickly melding into one massive serpentine tail.  While in this form, your speed increases by 10 feet, and you count as one size larger for determining your carrying capacity, the weight you can push and pull, and in regards to grappling.  Your tail counts as a natural weapon with the following properties.

• You deal damage equal to [roll]1d8[/roll] plus your Strength modifier.
• When you hit, you can choose to grapple the target.  While the target is grappled this way, you can deal [roll]1d8[/roll] damage at the start of each of your turns.  
• While you have a target grappled, your speed is reduced to 0 and you cannot use this attack against a different target.
• The target can break free by making a contested Athletics check against you.
• While you have a target grappled in this manner, you can only add up to half of your Dexterity modifier to your AC, or a maximum of 1 while wearing medium armor.

Viper Form

Your head elongates and warps into that of a serpent.  You can still speak as normal, if a bit lispy, but you do gain a few advantages while in this form:

• You gain blindsight out to a range of 30 feet.
• You gain advantage on Intimidation checks, but disadvantage on Persuasion checks.
• You gain the ability to attack with acidic spit.  As a bonus action on your turn, you can make a ranged weapon attack.  It has a range of 30/90 feet and deals [roll]1d6[/roll] plus your Dexterity modifier acid damage on a hit.

Brand of Enervation

Starting at 11th level, your Brand of Castigation debilitates your opponents vigor, leaving them vulnerable to your enervating strikes. While a creature is branded with your Brand of Castigation, they are considered vulnerable to poison damage and have disadvantage against any save made to avoid or end the poisoned condition.  If a creature would have advantage on saves against being poisoned or resistance to poison damage, those traits are suppressed while branded in this manner.  If a creature is immune to poison damage or the poisoned condition, while branded it is treated as if it had resistance to poison damage and advantage against saves made to avoid or end the poisoned condition instead.

Blood Curse of Dazing

At 15th level, you hone your hemocraft to stun the psyche and mental capacity of anyone unfortunate enough to find themselves in your gaze. You gain the Blood Curse of Dazing for your Blood Maledict feature. This doesn’t count against your number of blood curses known.

Blood Curse of Dazing

As a bonus action, you choose one creature you can see within 30 feet of you to attempt to stun.  The creature must make a Wisdom saving throw or take [roll]4d4[/roll] psychic damage and be stunned until the end of it's next turn, or half as much damage with no additional effects.

Amplify. The target takes [roll]4d4[/roll] psychic damage, and must make a Wisdom saving throw or be stunned for one minute.  The target can repeat its saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the condition on a successful save.

Blood Curse of Dazing (Intelligence)

As a bonus action, you choose one creature you can see within 30 feet of you to attempt to stun.  The creature must make a Wisdom saving throw or take [roll]4d4[/roll] psychic damage and be stunned until the end of it's next turn, or half as much damage with no additional effects.

Amplify. The target takes [roll]4d4[/roll] psychic damage, and must make a Wisdom saving throw or be stunned for one minute.  The target can repeat its saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the condition on a successful save.

Blood Curse of Dazing (Wisdom)

As a bonus action, you choose one creature you can see within 30 feet of you to attempt to stun.  The creature must make a Wisdom saving throw or take [roll]4d4[/roll] psychic damage and be stunned until the end of it's next turn, or half as much damage with no additional effects.

Amplify. The target takes [roll]4d4[/roll] psychic damage, and must make a Wisdom saving throw or be stunned for one minute.  The target can repeat its saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the condition on a successful save.

Anathema's Ascension

Upon reaching 18th level, your mastery over your transformations grows, allowing you to reach new heights of power.  When you mutate with your Ophidian Transformation, you can use both uses of your Transformation and take necrotic damage equal to three rolls of your Hemocraft dice to gain the power of an Anathema, granting you the following additional features:

• You gain access to all three of the available forms instead of just one.
• Your body is coated in corrosive slime, which deals [roll]1d10[/roll] acid to any target that physically touches or hits you with a melee attack.
• While you have a creature grappled with your Constrictor Form's natural weapon, they suffer this damage at the start of each of their turns.

When your Transformation ends, you gain one level of exhaustion.

Additionally, you can spend one use of your Ophidian transformation to transform into a snake that is CR 1 or less Beast, taking on the creature's physical stats and hit points but keeping your mental stats.  You return to your human form after 1 hour passes, you hit zero hit points or you use a bonus action to turn back.  If you revert as a result of dropping to 0 hit points, any excess damage carries over to your normal form.