Homebrew Lamia Species Details

Misunderstood Serpents

The lamia were once understood to be a species of monsters, with the upper torso of a humanoid and a long, thick serpentine tail emerging from below the lamia's waist. Propping their upper bodies upright, a lamia may stand at anywhere between five feet and nine feet tall, and laid out prone they can reach lengths of twenty to twenty five feet. Dwelling chiefly in warmer climates, a lamia's upper body inherits the skin tone and hair of her father, while the scales of the lower body vary depending upon the subspecies.

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There are no male lamia; to maintain a healthy tribe in the past, men of other races were abducted and used to sire children. While cared for well during their time with the tribe, traditionally they were not allowed to return to their old lives, so as to keep the secret of their existence. Instead, while the mother hunted or crafted to provide for her family, it would become the father's role in the tribe to raise his daughters up to hunting age, as many times as their lives will permit. The appearance of a lamia's upper body is largely inherited from the father; a human father would raise hardier daughters, while an elven father would have daughters with slender builds.

For the Good of the Tribe

In days of old, a lamia that didn't act in service to her home tribe wasn't a true lamia; between predatory beasts and seemingly vengeful humanoids, the lamia had enough enemies without suspecting their own. Lamia that went against the ways of the tribe were excommunicated, eventually becoming the sort of feral beasts that civilised races came to encounter in the wild. In this way, the more greedy and self-serving impulses of chaotic nature were effectively bred out of modern lamia tribes. One of the biggest taboos for lamia is sleeping around. Sex to the Lamia community is the equivalent to marriage and to sleep with someone is to accept them as your life partner.

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Lamia that remained with the tribe would quickly find for themselves a role to play, whether it was hunting for meat, gathering plants, digging for ore or gemstones, or crafting equipment for others.

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Today, with lamias emerging into the Great Light, they find their skills in demand, from their talent as smiths and armorers to renown amongst the world’s master jewellers. Nonetheless, generations of tribal loyalty see lamia return to their old homes regularly, bringing goods from the world beyond to pitch in.

Playing a Lamia

Lamia can be a positive counterpoint to the emotionless yuan-ti, as a sensitive, upbeat, wholesome influence on a party. That said, a lack of familiarity with the outside world can lead the lamia to unfortunate cases of naïveté or commiting certain cultural faux pas.

Lamia Traits

Snek

Ability Score Modifier

Your Charisma score increases by 2, and your Dexterity or Wisdom score increases by 1.

Age

Lamia reach maturity around the same time as humans, but may live to upwards of 200 years.

Alignment

While lamia are as varied in nature as most other races, centuries of relying on the unity of a tribe for survival, and positive treatment of captives have instilled in the lamia a bias for good, and a tendency to shun the selfish impulses of nerdowells.

Size

Lammia from head to tail range anwhere from15-25 feet long. Their humanoid uper torso is about 3-4ft tall. Your size is Large.

Half Man

Unlike most large sized creatures, your arms and upper body are medium sized, meaning you don't use large sized weapons and you lack proficiency in them. All other rules of large size still apply to you.

Serpent's Tail

Your tail is a natural weapon, which you can use to make unarmed strikes. If you hit with it, you deal bludgeoning damage equal to 1d6 + your Strength or Dexterity modifier. Alternatively, your tail may be used to make an attack action to grapple a creature, following normal rules regarding grappling. If successful, the creature is left constricted by your coiled tail until they succeed on a contested grapple check to escape. A creature that ends its turn this way takes 1d6 + your Strength modifier bludgeoning damage, if you wish to harm it. You may not make unarmed attacks with your tail against any other creature while it is being used to grapple, and you may only grapple one time.

Serpentine Darkvision

You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. While in darkness, you perceive your surroundings in a thermal spectrum, with living creatures and warm surfaces unhidden by magic or thermal camouflage appearing as heat signatures due to your pit organs, but you cannot otherwise discern color in darkness

Serpent's Senses

Your forked tongue and pit organs are fine-tuned to living creatures, granting you the superior hunting abilities of a serpent. You have advantage on Wisdom (Survival) and Wisdom (Perception) checks to track or locate living creatures that have a heat signature. You also have a form of blindsight based off heat. Within 30ft you can see any creature with a heat signature. These abilities are ineffective if the target has masked their heat signature. Additionally, you have proficiency in the Survival skill.

Speed

Because of your muscular tail, you have a movement speed and swim speed of 35ft and are unable to use mounts except those specifically designed for you.

Potent Venom

As a bonus action you may bite your target dealing 1d4 [piercing] damage on a hit. The target must pass a constitution save, on a fail they take an additional 1d4 [poison] damage. You are immune to poison.

Languages

Lamia grow up knowing Draconic and Common.

Cold-Blooded

Lamia are a reptilian and cold-blooded. They are vulnerable to cold damage and cold environments