Homebrew Yuan-ti Abomination Species Details

Description

With their almost completely serpentine form and vaguely humanoid arms able to use weapons and tools, abominations were the form of yuan-ti that most closely resembled the originally intended appearance of the yuan-ti race as envisioned by the serpent gods.

Society

Since they were the most prestigious caste within yuan-ti society, abominations were almost always the leaders of their cities, except if a yuan-ti anathema was present. Abominations considered humans repugnant and barely tolerated purebloods. Like all yuan-ti, abominations found the body odor of humans repulsive.

Religion

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.

Ecology

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.

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. 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.

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, also creating nagas 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.

Yuan-ti Abomination Traits

Your yuan-ti abomination gains these traits

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Common, Abyssal, and Draconic.

Size

Abominations are taller than their fellow Yuan-ti standing between 7-9 feet tall, you are a being of pure muscle and weigh between 350-600 pounds. Your size is large.

Age

Abominations mature at the same rate as humans and generally live less than a century.

Speed

Your walking speed is 40 feet.

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. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.

Ability Score Increase

When determining your character’s ability scores you can increase three different scores by 2. Follow this rule regardless of the method you use to determine the scores, such as rolling or point buy. The “Quick Build” section for your character’s class offers suggestions on which scores to increase. You can follow those suggestions or ignore them, but you can’t raise any of your scores above 20.

Poison Immunity

You are immune to poison damage and the poisoned condition

Magic Resistance

You have advantage on against spells and other magical effects.

Ophidian Perfection

 You are proficient in Stealth and Perception.

Innate Spellcasting

You can cast animal friendship an unlimited number of times with this trait, but you can target only snakes with it. Starting at 3rd level, you can also cast suggestion Twice with this trait as a 2nd-level spell, at 5th level you can cast fear once with this trait as a 3rd level spell. You regain the ability to cast suggestion and fear this way when you finish a long rest. You can also cast this spell using spell slots you have of the appropriate level. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for these spells.

Change Shape

You can use your action to polymorph into a ( "constrictor snake" ) or back into your true form and can use your bonus action to drop it. your statistics are the same in each form. Any equipment you're wearing or carrying isn’t transformed. If you drop to 0 hit points you stay in that form.

Bite

As an action, you can bite a creature within 5ft of you and inject them with a lethal toxin dealing 1d6 + STR piercing damage, the creature must then immediately make a Constitution saving throw equal to your 8 + constitution Mod + Proficiency Mod if the creature fails it takes 3d6 poison damage and half as much on a success. You are also proficient with your bite.

Constrict

You can use your powerful serpentine lower half to constrict the life out of your enemies. When you have a medium or smaller creature grappled, you can use your action to deal 2d6 + STR modifier bludgeoning damage to them on each of your turns, On the same turn, you can attack as a bonus action if using a melee weapon. You gain the grappler feat.