Homebrew Yuan-ti Malison Species Details

Description

Yuan-ti halfbloods also known as Yuan-ti Malisons were greatly varied. They came in several body types and possessed many variations in scale patterns and colors, much like natural snakes. They tended to have body masses and sizes in the same range as humans.

Four in ten malisons appeared as agile, sharp-featured human with a serpent's head and scales. Some varieties had hoods like cobras, such as those halfbloods who were members of House Hss'tafi. The remaining 60% of halfbloods fell into three remaining variations. Some had the lower body of a snake instead of legs, others had a snake-like tail, and still others had snake-like arms in place of normal arms.

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. 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.

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. Yuan-ti found the body odor of humans repulsive, so much so that in areas controlled by yuan-ti, humans wore perfume to conceal their body odor. 

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 Malison Traits

Your Yuan-ti Malison has theses traits.

Languages

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

Size

Your size is Medium or Small.

Creature Type

You are a Monstrosity.

Age

Like all yuan-ti, malisons hatched from eggs and grew to adulthood by twelve years. They could live as long as 120 years, but the average lifespan was 80 years.

Speed

Your walking speed is 30 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 darkvision, only shades of gray.

Ability Score Increase

When determining your character’s ability scores, increase one score by 2 and increase a different score by 1, or increase three different scores by 1. 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 saving throws against spells and other magical effects.

Ophidian Perfection

You are proficient in stealth and deception.

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 once with this trait as a 2nd-level spell. You regain the ability to cast it this way when you finish a long rest. You can also cast this spell using spell slots you have of the appropriate level. At 6th level, you can use this ability twice before needing to tea a long rest, and at 9th level, three times per long rest. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for these spells.

Change Shape

You can use your bonus action to transform into a Medium 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.

Mutagenic Form

Mostly Humanoid in shape but Yuan-ti Malisons have a wide variety of noticeable serpentine features, such as a snake-like 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. Choose a type below, once you choose a type you are unable to change it.

-Type 1: As an action, you can bite a creature within 5ft of you and inject them with a lethal toxin dealing 1d4 + STR piercing damage. When you make a bite attack you can choose to inject your target with venom, the creature must then immediately make a Constitution saving throw equal to 8 + your Constitution modifier + your proficiency bonus modifier if the creature fails it takes 2d6 poison damage and half as much on a success.

You can also apply this poison to any piercing weapon as part of an attack with that weapon, though when you hit the poison reacts differently. The target must succeed on a Constitution saving throw equal to 8 + your Constitution modifier + your proficiency bonus modifier or become poisoned for 1 minute.

The number of times you can inject a target with venom or coat a weapon in it is equal to 1 + your Constitution modifier, you gain these charges back after you've taken a long rest. You are also proficient with your bite.

-Type 2: As an action, you can use this instead of your unarmed strike instead to bite a creature within 5ft of you and inject them with a lethal toxin dealing 1d4 + STR piercing damage. When you make a bite attack, the creature must then immediately make a Constitution saving throw equal to your 8 + your Constitution modifier + your proficiency bonus modifier if the creature fails it takes 2d6 poison damage and half as much on a success. It is extremely difficult for you to hold weapons and everyday objects, meaning that you have disadvantage on all melee weapon attacks while wielding a weapon due to your mutation. You are also proficient with your bite.

The number of times you can inject a target with venom is equal to 2x your Constitution modifier, you gain these charges back after you've taken a long rest.

-Type 3: Whenever you melee attack against a target you can use your bonus action to then try and grapple that target, The target of your grapple must be no more than one size larger than you.  you try to seize the target by making a grapple check instead of an attack roll: a Strength (athletics) check contested by the target's Strength (athletics) or Dexterity (acrobatics) check (the target chooses the ability to use). You succeed automatically if the target is incapacitated. If you succeed, you subject the target to the (grappled) condition and it takes 2d6 bludgeoning damage on each of your turns until the target free itself. The condition specifies the requirements to end the effect, you can release the target whenever you like (no action required).