Homebrew Yuan-ti Lamia Species Details

The serpent creatures known as yuan-ti are all that remains of an ancient, decadent human empire. The lamia, the name given to the descendent people of refugee yuan-ti malisons, live in remote villages or faraway lands isolated from the culture they once belonged to.

Humans Transformed

The people who became yuan-ti were one of the original human civilizations. Their society built great temples of stone and forged metal into armor, tools, and weapons. In their ceremonies they paid homage to the snake as the embodiment of the qualities they most appreciated. They developed a philosophy of separating emotion from intellectual pursuits, allowing them to focus their energy on personal advancement and expanding their territory. They believed themselves to be the most enlightened mortals in the world, and in their hubris they sought to become ever greater.

Lamia's are descended from yuan-ti malisons who fled the city-states during the civilization's downfall, and have turned to more peaceful lives as to not repeat their ancestors mistakes.

One Race, Many Forms

The bodies of all yuan-ti have a mix of humanlike and snakelike parts, but the proportion varies from individual to individual. After the initial metamorphosis of the humans, their society quickly coalesced into a caste system based on how complete a person’s transformation was. The vast majority of yuan-ti fall into three categories — abominations, malisons, and purebloods — while the mutated broodguards and exceedingly rare anathemas have their place in the hierarchy as well.

All yuan-ti can interbreed. Females usually lay clutches of eggs, which are stored in a common hatchery, although live births aren’t uncommon. A mating between yuan-ti of different types almost always produces eggs that hatch into yuan-ti of the weaker parent, so most choose partners of the same type in the interest of maintaining the strength of their personal bloodline.

The yuan-ti have abandoned their humanity and consider non-serpentine humanoids to be lesser creatures, barely more civilized than common apes. Although some purebloods are able to reproduce with humans, most are disgusted by the idea and would do so only if seduction is necessary for a pureblood to preserve a role as a confidant or advisor in human society. The very rare offspring of such a union are always purebloods, although they may appear fully human at birth and for several years afterward.

Refugee People

The human civilization that gave rise to the yuan-ti was among the richest in the mortal world. It rapidly progressed in metalworking, using keen intellect and magic to discover the secrets of making steel. Its military shattered rival tribes and developed advanced tactics for fighting in forests and open plains.

The civilization grew into a cluster of allied city-states. Conquered neighbors were allowed to keep their leaders and culture so long as they paid tribute, swore allegiance to the victors, and incorporated their conquerors’ serpent gods into their religions. These victories sent a constant influx of food, ore, and slaves back to the home cities.

The wealth of the empire allowed the ruling elite plenty of time to focus on intellectual pursuits. These nobles turned to philosophy and prayer, offering gifts of magic and animal sacrifices to their serpent gods, paying homage to the perfection of the ophidian form. The serpent gods taught the humans how to take on aspects of the snake, but the cost of the change was high, requiring many sacrifices for each person to be transformed. Entire households of slaves in one city-state were killed and eaten to create the first yuan-ti, and once the news of how to perform these rituals spread to other leaders, the call for slaves to fuel the process increased. As the serpent gods began to demand more and more sacrifices, the yuan-ti stepped up their raids on bordering settlements to meet this need.

The physical and magical prowess of the yuan-ti empire allowed the former humans to retain their holdings for several hundred years, until a combination of drought, attacks by enemies (including dragons and nagas), civil war, torpor among the serpent gods, and the development of iron weapons by the some of their conquered enemies finally loosened the yuan-ti’s hold over nearby lands. While the serpent people withdrew to their fortified cities and underground temples, rather from being abandoned, by their own will to expand awway from their lineage, several yuan-ti malisons spread out to different deserts, shores, forests, and mountains. Because of this they've developed into a race of people only loosely connected to their yuan-ti roots. To the point lamia have become able to interbreed with humans, the resulting offspring resembling the human parent's lineage while retaining the lamia's tail.

Caring Learning

During their ascension ages ago, the yuan-ti freed themselves from the yoke of their human emotions. As lamia's have reintegrated themselves into human societies or formed their own remote civilizations, they have become sensitive to the art, beauty, and feelings of the world once more.

Lamia's may be emotionally resonant like their human ancestors once were, but some may still be learning how exactly to use their emotions again.

Roleplaying a Lamia

When you’re roleplaying a lamia, the following tables contain possible inspiration. They suggest characteristics that a lamia might possess.

Lamia Personality Traits

d8	Personality Trait
1	I see omens in every event and action. The serpent gods continue to advise us.
2	I think about my feelings every day, having done great readings on what they're supposed to be and try to recreate them.
3	I prefer to be alone rather than among other creatures, including my own kind.
4	I sometimes become consumed by philosophy.
5	I believe I am superior to others of my caste.
6	I am driven by wanderlust and want to explore lands far from our cities.
7	I am interested in modern human culture, and cementing good relations with them.
8	I await the day when we again conquer lands by force, as we did in the old times.

Lamia Ideals

d6	Ideal
1	Peace. I travel to other places and right the wrongs of my yuan-ti lineage wherever I can. (Good)
2	Resonation. I strive to reconnect with my latent human emotions. (Neutral)
3	Unity. No leader shall follow the path that led to the downfall of our people. (Any)
4	Kinship. My allegiance is to my village and my people. Other settlements can burn for all I care. (Any)
5	Aspiration. I strive to recreate my ancestors rituals, and ascend to a higher form of yuan-ti. (Evil)
6	Greed. I wish to return to how we once were, and conquer other civilizations for my own power. (Evil)

Lamia Bonds

d6	Bond
1	I will see our empire rise again and, in so doing, win the favor of the serpent gods.
2	I am enamored with the culture and history of another society and wish to be part of it.
3	Sometimes I wonder if things would be better if we went back to the old ways, and do things to test that theory.
4	I grew up in a place bare of either of my parents, and strive to search for them among the different tribes of lamia.
5	I respect and emulate a great hero or ancestor from another culture.
6	An enemy destroyed something of value to me, and I will find where it lives and try to come to a peaceful solution.

Lamia Flaws

d6	Flaw
1	I feel a lack of emotions that my lamia peers have already mastered, and it leaves me isolated.
2	I put too much credence in the dictates of a particular god.
3	I frequently overindulge in food and wine, and I am impaired and lethargic for days afterward.
4	I worship a forbidden god.
5	I secretly believe things would be better if I was in charge.
6	If I could get away with it, I would gladly flee to a hold of yuan-ti to return to the old ways.

Lamia Names

Yuan-ti names have meanings that have been passed down through the generations, although spellings and inflections have changed over time.

Some yuan-ti add more sibilants to their birth names to create an exaggerated hissing sound, based on one’s personal preference and whether an individual’s anatomy can more easily pronounce the name in this altered form. An adopted name of this sort is recognized as a variant of the birth name, rather than a unique name unto itself. A yuan-ti might refer to itself by its birth name, by its adopted name, or (especially among lamias) by a name it borrows from the local populace.

The Lamia Names table provides yuan-ti birth names suitable for any campaign.

Lamia Names

d20	Name	d20	Name
1	Asutali	11	Shalkashlah
2	Eztli	12	Sisava
3	Hessatal	13	Sitlali
4	Hitotee	14	Soakosh
5	Issahu	15	Ssimalli
6	Itstli	16	Suisatal
7	Manuya	17	Talash
8	Meztli	18	Teoshi
9	Nesalli	19	Yaotal
10	Otleh	20	Zihu

Yuan-ti Lamia Traits

Your lamia character has the following racial traits.

Ability Score Increase

Your Constitution score increases by 2.

Age

Lamia's mature at the same rate as humans and can live for a few centuries, though rarely reach their third. 

Size

Lamia's outclass humans in size and weight. Lamia are most often larger than humans. They also have a tail that's around 15ft in length when strung out straight. Your size is Medium.

As a basis for what the common height and weight of a lamia is, use the following Random Height and Weight table, by rolling 2d10.

Random Height and Weight

Base Height	Height Modifier	Base Weight	Weight Modifier
5′ 10″	Add the amount rolled to your height.	400 lb.	Multiply the amount rolled by 5 and add it to your weight.

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Common, Draconic, and another language of your choice.

Constricting Tail

You can grasp things with your tail. It has a reach of 5 feet, and it can lift a number of pounds equal to five times your Strength score. You can use it to do the following simple tasks: lift, drop, hold, push, or pull an object or a creature; open or close a door or a container; grapple someone; or make an unarmed strike. If you hit with your tail, you deal bludgeoning damage equal to 1d4 + your Strength modifier.Your DM might allow other simple tasks to be added to that list of options.

Your trunk can’t wield weapons or shields or do anything that requires manual precision, such as using tools or magic items or performing the somatic components of a spell.