Homebrew Desert Naga Species Details

Nagas are a scaled race, with the lower portion of their bodies elongated into a long tail. Most Nagas are antisocial, and somewhat shy, typically living on their own, becoming hermits, or working in places of worship. Nagas are typically 6' to 9.5' tall at their tallest, and typically weigh from 350-700 Pounds, as most of their mass is in their tail, as muscle. Nagas typically reach adulthood at 45 and live to be approximately 225 years old, but if they have assistance through their life they can reach as old as 400. Nagas shed their skin every 2-3 in-game weeks, and when they approach this point in their life cycle most of their skin begins to turn grey as it prepares to fall off. Large pieces of dead skin can be shed at once, leaving almost copies of the nagas body behind it as dead skin, especially if it is preserved. Nagas do not stop growing throughout their life, getting slightly bigger each molt, which is typically non noticeable, but over many many years your tail may grow slightly longer, or you may grow slightly taller. Most nagas have hoods on the back of their necks, though most cannot flare out, it often adds a noticeable width to the back of their heads and their upper neck. The typical Naga tail can reach lengths of 15-25 feet But some can reach as long as 50. Most nagas are quiet, and typically keep to themselves, but due to their nature as part snake, they have some intrinsic benefits, and curses that come with their biology. Nagas lay eggs. Most nagas are lightly colored in tans or browns, and transition to a lighter color on their underside, neck, face etc, though we implore you to take customization in your nagas appearance. To many nagas piercings are common, especially on the cartilage of their hoods, and jewelry is often more popular for this race. Due to your nature as a Desert Naga you most likely grew up in a Hot, sandy environment. The time spent slithering across the sand has lessened its effect on your exposed, cold blooded body, and you are more resilient to it and its effects. While non-desert nagas are typically lighter greys, or even faintly blue in some cases, though never sharp colors, your colors are more vibrant and joyful, however still tan though body markings are welcome.

 

 

Your ability score improvement is 2 Constitution, 1 Intelligence, or 2 In any skill that is not intelligence, and 1 in Intelligence.

Additionally, you have dark vision to a range of 120 feet, Blind sense to a range of 15 feet, and can see through 30 feet of magical darkness.

Natural Armor Due to Nagas' Scales, Your base armor class when not wearing any armor; instead of being calculated as 10 is calculated starting at 11, as you naturally have a small amount of protection on your upper body and tail length.

Desert Ancestry Due to the nature of the Desert Naga, you can choose to have resistance to Poison damage, and Advantage on saving throws against Hot Climates, Or resistance to fire damage, and advantage on saving throws against poison.

Long Tail Due to the nature of having a tail, it can provide many beneficial effects to a traveler. Your tail has mild amount of motor function, and you are able to manipulate it to do basic tasks, such as carry a bag, shove things off of a table, nudge a party member about to make a bad decision, etc. [DM's, we do not recommend implementing this rule as it is incredibly strong, but if you wish, you can count the tail of a naga as a "Third Arm" which can be used in combat to manipulate things like shields, weapons, component pouches, wands etc. We do not recommend you use this, but if you wish you can, or if your character is playing a naga with a missing arm this can be considered.]

Long Tail Due to the nature of having a long tail, you can use your tail's strength to carry yourself across gaps you would typically have to jump across. You can calculate the distance you can cross by dividing your total tail length by 10- your strength bonus. You can cross gaps of that length without having to spend additional movement, or risk falling within. Additionally, when you make checks to prevent yourself from falling, or losing grip on something, you can use your tail to wrap arount it to gain advantage.

Long Tail Due to the nature of your tail, You have advantage on all grapple checks you make with your tail. Additionally, the creature has disadvantage on checks to escape grapples made with your tail. Additionally, you can spend an action to crush whatever is in your tail, causing it to take 1d8 Bludgeoning damage + your strength modifier, which increases to 2d8 at 7th level, 3d8 at 11th level, and 4d8 at 15th level.

Long Tail As a bonus action on your turn if you have either, Made a weapon attack, or Cast a spell, you may make a tail attack against a creature within 10 feet of you you can see or reach with your tail, dealing 1d6 damage + your strength modifier.

Long Tail Because you have a tail, it is of relative importance to note where it is. Your tail cannot be attacked, but if a significant portion of your tail is in the area of effect for a spell, [ DM's Discretion] You may have to make a saving through even if you are not within the radius of the spell.

Non-Bipedal Due to Nagas' nature of having to slither on the ground, all difficult terrain must be traversed at 1/4 the normal movement speed. Alternatively, you can traverse the terrain at normal, 1/2 Speed, but you take 1d4, or 1d6 damage, (DM's Discretion based on the terrain) damage per 5 feet moved this way. If you can walk through difficult terrain without loss of movement, this affect is ignored.

Unique Body Shape Because of the unique shape of your body, most armor does not fully benefit you unless it it specifically crafted with your tail in mind. If you do not pay extra, [DM's Discretion] Your armor may not protect your tail, and as a result having less effect on your armor class.

[DM's Discretion: Nagas nature of sliding across the ground causes difficult terrain to be painful to them, as they are not bipedal and cannot walk around obstacles. Broken glass, Caltrops, and other materials that may cause damage when traversing across should be more difficult to this race. Alternatively, Non-Damage inducing methods have less effect, such as sand, ball bearings, oil, ice, slick ground, etc as there is more surface area and as a result more traction. We implore you to remember to remind your players to properly treat their wounds, lest infection sets in, but we understand not everyone wants to play this way, and it can be complicated to manage. We highly recommend if your player does not take care of their tail to cause disease or infection. It is a part of their character they should not forget about, and it's inclusion is not just a boon, it is also meant to be a burden.]

Desert Naga Traits

Too much snake, not enough time. Read the Description.