Adderfolk

Adderfolk

5 HP, 9 STR, 16 DEX, 6 WIL, bite (d8), longbow (d8)
  • Long, serpentine humanoids with unnaturally long limbs that live among the trees 
  • Hunt in teams of three to five members, preferring to attack at range from high places 
  • Their long limbs and claws make them excellent climbers; they use their long tails for stability and cannot be easily knocked from a perch.

Deep in the forest they hunt. High in the trees they move, swiftly and silently; they are relentless and effective hunters. 

By most accounts they are merciless and hostile to outsiders, but a few speak of a different impression--of spotting them unawares with a far away look in the eye, as though straining after a song on the breeze that no one else can here. The truth is tragedy: of a people--noble, cunning, and strong--poisoned by a dark curse, carried on dragon's fire; of the collapse of a great civilization; and of a Great Forgetting. The Adderfolk themselves do not speak of it--they do not know the tale themselves. Still, in the privacy of their enclaves is a deep sadness that all can feel, but few can explain.

Adderfolk Shaman

5 HP, 9 STR, 14 DEX, 13 WIL, tail slam (d8)
  • Long serpentine humanoids, masked and draped in ragged robes.
  • Cunning and aloof leaders. They communicate to the minds of their hunters and direct their actions while providing support from the rear.
  • Can cast the following spells at will: Cure Wounds, Fog Cloud, Thicket 
  •  With the assistance of at least 2 other Shamans, can transform into an Adderfolk Abomination, but only as a last resort.

At the height of Adderfolk society are their Shamans. These serpents are oldest and wisest, gifted in wielding the magic deep in the blood of all their kind. To become a Shaman, they must first accomplish what all Adderfolk seek: the Remembering--the enlightenment to their people's woe. It is not true  and full remembrance, only a pale imitation; still, when they are in the safety of their enclaves, they spend their days in focus and meditation, seeking a resolution to their people's gloom.

Adderfolk Abomination

10 HP, 1 Armor 16 STR, 12 DEX, 6 WIL, claws (d8+d8), bile breath (d12), detachment
  • Huge, mutated Adderfolk that reek of death and rot.
  • The transformation is final but fleeting: as soon as the mutation is begun, the Abomination's flesh begins to decay, until the whole creature collapses into sulphuric bones and melting flesh within the space of an hour.
  • Blue Flame: Deals 4 STR against a single grounded target. Flammable equipment that is exposed is destroyed.

Among the discoveries of the Shamans' meditations--least wanted, but grimly accepted--is the Transformation. With the combined power of multiple Shamans, one's curse can be advanced to terrible heights, morphing a Shaman into a great beast capable of even greater destruction. They do this with the bitterest resignation to their fate.

Commentary

Like many other vanilla D&D concepts, I'm a bit bored with Yuan-Ti. (I might be a bit of a snob. Maybe it's just the standard D&D aesthetic I'm bored with though; Yuan-Ti lore is kind of neat I guess.) Anyways, these were originally my attempt at re-skinning those, and then kind of developed their own personality beyond that. It was a campaign specific innovation at the time, so their background lore had to do with an elven kingdom cursed by an ancient dragon, and that's why all these forest ruins were crawling with snake people and mysteries.

Anyway, I like groupings of monster variants where each fills a different role, so there's a bit of that here.

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