Page 81 - Serpent Kingdoms

MONSTERS

Sarrukh An individual sarrukh’s body may be either bipedal or snake-
like. A snakelike sarrukh has a serpentine body and head, plus
(Progenitor Race) two powerful arms that end in vicious claws. A bipedal sarrukh
has a humanoid upper torso, head, arms, and legs with a snake-
Medium Monstrous Humanoid like lower torso. The gleaming red eyes of a sarrukh strike fear
Hit Dice: 14d8+70 (133 hp) into the hearts of all other Scaled Ones. Both variants share the
Initiative: +6 same statistics.
Speed: 30 ft. (6 squares) Sarrukh speak their own language, called Sarrukhar, which
Armor Class: 30 (+2 Dex, +18 natural), touch 12, fl at-footed bears some similarities to Draconic. Any creature that speaks
28 Draconic can make a DC 15 Intel-
Base Attack/Grapple: +14/+20 ligence check to communicate with a
Attack: +3 trident +23 melee (1d8+12) sarrukh. Failure indicates only partial
Full Attack: +3 trident +23/+18/+13 melee (1d8+12) understanding.
and bite +15 melee (1d6+3 plus poison) or 2 claws
+20 melee (1d8+6) and bite +15 melee (1d6+3 plus Combat
poison)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft. Because of their slowly shrinking numbers, the sar-
Special Attacks: Fear aura, poison, manipu- rukh believe that the survival of each individual
late form, spell-like abilities is absolutely essential. This outlook causes them
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft., to avoid combat at all costs and surround them-
immunity to fi re, spell resis- selves with other scaled creatures that can fi ght
tance 20
Saves: Fort +9, Ref +11, Will creature that kills one makes enemies of them all.
+13 When fi ghting is unavoidable, a sarrukh’s
Abilities: Str 23, Dex 15, Con 20, Int 30, primary focus is always escape rather than
victory. It typically begins combat with
Wis 18, Cha 18 for them. Since not a single sarrukh is expendable, any Illustration by Ralph Horsley
Skills: Appraise +27, Bluff +23, Concentra- a spell-like ability that deals damage
tion +22, Decipher Script +27, Diplomacy to a number of combatants simul-
+23, Disguise +4 (+6 acting), Heal +21, taneously—fi reball if the area is
Intimidate +25, Knowledge (arcana) relatively open, or lightning bolt
+27, Knowledge (history) +27, Knowl- if its opponents are approaching
edge (religion) +27, Listen +6, Move from a hallway or some other con-
Silently +19, Spot +21 fi ning area. It follows with a wall of
Feats: Alertness, Combat Expertise, force to prevent opponents from reach-
Improved Initiative, Persuasive, ing it, then attempts to teleport away as soon
Power Attack as possible thereafter. If teleport isn’t an option,
Sarrukh
Environment: Warm deserts a sarrukh may use polymorph to change into a small animal
Organization: Single, pair, or group (3–8) and scurry away from the battle. Sarrukh enter melee combat
Challenge Rating: 21 only if death appears to be unavoidable.
Treasure: Triple standard Fear Aura (Su): As a free action, a sarrukh can create an aura
Alignment: Always neutral evil of fear in a 10-foot radius. This effect is otherwise identical to
Advancement: By character class the fear spell (caster level 14th; save DC 21). A creature that
Level Adjustment: +8 succeeds on the save cannot be affected again by that sarrukh’s
fear aura for 24 hours. Other sarrukh are immune to this aura.
A snake with the upper torso of a human weaves in place, The DC is Charisma-based.
its red eyes gleaming with menace. It clutches a trident in its Poison (Ex): Bite, injury, Fortitude DC 22, initial and second-
clawed hands. ary damage 1d6 Con.
Manipulate Form (Su): At will, a sarrukh can modify the
The sarrukh constitute one of the fi ve original progenitor races form of any Scaled One native to Toril, except for aquatic and
of Faerûn. In their three great empires, the sarrukh created a undead creatures. With a successful touch attack, it can cause
plethora of scaly races, including the nagas, the yuan-ti, and one alteration of its choice in the target creature’s body. The
the lizardfolk. target falls unconscious for 2d4 rounds due to the shock of
changing form. A successful DC 22 Fortitude save negates both

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