Page 9 - Serpent Kingdoms

for the yuan-ti: the pureblood, the halfblood, and the abomina-
tion. Details of these three kinds of yuan-ti, which make up the
bulk of the race, can be found in the yuan-ti entry on page 262
of in the Monster Manual.
A few other yuan-ti forms also exist, though their numbers
are few.

he snakeheads, as the yuan-ti are generally known, Purebloods
are widely feared among humans. In places where
Tthese creatures have been discovered, the residents Yuan-ti that can pass for humans with suitable clothing,
are justly fearful, and every ruin, sewer, and shadow is seen as a cosmetics, and magic are known as purebloods. These crea-
potential hiding place for fell serpentfolk who wait to feed on tures are usually charged with infi ltrating humanoid societies
the unwary. The truth, however, is a little different. and managing covert operations that require direct contact
with humanoids.
Overview
Halfbloods
The yuan-ti are the most powerful, successful, and favored cre-
ations of the sarrukh. Bred to be loyal and capable servants of A yuan-ti that possesses such obvious serpentine features as a
their creators, they were trusted to act on their own initiative in fully scaled body, snakes instead of arms, a snake head, a snake
furthering their scaly masters’ agendas. Among the tasks that tail, or serpent tails in place of legs is called a halfblood. Half-
fell to the yuan-ti were the exploration and exploitation of new bloods form the bulk of a yuan-ti community’s defense.
territory and the supervision and discipline of lesser servants. To
better manage these widely varying responsibilities, the sarrukh Abominations
bred several strains of yuan-ti, each with a physical form suited
for a particular sort of task. To aid in the creation of servitor An abomination either resembles a human-sized snake in every
races, the sarrukh also developed and mastered a technique that way or has only a single humanlike feature—typically a head
would permanently alter the shape of any Scaled One. or arms. Indeed, the classic yuan-ti featured in the fi reside tales
All yuan-ti are highly intelligent, self-centered, and calculat- told among humans is a scaled snake with humanlike arms.
ing. To humans, the typical yuan-ti seems ruthless, arrogant, This fearsome creature can invariably speak human languages
coldly calm, patient, and prepared. Some, however—particu- and glide along upright so as to reach the height of a human.
larly those who operate alone or with nonscaled servitors—can Many such stories erroneously claim that these fearsome crea-
become crazed and downright reckless. tures can shapechange at will into purebloods—often beautiful
humanlike females whose snake blood is revealed only when
Description they seduce human men or when their bodies are accidentally
revealed. The truth behind such tales, of course, is that spells
Sarrukh-controlled breeding and the centuries of free-willed can enable any yuan-ti to transform temporarily into human
mating that followed have established three basic natural forms form.

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