General Rules: Monsters - Serpent Person, Civilized

Serpent Person, Civilized (adapted from the Freeport Trilogy)
Medium Monstrous Humanoid (Shapechanger)

Hit Dice: 1d8-1 (3 hit points)
Initiative: +4
Speed: 30 feet, swim 15 feet
Armor Class: 16 (+1 natural, +5 chainmail); touch 10, flat-footed 16
BAB/Grapple: +1/+1

Attack: Falchion +1 melee (2d4, slashing, 18-20 x2) or shortbow +1 ranged (1d6, piercing, 20 x3, 60 feet x10)

Full Attack: Falchion +1 melee (2d4, slashing, 18-20 x2) or shortbow +1 ranged (1d6, piercing, 20 x3, 60 feet x10)

Space/Reach: 5 feet by 5 feet/5 feet
Special Attacks: -
Special Qualities: Change shape, darkvision 60 feet, snake blooded
Saves: Fortitude +1, Reflex +0, Will +0
Abilities: Str 10, Int 13, Wis 10, Dex 11, Con 8, Cha 13
Skills: Disguise +1, Escape Artist +2, Hide +1, Knowledge: Arcana +5, Swim +2
Feats: Improved Initiative, Skill Augmentation (Listen and Spot)
Environment: Any land an underground

Organization: Solitary

Challenge Rating: ½
Treasure: Standard
Alignment: Usually neutral evil
Advancement: By character class
Level Adjustment: +1

The serpent people once ruled a vast empire. Their advanced knowledge of sorcery and the planes could not help them when the Unspeakable One was summoned to the heart of their domains. A very few serpent people are descended from those who survived with their sanity intact. This civilized breed, mostly sorcerers, has thrived over the centuries by remaining out of sight. They either live in seclusion or adept the forms of humans or alvari, living among their successors.

Serpent people are bipedal, but they retain the sinuous necks and long tails of snakes. Coloration varies widely.

Combat
Civilized serpent people spend their entire lives in hiding and fight only when they are sure they can win. Most are sorcerers or clerics. Although civilized serpent people have fangs, they never use them in combat, considering this barbaric. Once a fight turns against them, they try to flee and use their change shape ability to escape detection.

Change Shape (Su): A civilized serpent person may assume the form of any Small or Medium humanoid. In humanoid form, the serpent person loses its swim speed. A serpent person can remain in its humanoid form until it chooses to assume a new shape, but may only assume a new shape up to three times per day,. A change in form cannot be dispelled, but a serpent person reverts to its natural form when killed. A true seeing spell or ability reveals its normal form.

Snake-Blooded: For all effects related to race, a civilized serpent person is considered a yuan-ti. Civilized serpent people, for example, are just as vulnerable to special effects that affect only yuan-ti as their yuan-ti masters are, and they can use magic items that are only usable by yuan-ti.

Skills: Serpent people have a +4 racial bonus on Escape Artist and Hide checks. When using its change shape ability, a civilized serpent person gains a +10 circumstance bonus on Disguise checks. A serpent person has a +8 racial bonus on any Swim check to perform some special action or avoid a hazard. It can always choose to take 10 on a Swim check, even if distracted or endangered. It can use the run action while swimming provided it swims in a straight line.

Civilized Serpent People as Characters
Civilized serpent people have their choice of classes but most favor the sorcerer or favored soul classes. The information in the statistics block reflects a 1^st level warrior, although most civilized serpent people are likely to be of higher level.

Civilized serpent people characters possess the following racial traits:

• Type: Civilized serpent people are monstrous humanoids with the shapechanger subtype.


• Ability Scores: +2 Intelligence, +2 Charisma, -2 Constitution.


• Size: Medium.


• Speed: Civilized serpent people have a base land speed of 30 feet and a swim speed of 15 feet.


• Darkvision: A civilized serpent person can see in the dark out to 60 feet.


• Scales: A civilized serpent person's scales gives them a +1 natural armor bonus.


• Change Shape: A civilized serpent person may assume the form of any Small or Medium humanoid. In humanoid form, the serpent person loses its swim speed. A serpent person can remain in its humanoid form until it chooses to assume a new shape, but may only assume a new shape up to three times per day,. A change in form cannot be dispelled, but a serpent person reverts to its natural form when killed. A true seeing spell or ability reveals its normal form.


• Racial Feat: A civilized serpent person gains Improved Initiative as a bonus feat.


• Snake-Blooded: For all effects related to race, a civilized serpent person is considered a yuan-ti. Civilized serpent people, for example, are just as vulnerable to special effects that affect only yuan-ti as their yuan-ti masters are, and they can use magic items that are only usable by yuan-ti.


• Serpent people have a +4 racial bonus on Escape Artist and Hide checks. When using their shape change ability, civilized serpent people gain a +10 racial bonus on Disguise checks.


• Automatic Languages: Sulic and either Sorglish or Rhadynnic.


• Bonus Languages: Any


• Favored Class: Sorcerer.


• Additional Favored Class: Adept.


• Exclusive Class: Beguiler.


• Level Adjustment: +1

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