Yuan-ti: Difference between revisions

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Restructure per DM format — manifest table + separate harvest record; interim Legendary prize converted to signature ×2 per margin rule
Rebuilt as a general Bestiary dossier — Monster Lore sidebar, Harpers' Read, kinds table (purebloods/malisons/abominations/anathema); anathema split to its own page
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== Yuan-ti ==
{{Monster Lore
The '''yuan-ti''' are serpent-folk of the [[Serpent Hills]], north of [[Boareskyr Bridge]]. [[Deez Nuts]] first met them — dead, staked ten feet high at the bridge's southern entrance — in [[Session 54 - Serpents at Boareskyr Bridge (2026-08-30)|Session 54]], and killed three of their own before the day was out.
| creature_name = Yuan-ti
| type          = Serpent-folk of the [[Serpent Hills]] — a whole people remaking itself, body by body, in the image of its snake god
| vulnerabilities = Vanity of the flesh — a deep hood is a spy's entire disguise; bare the face and the serpent shows. The blooded kinds speak their magic, so silence unmakes it
| resistances  = The blooded kinds shrug at spellcraft
| immunities    = Venom, in the blooded kinds — poisoning a serpent is watering a fish
| condition_immunities =
| strong_saves  = Cold-minded and hard to charm or panic; they plan in decades
| senses        = The greater kinds read the warmth of living bodies; the lesser ones simply watch, patiently, from under hoods
| movement      = Strong swimmers all — rivers are their roads as much as any trail
| abilities      = Spy-craft, patience, and slow self-transformation through rites of the serpent god; the higher kinds wield spoken magic
| confidence    = Partial
| encountered  = [[Session 54 - Serpents at Boareskyr Bridge (2026-08-30)|Session 54]], a spy-clutch and its anathema at [[Boareskyr Bridge]]
| agent        = Agent Wren, of the Tellstone circle
}}


=== What the company knows ===
== The Harpers' Read ==
* They live mostly north of the Trade Way, in and around the [[Serpent Hills]]; it is rare for them to come as far south as the [[Winding Water]].
The yuan-ti do not think of themselves as evil. They think of everyone else as unfinished — soft-skinned animals to be watched, used, and in the long run removed. Their god is the serpent, and their worship is not prayer but '''becoming''': a believer spends years of rites reshaping their own body toward the snake, and how far a yuan-ti has gone tells you exactly how dangerous it is. The company's word for the practice — ''snake-maxing'' — is flippant and accurate.
* They are excellent fighters with magic of their own, and are generally held to be evil — though "they don't think they're evil, they just think all other humanoids should die."
* They '''worship the serpent god''', and remake their own bodies toward its image: over years of devotion a yuan-ti progresses into one of many serpent forms — some keep lips, some trade hands for snake-mouths, some aspire to the writhing pile itself. (The table's term of art, ratified by the DM: '''snake-maxing'''.)
* The pinnacle of that transformation is the '''Anathema''' — a great serpent body with arms and '''many snake heads''' (see below).
* Their spies disguise themselves only by '''hiding their faces''' — a deep hood is the whole trick. Under it: green skin, thin lips, scale-rash creeping up the neck. Groups of them travel together; the word for such a group is a '''clutch'''.
* They speak a mixture of '''Abyssal and Draconic'''.
* They are strong swimmers — the Anathema at Boareskyr Bridge came out of the river.


=== The yuan-ti and Varram ===
Three things to hold onto. First, '''the hood is the whole disguise.''' A yuan-ti spy cannot pass among people bare-faced; under the cowl you will find green-tinged skin, lips too thin, and scale creeping up the neck. A town that keeps its hoods down is a town they cannot work. Second, '''they come by water''' as easily as by road — watch the river, not just the gate. Third, '''the changed kinds speak their magic.''' Venom will not touch them and spellcraft slides off the strongest of them, but a silence dropped at the right moment leaves even their greatest as nothing but coils and teeth.
A clutch of yuan-ti spies infiltrated [[Boareskyr Bridge]] in the weeks before the company arrived. [[Varram the White]] unmasked and killed several of them — earning the toast "Varram, the hero of Boareskyr Bridge" — and the party killed the rest, including the Anathema. But a yuan-ti corpse found on Varram's trail (throat slit, left for dead) carried '''a drawing of Varram sewn into secret pockets in its own flesh''': the yuan-ti are hunting the Wyrmspeaker deliberately, by name and face. '''Nobody knows why.''' Attacks on travelers have also been reported on the [[Trade Way]] between the bridge and Dragonspear Castle.


=== The Anathema ===
They travel and work in groups — the word is a '''clutch''' — and they speak a tangle of '''Abyssal and Draconic'''. When you find one, assume its fellows are already watching you.
The Anathema fought at Boareskyr Bridge ([[Session 54 - Serpents at Boareskyr Bridge (2026-08-30)|Session 54]]) revealed, the hard way:
* '''Resistant''' to fire and lightning; '''immune''' to poison damage (though not the poisoned condition) and to thunder. Cold, force, and piercing landed in full.
* '''Advantage on saving throws against spells and magical effects.'''
* A spellcaster — it opened with Entangle — but '''every spell it knows has a verbal component''', so a single Silence shut its casting down entirely.
* Melee-only once silenced; the one at the bridge died without completing a single attack.


=== Harvest Profile (Anathema) ===
== The kinds ==
''CR 12 — Very Rare ceiling. Rules: [[Monster Harvesting]]. Component assignments pending DM confirmation.''
''Compiled from the Harpers' archives after the fighting at the bridge. The company has met the first and last of these; the middle kinds are what the archives expect the [[Serpent Hills]] to hold.''
{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%;"
! Component !! Tool !! Rarity !! Effect !! Primary for !! Contributor to
! Kind !! What it is !! Standing
|-
|-
| '''Anathema Venom Glands''' ''(signature)'' || Poisoner's || Very Rare || Many-fanged venom — virulent, layered neurotoxin || Poison, Bomb || Weapon
| '''Purebloods''' — the infiltrators || The least-changed and the most useful: near-human at a glance, serpent in the details (slit eyes, scale-rash, thin lips). The spies, agents, and knife-work of the race. || '''Met''' — two unmasked and killed at [[Boareskyr Bridge]] (S54); more staked at the gate by [[Varram the White]] before the company arrived
|-
|-
| Gemlike Serpent Eyes || Jeweler's (or Thieves' fine work) || Very Rare || Serpent gaze — gem-focus stock; beguilement and suggestion || Wand, Wondrous || Staff
| '''Malisons''' — the half-changed || A serpent's head on a man's shoulders, arms that are living snakes, or a serpent's tail below the waist — each shaped by the rite it chose. The soldiers and lesser priests of the hills. || ''Expected in the Serpent Hills'' (Harper archives)
|-
|-
| Mageward Ichor || Alchemist's || Very Rare || Spell-turning essence — warding against magic || Potion, Wondrous || Staff, Armor
| '''Abominations''' — the great serpents || Serpent through and through save for the arms — massive, spell-speaking, and commanding. The lords of the temples under the hills. || ''Expected in the Serpent Hills'' (Harper archives)
|-
|-
| Anathema Scale Coat || Smith's || Very Rare || Layered serpent-scale plating — fire- and lightning-warded || Armor || Wondrous, Weapon
| '''[[Yuan-ti Anathema|Anathema]]''' — the pinnacle || A great serpent body with arms and '''many snake heads''' — what a lifetime of rites aspires to. The hills keep very few. || '''Met and slain''' — one, out of the [[Winding Water]] at the bridge (S54). Full dossier: '''[[Yuan-ti Anathema]]'''
|-
| Heat-Pit Clusters || Navigator's || Very Rare || Heat-sense — perceive warm bodies through darkness; divination || Wondrous || Wand, Staff
|-
| Antivenin Organ || Herbalism || Rare || Antitoxin — resist & neutralize poison || Potion || Poison, Wondrous
|-
| Six-Skull Crowns || Smith's || Rare || Serpent skull-crowns — helm and trophy stock || Armor || Wondrous, Weapon
|-
| Anathema Hide || Leatherworker's || Rare || Vast serpent-leather — supple and warded || Armor || Wondrous
|-
| Coiled Muscle Sinew || Leatherworker's || Rare || Constricting sinew — strength & grip || Armor || Weapon, Wondrous
|-
| Envenomed Fangs || Poisoner's / Smith's || Uncommon || Venom-channeled fangs || Weapon || Poison
|-
| Serpent Musk Gland || Alchemist's || Uncommon || Beast-calming serpent musk || Potion || Wondrous
|-
| Abyssal Ichor || Alchemist's / Calligrapher's || Uncommon || Faintly abyssal blood-ink; sigil reagent || Wondrous || Wand
|-
| Heat-Pit Membranes || Navigator's || Uncommon || Lesser heat-sense membranes || Wondrous || —
|-
| Supple Scale-Skin || Leatherworker's || Uncommon || Shed-ready scale-skin; light leather || Armor || Wondrous
|-
| Serpent Blood || Alchemist's / Poisoner's || Common || ''Structure only'' || — || Potion, Poison, Bomb
|-
| Anathema Fangs || Smith's || Common || ''Structure only'' || — || Armor, Weapon
|-
| Scale Handfuls || Smith's || Common || ''Structure only'' || — || Armor, Weapon
|-
| Rib Bones || Smith's || Common || ''Structure only'' || — || Armor, Weapon
|-
| Sinew Cords || Leatherworker's || Common || ''Structure only'' || — || Armor, Wondrous
|-
| Serpent Meat || Cook's || Common || ''Structure only'' || — || Rations
|}
|}
''(The Very Rare count runs over the standard 3 slots — the original drafting held five, and nothing established is removed.)''


=== Harvest Record ===
== The yuan-ti and Varram ==
Harvested in [[Session 54 - Serpents at Boareskyr Bridge (2026-08-30)|Session 54]]; quantities include margin bonuses. Banked totals: [[Harvested Materials#Session 54 harvest record — Yuan-ti Anathema (CR 12)|Harvested Materials]].
A clutch of yuan-ti spies infiltrated [[Boareskyr Bridge]] in the weeks before the company arrived. [[Varram the White]] unmasked and killed several of them — earning the toast "Varram, the hero of Boareskyr Bridge" — and the party killed the rest, including the anathema. But a yuan-ti corpse found on Varram's trail (throat slit, left for dead) carried '''a drawing of Varram sewn into secret pockets in its own flesh''': the yuan-ti are hunting the Wyrmspeaker deliberately, by name and face. '''Nobody knows why.''' Attacks on travelers have also been reported on the [[Trade Way]] between the bridge and Dragonspear Castle.
{| class="wikitable"
 
! Component !! Status !! Recovered by
== Encounters of Record ==
|-
* [[Session 54 - Serpents at Boareskyr Bridge (2026-08-30)|Session 54]] — Two pureblood infiltrators unmasked and killed in the street at [[Boareskyr Bridge]]; the clutch's [[Yuan-ti Anathema|anathema]] slain as it came out of the river and harvested where it fell; a murdered yuan-ti tracker found on Varram's trail with her portrait sewn into its flesh.
| Anathema Venom Glands ''(signature)'' || Recovered ×2 (signature +1 at margin 10) || [[Shade]] (30)
 
|-
== Harvesting ==
| Gemlike Serpent Eyes || Recovered ×2 pairs || [[Gootcha]] (27)
The anathema's harvest profile and record live on '''[[Yuan-ti Anathema#Harvest Profile|its own page]]'''. Pureblood infiltrators carry little worth the knife (the two at the bridge had shells and road-stones in their pockets).
|-
| Mageward Ichor || Recovered || [[Xanphina]] (21)
|-
| Anathema Scale Coat || Recovered || [[Baelgrum]] (20)
|-
| Heat-Pit Clusters || Recovered || [[Keyleth]] (20)
|-
| Antivenin Organ || Recovered || [[Karma]] (17)
|-
| Six-Skull Crowns || Recovered ×2 || Baelgrum
|-
| Envenomed Fangs || Recovered ×5 || Shade
|-
| Serpent Musk Gland ×3 · Abyssal Ichor ×3 || Recovered || Xanphina
|-
| Heat-Pit Membranes || Recovered ×3 || Keyleth
|-
| Serpent Blood ×13 · Anathema Fangs ×9 · Scale Handfuls ×4 || Recovered || column sweeps
|-
| Anathema Hide · Coiled Muscle Sinew · Supple Scale-Skin · Sinew Cords || ''Left on the carcass — no leatherworker'' || —
|-
| Serpent Meat · Rib Bones || ''Left on the carcass'' || —
|}


=== Appearances ===
== See also ==
* [[Session 54 - Serpents at Boareskyr Bridge (2026-08-30)]] — spies unmasked and killed; the Anathema slain and harvested
* [[Yuan-ti Anathema]] — the full dossier on the pinnacle form
* [[Serpent Hills]] — their homeland
* [[Bestiary]] — the company's field bestiary
* [[Find Varram the White]] — the hunt they have inserted themselves into


[[Category:Lore]] [[Category:Monsters]] [[Category:Rise of Tiamat]]
[[Category:Creatures]] [[Category:Monsters]] [[Category:Lore]] [[Category:Rise of Tiamat]]

Revision as of 15:49, 3 September 2026

Yuan-ti
Harper Field Dossier
Combat reference
Type Serpent-folk of the Serpent Hills — a whole people remaking itself, body by body, in the image of its snake god
Vulnerabilities Vanity of the flesh — a deep hood is a spy's entire disguise; bare the face and the serpent shows. The blooded kinds speak their magic, so silence unmakes it
Resistances The blooded kinds shrug at spellcraft
Immunities Venom, in the blooded kinds — poisoning a serpent is watering a fish
Condition Immunities
Strong Saves Cold-minded and hard to charm or panic; they plan in decades
Senses The greater kinds read the warmth of living bodies; the lesser ones simply watch, patiently, from under hoods
Movement Strong swimmers all — rivers are their roads as much as any trail
Notable Abilities Spy-craft, patience, and slow self-transformation through rites of the serpent god; the higher kinds wield spoken magic
Provenance
Knowledge Partial
First Encountered Session 54, a spy-clutch and its anathema at Boareskyr Bridge
Filed by Agent Wren, of the Tellstone circle

The Harpers' Read

The yuan-ti do not think of themselves as evil. They think of everyone else as unfinished — soft-skinned animals to be watched, used, and in the long run removed. Their god is the serpent, and their worship is not prayer but becoming: a believer spends years of rites reshaping their own body toward the snake, and how far a yuan-ti has gone tells you exactly how dangerous it is. The company's word for the practice — snake-maxing — is flippant and accurate.

Three things to hold onto. First, the hood is the whole disguise. A yuan-ti spy cannot pass among people bare-faced; under the cowl you will find green-tinged skin, lips too thin, and scale creeping up the neck. A town that keeps its hoods down is a town they cannot work. Second, they come by water as easily as by road — watch the river, not just the gate. Third, the changed kinds speak their magic. Venom will not touch them and spellcraft slides off the strongest of them, but a silence dropped at the right moment leaves even their greatest as nothing but coils and teeth.

They travel and work in groups — the word is a clutch — and they speak a tangle of Abyssal and Draconic. When you find one, assume its fellows are already watching you.

The kinds

Compiled from the Harpers' archives after the fighting at the bridge. The company has met the first and last of these; the middle kinds are what the archives expect the Serpent Hills to hold.

Kind What it is Standing
Purebloods — the infiltrators The least-changed and the most useful: near-human at a glance, serpent in the details (slit eyes, scale-rash, thin lips). The spies, agents, and knife-work of the race. Met — two unmasked and killed at Boareskyr Bridge (S54); more staked at the gate by Varram the White before the company arrived
Malisons — the half-changed A serpent's head on a man's shoulders, arms that are living snakes, or a serpent's tail below the waist — each shaped by the rite it chose. The soldiers and lesser priests of the hills. Expected in the Serpent Hills (Harper archives)
Abominations — the great serpents Serpent through and through save for the arms — massive, spell-speaking, and commanding. The lords of the temples under the hills. Expected in the Serpent Hills (Harper archives)
Anathema — the pinnacle A great serpent body with arms and many snake heads — what a lifetime of rites aspires to. The hills keep very few. Met and slain — one, out of the Winding Water at the bridge (S54). Full dossier: Yuan-ti Anathema

The yuan-ti and Varram

A clutch of yuan-ti spies infiltrated Boareskyr Bridge in the weeks before the company arrived. Varram the White unmasked and killed several of them — earning the toast "Varram, the hero of Boareskyr Bridge" — and the party killed the rest, including the anathema. But a yuan-ti corpse found on Varram's trail (throat slit, left for dead) carried a drawing of Varram sewn into secret pockets in its own flesh: the yuan-ti are hunting the Wyrmspeaker deliberately, by name and face. Nobody knows why. Attacks on travelers have also been reported on the Trade Way between the bridge and Dragonspear Castle.

Encounters of Record

  • Session 54 — Two pureblood infiltrators unmasked and killed in the street at Boareskyr Bridge; the clutch's anathema slain as it came out of the river and harvested where it fell; a murdered yuan-ti tracker found on Varram's trail with her portrait sewn into its flesh.

Harvesting

The anathema's harvest profile and record live on its own page. Pureblood infiltrators carry little worth the knife (the two at the bridge had shells and road-stones in their pockets).

See also

Retrieved from "https://wiki.deeznuts.wiki/index.php?title=Yuan-ti&oldid=2029"