Manual of Draconic & Serpentine Races

Humans Transformed

The people who became yuan-ti were one of the original human civilizations. Their society built great temples of stone and forged metal into armor, tools, and weapons. In their ceremonies they paid homage to the snake as the embodiment of the qualities they most appreciated. They developed a philosophy of separating emotion from intellectual pursuits, allowing them to focus their energy on personal advancement and expanding their territory. They believed themselves to be the most enlightened mortals in the world, and in their hubris they sought to become ever greater.

The people tainted their souls by performing human sacrifices in the name of the gods, debased their flesh by cannibalizing their victims, and then performed a sorcerous ritual while writhing in pools filled with living snakes that enabled them to mix their flesh with that of serpents, becoming like the gods in body, thought, and emotion. Freed from the limitations of their human bodies, the yuan-ti used their new abilities to conquer new lands and expand their borders.

One Race, Many Forms

The bodies of all yuan-ti have a mix of humanlike and snakelike parts, but the proportion varies from individual to individual. After the initial metamorphosis of the humans, their society quickly coalesced into a caste system based on how complete a person's transformation was. The vast majority of yuan-ti fall into three categories
—abominations, malisons, and purebloods—
while the mutated broodguards and
exceedingly rare anathemas have their
place in the hierarchy as well.

As an abomination, you are among
the elite of your people, and have
likely spent a large portion of your life
practicing dark rituals of transformation
that have granted you the form you
now bear—as is expected and admired
by yuan-ti society. You command the
respect and attention of yuan-ti
malisons and purebloods, and lord
over broodguards and slaves.

Yuan-ti Abomination Traits

Your serpentine nature grants you a number of shared traits.

Ability Score Increase. Your Strength, Constitution, and Charisma scores each increase by 1.

Size. Yuan-ti abominations stand about 5 feet tall when upright, but the total length of their bodies, head to tail, ranges from 10 to as much as 20 feet. Your size is Medium.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Darkvision. You have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.

Innate Spellcasting. You can cast animal friendship at will, but you can target only snakes with it.

Natural Weapons. Your constricting serpentine body as well as your fanged maw are natural weapons, which you can use to make unarmed strikes. If you hit with your bite, you deal piercing damage equal to 1d6 + your Strength modifier.

If you hit with your constrict attack, you deal bludgeoning damage equal to 1d4 + your Strength modifier, and the target must succeed on a Strength saving throw with a DC equal to 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Strength modifier or become grappled. Until this grapple ends, your speed is 0 and you can’t constrict another target. At the start of your turn while you are constricting a target, you can use your bonus action to squeeze, dealing damage equal to your Strength modifier.

Poison Resistance. You have advantage on saving throws against poison, and you have resistance against poison damage.

Enchantment Resistance. You have advantage on all Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma saving throws against magic.

Serpentine. Your serpentine body lets you swiftly right yourself. When you are prone, standing up uses only 5 feet of your movement.

Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common, Abyssal, and Draconic.

Tribal Bond

Kobolds view their tribe as more important than the individuals that make up its whole, and each kobold would gladly die if it meant saving the tribe, believing that they will soon reincarnate with the next clutch of their tribe's eggs. In daily life, every member of the tribe works together to further the wellbeing of the whole, and kobolds find immense satisfaction in working to improve the lives of their tribe with their actions.

Mythical Legacy

Kobolds descend from the blood of dragons, but though each kobold is weak and physically frail, they take great pride in this tenuous bond that links them to the mightiest of creatures. It is common for kobold tribes to flock to dragons and do their bidding, merely for the chance to be close to what they view as a god in the flesh. Many a dragon has eagerly exploited such kobold tribes for their own gain. Some kobolds inherit a smidgen of dragon magic, often becoming highly-respected kobold scale sorcerers who lead their tribe in their religious practices.

New Goals

Not every tribe is alike. Some tribes reject the worship of dragons as well as that of Kurtulmak, tyrannical god of evil kobolds, and instead put their faith in their own capacity to make their way through an uncaring and dangerous world. Such tribes rely on brave individuals to step forward and lead them as saviors that will stop the cycle of violence that has long beset the kobold people, and instead establish better relationships with the more powerful intelligent races around them. Some ambitious kobold champions even dream of uniting distant tribes of kobolds behind a common goal, envisioning a world in which kobolds that are separated even by great distance work together to change the negative manner in which they are perceived, and improve the lives of kobolds everywhere.

Blackspear Kobold Traits

Your tenacious nature grants you the following shared traits.

Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 2, and your Charisma score increases by 1.

Size. Kobolds range in height from 2 to 3 feet tall. Your size is Small.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Center of Attention. As a bonus action, you let out a war cry, invoke a distracting spray of magical sparkles, or otherwise draw the attention of each enemy within 10 feet of you. Until the end of your next turn, you and your allies have advantage on the next attack roll each of you make against any of those enemies who could hear and see you. You can use this trait a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.

Darkvision. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.

Devious Artisan. As part of a long rest, you can cobble together scraps of available material to create one of the following items: a bag of ball bearings, a bag of caltrops, a hunting trap, or a flask of oil. Items created in this way are visibly makeshift, and you can only maintain a number of items in this manner equal to your Proficiency bonus. Items created in excess of the limit fall apart, starting with the oldest.

Kobold Heritage. Kobold tribes foster a variety of traits in their individual members, which can manifest in multiple ways. Choose one of the following options when you select this race:

• Fearless Underdog. You have advantage on saving throws to avoid or end the frightened condition on yourself.
• Dragon Magic. You know one cantrip of your choice from the sorcerer spell list. Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma is your spellcasting ability for that cantrip (choose when you select this race).
• Scurrying Nimbleness. You can move through the space of any creature that is of a size larger than yours.

Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Draconic.

Outcasts in Solace

Monstrous in appearance, few in number, and strange in their mannerisms, sofos hydras are seldom openly welcome anywhere. Most congregate in remote fishing villages where they are happy to be left alone by the outside world, but some few travel the world with no-one for company, save the distinct personalities of their own three heads.

A Trio of One

Though each sofos hydra is one creature, each of their heads form distinct personalities, with opinions of their own and with their own unique dynamic between the three of them. The sofos consider each head to be a splinter persona, but think of all three combined as being the makeup of one individual—which can be jarring to outsiders, as each head is driven towards acting out an exaggerated role for the other heads to depend upon as as a vastly different perspective. While the dynamic between different heads is individual to each sofos hydra, it is common for each head to self-define themselves by taking on a specific purpose, such as by acting as the bold persona, or the skeptical or reliable one. Some get along with each other and work as a team with a variety of practical considerations, while others are in constant conflict with themselves—or anything in-between. With a lifetime of experience in dealing with their siblings, and each head striving to differentiate themselves as their own, the ceaseless interplay among them is often viewed as strange and alien by outsiders.

The Weight of Loss

In battle, many sofos hydras prefer to attack with their nimble heads alongside weapons wielded in their hands, posing an unusual threat to their foes but leaving their long necks as easy targets for counterattacks. While sofos hydras share some of the unique regenerative abilities of their bestial cousins and can repair a damaged head, or even rapidly regrow a lost head, they are far from fond of that process, viewing any momentary separation from their siblings with dread—even the most domineering of splinter personas loses their bluster and confidence when threatened and alone. Worse, heads that have been lost and regenerated sometimes return changed in personality after the experience, taking on new mannerisms and habits—and thus upsetting the dynamic balance between the three.

Sofos Hydra Traits

Your unusual nature grants you a number of unique benefits.

Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 2, and your Strength score increases by 1.

Size. A sofos hydra stands about 7 feet tall when upright, of which 2 feet comprises the length of the neck, but the total length of their bodies, head to tail, ranges from 12 to as much as 18 feet. Your size is Medium.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Swim Speed. You have a swimming speed of 30 feet.

Darkvision. You have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.

Natural Weapons. Your constricting serpentine body as well as each of your fanged maws are natural weapons, which you can use to make unarmed strikes. If you hit with your bite, you deal piercing damage equal to 1d6 + your Strength modifier.

If you hit with your constrict attack, you deal bludgeoning damage equal to 1d4 + your Strength modifier, and the target must succeed on a Strength saving throw with a DC equal to 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Strength modifier or become grappled. Until this grapple ends, your speed is 0 and you can’t constrict another target. At the start of your turn while you are constricting a target, you can use your bonus action to squeeze, dealing damage equal to your Strength modifier.

Multiple Heads. You have three heads. While you have more than one head, you have advantage on perception checks and on saving throws against being blinded, charmed, deafened, and knocked unconscious.

Whenever you are struck by a critical hit one of your heads temporarily dies, up to two. Lost heads regenerate at the end of a short rest if you spend any hit dice, or at the end of any long rest.

Lunging Jaws. In battle, your flexible body allows you to lash out at your enemies. As a bonus action, you can make an attack with your bite. This attack has a reach of 10 feet. If the attack hits, it deals its normal damage. You can use this trait once, and must then finish a short or long rest to use it again.

Serpentine. Your serpentine body lets you swiftly right yourself. When you are prone, standing up uses only 5 feet of your movement.

Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Draconic.

     Draconic Ancestry. You have draconic ancestry. Choose one type of dragon from the Draconic Ancestry table. Your breath weapon, damage resistance, and ability score increase are determined by the dragon type, as shown in the table.

Bracelet of Leaping and Gliding

Wondrous item, uncommon (requires attunement)

When you attune to this shimmering jade bracelet, you grow a pair of muscular wings upon your back, which grant you the following traits. If you unattune from the bracelet, the wings turn to ash and scatter upon a phantom wind.

Aided Jump. Your maximum jump distance for high and long jumps is doubled, and is unaffected by whether or not you take a running start. This extra distance costs movement as normal.

    Glide. As a reaction to falling while you aren't prone, you can spread your wings and glide, slowing your rate of descent to 20 feet per round. While gliding, you can move up to 40 feet in any horizontal direction, or dive straight down. When you land, you take no falling damage and can land on your feet. Alternatively, you can initiate gliding by expending at least 10 feet of movement as part of a high jump.