The Serpentine

A shot from a cult ritual from Serpentine followers.

The Serpentine are an ancient subrace of serpentine humanoids related to Yuan-Ti, spanning a massive subterranean river system known as The Delta Serpentine and the sinking city of Al'Adeaf. The phrase "The Serpentine" would later also become a synonym for the cult in Quelmar that worked with and worshipped those same ancient people.

Geography

The Serpentine's domain begins in the Fiddlehead Mountains, where a massive subterranean river system known as The Delta Serpentineoriginates. This river flows west, running directly under the city of Al'Adeaf before emptying into a vast subterranean basin governed by the Merca people.

History

Some form of Serpentine people were believed to have resided in the ancient society of Ta-Shedet, their connection to the modern day cults is yet unknown.

About

Yuan-Ti, the primary members of the Serpentine, exhibit varying degrees of serpentine traits. They are known for their stealth abilities, with some utilizing green skin and war paint for camouflage, while others possess natural chameleon-like abilities. The ancient ancestors of the Yuan-Ti, known as The Serpentine, are sorcerers and practitioners of blood magic, maintaining ancient traditions. They mainly resided in secrecy around Al'Adeaf, descendants of the Merca civilization.

Swords of the Serpentine

Powerful an ancient artifacts, the Swords of the Serpentine were used by the Serpentine people. This magical weapon is made of copper and inscribed with the words blood, pain, and salt in Yuan-Ti cuneiform. Any humanoid cut with this blade will take exactly 2 points of damage. They will then continue to bleed another bit of health each consecutive round until the application of a successful First Aid or Medicine check or they die. They also lose 1 Corruption point in the first round which will be added to the nearest spell or ritual being conducted  within  10  meters. Against certain magical creatures like  jinn or Yuan-Ti, the sword functions as a normal weapon

Gods

Serket

Serket, an ancient deity revered by the Yuan-Ti, led them in prehistoric times. Considered a lost god, Serket has minimal appearances in recorded history. However, ancient Serpentine peoples continued to worship and wage wars in their name. Another theory suggests Serket might be another name for the Yuan-Ti god Sseth within the Ta-Shedethen culture.

Amun-Her Khepeshef

Not technically a god, but a pharoah of the serpentine who nearly achieved godhood, Amun-Her Khepeshef was an unstoppable anathema who was banished to The BackHalls.

Types of Serpentine

Anathema

Anathema are nightmarish, nearly immortal Yuan-Ti abominations created or summoned for warfare. Known for their invincibility, they were often entombed in stasis due to the difficulty of killing them. They could still reach out psionically from their prisons, contacting beings underground in Merca or on the surface.

Many of them were locked magically behind a ritual known as The Copper Doors which physically manifested a door to an extradimensional space in which the Anathema was locked. Only with the right magical key and ceremony could the doors be opened or unlocked.

Serpentine Totems

As many of the Serpentine lived under or near Al'Adeaf, they sought to overcome the city's anti-magic defenses through Serpentine Totems and dark Yuan-Ti blood magics. Their goal was to revive Yuan-Ti anathema and reclaim lands for Merca and the ancient Serpentine people.