New Beastkind for D&D 5E – Ypisarian Serpentfolk

The Serpentfolk are the children of the goddess Ypisara, though she is now only acknowledged as the great mother of their race. A minor race, they weathered the war of against the gods and the Sundering better than most due to the act of submission and self-sacrifice by the goddess Ypisara in exchange for the protection of the Empress, she gave her life willingly to the Dragon Queen; in exchange her children have been protected and since then, they have thrived, in a restrained fashion, under the eye of the Empress who acts as their patron and guardian.

Serpentfolk are a dedicated and loyal people, devoted to their communities and, in a vague sense, the Empire as a whole. While each of the serpentfolk is their own person they often think of themselves as part of a chain of community and tend to weight the good of the group over the good of the individual.

Serpentfolk are humanoid, tending toward slender builds, and covered in a network of fine scales usually in shades of green but other colors show up on occasion. Their eyes are dark and their heads are decorated by low crests. Most have slender tails. Serpentolk have claws but they are not usually large or strong enough to be effectively used as weapons.

The serpentfolk are warm blooded but lay eggs.

Serpentfolk Lands: The Serpent folk have a large island that is theirs, though under the direct rule of the Empress, it runs from the Bitter Hills, mined for salt and copper, to the mangrove swamps of the Darksea Marsh and the Darksea beyond.

The Serpentfolk are not well known outside of Imperial circles, they only having really begun expanding outside of those confines in the last few centuries. Their position as direct Imperial subjects means that their homeland is essentially inviolate but they do trade salt and items made of salt for what imports they need.

Religion: The Serpentfolk venerate Ypisara as their ancestral mother and the Empress as their protector with their ancestors being revered and offering made for them. They have an idea of rebirth in a continual ouroboros of life and spirit. Rumors of a secret sect that continues to worships Ypisara as mother-goddess are entirely unfounded.

Names: Names in the Serpentfolk tongue are difficult to pronounce for non-serpentfolk so they tend to attract monikers when dealing with them.

Adventurers: The Serpentfolk increasingly are seeking posts with the Dragon Imperium outside of their homeland and a few of those have decided to explore the greater world on their own.

Your Ypisarian Serpentfolk character has certain traits deriving from your ancestry.

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

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 cannot discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.

Age. The serpentfolk mature slightly more quickly than humans, reaching adult development around fifteen. They live as long as humans or slightly longer.

Alignment. The serpentfolk are group people, working together to build a society to honor their ancestors and Patron. They are loyal, hard working and stoic. They tend to weigh the needs of their society over that of the individual.

The Serpentfolk are organized in family groups and in clutch-cohorts, all of the serpentfolk who were hatched in the same season, it is a loose structure but it works. They are very community oriented and tend to defer to their elders.

Size. The serpentfolk are slender and lithe, rarely taller than five feet tall when reaching adulthood but continue to grow (slowly) throughout their adult life and often reach over six feet tall. Your size is Medium.

Languages. Serpent speak their own language, handed down from before the Sundering, and also learn the Imperial Tongue and Low Draconic in honor of their Patron.

Friend of Fishes. Serpentfolk are natural swimmer and at home in the water, gaining advantage on Strength (Athletics) checks related to swimming.

Salt Resistance. Due to their constant exposure to salt, Serentfolk advantage on saving throws against salt and have resistance against salt damage.

Scales. Serpentfolk have tough scaled skin, when not wearing armor, your AC equals 11 + your Dexterity modifier.

Shaper of Salt. Raised with salt as the primary building material, they become adept at working it from an early age, gaining proficiency with all tool checks involving salt.

Notes: You can find a version for Pathfinder here.  Have had D&D players interested in the Beastkine races so wanted to start getting them transferred over to 5E.

Photo Gulf Salt Marsh Snake (Nerodia clarkii) Florida by Glenn Bartolotti found on Wikimedia Commons and licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.