Najarati's page

Paizo apparently has no intention of making serpentfolk a playable ancestry, but somebody else has recently done it!

Oh, interesting! Has anyone used this implementation of the Serpentfolk ancestry, yet; worth the purchase?

So... in hopes of shifting this thread's topic to a more positive light, I'd love it if folks talk about what they DO want in a snake-themed player ancestry. Not serpentfolk. Not nagaji. I want to know what it is about snake-themed PC ancestries folks want. Is it a sleek, serpentine body for your PC, perhaps one with no legs or even no arms? Is it the ability to use a poison bite? A forked tongue that grants scent? Links to real-world snakes? Or is it merely the desire to play a member of an ancestry against type thematically—the same sort of thing that's attractive about playing a good drow or a redeemed demon or the like?

I'm very late to the party it would seem, but I stumbled upon this thread (which has been a fascinating read, by the way) while looking for a possible ancestry for Serpentfolk. I'm a big fan of snakes, cobras in particular, and wanted to throw in my two copper.

To answer your question, James, the aesthetics of a snake-themed ancestry are very important to me. Serpentfolk most closely match what I have in mind so they're a good place to start. The look of the Nagaji, on the other hand, is not one I particularly like. I'd also love to have the option of cobra hoods, coils instead of legs, and even multiple arms. A venomous bite, constriction, the ability to spit venom, or having a forked tongue to grant Scent would be interesting as well. I imagine this ancestry to be more sleek and nimble than iruxi.

Culturally, I'd want this ancestry to have something different from the current Serpentfolk culture, the gist of which I predicted before even reading a word of the lore. The "snakes are inherently evil" trope is a tired one, in my opinion. It's very one-dimensional. I'd love a snake ancestry heavily invested in art, mysticism, thaumaturgy, and medicine where wisdom and introspection are prized. When it comes to martial combat, warriors in this snake ancestry would prefer to study their opponent and make the perfect, crippling strike. If multiple limbs or coils are allowed, they'd be deadly grapplers as well. I imagine dexterity, wisdom, and charisma being important attributes to this snake ancestry (possibly strength for crushing/constricting if that's a thing).

Anyways, the above are just some thoughts. Regardless of what happens, it'd be nice to have an official setting where I can say, "Oh hey, the vast majority of snake people aren't automatically duplicitous and evil. Even better, I can play one!"