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My friend will be starting a new homebrew game in the near future and we as a group have been brainstorming ideas. For whatever reason we decided on a bunch of reptile race character such as a kobold magus, lizardfolk rogue, etc. I was thinking about a serpentfolk but they are just not playable as is unless I took serpentfolk as my starting few levels (not a terrible idea). Any thoughts on this? Is there already playable stats for a serpentfolk in pathfinder and I missed it?
Thanks in advance!
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I worked up a playable version (more or less balanced to be playable along humans or aasimar, and not quite as over the top as, say, a noble drow or something) quite some time ago;
Savage Serpentfolk Racial traits
+2 Dexterity, -2 Intelligence: Savage Serpentfolk move with sinuous grace, but their degenerate conditions and the consumption of certain unwholesome substances over many generations has damaged their reasoning.
Medium: Serpentfolk are Medium creatures and have no bonuses or penalties due to their size
Normal Speed: Serpentfolk have a base speed of 30 ft.
Low-Light Vision: Serpentfolk can see twice as far in conditions of dim light. See PFRPG Chapter 7.
Serpentfolk Immunities: Serpentfolk have a +2 racial bonus to saves vs. poison.
Thick Scaled: The green and brown scales of a Savage Serpentfolk provide them with a +1 Natural Armor bonus.
Natural Weapons: Savage Serpentfolk can bite as a primary attack (or as a secondary attack, in conjunction with a melee attack), causing 1d4 piercing damage and injecting venom, if they so choose.
Savage Serpentfolk Poison (Ex) Bite – injury; save Fort DC 10 + ½ HD + Con bonus), frequency 1 / round for 4 rounds; effect 1d2 Dexterity damage; cure 1 save. The save DC is Constitution-based. After a serpentfolk has poisoned a foe, it takes 1 hour to replenish its charge of venom.
Flexible Frame: Serpentfolk gain a +2 racial bonus to Escape Artist checks due to their slender bodies and flexible joints. Their sinuous forms and flicking tails also give them a +2 racial bonus to Swim checks and to their CMD to resist Trip attempts.
Keen Senses: Serpentfolk have a +2 racial bonus to Perception checks, or to Survival checks to track, thanks to their keen sense of smell
Weapon Familiarity: Savage Serpentfolk are proficient with scimitars and whips, and treat any weapon with the word “serpentfolk” in its name as a martial weapon.
Languages: Savage Serpentfolk begin play speaking only Aklo. Those with an unusually high Intelligence may also choose from the following; Canto, Common and Undercommon.
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Racial Trait
Jade Armor – Your scales have taken on a slight luster, and grown thicker, granting you a +1 to your Natural Armor bonus.
Racial Feat
Green Steel Mail – Your scales now glisten like jade-green metal, and provide an additional +1 Natural Armor bonus.
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Advanced Serpentfolk Racial traits
+2 Dexterity, +2 Charisma, -2 Strength: Advanced Serpentfolk share the grace of their primitive cousins, and possess a commanding presence, but are even slighter of build, and not as physically powerful.
Medium: Serpentfolk are Medium creatures and have no bonuses or penalties due to their size
Normal Speed: Serpentfolk have a base speed of 30 ft.
Low-Light Vision: Serpentfolk can see twice as far in conditions of dim light. See PFRPG Chapter 7.
Serpentfolk Immunities: Serpentfolk have a +2 racial bonus to saves vs. poison.
Thin Scaled: The green and brown scales of a Savage Serpentfolk are not sufficient to provide them with a Natural Armor bonus, but they remain eligible for Serpentfolk-specific Feats or Traits that enhance the thickness and protective ability of their scales.
Shed Skin: Advanced Serpentfolk can shed their skin;
At 1 HD, a Civilized Serpent Folk can assume a single Medium sized Humanoid form (which usually appears as a hairless elf, orc or human) after an hour of ‘shedding his skin.’ It takes eight hours to grow his scaly hide back. If he possesses any Feats or Traits that enhance the protective value of his scales, they do not apply when he has shed his skin.
At 2 HD, it takes only 10 minutes to shed his skin, and an hour to return to normal, and he can slightly alter the features of the humanoid form, giving him a +5 racial bonus to Disguise checks.
At 4 HD, he can shed his skin in only 1 minute, and takes only 10 minutes to return to normal.
At 6 HD, the power is fully mature and the Serpent Folk can slither out of his skin as a full-round action, and can assume a range of Humanoid forms of Medium size, even replicating a creatures voice, gaining a +10 racial bonus to Disguise checks, and being able to resume his reptilian appearance (and any protective benefit from his scales) as a full-round action.
Natural Weapons: Advanced Serpentfolk can bite as a primary attack (or as a secondary attack, in conjunction with a melee attack), causing 1d3 piercing damage and injecting venom, if they so choose.
Advanced Serpentfolk Poison (Ex) Bite – injury; save Fort DC 10 + ½ HD + Con bonus), frequency 1 / round for 4 rounds; effect 1d2 Wisdom damage; cure 1 save. The save DC is Constitution-based. After a serpentfolk has poisoned a foe, it takes 1 hour to replenish its charge of venom.
Unnaturally Slender: Serpentfolk can partially collapse their already slender bodies. Treat a Serpentfolk as one size class smaller for the purposes of squeezing through narrow spaces, so long as they are not wearing inflexible armor (breastplate or any heavy armor). Serpentfolk have a +2 racial bonus to Escape Artist checks, Swim checks and to their CMD to avoid Trip attacks.
Weapon Familiarity: Advanced Serpentfolk treat whips or any weapon with the word “serpentfolk” in its name as a martial weapon.
Languages: Advanced Serpentfolk begin play speaking Aklo and Undercommon. Serpentfolk with high Intelligence scores can pick from the following; Azlanti, Common, Draconic, Dwarven, Elven, Hallit, Necril, Orc, Polyglot, Skald or Osirioni.
Special Serpentfolk feats (note that PC Advanced Serpentfolk can take the Trait in the previous post, and any Advanced Serpentfolk can take the Green Scale Mail Feat);
Natural Shapeshifter – Upon reaching 6 HD, a Serpentfolk can learn this feat, gaining the Shapeshifter subtype, and becoming able to retain the properties of his armored scales (if any) while in the form of any humanoid that also has natural armor, up to the amount that this creature would have. (For instance, if a Serpentfolk with both the Jade Armor trait and the Green Steel Mail feat assumed the form of a Gnoll, a creature that only has natural armor +1, he would only benefit from a +1 natural armor bonus. If he took the form of a lizardfolk, with a +5 natural armor bonus, he would not be able to benefit from natural armor bonus higher than his own +2.) In the form of any humanoid of his size with natural weaponry, the Serpentfolk becomes able to use that natural weaponry, and gains up to 30 ft. of Swim speed, if appropriate. No other movement types or special qualities can be assumed in this form, and the serpentfolk does not gain the ability to breath underwater.
Size Shifter – A Serpentfolk with this feat gains the ability to transform into humanoids of up to one size class smaller, or one size class larger than his base form with his Shed Skin ability. Prereq: Natural Shapeshifter feat.
Random other thoughts;
Serpent Folk prefer to wear articulated armor, never wearing something as bulky and inflexible as full plate. They also prefer to use curved blades (scimitars, falchions, kukri) or flexible weapons (flails, whips, chains). Savages are less likely to be able to afford better weapons, and might be forced to use javelins, spears and daggers, regarding piercing weapons as acceptable substitutes if curved blades or flexible weapons are not available.
Exotic Weapons;
Serpentfolk Throwing Blade – stats as a throwing axe, but with a x3 crit multiplier instead of a x2.
Serpentfolk Throwing Iron – 8 lb. version of the Throwing Blade, inflicts 1d8 S (crit x3) damage normally, or, if thrown as a full-round action with both arms, 2d6 S (crit x3) damage.
Serpentfolk Steel Tongue – exactly as an Urumi, PFCCS p 209-211.
Serpentfolk Blade Thrower – special club that can be used as a club (but has spikes on the end and does B/P like a morning star), but whose true function is when the club is reversed and a throwing blade (but NOT a throwing iron!) is slotted into the groove on that side as a move-equivalent action (that provokes an attack of opportunity), allowing one to hurl a throwing blade twice as far as normal and with greater force (2d4 S instead of 1d6). Unlike a club, the Blade Thrower itself cannot be thrown.
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not bad, but i'd make a small change on the degerate serpentfolk:
-Just one bonus to stats is a bit weak, add a +2 to Strength or Constitution, to make them more flexible;
-How about personalized venom, AKA at 1st level you can choose which stat is damaged by your venom? plus, i'd add some feats that allow the venom to become more potent, something like this:
*Increased Potency: the damage die of your venom increases by one(1d2 to 1d3, 1d3 to 1d4, 1d4 to 1d6 etc...), if taken multiple times the effect stacks;
*Concentrated Venom: the DC to resist your venom increases by +2;
*Tenacious Venom: it takes 2 saves to cure your venom and not 1.
*Psychotropic Venom: victim that fails the Fortitude check becomes confused for the duration of the venom effect, your venom must deal INT, WIS or CHA damage to take this feat;
*Miotoxic Venom: victim that fails the Fortitude check becomes slowed for the duration of the venom effect, your venom must deal STR, CON or DEX damage to take this feat;
*Emotoxic Venom: victim that fails the Fortitude check suffers 1 point of bleeding damage every time it is damaged for the duration of the venom effect, your venom must deal CON or CHA damage to take this feat;
*Neurotoxic Venom: victim that fails the Fortitude check becomes slowed for the duration of the venom effect, your venom must deal INT or DEX damage to take this feat;
*Enzymatic Venom: victim that fails the Fortitude check takes ongoing Acid damage equal to your CON modifier for the duration of the venom effect.
If you don't want to use Set's version (though why would you not want to, it's awesome), there's also the Nagaji and Vishkanya as options.
I know it could never compare to Set's awesome stuff, but here was my version. It was literally just a toned down version of their actual stats. Unfortunately, that means some of their abilities are a little unbalanced, but in my opinion (which doesn't account for much, mind you), it's not too bad:
Serpentfolk (0 HD)
-+2 Dex, +2 Con, +2 Int, -2 Str
-Medium Monstrous Humanoid
-Normal Speed
-Immune: Mind-Affecting Effects, Paralysis, Poison
-+1 Natural Armour
-Bite 1d4
-Spell Resistance = 10 + HD
-+4 Use Magic Device, +8 Escape Artist
-Telepathy 100 ft.
-Languages: Aklo, Common
yeah, the Nagaji were cool, but the Vishkanya and the Ophiduan...they're a bit lame to me, they just look like the poor man's yuan-ti purebloods.
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You might also want to check out "Slithering In Moonlight" in Kobold Quarterly #23 which features 'lesser' lamia as a balanced PC race.
The article also features lamia racial feats, a new prestige class, a new oracle mystery (moon) and extensive details on lamia society, culture, religion and history.