Advice on a Slaver NPC

[Brudark]

Hello all!
In my current homebrew game the players are headed to a city that is secretly being run by a powerful thieves guild that is in cahoots with a powerful slave trader.
I have finally decided on going the caster route with my slaver and plan on making her a sorcerer....my only problem is I can't decide which bloodline would be better for a slave trader!

I've kind of settled on two :
Rakshasa or Serpentine
Which one do you guys think would make a more sinister slaver?

Thanks
~Gary

[BillyGoat]

As a "respectable businessman", the serpentine bloodline's access to diplomacy as a class skill is more fitting.

Depending on level, the poisonous fangs & sheen of scales (if you want to interpret the +1 nat armor that way) add a sinister element reminiscent of the yuan-ti.

There are a lot of nice bits to the rakshasa lineage, but they're awfully subtle if you're looking to make an impact on the players. Mind reading is great for negotiations & pre-empting slave escapes. Hide Aura and Alter Self great for avoiding the paladin police.

In other words, it depends on how you want to play him. Overtly sinister/creepy, go serpentine. Careful and manipulative, always in the shadows, one step ahead, rakshasa has the edge.

Either will work, though.

[Booksy]

expanding on BillyGoat's ideas - which sound good to me - if this slaver is a one shot 'boss fight' I'd lean towards Serpentine for better combat options. But if this is a recurring villian, possibly near BBEG territory, nothing plays with their prey like a big kitty.

[VRMH]

Any mention of fangs will likely leave the PCs convinced they're dealing with a Vampire; so score one for Serpentine.

[BillyGoat]

VRMH wrote:

Any mention of fangs will likely leave the PCs convinced they're dealing with a Vampire; so score one for Serpentine.

I'd like to think enough players are familiar with the game's storied history to put fangs & scales into the category of yuan-ti.

Although, the recent Order of the Stick story-arc might just lead people down the path of "Lizardman vampire".

[Kiinyan]

If you want to add some spice, don't make the trader himself the caster. Make him an aristocrat x being controlled/manipulated by the sorcerer who works for someone else. Have the trader do jobs without knowing who it's for., and only that he'll die if he doesn't.

If that doesn't work, definitely the serpentine. The hypnotic snake thing is creepy.

[mplindustries]

I'd go with Serpentine. In a practical sense, it will let him be a better slaver by allowing him to use lower level enchantment spells on a wider range of targets--monstrous humanoids opens a whole new world of slaves, never mind the menagerie he could have with the more intelligent magical beasts.

[Brudark]

You guys aren't making the decision any easier ;P

To give a little more background:
The slaver is a young female drow that is part of a set of triplets all working for the unknown BBEG. She, along with a rogue galavanting around as a priest thanks to high use magic device checks and some magic items, control a large port town through a puppet mayor. I was going to try and set up some sort of mystery for the players that eventually leads to the mayor being "taken care of" by either the slaver or false priest and ends with a climactic battle with slaver herself, possibly taking on one of the PCs as a fine piece to sell.

I liked the serpentine bloodline for the hold/dominate monster seeing that , being an infamous slaver and all, she could get pretty much any target you wanted (for the right prissssse ;3). I liked the rakshasa bloodline for all the abilities tied to deception.....

everyone brings up so many good points :(

[Brudark]

Kiinyan - The mayor would be the aristocrat in this situation ;)

mplindustries - See, I like the idea of her coming back with some BAMF monster she's broken to try and snuff out the players before they become to big of an issue..

BillyGoat - I could see her going the "respectable businessman" route. Since she is the youngest of three, she would try to overcompensate for the idea of inexperience her elder siblings would have. I've also played around with the idea of her being exceptionally deceptive. one moment acting like Ty-lee from Avatar (bubbly, giggly, etc) then being a cold heartless b&@&% the next.