[In high school, I ran a prehistoric game, where all of the playable races were reptilian and there were dinosaurs everywhere. The Big Bads of this world were Robert Howard-esque serpent people, very similar to PFRPG’s serpentfolk, and their minions and go-betweens were ophidians. Incidentally, all of Arnie Swekel’s 3e art for reptilian or draconic monsters have a) overbites and b) smug expressions. I don’t know why, but I find it charming.]
Ophidian This reptilian humanoid has a wide fanged head and
short arms and legs. It carries itself along its belly, dragging its tail behind
it.
Ophidians, also
known as the Children of Yig, are serpentine creatures that live in tight-knit
forest communities. They are fanatically loyal to each other, but distrusting
and unfriendly towards strangers, many of which seek to enslave them or oppose
their strange religious rites. They consider themselves to be the chosen of
Yig, the Father of Serpents, and make frequent sacrifices to appease him. Some
of them serve more powerful reptilian monsters such as serpentfolk, nagas or
dragons, and they tend more towards evil alignments than good.
The bite of an
ophidian carries a strange curse that slowly transforms its humanoid victims
into an ophidian themselves. Although ophidian numbers do increase through this
method, they are also capable of having children the mundane way, by laying
eggs. Female ophidians are the dominant gender in most ophidian clans, and
priestesses of Yig are typically their leaders. An ophidian stands about four
feet tall and weighs 150 pounds. They are carnivores with a preference for
small game, but can swallow creatures as large as a dog or halfling whole by
expanding their jaws.
