Yuan-Ti

There are stories amongst the Rajh-Ba’a of Damalith that they were not the first to establish a civilization in the desert sands, and those stories are mostly true. Long ago, before the gods retreated from the world, an ancient, decadent empire stretched across Damalith and the land that would become Nengurth. It was here that the serpentine humanoids known as the Yuan-Ti lived, and while their empire has long since crumbled to ruin, there are still remnants of their race that live in dark corners of the world, waiting in the shadows.

Physical Description

Yuan-Ti resemble humans in size and shape, but with noticeable serpentine traits. They have patches of scales on their skin, usually on the shoulders, forearms, and lower legs, snake-like eyes, and forked tongues. Their skin ranges in color from tan to swarthy, with their scales often colored green, red, or blue. Their eyes are often orange, green, or yellow, and their hair brown or black, which they tend to keep long and straight.

Society

At the height of their empire, the yuan-ti society was based in a rigid caste system. The wealthy and powerful elite, comprised mostly of powerful spellcasters and the military, controlled much of the empire, while the lower castes toiled away as laborers and merchants. A caste of priests kept the faith of the empire, rooted in the worship of evil, primordial gods lost to the annals of history. Those that remain in Meranthis are descendants of the elite and priests that managed to survive their empires downfall. Though they are few in number, and hidden away in dark fortresses in forgotten parts of the world, they keep to the practices of their empire. Some have been taken captive by the arcanist-lords in Nengurth, and are used to further their own cruel agendas.

Adventurers

With their population so small in the present day, most yuan-ti have never openly wandered beyond the southern lands where they make their homes. However, there are those who are sent out into the world as assassins or spies, often working as agents of the arcanist-lords, or for ambitious yuan-ti who aspire to return their once great empire to glory. While even more rare, there are some yuan-ti who turn away from their evil history, and try to find a place in the wider world.