Yuan-Ti

Chosen of the Serpent

Chosen of The New Gods

Yuan-Ti, even the name tell them what they are, in their tongue, it would roughly translate to "The Chosen Ones", they claim to be the chosen people of their gods, that they were elevated beyond their mortal coils to become the greatest species and rightful owners of the world. The Yuan-Ti were once ordinary men and woman, but their worship of their dark gods, and the teachings they gave them, transformed them into what the world know now, as the Yuan-Ti, the Serpent abominations of a bygone age.

The Gods

The Detached mindset of the Yuan-Ti does not allow themselves to fervently give themselves to their gods as they did before their change, yet still do they give their worship to their serpentine gods, do they do so out a suppressed feeling of love and reverence? Or in the knowledge that should they no longer have their favor, then there would be little to stop the heavens from ending what they started.
Yuan-Ti relation with their gods is however still a very personal thing, but as for most things related to the Yuan-Ti it worship in search of power and rarely worship for the sake of reverence.
The Yuan-Ti worship 7 unnamed serpent gods, they guard their names jealously as their greatest collective treasure, for it only by the invoking of their names that they manifest themselves, as such keeping their names from mortal hands is one of their greatest missions to ensure that their gods remain their dark secret and power.

Worship

For the Yuan-Ti worship is both a personal relation with them and their gods, and something done for power, for those with a close connection to the gods are in their eyes the strong of body and mind. This is not an unfounded idea, for the Yuan-Ti know better than anyone that their gods rarely act out of kindness, they demand payment for their miracles, and they honeyed promises often carry a deadly secret, for what their gods deem a great boon may for the their subject prove their undoing.

Relation With the Otherworldly

Unnatural Bodies

The Yuan-Ti being a race of unnatural birth, are a race with a hundreds shapes, yet being bearing it's own unique traits of their corruption and ascension. The only bearing they have in common being their serpentine traits and can generally be cast into three categories:

Thin Bloods

Some appear almost human, with perhaps only patches of scales or perhaps serpent eyes or tongue revealing their true nature. In some cases they much more serpentine, with perhabs scales covering their bodies and flatted noses, but so long as they still retain legs and a humanoid face, they remain as Thin-Blood.

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True Blood

When the changes take hold, and the creature truly begins it's corruption and ascension they are called True Bloods, these creatures usually begin to display more Snake Light traits, having tails in place of legs, scales replacing their skin to some major degree or perhaps even having a serpentine head.

Pure Blood

The Greatest form the Yuan-Ti can achieve, their old and weak flesh replaced with resplendent and beautiful scales, they show no traces of ever having been human.

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Though it is possible for Yuan-Ti to acend to a higher state than they are born, such a thing requires an intricate and expensive ritual, and great shows of faith to their gods. Otherwise and is most likly the case, they are born into the same shape that they will die in.

Caste

Yuan-Ti society is a strict hierarchy based upon their caste, which is determined by how blessed the individual is. With the more blessed members of society being able to raise to higher stations than their brethren.

Mind of the Serpent

As part of their ascension the Yuan-Ti have lost their human minds, no longer do they feel like they used, emotions have like a distant pulse, something in the far back of their mind overridden by cold, cruel logic. The Yuan-Ti view this extreme pragmatism and calculated outlook on life as the heighest virtue to strive for, only through the distancing of what they once were can they reach their full potential. Though it is not sometthing that comes naturally to all the Yuan-Ti especially the lower caste find their psyche, more akin to ordinary humans, such a thing is a mark of shame, and something they attempt to suppress.

The Fall

The most ancient of the Yuan-Ti Text speak of when they ruled most of the world, when they stood as pinnacle of all, chosen by the new gods to be their stewards and soldiers in a war so ancient it has lost it's name and purpose. The Yuan-Ti themselves dont truly know what they fought over in those ancient days, but they do feel the bitterness associated with, the knowledge that they once stood proudly in the sun, lording over the lesser beings, now reduced to hide in the shadows and in deepest place of their once illustrious ruins.
It is a scar that their people has never fully recovered from. The different temples and of the Yuan-Ti deal with this dejection and their situation in what can be roughly grouped into three philosophies:

Crest Bearers

The Crest Bearers refuse to die out in the shadows of the world, believing that the Yuan-Ti have waited long enough and to no awail, while they hide in the shadows there enemies grow stronger, the time to strike is now or never. They would rather die bathing in the heat of the sun with pride, than die out without the world having ever known to be.
Their philosophy dictates that the Yuan-Ti must show the world their strength and inspire in the lesser beings the fear that will see them submit to their proper lords. In order to secure their place in the world.

Dawn Breakers

The Dawn Breakers, do not believe that the Yuan-Ti are ready to surface yet, their numbers are too few to sufficiently strike out against the world. They believe that for the Yuan-Ti to prosper they must utilize their greatest strength, their minds, by manipulating the emotionally ridden lesser beings they can guide the world from the shadows towards a better world, as per their designs.

The Remembrance

The Remembrance philosophy and name derives from their believe that the ancient war is pointless, enough have suffered and died in a conflict older than their understanding, the lesser beings may be usurpers, but with time they will fade as all things have, and in the end the Yuan-Ti will remain. They are contend to let the world take it's course and live in the meantime their own lives with their own designs to achieve prosperity in a world filled with lesser beings.

Basic Information

Genetics and Reproduction

Giving their many different shapes there diffrent ways in which reproduction occurs for the Yuan-Ti. All Yuan-Ti can interbreed, while the Thin-Bloods usually give live birth, the higher caste usually lay clutches of eggs. If two different caste interbreed the offspring will usually resemble the weakest of the pair, as such different caste usually do not breed with those beneath them to maintain their strenght and bloodline.
The closer the Yuan-Ti resembles humans the more related their means of reproduction and pregnancy is. While the more blessed among them, differ vastly from their lower kin. For such kin, pregancy is both a cause of great celebration, for inception is rare, and a most dangerous prospect, the eggs can take years to hatch, and their most be guarded and tended to carefully lest they perish long before they ever hatch.

Growth Rate & Stages

Yuan-ti regardless of type and caste, matures at around the same pace as ordinary humans would. With the effects of ageing varying from breed to breed. The Pure blood for example will see their scales loose their luster, while thin-bloods would age much an ordinary human in all regards.
Often elder yuan-ti grow lazy when they reach great age, sleeping or lying in torpor for longer and longer periods - first for days, then weeks, then seasons at a time, and finally years upon years. At last, they fail to wake at all

Dietary Needs and Habits

Yuan-Ti who are above thin-bloods can no longer sustain themselves as omnivores and instead find a need for a carnivorous diet.

Biological Cycle

Yuan-Ti with scales will usually find their scales needing to shed about 3 times a year.

Additional Information

Social Structure

Yuan-Ti Society is structured around their "caste" with the more serpentine the individual the greater do they stand in their society. Yuan-Ti society is a theocratic one, that is to say that the Yuan-Ti as whole are led by their priest, they divine the paths that the Yuan-Ti must take to achieve they goals, they define what is right and wrong. These positions of priesthood are highly sought after, but ultimately the positions are quite limited, with each temple being dedicated to a single serpent god, and having only 1 high priest with it's own follows, as such the right of priest-hood is a very sought after and dangerous position.

Brood-Kin

Almost akin to that of a noble house, Brood-Kin are those that hail from the same bloodline, these brood-kin will often form alliances of convenience to further their advancements of their brood, for bloodline are very important to the Yuan-Ti, it is after all what has defined there existence, as what they were born as, has defined what they could achieve in their society.

Average Intelligence

Yuan-Ti are fiercely intelligent and analytical, and on average are much more intelligent than ordinary humans. Their minds quickly able to adapt to new concepts and ideas.

Civilization and Culture

Naming Traditions

Yuan-Ti Take great pride in their bloodlines, as it is what has gifted them with their standing in society. As such they present themselves with their brood-name first. Yuan-Ti personal names and Brood-Names will often contain S, Z, SH, T, L, V, TH, H type sounds, that fit their unique structure.
Yuan-Ti do not have gender specific names.

Brood-Name

Shezeran, Hss'tari, Sraz.

Personal Names

Shzeketh, Harazth, Vesziri.

Beauty Ideals

Yuan-Ti Adore and revere the serpent, as such they themselves find attraction to those with serpentine features. Scales especially and slitted eyes are considered immensely attractive, as such Yuan-Ti take great care in keeping their scales illustrious. Hair on the other hand and other human features are considered repulsive and ugly, as such they will usually shave their hear and beard, and wear clothes to hide their humane features.

Courtship Ideals

Yuan-ti in their prime will scheme, breed, and work on behalf of their tribes. Breeding is carefully controlled, seen as a holy act, in order to produce the "best" offspring. Prospective partners will coldly measure one another and if both agree that the match is promising, they usually mate, regardless of their personal affections towards each other.

Relationship Ideals

Yuan-Ti do not have relations out of love, every relation they hold serves a purpose to their schemes. It could be to produce offspring for the Brood-Kin, protection or some other manipulative purpose. Though there are cases of Yuan-Ti holding love for another, though such a thing is dangerous for them both, it is something their enemies will seek to exploit, as such they must keep it a secret.

Average Technological Level

The Yuan-Ti have for a long time lived on an existentialist minimum and have had little time to advance technologically. But they still retain much knowledge of the past, while the Yuan-Ti

Common Etiquette Rules

Yuan-Ti consider emotions unbecoming, disgraceful and as such it is a great taboo to show them in public spaces, and even to some degree in private. As such Yuan-Ti aim to maintain perfect peace of mind in public and to show no hint of emotions.

Common Dress Code

Yuan-Ti will usually cover ordinary skin, as it almost consider shamful to posses the beautiful skin of the snake, while those who posses many serpentine traits will often wear cloths to accentuate their scales while making sure to show their beautifully blessed bodies.

Yuan-Ti rarely fashion cloths and armor alike to show off their blessed bodies. Instead relying on their thick scales and ambush tactics to win them battles.

Many of the great Temple cities of the Yuan-Ti have fallen into disrepair, for a variety of reasons. Some wish to hide their precense, some don't have the resources to maintain them and many more have abandoned.

Lifespan

around 120 years.

Average Height

Depends on the breed

Average Weight

Depends on the breed

Average Length

Depends on the breed