Ophidian

The gwerin masters who ruled the Jungle of Fangs before they abruptly vanished about 400 years ago were obsessed with snakes. Hence the fang-kin humans and their distant relatives, the ophidians. Their ancestors were humans who were biomagically infused with snake essence to a much greater degree than their kin. To this day, they retain visual markers and altered physiology. Some of them suffer extreme mutations; their kin-folk often resort to extreme ritual magics to stabilize them in human/snake-hybrid forms so they don’t die. Those hybrids are outcast except among the most isolated tribes.

Physically, playable ophidians are very close to fang-kin humans, except that their eyes are slitted and their tongues are forked. They tend to be extremely charming, almost magically so, and flexible to an extreme.

Lineage Traits

  • Ability Score Increase. +1 Intelligence or Charisma
  • Age. adult around 15, live to 70-ish
  • Size. Medium. 4′9″- 6′0″, 90-190 lbs
  • Speed. 30ft
  • Status. regional (Jungle of Fangs)
  • Distracting Charm (+). As a reaction when you are targeted with an attack by someone you can see, you can force the attacker to make a DC 8 + your Charisma modifier + proficiency Wisdom saving throw. On a failure, you can force them to change the target of the attack to another creature of your choice within range or choose to make them lose the attack. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, regaining expended uses when you finish a long rest.
  • Entwining Limbs. When you successfully grapple a creature, you can make them restrained instead. If you do so, you cannot move them forcibly without releasing them from restraint (but not the grapple).
  • Heat Sense. You can detect the presence (and pinpoint location) of living creatures within 30ft even through opaque concealment but not total cover. You do not count as able to see them for spells and effects that require sight, but they are not concealed from you and do not count as an unseen attacker.