Sorcerous Origin: Serpent Touched v1.3

Your magic bubbles from the hissing spray of poison, the smothering of prey, and a reptilian distance that grants you an edge over more warm-blooded opponents. Perhaps one of the ancient serpent spirits slithered into your psyche when you were young? Or, by a chance of birth, the venomous blood condensed just enough to awaken your powers? Whatever the cause of your origin, you are serpent touched, your body cradling the potency of snakes.

The first death in the world languished under the hot pain of a snake bite. These primordial serpents affected the early prime material with such terror that, even to the current day, creatures instinctively freeze or cower at even the smallest of snakes. Ancient peoples mimicked and emulated these apex creatures, creating the first bloodlines of the serpent touched. The greatest examples of this serpentine ancestry lay with long forgotten races and fallen empires. As the early races fawned over the mysteries of these divine creatures, the first cannibal sacrifices and terrible transformations that spawned the yuan-ti wrought more hubris than blessing. During their rise and leading all the way to their eventual demise, the yuan-ti performed deicide on the majority of the reptile gods in bids for power, forever culling the prevalence of this gifted blood magic. Despite these setbacks, the serpent touched heritage surfaces from time to time.

For those coiled with power from the serpents, their lives blend their racial and cultural upbringings with a foreign detachment fit only for a snake. Serpent touched do not lend themselves to evil as readily as the baseless yuan-ti, focusing more toward a conceited neutrality paired with a hissing sneer.

Serpent Touched Quirks

d6 Quirk 1 You have a habit of playing with your food, especially if it's still alive. 2 Your pleasssed or upssset voiccce carriesss a cooing ssslur or dissstresssing hisss. 3 When talking, you find your tongue weaving in ways not normally possible. 4 Even your breathing sends shivers down the spines of snake-fearing creatures. 5 Your head and torso whip about when turning and moving, as if you were slithering. 6 You never laugh, cry, or outwardly express other "base" emotions.

Serpent Touched Features

Sorcerer Level Feature 1st Serpent's Embrace, Arcane Venom 6th Forked Tongue, Entrancing Sibilance 14th Honed Toxin 18th Terminal Kiss

Serpent's Embrace

At 1st level, your reptilian heritage manifests in a plethora of ways. You gain the following benefits:

You acquire a number of serpentine features of your choice including, but not limited to: scales, a forked tongue, slitted irises, a gaunt complexion, a chilled body temperature, etc.

You gain proficiency in either the Deception or Persuasion skill (your choice).

Ophidians, serpents, and similar snake creatures can understand your speech, and you gain the ability to decipher their hisses, motions, and (if applicable) words. Most snakes operate on a fleeting and bestial level, though magical or supernatural serpents might be intelligent enough to speak with you about advanced subjects. This ability does not grant you any bonuses to making allies with these serpent entities, though it can be used to parlay, discuss, or inquire with these creatures, assuming they are receptive.

Arcane Venom

After you cast a spell of 1st-level or higher that targets at least one creature, you can summon a temporary, magical snake that injects that creature, or one affected creature of your choice if there are multiple, with a debilitating poison before dissipating. The creature must make a Constitution saving throw against your spell save DC. If it fails, the creature is poisoned until the end of your next turn.

Forked Tongue

The earliest serpents, in their slippery machinations, pioneered seamless discourse. At 6th level, your intentions refract behind each carefully chosen word with ease. Whenever you make a make a Charisma (Deception) or Charisma (Persuasion) check, treat a roll of 8 or lower on the d20 as a 9.

Entrancing Sibilance

At 6th level, your words and gestures gain the allure of the first snakes. As an action, you can target one creature within 30 feet of you that can see and hear you. It must make a Wisdom saving throw against your spell save DC or be charmed by you for 1 minute. If you or your allies harm it or are currently fighting it, the creature can make another Wisdom saving throw at the end of its turn, ending the charm on a success.

On a successful save, the creature is immune to this feature for 24 hours.