Ophidian

Snakemen are stocky, green-and-yellow serpents with humanoid arms. They have their own tongue, and half also know Common or a neighboring language.

Like a chameleon, an ophidian can shift its scales from green and yellow into browns and grays, so it blends with cavern stone as easily as undergrowth. Foes take -2 on surprise rolls, and the snakemen plan their ambushes around this. Every fourth one is a 4 Hit Die bully that hisses out tactics without truly leading.

Nine in ten carry weapons and half have shields: half of the armed ones use swords, 30% clubs or maces, 10% battle axes, 5% scourges, and the rest any one-handed weapon. Each round they strike with weapon and fangs.

Any human, demihuman or humanoid they bite must save vs. poison or start to change. In 1d4+1 days scales spread across the skin, the legs start to shrivel and the tongue forks,, memories fading daily; after two weeks the victim is a 4 HD ophidian. Cure disease and reverse curse together halt the process, though neither works alone. Reversing it needs heal, regeneration, limited wish or wish, and once complete only a wish helps. Halfway through, he feels driven back to the place of the bite and sneaks off, fighting anyone in his way, to be adopted by the local clan. The venom goes inert minutes after leaving the body and cannot be harvested.

Wild bands are small families led by the eldest female, who picks hunting grounds and allies. More often they serve a master: vasshari enslave them, and nagas and green or black dragons keep them as servants. They make uneasy truces with lizard men, never sharing lairs, and befriend snakes, often a giant constrictor. What little worship they have goes to their naga, dragon or great snake as food and gifts.

They mate in any season, the female enthralling a male with a writhing dance. About two months later, she lays 1d6+1 eggs and covers them with earth; they harden slowly and hatch after about three months. A clutch that survives intact founds a new family, while stragglers join nearby snakemen, free or enslaved.

Ophidians hunt any warm-blooded creature, favoring small game, and can unhinge their jaws to swallow carcasses up to 3 feet long. They keep small animal numbers in check, though some bands have acquired a taste for halflings.