Winged Snake

Spark snakes, as these winged serpents are also called, are vivid reptiles of tropical forests in hues from sky blue and emerald to raspberry red. Gauzy wings beat too fast to see, making them look like scaly hummingbirds, and with the wings folded they can spider climb at will.

Fluid and lightning fast, they always get -3 to initiative. The bite deals 1d4 points of damage and injects acidic venom that, after 1 round, deals 2d8 more on each of the next 2 rounds (half with a save vs. poison).

Worse is the spark shower. The wings build static from the air, especially humid air, which the snake spits out as a 10-foot cloud of dancing sparks doing 2d8 points of damage (save vs. breath weapon for half). It ignites exposed fuel such as lamp oil, dry wood, hair or clothes. Recharging takes one turn. They are immune to electricity.

Fire is their bane: they save against it at -2, and a failed save burns off the wings. A wingless snake still bites but has no breath weapon until they regrow.

They must eat almost constantly, flitting through the jungle in small flocks after tropical fruit. A snake injects a fruit with venom that liquefies it inside the skin, then sucks the pulp out through the fang holes, eating about 10 times its own weight daily.

They mate just as often but abandon their young, which are born live, wingless, dark green, and already able to spider climb. Wings appear as stubs after a month and work at three months, and adult colors follow. Until then monkeys, ordinary snakes and giant insects pick them off. They keep no lair or treasure.

Like giant bees, spark snakes pollinate fruit trees and scatter seeds, and adults have no natural enemies. One caught in its first month, before its wings mature, makes a fine but costly pet, eating about 100 gp of fruit a month (less with a big orchard). A good trainer can teach it three tricks or tasks for each point of Intelligence, which it does gladly while fresh fruit is around. They can guard, but thieves know a fragrant fruit decoy distracts a poorly trained one. The venom breaks down on contact with air and the hide is too frail for leather, but powdered wings mixed into ink can scribe a protection from lightning scroll.