D&D General Help me make a snake-themed dungeon

[Voadam]

Some portrayals of hydras have them as snakes with no legs.

Linnorms are more snakey dragons with only forelimbs.

Sea Serpents.

Water Weirds from 1e.

The Kamadan from Fiend Folio.

 

[Nebulous]

Another grotesquely favorite of mine is the yuan ti anathema, that thing with snake head arms. It's creepy.

 

[Nebulous]

Thessalhydra. Did that make the transition to 5e?

 

[Older Beholder]

A little bit out of the box, but a Venom Troll that is the result of a regular troll getting stuck in the dungeon and constantly bitten by snakes. (or possibly experimented on by Yuan-Ti)

 

[Voadam]

Iron Cobra for the snake fakeout.

In a similar vein the Penumbra Fantasy Bestiary has the Halperthian Rattler and the Castigoran Constrictor, two of my contributions.

 

[Voadam]

Fiend Folio has you covered.

 

[Voadam]

Ravenloft's Monstrous Compendium Appendix III had the Hebi-No-Onna Snake Women:

"
"Hebi-no-onna, also known as snake women, are powerful spellcasters who can control snakes of all sorts. They often dupe normal men and women into forming cults dedicated to themselves in order to further their selfish and evil aims. Hebi-no-onna have the bodies of exceptionally beautiful women with writhing serpents instead of arms."

 

[Quickleaf]

What are some snake-themed monsters? Constrictors and vipers, obviously. Naga, yuan-ti, medusa, couatl? What are some others? How would you fit them all into a dungeon while making sure each encounter has a distinct hook to set it apart?

If I were putting yuan-ti & nagas in the same dungeon, I think due to their antagonistic lore that would be the main theme of the dungeon – it would either be a naga captive of the yuan-ti in a yuan-ti dungeon with its spiral-winding pillars and lack of stairs OR it would be a naga's lair (i.e. the dungeon with the McGuffin it is guarding) being invaded by yuan-ti that act as a rival party to the PCs.

I could see a couatl potentially fitting in the naga dungeon as part of a Trial of the Worthy. Or as a captive creature in the yuan-ti dungeon that they're trying to summon Merrashaulk or some entity to possess.

A medusa could fit in either as an aristocrat of a bygone age (whose curse serves as an example to others in the naga dungeon OR who is still held in begrudging respect by the yuan-ti as she tried to become one of them)... I'd be tempted to give her either homebrewed "earth weird minions or reskin the iron cobra as a petrified giant snake that she can animate.

Some others...

• Flying Snakes (used by Zhentarim)
• Lillendi (from Tales from the Infinite Staircase)
• Lamia Nobles with snake lower-body (from Expedition to the Demonweb Pits)

 

[Voadam]

Scarred Lands has a couple snake themed monsters building off their Serpent Themed Titaness Mormo. In addition to the serpent golem above there are their versions of Gorgons as seen in Creature Collection Revised. Similarly their Asaathi are serpent people. They also have blade hoods, nonvenomous cobras with razor sharp scales on their flaring hood.

 

[Staffan]

Iron Cobra for the snake fakeout.

Wouldn't that be a snakeout?