Yuan-Ti: The Next Degeneration

[JoeGKushner]

One of my biggest problems with Yuan-Ti was that you pretty much had to customize each and every one to make a useful encounter. Now don't get me wrong, many monstrous races are like this, but due to their numerous offshots, the Yuan-Ti are way up on the list.

 

[Psion]

Yuan-ti are some of my favorite villains. I do like using Drow as villains, but I liked using yuan-ti as mysterious, complex villains. I am actually a bit miffed that they put them in Icewind Dale, though, because that made some players more familiar with them.

And yuan-ti are nasty. I ran one 3e campaign that had the players investigating a slaver ring that led back to the yuan ti. The yuan ti were paying top dollar for slaves with classes and levels (so they could convert them to tainted ones) and took over the bandit kindoms with their considerable capabilities.

The party at the time was quite the wrecking crew, but were a little overconfident when they finally came face to face with the yuan-ti. For one, Yuan Ti are very intelligent and I play them that way. Two, they have some really nifty abilities and feats. IMC, they tend to try and bog their opponents down in entangles and use expertise to dull the effects of the party's uber-warriors.

In the last game of that campaign, the party assaulted the yuan-ti lair, hoping to lay in wait for a caravan full of slaves that were arriving. The entered the lair and managed to kill some wandering yuan-ti, and set up an ambush in the entry way. However, they used spells like sound burst that announced their presence. The other yuan ti caught wind what was going on, and given their intelligence, knew better than to jump into the fray. They left the lair by another exit, warned and regrouped with the caravan yuan-ti and set up an ambush of their own.

The party set their halfling rogue to hide outside and spot the yuan ti. A yuan-ti ranger with camoflage on spotted her first, and started peppering her with arrows. She didn't get the clue that she was spotted and outclassed, and failed to run. She died before she could warn the others that the gig was up. The resulting ambush took out half the party. It was glorious.

One of my biggest problems with Yuan-Ti was that you pretty much had to customize each and every one to make a useful encounter.

I really don't agree. I threw in classed yuan ti in many encounters (trivial to do with Jamis' NPC generator), but the majority of Yuan-Ti I used were straight out of the book. Their set of abilities combining stealth, defence, magical/psionic and conventional combat makes them really versatile.

 

[Tortoise]

I used to dislike the Yuan-ti, but if and when I restart or create a new campaign I plan to finish the idea I had for a nation of Yuan-ti. The 3E version is so versatile with class mods and templates that it's almost a shame not to use them somewhere.

 

[Urklore]

Why don't we start a post, like a Yuan-Ti a day, like the goblins had on the boards of long ago. Everyone submit a stat block for a customized Yuan-Ti.

 

[Tonguez]

Yuan-Ti are glorious

In one of my worlds the Yuan-Ti (merged with and also called Lamia) are the major villain race. They are a matriarchal theocracy ruled by the Immortal Queen Nakasha consort of the Dark Devourer (a god). It is these creatures who created the Great Pyramids and at one time threatened to overrun the world. However they suddenly stopped and disappeaered and noone knows why.

In the campaign PCs are hired by a Church Archeologist to help explore a lost city that has just been uncovered. Their explorations seem to indicate that Nakasha and her consort are about to return. Further a conspiracy of Yuan-Ti in human form has for many years infiltrating human society and many merchants and nobles are in fact Yuan-Ti

PS Drow are stupid and elves in general suck...

 

[seankreynolds]

First thing I did when I saw the new Monster Manual was turn to the back and see if they'd included the yuan ti. And then I bought it.

Funny thing is, WotC almost forgot to put yuan-ti in the book at all....

 

[IceBear]

In my last campaign, yuan-ti didn't exist as they had all died off in the ages past. However, a sect of Hextor's priests had located a powerful artifact in a lost yuan-ti temple that would tip the balance of power in Hextor's favor.

The party raced ahead of Hextor's minions to destroy the artifact. Unfortunately for them, this artifact transported them back in time at the height of the yuan-ti empire. Fortunately, they had also become yuan-ti nobles caught up in the power struggle that eventually lead to the demise of the yuan-ti race. The PCs, however, altered history and upon returning to their own time discovered that the yuan-ti had not died out and in fact ruled the entire Underdark and were invading the surface (but at least they had destroyed the artifact and prevented Hextor's priests from gaining control of it). Also, more disturbingly, a second black sun now appeared in the sky.

Unfortunately, due to situations beyond my control, the campaign died at this point.

IceBear

 

[Leopold]

PS Drow are stupid and elves in general suck...

couldn't a put it better myself

 

[Psion]

Heathens. Elves are cool and drow are wonderfully wicked, cool villains. Get it straight.

 

[Yuan-Ti]

Funny thing is, WotC almost forgot to put yuan-ti in the book at all....

Scary thought!