Serpentfolk
The Ssith'katha are a serpentine people whose oldest known communities come from Zalthyx, the serpent kingdom south of Avermont/Shahoya.
Their traditions describe ancestors who underwent ritual transformations through ancient pacts. Over many generations, those altered bloodlines gave rise to the Ssith'katha and became closely tied to the temples, noble houses, and ruling customs of Zalthyx.
The Anath'iss are the most numerous Ssith'katha lineage and the one most often encountered beyond Zalthyx. Their bodies remain largely humanoid, which has made it easier for Anath'iss families to settle in other parts of Eldareth.
Their connection to Zalthyx varies considerably. Some families still maintain religious, political, or family ties there, while others have lived abroad for generations and follow very few Zalthyx customs.
Identity and Culture
Anath'iss have humanoid bodies with visible serpentine traits. Fine scales commonly appear around the neck, shoulders, or limbs, while their eyes usually have vertical pupils. Forked tongues and elongated canine teeth are also common, and some Anath'iss are capable of producing venom.
The extent of these features varies between families. Some can pass for human at a distance, while others have extensive scales, more pronounced facial features, or other traits that make their Ssith'katha ancestry immediately obvious.
Traditional Anath'iss education, particularly in Zalthyx, places strong emphasis on careful observation. Children are often taught to listen before answering, remember what has been said, and avoid making commitments before they understand the situation.
Control over speech and emotion is treated as a useful skill, especially among older temple and court families. Speaking carelessly, revealing private information, or allowing anger to decide an important matter can damage a person's reputation.
These habits can also become restrictive. In some Zalthyx households, children grow up surrounded by rules about what should be said, who should know it, and when certain information may be shared. The major factions of Zalthyx disagree over how much control families, temples, and rulers should have over those decisions.
The Gilded Coil
The Gilded Coil teaches that information should be gathered carefully and shared only when doing so serves a clear purpose.
Its members are often involved in diplomacy, negotiation, intelligence gathering, and court administration. Records, private correspondence, personal contacts, and knowledge of rival factions are treated as valuable resources.
Within the Coil, giving away information unnecessarily is considered poor judgment. Members are taught to learn as much as they can before revealing what they know.
This has earned the faction a reputation for secrecy and manipulation. Critics accuse Coil agents of withholding information or steering conversations to produce a particular outcome, practices that many traditional members consider normal parts of political life.
The Dawncoil Concord
The Dawncoil Concord grew from Anath'iss who wanted to change older Zalthyx customs without abandoning their culture entirely.
Its members retain the traditional emphasis on discipline, careful speech, and self-control, but place greater limits on how those practices should be used against other people. Concord teachings generally discourage coercion, forced obedience, and the deliberate use of private information to control someone else's choices.
The faction is also more willing to work openly with other peoples and to challenge rulings made by temples or established families.
Many Anath'iss who leave Zalthyx find the Concord familiar without feeling bound to every older custom. For some, it provides a way to remain connected to Ssith'katha traditions while rejecting parts of Zalthyx society they no longer wish to follow.
The Xal'Tarothi
The Xal'Tarothi follow a strict interpretation of Zalthyx law, temple teaching, and social hierarchy.
They expect individuals to obey the authority of family heads, temple officials, and rulers where those positions are recognized by law. Duties attached to rank are taken seriously, and challenging a superior without accepted cause can carry both legal and social consequences.
The Xal'Tarothi argue that weakening these structures creates uncertainty over who is responsible for decisions, property, justice, and public order.
This places them in frequent conflict with the Dawncoil Concord. The Xal'Tarothi regard many Concord reforms as attempts to remove obligations that have governed Zalthyx families and institutions for generations.
Anath'iss Beyond Zalthyx
Anath'iss have lived outside Zalthyx for generations, especially in cities connected to southern trade and diplomacy.
Some continue to work in professions associated with traditional Zalthyx education, including diplomacy, administration, translation, and negotiation. Others have no connection to these roles and enter the same trades and professions as the people around them.
An Anath'iss raised abroad may identify primarily with the city or kingdom in which they grew up. They may speak little of Zalthyx, follow another religion, or know its customs only through older relatives.
Outsiders do not always make that distinction. In regions where Zalthyx agents or factions have a poor reputation, Anath'iss may be treated as though they share political loyalties or beliefs they have never held.
Some habits learned in traditional households can also persist after someone leaves. A person taught from childhood to weigh every answer carefully may still pause before speaking, avoid revealing personal information, or pay close attention to who is present during a conversation, even when there is no particular reason for secrecy.
Ssith'katha Across Eldareth
Zalthyx has strongly shaped how the Ssith'katha are viewed outside their homeland. Anath'iss diplomats, temple representatives, merchants, and political agents have traveled abroad for generations and remain the form of Ssith'katha most familiar to other peoples.
The activities of secretive Zalthyx factions have also created distrust in some regions. Courts that have dealt with espionage or covert interference may place additional restrictions on visiting agents, while ordinary Anath'iss families can find themselves caught in the same suspicion.
Communities outside Zalthyx have developed differently depending on how long they have been established abroad. Some preserve language, religious practice, and family customs closely, while others have adopted the laws, dress, food, and traditions of their new homes.
As these communities have grown, disagreements over Zalthyx customs have become more visible. Some families continue to look to its temples and institutions for guidance, while others treat Zalthyx as the homeland of distant ancestors rather than an authority over how they should live.
Serpentfolk Traits
Ability Score Increase. When determining your character’s ability scores, increase one score by 2 and increase a different score by 1, or increase three different scores by 1. You can't raise any of your scores above 20.
Creature Type. You are a Humanoid.
Size. You are Medium.
Speed. Your walking speed is 30 feet.
Darkvision. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light and in darkness as if it were dim light. You discern colors in that darkness only as shades of gray.
Magic Resistance. You have advantage on saving throws against spells.
Poison Resilience. You have advantage on saving throws you make to avoid or end the poisoned condition on yourself. You also have resistance to poison damage.
Serpentine Spellcasting. You know the Poison Spray cantrip.
You can cast Animal Friendship a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus per long rest, but only targeting snakes.
Starting at 5th level, you can cast Suggestion with this trait. Once you cast it, you can’t do so again until you finish a long rest. You can also cast it using any spell slots you have of 2nd level or higher.
Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma is your spellcasting ability for these spells (choose when you select this race).
Languages. Your character can speak, read, and write Common and one other language that you and your DM agree is appropriate for the character. The Player’s Handbook offers a list of languages to choose from. The DM is free to modify that list for a campaign.