Today marks the 95 anniversary of the birth of American author Lin Carter. I didn't plan it this way, but I have been going back and rereading some of Carter's work, especially his entries in Gygax's Appendix N. So today I want to revisit a favorite bad guy of mine, the Ophidians or Snake Men/Serpent Men, and recast them as "The Serpent Men of Lemuria."
I am not trying to cling to one particular idea here. This is a pastiche of many sources. Lin Carter, Robert E. Howard, Lovecraft, Clark Ashton Smith, and others.
This recasting is not designed to be incompatible with my previous post on Ophidians, but rather an enhancement to it.
Serpent Men of Lemuria (Ophidians)
Frequency: Rare
No. Appearing: 2–20 (nobles 1–4; lesser 2–100; emissaries 1–10; abominations 1–8)
Armor Class: Varies (see below)
Move: 12" (Swim 12")
Hit Dice: Varies (see below)
% in Lair: 60%
Treasure Type: Varies (see below)
No. of Attacks: Varies
Damage/Attack: Varies
Special Attacks: Poison, charm, constriction, magic
Special Defenses: See below
Magic Resistance: Standard
Intelligence: High to Genius
Alignment: Lawful Evil
Size: M to L (5' to 15' long)
Psionic Ability: Nil
Attack/Defense Modes: Nil
The Serpent Men of Lemuria are the degenerate remnants of an ancient pre-human empire that once ruled the world from their black ziggurats of Lemuria. Worshippers of forgotten serpent gods, they are a deeply hierarchical species whose society is divided into castes: Nobles, Emissaries, Lessers, Abominations, and the rare Progenitors.
The Serpent Men dwell in lost cities, endless deserts, and jungle-cloaked ruins where the bones of their former empire still stand. Their society is steeped in sorcery, cruelty, and ancient blood magic.
Lesser Serpent Men (Rank & File)
Armor Class: 4
Hit Dice: 3+1
No. of Attacks: 2 (weapons) or 1 (bite)
Damage/Attack: Weapon (usually scimitars 1d8) or bite 1d6 + poison
Special Attacks: Poison (save vs poison or die in 1d4+2 rounds)
Special Defenses: Immune to snake venom
Treasure Type: Q×10 (minor trophies, jewelry)
Description: The Lesser caste are the numerous warrior-slaves of the Serpent Men, with humanoid torsos and snake-like lower bodies. They wield cruel curved blades and favor ambush tactics. Though not highly intelligent individually, they are cunning pack hunters.
Noble Serpent Men (Ruling Caste)
Armor Class: 2
Hit Dice: 9+3
No. of Attacks: 1 (weapon or bite)
Damage/Attack: Weapon (1d8) or bite 1d6 + poison
Special Attacks: Poison (save vs poison or die in 1d4+2 rounds); Command lesser castes
Special Defenses: Immune to snake venom; immune to petrification (basilisks, medusae)
Treasure Type: H, S (temple hoards)
Description: The Nobles rule through bloodline purity, cruelty, and mastery of ancient secrets. With humanoid heads covered in fine scales, they resemble blasphemous parodies of men. Their venom is deadlier than the Lesser caste, and their minds sharp with sorcerous knowledge of the old gods.
Emissary Serpent Men (Sorcerer-Priests)
Armor Class: 5
Hit Dice: 6+2
No. of Attacks: 1 weapon or spell
Damage/Attack: Weapon (usually dagger 1d4+1) or by spell
Special Attacks: Charm (victims save at −1); spells as 5th-level Illusionist
Special Defenses: Immune to snake venom; partially resistant to charm (save at +1 vs charm attempts)
Treasure Type: O, R (spell components, magical items, rare scrolls)
Description: Emissaries are the sorcerer-priests of the Ophidians, acting as the voice of the nobles to the outside world. Though appearing nearly human, they bear forked tongues, scaled skin, and slitted eyes. Their spells manipulate the minds of humans, making them ideal infiltrators and agents.
Abomination Serpent Men (Spawn of Forbidden Unions)
Armor Class: 3
Hit Dice: 10+2
No. of Attacks: 2 slams and bite
Damage/Attack: 1d6+3 / 1d6+3 (slams), bite 1d6+3 + poison
Special Attacks: Constriction (if both slam attacks hit same target); poison bite (save vs poison or die in 1d4+1 rounds)
Special Defenses: Immune to snake venom; berserk rage grants +2 to hit when wounded
Treasure Type: None
Description: The Abominations are cursed progeny — bloated masses of serpentine horror, many-limbed or many-headed, each uniquely malformed. Used as shock troops, they know only hatred for all life. The nobles use them as living engines of slaughter.
Progenitor Serpent Men (Ancient Mage-Priests)
Armor Class: 6
Hit Dice: 9
No. of Attacks: 1 weapon or spell
Damage/Attack: By weapon or spell
Special Attacks: Cast as 5th-level Magic-User and 4th-level Cleric
Special Defenses: Immune to snake venom; difficult to detect (treat as continuous nondetection spell)
Treasure Type: Q, S, U (ancient relics, rare spellbooks, forbidden lore)
Description: The Progenitors are the oldest of the Serpent Men, their bodies concealed by illusory human skins. They are few, paranoid, and driven by a desire for immortality. Most nobles seek to destroy them out of fear.
Ecology and Religion
The Serpent Men worship ancient pre-human serpent deities, long forgotten by man. Whether these are true gods or eldritch cosmic entities is unknown. In their black ziggurats, sacrifices are made to these dark powers, feeding the Ophidian sorceries that sustain their dwindling bloodlines.
The Cult of The One Who Remains
In the lost jungles and steaming lowlands of ancient Lemuria, where black ziggurats rise like broken teeth through the mists, the Ophidian Serpent Men whisper prayers to a god few mortals dare name. The humans who know of it call it The One Who Remains; the Serpent Men call it Ssath Ur-Raa, He Who Waits Beyond All Coils.
To the Serpent Men, all things, kingdoms, races, even the gods themselves, are as molted skins, discarded and forgotten. After all, they watched the Old Ones rise into power and then fall into their deep cosmic slumbers. Only the great cosmic serpent at the center of all existence endures. They believe that when the final sun gutters out and the last star grows cold, The One Who Remains will still exist, coiled at the center of the void, the last and eternal devourer. It is not death, but endless, unbroken continuation. Not life, but consumption without end.
Within their ancient temples, deep beneath the crumbling ziggurats of Lemuria, the Serpent Men enact terrible rites in its honor. Victims are dragged screaming into stone chambers and placed upon altars of obsidian and jade. There, their lifeblood is spilled, seeping into channels cut into the floor, flowing in great spirals that mimic the infinite coils of their god. Blood is both offering and currency, traded for visions, power, and the brief illusion of immortality.
The priesthood of The One Who Remains is layered like the coils of their god. At its center sits the High Oracle of the Last Coil, always one of the ancient Progenitors, older than memory and rumored to have gazed directly into the eyes of the Sleeper Beneath the Last Coil. Around the Oracle gather the Lords of the Black Coil, drawn from the most ancient noble bloodlines. It is they who oversee the Abomination-Births, deliberately breeding the most monstrous of their kind as offerings and as weapons in their ceaseless wars. Beneath them are the Coilspeakers, the Emissaries who master the ancient arts of dream-sorcery and illusion. With whispered words and flickering gestures, they cloud the minds of men and bend them to the will of their Ophidian masters.
Even among the Lesser caste, faith in The One Who Remains is absolute, though their understanding is crude. They serve as the laborers, the warriors, and the butchers of the faith. For every sacrifice, for every abomination birthed, for every rival enslaved or destroyed, the Serpent Men believe themselves one coil closer to their god’s embrace.
Yet it is not merely blood and flesh they offer. The Coilspeakers enter trances where they seek visions from the outer reaches of the world, glimpsing patterns spiraling into infinite madness. Those few who return speak of collapsing worlds, of unraveling realities, and of other realms where The One Who Remains reaches through fractured dimensions to consume entire existences. Whether these are prophetic glimpses or delusions born of their own degeneracy, none can say.
To the Ophidians, all is a spiral, the twisting of bloodlines, the coiling of bodies in ritual embrace, the spiraling glyphs carved into the temple stones. And at the center of every spiral is The One Who Remains.
Even now, as the last of their ancient cities crumble, and humanity rises beyond the jungles they once ruled, the Ophidians believe that all victories of man are but passing skins. In the end, when all is uncoiled and the world breathes its final breath, only their god shall remain.
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I have been hanging on to The One Who Remains for many years now. Trying to find good ways to sneak it into various writings. He made his first appearance in my Buffy RPG adventure "The Dark Druid" and he is the "something else" I mentioned in Fear Dorich's stats.
Who, or what, is The One Who Remains? That is a much more complicated question and deserves a careful answer. In the future.
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