This great green serpent bears a strange pattern of glistening silver scales down the length of its back. Its eyes shine even brighter—two great pools of silver peering out above a gaping, fanged maw.
DREAM SERPENT CR 6
Often N Large magical beast
Init +3; Senses scent; Listen +2, Spot +6
AC 16, touch 12, flat-footed 13 (–1 size, +3 Dex, +4 natural)
hp 64 (9 HD)
SV Fort +7, Ref +9, Will +3
Speed 30 ft. (6 squares), climb 20 ft., swim 20 ft.
Melee bite +14 (1d8+9 plus poison)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Base Atk +9; Grp +19
Atk Options poison (DC 15, 1d6 Wis/1d6 Wis plus dreams)
Special Actions sleep gaze
Abilities Str 23, Dex 16, Con 13, Int 4, Wis 11, Cha 12
Feats Alertness, Skill Focus (Move Silently), Toughness (2)
Skills Climb +14, Hide +3, Listen +2, Move Silently +10, Spot +6, Swim +14
Advancement 10–14 HD (Large); 15–26 HD (Huge)
Poison (Ex) Creatures that fall asleep after taking Wisdom damage from a dream serpent’s poison have vivid dreams of exotic vibrant jungles and thousands of angry serpents. The dreams are disturbing but cause no ill effects. (DC 15, 1d6 Wis/1d6 Wis plus dreams)
Sleep Gaze (Su) As the sleep spell, duration 1d6 minutes, 30 feet, Fortitude DC 15 negates. The save DC is Charisma- based.
Skills A dream serpent has a +8 racial bonus on Climb checks and can always choose to take 10 on a Climb check, even if rushed or threatened. It has a +8 racial bonus on Swim checks to perform some special action or avoid a hazard. A dream snake can always choose to take 10 on Swim checks, even if distracted or endangered. It can use the run action while swimming, provided it swims in a straight line.
The jungles of Xen’drik teem with exotic life, but none are more sought after than the dream serpent.
STRATEGIES AND TACTICS
Dream serpents hunt throughout Xen’drik’s jungles. In combat, a dream serpent uses its sleep gaze to best advantage, reserving its bite for creatures that are resistant or immune to its gaze. It lurks in high trees, typically descending only to attack sleeping prey. A dream serpent can easily catch an entire group unaware by putting a sentry to sleep. It then snatches a target of its choice, dragging the hapless creature off into the jungle and leaving its companions unaware until morning.
Dream serpents fight as a group when their nesting grounds are threatened. A single serpent protects each nest at any cost, while the others in the group attempt to drive off intruders.
SAMPLE ENCOUNTERS
Dream serpents are intelligent enough to leave clearly superior foes alone, but they fight fiercely when threatened. The drow and yuan-ti of Xen'drik revere the dream serpents, and careless hunters might run afoul of such guardians.
Individual (EL 6): A lone dream serpent could be encountered in any part of Xen’drik’s endless jungle. If a passing party takes care not to disturb a resting dream serpent, it might ignore the travelers’ presence. However, a serpent that has recently been the target of hunters might attack without provocation.
Nesting Ground (EL 8–12): A dream serpent nesting ground can contain up to nine mated pairs. The suggested Encounter Levels assume that half the serpents remain at their nests, while their mates engage the party. They first attempt to use their sleep gaze on creatures entering the clearing, but they move to attack if necessary. Dream serpents defending their nesting grounds typically fight until slain.
ECOLOGY
Renowned for their shimmering scales, pearly fangs, and hallucinogenic venom, dream serpents are hunted by explorers throughout Xen’drik. Boats leaving for Khorvaire often carry the dried leather and carved fangs of these mysterious jungle predators.
The drow, who call the dream serpents qulashtaq, view these creatures as a vital part of their lives and culture. They use the skin for armor, the fangs for weapons, the bones and eyes in rituals, the flesh for food, and the venom as a deadly weapon. The venom, when diluted, also serves in their religious ceremonies. Both the drow and the yuan-ti (who venerate dream serpents as aspects of the Devourer) indiscriminately attack explorers who indulge in what they see as wasteful slaughter of these noble creatures.
Normally solitary, dream serpents gather in communal nesting grounds to incubate and hatch their eggs.
Environment: Dream serpents inhabit Xen’drik’s warm forests, particularly areas of tall trees and sheltered clearings.
Typical Physical Characteristics: A dream serpent grows to a length of 15 feet and can weigh up to 200 pounds.
Alignment: As jungle predators, dream serpents are almost always neutral. However, with their relatively high Intelligence, individual serpents sometimes take on kindly or malevolent bents.
TYPICAL TREASURE
Dream serpents do not carry or store treasure of any kind. However, the hide and fangs of a dream serpent are valuable commodities, worth up to 200 gp total in Xen’drik or Sharn.
DREAM SERPENT LORE
Characters with ranks in Knowledge (nature) can learn more about dream serpents. When a character makes a skill check, the following lore is revealed, including information from lower DCs.
| Knowledge (Nature) | |
|---|---|
| DC | Result |
| 16 | Dream serpents are magical beasts named for the hallucinatory effects of their venom. This result reveals all magical beast traits. |
| 21 | A dream serpent has a potent poisonous bite that numbs its victims’ instincts. However, it prefers to use its sleep gaze before resorting to melee. |
| 26 | The drow hunted dream serpents long before explorers came to Xen’drik. Now, competition for the serpents means that hunters must be wary of drow retaliation, as well as the threat from the serpents themselves. |
| 31 | The drow and yuan-ti of Xen’drik both revere the dream serpent, but the yuan-ti present the greater threat to hunters. They worship the serpents as an aspect of the Devourer and consider killing one to be an act of deepest sacrilege. |
Source: Secrets of Xen'drik
