Snakemen - Servants of the Naga

[Suicide King]

So here are some snakemen that I am burning up for my agains the temple of the reptile God game.

Concept: Monstrous snakemen who serve the Naga without question.

Description:
Monstrous snakemen that walk on two legs and do their naga masters’ bidding. They see themselves as superior to the human cultists they serve with and have a clear pecking order. They all believe in the Naga’s and their Dead Gods.

Traits:
Cobra Head, Grey and Brown Scales, Forked Tongue, Keen Taste, Keen Smell, Snake Venom 2, Color Blind, Proud, Cruel, Fangs, Snake Eyes, Iron Scales, Cold-Blooded

Stats:
Wi B3
Pe B4
Ag B4
Sp B5
Po B5
Fo B4

Attributes:
Steel B6
Health B4
Hesitation 6
Reflexes B4

Beliefs:
We serve the Naga and the Dead Gods - for that we shall be granted entrance to heaven.
Our race is superior to the crude race of men, only through submitting can men make something of themselves.
The only ones above me are the Naga, her priests and our commanders. Keep it that way!

Instincts:
Always ready a javelin when there's danger.
Show no fear to lesser beings (humans, elves, orcs, etc.)
Always take out frustration on those below me.

Skills:
Sword B4, Brawl B3, Throwing B4, Stealth B4, Intimidate B4, Swamp-Wise B3, Dark and Dank Hiding Places-Wise B3

Gear:
Poor quality leather armour, javlins with bone heads, worn sword, bones and other fetishes.


So these guys are supposed to be a small army of monstrous servants. They are not nice to be around, especially not for the human cultists, but not for each other either. They love to make other's submit, but hate submitting themselves.

One thing I agonized a lot over was their stats. The players will probably face them in small groups - 3-5 of them. With a speed of 5 that means they will be a nightmare in R&C as they help each other... But I just could not give them Speed B4. They are snakemen after all.

An suggestion are welcome. I think beliefs and instincts might need an overhaul.

EDIT: Lowered will to B3.

[Suicide King]

Snakemen Priest of the Dead Gods
The spiritual leaders of the snakemen. They are serve alongside the soldier snakemen, but resent the commanders hold over them. They consider themselves second only to the Naga.

Traits:
Humanoid, Cobra Head, Grey and Brown Scales, Keen Smell, Snake Venom 2, Color Blind, Proud, Cruel, Fangs, Snake Eyes, Forked Tongue, Keen Taste, Iron Scales, Cold-Blooded, Faith in Dead Gods

Stats:
Wi B4
Pe B4
Ag B4
Sp B5
Po B4
Fo B4

Beliefs:
We serve the Naga and the Dead Gods - for that we shall be granted entrance to heaven.
Our race is superior to the crude race of men, only through submitting can men make something of themselves.
We are closest to the Gods and the Naga, we should be the leaders.

Instincts:
Always have a javelin ready when there's danger.
Always pray together
Always take out frustration on those below me.

Skills:
Suasion B4, Doctrine B4, Sword B3, Brawl B2, Throwing B3, Stealth B3, Intimidate B4, Swamp-Wise B3, Blood Sacrifice-Wise B3

Attributes:
Steel B7
Health B4
Hesitation 6
Reflexes B4

[Suicide King]

Snakemen Commanders
The leaders of the snakemen. They are chosen for their physical prowess and ability to make others’ do what they say. They answer only to the Naga and love every ounce of their power.

Traits:
Humanoid, Cobra Head, Grey and Brown Scales, Keen Smell, Snake Venom 2, Color Blind, Proud, Cruel, Fangs, Snake Eyes, Forked Tongue, Keen Taste, Iron Scales, Cold-Blooded, Brutal (C-O for intimidation)

Stats:
Wi B4
Pe B4
Ag B4
Sp B5
Po B6
Fo B5

Beliefs:
We serve the Naga and the Dead Gods - for that we shall be granted entrance to heaven.
Our race is superior to the crude race of men, only through submitting can men make something of themselves.
Make sure the priests remember their place – You have been chosen to lead, they have been chosen to serve.

Instincts:
Always have a javelin ready when there's danger.
Always take out frustration on those below me.
Always command with fear (FoRK intimidation)

Skills:
Sword B5, Brawl B3, Throwing B4, Stealth B4, Intimidate B5, Swamp-Wise B3, Dark and Dank Hiding Places-Wise B3, Command B3

Attributes:
Steel B7
Health B4
Hesitation 6
Reflexes B4

Gear:
RoTM leather armour, steel sword, bone headed javelins

[Venenum]

All in all i like them, I got my books 2 weeks ago, and was working on a snake-men stock.

Now for the review. To better match reality, if you give them cobra heads( elapids), they should have snake venom 1, a nuero toxin, and no snake venom 2, a hemotoxin. Also Iron scales is very powerful, and snakescales in genral are not that tough. I would give them a scales trait that gives them leather armor equivlant, to better match real snake scales.

Hey just my opinion, feel free to ignore my advice, since it is not too significant.

[Drozdal]

Alexander I bet you've seen these (http://www.burningwheel.org/wiki/index.php?title=Snake_Cult) before, but I guess it's worth pimping them oput here anyway.

As for the traits, are all those new ones purely character traits? If not I'd love to see them priced-out ;)

[Suicide King]

Oh I have seen those and oh yes I am going to use them :)

However, in the village where the players are facing off against these guys the cult has only been active for a year. The villagers haven't gotten the lps yet (though they are working on them).
There will be some suspcious strangers in the village though and they will be snake cultists.
If the players choose to pursue the cult they will be facing full cultists.

These are character traits: Proud, Cruel
Cosmetic traits: Humanoid, Snake Eyes, Forked Tongue, Color Blind, Cobra Head, Grey and Brown Scales
Call-Ons: Brutal
Die-Traits: Cold-Blooded, Fangs, Keen Taste, Keen Smell, Snake Venom 2

The call-on and the die traits are from the MB.

Venenum - Excellent points. I did a little reading on wikipedia before creating them. That's why they have brown and grey scales instead of green :)

I think snake venom 1 is a little too... punishing. THat's why I took snake venom 2. In retrospect I think they should be some other kind of snake.
Iron Scales are funny - on one hand they don't give as much protection as the scales you suggest, on the other hand they are more powerful when combined with armour...

You are right though, giving them all skin equivalent to leather armour and dropping iron scales is a good idea. Could you maybe suggest a fitting kind of snake to have snake venom 2? I'll model them on those instead then.

[Kublai]

The soldiers should have the Loyal trait, according to your fluff.

[Suicide King]

Right, so I have changed their physical description quite a bit, modeling them on vipers instead of cobras. This makes more sense with their poison and preference for swamps.

The creature is covered in green and brown scales, the pattern occasionally broken by golden flecks. It is naked except for a harness where it carries a sword and a bundle of javelins. It's reptillian eyes scan it's sorrounding, it's snakehead turns slowly on a flexible neck.

Also, beliefs have been cleaned up a lot. Now it also has ptgs and weapon stats. Also remembered that the they should have a minimum of doctrine.

I think I got it nailed now (though more comments are welcome). These are quite dangerous in a crowd, but not that scary when alone. Excellent minions for the naga. Thanks guys!

Snakeman Soldier

Concept: Monstrous snakemen who serve the Naga without question.

Description:
Monstrous snakemen that walk on two legs and do their naga masters’ bidding. They see themselves as superior to the human cultists they serve with and have a clear pecking order. They all believe in the Naga’s and their Dead Gods.

Traits:
Snake Head, Green and Brown Scales, Forked Tongue, Color Blind, Snake Eyes, Keen Taste, Keen Smell, Snake Venom 2, Snake Bite, Leathery Scales*, Cold-Blooded, Heat Sense*, Loyal, Proud, Cruel

Stats:
Wi B3
Pe B4
Ag B4
Sp B5
Po B5
Fo B4

Attributes:
Steel B6
Health B3
Hesitation 7
Reflexes B4

Beliefs:
Serve the Naga without question, she will lead us to glory.
Worship the Dead Gods, they shall open the gates of paradise for us.
We are better than men, they should submit to us.
Only the naga, the priests, and the commanders are above me, no one else can lord it over me!

Instincts:
Always ready a javelin when there's danger.
Show no fear to lesser beings (humans, elves, orcs, etc.)
Always take out frustration on those below me.

Skills:
Sword B4, Brawl B3, Throwing B4, Stealth B4, Intimidate B4, Swamp-Wise B3, Dark and Dank Hiding Places-Wise B3, Doctrine of Dead Gods B2

Gear:
Javlins with bone heads, worn sword, bones and other fetishes.

PTGS:
Su B3, Li B5, Mi B7, Se B8, Tr B9, MW B10

IMS:
RotM Sword: I B4, M B8, S B12. VA -, Add 2, Slow, Long.
Snake Bite: I B3, M B6, S B9. VA -, Add 2, Fast, Shortest
Javelins: (1-2) I B4, (3-4) M B7, (5-6) S B10. VA 1.

Fourth belief is due to the Loyal trait.

New traits*:
Leathery Scales - Die Trait - 6 pts
Exactly as leathery skin from the MB, this one provides armor equivalent to leather armor. The only difference is, it's scaly.

Heat Sense - Die Trait - 6 pts
Due to it's sensitivity to heat this creature can sense other living beings within it's perception in paces. Certain things can obscure this sense though - hot smoke, too much ambient heat, etc.
Priced at 6 pts because...
Reduces up to 4 pts of penalties (5 pts)
Always on (+2 pts)
-1 pt because it can be obscured and because it's short range.

Total trait cost:
43.