Lizardfolk of the Coiled Serpent
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Atavistic warriors dwelling in the inner reaches of Ashlar’s Salt Mire, the Coiled Serpent tribe worship Yig—Father of Serpents—who they believe will one day consume the world. The Coiled Serpent tribe numbers about 100 or so individuals and they are an insular folk happiest when ignored by their human neighbours.
Society & Organisation
An acolyte of Yig has always led the Lizardfolk of the Coiled Serpent, but the position is not hereditary. A complex series of rules and traditions guide and facilitate everyday life. Generally, tribal members work for the common good as life in the dank and dismal Salt Mire necessitates cooperation.
The tribe lives a simple life in harmony with the seasons and the Salt Mire. Toward humans and their ilk, they are indifferent; as long as the humans leave them alone, the tribe leaves the humans alone.
The tribe is not, and has never been, large. Its folk dwell in small groups of up to a dozen individuals scattered throughout their territory; elders are treated well and respected and tend the young while the adults hunt and forage in the marsh.
The tribe has no tradition of writing, and in any event, books and the like do not last long in the swamp’s damp environment. Thus, Lorekeepers—most acolytes of Yig (devil god of serpents)—protect and pass down the tribe’s hereditary knowledge. The tribe has few such individuals, and they are protected and respected by their fellows.
Carven wooden statues of a gigantic coiled serpent mark the tribe’s territory. Such carvings are intricate and sometimes painted with yellow and red ochre. The carvings rarely last more than a score of years amid the fetid Salt Mire, and thus, the tribe are always working on replacements. Intruders ignoring the carvings who invade the tribe’s territory are told to leave. If the intruders ignore the tribe’s warnings, violence inevitably ensues.
Personalities
Most of the Coiled Serpent tribe comprises atavistic, simple lizardfolk. A few members of the tribe, however, are exceptional for one reason or another.
Sithes (female lizardfolk chieftain and priest): Leading the tribe as her father once did, Sithes is more thoughtful and considered than many of her brethren. She is a skilled priest of Yig and has a pet constrictor snake who is never far from her side. Sithes follows her father’s policy of non-aggression toward humans wherever possible; however, she possesses a strong temper, which sometimes gets the better of her.
Cil (male lizardfolk lorekeeper): Bent with great age and now partly blind, Cil is the oldest and wisest of the tribe’s lorekeepers. Always accompanied by two attentive helpers, the lore keeper is rarely abroad but is consulted on all decisions of import. Although Sithes leads the tribe, Cil’s opinion carries great weight among the tribe’s rank and file.
Skara (male lizardfolk champion): Strongest and bravest of all the tribe’s warriors, Skara is the most aggressive of the tribe’s warriors. Skara dreams of uniting all the surrounding tribes and forcing the humans—peacefully, if possible—from the Salt Mire; only then will the lizardfolk be able to dwell in peace. In this, he is somewhat naive.
Ecology & Lair
The tribe dwells mostly in and around Willow Hill in the depths of the Salt Mire. The hill is a lonely place, surrounded by miles of dank, sucking mire and thin streams that wend their way through the murk.
The tribe’s main home is a dungeon—the Dank Hall of the One-Eyed Oracles—below the hill; it is a small place of ancient origin and here dwells their chieftain, Sithes. The lizardfolk live communally—either under Willow Hill or in part-sunken longhouses hidden amid the fetid surroundings. The lizardfolk, unsurprisingly, share their homes with snakes of many kinds.
In the Salt Mire, the lizardfolk are at home, and they live in harmony with their surroundings. The lizardfolk are well-skilled at fishing and foraging amid the murk.
Combat & Tactics
The Coiled Serpent’s warriors prefer to strike from ambush and are skilled at using their home’s fetid terrain to good advantage. Never numerous, the tribe’s warriors eschew hand-to-hand fighting wherever possible and prefer to strike and retreat, all the while drawing their foes deeper and deeper into the swamp. Therein they hope the sucking bogs and ferocious swamp denizens will doom their foes to a terrible death.
Most of the Coiled Serpent’s warriors care little for battle glory or honours, and thus, except when defending their home, their young or their mates, they take few unnecessary risks in battle.
Credit
This is a short system-neutral extract from Monstrous Delve: Lizardfolk of the Coiled Serpent by Creighton Broadhurst.
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