Editing Serpentfolk

'''Serpentfolk''' are a somewhat obscure idea that seems to base itself on the idea "[[lizardfolk]] are kind of cool, but how can we make them cooler and/or more evil? Hmm... let's base 'em on [[snek|snakes]]!" and working from there.

Serpentfolk, known at the time as Serpentmen or Snakemen, first appeared in the works of [[Robert E. Howard]] as part of his King Kull stories, more obscure "predecessors" to those of [[Conan the Barbarian]]. Serpentfolk were depicted as a pre-human sapient species of black magicians that had dominated the world, until Atlantis had arisen and defeated them. They also were slowly and tentatively assimilated into first the Conan stories and then, through Howard's correspondence with [[H.P. Lovecraft]], into the [[Cthulhu Mythos]]. This is something cemented by the fact that Lovecraft (alongside Zealia Bishop) created a patron deity for the Serpentfolk in the form of [[Yig]], Father of Serpents, in the story "The Curse of Yig".

As such, Cthulhan Serpentfolk have repeatedly appeared in the various editions of [[Call of Cthulhu]].

Over in [[Dungeons & Dragons]], although serpentfolk haven't directly appeared, the [[Yuan-ti]], a species of human/snake hybrids who are divided into castes based on how great the ratio of human to snake is, with the more serpentine being more respected, and with a propensity towards all kinds of fucked up mutations, are pretty obviously made in the Serpentfolk mold. They play a big role in the backstory of the [[Forgotten Realms]], though they cannot seem to keep a patron deity for more than an edition or two, as seen with the long and messed up history of [[Merrshaulk]]. The Yuan-ti of Forgotten Realms were created by an older race of snake people called the [[Sarrukh]], who do not exist in other settings. The other major serpentfolk race in D&D is the [[naga]]. Another famous one is the [[Marilith]], a type of [[Demon#In D&D|demon]]. There also is another minor race of serpentfolk called [[Ophidian]]s who often act as minions for other serpentfolk and can turn people into more of themselves with their bite.

[[Pathfinder]], meanwhile, being unable to use Yuan-Ti, simply said "fuck it" and used the public domain Serpentfolk outright. They also feature the [[naga]], bring back the snake-bodied [[lamia]] of [[Advanced Dungeons & Dragons]] as the Lamia Matriarchs, and pull the [[vishkanya]] wholesale from Indian mythology. In spite of their simple name however, Serpentfolk really did [[Just as Planned|win it big when Drow were axed from 2E]], making them the sole ruler of the [[Underdark|Darklands]] and a major antagonist for the area in upcoming adventures.

In [[Fighting Fantasy]] there are Serpentfolk called the Caarth who live beyond the a Desert of Skulls. They aren't keen on the Lizardfolk, but both are evil. 

An approximate of how the Serpentfolk would translate to the GURPS Dungeon Fantasy system can be [https://1d4chan.org/wiki/Campaign:Dungeon_Fantasy/Serpentfolk found here]. 

Warhammer Fantasy has the Chaos Snakemen of Khuresh and their Blood Naga Queens.

[[Category:Dungeons & Dragons]][[Category:Dungeons & Dragons Races]][[Category:Monsters]][[Category:Pathfinder]]
[[Category:Furry]]
[[Category: Cthulhu Mythos]]
[[Category: Warhammer Fantasy]]