Geminate Serpent, Sea
- Armor Class
- 1 [18]
- Hit Dice
- 7
- Attacks
- Bite (1d6+1; see age table)
- Special
- poison/paralysis bite, water-spray breath weapon, constriction, aquatic limits, immunity, age-table damage
- Move
- 6 Swim 18
- HDE/XP
- 9/1,100
Description
Geminate Serpents are very long, serpent-like fey with a head at either end of their snake-like bodies. Their heads are very dragon-like, and geminate serpents can easily be mistaken for dragons if the entire creature is not seen. They earn their name for the gem-like quality of their scales. Being fey creatures they are very long- lived, growing through the entirety of their very long lives; like dragons, they have their development categorized with age classes ranging from 1 to 7.
To geminate serpents, breeding is the ultimate goal of their lives. Each lair will always include an immature geminate serpent. The adult female of this species cares for its young until they reach the second or third age class. During this time both parents will take turns hunting for food (when numbers encountered are rolled, they will be in order, Female, offspring, Male, and further offspring). If there is only a female parent present, the immature serpent will accompany their mother on her hunts. A geminate serpent will have a morale of 12 when defending its offspring, and will never leave their side, even if doing so risks its own death.
Using its long serpentine body to constrict its prey is its favorite attack; geminate serpents can carry or constrict one creature of humanoid size or less per 20 feet of its body's length. The constriction attacks of these serpents do subduing damage. When their prey falls unconscious, the geminate serpent brings them back to their lair to train their offspring to hunt. Once the prey is brought back to the lair, they are stripped of the armor, weapons, and shiny or dangerous-looking items like spell-books, which are added to the serpent’s treasure hoard. The prey are then dropped in a hole, usually as deep as half the serpent’s length. Every other day, one creature is removed from the pit as set to fight the serpent’s offspring, under the watchful supervision of the parent. If the adolescent serpent seems to be losing, the parent will intervene, either dropping them back into the pit, or killing them to feed the offspring.
Geminate serpents have a breath weapon (except bone serpents), which they may use as many times per day as they have Hit Dice. However, they may only use its breath weapon every second round. It can use a non- empowered version that does no damage (basically just fog) for obscuring cover as often as it likes. A geminate serpent’s breath weapon will only affect those equal or less hit dice to the serpent unless otherwise stated, and a saving throw is failed; creatures with more than five hit dice less than the serpent do not get a saving throw. Geminate serpents are immune to their own breath weapons, as well as all spells or poisons that replicate their effects.
Geminate serpents all speak their own language, Serpentine. They also have a chance of speaking Elvish depending on age category, as specified in the tables below for each type.
Sea geminate serpents live in oceans and other large bodies of water, their scales colored like turquoise. Their bite has a 30% chance of paralyzing the target unless a saving throw is made. This breed of geminate serpent excels in underwater combat, partly due to their ability to breathe underwater.
When hunting, they prefer to blast their prey off ships and boats using their breath weapon. Anything hit by the breath weapon will be knocked back five times the sea geminate serpent's age category in feet. Sea geminate serpents, being aquatic creatures, do not have lungs, and can therefore only spend 5 rounds above water before needing to submerge, for a minimum of 1 round. Sea geminate serpents often lair in underwater caves in the shallows.
Sea Geminate Serpent Age Table
| Trait | Age 1 | Age 2 | Age 3 | Age 4 | Age 5 | Age 6 | Age 7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Length | 50' | 70' | 80' | 100' | 110' | 130' | 150' |
| Hit Dice | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 9 |
| Attack Bonus | +6 | +7 | +7 | +7 | +8 | +9 | +9 |
| Breath Type | — | Water Spray (Line) | Water Spray (Line) | Water Spray (Line) | Water Spray (Line) | Water Spray (Line) | Water Spray (Line) |
| Length | — | 40' | 50' | 60' | 60' | 70' | 75' |
| Width | — | 10' | 10' | 20' | 20' | 30' | 30' |
| Bite | 1d6 | 1d8 | 2d4 | 2d4 | 3d4 | 4d4 | 3d6 |
| Talk | — | 10% | 20% | 40% | 50% | 60% | 70% |
See Also
Other creatures grouped under Geminate Serpent: Geminate Serpent, Blue, Geminate Serpent, Bone, Geminate Serpent, Green, Geminate Serpent, Pleasant, Geminate Serpent, Shadow, Geminate Serpent, White.
Source note: This creature is converted from The Basic Fantasy Field Guide of Creatures Malevolent and Benign – Omnibus Edition, 1st Edition Release 4, © 2010–2025 Chris Gonnerman, R. Kevin Smoot, James Lemon, Matt Sluis, and Contributors. The Basic Fantasy Field Guide textual material is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International; this page adapts that creature to White Box.