The yuan-ti are a fictional species of evil snakemen in the fantasy role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons. The species comprises a number of castes. In some campaign settings, the yuan-ti are descended from evil human cultists who mixed their bloodlines with those of serpents. They have formidable psychic abilities.
They first appeared in Dwellers of the Forbidden City, a 1981 module for the first edition of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, and have featured in all Dungeons & Dragons editions published since.
Publication history The yuan-ti are a species of "cult-like snake people". The yuan-ti were introduced to the D&D game in the first edition of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons.
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st edition (1977–1988)
The original yuan-ti castes were the abominations, the halfbreeds, and the purebloods, which first appeared in the module Dwellers of the Forbidden City (1981),Cook, David. Dwellers of the Forbidden City (TSR, 1981) In the adventure, the characters are hired to find an object taken to a lost oriental-style city, which has been taken over by a cult of snake-worshipers, the yuan-ti, and their servants, the mongrelmen and tasloi. The yuan-ti and its three variant types were all later featured in the first edition Monster Manual II (1983).Gygax, Gary. Monster Manual II (TSR, 1983)
Yuan-ti history and society were detailed in Dragon #151 (November 1989), in the "Ecology of the Yuan-Ti", which also introduced the histachii.Wellman, David. "The Ecology of the Yuan-Ti." Dragon #151 (TSR, 1989)
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition (1989–1999) The yuan-ti first appear in Monstrous Compendium Volume One (1989),Cook, David, et al. Monstrous Compendium Volume One (TSR, 1989) and is reprinted in the Monstrous Manual (1993), along with the abomination yuan-ti, the halfblood yuan-ti, and the pureblood yuan-ti.Stewart, Doug, ed. Monstrous Manual (TSR, 1993)
The histachii yuan-ti appeared for the Kara-Tur campaign setting in the Monstrous Compendium Kara-Tur Appendix (1990), and is then reprinted in the Monstrous Manual (1993).
A psionic variation of the yuan-ti appeared in The Complete Psionics Handbook (1991).Winter, Steve. The Complete Psionics Handbook (TSR, 1991)
Dungeons & Dragons 3.0 edition (2000–2002) The yuan-ti appears in the Monster Manual for this edition (2000), including the abomination yuan-ti, the halfblood yuan-ti, and the pureblood yuan-ti.Cook, Monte, Jonathan Tweet, and Skip Williams. Monster Manual (Wizards of the Coast, 2000)
The broodguard yuan-ti, the human broodguard yuan-ti, the tainted one yuan-ti, and the human tainted one yuan-ti for the Forgotten Realms setting appeared in Monsters of Faerun.Wyatt, James and Rob Heinsoo. Monstrous Compendium: Monsters of Faerun (Wizards of the Coast, 2001) The pureblood yuan-ti and the tainted one yuan-ti were presented as player character races in Races of Faerûn (2003).Reynolds, Sean K., Forbeck, Matt, Jacobs, James, Boyd, Erik L. Races of Faerûn (Wizards of the Coast, 2003)
The broodguard yuan-ti and the tainted one yuan-ti appeared as templates in Savage Species (2003).Eckelberry, David, Rich Redman, and Jennifer Clarke Wilkes. Savage Species (Wizards of the Coast, 2003)
The yuan-ti was detailed again in Dragon #305 (March 2003), in "Venom and Coil: The Secret Life of the Yuan-Ti".Laws, Robin. "Venom and Coil" Dragon #305 (Paizo Publishing, 2003) The yuan-ti abomination, the yuan-ti halfblood, and the yuan-ti pureblood are presented as player character races in this article.
The yuan-ti anathema appears in the Fiend Folio for this edition (2003).
The broodguard yuan-ti, the human broodguard yuan-ti, the tainted one yuan-ti, and the human tainted one yuan-ti appeared again in Ghostwalk (2003).
Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 edition (2003–2007) The yuan-ti appears in the revised Monster Manual for this edition (2003), including the same variations from the previous Monster Manual.
Psionic versions of the yuan-ti abomination, the yuan-ti halfblood, and the yuan-ti pureblood appear in the Expanded Psionics Handbook (2004).Cordell, Bruce R. Expanded Psionics Handbook (Wizards of the Coast, 2004)
The yuan-ti broodguard, pureblood yuan-ti, and tainted one were presented as player character races for the Forgotten Realms setting in Serpent Kingdoms (2004).Greenwood, Ed, Eric L. Boyd, and Darrin Drader. Serpent Kingdoms (Wizards of the Coast, 2004) This book also included the yuan-ti holy guardian and the yuan-ti mageslayer.
The abomination cult leader yuan-ti, the halfblood deceiver yuan-ti, the yuan-ti ignan, and the pureblood slayer yuan-ti appear in Monster Manual IV (2006).Kestrel, Gwendolyn F.M. Monster Manual IV (Wizards of the Coast, 2006)
The yuan-ti wretchling for the Eberron setting appears in Secrets of Xen'drik (2006).
Dungeons & Dragons 4th edition (2008–) The fourth edition Monster Manual mentions three types of yuan-ti, offering a total of five creatures. The origin of the yuan-ti is never discussed, but their patron is confirmed as Zehir. It offers the yuan-ti malison sharp-eye, the yuan-ti malison incanter, the yuan-ti malison disciple of Zehir, the yuan-ti abomination and the yuan-ti anathema.Mearls, Mike, Stephen Schubert, and James Wyatt. Monster Manual (Wizards of the Coast, 2008)
Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition The yuan-ti appears in the Fifth Edition Monster Manual (2014), featuring the yuan-ti pureblood, the yuan-ti abomination, and three types of yuan-ti malisons. Volo's Guide to Monsters (2016) offers additional information, further introducing yuan-ti anathema, yuan-ti broodguards, three variant malisons (the mind whisperer, the nightmare speaker, and pit master), as well as detailing the structure of yuan-ti religion and society and giving the traits for Yuan-ti Pureblood player characters.
The yuan-ti are involved in the adventure Tomb of Annihilation.
Licensing The yuan-ti are considered "product identity" by Wizards of the Coast and as such were not released under its Open Gaming License for the d20 System. As they are legally owned by the company, permission from Wizards of the Coast would be required to use them in other games.
Analysis Yuan-ti as trope Snakes and snake-worship used in fiction have been criticized as characteristic of Orientalism. The publication history, digital and print, of Yuan-ti falls into this pattern as they serve as uncomplicated antagonists in "exotic" settings. Graeme Barber, a game designer noted for his critique of racism in Dungeons & Dragons, used Yuan-ti in his contribution to the book Candlekeep Mysteries. Controversy arose after Wizards of the Coast, according to Barber, altered his depiction of Yuan-ti. Summarizing his critique of the simplistic portrayal, Barber wrote, "Yuan-ti are evil because evil." Scholar of speculative fiction Nicolas B. Clark summarized the character of the yuan-ti as "subtle and savage" and saw them as examplary for a wider trend where cultural perceptions of reptiles as "cold, emotionless, alien" lead to depictions of reptilian humanoids in fiction as "unapologetically evil" and "the irredeemable monster that must be slain."
Description The types of yuan-ti have been summarized by A.V. Club as "a human-eating snake, or human-snake hybrid eater of humans and snakes, or other human-snake hybrids."
The yuan-ti is also available as a player character race in 5th edition.
Yuan-ti breeds The yuan-ti come in several distinct castes or breeds. The three most prevalent, described in the Third Edition Monster Manual, are as follows:
Purebloods appear mostly human, with minor reptilian features, such as slit pupils, a forked tongue, or patches of scales on their skin. They serve as diplomats and infiltrators, pretending to be human, both because of their skill and to avoid yuan-ti of other castes, who look down on them. Keith Ammann, in his 2019 book The Monsters Know What They're Doing, commented of the yuan-ti purebloods that "Yuan-ti have had hundreds of generations to live and adapt on their own, so they'll have the same self-preservation instinct as any evolved species."The Monsters Know What They're Doing (2019), Keith Ammann, Halfbloods (or malisons in fourth and fifth editions) are humanoid in shape but have a wide variety of noticeable serpentine features, such as a snakelike tail in place of legs, a complete covering of scales, a hood like a cobra, a snake's head, or snakes in place of arms. Halfbloods serve as warriors and temple assistants. Abominations are almost completely snakelike, with only a few human features, such as arms or a humanoid head. They are the most venerated within the yuan-ti society, serving as clerics and in other roles of power.
In addition to the three main breeds, other breeds have been described as well:
Tainted ones are human agents of the yuan-ti who have willingly undergone a ritual of transformation to make themselves yuan-ti, gaining a venomous bite and slight psionic ability. They retain their human appearance but often develop reptilian mannerisms, such as frequently licking their lips or drawing out sibilant sounds as they speak. They first appeared in Monstrous Compendium: Monsters of Faerûn. Broodguards, also known as histachii, are humans who have undergone the ritual of transformation but have been found unworthy, degenerating into hairless, near-mindless reptilian monsters. The yuan-ti employ these wretches as watchers over egg-broods and other demeaning tasks. They first appeared as the histachii in Dragon Magazine #151 ("The Ecology of the Yuan-ti" by David Wellman, 1989). Holy guardians are a rare breed specifically bred as temple guards; they are also sent on missions to obtain needed goods for abomination priests. Holy guardians are naturally servile and follow their superiors without question. They uniformly have a serpentile tail in place of legs and a snakelike head. They first appeared in Serpent Kingdoms for the Forgotten Realms world. Mageslayers, another rare type of yuan-ti, are bred for the special purpose of battling or hunting down human magic-users, and most of their abilities are magical rather than psionic. Mageslayers have a humanlike head but a snakelike tail instead of legs. They first appeared in Serpent Kingdoms. Anathemas are by far the most powerful and loathsome of yuan-ti, sometimes worshiped as divine incarnations of Merrshaulk, and are extremely rare. They are huge 25-foot long snakes with arms and claws. An anathema's power dwarfs even that of an abomination, but in their growing power and evil, they went insane and turned ferociously on their own kind. For pure survival, the yuan-ti banished them and anathemas are now found trapped in secure chambers or living away from yuan-ti cities, sometimes establishing new yuan-ti cults that worship Merrshaulk through them. Anathemas make a common practice of grafting yuan-ti body parts onto humans and other races for use as personal servants. They first appeared in the Third Edition version of the Fiend Folio, but are also described in the 4th edition Monster Manual. Ignans are another rare subspecies of yuan-ti that dwell in hotter climes of the world, including in volcanoes and on the Elemental Plane of Fire. Ignas are similar to yuan-ti halfbloods, except they are slightly more powerful due to some of the fire spells they wield. Ignans were first described in Monster Manual IV. Wretchlings are pathetic creatures created out of humans and used as guards and expendable shock troops by the yuan-ti. They are unintelligent and wander throughout the jungles of Xen'drik. Wretchlings have no memory of their former human lives and have a savage desire to kill, though they lack the intellect for complex strategies unless carefully instructed by their masters. Wretchlings look like scaly humans with fangs, reptilian eyes and patchy hair. They first appeared in Secrets of Xen'drik.
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