bob1thousand
Minstrel
history- the backstory of the race starts a long time ago with a woman named medusa (creative, i know).
she was the leader of the largest, most powerful army in the history of my world. they were ruthless, blood thirsty and consisted of elves and humans. her symbol was the snake and wore a pet viper around her neck and a python around her waist to show it. they became so powerful, she looked towards the heavens and challenged the gods themselves. they didn't find her very funny and cursed her and her army. the humans and elves fused together creating the orcs (with the strength of a elf and man combined). medusa fused with her pet snakes, creating the first naga. she fled to the dessert and her army formed into new groups (but that leads into the backstory for the orcs that i won't get into but basically war, war, war. they also hate the naga race because of medusa).
biology- there are three different sub-species that i'll get into after saying their shared traits. they are humans with snake bodies starting at the belly button. They have a forked tongue and Jacobson's organ in their mouth that allows them to detect someone’s species and gender for about 100 Meters. their sternum, collar bone and parts of the jaw/chin are made of muscle that allow them to move and stretch to swallow things whole (weapons like maces are extremely effective on those areas). they naturally prefers to eat things alive and whole but will settle when they have to. they are excellent swimmers, swimming on average 10 mph and because of their second set of lungs, they can store 20 minutes of extra air and control their buoyancy. their reproductive organs/parts are in the same area as humans and have scales that retract to reveal them. they give live birth to one offspring that will always be a naga (part of the curse was that all descendants of medusa will be a naga). it can possibly be dangerous for a male naga to breed with another race because the baby will be like a human baby but longer and heavier. the color of their scales are determined by environment they were raised in as a child but they can forcibly change the color over time, but it takes effort and energy. the organs in their human half are normal except that instead of intestines after the human stomach (which is only used for small food), it leads to a second naga stomach. the snake body contains the reproductive organs, a second larger heart, a second larger set of lungs, the digestive tract that leads to the anus near the end of the tail covered by moving scales. their stomach acid is so strong, they rarely have to poop and when they do it's almost only hair. they are normally cold blooded but they can raise their body temperature to suit the environment (similar to mesotherm). the more heat they generate, the more food they have to eat. they can go for a long time without having to eat but it depends on their environment and activity. for an example, a naga who lives in the dessert and doesn't move a lot would need to eat less than a naga in the plains who works on a farm. when in extreme cold, they enter a form of hibernation to conserve energy. mages have found a way to exploit this. when blasted in the head with ice magic, they become mentally stunned/paralyzed temporally or even fall unconscious. they are able to “run” on average at 11 mph. the tail itself is incredibly tough and shed yearly. it is very thick, rendering blunt force useless. the scales are very tough, with swords and knifes having difficulty or being unable to cut through. the underbelly that is a lighter shade than the rest of the scales are weaker. even if you stab/cut though the thick flesh, nagas have impressive healing/enduring abilities and can survive injuries to major organs. they can heal from stab wounds to organs and have an immune system similar to a crocodile. they can lift 30%-50% of their body off the ground and can curl themselves up to spring out in a quick attack.
now, the three kinds of naga. the venomous males make up about 20% of population and can spit/inject venom (hemotoxin). their snake bodies are on average 8-10ft long, they can swallow small prey and have slit eyes. the constrictor females are on average 15-30 feet long, have round eyes and swallow large prey whole. their snake body can apply an average of 90 pounds of pressure per square inch (snakes strength are determined by waist x2.6), restricting blood flow and crushing bones. the last is the King. they are male or female and are very rare. they are on average 30ft or more and have all the traits of constrictors and venomous together. they have silt eyes, are immune to venom and eat other nagas.
culture- the modern naga live in small towns in the dessert lead by a single sheriff (or are solitary) and don't have a unifying government or army. most towns have a statue of medusa that they worship like a hero. when someone dies, they are eaten by a female family member, spouse or very close friend. if they don't have any family or are a criminal, they are eaten by the sheriff. don't be mistaken, the act of forced cannibalism is not only banned and frowned upon, but considered incredibly evil by the race. they believe that when you swallow a person's body, the soul of the person devoured will inhabit your body, giving you their strength and wisdom and keeping the soul safe from the afterlife (they hate the afterlife because they hate the gods for what they did to medusa.) they choose who they want to be eaten by because they want their soul to be with them. the matriarchy of the family often has the entire family tree living within them. when someone eats someone against their will, it is essentially trapping their soul (along with the souls they already had). the sheriff eats criminals because it is believe that their souls can be redeemed within the body of a honorable person.
there's one thing i was thinking about but not sure if it's possible or useful. if they hold their breath, they can make their sternum shrink and pull their ribs (which are still bone) together to brace themself for hits. would this be helpful?
she was the leader of the largest, most powerful army in the history of my world. they were ruthless, blood thirsty and consisted of elves and humans. her symbol was the snake and wore a pet viper around her neck and a python around her waist to show it. they became so powerful, she looked towards the heavens and challenged the gods themselves. they didn't find her very funny and cursed her and her army. the humans and elves fused together creating the orcs (with the strength of a elf and man combined). medusa fused with her pet snakes, creating the first naga. she fled to the dessert and her army formed into new groups (but that leads into the backstory for the orcs that i won't get into but basically war, war, war. they also hate the naga race because of medusa).
biology- there are three different sub-species that i'll get into after saying their shared traits. they are humans with snake bodies starting at the belly button. They have a forked tongue and Jacobson's organ in their mouth that allows them to detect someone’s species and gender for about 100 Meters. their sternum, collar bone and parts of the jaw/chin are made of muscle that allow them to move and stretch to swallow things whole (weapons like maces are extremely effective on those areas). they naturally prefers to eat things alive and whole but will settle when they have to. they are excellent swimmers, swimming on average 10 mph and because of their second set of lungs, they can store 20 minutes of extra air and control their buoyancy. their reproductive organs/parts are in the same area as humans and have scales that retract to reveal them. they give live birth to one offspring that will always be a naga (part of the curse was that all descendants of medusa will be a naga). it can possibly be dangerous for a male naga to breed with another race because the baby will be like a human baby but longer and heavier. the color of their scales are determined by environment they were raised in as a child but they can forcibly change the color over time, but it takes effort and energy. the organs in their human half are normal except that instead of intestines after the human stomach (which is only used for small food), it leads to a second naga stomach. the snake body contains the reproductive organs, a second larger heart, a second larger set of lungs, the digestive tract that leads to the anus near the end of the tail covered by moving scales. their stomach acid is so strong, they rarely have to poop and when they do it's almost only hair. they are normally cold blooded but they can raise their body temperature to suit the environment (similar to mesotherm). the more heat they generate, the more food they have to eat. they can go for a long time without having to eat but it depends on their environment and activity. for an example, a naga who lives in the dessert and doesn't move a lot would need to eat less than a naga in the plains who works on a farm. when in extreme cold, they enter a form of hibernation to conserve energy. mages have found a way to exploit this. when blasted in the head with ice magic, they become mentally stunned/paralyzed temporally or even fall unconscious. they are able to “run” on average at 11 mph. the tail itself is incredibly tough and shed yearly. it is very thick, rendering blunt force useless. the scales are very tough, with swords and knifes having difficulty or being unable to cut through. the underbelly that is a lighter shade than the rest of the scales are weaker. even if you stab/cut though the thick flesh, nagas have impressive healing/enduring abilities and can survive injuries to major organs. they can heal from stab wounds to organs and have an immune system similar to a crocodile. they can lift 30%-50% of their body off the ground and can curl themselves up to spring out in a quick attack.
now, the three kinds of naga. the venomous males make up about 20% of population and can spit/inject venom (hemotoxin). their snake bodies are on average 8-10ft long, they can swallow small prey and have slit eyes. the constrictor females are on average 15-30 feet long, have round eyes and swallow large prey whole. their snake body can apply an average of 90 pounds of pressure per square inch (snakes strength are determined by waist x2.6), restricting blood flow and crushing bones. the last is the King. they are male or female and are very rare. they are on average 30ft or more and have all the traits of constrictors and venomous together. they have silt eyes, are immune to venom and eat other nagas.
culture- the modern naga live in small towns in the dessert lead by a single sheriff (or are solitary) and don't have a unifying government or army. most towns have a statue of medusa that they worship like a hero. when someone dies, they are eaten by a female family member, spouse or very close friend. if they don't have any family or are a criminal, they are eaten by the sheriff. don't be mistaken, the act of forced cannibalism is not only banned and frowned upon, but considered incredibly evil by the race. they believe that when you swallow a person's body, the soul of the person devoured will inhabit your body, giving you their strength and wisdom and keeping the soul safe from the afterlife (they hate the afterlife because they hate the gods for what they did to medusa.) they choose who they want to be eaten by because they want their soul to be with them. the matriarchy of the family often has the entire family tree living within them. when someone eats someone against their will, it is essentially trapping their soul (along with the souls they already had). the sheriff eats criminals because it is believe that their souls can be redeemed within the body of a honorable person.
there's one thing i was thinking about but not sure if it's possible or useful. if they hold their breath, they can make their sternum shrink and pull their ribs (which are still bone) together to brace themself for hits. would this be helpful?
Scribe
