With dirk in hand, the Serpent stalks the moonlit rooftops.

Serpent

The skills of the Serpent are wide-ranging and powerful, though often in indirect ways. They generally fight with a whip and a dirk, or may strike with their fangs, inflicting one of dozens of venoms upon their enemies. They create and traverse a network of wormholes that criss-cross the continent, can hypnotise their opponents and plant harmful suggestions in their mind, may climb up into the treetops and traverse the forests from branch to branch, strike at a distance with the fabled Darkbows, and more.

With dirk in hand, the Serpent stalks the moonlit rooftops.

Serpent

Serpents are often attracted to rather shady careers though there are some notable ones who have chosen a cause and fought for it their entire lives. They might be found in any city or might choose to simply roam cityless.

The skills of the Serpent are wide-ranging and powerful, though often in indirect ways. They generally fight with a whip and a dirk, or may strike with their fangs, inflicting one of dozens of venoms upon their enemies. They create and traverse a network of wormholes that criss-cross the continent, can hypnotise their opponents and plant harmful suggestions in their mind, may climb up into the treetops and traverse the forests from branch to branch, strike at a distance with the fabled Darkbows, and more. A competent Serpent is an extremely frustrating opponent to fight as well, for few can inhibit their movement well enough to keep them still for very long.

Subterfuge

Subterfuge is a diverse skill, encompassing abilities ranging from the secret rattle that those of serpentine ambitions may use to communicate with each other, to archery, the conjuring of illusions, dimensional wormholes, and various stealth and attack abilities.

Abilities in Subterfuge

Rattle Knowledge of the coded Serpent Lord tongue.
Hide Conceal yourself from view.
Scales Coat yourself in protective, serpentine scales.
Garrote Choke the life out of a target with your whip.
Evade Misleading your pursuer.
Shadow Shadowing a target in order to track them.
Flay Flay the anti-venom sileris coatings from your enemies.
Waiting Awaiting a target to be shadowed.
Pacing The ability to anticipate and keep pace with others.
Bask Bathing in the hot sun.
Block Obstructing departure with your body.
Swinging Swinging up into the treetops.
Secret Give someone an item without their knowledge.
Scan Scanning the forest floor from the treetops.
Bowmanship Use of the valued projectile weapon.
Seize Grabbing unwary victims from the forest floor.
Shove Sending a hapless victim crashing to the forest floor.
Noose Covert and deadly assassination from the trees.
Aiming Increase your accuracy in shooting.
Listen Detect action and conversations nearby.
Dispel Rid your environment of illusions.
Lipread The ability to understand what is said while deaf.
Eavesdrop Listen even through closed doors.
Slit Cut the throat of a helpless victim.
Wind Further increase your accuracy through wind compensation.
Ghost Give yourself a ghostly appearance.
Doublestab Quickly administer two venoms to a target with your dirk.
Envenom Dip your arrows in venom.
Seek Sense for dimensional wormholes.
Warp Open and enter a dimensional wormhole.
Illusion Create an illusion of your choosing.
Crossbows A powerful projectile weapon.
Cloak Hide your actions from others.
Dash Sprint in a particular direction.
Lightwall Create a palpable wall of light.
Resonance Allow sounds to resonate through a distant wormhole.
Darkbows Using the infamous darkbows of Hashan.
Splice Create a dimensional wormhole.
Pinshot Focus your fire upon the feet of your victim.
Appraise View the contents of another adventurer's inventory.
Backstab Attack from the shadows.
Channel Hurl an object through a dimensional wormhole.
Pickpocket Deftly pilfer from unsuspecting targets.
Bind Hog-tie an unconscious or sleeping opponent.
Colours Dye your arrows to categorise them.
Execute Subject your enemy to a merciless execution.
Sources Sense out all dimensional wormholes.
Weaving Weave and dodge like the cobra itself.
Yank Use a whip to pull an opponent into your room.
Vortex Suck an unwilling target into a wormhole.
Snipe The ability to sharpshoot.
Cancel Destroy a wormhole.
Secondsight See wormholes with greater clarity.
Snake A pet snake to assist you in combat.
Phase Alter your status in space-time itself.

Venom

Venom is a skill possessed only by the Serpents. It involves the production of various venoms by glands. These glands are remnants of evolution and lay dormant in most people. To those with the skill though, they can be used to great effect. First, one must SECRETE a particular venom. There will be a short pause while your glands produce the chosen toxin. Once the venom has been secreted, it cannot be held in the bloodstream indefinitely. Each venom has a risk factor incorporated into it. The more powerful the venom, the greater the chance of it backfiring and affecting the producer. To get the venom out of the bloodstream, one must either BITE another adventurer or PURGE the venom from your body.

Abilities in Venom

Secrete The ancient ability of producing venom.
Bite Sinking your fangs into an unfortunate victim.
Purge Cleansing your venom sacs of poison.
Shrugging Resist the detrimental effects of venoms.
Sumac Minor damage.
Xentio Loss of coordination.
Oleander Blindness.
Eurypteria Gives the victim delusions of invulnerability.
Kalmia Inhibits the respiratory system.
Digitalis Causes unbearable shyness.
Darkshade Makes the victim allergic to sunlight.
Curare A venom of muscular paralysis.
Epteth Shrivel up the arms of your unlucky victim.
Prefarar Increase the recipient's sensitivity.
Monkshood Disfigure your victim, causing disloyalty in those around.
Euphorbia Induces spasmodic vomiting.
Colocasia Gives blindness and deafness.
Oculus Forces the recipient's eyelids open.
Camus A more powerful version of Sumac.
Vernalius A venom that weakens the muscles.
Epseth Cause the legs of your victim to become useless.
Larkspur Causes great dizziness.
Slike Give the curse of anorexia to your victim.
Voyria The deadliest venom known to mankind.
Delphinium Put your victim to sleep.
Notechis Induce haemophilia in a target.
Vardrax Grants an insatiable addiction.
Loki An unpredictable toxin.
Aconite Cause sheer stupidity in your opponent.
Selarnia Forcing your victim back into mortal form.
Gecko Causes the recipient to become foully oily.
Scytherus A venom that thins the blood.
Nechamandra A venom that chills the veins.
Transecretion The ability to instantly secrete a venom.

Hypnosis

Where a skill like Venom is a naturally developed ability, and a skill like Subterfuge is an ability with many magical elements, Hypnosis is a science. It has long been known that our subconscious mind is a powerful force and that it can be influenced in mysterious ways, but until a forgotten Serpentlord discovered the principles of Hypnosis, there was no way to use it.

With this skill, you will be able to sink someone into a hypnotic trance, possibly even without them realising it, and implant various subliminal suggestions. You then seal your victim's mind and implant a timer that determines how long after the hypnosis has been triggered until the suggestions start becoming active.

Abilities in Hypnosis

Hypnotise Their minds are yours.
Impatience Inability to concentrate on focused tasks.
Clumsiness Inability to use weaponry effectively.
Amnesia Causes the victim to forget to do his next action.
Addiction A terrible addiction.
Paranoia They are out to get you, believe me.
Loneliness Fear of being left on your own.
Claustrophobia Fear of enclosed spaces.
Stuttering Anxious difficulty with speech.
Hallucinations Vivid hallucinations to plague your foe.
Pacifism Loss of desire to cause anyone harm.
Hypersomnia A condition that prevents insomnia.
Dementia Hugely distorts victim's perception of the world.
Deadening Weakening of the mind.
Epilepsy Throw your victim's nervous system into disarray.
Agoraphobia Fear of open spaces.
Masochism The love of your own pain.
Analyse Discover the implanted suggestions in someone.
Recklessness Ignorance of health and disregard for well-being.
Vertigo Fear of heights.
Cleanse Clean yourself or another of suggestions.
Lethargy A distinct lack of energy.
Anorexia Loss of desire to eat.
Disrupt Destroy your opponent's mental equilibrium.
Mesmerise Much subtler, near-undetectable hypnosis.
Confusion Causes the mind to become confounded.
Stupidity Abject, stumbling idiocy.
Generosity Indiscriminate, overwhelming generosity.
Action The ability to suggest an action of your choice.
Hypochondria The conviction that one is constantly afflicted.
Imprint Store the mental state of your subject.