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Races of Cimmeria: Snakeshifters Part 4

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Isaac

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Location

Snakeshifters live in hiding across all of Cimmeria. Snakeshifter disguise magic is only a glamour and does not change their physical size. Thus, they live among races that are similar in shape such as humans, elves, orcs, and hobgoblins. Snakeshifters are found more frequently around and in Dalleer due to their past takeover of the city. The Aractrashan Jungle houses some snakeshifter led communities where they can live more openly. In the jungle they have human and ogre servants and there is no need for disguises in the villages they control.

Relations with Other Races

Snakeshifters are despised by all other races. Snakeshifters insert themselves into other societies and live off those they have tricked. They never lift a finger to help in producing anything. Many snakeshifters also gain pleasure out of inflicting suffering and misery on those around them. Their parasitic nature makes snakeshifters hated by all others. Luckily, snakeshifter enchantment magic allows them to force some members of other races to become allies. If their magic fails, an unmasked snakeshifter must run or fight. There is no negotiation.

Common Deities

Snakeshifters worship many different deities. A few snakeshifters in Aractrash maintain the old ways of Kaliya, but most have moved on to worship the Olympians. The Olympians love snakes and many temples keep snakes as blessed creatures. Snakeshifters feel at home in all the temples of the Olympian gods. They have a love for three gods above others. Hecate is placed first and foremost due to her power over magic and lies, just as snakeshifters use magic tricks to sustain their lifestyle. Hermes is next as another famous liar and thief. The final favored god of snakeshifters is Asclepius. Asclepius loves snakes more than any other god, making him well suited as a patron of snakeshifters, even if his usual healing activities are uninteresting to his ophidian worshippers.

Place in Adventuring

Snakeshifters do not become adventurers themselves. Their hatred for honest work means they never have the drive to struggle against monsters and beasts if they can avoid it. Snakeshifters would rather hire or charm adventurers to deal with a problem than confront it themselves. Many adventurers are unknowingly working for snakeshifter patrons. Occasionally, a snakeshifter’s identity is discovered and they become a target for adventurers. At this stage a snakeshifter’s mastery of magic and poison is put to the test against what may have been their previous employees.

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Hello,

I’m Isaac

Welcome to the GoCorral website! I’m Isaac Shaker and this is a place for me to write about D&D and occasionally other topics. I host a podcast called Setting the Stage that interviews different DMs about their campaigns. I’m currently focused on completing the Cimmeria campaign setting and turning it into a book.

Setting the Stage Podcast

72 – Calico and Psychomortis (Part 1) – Setting the Stage, Campaigns for D&D and Other RPGs

CalicoVisions tells us about his game system and setting Psychomortis. The game is constructed to challenge players and characters to look inside themselves to find what's really important to them. In the far future the Earth has suffered from the arrival of the Iris which caused vast changes across the world. PCs are trapped beneath the Earth in a vast maze known as Pandora's Labyrinth. They seek an exit and/or spiritual absolution as they survive and explore in the dark depths. The experience is simultaneous a dungeon crawl and philosophical exercise.This is the first of two episodes about Psychomortis. Calico contacted me about how the game and setting had evolved since our first recording. This is the first recording which has the original version of Calico's world and game. The second one is more refined and filled in which you can see in part 2!Psychomortis is still in the early stages of development, but its playable! If you're interested in the game you can learn more on the Psychomortis Discord Server: https://discord.com/invite/JkhpUTYMTCYou can also follow Calico on BlogSpot: https://calicovisions369.blogspot.com/And on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/calicovisions.bsky.socialOur website: https://gocorral.com/stsWant to be on the show? Fill out this survey: https://forms.gle/U11TbxtAReHFKbiVAJoin our Discord: https://discord.gg/Nngc2pQV6CSupport the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SettingtheStage Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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