Serpent (venomous)

Represents: Blasphemies, Resentment, Hateful Speech
Venom flows like water from the venomous Serpent's mouth. They stir up hateful feelings in humans and give them the most hurtful words with which to express them. Serpents strike swiftly, often surprising their foe who is unable to react. Venomous Serpents are extremely fast and accurate. Venomous Serpents don’t need you to be near to be worn down from the Poison they cause, however. They can spit venom at mid-range as well.

Special Abilities

Situational Awareness gives venomous Serpents a Perception of 7 allowing them 7 Adjustments in their Favor when Perceiving or being Perceived.

At 2nd Domain the Perception Adjustments are increased to 10. Then 13 at 3rd Domain and 16 upon becoming a Serpent Beast. 

Trained Eye lets venomous Serpents choose a Target to watch. Serpents can make a Perception Check each Segment in which they is using Action Points until they succeed. Once succeeding, the Serpent may make 1 Adjustment to any Strike rolls made by the Target against the Serpent and any Resist Checks the Serpent makes against the Target. Also, the Serpent can ignore Guard provided to the Target by Defensive Stance. The Serpent may change watched Targets once in each Segment, but will need to succeed a Perception Check against the new Target before getting the bonus again. If the Serpent loses line of sight with the Target for an extended time, Trained Eye may be lost.

At 2nd Domain, Trained Eye provides 2 Adjustments. Then at 3rd Domain, a second Target may be watched at the same time. Upon becoming a Serpent Beast, the Adjustments are increased to 3.

Weapon Effects

Venomous Serpents spew venom at their foes from mid-range. This can only be done once in each Activation the Locust has. It causes no Wear, and instead adds Poison equal to 5/10ths of the resulting Force Total from the Strike.

When their enemies approach or find themselves Fatigued from the venom, Serpents seize the opportunity and strike, inflicting Wear and further Poison with their fangs.

Weapon Effect	Standard Effect	Passion Effect
Toxic Bite	12 = Poison:2 (1/Segment)	Poison:1
Toxic Spit	out to 7" (1/Activation), no Wear, Poison = 30% Force; 12 = 2 Poison	Poison:1

Maneuvers

Serpents can make a Swift Strike that can leave their opponent no time to react. At 1st Domain the Serpent has these at a Mastery Level of 2. This increases to Mastery 3 at 2nd Domain, Mastery 4 at 3rd Domain, and Mastery 5 upon becoming a Serpent Beast.

Swift Strike (2 AP)

Swift Strike is so sudden the can leave the Target Surprised vs. the Strike. To avoid being Surprised, the Target must Pass a Swiftness Check vs. the Swiftness of the Serpent. The Target will have a penalty to the Check relative to the Mastery Level. Swift Strike can only be used as the first Strike the Serpent makes during their Activation.

Mastery Level 1	Target makes a Swiftness Check to avoid Surprise must be first Strike in the Activation
Mastery Level 2	-1 Adjustment to Target's Swiftness Check to avoid Surprise must be first Strike in the Activation
Mastery Level 3	-2 Adjustments to Target's Swiftness Check to avoid Surprise must be first Strike in the Activation
Mastery Level 4	-3 Adjustments to Target's Swiftness Check to avoid Surprise must be first Strike in the Activation
Mastery Level 5	-4 Adjustments to Target's Swiftness Check to avoid Surprise must be first Strike in the Activation

Attributes

Venomous Serpents are treated as Messengers and also have increased Swiftness and Control, receiving an additional 7 at 1st Domain, this increases to 21 at 2nd Domain, 40 at 3rd Domain, and 80 once becoming a Serpent Beast.

Size and Mutations

Venomous Serpents fit the standard rules of Occupying Space for elohim. However, the height is of course skewed when not standing upright. Also, like all bestial elohim, Serpents will gain varying Mutations when increasing in Tier.

The example below shows a sampling of venomous Serpents increasing from 1st Domain to Serpent Beast. In this instance, the Mutations gained in order are: Stealthy Body, Hairy Legs, and Howling Muzzle.