Yuan-Ti Abomination

D&D Miniatures
Yuan-Ti Abomination
Recurring Villainy
By Dale Donovan

For many people, few sights are more unnerving than that of a snake slithering its way between the grass, over a tree limb, or through water. These images, and the recent release of the Aberrations set of miniatures, inspired this episode of Recurring Villainy. The yuan-ti are finally getting the notice they deserve, thanks to the minis and the recent Serpent Kingdoms book for the Forgotten Realms setting.

This installment revolves around a Yuan-Ti Abomination and its various creepy-crawly, often reptilian, and always disconcerting minions, including Yuan-Ti Purebloods and Halfbloods (plus Nothics, which are included just because they're so darn cool).

Listed below are 20 encounters ranging from EL 5 to 11. Each involves the abomination and/or its minions. Feel free to substitute other figures of the same CRs if you want more variety among the yuan-ti's lackeys or to surprise players who might see this article. Only the abomination figure is rare; if you don't have one, replace it with a Large Red Dragon (young), a Medusa, a Chuul, or another figure of your choosing.

It's important for the central scoundrel to live long enough in the campaign to become a major pain to the PCs. Prepare for the PCs' encounters with the abomination by always having at least one escape plan for it or give it a magic item that lets it escape until the time is just right for a climactic showdown.

	Creature
	Displacer Serpent	Iron Cobra	Nothic	Kobold Champion	Yuan-ti Pureblood	Sharn Cutthroat	Half-illithid Lizardfolk	Yuan-ti Halfblood	Kobold Sorcerer	Yuan-ti Abomination
	GoL	Ab	AF	Ab	AF	Ab	Ab	Ab	Ab	Ab
EL	CR 2	CR 2	CR 3	CR 3	CR 3	CR 4	CR 5	CR 5	CR 6	CR 7
5	3
5				1	1
5			2
6		4
6				2	1
6					1			1
7				2	2
7	2			1			1
7		2	1			1
8			2		1	1		1
8		2	1	1		1	1
8							2	1
9				3	2				1
9							1	2	1
9							2	2
10							2	2		1
10							2	1	1	1
10						2			2	1
11							2	1	2	1
11							1	2	2	1

About the Author

Dale Donovan is a 15-year veteran of the gaming industry, during which time he edited Dragon Magazine, wrote or edited on every roleplaying line produced by the company (be it TSR or Wizards), and moved from rural Wisconsin to suburban Seattle and back to Wisconsin. He's worked for Steve Jackson Games, Guardians of Order, White Wolf/Sword & Sorcery, the Valar Project, Green Ronin, and Wizards, among others. He loves games, books, comics, movies, and his wonderful wife and lovely daughter.