Snake Speaker

Like the serpents they adore, snake speakers are highly adaptable hunters. Snakes are common throughout the world, and people who need to travel through snake-filled jungles often retain a snake speaker guide, trusting the guide to protect them from scaly poisoners.

Snake Speaker Magic

Starting at 3rd level, you learn an additional spell when you reach certain levels in this class, as shown in the Snake Speaker Spells table. The spell counts as a ranger spell for you, but it doesn’t count against the number of ranger spells you know.

Snake Speaker Spells
Ranger Level Spells
3rd Charm person
5th Suggestion
9th Tongues
13th Confusion
17th Dominate person

Scaly Transition

Beginning at 3rd level, you can take on limited serpentine aspects. When you finish a long rest, select one of the following features. You gain the benefit of the chosen feature until the next time you finish a long rest. Starting at 11th level, you can select two options when you finish a long rest.

  • Bite. You develop venomous fangs. When you use the Attack action and attack with a weapon, you can use a bonus action to bite a target within 5 feet of you with your fangs. You are proficient with the fangs, which deal piercing damage equal to 1d4 + your Strength or Dexterity modifier (your choice) plus 1d8 poison damage on a hit.
  • Keen Smell. Your nose and olfactory organs change to resemble those belonging to a snake. You have advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on scent and on Wisdom (Insight) checks.
  • Poison Resistance. You have resistance to poison damage.
  • Scales. Scales sprout along your body. When you aren’t wearing armor, your AC equals 13 + your Dexterity modifier.
  • Serpentine Movement. You have a climbing speed of 30 feet.

Speak with Snakes

Starting at 3rd level, you can comprehend and verbally communicate with snakes. A snake’s knowledge and awareness are limited by its Intelligence, but it can give you information about things it has perceived within the last day. You can persuade a snake to perform small favors for you, such as carrying a written message to a nearby companion.

Serpent Shape

When you reach 7th level, you can use an action to cast polymorph on yourself, assuming the shape of a giant constrictor snake, flying snake, or giant poisonous snake. While you are in the form of a snake, you retain your Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma scores. Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest.

Starting at 15th level, you retain the benefits of your Scaly Transition feature while in the form of a snake, and you can use this feature twice between rests.

Sinuous Dance

Beginning at 11th level, your physical movements can beguile your enemies and strengthen your magic.

You can choose to use Dexterity as your spellcasting ability score instead of Wisdom. In addition, when you cast a spell, you can add your Dexterity and Wisdom modifiers together and use the result as your spellcasting ability modifier when determining the DC or spell attack bonus for that spell. Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest.

Decoy Skin

Starting at 15th level, you learn to magically shed your skin and use it as an animate decoy. As an action, you can shed your skin, which creates a duplicate of yourself. The duplicate appears in an unoccupied space within 10 feet of you. It looks like you, has your Armor Class and saving throw bonuses, and has hit points equal to three times your ranger level. It lasts for 10 minutes or until it is reduced to 0 hit points.

As a bonus action, you can command it to move up to your speed, using any form of movement you possess, but it must remain within 120 feet of you. Your decoy can’t take actions or use your class features, but it otherwise moves as directed. While your decoy is within 5 feet of you, its appearance and movements so closely mimic yours that when a creature that can reach you and your decoy makes an attack against you, it has a 50 percent change of hitting your decoy instead.

It looks exactly as you looked when you used this feature, and it is a convincing duplicate of you. A creature can discern that it isn’t you with a successful Intelligence (Investigation) check against your spell save DC. Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a long rest.

Section 15: Copyright Notice

Tome of Heroes ©2022 Open Design LLC; Authors: Celeste Conowitch, Jeff Lee, Sarah Madsen, Ben McFarland, Kelly Pawlik, Brian Suskind

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