Sloth Viper

Large monstrosity, neutral

Armor Class 16 (natural armor)
Hit Points 38 (7d10)
Speed 30 ft., climb 30 ft., swim 30 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
13 (+1)	16 (+3)	11 (+0)	2 (-4)	12 (+1)	2 (-4)

Skills Perception +3, Stealth +5
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 13
Languages –
Challenge 2 (450 XP)

Actions

• Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d8 + 3) piercing damage, and the target must succeed on a DC 13 Constitution saving throw. On a failed saving throw, the target takes 14 (4d6) poison damage and the target is poisoned for 1 minute. On a successful saving throw, the target takes half damage and isn’t poisoned. While the target is poisoned, its speed is halved, it can’t use reactions, and it can take only one action or one bonus action on each of its turns, and regardless of abilities or magic items, it can’t make more than one melee or ranged attack during its turn. If the creature attempts to cast a spell with a casting time of 1 action, roll a d20. On an 11 or higher, the spell doesn’t take effect until the creature’s next turn, and the creature must use its action on that turn to complete the spell. If it can’t, the spell is wasted.

About

This large emerald snake has bands of gold and black ringing its body and a black-tipped tail.

The sloth viper is a lightning-quick predator most often found in dense, thick jungles or overgrown swamplands. The typical sloth viper is 9-10 feet long, though they can grow to a length of 20 or more feet.

They subsist on a diet of small animals, preferring birds, lizards, and small mammals to others. They are fearless, however, and do not hesitate to attack much larger prey such as cheetahs, leopards, and even lions. Once the sloth viper has fed, it often recoils high above the ground, under the thicket and blanket of leaves, branches, and limbs where it sleeps for the next 1d6 days.

The sloth viper is a solitary predator; rarely is more than one encountered. If such an encounter takes place, they are often a mated pair, with a nest of eggs nearby. A sloth viper’s lair is a dense thicket of natural underbrush and trees. A typical nest contains 1d4 emerald colored eggs.

Sloth vipers are hunted by some humanoids for their scales and poison (which is rumored to be valued by spellcasters for its properties).

Sloth vipers are ambush hunters and wait patiently among the limbs and branches of trees for potential prey to pass underneath it. When unsuspecting prey is in range, the viper either drops on it from above or snaps down quickly with its vicious bite, recoiling back into the trees afterward.