D&D Homebrew Monster - The Guivre - Venomous Serpents

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    A small but venomously wicked subspecies of dragon, inspired by the medieval French folklore creature of the same name.
    A homebrew monster for Dungeons & Dragons 3e/3.5; created by Aboleth Eye!  
    As always, though this homebrew was made with D&D 3.5 edition in mind, with a few tweaks you can absolutely use this material with Pathfinder 1st edition! -- Aboleth Eye

    The camp was settling in nicely for the night.  First and second watches were agreed upon, and the fire was crackling nicely as the sun dipped below the treeline.  There was a brief but tense moment when someone claimed a breadroll was stolen, but it didn’t go any further than a few grumbles and a promise of restocking soon.
    It was a few minutes into the first watch that a painful shout split the calm night.  Startled, everyone turned to see one of your companions (who had been oddly quiet during the breadroll discussion) writhing in pain upon the ground.  In one hand they held the tumultuous roll, half-eaten.  Attached on the offending arm, fangs dripping with venom, a scaly serpentine creature coiled around its victim's lim.  The moonlight reflected slightly upon its spiky, crested head and patches of black scales glistened in the campfire light.  
    From the trees above a rustling was heard.
    You all look up to see the canopy above rain down more of these serpentine creatures, wriggling through the air and fangs wide…

The Guivre
    The natural rivals to pseudodragons; Guivre are a rare species of small draconid.  They have serpentine bodies about 2 feet long covered in dull, blackened scales.  They have serpent-like eyes that are usually blue or red in coloration, with a ring of sickly yellowish green around their pupil.
    Guivre have two front legs with small talons for grabbing tiny animals, and leathery flaps that extend from their elbows as vestigial wings.  Depictions of these creatures often confuse them for baby wyverns, for they appear to be related upon first glance
    Most guivre have scaly bodies in very dull earth tones, but with chromatic patches on their joints and down their spines.  Adult guivre have many small spikes along their backs, from nose to neck; as well as two sharp horns.  Males also have a fan-like crest that they use to catch vibrations in the air.  Guivre can instinctually shift their scales to appear brighter or duller, which they use to hide in thick underbrush or along tree branches.
    Guivre have very caustic stomach fluids, which coats their teeth and dries into a sickening venom.  They are primarily carnivores, subsisting on small vermin and animals in the wild.  They have been known to take down entire oxen when working together, tearing off pieces and scurrying away to let the remains rot.  Some guivre keep meat in their nests to rot, as they can eat it no matter how rancid.  Hunters and exterminators usually can follow their noses to find guivre nests in abandoned buildings or large tree stumps.
    Like all draconic creatures, a guivre also can digest minerals.  They love to lick nuggets or coins of gold, silver and other precious metals.  Gemstones they gobble with great abandon, as they take longer to melt and help their stomachs digest more gristly meat.
    Their bodies weigh about 7 pounds, and they typically never get larger than a housecat's.  So they are usually fought off as common different breed of pest, especially in urban settlements.  

    Despite their inelegant bodies and lack of greater draconic powers, guivre are just as fiercely intelligent as pseudodragons.  They often form clutches that work in concert to drop down upon their enemies from high branches or rooftops, coiling around their prey as their nauseating venom takes effect.  A single clutch of guivre can consume up to double their weight in flesh and bone in as little as ten minutes.
    Clutches of guivre typically never get larger than five or ten, as they are notoriously greedy and paranoid creatures.  They never nest together unless they are a breeding pair, but when vulnerable prey is scented they slither as one to catch it off guard.  
    
    Wizards and other arcane spellcasters of less kindly persuasion will find guivre far more wiling to bond with them compared to pseudodragons.  The two species have an ancient animosity due to preferring the same habitats and natural greed.  Pseudodragons are more solitary yet willing to build connections and friendships with other species to survive.  Guivre, on the other hand, are cowardly ambush hunters and rarely deign other species as anything but threats. 
    However, provided with food, attention and their other selfish needs met; a guivre is an invaluable, venomous companion to other selfish spellcasters.  Guivre familiars often consider their masters as part of their hoard, demanding excellence and cunning from them.  Some allow their masters to milk their venom to use in arcane experiments or weaponry--the crueler the better.
    Because they have the ability to sense invisible or hidden creatures, they will telepathically warn their masters of assailants for a later prize or reward.

Monster Statblock
Guivre
Size/Type: Tiny Dragon
Hit Dice: 2d12+2 (12 hp)
Initiative: +2
Speed: 15 feet, climb 15 feet
Armor Class: 18 (+2 size, +2 Dex, +4 natural)
Touch / FF AC:14 / 16
BAB/Grapple:+2 / -7
Melee Attack: Bite +6 melee
Full-Attack:Bite +6 melee and claws +1 melee
Damage:Bite (1d3-1 plus Poison), Claws (1d2-1)
Space/Reach: 2 1/2 feet / 0 feet
Special Attacks: Poison (injury - claw, Fort DC 13)
Special Qualities:  Blindsense 60 ft., darkvision 60 ft., immune sleep/paralysis,
 low-light vision, spell resistance 19, telepathy 60 ft
Saves: Fort +4, Ref +5, Will +4
Abilities: Str 8, Dex 15 , Con 13, Int 8, Wis 12, Cha 10
Skills: Climb +6, Hide +17 (+21 forests/overgrown areas), Jump +7, Listen +3,
 Move Silently +7, Search +4, Sense Motive +6, Spot +3,
 Survival +1 (+3 following tracks)
Feats: Alertness, Weapon FinesseB
Environment: Temperate and Warm Forests or Urban
Organization: Solitary, Pair or Clutch (3 - 5)
Challenge Rating: 1
Treasure:1/2 Standard
Alignment: always Neutral Evil
Advancement: 3 - 4 HD (Tiny)
Level Adjustment:+3

    A guivre can communicate telepathically with creatures that speak Common or Draconic, otherwise they can only vocalize animal noises (usually reptilian or serpentine hissing).

Combat
    A guivre typically lunges out from hiding to deliver a vicious bite, wriggling out from treetops and tall grass to catch flying creatures of any size unaware.  They instinctively hate pseudodragons, and their venom is perfect for weakening them and other draconic creatures.
    Guivre are capable of flying by wriggling and twisting their bodies, but they prefer to fight close against creatures they poison.

Poison (Ex):  Injury, Fortitude DC 13, initial damage sickened for 1 minute, secondary damage sickened for 1d3 hours. 
    The save DC is Constitution-based and includes a +2 racial bonus.

Blindsense (Ex): A guivre can locate creatures within 60 feet by nonvisual means (mostly hearing and scent, but also by noticing vibration and other environmental clues).  Opponents the guivre can’t actually see still have total concealment against the pseudodragon.

Telepathy (Su): Guivre can communicate telepathically with creatures that speak Common or Draconic, provided they are within 60 feet.

Skills: Guivre have scales that shift between bright or dull at-will, which grants them a +4 racial bonus on Hide checks.  In forests or overgrown areas, this bonus improves to +8.
    Guivre use their Dexterity modifier for Climb and Jump checks.  Guivre have a +4 racial bonus to Climb checks and can take 10 on Climb checks even if threatened.

Player Options
    Like pseudodragons, guivre can be the familiar of a 7th-level or higher wizard or sorcerer with the Improved Familiar feat (reducing their effective caster level by -6 for familiar benefits).  Guivre are always neutral evil, so the spellcaster must be within one step of its alignment to successfully obtain it as a familiar.

    Additionally, guivre have a +3 racial level adjustment; so they can be played as a monster race with the following traits:
  • Tiny Dragon
  • Racial Hit Dice: 2d12
    • Racial BAB: +2
    • Racial Base Saves: Fort +3, Ref +3, Will +3
    • Racial Skills: Climb, Hide, Jump, Listen, Move Silently, Search, Sense Motive, Spot, Survival
      • Racial Skill Points: (6 + Intelligence modifier) x 5
  • Racial Ability Scores: Strength -2, Dexterity +4, Constitution +2, Intelligence -2, Wisdom +2
    • Guivre are very small and weak but have the hardiness of dragons and the reflexes of serpents.
  • Speed: base land speed 15 feet, climb speed 15 feet
  • Natural Armor: +4
  • Natural Weapons: bite (1d3 + Strength modifier plus Poison) and secondary claws (1d2 + 1/2 Strength modifier)
  • Special Qualities:
    • Dragon Traits
    • Blindsense 60 feet
    • Darkvision 60 feet
    • Immune to paralysis and sleep effects
    • Low-Light Vision
    • Spell Resistance 19
  • Special Abilities/Attacks:
    • Poison (Ex): injury - claw, Fortitude save DC 12 + 1/2 racial Hit Dice + Constitution modifier; initial dmg sickened 1 minute, secondary dmg sickened 1d3 hours.
    • Telepathy (Su): Guivre can communicate telepathically with intelligent creatures who share a known language, while within 60 feet of the draconid.
  • Skill Bonuses:
    • +4 racial bonus to Hide checks.  This bonus increases to +8 while in forest or areas of overgrown plant life.
    • +4 racial bonus to Climb checks.  Guivre can take 10 on their Climb checks even when threatened.
    • Guivre use their Dexterity modifier to Climb and Jump checks.
  • Level Adjustment: +3
    • ECL: 5+
  • Favored Class: Rogue
  • Languages: Common and Draconic
    • Bonus Languages: any non-secret.

Author's Note:
    Frankly my journey to make the Guivre is not that exciting, compared to my other homebrew creations.  I just pondered about how Pseudodragons are neutral good, and whether they'd have a natural enemy like how metallic dragons oppose chromatic ones.  And so I did a bit of digging and found the serpentine Guivre within French medieval folklore.  
    And when bringing them to this new blog, I decided to give their racial traits as a workout of my homebrewing brain muscles.  Haha!  
    I hope you enjoy these little snakey bastards for your own games!


Aboleth Eye