Yuan-ti/shulasskar & Serpent Cults [Archive] - Wizards Community

Yuan-ti/shulasskar & Serpent Cults [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
heirodule
05-10-07, 01:25 PM Are all the references to good yuan-ti in Talenta in places like the Players Guide supposed to be now understood as references to shulassakar (feathered yuan ti)? Or are there still good yuan ti?

If they're so different, what's the relationship between the serpent cults IN Xen'drik (which would seem to be yuan ti oriented, not shulassakar) and the couatls?

Does it just make the most sense for thisThe shulassakar claim that the ancestors of the yuan-ti were chosen of the couatl who broke their vows to the flame and who have since slipped into decadence. As a result, the shulassakar despise the yuan-ti. If the yuan-ti shared these legends, they abandoned them long ago, and they have no interest in the shulassakar. Driven from Sarlona by the Inspired, the yuan-ti lurk in the shadows of Xen'drik and the shores of Argonnessen, plotting vengeance against the Lords of Riedra and searching for ways to use the Draconic Prophecy to gain power.from Baker's dragonshard just to be the truth? Couatl servants became shulassakar, and the yuan ti are degenerates, loosing their feathers (and flight, apparently)?

I'm working on a Xen'drik Expeditions DMs mark, and I want there to be some "good" yuan ti guarding a serpent cult site, but I want the shulasssakar still to be opposed to them.

This question probably also goes back to what would divide good snake cults from present other good religions like the Silver Flame. A web article implied that the Silver Flame doesn't look kindly on comparisons of their religion to Snake Cults, so I'm looking for a reason why a shulassakar would hate good snake cult yuan ti in Xen'drik.

I suppose a quick and dirty answer is the yuan ti are just snake-form obsessed at this point (changing other races into snakes to serve them) and not so much on the high ethical ideals. But they still seek to prevent a great evil from emerging....

thoughts?
heirodule
05-10-07, 01:27 PM Oh, and when did the yanti get to xendrik in terms of the fall of the giants timeline?
Euangelion
05-10-07, 05:51 PM First of all, the benevolent yuan-ti of Krezent are indeed the Shulassakar. They are one and the same.
Second, the yuan-ti and the Shulassakar both are from Sarlona. Which came first is up to debate (and you can make it whatever you want, within the confines of Xen'drik Expeditions I guess). Are the yuan-ti degenerated shulassakar? Perhaps. Are the shulassakar exalted yuan-ti? That's also possible.
The yuan-ti fled to Argonessen and Xen'drik because of the quori/Inspired, so that clearly is long after the fall of the giants. But how long have the yuan-ti and the shulassakar existed? If they've been around long enough, there's no reason why one or the other could not have traveled to Xen'drik before the fall of the giants. As for Serpent Cults, in all of the known history of Eberron, only the shulassakar have been so physically transformed by their devotion to the couatls/Silver Flame as to create a new race that breeds true. However, this does not rule out a clutch of yuan-ti over the years becoming servants of the Flame and forming a so-called Serpent Cult, distinct from the shulassakar, and while they and the shulassakar may be dedicated to the same ideals this does not mean that they will support the same goals/tactics/philosophy. It would be very "Eberroni" if they, in fact, were rivals.
Keep in mind that the Serpent Cults historically are found within all the races of Xen'drik, if not Eberron. Could there have been a Serpent Cult among the Dhakaani? The Aereni? The orcs of Khorvaire? The dragons of Argonessen themselves? Yes, in each case.
As for the Serpent Cult's relationship to the Church of the Silver Flame, many in the Church suffer from a general lack of a sense of the big picture, believing that they're the first group ever to worship the Silver Flame. Anything that challenges that perception is not welcome, such as the Gaash'kala, the Serpent Cults, the Shulassakar, etc. If other religions understand the connection between the Serpent Cults and the Silver Flame, then their attitude would probably be influenced by their perception of the Church. If not, then they'll simply react to them as a minor folk religion (or at least as just another manifestation of Dol Arrah by those of the Sovereign Host/Dark Six.)
As for being snake-form obsessed, dire polymorphing weirdos, I can't recall anything like that in either the MM or any of the Eberron sourcebook, but I can be wrong.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
heirodule 05-10-07, 01:25 PM	Are all the references to good yuan-ti in Talenta in places like the Players Guide supposed to be now understood as references to shulassakar (feathered yuan ti)? Or are there still good yuan ti? If they're so different, what's the relationship between the serpent cults IN Xen'drik (which would seem to be yuan ti oriented, not shulassakar) and the couatls? Does it just make the most sense for thisThe shulassakar claim that the ancestors of the yuan-ti were chosen of the couatl who broke their vows to the flame and who have since slipped into decadence. As a result, the shulassakar despise the yuan-ti. If the yuan-ti shared these legends, they abandoned them long ago, and they have no interest in the shulassakar. Driven from Sarlona by the Inspired, the yuan-ti lurk in the shadows of Xen'drik and the shores of Argonnessen, plotting vengeance against the Lords of Riedra and searching for ways to use the Draconic Prophecy to gain power.from Baker's dragonshard just to be the truth? Couatl servants became shulassakar, and the yuan ti are degenerates, loosing their feathers (and flight, apparently)? I'm working on a Xen'drik Expeditions DMs mark, and I want there to be some "good" yuan ti guarding a serpent cult site, but I want the shulasssakar still to be opposed to them. This question probably also goes back to what would divide good snake cults from present other good religions like the Silver Flame. A web article implied that the Silver Flame doesn't look kindly on comparisons of their religion to Snake Cults, so I'm looking for a reason why a shulassakar would hate good snake cult yuan ti in Xen'drik. I suppose a quick and dirty answer is the yuan ti are just snake-form obsessed at this point (changing other races into snakes to serve them) and not so much on the high ethical ideals. But they still seek to prevent a great evil from emerging.... thoughts?
heirodule 05-10-07, 01:27 PM	Oh, and when did the yanti get to xendrik in terms of the fall of the giants timeline?
Euangelion 05-10-07, 05:51 PM	First of all, the benevolent yuan-ti of Krezent are indeed the Shulassakar. They are one and the same. Second, the yuan-ti and the Shulassakar both are from Sarlona. Which came first is up to debate (and you can make it whatever you want, within the confines of Xen'drik Expeditions I guess). Are the yuan-ti degenerated shulassakar? Perhaps. Are the shulassakar exalted yuan-ti? That's also possible. The yuan-ti fled to Argonessen and Xen'drik because of the quori/Inspired, so that clearly is long after the fall of the giants. But how long have the yuan-ti and the shulassakar existed? If they've been around long enough, there's no reason why one or the other could not have traveled to Xen'drik before the fall of the giants. As for Serpent Cults, in all of the known history of Eberron, only the shulassakar have been so physically transformed by their devotion to the couatls/Silver Flame as to create a new race that breeds true. However, this does not rule out a clutch of yuan-ti over the years becoming servants of the Flame and forming a so-called Serpent Cult, distinct from the shulassakar, and while they and the shulassakar may be dedicated to the same ideals this does not mean that they will support the same goals/tactics/philosophy. It would be very "Eberroni" if they, in fact, were rivals. Keep in mind that the Serpent Cults historically are found within all the races of Xen'drik, if not Eberron. Could there have been a Serpent Cult among the Dhakaani? The Aereni? The orcs of Khorvaire? The dragons of Argonessen themselves? Yes, in each case. As for the Serpent Cult's relationship to the Church of the Silver Flame, many in the Church suffer from a general lack of a sense of the big picture, believing that they're the first group ever to worship the Silver Flame. Anything that challenges that perception is not welcome, such as the Gaash'kala, the Serpent Cults, the Shulassakar, etc. If other religions understand the connection between the Serpent Cults and the Silver Flame, then their attitude would probably be influenced by their perception of the Church. If not, then they'll simply react to them as a minor folk religion (or at least as just another manifestation of Dol Arrah by those of the Sovereign Host/Dark Six.) As for being snake-form obsessed, dire polymorphing weirdos, I can't recall anything like that in either the MM or any of the Eberron sourcebook, but I can be wrong.