Naga

###  Overview

The Naga are a race of semi-humanoid warriors, with the lower bodies of serpents and the upper bodies of men or women. Depending on racial variation, they often have two to three sets of arms which wield blades in battle. They are a secretive race and current knowledge regarding their civilization is lacking due to limited contact.

### Appearance

The Naga were semi-humanoid, possessing the upper bodies of men or women with arms, but retaining the powerful lower bodies of their serpentine forebears.

### History

   As the lore goes, ages ago the Underworld Demigod Sarpa, Lord of Poison, who himself took the form of a giant serpent, created the Zular. These Zulars had the bodies of giant snakes and the heads of human beings, sometimes with smaller snakes for hair. Zulars had hypnotic gazes and venomous bites, as well as massive crushing strength. They were created to amuse the Lord of Poison by torturing the souls of the damned in Naraka. Sarpa would sometimes make unauthorized excursions to the surface world of Aeglion where he swam the ocean floor, creating random chaos secretly. He would take a Zular concubine or two for company during these trips. As the story goes, during one such trip, Pambu the youngest such courtesan, slithered away while her Lord was asleep in the ocean floor-bed. Pambu eked out a living for herself on the island of Goa off the northern coast of the greater Baren Isles by seducing and feeding on stray sailors off the island coast. The result of such couplings with man however lead to the first hatchlings which would evolve to become the Naga.
Unlike Zulars or their distant relatives the Hydra, the Naga were semi-humanoid, possessing the upper bodies of men or women with arms, but retaining the powerful lower bodies of their serpentine forebears. The first Nagas lived a paradisial existence with their mother Pambu on Goa. Pambu's eventual fate is unknown, but ancient dwarven accounts tell of how the Nagas flourished on the island until Hamda Pipewind's voyage to reclaim it for the dwarves of the Baren Island. Admiral Pipewind was successful in driving off the Nagas and retaking the island, causing the serpentine creatures to flee across the sea to the Varshtari Swamps in west Greendale. It was here that the Nagas made their new home and settlement.

### Tribes/Clans/Subtypes

Several races of Naga exist, and their appearance depends on the temperature at which the eggs are incubated at prior to hatching. Some, like their Zular forebears, are born with snakes for hair. Nagas can have one to three pairs of arms. This trait coupled with the speed granted by their body and tails made the Naga exceptional warriors and workers. Nagas are also immune to all known poisons.

### Relations

There have been many records of Nagas attempting to coexist or mingle with the common folk, but success has been historically limited. Considered by the common folk to be one of Aeglion's so-called 'beast races', they are often referred to as the 'Snake people' or 'Zular-kin', and subject to racial discrimination due to their appearance. This treatment relegated the Naga to an isolated and mysterious existence in the Varshtari Swamps, where the climate facilitated the continued propogation of their species.

### Lands and Population

    The Naga dwell in caves, swamps, lakes and rivers in the Varshtari Swamps. They are susceptible to mankind's environmentally destructive actions. Because of this, the Naga tend to be malevolent to men and other races, but more so for defensive purposes and to protect their territory, resulting in few adventurers daring to brave those swamplands.

### Notable Figures

Pambu--worshipped by the Naga as their Mother and Creator.