Sloth Viper

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

Sloth Viper CR 3

XP 800
N Large magical beast
Init +7; Senses darkvision 60 ft. low-light vision; Perception +9

DEFENSE

AC 17, touch 13, flat-footed 13 (+4 Dex, +4 natural, -1 size)
hp 27 (5d10)
Fort +4, Ref +8, Will +2

OFFENSE

Speed 30 ft., climb 30 ft., swim 30
Melee bite +8 (1d4+1 plus poison)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Special Attacks quickness

TACTICS

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 afterwards.

STATISTICS

Str 13, Dex 19, Con 11, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 2
Base Atk +5; CMB +7; CMD 21 (can’t be tripped)
Feats Improved Initiative, Skill Focus (Perception), Weapon Finesse
Skills Acrobatics +16, Climb +13, Perception +9, Stealth +8, Swim +15; Racial Modifiers +8 Acrobatics, +4 Perception, +4 Stealth

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Poison (Ex)

Bite—injury; save DC 14; frequency 1 round/6 rounds; effect slowed for 1 minute as the slow spell (CL 7th); cure 2 consecutive saves. The save DC is Constitution-based and includes a +2 racial bonus.

Quickness (Ex)

A sloth viper is inherently quick and can take an extra standard action or move action during its turn each round.

ECOLOGY

Environment temperate and warm forests and marshes
Organization solitary or pair
Treasure none

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).

Section 15: Copyright Notice

Sloth Viper from the Tome of Horrors Complete, Copyright 2011, Necromancer Games, Inc., published and distributed by Frog God Games; Author Scott Greene.

scroll to top