The Nahash
And the Lord God said to the serpent: Because thou hast done this thing, thou art cursed among all cattle, and beasts of the earth: upon thy breast shalt thou go, and earth shalt thou eat all the days of thy life. (Genesis 3:14)
Nahash
Frequency: Rare
No. Appearing: 1-4
Armor Class: 3
Move: 18″
Hit Dice: 8
% in Lair: 15%
Treasure Type: E
No. of Attacks: 1
Damage/Attack: 1-4
Special Attacks: Poison
Special Defenses: See below
Magic Resistance: 35%
Intelligence: Exceptional
Alignment: Chaotic evil
Size: L (20′ long)
Psionic Ability: 100
Attack/Defense Modes: C, D/G, I
Level/XP Value: VII/1,550 + 10/hp
The demonic nahashim appear as huge serpents with black to gray scales, uneven red stripes, and crimson eyes. These monsters can be found throughout the Abyss. On the Prime Material Plane, they seek to deceive and tempt, especially if doing so brings ruin to the innocent.
Being a demon, the nahash cannot be harmed by any sort of normal weaponry or by silver weapons, even those that are magical. It takes half damage from cold, electrity, fire, and gas. The nahash is immune to poison. It communicates via telepathy as well by speech, always as if under the effect of a tongues spell. It has infravision (of the normal 60-foot variety), sheds darkness in a 15-foot radius, can teleport (no error), and can gate in another nahash (50%), a type V demon (25%), or 4-16 manes (25%) (40% chance of success).
A nahash’s bite is not especially powerful, but it carries a horrifying poison. If a poison saving throw fails, the victim dies immediately. Even if the poison save succeeds, the victim takes 3-18 points of damage. Any creature slain by the nahash’s poison dries up and turns to dust in 1-4 rounds. Nahashim love to devour this dust.
A nahash has three minor psionic disciplines. One of these will always be hypnosis. Its magical abilities, any one of which can be used at will, are detect invisibility, dispel magic, fear, phantasmal force, and telekinesis 2,500 gold pieces weight. Once per day, it can transmute water to dust, affecting up to 80 cubic feet of water.
Nahash
Large fiend (demon), chaotic evil
Armor Class 17 (natural armor)
Hit Points 102 (12d10+36)
Speed 45 ft.
Ability Scores STR 14 (+2), DEX 16 (+3), CON 17 (+3), INT 16 (+3), WIS 15 (+2), CHA 18 (+4)
Saving Throws INT +7, WIS +6, CHA +8
Skills Deception +8, Insight +6, Perception +6, Persuasion +8, Stealth +7
Damage Resistances cold, fire, electricity; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical and nonsilver weapons
Damage Immunities poison; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from silver weapons
Condition Immunities poisoned
Senses blindsight 20 ft., darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 16
Languages all, telepathy 120 ft.
Challenge 9 (5,000 XP)
Innate Spellcasting. The nahash’s innate spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 16, +8 to hit with spell attacks). It can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components:
At will: darkness, dispel magic, fear, phantasmal force, see invisibility, telekinesis, teleport
3/day each: charm person, suggestion
1/day: create or destroy water (destroy only, as if cast in a 4th-level spell slot)
Magic Resistance. The nahash has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
Summon Demon (1/Day). The nahash has a 40 percent chance of summoning one nahash, one marilith, or 4d4 manes.
Actions
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d6+3) piercing damage, and the target must make a DC 16 Constitution saving throw, taking 21 (6d6) poison damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful save. A creature that dies from nahash venom turns to dust in 1d4 rounds.
