Naga
Overview
The Naga are touched by the realm of Night, a realm of shape-changing wyrms and winged serpents. They embody both the subtle nature of the Night Eternals and their powerful emotions.
Naga are snake people. The physical changes that set a Naga apart from a human without Lineage start with scales. The “required trapping” is intended to be the baseline that defines a Naga as a Naga, a starting point from which to build a look based on how “lineaged” a character wants to be.
The Naga Lineage is intended to appeal to players who want to be subtle and manipulative, as well as those who want to be a little mysterious. The Naga suits a number of concepts: fanatical priests, mysterious wizards, fighters who enjoy fighting, artists and performers of all types.
The concept plays with images of the snake as wise and subtle, but subverts the idea that snakes are “cold-blooded.” There is also some room to explore dragon-like concepts with this Lineage (greed, arrogance and a love of riddles all work with this idea).
Sobriquets
Skinks, Snakes, Lamia, the Scaled
What they are not
- Sex pests. Naga are sensates, they're not bizarre scaly perverts.
Iconic Trappings
- Scaled Eyeband or Brow. A "scaled eyeband" is created with make-up, possibly supplemented with latex scales. A “scaled brow” is a built up prosthetic piece covering parts of the forehead and highlighting the eyes.
Other Trappings
- Fangs. especially suitable for stronger bloodlines.
- Scaled skin. either with make-up or latex. Naga are not restricted to any one colour scheme for their scales and exotic shades are entirely appropriate for this Lineage.
- Snake-like eyes. represented by costume contact lenses.
- Scaled forearms. perhaps with talons in place of nails.
- Feathers. some feathers can enhance the Couatl-like elements of a Naga, but avoid too heavy a feathered appearance, as Naga are not bird people.
- Sibilant voices. hissing is not out of character for the Naga.
Roleplaying Naga
Naga blood influences the character of the one who possesses it. Not every Naga expresses these effects to the same degree, but characters who strongly express these roleplaying effects often possess stronger blood than those who do not.
- Naga are subtle. Observers rarely know what a Naga is thinking or planning, whereas the Naga themselves will be very clear of their ultimate goal and how they might achieve it. There is a subversive pride to be taken in pursuing one’s goal without anyone else knowing until you have succeeded. This might be used in long term political plotting, manipulating a social function in order to get close to a particular individual, or controlling a conversation in order to shorten it for their own end (without the other person knowing of course that they were the last thing on one’s mind)
- Naga are intuitive. They love to watch and to try and work out the motives of others, presuming there is some goal beyond the obvious and perhaps linking unrelated occurrences into this perceived ‘plan’. Having made such a conclusion it may colour their actions and interactions, even in the face of contrary evidence they may feel they know more about what is really going on. If it is someone they feel strongly about, they may seek to help or hinder such perceived goals.
- Naga are passionate. Naga could never be thought cold, even at their most calculating and devious. There is a keen fire in the eyes and tension at the thrill of the chase (literal or otherwise). They feel all emotions strongly and love to engage with the moment, and if they enjoy an experience may seek to prolong it, or seek it out again. They are not childish, nor erratic, just every sensation is more real to them and they cannot help feeling it, nor would they want to. Each Naga has their own passions and preferences which makes them very varied but linked by a common thread.
- Naga may degenerate into madness. Some naga become increasingly self-obsessed and selfish to the point of sociopathy. The passionate pursuit of a goal can become so strong that it excludes other concerns, perhaps to the detriment and ultimate injury of others. The tragic tales of those who followed their heart’s desire only to find everything else they loved had been destroyed in the wake of their pursuit; those whose study removed them so far that they became hated for their indifference; those who with near-mad fervour struck down one of their dearest who tried to stand in their way.
Advantage - discerning senses
All the senses seem a little stronger, a little more complex: a common sweet might be a riot of intermingled flavours; a plain cloth is seen to be woven from subtly varied threads; a simple melody accompanied by all the implied harmonies and driven by the emotion of the musical flow. This does not make it easier to pick out poisons, or other potential advantages, in fact the sensations can be distracting leading to revulsion or rapture, evoking the passions in some way.
The Blood
Despite their appearance, Naga are as warm blooded and mammalian as any human, they just have some snakes-like characteristics in their appearance. They mate and breed just like humans do, they have hair, and they give birth to live offspring. The Naga bloodlines require regular influxes of human blood. Without them the bloodline reaches a strength where the Naga becomes incapable of successfully mating with another Naga. As a consequence Naga often take human lovers, even if they are in a relationship with another Naga. As well as Naga who have a Naga parent, some Naga claim one of their parents was a disguised Eternal of the Realm of Night.
Lines of the Naga
- The passion of Naga troubadors is famous in Dawn
- The Reckoner guilds of the League are dominated by those of merrow and naga blood..
- Most famously, the Kallavesi Marshsnakes who dwell in the swamps of Wintermark have Naga lineage.