Dungeons and Dragons Lore: Naga

In the ancient time on Toril called the Age of Thunder, the Sarrukh race rose to power and created many serpent races, including the magical Nagas, masters of arcane and divine magic, immortal and widespread, they make interesting figures in your Dungeons and Dragons roleplaying games and their lore is full of the mysteries of the past.
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[@HumbleMemeFarmer]

I can admire a snek with a fondness for fancy hats.

[@pandoraeeris7860]

This should have the Lair ability of "constantly complains that you should clean up your room and have more ambition in life".

[@purplehaze2358]

chameleons dont use the ability to change color to camouflage. they use it to express emotion

[@rpm297]

Ah.. Snake...Surprise! Also, "Naga stole my bike!"

[@AngelusAnsell]

Something just occurred to me. You say they'd be none too pleased to see non-scaly-folk in their holy realm. Understandable....and then I thought to myself "well what if i were shapeshifted into one of them?" which led to another thought. "Which, if any, races, would that work on? If you were trying to (peacefully, generally) pass through lands which are otherwise hostile to outsiders, could a mage simply make themselves look like a local to make travel easier? And if stopped, could you convince them of your (hopefully) noble intentions?"

[@joebyrnes9254]

Man what I’d love to do is make Werenagas. Make it some cursed derived from maybe the malicious spirit of a guardian Naga that makes an afflicted “fill the role” by having them turn into one when intruders approach.

[@levifowler7933]

I think the 5e system of description is based on what sages think. It's not about what actually is the case, but largely what a scholar would think. Not only would that explain inconsistency, but also the amount of things that are vague or told in far off ways. Maybe I'm wrong, but that's how I think of it

[@CaptmagiKono]

Shekinester sounds like a pretty cool god, at least the tests of character and idea of self improvement through trial and pain. Just like how more people should realize building oneself is actually like in reality.

[@AJPickett]

Ganesh is my favorite Hindu god

[@dukeolizards5643]

Yes please. A video on the Saruk. Saa'ruk?

[@XX-sp3tt]

'Can control societies with sheer force of personality.' Okay, puts Naga in a room with a group of mind flayers. Another in a room of full of beholders. Another in a room full of Aboleths. Another in a room full of dragons. Another in a room full of vampires. Let's see this in action.

[@morganmak3437]

Actually, Naga is present in Thai mythology, a serpent with a crown and have odd numbers of heads up to seven and comes in a variety of colors . They are elementals and mainly know to control the weather, the most important being water and is believed to create the rivers in Thailand which are important for agriculture. Other nagas include poison, storm and paralysis, some are also guardians of an ancient temple under the ground. Their mortal enemies is the bird folk somewhat like the Aarakora, a revered symbol found on some ships. Digging deeper, he Thai mythos also explains the origins, war, Naga types and interestingly the trials and reincarnation of the nagas

[@AJPickett]

It's very interesting comparing the monster folklore of different cultures, they all stem back to earlier times, so, there are a lot of basic similarities.

[@jonsosebee1689]

The artwork with the 2 warriors standing with the naga behind them is +awesome+ (naga party member is too cool of an idea)

[@UberGringo]

I can make good use of this in the campaign. Need that creator race vid, which might even be up by now.

[@BulldogLawyer]

I think a bone naga under the domination of a vampire could be really cool. Perhaps in life this naga was a rival of the vampire lord who has condemned them to eternal servitude as a form of humiliation and subjugation.

[@osiras1382]

Aside from immortality, they all also have 5 basic abilities... 1. Telepathy 2. Teleportation 3. Telekinesis 4. Cellular regeneration 5. Skin cloak I am a Pyroclastic Naga......

[@eldarhighelfhealermiriella7653]

You are very pretty *Rolls seduction*

[@christopherclubb9167]

Eldar High Elf Healer Miriella II I didn't call for an ability check, so that 29 doesn't mean anything. The spirit naga, having no interest in standard monogamous mating rituals, especially with a humanoid, is disgusted and insulted by this offering of flesh. She coils, and quickly springs towards you with impressive velocity and bared fangs. What do you do?

[@jgr7487]

a Naga in a Hag Coven? why not? they'd have so much fun together!

[@Vilis_Farthuk]

Ooooh, my players have earned the ire of both, and slew one of the coven... so they have an opening.

[@richardneri9759]

Throughout this whole video, all I could hear is “use this as your big bad evil guy.”

[@ironkeepgaming1936]

I like the bone Naga best and will put it in a desert tomb alongside Mummies and Stirges. I will also put a few Xorn and Chuul in the surrounding desert.

[@sypandacat7236]

Sent you something on discord some mighty gluestick fan art haha hope u like it! Just seen your response thanks! You got me into d&d just because its so rich in lore and the community is awesome

[@rickeymariu1]

Also, thanks as always for the vid A.J. loved it!

[@danieldeihl8237]

I wonder if a Naga has ever been a magic teacher. I'm sure a Naga would have loads to teach about magic

[@AJPickett]

Oh yeah, most definately. Vecna was trained by some form of World serpent, I'm sure quite a few mages would seek out Naga to learn the ancient arts.

[@RockyRodent333]

A great video on one of the more subtle scalykind. I'll have to work one in soon. Thanks, AJ.

[@benmatthews8112]

Thanks AJ! Another great entry. Currently using the war between a guardian naga and spirit naga for control over the a travel portal system of a fallen civilisation as a backdrop in my game, so some great ideas to run these beasties :)

[@duhbuh5125]

I used a naga as a quest giver in my campaign. I had them start in a town with a quest than run into the Naga in the dungeon and have them turn the quest back in the original quest giver because they had been hunting that man for stealing from ancient ruins and stole history

[@TheLoyalOfficer]

Honestly, I like the parts where you focus on the down-to-earth, "regular" versions of the monsters than their uber-powerful divine aspects or manifestations. But hey, great job as always.

[@mattnerdy7236]

Great video AJ, takes me back to my AD&D days. Naga was always head of some evil cult. Mixed with yuan-ti worshipers and human fanatics. Great old school boss. Now we have beholders being the big boss. Both super scary adversaries. Well done AJ. Have a great day.

[@TheLateleks]

Some snake venom's can crystallise in the fangs and make even a snake skull be dangerous, plus D&D magic! The bone naga poison kind of made sense to me.

[@michaelkelligan7931]

I've always liked dark nagas..... my Necromancer has one that serves in his laboratory. Great minor villains for any campaign. Nice vid m8!

[@pbr-streetgang]

Thanks for the vid sir.

[@Insane-Howl-Cowl]

Very cool creature video. The Naga need more love in games. I feel like they get relegated to being magic snake minions. They could be a lot cooler, and more of a central focus.

[@Vilis_Farthuk]

There's a decently prominent Naga in the Dead in Thay adventure which you can find remade in Tales From the Yawning Portal. She's basically a sector boss, and holds sway over a number of humans. The fact that she keeps coming back is what makes her memorable as a foe.

[@JanusHoW]

There's one naga that comes to mind in a published D&D campaign (spoilers ahead): In the land of Chult, a guardian naga by the name of Saja N'Baza lives in a ziggurat in the ruined and otherwise deserted city of Orolunga. To climb the ziggurat and meet with her, PCs must go through a series of tests that a series of chwingas provide solutions to. Upon passing the tests correctly and meeting the proper conditions, they can enter her chamber, which seems to be displaced in time. She urges them to pursue and slay Ras Nsi, a powerful yuan-ti who wants to unleash Dendar the Night Serpent on the world, saying that while he was once human, he is too far gone for redemption, and letting him live would just allow him to try again. She also knows pretty much everything there is to know about Chult, including the location of Omu, the ultimate objective of the party, and even provides supernatural charms to those who do so willingly.

[@thomashopcroft9089]

perfect timing AJ making a archipelago sorta campaign atm and wanted a naga or two

[@DmJim]

Have you made a video about the Sarrukh yet? I am very interested.

[@That80sGuy1972]

In my campaigns, the Naga are mostly underestimated. I have, in all my campaigns, the Naga as a major player behind the scenes everywhere that demons and devils are not in play and my Naga's created the Yuan-Ti and had a hand in other reptiles.

[@mrl9418]

A noble, knowleadgable creature hailing from the depth of history? SLAY IT AND RAISE IT AS YOUR SL... uh... it's a bone naga.

[@nullvoid4063]

Fantastic... as always, of course. By the way, after a while, do you start to recognize different subscribers based on their comments on the video? You now have 23K+ subscribers now, and I'm glad to be one of them!

[@AJPickett]

Yes I do, and I miss people when they stop commenting for long periods of time, then am happy to see them show up again :)

[@nullvoid4063]

Glad to hear it AJ.

[@florenmage]

This monster never fails to remind me of the end of Alladin where Jafar turns into a giant snake.Its not exactly the same as I am aware that Jafar is an evil wizard that can transform but it's kinda similar.You could do a final boss fight where the main villain was this scheming evil guy who was mind controlling the king and reveal that he was a naga all along.A shape shifted naga.

[@Vilis_Farthuk]

Lol, that was actually the example I gave my group because the 5e image for a Naga is so weird looking. I only found out later they traditionally have a very human face.

[@kordelshorgar122]

2:42 that image is the only one i have ever known about the sarrukh i'm really curious about them since i'm a fan of the yuan ti and the lizard folk (by the way 3:38 warhammer fantasy lizardmen!!!)

[@redfeildre349]

There are so many different naga that I'd be tempted to just create a random naga generator or just pick and choose traits I want. Just make every naga unique.

[@AJPickett]

I'd buy that PDF

[@GrigoriLord]

Amazing video as always AJ! Been watching your content for awhile now and I'm wondering where you get the translations of D&D languages for your videos? It would be great to be able to translate words and phrases into D&D languages but I haven't been able to find the sources for 5th edition. I vaguely remember some alphabets for 4th but they weren't as useful. Thanks for the video!

[@AJPickett]

Oh man, can you imagine Google translate for like, Draconic and Supernal? That would be so useful. The best bet is start with wikipedia articles, then track the references back to source materials, most of the good langauge stuff is either in 2-3rd edition Forgotten Realms books, or Dragon Magazine articles.

[@GrigoriLord]

Alright thanks!

[@chriscalvin5083]

good video

[@akshane5570]

dark naga are a race unto themselves to skip over them would be the same as if you said orcs are nothing more then fat goblins

[@linguisticallyoversight8685]

I wonder do you think it would be possible to come up with a genealogy of the Forgotten Realms to show what races came from where how they evolved and changed like a fantasy family tree

[@AJPickett]

That would be an epic undertaking!

[@nfigs]

Can you do one on elves or dwarfs

[@SonicSanctuary]

Hmmm could a Naga be the patron of a warlock?

[@AJPickett]

I don't see why not. Patrons can be creatures who need proxy minions in order to access magic power they can't personally use.

[@auty2k9]

Hey AJ, do you share the art for these videos anywhere?

[@purplehaze2358]

one sneky boi

[@dogle9258]

I really got lost on the lore of the creator race. Maybe a great lore video may be on mass extinctions of Faerûn. Kind of like a PBS through time video as you tell us all of the ancient ruins in our current time on the plane. Maybe start with it being a lecture from a wise old sage over common knowledge that most mortals know, that then leads back further in time past what the common people would know, and ending up back at the time before the creator races.

[@AJPickett]

Oh is that all, pssssh, knock it out in an afternoon *guzzles 5 gallons of coffee*

[@dogle9258]

Is that why they say you like milk so much during your last live chat. You need all that milk to thin out that coffee in your belly. Lol.

[@AJPickett]

Funny you should mention milk... no, I generally don't drink it, which is why it goes sour in my fridge and gives me food poisoning. :(

[@dogle9258]

Oh! They were joking. Lol. Being American or even European descendent I just recently heard that we are the minorities of the world by still drinking milk after being a baby. Idk the facts but crazy how big the world is and how different we all see it.

[@Vilis_Farthuk]

There's a spell in Xanathar's called Shadow of Moil that I felt fit very well with the Spirit Naga. I forget if they have darkvision by default, but if you use this spell remember to assume that they do or it will be very awkward. Also, it's a nice alternate from Dominate Person when there's a Paladin in the group ruining your fun.

[@dragonballtalk8527]

Xanathar book is free at public library 50$ value

[@Vilis_Farthuk]

@@dragonballtalk8527 I mean, that's how libraries have always worked: you can borrow books for free. Not sure what its value has to do with it.

[@dragonballtalk8527]

@@Vilis_Farthuk every time u take out a book u get a receipt saying how much u saved instead of buying mine said 50$

[@Vilis_Farthuk]

@@dragonballtalk8527 For real? Must be a new thing.

[@probablythedm1669]

I think the bone Naga's venom is just that undead funk that's messed with their decaying but still remaining venom glands. Sadly, undead funk is not a very dance-friendly tune... unless you're into the sounds of people screaming as they die in horrible agony... "Undead funk" - Themesong of the necromancer murderhobo? :P

[@deadboydeadboy]

I was thinking something similar. So instead of getting poisoned with the bite attack the ribs cutting into a victim could inflict the poison during a constrict attack.

[@AJPickett]

Undead Funk is a pretty good band name.

[@karlbrooks5693]

Would you be interested in a digital copy of Dieties and Demigods , with Cthulu and Melniboné mythos?

[@michaelkelligan7931]

Karl Brooks I've got that copy of deities and demigod that was pulled from shelves back in the 70s due to copy right infringments...its awesome

[@majesticgothitelle1802]

It a nure-onna I'm glad to see some Japanese creatures even when it's in a completely different name.

[@gagedoyle3801]

I was wondering if you planned on covering Levistus the Lord of the Fifth? I've been rather curious on facts about the Lord of Stygia.

[@AJPickett]

he is pretty cool. (I'll show myself out)

[@ericwalston2344]

He & Set don't get along and I expect them to come to blows as soon as Asmodeus releases him from his prison of ice. .

[@vinx.9099]

simple turn the poison attack from the bone naga from poison to necrotic.

[@jacktownsend2977]

Have you done any research on the Sand Dragon

[@AJPickett]

I know I have covered a few dragons who lair in that sort of terrain, but I don't recall doing the sand dragon specifically.

[@thehillz726]

Would it be fair to say the rever aspect could represent creative destruction?

[@aby110]

Nagas in Paris

[@rickeymariu1]

If naga are immortal and they spawn 1 naga per winter.... infinate naga?

[@AJPickett]

I think there are other factors involved, it might be that only one egg in ten even survives, so, one child per decade?

[@michaelkelligan7931]

rickeymariu1 of course not!,they have nature enemies as well......i imagine a good many are eaten!

[@denewst01]

Immortal via reincarnation maybe? That'd probably fit with the Hindu origins too

[@Vilis_Farthuk]

@@michaelkelligan7931 Exactly. I also imagine that there are groups specifically hired to destroy Naga eggs before they hatch to keep the population in check. That, or a level 9 Wizard goes around with Wish.

[@jackiesantos2121]

Yeah never trust snakes priorities Prix also yeah the old saying don't trust snakes

[@DuskyPredator]

Wait, how can Naga have a child every year if even if killed they come back to life in a matter of days? It sounds like they would have an enormous population. Sorry if I missed it, but was there a mention of the nature of them apparently being big enemies of Yuan-ti?

[@AJPickett]

I don't know how often (overall) Naga reproduce, my best guess is, slowly, like, decades at least, it may be some very long cycle they go through, or it may only be triggered by them moving into a new territory (they were originally bred to be explorers and to disperse across the world). Nagas are very dominant, and there is mention that they do cohabitate with Yuan-ti quite often, but the Yuan-ti chafe under the tight leash the Naga keep them on, so, it is an uneasy relationship that can turn to deadly hostility. It's possible that a Guardian Naga could have a population of Yuan-ti that it keeps from harming others, but, Yuan-ti will never have the emotional capacity to feel empathy for others and without the Naga's influence, will gradually fail to see the point of playing nice with others.

[@richmcgee434]

Oh good, I'm not the only one who saw the obvious biological problem of an immortal race of magic-using hermaphroditic supersnakes that produce an offspring every single year forever. The entire multiverse would be chock full of these things in short order - which must mean some predator out there eats them like foxes eat rabbits. Probably something absurd. Mongoose-men. Flumphs. Or that most terrifying of monsters, the gnome.

[@DuskyPredator]

So a Guardian Naga could be a way for a player Player I not to be extreme evil? If they were made as a type of adventurer, then is there something they actually fear? Like a counter to their existance, that might keep them in check. Perhaps celestials or friends that keep a balance.

[@DuskyPredator]

Rich McGee Before getting an answer, I was imagining other gods would not take too kindly to something so broken. One of the things I was seeing recently was angels are actually a piece of the divine element of a god, and directly creating more celestials could have similar elements for their god. Possibly make too much quickly and you risk spreading their god thin, or a dangerous connection to the god by collecting up enough. From higher beings getting involved. At least this part of what I am theorizing at the moment as part to try and understand the economy of gods and celestials. A blind spot of what I so far have an idea of.

[@zacharyhawley1693]

DuskyPredator the economy of souls can be difficult to understand. But generally the more souls a god has the more powerful it is. It's one of the darker secrets. Since its the reason why demon lords, archdevils and other powers traffic in souls.

[@thehillz726]

Why dosent the posion make sense ?

[@thehillz726]

@David Willingale ohh ok thanks for clearing that up. though you could have the bone naga cote its fangs with a poisonous substance like yellow creeper moss or something in place of the venom.

[@electricmeatpuppet]

They're magical creatures remember... the "poison" could be of a more sinister magical or necromantic nature... in no way does it have to be a physical poison.

[@Yuudaddy]

So are there any Naga arch-mages?

[@AJPickett]

Yeah, I would say all the Na-naga are archmagi

[@Yuudaddy]

Woudl you put them above guys like Elminster?

[@Zasek2112]

@@Yuudaddy I would. For all his power Elminster is still human, still a very young being in the grand scheme of things. He might have the knowledge but from the point of view of a naga he has no experience.

[@michaelkelligan7931]

Zasek2112 yeah but he actually has sex with his goddess,that counts for something eh?

[@DmJim]

But all the chosen are now greatly reduced in power. Even Elminster.

[@SlothinAintEasy]

Can you eat d&d monsters?!?

[@AJPickett]

The characters can certainly try... results may vary.

[@michaelkelligan7931]

AJ Pickett lolx2 aint that the truth!

[@8393Robertrex]

15 feet long is actually not that big, unless they aren't counting the "torso" part of the snake body Because otherwise even a crocodile would be difficult for a naga to kill if it couldnt use its magic

[@PrivateAccountXSG]

They look way cooler on HOMM3

[@joshuazane3210]

Oh snap. I remember playing HoMM 2 and 3 growing up. Good times.

[@jch8376]

Naga ....naga...na.. Not gonna work here anymore.

[@lyndon2487]

You alright my naga.

[@mynameluvsdragonscancelled6759]

I’m the 666th person to like