PEÑA,PHILLIP JOHN ANG.

NAGA CITY LEGENDS

Legend of the Five Rings


Isha
The naga were an ancient race of serpent-men that existed before the rise of Man and the fall of the Kami. They were the oldest of the civilizations, spanning the far west of the modern Rokugan. Before the fall of the Kami, the naga entered an enchanted slumber in an attempt to preserve their dying race.
Naga Physiology


The Shahadet, Naga Warlord
The naga are large quasi-humanoids with human-like torsos and snake like lower bodies. They were typically scaly and reptilian in appearance, with a greenish tint being the most common, though some browns and other shades were occasionally present. The tail of a naga could be anywhere in the range of 10-20 foot long. Typically, the tails of the Constrictors were normally the longest, while the Greensnakes tend to be smaller and more agile. An upright naga can range from four to seven feet tall normally, but they can raise themselves up even higher. Naga move with the same general pace and endurance of a man, but the tail gives them an advantage that allows them to move just as fast in nearly any terrain. Unfortunately, they do tend to leave a distinct trail marking their passage. Unless trained to accept them, horses tend to avoid naga, presumably due to smelling similar to snakes.[1]
Mutations and 'Abominations'
Some naga, especially the magically talented Cobra Bloodline, have features veering further from the 'human' norm. This appears to be a result the closeness some eggs have to the magical pearls in their hatcheries. Typically these naga have a much more snakelike appearance, to include such features as cobra hoods and heavily scaled torsos. Many other naga are noticeably unsettled by the more extreme variations. Another mutation grants some naga the ability to breathe underwater. While normally only air breathers, some naga are hatched with gills in their necks or torsos. In some more extreme cases, the naga have mutated to the point that they cannot breathe air at all. These mutations tend to be ignored by most naga. Once a generation, a naga is hatched with such severe mutations that it is declared to be an 'Abomination' and is cast out to live on it's own. Most do not survive this, but those who do, and who return, are often some of the greatest heroes of the naga.[2]
Female Nagas
At puberty, female naga gain the ability to alter their form, taking on a typical bipedal nature, though they are still obviously not human unless they take efforts to conceal their features. This ability involves five hours of ritual mediation, followed by the shedding of the skin to reveal the other lower torso. Due to the lack of use, female naga tails tend to be shorter than most males, and many have some minor difficulties utilizing some of the advantages the male naga enjoy. In addition, physical skills take twice as much effort as they must learn how to do such actions with and without tails.[3]