The nagaji are an ancestry of ophidian humanoids with scaled skin that mimics the dramatic appearance of true nagas. Like serpents, they have forked tongues and lidless eyes, giving them an unblinking gaze that most other ancestries find unnerving. Their physical forms are otherwise humanlike, raising wary speculation about their origins. It is widely believed that true nagas created them as a servitor ancestry, through crossbreeding, mystical arts, or both, and indeed nagaji often revere nagas as living gods. Nagaji commonly inspire awe and fear among other ancestries, particularly more insular, naive, or fickle peoples, as much for their mysterious ancestry as for their talent for both swords and sorcery.
Bred in the ancient past by nagas seeking a servitor ancestry that combined loyalty with the versatility of the human form, the nagaji have long since developed into a vibrant and proud ancestry.
Physical Description: The reptilian nagaji have scaly flesh—these scales are typically green, gray, or brown in hue, with colorful ridges of red, blue, or orange on their skulls or backs. Their ears and noses are flat, almost to the point of being nonexistent, while their eyes are those of serpents, ranging widely in color but tending toward golds, reds, yellows, and other warm hues.
Nagaji have slightly longer lifespans, reaching adulthood around 20, with middle age at 60 and old age just before their hundreds. The most venerable of this ancestry live into their early hundreds.
They are sexual dimorphic, with the average height of males just under seven feet feet and females around six and a half feet. Their body mass is similar, making most females weigh slightly less than males.
Society: Nagaji society places honor, devotion, and dedication above all else. Less charitable observers from outside such societies might call the nagaji “born servants,” but the nagaji do not think of themselves as such to their naga overlords, and point to the fact that they are free to make their own life decisions. Furthermore, when a naga oversteps its bounds as ruler of its people, the nagaji are no strangers to resistance or outright rebellion.
Relations: For their part, nagaji regard humans as violent expansionists not to be trusted as political neighbors or allies. They tend to see foxfolk and tengus as too capricious and mischievous to trust, but they grudgingly respect the samsarans’ wisdom. Shadowlings are distrusted as well, for their apparent lack of a strong national heritage worries and confounds the nagaji.
Alignment and Religion: Most nagaji are pulled towards community based alignments, but it is common to find nagaji with many different values. While many non-nagaji believe they worship their naga lords as deities, this is not true – yet religion does play a secondary role in nagaji society to civic obedience.
Adventurers: Nagaji are often drawn to lives of adventure out of a desire to prove themselves to their naga masters or to prove their own worth outside of this ancestral stereotype. Strong of body and personality, nagaji excel in the mystical arts or warriors and for the right personality, serve exceptionally well as holy champions.
Names: Hskori, Hskoro, Iltame, Korovati, Nagagorjo, Rasamoro, Reomava, Resavati, Seme, Sellaweti, Sulmavate, Yesmava, Yesmoro, Zehameti