SALAMANDERS
Salamanders slither across the Sea of Ash on the
Elemental Plane of Fire, their sinuous coils and jagged
spines smoldering. Intense heat washes off their bodies,
while their yellow eyes glow like candles in the deep-set
hollows of their hawkish faces.
Salamanders adore power, and they delight in setting
fire to things. Outside their home plane, they play among
the burning skeletons of charred trees as forest fires
rage around them, or slither down the slopes of erupting
volcanoes to linger in fire pits and magma floes.
Fire Snakes. Salamanders hatch from eggs that
are two-foot-diameter spheres of smoldering obsidian.
When a salamander is ready to hatch, it melts its way
through the egg's thick shell and emerges as a fire
snake. A fire snake matures into a salamander adult
within a year.
Slaves of the Efreet. Long ago, the efreet hired azers
to build the fabled City of Brass, but then failed in their
attempt to enslave that mystical race when the azers'
work was done. Turning instead to strike against the
salamanders, the efreet had better luck in establishing
a slave race, which they use to unleash war and
destruction across the planes.
Salamanders despise the azers, believing that if
the efreet had succeeded in dominating that race of
elemental crafters, the salamanders would still be free.
The efreet use this enmity to their own advantage,
stoking the salamanders' hatred and pitting them
against the efreets' former servants.
The efreet suffer salamanders to serve no other
master; when efreet encounter salamanders dedicated
to the cults of Elemental Evil, they slay them rather than
taking them as slaves.
Domineering Nobles. Although salamanders follow
the destructive impulses of their fiery nature, slavery
under the efreet has impacted the culture of free
salamanders. They rule their own societies according
to the efreet model, in which larger and stronger
salamanders claim dominion over their lesser kin.
As salamanders age, they increase in size and status,. rising to positions of power as cruel nobles among their
kind. Nobles rule wandering bands of salamanders,
which move across the Elemental Plane of Fire like
desert nomads, raiding other communities for treasure.
Living Forges. Salamanders generate intense heat,
and when they fight, their weapons glow red and
sear the bodies of their enemies on contact. Even
approaching a salamander is dangerous, since flesh
blisters and burns in its proximity.
This inherent heat is an asset to salamanders' skill
as smiths, allowing them to soften and shape iron and
steel with their bare hands. Although not as meticulous
as azers, salamanders number among the greatest
metalsmiths in all the planes. Powerful creatures
summon them as warriors, but others e nlist the
salamanders for their crafting skills, or bind the m to
forges and ovens to ge nerate limitless heat.
Medium elemental, neutral evilArmor Class 14 (natural armor)
Hit Points 22 (Sd8)
Speed 30ft.STR
12 (+1)DEX
14 (+2)CON
11 (+0)Damage Vulnerabilities coldINT
7 (-2)WIS
10 (+0)CHA
8 (-1)Damage Resistances bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from
nonmagical weapons
Damage Immunities fire
Senses darkvision 60ft., passive Perception 10
Languages understands lgnan but can't speak
Challenge 1 (200 XP)Heated Body. A creature that touches the snake or hits it with a
melee attack while within 5 feet of it takes 3 (1d6) fire damage.ACTIONS
Multiattack. The snake makes two attacks: one with its bite
and one with its tail.Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target.
Hit: 3 (1d4 + 1) piercing damage plus 3 (1d6) fire damage.
Tail. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit:
3 (1d4 + 1) bludgeoning damage plus 3 (1d6) fire damage.