Agathion, Ophinal
"Snek" © Cindy Avelino, accessed at her ArtStation here
[The name "agathion" for Pathfinder's NG outsiders is derived from "agatho daemon", or the "fortunate spirits" of classical Greece. The agathodaemon, sometimes named Tycho, was popular in Ptolemaic Egypt, particularly in Alexandria. Which is why, for a venomous snake-based agathion, I feel comfortable slotting it into Africa for the World Tour project. For more information about snake veneration in the Greek world, Drakon by Daniel Ogden is an excellent book, and was the inspiration for this entry.]
Agathion, Ophidinal
CR 4 NG Outsider
This creature appears as a snake with a human torso and arms. Its scales are colorful, and its expression beatific.
An ophidinal is an agathion devoted to healing above all other arts. They serve heavenly forces and mortal temples alike as doctors, able to patch injuries, treat longer term ailments and expel most mundane and some magical afflictions with magic. Although their aspect resembles that of venomous snakes, they are actually anti-venomous; a creature bitten by an ophidinal has the toxins purged from its body, and any natural poisons it secretes temporarily suppressed.
Ophidinals dislike combat, and rarely choose to fight. They can defend themselves with teeth and claws if they must, but would prefer to heal than to harm. They are usually mobile on the battlefield, casting a sanctuary spell on themselves and then moving between allies to grant them support. In addition to healing, their touch can bring with it good fortune. An ophidinal will happily lay down its life to protect goodly allies.
Unlike many agathions, which eschew civilization for wilder spaces, ophidinals are comfortable in buildings and cities. There are many hazards that urban populations have to deal with—hunger, disease, crime—and ophidinals work to minimize these impacts on common folk. An ophidinal is especially good at dealing with pests. Insects and rodents are often eaten as snacks, and venomous serpents are bitten to suppress their venom and then encouraged to take up residence elsewhere. Ophidinals are suitable for calling with lesser planar ally to act as a source of healing, and their prices for such services are typically taken in healing items magical and mundane, or simply blankets and digestible food to make the lives of the sick more comfortable.
An ophidinal is about eight feet long, but come up to about four foot high when posed upright. Some have hoods, eyelash scales, colored stripes, or other markers of particular species of venomous snake, sometimes mixed and matched in ways unseen in nature.
