Kundali (3.5e Race)

Kundali
In ancient past it is said that there was a great and mighty demon known as Sertrous, known for his invlvement with the Yaun-ti and the release of knowledge of gaining divine power through force of will alone. Though Sertrous was slain, many fell into seeking wisdom from the dead serpent's words. One group of humanoids sought this wisdom and worshiped him, eventually forming a plan to become as unto gods themselves through divine might by their own hands. Through mistake, sabotage, or punishment by a higher power the ritual was disrupted. The effect which was to enlighten them instead cursed them with a deadly magical sickness that transformed their bodies into snakes, killing the host. Their entire nation was lost to the curse until it was halted, partially, by the efforts and teachings of one of the greatest monks of their age, a man known as Kunda Shakitpat. Though dedication and meditation, he discovered a way to stabilize their disintergrating bodies and bind them into a stable viable being. The surviving members of this race renamed themselves Kundali in honor of their savor, and begin to follow his teachings to self-enlightenment.

Summary::The kundali are the scaled decendants of the original cursed humanoids, with the power to transform into a swarm of snakes. Many follow meditative monk-like practices religiously, and oppose anything to do with the ancient demon lord or dealing with divinity. Even so, a small sect of them wish to return to the past, to learn what went wrong, and to recreate it "correctly" this time. Thus the kundali are split into two main factions; the Shakt-Kundali which follow the strict teachings of Kunda, and the Ava-Kundali which seek to right the old errors and ascend to godhood per Sertrous' teachings.

Personality
The majority of kundali are shaki-kundali, and most grow up in the ways and teachings of the old monk. This makes them thoughtful and generally passive, seeking to study and understand themselves and their reactions to the world around them. They trend for lawflness, and non-evil if not good in their opposition of demons and their influence on the mind. However unlike a paladin or cleric who does their acts based on the will or teachings of others, their philosophy is entirely self-focused and by seeking to better themselves they must often better others as well on their spiritual journey. Their ava-kundali counterparts, surprisingly, are not their polar opposites. Ava-kundali also are thoughtful, but take a much more active role in the world and usually do so by turning self-interest into simple selfishness. They take a great interest in the past and in relics, which the shakt-kundali generally abandon for living in the present, and they seek to re-establish their old power. As a result, they are often still lawful or neutral, but generally do not end up good aligned.

Kundali can usually be seen as non-offensive, staying in their temples and their studies by themselves save the occational aggressive ava-kundali out to pull off some scheme. The only race which they have reactions too are the yaun-ti and their kin. As fellow former-Sertrous worshipers, the shakt-kundali take issue with the evil serpents while the av-kundali embrace them as kin and use them to mine for ancient knowledge.

Physical Description
Kundali appear human at first glance, of middle-eastern or indian origin with tanned skin and straight black hair. However their eyes are completely black and glossy, with a second semi-clear eyelid which usually blinks in place of their normal eyelid. Their skin also has a curious texture too it as their body is actually covered in a fine layer of tan-hued snake scales. Baldness is quite common, or long straight hair, and long necks for a typical human. They dress in light flowing robes and fabrics, silk, and a great deal of use in gold which they seem particularly fond of.

They all hold a secret that their bodies are slightly unstable. The are destined to turn into a swarm of snakes and indeed when they perish their body melts away and a non-sapient swarm of snakes burst from their corpse and escape into the world. With whatever techniques used by the ancient monk Kunda, their form has been fixed and they will no longer melt away on their own. Indeed, they have gained some manner of control of it and can shift into snake swarm form while retaining their identity and sanity. Many do not choose to adopt this form often however, as it has been described as "harrowing" and "disturbing" to their psyche.

Kundali are cold-blooded in spite of their human forms. They do not have live-births but instead come out of eggs. It is unclear if they are considered mammels or not, for they otherwise possess all the other biological traits of humans.

Relations
Kundali of both sects tend to stay by themselves and have a peaceful relation with all races but the yaun-ti, where the two factions split. Shakt-kundali oppose them at every turn while ava-kundali move about the yaun-ti as brothers and sisters. Both kundali get along best with races which respect their privacy, and usually only end up interacting with those native to the desert homes they reside in.

Alignment
Shakt-kundali tend towards law and slightly towards good, while ava-kundali trend slightly towards law and tend to be non-good or even evil.

Lands
Kundali are native to the deserts and arid locations of the world, largely due to their cold-blooded nature which shuns cold places. However both have a fondness and reverance for water. Water is seen as precious, and is used in many spiritual aspects as a metaphor for cleaning away the curse... or recreating the ancient fens of Sertrous.

Religion
Kundali do not tend to follow religions at all. Shakt-kundali focus on self-enlightenment such as the way of the monk, as are usually ashamed at relying on gods or think it is the cause that got them in trouble in the first place. Ava-kundali meanwhile tend to actively oppose gods, with exception of worshoping Sertrous. And yet many still become clerics both of Sertrous, or of ideals, as the old serpent taught them they should do. Ur-priest kundali are not uncommon.

Language
Having grown with, or possibly having been a slave race to, yaun-ti the kundali speak Common and Yaun-Ti.

Names
Names tend to be complex, coming off as "indian" in design and relying on hissing noises.