Art by Eva Widermann. Copyright 2009 Wizards of the Coast.

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Couatls are inspired by Aztec mythology and have been in the game since at least AD&D 1st Edition. They were given a significant role in the lore of Eberron, and I guess this entry brings that to their generic depiction.

The Lore

Couatls are sapient winged serpents widely known for their great virtue, wisdom and power. They have opposed demons and other servants of evil since ancient times.

All of this is true, but it’s not the whole truth. It’s less widely known that couatl righteousness can end up crossing the line into self-righteousness. Each individual tends to have specific plans that they pursue with single-minded dedication, and being convinced of their own rectitude they tend to not see people who get in the way of those plans with good eyes.

Those plans are never actually evil, of course: they’re stuff like protecting a village or other region, pushing a mortal along a destined path, sealing a planar breach, or preventing one from opening in the first place. Still, it’s very possible for a bunch of well-meaning PCs ignorant of the wider picture to get in the way of a couatl’s plans and draw the creature’s wrath.

Ancient legends say that couatls were born of the world’s first light, and that they fought alongside the gods during the Dawn War. They were supposedly responsible for binding a great number of powerful and dangerous creatures in the world or in other planes, and a lot of those mysterious plans have something to do with keeping those creatures bound.

Couatls have the innate ability to travel from any plane to the Astral Sea in 10 minutes, arriving at a random location or at a teleporation circle they know. They can likely also use standard rituals to travel from the Sea to elsewhere.

In Eberron, if I’m not mistaken, couatls are the ones responsible for binding the demonic Lords of Dust in the distant past, and their magic have a lot to do with the deepest secrets of the Silver Flame.

The Numbers

Couatls are Large Immortal Magical Beasts with the Reptile keyword. They have a ground speed of 6 and a flight speed of 8 with Hover. And they also have two signature traits:

Radiant Absorption makes it so that when a couatl takes radiant damage, its own attacks deal 5 extra radiant damage until the end of its next turn. Twist Free allows them to roll saves against the immobilized and restrained conditions both at the start and end of their turns. This applies even when the conditions would end after a set time instead of being (save ends): in that case, the start-of-turn save could terminate the condition early.

The two stat blocks we get here are Unaligned, which I guess is what you get when you combine “opposes evil” with “is a smug snake”.

Couatl Cloud Serpent

Cloud Serpents are Level 18 Artillery with 135 HP and all standard couatl traits. They prefer to fight by shooting lasers and lightning from above (and far away).

This most often takes the form of a Sky Bolt (Ranged 20 vs. Reflex) which deals lightning and radiant damage. If the opposition clusters together they’ll use Snaking Arcs (Area Burst 3 within 20 vs. Reflex), which is a little weaker but covers an area. It recharges once they’re first bloodied.

If an enemy manages to get close to them they can use a Reach 2 bite, which is a bit weak but deals ongoing poison and radiant damage (save ends). Even their venom is shiny! They can also push the interloper away with Hurtling Coils (Reach 2 vs. Fortitude, minor action 1/round), a non-damaging attack that pushes targets 2 squares and knocks them prone.

Couatl Star Serpent

Star Serpents are Level 15 Elite Controllers with 286 HP. They’re a lot more fond of melee combat than their cloud serpent cousins, and love to use constricting attacks.

Their bite is the same as the cloud serpent’s. The venom does a little less ongoing damage, but also slows (save ends all). Their Righteous Coils (Reach 2 vs. Fortitude; minor action 1/round) do a bit of damage and grab. Grabbed targets grant combat advantage to the star serpent, and it can move them without needing to make Strength tests like the standard grapple rules say. There’s no state limit to the number of grabbed victims; conceivably, the whole party could be wrapped in the serpent’s coils. The escape DC is 27.

The couatl can Constrict (vs. Fortitude; minor action 1/round) a grabbed target, dealing decent physical damage and dazing them for a turn.

The star serpent also has two magic encounter powers: Purifying Scream (close burst 5 vs. Will) does psychic damage and also stuns the target for a turn if it’s taking ongoing fire, poison or radiant damage. Couatl Radiance grants the creature the insubstantial and phasing traits and allows it to shift 8 squares. The goal here is to pass through as many allies and enemies as possible: every ally the couatl passes through regains 15 HP and can spend a healing surge; every enemy suffers an attack vs. Will that, on a hit, deals both immediate and ongoing fire and radiant damage. This nicely sets them up for a Purifying Scream.

Sample Encounters and Final Impressions

Couatls can be found hanging out with other creatures that share a similar desire to oppose or guard against evil. They might also engage in a bit of smug snake realpolitik and work alongside shadier allies with the goal of thwarting a worse evil.

The book gives us two sample encounters:

  • Level 14: a star serpen, 3 deva knights-errant, and 1 phoelarch warrior.

  • Level 20: 2 cloud serpents, 2 marut executioners, 1 marut prosecutor.

I like couatls! This more ambiguous portrayal of them gives me plenty of hooks to hang plots from, which I can’t say was something the purely Lawful Good version did.