Spirit Naga — Venomous Sorcerer of Ruins and Marshes
A venomous serpent-mage that turns abandoned places into courts of fear, deception and enthralled servants.
The Spirit Naga is a long, intelligent serpent with a pale humanoid face, dark scales and a taste for ruined places where it can dominate from concealment. It prefers magic, deception and charmed servants to fair combat. When forced into the open, its bite delivers powerful venom and its spellcasting punishes clustered or poorly positioned enemies.
At a Glance
Run It Tonight
Do not put the naga alone in a bare chamber. Let servants, illusions or difficult terrain reveal its presence first. The naga should begin from cover or a protected route, use magic to divide the party, and bite only when an enemy is already trapped, distracted or weakened.
Rules by Edition
Spirit Naga
Large Fiend, Chaotic Evil
AC 17; Initiative +3 (13)
HP 135 (18d10 + 36)
Speed 40 ft.
18 (+4)
17 (+3)
14 (+2)
16 (+3)
15 (+2)
16 (+3)
Saving Throws Dex +6, Con +5, Wis +5, Cha +6
Immunities Poison; Charmed, Poisoned
Senses Darkvision 60 ft.; Passive Perception 12
Languages Abyssal, Common
CR 8 (3,900 XP); PB +3
Traits
Fiendish Restoration. If the naga dies, it returns to life in 1d6 days with all its Hit Points restored. Only a wish spell can prevent this return.
Actions
Multiattack. The naga makes three attacks, using Bite or Necrotic Ray in any combination.
Bite. Melee Attack Roll: +7, reach 10 ft. Hit: 7 (1d6 + 4) Piercing damage plus 14 (4d6) Poison damage.
Necrotic Ray. Ranged Attack Roll: +6, range 60 ft. Hit: 21 (6d6) Necrotic damage.
Spellcasting. The naga uses Intelligence for spellcasting (spell save DC 14). It requires no Somatic or Material components. Its SRD spell suite includes at-will utility magic and limited uses of detect thoughts, hold person, dimension door, lightning bolt and other control or mobility spells.
Spirit Naga
Large monstrosity, chaotic evil
Armor Class 15 (natural armor)
Hit Points 75 (10d10 + 20)
Speed 40 ft.
18 (+4)
17 (+3)
14 (+2)
16 (+3)
15 (+2)
16 (+3)
Saving Throws Dex +6, Con +5, Wis +5, Cha +6
Damage Immunities poison
Condition Immunities charmed, poisoned
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 12
Languages Abyssal, Common
Challenge 8 (3,900 XP)
Traits
Rejuvenation. If the naga dies, it returns to life in 1d6 days with all its hit points. Only a wish spell can prevent this.
Spellcasting. The naga is a 10th-level Intelligence-based spellcaster (spell save DC 14, +6 to hit). Its prepared magic includes charm person, detect thoughts, hold person, lightning bolt, water breathing, blight, dimension door and dominate person.
Actions
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 10 ft., one creature. Hit: 7 (1d6 + 4) piercing damage. The target must make a DC 13 Constitution saving throw, taking 31 (7d8) poison damage on a failure or half as much on a success.
Spirit Naga CR 9
XP 6,400
CE Large aberration
Init +5; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +22
Defense
AC 23, touch 14, flat-footed 18 (+5 Dex, +9 natural, −1 size)
hp 95 (10d8+50)
Fort +8, Ref +10, Will +10
Offense
Speed 40 ft., swim 20 ft.
Melee bite +10 (2d6+6 plus poison)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Special Attacks charming gaze
Spells Known CL 7th
3rd (5/day)—displacement, fireball
2nd (7/day)—cat’s grace, invisibility, summon swarm
1st (7/day)—charm person, cure light wounds, divine favor, magic missile, shield of faith
Statistics
Str 18, Dex 20, Con 21, Int 12, Wis 17, Cha 17
Base Atk +7; CMB +12; CMD 27 (can’t be tripped)
Feats Ability Focus (charming gaze), Combat Casting, Eschew MaterialsB, Lightning Reflexes, Skill Focus (Perception), Stealthy
Skills Bluff +13, Escape Artist +13, Intimidate +9, Knowledge (arcana) +14, Perception +22, Spellcraft +11, Stealth +15, Swim +12
Special Abilities
Charming Gaze (Su). Functions as charm person to 30 feet; Will DC 20 negates.
Poison (Ex). Bite—injury; Fort DC 20; frequency 1/round for 6 rounds; effect 1d4 Con damage; cure 1 save.
Spells. A spirit naga casts as a 7th-level sorcerer and can also choose spells from the cleric list.
Ecology
Environment temperate marshes
Organization solitary or nest (2–4)
Treasure standard
Spirit Naga
Large Aberration
Hit Dice 9d8+36 (76 hp)
Initiative +1
Speed 40 ft. (8 squares)
Armor Class 16 (−1 size, +1 Dex, +6 natural), touch 10, flat-footed 15
Base Attack/Grapple +6/+14
Attack bite +9 melee (2d6+6 plus poison)
Full Attack bite +9 melee (2d6+6 plus poison)
Space/Reach 10 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks charming gaze, poison, spells
Special Qualities darkvision 60 ft.
Saves Fort +7, Ref +6, Will +9
Abilities Str 18, Dex 13, Con 18, Int 12, Wis 17, Cha 17
Skills Concentration +13, Listen +14, Spellcraft +10, Spot +14
Feats Ability Focus (charming gaze), Alertness, Combat Casting, Eschew MaterialsB, Lightning Reflexes
Environment temperate marshes
Organization solitary or nest (2–4)
Challenge Rating 9
Treasure standard
Alignment usually chaotic evil
Charming Gaze (Su)
Treat as charm person to 30 feet; Will DC 19 negates.
Poison (Ex)
Injury, Fortitude DC 18; initial and secondary damage 1d8 Constitution.
Spells
The spirit naga casts as a 7th-level sorcerer and may also choose spells from the cleric list and the Chaos and Evil domains as arcane spells.
Behaviour
Spirit nagas want influence more than territory. They charm useful servants, manipulate local fears and turn old ruins into places where outsiders never know who is acting freely. A naga may leave one settlement untouched for years if that community provides food, information or obedient intermediaries.
They are patient enough to abandon a compromised lair, recover and return later. In editions where rejuvenation applies, “killing” the naga may merely begin the next phase of the problem.
Signs Before Initiative
- Several unrelated guards insist that entering one particular ruin is forbidden.
- Victims of the naga speak warmly about it despite obvious bite scars.
- Flooded passages contain dry chambers stocked with letters, maps and stolen spellbooks.
- One supposedly abandoned marsh fort receives regular food deliveries.
- Different servants repeat the same phrasing when explaining why the naga must not be disturbed.
- A dead naga’s lair is being repaired before anyone knows what has returned.
If Violence Starts
The spirit naga opens with magic, not teeth. Charm, control and ranged damage break the party’s formation while servants occupy the most dangerous positions. The naga bites only when a target has been isolated or forced into reach.
If badly wounded, it withdraws through water, rubble or concealed passages. A naga that expects to return after death has even less reason to fight honourably.
Counterplay
Protection from charm and poison removes two of the naga’s strongest advantages. Identify which servants are enthralled before combat, because freeing them can collapse much of the lair’s defensive structure.
When rejuvenation or restoration applies, the party also needs a permanent solution. In fifth edition, wish is the explicit answer. In other campaigns, completing the naga’s unfinished story, destroying a magical anchor or sealing the lair may provide a setting-specific alternative.
Habitat and Range
Spirit nagas favour warm riverlands, marshes and ruins close to water. They suit South and Southeast Asian regions especially well, including old river temples, flooded crypts, stepwells, abandoned reservoirs and jungle strongholds. Their presence in those regions should remain a fantasy bestiary adaptation rather than a claim that all traditional nāga stories describe this hostile game creature.
Using a Spirit Naga in an Encounter
The borrowed garrison. Soldiers from three rival rulers now guard the same ruined fort and none remembers receiving orders to serve there.
The drowned shrine. Pilgrims who enter a flooded sanctuary return fiercely protective of whatever lives beneath it.
The nest of three. Three spirit nagas share a reservoir while each secretly recruits outsiders to kill the other two.
The returning enemy. The party killed the naga weeks ago. Someone has begun rebuilding its lair from the inside.
Related Nagas
Return to the Naga Bestiary, or compare the Spirit Naga with the Dark Naga, Guardian Naga and Water Naga.
Rules Sources and Licensing
The 5.5e/2024 Spirit Naga is from SRD 5.2.1, released under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International. The 5e/2014 Spirit Naga is from SRD 5.1, also available under CC BY 4.0.
The Pathfinder 1e statistics derive from the open Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Bestiary. The D&D 3.5e statistics are Open Game Content from the Revised d20 System Reference Document.
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