Buy me a coffee“Kamadan: The Serpent-Leopard of Silent Dreams”
“The Jungle’s Silent Dream—A spotted predator whose serpentine mane exhales sleep instead of sound.”
A sleek fusion of leopard and serpent, the Kamadan is a deadly jungle predator whose drowsy breath fells prey before they can scream. Revered and feared across countless worlds, these feline nightmares stalk the border between beauty and terror—creatures of elegance, silence, and sudden sleep.
Appearance
A Kamadan resembles a powerful jungle cat—sleek, muscular, and spotted like a leopard—but its most striking feature is the cluster of living snakes sprouting from its shoulders and neck. Each serpent moves with independent malice, tongues tasting the air for fear and blood. Its golden eyes gleam with predatory intellect, and its gait is unnervingly graceful, the seamless poise of both cat and serpent. When it exhales, a faint shimmer of sleep-laced mist drifts from its fanged muzzle.
Behaviour
Stealthy, patient, and eerily intelligent, Kamadans are ambush hunters that watch their prey from concealment before unleashing their soporific breath. They prefer to toy with sleeping victims, ensuring their quarry never awakens. Although solitary by nature, they occasionally hunt in mated pairs, communicating through low growls and serpentine hisses. Despite their feral nature, they display a strange reverence for silence—killing swiftly, almost ritualistically.
Habitat
Native to tropical jungles, dense forests, and ancient ruins overgrown with vines, Kamadans thrive where shade and humidity conceal their movements. Some serve as guardian beasts for lost temples or serpent cults, drawn by lingering enchantments or the offerings of those who revere them. Their lairs are often littered with bones arranged in patterns too deliberate to be random.
Modus Operandi
It begins its hunt by creeping close to a target’s resting place, using its catlike stealth to remain unseen. It then releases its sleep-inducing breath, a soft exhalation that drifts like incense over the unaware. Once the prey collapses, the Kamadan strikes swiftly—its snakes delivering venomous bites while the cat’s fangs tear into flesh. Against armed foes, it favors hit-and-fade tactics, exploiting confusion and exhaustion before vanishing into the undergrowth.
Motivation
Driven by a blend of instinct, hunger, and territorial dominance, the Kamadan hunts not merely to feed but to assert control over its domain. Some legends suggest a deeper, almost mystical compulsion—an echo of a curse or divine design—that binds the Kamadan to guard sites of ancient magic. Others whisper that it feeds on dreams as much as blood, drawing vitality from the sleep it forces upon the living.
Kamadan 5e 2024
Kamadan, Pathfinder
Kamadan
Medium Monstrosity, Neutral Evil
“The jungle’s silence ends not in a roar, but in a dreamless sleep.”
Armor Class 14 (natural armor)
Hit Points 114 (12d8 + 60)
Speed 40 ft., climb 20 ft.
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 (+4) | 14 (+2) | 20 (+5) | 6 (–2) | 14 (+2) | 10 (+0) |
Saving Throws Dex +5, Con +8, Wis +5
Skills Perception +5, Stealth +5, Survival +5
Damage Resistances poison; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks
Condition Immunities poisoned, charmed (while asleep)
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 15
Languages understands Abyssal and Sylvan but can’t speak
Challenge 6 (2,300 XP) Proficiency Bonus +3
Traits
Feline Grace. It has advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks made in jungle or forest terrain.
Serpentine Awareness. The snake heads grant advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight, hearing, or smell.
Sleep Breath (Recharge 5–6). The Kamadan exhales a 30-foot cone of magical gas. Each creature in that area must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or fall unconscious for 1 minute. A creature awakens if it takes damage or another creature uses an action to shake or slap it awake.
Venomous Serpents. When the Kamadan hits a creature with a Bite attack, the target must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or take 7 (2d6) poison damage and be poisoned until the end of its next turn.
Actions
Multiattack. It makes two Bite attacks and one Claw attack.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target.
Hit: 10 (2d6 + 3) piercing damage plus 7 (2d6) poison damage.
Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target.
Hit: 11 (2d8 + 2) slashing damage.
Sleep Breath (Recharge 5–6). (As described above.)
Reactions
Coiled Reflex. When a creature within 5 feet misses the Kamadan with a melee attack, the Kamadan makes one Bite attack against that creature.
Legendary Actions (Optional for Higher-Tier Encounters)
The Kamadan can take 2 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action option can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature’s turn.
- Serpentine Snap. It makes one Bite attack.
- Silent Pounce (Costs 2 Actions). The Kamadan moves up to half its speed without provoking opportunity attacks and makes one Claw attack at the end of the movement.
Innate Spellcasting
The Kamadan’s innate magic stems from the same dream-woven essence as its breath. Its spellcasting ability is Wisdom (Spell save DC 13). It can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components:
- At will: detect magic, pass without trace
- 3/day each: sleep (3rd level), animal friendship (snakes only)
- 1/day: greater invisibility (self only)
Tactics
A patient ambush predator that strikes from concealment. It opens combat with Sleep Breath, then moves among fallen foes to finish them silently with Bite attacks. Against prepared adventurers, it relies on stealth, climbing, and mobility, slashing and withdrawing before vanishing into cover. If pressed, it uses greater invisibility and retreats to stalk the party later, often at night when fatigue sets in.
Description
A Kamadan prowls the deepest jungles—a leopard-sized predator wreathed in writhing serpents whose drowsy breath sends even the bravest warriors into slumber. Worshiped by serpent cults and feared by explorers, it is both hunter and nightmare, ruling its shadowed domain through silence and sleep.
Encounter Notes
- Two Kamadans hunting together coordinate their Sleep Breath attacks, raising the effective encounter difficulty to CR 8 (3,900 XP total).
- A Kamadan’s lair is often a vined-over temple or bone-strewn ruin, the air thick with the scent of lotus and decay.
Kamadan
This large leopard has six colorful snakes, hissing and ready to strike, sprouting from its shoulders.
[This content was created for the Pathfinder rules by Paizo Publishing LLC and is part of the Pathfinder RPG product line.]
Kamadans are wicked hunters that enjoy stalking and toying with prey, especially when their quarry is relatively intelligent. When a kamadan attacks, it first uses its soporific breath, then pounces on any targets that remain awake. Kamadans stand about 3 feet at the shoulder, about 9 feet long and weighing up to 500 pounds.
Although kamadans are certainly magical creatures, they share many psychological and sociological traits with other big cats. Even when hunting alone to avoid competition, a kamadan is often a member of a larger pride. In areas where wildlife or natives are more powerful, kamadan packs are more likely to hunt as a unit.
They prefer underground lairs, but settle for rocky outcroppings or dens inside brambles or other thick bushes, and they use their snakes to manipulate the bones and baubles of their prey into decorative arrangements. Occasionally, a kamadan shares its lair with another creature, but only if the other creature is more powerful or plies the kamadan regularly with tributes of food and treasure.
| Kamadan CR 4 |
| XP 1,200 NE Large magical beast Init +2; Senses Darkvision 60 ft., Low-Light Vision, Scent; Perception +8 |
| DEFENSE |
| AC 17, touch 12, flat-footed 14 (+2 Dexterity, +1 Dodge, +5 natural, -1 size) hp 42 (5d10+15) Fort +7, Ref +6, Will +2 |
| OFFENSE |
| Speed 40 ft. Melee bite +7 (1d6+3), 2 claws +7 (1d3+3), snakes +2 (1d4+1) Space 10 ft.; Reach 5 ft. (10 ft. with snakes) Special Attacks breath weapon (30-ft. cone, sleep, Fortitude DC 15 negates, usable every 1d4 rounds), pounce |
| STATISTICS |
| Strength 17, Dexterity 15, Constitution 16, Intelligence 5, Wisdom 12, Charisma 9 Base Atk +5; CMB +9; CMD 22 (26 vs. trip) Feats Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Mobility Skills Acrobatics +6 (+10 when jumping), Perception +8, Stealth +6; Racial Modifiers +4 Stealth Languages Aklo |
| SPECIAL ABILITIES |
| Breath Weapon (Su) A kamadan can exhale a cone of gas that makes living creatures fall asleep for 5 minutes (Fortitude DC 15 negates). Slapping or wounding awakens a creature put to sleep by this attack, but normal noise does not. This is a sleep effect. The save DC is Constitution-based. Snakes (Ex) A kamadan’s snakes attack simultaneously; this is always a secondary attack. |
| ECOLOGY |
| Environment temperate or warm plains Organization solitary, pair, or pack (3-9) Treasure standard |
Variants
- Dusk Kamadan (CR +1): A dusk kamadan has midnight black fur and snakes bearing black and red ring patterns on their bodies. A dusk kamadan has the advanced creature template, and its snakes have a poisonous bite: Snakes – injury; save Fort DC 17; frequency 1/round for 6 rounds; effect 1d2 Constitution; cure 2 consecutive saves.
- Polar Kamadan (CR +2): A polar kamadan has white fur with black spots like a snow leopard. Its snakes are furred as well. A polar kamadan has the advanced creature template and batlike wings that grant it a Fly speed of 60 ft. (average). The breath weapon of a polar kamadan is particularly cold – those who succumb to it also suffer 1d4 points of Dexterity damage from numbness.
Section 15: Copyright Notice – Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Bestiary 3
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Bestiary 3, © 2011, Paizo Publishing, LLC; Authors Jesse Benner, Jason Bulmahn, Adam Daigle, James Jacobs, Michael Kenway, Rob McCreary,Patrick Renie, Chris Sims, F. Wesley Schneider, James L. Sutter, and RussTaylor, based on material by Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, and Skip Williams.