Ekuneil
Image © Alex Perx, accessed at their page here
[Commissioned by @wannabedemonlord. The ekuneil changed dramatically from its original in development, in order to make it more playable at the table. In the original story, the ekuneil inserts its tail into the noses of sleeping women in order to nurse from them without them knowing, and a family visited by an ekuneil will see both the mother and baby slowly waste away. I switched the tail thing to a sting partially due to this artwork, and partially to avoid having to deal with called shots. I also broadened the ekuneil’s diet to include blood, so it could attack PCs and livestock, and so that adventures with it wouldn’t have to enter magical realm territory.
The name ekuneil is used in the modern era to refer to the black kingsnake in Mexico. Snake lore of the American Southwest has some similarities, with the coachwhip being said to use its tail to check the nose for breath after it bites someone. Needless to say, both kingsnakes and coachwhips are perfectly harmless--the worst they can do to a person is poop on them.]
Ekuneil CR 2 N Magical Beast This gray snake is longer than a man is tall. Its tail is black and forked, each fork tipped with a wicked looking stinger.
Ekuneils are also known as “vampire snakes” or “fork-tail snakes”, both of which are accurate descriptions of their anatomy and behavior. An ekuneil is a blood feeder which incapacitates foes with the venom in their stingers and then takes its fill as their victim sleeps. They are also fond of milk, and may steal it from storage or attack nursing mammals. An ekuneil has a very keen sense of smell, allowing them to track prey over long distances. They dislike strong odors such as onions and garlic, and wise folk hang garlic braids by their windows or doors where an ekuneil is on the prowl.
Most communities that live in regions habited by ekuneils hate and fear the creatures, and they are frequently seen as evil. In truth, the creatures are not intelligent enough to make moral decisions, and rarely result in the deaths of the targets of their feeding. Only after repeated attacks will most creatures succumb to an ekuneil’s attention, and ekuneils usually roam widely in search of food. They can be domesticated (albeit with difficulty), and alchemists and healers may use them as a source for soporifics and painkillers.
An ekuneil grows to about eight feet long, but weighs little more than 50 pounds.
