Cobras are a genus of snakes with a characteristic "hood" made by flattening their neck ribs. Normally, the hood is not deployed and they look like a fairly typical snake. If disturbed, they rear up and flare their hood to scare away their antagonist.
Cobras are found throughout Africa and tropical Asia. In terms of human fatalities, they are among the deadliest of all snakes. They are commonly trod upon by sandalled or barefoot peasants when tending their crops or when the snake enters poorly constructed houses looking for rodents. In rural areas, poor farmers often cannot get to a hospital in time or are unable to afford medical treatment.
Cobras often have necrotizing venom in addition to the typical elapid neurotoxic venom. Bites from these species of cobra often cause permanent crippling, or even loss of the bitten limb when all the flesh falls off. Use the normal rules for crippling. Cobras may also have cardiotoxins in their venom cocktails. Cardiotoxins cause irregular heartbeats and may cause death by stopping the heart.
Some cobras can "spit" their venom. In actuallity, the venom is squirted rather that spat: the fangs have forward facing openings, and when the snake pressurizes its venom glands through muscular contraction the venom is sprayed forward as if from a nozzle.
Cobras spit when threatened, not to acquire prey or when fighting for dominance. Spitting cobras usually aim for the face of their antagonists. Venom that gets in a mucous membrane or open wound causes immediate searing pain. If it gets in the eyes, it causes blindness in addition to pain. Occasionally, the venom causes permanent blindness if it enters the eye and is left untreated. In game terms, this is treated as a Jet with the Blood Agent modifier, which can affect the eyes and nose on any unprotected face hit (closed eyes when the cobra spits is a valid defense for the eyes - just be sure to wipe off the venom before opening your eyes so it does not run down into them and blind you).
Because they are so deadly, Cobras are common elements of myth and legend. In parts of India they are venerated, becoming minor fertility and weather gods associated with healing and the monsoon cycles. Legends of cobras diffusing through Rome and then to Europe became stories of a "king of the serpents," or basilisk, which moved around with its crowned head held off the ground, which was so deadly poisonous that even is breath could kill and you could die just by looking at it, and which could only be destroyed by a weasel (probably the mongoose, which is highly resistant to cobra venom and often preys on these serpents).
There are a great many species of cobra, with venom that can vary considerably in potency and effect from species to species, and even between populations within a species. The "default" cobra listed is a spectacled cobra, the "default" spitting cobra is a Javan spitting cobra. Other significant cobra species include:
Species | Typical venom | Size | Range | Habitat | Notes | ||
Potency | Type | Typical | Maximum | ||||
Asian cobras | |||||||
Spectacled cobra, N. naja | potent | neuro 10 cardio 10 | 500 g | 1 kg | Indian subcontinent, Sri Lanka | Plains, jungles, fields, villages. | Second deadliest snake in terms of human killed per year. Light brown with "U", horseshoe, spectacle, or eyespot pattern on hood. |
Chinese cobra, N. atra | strong | neuro 10 cardio 10 necro 3 algesic 3 | 500 g | 1 kg | Southern China and northern Indochina, Taiwan | Plains, fields, shrubland, paddys, clearings in forests and jungle. | Black snake with white horseshoe or circle on hood, white bands on throat |
Monocled cobra, N. kaouthia | potent | neuro 10 cardio 2 necro 2 algesic 2 | 500 g | 1 kg | Eastern India, Burma, Thailand, Indochina, southern China, Nepal, Tibet | Swamp, mangrove forest, grassland, shrubland, paddy fields, villages and cities. | Brown with white circle on hood, white band at base of hood. |
Caspian cobra, N. oxiana | potent | neuro 10 cardio 3 necro 3 algesic 3 | 500 g | 1 kg | Northeastern Iran to northwestern India, north through Pakistan and Afganistan to to Caspian sea | Arid scrubland, broken rocky regions. | Dark brown above, light brown with dark banded throat below. |
Samar cobra, N. samarensis | strong | neuro 10 necro 6 algesic 6 | 200 g | 500 g | Southern Philippene islands | Forest, plains, cropland. | Yellow skin with black speckled scales; yellow head, back of hood, and upper throat; black belly; eyespots on back of hood. |
Philippene spitting cobra, N. philippinensis | extreme | neuro 10 | 200 g | 500 g | Northern Philippene islands | Grassland, forest, jungle, human settlements | Olive brown. |
Javan spitting cobra, N. sputatrix | potent | neuro 10 cardio 10 necro 6 algesic 6 | 500 g | 1 kg | Indonesian islands | Forest, jungle, savanna, cropland. | Yellow with brown spots, pale yellow belly with black band at base of hood. |
Equatorial spitting cobra, N. sumatrana | medium | neuro 10 cardio 10 necro 6 algesic 6 | 200 g | 500 g | Indonesian islands, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippenes | Forest, urban areas | Uniform yellow or black color. |
Thai spitting cobra, N. siamensis | medium | neuro 10 necro 10 algesic 10 | 200 g | 500 g | Burma, Thailand, Indochina | Plains, woods, jungle | Black with white bands around body, white with black spots and dorsal stripe, or uniform black with white belly markings. |
African cobras | |||||||
Banded water cobra, N. annulata | intense | neuro 10 | 1 kg | 2.5 kg | Camaroon, Guinea, Gabon, Congo | Bushy or wooded banks of streams, rivers, and lakes | Yellow with black bands |
Congo water cobra, N. christyi | extreme | neuro 10 | 500 g | 1.5 kg | Congo rainforest | Bushy or wooded banks of streams, rivers, and lakes | Black skin speckled with pale yellow scales, pale yellow belly. |
Ashe's spitting cobra, N. ashei | medium | neuro 10 cardio 5 necro 6 algesic 6 | 1 kg | 2.5 kg | Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Somalia | Dry lowlands | Dusty brown color |
Egyptian cobra, N. haje | medium | neuro 10 necro 6 algesic 6 | 1 kg | 3 kg | Africa, from Medeteranian to Angola, Zambia, and Tanzania. | Steppe, scrub, savanna, and semi-desert | Red-brown to yellow brown, sometimes darkening to near black, often with black band across lower part of hood. |
Forest cobra, N. melanoleuca | strong | neuro 10 | 1 kg | 4 kg | Central Africa | Forest | Black, with yellow bands across belly and throat. |
Mozambique spitting cobra, N. mossambica | potent | neuro 6 necro 10 algesic 10 | 200 g | 500 g | Tropical Africa | Savanna | Olive brown with black bands across belly and throat. |
Black-necked spitting cobra, N. nigricollis | mild | neuro 10 cardio 5 necro 10 algesic 10 | 500 g | 1 kg | Sub-Saharan Africa south to Cape | Savanna and semi-desert | Black, with orange bands across belly and throat. |
Cape cobra, N. nivea | strong | neuro 10 cardio 5 | 500 g | 1 kg | Africa's Cape region | Savanna, scrub, and bushland | Usually golden-yellow, sometimes with brown speckles. Occasionally dark brown to back. Has a tendancy to enter houses. |
Nubian spitting cobra, N. nubiae | mild | neuro 10 necro 10 algesic 10 | 200 g | 500 g | Northeastern Africa | Semi-desert and agricultural areas. | Olive-brown to red-brown, often with black bands across belly and throat. |
Red spitting cobra, N. pallida | mild | neuro 10 necro 7 algesic 7 | 200 g | 500 g | East Africa | Dry savanna and semi-desert. | Red-brown to bright red, black band around throat may fade or dissapear in some adults. |