Horned Viper
Cerastes cerastes · Reptile
A viper of 30 to 60 cm, often with a small horn over each eye, found across the Sahara and in parts of Arabia on sand with scattered rocks, in wadis and near oases. It lies buried in the sand with only its eyes and nostrils showing, hunts rodents and lizards at night, and leaves the parallel tracks of a sidewinder. Its bite brings swelling, bleeding, vomiting and dead flesh; it is weaker than other snakes of the region but still needs treatment.
- Danger
- Can wound or kill
- How it is met
- Alone, by night
- Size
- Tiny
- In winter
- Sleeps through winter
Where it lives
Gives
Stat blocks (D&D 5e)
Venomous Snake
Tiny Beast, Unaligned
AC 12 · Initiative +2 (12)
HP 5 (2d4)
Speed 30 ft., Swim 30 ft.
| Str | Dex | Con | Int | Wis | Cha |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 (−4), save −4 | 15 (+2), save +2 | 11 (+0), save +0 | 1 (−5), save −5 | 10 (+0), save +0 | 3 (−4), save −4 |
Senses Blindsight 10 ft.; Passive Perception 10
Languages None
CR 1/8 (XP 25; PB +2)
Actions
Bite. Melee Attack Roll: +4, reach 5 ft. Hit: 4 (1d4 + 2) Piercing damage plus 3 (1d6) Poison damage.
This work includes material from the System Reference Document 5.2.1 ("SRD 5.2.1") by Wizards of the Coast LLC, available at https://www.dndbeyond.com/srd. The SRD 5.2.1 is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, available at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode.
Sources
- Issac Anderson, Cerastes cerastes (desert horned viper). Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology, 2011.
- Cerastes cerastes. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 2026.
- Vipère à cornes. Wikipédia, l'encyclopédie libre, 2026.
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