Why the shotgun and tanktop though? He is a viper or cobra of some breed. His bare fangs are likely more effective than that gun. Cobras, like many other snakes, can strike at body heat because they possess specialized heat-sensing pits on their faces called "pit organs" which allow them to detect infrared radiation emitted by warm-blooded prey, essentially creating a "thermal image" to locate their target even in low light conditions.

Essentially, his firearm if anything may actually hinder him more or just be redundant to rely on lol. His venom may not kill instantly, but will do the same job as the gun will and cheaper. Rattlesnake bites can be lethal in under half an hour, let alone on a snake this size that could probably bite a man in half. In this vulnerable state he may want to seem less threatening to others just to rely on his natural abilities more.

Honestly, this started out pretty silly, to really give off "git off muh land" vibes. I thought a shotgun and tanktop gave off the anthro "hillbilly" vibe. The decision to put him in the blue was last minute, just to add some "pissed off" mentality. In fact, I was trying to do a shed skin on the ground when that hit me, "wait, he would be better with that skin still on!" So yeah, this whole thing is kind of just a joke.

In fact, in more canon images, the snakes would typically not rely on weapons, but use the built-in ones instead. They MIGHT have a sword in some situations, but that would be almost more for show than actual use. I view him as having three or four main weapons.

First, as you said, the venom. You can actually see some dripping from the fangs above (again, somewhat in jest). In my mind, it's pretty similar to that of a king cobra, both neuro- and cytotoxic. The neurotoxic side would be faster acting, making his victims disoriented, uncoordinated, and eventually paralyzed, but likely is survivable once the effects wear off, especially on low-volume envenomations. The cytotoxic side, though, is probably not survivable as cells just start dying off. I also imagine the two effects are from two different venom glands/sacs, so he can kind of alter which effects you get to experience. In other words, don't get bitten by him.

Next, those fingers actually end in rather sharp claws, and while they don't have venom, he's a smart enough creature I could see him holding them to his mouth and depositing a bit on them for enhanced danger. (And canonically, he is immune to his own venom, even if that isn't true in real ones.)

Third, despite being a venomous snake, he is quite capable of constriction. He may not kill that way, but he could certainly hold someone that way to get a bite in.

The forth depends on the world: If it is a magical world, he's going to rank pretty high in that power level. He's of demonic origin, and will have a decidedly non-trivial amount of demonic magic at his disposal, if needed.

So yeah, the weapon would, in fact, be a bit of a hinderance, I agree. :)

Ah that explains it lol.

I just saw that and just thought 'if he is using a shotgun anything he'd be aiming at would be in biting range anyways.'

Lovely to meet someone who is a enthusiast btw. Laymen kind of underestimate just how fast a viper, cobra, or rattlesnake can move in for a strike. A bite can happen in under a second across an astonishing distance from the snake leveraging its own body length to propel itself forward in one very precise and powerful movement. There are no wasted movements at all on a creature that is nothing but a tube of pure muscle and bone. Only difference is a rattlesnake will generally give the courtesy of a very loud audio warning before it tries to kill when in a defensive posture.

ALways kinda been fond of demonic or void-adjacent serpents. They generally are very interesting creatures. SOme of whom practically use normally lethal levels of ionizing radiation as like a warming blanket lol.

I'm doing a "OK, now him being serious" render now, since I think it IS a good idea. :) Will post soon.

You also made me recall I should put some heat pits into the texture.

I am sure he would greatly appreciate a natural spring or something warm akin to it to snuggle up in the mud with. At his size a cooler climate would be uncomfortable at the least.

Kinda why I always approve of narrative decisions like in video games like Conan Exiles. They have demonic-adjacent serpent people but they live in the mouth of a active volcano. Its so hot I there you need to be sucking on ice with maximum heat resistance just to not have heatstroke in there. Same time for the serpent people its very comfy~

Yeah. Dealing with being cold-blooded is an interesting side of what it would be like to be him. This specific setting certainly could tend toward hot and humid, though the fog layer does kind of suggest it's a cooler day, maybe early morning. As at least demon-adjacent (if not downright a demon), I have done images of him slithering out of what looks like a burning pit or in the area of lava, as well.

Of course, if he is a demon, he can just bring a bit of Hell with him. I can imagine, though dark magic, it is simply hot wherever he is.

In terms of real-world reptiles, this struck me as interesting: https://www.nature.com/articles/529470a You can't see the whole article without a subscription, but just the two-sentence abstract gives enough context: The statement "reptiles never generate their own warmth" might be an over-generalization. Maybe he actually CAN shiver. There's no real deep fundamental reason, other than the increased metabolic load, they wouldn't be able to use their ample muscle base to make some warmth that way. I already view him as having a higher metabolism than natural snakes that size (since he has a more intelligent mind to support, not to mention a more active lifestyle than mostly-sleeping snakes), so this would just be another bump to how much he has to eat.

Ultimately, the canon for my snake folk is that they CAN shiver a bit when cold. They have much more variable body temperatures, like normal reptiles, but if it comes to it, they CAN survive cold weather. That isn't at all to say they like it, though. I very much imagine he would pretend to be a ball python in those conditions, and would be hiding in as tight and warm a spot he can find. :)

Sweating, on the other hand, not as much an option through his scales, so overheating just MIGHT actually be the harder problem to overcome. With a variable body temperature, though, may be a bit less of a concern.

Actually, shotguns can tag targets out to 40, 50 yards. It's only in video games where they're melee weapons.