The Asanbosam
A Hungering Vampiric Hulk
Asanbosam are jungle predators known for preying upon travelers who find themselves lost amongst the trees. With an appearance resembling an emaciated ogre with the features of a bat, an asanbosam is a terrifying sight to stumble upon. These imposing creatures are surprisingly light for their size; opting to hang upside down from tree branches and wait for their prey to walk beneath them rather than prowl the jungle floors. An asanbosam relies primarily on its sense of smell and exceptional hearing to hunt its prey. When ambushing their victim, an asanbosam will typically try to separate their target from any group by digging their hooked claws into them and flying away.
Most of the bodies of an asanbosam’s victims are found mangled and drained of their blood. If they were wearing armor, it's often found in pieces around their corpse. Monstrologists credit this to the asanbosam’s iron teeth and powerful jaws. It is believed that they use their bite to crack through armor like the shell of a crab to reach the flesh inside.
When an ogre is afflicted with vampirism, it slowly begins to change. The disease progresses over several weeks, first taking hold in the ogre’s mind, driving them to seek isolation and consume only the blood of the creatures it kills. It first takes hold in the ogre’s mind, driving them to seek isolation and to consume only the blood of the creatures it kills. As the condition progresses, the afflicted ogre’s body begins to morph to better suit its new nature. After an excruciating three-week period, the ogre finally succumbs to its curse, rising the following night as an asanbosam. While these creatures are relentless hunters, they are most active each week on the day that coincides with their transformation.
Illustrated by Michael Lavoie
Design Notes
The process of designing the asanbosam was more difficult than I had initially expected. I tried to do a hefty amount of research on the subject before diving into the design and writing process but each source that I could find only contained a paragraph or two about the creature itself. This led me to relying heavily on one of our cultural advisors, Zainab. I got in contact with her and sent her what I had already jotted down. She was able to give me a deeper look into the folklore of the Akan peoples of Ghana that was able to steer me in the right direction. Especially with her pointing out the differences between the similar creatures of the Asanbosam and the Sasanbosam. With there not being too much that separates the two monsters, Zainab helped me combine their characteristics and abilities into the asanbosam that appears in Lukallion’s Ledger of Legends.
The goal was to make an ambush predator that would strike and vanish. This led to giving it the Flyby Trait and the Invisibility Bonus action. Next came its methods of attack, both of which are meant to be an iconic part of the monsters lore. An asanbosam in legend has hook-shaped claws for feet and iron teeth which I needed to make prevalent to do this monster justice as well as to make it dangerous.
I started with its claws and thought, “If they can hook around tree limbs, then why not adventurers?” This would let it grapple an enemy and potentially carry them away from their party, creating interesting gameplay. Second came its bite attack. I knew that the creature was vampiric and gave it a bite similar to that found in the vampire’s stats, but it didn’t feel like quite enough to represent its iron teeth. With that I fiddled around with the idea of its Iron Teeth Trait. Starting with a similar effect to that of a rust monster that decreased the AC of a target, but it didn’t feel right in the play-testing portion of the design. So heading back to the drawing board, I ended up with the trait as it exists now which felt and preformed much better in play-testing. The consistency at which the monster was hitting however did require me to raise the CR of the asanbosam and adjust its stats accordingly.