Dmitry Khramtsov (Храм), “Akaname”

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akaname

Dmitry Khramtsov (HRAM), “Akaname”

Dmitry Khramtsov (Храм), “Akaname”

The Akaname comes courtesy Japanese folklore, one of those fun yokai Toriyama Seiken drew as part of his collection. Akaname aren't generally malicious, but I can't imagine it's pleasant to find a weird child-monster licking the dirt off of your bathroom surfaces. There's another one that eats flesh, but it's not as popular. "Aka", notably, can mean both "dead skin" and "red", which is the reason for its loincloth color.

These are some fun monsters for campaigns that aren't too focused on straight-up battles. Their Expert Climber ability means a player is likely to stumble upon one in some of the weirdest places, and the fact that they get startled easy also lends to some fun misunderstandings.

Notably, while taking on a lot of traits you'd associate with a fey creature, the akaname is an aberration, with everything that does and doesn't imply.

The Gloomfog only partially shifts Minawara Bathhouse, leaving part of it hanging sideways over the Gloomcore. In addition to the usual Gloomthings, adventurers looking to rescue its trapped inhabitants will have to contend with scalding rivers of hot spring water and panicked akaname, dropped from their usual hiding places by the new direction of gravity.

Emiliana House for Wayward Children maintained an akaname cleaner as part of their agreement with Minister Galbraith of the Parliament Eternal. When the orphanage shuts down, the akaname gets antsy -- and if the party can rehome it, the akaname would be willing to help them investigate the mysterious Minister of the Bureau of Tea, Snuff, & Magic.

There's not a lot of good reasons to harvest akaname tongue. When a wayward thief stumbles upon a storage room with brining bags full of them, she's torn between reporting it to local authorities or keeping herself out of the infamous Aoyama Oubliettes.