THE ASPERIM
Asperim (from the Latin asper-rough, bitter, harsh, particularly in
the sense of exasperation)


FREQUENCY: Very Rare
NO. APPEARING: 1
ARMOR CLASS: 6
M O V E : 8 ”
HIT DICE: 10
% IN LAIR: 50%
TREASURE TYPE: U (no gems or jewelry)
NO. OF ATTACKS: 0
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 0
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Magic only
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Nil
MAGIC RESISTANCE: 50%
INTELLIGENCE: Exceptional
ALIGNMENT: Lawful Evil
S I Z E : S
PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil

Exasperation is the key word to describe the Asperim personality.
The Asperim are a sort of super-imps. They take delight in annoying any
creature near them, in frustrating others and torturing them mentally.
They are not actively evil; whatever physical harm they do is usually
accidental.

The Asperim are lesser devils who may be found in the outermost
circles of Hell. Occasionally they break out to work their deviltry on
other planes. The Asperim are 13 in number. 
They are solitary creatures, since not even another Asperim will willingly subject itself to the
company of one of its kind.
The Asperim appear as squat, green humanoids with long, pointed
ears. They look something like a cross between a dwarf and a giant frog.
The Asperim have a particularly bizarre sense of humor, delighting in
crude practical jokes and malicious pranks. They often speak in cryptic
exclamations such as: “Aw, go peddle your papers!” or “Your mother
wears army boots!”

The Asperim, if asked for information, will always direct the party
along the worst possible path. They will not give the same answer twice
in a row to the same question. The Asperim have all the spells normal to
devils except Fear (since they do not want victims to run in panic). In
addition, the Asperim have the following spells: Erase, Nystul’s Magic
Aura, Shocking Grasp, Ventriloquism, Audible Glamer, Fools Gold,
Forget, Invisibility, Mirror Image, Stinking Cloud, Dispel Magic, Explosive Runes, Slow, Confusion, Fumble, Polymorph Other, Feeblemind,
Transmute Rock to Mud, Reverse Gravity, and Otto’s Irresistible Dance.
All spells are cast as a l0th-level Magic-User.

The Asperim have no physical or psionic attacks and will teleport
away if they cannot harm the party. The Asperim are highly magical in
nature and are rumored to be powered by the souls of practical jokers.
Asperim have a 70% chance of gating in 1-3 Imps, the only creatures
who can stand to be in the company of the Asperim for any length of
time.

By Tom Moldvay

Saraphs The Apollyon - The Asperim Hacamulci
Dragon 42 - Monsters - Dragon