Asabi

Asabis, also known as laerti, were reptilian humanoids that dwelt in the desert.

Asabi was the Bedine word for this creature and meant "eater-of-parents." The Bedine also called them "The Evil Ones Below." In the Common tongue, they were called "laerti," which had its origins in Netheril. "Laerti" was the term they called themselves.

Description
Asabis stood about tall on two legs. They had long tails. Their skin was thick and their scales were gray to brown color, and they had light green or dun undersides. They had narrow, sloping skulls. Their eyes were very large, egg-shaped, and yellow, and they had forked tongues. Their limbs projected out at sharp angles, making their movements awkward to typical humanoid observers; however, they could move as easily on four limbs as two, balancing with their long tails.

It was very difficult to tell a male and female asabi apart.

Combat
Asabis liked to hide themselves in the sand and jump out at their targets. They were quite skilled at jumping, and could jump. Typical asabi fighters carried scimitars and light crossbows. They never wore armor heavier than leather.

Society
Free asabis dwelt in nomadic tribes and often allied themselves with evil creatures, sometimes adopting nonasabi into their tribes. They often served as mercenaries or slaves. They were nocturnal creatures, and as such were typically only ever encountered at night. Their body temperatures were not suited to the hot sun. If they stayed on the surface during the day, they had to bury themselves into the sand or hide in the rock crevices.

Free asabi tribes were ruled by either a war leader or a council of elders.

Subraces
There were two different subraces of asabi: standard asabi and stingtail asabi, a larger and less intelligent variety. The two subraces were capable of interbreeding and stingtails always tagged along with asabi tribes.

Diet
Asabis only ate the soft tissue of their prey, leaving the rest to dry under the sun. They were omnivorous and also consumed fungi that grew in the desert caves they inhabited. A delicacy among the asabis were the taproots of oasis plants.

Locations
Asabis were found in deserts, particularly in the Anauroch. They made up seventeen percent of the population of Anauroch in 1372 DR. They were particularly common in the caverns in Azirrhat. Asabis could also be found in the desert areas of Durpar, Estagund, and Var the Golden.

History
Asabis were created by the sarrukh and served them in Isstosseffifil in Oreme.

Many asabis served the phaerimm as slaves beneath the Anauroch.

In the, asabi mercenaries allied with the Zhentarim, during their failed attempt to dominate trans-Anauroch trade. The combined Asabi and Zhentilar armies were thwarted by the Harper Lander, the sorceress Ruha, and the united Bedine tribes. That same year, nearly one thousand sleeping asabi were slaughtered by the Bedine tribes, in an assault known as the Battle of the Fissures.

With the return of Thultanthar in the, the enslaved asabi were freed when the shadovar destroyed their phaerimm masters. Many of these asabi turned to illithids and beholders as new masters.

Appearances

 * Novels
 * The Parched Sea • Condemnation


 * Video Games
 * Neverwinter Nights: Shadows of Undrentide