Anopheli

## Ecology

### Intelligence

When they are hungry, they are as dumb as a fish. When fed, they have the intelligence of a dumb human

### Habitat

Bogs, swamps and occasionally cave systems

### Prey

Humans, cattle, basically anything they can overcome with blood

Despite their similarity to necrophages, or even some lesser vampires, **anopheli** are an unusual example of an Ogroid. These creatures are stooped, wiry humanoids standing roughly 4ft tall with a rusty grey complexion and elongated forearms and claws. They also have backwards facing knees that lend them a bouncing gait when they aren’t making use of their primitive, almost vestigial, wings.

**Anopheli** have widely divergent patterns of behavior depending on how recently they’ve fed. They feed using their proboscis to harvest blood-rich organs from the target, chiefly the liver and heart. Once attached, a secretion of digestive acids, anti-coagulates and mild anesthetics allow them to partially digest their prey and commune the resulting “juices”.

Iron absorbed from its bloodmeal is laced throughout the creature’s skin and bones, toughening them and a nugget of pure iron can often be found inside these **anopheli** after death.

When engaging the creature, it’s important to first determine how recently it has last fed and its proximity to its nest. If recently sated, the **anopheli** will be sluggish but more cunning, and ambushes or crude traps should be expected. Additionally, when desperate, it’s able to eject the contents of its stomach and spew a noxious acid over threats. Although a weak spot, care should be taken to avoid standing too close to an **anopheli** when puncturing its stomach sack, as it will readily explode. If the **anopheli** is hungry it will display much more aggression and will make more use of its wings for greatly increased mobility. One should avoid an anopheli near its lair due to the creature’s increased level of cooperation when food is abundant.

**Anopheli** are completely blind and will rely on their enhanced sense of hearing and smell to hunt. Fresh wounds should be tightly bound as these monsters are incredibly sensitive to the smell of blood. If possible any iron or steel weapons should be masked with a strong smelling ichor such as dung or berries to disguise the scent of the metal. These characteristics can also be a weakness, as loud noises will stun the beasts and iron can be used as an effective lure.

**Anopheli** can be found in wet environments such as bogs or swamps and occasionally in cave systems if a rich deposit of iron ore or viscera is present to attract them. Despite their blindness they seem to show a preference for nocturnal hunting and will often nest down during the day and strike about for prey after dark. **Anopheli** nests are surprisingly complex- containing crude traps and simple hut-like dwellings.

## Notes

* The ogroid species known as the **Anopheli** is a purely fanon creation as such there is no official proof of their existence in the Witcher works outside the fanon community.
* This monster was presented as homebrew on The Witcher TRPG Reddit by /u/thehuntedsnark. All credit for this monster goes to /u/thehuntedsnark and/or artists that worked to bring this monster to life.
* **Anopheli** are free to use in stories and articles, all I ask is that you honor the lore present and if you make one add their name and a link to this page.