Monster Manual V

it. It fearlessly combines Dodge, Mobility, and Tumble tomove to any position it desires on the battlefield; it prefersflanking positions that aid its underlings. Spring Attackallows it to deliver nasty bites while avoiding immediateretaliation, possibly crawling up a wall to a place unreachableby its opponents. It uses greater teleport to escape anunfavorable battle.Sample EncounterAdarus are never found alone. In the Abyss and elsewhere,they have a following of demons and other wickedcreatures. Adarus are not above using any creature as acrony, but they prefer babaus. Those cruel fiendsmirror the adaru’s sensibilities, andthe two complement each otherin combat.Cult of Mal’tanx (EL 12):When a foolish cult leaderopened a gate under apeaceful city, the adaruMal’tanx slipped fromthe Abyss with its fourbabau minions (MM40). Displeased withthe sacrifice the cult offered,Mal’tanx murderedand devoured the cult’sleader and assumed her role.Now the adaru sits at the centerof a web of depraved cultiststhat hold positions throughoutthe city. When innocentfolk start to disappearto feed Mal’tanx’sdegeneracy, and afew good-heartedleaders in the cityare murdered withinthe safety of securedhomes, evidence points to fiendish influence.Who can uncover the conspiracy anddeal with the fiends at its center?Adarurelishing the morsels that slide into their gullets. Adarusare also famed for taking trophies. Fascinated by other shapesand forms of flesh, adarus take and keep body parts they donot possess.Environment: Adarus are native to the Infinite Layersof the Abyss. They are most common on the 444th layer,where their terrifying corruption has transformed thebarren landscape into a soupy morass of sticky mud. On itfloat dismembered body parts harvested from the countlesspetitioners cursed to spend an eternity of torment in themud’s depths.Typical Physical Characteristics: An adaru’s body growsup to 8 feet long and weighs as much as 250 pounds. At itshind end is a great sucking organ crusted with filth,while at the other snaps a face like that of ahuman child, but with long brown fangs.Adarus have scaly bodies, marred withscores of orifices, each one sprayingcorruption. Hundreds of bright orange,armored legs extend fromits underside, each narrowing toa sharpened point. The demonuses these appendagesto run, swim, tumble, andclimb with eerie grace, andto burrow through almostany surface.Alignment: Adarusare born chaoticevil. They are pitilesscreatures whose existenceis defined bythe suffering theyinflict on others.Adarus carelesslyuse their minions,expending themin great numbers.Such massacres amuseadarus, and they gigglethroughout a battle, even if theyare losing.Illus. by C. CritchlowDEMONEcologyAdarus are treachery and deception given form. When amortal speaks an untruth that has grave consequences, it issaid that a new adaru is born, taking shape in the bowels ofthe Abyss. It experiences a sudden awareness and a powerfulurge to work wickedness. A number of adarus spend theirexistence searching for the mortals that awakened them,scouring the planes to reward their creators with excruciatingpain and endless torment.As tanar’ri, adarus have no need for food or drink, butthey feast all the same. They savor the bloody gobbets tornfrom their victims, exclaiming at the savory fluids andSocietyAdarus are intimately aware of their standing when comparedto the more powerful denizens of the Abyss. Theypale before the sheer brutality of the balors and the savageryof the goristros (Fiendish Codex I 40). However, manywise and mighty demons have a use for the cunning adarus,who employ all sorts of trickery to form squads ofbrutal minions.To make up their lack of raw power, adarus worm theirway into the minds of lesser fiends, lying and makingfalse promises. Some see through the cheap ploys, butthe weak and desperate are easily fooled, especially when21