Gadarene

Large fiend, neutral evil

Armor Class 17 (natural armor)
Hit Points 161 (19d10 + 57)
Speed 25 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
22 (+6)	19 (+4)	17 (+3)	13 (+1)	16 (+3)	19 (+4)

Saving Throws Con +8
Skills Insight +8, Perception +8
Damage Vulnerabilities radiant
Damage Resistances necrotic; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks
Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, frightened
Senses darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 18
Languages Abyssal, Infernal, telepathy 120 ft.
Challenge 15 (13,000 XP)

SPECIAL TRAITS

• Existential Dread. Each creature that can see the gadarene from within 500 feet must make a DC 17 Wisdom saving throw. Constructs, fiends, and undead automatically succeed on this saving throw. On a failed save, the creature becomes frightened of the gadarene until it finishes a short or long rest or until it sees the gadarene damaged or fail on a saving throw. When a creature succeeds on its saving throw or the effect ends on it, it becomes immune to that gadarene’s Existential Dread for 24 hours.
• Legendary Resistance (2/day). If the gadarene fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead.
• Magic Weapons. The gadarene’s weapon attacks are magical.

ACTIONS

• Multiattack. The gadarene makes either two ranged attacks or three melee attacks: two with its claws and one with its tusks.
• Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +11 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (2d6 + 6) slashing damage and the target is shoved 5 feet in any direction.
• Tusks. Melee Weapon Attack: +11 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 17 (2d10 + 6) piercing damage. If the target is a creature other than an undead or a construct, it must succeed on a DC 17 Constitution saving throw or lose 11 (2d10) hit points from blood loss at the start of each of its turns. Each time the gadarene hits the wounded target with this attack, the blood loss from the wound increases by 11 (2d10). The wound closes if the target magically regains at least 1 hit point or if a creature uses an action to make a successful DC 17 Wisdom (Medicine) check
• Necrotic Bile. Ranged Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, range 40/120 ft., one target. Hit: 22 (4d6 + 8) necrotic damage.
• Panic (Recharge 6). Each creature within 120 feet of the gadarene’s choice that it can see or hear and that is frightened of it must succeed on a DC 17 Wisdom saving throw or it must use its action and movement on each of turns to get out of sight of the gadarene (or as close to leaving line of sight as possible) by the safest available route. When a target starts its turn unable to see the gadarene, it makes a new saving throw, ending the effect on itself on a success. When a creature succeeds on its saving throw or the effect ends on it, it becomes immune to that gadarene’s Panic for 24 hours.

LEGENDARY ACTIONS

The gadarene can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action option can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature’s turn. The gadarene regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.

• Silence of the Grave. The gadarene casts silence without expending a spell slot. Its spellcasting ability is Charisma (save DC 17).
• Claw. The gadarene makes a claw attack.
• Deathly Maw (Costs 2 Actions). The gadarene makes a tusks or necrotic bile attack.

ABOUT

Nearly matching the magical might of lesser Archlords in some ways, the dreaded gadarene exudes the palpable presence of final death. Merely glimpsing or hearing its movements fills all living things with existential terror. The gadarene is not just a mindless force of despair; it is cunning about its movements to make the most brutal use of its effect on mortal creatures. It moves to herd victims into waiting ambushes of fiends, especially bloodthirsty maggots led by disciplined underfiends.

Silenced Lands. A gadarene loping about during an invasion quickly empties miles-wide regions of dogs, cats, herds of cattle, flocks of birds, even fish and insects. It leaves only a quivering silence or shrieking fear in its wake.

Legions. The typical gadarene leads fiends of the Acheron, Hades, Lethe, and Dis legions.