Adaro
(aquatic)
Adaros are fearsome shark-like humanoids who haunt the tropical oceans of Garund's west coast and hunt sea creature and sailor alike.
Appearance
Adaros are a strange amalgamation of shark and human, possessing features of both. They have the upper torso of a heavily-muscled humanoid and the lower torso of a shark. An adaro's face has the eyes and nose of a human but with an over-sized mouth filled with teeth that can tear through bone with ease. Each has a fin that runs from their head down their torso and ends at their waist, giving way to a thick, muscular shark tail.
The average adaro is between seven and eight feet long, and weighs an average of 250 pounds. However, an adaro's size varies greatly depending on where they live, with those from (relatively) calm areas being smaller and less brutish than those who live in storm-wracked bays. Rumours persist of adaros the size of small whales lurking in the most tumultuous waters.1
Habitat and ecology
Adaros are all pure carnivores who reproduce by laying eggs, which are then fertilized and left to gestate for three months before hatching. Adaro partners mate only to keep the tribe healthy and large. They develop no real attachment to their partners or offspring. Adaros do care for their young, however, and build nests in sheltered sea caves for them. The young initially hunt small sea creatures, but soon move on to larger prey. It takes an adaro about a decade to fully mature, and while most live to an age of about 30 years, the most powerful sometimes live to see half a century.1
Adaros are found in the tropics of the Arcadian Ocean and generally stick to shallower, near shore regions though they will sometimes pursue boats into deeper water. Adaros are even found in tranquil harbors near villages and cities making the beaches and docksides of those communities a dangerous place to be caught alone.2 Ilizmagorti and the seas around Mediogalti Island are known as the territory of the Kaneano adaros, who call the reefs at the entrance to its harbor home.3
Since the formation of the Eye of Abendego, adaros have also been spotted further south in the Fever Sea. In Tian Xia, a particularly violent nation of adaros live in the Valashmai Sea and refer to it as the "Womb of Storms". The adaros of this nation claim that they breed storms with the ocean, then sow them across the face of Golarion to harvest sacrifices.4 Many adaros move from area to area as they deplete their prey or draw too much unwanted attention with their hunts.2
Every adaro habitat commonly experiences rain,2 and one of the race's most fearsome traits is the strange fury an adaro enters whenever it rains. Tropical storms cause adaros to fly into a bloodthirsty rage, abandoning their stealthy hunting techniques and giving into a primal fury wherein they care only about their next kill. Rainy seasons are one of the few times when different tribes of adaros fight each other, their battles turning storm-wracked bays red with their blood.2
Society
Adaros live in small tribes typically no larger than about 100 members. Within these tribes there is no strict hierarchy, although those who kill impressive prey gain additional honour and respect. Despite their bloodthirsty nature, adaros rarely kill their own kind. To do so is normally punishable by death. Even between competing tribes, conflict is uncommon except during rainy seasons, when the adaros' more brutal side exerts itself.2
Adaros craft unique weapons from the bones of large sea creatures, normally whales. When on the hunt, these weapons are covered in paralyzing venom from nettlefin pufferfish, which has little effect on adaros due to years of exposure.1
They occasionally ally with some of the more brutal aquatic creatures that they share their environment with including grindylows, scrags, and sedacthys.5 Those undersea dwellers who do not share their brutal nature are normally considered enemies, particularly gillman, athamarus,6 cecaelias, and merfolk.4
Religion
All adaros worship Gozreh, and most agree that he somehow causes their frenzies. Some even speculate that the adaros are Gozreh's direct children, and that the merging of sea and sky during a rainstorm reminds them of their creation and causes them to regress to primal fury.2
References
For additional as-yet unincorporated sources about this subject, see the Meta page.
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 . “Bestiary” in Racing to Ruin, 80. Paizo Inc., 2010
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 . “Bestiary” in Racing to Ruin, 81. Paizo Inc., 2010
- ↑ . “Ilizmagorti” in Cities of Golarion, 25. Paizo Inc., 2009
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 . “Oceans of Golarion” in Raiders of the Fever Sea, 59. Paizo Inc., 2012
- ↑ Paizo referred to sedachtys as sahuagins and sea devils until the publication of Monster Core.
- ↑ Paizo referred to athamarus as locathahs until the publication of Rage of Elements.