FREQUENCY: Common on Tarterus; very rare elsewhere
NO. APPEARING: 1
ARMOR CLASS: -2
MOVE: 15"
HIT DICE: 10 + 5
% IN LAIR: 10%
TREASURE TYPE: F, R, X
NO. OF ATTACKS: 2 claws and 1 bite
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 4-16/4-16/3-12
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Spell use
SPECIAL DEFENSES: +2 or better weapons needed to hit; spell immunities; poison resistance
MAGIC RESISTANCE: 50%
INTELLIGENCE: Exceptional
ALIGNMENT: Chaotic evil
SIZE: L (11' - 14' tall)
PSIONIC ABILITY: 130-160
    Attack/Defense Modes: BE / FH
LEVEL/X.P. VALUE: VIII/4950 + 14/hp

    Utukku (singular and plural forms are
identical) inhabit the great ash deserts of the
planes of Tarterus and prey upon the
various demons and daemons that pass
through their territories. On rare occasions
they will come to the Prime Material Plane,
where they make their lairs in caverns or
pits in desolate regions, particularly sandy
deserts and areas with volcanic activity.

    Utukku have many powers that they use
to good effect in combat. At will they may
detect invisible objects, read languages,
know alignment, and detect magic. They
have infravision to 120' and have a limited
form of telepathy allowing them to communicate
with any intelligent creature. Three
times a day they may teleport without error,
carrying up to 5000 gp weight with them,
cause fear (as a wand of fear), create darkness
(30' radius), and cast a 12d6 lightning
bolt. Once per day, utukku may use a symbol
of discord and control weather as an
18th-level magic-user. Utukku may also
cause disease by touch and polymorph self
into a human or humanoid form for a full
day, but these two powers are only usable
once per week.

    Once every century, an utuku will be
able to plane shift itself to the Prime Material
Plane from Tarterus for the purpose of
gathering more treasure; it will remain on
the Prime Material plane for only one year,
after which time it automatically shifts back
to its home plane, taking up to 40,000 gp
weight of treasure with it. Because of the
short stay it has on the Prime Material
Plane, any lairs it makes thre are likely to
be hastily made, and the defenses will not
usually be very tough. On Tarterus, utukku
have more and better defenses, since each
creature must protect itself from every other
utukku there.

    Utukku have some resistance to certain
magical attack forms, due to the nature of
their home environment. They only take
half damage from lightning, fire, or poisonous
gas if they fail a saving throw against
one of those attack forms, and one-quarter
damage if the save succeeds. They save vs.
poison at +4. Other attacks function normally
against them. Though they are
psionic, utukku have no major or minor
disciplines.

    When found on the Prime Material
Plane, utukku will use their powers to
spread misery and evil through nearby
human, demi-human, or humanoid communities.
They will not attempt to gain any
followers or become leaders of human or
humanoids, preferring to work alone. They
attack other creatures from the Outer
Planes on sight, regardless of alignment or
plane of origin, unless they are outnumbered
or weakened.

    Utukku are roughly humanoid in shape,
standing at an average of 12'. They
have the head of a lion, with long quills
radiating out in place of a mane, and a
scaled humanoid body. They have great
claws on their hands and feet, and use their
hands to slash at opponents in battle rather
than using a weapon. Though they value
magical weapons quite highly, they have
never been known to use them in battle.
They are a dark brick-red in color over
much of their bodies, their faces being a
golden-red and their spines striped black
and white. The claws and teeth are white.
An utukku's eyes are bright yellow with
catlike blue pupils. They have a lifespan of
several thousand years.
 

    by Roger Moore