AD&D - Sticky Situations: The Adherer Unleashed
Today's podcast is all about the sticky creature of annoyance.
If you’re playing Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, watch out for the adherer! This rare monster looks like a mummy with loose, dirty white skin that’s actually its body—not bandages. It’s medium-sized, moves at 9 inches per turn, and has an armor class of 3, making it hard to hit. With 4 hit dice, it’s got some staying power, and you’ll only find 1-4 of them at a time.
What makes the adherer wild? Its skin oozes a gluey goo that sticks to almost anything—except stone. If you hit it with a sword, your weapon sticks and only does half damage. If it hits you with its fists (1-3 damage), you’re stuck to it, and it’ll use you as a shield! Fire burns it easily, like a mummy, and boiling water (1-3 damage) stops its stickiness for a round. It’s weak to magic missiles too—3-18 damage per hit—but shrugs off other low-level spells.
The adherer loves ambushing. It rolls in dirt and leaves to hide, then jumps out at prey. It’s semi-smart and lawful evil, so it’s sneaky and mean. Weirdly, it won’t attack spiders and sometimes works with them. After it dies, its glue wears off in 5-10 turns.
Tips for Your Game
Here are three cool ways to use the adherer:
Living Shield Trick: The adherer grabs someone—a player or an important NPC—and holds them tight as a shield. Its glue keeps them stuck, and its tough armor (AC 3) makes it hard to hit without hurting the person. Players can use boiling water (1-3 damage) to loosen the glue for a round or risk fire, which hurts it bad but might burn their friend too. It’s a tense fight!
Camouflage Puzzle: Hide the adherer in a pile of leaves, sticks, or dirt. Players need to notice something’s off (maybe roll to spot it) before it jumps out. If they miss, it attacks and sticks to them. You could make it part of a bigger mystery—like finding a nest of adherers by following sticky clues.
Sticky Curse: After killing it, some glue gets on a player and hardens like a crust. Each day, it makes them clumsier (drops Dexterity by 1) until they burn it off (1-6 damage) or find another fix. Plus, they hear creepy whispers pushing them to trap others—will they resist or turn sneaky? It’s a mini-adventure to cure it!
Try the adherer in your next game—it’s a sticky surprise!
