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    Adze

    Medium humanoid (shapechanger, spirit), chaotic evil

    Armor Class 13 (natural armor), 18

    Hit Points 68 (8d8 + 32)

    Speed 30 ft.; fly 40 ft. (hover, firefly form only)

    STR 10 (+0) · DEX 16 (+3) · CON 18 (+4) · INT 13 (+1) · WIS 12 (+1) · CHA 14 (+2)

    Saving Throws Dex +5, Wis +3

    Skills Deception +4, Perception +3, Stealth +7

    Damage Resistances necrotic; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks that aren’t made with iron (firefly form only)

    Condition Immunities poisoned

    Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 13

    Languages Common, Ewe, telepathy 60 ft. (with a creature it has possessed)

    Challenge 3 (700 XP)

    Traits

    Shapechanger. As a bonus action, the Adze can transform into a Tiny firefly-like insect or revert to its humanoid form. Its statistics are the same in each form except where noted. Equipment it is carrying isn’t transformed.

    Corpse Candle (Firefly Form Only).

    • AC 18.

    • The Adze can occupy another creature’s space and move through holes or openings as small as 1 inch wide.

    • It has advantage on Dexterity saving throws.

    • It can’t make Multiattack or use its Necrotic Touch.

    • It has resistance to nonmagical bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage.

    Intoxicating Sweetness. Bowls of coconut milk or palm oil are irresistible to the Adze. At the start of each of the Adze’s turns, if it is within 5 feet of at least 1 pint of either substance, it must succeed on a DC 13 Wisdom saving throw or be incapacitated until the start of its next turn and it can’t use Shapechanger during that turn.

    Blood Drinker. When the Adze deals necrotic damage with its Bite, it regains hit points equal to half the necrotic damage dealt.

    Sunken Hearts. While the Adze possesses a creature (see Possession), that creature has disadvantage on Wisdom saving throws and death saving throws.

    Actions

    Multiattack (Humanoid Form Only). The Adze makes two attacks, either two Bites or one Bite and one Necrotic Touch.

    Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 5 (1d4 + 3) piercing damage plus 7 (2d6) necrotic damage, and the target’s hit-point maximum is reduced by an amount equal to the necrotic damage taken. The reduction lasts until the target finishes a long rest. If this reduces the target to 0 hit points, it falls unconscious but is stable.

    Necrotic Touch. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 11 (2d6 + 3) necrotic damage, and the target can’t regain hit points until the start of the Adze’s next turn.

    Possession (Recharge 5–6). One humanoid the Adze can see within 5 feet must succeed on a DC 13 Charisma saving throw or be possessed; the Adze then disappears, becoming an incorporeal presence inside the target. While possessing a creature, the Adze controls the host’s body but doesn’t deprive it of awareness. The Adze can’t be targeted by any attack or effect except those that turn undead, and it retains its telepathy. The possession lasts until the host drops to 0 hit points, the Adze ends it as a bonus action, or the host is subjected to remove curse, greater restoration, or similar magic. When the possession ends, the Adze appears in an unoccupied space within 5 feet of the host.

    Summon Vermin (1/Day). The Adze magically calls forth one Swarm of Insects. The swarm appears in an unoccupied space within 30 feet of the Adze, acts immediately after the Adze’s turn, obeys its verbal commands, and disappears after 1 hour or when reduced to 0 hit points.

    Bonus Actions

    Shapechanger. The Adze transforms with its Shapechanger trait.

    Reactions

    Mistlike Escape. When the Adze takes damage while in humanoid form, it can use Shapechanger to assume its firefly form and fly up to half its flying speed without provoking opportunity attacks.

    Lore

    A vampiric spirit that appears as a glowing firefly; at night it slips through keyholes or cracks to drink people’s blood.

    Among the Ewe people, who live in the coastal and forest zones of Ghana, Togo, and Benin, the Adze is viewed as a spiritual entity that can assume physical form and invade the human body. The very word “adze” in Ewe means “pickaxe,” hinting that the creature gouges out the life-essence of its victims, breaking the body’s integrity.

    Legend describes three distinct shapes the Adze can assume, shifting between them as circumstances change. Most often it appears as a large firefly or glowing beetle that gives off a cold, steady bluish light; this fiery speck is also called a “corpse candle.” Thanks to its tiny size and ability to seep through the smallest openings, the spirit can slip into huts and, like a mosquito, drink human blood unnoticed. If the firefly is caught or forced into a trap, it instantly transforms into its true physical guise—a humanoid figure almost indistinguishable from an ordinary person. In that form the vampire can be killed just like any human. No sources mention fangs, claws, or superhuman strength while it is human-shaped, so any available weapon or tool may be used against it.

    From Vampire Bestiary 5E, p. 10 · Fern Flower Press