Marut

Maruts were one of the types of the inevitables whose purpose was to enforce the inevitability of death and sometimes the terms of certain contracts.

Description
A marut resembled a massive statue made entirely of onyx, humanoid in form but composed of mechanical components. It was clad in golden armor but carried no weapon or any items. It had a voice like an avalanche but was taciturn.

Activities
These inevitables hunted down those who tried to deny or cheat death in the most extreme manners. They overlooked people who simply struggled to stay alive or even used raise dead or other resurrection magic. Rather, maruts targeted anyone who used unnatural methods to extend their existence, such as by lichdom, or went to terrible lengths to keep death at bay, such as a ruler sacrificing hundreds of people to avoid a plague. Excessive or extensive use of resurrection magic might earn a marut's concern, however. Maruts worked alone.

Certain maruts were tasked with ensuring the fulfillment of contracts signed within the Hall of Concordance in Sigil. Here, any two parties of any kind in the planes, even yugoloths, could choose to enter into a binding agreement with one another that the maruts would enforce the terms of. There, once paid the required amount of gold, a unique inevitable known as the Kolyarut engraved the contract between the two agreeing parties onto a gold plaque and installed it within the chest of a marut. It then became bound to ensure that contract's fulfillment—to the letter, not the spirit—and to punish any party who broke it. However, these maruts only entered combat to resolve a dispute or in self-defense, and only used lethal force when a contract called for it or if necessary to ensure their own survival.

Personality
Maruts were determined and indefatigable in their duties. They cared about little beyond their tasks or the letter of the contracts they were bound to enforce.

Abilities
A marut commanded an array of magic, replicating the spells air walk, dimension door, fear, greater command, greater dispel magic, mass inflict light wounds, locate creature, and true seeing as often as it willed; chain lightning, circle of death, mark of justice, wall of force each once a day; and earthquake, geas/quest, and plane shift each once a week.

Eschewing weapons, a marut was armed with its fists of thunder and lightning. The left was thunder, striking with a great thunderclap of noise that resounded in its target and could deafen them for up to over a minute. The right was lightning, striking with a great flash of electricity that could blind them for a similar length of time. Both struck with the power of law. They were skilled in their senses, detecting untruths, focusing, and religious lore.

Contract maruts similarly fought with their fists; these were unerring but mighty, striking with magical force and hurling victims back. In addition, like a blazing edict, they could emanate a blast of arcane energy from their chests, harming and potentially stunning every creature within a cubic volume on a side. Their bodies were immutable, making them immune to any magical effect that attempted to change their form, and they were exceptionally resistant to magic and other harmful effects. In addition, they were innately capable of plane shifting themselves at will, and could take up to two creatures with them back to a teleportation circle within the Hall of Concordance. They could also fly by hovering.

Combat
Upon identifying its target, a marut simply marched directly toward them, without pause or hesitation, and tried to deliver the death they had evaded. It used wall of force to block escape, assailed with chain lightning at range, and then closed in to punish them by pummeling them with its powerful arms or judicious use of its magic. It employed circle of death when surrounded by foes and greater dispel magic against spellcasters. If its target still escaped, the marut pursued with dimension door and locate creature. Targets who used necromancy to defile death might not be slain, but instead placed under a geas or mark of justice so they might learn respect.

Empowered with the certainty of law, contract maruts were terrifying opponents whose strikes always connected, invariably dealing devastating damage.

Relationships
Maruts were found in the service of a number of mostly lawful deities, including Berronar Truesilver, Clangeddin Silverbeard, Moradin, and Gorm Gulthyn of the dwarven pantheon; Gaerdal Ironhand of the gnome pantheon; Arvoreen, Cyrrollalee, Urogalan, and Yondalla of the halfling pantheon; and Gond, Helm, Hoar, Mystra, and the Red Knight of the Faerûnian pantheon. The original goddess of magic, Mystryl, also utilized maruts. Among the draconic pantheon, Lendys used four maruts as his heralds.

History
The inevitables were created by Mystra, as she was guardian of the laws of magic and they were tasked with enforcing the fundamental laws of the universe. However, others reported Primus, ruler of Mechanus and the modrons, was responsible for the inevitables.

Locations
In the Great Wheel cosmology, maruts and other inevitables could normally be found on their home plane of the Clockwork Nirvana of Mechanus, as well as the similarly lawful planes of the Nine Hells and Mount Celestia, and in the Astral Plane. However, they could appear anywhere when in pursuit of their quarry.

In the World Tree cosmology, the inevitables were found in Dweomerheart, the realm of Mystra.

Uses
A priest or mage of great power may specifically summon a marut via a call marut spell, but only for a task in line with its duty.

A mage could also transform themselves into the semblance of a marut, together with its armor and some of its powers, with the spell unyielding form of inevitable death.