Could you defeat a black pudding with a 7th-level party?

[Jon_Dahl]

Let's imagine that you have the following group-composition:
1st-level sorcerer/6th-level fighter
1st-level ranger/6th-level wizard
6th-level fighter
1st-level barbarian/6th-level scout

Let's also imagine that all of these characters are well-optimized and their gear is abnormally good (like 9th-level group's).
Without having any additional info, could you imagine they could take out a black pudding? Black pudding has a CR of 7.

The group has a lot of room to maneuver and escape if things turn grim.

The reason why I'm asking is that black pudding is kind of "special case", so I'd like to see how people feel about its CR.

[Arbitrarious]

Depends. It's a nasty monster if you are unprepared, but if you have a couple basic things it goes down like a chump. 2H bludgeoning weapon means a power attacker can kill it in 2 rounds if he can avoid the grapple and keep his weapon. If you encounter underground see if you can improvise a 2h stone club or similar. -4 to your attacks even with a pull power attack means nothing since it has an AC of 3.

If your range characters can split it 3 times (2 full ranged attacks with rapid shot + 1 other, 7 needed total) put's its hp well into fireball range. And that can be done at over 100ft away keeping everyone well out of harms way. Even if you don't catch all of them in the fireball they are so low on HP that they can be killed at range because they will be unable to split after another hit. This of course assumes your DM reads the split entry as letting arrows do damage once the split ability no longer works. If not some more spell love would be needed.

Pick a strategy and stick with it. You don't want to start a split-fest with active melee in the area as they will be rofl-stomped. Even cleaving becomes hard because each ooze will prompt a save for the weapon unless it's stone. Other then those basic tactics it really depends on character builds. I had a party where we lured it into an alcove and I dropped a wall of fire holding it in. The creature is mindless so it doesn't understand running through the source of damage will save it. It simply huddled at the fear end of the alcove and boiled to death. YMMV on that however.

[Madara]

By this point, you have flight. The mage could probably solo it.
Enervation+ Metamagic Reducers. Kelog's grave mist doing auto 1d6/round for 7 rounds +Fell weaken or drain.

[shadow_archmagi]

I just checked the SRD for its stats, having never encountered one before. How does the splitting ability work? Is it that every time it would take damage, it splits, or every time it would reach zero HP?

[Antonok]

I just checked the SRD for its stats, having never encountered one before. How does the splitting ability work? Is it that every time it would take damage, it splits, or every time it would reach zero HP?


Split (Ex)
Slashing and piercing weapons deal no damage to a black pudding. Instead the creature splits into two identical puddings, each with half of the original’s current hit points (round down). A pudding with 10 hit points or less cannot be further split and dies if reduced to 0 hit points.

If the party consists of no magic user's and no one using a blunt weapon, anything with this ability makes a pretty good boss fight.

And the CR is about right for it. My groups usual contingency is use range to split it into multiple lower hp ones then fireball.

[shadow_archmagi]

Quotes SRD

That did not, in fact, answer my question. That's actually the exact page I just said I was unclear about. I'm not sure why you quoted it. Does an ooze split every time it would take slashing damage?

[Antonok]

That did not, in fact, answer my question. That's actually the exact page I just said I was unclear about. I'm not sure why you quoted it. Does an ooze split every time it would take slashing damage?

Yes it does. Same with piercing. Until it drops to 10hp or less then its just immune to slashing and piercing damage.

[Thespianus]

By this point, you have flight. The mage could probably solo it.
Enervation+ Metamagic Reducers. Kelog's grave mist doing auto 1d6/round for 7 rounds +Fell weaken or drain.

Flight + Fiery Burst Reserve Feat. 10 rounds of boredom for the rest of the party who's just hanging back while the Wizard spends one of his spell slots (Fly) and then just takes out the Pudding one 3D6 boom at a time. :)

[Tyndmyr]

Let's imagine that you have the following group-composition:
1st-level sorcerer/6th-level fighter
1st-level ranger/6th-level wizard
6th-level fighter
1st-level barbarian/6th-level scout

Let's also imagine that all of these characters are well-optimized and their gear is abnormally good (like 9th-level group's).
Without having any additional info, could you imagine they could take out a black pudding? Black pudding has a CR of 7.

The group has a lot of room to maneuver and escape if things turn grim.

The reason why I'm asking is that black pudding is kind of "special case", so I'd like to see how people feel about its CR.

Absolutely.

It has a 20 ft movement speed. None of those chars should have <20 ft movement speed. Therefore, they can easily kite it for however long they need to kill it.

[Flickerdart]

If you introduce the Pudding by means of trap door (such that it is immediately in the face of the party) then it becomes actually useful. Difficult visibility conditions would make it more useful, since it doesn't rely on sight.

Otherwise? As soon as the PCs clear 60 feet, it can't do anything to them because it has no way to detect them or close rapidly, and it's too stupid to try anything clever. At this point it's CR nothing, and commoners with slings kill it dead.

[ericgrau]

I'm confused. A pudding out in the open? It's slow and easy to hit. No flight needed. Flee, fireball, fireball, fireball, fireball. Alternatively scorching ray or orbs. Let others sling stones or shoot arrows or something and it's down in a couple rounds. Not even worth CR 7.

Oozes like puddings are supposed to be in small dungeon rooms immediately trapping the first person coming in. Then the rest of the party tries to save the guy that got engulfed by damaging it as fast as possible while he tries to get out. It's scary but even the guy engulfed is only taking 15 damage per round. Not only is this encounter beatable it's an easy routine encounter for a 7th level party like CR 7 should be.