Strange questions about a gelatinous cube

[flamewolf393]

If one were to play an awakened gelatinous cube, is there any way for it to benefit from magic items? Would just being in/on the things body be the same as wearing them?

Is it possible for a g cube to *not* dissolve things inside itself so it can store/hold items?

Also, can a gel cube swim? Or at least float?

[Agent 451]

Well there is this awakened gelatinous cube homebrew on minmaxboards (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=538.0).

Apart from that the only official item I can think of that has anything to do with cubes and items is the "amulet of cube riding" in Arms and Equipment Guide (which is 3.0ish), and it only lets a character ride a cube without the cube dissolving them or their equipment.

[Fouredged Sword]

Your items would need acid resistance. In theory you could get a ring or acid immunity, as that also applies to your items.

[Frosty]

Your items would need acid resistance. In theory you could get a ring or acid immunity, as that also applies to your items.How would you wear the ring?

[unseenmage]

Once upon a time I homebrewed an Ogre Mage were-Gelatinous Cube for a game I was DMing and found that the Gel.Cube sucks so bad for it's HD that it actually winds up with a NEGATIVE level adjustment.

Seriously, the cursed thing actually made the Ogre Mage WEAKER!

Aslo seconding the item from Arms and Equipment guide.
I'd also check the equipment section and the ooze creature template in Savage Species for ideas. That seems like it'd be where they'd be.

[Fouredged Sword]

You have to ring slots, just kinda push them in.

The general rule is that all creatures have the same NUMBER of magic item slots, but some creatures have different types of slots. In general, creatures can use the same magic items as a human, as the items size to fit the creature, even in odd ways.

If I was DMing, I would say the ring closes into a small sphere and floats in the ooze.

[Darrin]

Is it possible for a g cube to *not* dissolve things inside itself so it can store/hold items?


The acid from a gelatinous cube doesn't dissolve metal or stone. So long as the items were made out of metal or stone, then the cube can "wear" them like any other creature. I think somewhere in Savage Species or MIC it says something about what slots non-humanoid creatures get.



Also, can a gel cube swim? Or at least float?

I seem to recall some other thread that managed to calculate the density of a 10' gelatinous cube... we have a volume, and the MM errata gives us a more accurate weight (15000 lbs)... it actually works out that a gelatinous cube is less dense than water. So yes, it floats.

As far as swimming goes... oozes still need to breath, so oddly enough, if you do figure out how to submerge one, it could drown. As with any other creature without a swim speed, they would have to make a swim check every round. Success would allow them to move up to 1/2 speed as a full-round action or 1/4 speed as a move action. If they fail, no movement that round. If they fail by 5 or more... given their bouyancy, I would ignore any result that would force a gelatinous cube underwater, unless it was deliberately weighing itself down with metal/stone objects.

[unseenmage]

I seem to recall some other thread that managed to calculate the density of a 10' gelatinous cube... we have a volume, and the MM errata gives us a more accurate weight (15000 lbs)... it actually works out that a gelatinous cube is less dense than water. So yes, it floats.

As far as swimming goes... oozes still need to breath, so oddly enough, if you do figure out how to submerge one, it could drown. As with any other creature without a swim speed, they would have to make a swim check every round. Success would allow them to move up to 1/2 speed as a full-round action or 1/4 speed as a move action. If they fail, no movement that round. If they fail by 5 or more... given their bouyancy, I would ignore any result that would force a gelatinous cube underwater, unless it was deliberately weighing itself down with metal/stone objects.

I'm just visualizing an Underdark lake with these weird lumpy spepping stones bobbing on the surface.
Everything is going great until the first of the PCs leaps from the shore onto the nearest "platform".

I'm so using this in a game of mine.

Also, I disagree some with the perma-floating cube. Many creatures are naturally buoyant and they manage to swim below the surface just fine when the need arises.

Sir Bedevere: No, no. What else floats in water?
Peasant 1: Bread.
Peasant 2: Apples.
Peasant 3: Very small rocks.
Peasant 1: Cider.
Peasant 2: Gravy.
Peasant 3: Cherries.
Peasant 1: Mud.
Peasant 2: Churches.
Peasant 3: Lead! Lead!
King Arthur: A Duck.
Sir Bedevere: ...Exactly. So, logically...
Peasant 1: If she weighed the same as a duck... she's made of wood.
Sir Bedevere: And therefore...
Peasant 2: ...A witch!

[zlefin]

this sounds amusing. Now i'm thinking about the kind of custom armor a cube would need; i'm gonna go check the prices. only x4 cost; you could equip the cube with a chain shirt for only 400gp. that's hilarious; I need to go find an excuse to have a chain shirt custom made for a gelatinous cube.


also, how are you awakening the cube? awaken only works on plants and animals, not oozes; at least from what i'm seeing.

[dysprosium]

There is the spell awaken ooze from Dragon 304 (I think that is the right one).

[Chronos]

Alternately, you could have a celestial or fiendish ooze, either of which would automatically get an Int of 3.

[CaladanMoonblad]

I'm leery about allowing magic item slots to a creature without appendages.

Wizards even had a small section on animal slots (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/re/20031125a), using the idea that one appendage is roughly equivalent to another... but an ooze? If any of my players asked about this, I'd say "No... it's an amorphous mass, as the description. No appendages, no slots."

Armor for an ooze? Really? Sounds like a trap to contain an ooze and limit its mobility to nothing.

As for the density thing... the more stuff inside an ooze, the more dense it becomes. Eventually the extra mass will cause it to sink (just like a man in plate armor). Are all the densities the same by ooze type? Anyone ever work out the difference between black, gray, etc.?

@Chronos- you just gave me a horrible image of a celestial/infernal creature mating with an ooze... Ewwwww!

[Fouredged Sword]

Also there is sentry ooze.

Also gelatinous cube plate mail, five 10x10 metal plates.

[Chronos]

@Chronos- you just gave me a horrible image of a celestial/infernal creature mating with an ooze... Ewwwww!That'd be for a half-celestial or half-fiendish ooze (which is also possible). A celestial or fiendish ooze is just any old ordinary ooze that happens to be native to one of the outer planes.

[zlefin]

I just checked out; and on the srd at least, only fiendish can be applied to oozes; the celestial creature template doesn't list oozes as a valid type to apply the template too; while fiendish does. That's so unfair, I want to play a celestial ooze!


and half-fiend and half-celestial require the base creature to have a base int score of 4 (shouldn't that be 3?) in order to be applied.

[Logic]

Well there is this awakened gelatinous cube homebrew on minmaxboards (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=538.0).

Apart from that the only official item I can think of that has anything to do with cubes and items is the "amulet of cube riding" in Arms and Equipment Guide (which is 3.0ish), and it only lets a character ride a cube without the cube dissolving them or their equipment.

And keep in mind, shortly after the gelatinous cube entry begins the list of "exotic mounts."