Wippit Guud
2007-02-22, 03:18 AM
Brought up in the Science thread was the quick off-topic that a half-dragon ooze is 'munchkin' and cannot exist (contrary to the half-dragon black pudding I like to use in some games). Among other things, it was said that oozes only reproduce by splitting in half. Well, I don't think that works out either... and hey, I'm bored at work right now, so lets dive in (pun intended) and come to terms with this.
Reproduction via enforced splitting:
This would be the 'hit a black pudding, and you have 2 puddings' form of reproduction. Which seems all fine and dandy, as there are animals that can become 2 animals when cut in half - worms and starfish come to mind. As a practical method of reproduction, though, I'd have to say it's not very good. For the most part, anything hitting an ooze is going to keep hitting it until he can't split anymore, and then it dies. And this does not cover how a gelatinous cube reproduces, as it doesn't split.
Reproduction via Mitosis
This would be the amoeba analogy. Ooze gets big enough, it splits in half, you have 2 oozes. This also works for the vast majority of oozes, except there are no small oozes out there, and I can't see a gelatinous cube splitting in half. The reason I don't accept this is the mustard jelly: it's intelligent. Get one that has a bit of evil intent, and it will split over and over and over and repopulate the planet with ooze. Also: since not all mustard jellies are the same personality, there must be some intermingling of genetic material in there somewhere - otherwise, they'd all be clones.
Reproduction vis spores
Lets draw a real-world analogy between oozes and slime molds, which have most of the same characteristics. Slime molds have 2 stages. The first stage is a plasmodium, which is like a giant amoeba with hundred of nuclei. It moves around and eats stuff. Sounds like an ooze, just on a smaller scale. So far, so good.
Once the slime mold becomes of sufficient size, it finds a suitable spot and stops. Then it becomes more plant-like, growing a fruit-like body which will eventually erupt into spores which are dispursed like any other spore. Over time, spores begin to combine with other spores, growing larger until it becomes a plasmodium. Which then starts eating, and the cycle continues.
So, the way I see it, oozes are just part of the life cycle of a more complex oragnism. They're the plasmodium phase of a Myxomycete, just on a larger scale. Heck, who's to say an ochre jelly doesn't turn into a violet fungus...
Reproduction via enforced splitting:
This would be the 'hit a black pudding, and you have 2 puddings' form of reproduction. Which seems all fine and dandy, as there are animals that can become 2 animals when cut in half - worms and starfish come to mind. As a practical method of reproduction, though, I'd have to say it's not very good. For the most part, anything hitting an ooze is going to keep hitting it until he can't split anymore, and then it dies. And this does not cover how a gelatinous cube reproduces, as it doesn't split.
Reproduction via Mitosis
This would be the amoeba analogy. Ooze gets big enough, it splits in half, you have 2 oozes. This also works for the vast majority of oozes, except there are no small oozes out there, and I can't see a gelatinous cube splitting in half. The reason I don't accept this is the mustard jelly: it's intelligent. Get one that has a bit of evil intent, and it will split over and over and over and repopulate the planet with ooze. Also: since not all mustard jellies are the same personality, there must be some intermingling of genetic material in there somewhere - otherwise, they'd all be clones.
Reproduction vis spores
Lets draw a real-world analogy between oozes and slime molds, which have most of the same characteristics. Slime molds have 2 stages. The first stage is a plasmodium, which is like a giant amoeba with hundred of nuclei. It moves around and eats stuff. Sounds like an ooze, just on a smaller scale. So far, so good.
Once the slime mold becomes of sufficient size, it finds a suitable spot and stops. Then it becomes more plant-like, growing a fruit-like body which will eventually erupt into spores which are dispursed like any other spore. Over time, spores begin to combine with other spores, growing larger until it becomes a plasmodium. Which then starts eating, and the cycle continues.
So, the way I see it, oozes are just part of the life cycle of a more complex oragnism. They're the plasmodium phase of a Myxomycete, just on a larger scale. Heck, who's to say an ochre jelly doesn't turn into a violet fungus...