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Illsbane
2007-03-11, 12:45 PM
On the world of Faerun, stories are told of how the evil deity of slimes, Ghaunadaur, struck his own worshipers in his fury. Because of his ill-conceived act, all slimes, oozes and similar morbidities are mindless beasts, intent only on feeding. Or are they? At one time, the oozes had intelligence, after all. Is it impossible to believe that some might have had the foresight and the power to anticipate the actions of their evil deity? That they might have fled beyond his reach, into the depths of the planes? At least one ooze did; its name was Ozol and it lived to breed. Its descendants still exist today, not as mighty as their mindless kinsmen in body, but still cunning in mind as no other slime can be ...

The Children of Ozol are medium-sized oozes, which tend to co-exist with other species by means of their power to shapeshift. Two Children of Ozol who come together can exchange genetic material to produce up to ten larval Children of Ozol, which one of the parents carries inside its form until they are ready to be released into the wild, a sewer, or a similar area where they are least likely to be exterminated. A larval Child possesses no more than an animal intelligence, but this grows at the same rate as its body, until it reaches medium size and full self-awareness and cognitive ability. If it survives long enough to reach adulthood, a Child of Ozol's social instincts automatically cause it to seek out places where other species congregate, observing them until they feel confident to assume a form and infiltrate the society they have been observing. At first, Children of Ozol assume juvenile shapes, in hopes of being accepted more readily and being educated in skills they will need to better fit in. They gradually alter their forms so they seem to mature at a normal rate. A Child of Ozol that is exposed for what it really is, tends to flee and seek out a place to live elsewhere; in the rare case that a Child of Ozol finds acceptance, either from a member of a different race or from one of its own kind, it has a strong tendency to cling to the individual(s) that have shown it that acceptance.
Children of Ozol are not averse to the adventuring life; they have no true emotional bond to places, save that they will appreciate locations that offer regular food and shelter. They appreciate wealth, which can buy them security in life, and adventure can provide this. As a species, the Children of Ozol have no grand agenda to unite them with either each other or any specific group or other species.

* Ability score adjustments: +2 Str., +2 Dex., -2 Int., -2 Cha.: the Children of Ozol share the innate strength and hardiness of their ooze kinsmen, but tend to react physically before thinking matters through and they are not the most personable of the worlds' races.
* Medium size: No matter what shape it takes, a Child of Ozol is always medium-sized.
* Ooze (shapeshifter).
* Base speed: In ooze form: 20 ft. In assumed form: as assumed creature.
* Blindsight: When in ooze form, a Child of Ozol has the blindsight quality. When in non-ooze form, this abilities translates into Darkvision 60 ft. and/or (in the case of an eyeless creature) the Scent ability.
* Change shape (Ex.): A Child of Ozol can change shape as by use of the Alter self spell a number of times a day equal to 1 + its Con. modifier, at a minimum of 1. It can shift from an assumed form into its natural ooze shape, or from its natural ooze shape into an assumed form, both as a standard action. When assuming a form other than its natural ooze shape, the Child of Ozol does not gain any of the exceptional, supernatural, spell- or psi-like abilities of its assumed form. It retains its own ability scores, skills, feats and class features, inasfar as its shape allows them the use of these. (A wolf-shaped Child of Ozol sorcerer without the Silent and Still spell feats can not cast spells, for example.)
* Ooze qualities: In all its forms, a Child of Ozol is immune to poison, paralysis and stunning effects and has a limited susceptibility to transmutation effects; it can always shift from a shape forced on it into its ooze form as a free action, except if it has been petrified. A Child of Ozol is malleable: in its ooze form, it can squeeze itself through any space 2 inches across or larger.
* Spell-like abilities: In ooze form, a Child of Ozol can use a Spider climb-effect a number of times a day equal to its Charisma modifier.
Combat: In ooze form, a Child of Ozol's preferred tactic is to lie in ambush, then grapple an opponent and engulf them in as far as is possible. Its second preferred tactic is to pound an opponent with a pseudopod or several pseudopods; Children of Ozol with ranks in combat-oriented classes frequently select Multiweapon fighting, so as to be able to bring more pseudopods to bear. Any attack from a Child of Ozol's ooze form adds bio-acidic damage to damage caused by physical force; this acid works only on biological substances, not on inorganic ones such as metal.
In an assumed form, Children of Ozol favor fighting as members of a group, flanking opponents so as to aid stronger companions.
* Alignment: Children of Ozol usually have at least one Neutral component to their alignments, signifying their distance from the concerns and politics of most other races.
* Favored class: Rogue.
* Religion: Due to the acts of Ghaunadaur, most Children of Ozol are leery of the deities. They do recognize the strength of the pantheons, however, so most show a cautious respect. Infrequently, Children of Ozol adopt patron deities or even take ranks in Cleric for deities who, like themselves, have a Neutral component to their alignment. Deities like Obad-Hai, Ehlonna, Silvanus and other nature-oriented deities are fast favorites to the Children of Ozol.
* Nutritional requirement: A Child of Ozol needs to require twice as much food as a regular medium-sized creature every day, or be subject to starvation effects. On the positive side, a child of Ozol considers most organic matter as edible, even refuse or carrion. From time to time, this brings them into bitter conflict with creatures like otyughs.
* Languages: Common and Ooze Sign; the latter is a language composed of an ooze's bodily motions and scents, by means of which a Child of Ozol can communicate with any other kind of ooze. A Child of Ozol has the unique ability to use Diplomacy or Handle animal upon a mindless ooze. A Child of Ozol's bonus languages include Dwarven, Elven, Gnome, Goblin and Orc.
* Appearance: In its natural form, a Child of Ozol looks like a tan-coloured glob of slime, which makes high-pitched chirping noises from time to time and extrudes, then reabsorbs pseudopods to suit its needs. Children of Ozol with ranks in Disguise can change their natural coloration to camouflage themselves, gaining a +5 on Hide checks. In any assumed form, a Child of Ozol looks like a typical representative of the assumed species, with one caveat: a Child of Ozol typically bases its appearance on an individual it has already observed, making slight alterations. A successful Spot check at DC 15 betrays the fact that the Child of Ozol's assumed form is derivative and may cause it to undergo some searching questions and possibly face exposure. Creatures with the Scent ability or subjected to a True seeing effect automatically recognize the Child of Ozol as an impostor.
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Okay ... I have no idea what kind of level adjustment to add. Is there anything I forgot to put in? Do you guys like the idea? Please, give me feedback!

EvilElitest
2007-03-12, 02:43 PM
I really like it. Their is a race a bit like this in Monsters of Farun and Guide to the Underdark. But still, really cool
from,
EE

Illsbane
2007-03-13, 06:02 PM
Thanks. Can you tell me a bit more about that Underdark monster?

Terror_Incognito
2007-03-13, 10:48 PM
This is a cool race. I considered a BBEG similar to this in a campaign I was designing.

One thing though, the Change Shape ability is Extraordinary. I don't think it should be subject to True Seeing as it isn't a magical effect. If there's an
X-Ray vision spell that would work.