Are oozes weak to salt?

[CrackedChair]

I was genuinely curious, since most types of slime or slimy things I know in media seem to really hate salt. Is there something in D&D media that states that oozes hate salt of some kind?

[Honest Tiefling]

I was always under the impression that the slug died due to osmosis and becoming dehydrated due to water going out of its skin. Due to the fact that the ooze is just ooze, I think all that would accomplish is making it taste salty.

[Waterdeep Merch]

I'd actually assume they love salt. They eat a lot of things filled with it.

I mean the players.

When they are eaten by oozes.

Because they are salty about it.

...Get it?

[Lord Il Palazzo]

I'd assume not. The reason salt kills slugs has to do with fluid transfer across their skin (like Honest Tiefling said) rather than their sliminess.

On a related note, slimes are usually described as acidic so I've always figured you could probably kill one with enough of a strong enough base (for kind of a baking soda and vinegar effect). I'm getting ready to run Mines of Madness for some friends this weekend, and there's a part of the dungeon where there's a gelatinous cube in a hallway next to a room that contains a pit of powdered lime. I doubt it will happen, but I really want the cube to end up in the lime for some baking soda and vinegar action.

[Grim Portent]

I was always under the impression that the slug died due to osmosis and becoming dehydrated due to water going out of its skin. Due to the fact that the ooze is just ooze, I think all that would accomplish is making it taste salty.

The closest things we have in real life to oozes are killed by (relatively) high amounts of salt.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slime_mold

They're small mobile colonies of eukaryotic cells that meander around eating things and releasing spores. Since they're cells they can be killed by salt, either due to poisoning or dessication.

I would personally assume an ooze in D&D terms is the same sort of aggregate organism, but larger and more potent. A giant blob of cells suspended in a gelatinous goop. Throwing enough dry sand on one would theoretically kill it by drying it out, salt would do much the same.

[Honest Tiefling]

I'd assume not. The reason salt kills slugs has to do with fluid transfer across their skin (like Honest Tiefling said) rather than their sliminess.

On a related note, slimes are usually described as acidic so I've always figured you could probably kill one with enough of a strong enough base (for kind of a baking soda and vinegar effect). I'm getting ready to run Mines of Madness for some friends this weekend, and there's a part of the dungeon where there's a gelatinous cube in a hallway next to a room that contains a pit of powdered lime. I doubt it will happen, but I really want the cube to end up in the lime for some baking soda and vinegar action.

...So a salty ooze might taste like salt and vinegar? Now all we need is a potato golem...


The closest things we have in real life to oozes are killed by (relatively) high amounts of salt.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slime_mold



I was always under the impression that oozes were just animate oozes, and not really living things. Did...Did I miss an article? Admittedly even if I was correct, this idea seems awesome for a sci-fi setting.

[Slipperychicken]

It would make sense. Oozes don't have much to let them deal with ingested toxins, or any kind of chemical imbalance really. Nor do they have the intellect to expel anything harmful. They ought to be uniquely vulnerable to such things.


Which reminds me: Oozes aren't immune to poison. You could just throw any kind of poison into them, and they'll happily try to ingest it until it loses potency or they die. You could do the same with an object targeted by heat metal. Or anything else that hurts creatures on contact, like boiling oil or water. Maybe put a metal pot of oil in front of it, cast heat metal and just let the ooze do the work for you?


I was always under the impression that oozes were just animate oozes, and not really living things. Did...Did I miss an article? Admittedly even if I was correct, this idea seems awesome for a sci-fi setting.

Dnd oozes are living creatures. In 5e they're referred to as "living" in a sidebar in monster manual page 240. I can't speak for 4e, but in 3rd edition they were alive too.

[Lord Il Palazzo]

...So a salty ooze might taste like salt and vinegar? Now all we need is a potato golem...I've always wanted to run an animated-food based adventure (inspired by a 3.5 adventure with a Calzone Golem as a boss). This is really giving me that itch again...

I would personally assume an ooze in D&D terms is the same sort of aggregate organism, but larger and more potent. A giant blob of cells suspended in a gelatinous goop. Throwing enough dry sand on one would theoretically kill it by drying it out, salt would do much the same.
I was always under the impression that oozes were just animate oozes, and not really living things. Did...Did I miss an article? Admittedly even if I was correct, this idea seems awesome for a sci-fi setting.That could totally work in some settings (I've always wanted to run something akin to D&D monsters appearing in the modern world and some weird biotech explanation for oozes could be cool) but I think the default fantasy-oriented explanation is just that their made of ooze the same way a water elemental is made of water and it works because they're magical.

Then again, I'm the guy who wants to try neutralizing a gelatinous cube with a strong base so go for it with whatever amount of real world science is fun for you.

Edit:

Dnd oozes are living creatures. In 5e they're referred to as "living" in a sidebar in monster manual page 240. I can't speak for 4e, but in 3rd edition they were alive too.Yeah, but I feel like "living" equals "made of cells" is an assumption that doesn't quite work in a world with magical constructs and elementals and such.

[CrackedChair]

Well I learned that this might not work with salt...


Baking soda on the other hand...

[JackPhoenix]

The closest things we have in real life to oozes are killed by (relatively) high amounts of salt.

Well, to be honest, any living thing in real life could be killed by enough salt:smalltongue:

[Honest Tiefling]

Baking soda on the other hand...

But what if this doesn't kill the ooze, just changes its properties? You might have an angry cloud of carbon dioxide...

[Lord Il Palazzo]

But what if this doesn't kill the ooze, just changes its properties? You might have an angry cloud of carbon dioxide...Maybe it would split into a carbon dioxide "Air" Elemental and a salty Water Elemental.

[Sigreid]

But what if this doesn't kill the ooze, just changes its properties? You might have an angry cloud of carbon dioxide...

Would be fun if you accidentally changed its charge creating a living battery.

[Jama7301]

Maybe it would split into a carbon dioxide "Air" Elemental and a salty Water Elemental.


Would be fun if you accidentally changed its charge creating a living battery.

I love this place sometimes.

[Grim Portent]

I imagine baking soda + ooze equals foamy slime monsters.

Acidic bubble bath slowly dying and flailing out in furious bubbly rage.

[Squiddish]

Would be fun if you accidentally changed its charge creating a living battery.

Well, a while back I had an idea for the battery ooze. They're naturally batteries and slowly discharge. They seek electricity, metals, and alchemical reagents (new electrolytes/acids) to keep themselves going. Lightning absorption and some innate casting.

[ThurlRavenscrof]

My characters are just going to carry around a barrel of baking soda until I'm able to use it on an ooze successfully and see what happens

[Unoriginal]

Ooozes can generally swim in salt water without any problem, so no, no weakness to salt.




It would make sense. Oozes don't have much to let them deal with ingested toxins, or any kind of chemical imbalance really. Nor do they have the intellect to expel anything harmful. They ought to be uniquely vulnerable to such things.

It would not make sense. Oozes are known to digest stuff way more toxic than salt.