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bingo_bob
2005-09-01, 11:30 AM
The adventurers had been lost in the underdark for days, no, weeks, after that disastrous encounter with the aboleth that they managed to escape from only through amazing luck, and even then they had lost Solomon, their paladin, to the beasts grasps. Nightmares of his final, terrified moments haunted them still.

"We're nearly out of food..." said Grunk, a half orc barbarian "AND I'M HUNGRY!!!"

"Look Grunk, we KNOW we're just about out of food. You don't have to reinforce that fact, we've already accepted it. And besides, you're not the only one that's hungry..." said Karn, a human wizard.

It was then that they heard the voice. They all heard it, though none of them truly did.

"Food, shelter awaits... just follow my directions, and peace shall be yours..." said the voice, present only in their minds.

Follow they did, ignoring the well known fact that that voice could very well be another monster out to kill them. They didn't care, if for no other reason than sheer desperation, and willingness to end it all.

"There! Just follow the path to the left, and you will be at our destination!" said the voice, urging them on.

When they finally did make the turn, they expected settlement by illithids, maybe drow. However, that was not the case.

What they saw was a small city, full of graceful, curving buildings, which seemed to have no corners whatsoever. Stranger still, though, was it's inhabitants, amorphous blobs in various sizes, going about their daily tasks much as a humanoid might.

"Welcome..." said the voice, "to Enerthia"

Contrary to the popular belief of adventurers and scholars everywhere, there are indeed intelligent oozes. These being live in peace for the most part, going to war only reluctantly, and even then making a peace treaty as soon as possible. To others, they are oozes, vermin fit only to be destroyed. To themselves, they are the Ozerans, guardians of a utopia.

Sentient Oozes, or Ozerans, follow a strictly regimented lifestyle, and come in several varieties, varying in power, size and intellgence, all of which are factors in their political standings. Here they are:

Commoner Ooze
Commoner Ooze 1st Level Warrior
Small Ooze
Hit Dice: 1d8+5 (9 hp)
Initiative: -2
Speed: 20 ft. (4 squares)
Armor Class:9 (-2 Dex, +1 Size) touch 9, flat-footed 9
Base Attack/Grapple: +2/-3
Attack: Slam +2 Melee (1d4)
Full Attack: Slam +2 Melee (1d4)
Space/Reach: 5 ft. /5 ft.
Special Attacks: ----
Special Qualities: Blindsight 60 ft., Ooze Traits, Appendage, Telepathy 60 ft.
Saves: Fort +4, Ref +0, Will -1
Abilities: Str 10, Dex 10, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 8
Skills: Climb +4, Intimidate +2, Swim +2
Feats: Toughness
Environment: Underground
Organization: Solitary, Gang (2-4), Band (10-100 plus 100% noncombatants plus one 3rd Level Sergeant per 20 combatants, plus 1 4th-6th level leader), or Community (40–400 plus 200% noncombatants plus 1 3rd-level sergeant per 20 adults, 1 or 2 lieutenants of 4th or 5th level, 1 leader of 6th–8th level)
CR: 1
Treasure: Standard
Alignment: Usually Lawful Neutral
Advancement: By Character Class
LA: +1

The lowest rung of ooze society belongs to the humble Commoner Ooze. Generally the smallest of all sentient oozes, they are the ones that do the day to day work of the kingdom, making sure that their civilization does not fall into the mindless chaos of their “lesser kin” the normal oozes, as well as serving as rank-and-file soldiers in the Royal Army.

COMBAT
Commoner Oozes generally avoid combat when possible, preferring to work problems out, unless they have been ordered otherwise by higher ranking oozes. When they do fight they generally favor a direct charge, rather than showing their ineptitude at ranged combat.
Ooze Traits: Commoner Oozes are more advanced than normal oozes, and therefore lose the following traits: Mindless, Immunity to Critical Hits and Flanking, and Proficiency only with natural weapons and armor, and Immunity to paralysis and stunning.
However, they retain their Blindness, Immunity to poison, polymorph, and Sleep effects, and the fact that they don’t sleep.
Sentience (Ex): Unlike normal Oozes, Commoner Oozes are not mindless and have an intelligence score.
Appendage (Ex): Commoner Oozes may, at will, form part of themselves into a rough arm with which they may handle objects as if they had a humanoid hand.
Telepathy (Su): Commoner Oozes may communicate telepathically with any creature within 60 ft. with which it shares a language.

COMMONER OOZES AS CHARACTERS
Commoner Ooze characters possess the following traits:
— +4 Constitution, -4 Dexterity, -2 Charisma. Commoner Oozes are hardy, but are slightly weak of personality, and due to their amorphous nature are rather slow
— Small Size: +1 bonus to Armor Class, +1 bonus on attack rolls, +4 bonus on Hide checks, –4 penalty on grapple checks, lifting and carrying limits 3/4 those of Medium characters.
— A Commoner Ooze has a land speed of 20 ft.
— Blindsight out to 60 ft.
— Special Qualities: Ooze Traits, Appendage, Telepathy 60 ft.
— Automatic Languages: Common, Ooze. Bonus Languages: Any.
--- Favored Class: Any. When determining whether a multiclass Commoner Ooze takes an experience point penalty, it's highest-level class does not count.
— Level Adjustment: +1

bingo_bob
2005-09-01, 11:31 AM
"Come, follow me," said the Commoner Ooze that led the party there, into each of their minds. "There is a portal to the surface at the academy."

"You mean there is an academy of the arts arcane in this city?" said Karn, taking in all of the sights of the alien-looking city.

"Yes, of course there is! Though it's not just the arcane arts, it covers general knowledge as well. Don't you humans generally have one, if not more, academy in each of your larger cities?"

"Well, yes, it's just... I don't know..." The wizard said, still struggling to accept what he saw around him as reality.

"Having trouble taking it all in? Don't worry, it's not really surprising given what your people think of our... lesser cousins... well, in any case, here we are. The Twisted Spire, home to the Academy of Enerthia. I've got to get back to work, but I believe one of our philosophers will be willing to help you from here." said the ooze.

Then, perhaps turning, the ooze "shouted" to a nearby, larger ooze.

"Hey Rorn! Could you lead these adventurers to the Teleportation Circle?" said the smaller ooze, letting the message reach the adventurers so as to allay any suspicions they might have.

The larger ooze then stopped moving, and started going in the party's direction.

"Why of course!" it 'said' with a bit of an accent. "Just follow me. Lord Vomm is using the room right now, but it should be open fairly soon."

As they went down the hall, Grunk turned to Karn and whispered "Do we trust these... things? They could be leading us into a trap.

"I don't think so, if they wanted to kill us they would've done so by now. Let's just enjoy the view..."

The Philosopher Puddings (Sounds like something a cannibal would eat) are the most learned of the Ozerans, maintaining vast libraries of knowledge.

Philosopher Pudding
Medium Ooze
Hit Dice: 3d10+6 (21 hp)
Initiative: -1
Speed: 30 ft. (6 squares)
Armor Class: 9 (-1 Dex) Touch 9, Flat-Footed 9
Base Attack/Grapple: +2/+2
Attack: Slam +2 Melee (1d6)
Full Attack: Slam +2 Melee (1d6)
Space/Reach: 5 ft. /5 ft.
Special Attacks: Spell-like Abilities
Special Qualities: Blindsight 120 ft., Ooze Traits, Appendage, Telepathy 120 ft.
Saves: Fort +2, Ref +0, Will +3
Abilities: Str 10, Dex 8, Con 14, Int 16, Wis 11, Cha 9
Skills: Climb +10, Knowledge (Any) +10, Decipher Script +4, Appraise +6
Feats: Surrogate Spellcasting*, Iron Will
Environment: Underground
Organization: Solitary, Circle (4-8), Guild (10-20 plus 10-20 Commoner Oozes)
CR: 3
Treasure: Standard
Alignment: Usually Lawful Neutral
Advancement: By character class.
LA:+2

On the middle rung of Ozeran society are the Philosopher Puddings. Slightly larger, and a fair bit more intelligent than Commoner puddings, Philosopher Puddings are the scholars of the Ozerans, with a fair number taking up the wizard’s art.

Generations of widespread study and practice of the arcane arts among the Philosopher Puddings have caused them to absorb some magic into themselves, manifesting as innate magical abilities which they may call upon at will.

COMBAT
Philosopher Puddings prefer to fight at a range, using their spell-like abilities, though like other Ozerans, they prefer to find a peaceful way to work out issues.

Spell-Like Abilities (Sp): At will: Mage Hand, Magic Missile, Tenser’s Floating Disk, Read Magic. Caster Level 3rd, save DCs are intelligence based.

Ooze Traits: Philosopher Puddings are more advanced than normal oozes, and therefore lose the following traits: Mindless, Immunity to Critical Hits and Flanking, and Proficiency only with natural weapons and armor, and Immunity to paralysis and stunning.
However, they retain their Blindness, Immunity to poison, polymorph, and Sleep effects, and the fact that they don’t sleep.

Sentience (Ex): Unlike normal Oozes, Philosopher Puddings are not mindless and have an intelligence score.

Appendage (Ex): Philosopher Puddings may, at will, form part of themselves into a rough arm with which they may handle objects as if they had a humanoid hand.

Telepathy (Su): Philosopher Puddings may communicate telepathically with any creature within 120 ft. with which it shares a language.

PHILOSOPHER PUDDINGS AS CHARACTERS
Philosopher Pudding characters possess the following traits:
— +4 Constitution, +6 Int, -2 Charisma, -2 Dex. Philosopher Puddings are hardy and intelligent, but are slightly weak of personality, and due to their amorphous nature, not the quickest creatures about.
— Medium Size
— A Philosopher Pudding has a land speed of 30 ft.
— Blindsight out to 120 ft.
—Racial Hit Dice: A Philosopher Pudding begins with three levels of ooze, which provide 3d10 Hit Dice, a base attack bonus of +2, and base saving throw bonuses of Fort +1, Ref +1, and Will +1.
—Racial Skills: A Philosopher Pudding’s ooze levels give it skill points equal to 3x(2 + Int modifier [minimum 1]). Its class skills are Climb, Knowledge (Any), Decipher Script, and Appraise —Racial Feats: A philosopher pudding's ooze levels give it two feats.
— Special Attacks: Spell-Like Abilities
— Special Qualities: Ooze Traits, Appendage, Telepathy 120 ft., Sentience
— Automatic Languages: Common, Ooze. Bonus Languages: Any.
— Level Adjustment: +2

*Savage Species

As they followed the Philosopher Jelly through the many corridors of the Twisted Spire, careful to keep an eye on the ooze that was leading them so that they didn't end up following the wrong one, Grunk and Karn continued to discuss their present situation.

"Look, all I'm saying is that I'm not sure that we should trust them!" said Grunk, raising his arms in exasperation.

"I know, I know," said Karn "We just don't really have another option right now!"

It was then that the ooze that they'd been following stopped abruptly, and the pair had to come to an undignified halt to aviod stepping in it.

"Here we are," said the Philosopher Pudding "Through the door is the teleportation chamber, and the High Lord Vomm should be out right about... now."

As the ooze finished it's sentence, another ooze started coming through the circular door. And kept on coming, it's mass was so large that it had to squeeze itself through the door rather slowly.

The Philosopher Pudding flattened out somewhat, in what Karn supposed was a bow. Hastily, he bowed as well, though the large ooze ignored them all. As the aristocrat turned the corner, the philosopher spoke up again.

"Well, in we go," said the ooze, leading them through the door. In the center of the round room on the floor was a pattern that Karn recognized at once as a teleportation circle.

"Just step into it and think of where you want to go," said the ooze "and you'll end up there instantaneously.

Hesitating for a moment, Karn and Grunk stepped in at the same time, envisioning the street outside of the building where the man who had sent them on this mission lived. The next moment, they were gone.

The rulers of the Ozerans are the Royal Jellies, Larger oozes, that while less magically inclined than the Philosophers, are slightly magical all the same.

Royal Jelly
Large Ooze
Hit Dice: 5d10+13 (38 hp)
Initiative: -1
Speed: 30 ft. (6 squares)
Armor Class: 8 (-1 Dex, -1 size) Touch 8, Flat-footed 8
Base Attack/Grapple: +3/+7
Attack: Slam +3 Melee (2d6)
Full Attack: Slam +3 Melee (2d6)
Space/Reach: 10 ft. /10 ft.
Special Attacks:
Special Qualities: Blindsight 120 ft., Ooze Traits, Appendage, Telepathy 120 ft., Regeneration 5
Saves: Fort +3, Ref +0, Will +2
Abilities: Str 11, Dex 8, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 12, Cha 11
Skills: Diplomacy +8, Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty) +4, Knowledge: (History) +4, Sense Motive +8
Feats: Negotiator, Toughness
Environment: Underground
Organization: Solitary or House (1d4 Royal Jellies, 2d6 Philosopher Puddings, 4d10 Commoner Oozes)
CR: 5
Treasure: Standard
Alignment: Usually Lawful Neutral
LA: +3

At the peak of the Ozeran society are the Royal Jellies. They rule over the other, lesser Ozerans with an iron grasp, though they are benevolent rulers, and, as most Ozerans, highly peaceful. They tend to be a bit poetic, spending their spare time writing down whatever comes to mind, and their stories tend to be of high quality, though most other races are unfamiliar with their works.

COMBAT
In a fight Royal Jellies tend to, like the Commoner Oozes, favor melee combat, making use of their regenerative qualities, and their fairly good melee damage.

Ooze Traits: Royal Jellies are more advanced than normal oozes, and therefore lose the following traits: Mindless, Immunity to Critical Hits and Flanking, and Proficiency only with natural weapons and armor, and Immunity to paralysis and stunning.
However, they retain their Blindness, Immunity to poison, polymorph, and Sleep effects, and the fact that they don’t sleep.
Appendage (Ex): Royal Jellies may, at will, form part of themselves into a rough arm with which they may handle objects as if they had a humanoid hand.
Telepathy (Su): Royal Jellies may communicate telepathically with any creature within 120 ft. with which it shares a language.
Regeneration (Ex): Fire deals normal damage to a Royal Jelly. If a Royal Jelly loses body portion, the lost portion regrows in 3d6 minutes. The Royal Jelly may reattach the portion instantly by absorbing it back into it’s body.

bingo_bob
2005-09-01, 11:31 AM
Spacer Post

The Glyphstone
2005-09-01, 11:51 AM
sentient oozes...arg. nice idea, I really need to start brainstorming...

bingo_bob
2005-09-01, 12:02 PM
Thanks. I still have absolutely NO idea where the idea came from, but I'm pretty satisfied with it.

Sucros
2005-09-01, 12:37 PM
Quite a fan of this idea. One tiny problem: you have ooze traits listed under special qualities, but oozes are mindless, which doesn't fit the creature. This is easily fixable by adding a quality like "Sentience: unline other oozes, Commoner Oozes have intelligence scores and are not mindless."

bingo_bob
2005-09-01, 12:49 PM
True, but if you look under ooze traits on what I wrote here, it's clarified that 'Mindless' is a trait that they don't have. However, that gets a bit complex, so I think I'll go with your idea.

Hydro
2005-09-01, 02:55 PM
Oozes with class levels?

Priceless.

Will we be seeing any ooze paladins or ooze monks here?

I would love some of the non-combat details here. What they look like, the workings of their society, what tools they use (if any) and how they use them, etc. And if you manage to finish this entire article without it taking at least a slight comedic bent I will be impressed.

bingo_bob
2005-09-01, 03:33 PM
Don't worry. I'll add more fluff once the 'crunch' is done, which will include a description of the Ozeran method of writing.

bingo_bob
2005-09-01, 05:25 PM
Well, Philosopher Pudding is up. Only one more ooze to go... (Or MAYBE more if I feel like it and get a good idea...)

Everyman
2005-09-01, 10:57 PM
You know what I find impressive. Not the unique flavor of sentient oozes, not the fact that I can take this as a player race, not even how quickly you got these first two (soon to be three) out. What I find impressive is flavor text. Very nice.

I can't see any problems with'em at first glance. Of course, I'm a bit distracted with packing for college. I'll edit this post I can come up with any other comments.

For now....Nice. :)

bingo_bob
2005-09-04, 01:50 PM
Well, the last ooze is up. I'll be adding some more stuff on the Ozerans later, but for now the entry is complete. Feel free to comment.

The Glyphstone
2005-09-04, 06:39 PM
How exactly does an ooze reattach body parts? For that matter, how does it lose them? ;D

bingo_bob
2005-09-04, 06:44 PM
I was thinking that if you got a large enough spoon...

Zeal
2005-09-05, 07:33 PM
Intelligent oozes? My worlds upside down... left is right, right is left. Seriously, great work Bingo Bob.

bingo_bob
2005-09-07, 07:59 AM
Good. That's what it's supposed to do. ;D

felblood
2005-09-08, 08:57 PM
Do Ozarians have a distinct language like "Ooze" or "Ozarian", or do they simply use adopted languages from other races like "Undercommon" and "Draconic"?

They obviously know some other languages, but I wondered if they had their own, too?

bingo_bob
2005-09-08, 10:06 PM
Yes, they speak Ooze.

RobbieOC
2005-09-15, 11:28 AM
Great idea! I look forward to reading the finished product. Good luck!

SirAnon
2005-09-16, 05:24 PM
He he, royal jelly, priceless.

bingo_bob
2005-09-17, 04:21 PM
Well, seeing as the deadline is approaching, I'd just like to say one thing:

VOTE FOR ME!!!

Thank you.

Snommelp
2005-09-20, 02:00 AM
Intelligent oozes... you'll definitely get my vote for something, although I'm thinking that you'll be possible competition for the Flumph award. It shall be mine!!

BTW, I used the Commoner Ooze as my template when I wrote up my first monster (and will again for the others), so thanks for that.