SLIME CREATURE

Olive slime creatures, also known as "slime zombies," are created when olive slime completely metamorphoses a host creature into a vegetable creature. This new being has a symbiotic link with the patch of olive slime that originally created it, and the slime creatures from the same colony gather together with the slime for mutual survival. These creatures seek out animal life for their slime master, and attack anything their size or smaller on sight. They seek to infest as many hosts as possible with new olive slime growth, to increase the slime's power.

      Slime creatures look like formless blobs of drab green muck, and are often covered with olive slime. The former identities of these creatures can only be discovered on close examination of the slime creature. These things live in subterranean lairs where the olive slime grows, but venture out into damp forests, swamps, and fens, and are equally at home on land or in shallow water. When a slime creature loses all of its hit points, its skeleton collapses, and the creature becomes a puddle of olive slime, which must then also be killed to be truly destroyed.

      Slime creatures possess a sort of animal intelligence, but are able to learn from experience. Older olive slime creatures can use traps and tricks to catch new hosts for the slime. Slime creatures do not speak, and only communicate with each other through telepathy.

CREATING A SLIME CREATURE

"Slime Creature" is a template that can be added to any corporeal creature except undead, constructs, and elementals (referred to hereafter as the "base creature"). The base creature's type changes to "plant". A slime creature only vaguely resembles the being it once was, and the many changes are noted below. The base creature loses all of its skills and feats.

Hit Dice: The base creature's Hit Dice changes based on its size as shown on the following table:

Size                           Hit Dice

Tiny or smaller             1d8

Small                          3d8

Medium-size                5d8

Large                          8d8

Huge                           12d8

Gargantuan                  16d8

Colossal                      20d8

Speed: The base creature's land speed decreases by half, rounding up to the nearest increment of 10 ft.  If the creature had a swim speed, it remains the same, but all other types of movement are lost.

AC: The base creature's natural armor class improves by +1.

Attacks: The base creature loses all of its attack forms, but gains a single slam attack.

Damage: The slime creature's slam attack damage varies by size:  Tiny or smaller, 1d3; Small, 1d4; Medium-size, 1d6; Large, 1d8; Huge, 2d6; Gargantuan, 2d8; Colossal, 4d6.  The slam attack can also infest the victim with olive slime.

Special Attacks: The base creature loses all of its special attacks, but gains the following:

   Infestation (Ex): Any creature hit by the olive slime creature's slam attack must succeed at a Fortitude save (DC = 10 + 1/2 the slime creature's HD + slime creature's Constitution modifier) or be infested with olive slime. This infestation works in the same way as described in the olive slime entry.

Special Qualities: The base creature loses all of its special qualities, but gains the following:

   Symbiotic Link (Ex): A slime creature is linked symbiotically with the patch of olive slime that created it, extending up to 200 miles away from the slime. The slime can call its slime creatures to defend itself, and perform simple necessary tasks for it, and the creatures mindlessly obey.

   Telepathic Bond (Ex): Olive slime creatures from the same colony all have a telepathic bond with each other, effective up to a range of 100 feet.

   Plant:Immune to mind-influencing effects, poison, sleep, paralysis, stunning, and polymorphing.  Not subject to critical hits.

   Immunities (Ex): Due to their bodily structure and makeup, slime creatures take no damage from weapons (normal or magical), spells (other than the effects listed below), or similar attacks and effects. Slime creatures are immune to lightning effects.

   Vulnerabilities (Ex): Olive slime creatures are affected normally by acid, cold, fire, and magic missile spells. Slime creatures are also harmed by contact with green slime, and suffer 2d4 points of damage per round of contact.

Abilities: The base creature's Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma all become 1. The slime creature's maximum Dexterity is 10, and its Strength and Constitution remain the same.

Climate/Terrain: Any forest, marsh, underground and aquatic

Organization: Solitary, patch (2-5), or colony (6-20)

Challenge Rating: Tiny or smaller, 1/2; Small, 1; Medium-size, 3; Large, 4; Huge, 6; Gargantuan, 8; Colossal, 10.

Treasure: None

Alignment: Always neutral

Advancement: None

Olive slime and the slime creature first appeared in Monster Manual II (1983).