Gelatinous Cube Pills and Swarms!

[cmbarona]

I've been giving some thought to a silly product based on the much-loved Gelatinous Cube (GC).

Gelatinous Digestives! Tiny GCs (about the size of a marble, but obviously not the same shape ) that a company (as yet unnamed; suggestions?) breeds and sells as digestive aids. People swallow them whole and they really clean out their system. They are also marketed for other purposes, not the least of which being drain cleaners. They also have the added benefit of going hogwild on the sewage system, so waterways don't get polluted. The company even has a sophisticated recycling system in place. Every now and then a large GC will grow in the sewers, but the company hires adventurers to take them out as needed.

Furthermore, I was thinking of having an interesting encounter in a warehouse. While chasing a bandit, the bandit runs into a warehouse full of these things and knocks over a crate of these things as a distraction, shattering all the nice glass jars that were housing the harmlessly-sized GCs. The result? A swarm of tiny GCs, all hungry for a chunk of rare adventurer meat!

So, I have two questions about all this:

1) I don't know that much about GC ecology. Is this all feasible? Do GCs coalesce if a bunch are gathered in the same place? Would they be happy to go through and out of a person like that?

2) The fun part: What would a swarm of tiny GCs look like, stats-wise? I'm a blank slate here, so I'm definitely open for suggestions!

 

[Maskhim]

Nice idea, this will definitely be in my eberron campaign !
Love the concept of monsters bred for some of their special skills like the acidic properties of the good ol'cube.

I doubt ingesting them would be a good idea but the "sewer cleaning device" is truly a great idea and it fits perfectly with the ecology of that slime. Maybe a magebred version could be ingested by altering the acid of the cube and making it more like a human stomach pH...

Don't know, though, what kind of stats those tiny fellows should have.

 

[cmbarona]

Hmm... I like the idea of the magebred GCs, though stomach acid would be too strong for any place other than the stomach itself.

Ooh! Sudden idea while I was writing this response! They could be magically bred to have a ph-neutral layer of gelatin surrounding the sour acidic core. Any kids accidentally biting into these would be in for an unpleasant surprise...

Also, can anyone think of other uses for them, or for slightly larger versions? Garbage disposals? Sponges? Etc.?

 

[chronoplasm]

If you could get them to glow they could make for some interesting decoration.

 

[cmbarona]

Come to think of it, there's a ton of things this company could do if it has the right mix of wizards in R&D. Glowing cubes? Sure! They'd make an excellent accessory to medieval-themed rave parties. Heck, some underground wizards could make them a natural source of narcotics. Imagine a shady character holding out a handful of these and selling them at your local less-than-reputable inn.

... Or, they could be used as lamps. That works too.

 

[chronoplasm]

You could put them in your garden to get rid of pests, too. At night they would glow and light up your sidewalk. Great at barbeques or any outdoor gettogether.

 

[cmbarona]

Not so sure about the garden idea, though if you want to use it for your own campaign, I won't stop you. Basically, GCs engulf and digest any organic matter they can get their hands on. This includes plants, which is why I'm wary of making them gardening implements. I also don't envision them running around free too often. People keep them contained in glass quite frequently, blissfully unaware of how dangerous they are, which makes for some very interesting scenes where incredibly loud noises suddenly shatter the glass in an area.

 

[Plane Sailing]

Gelatinous Digestives! Tiny GCs (about the size of a marble, but obviously not the same shape ) that a company (as yet unnamed; suggestions?) breeds and sells as digestive aids.

Sounds a little more like an assassination technique! Slip a tiny GC into a drink or some food, it gets swallowed, and digests the person from the inside out!

 

[Turtlejay]

That is a cool idea. Combine the two ideas, nixing the digestive aid but embracing the mini-gelatinous cubes as a 'keep our city clean' movement. unfortunately a few drunks passed out in alleys are found half eaten and a wealthy noble is killed (a la alien chestburster, only slower and with relish). The PC's not must round up these beasts (A skill challenge?) culminating in a battle royal with the mama in a test kitchen/factory setting. perhaps her creator does not wish to see her destroyed?

Sounds like awesomesauce to me.

Jay

 

[cmbarona]

Sounds a little more like an assassination technique! Slip a tiny GC into a drink or some food, it gets swallowed, and digests the person from the inside out!

"It's true what they say: Cops and women don't mix. It's like eating a spoonful of Drano. Sure it'll clean you out, but it'll leave you hollow inside."

-Frank Drebin