How does spacing work for a splitting jelly?

[aboyd]

I have a 15' x 15' room with a 10' x 10' ochre jelly in it. There are open 5' wide hallways leading north & south from the room. Someone runs into the room and cleaves the jelly, at which point there are two equally sized jellies.

How does this work? Do they overlap each other? Does the new jelly move into the 4 spaces in the corner, forming a 5' wide "L" shape? What if it's cleaved again? Can the third jelly overlap with players? With allies? Does it have to "grow" out into open squares? Do players get AOO when that happens?

 

[pawsplay]

The answer I got from customer service was, "Do something that makes sense." Generally, the thing splits into two adjacent creatures, but if space is confining, it might squeeze or one might be on top of the other. There are no AoOs.

 

[Ogrork the Mighty]

I'd have it squeeze.

Splitting jellies/oozes is one of the things 3.5 didn't do very well. It doesn't make sense at all that repeatedly splitting oozes makes more oozes of the same power as the original (granted, with 1/2 the hp). There should be some sort of scaling down as they split beyond just hp.

 

[frankthedm]

I have a 15' x 15' room with a 10' x 10' ochre jelly in it. There are open 5' wide hallways leading north & south from the room. Someone runs into the room and cleaves the jelly, at which point there are two equally sized jellies.

How does this work?

If you are not going to rework an ooze shrinking as it splits, I'd say an ooze should be able to squeeze at reduced/no penalty and can end it's turn squeezing if need be.

What if it's cleaved again? Can the third jelly overlap with players? With allies? Does it have to "grow" out into open squares?

I'd say when the ooze splits it gets shunted to the nearest space available if there is already too much squeesing going on..
Accidentally Ending Movement in an Illegal Space

Sometimes a character ends its movement while moving through a space where it’s not allowed to stop. When that happens, put your miniature in the last legal position you occupied, or the closest legal position, if there’s a legal position that’s closer.

Do players get AOO when that happens?

[/quote]I'd strongly recommend not.

 

[aboyd]

Thanks! So in this case, I guess the correct thing to do was to have the jelly spill out into the hallways. Since I was winging it with no sense of the rules, what I actually did was to have the jellies overlap. Next time, next ime.

 

[Earthbound Angel]

Oozes were simpler to DM with earlier editions of D&D. The action took place in your head and was less reliant on miniatures. Of course, now we have nifty Ochre Jelly minis... SWEET!

 

[insanogeddon]

It doesn't

It just don't work the split/same size mechanic... sooner or later. How bout 40 resetting crossbow traps placed in a well with an ooze... INFINITE VOLCANOE OF DEATH !!!

good times.

We now have it that it just splits along the grid into (1/2 size) smaller parts that square off if possible. As each part came from a mature creature they all have mature venom/acid glands and we all know ooze type organisms in real life have cells that can adapt fast for multiple functions.. each has the same attacks, for the same damage.

It works without the need for nerf stick rulings that conflict with other situations or history.

 

[frankthedm]

Further questions on split oozes.

• When does the new ooze act?
• Does it go on the original’s turn?
• Or does it use the rules governing new combatants?
• If split on its turn, like from an AoO or a foe's ready, do the new bits have their own turns?

It just don't work the split/same size mechanic... sooner or later. How bout 40 resetting crossbow traps placed in a well with an ooze... INFINITE VOLCANOE OF DEATH !!!

just want to mention...

Split (Ex)
Slashing and piercing weapons and electricity attacks deal no damage to an ochre jelly. Instead the creature splits into two identical jellies, each with half of the original’s current hit points (round down). A jelly with 10 hit points or less cannot be further split and dies if reduced to 0 it point

So at the worst, the typical ochre jelly could be chopped up into eight 8HP oozes. Less worthy of the above mocking, but it is still slightly unsatisfying that the things are not shrinking at all.

Oozes were simpler to DM with earlier editions of D&D. The action took place in your head and was less reliant on miniatures.

I'd argue that oozes were simpler and could swap sizes easily because the stats were less tied to other stats, like size. In 1E, only thing that size changed was most weapons did less damage to larger creatures. In 3E, if the ooze shrinks a size category, if the stats change, that will make the ooze less a threat and turn Split into more a Special ^DisAbility than it already is. Split, Split-Split, Fireball. If the stats don't change when the ooze shrinks, some folks will cry "Foul!"

1E Oozes

Black Pudding 10 HD. Size S to L, Splits if Chopped, struck or electrocuted.

• "smallest" {i'd guess 1 HP] 1' in diameter. 3d8 damage.
• 10 - 20 HP 5' in diameter. 3d8 damage.
• 21 - 40 HP 6' in diameter. 3d8 damage.
• 41 - 60 HP 7' in diameter. 3d8 damage.
• 61 - 80 HP 8' in diameter. 3d8 damage.

Grey Ooze 3+3 HD Size M to L (5' Dia. to 8' Dia.)

• 17 or less HP Medium. 2d8 Damage
• 18+ HP Large. 2d8 Damage
• 21+ HP 12' long, 3' wide. 2d8 Damage
• Exceptionally large individuals 2d8 Damage. Psionic Counter Attack

Ochre Jelly 6 HD Size M Split by lightning

• Medium Medium, 3d4 Damage
• Split "Smaller", Half HP, Half damage

semi related...

http://www.enworld.org/forum/art-ga...res-painting/227856-building-ochre-jelly.html

Juiblex with full 1E entourage counter sheet

 

[insanogeddon]

An Ooze Master 3.0 had my babies !

Yes there are limits on ooze splitting. The game was an older edition and chances are we didn't know the rules. Only the DM ever looked in the monster manual and he tpked us low level with infinite spit shenanagans be they legal or not. So we twded his world with the same shenanagans thru wells of doom. It was a very cause and effect light, rules confused/not known well game.

The oozes have a poor mechanic that its best not to ponder too long and realistically they are nasty speed bumps that once sprung do little thats interesting. As such best to have them all act on the same initiative and split on their turn (some favour text helps.. let the PCs on their attack action see the found seal but a line slowly spreads over the ooze like its starting to divide.. then on its action 'schlorp' it does).

We do ignore size rules when it comes to oozes. They split/shrink/have damage as entry states.. they are speed bumps and unnusual/bizzare enough that ignoring size stat related changes can be justified.

Sorta like mirror image. We have a rule where all images share your square so you don't expand. a 5x5 square leaves plenty of room for a dense pack of confusing bodies without the issues like large demons that have it at will or summoners with 'imbued summoning' shutting down all movement by covering the field with d4+1 large or gargantuan creatures and their d4 +1/3lev images.

No one likes it when the above rules gap irritation happens to them and it just takes joy from all without adding group amusement or horror or achievement..