Oozes in fantasy...where's the inspiration?

[theredrobedwizard]

Buffalochicken

Size/Type: Large Animal
Hit Dice: 5d8+15 (37 hp)
Initiative: +0
Speed: 40 ft. (8 squares), 5 ft. Fly (clumsy)
Armor Class: 13 (-1 size, +4 natural), touch 9, flat-footed 13
Base Attack/Grapple: +3/+13
Attack: Gore +8 melee (1d8+9)
Full Attack: Gore +8 melee (1d8+9)
Space/Reach: 10 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Stampede, Scent Hypnosis
Special Qualities: Low-light vision, scent
Saves: Fort +7, Ref +4, Will +1
Abilities: Str 22, Dex 10, Con 16, Int 2, Wis 11, Cha 4
Skills: Listen +7, Spot +5
Feats: Alertness, Endurance
Environment: Temperate plains, Sports bars.
Organization: Solitary or herd (6-30)
Challenge Rating: 3
Advancement: 6-7 HD (Large)
Level Adjustment: —

Scent Hypnosis (Ex): As a standard action that does not provoke an attack of opportunity, a Buffalochicken may attempt to hypnotize any living creature that requires food for survival. All non-Buffalochicken within 30 feet of the Buffalochicken using this ability must make a Will save DC 13 or be rendered stunned for 3 rounds. They stand, drooling over the prospect of possibly eating some delicious meat from the Buffalochicken's meaty wings.

Ingestion of Ranch Dressing within the two rounds prior to the effect adds a +2 Cool Ranch bonus to the Will save.

Stampede (Ex): A frightened herd of buffalochicken flees as a group in a random direction (but always away from the perceived source of danger). They literally run over anything of Large size or smaller that gets in their way, dealing 1d12 points of damage for each five buffalochicken in the herd (Reflex DC 18 half). The save DC is Strength-based.

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Back on topic, Oozes have never seemed out of place to me, because I've not questioned the decisions of the immortal Gygax. Shun the non-believers. Shun! Shunnnn-nuh!

-TRRW

 

[CRGreathouse]

Dave Arneson (or, rather, one of his early players) has confirmed that the Black Pudding was one of the first "new monsters" he added to the Chainmail roster, and was indeed inspired by watching The Blob (as well, I suppose, as just being the sort of horror you'd expect to find lurking in a dark underworld labyrinth constructed by "generations of mad wizards and insane geniuses").

Where did you learn that? I'd love a quote & citation for my monster origins page.

 

[Plane Sailing]

I recall reading a Conan story that has a jelly/ooze type creature in it. Conan was chained (or tied) to a large stone (IIRC) cylinder. The ooze was in the cylinder, and, well, oozed its way over the top in an attempt to consume Conan, who of course dealt with the situation.

(My apologies, I cannot remember the specific name of the story, but as I only read the first few books, it has to be fairly early on.)

This was the one that I was going to mention too. Can't get much more classic fantasy than Conan, so I'd guess that he was one of the key inspirations.

They always used to be described as the 'clean up crew' though - answering the question of why dungeon corridors weren't knee-deep in corpses and equipment.

 

[Umbran]

Buffalochicken

...

Ingestion of Ranch Dressing within the two rounds prior to the effect adds a +2 Cool Ranch bonus to the Will save.

Heresy! Clearly, this is the Lesser Buffalochicken. Because the one, true, Greater Buffalochicken goes with bleu cheese, not this hokey "ranch" stuff...

 

[Kapture]

Wow, in all my years of gaming, no one's ever eaten pudding at the table. Perhaps it's time for that to change.

If our game food-related disasters led to new creatures, we'd see more buffalochickens than owlbears.

What could you make out of a smushed cheeto? It would likely be a swarm...

 

[Shade]

Heresy! Clearly, this is the Lesser Buffalochicken. Because the one, true, Greater Buffalochicken goes with bleu cheese, not this hokey "ranch" stuff...

Indeed!

And there's also that weird hybrid "bleu ranch" some restaurants serve...

What could you make out of a smushed cheeto? It would likely be a swarm...

You're probably right. Of course if it gets wet, then you've got another ooze.

 

[Knight Otu]

You're probably right. Of course if it gets wet, then you've got another ooze.

Cheetooze? The fastest ooze alive?

 

[Mycanid]

Hmm ... this thread has wandered into unexpected territory ...

Pineapple chunks though?

Never had those desert "salads" with the cubes and the whipped cream? That's what I first thought of when I saw the G.C. ... although it IS convenient as a dungeon cleaner, of course.

 

[jdrakeh]

Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser encounter one, as I recall.

I suspect that this is it. There's a lot of Newhon in AD&D -- the magic item naming conventions, for example, are torn straight from Leiber's short stories (the "Cloak of Invisibility" and "Blindfold of True Seeing" fiirst appear by those proper names therein).

I know that the AD&D DMG cites many sources of inspiration, though I've always been convinced that Leiber's short stories, Jack Vance's The Dying Earth, and Tolkien's Lord of the Rings had more to do with AD&D than any of the other sources did.

 

[Nuclear Platypus]

Hmm ... this thread has wandered into unexpected territory ...

Pineapple chunks though?

Never had those desert "salads" with the cubes and the whipped cream? That's what I first thought of when I saw the G.C. ... although it IS convenient as a dungeon cleaner, of course.

Yup, pineapple chunks.