Special Conversion Thread: Finishing off the oozes

[freyar]

Looks pretty good! I don't have any suggestions, so let's see what Shade thinks.

 

[Cleon]

Looks pretty good! I don't have any suggestions, so let's see what Shade thinks.

I've rephrased the explanation for the glass phials to "The vials need to be a transparent material such as glass because black slime needs sunlight to live, dying after 24 hours in darkness. Thus, opaque pottery flasks are unsuitable containers for storing black slime alive." since I thought my first draft's phrasing was a little clumsy.

Currently, the only other thing I'm tempted to add is having something in the third paragraph about how much flesh it needs to eat to split into two colonies, and how fast this process takes. I'm thinking one Medium victim is usually enough for it to reproduce.

 

[Shade]

That looks fantastic!

About the only thing I'd add is the text about scraping it off while in water just risks re-exposure the following round. I found that delightfully rat-bastardly.

 

[freyar]

Yet another one done, then? Or should we take a glance over it in homebrews first?

 

[Shade]

Added to Homebrews.

I added the bit in italics, but otherwise it is Cleon's excellent conversion. Does that additional bit look OK?

 

[Cleon]

Added to Homebrews.

I added the bit in italics, but otherwise it is Cleon's excellent conversion. Does that additional bit look OK?

Looks good to go.

I like the addition of the re-attachment risk. I'd tried to draft something like that when I was writing the conversion but I started including DCs and reflex saves and it all got unnecessarily complicated, so I just cut it out. The simple approach looks fine.

 

[Shade]

Only 3 left!

Living Pool
AC:7 MV:3 HD:13 hp:100 #AT:1/target Dmg:3-12 each SA:Acid (1-8) SD: Disguise AL:N(E) THAC0:9

The pool appears to be perhaps ten feet deep. Green algae and brown mud line the pond bed, and from this soil, small green leafy fronds float on the surface. No fish or bug swims in or on the clear water. Hidden among the weeds at the bottom of the pool a human skeleton in rusting armor may be sighted. Nearby lies an untarnished broad sword glinting silver.

This pool is actually a living predator, related to the parasitic fungi, oozes and jellies. It has the ability to change the consistency of its form from a thin syrupy liquid to a firm gel. It lures prey to drink or swim in its "water" and then attacks with pseudopods and digestive juices. Characters pulled beneath the surface of the creature not only suffer acid damage, but after the first round must make a save vs. death magic each round or suffocate.

Originally appeared in Adventure Pack I (1987).

 

[Shade]

At first glance, it appears a modified form of the drown attack of the aballin may be appropriate.

Drown: The first victim hit by an aballin's pseudopods must make an opposed grapple check with the aballin (the monster's bonus on this check is +11). If the aballin wins this check, it draws the victim into its fluid body. The victim is at risk of drowning (see Water Dangers in the DMG for the risks and effects of drowning). Because the aballin is composed of acid, not water, spells such as water breathing offer no help in surviving the effect of drowning in their fluids.

A trapped victim can attack the aballin or make additional grapple checks to escape its grasp. The character cannot cast spells with a verbal component or use any other item or ability that requires speech. If other characters use edged weapons to attack the aballin while it is holding a victim, those attacks have a 25% chance of hitting the trapped character, and they do no harm to the aballin.

While holding a victim, the aballin continues to attack with its pseudopods, dealing slam damage to other characters.

 

[Cleon]

Interesting beastie, I'm sure I've seen the concept of a man-eating slime that masquerades as a pool somewhere else. I like these kinds of monster, it's just credible enough you could imagine such an animal really existing on an alien world somewhere.

At first glance, it appears a modified form of the drown attack of the aballin may be appropriate.

Couldn't we just modify the drowning bit of the Carnivorous Wall's Engulf attack we wrote a few conversions back?

As far as the stat-block goes, I'm thinking it would be easier modifying the Gelatinous Cube. (Take the SRD Cube, up the HD to 13 (equal to a Size Huge Gelatinous Cube?), reduce its move and drop its paralysis - that's most of the way there). That comes out as something like the following, I've italicized a few additional suggestions:

Living Pool
Huge Ooze
Hit Dice:13d10+130 (202 hp)
Initiative: –5
Speed: 10 ft. (2 squares)
Armor Class: 3 (–2 size, –5 Dex), touch 3, flat-footed 3
Base Attack/Grapple: +8/+20
Attack: Slam +10 melee (3d4+4 plus 1d8 acid)
Space/Reach: 15 ft./10 ft.
Special Attacks: Acid, engulf, improved grab
Special Qualities: Blindsight 60 ft., ooze traits, transparent
Saves: Fort +14, Ref –1, Will –1
Abilities: Str 18, Dex 1, Con 30, Int—, Wis 1, Cha 1
Skills: (max ranks in Disguise with a racial bonus?)
Feats: —
Environment: Any non-arctic land or underground
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 7 (About as nasty as a black pudding?)
Treasure: 1/10th coins, 50% goods (no nonmetal or nonstone), 50% items (no nonmetal or nonstone)
Alignment: Always neutral evil (seems a bit of an odd alignment for an Ooze)
Advancement: 14-26 HD (Huge); 27–52 HD (Gargantuan)
Level Adjustment: —


A typical living pool is about ten feet thick and twenty feet in diameter, weighing some 50,000 pounds.

 

[freyar]

What if we advance an aballin to 13HD? I'd like to see the comparison to the advanced cube.

As far as the drowning, etc, I'd go with imp grab and then an adapted version of the aballin's drown (minus the stuff that goes into imp grab). Since these are so similar to aballins, I think it's good to keep the mechanics similar also. We might also be able to something with the changing consistency bit.