Guess we could wait for Freyar to put in his two copper pieces worth.
Fair enough!
If that's all that's left, we can move on to the next one and just plug in the CR once freyar comments.
SLIME MOLDS
These creatures are so bizarre that it seems as though they evolved specifically to be used in AD&D games. Slime molds are best considered a type of colonial amoeba, although they are commonly mistaken for mushrooms during one phase of their life cycle.
The numerous amoebae which make up a colony move independently, scavenging for food, until the food begins to run out. At that point they mass together forming a large communal gelatinous mass, which in some forms is capable of movement (and is appropriately called a “slug”). When a suitable site is located, the front third of the amoebae join together and form a stalked structure called a sporocarp.
As the sporocarp hardens, the amoebae forming it die. The remaining amoebae round up and form spores in the upper chamber. At this point, the sporocarp splits open, releasing the spores to blow or roll away. When a spore lands in a patch of damp ground, an amoeba hatches out, and the life cycle is repeated.
Dictyostelium
Amoeba Slug Sporocarp Spore
FREQ.: Rare Very rare Very rare Rare
NO. APP.: 30-600 1 1 1-100
AC: 10 9 4 6
MOVE: 6” 9” Nil Nil
HIT DICE: 1-2 hp 30-600 hp 20-400 hp 1 hp
% IN LAIR: 0 0 0 0
TREASURE: N i l Nil Nil Nil
NO. ATT.: 1 See below Nil Nil
DAM/ATT.: 1 See below Nil Nil
SPEC. ATT.: Nil Nil Nil Nil
SPEC. DEF.: Nil Nil Nil Nil
MAGIC RES.: Standard Standard Standard Standard
INTEL.: Non- Non- Non- Non-
ALIGN.: Neutral Neutral Neutral Neutral
SIZE: S L L S
PSI. ABIL.: Nil Nil Nil Nil
In the amoeba stage, the cells should be treated like small members of Amoeba with 1-2 hp each. The slug is attracted to light, and otherwise acts much like a gelatinous cube without the paralytic ability. The slug is capable of engulfing one character per 15 hp, and will do 2-7 hp damage/round to each character engulfed. Torches do 1-6 hp damage to the slug attacking at +4. Blunt weapons and missiles do half damage. If the slug is severely damaged (15 hp in one round) it will simply break up into individual amoebae.
Dictyostelium will not attack in the sporocarp stage. In the early stages of its development, the sporocarp is covered with damp mucus, and fire attacks do only half damage. At maturity the sporocarp is dry, and fire attacks are much more effective. If the sporocarp is not completely destroyed in one attack, however, most of the spores will be ejected. Sharp blows to the stalk or cap may also cause release of the spores.
The spores are small (1-2’ in diameter) and relatively light. They are easily destroyed by direct application of fire, and blunt weapons attack them at +1 doing normal damage.
A single spore which escapes destruction is capable of producing an entirely new colony. By dividing once every six hours, for example, an amoeba hatched by one spore would generate a colony of 256 amoebae after just two days. The rate of division will vary based on the amount of food available, and will always slow down as the colony becomes very large.
Dictyostelium is most common in humid forests, and is only rarely found in dungeons.
Originally appeared in Dragon Magazine #111 (1986).
