It crawls... It creeps... It eats you alive!
-The tagline for The Blob (1958)
Beware oozes! These fragments of the demon lord Juiblex are often overlooked by Dungeon Masters in favor of enemies that actually have limbs, but they’re arguably some of the most fearsome foes a group of low-level D&D adventurers can face. Why? Because unlike a normal monster that might be satisfied with killing a character, oozes are motivated by the undiscriminating desire to consume everything in their path!
Big blobs of death
Before we break down the four different oozes located in the Monster Manual, let’s outline a few key aspects of their behavior.
- Assimilation machines drawn to organic matter - The Monster Manual states that all oozes have blindsight within 60 feet and are drawn to movement and warmth. Aside from more sentient variants under the control of Juiblex, they have little sense of tactics or self-preservation. This means that oozes will not know to target the healer amongst a group of heroes - they’ll simply go where the nearest humanoid is as soon as they sense something within range, and they’ll push through whatever obstacles lie before them to reach that target.
- Shape-shifting, wall-climbing, and all-destroying - Three of the oozes in the Monster Manual possess the Amorphous ability, meaning they can move through tiny spaces as narrow as an inch wide. Two also have Spider Climb, and all oozes deal some degree of corrosive acid damage upon impact that can potentially wreck both characters and their items.
- Self-replicating amoebas - Inspiration for D&D’s oozes may have come from the 1958 sci-fi film The Blob - featuring a mass from outer space that runs rampant in a small American town - but these creatures are also reminiscent of the unicellular organisms known as amoebas, particularly with their ability to asexually reproduce. Two of the oozes in the Monster Manual can create smaller versions of themselves when subjected to certain damage types, and this ability can be a real headache as adventurers struggle to figure out what sort of damage actually caused the splitting.
An unyielding drive to feed combined with the ability to stick to surfaces, manipulate one’s form, destroy weapons and replicate. That’s a lot for just one monster genus. Now, let’s look at each ooze in detail.
Gray Ooze - Corrosion and camouflage, in one gooey package
Gray Oozes are the simplest oozes on the totem pole, and in many ways, they’re the foundation for all their disgusting cousins.
- They’ve got an Armor Class of 8, an average of 22 Hit Points, and a speed of 10 feet. This means they’re easy to attack, but their Corrode Metal ability will be a pain for characters relying on non-magical metal weapons. Their Pseudopod action, which is shared by all oozes, can also permanently damage metal armor upon repeated impact, and if you choose to use the Psychic Gray Ooze variant, they have a Psychic Crush ranged attack from afar.
- Unlike other oozes, the Gray Ooze has a +2 Stealth skill, which seems out of place until one notices its False Appearance trait, which renders the ooze indistinguishable from a wet rock or oil pool as long as it stays still.
- With this in mind, the best way to play Grey Oozes is to litter them along dungeon walls as silent, barely noticeable growths that can’t be seen unless players have high Passive Perception scores. Alternatively, you could rely on their Amorphous trait and stick them within the walls themselves - like living, hungry cement - and have them stay immobile until players get within 60 feet. Obviously, characters relying on non-metal weapons will shine at taking down Gray Oozes, as will magic users, but it’s important to note that these gooey creatures are resistant to acid, cold and fire damage, so anyone trying to use Ray of Frost is going to end up disappointed.
Ochre Jelly - Slinking along the ceiling, about to split into two...
Instead of harassing adventurers with corrosion, the mustard-looking Ochre Jelly focuses on mobility and replication, the other dangers within the ooze repertoire.
- Ochre Jellies have the same Armor Class and speed as Gray Oozes, but they boast an average of 45 Hit Points. They too are Amorphous with a Pseudopod action, but their version won’t harm weapons or armor - besides leaving them dripping in yellow goop, that is.
- The ability of Ochre Jellies to Spider Climb and Split makes up for this seeming deficiency. These globs can crawl upside down to get the drop on unsuspecting heroes, and any slashing or lighting damage administered to a Medium or larger jelly will cause it to split into two new jellies, as long as it has at least 10 Hit Points. These tinier oozes have half of their parents’ hit points and are one size smaller. Considering that Ochre Jellies are classified as Large creatures, that means that a wayward slash from a longsword is going to create two Medium jellies. And if those Medium jellies are slashed, you’ve got four Small jellies.
- The strategy here is to have Ochre Jellies emerge from holes and follow prey along walls and ceilings before launching out with Pseudopod attacks - potentially getting a surprise round on players, who might then need to contend with an annoying mess of additional jellies on their hands if they attack with the wrong damage type. Combine Gray Oozes on the floor with Ochre Jellies on the walls to create chaotic combat where players will be forced to deal with corrosion from one side and splitting slimes from the other.
Black Pudding - The fusion of the Gray Ooze and the Ochre Jelly
If the Gray Ooze and the Ochre Jelly are the grunts of the ooze hierarchy, the Black Pudding is what you’d get if you meshed the pair together in one revolting package.
- The Black Pudding actually has a lower Armor Class than its smaller cousins, but its average Hit Points of 85 and elevated speed of 20 feet make it hardier and faster. It’s completely immune to acid, cold, lightning, and slashing damage, and the latter two types will make it replicate just like an Ochre Jelly. Its Amorphous, Spider Climb, Pseudopod, and Split traits are a combo of the best of the Gray Ooze and the Ochre Jelly, so the tactics used to run those foes can work here as well.
- Black Puddings have a trait entitled Corrosive Form that’s slightly different from the Gray Ooze’s Corrode Metal. While the latter only affects weapons that hit the ooze, Corrosive Form does acid damage to both the weapon and the creature wielding it. The Monster Manual also states that any creature simply touching the pudding will suffer damage, which opens up possibilities for making a Black Pudding’s dwelling a place with uneven, treacherous terrain. One sloppy step could lead to a failed Dexterity Save - and the next thing you know, a hero’s fallen prone atop the pudding and is in for a world of hurt.
- The flavor text describing these sludge piles from hell states that they resemble little more than a blot of shadow. Play them as such, sticking them in murky corridors where characters without Darkvision or torches will be at a disadvantage. Imagine a party carefully maneuvering through the darkness, only to discover that the darkness is not only alive but slimy as heck and ready to devour every inch of them.
Gelatinous Cube - An engulfing killer, consuming all in its way
Finally, we reach the Gelatinous Cube, the most iconic ooze of all thanks to its unique size - an ode to D&D’s early days where dungeons were mapped out on grid paper and the sight of this giant block of Jello, taking up an entire space, was enough to send adventurers running for their lives!
- The Gelatinous Cube’s Armor Class is the lowest of the lot at 6, perhaps to emphasize that its immense size makes it easy to hit. Its average Hit Points of 84 and speed of 15 places it behind the Black Pudding, though it does have the most powerful Pseudopod attack of any of the oozes.
- The cube shines in other ways, though. First off, it’s transparent. Even when in plain sight, characters must succeed on a DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) check to spot it, which can lead to fun roleplay possibilities when the area in front of the heroes suddenly jiggles and becomes sentient. Secondly, the cube can enter other creatures’ spaces and use its Engulf action, which requires a DC 12 Dexterity saving throw. If the roll is successful, that creature can choose to be pushed 5 feet back or to the side of the cube. If they fail the roll, the cube will gobble them up instead, and an engulfed creature is restrained, can’t breathe, instantly takes 3d6 acid damage, and will take an additional 6d6 acid damage at the start of the cube’s turns - which can very easily permanently kill a character who goes unconscious and begins failing multiple Death Saving Throws. A conscious character can of course attempt an escape with a DC 12 Strength check, and other players can free trapped party members with the same check, though they’ll take 3d6 acid damage in the process. In the meantime, as the cube moves, anyone stuck within will be transported along with it.
- There’s a great scene in the Pixar movie Onward that shows the protagonists navigating a narrow, trap-lined corridor when a Gelatinous Cube suddenly drops from the ceiling, forcing them to throw caution to the wind or risk being engulfed. This is the perfect template for playing a Gelatinous Cube - treat it as a hazard instead of just an enemy, and toss it at your players in a claustrophobic environment that can potentially push them into other hazards. Are they willing to risk taking damage from that spike trap to avoid becoming one with the cube?! Speaking of risks, are there any brave souls in your party willing to pull that +1 magic weapon - obviously a remnant belonging to the cube’s last meal - out of this terrifying wad of ever-advancing goop?! It can be done if the dice are willing, and what a tale that would be!
Oozing into your D&D campaigns
Oozes are as versatile as their bodies are amorphous, and can easily be placed into any campaign. Here are a few ideas:
- An alchemist experimenting with illegal formulae ends up creating a Black Pudding that digests him and lurches out into the city to find further prey. Players have to hunt this unique brand of serial killer...and their task becomes all the more complicated as the pudding slowly multiplies thanks to frantic attacks from dumbfounded guards.
- Players are tasked with infiltrating the maze-like family crypt of a very eccentric mage who just happened to put a Gelatinous Cube in the hallways on cleanup duty. After all, oozes are technically unaligned creatures who could conceivably act as sentient vacuum cleaners, keeping corridors free from pesky vermin! And you best believe that this cube is going to lurch forward once it senses the warmth of tomb raiders…
- Oozes have been spotted in a garbage zone next to a large metropolis, feeding on the never-ending supply of organic refuse created by the city’s residents. As players venture forth to literally take out the trash, Gray Oozes and Ochre Jellies can wriggle out from tiny cracks in mountains of rubbish to make the party’s life miserable.
For an official campaign that features oozes-a-plenty, check out Out of the Abyss. There, players will delve into the Underdark, meet one of the sentient oozes connected with Juiblex, and perhaps even duel the demon lord himself.
Or if you’d rather create homebrew adventures that emphasize the terror of dealing with the creatures inspired by The Blob, take a look at Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft, which features rules for crafting horror settings and emphasizing suspenseful thrills in a game of D&D. Can you imagine a Domain of Dread that’s an apocalyptic wasteland, predominantly inhabited by Gelatinous Cubes and Black Puddings that have eaten nearly everything? The mind can only ooze with the possibilities!
Jeremy Blum (@PixelGrotto) is a journalist, gaming blogger, comic book aficionado, and fan of all forms of storytelling who rolled his first polyhedral dice while living in Hong Kong in 2017. Since then, he's never looked back and loves roleplaying games for the chance to tell the tales that have been swirling in his head since childhood.
love it will use some of this for inspiration.
Black pudding makes me wonder if it's gonna use your body to dance down the street in the dorkiest way possible.
Your DM saw my comment? :P
I *am* the DM, lol
HURG! more things to get stuck in mt crossbow.
You need to do it now.
Well written - my Friday group will have fun with oozes after this trip down memory lane.
that would be fun if they didn't get stuck in my gear.
Don’t you mean drip!
I'm thinking of having a long corridor in a dungeon, blocked by a gelatinous cube. The cube would be almost invisible, and hopefully, the players would walk right into it! Is that to evil?
Do Gelatinous Cubes understand the spoken language?
Just imagining a situation where that cube comes towards the group and the wood elf cleric simply commands it to ascend and it responds by gliding upwards allowing her to scoot straight past before it can come back down.
Yes I can't see the dm letting that pass, but it would explain how and why its there if it understands spoken instructions.
Is it just me, or does the tail on that last image look disstubingly fat to you?
when the spell wears off they become standard black puddings.
yes, it is, @EvilPotatoChips.
have them getting chased by other creatures as they run down this long corridor the other creatures slowly stop chasing them, Splat that would be awesome
Have it coat the ceiling, walls and all but a narrow part of the floor, and give them a reasonable DC perception check to see that there's at least something there
then have it slowly drip down from the ceiling to be evil.
is there a way I can get a jar of black pudding, and somehow control it?
Most acids are stored in glass jars because glass is technically an incredibly viscous liquid, you could probably make the argument to a dm, but I imagine it would take a high DC skill checks unless you had either Alchemy Tools prof, or were an Alchemist Artifacer
O wow, my players are going to hate me. Mwa ha ha ha!