Oozy Goodness Part V: Ochre Jelly

Rounding out the BX slimes is our final entry, the Ochre Jelly. This is probably the least used one in my games. Not that I dislike it as a monster, but there's only so many instances where an ooze is needed, so something has to give. OJ seems to be in many ways a "lesser" black pudding. It's worth noting that the pudding is the only one in the Expert set, probably due to its high HD. The jelly has half the HD and lower damage, but behaves similarly. Before we dive in the ochre jelly (ew!) let's have the stats:

Ochre Jelly (from Moldvay)

AC: 8
HD: 5*
Move: 30 (10')
Att: 1
Damage: 2d6
No. App: 1 (0)
Save: F3
Morale: 12
Treasure: Nil
AL: N

The OJ shares the usual ooze/slime traits: unintelligent, relentless morale, slow movement, etc. Like other gooeys, it isn't harmed by all types of damage. In the OJ's case, only fire & cold affect it. Otherwise it splits up like the pudding (up to five of them). The 2HD baby jellys do half (1d6) damage. The jelly looks like an amoeba more than just a pile of goo, so it has a bit more form than most slimes.

Its corrosive effect doesn't harm metal or stone. That doesn't make a platemail-wearing fighter immune though. It can still seep through cracks and seams. It can demolish wood, leather or cloth in one round (!) so that spear shaft or bow might be toast. I would also think things like magic cloaks, etc. might need to make some saving throws pretty quick.

Overall the ol' YellowJelly would be a respectable threat to low levels PCs and, like a rust monster, make almost anyone fear for their gear. Its susceptibility to fire give the party an easy way to cope IF they know about its specific weaknesses. In classic D&D, smart players are weighing the risks, though. Unless there is something beyond the jelly that is (potentially) worthwhile, it has no treasure of its own as a rule, and even with a special ability bump to XP, no one is leveling just for taking one out. As a DM, I would want to use the jelly in surprise situations or as an impediment to overcome for a larger goal. Perhaps a mad alchemist figured out how to bottle one up and chucks the jar at the PCs like a grenade?

Those ain't apricot!

Oozy Goodness Part III: Gray Ooze

I confess, the gray ooze is probably my favorite of the oozles, though I'm not 100% sure why. I think it's because it such a great "Gotcha!" monster. To be clear, I try not to overuse gotcha tactics as a DM, but sometimes it's hard to resist. Gray ooze is hard to spot in a dungeon environment and once it hits, things can turn ugly fast.

Gray Ooze (from Moldvay)

AC: 8
HD: 3*
Move: 10' (3')
Att: 1
Damage: 2d8
No. App: 1 (1)
Save: F2
Morale: 12
Treasure: Nil
AL: N

Unlike the black pudding, this blob is somewhat fragile in the hit points area. It's also super-slow, which is why its camouflage is so important. It does decent damage, but the key takeaway from the gray ooze is its effect on gear.

Like the rust monster, the ooze's touch can demolish things like armor. Normal armor is instantly destroyed! Even magic armor is dissolved in one turn. Granted, most combats don't last a full turn, but imagine the fighter being dropped down a chute into a pit with one of these things. By the time  the party pries open hatches and lowers a rope, he and his +1 chainmail might be a puddle of goo. The ooze sticks to the skin after hitting and deals damage automatically every round, so you need to kill it to get it off.

To keep things interesting, the ooze's immunities are different than the cube's or the puddings. You hurt Blacky and Blocky with fire, but you need to zap the G.O. with lightning. It's always nice to keep the party guessing. Of course just smacking it works too.

I like using Gray Oozes in deliberately damp locations; water caves and the like are especially good. Wet stone that's slippery to walk on distracts the players from the possibility of that one slick patch might be something else entirely.

Oozy Goodness Part I: Black Pudding

I'm sure someone somewhere has written or reported upon exactly why Gygax & co. were so keen on including so many different amorphous blob-like monsters in D&D. Don't get me wrong; oozes and their ilk are fun encounters. Heck, I wrote a whole module full of them! But one does have to wonder sometimes if we needed quite so many options in this category. Nevertheless, over the next several posts I'll be taking a look at those escapees from the petri dish  which can be found among the pages of Moldvay and Cook starting alphabetically with the Black Pudding.

Black Pudding (from Cook) 

AC: 6

HD: 10*

Move: 60' (20')

Att: 1

Damage: 3d8

No. App: 1 (0)

Save: F5

Morale: 12

Treasure: Nil

AL: N

So the immediate takeaway from these stats is that this thing can take more than it can dish out. It's HD is very respectable, but it has relatively weak saves and moves quite slowly.The high morale fits its mindless nature. Black puddings are particularly dangerous for two main reasons: They can seep into almost any location within the dungeon, and just smacking them makes a bunch of lil' puddins. but since fire circumvents that, it's not hard for a knowledgeable party to switch to flame-based tactics (torches, oil, fireballs, etc.).

Regarding its ability to split up into 2HD mini-puddings, no upper limit is listed but logically it seems that 5 x 2HD would follow from its 10HD total. A nasty feature of the pudding is the fact it can corrode metal. This means that most loot (coin, weapons, etc.) will be worthless in one turn. Though I would argue magic items might get a saving throw. 

Because the pudding has no treasure of its own, and has a tendency to corrode what it touches, it's not a great monster for the party to seek out as a way to get lots of gold or XP. Admittedly, 1600xp for killing it is nice, but that's not that much for a party that's high enough level to deal with it once it's split 4-6 ways.

Despite being slow, the pudding can dissolve wood, which means it can get through most doors eventually. Plus it can climb walls, cling to ceilings, and squeeze through cracks. I imagine this blob as a menace from the shadows (they're black, after all), relentlessly stalking its prey. It is easily outrun, but continues to seep along behind. 3d8 damage and a THACO of 11 means that unarmored magic-user that's keeping to the back of the party could be the target of a melt-ambush.