By Alan McCoy from Dungeons & Dragons: Fundamentals
How to build challenging encounters against Oozes (Black Pudding, Gelatinous Cube, Grey Ooze, Ochre Jelly)
Note: This has been prepared utilizing only the 5E Core Rules.
Legend has it that all the Oozes originated as fragments of the Demon Lord Jublex, while that is probably up to the lore of the individual Dungeon Master, it is obvious that they are a created, not an evolved creature.
They were created as scavengers and clean-up crew for the subterranean and dungeon world. The Ochre Jelly on is a semi-sentient hunter, perhaps created to clean those pesky hard to get to areas of the dungeon.
These mindless dungeon cleaning tools have spread far and wild, far and are far better known than their creators.
What we do know is that while not intelligent, they do react. They will move towards prey and away from damage. Effectively these simple concepts define their strategy, they have only two goals: eat and live.
There are four kinds of Oozes:
Do not let the apparent color scheme fool you, these creatures tend to take on the color of their environment.
Let’s review what the Monster Manual has to say about all the Oozes in common:
Negligible Intelligence and Charisma. No mind, no sense of self.
Low Dexterity and Wisdom.
High Constitution.
They have an acidic pseudopod attack.
Specifics — The Black Pudding
Damage Immunity: Acid, cold, lightning, and slashing. If a medium or larger sized pudding is hit by Lightning or Slashing damage, it splits into two smaller black puddings.
Condition Immunity: Blinded, Charmed, Deafened, Exhaustion, Frightened, and Prone.
Senses: Blindsight 60 foot (Considered Blinded beyond 60′). Passive Perception 8
Movement: 20 feet, Amorphous, Spider Climb
Appearance: A heaving mound of sticky black goo, usually attached to the ceiling or walls. A variant waterborne black pudding looks like an oily black patch on the water.
Tactics: Tireless in pursuit of prey, the black pudding will slide forward when it detects light, heat or movement that might indicate a possible meal. They will continue until they either catch up to their meal or it has passed beyond the range of their senses. While hunting a black pudding might forget why it was moving in a direction, yet unless something causes it to go another direction, it will continue.
The black pudding has a built-in instinct to stay hidden, thus it normally moves on either walls or ceilings vs the floor. It can move through an opening as small as one inch without slowing.
One of the most awful things about the Black Pudding is that non-magical wood, metal or flesh that touches the pudding will either corrode, reducing its effectiveness, or damage flesh that touches the creature.
The Black pudding attack: The Pseudopod has two uses. The first is as a bludgeoning attack. The second is as a grapple. Once grappled the target will take damage each round until dead (or escapes). Note that the creature can still use full attacks while holding a grappled target with its body. Once a victim has been reduced to zero hit points it will be digested.
Black puddings can be driven off if enough damage is taken, usually about 70% of their total.
Specifics – The Gelatinous Cube
Condition Immunity: Blinded, Charmed, Deafened, Exhausted, Frightened, or Prone.
Senses: Blindsight 60 foot (considered Blinded beyond 60′); (Passive Perception 8).
Movement: 15 feet
Appearance: A transparent (DC 15 Perception check to see if not in motion) cube.
Tactics: Move to envelop, can use its pseudopod to strike an opponent, often this attack is used to grapple and engulf. The cube may absorb one large or up to four medium or small creatures at a time.
Creatures engulfed cant breath and are restrained and take acid damage each round until dead. Digestion begins when the target dies.
Specifics – The Grey Ooze
Damage Immunity: Acid, Cold, Fire
Condition Immunity: Blinded, Charmed, Deafened, Exhaustion, Frightened, and Prone.
Senses: Blindsight 60 foot (Considered Blinded beyond 60′). Passive Perception 8.
Movement: 20 feet, Amorphous, Climb 10 feet.
Appearance: Looks like an oily pool or wet rock as long as it isn’t moving. When moving it appears as if an oily spill were flowing.
Tactics: Tireless in pursuit of prey, the Grey Ooze will slide forward when it detects light, heat or movement that might indicate a possible meal. They will continue until they either catch up to their meal or it has passed beyond the range of their senses. While a hunting a Grey Ooze might forget why it was moving in a particular direction, yet unless something causes it to go another direction, it will continue.
The Grey Ooze has a built-in instinct to stay hidden, thus it normally moves on either walls or vs the floor. It can move through an opening as small as one inch without slowing. If directly observed, it will stop and become motionless.
Non-magical metal that touches the Ooze will immediately begin to corrode, reducing its effectiveness.
The Grey Ooze attack: The Pseudopod has two uses. The first is as a bludgeoning attack. The second is as a grapple. Note that the creature can still use full attacks while holding a grappled target with its body. If a target is grappled the targets metal weapons and armored will take damage each round until destroyed. Meanwhile the creature itself will suffer bludgeoning damage. Once a victim has been reduced to zero hit points it will be digested.
A Grey Ooze can be driven off if sufficient damage is taken, usually about 70% of their total.
Specifics – Ochre Jelly
Damage Immunity: Acid
Condition Immunity: Blinded, Charmed, Deafened, Exhaustion, Frightened, and Prone.
Senses: Blindsight 60 foot (Considered Blinded beyond 60′). Passive Perception 8
Movement: 10 feet, Amorphous, Spider Climb
Appearance: Looks like a brownish yellow pile of goo. It almost always is hidden on the ceiling or overhead.
Tactics: The only Ooze that can be considered sentient. This Ooze is an Ambush predator. It waits above heavily areas of heavy traffic, then drops down upon them. With a built in instinct to stay hidden, the Ochre Jelly will remain motionless on the ceiling until it perceives a target below, it will then drop down bludgeon the creature and beginning to do acid damage. If an Ochre Jelly is attacked with a slashing weapon or lightning damage they can be split into multiple Ochre Jellies.
The Ochre Jelly attack: The Pseudopod has two uses. The first is as a bludgeoning attack. The second is as a grapple. Note that the creature can still use full attacks while holding a grappled target with its body.
An Ochre Jelly can be driven off if sufficient damage is taken, usually about 70% of their total.