Monster
Comments from the Finger: This is the other result of that stream for The RPG Lab I joined in on last week. By sheer random chance, we actually rolled a second flumph, which this time was merged with a gelatinous cube. We had a great time thinking about how the monster’s ecology would work, as well as working out how its mechanics would lay together.
Gelatinous Flumph
A unique breed of ooze, the gelatinous flumph resembles its floating, tentacled namesake in only the broadest terms. This ooze’s round central body floats near the ceilings of tunnels and caves, while its long, tentacle-like pseudopods hang down below it, probing for food and ensnaring those who wander too close.
Filter-Feeders. Much like a jellyfish, the tentacle-like pseudopods of a gelatinous flumph are intended to sweep the air for the nutritious particles (mainly spores) upon which the ooze subsists. Thus, gelatinous flumps can be found exclusively in the Underdark where fungi are found in abundance.
Of course, just because the gelatinous flumph subsists on spores and other particles, doesn’t mean its diet is limited to that. If a creature haplessly stumbles into the ooze’s tendrils, it is paralyzed and hoisted through the air into the ooze’s topmost mass. Even if, by some miracle, the prey can escape the ooze’s body, it can look forward to a long fall back to the cave floor, where it might be ensnared a second time.
Glittering Cave Floors. Gelatinous flumphs will often use their tentacles to grab stones and other objects that they will clean of edibles, like moss. The ooze is acidic enough to digest most things over the course of a week, but can’t process metals of any kind, which are deposited on the cave floor beneath the ooze. When a gelatinous flumph gets the better of an adventuring party, all that remains is often a scattered treasure trove of droppings: gold coins, belt buckles, blades without sheathes, armor, and valuable gems. Naturally, this can attract other unwary adventurers, who notice the wealth strewn about the cave floor before the ooze above and fall easy prey.
Ooze Nature. An ooze doesn’t require sleep.
Gelatinous Flumph
Huge ooze, unaligned
Armor Class 7
Hit Points 115 (11d12 + 44)
Speed 0 ft., fly 15 ft. (hover)
STR 16 (+3) DEX 5 (-3) CON 18 (+4)
INT 1 (-5) WIS 12 (+1) CHA 1 (-5)
Condition Immunities blinded, charmed, deafened, exhaustion, frightened, prone
Senses 30 ft. blindsight (blind beyond this radius), passive Perception 11
Languages ―
Challenge 4 (1,100 XP)
Floating Ooze. The ooze’s main body floats high above the ground, occupying the top 5 feet of its space, while its tendrils hang beneath it, occupying the bottom 10 feet of its space. Other creatures can enter this space, but any creature that enters the body’s space is subjected to the ooze’s Engulf and has disadvantage on the saving throw, whereas a creature that enters the tendrils’ space is subject to a tendril attack, which has advantage.
Creatures inside the ooze’s body can be seen but have total cover.
A creature within 5 feet of the ooze can take an action to pull a creature or object out of the ooze. Doing so requires a DC 13 Strength check, and the creature making the attempt takes 14 (4d6) acid damage.
The ooze can only hold up to three Medium or smaller creature inside it at a time.
Transparent Luminescence. While the ooze is in bright light, it takes a successful DC 14 Wisdom (Perception) check to spot. A creature that tries to enter the ooze’s space while unaware of the ooze is surprised by it. If the ooze is in dim light or darkness, it glows with dim light in a 15-foot radius.
ACTIONS
Ooze Tendrils. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 10 ft., one creature. Hit: 14 (4d6) acid damage and the target must make a DC 13 Constitution saving throw or be paralyzed for one minute. The creature can repeat this saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the paralysis on a success.
Engulf. The ooze grabs an object smaller than itself or a creature that is paralyzed within 5 feet of its tendrils. The target is hoisted into the air on one of the tendrils, pulled into the ooze’s body, and is engulfed.
The engulfed creature can’t breathe, is restrained, and takes 14 (3d6) acid damage at the start of each of the ooze’s turns. When the ooze moves, the engulfed creature moves with it.
An engulfed creature can try to escape by taking an action to make a DC 13 Strength check. On a success, the creature escapes and falls to the ground, taking 7 (2d6) bludgeoning damage and falling prone beneath the ooze.
