A gelatinous cube filled with skeletons consumes a surprised adventurer. The text d6 Shadowdark Oozes, Cubes, & Puddings appears over the image.

d6 Shadowdark Oozes, Cubes, & Puddings (S5E6)

Leave a Comment / Podcast, Regular Episodes / By / / D&D, dungeons & dragons, OSR, Shadowdark, ttrpg

When is a monster not a monster? We’re talking about those classic threats known as oozes, cubes, and puddings. These creatures appear as puddles, cubes, and rolling masses of ick … and they’re sure to challenge your players.

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Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Oozes and Puddings
00:08 Grey Ooze
05:50 Zomblob
11:32 Gelatinous Cube
16:35 Cran Gelatinous Cube
22:18 Black Pudding
23:39 Heal Cube
22:45 Are Slimes a kind of Ooze?

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Show Notes

Grey Ooze

  • Source: Core Rulebook, p. 223
  • Description: Slick puddles the color of stone 
  • Monster Level: 2
  • Notes: This ooze dissolves metal, so using swords, spears, and other metal weapons against it is risky:
  • At the table:
    • In Ken’s game, he had a gray ooze lurking in a cave, appearing to be part of the floor. He foreshadowed the ooze’s appearance by having a pseudopod lash out and snag one of the PCs’ allies. In game play, the ooze went down quickly because the PCs had help – their “allies” were cultists of the Rat-King, and they convinced them (via a charm spell) that they were also servants of the Rat-King. 
    • Foreshadowing – puddle of wet stone that lurks on the cavern floor … and attacks when players walk over them.

Zomblob

  • Source: Monthly monster – The Zomblob
  • Description: A sickly purple carpet of rolling sludge. Eyeballs, organs, and partially dissolved bones bubble up before being reabsorbed.
  • Monster Level: 3
  • Notes: An zombie ooze that regenerates every round. 
  • At the table:  
    • The players are summoned by the City Guard to deal with an undead infestation in the town’s catacombs, but when the PCs arrive … the catacombs are silent. There’s no sign of the undead … or even the dead. All the corpses are missing.
    • And then the ooze appears…

Gelatinous Cube

  • Source: Core Rulebook, p. 217
  • Description: A translucent cube of slime that silently mows through tunnels.
  • Monster Level: 5
  • Notes: An Old School classic, which inevitably has some sort of skeleton floating in its innards.
  • At the table:
    • In Ken’s game, he had a skeleton “floating” up a vertical shaft in a dungeon, surrounded by a halo of daggers and coins. The PCs assumed it was some sort of telekinetic threat … until they threw a barrel at it and hit the edge of the cube. The PCs then rain away. 🙂 
    • In David’s game, a skeleton appeared out of the darkness at the edge of the torch, a sword floating near it’s hand. Magic? Nope, gelatinous cube

Cran Gelatinous Cube

  • Source: Monthly monster – Cran Gelatinous Cube
  • Description: In the darkest bogs and chilliest swamps, a blood-red cube slurps along the muddy earth. Glistening cranberry juice beads from its sides, and leathery corpses swirl around within its towering bulk.
  • Monster Level: 9
  • At the table: It’s the holidays, so why not work something beloved (and horrible) into your game?
    • The Night Before Yuletide
      • It’s the night before Christmas (or your equivalent fantasy holiday) and a contingent of the Sewermen Guild have gone missing. One of their children begs the PCs to save their missing parent. 
      • Venturing into the sewers, the PCs come across strange, caustic puddles of fermenting red liquid. Zombies, soaked in the weird liquid, attack unexpectedly. And somewhere, a Mad Wizard is searching for his favorite monstrous side dish.
    • OR attack PCs while they venture into the bogs for fixings for the holiday?

Black Pudding

  • Source: Core Rulebook p. 199
  • Description: A black, ice-cold mass of sludge
  • Monster Level: 6
  • Notes: Dissolves wood AND metal, so it’s a double threat to PC weapons and armor.
  • At the table:
    • Ice Cave Denizen:
      • The pudding lurks, Predator-like, at the back of an ice cave. When creatures/PCs take refuge in the cave, it detects the heat, and creeps forward … but only after watches have been set.
    • Variant Mechanics: Traditionally, black puddings split when hit (in 5e, lightning and slashing attacks do this). What happens in ShadowDark? 

Heal Cube

  • Source: Monthly monster – Heal Cube
  • Description: A massive cube of clear slime with a faint, pink color. Plump mice and centipedes drift around inside.
  • Monster Level: 5
  • At the Table:
    • Noble Healing Chamber
      • The town’s local noble acquired a Heal Cube as a hedge against death. The PCs come across it during a night of carousing that ends at the noble’s estate. The Cube is keeping the noble alive … but what’s fueling the cube?

Side Note Conversation

  • Massive cube of clear slime? Wait … are slimes actually a kind of ooze? What the heck is an ooze anyway?

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Black-and-white art of a skeleton-filled gelatinous cube devouring a new victim from the Ooze Cubes monthly monster release.

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