Voracious Sullage (HB)

Medium Ooze, Unaligned

• Armor Class: 7
• Hit Points: 9 (2d8)
• Speed: 5 ft.

• Skills Stealth: +2
• Damage Resistances: Cold, Fire
• Damage Immunities: Acid
• Condition Immunities: Blinded, Charmed, Deafened, Exhaustion, Frightened, Poisoned, Prone
• Senses: Blindsight 60 ft. (blind beyond this radius), Passive Perception 8
• Languages: –
• Challenge: 1/4 (50 XP)

Amorphous. The ooze can move through a space as narrow as 1 inch wide without squeezing.

False Appearance. While the ooze remains motionless, it is indistinguishable from a wet rock or dirty puddle of water. Even when the sullage is in plain sight, it takes a successful DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) check to identify the creature if it has neither moved nor attacked. A creature that tries to enter the sullage’s space while unaware of the cube is surprised by the sullage.

Sunlight Hypersensitivity. The voracious sullage takes 1d8 radiant damage when it starts its turn in sunlight. While in sunlight, it has disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks.

Actions

Pseudopod. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 4 (1d6 + 1) bludgeoning damage plus 7 (2d6) acid damage.

Description

A voracious sullage is a weaker cousin of the gelatinous cube. They consume living and dead tissue, hair, fur, and foliage while leaving bones, metal, stone, and glass undissolved.

Unlike the gelatinous cube, the voracious sullage is unable to maintain much of a shape for long, instead appearing as a puddle of dirty water. Closer examination will reveal that the sullage is more viscous and gelatinous than water.

Because of its slow speed, the voracious sullage prefers to lurk in walkways and waterways, preferring prey to come to it. It often resides at the bottom of stairs or in subterranean streams and rivers, clinging to walls or riverbanks while scooping leaves, foliage, and dead or weakened animals from the water. It is content to remain in the same location indefinitely so long as sufficient food continues to be available. The sullage can make a pseudopod attack like a gelatinous cube, but cannot engulf prey that has not walked into or stepped on the sullage.

The voracious sullage does not have a climbing speed and cannot move up slopes with an angle greater than 25 degrees. It can move up stairs by pushing most of its body onto the next step and pulling the rest up behind, but this is a slow process, and its speed drops to one step per turn. The sullage will starve to death if it falls into a pit unless provided with a regular supply of food.

Slow Death. The voracious sullage kills its prey slowly. A creature that has fallen into the sullage can try to escape by taking an action to make a DC 10 Strength check. On a success, the creature escapes and enters a space of its choice within 5 feet of the sullage. If there is no space for the creature to escape to, the check automatically fails. Once the sullage has stripped water of anything edible, excess water and indigestible materials will be expelled.

Unwitting Servants. Although an ooze lacks the intelligence to ally itself with other creatures, others that understand an ooze’s need to feed might lure it into a location where it can be of use to them. Clever monsters keep oozes around to defend passageways or consume refuse. Likewise, an ooze can be enticed into a pit trap, where its captors feed it often enough to prevent it from coming after them. Crafty creatures place torches and flaming braziers in strategic areas to dissuade an ooze from leaving a particular tunnel or room. The watery remains of a dead sullage exposed to sunlight are rich in nutrients, and are often used by farmers to fertilize their crops. Once the sullage has consumed everything it can from water that flows into it, including pollutants and toxins, it will expel excess water and indigestible materials.

Spawn of Juiblex. According to the Demonomicon of Iggwilv and other sources, oozes are scattered fragments or offspring of the demon lord Juiblex. Whether this is true or not, the Faceless Lord is one of the few beings that can control oozes and imbue them with a modicum of intelligence. Most of the time, oozes have no sense of tactics or self-preservation. They are direct and predictable, attacking and eating without cunning. Under the control of Juiblex, they exhibit glimmers of sentience and malevolent intent.
Sunlight Hypersensitivity. Like many other oozes, the voracious sullage is vulnerable to sunlight, taking 1d8 radiant damage when it starts its turn in sunlight. If the sullage dies from radiant damage, or if its dead remains are exposed to sunlight, its acids are immediately denatured and rendered inert, and the sullage’s remains collapse into a puddle of nutrient-rich water. Although light that is not daylight cannot harm the voracious sullage, it instinctively moves away from any light source that sheds bright light farther than 20 feet.

Ooze Nature. An ooze does not require sleep.