Awakened Ooze? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Awakened Ooze? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
PhantomTrain
06-13-07, 12:08 PM The title says it all. A player of mine wants to play an intelligent ooze. Don't get me wrong, I think the idea is really neat (his backstory is really well thought-out and even plausable), but I'm not sure what the best way to get this done in game mechanic terms.

I'm not above using Deus Ex Machina to just say 'blam, this is a special case, you have a normal int score and are now subject to all the mental effects that oozes are normally immune to", but I was wondering if there was a more elegant way of doing it.

Thanks in advance
Thomar_of_Uointer
06-13-07, 09:12 PM The search feature works now, you should look around for a decent ooze race that you like.
malykoth
06-13-07, 09:40 PM An old issue of Dragon had the spell "awaken ooze"...it worked a lot like ordinary awaken, from the PHB. I do believe the ooze's type changed to abomination, though...it also lost the immunities to mind affecting effects due to it now having a mind.
Rerecros
06-13-07, 11:51 PM I would make his ooze humanoid in shape, like a jello mold.
That way he can still use equipment, and can't fit into keyhole sized cracks.
Zaver
06-14-07, 12:29 AM The PHB II has an awakened ooze in it's part about organizations. Creepiest form of talking ever. It quivers causing the vocal cords of undisolved heads to vibrate allowing it to speak.
MrWildman
06-14-07, 01:02 AM I think it's a really neat idea, too!
I hope none of my players read this, they give me enough headaches as it is.

Some comments:
I agree, as an awakened ooze, it would lose the usual immunities to mind-affecting spells and things. I also would expect a penalty to DEX and maybe CHA. After all, how good at manipulating objects would a blob of goo be? Same thing for CHA: no matter how friendly it may act, it would still be an unsettling experience to talk to one. I could see a bonus to CON, though I would rule that it is now subject to sneak attacks and such, to retain balance.

Also, what class woulld it take? What class could it take? I don't see it being a skill-monkey, or swinging a sword. Casting arcane spells could also be a problem. I guess I could see Clreic or Druid, though.
Zaver
06-14-07, 01:21 AM Also, what class woulld it take? What class could it take? I don't see it being a skill-monkey, or swinging a sword. Casting arcane spells could also be a problem. I guess I could see Clreic or Druid, though.

Bard might work since it would mostly only have to sing.
Potato_Dragon
06-14-07, 03:41 AM Why does it have to be anything? It could just advance, as, I dunno, an ooze? And since the ooze class sucks, give it 2 HD at each level instead of one.

Or if you must, make it a monk. Monks don't need weapons...
malykoth
06-14-07, 06:58 AM Psion...
celestialkin
06-14-07, 07:00 AM Why does it have to be anything? It could just advance, as, I dunno, an ooze? And since the ooze class sucks, give it 2 HD at each level instead of one.

Or if you must, make it a monk. Monks don't need weapons...

A Psion might work. All it would need is a few crystals, which it could carry inside of itself. Finding a good background/excuse as to why an Ooze would be traveling around with an adventuring party might be a challenge, though.

However, seeing a singing Ooze at your local town-center just seems too interesting to pass up. I'd pay good gold to see that. :D
lord_xarallon
06-14-07, 07:07 AM Dungeonscape has a template to awaken oozes, it's called sentry ooze.
It does not give the ooze level adj., though.
PhantomTrain
06-14-07, 09:09 AM Thanks for the help, all. I'm just glad no one recoiled in horror at the concept ('PC ooze? Ur suxz0r GM LOLWTFBBQ').

An odd turn of events is that I will no longer be running the game, but will instead be playing the game, and he and I thought it might be funny for me to turn right around and take the same concept he was thinking of (we might be stretching the definition of 'funny' here). For class I was thinking warlock, though psion certainly has its appeal. Any class that brings its own natural powers works for me, with the less gear needed the better.

Maybe a Vow of Poverty Warlock (with the VoP being intended to compensate for not being able to use gear, rather than from some sort of morality).
lint trap
06-14-07, 09:34 AM You could adapt the Gelatinous template from Savage Species. Also, I think there's an oozy creature in Underdark (it's not an ooze, but it has an alternate liquid form).
LoreleiIsildae
06-19-07, 02:22 AM Bard might work since it would mostly only have to sing.

A singing ooze?!?:eek: Creepy...
lord_xarallon
06-19-07, 07:26 AM A singing ooze?!?:eek: Creepy...

Facinated by the sound of "Blup, Blluup, Bluppp".
Nasty.
Bukowski
06-19-07, 01:29 PM A singing ooze?!?:eek: Creepy...

It's called Azathoth.

"Outside the ordered universe that amorphous blight of nethermost confusion which blasphemes and bubbles at the center of all infinity—the boundless daemon sultan Azathoth, whose name no lips dare speak aloud, and who gnaws hungrily in inconceivable, unlighted chambers beyond time and space amidst the muffled, maddening beating of vile drums and the thin monotonous whine of accursed flutes."
Lobsopdoy
06-19-07, 02:17 PM I say go with the Bard Ooze. There is no way that this can not be a good idea!

WE'LL MAKE MILLIONS!!
LoreleiIsildae
06-19-07, 05:21 PM It's called Azathoth.

"Outside the ordered universe that amorphous blight of nethermost confusion which blasphemes and bubbles at the center of all infinity—the boundless daemon sultan Azathoth, whose name no lips dare speak aloud, and who gnaws hungrily in inconceivable, unlighted chambers beyond time and space amidst the muffled, maddening beating of vile drums and the thin monotonous whine of accursed flutes."

Well, sure, if you're playing Cthulu.

I wonder if Ghaunadaur sings?:rolleyes:
Ace_of_time
06-19-07, 05:43 PM I had this problem one time but not with oozes. We played archons and one wanted to play a lantern. One problem was spells so I used SP to cover this one.

No gold/items. With no way to carry these and nothing really to buy it was hard to keep their gp and items in line. It would be easier with all the players being that way. You will need to come up with some way to reward them since gold won't be needed most of the time.there is also a template in SS about a ooze type creature that might help.
celestialkin
06-19-07, 08:39 PM The PHB II has an awakened ooze in it's part about organizations. Creepiest form of talking ever. It quivers causing the vocal cords of undisolved heads to vibrate allowing it to speak.

Are you sure about this? I can't seem to find him. Do you know the page number?
Mentar
06-20-07, 03:46 AM Would an ooze be able to perform the needed somatic components?

Checking SS the gelatinous template gets heavy negatives to Dex, Wis, and Cha, as well as reducing Int to 1. The awaken would offset the Int loss but what about the rest?

I could almost see someone playing an ooze wizard, use Complete Arcane to make a metal spell book, take eschew materials at first level, possibly still spell if needed. Having the fighter or cleric carry you around in a barrel on their back so you don't slow the party down too much.

The real question is how long would a character with an AC of less then 10 survive? Sure a gelatinous takes less damage from crits and sneak attacks, a pure ooze is probably immune, but your AC is would still be lower then most creatures attack bonuses when balanced CR vs ECL.
LoreleiIsildae
06-20-07, 04:26 AM Would an ooze be able to perform the needed somatic components?

Checking SS the gelatinous template gets heavy negatives to Dex, Wis, and Cha, as well as reducing Int to 1. The awaken would offset the Int loss but what about the rest?

I could almost see someone playing an ooze wizard, use Complete Arcane to make a metal spell book, take eschew materials at first level, possibly still spell if needed. Having the fighter or cleric carry you around in a barrel on their back so you don't slow the party down too much.

The real question is how long would a character with an AC of less then 10 survive? Sure a gelatinous takes less damage from crits and sneak attacks, a pure ooze is probably immune, but your AC is would still be lower then most creatures attack bonuses when balanced CR vs ECL.

You could be carried around in a bag of holding and then dumped out on the ground when the party needed you. IF they needed you. IF they WANTED you around in the first place, the slimy gelatinous bastard child of hideous magical egotism and sludge. *shudder*
Thief_of_Hope
06-20-07, 11:17 AM Are you sure about this? I can't seem to find him. Do you know the page number?

He's the head of the Sewerworker's guild. Page 178.
Orenmir
06-20-07, 01:38 PM A player of mine wants to play an intelligent ooze.

Is this player, by chance, a Star Trek TNG fan? I was thinking of the black puddle-o-tar that killed Tasha Yar at the end of season 1. Now that was a powerful awakened ooze!
ruff0126
06-20-07, 01:43 PM If you look back to 3.0 their was ana ooze master prc it might just do the trick if your willing to stick with it.
celestialkin
06-20-07, 05:38 PM He's the head of the Sewerworker's guild. Page 178.

Thanks man. I appreciate it.
Heros_Backpack
06-21-07, 07:21 AM There's a naturally intelligent ooze - Slithering Tracker - detailed in the Wandering Monster article in Dungeon 143.

You might be able to base something off that.
dman11235
06-21-07, 11:42 AM Dungeonscape has a template that can be applied to any ooze called sentry ooze. Then it qualifies for half dragon, so you can have a half dragon ooze, and get that int score above 2. This also allows you to use items with a very loose (very, very, very lose) interpretation of the rules (It has claw attacks, and therefor hands and a bite attack and therefor a head.) Or you can apply celestial or fiendish template. The racial bonuses for a senty gelatinous cube are ooze traits, acid, engulf, paralysis, transparant, +4 racial bonus against mind affecting (vulnerable to them), -4 dex, +16 con, -8 int, and I think I am forgeting something from sentry ooze. Whichever ooze race you choose, don't do one with split, arcane ooze, summoning oze, etc. Gelatinous cube and gray ooze works well.

As for class, the monk, barbarian, or fighter works well. Please, let him go exhalted and take VoP, because it isn't as good as having magic items anyway.
Nifft
06-21-07, 12:33 PM You might enjoy my D&D-ization of the old Star Frontiers Dralasite, which I've called the Oozeforged (http://www.enworld.org/showpost.php?p=3046695&postcount=31).

Cheers, -- N
Thief_of_Hope
06-21-07, 12:44 PM Taking vow of poverty would not only assume that the ooze is now a good creature, but also that it is a good creature 1 - Striving to be a paragon of virtue (as the exalted feats are all about) and being "devoted to the highest ideals of good" (BoED, page 8), and 2 - Taking the Vow of Poverty to better the lives of others, since an exalted character wouldn't be doing it for the benefits. Exalted feats have a lot of limitations based on the character and the role-playing of that character, and vow of poverty is not just a "Well, I can't have equipment, so I might as well take the vow of poverty and get something out of not having equipment" sort of thing.

"While taking upon herself the burden of poverty voluntarily, an ascetic recognizes that many people do not have the freedom to choose poverty, but instead have it forced upon them, and seeks to better those unfortunates as much as possible." (BoED, page 31)

Now I'm not saying that an ooze couldn't be an exalted character, much less a good character, but I do think you'd have to be working hard at being able to make it the sort of character that can take advantage of exalted feats, just like any other race. "Only intelligent characters of good alignment and the highest moral standards can aquire exalted feats" (BoED, page 39).

I've never imagined awakened creatures as suddenly having a completely different alignment from the true neutral they once were. I would think that it would be a gradual shift, as they start to realize that actions have consequences that can be helpful or harmful to others, and over time might make choices and decisions that reflect the different alignments. Eventually the awakened dire lion might become Lawful Good, or Chaotic Evil, or whatever, but he's probably not going to wake up from his Int 2 thoughts of sunning himself and eating a zebra and suddenly be thinking, "The world sure is a lousy place for a lot of people, I think I'll go do something about that out of the goodness of my heart." Same for oozes.

That's the whole thing about the vow of poverty. The whole point of it is that you can't take it for the utility. Trying to seperate the vow of poverty from the morality of why you are taking the vow is just creating a very powerful feat that has no drawback whatsoever. As it stands, you have to act like an exalted character in order to be one.

Wow, sorry for that long rant, I just get miffed when people try and make Vow of Poverty out to be a really good feat that just anyone can take.

Now, as for making that dream come true, one easy way to work an exalted mindset into your awakened ooze would be to have the person who awakened said ooze be a good character, perhaps even exalted themselves. Assumebly, they might be very influential on the newly awakened creature's ways of thinking, therefore influencing their morality, and making it more likely that the creature becomes a good character. At that point, the awakened creature will probably have seen enough of the world and of life that they could genuinely make the decision to dedicate themselves to a higher ideal or cause (which is what you are doing when you take the feat Sacred Vow, the prerequisite feat for Vow of Poverty), and thereby have good backstory to justify the Vow.

In game, you could be donating gold and items you would have gotten from your adventures to various charities (possibly through an intermidiary from the party, since that guy ringing the bell for the Church of Pelor's Charity Fund, much less the town guard, might not understand you are an exalted gelatinous cube. Remember that the BoED mentions that your voluntary poverty should NOT mean that the rest of the party gets more loot, but rather that your loot goes toward aiding the needy.

Anyway, sorry for going for so long. This awakened ooze concept is really neat, and I really like all of these suggestions for how to deal with an ooze's unique physical build.
elondir
06-21-07, 12:48 PM How about an awakened heal living spell?
PhantomTrain
06-21-07, 12:56 PM Taking vow of poverty would not only assume that the ooze is now a good creature, but also that it is a good creature 1 - Striving to be a paragon of virtue (as the exalted feats are all about) and being "devoted to the highest ideals of good" (BoED, page 8), and 2 - Taking the Vow of Poverty to better the lives of others, since an exalted character wouldn't be doing it for the benefits.

*Snip Morality Lecture*

Not that I don't appreciate being reminded what the defninition of 'good' is, but I just thought I'd clarify something. The VoP feat is, of course, all about being good. However, it is also a neatly codified way of dealing with the mechanical consequences of a character being unable to actually use magical items in a game where they are a primary source of power.

So the character would not take VoP out of morality (necessarily), but would be using the nature of the feat to compensate for being virtually unable to use magic items. Instead of trying to figure out which magic items the character might be able to use, it's a one-stop shop for all your no-item having needs.

So if it gives you less of a moral-rash, just call it the Vow of Having-pseudopods-instead-of-hands-so-my-GM-is-being-a-really-nice-guy-and-giving-me-something-to-make-up-for-it-as-I-have-conciously-given-up-my-ability-to-ever-pick-up-a-magic-item-erty. There. No more problems.
G_Mancer
06-21-07, 01:16 PM i dont think it would lose it's immunity to mind effects. theres a template called "Woodling" that gives you some stuff and al plant traits. it doesn't go on to exclude the mind effecting immunity. and the sample NPC a human druid, obvciously has an int score.
malykoth
06-21-07, 08:41 PM How about an awakened heal living spell?
Team it with a cleric that carries it around in a magic reliquary (a portable hole or bag of holding in a fancy, shmancy vase or box). He can call it "the blood of the gods" (no need to reveal everything right at the beginning..."hello, my name's George, and I'm an awaken heal spell"). When needed, the cleric releases it from the reliquary, whereupon it flows out like gleaming, glowing, liquid white gold. It can flow over the cleric or his allies, healing them up at will as they are engulfed by the holy fluid.
Thief_of_Hope
06-22-07, 02:09 AM So if it gives you less of a moral-rash, just call it the Vow of Having-pseudopods-instead-of-hands-so-my-GM-is-being-a-really-nice-guy-and-giving-me-something-to-make-up-for-it-as-I-have-conciously-given-up-my-ability-to-ever-pick-up-a-magic-item-erty. There. No more problems.

:heehee

Ha, sorry if I was up on a soapbox. :embarrass I've just had to deal with a few players who seemed to believe that "Exalted" meant "Get really good powers and act like a LE mercenary". It destroys the whole point of the Exalted feat type. Actually, I kind of like the idea of an alternate VoP (although perhaps with a name that rolls off the tongue better :P ).

Anyway, back to topic, I don't have the mag with me at the moment, but a relatively recent (i.e. within the last six months) issue of Dungeon magazine had an awesome ooze. It would pretend to be a slick of water on the wall...and then EAT you. Climb speed, hide and move silently bonuses, it's the perfect choice for anyone who's ever wanted to play a rogue without all the hassle of choosing appearance. Can't draw your character pic because even your stick figures look disfigured? Even you, yes, you can draw a featureless blob!
Slayergnome
06-22-07, 03:26 AM Also, what class woulld it take? What class could it take?

Sorc...no study.. Just do. Or psionic would be my choice for a awakened ooze character.
Ace_of_time
06-22-07, 10:40 AM I found my SS book. page116-118. It says that your int goes to 1 so after you add it on then add awaken spell.
Ogg
06-22-07, 11:36 AM Slyth 3.0 though I believe, Underdark. They're basically what you're looking for I believe.
PhantomTrain
06-22-07, 11:43 AM Team it with a cleric that carries it around in a magic reliquary (a portable hole or bag of holding in a fancy, shmancy vase or box). He can call it "the blood of the gods" (no need to reveal everything right at the beginning..."hello, my name's George, and I'm an awaken heal spell"). When needed, the cleric releases it from the reliquary, whereupon it flows out like gleaming, glowing, liquid white gold. It can flow over the cleric or his allies, healing them up at will as they are engulfed by the holy fluid.

Fantastic imagery. Doesn't really work with the character concept, but that has key NPC written all over it.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
PhantomTrain 06-13-07, 12:08 PM	The title says it all. A player of mine wants to play an intelligent ooze. Don't get me wrong, I think the idea is really neat (his backstory is really well thought-out and even plausable), but I'm not sure what the best way to get this done in game mechanic terms. I'm not above using Deus Ex Machina to just say 'blam, this is a special case, you have a normal int score and are now subject to all the mental effects that oozes are normally immune to", but I was wondering if there was a more elegant way of doing it. Thanks in advance
Thomar_of_Uointer 06-13-07, 09:12 PM	The search feature works now, you should look around for a decent ooze race that you like.
malykoth 06-13-07, 09:40 PM	An old issue of Dragon had the spell "awaken ooze"...it worked a lot like ordinary awaken, from the PHB. I do believe the ooze's type changed to abomination, though...it also lost the immunities to mind affecting effects due to it now having a mind.
Rerecros 06-13-07, 11:51 PM	I would make his ooze humanoid in shape, like a jello mold. That way he can still use equipment, and can't fit into keyhole sized cracks.
Zaver 06-14-07, 12:29 AM	The PHB II has an awakened ooze in it's part about organizations. Creepiest form of talking ever. It quivers causing the vocal cords of undisolved heads to vibrate allowing it to speak.
MrWildman 06-14-07, 01:02 AM	I think it's a really neat idea, too! I hope none of my players read this, they give me enough headaches as it is. Some comments: I agree, as an awakened ooze, it would lose the usual immunities to mind-affecting spells and things. I also would expect a penalty to DEX and maybe CHA. After all, how good at manipulating objects would a blob of goo be? Same thing for CHA: no matter how friendly it may act, it would still be an unsettling experience to talk to one. I could see a bonus to CON, though I would rule that it is now subject to sneak attacks and such, to retain balance. Also, what class woulld it take? What class could it take? I don't see it being a skill-monkey, or swinging a sword. Casting arcane spells could also be a problem. I guess I could see Clreic or Druid, though.
Zaver 06-14-07, 01:21 AM	Also, what class woulld it take? What class could it take? I don't see it being a skill-monkey, or swinging a sword. Casting arcane spells could also be a problem. I guess I could see Clreic or Druid, though. Bard might work since it would mostly only have to sing.
Potato_Dragon 06-14-07, 03:41 AM	Why does it have to be anything? It could just advance, as, I dunno, an ooze? And since the ooze class sucks, give it 2 HD at each level instead of one. Or if you must, make it a monk. Monks don't need weapons...
malykoth 06-14-07, 06:58 AM	Psion...
celestialkin 06-14-07, 07:00 AM	Why does it have to be anything? It could just advance, as, I dunno, an ooze? And since the ooze class sucks, give it 2 HD at each level instead of one. Or if you must, make it a monk. Monks don't need weapons... A Psion might work. All it would need is a few crystals, which it could carry inside of itself. Finding a good background/excuse as to why an Ooze would be traveling around with an adventuring party might be a challenge, though. However, seeing a singing Ooze at your local town-center just seems too interesting to pass up. I'd pay good gold to see that. :D
lord_xarallon 06-14-07, 07:07 AM	Dungeonscape has a template to awaken oozes, it's called sentry ooze. It does not give the ooze level adj., though.
PhantomTrain 06-14-07, 09:09 AM	Thanks for the help, all. I'm just glad no one recoiled in horror at the concept ('PC ooze? Ur suxz0r GM LOLWTFBBQ'). An odd turn of events is that I will no longer be running the game, but will instead be playing the game, and he and I thought it might be funny for me to turn right around and take the same concept he was thinking of (we might be stretching the definition of 'funny' here). For class I was thinking warlock, though psion certainly has its appeal. Any class that brings its own natural powers works for me, with the less gear needed the better. Maybe a Vow of Poverty Warlock (with the VoP being intended to compensate for not being able to use gear, rather than from some sort of morality).
lint trap 06-14-07, 09:34 AM	You could adapt the Gelatinous template from Savage Species. Also, I think there's an oozy creature in Underdark (it's not an ooze, but it has an alternate liquid form).
LoreleiIsildae 06-19-07, 02:22 AM	Bard might work since it would mostly only have to sing. A singing ooze?!?:eek: Creepy...
lord_xarallon 06-19-07, 07:26 AM	A singing ooze?!?:eek: Creepy... Facinated by the sound of "Blup, Blluup, Bluppp". Nasty.
Bukowski 06-19-07, 01:29 PM	A singing ooze?!?:eek: Creepy... It's called Azathoth. "Outside the ordered universe that amorphous blight of nethermost confusion which blasphemes and bubbles at the center of all infinity—the boundless daemon sultan Azathoth, whose name no lips dare speak aloud, and who gnaws hungrily in inconceivable, unlighted chambers beyond time and space amidst the muffled, maddening beating of vile drums and the thin monotonous whine of accursed flutes."
Lobsopdoy 06-19-07, 02:17 PM	I say go with the Bard Ooze. There is no way that this can not be a good idea! WE'LL MAKE MILLIONS!!
LoreleiIsildae 06-19-07, 05:21 PM	It's called Azathoth. "Outside the ordered universe that amorphous blight of nethermost confusion which blasphemes and bubbles at the center of all infinity—the boundless daemon sultan Azathoth, whose name no lips dare speak aloud, and who gnaws hungrily in inconceivable, unlighted chambers beyond time and space amidst the muffled, maddening beating of vile drums and the thin monotonous whine of accursed flutes." Well, sure, if you're playing Cthulu. I wonder if Ghaunadaur sings?:rolleyes:
Ace_of_time 06-19-07, 05:43 PM	I had this problem one time but not with oozes. We played archons and one wanted to play a lantern. One problem was spells so I used SP to cover this one. No gold/items. With no way to carry these and nothing really to buy it was hard to keep their gp and items in line. It would be easier with all the players being that way. You will need to come up with some way to reward them since gold won't be needed most of the time.there is also a template in SS about a ooze type creature that might help.
celestialkin 06-19-07, 08:39 PM	The PHB II has an awakened ooze in it's part about organizations. Creepiest form of talking ever. It quivers causing the vocal cords of undisolved heads to vibrate allowing it to speak. Are you sure about this? I can't seem to find him. Do you know the page number?
Mentar 06-20-07, 03:46 AM	Would an ooze be able to perform the needed somatic components? Checking SS the gelatinous template gets heavy negatives to Dex, Wis, and Cha, as well as reducing Int to 1. The awaken would offset the Int loss but what about the rest? I could almost see someone playing an ooze wizard, use Complete Arcane to make a metal spell book, take eschew materials at first level, possibly still spell if needed. Having the fighter or cleric carry you around in a barrel on their back so you don't slow the party down too much. The real question is how long would a character with an AC of less then 10 survive? Sure a gelatinous takes less damage from crits and sneak attacks, a pure ooze is probably immune, but your AC is would still be lower then most creatures attack bonuses when balanced CR vs ECL.
LoreleiIsildae 06-20-07, 04:26 AM	Would an ooze be able to perform the needed somatic components? Checking SS the gelatinous template gets heavy negatives to Dex, Wis, and Cha, as well as reducing Int to 1. The awaken would offset the Int loss but what about the rest? I could almost see someone playing an ooze wizard, use Complete Arcane to make a metal spell book, take eschew materials at first level, possibly still spell if needed. Having the fighter or cleric carry you around in a barrel on their back so you don't slow the party down too much. The real question is how long would a character with an AC of less then 10 survive? Sure a gelatinous takes less damage from crits and sneak attacks, a pure ooze is probably immune, but your AC is would still be lower then most creatures attack bonuses when balanced CR vs ECL. You could be carried around in a bag of holding and then dumped out on the ground when the party needed you. IF they needed you. IF they WANTED you around in the first place, the slimy gelatinous bastard child of hideous magical egotism and sludge. shudder
Thief_of_Hope 06-20-07, 11:17 AM	Are you sure about this? I can't seem to find him. Do you know the page number? He's the head of the Sewerworker's guild. Page 178.
Orenmir 06-20-07, 01:38 PM	A player of mine wants to play an intelligent ooze. Is this player, by chance, a Star Trek TNG fan? I was thinking of the black puddle-o-tar that killed Tasha Yar at the end of season 1. Now that was a powerful awakened ooze!
ruff0126 06-20-07, 01:43 PM	If you look back to 3.0 their was ana ooze master prc it might just do the trick if your willing to stick with it.
celestialkin 06-20-07, 05:38 PM	He's the head of the Sewerworker's guild. Page 178. Thanks man. I appreciate it.
Heros_Backpack 06-21-07, 07:21 AM	There's a naturally intelligent ooze - Slithering Tracker - detailed in the Wandering Monster article in Dungeon 143. You might be able to base something off that.
dman11235 06-21-07, 11:42 AM	Dungeonscape has a template that can be applied to any ooze called sentry ooze. Then it qualifies for half dragon, so you can have a half dragon ooze, and get that int score above 2. This also allows you to use items with a very loose (very, very, very lose) interpretation of the rules (It has claw attacks, and therefor hands and a bite attack and therefor a head.) Or you can apply celestial or fiendish template. The racial bonuses for a senty gelatinous cube are ooze traits, acid, engulf, paralysis, transparant, +4 racial bonus against mind affecting (vulnerable to them), -4 dex, +16 con, -8 int, and I think I am forgeting something from sentry ooze. Whichever ooze race you choose, don't do one with split, arcane ooze, summoning oze, etc. Gelatinous cube and gray ooze works well. As for class, the monk, barbarian, or fighter works well. Please, let him go exhalted and take VoP, because it isn't as good as having magic items anyway.
Nifft 06-21-07, 12:33 PM	You might enjoy my D&D-ization of the old Star Frontiers Dralasite, which I've called the Oozeforged (http://www.enworld.org/showpost.php?p=3046695&postcount=31). Cheers, -- N
Thief_of_Hope 06-21-07, 12:44 PM	Taking vow of poverty would not only assume that the ooze is now a good creature, but also that it is a good creature 1 - Striving to be a paragon of virtue (as the exalted feats are all about) and being "devoted to the highest ideals of good" (BoED, page 8), and 2 - Taking the Vow of Poverty to better the lives of others, since an exalted character wouldn't be doing it for the benefits. Exalted feats have a lot of limitations based on the character and the role-playing of that character, and vow of poverty is not just a "Well, I can't have equipment, so I might as well take the vow of poverty and get something out of not having equipment" sort of thing. "While taking upon herself the burden of poverty voluntarily, an ascetic recognizes that many people do not have the freedom to choose poverty, but instead have it forced upon them, and seeks to better those unfortunates as much as possible." (BoED, page 31) Now I'm not saying that an ooze couldn't be an exalted character, much less a good character, but I do think you'd have to be working hard at being able to make it the sort of character that can take advantage of exalted feats, just like any other race. "Only intelligent characters of good alignment and the highest moral standards can aquire exalted feats" (BoED, page 39). I've never imagined awakened creatures as suddenly having a completely different alignment from the true neutral they once were. I would think that it would be a gradual shift, as they start to realize that actions have consequences that can be helpful or harmful to others, and over time might make choices and decisions that reflect the different alignments. Eventually the awakened dire lion might become Lawful Good, or Chaotic Evil, or whatever, but he's probably not going to wake up from his Int 2 thoughts of sunning himself and eating a zebra and suddenly be thinking, "The world sure is a lousy place for a lot of people, I think I'll go do something about that out of the goodness of my heart." Same for oozes. That's the whole thing about the vow of poverty. The whole point of it is that you can't take it for the utility. Trying to seperate the vow of poverty from the morality of why you are taking the vow is just creating a very powerful feat that has no drawback whatsoever. As it stands, you have to act like an exalted character in order to be one. Wow, sorry for that long rant, I just get miffed when people try and make Vow of Poverty out to be a really good feat that just anyone can take. Now, as for making that dream come true, one easy way to work an exalted mindset into your awakened ooze would be to have the person who awakened said ooze be a good character, perhaps even exalted themselves. Assumebly, they might be very influential on the newly awakened creature's ways of thinking, therefore influencing their morality, and making it more likely that the creature becomes a good character. At that point, the awakened creature will probably have seen enough of the world and of life that they could genuinely make the decision to dedicate themselves to a higher ideal or cause (which is what you are doing when you take the feat Sacred Vow, the prerequisite feat for Vow of Poverty), and thereby have good backstory to justify the Vow. In game, you could be donating gold and items you would have gotten from your adventures to various charities (possibly through an intermidiary from the party, since that guy ringing the bell for the Church of Pelor's Charity Fund, much less the town guard, might not understand you are an exalted gelatinous cube. Remember that the BoED mentions that your voluntary poverty should NOT mean that the rest of the party gets more loot, but rather that your loot goes toward aiding the needy. Anyway, sorry for going for so long. This awakened ooze concept is really neat, and I really like all of these suggestions for how to deal with an ooze's unique physical build.
elondir 06-21-07, 12:48 PM	How about an awakened heal living spell?
PhantomTrain 06-21-07, 12:56 PM	Taking vow of poverty would not only assume that the ooze is now a good creature, but also that it is a good creature 1 - Striving to be a paragon of virtue (as the exalted feats are all about) and being "devoted to the highest ideals of good" (BoED, page 8), and 2 - Taking the Vow of Poverty to better the lives of others, since an exalted character wouldn't be doing it for the benefits. Snip Morality Lecture Not that I don't appreciate being reminded what the defninition of 'good' is, but I just thought I'd clarify something. The VoP feat is, of course, all about being good. However, it is also a neatly codified way of dealing with the mechanical consequences of a character being unable to actually use magical items in a game where they are a primary source of power. So the character would not take VoP out of morality (necessarily), but would be using the nature of the feat to compensate for being virtually unable to use magic items. Instead of trying to figure out which magic items the character might be able to use, it's a one-stop shop for all your no-item having needs. So if it gives you less of a moral-rash, just call it the Vow of Having-pseudopods-instead-of-hands-so-my-GM-is-being-a-really-nice-guy-and-giving-me-something-to-make-up-for-it-as-I-have-conciously-given-up-my-ability-to-ever-pick-up-a-magic-item-erty. There. No more problems.
G_Mancer 06-21-07, 01:16 PM	i dont think it would lose it's immunity to mind effects. theres a template called "Woodling" that gives you some stuff and al plant traits. it doesn't go on to exclude the mind effecting immunity. and the sample NPC a human druid, obvciously has an int score.
malykoth 06-21-07, 08:41 PM	How about an awakened heal living spell? Team it with a cleric that carries it around in a magic reliquary (a portable hole or bag of holding in a fancy, shmancy vase or box). He can call it "the blood of the gods" (no need to reveal everything right at the beginning..."hello, my name's George, and I'm an awaken heal spell"). When needed, the cleric releases it from the reliquary, whereupon it flows out like gleaming, glowing, liquid white gold. It can flow over the cleric or his allies, healing them up at will as they are engulfed by the holy fluid.
Thief_of_Hope 06-22-07, 02:09 AM	So if it gives you less of a moral-rash, just call it the Vow of Having-pseudopods-instead-of-hands-so-my-GM-is-being-a-really-nice-guy-and-giving-me-something-to-make-up-for-it-as-I-have-conciously-given-up-my-ability-to-ever-pick-up-a-magic-item-erty. There. No more problems. :heehee Ha, sorry if I was up on a soapbox. :embarrass I've just had to deal with a few players who seemed to believe that "Exalted" meant "Get really good powers and act like a LE mercenary". It destroys the whole point of the Exalted feat type. Actually, I kind of like the idea of an alternate VoP (although perhaps with a name that rolls off the tongue better :P ). Anyway, back to topic, I don't have the mag with me at the moment, but a relatively recent (i.e. within the last six months) issue of Dungeon magazine had an awesome ooze. It would pretend to be a slick of water on the wall...and then EAT you. Climb speed, hide and move silently bonuses, it's the perfect choice for anyone who's ever wanted to play a rogue without all the hassle of choosing appearance. Can't draw your character pic because even your stick figures look disfigured? Even you, yes, you can draw a featureless blob!
Slayergnome 06-22-07, 03:26 AM	Also, what class woulld it take? What class could it take? Sorc...no study.. Just do. Or psionic would be my choice for a awakened ooze character.
Ace_of_time 06-22-07, 10:40 AM	I found my SS book. page116-118. It says that your int goes to 1 so after you add it on then add awaken spell.
Ogg 06-22-07, 11:36 AM	Slyth 3.0 though I believe, Underdark. They're basically what you're looking for I believe.
PhantomTrain 06-22-07, 11:43 AM	Team it with a cleric that carries it around in a magic reliquary (a portable hole or bag of holding in a fancy, shmancy vase or box). He can call it "the blood of the gods" (no need to reveal everything right at the beginning..."hello, my name's George, and I'm an awaken heal spell"). When needed, the cleric releases it from the reliquary, whereupon it flows out like gleaming, glowing, liquid white gold. It can flow over the cleric or his allies, healing them up at will as they are engulfed by the holy fluid. Fantastic imagery. Doesn't really work with the character concept, but that has key NPC written all over it.