Black Pudding

Black Pudding – 5th Edition SRD (5esrd.com)

Family: Oozes

Large ooze, unaligned

Armor Class 7
Hit Points 85 (10d10 + 30); Wound Threshold N/A
Speed 20 ft., climb 20 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
16 (+3)	5 (-3)	16 (+3)	1 (-5)	10 (+0)	1 (-5)

Damage Immunities acid, cold, lightning, slashing
Condition Immunities blinded, charmed, deafened, exhaustion, frightened, prone
Senses blindsight 60 ft. (blind beyond this radius), passive Perception 10
Languages –
Challenge 4 (1,100 XP)

SPECIAL TRAITS

• Amorphous. The pudding can move through a space as narrow as 1 inch wide without squeezing (see Adventurers, Combat).
• Corrosive Form. A creature that touches the pudding or hits it with a melee attack while within 5 feet of it takes 4 (1d8) acid damage. Any nonmagical weapon made of metal or wood that hits the pudding corrodes. After dealing damage, the weapon takes a permanent and cumulative -1 penalty to damage rolls. If its penalty drops to -5, the weapon is destroyed. Nonmagical ammunition made of metal or wood that hits the pudding is destroyed after dealing damage. The pudding can eat through 2-inch-thick, nonmagical wood or metal in 1 round.
• False Appearance. While the pudding remains motionless, it is indistinguishable from a shadowy area.
• Spider Climb. The pudding can climb difficult surfaces, including upside down on ceilings, without needing to make an ability check.

ACTIONS

• Pseudopod. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d6 + 3) bludgeoning damage plus 18 (4d8) acid damage. In addition, nonmagical armor worn by the target is partly dissolved and takes a permanent and cumulative -1 penalty to the AC it offers. The armor is destroyed if the penalty reduces its AC to 10.

REACTIONS

• Split. When a pudding that is Medium or larger is subjected to lightning or slashing damage, it splits into two new puddings if it has at least 10 hit points. Each new pudding has hit points equal to half the original pudding’s, rounded down. New puddings are one size smaller than the original pudding.

ABOUT

Entirely black, made of a substance that barely reflects light, the black pudding hunts stealthily by sticking to the ceiling and dropping onto prey. Its highly corrosive fluids can melt practically anything: flesh, wood, metals vulnerable to corrosion… However, gold, mithral, platinum, and adamantium are unaffected.

SPECIAL OPTION

By using this option, attacking with the wrong weaponry is even more dangerous when confronting a black pudding, as its offspring take advantage of their numbers and have the following trait:

• Pack Tactics. The pudding has advantage on attack rolls against a creature if at least one of the pudding’s allies is within 5 feet of the creature and the ally isn’t incapacitated.

Section 15: Copyright Notice

Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition Monstrous Menagerie. Copyright 2021, EN Publishing. www.levelup5e.com

The Creatures Rulebook for the Fateforge Role-Playing Game Copyright © 2021 Studio Agate.

Black Pudding

Black  Pudding CR 7

XP 3,200 N Huge ooze Init -5; Senses Blindsight 60 ft.; Perception -5

DEFENSE

AC 3, touch 3, flat-footed 3 (-2 size, -5 Dexterity) hp 105 (10d8+60) Fort +9, Ref -2, Will -2 Defensive Abilities split, ooze traits

OFFENSE

Speed 20 ft., Climb 20 ft.   Melee slam +8 (2d6+4 plus 2d6 acid plus grab) Space 15 ft.; Reach 10 ft. Special Attacks constrict (2d6+4 plus 2d6 acid), corrosion

STATISTICS

Strength 16, Dexterity 1, Constitution 22, Intelligence -, Wisdom 1, Charisma 1 Base Atk +7; CMB +12 (+16 grapple); CMD 17 (27 vs. bull rush, can’t  be tripped) Skills Climb +11 SQ ooze traits, suction

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Acid (Ex) A black pudding secretes a digestive acid that dissolves organic material and metal quickly, but does not affect stone. Each time a creature suffers damage  from a black pudding’s acid, its clothing and armor take the same amount  of damage from the acid. A DC 21 Reflex save prevents damage to clothing and armor. A metal or wooden weapon that strikes a black pudding takes 2d6 acid damage unless the weapon’s wielder succeeds on a DC 21 Reflex save. If a black pudding remains in contact with a wooden or metal object for 1 full round, it inflicts 21 points of acid damage (no save) to the object. The save DCs are Constitution-based. Corrosion (Ex) An opponent that is being constricted by a black pudding suffers a -4 penalty on Reflex saves made to resist acid damage applying to clothing and armor.   Split (Ex) Slashing and piercing weapons deal no damage to a black pudding. Instead, the creature splits into two identical puddings, each with half of the original’s current hit points (round down). A pudding with 10 hit points or less cannot be further split and dies if reduced to 0 hit points. Suction (Ex) The black pudding can create powerful suction against any surface as it Climbs, allowing it to cling to inverted surfaces with ease. A black pudding can establish or release suction as a swift action, and as long as it is using suction, it moves at half speed. Because of the suction, a black pudding’s CMD score gets a +10 circumstance bonus to resist bull rush, awesome blows, and other attacks and effects that attempt to physically move it from its location.

ECOLOGY

Environment any underground Organization solitary Treasure none

VARIANTS

Fire Pudding (CR 7): These black pudding variants are rare tears of Nuruu’gal that failed to find hosts. Over time, the small oozes grow to huge proportions after feeding voraciously on wild game and lost outcasts. Such specimens are no longer capable of possessing humanoids and lose most special abilities; use the statistics of a black pudding, remove its acid and corrosion abilities, and add the fire subtype and the burn ability (2d6, DC 20).

Gibbering Hosts  (CR 5): Not all hosts of a tear of Nuruu’gal undergo  etamorphosis into shining children. In those rare cases in which the symbiotic relationship sours, a somewhat more horrific transformation takes place. The host  begins to lose solidity, form, and sanity as the two creatures fuse into a single horrible monstrosity bereft of humanity. These pathetic creatures wander the island wailing in a bizarre cacophony in the ancient tongue. Such monsters use the statistics for gibbering mouthers,  although they lack the ground manipulation special ability and instead  have the fire subtype and burn ability (1d6, DC 19).

Nuruu’gal (CR 21): The corrupted earthly aspect of Nurgal housed within the Sun Temple is a warped monstrosity, an insane proto-god that has no place in the mortal realm. Should adventurers seek the creature’s destruction, use the variant abilities for a shoggoth that follow for the mad godling. Rather than an enormous bulk of black slime and gaping maws, the aspect of Nuruu’gal is a glowing, burning mass of raw solar protoplasm, losing the aquatic subtype but gaining the fire subtype.

The amoeba-like form of Nuruu’gal gains the giant creature simple template, swelling from Huge to Gargantuan, and is able to communicate telepathically at a range of 100 feet. The creature’s maddening cacophony ability buzzes with repetitious prayers. The shoggoth’s engulf ability deals fire damage rather than acid, and the proto-god gains the abilities listed below. Should the PCs deny the godling its normal diet of the nurturing rays of the celestial lens for days or weeks, the GM may elect to remove the giant template to display this malnourishment and reward PCs for their foresight before Nuruu’gal oozes forth from the Sun Temple to destroy its tormentors.

Shroud of Flame (Su) Nuruu’gal burns with the energy of a dying star, giving it the burn ability (2d10, DC 33). All creatures within 20 feet of it must make a DC 33 Reflex save at the start of their turns to avoid taking 2d10 points of fire damage. Creatures attacking Nuruu’gal with natural or nonreach melee weapons take 2d10 points of fire damage with each successful hit. The save DC is Constitution-based.

Weep Spawn (Su) Nuruu’gal’s amorphous form is able to undergo a sort of mitosis, shedding small bits of its protoplasmic body to create up to 1d4 tears of Nuruu’gal each day, which creep forth to absorb new supplicants into the mad creature’s flock.

Variants from Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Lost Cities of Golarion. © 2011, Paizo Publishing, LLC. Authors: Tim Hitchcock, Brandon Hodge, Michael Kortes, Jason Nelson, and Russ Taylor.