Buy me a coffeeGelatinous Cube
Bits of broken weapons, coins, and a partially digested skeleton are visible inside this quivering cube of slime.
One of the dungeon’s most unusual and specialized predators, gelatinous cubes spend their existence mindlessly roaming dungeon halls and dark caverns, swallowing up organic material such as plants, refuse, carrion, and even living creatures.
Materials the cube cannot digest, such as metal and stone, can eventually fill up the creature’s mass with such detritus, and at times the creature may excrete some of this material out of its body. Often the treasure and possessions of past victims remain inside the gelatinous cube, leaving a ghostly impression of their material remains.
One of the dungeon’s most unusual and specialized predators, gelatinous cubes spend their existence mindlessly roaming dungeon halls and dark caverns, swallowing up organic material such as plants, refuse, carrion, and even living creatures. Materials the cube cannot digest, such as metal and stone, can eventually fill up the creature’s mass with such detritus, and at times the creature may excrete some of this material out of its body. Often the treasure and possessions of past victims remain inside the gelatinous cube, leaving a ghostly impression of their material remains.
Ooze, Gelatinous Cube
Large ooze, unaligned
Armor Class 6
Hit Points 84 (8d10 + 40)
Speed 15 ft.
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 (+2) | 3 (-4) | 20 (+5) | 1 (-5) | 6 (-2) | 1 (-5) |
Condition Immunities blinded, charmed, deafened, exhaustion, frightened, prone
Senses blindsight 60 ft. (blind beyond this radius), passive Perception 8
Languages –
Challenge 2 (450 XP)
Special Traits
- Ooze Cube: The cube takes up its entire space. Other creatures can enter the space, but a creature that does so is subjected to the cube’s Engulf and has disadvantage on the saving throw. Creatures inside the cube can be seen but have total cover. A creature within 5 feet of the cube can take an action to pull a creature or object out of the cube. Doing so requires a successful DC 12 Strength check, and the creature making the attempt takes 10 (3d6) acid damage. The cube can hold only one Large creature or up to four Medium or smaller creatures inside it at a time.
- Transparent: Even when the cube is in plain sight, it takes a successful DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) check to spot a cube that has neither moved nor attacked. A creature that tries to enter the cube’s space while unaware of the cube is surprised by the cube.
Actions
- Pseudopod: Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 10 (3d6) acid damage.
- Engulf: The cube moves up to its speed. While doing so, it can enter Large or smaller creatures’ spaces. Whenever the cube enters a creature’s space, the creature must make a DC 12 Dexterity saving throw. On a successful save, the creature can choose to be pushed 5 feet back or to the side of the cube. A creature that chooses not to be pushed suffers the consequences of a failed saving throw. On a failed save, the cube enters the creature’s space, and the creature takes 10 (3d6) acid damage and is engulfed. The engulfed creature can’t breathe, is restrained, and takes 21 (6d6) acid damage at the start of each of the cube’s turns. When the cube moves, the engulfed creature moves with it. An engulfed creature can try to escape by taking an action to make a DC 12 Strength check. On a success, the creature escapes and enters a space of its choice within 5 feet of the cube.
| Ooze (Gelatinous Cube) CR 3 |
| XP 800N Large ooze Init -5; Senses Blindsight 60 ft.; Perception -5 |
| DEFENSE |
| AC 4, touch 4, flat-footed 4 (-5 Dexterity, -1 size) hp 50 (4d8+32) Fort +9, Ref -4, Will -4 Immune electricity, ooze traits |
| OFFENSE |
| Speed 15 ft. Melee slam +2 (1d6 plus 1d6 acid) Space 10 ft.; Reach 5 ft. Special Attacks engulf, Paralysis |
| STATISTICS |
| Strength 10, Dexterity 1, Constitution 26, Intelligence -, Wisdom 1, Charisma 1 Base Atk +3; CMB +4; CMD 9 (can’t be tripped) SQ transparent |
| SPECIAL ABILITIES |
| Acid (Ex) : A gelatinous cube’s acid does not harm metal or stone. Engulf (Ex) : Although it moves slowly, a gelatinous cube can simply engulf Large or smaller creatures in its path as a standard action. It cannot make a slam attack during a round in which it engulfs. The gelatinous cube merely has to move over the opponents, affecting as many as it can cover. Opponents can make attacks of opportunity against the cube, but if they do so they are not entitled to a saving throw. Those who do not attempt attacks of opportunity can attempt a DC 12 Reflex save to avoid being engulfed – on a success, they are pushed back or aside (opponent’s choice) as the cube moves forward. Engulfed creatures are subject to the cube’s Paralysis and acid, gain the pinned condition, are in danger of suffocating, and are trapped within its body until they are no longer pinned. The save DC is Strength-based. Paralysis (Ex) : A gelatinous cube secretes an anesthetizing slime. A target hit by a cube’s melee or engulf attack must succeed on a DC 20 Fortitude save or be paralyzed for 3d6 rounds. The cube can automatically engulf a paralyzed opponent. The save DC is Constitution-based. Transparent (Ex) : Due to its lack of coloration, a gelatinous cube is difficult to discern. A DC 15 Perception check is required to notice a motionless gelatinous cube. Any creature that fails to notice a gelatinous cube and walks into it is automatically engulfed. |
| ECOLOGY |
| Environment any underground Organization solitary Treasure incidental |
Sages believe these creatures evolved as a specialized advancement of gray oozes. Some beings use gelatinous cubes as protectors of dungeons and underground fortifications, trapping the immense creatures in massive metal crates and transporting them through either slave power or magic to their final guard posts. They make particularly efficient waste disposal mechanisms as well- a tribe that can trap a gelatinous cube in a pit or other area that it cannot Climb out of can use it as a midden or even a deadly trap, depending only on the ingenuity of the creatures who caught it.
Gelatinous cubes are generally 10 feet to a side and weigh upward of 15,000 pounds, though subterranean explorers report larger specimens trawling the deepest caves and corridors. In locations with plentiful sources of food, gelatinous cubes can exist for hundreds of years, if not thousands. However, if denied organic material for more than 6 months, a gelatinous cube begins shrinking. Eventually this stresses its walls and the creature leaks rapidly evaporating slimy liquid until its body collapses and disappears completely.
| Variants As a product of magical experimentation, the gelatinous cube exists in several different varieties. Ebony Cube CR+2This creature is a gelatinous cube that has been crossed with a deadly black pudding. Vast cubes of inky slime, they lose their transparent ability, but their acid is more powerful, able to dissolve even metal. Any melee hit or engulf attack deals 1d6 acid damage and the opponent’s armor and clothing dissolve and become useless immediately unless he succeeds on a DC 20 Reflex save. A metal or wooden weapon that strikes an ebony cube also dissolves immediately unless it succeeds on a DC 20 Reflex save. The cube’s acidic touch deals 20 points of damage per round to wooden or metal objects, but the ooze must remain in contact with the object for 1 full round to deal this damage. Electric Jelly CR +1This rare variant is capable of producing powerful electrical shocks. It has a purplish sheen, reducing Perception checks to notice it to DC 10. Once every 1d4 rounds, the ooze can generate an electric pulse in a 10-foot radius that deals 1d8 points of electricity damage and stuns creatures for 1 round. A DC 20 Fortitude save reduces the damage by half and negates the stunning effect. Frost Cube CR +1This ooze contains floating pockets of symbiotic brown mold. In addition to eating whatever organic materials they pick up, frost cubes feed on warmth and radiate cold. Living creatures within 5 feet of the cube take 3d6 points of nonlethal cold damage per round. Fire brought within 5 feet of a frost cube gives it fast healing 3. It takes +50% damage from cold attacks. Sorcerer Ooze CR +6Also called the brain cube, this is perhaps the strangest variant ever reported. Presumably some mad mage or ooze-cultist found a way to transfer humanoid Intelligence into the cubes body as a way of achieving immortality without resorting to undeath, but at the cost of the humanoid’s sanity. Still able to cast spells (using Silent Spell and Still Spell), a typical sorcerer ooze has Intelligence 10, Wisdom 12, and Charisma 18, with the spellcasting ability of a 10th-level sorcerer. Some know the ventriloquism spell, allowing them to communicate with others (though their madness means they eventually attack anyway), but most didn’t plan ahead enough and have been locked inside a gelatinous prison, able only to eat and cast spells, never interacting with intelligent creatures in any meaningful way. StunjellyThis most commonly encountered variant is gray in color and slightly translucent. A stunjelly looks like a section of dungeon wall 10 feet square, where it waits to engulf passing prey. It has the same paralytic acid as a standard gelatinous cube, and requires a DC 20 Perception check to notice it, but may also be detected by the mild odor of vinegar it exudes. Pathfinder Chronicles: Dungeon Denizens Revisited. Copyright 2009, Paizo Publishing, LLC; Authors: Clinton Boomer, Jason Bulmahn, Joshua J. Frost, Nicolas Logue, Robert McCreary, Jason Nelson, Richard Pett, Sean K Reynolds, James L. Sutter, and Greg A. Vaughan.Creating a Gelatinous CubeA variety of techniques for creating gelatinous cubes and other oozes in a laboratory exist, several of which may be found in an ancient tome called A Treatise on Jellies, Puddings, and Other Dangerous Oozes. One process involves summoned gangs of ooze mephits and lemures, which are transmuted into mindless protoplasm using the flesh to ooze spell. The resulting ooze is then treated with an alchemical concoction of aboleth slime and paralytic chuul extract before being poured into a large, 10-foot-square wooden mold. Kept warm and moist, by the time its acid has dissolved the wooden mold the ooze has solidified and matured into a full-grown gelatinous cube. Despite the extraplanar nature of the creatures used in its creation, the gelatinous cube is not an outsider, although different recipes may create one with the fiendish template. Dungeon Denizens Revisited. Copyright 2009, Paizo Publishing, LLC Authors Clinton Boomer, Jason Bulmahn, Joshua J. Frost, Nicolas Logue, Robert McCreary, Jason Nelson, Richard Pett, Sean K Reynolds, James L. Sutter, and Greg A. Vaughan. |