Friday, August 1, 2014

Frightful Fridays! Infamous Leaping Ooze of County Cavas-Cowan

Hello, and welcome back to a brand new installment of Frightful Fridays! Continuing with an evident amphibian trend (apart from last week's delightful kitten), I wanted an ooze that used a little shock and awe in its attacks. So, enter an insane wizard who hates halflings and wants something other than the ponderously slow ooze. Graft some frog DNA into the ooze, and it suddenly makes amazing leaps and engulfs those little bastards.

Hopefully, you have a lunatic wizard in your campaign who would dare to tamper with nature and create this thing, which will then surprise your players when it charges at one of their characters and ends its charge in an incredible leap. In the meantime, I'll be back next week with a new monster. Thanks for reading!

 

This blocky slime holds several bones and an oddly preserved frog within its mass.
Infamous Leaping Ooze of County Cavas-Cowan CR 6
XP 2,400
N Large ooze
Init 1; Senses Perception +8

Defense
AC 8, touch 8, flat-footed 8 (1 Dex, 1 size)
hp 101 (7d8+70)
Fort +12, Ref +1, Will +2
Immune acid, electricity, fire, ooze traits

Offense
Speed 30 ft.
Melee slam +12 (2d6+12 plus 1d6 acid)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft.
Special Attacks engulf (DC 21, 1d6 acid), leaping charge

Statistics
Str 26, Dex 9, Con 30, Int 1, Wis 11, Cha 4
Base Atk +5; CMB +14 (+16 bull rush); CMD 23 (25 vs. bull rush, can't be tripped)
Feats Awesome Blow, Improved Bull Rush, Power Attack, Skill Focus (Stealth)
Skills Acrobatics +3 (+19 Acrobatics when jumping), Perception +8, Stealth +2
SQ animal intelligence

Ecology
Environment any hills or plains
Organization solitary
Treasure incidental

Special Abilities
Animal Intelligence (Ex) An infamous leaping ooze has a basic animal intelligence, and it treats Acrobatics, Perception, and Stealth as class skills. It retains its immunity to mind-affecting effects.
Leaping Charge (Ex) An infamous leaping ooze benefits from jumping at its foes in a charge. It gains a +8 bonus on its Acrobatics check to jump when charging.

Named for the location of its first sighting, the Infamous Leaping Ooze of County Cavas-Cowan (referred to as the "leaping ooze" or "infamous leaping ooze" by most people) attacked a community of halflings. It killed several solitary halflings over the course of two weeks with no trace other than a puddle of acidic slime. When it attacked a pair of halflings (one of which fled the scene), the community finally knew what threatened it. With a concerted effort, the halflings finally eradicated the ooze, but others have appeared in various locations since then.

The leaping ooze is infused with frog genetics, as provided by the specially treated frog that remains relatively preserved from the ooze's acid. This infusion allows the ooze a small measure of awareness and cunning and prodigious jumping ability. Perhaps designed by a crazed wizard unhappy with an ooze's typically cumbersome movement and then unleashed upon the unsuspecting halflings at first, the ooze has appeared in other locations, indicating either the spread of its arcane design or a weird case of parallel design.

A leaping ooze usually attempts to engulf one opponent on an initial charge. Afterwards, it uses Awesome Blow to turn back rescuers before it leaps away with its new meal.