Friday, May 18, 2018

Frightful Fridays! Tavernscourge Blob

Welcome once again to another week of Frightful Fridays! This week's monster grew out of a concept my father shared with me, where the monster was a piece of gum stuck under the table. It became this tavern-dwelling blob with an immense fondness for alcohol, including any coursing through the blood of PCs.

I hope you enjoy the tavernscourge blob, and I'll see you next week with another monster!



This shapeless gray mass, no larger than a typical coin, looks like putty. It smells vaguely of alcohol and the tasteless remains of prechewed food.
Tavernscourge Blob      CR 3
XP 800
N Diminutive ooze
Init +2; Senses sense alcohol, tremorsense 30 ft.; Perception +5
DEFENSE
AC 16, touch 16, flat-footed 14 (+2 Dex, +4 size)
hp 32 (5d8+10)
Fort +5, Ref +3, Will +1
Defensive Abilities energy interaction; DR 5/piercing; Immune acid, cold, electricity, fire, ooze traits
Weaknesses vulnerability to sonic
OFFENSE
Speed 10 ft., climb 10 ft.
Melee slam +9 (1d25 plus attach)
Space 1 ft.; Reach 0 ft.
Special Attacks alcohol drain
STATISTICS
Str 1, Dex 14, Con 14, Int 3, Wis 11, Cha 8
Base Atk +3; CMB +1 (+9 to maintain a grapple); CMD 6 (14 to resist breaking its grapple, can't be tripped)
Feats Great Fortitude, Skill Focus (Stealth), Weapon Finesse
Skills Climb +10, Knowledge (local) +6, Perception +4, Stealth +17; Racial Modifiers +8 Knowledge (local)
SQ agglutinant
ECOLOGY
Environment any land (taverns and inns)
Organization solitary or buzzkill (28)
Treasure incidental
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Agglutinant (Ex) A tavernscourge blob gains a +8 racial modifier to CMB checks to maintain a grapple and to its CMD to resist a creature breaking its grapple. Additionally, it can take a move action to attach small objects (no larger than a coin) to itself; this grants it a +2 armor bonus to AC, but slows its base and climb speeds to 5 feet. Removing an object requires a standard action.
Alcohol Drain (Ex) Within a container of alcohol, a tavernscourge blob converts one pint of alcohol into water as it absorbs the alcohol. For each pint it absorbs, it gains 5 temporary hit points (which last for 1 minute). If it absorbs four pints of alcohol, it splits into two tavernscourge blobs, each with half the original blob’s hit points at the time it split.
When attached to a creature, it removes the effects of one pint of alcohol from the creature, which must also make a DC 14 Fortitude save or take 1 point of Constitution damage. If the creature has no alcohol in its system, it takes 1 point of Constitution damage and it must make a DC 14 Fortitude save or take an additional point of Constitution damage. For each point of Constitution damage inflicted, the blob gains temporary hit points and splits into two blobs as above. The save DC is Constitution-based.
Attach (Ex) When a tavernscourge blob attaches itself to a creature, and until it deals Constitution damage with its alcohol drain ability, the creature only notices the blob with a successful DC 16 Perception check. The check DC is Dexterity-based and includes a +2 racial bonus.
Energy Interaction (Ex) A tavernscourge blob is immune to acid, cold, electricity, and fire, but it has unusual reactions to energy types to which it is exposed. If subject to cold damage, it gains a +2 natural armor bonus to AC and its base and climb speeds are reduced to 5 feet. If subject to fire damage, it gains the effects of haste and loses its damage reduction. If subject to electricity damage, its slam attack deals 1d4 points of electricity damage for the following round; if it is attached to a creature at the beginning of its turn, it deals the electricity damage if it maintains its grapple.
Sense Alcohol (Ex) A tavernscourge blob can immediately sense the presence of alcohol in closed containers or within creatures in a 60-foot radius as if by scent. This range increases to 300 feet for exposed alcohol.

Tavernscourge blobs were alchemical creations meant to scrub alcohol from the bloodstream or from drinks, but their interactions with alcohol awoke a bizarre intelligence and an overwhelming desire for the substance. Their initial attempts to obtain their favorite drink caused them to drain the blood of their victims. They eventually came to a dim understanding that “riding” potential victims to locations with alcohol would prove more rewarding. When they arrived upon travelers at taverns, they hopped off and attached themselves to the underside of tables. There, they could absorb alcohol into their masses in secret, often cleaning up spills created by rowdy drinkers.

Tavernscourge blobs are typically content with the amount of alcohol they take in this manner, but occasionally, an overwhelming desire for drink overtakes them and they destroy kegs and kill patrons in their zeal. Worse, the more alcohol they absorb in these frenzies, the more blobs they create, exacerbating the situation.

Calmer oozes learn about their establishments’ “regulars,” often so they can attach themselves to outsiders to make trips to other taverns. By plying these oozes with alcohol and working out a way to communicate with them, creatures can gather information about the conversations and goings-on at the locations hosting the oozes.