Black Pudding
Black Pudding (CR 7)
Black Puddings are the most commonly encountered of the oozes, and that alone makes them noteworthy. Black Puddings are extremely hard to kill completely, and after a battle with a swarm of puddings, baby puddings are usually spawned by the dozens over the next several weeks, as random spots and spatters scattered in the battle will slowly grow into more of the vile things.
Like all oozes, black puddings are horrifying things. They are not really alive, nor are they dead, nor or they even undead. They simple exist in an unquiet state of hungry growth. Puddings never sleep or rest or do anything else like an actually living creature will do. Black puddings are a lot 'thicker' than other oozes, and in their resting state form a heaping mound of midnight semi-liquid matter about ten feet across and easily seven or eight feet high. They move with a eerie sucking flow and can cling to about anything that can resist their acid matter, which is very little indeed aside from solid stone.
Black puddings are incredibly dangerous, and will cause a strong response if sighted near any intelligent creatures' lairs. Puddings are to be found and eradicated as fast as possible, before they find their way into your house one dark night and eat your children.
GENERAL
CR 7 Hit Dice 10
XP 3,200
N, Large, Ooze
Init +3; Senses Tremorsense 60 ft, Perception +11
DEFENSE
AC 25, touch 15, flat-footed 20 (+5 dex, +10 armor)
hp 82
Fort +10, Ref +6, Will +6
Aura: -
SR: -
Special Defenses: Immunity to piercing and half damage from slashing weapons, Acidic Matter
Immunities:
- all mind-affecting effects (charms, compulsions, morale effects, patterns, and phantasms) (an ooze with an Int score loses this trait)
- gaze attacks, visual effects, illusions, and other attack forms that rely on sight
- precision damage, critical hits, flanking
- poison
- sleep
- polymorph, paralysis, stunning
Weaknesses: -
OFFENSE
Speed 20 ft., climb 20 ft.
Space / Reach: 10 ft. / 10 ft.
Single Melee Pseudopod Smash +11 (2d6+2/x2) Acid Damage + Gorge
Full Melee Pseudopod Swarm 4x +11 (2d4+2/x2) Acid Damage + Gorge
Ranged -
Special Attacks Gorge
Action Points 0
STATISTICS
Str 16, Dex 1, Con 22, Int —, Wis 1, Cha 1
Base Atk +7; CMB +13; CMD 25
Feats -
Skills -
Languages -
SPECIAL ABILITIES
- Acidic Matter
Black puddings are basically ambulatory pools of intense acid. All their attacks deal acid damage, and even worse, all of their attacks inflict that same acid damage to the armor, clothing, and weapons of those who attack them or are attacked by them. Striking a black pudding with weapons made of metal or organic material such as wood, bone, ivory, etc, will inflict 2d6 of acid damage to the weapon and armor. It is quite possible for weapons and armor to gain the Broken condition from fighting a Black Pudding, although the hardness of the items may provide some protection.
- Gorge
When a black pudding hits a foe with a Pseudopod attack (either Smash or Swarm) it may 'pour itself' along the length of that pseudopod and enter the space of the struck creature. This is mechanically handled in-game as the ability to make a five foot step after any such attack once per round. Any and all creatures it has struck may be en-gorged in this way, but it may NOT move into the space of a creature it did not strike. Being inside a pudding's space this way does not impede either the pudding or the victim in any way, except that the victim takes 2d6 acid damage at the end of any move action the pudding makes which leaves them inside the pudding's space, to a maximum of once each combat round.
- Portion Control
Once per encounter, as a triggered free reaction, upon being struck by a piercing or slashing weapon, a Black Pudding will split from one Large creature into four Medium creatures in the same space. Once split, each Pudding can and will move and attack independently using the same initiative. Each one has one fourth of the ORIGINAL hit point total of the Black Pudding (round down), has only five feet of reach, but otherwise does full damage with all attacks. This effectively serves as a full heal and quadruples the creature's damage, so, don't do this unless you're really sure about it.
TREASURE
sell value of approximately 2,375 gp
COMBAT TACTICS
Black Puddings are utterly mindless. They sense motion or warmth, they move toward it and attack. They will not use five foot steps to attain extra opportunity attacks with their reach, nor will they bother with flanks except by accident. If they are able to use Portion Control, all four of the new oozes act independently, moving to the closest prey and attacking with vigor. Note that Pseudopod Swarm is four melee attacks, and can be used against any and targets the Pudding can reach, up to four attacks on a single target is allowed.