Droth

Huge aberration (shoth), lawful neutral

Armor Class 16 (natural armor)
Hit Points 230 (20d12 + 100)
Speed 20 ft., climb 10 ft.

STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
18 (+4) 9 (-1) 20 (+5) 14 (+2) 16 (+3) 20 (+5)

Saving Throws Constitution +9, Wisdom +7, Charisma +9
Skills Perception +7
Damage Resistances cold, fire
Damage Immunities acid
Senses blindsight 60 ft., passive Perception 17
Languages all, telepathy 100 ft.
Challenge 12 (8,400 XP)

Special Traits

  • Absorbent (3/day). When the droth damages a creature, it absorbs a portion of that creature’s knowledge and power. As a bonus action, it can recreate any action available to a creature it damaged within the last minute. This includes spells and actions with limited uses or with a recharge. This recreated action is resolved using the droth’s statistics where applicable.
  • Amorphous. The droth, including its equipment, can move through a space as narrow as 1 inch wide without squeezing.
  • Soothing Aura. Any creature hostile to the droth that starts its turn within 20 feet of the droth must succeed on a DC 17 Wisdom saving throw or have disadvantage on all attack rolls until the end of its next turn. Creatures with Intelligence 3 or lower automatically fail the saving throw.

Actions

  • Multiattack. The droth makes two oozing crush attacks.
  • Oozing Crush. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. Hit: 30 (4d12 + 4) bludgeoning damage and 7 (2d6) acid damage.
  • Merge. A shoth with less than half its maximum hp can merge with any other shoth creature within 10 feet, adding its remaining hp to that creature’s. The hp gained this way can exceed the normal maximum of that creature. A shoth can accept one such merger every 24 hours.
  • Acid Wave (Recharge 5-6). The droth rises up and crashes down, releasing a 20-foot-radius wave of acidic ooze. Each creature in the area must make a DC 17 Dexterity saving throw. On a failure, a creature takes 45 (10d8) acid damage and is knocked prone. On a success, a creature takes half the damage and isn’t knocked prone.

About

Oth who live for centuries eventually transform into droth.

These huge, undulating piles of ooze travel from world to world, creating the zolvs wherever they are needed. Droth have a calming effect on living creatures, and their rippling surface is not unlike a great body of water. Droth have a different sense of time than other shoth and communicating simple messages with them can take days or weeks. Droth are revered by the sooze and the oth, as they resemble Shoth itself. Droth, in turn, bolster the abilities of the lesser shoth.

Made From Their Bodies. The dissolving pools (zolvs) of the shoth are made from a portion of a droth. A droth who has recently created a zolv remains weakened (maximum hp halved)) for several days. For this reason, the droth are heavily guarded during and after the zolv production process.

The Shoth

Be at peace, lose your bones, be one with the shoth.

The shoth are an aberrant race of oozing humanoids from outside the known planes. Their leader, and namesake, is a creature with god-like powers whose gelatinous body floats like a star in a distant galaxy. The shoth have no home world; instead, they wander the universe inside massive oozing vessels capable of interplanar travel. The largest of these vessels, the Dripping Palace, contains an avatar of Shoth itself.

The singular purpose of all the shoth is to dissolve willing, sentient life in great bubbling pools called zolvs. Far from being war-like and dominating, the shoth instead form close relationships with creatures, assisting those creatures in whatever way they can.

The shoth provide assistance, wisdom, riches, and guidance until the object of their attention accepts the greatest offer the shoth can make-absolute co-mingling. In this way, the shoth increase both their knowledge and their numbers. They have been known to work for a millennia or more before making the offer of the zolv.

The process of dissolving oneself in a zolv is not painful or unpleasant. The creature wades into the thick protein bath and is flooded with calm and peaceful emotions. Slowly, the creature submerges itself, and its body is dissolved, rising again as a vaguely-humanoid ooze.

The shoth follow a strict code of laws recorded in magical spheres called zoms. Each shoth carries its own zom, to which it telepathically refers often. Only the shoth can fully understand the zom’s sigils and sounds, though magic such as the comprehend languages spell gives the caster some measure of understanding. The laws of Shoth are actually the collected wisdom of all the disparate sentient species who have been dissolved over the aeons.

The shoth divide themselves into different castes according to their age. Newly dissolved shoth are called soozes, while shoth who have persisted a century or more earn the title oth.

These elders serve as generals in the shoth armies or as scholarly wizards who pursue magical knowledge to add to the collective.

The few who live for 500 years or more become droths. These massive piles of ooze no longer appear humanoid, instead looking like smaller versions of Shoth itself. Droths are required for the creation of zolvs and, therefore, are usually the last to arrive to a world.

Trustworthy. The shoth are true to their word. They are interested in gaining the trust of others and do not employ trickery, deception, or intimidation to obtain it. Once the shoth have targeted a creature or group for dissolution, they are true friends and allies.

Never by Force. Though the shoth have many laws recorded in the zoms, the overarching law states that creatures must agree to be dissolved without force or coercion. The zolv is the last step in the relationship, and it is never offered before the shoth are confident the creature will accept.

Section 15: Copyright Notice

Creature Codex. © 2018 Open Design LLC; Authors Wolfgang Baur, Dan Dillon, Richard Green, James Haeck, Chris Harris, Jeremy Hochhalter, James Introcaso, Chris Lockey, Shawn Merwin, and Jon Sawatsky.