Ooze, Ruby

The rough stone wall reveals a vein of blood-red gemstone running through it.

Medium ooze, unaligned

Armor Class 9
Hit Points 93 (11d8 + 44)
Speed 20 ft., climb 20 ft.

STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
14 (+2) 8 (-1) 18 (+4) 2 (-4) 6 (-2) 1 (-5)

Damage Vulnerabilities lightning
Damage Resistances bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks
Damage Immunities acid, fire
Condition Immunities blinded, charmed, deafened, exhaustion, frightened, prone
Senses blindsight 60 ft. (blind beyond this radius), passive Perception 8
Languages
Challenge 6 (2,300 XP)

Special Traits

  • Ambusher. The ooze has advantage on attack rolls against any creature it has surprised.
  • Amorphous. The ooze can move through a space as narrow as 1 inch wide without squeezing.
  • Corrosive Form. A creature that touches the ooze or hits it with a melee attack while within 5 feet of it takes 7 (2d6) acid damage. Any nonmagical weapon made of metal or wood that hits the ooze is coated in a corrosive red slime. After dealing damage, the weapon takes a permanent and cumulative -1 penalty to damage rolls. If its penalty drops to -5, the weapon is destroyed. Nonmagical ammunition made of metal or wood that hits the ooze is destroyed after dealing damage. The ooze can eat through 2-inch-thick, nonmagical wood or metal in 1 round.
  • False Appearance. While the ooze remains motionless, it is indistinguishable from a pile of rubies.
  • Ooze Nature. A ruby ooze doesn’t require sleep.
  • Spider Climb. The ooze can climb difficult surfaces, including upside down on ceilings, without needing to make an ability check.

Actions

  • Multiattack. The ruby ooze makes two pseudopod attacks.
  • Pseudopod. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (2d6 + 2) bludgeoning damage plus 14 (4d6) acid damage.
  • Acid Spray (Recharge 5-6). The ooze sprays its bright red protoplasm in a 20-foot line that is 5 feet wide. Each creature in that line must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw. On a failure, the creature takes 21 (6d6) acid damage and is restrained as its flesh begins to turn into a translucent ruby-like stone. On a success, the creature takes half the damage and isn’t restrained. The restrained creature must make a DC 15 Constitution saving throw at the end of its next turn, taking 21 (6d6) acid damage and becoming petrified on a failure or ending the effect on a success.

About

Miners’ Menace. The ruby ooze has simple tricks, but they work well where humanoids are concerned. Ruby oozes hunt by packing themselves into crevasses in walls and surfaces near areas of high traffic, which has led to many costly battles inside mineshafts.

Treasure Stalker. Ruby oozes are known to take on a semisolid form that strongly resembles a pile of cut stones. As soon as something warm and moving comes within reach, the ruby ooze lunges with its pseudopods. When confronted with strong and resisting prey, the ruby ooze launches some of its own protoplasm at the creature. This substance hardens the flesh it touches into a ruby-like stone, slowing and harming the creature enough for the ruby ooze to devour what flesh remains. When its prey is immobilized by its acid, the ruby ooze covers the body entirely and dissolves it down to the odd tooth or bit of ruby-colored bone.

Hoard Bane. The creatures have been employed by those wishing to protect hoards of wealth, but the number of substances the ooze can dissolve makes this an infrequent method of security.

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.