Ooze, Leavesrot

Family: Oozes

Large ooze, unaligned

Armor Class 8
Hit Points 105 (14d10 + 28)
Speed 20 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
17 (+3)	7 (–2)	15 (+2)	1 (–5)	8 (–1)	1 (–5)

Damage Immunities acid, bludgeoning, cold
Condition Immunities blinded, charmed, deafened, exhaustion, frightened, prone
Senses blindsight 60 ft. (blind beyond this radius), passive Perception 9
Languages —
Challenge 4 (1,100 XP)
Proficiency Bonus +2

SPECIAL TRAITS

• Amorphous. The leavesrot ooze can move through a space as narrow as 1 inch wide without squeezing.
• False Appearance. While the leavesrot ooze remains motionless, it is indistinguishable from an ordinary pile of leaves.
• Ooze Nature. The leavesrot ooze doesn’t require sleep.
• Rotting Leaves. When a creature hits the leavesrot ooze with a melee attack while within 5 feet of it, mold spores and decomposing matter fly out from the wound. Each creature within 5 feet of the ooze must succeed on a DC 13 Constitution saving throw or be poisoned until the end of its next turn.

ACTIONS

• Pseudopod. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 10 (2d6 + 3) bludgeoning damage plus 13 (3d8) acid damage, and the target is grappled (escape DC 13). Until this grapple ends, the target is restrained, the ooze can automatically hit the target with its Pseudopod, and the ooze can’t make Pseudopod attacks against other targets.
• Release Spores (Recharge 5–6). The leavesrot ooze releases spores from the mold coating its leaves. Each creature within 20 feet of the ooze must make a DC 13 Constitution saving throw. On a failure, a creature takes 14 (4d6) poison damage and is choking. On a success, a creature takes half the damage and isn’t choking. A choking creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.

ABOUT

This pile of rotting leaves—in reds and yellows, oranges and browns—rustles as it scuttles along the ground in search of its next meal.

Leavesrot oozes spring to life when sentient mold grows on fallen leaves, causing them to coalesce and act in concert. Many believe they are the unlikely result of meddling by a wizard’s apprentice, who grew tired of raking leaves outside the tower.

Corrosive Heaps. As piles of fallen leaves decompose, they coalesce, and as the mold grows, the ooze exudes acid potent enough to strip flesh from bone. Druids sometimes use these oozes to accelerate the decomposition of rotting corpses.

Autumnal Ambuscade. Leavesrot oozes lie in ambush on the forest floor, grabbing and devouring creatures that cross its path. Travelers have heard the cries of their companions who, after being wrestled to the ground with a withering squelch, are slowly eaten by these predatory mounds.

Carnivorous Mounds. No one is sure how the leavesrot ooze developed a taste for flesh, but they are sated, however briefly, after consuming seven creatures in a single month, temporarily entering a dormant state. Travelers in areas known to contain leavesrot oozes often bring along extra chickens, pigs, or other livestock to sate the creatures long enough to secure passage through the forest.