Ooze-Kin (5e Race)
Ooze-Kin
| “ | Weird ones, those slimes. So committed, so determined, even in the face of what world has thrown their way. | ” |
| —Nathaniel Ward, human explorer. | ||
Colorful and Adaptive
With bodies shaped similarly to humans, an ooze-kin's main differentiation is a simple fact: their entire bodies are composed of slime. Although generally similar to humans, ooze-kin can freely shift smaller features of their bodies, leading to variants with elf-like ears, the fangs of an animal, or horns like those of a tiefling. These features require some amount of willpower to keep in place, and generally only a few of these features can be maintained at a time. When stunned, incapacitated, or otherwise prevented from focusing, their features melt away into a smooth, faceless, humanoid figure. Since they don't have actual eyes or mouths, they've learned to vibrate their bodies to produce sound. This allows them to sense their surroundings through echolocation and to replicate speech.
Varied bodily compositions result in a wide variety of colors that span the rainbow, such as green, red, blue, pink, yellow, grey and black. Some are completely opaque while others appear more translucent. The color of an ooze-kin is generally the result of the oozes and additional compounds they were made from, as well as diet and minerals absorbed from the environment in which they live. Their color can even change over time if these change for long enough. For example, ooze-kin who live in rocky areas, such as caves or mountains tend towards opaque blacks and greys from stone, or shades of red and yellow from exposure to iron and sulfur. Ooze-kin in more plant-filled environments such as tropics or swamps take on brighter, translucent colors such as green, blue, and purple.
Ooze-kin require spending six hours of a meditative, unconscious state akin to sleep in order to preserve their sentience and free-will. Otherwise, they can fall back into unintelligible chaotic states similar to that of the oozes they were made from. Bubbles can be seen rising to their surface when their emotions rise.
From Servitude to Sentience
Created by a wizard attempting to tame and control ooze monsters, ooze-kin are the product of magical experiments to create golems from inanimate ooze matter, acidic gel, exotic herbs, and a wide variety of other compounds. They were subjected to harsh testing of all kinds, causing them to evolve and develop an incredibly diverse array of abilities. Keeping with the rules of golem construction, the low solidity of their materials caused them to disobey their master. Several failed countermeasures later, the race gained free will and fled to spread across the world. They are a relatively new race, having only been created within a century of modern times, and thus are quite naive, with few enemies and fewer allies. Their former servitude gives them an especially strong sense of free-will and desire for freedom. Neutrality is maintained in their societies, aside from rare exceptions.
Residents of Freedom
Low in number, the ooze-kin generally live within humid environments such as jungles, tropics, and swamps, where they feel at home. Their settlements seem primitive to the outside eye, living within caves and other naturally-created shelters. Outsiders are welcomed with open arms into their simple settlements, although a lack of recreation, luxuries, and the dangers of a village filled with living acid cause visitors to generally leave quickly. Ooze-kin settlements are controlled by the oldest members, although nowhere near restrictive. Many strike out at a young age, becoming adventurers and traders in order to explore more of the world.
Ooze-Kin Names
Ooze-kin weren't given names when they were created, but as they developed further intelligence and gained free will, they desired individuality and named themselves. Their names tend to include soft consonants, buzzing sounds, and stretching vowels, particularly "oo"s, "v"s, and "zh"s as those are the easiest sounds for them to produce.
Male: Eruven, Leral, Haruval, Remuso, Varin, Greenu, Heliizh, Suvo, Greviz, Shroovz,
Female: Shiyuua, Suli, Aruili, Kineua, Unalee, Vrym, Elzhiv, Nezhu, Melva, voomev, tryzh,
Ooze-Kin Traits
All ooze-kin share some common composition, giving them some similar traits.
Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 2.
Age. In the hundred years since their creation, none have died from old age. They reach maturity at around age 20, with most deaths being a result of their natural pull towards adventuring.
Alignment. Ooze-kin developed strong ideals due to their imprisonment from their creator, most opposing it, though a few following suit. This generally pulls them towards neutral good, neutral, or neutral evil.
Size. Ooze-kin are usually about 5 and a half feet tall, weighing anywhere from 60 to 160 pounds. They can alter their height by up to a foot at-will. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 25 feet.
Blindsight. Ooze-kin don't have eyes, but can effectively see through echolocation. By constantly vibrating your head slightly, you emit an inaudible frequency and detect its reflection. Using this, you have blindsight up to 60 feet away, regardless of light. You are blind beyond this radius, however, and cannot perceive light, color, or any other visual phenomenon. You can't be blinded by light, but while deafened, you are considered to be also blinded.
Amorphous. While unarmored, you take no penalties while squeezing. In addition, you can spend 1 minute to move 5 feet through spaces as small as 1-inch wide. Any items that cannot fit through a space you pass through are left behind. Finally, you can don or doff armor as an action.
Languages. You can speak Common and one language of your choice. As a result of not being able to perceive light, you cannot read these languages unless the text is engraved or embossed.
Subrace. While environment and diet affect an ooze-kin's composition, they were created with slight, permanent variations, giving them different properties. Choose one of these subraces.
Adhesive Ooze-Kin
Some ooze-kin are especially adhesive, sticking better both to themselves and to everything else. These ooze-kin tend to be especially light, living in tropical regions, commonly with bright colors of blues and pinks. Many are carefree, and almost all enjoy exploring.
Ability Score Increase. Your choice of your Strength or Dexterity score increases by 1.
Adherent. You have resistance to non-magical slashing damage.
Spider Climb. You can climb difficult surfaces including upside down on ceilings, without needing to make an ability check.
Corrosive Ooze-Kin
In order to maintain a stable humanoid form, ooze-kin aren't made of as much acid as the oozes they were made from. Some ooze-kin, however, are still very corrosive, destroying wood, cloth, leather, and other organic materials that they touch. They are often impulsive and have a hard time controlling their emotions, a characteristic developed from frustration with their inadvertently destructive from. They are also, however, the most stalwart of ooze-kin. These ooze-kin are often found living in swamps or underground caves, with dark colors like black, purple, and green.
Ability Score Increase. Your Charisma score increases by 1.
Acidic Resistance. You have resistance to acid damage.
Corrosive Strikes. Your unarmed strikes deal acid damage, instead of bludgeoning damage.
Corrosive Form. When a creature within 5 feet of you damages you, as a reaction, you can spray a corrosive ooze on them. This deals 1d4 acid damage and this damage increase to 1d6 at 9th level and 1d8 at 17th level. You can use this spray a number of times equal to your Constitution modifier and regain all expanded uses when you complete a long rest. In addition, you can use your action to eat through 1-inch, of nonmagical organic material, such as wood that is not worn or carried.
Acidic Step. While not wearing footwear, your feet clean the ground you step on of debris. This may grant creatures advantage on ability checks made to track you or determine your location.
Elastic Ooze-Kin
Ooze matter was combined with tropical herbs, resulting in ooze-kin with the ability to stretch their bodies and limbs to great lengths. These ooze-kin find homes in forests and grasslands, developing organic and earthy colors of red, orange, yellow, and green. Most find joy in simple pleasures, friendly competition, and physical activity.
Ability Score Increase. Your choice of your Strength or Dexterity score increases by 1.
Insulator. Choose cold, fire, or lightning. You have resistance to damage of the chosen type. You cannot change this damage type once chosen.
Stretchy. While not using a weapon with the heavy property, your reach is 10 feet. In addition, when reaching vertically, such as to grab a ledge, you can add twice your height, instead of half your height.
Gelatinous Ooze-Kin
The matter from gelatinous cubes was harvested to create translucent ooze-kin with the ability to become completely transparent and store objects inside their body. They are the most diluted and least acidic, commonly found living jungles and rainforests. Teal, blues, and greens are the most common colors among them. Most prefer patience, peace and serenity, fearing contention. When they feel frightened or distressed, they sometimes unintentionally become transparent as an instinctive response. They have a tendency to sit and observe, a result of needing to remain still in order to turn transparent to survive.
Ability Score Increase. Your choice of your Dexterity or Wisdom score increases by 1.
Engulf. You can store up to 2 cubic feet or 40 pounds worth of gear inside your body. You can stow something inside your body simply by moving into its space. When you would withdraw an item from your body on your turn, you can instead choose to withdraw and deposit everything stored inside your body, leaving it in an unoccupied space within 5 feet of you. Anything stored inside you can be seen by other creatures, and your body digests any unprotected consumables such as food or herbs.
Transparent. If you haven't moved on your turn when you attempt to hide, your coloration dissolves and you become transparent until you move, make an attack, fall prone, or cast a spell with a somatic component, either voluntarily or because of some external effect. While transparent, you can attempt to hide even when only lightly obscured or even in plain sight. While lightly or heavily obscured, Wisdom (Perception) checks made to see you have disadvantage. When you attempt to hide in plain sight, anything you are wearing or carrying may cause disadvantage on the Dexterity (Stealth) check or even completely prevent you from being able to do so.
Psychic Ooze-Kin
Some oozes developed psionic abilities by living near psionic creatures like mind flayers. These rare oozes were used to create ooze-kin with psionic abilities. Such occurrences are more common in gray oozes, so most psychic ooze-kin are also gray and opaque. Like their ooze counterparts, they tend to live in caves made humid from underground sources of water and acid, and the rocks and minerals their bodies collect make them the heaviest of the ooze-kin. They are also the most reserved of the ooze-kin, contemplating and meditating the state of their existence more often than not.
Ability Score Increase. Your Intelligence score increases by 1.
Telekinetic. You learn the mage hand cantrip. When you cast it, the spectral hand is invisible.
Telepathic. You can communicate telepathically with any creature you can see within 30 feet of you. You don’t need to share a language with the creature for it to understand your telepathic utterances, but the creature must be able to understand at least one language. A creature without telepathy can receive and respond to your telepathic messages but can't initiate or terminate a telepathic conversation.
Psychic Crush. You can use your action to choose one creature that you can sense within 60 feet. The target must make an Intelligence saving throw. The DC for this saving throw equals 8 + your Intelligence modifier + your proficiency bonus. The creature takes 3d6 psychic damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. The damage increases to 4d6 at 6th level, 5d6 at 11th level, and 6d6 at 16th level. You can’t use this trait again until you finish a long rest.
Random Height and Weight
| Base Height | Height Modifier | Base Weight | Weight Modifier |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5′ | +2d6″ | 60 lb. | × (1d8) lb. |
Ooze-kin can increase or decrease their height by up to 1 foot at will.