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Archives of Nethys

Archives of Nethys

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Rime Sludge

Rot and decay play a natural role in swamps of all climates, and latent magical energies or other strange phenomena can transform decomposing matter into oozes and other monstrous creatures made of living muck. Tundra wetlands are no exception to this trend. Worse, in such regions, a quick freeze can prevent noxious sludge from breaking down, and sequential years of short, seasonal thaws can compress rot upon rot until the pestilential mass animates as a rime sludge. These rare, noxious oozes hungrily search for and consume any organic matter they find in their northland habitats.

Like most oozes, rime sludges consist primarily of protoplasm, though theirs has a slushy consistency peppered with disgusting nuggets of indigestible matter, such as petrified wood, jagged arrowheads, and animal fossils. A rime sludge renews this protoplasm by consuming plants and animals and maintaining a careful balance of semifrozen decomposition in its mutable form.

Rime sludges are among the few oozes that thrive in cold climates, as too much heat accelerates their natural decay. Rime sludges can't survive temperatures too far above freezing for more than a few days. Rising temperatures force them to migrate toward cooler climates or cold underground areas.

Few intelligent creatures inhabiting cold climates want anything to do with rime sludges. These oozes can't be trained, tend to wander off at random, and emit a noxious stink at the slightest hint of warmth. Some inventive creatures try to trap rime sludges in pits to keep them contained and use them to dispose of prisoners or food scraps. Because of the oozes' overpowering stench, these pits tend to be quite deep.

Recall Knowledge - Ooze (Occultism): DC 20
Unspecific Lore: DC 18
Specific Lore: DC 15

Elite | Normal | Weak
Proficiency without Level

Changes from being Weak are marked in red below.
NOTE: The -2 damage penalty to non-strike offensive abilities (-4 if the ability is limited, such as spells) is NOT factored in.

Weak Rime SludgeCreature -1

Legacy Content

Rare N Medium Mindless Ooze 
Source Pathfinder #175: Broken Tusk Moon pg. 86
Perception +4; motion sense 60 feet, no vision
Skills Athletics +5
Str +2, Dex -5, Con +2, Int -5, Wis +1, Cha -5
Motion Sense A rime sludge can sense nearby motion through vibration and air movement.
AC 6; Fort +5, Ref +0, Will +2
HP 28; Immunities cold, critical hits, mental, poison, precision, unconscious, visual; Weaknesses fire 2
Noxious Sublimation The first time each round that the rime sludge takes fire damage, a cloud of sickening decay roils outward, dealing 2d6 poison damage (DC 15 basic Fortitude save) to all creatures in a 10-foot emanation. A creature that fails its saving throw is also sickened 1 (or sickened 3 on a critical failure).
Speed 10 feet, swim 10 feet; slushy undulation
Melee [one-action] pseudopod +7 [+2/-3], Damage 1d4-2+2 bludgeoning plus 1d4-2 poisonSlushy Undulation A rime sludge ignores difficult terrain and greater difficult terrain from ice and snow and doesn't risk falling prone when crossing ice.

Sidebar - Additional Lore Frozen in Time

At low enough temperatures, a rime sludge can freeze solid. Its basic biological processes shut down, and it can survive indefinitely in this frozen state. Thawing a frozen rime sludge can bring it back to life after being inanimate for hundreds or even thousands of years. Though thawed rime sludges can't express what the world was like in earlier ages, they occasionally contain important or relics of the past, such as tools, weapons, or even magical items.