Creature Cohorts: The OozeCreature Cohorts: The OozeCreature Cohorts: The OozeCreature Cohorts: The OozeCreature Cohorts: The Ooze

Ooze Cohorts

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young man lies pinned beneath a pile ofrecently deposited rocks. The kobold minesare known to be unreliable as a means oftravel, but it is only now that the warningsseem all too relevant. The man cries out, butno one answers.

After a few more loud but futile shouts,the man notices liquid pooling next to him. Is the mineflooding? Not at all, the man realizes, as the puddle standsup on two wobbly, misshapen legs. The creature stares athim a while. With no other choice, the man pleads withthis being to spare his life.

Despite everything he has heard about oozes andslimes, the creature does not devour him. Instead, theman feels something warm inside his head. Is the creaturecommunicating with him? Is this being intelligent?

The rocks are pushed away by the creature's body,leaving the man a little damp, but unharmed. From thatday forward, the man traveled with a bucket hanging fromhis backpack, his little slime friend resting inside of it.

What is a Cohort?In short, a creature cohort is a monster, perhaps from theMonster Manual that has been converted into its own raceand associated class. You create a cohort much likemaking a character, following the same rules in thePlayer's Handbook. One difference, though, is that cohortstypically don't pick a character background unless themonster in question had a prior profession.

Cohorts are designed to be flexible, so that DMs can dosome of the following:

DMs can use a cohort in place of the normal "Sidekick"rules from Tasha's Cauldron of Everything, allowing aniconic monster to act as a friendly NPC or even as aparty memberA cohort can be used as a monster that levels with theparty (as a recurring enemy or rival, for instance)Cohorts can act as more powerful familiars, or assubstitutes for animal companions (or similar classabilities)

Note: despite being mentioned above, you do not needto own Tasha's Cauldron of Everything to use cohorts.

Know that the race and class associated with a specificcohort (like the Ooze Cohort Race and Class) are designedto be taken together. The reason is to ensure the race andclass are both balanced as a "package" and also to ensureboth fit the base creature thematically as much aspossible. Keep in mind that as of the time of this writing,creature cohorts are not designed for multiclassing norbalanced for such.

Cohorts allow for party members that are normally allbut impossible to conceive, like the example given below:The Ooze.

Ooze Racial FeaturesWhen oozes are formed, they begin as little more than anamorphous mass of acidic slime. However, their keensenses and naturally quiet movement allow them to seek(or hunt) their food surprisingly well. Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution scoreincreases by 2, and your Strength score increases by 1.Age. The biology of oozes is little understood. It is saidthat one can be born with latent psychic ability, or it canawaken after months or years (if the awakening shouldhappen at all). Since these creatures are often spawnedfully formed, there is no minimum age for an ooze. It isbelieved that oozes can live for many years, as they are notknown to die from anything other than combat or a lack offood. Alignment. Oozes tend to have simple thoughts at first--being concerned with their next meal and little else. If anintelligent ooze spends time around other sentient beings,though, it may take inspiration from the hopes anddreams of those around it.

Isolated oozes are often neutral, having little knowledge(if any) of society or its values. Oozes that learn fromothers can fall anywhere on the spectrum from good toevil.

art by Logan Preshaw cover art by Johannes Voss

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Size. You begin as a Small-sized creature, beingsomewhere around three feet in diameter to start. Overtime, your mass will continue to grow as you consumeorganic material. Speed. You have a 'walking' speed of 20 feet, and a climbspeed of 20 feet. Blindsight. Lacking visual organs, you cannot 'see' in thetraditional way. However, you have a keen sense ofhearing and can detect even slight vibrations through yourfluidic body. You are able to perceive your surroundingswithin 60 feet without relying on sight. On the one hand,you can perceive normally through darkness, fog and thelike without issue. On the other hand, you are blindbeyond this radius.Amorphous. As an ooze, you can always move through aspace as if you were a Small-sized creature. This is trueeven as you grow to larger sizes. Naturally Quiet. You gain proficiency in the Stealth skill.Slimy Nature. You count as an ooze for the purposes ofspells and effects.Pseudopod. You are able to strike at your enemies,swiping outward with a tentacle-like mass of yourself. Youhave a pseudopod attack that counts as a natural meleeweapon. Your pseudopod deals 1d6 bludgeoning damage,and adds your Strength bonus to attack and damage rolls.You are automatically proficient in your pseudopod attack.

Keep in mind that, at birth, your acid is not strongenough to damage enemies from such brief contact. Thiswill become less of an issue as you mature. Natural Armor. Your form has a tendency to slip pastweapons completely, and injuring you can be difficult formost. When you are unarmored, you have a natural armorclass of 10 + your Dexterity modifier + your Constitutionmodifier.Liquid Reservoir. Lacking a solid anatomy, oozes areimmune to the prone condition. Further, you cannot equipweapons or armor of any kind. However, by submergingmagical items in your body, you still gain the benefit ofthose items as though you were wearing them. You havethe same number of magical item slots as a humanoid, butin your case the items float inside your fluidic body untilyou choose to pull them out again. Others cannot removethese items from you as long as you are conscious.

If you prefer, you can instead "wear" items on theoutside of your body should you take on a humanoidshape, but any armor worn simply gets knocked out of theway whenever it is hit, since you do not have a solid formto keep it in place. You do not gain the armor class of anyarmor "worn" in this way.Acidic. You have resistance to acid damage. Prodigy. You are unable to speak, but can telepathicallyshare your surface emotions with others within 30 feet(like happiness, fear, or sadness) and can use yourpseudopod to point or non-verbally emote what is on yourmind. As you develop your psychic abilities further, yourlanguage capabilities will grow as well.Languages. You can understand Common. Per theProdigy ability (above) you cannot speak initially (nor canyou read)... but you can understand the words of others.

New Class: The Ooze

Class FeaturesAs an ooze, you gain the following class features.

Hit PointsHit Dice: 1d10 per ooze levelHit Points at 1st Level: 10 + your Constitution modifierHit Points at Higher Levels: 1d10 (or 6) plus your

Constitution modifier per ooze level after 1st.

ProficienciesArmor: noneWeapons: noneTools: none

Saving Throws: see bonus proficiencies, belowSkills: see bonus proficiencies, below

EquipmentYou start with the following equipment, in addition to theequipment granted by your background:

an explorer's packa bucket and 50 gold

The Ooze

LevelProficiency

Bonus Features1st +2 Bonus Proficiencies2nd +2 Smother3rd +2 Empathy, Living Terrain4th +2 Ability Score Improvement5th +3 Adhesive Form, Living Arsenal6th +3 Extra Attack, Telepathy

7th +3 Size Increase (Medium),Envelop

8th +3 Ability Score Improvement9th +4 Seep

10th +4 Split11th +4 Acidic Embrace12th +4 Ability Score Improvement13th +5 Size Increase (Large)14th +5 Living Battlefield15th +5 Enhanced Intuition16th +5 Ability Score Improvement17th +6 Corrosive Form18th +6 Fluid Form Mastery19th +6 Ability Score Improvement20th +6 Chosen of Juiblex

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Bonus ProficienciesThe ooze gains proficiency in one saving throw of yourchoice: Strength, Constitution, or Wisdom.

In addition, the cohort gains proficiency in two skills ofyour choice from the following list: Acrobatics, Athletics,Insight, Intimidation, Perception, and Survival.

(The above list assumes the cohort has the Ooze race--ifnot, then add Stealth to the list of options.)

SmotherStarting at 2nd level, you learn to latch onto enemies bytaking advantage of your sticky nature. Immediately afteryou hit a creature with a pseudopod attack on your turn,you can try to grapple the target as a bonus action.

At the beginning of your turn, you deal 1d8 acid damageto a target you are currently grappling.

Living TerrainAt 3rd level, you learn to shift your coloration and textureto blend in with your environment. While you remainmotionless, you have advantage on Stealth checks.

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art by Der-Reiko

EmpathyYour psychic abilities continue to develop as you grow.Once you reach 3rd level, you can sense the surfaceemotions of creatures near you. You can cast the detectthoughts spell without material or verbal components, andwithout using a spell slot. You can only detect the surfacethoughts of creatures when casting the spell using thisability.

Ability Score ImprovementWhen you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th, and19th level, you can increase one ability score of yourchoice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of yourchoice by 1. As normal, you can't increase an ability scoreabove 20 using this feature.

Adhesive FormStarting at 5th level, you have such control over your formthat you can stick much more effectively to surfaces. Youare able to move along vertical surfaces and ceilingsexactly as if you were under the effect of the spider climbspell. You can also engage in a short rest while clinging to awall or ceiling.

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Living ArsenalOnce you reach 5th level, you learn to draw upon themagical strength of weapons and armor within your body.During a short or long rest, you can bring out the magicalpower of up to one weapon and one piece of armor (or ashield) that are contained within you. As long as thebonded items are kept entirely within your body, you gainthe following benefits:

Your pseudopod attacks are considered magical as longas you are bonded with a magical weapon.You add the bonded weapon's magical attack anddamage bonuses to your pseudopod attack anddamage rolls.You add the bonded armor's (or shield's) magical armorbonus to your armor class. Note that you only add themagical bonus, and you do not gain any other bonusesto armor class in this way. You are still consideredunarmored.

Extra Attack (Pseudopod)At 6th level, you may attack with a pseudopod twice, ratherthan once, when using the Attack action.

TelepathyAs you mature, your ability to communicate with othersbecomes more advanced. Starting at 6th level, you areable to telepathically speak to any creature within 60 feet.You don't need to share a language to understand eachother, but the creature must be able to understand at leastone language.

Size Increase (Medium)At 7th level, your mass has grown such that you are now aMedium-sized creature. Your pseudopod attacks now deal1d8 bludgeoning damage plus your Strength modifier. Atthe beginning of each of your turns, you now deal 2d8 aciddamage to creatures you are grappling.

In addition, while you are grappling an enemy, thatcreature has disadvantage on all melee and rangedweapon attacks against targets other than you.

EnvelopStarting at 7th level, you are able to cover a large area witha literal part of yourself, damaging and engulfing enemiesfor a short time. As an action during your turn, you canfling a glob of your body mass up to 60 feet to an area thatyou can see. Each creature in a 20-foot square within thatrange must make a Dexterity saving throw against a DC of8 + your proficiency bonus + your Strength modifier.Creatures become restrained on a failed save, and sufferno penalty on a success. Restrained creatures may make anew save at the end of each of their turns, ending thecondition on a success.

The area remains covered in acidic ooze for 1 minute,and counts as difficult terrain for that duration. Creaturesin the affected area take 2d8 acid damage at the start ofeach of your turns.

You are immune to the damage and effects of your ownEnvelop ability, and may move normally in an affectedarea.

You may use this ability once per point of proficiencybonus. You regain all expended uses upon completion of along rest.

SeepAt 9th level, you are able to control your body's densitymore so than ever. This allows you to absorb shock moreeffectively, as well as extend your ability to sensevibrations in the environment. You have resistance tofalling damage.

In addition, your blindsight extends out to 120 feet.When using your Envelop ability, you may now target anarea within 120 feet that you can see.

SplitAs an action during your turn, you may split off a part ofyourself to attack independently of your main body. Yourcurrent hit points are split evenly, rounded down, betweenyou and your secondary form (which appears in anadjacent unoccupied square of your choice). Yoursecondary form is one size smaller than your original form.

In combat, your secondary form shares your initiativecount, but it takes its turn immediately after yours. Itsstatistics are identical to yours (including armor class,saves and movement speeds). It can move and use itsreactions on its own, but the only action it can take on itsturn is the Dodge action, unless you take a bonus actionon your turn to command it to take another action. Theaction can be a single pseudopod attack (using your totalattack and damage die, and bonuses as if you wereattacking yourself) or some other action. If you areincapacitated, the secondary form can take any action ofits choice, not just Dodge.

When your secondary form hits a target with itspseudopod attack, it may use the Smother ability withoutthe need of a bonus action. Your secondary form deals2d8 acid damage to a creature it is grappling at thebeginning of each of its turns.

If your secondary form is adjacent to you, you maymerge with it as an action, immediately regaining itscurrent hit points (up to your normal maximum). If yoursecondary form is reduced to 0 hit points, is separate fromyou for more than 1 hour, or is moved more than 300 feetaway from you, the secondary form melts away.

You may use this ability once, and regain any expendeduse upon completion of a long rest. If you are dealtslashing or lightning damage, you immediately regain oneuse of this ability if you have no uses remaining. You canonly have one secondary form at a time.

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Acidic EmbraceStarting at 11th level, your pseudopod attacks deal anextra 1d8 acid damage on a hit.

Your Smother ability now deals 4d8 acid damage insteadof 2d8.

Size Increase (Large)Once you reach 13th level, your mass increases further.You are now Large-sized. Your speed is no longer halvedwhile grappling an enemy.

You also gain resistance to slashing damage.

Living BattlefieldYou learn to exert finer control over your body, sparingyour allies from your acidic wrath. At 14th level, yourEnvelop ability now affects a 40-foot square. When you useEnvelop, you may choose any number of creatures in theaffected area that you can see. Those creatures becomeimmune to the effects of your Envelop ability until the nexttime you use it. Your slime also pulls away from thechosen creatures as they move, so the area does not countas difficult terrain for them.

In addition, whenever you fall at least 20 feet, you mayconsume your reaction to use your Envelop abilitycentered on the square(s) you land on.

Enhanced IntuitionStarting at 15th level, your ability to detect subtlemovements is exceptionally well honed. Even resting nolonger leaves you truly vulnerable. While engaging in ashort or long rest, you are alerted to (and if you choose,automatically awakened by) any hostile creature in contactwith a surface that comes within range of your blindsight.If the creature is using Stealth, you may make a Perceptioncheck (opposing their Stealth roll) to see if you candetermine where they are-- failure means you detect adisturbance within range but cannot pinpoint thecreature's location.

Corrosive FormThe acid that makes up most of your body has, until now,been fairly consistent in its intensity. At 17th level, youlearn to concentrate your acid so much so that you candegrade your opponents' equipment as you strike them.

When you hit an enemy with a pseudopod attack (eitherfrom yourself or your secondary form) twice in the sameround, that creature suffers a -1 reduction to their armorclass if they are wearing armor. The penalty stacks up to amaximum of -5 total (or until their armor bonus is reducedto 0, whichever happens first). The penalty remains untilthe armor is repaired by a creature proficient with smith'stools. The repair process takes 8 hours.

Fluid Form MasteryStarting at 18th level, you may use your reaction wheneveryou or your secondary form are hit with a melee or rangedweapon attack to halve the damage of that attack. Youmay use this ability only if you are at half of yourmaximum hit points or fewer.

Chosen of JuiblexAt 20th level, you reach the pinnacle of your psychicabilities, coordinating with your separate parts to attack asone entity. When using an Attack action during your turn,you can create a pseudopod anywhere within the affectedarea of your Envelop ability, and may attack with thatpseudopod instead of your own (using the samemodifiers), replacing one of your attacks for the turn. Youcan then use your Smother ability on a creature hit in thisway. A creature grappled in this way takes damage eachturn as if you were grappling them yourself.

Using this ability, you may grapple two creatures atonce-- one creature through the Envelop pseudopod aswell as one creature grappled by your main body. If yoursecondary form grapples a creature as well, then you canhave a third creature grappled at any one time.

In addition, whenever you are hit with an attack, abilityor spell that deals damage, you can use a reaction tomerge with your secondary form if it is within 30 feet ofyou, immediately regaining its total hit points (up to yournormal maximum) before any damage is dealt. If you usethis ability when you and your secondary form are hit atthe same time (such as from a fireball spell), yoursecondary form ceases to exist before any damage couldbe dealt to it.

art by Jehan Choo Copyright Wizards of the Coast

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Ooze Cohorts- Miscellany

Challenge Rating for OozesThe following challenge ratings are based on the MonsterStatistics by Challenge Rating table on page 274 of theDungeon Master's Guide. Note that the below numberswere calculated without accounting for equipped magicitems.

As a point of reference: The average level 20 playercharacter may have a CR around 12-14 depending on thecharacter's build and magic items, and can become higherstill when using an optimized build and powerful items.

Cohort Level Recommended CR1 1/82 1/43 1/24 15 26 37 38 39 4

10 511 612 613 714 715 716 817 918 1019 1120 12

Roleplaying as an OozeIt is believed that most intelligent oozes and slimes gainedtheir sentience in one of two ways: either they have beengranted a mote of the demon lord Juiblex's power (the lordof oozes, slimes and vermin), or the ooze had beenexposed to psychic creatures and/or energies for aprolonged period.

Keep in mind that intelligent members of the oozefamily are extremely rare at best. Often, a 'gifted' oozelives as the only sentient creature in its lair, one prodigyamongst an otherwise mindless race. That said, the firsttime an ooze discovers other sentient creatures can be ashocking experience.

When roleplaying as an Ooze, consider how yourcharacter gained their intelligence. Just as important, hasyour ooze sensed other intelligent beings before? An oozewould find other sentient creatures to be a rarity. As aresult, an ooze would either be alarmed by the presence ofanother intelligence... or be fascinated by it. Evil oozes (orjust hungry Neutral ones) may find intelligent creatures tobe a worthy kind of prey. Good oozes (or simply curiousones) may follow sentient beings around, and becomeenlightened by the dreams, ambitions, and goals thesecreatures live to fulfill.

Humanoid Oozes?Unless your campaign takes place in a particularly unusualsetting, note that virtually all non-intelligent oozes do notchange their forms. They simply lack the desire, intellect,and creativity to even consider such a thing.

However, an intelligent ooze can do something thatothers of their kind cannot; they can dream. An oozegranted intelligence can learn to take greater control overtheir liquid-like form, and in doing so they can shapethemselves in ways most other oozes would nevermanage. Of the most common oozes, the only 'shaped'ones are the infamous gelatinous cubes (found in theMonster Manual). For an intelligent ooze, it would bepossible to take on a geometric or exotic shape... includingthat of other creatures (like their humanoid and/ormonstrous allies). Another angle might be an ooze thattakes the shape of its most worthy prey, believing theabsorption of its enemy's matter to be an almost spiritualexperience.

On the other hand, an especially creative ooze mightthink of entirely new forms for itself, like a small half-elfchild with a giant backpack on its back, or a gnome ridingan oversized toad (allowing for a large-sized ooze with asmall-sized humanoid 'section' that speaks for it). Thepossibilities are limited only by your imagination (andperhaps your DM's approval).

art by LadyofHats

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Ooze Cohorts as PCsCohorts are largely based on their counterparts in theMonster Manual, so know that such creatures generallyhave fewer combat options than the average PlayerCharacter. Cohorts are designed to be sidekicks, strongerfamiliars, or substitute animal companions (at least bydefault) and so they are likely to be a little slower todevelop than player characters.

However, this does not mean that cohorts areunsuitable for use as PCs. If you intend to use the oozecohort as a full-fledged party member, the followingchanges are recommended:

Allow the ooze player character to choose abackground normally (though the relevant options maybe limited)At fourth level, the ooze player character may gain twosuperiority dice and learn two maneuvers exactly as ifthey were a Fighter with the Battle Master subclass. Theooze's superiority dice are d6s, and are recovered uponcompletion of a short or long rest.At 8th, 12th and 16th level, the ooze character gainsone more superiority die and learns one moremaneuver.At 8th and 16th level, the ooze's superiority diceincrease by one die size (to d8s at 8th level, and d10s at16th level)

InspirationCreature Cohorts were created by me,u/Mister_Thr33 (MisterThr33 on GMBinder).Cohorts were largely inspired by two sources:

The "Sidekicks" section of Tasha's Cauldronof EverythingThe Third Edition supplement SavageSpecies

If not for the above sources (and thesupport of my family and friends), creaturecohorts would likely not exist!

Credits'Creature Cohorts' is unofficial Fan Contentpermitted under the Fan Content Policy. Notapproved/endorsed by Wizards. Portions ofthe materials used are property of Wizards ofthe Coast. ©Wizards of the Coast LLC.

Cover art by Johannes Voss (www.artstation.com/algenpfleger) Page 2 art by Logan Preshaw (www.artstation.com/logibear)Page 4 art by Der-Reiko (www.deviantart.com/der-reiko/gallery) Page 6 art by Jehan Choo Copyright Wizards of the Coast (www.artstation.com/styloren) Page 7 art by LadyofHats (commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:LadyofHats)Watercolor stains by Jared Ondricek(https://watercolors.giantsoup.com/xgte/xgtebottom-left/index.html)

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