Booze Ooze CR 7

Madame Vaya’s distillery was once widely regarded as a premium source of quality spirits. Unfortunately a string of bad luck and financial setbacks - or, some say, a curse - caused the distillery to close down nearly a decade ago. Madame Vaya, disgraced and dismayed, left without a word to anyone, boarding up the building apparently overnight. A new distiller has recently decided to set up shop in the area, and has hired you to investigate the old equipment and haul anything that still looks usable.

It seems like easy money, but your patron suspects that there's more going on; there are reports of strange sounds coming from the defunct distillery, and he thinks the job is more dangerous than it appears. It turns out that he is correct; in the midst of the abandoned and partially broken equipment, the PCs stumble upon a large keg, cracked open and smelling very strongly of alcohol. They soon discover that the keg contains a large, amorphous creature - the remains of varied alcohol left for so long unattended that is has somehow developed a degree of life and sentience - a booze ooze.

Booze Ooze CR 7
XP 3,200
N Large Ooze
Init –5; Senses blindsight 60 ft.; Perception –5

DEFENSE
AC 4, touch 4, flat-footed 4 (–5 Dex, –1 size)
hp 103 (9d8+63)
Fort +10, Ref –2, Will –2
Defensive Abilities split (slashing, 10 hp); Immune lightning, ooze traits
Weaknesses Weakness Fire 5

OFFENSE
Speed 10 ft., climb 10 ft.
Melee slam +14 (2d6+9)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Special Attacks Engulf (2d6+9)

STATISTICS
Str 24, Dex 1, Con 24, Int —, Wis 1, Cha 1
Base Atk +6; CMB +14 (+18 grapple); CMD 19 (can’t be tripped)
Skills Climb +15; Racial Modifiers +8 Climb
SQ Drunkenness, transparent

SPECIAL ABILITIES
Weakness: Fire (Ex)
The alcohol this ooze is primarily made up of is particularly flammable. Any fire damage dealt to the Ooze is increased by 5.

Engulf (Ex)
Although it moves slowly, a booze ooze can simply engulf Large or smaller creatures in its path as a standard action. It cannot make a slam attack during a round in which it engulfs. The booze ooze merely has to move over the opponents, affecting as many as it can cover. Opponents can make attacks of opportunity against the cube, but if they do so they are not entitled to a saving throw. Those who do not attempt attacks of opportunity can attempt a DC 19 Reflex save to avoid being engulfed—on a success, they are pushed back or aside (opponent’s choice) as the cube moves forward. Engulfed creatures are subject to the cube’s slam damage, gain the pinned condition, are in danger of suffocating, and are trapped within its body until they are no longer pinned. The save DC is Strength-based.

Drunkenness (Ex)
Any creature hit by the Booze Ooze is subjected to extremely pure alcohol. This immediately causes you to gain 1 stage of drunkenness DC 17 fortitude save negates. A creature that has been engulfed gets no save against this effect. The effects of the drunken stages are cumulative. A casting of lesser resto or equivalent spell will reduce a target's stage by 1, while a spell like restoration will remove all levels of drunkenness. Each hour the target will reduce the stage by 1.
Stage 1 Sickened
Stage 2 Confused
Stage 3 Nauseated
Stage 4 Unconscious

Transparent (Ex)
Due to its lack of coloration, a Booze Ozze is difficult to discern. A DC 20 Perception check is required to notice a motionless booze ooze. Any creature that fails to notice a Booze ooze and walks into it is automatically engulfed.

Additional Notes/Alterations

The defunct distillery/booze ooze is only especially dangerous if your party is unprepared for an ooze - which some definitely are. In order to reduce some of that danger, if you are feeling especially benevolent, you can put some vials of alchemist fire in the building - hidden in a desk drawer or something, to make them feel like they've earned it. But this encounter is relatively straightforward, so even the most hack-and-slash group shouldn't have much difficulty with the strategy - though the added element of drunkenness can open room for some entertaining roleplay.

This encounter can be made more difficult or interesting by adding other creatures or hazards to the environment. Perhaps the distillery is also home to a large nest of rats, or even the ghost of Madame Vaya - or the spirit of her aspirations, dead and buried with all her bad luck. Maybe there really is a curse, or maybe she brought her ruin upon herself by performing experiments that led to the creation of the ooze creature.

The PCs could come upon this encounter in a variety of ways. Madame Vaya herself could return to town and ask for their assistance clearing out her old business - or her heirs could return, to recoup the family losses and regain their good name. The PCs could be in search of a new base of operations, and learn of an old abandoned distillery that's free for the taking, if they're willing to put the work in to make it habitable again.




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