Green Slime

Slime (green)

Species	slime
No. Appearing	1-6
Behaviour	colony
Range	subterranean
Size	covers 5-20 sq.yds
Weight	660 lbs.
Intelligence	0
Armour Class	9
Hit Dice	2
Action Points	1
Max. Stride	1
THAC0	20
Hp/Die	d10
Attack Forms	touch
Damage	1-2 BU
Special Attacks	acid, infection, spell immunities

Green slime is a dangerous, animated colony of aggregate slime mold that thrives in dark, subterranean environments. These colonies are composed of countless microscopic organisms that act in unison, spreading out slowly but inexorably across any available surface. Their method of locomotion is a coordinated process: the forward edge of the colony extends outward while the reverse edge contracts, creating a slow, rippling motion. This process allows green slime to advance across horizontal and vertical surfaces with equal ease, adhering readily to materials like rock and wood. Its adhesive properties also enable it to scale walls, ceilings and other challenging surfaces, making it an omnipresent hazard in underground settings.

One of the most unnerving characteristics of green slime is its ability to infiltrate even the smallest openings. Individual organisms within the colony are microscopic and invisible to the naked eye, allowing the mass as a whole to compress and slip through narrow crevices or small gaps. A large green slime can theoretically pass through the eye of a needle, though this would be an exceedingly slow process. This extraordinary adaptability makes the slime a significant threat to structures such as warrens, labyrinthine lairs or even fortified underground chambers, as no barrier is entirely impervious to its advance.

Green slime sustains itself by feeding primarily on vegetable matter, including fungi and decomposed plant material commonly found in its environment. However, its diet is not restricted to organics. Green slime can also consume inorganic materials such as raw ore and organic minerals like coal, making it a potential hazard to mines or subterranean dwellings where such resources are stored. The slime's slow but relentless feeding habits mean that once it has infested an area, it can cause widespread destruction over time, consuming supports, food stores and even furniture.

Infestations of green slime can render vast underground areas utterly uninhabitable. Caverns, ruins and other enclosed spaces may become completely overrun, their surfaces coated with the thick, viscous substance. The presence of green slime creates an environment unsuitable for most forms of life, as the slime destroys both the materials required for habitation and the ecological balance of the area. Attempts to reclaim slime-infested spaces are often dangerous and labour-intensive, requiring fire, vitriol other extreme measures to eliminate the colony entirely.

Encounters

Green slime are acutely sensitive to vibrations and are naturally drawn to the source of sounds or disturbances in their environment. This predatory behaviour enables them to slowly and methodically approach potential prey or areas of activity. When movement occurs directly beneath a mass of green slime, the organism reacts aggressively, breaking away clumps of its body to attack. These handful-sized portions detach from the main colony and drop onto victims below. Upon contact, the slime adheres to living flesh and begins to feed, often causing harm unless immediate action is taken. The attack is resolved as though the slime is attempting to strike against armour class 10, representing its slow-moving but unavoidable descent.

Once the danger has passed or the slime's attack has been thwarted, these detached clumps typically rejoin the main colony, merging back into the larger mass to continue its advance. However, in certain circumstances, the separated portion does not return. Instead, it can become an independent colony, initiating the growth of a new infestation. This capacity for self-propagation through division contributes to the persistent threat green slime poses in subterranean environments. Even a single fragment can lead to the establishment of a new colony if left unchecked, making eradication of the slime a difficult and often incomplete task.

Advantages

Once attacked, living creatures experience the touch of green slime as if they were being doused in acid. The corrosive nature of the slime causes severe harm on contact, inflicting damage equivalent to 1–2 biological units, or 1–2 points of damage per level of the victim. This scaling effect reflects the slime's intensified reaction to more vital or robust life forms.

Once the attack successfully lands, the slime adheres to the victim, continuing to corrode and destroy whatever it touches. The first victim of this corrosive assault is often the victim's clothing or armour, which must immediately save vs. acid to avoid destruction. Clothing or armour that fails this saving throw is rapidly burned away, leaving the victim further exposed to the slime's corrosive effect. The relentless attachment of the slime requires swift action to prevent further damage, as its acidic nature poses a grave threat to both the victim's defences and their life.

Removing Slime

To remove green slime from a victim, it must be scraped away using an edged object, such as a knife or a trowel. If the victim's clothing has survived the slime's corrosive touch, it must first be removed to expose the affected area. No roll is required to physically remove the slime, but the process must be followed immediately by cauterisation of the exposed area. This ensures that any remaining slime particles on the skin are destroyed. If this step is neglected, microscopic particles of the slime can enter the bloodstream, resulting in the victim's death within 6–8 hours.

The objects used to scrape away the slime become infected with slime particles and pose a further threat. These objects must either be discarded or disinfected using acid, normal fire or the extermination cantrip. Green slime aggressively corrodes metal, even magic weapons, as well as organic material. A metal weapon that has come into contact with the slime may be used to infect enemies in combat, turning it into a temporary weapon of opportunity. However, the weapon’s integrity quickly degrades, rendering it useless after 1–4 hours. If the weapon is dropped after the first hour, it breaks entirely.

There is also significant risk to the wielder of an infected weapon. Holding onto such an object carries a 1 in 3 chance of the green slime crawling onto the user’s body. If this occurs, the slime may enter the bloodstream, causing the same lethal consequences unless promptly removed and the affected area treated with cauterisation. The combination of its corrosive properties, rapid spread and lethality makes green slime a persistent and formidable hazard.

Killing Slime

Extermination is not effective for killing green slime or for cleaning it from living flesh. The cure disease spell has no effect on green slime because it is not classified as a disease. Most spells prove ineffective against it, rendering magic an unreliable solution. However, green slime can be killed through freezing or sustained burning, both of which are effective in destroying it. The brief duration of a fireball spell, however, is insufficient to harm green slime due to the instantaneous nature of the spell. Only prolonged exposure to fire or cold can neutralise the threat posed by the slime.

When a victim is killed by green slime, their body is consumed and absorbed by the colony, with the process completing over a period of 2–5 days. Once this occurs, the remains of the victim become part of the slime and contribute to the growth of a new colony. Victims killed in this way cannot be raised or resurrected by magical means, as these spells do not remove the green slime from the remains. The inability to reclaim the body or soul makes encounters with green slime particularly perilous, heightening the importance of preventing or immediately addressing any contact with this hazardous organism.

See Bestiary