Ooze

The Weeping Pox eats away at the flesh of a suffering

victim, their life force slowly draining away day after day

and hour after excruciating hour. Then, when all hope is

gone, the victim’s family notices gradual improvement

until they’re back on their feet. A day later, however, the

newly cured person finds their body bending in strange

ways, much to the horror of their loved ones.

A stooped figure in a plague mask mutters to herself as

she hobbles around the figure strapped to a table. The

physician applies several different ointments to the figure’s

flesh, ignoring the screams of pain that accompany each

application. Finally, the doctor sighs in satisfaction as the

patient’s flesh turns translucent

An adventurer falls into a pit, causing his companions to

rush forth. The slime at the bottom of the pit coalesces

around the poor rogue, seeping past the edges of his armor.

The allies pull the rogue out and burn away the corrosive slime, but the rogue faints. When he awakens, he feels better. And he is half the size he was. The horror of the unknown in Etharis is strong, and people perhaps know the least about the disgusting and mysterious Oozes. Only one thing might be as terrifying as being slowly killed by an Ooze: becoming one. You become the slime-covered monster of nightmares. And they want to kill you

The following are examples of possible level milestones for the ooze

• Become Bloodied or Unconscious by the attacks of an Ooze

• Undergo experimentation by an arcanist or diabolist

• Suffer from the Weeping Pox or other disease

• Study an ancient tome from the time when Oozes first came to Etharis

• Consume a recently slain Ooze

These are few events that staff will consider during the decision to progress your transformation.

Stage 1 Flaw - Sluggish

Your body frequently shifts and melts without control, making you sluggish. Your speed decreases by Transformation Stage you achieve. In addition, your skin glistens with oozy droplets leaving a trail anywhere you go. Ability checks made to follow your tracks are made with Advantage, DC 10 Survival.

Stage 2 Flaw - Melted Appearance

Your body is now a hideous lump of dripping flesh excreting foul smelling slime. While your form remains roughly humanoid, the horror of what you are is clear to anyone that looks upon your molten face.

Stage 3 Flaw - Physical Deterioration

Your skin sloughs away in thick, syrupy sheets and your bones become like melted wax. The sun itself burns you, and holy light can be lethal. Now your reactions slow as much as your pace.

Stage 4 Flaw - Pull of Oblivion

As your brain becomes just one more part of the gooey mass that is you, and your sense of self becomes ever more tentative, the slightest distraction can cause you to forget who you were. The first time you become Bloodied in the day, you are overwhelmed with hunger and take the Attack action on your next turn to make melee attacks against a random creature within reach. If there are no creatures within reach, you move until you are adjacent to the nearest creature.

You may attempt a DC 18 Perception saving throw at the end of each of your turns to regain your sense of self.

Becoming an Ooze

It may seem like Oozes are monsters that only appear in the deepest, dankest recesses of dungeons and cave complexes that never see the light. While they certainly do haunt those places, Oozes in Etharis are never far away. Urban areas with poor sanitation are breeding ground for Oozes, as are pastoral locations with proximity to the Fey Realms.

And while some Ooze creatures may only devour and destroy, there are just as many — especially those who have been created or experimented on by the curious and the morbid — who seek to spread their oozy nature to others.

It is rumored by sage and peasant alike that the Filth Grazer, the force allegedly behind the creation and spread of the Weeping Pox, devours organic life by reducing it first into a putrescent sludge. Mortals are but food for aetheric horrors, and the Filth Grazer prefers theirs gurgling, gooey, and foul. The truly mad might seek to gain the benefits of becoming an Ooze, thinking that being formless would provide power.