A glistening tiefling reeking of ammonia steps into the mob of goblins. Mighty pseudopods spring from his back, tossing them aside like rag dolls. Telepathically, his symbiote approves of the carnage. And whether or not he would like to admit it, the tiefling does, too.
A human begins to bleed sludge from her eyes and mouth in the middle of the tavern. The patrons scatter as she flings globs of hardened puss at the bandit gang that tried to have their way with her. “Still want to ‘get to know me’?” she laughs, as her symbiote turns her arms into a pair of giant, fleshy knives.
Oozes fill an interesting niche in a world of dragons and dungeons. They are literally the slime of the world, mindlessly consuming waste and organic material, scooching along the floors of dank cellars, dismal caverns, and other dark places. For most adventurers, oozes are little more than a trifle. But there are some who see the value in the power of oozes: oozemancers.
Two Minds, One Body
Oozemancers go a step further than simply trying to understand the nature of oozes. An oozemancer becomes one with a symbiotic ooze. The symbiote lives within the organs of the host; two as one. This ooze symbiote grants its host strength and durability as well as magical abilities.
At first, the ooze quietly shares the body of its host. But in time, the two establish a close bond. The host and the symbiote may not always agree on a course of action. And ultimately, the host makes the final call. But some believe that the lines begin to blur after a while, especially when a host has relied on the abilities of its symbiote for months or years.
Connection to the Underdark
Due in large part to their relationship with their symbiotes, oozemancers understand what lies below the surface better than most. A sense of familiarity pervades their instincts. And oozes, aberrations, monstrosities, and the other denizens of the dark grow more comfortable. In time, an oozemancer may even become one such being, living in the unseen areas of the world.
Creating an Oozemancer
When creating an oozemancer character, think about how your character came to be a host for its ooze symbiote. Talk with your DM about an appropriate origin for your oozemancer. Was the symbiosis an accident, one your character didn’t wish for but now is starting to accept? Or was your character the willing participant in a dark ritual, welcoming the symbiote with open arms and an open mind.
Why did you and the symbiote start adventuring together? Did you set out to learn more about your symbiote, potentially to free yourself of it? Or are you on a quest to find others like you? Maybe you wish to find more oozes and use your symbiotic connection to establish yourself as a king among them. Or perhaps with great power comes great adventure, and you want to test out all these nifty new ooze powers you have.
Quick Build
You can make an oozemancer quickly by following these suggestions. First, put your highest ability score in Charisma, followed by Constitution. Second, choose the urchin background.
The Oozemancer
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Spells Known
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– Spell Slots per Level – | |||||||
| Level | Prof. Bonus | Features | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | |
| 1st | +2 | Unarmored Defense, Ooze Attacks, Ally to Oozes | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2nd | +2 | Slime Style, Spellcasting | 2 | 2 | – | – | – | – |
| 3rd | +2 | Oozemancer Archetype, Slime Sense | 3 | 3 | – | – | – | – |
| 4th | +2 | Ability Score Improvement | 3 | 3 | – | – | – | – |
| 5th | +3 | Extra Attack | 4 | 4 | 2 | – | – | – |
| 6th | +3 | Primordial Power | 4 | 4 | 2 | – | – | – |
| 7th | +3 | Oozemancer Archetype Feature | 5 | 4 | 3 | – | – | – |
| 8th | +3 | Ability Score Improvement, Crawling Chaos | 5 | 4 | 3 | – | – | – |
| 9th | +4 | – | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | – | – |
| 10th | +4 | Chameleonic Surface | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | – | – |
| 11th | +4 | Oozemancer Archetype Feature | 7 | 4 | 3 | 3 | – | – |
| 12th | +4 | Ability Score Improvement | 7 | 4 | 3 | 3 | – | – |
| 13th | +5 | – | 8 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | – |
| 14th | +5 | Symbiote Enlargement | 8 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | – |
| 15th | +5 | Oozemancer Archetype Feature | 9 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | – |
| 16th | +5 | Ability Score Improvement | 9 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | – |
| 17th | +6 | – | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| 18th | +6 | Slime Sight | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| 19th | +6 | Ability Score Improvement | 11 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| 20th | +6 | One Body, Two Minds | 11 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
Class Features
Hit Points
Hit Dice: 1d10 per oozemancer level
Hit Points at 1st Level: 10 + your Constitution modifier
Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d10 (or 6) + your Consitution modifier per oozemancer level after 1st
Proficiencies
Armor: None
Weapons: Simple weapons
Tools: None
Saving Throws: Constitution, Charisma
Skills: Choose two from Acrobatics, Athletics, Deception, Intimidation, Nature, Persuasion, Stealth, and Survival
Equipment
You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:
- (a) a mace or (b) a shortsword
- (a) a light crossbow and 20 bolts or (b) any simple weapon
- An explorer’s pack.
Unarmored Defense
While you are wearing no armor or not wielding a shield, your Armor Class equals 10 + your Dexterity modifier + your Constitution modifier.
Ooze Attacks
At 1st level, your symbiote form grants you two special attacks. You can use these special attacks in place of your normal attacks.
Pseudopods
Your symbiotic ooze turns your arms into powerful pseudopods which you can use to make mighty melee attacks. You gain the following benefits while you aren’t wearing armor or carrying a shield:
- You can choose to have your pseudopod attacks deal bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing damage. You must decide which type of damage you will deal before you make your attack roll.
- Your pseudopods deal 1d6 damage + your Strength modifier.
- When you use the Attack action with a pseudopod or simple weapon, you can make one pseudopod attack as a bonus action. For example, if you take the Attack action and attack with a short sword, you can also make a pseudopod strikes as a bonus action, assuming you haven’t already taken a bonus action this turn.
Fling Glob
You can hurl hardened globs of goo at distant enemies as a ranged attack. Your fling glob attack has the following features:
- Your fling glob is a ranged weapon attack that has a range of 60/180 ft.
- Your fling glob attacks deal 1d6 damage + your Dexterity or Strength modifier (your choice).
- You can choose to have your fling glob attacks deal bludgeoning or piercing damage. You must decide which type of damage you will deal before you make your attack roll.
Ally to Oozes
Beginning at 1st level, you have the ability to comprehend and verbally communicate with oozes. The knowledge and awareness of many oozes is limited by their intelligence, but at a minimum, oozes can give you information about nearby locations and monsters, including whatever they can perceive or have perceived within the past day. You might be able to persuade an ooze to perform a small favor for you, at the DM’s discretion.
Slime Style
At 2nd level, you and your symbiote develop a particular style of fighting as your specialty. Choose one of the following options. You can’t take a Slime Style option more than once, even if you later get to choose again.
Corroder
Your attacks deal bonus acid damage equal to half Constitution modifier rounded up. In addition, you have resistance to acid damage.
Crusher
You gain a +2 bonus to attack rolls you make with your pseudopods.
Defender
While you are not any wearing armor or carrying a shield, you gain a +1 bonus to AC.
Flinger
You gain a +2 bonus to attack rolls you make with your fling glob attack and your range increases to 80/240 ft.
Spellcasting
By the time you reach 2nd level, you have learned to use the innate power of your symbiote to cast spells. See chapter 10 of the Player’s Handbook for the general rules of spellcasting and the end of this article for the oozemancer spell list.
Spell Slots
The Oozemancer table shows how many spell slots you have to cast your spells of 1st level and higher. To cast one of these spells, you must expend a slot of the spell’s level or higher. You regain all expended spell slots when you finish a long rest.
For example, if you know the 1st-level spell detect poison and disease and have a 1st-level and 2nd-level spell slot available, you can cast detect poison and disease using either slot.
Spells Known of 1st Level and Higher
You know two 1st-level spells of your choice from the oozemancer spell list.
The Spells Known column of the Oozemancer table shows when you learn more oozemancer spells of your choice. Each of these spells must be of a level for which you have spell slots. For instance, when you reach 5th level in this class, you can learn one new spell of 1st or 2nd level.
Additionally, when you gain a level in this class, you can choose one of the oozemancer spells you know and replace it with another spell from the oozemancer spell list, which also must be of a level for which you have spell slots.
Spellcasting Ability
Charisma is your spellcasting ability for your oozemancer spells since your magic draws on your ability to take control of your symbiote. You use your Charisma whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your Charisma modifier when setting the saving throw DC for an oozemancer spell you cast and when making an attack roll with one.
Spell save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier
Spell attack modifier = your proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier
Spellcasting Focus
Your symbiote is your spellcasting focus for your oozemancer spells.
Oozemancer Archetype
At 3rd level, you choose an archetype that you strive to emulate: Wretched Lurker or Sludge King/Queen, both detailed at the end of the class description. Your choice grants you features at 3rd level and again at 7th, 11th, and 15th level.
Slime Sense
Beginning at 3rd level, you can use your action and expend one oozemancer spell slot to focus your awareness on your environment. For 1 minute per level of the spell slot you expend, you have advantage on your Wisdom (Perception) checks and Dexterity saving throws against effects that you can see, such as traps and spells.
Ability Score Improvement
When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increase on ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal you can’t increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.
Extra Attack
Beginning at 5th level, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.
Primordial Power
Starting at 6th level, your pseudopod and fling glob attacks count as magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to nonmagical attacks and damage.
Crawling Chaos
Starting at 8th level, you gain a climb speed that is the same as your on foot movement and you can climb difficult surfaces, including upside down on ceilings, without needing to make an ability check.
Chameleonic Surface
Starting at 10th level, as long as you are not wearing armor, you can use your bonus action to change your symbiotes outer colors to match your surroundings. Once you are camouflaged in this way, you can try to hide by pressing yourself up against a solid surface such as a rock or wall that is at least as tall and wide as you are. You gain advantage to Dexterity (Stealth) checks as long as you remain there without moving or taking actions. Once you move or take a reaction, you must camouflage yourself again to gain this benefit.
Symbiote Enlargement
At 14th level, your acceptance of your symbiote allows it to increase in size. Your Unarmoured Defense feature is now 13 + your Dexterity modifier + your Constitution modifier and your pseudopod and fling glob attacks use 2d6 for damage instead of 1d6.
Slime Sight
At 18th level, you gain blindsight out to 30 ft. In addition, you are immune to the blinded condition.
One Body, Two Minds
At 20th level, you and your symbiote are no longer two creatures sharing one body, but a singular force to be reckoned with. Once on each of your turns, you can add your Charisma modifier to an attack or damage roll.
Oozemancer Archetypes
Oozermancers come in two classic types: the Sludge King and the Wretched Lurker.
Sludge King/Queen
Sludge Kings/Queens feel comfortable in the presence of other oozes and they are often compelled to help you.
Sludge King/Queen Features
| Oozemancer Level | Feature |
| 3rd | Ooze Companion |
| 7th | Exceptional Training |
| 11th | Ooze Frenzy |
| 15th | Share Spells |
Ooze Companion
At 3rd level, you gain an ooze companion that accompanies you on your adventures and is rained to fight alongside you. Choose an ooze from one of the oozes listed at the end of this class description. You add your proficiency bonus to the ooze’s AC, attack rolls, and damage rolls, as well as to any saving throws and skills it is proficient in. Its hit point number in its stat block equals the hit point number in its stat block or four times your oozemancer level, whichever is higher. Like any creature, it can spend Hit Dice during a short rest to regain hit points.
The ooze obeys your commands as best as it can. It takes its turn on your initiative, though it doesn’t take an action unless you command it to. On your turn, you can verbally command the ooze where to move (no action required by you). You can use your action to verbally command it to take the Attack, Dash, Disengaged, Dodge, or Help action. Once you have the Extra Attack feature, you can make one weapon attack yourself when you command the ooze to take the Attack action.
If you are incapacitated or absent, the ooze acts on its own, focusing on protecting you and itself. The ooze never requires your command to use its reaction, such as when making an opportunity attack.
If the ooze dies, you can obtain a new companion by spending 8 hours magically bonding with a beast that isn’t hostile to you and that meets the requirements.
Exceptional Training
Beginning at 7th level, on any of your turns when your ooze companion doesn’t attack, you can use a bonus action to command the ooze to take the Dash, Disengage, Dodge, or Help on its turn.
Ooze Frenzy
Starting at 11th level, when you command your ooze companion to take the Attack action, the ooze can make two attacks, or it can take the Multiattack action if it has that action.
Share Spells
Beginning at 15th level, when you cast a spell targeting yourself, you can also affect your ooze companion with the spell if the ooze is within 30 feet of you.
Wretched Lurker
The Wretched Lurker knows its place in the world: in the damp, cold darkness. Some oozemancers try to distance themselves from the dark side of oozemancy, but wretched lurkers fully accept all the grimy, gross parts that come with the job.
Wretched Lurker Features
| Oozemancer Level | Feature |
| 3rd | Wretched Lurker Magic, Poisonous Touch, Sense Organic Matter |
| 7th | Amorphousness |
| 11th | Pseudopod Fury |
| 15th | Ooze Shell |
Wretched Lurker Magic
Starting at 3rd level, you learn an additional spell when you reach certain levels in this class, as shown in the Wretched Lurker Spells table. The spell counts as an oozemancer spell for you, but it doesn’t count against the number of oozemancer spells you know.
Wretched Lurker Spells
| Oozemancer Level | Feature |
| 3rd | disguise self |
| 5th | web |
| 9th | slow |
| 13th | greater invisibility |
| 17th | contagion |
Poisonous Touch
At 3rd level, you secrete a deadly poison. Any time you hit a creature with your pseudopod or fling glob attack, that creature must succeed on a Constitution saving throw with a DC of 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Constitution modifier or become poisoned for 1 minute.
Sense Organic Matter
At 3rd level, your sense of smell increases dramatically. You have advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on smell. In addition, you can smell the presence of living creatures up to 300 feet away that aren’t undead or constructs. You know the direction they are in but not their exact locations.
Amorphousness
At 7th level, as a bonus action, you can merge your physical self with your symbiote to become amorphous until the end of your turn. While amorphous, you can move through a space as narrow a 1-inch wide. Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest.
Pseudopod Fury
At 11th level, you can use your action to make a pseudopod attack against any number of creatures within 5 feet of you, with a separate attack roll for each target.
Ooze Shell
At 15th level, your symbiote can reflexively protect you from an incoming attack. When you take damage from an attack, you can use your reaction to give yourself resistance to all of that attack’s damage on this turn.
Oozemancer Spells
1st Level
Create or Destroy Water
Cure Wounds
Detect Poison and Disease
Ensnaring Strike
Expeditious Retreat
False Life
Fog Cloud
Goodberry
Grease
Hail of Thorns
Jump
Purify Food and Drink
Shield
2nd Level
Alter Self
Barkskin
Blur
Darkvision
Enhance Ability
Gentle Repose
Lesser Restoration
Locate Animals or Plants
Melf’s Acid Arrow
Protection from Poison
See Invisibility
Spider Climb
Warding Bond
3rd Level
Conjure Barrage
Create Food and Water
Elemental Weapon
Feign Death
Leomund’s Tiny Hut
Meld Into Stone
Protection from Energy
Stinking Cloud
Vampiric Touch
Water Breathing
Water Walk
4th Level
Conjure Minor Elementals
Control Water
Grasping Vine
Otiluke’s Resilient Sphere
Stoneskin
5th Level
Animate Objects
Cloudkill
Conjure Volley
Creation
Ooze Companions
If you take the Sludge King oozemancer archetype, you are allowed to have an ooze companion. Select one of your companions from the list below:
Black Pudding, Least
Small ooze, unaligned
Armor Class 7
Hit Points 13 (3d6 + 3)
Speed 30 ft., climb 30 ft.
Abilities Str 12 (+1), Dex 5 (-3), Con 12 (+1), Int 1 (-5), Wis 6 (-2), Cha 1 (-5)
Damage Immunities acid, cold, lightning, slashing
Condition Immunities blinded, charmed, deafened, exhaustion, frightened, prone
Senses blindsight 30 ft. (blind beyond this radius)
Languages –
Challenge 1/4 (50 XP)
Amorphous. The ooze can move through a space as narrow as 1 inch wide without squeezing.
Corrosive Form. A creature that touches the pudding or hits it with a melee attack within 5 feet of it takes 2 (1d4) acid damage. Any nonmagical weapon made of metal or wood that hits the pudding corrodes. After dealing damage, the weapon takes a permanent and cumulative -1 penalty to damage rolls. if its penalty drops to -5, the weapon is destroyed. Nonmagical ammunition made of metal or wood that hits the pudding is destroyed after dealing damage. The pudding can eat through 1-inch-thick, nonmagical wood or metal in 1 round.
Spider Climb. The pudding can climb difficult surfaces, including upside down on ceilings, without needing to make an ability check.
Actions
Pseudopod. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. hit: 3 (1d4 + 1) bludgeoning damage plus 2 (1d4) acid damage. In addition, nonmagical armor worn by the target is partly dissolved and takes a permanent and cumulative -1 penalty to the AC it offers. The armor is destroyed if the penalty reduces its AC to 10.
Gelatinous Cube, Lesser
Medium ooze, unaligned
Armor Class 6
Hit Points 30 (4d8 + 12)
Speed 15 ft.
Abilities Str 12 (+1), Dex 3 (-4), Con 16 (+3), Int 1 (-5), Wis 6 (-2), Cha 1 (-5)
Condition Immunities blinded, charmed, deafened, exhaustion, frightened, prone
Senses blindsight 60 ft. (blind beyond this radius)
Languages –
Challenge 1/4 (50 XP)
Ooze Cube. The cube takes up its entire space. Other creatures can enter the space, but a creature that does so is subjected to the cube’s Engulf and has disadvantage on the saving throw. Creatures inside the cube can be seen but have total cover. A creature within 5 feet of the cube can take an action to pull a creature or object out of the cube. Doing so requires a successful DC 11 Strength check, and the creature making the attempt takes 10 (3d6) acid damage. The cube can hold only one Medium or Small creature or up to four tiny creatures inside it at a time.
Transparent. Even when the cube is in plain sight, it takes a successful DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) check to spot a cube that has neither moved nor attacked. A creature that tries to enter the cube’s space while unaware of the cube is surprised by the cube.
Actions
Pseudopod. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 7 (2d6) acid damage.
Engulf. The cube moves up to its speed. While doing so, it can enter Large or smaller creatures’ spaces. Whenever the cube enters a creature’s space, the creature must make a DC 11 Dexterity saving throw. On a successful save, the creature can choose to be pushed 5 feet back or to the side of the cube. A creature that chooses not to be pushed suffers the consequences of a failed saving throw. On a failed save, the cube enters the creature’s space and the creature takes 7 (2d6) acid damage and is engulfed. The engulfed creature can’t breathe, is restrained, and takes 14 (4d6) acid damage at the start of each of the cube’s turns. When the cube moves, the engulfed creature moves with it. An engulfed creature can try to escape by taking an action to make a DC 11 Strength check. On a success, the creature escapes and enters a space of its choice within 5 feet of the cube.
Gray Ooze, Lesser
Small ooze, unaligned
Armor Class 8
Hit Points 9 (2d6 + 2)
Speed 20 ft.
Abilities Str 10 (+0), Dex 6 (-2), Con 12 (+1), Int 1 (-5), Wis 6 (-2), Cha 2 (-4)
Skills Stealth +2
Damage Resistances acid, cold, fire
Condition Immunities blinded, charmed, deafened, exhaustion, frightened, prone
Senses blindsight 60 ft. (blind beyond this radius), passive Perception 8
Languages –
Challenge 1/4 (50 XP)
Amorphous. The ooze can move through a space as narrow as 1 inch wide without squeezing.
Corrode Metal. Any nonmagical weapon made of metal that hits the ooze corrodes. After dealing damage, the weapon takes a permanent and cumulative -1 penalty to damage rolls. If its penalty drops to -5, the weapon is destroyed, Nonmagical ammunition made of metal that hits the ooze is destroyed after dealing damage. The ooze can eat through 1-inch-thick, nonmagical metal in 1 round.
False Appearance. While the ooze remains motionless, it is indistinguishable from an oily pool or wet rock.
Actions
Pseudopod. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 3 (1d4 +1) bludgeoning damage plus 3 (1d6) acid damage, and if the target is wearing nonmagical metal armor, its armor is partly corroded and takes a permanent and cumulative -1 penalty to the AC it offers. The armor is destroyed fi the penalty reduces its AC to 10.
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Awesome class! Fun with tons of flavor. The obvious inspirations from ranger and monk actually serve it pretty well, and add an interesting (if somewhat niche) new archetype that you couldnt really acomplish with any of the pre-existing classes. Now I really wanna play a sentient ooze character that uses a reskinned changeling statblock and this class.
Hey, thanks so much for the kind words! Have fun with it and let me know how it goes. 😀
I love this. Waaay to different to be an archetype (as River had noted) plus the spells and the ability to fling ooze differentiate enough from Venom and other such symbiotes to keep it fresh and interesting. In addition I love potential RP possibilities with this class. Sludge King would be great for an evil character or a good character who feels oozes are misunderstood creatures. As for Lurker archetype, the fact that you can take on the ooze abilities (including fitting through 1 inch holes), you could quickly end up questioning if you yourself are an ooze and you’ve taken the memories of this identity you’ve adopted. IN LOVE WITH THIS CLASS!!! Many thanks Dave.
Thank you, Lachy! What kind of class would you like to see next?
Just played my first session as a firbolg oozemancer and absolutely adore the level of flavour this class grants. My firbolg and ooze aren’t sure where one starts and the other ends and it’s so much fun!
I do really like a lot of the features in this class. The 20th level ability seems pretty underwhelming though. I am playing an Ooze Patron Warlock right now. Which is fun, but definitely lacking something. I love the Pseudopod attacks. Very cool.
Hey Ron! Yeah, it’s one of those “kinda boring but you need it” type things. Monk has a nearly identical feature. Basically, it gives you “unlimited” PSPs.
In the first iteration, power mastery was at 20, and there was an 18th level feature.
I really want to like this class. The thematics are awesome. I feel like it’s very weak at higher levels tho. You’re main attacks never really scale, and once magic items are involved you kind of fall behind. It feels like a ranger, that can’t use weapons to help with damage.