Sentient Slime

The amorphous shapeshifters with no home or history

Base Racial Traits

Ability Score Modifiers: (+2 Constitution, +2 Intelligence, -2 Wisdom) Sentient Slimes are incredibly hardy creatures full of strange intelligence, but are naive and innocent to the ways of the world.
Type: Sentient Slimes are creatures of the Ooze Type. They eat and breathe, but do not sleep. Sentient Slimes gain immunity to poison, sleep, and polymorph effects, and a racial +2 bonus on all saves made to resist paralysis or stunning effects.
Size: Sentient Slimes are medium-sized creatures and gain no benefits or penalties because of size.
Speed: Sentient slimes have a base land speed of 30ft. Whenever they take on another form, they take on the movement speeds of their new form so long as they are natural to the race and not magical or supernatural abilities on that race.
Vision: Sentient slimes are blind in the traditional sense and gain Blindsight 60ft. This grants them immunity to gaze attacks, visual effects, and any illusions that rely on sight(GM Discretion). When using their Change Shape ability to take on another form, they lose these immunities and blindsight and take on the vision of their new form.
Languages: Sentient Slimes begin play speaking the Regional Language that reflects their origins only(See Languages of Zheng-Kitar). A Sentient Slime with high INT can select any non-secret language as a bonus language. Additionally, they can store one language taken from a creature they kill at a time as an "Assimilated Language". This language is typically the one the victim spoke most or was most familiar with, though exceptions may exist(GM discretion). You may have only one Assimilated Language stored at a time - storing a new one will overwrite your oldest one. You may store an additional Assimilated Language at level 10.
Amorphous Makeup: Sentient Slimes are incredibly durable, and gain a +2 racial bonus to thier Constitution. As formless oozes, Sentient Slimes gain a 50% chance to negate precision damage or sneak attacks.
Compression: Sentient Slime can easily fit into or through incredibly tiny spaces. They can move through an area as small as one-quarter their space without squeezing or one-eighth its space when squeezing. This functions no matter what form they might be in.
Slimy Body: No matter their form, a Sentient Slime's slimy, acidic body grants them a racial +2 to natural armor, and a slam natural attack that deals damage as if they were one size larger(1d6), and deals half bludgeoning and half acid damage.
Toxic: Slimes are naturally poisonous, and gain the following benefits: A number of times per day equal to its Constitution modifier (minimum 1/day), a member of this race can envenom a weapon that it wields(including natural attacks) with its toxic slime body. Applying venom in this way is a swift action. When you take this trait, choose one of the following venoms.

• Life-Stealing Venom: Injury; save Fort DC 10 + 1/2 the user’s Hit Dice + the user’s Constitution modifier; frequency 1/round for 6 rounds; effect 1 Con; cure 1 save.


• Paralytic Venom: Injury; save Fort DC 10 + the 1/2 user’s Hit Dice + the user’s Constitution modifier; frequency 1/round for 6 rounds; effect 1d2 Dex; cure 1 save.


• Weakening Venom: Injury; save Fort DC 10 + 1/2 the user’s Hit Dice + the user’s Constitution modifier; frequency 1/round for 6 rounds; effect 1d2 Str; cure 1 save.

Engulf: Sentient Slimes gain the 'Engulf' Universal Monster Rule no matter their form, allowing them engulf creatures of up to their size in their acidic bodies for digestion. Targets of this engulf attack must succeed on a reflex save (DC 10 + 1/2 HD + CONMOD) or be engulfed, gaining the pinned condition, beginning to suffocate, and taking 4d8 acid damage each turn they do not escape. They need only move over creatures in their path to engulf them, and while they do provoke for this movement from the targets they are engulfing, if the target makes the AoO they are not entitled to a saving throw against the engulf attack. When they kill a creature with Engulf, they gain 2 temporary hp per HD of the creature killed. They cannot gain temporary HP in this way if they already have temp HP from a previously engulfed target. The Acid Damage increases by 2d8 at 8th and 13th level.
Change Shape, Greater: Sentient Slimes gain Alter Self as an at-will extraordinary ability, but it does not affect their ability scores. Using it to change shape is a standard action that does not provoke AoO. They may take on the form of any small or medium sized animal, magical beast, humanoid, plant, or vermin type creature instead of just humanoid. Their type changes to the type of the form they take on, allowing them to be affected by effects such as Enlarge Person and Hold Person while in humanoid form.
All-Around Vision: Sentient Slimes see in all directions at once. They cannot be flanked.
Amalgam Memories: Thanks to the slime that makes up their bodies possessing residual memories of those they consume and other unknown sources, Sentient Slimes are often born with odd and diverse skillsets. Sentient Slimes gain two skills of their choice as class skills, and gain a racial +2 to those skills.

Creating Sentient Slime Characters

For the sake of those who create new characters that are Sentient Slimes, use the below bit of information to determine how many HD worth of creatures you are considered to have already eaten at character creation for the purposes of racial feats and alts, etc.
Select one of the below character tendencies from the below list, and use the below formula to calculate the amount of HD worth of creatures you start as having eaten.

Peaceful: Eating other creatures is something you probably only do if you have to, if that. You might dislike the notion, be a vegetarian, dislike violence, or even just be lazy.

• Calculation: 1d20 + HD + (1/2 HD(Rounded Down, Min 1) * 5)

Normal: You're accustomed to eating other creatures. You don't go out of your way to do it and seek it out, nor do you shy away from it - if it happens or an opportunity presents itself you'll most likely be satisfied with taking it. The act isn't rooted in enjoyment or dislike for you, probably - it's most likely just another facet of your life.

• Calculation: 1d20 + HD + (1/2 HD(Rounded Down, Min 1) * 10)

Predator: Whether out of sadism, predatory enjoyment, or just a simple love for food of all kinds, you often indulge in the devouring of other creatures. You might just enjoy sampling each flavor the world has to offer you and enjoy a tour de force through the culinary world(of other creatures), or you might genuinely enjoy the feeling of superiority that comes from doing so. Regardless, you partake in the act regularly - if at all possible, you probably prefer to not let a corpse or body go to waste when devouring it is available.

• Calculation: 1d20 + HD + (1/2 HD(Rounded Down, Min 1) * 15)

Basic Information

Anatomy

Being made entirely of slime, Sentient Slime have no discernible anatomy or morphology at all, even when mimicking another creature they simply form realistic facsimiles out of their slimy bodies. From the rare examples of Sentient Slimes that have been studied, their consciousness and "soul" seems to be spread out through the entirety of their bodies, and carried in each cell of their slimy bodies. In this way, the larger they become through the absorption of mass, they are commonly thought to become smarter and wiser as a result.
Each Sentient Slime has a "core" inside of them that forms the closest approximation of a "heart" that they have, though it serves none of the vital importance that a normal heart would. Instead it is the core around which their slimy bodies form, and they grow bigger and more durable as the Sentient Slime grows.

Biological Traits

Because they lack a biology to begin with, Sentient Slimes have very few true biological traits, or even anything that gives them variance between them besides the personalities that they each develop. The color and makeup of their slimy bodies can vary, but their height and weight can only vary by virtue of the creature they are mimicking and how much they have consumed.

Genetics and Reproduction

Sentient Slime reproduction is a topic that has never seen study or research, so virtually none know how these strange creatures reproduce. In reality, as Sentient Slimes consume more and more mass over the course of their lifetimes and begin to bloat in size as they add the consumed mass to their slimy bodies, they eventually reach a point where their bodies become so massive that they begin to have issues mimicking and doing the normal abilities they need to do as slimes...at these points, they can be seen splitting their bodies into two or more sections, each developing a nascent consciousness that are each less smart than the former whole...but nonetheless sentient and intelligent. These newly split halves each go in separate directions and become completely new Sentient Slimes.

Growth Rate & Stages

Sentient Slimes can grow incredibly quickly if they are allowed to absorb and consume enough mass, and the only outwards signs of their growth are the massive proportions to which they grow as a result.
Sentient Slimes have no 'Childhood' per se, and are born into the world fully formed and intelligent, save perhaps a short period of time directly after their birth where they are blank slates, eager to learn and adapt to the world at large.

Ecology and Habitats

Sentient Slimes have no set environment, and can be birthed or come from virtually any locale on Zheng-Kitar. Sentient Slimes generally meld into the communities and civilizations present in the lands in which they are "born", and live within their new homes as that community or civilization does. When left to their own devices, Sentient Slimes aimlessly roam about the land trying to find a purpose for themselves, consuming as they wish and developing their nascent consciousnesses.
While not aimless predators, Sentient Slimes are not born with any innate understanding of morality or morals at all, and unless instructed at some point will rarely consider the absorption of other sentient creatures as wrong, and simply consider the act to be simply another fact of life...a fact which makes them INCREDIBLY receptive to the teachings of another in their infancy. They consequently have a completely lack of understanding for balance or ecology, and unless taught or unless they find another community, village, or civilization to become a part of they will wander and consume with almost no regard for anything until they are hunted or have some sort of epiphany about their lives.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Sentient Slimes need only to absorb mass and matter to continue living, and though they will often consume the foods and items as is tradition for the places they are adopted by or go to live in(undercover or otherwise), they can, at the most basic level, subsist for their entire lives on rocks, boulders, trees, metal, and anything that has mass. These things which they dissolve and "eat", no matter whether food or inanimate material, are quickly converted to an amount of slime and added to their bodies.

Biological Cycle

As time passes for a Sentient Slimes, they are mostly immune and uncaring to the trappings of Time's touch, though as they age Sentient Slimes begin to lose mass in small chunks...meaning if they do not regularly eat and consume more mass to replenish this lost mass they soon expire as they wither away to nothing. Otherwise, they entirely lack a biological cycle and are mostly immune to Time's touch, but this has not been studied, as one has not been known or kept long enough to wither away from old age.

Additional Information

Facial characteristics

Sentient Slime have no face except those that they take the form of with their innate mimicry, though they sometimes form crude featureless approximations when in their base slime form.

Geographic Origin and Distribution

Sentient Slime are incredibly rare creatures, but when they appear they can appear from anywhere, above ground or below. They have no set geographic place of origin or home as best can be determined.

Average Intelligence

Sentient Slimes, though not dumb or unwise, are born into this world as completely blank slates with sentience. They possess no wisdom of their own and learn entirely through exploration and their own experiences...because of this they can often be seen as dumb and idiots, but given enough time a Sentient Slime can gain immense, almost supernatural levels of intellect...though this means they are highly receptive to learning matters of morality and the like in twisted ways if left alone or taught by evil creatures.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

While blind in the traditional sense, Sentient Slime are highly in tune with the ground and are capable of detecting even the slightest of tremors...even those caused by the footsteps of a creature over a hundred feet away. They are also blind traditionally, but have keenly honed senses that let them expertly pinpoint the locations of creatures within 60ft of them.
So perfect is their mimicry of other forms, however, that they are believed to take on the sensory capabilities of the forms they are mimicking.

Civilization and Culture

Naming Traditions

Sentient Slime names have absolutely no trend, linguistic style, or typical format, as they are both a rare species and one who have no real culture of their own as of the modern day, instead mimicking the cultures and naming formats of wherever they were raised, born, or spent most of their infancy. The rare Sentient slime who grows to maturity with no outside influence will typically name itself by whatever syllable it finds easiest to pronounce, or perhaps by what sound it makes when it moves its slimy mass. As they have no gender, their names are unisex.
Names: Suu, Guu, Tyr, Li, Wae, Waa, Vui, Zzez, Que, Ha, La, Rey, etc...

History

As a new race and one that has almost no cultural Identity, the Sentient Slime are a race with virtually no history to speak of. Whenever they appear or are first given sentience, they rarely care to investigate the WHY or the HOW of such a thing, and as such incredibly little is truly known about these strange creatures, as once they find a village, city, tribe, or civilization they like or are curious of after becoming sentient, Sentient Slimes simply use their innate abilities of mimicry to take the form of the creatures that dwell within their newfound "home" and live their lives there, learning and interacting with the world as a member of that species until they either become bored or leave to pursue other matters and/or growth...or sometimes, hunting the members of this new community they now live in as a super-predator.

Alternate Racial Trait List:
Sentient Slime Alternate Racial Traits

Racial Feat List:
Sentient Slime Racial Feats

Lifespan

Immortal / Unknown?

Conservation Status

Sentient slimes are a race unheard of and completely unknown to most; Only certain scholars, historians, and those who study the strange know of their existence...and even then, only as a rumor. They are incredibly rare as the circumstances for a slime to gain sentience are both unknown and incredibly rare.

Average Height

Varies. They can take on a variety of physical forms, but can rarely get large than 5 meters.

Average Weight

Varies, but they often weigh almost nothing even when mimicking other forms thanks to their slime constitutions.

Average Physique

Sentient Slime have no physique except those that they take the form of with their innate mimicry.

Body Tint, Colouring and Marking

Their slimy bodies are often green, but based on their point of origin they can take on a myriad of colors, such as blood red for Sentient Slimes spawned on battlefields, deep crimson for those spawned in volcanoes or fire pits, blue for those spawned in icy fields, and so on. Within their slimy bodies when they are non mimicking any specific form, their core can be seen floating inside of them.

Related Materials

• Slime Mould

A race most mysterious

Little is truly known about the mysterious race of beings known as "Sentient Slimes"...because while normal mundane Oozes can be found all across and below Zheng-Kitar, they are typically mindless hunters with no will of their own...much less the ability to mimic humanoids and other form so uncannily well. The conditions under which they are born are unknown, as are their origins - most are almost impossible to mark or keep track of for an extended period due to their skill at mimicry and tendency to blend into existing communities...though many can be tracked by the mysterious, unsolvable disappearances left in their wake.
Sentient Slimes are thus creatures of mystery, as their origin has never been fully explained - who or what is giving these creatures sentience? Why do some remember fragments of former lives, either their own or otherwise? None of these questions have found answers, and likely never will. It is hard to find one and even harder to befriend it - making study almost impossible.