Oozemorph (Pathfinder Second Edition Archetype)
(art by SothGrim on DeviantArt)
When you think of slimes, of oozes, of puddings or flans or any other food-related word that has been used to describe formless goo monsters in rpgs and beyond, you probably already know that, inspired by the movie The Blob and it’s remake, D&D was the first to turn such formless giant amoeba and other goo critters into staples, with plenty of jRPGs and beyond further helping to cement them as an icon of the genre.
It may shock you then to learn that the concept of humanoid slimes, of slimes that not only have intelligence but choose to adopt humanoid forms is not as recent as you think, evolving out of things like parodies of Dragon Quest and other jRPGs coming out in the 80’s… you know, the same decade that D&D itself became a thing, and that is *wild* to me.
Of course, one can’t mention humanoid slimes without pointing out the elephant in the room which is that slimegirls are featured in a lot of eroge works, and with that acknowledgement let me be very clear that we love and support folks that enjoy all sorts of age ratings and subjects here. There is no kinkshaming here.
In any case, today’s archetype is all about characters that, through accident or design, are a little more oozelike than most. Canny fans will remember that there is an archetype in First Edition by the same name, though while the shifter version is all about those shifters whose power of polymorphing is derived from emulating those giant protoplasms, the Second Edition version is more available to every class and is more flavored around magical curses, accidents, and the like. Things that you were quietly encouraged to reflavor the 1E version into if it suited you anyway.
Now, you may ask, “Ooh, does this archetype give you the ability to shift fully into a protoplasm for all the benefits and hinderances associated with it, or shapeshift your limbs into weapons, or the whole polymorphing into animal forms plus your pseudopods for extra offense?” To which I must sadly be the one to disappoint you, since the archetype does fall prey to the limitations that 2e sometimes puts on their character options, but I won’t say it’s impossible to play such a character, more on that later.
In any case, your character is or perhaps later became a partially goo-ified person. Maybe your character was a human that was afflicted by the ooze plague from The Slithering stand-along adventure that this archetype comes from, or some other ancestry that was experimented on, or someone of any ancestry that otherwise developed such a connection/affliction? Either way, we’ll see exactly what they have to offer.
The base dedication of this archetype represents the start of the transformation and how the starting shifts of the hero’s biology gives them insight into how oozes function, particularly with how to avoid their engulfing attacks, but also in the study they do into oozes and the occult as they come to understand what is happening to them. However, it comes at the cost of their changing anatomy being disturbing to many other creatures, hampering social interaction.
The more they transform, the more their anatomy fails to resemble their original ancestry. Thankfully, this makes it harder for foes to target their vitals, and they can seal off blood loss much faster and easier.
Some learn to distort their throats to create a resonating chamber, allowing their vocalizations to be heard from much farther away, though even the most musical of such vocalizations are likely a little unnerving.
Sometimes having no eyes is an advantage, especially given the number of monsters with deadly gaze attacks and spells that afflict those that view them. As such, some oozemorphs learn to just get rid of their eyes reflexively for a bit, becoming blinded for a few seconds in order to turn failure into success against such visual effects.
As their transformation progresses, oozemorphs become receptive to, and are able to replicate the primitive pheromonal communication of many oozes. While they can hardly tell oozes what to do, they can at least attempt to befriend them and convince them that they are not food or threats.
Eventually, many of them develop thicker skin akin to the thick membranes of many oozes, and their bones further break down, making them not only resistant to bludgeoning attacks, but also to the effects of especially grievous blows.
Many oozes can suction to walls and ceilings to move along them, and some oozemorphs can emulate that, their limbs spreading out to get as much grip on the surface as possible.
Finally, their internal fluids become more like cytoplasm than blood, making them resistant to disease and poison, as well as making them even more resilient overall.
This archetype offers a lot of durability options as well as some utility, but it is a far cry from going full sentient slime, even if the art for the archetype is very nice and seems to lean in that direction. However, by looking into the actual classes we can use as the base, we can find some options and answers that are suitable. Both kineticist and monk have ways to make your strikes deal many different types of damage, which could be flavored as reshaping gooey limbs or channeling power through them, while alchemist has some concoctions that can also help out with that. Furthermore, arcane and occult casters of any class gain the potential to learn the Ooze Form spell, which is much nicer than the 1e equivalent since it actually lets you take traits of specific types of oozes (from an admittedly limited list but that’s just 2e polymorph for you) rather than just a generic battle form.
However, even if you don’t go that route, the oozemorph can offer some fun abilities to make being a goo person a part of your character, especially if they plan to be up front absorbing a lot of hits.
Now, as sexy and cute as we tend to think of slime people in a lot of modern fiction, within a lot of more serious fantasy games, I can see a lot of oozemorphs struggling with how others view their altered nature. Even without considering how uncanny and disturbing their powers would appear, oozes are typically seen as mindless monsters, a danger to be avoided and repelled, so there’s a lot to explore there, though it need not be the case in your own setting if that isn’t something you want to explore.
Those that survive in the Blighted Lands are renowned for their toughness, but that doesn’t mean they are unscathed or unchanged by it. Such is the case with Sekani the Burning Rain, who suffers from an affliction that makes her body soft, translucent, and pliable in places. However, the young strix has learned to channel this ooze transformation, and earned her epitaph by channeling her magic through it to pelt foes from above with acidic spells.
Most who were afflicted by the Darkeye Plague rose again as zombies, hungry for flesh and instinctively spreading the necromantic virulence. However, those who survived it sometimes gained a strange symbiosis with the black fluid that had spread throughout their bodies. That did not, however, prevent them from becoming something more than mortal, though not necessarily monsters.
Most who become oozmorphs become soft and malleable, but Beras of Millentown was an exception, their body taking on the qualities of carnivorous crystal. This transformation has lent itself to them developing geokineticism, channeling their transformation into deadly blades of jagged crystal.
