#sky jelly

[nelc]

Peter Jones cover for Piers Anthony's Omnivore

[lightbluefoods]

[thecreaturecodex]

Sky Jelly

Accessed at Phylum Ctenophora: list of all valid species names here

[Inspired by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Horror of the Heights and some of the weirder, biological interpretations of UFOs.Design-wise, I wanted to reverse the usual paradigm of high Strength, low Dexterity oozes.]

Sky Jelly A translucent orb appears with a blinding flash of light, its immense body levitating in the air. Its body lacks any structure except for two delicate tendrils emerging from its equator.

Every so often, reports come from remote areas of bright lights in the sky, mysterious abductions and the carcasses of humans and animals left without a drop of blood in their bodies. Although some people hold that these are sightings of mysterious intelligences from another plane or planet, they are in fact the work of sky jellies. A sky jelly is a predatory ooze of animal intelligence native to the upper reaches of the atmosphere, which descends from its lofty home to prey on blood.

Sky jellies are naturally luminous, but can quench this illumination in order to sneak up on unsuspecting victims. The typical hunting pattern of a sky jelly is to cruise above the ground at the limits of their blindsight and snag prey with their inherent telekinetic abilities. The victim is then levitated towards the sky jelly and drained of blood at its leisure. Only if threatened by enemies capable of taking to the air will a sky jelly shed its invisibility and defend itself with electrically charged tendrils.

Despite their dim intellect, sky jellies possess a playful instinct, and enjoy flying in the wakes of larger aerial creatures such as dragons or rocs. If not hungry, sky jellies may fly low over the ground and pulse with light, delighting in the scurrying motion of panicked animals or humanoids below. Sky jellies hunt anywhere, but prefer to strike in open areas, such as plains and hills. A sky jelly is roughly 12 feet in diameter and maintains its flight by constantly producing lighter-than-air gases.

Sky Jelly               CR 12 XP 19,200 N Huge ooze Init +9; Senses blindsight 200 ft., Perception +0 Defense AC 22, touch 18, flat-footed 12 (-2 size, +9 Dex, +4 armor, +1 dodge) hp 217 (15d8+150) Fort +15, Ref +12, Will +5 Defensive Abilities luminous body, natural invisibility; Immune electricity, ooze traits Offense Speed 10 ft., fly 100 ft. (perfect) Melee 2 slams +18 (2d6-1 plus 4d8 electricity) Space 15 ft.; Reach 15 ft. Special Attacks blinding burst, blood drain, telekinetic pull (50 ft.) Spell-like Abilities CL 15th, concentration +21Constant—mage armor At will—telekinesis (DC 21, CMB +21) Statistics Str 8, Dex 29, Con 30, Int 1, Wis 11, Cha 22 Base Atk +11; CMB +21; CMD 32 Feats Agile Maneuvers, Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Flyby Attack, Hover, Skill Focus (Fly), Skill Focus (Stealth), Weapon Finesse Skills Fly +23, Stealth +12 Ecology Environment any land Organization solitary Treasure none Special Abilities Blinding Burst (Ex) Whenever a sky jelly dismisses its natural invisibility, it appears in a brilliant flash of radiance. All creatures within 60 feet must succeed a DC 23 Fortitude save or be blinded for 1 minute. On a successful save, the creature is dazzled for 1 round. The save DC is Charisma based. Blood Drain (Su) A sky jelly may drain blood from a creature pinned by its telekinesis spell-like ability, as long as the grappled creature is within the sky jelly’s reach. Luminous Body (Ex) A sky jelly radiates bright light in a 60 foot radius and shadowy illumination out to 120 feet. Unlike other oozes, sky jellies do not take additional damage from sunbeam or sunburst spells. Natural Invisibility (Ex) A sky jelly may become invisible as a move action. While it is invisible, it is staggered. Telekinetic Pull (Su) On a successful CMB check against an opponent grappled by its telekinesis spell-like ability, a sky jelly can maintain the grapple and pull the creature towards it, to a maximum distance of 50 feet each round.

[butasslyn]

[lightbluefoods]