Monster Monday: Lodestone Ooze

I know updates have been irregular throughout the infancy of my blog, so I am going to try to inject a little bit of regularity with a segment I'm calling: Monster Monday.  I chose monsters because you can always use more monsters, and I have an ever-growing Word doc with about 90 pages of homebrewed monster content.  All monsters will be Pathfinder-compatible and available under the d20 OGL.

Today's Monster Monday monster is the Lodestone Ooze, a dastardly slime that builds on the rules for magnetism I established in my post about magnetism spells.  This creature is a "gotcha monster" in the same vein as the rust monster or grey ooze in that it's attacks tend to damage the players' beloved equipment.

The OGL, PFSRD-compatible monster is available after the jump.
The following text in gold is available as Open Game Content under the OGL. Open Game Content is (C)2013 Jonah Bomgaars.

Lodestone Ooze                 CR 8

XP 4,800

N Large ooze (subtype)

Init -5; Senses blindsight 60 ft., scent metals 90 ft.; Perception -5

Aura Magnetic Aura 20 ft. 

DEFENSE

AC 12, touch 4, flat-footed 4 (-5 Dex, -1 size, +8 natural)

hp 145 (10d8+100)

Fort +13, Ref -2, Will -2

DR 5/adamantine; Immune cold, fire, ooze traits

Vulnerability electricity

OFFENSE

Speed 20 ft.

Melee slam +12 (1d8+6 plus 2d6 acid and grab)

Space 10 ft.; Reach 5 ft.

Special Attacks acid, engulf (DC 21, 2d6 acid)

STATISTICS

Str 22, Dex 1, Con 30, Int -, Wis 1, Cha 1

Base Atk +7; CMB +14; CMD 19

Languages none

SQ metal drain, metallic body

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Acid (Ex)

The digestive acid that covers a lodestone ooze dissolves metals and organic material, but not stone. Each slam and constrict attack deals 2d6 additional acid damage. Armor or clothing worn by a creature grappled by the ooze takes the same amount of acid damage unless the wearer succeeds on a DC 25 Reflex saving throw. A wooden or metal weapon that strikes a gray ooze takes 2d6 acid damage unless the weapon's wielder succeeds on a DC 25 Reflex save. The ooze's touch deals 2d6 points of acid damage per round to wooden or metal objects, but the ooze must remain in contact with the material for 1 full round in order to deal this damage. The save DCs are Constitution-based.

Engulf (Ex)

A lodestone ooze can engulf Large or smaller creatures in its path or magnetically grappled to its body as a standard action. It cannot make a slam attack during a round in which it engulfs. The ooze merely has to move over the opponents, affecting as many as it can cover. Opponents can make attacks of opportunity against the ooze, but if they do so they are not entitled to a saving throw. Those who do not attempt attacks of opportunity can attempt a DC 21 Reflex save to avoid being engulfed—on a success, they are pushed back or aside (opponent's choice) as the ooze moves forward. Creatures magnetically grappled to the ooze’s body are not entitled to an attack of opportunity or a Reflex save to avoid being engulfed, but they can attempt a combat maneuver to avoid that fate.  Engulfed creatures are subject to the ooze’s acid, gain the pinned condition, are in danger of suffocating, and are trapped within its body until they are no longer pinned. The save DC is Strength-based.

Magnetic Aura (Ex)

   A Lodestone Ooze uses its natural magnetic field to draw in metallic objects to feed upon.  Any Medium-sized creature carrying 30 or more pounds of iron or steel may be pulled by this magnetism (Small creatures are pulled if they have 15 pounds of metal, Large if they have at least 60 pounds. For creatures of other sizes, modify the weight required as per the rules for carrying capacity (Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook 170)).  All such creatures within 20 ft. of the ooze are drawn to it as if by the pull special ability, using the ooze’s CMB.  Creatures wearing iron or steel armor suffer a penalty on their checks to resist the pull equal to their combined armor and shield bonuses.  Affected creatures are pulled up to 20 feet and slammed against the ooze for 2d6 points of acid damage and gain the grappled condition.  Creatures not carrying large amounts of metal but holding metal items in their hands are affected by a disarm maneuver as the items are ripped free. Freeing a stuck item requires a successful strength check against the ooze’s CMD.

   All attacks made against the ooze with an iron or steel weapon gain a +3 bonus on attack and damage rolls, but the wielder must succeed on a strength check or be disarmed as the weapon clings to the ooze. 

   When lesser magnetism or greater magnetism is cast on the lodestone ooze, it must make a Will save or suffer from polarity reversal for 2d4 rounds.  Instead of drawing iron and steel objects toward it, it repels them.  Creatures which would be pulled to the ooze are instead thrown 20 feet and knocked prone, taking 2d6 damage.  Metal items successfully disarmed are flung 20 feet away from the magnetized object. 

Metal Drain (Ex)

Lodestone oozes can fortify themselves with the metal they eat.  Any time a lodestone ooze has 30 or more pounds of metal engulfed within it, or has direct contact with 50 or more pounds of metal, it gains Fast Healing 5 for as long as its acid continues to damage that metal. 

Metallic Body (Ex)

Despite being gelatinous, a lodestone ooze’s body is highly ferrous and is thus affected by many spells and effects in the same way that metallic creatures are.  For instance, a lodestone ooze takes damage from rust effects such as rusting grasp or the touch of a rust monster.  Because it is immune to fire and cold, heat metal and chill metal work normally on the lodestone ooze but do not damage it.  Transmute metal to wood deals 2d6 Constitution damage to the lodestone ooze. 

Scent Metals (Ex)

This ability functions much the same as the scent ability, except that the range is 90 feet and the lodestone ooze can only use it to sense metal objects (including creatures wearing or carrying metal objects).

ECOLOGY

Environment underground

Organization solitary

Treasure none

   Lodestone oozes are ferrous oozes that use their natural magnetism to hunt and consume metal.  Much of their body is comprised of the metal they have leeched away with their acid, making them very heavy and easy to spot.  They tend to be blocky, sometimes even perfectly cubic, due to their ferrous nature. 

   The dead body of a lodestone ooze can be smelted down, yielding 5000 lbs. of iron (500 x ooze’s HD) and d100 x 10 gp. worth of other precious metals.  Iron is typically worth 1 sp./lb.  Since the ooze’s acid does not corrode rock, it may also contain any gems it incidentally consumed recently. 

   Because lodestone oozes can take on the nature of the metals they absorb, there are several varieties possible:

Arcanophage Lodestone Ooze (CR+1)

Lodestone oozes which have fed upon a trove of magic items, a vein of magical ore, or simply a lot of adventurers become charged with the arcane energies they have consumed.  Arcanophage oozes gain a +1 enhancement bonus to attack and damage rolls and a +1 enhancement bonus to AC.  Whenever an arcanophage ooze is struck in melee, it releases a burst of arcane energy dealing 1d6 damage of a random energy type (on a d10: 1- force, 2-3- fire, 4-5- frost, 6-7- electricity, 8-9- acid, 10- sonic) to anyone within 10 feet. 

Cold Iron Lodestone Ooze (CR+1)

These lodestone oozes hail from the darkest depths of the earth, where they have fed on cold iron and gained its properties.  Cold iron oozes gain immunity to magic, although metal-specific spells still function as described in the lodestone ooze’s Metallic Body ability description. 

Cthonic Lodestone Ooze (CR+2)

Lodestone oozes originating on the Elemental Plane of Earth have glutted themselves on the bounty found there and grown to tremendous size.  This is a lodestone ooze with the Advanced and Giant simple templates applied to it and the range of its magnetic aura doubled.  It also gains the Extraplanar subtype on any plane but the Elemental Plane of Earth.  

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As will usually be the case with Monster Mondays, I encourage you, the reader, to use this monster in a game and report the results back to me below in the comments.  I don't get to play enough D&D to playtest all of my monsters, so I appreciate any help I can get though crowd-sourcing.  If I've calculated anything incorrectly or made the monster's CR too high/low, I would like to know.  

Thanks, and have fun playing whether you're behind the screen or in front of it.

-your ferrous d20 despot