The Tome Unleashed series fleshes out monsters from the Tome of Beasts, giving GMs ways to modify existing monsters to surprise well-prepared players or introduce new monsters to a campaign. Last month, we changed up ala.

This time, we’re looking at ways to change up the oozasis (see Tome of Beasts 1) including alternate traits and actions, as well as new magic items, spells, and adventure hooks inspired by them.

An oozasis is a Gargantuan ooze which appears as an inviting oasis or watering hole. Those who drink of its waters tell of dreams that compel them to carry out quests in service to an ancient, fragmented mind.

Alternate Traits and Actions

The following changes allow GMs to alter an oozasis without modifying its challenge rating.

Breadth of Knowledge. The oozasis chooses one (or more) of the following skills: Arcana, Nature, or Religion. It is proficient in the chosen skill.

The oozasis loses proficiency in Insight or Perception (reducing its passive Perception to 16) in exchange for each chosen skill proficiency.

Mind Lash. The oozais’s attacks, and its Engulf action, deal psychic damage instead of acid damage.

Corresponding to the change in damage, the oozasis loses its immunity to acid and gains immunity to psychic.

Poorly Conductive. The oozasis has damage vulnerability to lightning.

In exchange for this vulnerability, the oozasis loses its vulnerability to thunder, and it gains resistance to cold.

Splash Back. When the oozasis is hit with a melee weapon that deals slashing or bludgeoning damage, it uses its reaction to deal 7 (2d6) acid damage against the attacker.

In exchange for this reaction, the oozasis’s Pseudopod attack deals 13 (2d8 + 4) bludgeoning damage plus 7 (2d6) acid damage.

Vapors of Lasting Influence (Recharges after a Short or Long Rest). The oozasis sublimates its waters into a vapor that fills a 40-foot-radius sphere centered on the oozasis. Each creature in the area must succeed on a DC 16 Wisdom saving throw or become affected as if by the mass suggestion spell.

In exchange for this action, the oozasis loses its Vapors of Tranquility or Turmoil action.

New Feat

The following feat is inspired by the oozasis.

Quester

You thrive when undertaking sacred duties. You gain the following benefits and vulnerability.

• Increase your Wisdom or Dexterity score by 1, to a maximum of 20.
• When affected by geas or similar magic, you gain immunity to the charmed and frightened conditions (except for the charmed condition imposed by geas) until the effect ends. At the beginning of each day, you gain temporary hit points equal to 5 times the spellcasting ability modifier of the caster.
• Once per year, you can choose to designate a mission as sacred, if that mission derives from another creature. While you undertake that mission, you are affected as if geas had been cast on you (including the above benefits).
• You automatically fail your Wisdom saving throw against geas and similar quest-giving effects.

New Magic Items and Spells

The following magic item and spells are inspired by the oozasis.

Canister of Tranquilizing or Tumultuous Vapors

Wondrous Item, Rare (Attunement Varies)

This cylinder contains blue vapors that show illusory images of a lush oasis. When you throw it up to 90 feet away, the cylinder explodes in a wash of vapors centered on that location, measuring 60 feet in radius and 10 feet thick.

Each creature in the area must succeed on a DC 16 Wisdom saving throw or be affected by the calm emotions spell or the confusion spell. The canister has an equal chance for either effect, which applies to all creatures.

If you are attuned to the canister, you can determine the effect when you throw it.

Additionally, an attuned canister has 2 charges. You can expend a charge as an action to release the vapors from the canister with your chosen effect in the same area as above, centered on yourself. The canister regains 1d2 charges at dawn.

If the canister only has 1 charge remaining and you throw it as above, each creature has advantage on its Wisdom saving throw. If the canister has no charges remaining and you throw it, the canister is destroyed with no effect.

Acidic Form

5th-level Transmutation | Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Touch
Components: V, S, M (a vial containing a sample from an oozasis)
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 hour

You transform a willing creature you touch, along with everything it’s wearing and carrying into a Large acidic mass of water for the duration. The spell ends if the creature drops to 0 hit points.

While in this form, the target has a walking speed of 20 feet, a climbing speed of 20 feet, and a swimming speed of 20 feet. The target has resistance to nonmagical damage, and it has advantage on Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution saving throws. The target can pass through small holes, narrow openings, and even mere cracks.

While in the watery form, the target can’t talk or manipulate objects, and any objects it was carrying or holding can’t be dropped, used, or otherwise interacted with. The target also can’t cast spells.

The target’s unarmed strikes deal an additional 3d6 acid damage on a hit. If the creature who was attacked is Medium or smaller, it is grappled. As an action the target can engulf the grappled creature. The grappled creature can’t breathe, is restrained, has total cover against attacks and other effects outside the target, and takes double the acid damage dealt by the target’s unarmed strike at the beginning of each of the target’s turns. If the target moves, the grappled creature moves with the target.

At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a 6th level spell slot or higher, the unarmed strike’s additional acid damage increases by 2d6 for each slot level above 5th.

Watery Extrusion

2nd-level Transmutation | Druid, Ranger
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Touch
Components: V, S, M (a portion of an amorphous creature)
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 hour

You draw water from within a willing creature you touch to form a pseudopod. The target can use a bonus action to make an unarmed strike with the pseudopod. The attack has disadvantage.

At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 4th level or higher, the attack no longer has disadvantage. If you cast this spell using a spell slot of 6th level or higher, the target forms an additional pseudopod for every 2 slot levels above 4th. The target can attack with all of its pseudopods as a bonus action. If the target attacks more than one creature with its pseudopods, each attack against an additional creature has disadvantage.

Oozasis Adventure Hooks

• An oozasis holds information vital to the PCs’ quest, and the PCs discover the ooze’s importance through research and interrogation. Can they get the information they need without succumbing to the oozasis’s ulterior motives?
• Desert raiders are no longer attacking! Though the former victims have cause to celebrate, rumors speak of the bandits excavating in remote desert sands for some unknowable reason. Adventurers who investigate discover the raiders’ compulsion developed after they visited a nearby oasis, which is actually an oozasis seeking an artifact it distantly remembers.

Tome Unleashed creates options for monsters found in the Tome of Beasts. But guess what? Kobold Press has upgraded these monsters into a new edition!
Cruise over to the Kobold store to pre-order Tome of Beasts 1 (2023) for release in June 2023!

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