Plane of Ooze
A great swamp composed entirely of semi-sentient slimes.
An uncomfortable *schlorp* noise comes from below as Leopold's armoured foot sinks up to his shinbone. He mutters to himself as the guide he has - a halfling - skips lightly as though navigating a well-paved city street. He is sure what he is searching for must be close; the ooze is often a dumping ground for lost and hidden trinkets.
The vast majority of the Plane of Ooze is a flat and swamplike environment. Lightly acidic water pools over more stable slime, much of which can slither and slide of its own volition. Tunnels twist and turn within the most solid structures but these carry risks as they collapse and shift with the movement of the ground.
Some particularly large, primordial oozes mimic the natural terrain features of the material plane - hills, mountains, cliffs and other features loom impassively over their surroundings. Woe befalls any planar traveller who attempts to use them as landmarks; no feature in the endless ooze retains its shape or location for long.
The grandest and oldest ooze, the Great Globfather, is spread throughout almost the entirety of the plane. Whether or not it is the first of all oozes or simply the largest is unknown but it has existed for several thousands of years. It is intelligent but exceedingly unlikely to communicate with mortals.
Inhabitants and Life
The Plane of Ooze is home to a wide range of slimy denizens but no other forms of life organic or otherwise. Even plantlife is an abstract facsimile - oozes that have enough structure to form solid, vertical shapes. An ecology has formed around this; an endless cycle of birth, consumption and division. Small, tough jellies tunnel temporary paths through larger, softer slimes. Those with enough surface tension to form points are able to pierce into the mass of others and absorb the vital acids inside.
The passive hostility to both organic life and inorganic structure makes it difficult for creatures immune to the corrosion, such as certain dragons and fiends, to create permanent structure. Black dragons may journey to the Plane of Ooze for a temporary jaunt and to clean themselves but there are few locations to store their treasures. The plane is also almost entirely sterile - the acid in the air and water ensures that mundane microbiology cannot survive.
Contrary to popular belief, mimics do not originally come from the Plane of Ooze. However, they are able to survive the hostile environment with ease and are sometimes brought as pets and familiars for other creatures.
Notable Features and Events
Slime-theft
Travellers to the Plane of Ooze may stumble upon large, decaying craters in the landscape. These initially perfect hemispherical depressions are the result of demonic incursion. The Corrosive Mother sends her most trusted minions to abscond with the very raw materials of the plane in order to further her ambitions in The Abyss. Much of this material is corrupted and shaped into demonic oozes or used in the complex alchemical processes she uses to produce truly dangerous substances and weapons for her followers.
The Jelly Lattice
The most vertical structure in the Plane of Ooze, a lattice of particularly solid slime extends into the sky like a colossal tree with drooping limbs. This is one of the few locations within the plane where there are permanent structures as the lattice is dotted with diminutive buildings constructed from exceedingly valuable and resilient materials. It is said that a creature wishing to truly "drop off the map" can buy a tiny abode made out of gold at exorbitant price.
It is assumed that the lattice is some sort of semi-intelligent being but its motivations are unknown. Whether the lattice is some sort of abstract art piece or has an unknown purpose, there is a general sense of worry that one day it will simply cease to be.
Cubehome
To an outside observer, Cubehome appears to be a quarry. In reality, its angular geometry is the grouped forms of countless gelatinous cubes shuffling and sliding over and around each other. In the air above, a locus for interplanar passage exists; a focal destination for magic that "makes things disappear". It is unknown who or what created this locus but the constant stream of detritus and refuse from other planes is a reliable food source for the inhabitants. Bold adventurers may hope to find items that have not been damaged by the digestive processes of the cubes or the acrid nature of the environment.
Below the Surface
The Plane of Ooze is not simply a surface layer of slime and acid. There is a staggering depth to the quagmire, the ooze becoming more dense as one travels down. There are not many beings who could survive such a trip - air, water, food, movement and sight are all major handicaps to safe travel. If one manages to prepare adequately, there are further locations hidden within the depths. Adventurers will need to make Strength (Athletics) checks in order to make passage directly through the muck, the DC increasing as they get lower.
Blackclay Burrows
The Blackclay Burrows are one of the few solid constructions that are accessible from the surface. Small ingress points lead to a seemingly endless labyrinth of narrow clay passageways spiralling and branching downwards. Rumours of powerful magical items and the creatures that guard them abound. Travellers will still need to contend with passageways clogged with thick slime and acid; air pockets are not reliable or stable enough for survival.
Phylactery Housing
While the rumours are impossible to verify, it is said that certain enterprising liches create small, resilient chambers to store their phylacteries and then cast them into the primordial ooze where they can sink into the depths. This keeps them safe from meddling adventurers but also gives a chance the whole apparatus will be swallowed by some colossal creature below. Heroes hoping to locate such a phylactery will almost certainly require the use of a wish to gain knowledge of its location.
The Very Depths
Very few beings are able to both reach the bottom of the Plane of Ooze and survive there. Eventually, the muck and slime become dense enough that all travel is impossible, marking the lower limits of the plane. This solid ground allows for more permanent structure but the pressure from above ensures that such chambers are squat and narrow or filled with fluid. Little is known about the denizens of such a place but it can be assumed that they are the collectors and protectors of any powerful artifacts lost in the ooze.
Adventuring Hazards
Acid Storms
The Plane of Ooze does not have much weather. However, storms of acid rain roll intermittently across the landscape. These represent a real hazard to travellers not adequately protected.
Creatures take 2d4 acid damage each hour if not sheltered during an acid storm.
Insubstantial Terrain
Even experienced travellers have difficulty recognising patches of ground that cannot support the weight of living creatures. Natives to the plane do not have such difficulties, their density and composition allowing them to slide over or through the terrain.
Creatures weighing more than 100lbs treat these regions as difficult terrain. Creatures weighing at least 200lbs must succeed on a DC10 Strength (Athletics) check each round to avoid sinking below the surface.
Bubbles
Causing similar issues to the above terrain, air pockets can form below ground. When these inevitably rise and breach the surface, travellers risk being swallowed by the resulting shift in the terrain.
Creatures must make a DC12 Dexterity saving throw, becoming submerged on a failure. If submerged, a DC14 Strength (Athletics) check must be made to return to the surface.
Upstream: Plane of Earth, Plane of Water
Downstream: The Abyss
Rules on crafting magic items can be found here.
Elemental Trait Acid Aligned - All rolls involving acid damage have results of a 1 or a 2 rerolled. Creatures without resistance or immunity to acid damage have disadvantage on saving throws involving acid and spells dealing acid damage.
Planar Effect Nonmagical items gain a permanent, cumulative degradation as they are corroded by the environment. For every 24 hours on this plane, roll 1d3 and add the result to a running total. This score reduces attack and damage rolls for weapons and the AC of armour and shields. Armour that lowers to an AC of 10 and shields that drop to an AC bonus of +0 are destroyed. All other nonmagical items, including weapons, are destroyed if they reach a score of 5. This does not effect gold and platinum items. Items may be protected for 24 hours by coating them in oil.
Multiverse Portal
(a work in progress)
The Cosmos
The Astral, The Void, The Material (Urvén)
Elemental Planes
Air, Creation, Earth, Entropy, Fire, Water
Major Planes
Good (Celestial Wilderness, Edict, The Empyreal Mountains)
Neutral (The Ordered Realm, Havoc and Tumult)
Evil (The Abyss, The Desolate Grey, The Hells)
Minor Planes
Artistry, Innovation, Justice, Knowledge, Maze, Mirrors, Ooze, Wealth
Other Concepts and Locations
Conduit of All Souls
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