Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Implied Setting Details: Green Slime


Green Slime has been regarded by many as less of a monster and more of a hazard given hit points. But in Classic D&D it has a movement rate--extremely slow, but it does move. And more telling, it has a Morale score of 7 in Mentzer D&D*.

If it can break and run, or at least stop attacking, it's not a hazard like a pool of lava or a fountain of acid that looks like water.


*Morale is 12 in Moldvay Basic, but it can move. OD&D, Holmes and AD&D all list it as immobile, and don't list Morale scores. Is Mentzer a typo? Don't know, but I think I like the implications of Green Slime breaking morale.

6 comments:

  1. That is a little odd, although not surprising. For what it's worth, it's got a move of zero but a morale of 10 in 2e. :P

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  2. I wonder how one would demoralize a slime?

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  3. I wonder what the difference would be, if it can't move.

    Though that seems like an awful way to live, quivering in terror but unable to form any sort of ambulatory motion away from your fears. Like living in a nightmare, except you're no peach yourself.

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  4. Well, in BX and BECMI, it's got a move of 3(1) and since they actually use feet/yards instead of table inches in those editions, that means it moves at a stately 3 feet per 10 minutes in a dungeon, but can rev it up to 1 foot per round if necessary.

    I assume if it loses morale it just stops trying to glob other adventurers, and slowly starts slinking away.

    I'm sure that in all my years of DMing, I've never rolled a morale check for a green slime, but I'm going to from now on!

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  5. You should check out this movie:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_H-Man

    I'm fairly sure it is the origin of Green Slime...

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  6. I assume you could make a slime fail morale by threatening it with fire. Maybe make it back off.

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