Etheric Jelly

A nearly transparent blob of protoplasm, pulsating and undulating with horrid life, materializes from thin air.

Etheric Jelly CR 5

XP 2,400
N Small ooze (extraplanar, incorporeal)
Init +5; Senses blindsight 60 ft., thoughtsense 60 ft.; Perception –5

DEFENSE

AC 14, touch 14, flat-footed 13 (+2 deflection, +1 Dexterity, +1 size)
hp 45 (6d8+18); fast healing 5
Fort +4, Ref +3, Will –3
Defensive Abilities incorporeal, split (slashing, 10 hp); Immune ooze traits; Resist cold 5, electricity 5

OFFENSE

Speed fly 30 ft. (good)
Melee slam +5 incorporeal touch (0 plus evaporating touch)
Special Attacks evaporating touch

STATISTICS

Str —, Dex 12, Con 14, Int 5, Wis 1, Cha 1
Base Atk +4; CMB +3; CMD 14 (cannot be grappled or tripped)
Feats Ability Focus (evaporating touch), Improved Initiative, Toughness
Skills Fly +13, Perception –5, Stealth +13; Racial Modifiers +8 Stealth
SQ absorb, reactive jaunt, transparent

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Absorb (Ex)

An etheric jelly feeds by absorbing other etheric jellies. The etheric jelly makes a melee touch attack against the target jelly. If successful, the target jelly is consumed, and the attacking jelly gains the advanced and giant creature simple templates. This ability works on other etheric jellies only.

Evaporating Touch (Su)

An etheric jelly’s otherworldly touch dissolves living matter, leaving festering wounds and causing 4d6 points of damage plus 1 Charisma damage. A DC 17 Fortitude save negates the Charisma damage and halves the damage. Any creature slain by this ability evaporates completely, as if affected by disintegrate. Undead, constructs, and other non-living materials such as clothing or other normal gear are immune to this ability. The save DC is Constitution-based.

Reactive Jaunt (Ex)

When an etheric jelly on the Ethereal Plane is detected by a creature on the Material Plane (for example, by a creature using see invisibility), the etheric jelly immediately shifts to the Material Plane. Nonmagical abilities such as blindsight and abilities which cannot detect ethereal creatures do not trigger this ability. The etheric jelly remains on the Material Plane permanently, barring dismissal or similar magic. This ability is otherwise identical to ethereal jaunt (CL 12th).

Split (Ex)

Magical slashing weapons deal no damage to an etheric jelly. Instead, the creature splits into two identical etheric jellies, each with half of the original creature’s current hit point total, rounded down. An etheric jelly with 10 or fewer hit points cannot be further split and dies if reduced to 0 hit points.

Transparent (Ex)

Due to its lack of coloration, an etheric jelly is difficult to discern from its surroundings. A DC 15 Perception check is required to notice the etheric jelly. Any creature that fails to notice an etheric jelly and walks into it automatically suffers damage as if struck by the jelly’s slam attack.

ECOLOGY

Environment any (ethereal plane or material plane)
Organization solitary, group (3–6), or clot (4–16)
Treasure none

Originating from a strange dimension which at least partially overlaps with the Ethereal Plane, etheric jellies fill much of the so-called “empty” spaces between the stars. When exposed to the magical emanations of certain divination spells (often by being within range of a spellcaster’s see invisibility spell), an etheric jelly can become trapped on the Material Plane, suddenly appearing within the range of the detection effect. This reaction to detection seems to show a preternatural sensory ability, despite their apparent lack of intelligence.

In most locations on the Material Plane, there is a base 5% chance of an etheric jelly appearing within range of a given see invisibility spell. Such jellies approach the emanating effect, attacking the source creature. Whether they attack out of hostility or as an unrecognizably alien attempt at communication is unknown.

An etheric jelly appears as a semitransparent, undulating ball of protoplasm about two feet in diameter. They are cannibalistic in nature, consuming others of their kind by absorption with no real maximum size. Larger specimens have been recorded, and much larger variants have been postulated but not confirmed by any survivors of such an encounter. In theory, the only limit to the growth of a single etheric jelly is time and the availability of other jellies as food.

Section 15: Copyright Notice

Wayfinder #17. © 2017, Paizo Fans United; Authors: Gabriel Almer, Beth Breitmaier, Dave Breitmaier, Charlie Brooks, Russ Brown, Ben Chason-Sokol, Jeremy Clements, Dixon Cohee, Matt Duval, Robert Feather, Benjamin Fields, Wojciech Grucha?a, Garrett Guillotte, Joe Kondrak, John Laffan, Isabelle Lee, Jeff Lee, Crystal Malarsky, Ben Martin, Jacob McKiernan, Jen McTeague, Jacob W. Michaels, Emily Parks, Rep Pickard, Matt Roth, André Roy, Elliot Smith, Joe Smith, ‘Piratey Steve’ Smith, Neil Spicer, Todd Stewart, John Paul Stoddard, Andrew P. Sturtevant, Margherita Tramontano, Nicholas Wasko, Kerney Williams, and Scott Young.

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