BX Monsters A to Z: Green Slime

 We'll roll with the slimy theme for another post, because the next monster is the ever-popular Green Slime.

Stats-wise, green slime doesn't look like much. It doesn't even have a proper AC (it can always be hit). It's a bit tougher than a typical 1st-level character, at 2 HD, it moves at a glacial 3' (1'), it doesn't do hit point damage at all, and you'll only encounter a single one at a time. For all that, though, green slime is a deadly threat to the naive and unwary. 

It "attacks" by dripping from a ceiling or wall onto a victim, or by being stepped in if on a floor. A fiendish DM might place it in other locations which characters will be tempted to unwittingly touch it. The description says nothing about whether the creature needs to make an attack roll at all; certainly I wouldn't require one for stepping in/touching the slime, but I might make a roll vs. AC 9 for a drip attack. In any case, the slime can dissolve wood and metal in 6 rounds. No guidelines are given for cloth or leather here. (Mentzer adds that it destroys cloth and leather instantly, which seems a bit much.) Once any protective gear is ruined, the slime sticks to flesh and turns the victim into more green slime in 1d4 rounds. Yikes!

The slime is impervious to all attacks except fire and cold, so at least a low-level party probably has the means to kill it with torches and/or flaming oil. Unfortunately, if it's already on a comrade, attacking it with fire does half damage to the slime and half to the victim. In other words, if the victim starts out with fewer hit points than the slime, it's night-night forever. For higher level parties, a cure disease spell will instantly destroy the slime without harm to the victim. 

In my mind, the green slime is clearly a test of player skill and diligence in detecting hazards before rushing in. A reasonably cautious party should be able to detect and avoid it with such simple techniques as probing ahead with a wooden pole. The DM might devise more diabolical scenarios, such as having monsters taunting and firing missiles at the party while being fully aware of the slime on the ceiling between them, or placing a green slime at the bottom of a pit trap. 

I wouldn't change much about the green slime. The possibility for a quick and horrifying demise is balanced by the monster's vulnerability to fire attacks and extremely limited mobility. Mostly, I want clarifications. For instance, make cloth last one round, leather two, and metal armor six rounds. Can it dissolve magical armor? I'd say no, with the caveat that the slime will instead seep through the armor in an extra six rounds, and once it's done that, you can't burn it off without removing the armor... which of course isn't a quick action.