Monday, June 11, 2012

The Slime Emotional Spectrum

If power rings can come full spectrum, so can slimes.  Let's run the list:

Red: The color of blood, these slimes are drawn to violence or displays of anger. They show up just after battles to absorb victor and victim alike. As they dissolve prey, their color deepens.
Orange: In some ways, these slimes (which have the look and consistency of pulped oranges) are the most sinister. Drawn to cheerful moods, they wait to take adventurers leaving dungeons after successful delves. Chemicals in their substance cause uncontrollable laughter in those they attack.
Yellow: Timid in their movements, these slimes feed off cowardice and fear. Fleeing adventures or monsters will draw their attention.
Green: Greed and avarice bring this species oozing out of the darkness. They tend to lie in wait around treasure troves.
Blue: Sadness and depression are the lures for these. They tend to try to trap creatures in a room for which there is no escape. They move in slowly, seeming to savior the despair as it builds.
Indigo: More rarefied in their appetites than others (if a slime can be said to be rarifed) these slime seek to absorb magic-users and others seeking transcedence through knowledge. Magic tomes and ancient inscriptions draw them. They may wait quiescent for years for a victim in the right mindset.
Violet: These slime do something positive on their own perverse way.  As they flow over victims they bring calm and soothe negative emotions.  This is no doubt a solace to the person so consumed.

11 comments:

The Angry Lurker said...

That is brilliant, great slime reference.

Gothridge Manor said...

Psychic vampires almost. Interesting set up. I can see brave adventurers freezing an orange slime and chipping off piece for their drinks. And alchemists trapping a violet one to mix with certain potions to calm the imbiber. There is money to made in them there slimes.

Jim Shelley said...

If these show up in the pages of Green Lantern, I know who to credit!

Roger G-S said...

This + Green Lantern + the 1970's = slime mood rings?

richard said...

I love that you include the magic 7th colour, makes me want to add ulfire slime (attracted by wild pain, as for instance that suffered by someone being dissolved by a slime) and the highly sought after jale slime, which allegedly offers dreamlike, feverish, and voluptuous visions when imbibed, if only you can figure out how to imbibe it without being eviscerated.

Octarine slimes are actually indigo slimes in magician-luring disguise.

garrisonjames said...

There's a good market for Violet Slime as a component for certain insidious toxins brewed-up for a cult of perverse assassins who like to lave their victims with a smile on their lips.

A Day-Glo variant of the Green slime makes a handy light-source if you can keep it sealed-up in a stout glass jar.

A distillate from the Orange slimes could be used to make victims literally die laughing, or go all Conrad Veidt or it might possibly result in something like the case of Mr. Sardonicus...

Telecanter said...

Very nice. Nice enough I want to use them. How might you work the mechanics of encountering them?

I get green and indigo might be in waiting but how would you handle yellow or orange?

Trey said...

Thanks guys.

@Tim - Good point.

@Roger - Now that you've said it, it must exist!

@Richard - Good thoughts! Of course, we could go beyond even that extended spectrum into...tint slimes!

@Garrisonjames - Great additions. To paraphrase William Gibson: "the dungeon finds its own use for things."

@Telecanter - Orange would give a chance of pouncing on adventurers who had successfully cleared an area and where happily on their way out. Merriment (bards, feasting and the like--even magically indcued) would call them in. Yellow would certainly come after creatures that had failed a morale check or had been under the influence of a fear spell. I might assign a percent chance of drawing them if the PCs retreated in a particularly hasty and ignominious fashion.

Pierce said...

They sound like they would be excellent minions for a Slime Lord, depending on his current mood.

http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/3rd-party-prestige-classes/alluria-publishing/slime-lord

Trey said...

Indeed they would!

Canageek said...

Creepy and awesome.