Choke Ooze

ECOLOGY

Environment any
Organization solitary or farm (2–5)

Usually these creatures are found in two ways— cultivated or wild. The latter is rare in the extreme for reasons outlined below. Cultivated choke oozes are usually massive—to enable them to yield the maximum amount of harvest. Sometimes smaller versions of these oozes are found cultivated—often where a portable form of air is required in remote locations.

It’s rumored that the first true choke oozes were distilled and filleted by the aboleth, used to create vast sub-oceanic domes of air for visitors and airbreathing slaves. Another conjecture has the drow creating them through alchemy. Whatever caused their creation, there seems little doubt that choke oozes were conceived, not discovered.

Their fundamental purpose—and the reason for their being found in such vast quantities when they are met—is their ability to convert sustenance into breathable air. In general, consuming a creature produces enough breathable air to supply a similarly sized creature for a month. This boon not only causes their profligacy, but also may explain why they are so rarely encountered in the wild or randomly met.

So great is this boon that the choke ooze is greatly prized, and even an immature specimen may fetch a king’s ransom amongst those with a vested interest in bringing air to remote locations.

There are, of course, dangers with the ooze. The first is its hunger—a choke ooze is never sated, its hunger a constant gnawing ache that is never satisfied. This need makes securing the ooze of the greatest importance, since they are drawn to flesh—any flesh—to consume. Unless held within an appropriately tough—usually ceramic or glass— container, they soon run rampant.