The bloody corpse stands up, dripping a red slime. As each drop hits the ground, it splatters into little red spores. The crimson shambler is an intermediary form of a hazardous slime mold found in deep caverns. It wanders the dark passageways, attacking any creatures it encounters to infect them with its spores.
Gruesome Appearance. The crimson shambler is a mobile plant, feeding off the remains of an infected creature. The overlay of red slime atop an ambulatory decomposing corpse is often mistaken as some type of undead creature. In actuality, the remains are animated by a slime mold, allowing it to hunt and infect other creatures until it finds a suitable place to spawn. Then it falls and becomes a new colony of crimson slime.
Crimson Shambler
Medium plant, unalignedArmor Class 12 (natural armor)
Hit Points 32 (5d8 + 10)
Speed 20 ft.
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 (+1) | 10 (+0) | 14 (+2) | 1 (-5) | 11 (+0) | 5 (-3) |
Damage Immunities acid, poison
Condition Immunities blinded, deafened, poisoned
Senses blindsight 60 ft. (blind beyond this radius), passive Perception 10
Languages —
Challenge 1/2 (100 XP)
Eerie Resemblance. The crimson shambler resembles a bloody zombie. A creature that can see a crimson shambler must succeed on a DC 14 Intelligence (Nature or Religion) check to discern its true nature.
Spores. A creature that touches the shambler or hits it with an attack causes spores to spew out of the shambler in a 10-foot-radius. Each creature in that area must succeed on a DC 12 Constitution saving throw or become diseased. Creatures immune to the poisoned condition are immune to this disease. The diseased creature’s lungs fill with the spores, which kill the creature in a number of days equal to 1d10 + the creature’s Constitution score, unless the disease is removed. One hour after infection, the creature becomes poisoned for the rest of the duration. After the creature dies, it rises as a crimson shambler, roaming for 1 week and attempting to infect any other creatures it encounters. At the end of the week, it collapses, its body fertilizing a new patch of crimson slime. A creature that succeeds on the saving throw is immune to the spores of all crimson shamblers and crimson slime for the next 24 hours.
Actions
Slam. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 4 (1d6 + 1) bludgeoning damage plus 3 (1d6) acid damage.
Slime Glob. Ranged Weapon Attack: +2 to hit, range 30 ft., one target. Hit: 3 (1d6) acid damage and the target must succeed on a DC 12 Constitution saving throw or become infected with the shambler’s spores (see the Spores trait).
