Blue Slime
Plasma
Common Enemy

BIOLOGY

Physiology

The Blue Slime is the simplest of the various Monsters known as "Slimes," small, embryonic humanoids inside opaque, spherical "cores" that allow them to neurally interface with a sheath of "slime plasma" that is generated by the core's mucus exterior. This plasma takes the form of a a thick, mucus-like material which hosts several minuscule nerve endings throughout it, allowing the Slime to effectively morph and shape this plasma into a humanoid form to interact with the world around it, often appearing as a simplistic and somewhat disturbing feminine entity. Slimes cannot see, but the nerve endings throughout their plasma creates a specialized sense of touch that allows them to "see" in a large 360 radius around their body. As a result, they cannot sense the presence of nonphysical beings or anything currently unconnected to the ground. Slime Plasma is extremely acidic and breaks down organic and inorganic matter alike, for the purpose of harvesting nutrients from prey as well as defending itself from traditional attack. Blue Plasma is extremely flammable and will often burn away in seconds after being lit afire. The core of the Blue Slime is somewhat resistant to piercing force, but can be sliced as well as crushed with relative ease. It relies on the sheath of plasma catching and disintegrating enemy weapons to protect itself from this fate.

Intelligence

The Blue Slime is rather vacuous when it comes to mental faculties, operating on what seems to be pure instinct rather than an active and focused intellect. They rely on their sense of touch to orient themselves and search for the nearest moving object, and as such many of them can be fooled simply be standing extremely still - though there are Blue Slimes which have recognized the shape of humanoid figures and will attack statues assuming they are hiding humans. Because of their reliance on their sense of touch, they are oblivious to airborne objects and often exceptionally surprised by attacks with thrown rocks, arrows, and similar. They can speak and mimic phrases, but do not appear to have any idea what the words mean. They have little to no survival instinct, and will not flee encounters, even when they stand little chance of success. They do appear to feel pain however, as they will flail and rapidly change shape when lit on fire, screaming.

Diet

Like most Slimes, the Blue Slime primarily feeds off organic matter from other living creatures, dissolving it in their Plasma rapidly to break it down into pure nutrients which are afterwards absorbed by the Core. This process eliminates nearly all contaminants. Slimes are exceptionally gluttonous and will attack nearby creatures even if they are well fed, allowing additional production of Plasma and often leading to Mitosis if enough has been consumed in recent memory.

Habitat

Blue Slimes can be found across the majority of the Known World, though they are uncommon in especially dry areas, especially hot ones, due to their flammability and wet nature. Likewise, they are extremely common in humid and wet environments, as it lowers their chance of lighting on fire and provides abundant moisture. Too many unaccounted Blue Slimes in a region can rapidly depopulate local animal life, but due to the fine nature of their digestion they can survive for an amount of time even when starved. However, they will eventually be forced to move.

Reproduction

Blue Slimes reproduce by Mitosis, when a Slime splits a secondary core from itself after it has absorbed enough nutrients to do so without major risk of starvation. This new slime will often grow into a state of maturity rather quickly, and as a result no family units exist among Slimes.

SOCIOLOGY

Community

Despite their near-mindless state of mind, Blue Slimes due seem to have a strange sense of community at times, as they will never attack a fellow Slime and often join together into large swarms to easier catch and overwhelm prey. When a Slime is being outcompeted in regards to capturing food in a region, it will leave and seek another hunting ground rather than challenging the other Slime. Due to how mindless they are otherwise, these interactions are curious to scholars like myself, with theories ranging from their near-mindless state allowing them to better interpret Mon's curse, or that they simply have a communal instinct of some form despite their lacking sentience.

Technology

Slimes completely lack the potential for innovation or technology.

Theology

Slimes lack the ability for active worship, but have been noted to say "Mon" more often than other words in their mindless rambling.

Diplomacy

Slimes lack any potential for diplomacy.

Hostility

Slimes are exceptionally hostile to Humans and even other Monsters, due to their instinctive pursuit of food at all times. As such, they will not hesitate to attack any enemy, regardless of race, age, or alignment. They are often captured by Monster Lords to be used in dungeons and fortresses as simple traps due to their predictability however, often stuffed into rooms to drop helpless humans down or released from cages while storming a castle.

HUNTING

Range

Slimes are so ubiquitous within the Known World that offering a range for them is near-pointless, especially due to their nomadic tendencies. To judge whether they are likely to be a problem in your region, refer to the Habitat section.

Magic

Being wholly biological and near-mindless entities, Slimes are completely lacking for magic.

Combat

When faced with a battle scenario, Slimes will move forward and attempt to dissolve any enemies, showing little to no alternative tactics or ideas. As such, they are extremely predictable to face and most often are only a concern in large swarms.

Strengths

An acid-laced plasmic body prevents most weapons from damage to them, and allows them to quickly kill even seasoned Monster Hunters if they're allowed a chance to get close. In large swarms, they can overwhelm even experienced teams.

Weaknesses

A severe weakness to flame combined with a void of intelligent thought makes them predictable and easy for even a peasant to kill given they have enough time to set a twig on fire.

Final Summary

Always focus on avoiding close-range combat with a Slime, and when hunting Slimes make sure to bring strong ranged weapons, torches, pitch arrows, and firebombs if able. When faced with a large swarm of Slimes and you lack the necessary tools to set them all ablaze, retreat is wholly encouraged.