Gelatinous cube
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This article's lead section may not adequately summarize key points of its contents. (February 2013) |
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This article relies on references to primary sources. (February 2013) |
| Gelatinous cube | |
|---|---|
| Characteristics | |
| Alignment | Neutral |
| Type | Ooze |
| Image | Wizards.com image |
| Stats | Open Game License stats |
| Publication history | |
| First appearance | Monster Manual, 1st Edition (1977) |
A gelatinous cube is a fictional monster from the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. It is described as a ten-foot cube of transparent gelatinous ooze, which is able to absorb organic matter.
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Creative origins [edit]
The gelatinous cube is an invention of Gary Gygax, and first appeared in the Monster Manual (1977),[1] rather than being lifted from outside sources and adapted to a roleplaying setting, as were many mythological monsters like the minotaur and dryad.
Being a cube that is a perfect ten feet on each side, it is specifically and perfectly "adapted" to its native environment, the standard, 10-foot (3.0 m) by 10-foot (3.0 m) dungeon corridors which were ubiquitous in the earliest Dungeons & Dragons modules.
Publication history [edit]
Original Dungeons & Dragons [edit]
- Dungeons & Dragons "white box" set (1974),[2]
- Greyhawk (1975), the first supplement to the "white box".[3]
Dungeons & Dragons (Basic, Expert etc) [edit]
- Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set (1977, 1981, 1983).
- Dungeons & Dragons Rules Cyclopedia (1991)[4]
First edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons [edit]
- Monster Manual (1977)[5]
- Dragon #124 (August 1987), "The Ecology of the Gelatinous Cube".[6]
- Published first edition Advanced Dungeons and Dragons adventures which included gelatinous cubes as adversaries that the players encounter included "The Ruins of Andril", published in Dragon #81.[7]
Second edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons [edit]
- Monstrous Compendium Volume One (1989).[8]
- Monstrous Manual (1993), under the "ooze/slime/jelly" heading.[9]
Third edition Dungeons & Dragons [edit]
- Monster Manual (2000), under the ooze entry.[10]
- The 3.5 edition revised Monster Manual (2003), also under the ooze entry.
Fourth edition Dungeons & Dragons [edit]
Ecology [edit]
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This section does not cite any references or sources. (September 2010) |
A gelatinous cube looks like a transparent ooze of mindless, gelatinous matter in the shape of a cube. It slides through dungeon corridors, absorbing everything in its path, digesting everything organic and secreting non-digestible matter in its wake. Contact with its exterior can result in a paralyzing electric shock, after which the cube will proceed to slowly digest its stunned and helpless prey.
Reproduction is through a form of asexual 'budding', in which a smaller, stub cube is left behind in a side corridor to grow into a full-sized cube, although these stub cubes run the risk of being absorbed by their own parent on its next trip down the corridor.
Gelatinous cubes typically live underground.
Alignment [edit]
Gelatinous cubes, being mindless, are always neutral.[citation needed]
Other publishers [edit]
The gelatinous cube is fully detailed in Paizo Publishing's book Dungeon Denizens Revisited (2009), on pages 16-21.[13]
In other media [edit]
- In Ultima I a gelatinous cube is commonly encountered in the dungeon levels.
- Gelatinous cubes are one of the many types of monsters in NetHack and Ancient Domains of Mystery.
- Gelatinous cubes occur in EverQuest and EverQuest II, both as monsters and house pets.
- In the 1992 movie Wayne's World, arcade owner Noah Vanderhoff talks about a fictional game in which a gelatinous cube consumes villagers.
- In the movie Futurama: Bender's Game, while playing D&D Dwight Conrad states that the gelatinous cube dies in horrible poverty.
- Gelatinous cubes appear in the animated film Rocketmen Vs Robots.
- Adventure Time featured a gelatinous cube in the episode Dungeon.
- In deck card game Munchkin there is a monster called Gelatinous Octahedron.
Footnotes [edit]
- ^ Monster Manual
- ^ Gygax, Gary, and Dave Arneson. Dungeons & Dragons (3-Volume Set) (TSR, 1974)
- ^ Gygax, Gary and Robert Kuntz. Supplement I: Greyhawk (TSR, 1975)
- ^ Allston, Aaron, Steven E. Schend, Jon Pickens, and Dori Watry. Dungeons & Dragons Rules Cyclopedia (TSR, 1991)
- ^ Gygax, Gary. Monster Manual (TSR, 1977)
- ^ Greenwood, Ed. "The Ecology of the Gelatinous Cube." Dragon Magazine #124 (TSR, 1987)
- ^ Melluish, Ian (January 1984). "The Ruins of Andril: An AD&D adventure for 4-8 characters, levels 8-11". Dragon (TSR) 8 (7): 41–56.
- ^ Cook, David "Zeb", et al. Monstrous Compendium Volume One (TSR, 1989)
- ^ Stewart, Doug, ed. Monstrous Manual (TSR, 1994)
- ^ Williams, Skip, Jonathan Tweet, and Monte Cook. Monster Manual (Wizards of the Coast, 2000)
- ^ Mearls, Mike, Stephen Schubert, and James Wyatt. Monster Manual (Wizards of the Coast, 2008)
- ^ Thompson, Rodney, Bonner Logan, and Sernett, Matthew. Monster Vault (Wizards of the Coast, 2010)
- ^ Clinton Boomer, Jason Bulmahn, Joshua J. Frost, Nicolas Logue, Robert McCreary, Jason Nelson, Richard Pett, Sean K Reynolds, James L. Sutter, and Greg A. Vaughan. Dungeon Denizens Revisited (Paizo, 2009)
External links [edit]
- Statistics for Gelatinous Cube
- The gelatinous cube in Neverwinter Nights
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