This class is for my Doom Lords of the Atomic Underworld campaign. It was adapted from a class of the same name by Jeff Call, with his permission.

Gelman

Req. Con 9
Prime Constitution
Hit Die d10
Attack As a cleric
Saves As a dwarf

Art by Jeff Call

The origins of the Gelmen are a mystery to even the most erudite scholars of SuperScience and Sorcery. While some claim they are undead, a last desperate attempt by the Ancients to achieve immortality, others believe Gelmen were spawned via abiogensis from some puddle of irradiated slime or biowaste. Whatever the truth, Gelmen have no culture, no towns, no religion, and no language of their own, speaking dialects of other languages known collectively as “Blorpish.”

Each Gelman appears as a blue dishwashing liquid-colored, man-shaped gelatin with a human skull floating about within its neckless head protrusion, and while variations in body-shape are common, they are always human-like: two arms, two legs, a head. At a glance, other species have a difficult , if not impossible, time telling one Gelman apart from another, but once you get to know one it’s clear they have distinct personalities, though all Gelmen share a pathologically positive attitude and are generally high on life. As such, no one can stand them. In fact, they are so abundantly positive it unnerves other living beings.

They are almost universally reviled, a fate which Gelmen accept with their usual pathological look-on-the-bright-side-at-least-we-have-each-other  attitude. If they were simply undead, it’d be one thing, most say, but why do they have to be so damn happy all the time? Having no communities of their own and only needing to absorb nutrients via their permeable membranes (many Gelman are seen with various organic bits of “food” floating around in their bodies being slowly digested over a period of several weeks, depending on the size of the meal), Gelmen are mostly found scrounging about in ruins or in ghettos in the wasteland cities exclusively around the Deathlands of Alb.

Vaguely Amorphous – While Gelmen retain a vaguely humanoid shape by default (think of it as a psychological Jell-O mold), they may temporarily shape their bodies into other conceivable shapes in order to squeeze through holes (so long as their skull can fit through), hide behind oddly-shaped objects, or elongate themselves Stretch Armstrong-style. (This ability is open to interpretation by player and GM.)

Gelatinous Physiology – Being that they’re basically made of Jell-O, Gelmen cannot wear armor of any sort, but fortunately they are extraordinarily resilient. They take only half damage from falling and blunt weapons and are immune to Backstabbing  and Critical Hits. Against projectile weapons, such as laser blasts or arrows, as a reaction, Gelmen get a 1-in-6 chance to create a hole in their bodies for the shot to harmlessly pass through. Additionally, they may store items within their bodies, though doing so subjects the items to their paralytic digestive protoplasm (any item stored in such a way must pass a saving throw per day or be damaged, after three days the item is disintegrated).

Paralytic Digestive Protoplasm – Gelmen may coat their weapons in their own protoplasm to add a paralytic poison to their attacks (save vs. Paralysis if hit or be paralyzed for 1d3 rds.); doing so, however, may destroy the weapon, which must make a saving throw every time this is done. Failure means the weapon has been corroded, giving it a -1 penalty to hit and to damage. Additionally, enemies who attack Gelmen with their natural weapons must make a save versus paralysis or be paralyzed for 1d3 rds.

Pathologically Bubbling Positivity – Nothing, absolutely nothing, seems to bring a Gelman down. Something about their sticky, viscid existence just makes them optimistic. As such, a Gelman can pop back from apparently any setback, healing at twice the rate as a human and receiving double the amount of magical healing from spells.