Brubblin
The Gut‑Sower
Type: Small Aberration
Region: Wet Fungal Glades, Subterranean Grottos
Alignment: Unaligned (Instinct-driven)
Armor Class: 12 (fleshy folds)
Hit Points: 21 (6d6)
Speed: 15 ft., Burrow 5 ft.
Challenge: 1
Senses: Tremorsense 20 ft., Passive Perception 9
Condition Immunities: Charmed, Frightened
“I don’t know what’s worse—the jellies, or the thought that it’s proud of them.”
—Griswold Cain, after stepping barefoot on a fresh brood
The Brubblin is a parasitic, slug‑bird aberration roughly two feet in length. Its rubbery, wrinkled skin glistens with fungal slime, and its malformed face resembles that of a baby bird—blind, lipless, but always seeming to ask for something. It spends most of its life buried, emerging only to seed its young.
Brubblins reproduce by depositing soft, jelly‑encased seedlings from a cloacal‑like canal beneath their lower folds. These brub‑jellies emit a faintly sweet scent and shimmer with unnatural color, luring birds, beasts, and sometimes curious adventurers to ingest them.
Inside the host, the jelly breaks down—releasing a tiny, semi‑conscious larval Brubblin. This creature anchors to the colon or lower intestine, inducing mild hallucinations, emotional fluctuations, and severe cramps for 2–3 days. After this gestational discomfort, the larva is excreted—now matured—and burrows into the soil.
Brubblins do not consider this parasitism cruel. If anything, they seem… hopeful.
Traits and Abilities
– Brub‑Jelly Trail. Every so often, the Brubblin leaves behind a glistening jelly orb. Any beast or humanoid that eats it must make a DC 13 CON save or become infected. The larva matures in 48 hours and is excreted during the host’s next rest (DC 12 CON save to avoid one level of exhaustion).
– Psyseed Infusion. While infected, a host experiences mild hallucinations—colors vibrate, sounds stretch, emotions swell. The DM may impose Disadvantage on WIS checks or grant brief Advantage on Insight, depending on context.
– Burrow‑Slink. When threatened, the Brubblin curls and vanishes into soft earth or mulch in one round, leaving behind a smear of mucous and three jellies.
– Gullet Bloom. If a Brubblin is cornered or wounded, it may vomit forth a translucent, pulsating sac. Upon bursting, the sac fills a small area with luminous mist and spores:
• All creatures in the area must make a CON save (DC 12) or be afflicted with Vertigro — a faint tugging downwards that makes running and jumping cost double movement for an hour.
• All who breathe the mist experience Sweetvision — colors intensify wildly, granting Advantage on sight‑based Perception checks, but Disadvantage on attack rolls until their next rest.
• Those resting within the mist are prone to Feverdream — strange, alluring visions haunt their sleep. Upon waking, the sleeper must make a WIS save (DC 10) or lose one level of Exhaustion recovery.
Behavior
- Temperament: Pathetic, cautious, and weirdly nurturing.
- Roaming Range: 30–40 meters from its hatching burrow.
- Habits: Emerges during soft rain, new moon, or emotional disturbances nearby.
- Sound: Occasional breathy pip or sad chirrup when alone.
Brubblins prefer stillness. They rarely travel unless disturbed or overly dry. Some believe they sense emotional energy and may draw near weeping travelers or animals in pain. Others suggest they manufacture sorrow to sow their young.
Ecology & Habitat
The Brubblin thrives in rich fungal zones, preferring mossy slopes or the underside of rotted logs. Its entire lifecycle is designed to minimize risk: hatch unseen, gestate in a traveling host, and return home buried deep. They are poor climbers and cannot cross hard stone.
Rare sightings suggest some Brubblins live in “brood communes”—low, pulsing mounds where dozens hibernate together beneath a fungal veil, seeding a forest with psychic spores.
Harvest & Remnants
- Brub‑Jelly Globule: If collected before ingestion, may be dried into a psychedelic chewing gum. May grant a minor Insight boost. Risks hallucinations.
- Slough‑Skin: Loose folds shed during growth. Rarely useful, but can hold enchantments well.
- Larval Core: A mature larva (post‑excretion) may be harvested and traded illegally for use in empathy potions or dark alchemy.
Encounter Hooks
The Sweetfruit Trail
Strange jelly orbs appear overnight on the party’s bedrolls and boots. They glisten with dew but never seem to dry. A child in the nearby village refuses to eat anything else—and claims “the worm‑singers are nice.”Buried in the Bard
A local performer begins having visions during every song—poetic, emotional, vivid. Audiences love it. He doesn’t know there’s a Brubblin larva inside him, guiding the verses… and nearing maturity.The Garden That Wept
A gravekeeper’s orchard blooms too fast. The fruit weeps. Inside every one? A jelly‑seed. Something has turned her compost mound into a breeding ground—and she’s starting to sing to them in her sleep.The Jelly Collector
A wandering monk carries hundreds of Brub‑jellies in a silver net. He calls them “dream stones” and offers one to the party for free. He claims they saved his soul. His eyes are unblinking.
