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Plasmoids prove that you don’t need organs to be a hero. Or even a distinct body shape. Introduced in Dungeons & Dragons‘ Spelljammer expansion, plasmoids are amorphous blobs that take on a humanoid shape whenever it’s time to wield a sword and shield, but they can revert to their blob-like nature whenever it’s time to squeeze through tight spots.
Owing to their blobularness, plasmoids are really hard to pin down, making them ideal for melee fighters. But don’t worry–if you want to make yourself into a magic-oriented plasmoid, there’s nothing stopping your pseudopod from casting magic spells. Here’s everything you need to know about creating your plasmoid character in D&D.
All info for Plasmoids is from the Spelljammer sourcebook.
The History Of The Plasmoids
In the great Astral Sea, there exists a species that is wholly unique. They have no skin, no organs, and no real shape. When in the presence of others they will change to adopt a vaguely humanoid outline, with pseudopods for arms and legs and a nerve-dense bump for a head, but at rest or in like company, Plasmoids are just amorphous blobs.
However, their differences aren’t nearly as stark as their appearance. They still eat food, albeit through osmosis, and they still breathe air, although that’s done through their porous outer layer and not a set of lungs.
They can see, touch, taste, hear, and smell through bundles of nerves that run throughout their ooze-like bodies, and they can wear clothing and wield weapons just like anyone else, although they can’t return to their amorphous shapes while wearing or wielding them.
Plasmoids are medium or small creatures (you get to choose when creating the character) with a walking speed of 30 feet. When selecting the plasmoid, you increase one ability score by two and a different score by one.
Plasmoid Features
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Amorphous |
You can squeeze through a space as narrow as 1 inch wide, provided you are wearing and carrying nothing. You have advantage on ability checks you make to initiate or escape a grapple. |
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As a sentient blob, plasmoids can perform cat-like feats of breaking and entering. Returning to your blob shape lets you go through gaps as narrow as an inch, making plasmoids great at getting into tight spaces.
Keep in mind that you can’t take your weapons and armor with you while you’re a stretched-out blob. So while it might be tempting to squeeze through a tiny gap in a door to see what’s on the other side, you’ll be defenseless if there are any traps or monsters.
What really makes Amorphous a powerful ability is a permanent advantage on grapple checks. This makes plasmoids great for any class that focuses on grapples, which we’ll get to later in this guide.
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Darkvision |
You can see in dim light within 60 feet of yourself as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You discern colors in that darkness only as shades of gray. |
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Darkvision is always useful for spelunking in a dim cave or peering into the mists of the Astral Sea. It’s also great for saving a cantrip or the cost of a bunch of torches.
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Hold Breath |
You can hold your breath for 1 hour. |
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They may not look like it, but plasmoids still need to breathe. The good news is they don’t need as much air as other species, so they can hold their breath for a really long time. Useful for underwater or Astral Sea-based adventures.
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Natural Resilience |
You have resistance to acid and poison damage, and you have advantage on saving throws against being poisoned. |
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Nobody likes being poisoned, and resistance to acid damage is also great. These resistances are perfect for any front-line fighter type, but they generally benefit all classes.
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Shape Self |
As an action, you can reshape your body to give yourself a head, one or two arms, one or two legs, and makeshift hands and feet, or you can revert to a limbless blob. While you have a humanlike shape, you can wear clothing and armor made for a Humanoid of your size. As a bonus action, you can extrude a pseudopod that is up to 6 inches wide and 10 feet long or reabsorb it into your body. As part of the same bonus action, you can use this pseudopod to manipulate an object, open or close a door or container, or pick up or set down a Tiny object. The pseudopod contains no sensory organs and can’t attack, activate magic items, or lift more than 10 pounds. |
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You can be a person-shaped blob or a blob-shaped blob thanks to Shape Self. You can also extend a pseudopod up to 10 feet, which can be very useful for stealing the keys from inattentive guards while locked in a cell. It’s not as good as Mage Hand, but few things are.
Best Plasmoid Classes
As with any species, you can play whatever class you desire and still be effective. However, plasmoid features lend themselves to these classes in particular for their synergistic effects.
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Monk |
Easily the best class for plasmoid characters. Monks don’t need any equipment to be effective in combat, which allows plasmoid Monks to use their Amorphous shape at will. Additionally, being in the thick of the fighting lets you throw in an occasional grapple for crowd control. Way of Astral Self is particularly well-suited to a plasmoid Monk as you’ll be able to use your Arms of Astral Self feature to initiate grapples with an extra five feet of reach. |
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Fighter |
Take the Unarmed Fighting style and your unarmed strikes become d8s instead of d6s when not wielding a weapon or shield. You’ll also be able to deal damage to any creature you have grappled–both of these pair well with Amorphous. The Battlemaster subclass is great for plasmoid characters as the Grappling Strike maneuver lets you grapple as a bonus action. |
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Paladin |
As a front-line fighter, advantage on grapple checks is useful alongside resistance to both acid and poison damage. However, you’ll likely need to be wielding weapons and wearing armor, making Amorphous less effective. |
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Barbarian |
Rage already provides advantage to grapple checks, but the extra damage resistances and advantage against being poisoned are nice to have. |
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Rogue |
Being able to squeeze through tiny gaps can make the job of a Rogue much easier, but keep in mind that you can’t take your weapons or armor with you. A generous DM might let you take your thieves’ tools, though. |
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Sorcerer |
So long as your spells don’t require material components, you can use Amorphous and still cast spells once you’ve reached the other side of that one-inch gap. Sorcerers don’t typically require material components for their spells, so being a blob can be helpful. |
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Warlock |
As with Sorcerers, Warlocks don’t really need materials to cast spells, so Amorphous can be used more effectively. Just don’t try to grapple your opponents too often. |