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Ochre Jelly 5e: Stats, Split and How to Kill One
An ochre jelly is a CR 2 Large ooze with AC 8, 45 hit points, an acid-laced pseudopod and one reaction that defines the fight: Split. Hit it with a sword or a lightning spell and it takes no damage. Instead it divides into two smaller jellies with half the hit points each, and a party of sword fighters can turn one jelly into four. The 2024 version has 52 hit points, deals 12 acid damage per hit, moves twice as fast, and also splits when it's Bloodied, whatever damage gets it there.
Senses blindsight 60 ft. (blind beyond this radius), passive Perception 8
Languages —
Challenge 2 (XP 450; PB +2)
Traits
Amorphous.The jelly can move through a space as narrow as 1 inch wide without squeezing.
Spider Climb.The jelly can climb difficult surfaces, including upside down on ceilings, without needing to make an ability check.
Actions
Pseudopod.Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (2d6 + 2) bludgeoning damage plus 3 (1d6) acid damage.
Reactions
Split.When a jelly that is Medium or larger is subjected to lightning or slashing damage, it splits into two new jellies if it has at least 10 hit points. Each new jelly has hit points equal to half the original jelly's, rounded down. New jellies are one size smaller than the original jelly.
Stat block from the SRD 5.1 (2014 rules) by Wizards of the Coast, licensed under CC-BY-4.0. Check an encounter with this monster in the encounter calculator.
Most of the block says it's easy to hit and slow: AC 8, Dexterity 6, a 10-foot speed and climb speed. The pseudopod is +4 for 9 (2d6 + 2) bludgeoning plus 3 (1d6) acid, 12.5 on average.
The defenses tell you how the fight goes wrong. It resists acid and is immune to lightning and slashing, and those two immunities are exactly the damage types that trigger Split. SRD 5.1 also gives it immunity to the blinded, charmed, deafened, exhaustion, frightened and prone conditions.
Blindsight 60 feet, blind beyond means it perceives everything within 60 feet, invisible or not, and nothing past that. Amorphous lets it squeeze through a 1-inch gap, and Spider Climb puts it on the ceiling.
The Ochre Jelly in the 2024 Rules
The 2024 ochre jelly (SRD 5.2.1) stays CR 2 and 450 XP.
Split.Trigger: While the jelly is Large or Medium and has 10+ Hit Points, it becomes Bloodied or is subjected to Lightning or Slashing damage. Response: The jelly splits into two new Ochre Jellies. Each new jelly is one size smaller than the original jelly and acts on its Initiative. The original jelly’s Hit Points are divided evenly between the new jellies (round down).
Stat block from the SRD 5.2.1 (2024 rules) by Wizards of the Coast, licensed under CC-BY-4.0. Check an encounter with this monster in the encounter calculator.
Becomes Bloodied, or subjected to lightning or slashing damage
New jellies' hit points
Half the original's each
The original's hit points divided evenly
Three changes matter:
•The jelly keeps up. At 10 feet, the 2014 jelly can be walked away from by anyone. At 20 feet, the 2024 jelly can follow a retreating party for a few rounds.
•All its damage is acid. A creature with acid resistance halves the whole 12.5, not just the 3.5 acid of the 2014 pseudopod. The average per hit is the same in both editions.
•Bloodied triggers Split. In 2014, fire, cold and bludgeoning never cause a split. In 2024, any damage that takes the jelly to half its hit points or fewer does, as long as it still has 10 or more.
It also loses its immunity to the blinded condition and gains immunity to grappled and restrained, so a net or a grapple no longer holds it in place.
How Split Works
Split is a reaction. It triggers only while the jelly is Medium or larger and has at least 10 hit points. The original jelly is replaced by two new ones, each one size smaller, sharing out its current hit points.
A 2014 jelly hit by swords:
•A full 45-hit-point Large jelly takes a slashing hit. It's immune, so it takes 0 damage, then splits into two Medium jellies with 22 hit points each.
•Each Medium jelly gets hit by a sword. Each splits into two Small jellies with 11 hit points.
•Small jellies can't split. The fighter now faces four jellies with 11 hit points each, and none of the sword hits did any damage.
Total hit points barely changed (44 instead of 45), but the jelly went from one pseudopod a round to four.
A 2024 jelly hit by a Fireball:
•A full 52-hit-point jelly takes 28 fire damage and drops to 24. That's Bloodied with 10 or more left, so it splits into two Medium jellies with 12 hit points each.
•A sword hit on one Medium jelly splits it into two Small jellies with 6 each.
Two limits on Split.
•One reaction per round. A jelly that has split can't split again until it gets its reaction back at the start of its turn. Whether newly created jellies have their reaction available right away is your call as DM; decide before the fight.
•Big hits skip the 2024 Bloodied split. If a single hit of fire, cold or another non-splitting type takes a 2024 jelly below 10 hit points, the trigger fails, because it has to have 10 or more. From full that means one blow of 43 damage or more. (Lightning and slashing deal no damage, so they always trigger a split while it has 10 or more.)
A ruling for 2024 Bloodied. The SRD doesn't say what a new jelly's hit point maximum is. The simplest approach is to treat the hit points it starts with as its maximum, so a fresh half-jelly isn't immediately Bloodied.
How Ochre Jellies Fight
An ochre jelly has Intelligence 2. It doesn't plan; it moves toward food it senses within 60 feet and hits it.
Damage per round against AC 16: the pseudopod hits on a 12 or higher, 45% of the time.
Situation
Average damage per round
One 2014 jelly (12.5 per hit)
about 5.6
One 2024 jelly (12.5 per hit)
about 5.6
Four 2014 Small jellies after two rounds of sword hits
about 22.5
The multiplied jellies are where the threat comes from. A jelly on its own is a slow, low-damage CR 2 creature.
Drop from the ceiling. Spider Climb plus a corridor ceiling gives the jelly the first hit. A party with darkvision or torches looks ahead, not up.
Come through the gaps. Amorphous means doors don't stop it. A jelly can slide under a closed door into the room where the party is resting.
Climb out of reach (2014). At 10 feet a turn it can't catch anyone, so it should already be where the party is going: in the treasure room, on the ceiling over the only path, in the well they need to climb down.
Running an Ochre Jelly Encounter
An ochre jelly is worth 450 XP no matter how many times it splits. Using the 2024 SRD 5.2.1 budget for four characters:
Gray oozes are CR 1/2 (100 XP). Under the 2014 Dungeon Master's Guide guidelines that our encounter difficulty calculator uses, one ochre jelly is a Medium fight for four level 2 characters (Medium threshold 400, Hard 600) and Easy for level 3.
Adjust for the party's damage types. XP doesn't know whether your party is three fighters with longswords or a wizard with Fire Bolt. Against a slashing-heavy party, a single jelly plays like four CR 2 creatures. Against a fire-heavy party it's a speed bump. Check what the party deals before you place one.
Compare the oozes. An ochre jelly shares CR 2 and 450 XP with the gelatinous cube, which engulfs instead of splitting. The black pudding (CR 4) also splits on lightning and slashing and adds Corrosive Form, which damages attackers and corrodes nonmagical weapons. Unlike the black pudding and the gray ooze, the ochre jelly won't ruin the fighter's sword. That makes it a fair first "don't use slashing" lesson before a black pudding.
How Players Beat an Ochre Jelly
•Use the right damage types. Fire, cold, bludgeoning, piercing, force, radiant, thunder and necrotic all hurt it without causing a split in 2014. Swap the longsword for a mace or a spear. Acid is halved.
•Kill it from range (2014). At 10 feet of speed it can't reach an archer who keeps moving. With AC 8, a +5 attack hits it 90% of the time. It also can't perceive anything more than 60 feet away, so archers at 65 feet are safe.
•Spend big damage first (2024). Any damage that leaves it Bloodied but at 10 or more hit points causes a split. Either take it down to below 10 in one burst or plan to deal with two Medium jellies.
•Finish the small ones with anything but slashing. Small jellies can't split. Once it's down to Small jellies, every damage type except lightning and slashing works and the fight is a cleanup.
•Fight it in a doorway. If several jellies have split off, a narrow corridor limits how many can reach the front line at once.
•Don't bother blinding or frightening it. It's immune to frightened in both editions and to blinded in 2014. A 2024 jelly can't be grappled or restrained either.
Ochre Jelly Encounter Ideas
The cistern. A town's cistern has started tasting of acid. An ochre jelly has climbed down the well rope and lives on the cistern ceiling. The party has to fight on narrow walkways above deep water, where the jelly comes from above and anyone who falls has to swim.
The armory cleanup. A dwarven quartermaster hires the party to clear an old armory and offers them first pick of the weapons. It's full of axes and swords. The jelly in the back room is a lesson in choosing the right tool, and the bludgeoning weapons are on the far wall.
The jelly under the door. The party rests in a sealed room with the door barred. During the night, a jelly flows under the door. Whoever is on watch sees it only when it's already inside, and the fighter's first instinct, to grab the sword, makes it worse.
Frequently Asked Questions
What CR is an ochre jelly in 5e?
An ochre jelly is CR 2 (450 XP) in both editions. The 2014 version has 45 hit points; the 2024 version has 52. Both have AC 8.
How does ochre jelly Split work?
When a Medium or larger ochre jelly with at least 10 hit points is subjected to lightning or slashing damage, it uses its reaction to split into two jellies one size smaller, each with half its hit points. In 2024 it also splits when it becomes Bloodied.
What is an ochre jelly immune to?
Both editions are immune to lightning and slashing damage and resistant to acid. The 2014 jelly is immune to the blinded, charmed, deafened, exhaustion, frightened and prone conditions; the 2024 jelly is immune to charmed, deafened, exhaustion, frightened, grappled, prone and restrained.
Does an ochre jelly corrode metal weapons?
No. Neither the 2014 nor the 2024 ochre jelly corrodes weapons. The gray ooze and black pudding do.
How do you kill an ochre jelly?
Use any damage except slashing and lightning: fire, cold, bludgeoning and piercing all work. In 2024, be ready for a split when it drops to half its hit points, then finish the smaller jellies.
Stat blocks: System Reference Document 5.1 (2014) and 5.2.1 (2024), Wizards of the Coast, CC-BY-4.0. Tactics, encounter math and ideas are Loreify's own.
This page includes material from the System Reference Document 5.1 and 5.2.1 by Wizards of the Coast LLC, available under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Loreify is not affiliated with Wizards of the Coast.