Gelatinous cube

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 and digest organic matter.

Creative origins

Oozes are relatively common antagonists in fantasy fiction; in addition to the oozes of Dungeons & Dragons, examples include the monster from the film The Blob (1958),<ref name="Ash1">Template:Cite book</ref> slime in Dragon Quest, and flan in Final Fantasy. These fictional oozes may have been inspired by microscopic organisms such as amoebae, which, like oozes, can consume organic matter by engulfing it (phagocytosis).<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

The gelatinous cube is an original invention of Gary Gygax, rather than being inspired by outside sources and adapted to the roleplaying setting, as were many mythological monsters such as the minotaur and dryad,<ref name="Ash1"/> all of which appeared in the 1974 Monsters & Treasure book of the original boxed set.

Being a cube that is a perfect ten feet on each side, it is specifically and perfectly "adapted" to its native environment, the standard, Template:Convert by Template:Convert dungeon corridors which were ubiquitous in the earliest Dungeons & Dragons modules.<ref name="Ash1"/>

Publication history

The gelatinous cube first appeared in the original Dungeons & Dragons "white box" set (1974),<ref>Gygax, Gary, and Dave Arneson. Dungeons & Dragons (3-Volume Set) (TSR, 1974)</ref> and its first supplement, Greyhawk (1975).<ref>Gygax, Gary and Robert Kuntz. Supplement I: Greyhawk (TSR, 1975)</ref>

The gelatinous cube appeared in the Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set (1977, 1981, 1983). The gelatinous cube also appeared in the Dungeons & Dragons Rules Cyclopedia (1991).<ref>Allston, Aaron, Steven E. Schend, Jon Pickens, and Dori Watry. Dungeons & Dragons Rules Cyclopedia (TSR, 1991)</ref>

The gelatinous cube appeared in first edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons in the original Monster Manual (1977).<ref>Gygax, Gary. Monster Manual (TSR, 1977)</ref> The creature was further developed in Dragon #124 (August 1987).<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Published first edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons adventures which included gelatinous cubes as adversaries that the player characters encounter included "The Ruins of Andril", published in Dragon #81.<ref name="DR81-Melluish">Template:Cite magazine</ref>

The gelatinous cube appeared in second edition in Monstrous Compendium Volume One (1989),<ref>Cook, David "Zeb", et al. Monstrous Compendium Volume One (TSR, 1989)</ref> and the Monstrous Manual (1993) under the "ooze/slime/jelly" heading.<ref>Stewart, Doug, ed. Monstrous Manual (TSR, 1994)</ref> The gelatinous cube was featured on an AD&D Trading Card in 1991.<ref name=AA>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp

Under the ooze entry, the gelatinous cube appears in the third edition Monster Manual (2000),<ref>Williams, Skip, Jonathan Tweet, and Monte Cook. Monster Manual (Wizards of the Coast, 2000)</ref> the 3.5 revised Monster Manual (2003),<ref name="MM3.5">Cook, Monte, Jonathan Tweet, and Skip Williams. Monster Manual (Wizards of the Coast, 2003)</ref> the fourth edition Monster Manual (2008),<ref>Mearls, Mike, Stephen Schubert, and James Wyatt. Monster Manual (Wizards of the Coast, 2008)</ref> the Monster Vault (2010),<ref>Thompson, Rodney, Bonner Logan, and Sernett, Matthew. Monster Vault (Wizards of the Coast, 2010)</ref> and the fifth edition Monster Manual (2014).<ref>Mearls, Mike, Crawford, Jeremy, and Perkins, Christopher. Monster Manual (Wizards of the Coast, 2014)</ref> Witwer et al. viewed its artistic rendering in 5th edition as "redesigned from prior editions to entice more Dungeon Master use."<ref name=AA/>Template:Rp

Other publishers

The gelatinous cube is fully detailed in Paizo Publishing's book Dungeon Denizens Revisited (2009), on pages 16–21.<ref>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)</ref>

Fictional ecology

A gelatinous cube looks like a transparent ooze of mindless, gelatinous matter in the shape of a cube. The cube's transparency coupled with a dimly-lit dungeon gives it the element of surprise to engulf unsuspecting beings, and only an alert adventurer will notice the cube. The cube slides through dungeon corridors, being able to mold its body to flow around objects and fit through narrow passages and then returning to its original shape once enough space is available. A cube will absorb everything in its path, with its acidic digestive juices dissolving everything organic and secreting non-digestible matter in its wake. David M. Ewalt, in his book Of Dice and Men, describes the gelatinous cube as "a dungeon scavenger, a living mound of transparent jelly",<ref name=ODaM>Template:Cite book</ref> The Ashgate Encyclopedia of Literary and Cinematic Monsters called it a "dungeon clean up crew", well adapted to this unique fictitious ecosystem.<ref name="Ash1"/>

Reception

Rob Bricken from io9 named the gelatinous cube as one of the 10 most memorable D&D monsters.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Chris Sims of the on-line magazine ComicsAlliance stated of the gelatinous cube that "there can be no question of what is the greatest monster" in D&D, calling the gelatinous cube "amazing".<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

The Ashgate Encyclopedia of Literary and Cinematic Monsters called the gelatinous cube one of the "iconic monsters" of the D&D game.<ref name="Ash2">Template:Cite book</ref>

Levi R. Bryant calls the gelatinous cube "irksome and dangerous", "populating many a dungeon".<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

In other media

• Gelatinous cubes have appeared in the television series Adventure Time by Pendleton Ward.<ref name="Ash2"/> They also appear in several video games, including NetHack,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> and Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

• A gelatinous cube appears in the 2017 episode "The Serfsons", the season premiere of the twenty-ninth season of the animated television series The Simpsons.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

• A gelatinous cube appears in the 2020 Pixar Animation Studios film Onward. The film's credits include a thanks to Wizards of the Coast for allowing them to use the Beholder and the gelatinous cube.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• A gelatinous cube appears in the 2023 film Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. The film's release is accompanied by a Hasbro-produced action figure of such a cube in 1/12 (6-inch) scale.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• A gelatinous cube appears in the Saturday Morning Adventures limited comic series to the Dungeons & Dragons animated series.<ref>David M. Booher (story) and George Kambadais (art): Dungeons & Dragons: Saturday Morning Adventures #2 (IDW Publishing, April 2023)</ref>