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, all of which appeared in the 1974 Monsters & Treasure book of the original boxed set.īeing a cube that is a perfect ten feet on each side, it is specifically and perfectly 'adapted' to its native environment, the standard, 10-foot (3.0 m) by 10-foot (3.0 m) dungeon corridors which were ubiquitous in the earliest Dungeons & Dragons modules. These fictional oozes may have been inspired by microscopic organisms such as amoebae, which, like oozes, can consume organic matter by engulfing it ( phagocytosis).
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, slime in Dragon Quest, and flan in Final Fantasy.
