D&D 5E The Flumpf Is Back

[Alphastream]

Well, we will see if the folks at Wizards manage surprise us and turn the Flumpf into a usable, engaging, unique monster.

I think it was in one of the monster posts that James Wyatt mentioned the possibility that the Flumph could be an anti-aberrant, able to sense other aberrants and working against them. That has some potential.

Personally, to me the Flumph has always been a bit like gamers. Wronged, maligned, and laughed at. But, actually, kind of cool.

 

[I'm A Banana]

This view has nothing to do with challenge ratings (which didn't exist in 1985 - back then we have monster levels and Don Turnbull's Monster Mark), nor with the view that monsters are there to be fought. It's about what makes for engaging and exciting story elements.

"Weird alien creature from beyond human knowledge who shows up and is pretty friendly but still really weird" is a pretty engaging and exciting story element to me!

For Stephen Spielberg, too, given that this is essentially the plot of E.T..

The Pathfinder take on them is also juicy with story potential -- explicitly, even! -- without really contradicting their previous incarnations.

I haven't found use for the flumph yet in my games. I mean, D&D has hundreds of thousands of monsters, and each one has a potentially engaging story, so the fact that I haven't used the flumph yet is basically the same reason I haven't used the balor yet or the annis yet or the cooshee yet. Not because they're bad monsters, or they have bad stories, but because I've literally got more monsters and stories than I could ever use, and the vagaries and chaos of life have not brought them to bear on my games yet.

 

[Uchawi]

I guess that provides hope that the 'wolf in sheep's clothing' will be included

 

[the Jester]

I guess that provides hope that the 'wolf in sheep's clothing' will be included

We can only hope!

But NO TOJANIDAS!

 

[Henry]

I'm a Flumph, I'm a Flumph
Oh the Flumph is back
Flyin' by flatus as a matter of fact
I can spit, I can flit
But I'm no better than you
It's the way that I move
Turn me over, nothin' I can do

Don't know why Elton John was my first association, but couldn't help it.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Guess who just got back today?
Those wild-eyed flumpfs that had been away
Haven't changed, haven't much to say
But man, I still think those cats are great

They were asking if you were around
How you was, where you could be found
I told them you were living downtown
Driving all the gamers crazy

The flumpfs are back in town

You know the grick that used to hunt and plot
Every night it'd be on the prowl shaking what it got
Man when I tell you it was smart, its brain was hot
I mean it was scheming

That night over at Johnny's place
Well this grick shot up and it snapped at Johnny's face
Man flumphs attacked as if from space
And that grick will never know what hit it

The flumpfs are back in town

 

[Alphastream]

Bravo! I think those last two posts are a pretty good capture of why the MM will have the Flumph!

 

[Richards]

Guess who just got back today?
Those wild-eyed flumpfs that had been away
Haven't changed, haven't much to say
But man, I still think those cats are great

They were asking if you were around
How you was, where you could be found
I told them you were living downtown
Driving all the gamers crazy

The flumpfs are back in town

You know the grick that used to hunt and plot
Every night it'd be on the prowl shaking what it got
Man when I tell you it was smart, its brain was hot
I mean it was scheming

That night over at Johnny's place
Well this grick shot up and it snapped at Johnny's face
Man flumphs attacked as if from space
And that grick will never know what hit it

The flumpfs are back in town

Oddly enough, one of my unpublished "Monster Hunter" Ecology articles involves both flumphs and gricks. Click on the "Grick" link in my signature below if you're interested.

Johnathan

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Oddly enough, one of my unpublished "Monster Hunter" Ecology articles involves both flumphs and gricks. Click on the "Grick" link in my signature below if you're interested.

Johnathan

Yeah...and if I do that, I going to get "grickrolled"- I'M ON TO YOUR TRICKS!

 

[Richards]

Heh heh heh..."grickrolled." Nice!

Johnathan