In honor of the already legendary Flap Jack, I bring you Experiment #4: the flumph!
Flumph Traits
Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 2, your Intelligence or Wisdom score increases by 1, and your Strength score decreases by 2. [Remove the decrease if you wish.]
Size. Your size is Small.
Aberrant Form. Due to the inhuman shape of your body, you are ill-suited to wearing armor. You gain no benefit from wearing armor, but if you are using a shield, you can apply the shield's bonus as normal.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 5 feet.
Flight. You have a flying speed of 30 feet. To use this speed, you must not exceed your carrying capacity.
Darkvision. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.
Tendrils. Your tendrils are natural weapons, which you can use to make unarmed strikes. If you hit with your tendrils, you deal acid damage equal to 1d4 + your Dexterity modifier. In addition, at the end of each of its turns, the target must make a Constitution saving throw against a DC equal to 8 + your Constitution modifier + your proficiency bonus. A creature takes 1d4 acid damage on a failed save, but ends the recurring acid damage on a success. A lesser restoration spell cast on the target also ends the recurring acid damage.
Stench Spray. You can use your action to spray a 15-foot cone with a foul-smelling liquid. Each creature in the area of the Stench Spray must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw against a DC equal to 8 + your Constitution modifier + your proficiency bonus or be coated in the liquid. A coated creature exudes a horrible stench for 1d4 hours. The coated creature is also poisoned as long as the stench lasts, and other creatures are poisoned while within 5 feet of the coated creature. A creature can remove the stench on itself by using a short rest to bathe in water, alcohol, or vinegar. Once you use this trait, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest.
Advanced Telepathy. You can't communicate verbally, but you can speak telepathically to any creature you can see, provided the creature is within a number of feet of you equal to 10 times your level. You don't need to share a language with the creature for it to understand your telepathic utterances, but the creature must be able to understand at least one language. You may also perceive the content of any telepathic communication within a number of feet equal to 10 times your level, and you can't be surprised by creatures with any form of telepathy.
Psionic Siphon. You don’t need to eat or drink, but you must passively absorb mental energy from psionic creatures to sustain yourself. Most psionic creatures feel no effect from this absorption. You can go without absorbing mental energy for a number of days equal to 3 + your Constitution modifier (minimum 1). At the end of each day beyond that limit, you automatically suffer one level of exhaustion.
Telepathic Shroud. You are immune to any effect that would sense your emotions or read your thoughts, as well as all divination spells.
Psychic Vulnerability. You have vulnerability to psychic damage.
Prone Deficiency. If you are knocked prone, roll a die. On an odd result, you land upside-down and are incapacitated. At the end of each of your turns, you can make a DC 10 Dexterity saving throw, righting yourself and ending the incapacitated condition if you succeed.
Design notes
Flumph Traits
Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 2, your Intelligence or Wisdom score increases by 1, and your Strength score decreases by 2. [Remove the decrease if you wish.]
Size. Your size is Small.
Aberrant Form. Due to the inhuman shape of your body, you are ill-suited to wearing armor. You gain no benefit from wearing armor, but if you are using a shield, you can apply the shield's bonus as normal.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 5 feet.
Flight. You have a flying speed of 30 feet. To use this speed, you must not exceed your carrying capacity.
Darkvision. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.
Tendrils. Your tendrils are natural weapons, which you can use to make unarmed strikes. If you hit with your tendrils, you deal acid damage equal to 1d4 + your Dexterity modifier. In addition, at the end of each of its turns, the target must make a Constitution saving throw against a DC equal to 8 + your Constitution modifier + your proficiency bonus. A creature takes 1d4 acid damage on a failed save, but ends the recurring acid damage on a success. A lesser restoration spell cast on the target also ends the recurring acid damage.
Stench Spray. You can use your action to spray a 15-foot cone with a foul-smelling liquid. Each creature in the area of the Stench Spray must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw against a DC equal to 8 + your Constitution modifier + your proficiency bonus or be coated in the liquid. A coated creature exudes a horrible stench for 1d4 hours. The coated creature is also poisoned as long as the stench lasts, and other creatures are poisoned while within 5 feet of the coated creature. A creature can remove the stench on itself by using a short rest to bathe in water, alcohol, or vinegar. Once you use this trait, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest.
Advanced Telepathy. You can't communicate verbally, but you can speak telepathically to any creature you can see, provided the creature is within a number of feet of you equal to 10 times your level. You don't need to share a language with the creature for it to understand your telepathic utterances, but the creature must be able to understand at least one language. You may also perceive the content of any telepathic communication within a number of feet equal to 10 times your level, and you can't be surprised by creatures with any form of telepathy.
Psionic Siphon. You don’t need to eat or drink, but you must passively absorb mental energy from psionic creatures to sustain yourself. Most psionic creatures feel no effect from this absorption. You can go without absorbing mental energy for a number of days equal to 3 + your Constitution modifier (minimum 1). At the end of each day beyond that limit, you automatically suffer one level of exhaustion.
Telepathic Shroud. You are immune to any effect that would sense your emotions or read your thoughts, as well as all divination spells.
Psychic Vulnerability. You have vulnerability to psychic damage.
Prone Deficiency. If you are knocked prone, roll a die. On an odd result, you land upside-down and are incapacitated. At the end of each of your turns, you can make a DC 10 Dexterity saving throw, righting yourself and ending the incapacitated condition if you succeed.
Design notes
- This was actually surprisingly straightforward. The Monster Manual flumph has some abilities that could be rather significant for starting player characters (most notably the lingering acid and stench, and the immunities), but their weaknesses more than balance them out and make them PC-worthy.
- The post-Tasha's variant required more reworking, since Psychic Vulnerability and Prone Deficiency were removed. (Aberrant Form seemed to still be OK, though, based on the MOTM tortle.) This required Tendrils' acid damage, Stench Spray, and Telepathic Shroud to all be reduced in power to some degree. (This degree of adjustment is why the changes went into a sidebar.)
- The default Strength reduction is based on the Volo's kobold (another Str 6 creature in the Monster Manual). If removed, it makes the base race slightly stronger, but probably just on the upper end of PC options.
- The two options for the +1 ASI are a riff on the half-elf, and a reflection of the tie between their Int and Wis. If choosing between two specific options is too non-standard for your tastes, I'd probably lock it to Intelligence (based on their default skills).
- Personally, I'd allow a flumph PC to have special armor made that compensated for Aberrant Form, but it would probably be a custom magic item or the like.
- As I see it, the Flight is balanced out by their nearly non-existent ground movement.
- Considered also limiting the default version's lingering acid damage to short rests, but again, the default weaknesses compensate for a lot.
- I'm assuming flumphs don't need to drink, in addition to not needing to eat. (In older editions, they could actually survive on food as well, but I went with the 5E lore. Feel free to change this for your games!)
- No feats necessary this time.
- Experiment #1: Mind Flayer
- Experiment #2: Troll
- Experiment #3: Dragon
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