Flumphs?

[EntropyDecay]

As a GM who converted to D&D when the 3rd Edition was released in 2000, some of the more obscure monsters of D&D's past are totally unknown to me. Recently I got my copy of Dungeon 118 which contains the "Box of Flumph" adventure and the official conversion of "D&D's lovable loser".

Can somebody enlighten me about the following things about these aberrations:
Why are they so universally hated? Where do they come from? What else does one have to know about them?

Thanks!

 

[BiggusGeekus]

The Flumph is hated for many, many reasons.

1) It was in the original Fiend Folio a collection of monsters, many of which were ... dubious.

2) It looked silly. Imagine a flat wheel with two eyestalks on the top hub and tentacles on the bottom hub. Not exactly the same kind of scary that a Balrog might have.

3) It was horribly broken. 1st edition D&D gave experience points based on the hit die of the monster (there were modifications, but those aren't that important right now). The Flumph had 4 hit dice. But its attacks were pretty meager. I forget exactly how much damage they could do, but it was something like 1d4 per attack. So there was no reason that a 1st level party couldn't kill one of these things and get lots and lots of experience points for very little risk.

So it looked dumb. It was in a collection of a lot of other dumb things. And no DM in his right mind would use it because it was essentially free exp.

Now I know that a lot of people are about to chime up with the cool things that were in the Fiend Folio like githanki and whatnot. But, really, guys ... bullywugs?

 

[ShadowDenizen]

The Flumph was first introduced in the 1st Edition Fiend Foio.
The 3rd Edition version of it is in the "Tome of Horrors" from Necromancer Games.

 

[Maliki]

I love the Flumphs, I have used them in several different campaigns. As to where they come from In my current campaign, they are a creatures created by the wizards guild long ago to control the cities rat population, most are now found in the cities sewer system. Of couse a few escaped into the wild and found homes in the forests and caves of the world.

 

[reanjr]

1) It was in the original Fiend Folio a collection of monsters, many of which were ... dubious.

I want to point out that the Fiend Folio was made up of player submissions and not done by the TSR designers.

 

[diaglo]

LAWFUL GOOD.

along with the aleax(Sp?) .. which could be any alignment.

it was one the only LG critter in the 1edADnD FF

 

[diaglo]

I want to point out that the Fiend Folio was made up of player submissions and not done by the TSR designers.

and most of those were printed in White Dwarf before they made it into the FF.

 

[el-remmen]

So there was no reason that a 1st level party couldn't kill one of these things and get lots and lots of experience points for very little risk.

So it looked dumb. It was in a collection of a lot of other dumb things. And no DM in his right mind would use it because it was essentially free exp.

In any version of the game only a foolish DM would give out XP for an encounter that bore no challenge to the PC. And as LG creatures, killing them for no reason would be an evil act.

Now I know that a lot of people are about to chime up with the cool things that were in the Fiend Folio like githanki and whatnot. But, really, guys ... bullywugs?

Watch it, buddy!

Anyway, Bullwugs first appeared in U2 - Danger At Dunwater.

 

[HellHound]

Rumour has it that the rare and hard-to-find Son of a Portable Hole has a six-page section about flumphs...

The flumphonomicon it was called. A rare and esoteric treatise on flumphs and their kin, as well as some prestige classes, a clerical domain and other fell flumphic items.

In fact, I may have a moldy copy of the flumphonomicon somewhere around here...

aha, mind the mold.

(oh, and pardon the low-res version - to make it fit as an attachment I had to save it at 100 dpi instead of my usual 150-300 dpi)

 

[Voadam]

Bullywugs are great, I had an NPC reeve keep shouting "Great Bouncing Bullywugs!" as his stock exclamation. It just sort of rolls in a nice way.