Flumphs?

[el-remmen]

'member those D&D toys that were for sale in the mid-80s or so? Hard plastic molds, unposeable. We had a set of bullywugs. My little brother, who had to have been about 7 or 8 at the time loved 'em. He had an assignment in school where he had to write and illustrate a little book. He made one about two bullywugs.

I have a set of those still in the package. I am always tempted to take them out and play with them.

I've always had a soft spot for the littl' blighters. Hey, Nem, what happened to that sig file image you used to have of them? That kinda sepia-toned one? I don't remember what publication that came from, but I always thought it was a cool pic. Mind posting it up again?

You mean this one?

I believe it was from the Greyhawk Journal or something like that. . .

 

[Desdichado]

Indeed, that's the one. Thanks!

 

[WmRAllen67]

"Not hat!"

(name that quote)

From the above-mentioned Monster Hunters "Ecology of..." article...

I still miss this format for the Dragon "Ecology" series... and still think Richards was one of the better writers in that respect-- he must have some background in biology or some such...

Wasn't too impressed with the recent will-o-wisp treatment, either-- they turned it into another "floating by farting" monster! What's up with that? Freud would have a field day with this lietmotif... Surely there's some other means of locomotion for beasties like this that "They make methane inside," I mean, what is magic for?

 

[Richards]

Originally posted by WmRAllen67:

I still miss this format for the Dragon "Ecology" series... and still think Richards was one of the better writers in that respect-- he must have some background in biology or some such...

Hey, thanks! I really miss the old "fiction and footnote" style of the "Ecology" articles myself. But no, I don't have a biology background (I was a math major; my last biology course was in...1978-1979? I think it was in my freshman year of high school.). However, I did do research on whatever critter I was writing about, if at all possible. (While it's difficult to research "pseudodragons" in a library, for instance, it is possible to research chameleons to find out how their skin actually changes color. Flumphs, though, I pretty much had to wing on my own!)

Man, I miss those days. I had a lot of fun writing "Ecology" articles. And "Ecology of the Flumph" was one of my personal favorites. (The Terry Dykstra "dancing flumph" illustrations were great!)

Put me down as a flumph lover.

Johnathan

 

[ephemeron]

Brainspikers?

Hmm again. "In our own, silent, language, we are the [complex waving of tentacles]. The mind flayers call us brainspikers. To the beholders, we are eye-gougers..."

(Those who insist on a punchline can add "...and what we call the human who came up with the word 'flumph' would literally burn your ears.")

 

[BOZ]

Jonathan, going to do any more, or is the new format not to your liking?

 

[demiurge1138]

A challenge to Eberron DMs: Explain why the Daelkyr made the flumph.

Simple- they didn't. The flumphs were an attempt by the Dhaakani Empire at duplicating daelkyr speciation techniques. The experiment was a mixed success- a creature was spawned (the basic stock was probably some sort of slime mold, or maybe a jellyfish), and dedicated to the cause of exterminating the daelkyr, but was weak, immensely impractical, and generally a waste of time compared to training more soldiers. Abandoned by the goblinoids, the flumphs retreated into Khyber, remaining to this day stalwart, if silly, foes of the daelkyr-spawned aberrations.

Oh, and I really like ephemeron's explanation of the flumph's name. Consider it yoinked... especially since I have a feeling the flumphs will be introduced into my Eberron game before too long...

Demiurge out.

 

[Richards]

Originally posted by BOZ:

Jonathan, going to do any more, or is the new format not to your liking?

I'm really not thrilled at all with the current format - the recent "Ecology" articles have all seemed very bland for the most part. I've been hoping for years that maybe the next Dragon editor (Erik, currently) will go back to the old format, but so far each editor since Jesse Decker (who took over from Dave Gross) has ixnayed the fiction. Erik has already stated that he's not a fan of the Monster Hunters, but I think there's at least a possibility he might still tweak the format somewhat, possibly even to include fiction.

I can wait.

Johnathan

 

[Erik Mona]

There's little doubt that Johnathan Richards will outlast us all.

--Erik

 

[MerricB]

There's little doubt that Johnathan Richards will outlast us all.

--Erik

Not so sure about that - let's just send his own Monster Hunters after him.

Cheers!