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<blockquote data-quote="erian_7" data-source="post: 1510915" data-attributes="member: 18222">At least in my gaming circle, the phantom fungus (along with the etheral filcher and digester) fell prey immediately to the &quot;that's the stupidest looking/sounding monster ever&quot; attack.&nbsp; The art for all three entries presents a creature that inspires laughter rather than fear or awe, and that detracts a lot from the DM's ability to effectively use the creatures.I have, however, used a phantom fungus once.&nbsp; I modifed the lowest level of the Sunless Citadel module, building on the theme that the BBEG was a druid experimenting on creating sentient underground plant life.&nbsp; I then re-populated the whole level with plant creatures to match the theme, including an assasine vine, a yellow musk creeper (which made all the &quot;zombie&quot; goblin and kobold workers for the druid, violet fungi, shriekers, and a phantom fungus.&nbsp; The last three were a security system of sorts.&nbsp; When the shriekers went off, the violet fungi moved to attack whatever set them off.&nbsp; The phatom fungus was a roaming security guard that also responded to the shriekers, coming in a few rounds through combat (when the party thought they had the situation under control).&nbsp; It worked pretty well, providing a nice opening encounter for the party to prepare them for the yellow musk creeper and twig blights later on.&nbsp; I also gave the druid that &quot;greenfire&quot; FR spell that does acid damage without hurting plants (laying a big surprise on the party), but that digresses to another topic...Back on topic, the encounter worked, but only because the party had no idea what they were facing.&nbsp; Once they saw the picture (after killing the thing and examining the body) the laughs started all around.So my assessment--decent concept, bad art.EricP.S.&nbsp; Monte, what was the artist (or designer) for the ethereal filcher thinking!&nbsp; Again, a cool concept for a creature, but that has to be one of the most ridiculous looking monster I've ever seen in D&amp;D--ranks right up there with the disenchanter and flumph.&nbsp; I mean, it has a &quot;prehensile foot&quot; and I guess that big protrusion on top is its nose?</blockquote>

[QUOTE="erian_7, post: 1510915, member: 18222"] At least in my gaming circle, the phantom fungus (along with the etheral filcher and digester) fell prey immediately to the "that's the stupidest looking/sounding monster ever" attack. The art for all three entries presents a creature that inspires laughter rather than fear or awe, and that detracts a lot from the DM's ability to effectively use the creatures. I have, however, used a phantom fungus once. I modifed the lowest level of the Sunless Citadel module, building on the theme that the BBEG was a druid experimenting on creating sentient underground plant life. I then re-populated the whole level with plant creatures to match the theme, including an assasine vine, a yellow musk creeper (which made all the "zombie" goblin and kobold workers for the druid, violet fungi, shriekers, and a phantom fungus. The last three were a security system of sorts. When the shriekers went off, the violet fungi moved to attack whatever set them off. The phatom fungus was a roaming security guard that also responded to the shriekers, coming in a few rounds through combat (when the party thought they had the situation under control). It worked pretty well, providing a nice opening encounter for the party to prepare them for the yellow musk creeper and twig blights later on. I also gave the druid that "greenfire" FR spell that does acid damage without hurting plants (laying a big surprise on the party), but that digresses to another topic... Back on topic, the encounter worked, but only because the party had no idea what they were facing. Once they saw the picture (after killing the thing and examining the body) the laughs started all around. So my assessment--decent concept, bad art. Eric P.S. Monte, what was the artist (or designer) for the ethereal filcher thinking! Again, a cool concept for a creature, but that has to be one of the most ridiculous looking monster I've ever seen in D&D--ranks right up there with the disenchanter and flumph. I mean, it has a "prehensile foot" and I guess that big protrusion on top is its nose? [/QUOTE]

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