Shrieker: WTF?

[sirpercival]

Sally & the Shriekers (obvious)
The Fungis (lame)
Squidpower! (YES)

[Basket Burner]

Or just living alarm traps/way to make fun of Rogues.

"Even the stuff with no combat ability whatsoever shuts you down!"

[Sneaky_Sable]

Slapping a template on a Shrieker is like slapping a template on a Flumph.

The major problem with the 'Dildos for giants' approach is that they scream, so all your neighbors know what you're doing. Especially when the shrieking fades in and out. (I'm going to Hell for that line there.)

The hilarious part of Awakening them is if, once awakened, they stop screaming and hold intellectual conversations.

<A. Shrieker> I do say, ole' chap. There are some rather vicious monsters about, and if you keep going, I dare say that things could end up rather gruesome. You could turn back, or perhaps some coin may convince me not to summon the local dungeon inhabitants... if you catch my drift?

[dipolartech]

Whats a flumph? And can it be a high CHA warforged Bard/Marshal class leveled mobile heavy metal singing ode to Super Mario mushroom?

[Sneaky_Sable]

Whats a flumph? And can it be a high CHA warforged Bard/Marshal class leveled mobile heavy metal singing ode to Super Mario mushroom?

Whats a flumph? And can it be a high CHA ...

Whats a flumph?

What's a Flumph?! You're dead to me.

[dipolartech]

Is it like a flan? And you can only hurt it with its color-associated-elemental weakness?

[dipolartech]

Or is it a two-eyed multi-tentancled inappropriately place random encounter on a savannah plain that is then further used as impromptu landing pads?

[Sneaky_Sable]

More the second then the first. You're less dead to me now, though whether that's through research, Google, or Order of the Stick, I can't say.

[Halinn]

http://www.bogleech.com/dnd/flumph.html

[bhu]

If you want the serious approach you could always say  they live in a symbiotic relationship with some other creature.  The Shrieker warns them of potential prey, and in return the predator feeds and protects the mushrooms.

[sirpercival]

You know, actually using the Symbiotic template with an awakened shrieker would be hysterical.  Now you have a monster that, no matter what else it can do, screams whenever anything gets close to it.  It can't help it.

[dipolartech]

It is in fact OOtS at fault, I have read the entire archive though I didn't know what his joke monsters were or why they were jokes until I became dead to you.

[Sneaky_Sable]

You know, actually using the Symbiotic template with an awakened shrieker would be hysterical.  Now you have a monster that, no matter what else it can do, screams whenever anything gets close to it.  It can't help it.

<Monster> Now, I sneak up on them and...
<Sym. Shrieker> SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
<Adventurers> Shit! *runs*
<Monster> Oh for crying out loud SHUT UP!
<Sym. Shrieker> ...... SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

[Sneaky_Sable]

It is in fact OOtS at fault, I have read the entire archive though I didn't know what his joke monsters were or why they were jokes until I became dead to you.

Okay, to recap. The Flumph was essentially a joke monster back in the original Fiend Folio back before D&D had a number associated with it. Almost back when being an Elf was your Job. Go on, check that out. I'll wait.





Okay, the flumph was essentially Free Experience points because they could only hit you effectively if you stood still directly under them and let them stop floating over you. If you turned them upside down they were completely helpless. They had no spell like abilities, no magical power, no spell resistance... Nothing. No, not even class features or anything. NOTHING!

No catch. No trick. NOTHING! If your DM threw you against a gaggle of flumphs, it was essentially him giving you and the party the finger.

[bhu]

party to awakened shrieker: "Halo thar."

shrieker: "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

party to awakened shrieker: "Was it something we said?"

shrieker: "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

party to awakened shrieker: "Do you know where we are?"

shrieker: "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

party to awakened shrieker: "Wtf is wrong with you?"

shrieker: "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

party to awakened shrieker: "Fuck it lets kill him."

shrieker: "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

[Halinn]

Okay, the flumph was essentially Free Experience points because they could only hit you effectively if you stood still directly under them and let them stop floating over you. If you turned them upside down they were completely helpless. They had no spell like abilities, no magical power, no spell resistance... Nothing. No, not even class features or anything. NOTHING!

No catch. No trick. NOTHING! If your DM threw you against a gaggle of flumphs, it was essentially him giving you and the party the finger.

They're also intelligent, lawful good outsiders. If you kill them, you must be an evil, evil monster.

[Sneaky_Sable]

They're also intelligent, lawful good outsiders. If you kill them, you must be an evil, evil monster.

Originally they were just monsters. For some reason now they're lawful good outsiders, and in Pathfinder they're actually guardians of the realms against the forces of Chaos, who routinely coax adventurers into taking actions that stop the forces of chaos.

Originally, they were floating jellyfish who existed purely to prove how much your DM hated you. They've since been transformed into something so far removed from their source it's not even funny. Oh what the hell, I'll laugh anyway...

[Halinn]

They're also intelligent, lawful good outsiders. If you kill them, you must be an evil, evil monster.

Originally they were just monsters. For some reason now they're lawful good outsiders, and in Pathfinder they're actually guardians of the realms against the forces of Chaos, who routinely coax adventurers into taking actions that stop the forces of chaos.

Originally, they were floating jellyfish who existed purely to prove how much your DM hated you. They've since been transformed into something so far removed from their source it's not even funny. Oh what the hell, I'll laugh anyway...

This is the Flumph entry from the original Fiend Folio.

(click to show/hide)

[Sneaky_Sable]

It's decidedly empty, devoid of function, and lacking of purpose. At least, as of this post.

To be fair, I never read the full fluff of the flumph, cause I was quite young as of the print of the Fiend Folio, and took them as nonsense creatures who couldn't accomplish anything. If they had a deeper purpose or meaning then I missed it.

Re-reading my copy of the Fiend Folio also brings up some interesting trivia: They were the ONLY Lawful Good creature in the ENTIRE BOOK!

[Basket Burner]

Jellyfish that exist to troll you and nothing else?





You jelly?