Flumphs
Flumphs are a race of small beings with a lot of knowledge. They live in the underdark in complex organizations called cloisters, and each one plays a part.
They most often are found adventuring because of the desire to understand more about the world they were born into, but they also know that this journey will be perilous and fraught with danger. Because of this, they most often reside on the astral plane and in wildspace, where they are renowned for captaining the hardiest of ships, from the brilliant damselfly ships that they decorate with designs of their colorful civilizations, to captured nautiloids, repainted and redone in the style of Flumphs.
Because of this, there are a great amount of Flumphs residing on the rock of bral in wildspace, including the well-renouned captain of the moondancer himself, flapjack.
Now there are civilizations of flumph empires spanning across the multiverse, just waiting to be discovered once more by the intrepid adventurer.
Flumph Ecology
Flumphs are an abberation - something that is so alien and indescribable that it will take years to explain it all in detail. But I will try my best.
To Start, they move around by expelling air in jets that sound like their name. They use this extraordinary ability to drift through the underdark in search of food. Which brings us to our next point:
Flumphs eat by ingesting psychic and mental energy from creatures such as Mind Flayers, Githyanki, Githzerai, Aboleths, and recently, Giff, because of their astral spark. they are a passive parasite - meaning they eat only what they need and often their hosts don't even know what happened. this is also one of the regions they reside in the astral plane, because the amount of spectral images floating through it is plentiful enough that they can be fed for a long time. some narcissists claim that flumphs can be be deadly for the ones traveling, if the flumphs consume too much psionic energy and sever the cord connecting them to the material plane. but experts have quashed this idea, for the spectral cords are unbreakable, and the most that could happen is that the aspect is eaten and the creature is returned to its original plane of existence.
when flumphs consume the energy of their host, they reveal the emotion of the creature. sadly, the flumph population is decreasing at an alarming rate because when the flumph consumes the energy of an evil creature, it is sickened and can die if not provided with pure energy from a willing host. but when a flumph encounters a good host and feeds off it, it is willing to share it's darkest secrets with its host if it would help them, even if it means finding another source of nourishment.
Flumph Society
flumphs are part of a whole generation of empires called The Throng, that's a generational colony of flumphs living in the astral plane and beyond. the founder of the throng is a small runt of less-than-noble stature and was once a slave for a group of mind flayers. he managed to feed off of the psychic energy of the elder brain, but was used in many experiments to find out cruel ways to abuse the people that take care of flumphs and dominate this alien species. he escaped and founded the throng - where it became the largest dominance of flumphs in the history of the multiverse. it was a place where the flumphs could live in peace and prosperity, and explore what they wanted in themselves.
overall, flumph culture and society is still growing, and it's customs are far from alien. every flumph contributes to the cloister, and there are no rulers, for there are no need of them.
the majority of flumph society is hidden either in the underdark or in wildspace. these places are the ideal places for flumph to thrive and live without being interrupted by hostile beings. as such, some empires of the throng reside in demiplanes to protect their existance, while the entrances are gifted to the most trusted flumphs in the form of eyebands and jewelry.
the adventurers and explorers of flumph-kind are prized and honored as the empire's greatest and most brave-hearted souls. if they survive their assigned quest, they are given the option of living out the rest of their days in a large mansion built in a custom demiplane of their choice.
but not many flumphs decide on this path, deciding to serve the empire to their dying days and live on in valhalla for being one of the greatest flumphs ever to have lived.
Flumph Culture
flumphs have a culture almost as diverse as humans, but much more united and gathered to form a large artistic creation that rivals mordenkainen's spellwork in the least. they have a large rage of foods purely made for the pleasure of it and sharing with other enjoying humanoids.
their art often encompasses the wildspace and it's natural beauty, abstract versions of great classics, and self portraits in the form of wavy designs and tangles to show the spirit of that particular flumph. when a flumph turns 35 (the age of maturity), it has to undergo a path of spiritual enlightenment to achieve the work of art that encompasses their spiritual being in the whole. this often means a years-ling journey into the void of the astral plane.
Flumph Names
flumphs prize their names highly, considering them to be what defines them as a living being and not just a shell.
their names are not pronouncable by humans or other humanoids because they encompass some natural noises such as the expelling of air from their undersides in various tunes, the sound of two tendrils rubbing together, and so on. so they choose a humanoidly pronouncable name to use for various purposes such as being referred to, writing (their language is flump) , and so on.
flumph children also have a name that they use until they are 35, the age of maturity.
their names are most often 'round' and have noises like h, o, b, f, etc.
Male Names:
Ago, Belo, Cund, Deff, Eld, Fug, Gund, Hund, Ing, Jope, Kop, Lunk, Muno, Nudd, Oled, Pugg, Rubp, Sund, Teld, Unv, Vega, Wugge, Zand
Female Names:
Ale, Boni, Ceta, Delli, Eind, Fee, Gila, Hinf, iund, Jull, Kump, Lunda, Muna, Oldi, Pia, Qin, Reba, Stedd, Tinn, Unvi, Wexa, Xylia, yeud, Zill
Gender-neutral Names:
Aza, Nix, Zuli, Barr, Gera, Fikki, Saud, Mung
Child Names:
Ad, Bi, Fa, Gu, hy, ik, ji, ku, lu, my, ne, od, pe, ra, su, ty, ud, vy, wo, Xi, Yu, Za
Nicknames:
Splasher, Hunter, explorer, learner, finder, fonder, meeter, seer, master, leader, singer, flamer
Playing a Flumph
playing a flumph is a daunting task with many rules encircling the prize of playing one of these magnificent creatures.
flumph Alternate Rules
this section is for alternate rules for playing a flumph that are essential to playing one right.
Language Swap
you cannot talk.
if you gain languages from your class, your background, or some other means, you may replace that language with a skill or tool proficiency you do not already have.
Tendrils
you have an average of 1d20 + 10 tendrils (minimum 20), but you can only use two to wield weapons, equipment, tools, or other objects. if neccesarry, ylu can roll a DC 15 strength check to carry one extra object of small or tiny size.
you also have a racial attack you can use 1/day:
Tendrils.
Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 4 (1d4 + 2) piercing damage plus 2 (1d4) acid damage. At the end of each of its turns, the target must make a DC 10 Constitution saving throw, taking 2 (1d4) acid damage on a failure or ending the recurring acid damage on a success. A lesser restoration spell cast on the target also ends the recurring acid damage.
Colors
the colors of a flumph vary widely. it glows faintly with color associated with its current mood.
| color | emotion |
|---|---|
| grey | fear |
| red | anger |
| orange | disgust |
| yellow | hapiness |
| green | curiosity |
| blue | sadness |
| purple | contemplation |
| brown | tiring |
| black | mourning |
| pink | amusement |
you may add or subtract color options based on your flumph character with the DM's discretion.
note on flumph emotion
flumph dnd monsters are almost always considerate and kind, but if you have a character option that shies away from this point of view, then do not be scared to use it. maybe your flumph was tired of the same old niceness, or an evil god awoke part of him they never knew was there. any way you put it, you can use this for an interesting character hook, but it's always up to you.
Flumph Racial Traits
your flumph character has certain traits deriving from your flumph parentage.
Age. flumphs mature at 35, and live for about almost 500 years.
alignment. flumphs are almost always kind and good-hearted, so they are mostly chaotic or neutral good.
size. flumphs range from 2 feet to 5 feet tall. your size is medium or small. you pick this option when you choose this race.
speed. flumphs are fairly slow on the ground, but are fast in the air. your base flying speed is 30 feet, and you have a walking speed of 5 feet. nothing can change your walking speed, and any speed adjustments go to your flying speed.
darkvision. your large eyes on eye stalks mean you have superior vision.
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.
open-minded. you are constantly opening your mind to psychic energy to consume, which leads to you having a vulnerable spot for psychic damage. you have vulnerability to psychic damage.
complex society. you have proficiency in the religion skill if you do not have it already. if you do, then it changes to an expertise in that skill.
flumph telepathy. you have a skill for speaking telepathically you developed in response to not being able to talk.
You have the magical ability to communicate mentally with any number of willing creatures you can see within 120 feet of you. A contacted creature doesn’t need to share a language with you, but it must be able to understand at least one language. Your telepathic link to a creature is broken if you and the creature move more than 120 feet apart, if either of you is incapacitated, or if either of you mentally breaks the contact (no action required).
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.
telepathic shroud (20th level). you are immune to any effect that would sense your emotions or read your thoughts, as well as all divination spells.
Psionic Siphon. during a short or long rest, you may reach out telepathically to a creature you can see within a range of 120 feet and siphon off energy from it. the host does not notice you doing this and cannot recollect ever having energy stolen from them. in other words, they are completely oblivious to it. when you do this, you gain 2d6 temporary hit points and are charmed for the duration by the creature that you siphoned off of. the energy gleaned from this creature can also have effects on your personality. for instance, consuming energy from a good creature will hearten you, while consuming from an evil creature can sicken you. if you glean energy from a chaotic evil creature, you are poisoned for up to 24 hours. you also gain small amounts of information from the creature's backstory, life, and other areas of interesting facts that, in accordance with your DM, may have something important to do with the campaign.
Racial Feat
as a flumph, you may choose this racial feat instead of another feat or an ability score increase once you level up.
Stench Spray
Prerequisite: Flumph, 10th level
you gain a racial attack to add to your features:
Stench Spray (1/Day). Each creature in a 15-foot cone originating from you must succeed on a DC 10 Dexterity saving throw or be coated in a foul-smelling liquid. A coated creature exudes a horrible stench for 1d4 hours. The coated creature is 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.
you can use this attack only while not incapacitated.
extra rules
these rules are for anybody who wants more to do with the technicalities of being a flumph, and are completely optional. you may use one, all, none, or any of these rules in your games in accordance with your DM.
Armor
you can use light armor and medium armor with the speed penalty going to your flying speed as normal, but if you are using heavy armor, such as full plate or chain mail, you suffer the speed decreasement to your flying and your walking speed.
with any armor of any kind, you do not have disadvantage on stealth for you don't move very often. this still means that when you take an action or attempt to interact with an item, you temporarily suffer the speed decreasement.
as well, you have disadvantage on righting yourself if you are knocked prone.
Weapons
you apply to all rules for weapons, except that you cannot wield weapons of the heavy property without rolling a strength check DC 15 beforehand. if you fail the check, your gusts of air holding you up falter and you fall prone. you can roll another dexterity check beforehand to try and let go of the weapon without losing your balance, DC 10.
additionally, you may wield weapons with the two-handed property with one hand (two tendrils, one primary and one secondary ((see "tendrils" later in this chapter.)).)
Tendrils
you have tendrils that you can use for wielding items.
you have two primary tendrils and four secondary tendrils. the rest are tertiary tendrils and can be used for use of things such as scratching your nose, in which flumphs are very adept. the primary tendrils you can use for wielding anything other humanoids can wield, and they can also be used to wield anything that has the two handed property with one primary tendril and two tertiary tendrils.
the secondary tendrils can be used to wield items that are tiny or smaller, and weapons with the light property. they cannot wield shields.
tertiary tentacles can only be used for assisting in wielding things that your primary tendrils or your secondary tendrils are wielding. you have about 15 - 20 tertiary tendrils.
an abberational supplement
for the world's greatest roleplaying game.
the flumph is an amazing creature. i plan to exploit that amazeness to its maximum. presenting... the expanded flumph!
the expanded flumph is a 6-page booklet about how to play a flumph as your next dnd character - and play it well.
it includes an expanded examination of the flumph itself, flumph culture, names, examination of emotions, alternate rules (and extra rules, for all you rule lovers!), and racial traits!
so read on, intrepid adventurer, and find out exactly how fun playing one of these creatures can be!
Cover Art: wizards of the coast
Extra Credits
page 3: "butterflump with logo" by Leonriell on deviantart
page 4: "flumph" by brilun on deviantart
icon image: "Sun the Flumph" by CheruCheriPie on deviantart