Flumph Familiar

[ZenBear]

I had a sudden inspiration to create a Great Old One Pact of the Chain Warlock with a Flumph familiar to compensate for the fact that the character is a sociopath (ie incapable of empathy). I'm hoping to get some fun brainstorming going on here about what else to do with this character. What are their motives? Why do they adventure?

I'm thinking so far that they sought out a GOO because they don't really fit in to society and found comfort in a fellow outsider. They're not necessarily evil, perhaps even striving to be good but unable to make sense of how to do that, so the Flumph acts as a moral guide and a sort of mood ring for everyone around them. I also considered having the character on the autism spectrum, leaning into the struggling with social cues symptom, but I don't know enough about autism to appropriately roleplay as such. That said, for anyone who does have such insight, maybe you can do it right?

[DarkKnightJin]

I had a sudden inspiration to create a Great Old One Pact of the Chain Warlock with a Flumph familiar to compensate for the fact that the character is a sociopath (ie incapable of empathy). I'm hoping to get some fun brainstorming going on here about what else to do with this character. What are their motives? Why do they adventure?

I'm thinking so far that they sought out a GOO because they don't really fit in to society and found comfort in a fellow outsider. They're not necessarily evil, perhaps even striving to be good but unable to make sense of how to do that, so the Flumph acts as a moral guide and a sort of mood ring for everyone around them. I also considered having the character on the autism spectrum, leaning into the struggling with social cues symptom, but I don't know enough about autism to appropriately roleplay as such. That said, for anyone who does have such insight, maybe you can do it right?

If the DM permits, having a Familiar that acts like a mood ring could make for some fun RP setups.
I don't know the stats for Flumphs, but O don't think they'd be terribly powerful.

As for the autism thing.. I don't think you should out and out play a character that has that particular condition, especially if you feel you don't know enough about it to not make a horrible parody of it.

That being said.. You can play a character that has autism-esque traits, without being on the spectrum.
They could just have trouble adjusting to big changes, or be socially awkward.
For a bit of fun, you could have them misread social cues. Or do so on purpose, to mess with fellow players and/NPC's.
Just make sure everybody at the table is okay with you playing a character like that. And have a backup in the wings for if they don't. Don't need to be a totally different class or race. Just another personality.

[Millstone85]

With how often flumphs get suggested as familiars, you would think they are size Tiny.

They are not, though, and having a familiar as big as the party's halfling might be awkward.

[Asmotherion]

I think you'll have a hard time playing this character you have in mind as a Charisma Caster. Even if you're not supposed to be the Face of the party, you're supposed to be Charismatic, and able to handle social situations well.

A low Wis will be able to justify the Sociopath aspect probably (no empathy, faking emotions etc), but Autism would also affect your responsivness to your suroundings, thus your Charisma. So, unless you intend to play a low Charisma Warlock, it's going to be harder for you to emulate and justify RP wise.

[Ventruenox]

https://maskofreason.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/dexter.jpg

[Naanomi]

Real sociopathy doesn’t often look like it does on movies... and the expression is *very* distinct from ASD (as someone who works regularly with individuals with both)... but ‘cinematic sociopathy’ is pretty doable, just focus on intimidation for the ‘classic feel’, or deception/persuasion for the ‘politician/used car salesman’ type

[Requilac]

I would advise against making a full on sociopath and instead focus on someone who maybe has trouble with empathy and not necessarily someone completely void of it. Keep in mind your familiar can die, so if it is clocked out a character of that has literally no conscience (that is not necessarily what sociopathy is, but for the sake of the arguement I am assuming thats what you mean) could be a very problematic party member. Dial it down just a little and make him a little more Sheldon Cooper (capable of empathy but has difficulty with it) and less Hannibal Lecter (there isn't anything wrong with killing everybody).

As for the idea of playing a character on the autism spectrum, that is actually a really easy one to pull off because autism is such a variable condition. People with autism very rarely manifest symptoms in the stereotypical way you expect them too (unless they are younger than 10 typically), and most people aren't even recognizable as autistic by mere observation. And depending on how severe it is they might just act like a completely undiagnosed person. There tends to be a stereotype for it yes, one that holds a grain of truth, but at the end of the day it is not a very accurate one. By intentionally trying to play an autistic character you are probably going to just be playing a stereotype and act nothing like what one actually is. If your character exists, you can justify it as having autism.

For the sake of sensitivity though I would advise against doing this. Maybe play it like you imagine an autistic person to act, but don't actually say that they have it. You could end up offending people very easily. Best to be on the safe side and avoid that.

[Requilac]

With how often flumphs get suggested as familiars, you would think they are size Tiny.

They are not, though, and having a familiar as big as the party's halfling might be awkward.

Keep in mind that octopi can be familiars too and they are small sized.

[Millstone85]

Keep in mind that octopi can be familiars too and they are small sized.I never noticed that. Alright then.

[Personification]

I might suggest (if your DM allows) playing a lizardfolk. Lizardfolk aren't devoid of empathy, but they are specifically stated to think differently from their mammalian counterparts, often in ways that make them seem this way. If you have a lizardfolk who is even more like this than others of his or her species, and then put them in a situation with more naturally empathetic humanoids, this may create the situation you are looking for. Additionally, the amount of difference between lizardfolk and mammalian humanoids will increase the feeling of alienation that would lead to a connection with an alien being like the GOO, and even with the flumph, a colorful floating LG creature living in the dark, cutthroat, often colorless world of the underdark.