The Screamer is also a species of remarkably annoying
creature in the
1980s
role playing computer game from
FTL,
Dungeon Master.
It is shaped rather like a miniature tree, with a thick brown trunk terminating in a root system, with a bulbous green head, that from afar, looks very stereotypically tree-like.
Screamers move very slowly, and stupidly. Their method of attack, unsurprisingly, is to scream at the party. Their head expands, with small holes in the green expanse, revealing yellow underneath. This causes little damage, and is more of an annoyance, unless your party is close to death and trying to sleep.
Screamers do have their useful side. Encountered early in the game, they provide a useful source of that most necessary resource in the game - FOOD. When a Screamer is killed, you may find a number of Screamer Slices - really segments cut like orange segments out of the poor Screamer's head. Ironically, the centre of the segment seems to be white, not yellow.
These (not-so-)tasty snacks are a welcome relief from the challenges of trying to feed your party from an ever dwindling supply of food. Between the Screamer Slices, the Purple Worm Rounds and finally Dragon Steaks, a wily adventurer in the Dungeon Master world can survive for prolonged periods underground with a little prior planning!