List of Mythic creatures

[CCamfield]

Catoblepas' (catoblepi?) were often mistaken for the D20 version of the Gorgon (metal skinned mull that head breath that could turn people to stone, oe kill them outright) in greek mythology. I don't know if the original catoblepas came from Greece. If anyone knows where this creature actually came from please let us know.

Got it! I did some searching. The catoblepas first appeared in the Natural History written by Pliny the Elder (1st century AD). So it's from the ancient world, sort of...

http://www.eaudrey.com/myth/catoblepas.htm

This site seems to be a goldmine for what you're doing - it mentions that the basilisk also appeared in Pliny, for instance, and has a lot of other entries. And it says that the manticore was in fact mentioned by Aristotle and Pliny, as being an animal living around India!

As for the elementals, I think to me they fall into the same category of creatures as the basilisk and catoblepas - Greco-Roman in origin perhaps, but later than mythology (for me). The theory of the four elements didn't exist when Homer wrote the Iliad and Odyssey and I don't recall the four elements playing any part in the myths.

Someone told me that something like the Stirge existed in Greek mythology, some kind of vampiric bird or something.

Hrm... I feel like I'm pretty knowledgeable about Greek mythology - if not, perhaps, Aristotle and Pliny - and I can't think of anything that matches except the Stymphalian birds. But they attacked with their bronze feathers, I think.

Where is this, Greece?

Sciron was in Greece, yes - to be specific, he was one of the bandits near the Isthmus between Attica/Boeotia and the Peloponnese. Theseus threw him off his cliff in return, to be devoured by his own monster. The Greeks liked poetic justice...

P.S. There was, according to Adrian Bott, SUPPOSED to be a full set of monsters in OGL Ancients, but they cut most of it, along with other stuff, for reasons of space. I'm rapidly losing hope that this material will actually see the light of day, though.

 

[Andrew D. Gable]

Someone told me that something like the Stirge existed in Greek mythology, some kind of vampiric bird or something. I can't find a name so I kept Stirge.

Stirge (actually strige sterige, or strix) is Roman. It's a witch or hag that turns itself into an owl and goes around.

 

[tarchon]

Best I can tell is "peryton" came into D&D through Borges and Borges' source is either lost or buried in his grave. It's clearly post-Classical though. Maybe the "lost Greek Scholiast" was Alexandrian from the Byzantine period since it sounds a bit like the pseudo "Sibylline oracles" but who knows?

 

[tarchon]

Catoblepas' (catoblepi?) were often mistaken for the D20 version of the Gorgon (metal skinned mull that head breath that could turn people to stone, oe kill them outright) in greek mythology. I don't know if the original catoblepas came from Greece. If anyone knows where this creature actually came from please let us know.

Cockatrices and Basalisks are two names for the same creature. I'm fairly certain it came from Greek mythology. Elementals, at least the ones from the MM, are modern versions of ancient Greek elementals (salamander = fire, Sylph = air, gnome = earth, and I forget what = water). I just decided to use the more modern version, since only the Sylph is the same as the D20 Sylph. The others don't have D20 stats, or have stats that make them very different creatures. Hippogriffs were created when a Griffon mated with a Mare. I only found references for them in Greek mythology, but they may have come from Persian or Assyrian mythology (both of which also have Griffins). Someone told me that something like the Stirge existed in Greek mythology, some kind of vampiric bird or something. I can't find a name so I kept Stirge. As for Dragons, I think you're right. I think I may just replace Dragons with the Linnorm (from MM2) and the Sea Drake (from FF).

Hippogriffs were invented by Ariosto in the 16th(?) century - it's kind of a joke, based on an ancient Greek expression about crossing griffons with horses. Since griffons were legendarily said to hate horses, a horse-griffon hybrid was something like a flying pig, a proverbialy non-existant thing. Harry Potter/Abkazan has one in it that has certain parallels with the hippogriff in Ariosto's Orlando Furioso.

 

[Shadowdragon]

So Peryton, Stirges, Elementals, and Hippogriff are off the list. The Catoblepas seems to be a mix of the D20 Catoblepas and the D20 Gorgon. The Manticore is Asian. And I have to make stats for a Giant Turtle (maybe a Dragon Turtle without its breath weapon?).

Keep in mind that some newer creatures might be added to the list, especially if they're needed to flesh out the number of creatures for a given culture. Since there are already a lot of Greek creatures I don't mind losing Elementals, Peryton, and Hippogriff. I think anything up to medieval times is OK. Including medieval creatures may be pushing it. Some creatures may have existed in ancient times, they just weren't discovered until much later. Since the campaign I'm planning on running is set before the rise of the Roman Empire is it possible to lump Roman creatures in with Greek creatures? Or should they just be left out? Or should they have their own separate list for those that want to set their campaign during the Roman Empire (I could always make a note that the creature is Roman)?

 

[xenoflare]

do you remember a Zaratan from the AD&D days? It's from Al-Qadim, an arabic beast that is basically a giant turtle the size of a small island that sleeps so long that people mistake it for an island and start putting things on the back of its shell

Yours,
shao

 

[Dogbrain]

Elementals as D&D presents them are 100% totally, completely, and thoroughly modern.

 

[Dogbrain]

Troll/Trow/Drow are all identical. They're all the exact same word, and all refer to a Germanic monster. Might as well lump Germanic and "Celtic" into a single category, given that about half of the alleged "Celtic" monsters listed are ultimately of Germanic origin.

Firbolgs were always portrayed as being smaller than the Milesians and Gaels in ireland, never as gigantic beings. They were also of the same basic racial stock as the Danaan, the Milesians, and the Gaels.

Any giants of Ireland, if they had a race mentioned, were presumably Fomor, who were a catch-all for any sort of big bad thing.

 

[Dogbrain]

I'll try and help with celtic...


Banshee (MM2)

Which should be a good aligned spirit, not an evil spirit.

Brownie
Dragon (all Chromatic)
Elf

All taken from the Norse/Germanic peoples and cultures.

Firbolg Giants

Which were always portrayed as shorter than most humans--odd "giants", indeed.

Troll/Trow
Goblins

All taken from the Norse/Germanic peoples and cultures.

Ogres

Which the legends portrayed as visually indistinguishable from normal humans, except perhaps with carnivores' teeth.

 

[Dogbrain]

Ashuras (Book of Exalted Deeds) are from Hindu-Buddhist lore, a race of celestial titan-like beings who are powerful and strong in warcraft but hideous of aspect (for the males), and magically powerful and comely of aspect (for the females). They envy the Devas (not just angels, but also the Gods) for their high position and fight them in order to gain dominance over reality. In Hindu lore, the battle between Devas and Ashuras in the beginning of time resulted in the churning of the cosmic ocean of star-milk that created this universe... in Buddhist lore, the realm of the Ashuras is one step above that of us mortals - they are powerful, but cursed never to be content with their power, and their downfall shall be their greatest assets, ironically.

That's the Hindu take. It is completely the opposite of the Persian take. According to the Persians, the Devas are demonic beings who are just beneath the Ashuras. The Ashuras (Ahuras) are the gods.