Monsters that can hide in a modern day city

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I'm looking for stuff beyond the standard vampires, werewolves, mages and so on of the World of Darkness.

What are some monsters that could survive in a modern day city without immediately being spotted for what they are? (Some might have to do some work to hide, much like vampires do, but could conceivably do it for a prolonged period of time, picking up and moving when necessary.)

So far, I'm looking at the crocotta and lamia. (Classical, not D&D versions, but D&D versions of monsters might work, too, in some cases.)

Many thanks.

 

[Ed_Laprade]

Dopplegangers, of course, and were rats. Basically, anything that lives in the sewers as well. (Slimes, oozes, big bugs and snakes, etc.)

THEM!

And pretty much the same goes for those things that can live in abandoned buildings. Especially these days.

 

[the Jester]

Phantom fungus.

Also, shapechanging dragons.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Given the extreme diversity of human appearances, most of your humanoids & demihumans could hide among us with just using some clothing, makeup, contact lenses or possibly a little surgery.

Undead would have to deal with their more obvious attributes- smells, visible rot, slobbering over the presence of so much prey...

Dopplegangers, DUH!

Half-Giants/Goliaths and similar types could probably pass as extremely large humans.

Otyughs, oozes, giant insects and the like that could be at home in our tunnels, sewers and subway systems would do just fine.

Anything that can go invisible.

Pixies and other fey might do well in botanical gardens and parks, or those cities with a real commitment to greenspace.

Any city with significant bodies of water or major rivers could be home to things like swanmays.

Elementals could be almost anywhere. Air elementals might enjoy dancing around our skyscrapers, for instance.

 

[Crothian]

I think you might be surprised on what can be in a city without people noticing. A few or more years ago there was a story out of Cincinnati of a cow that was in the city for a few days at least without any noticing it.

Ghouls, especially the kind from Tales from the Crypt show could work well.

Most shape changers should do well hiding in the city. Wolfen (movie) had a neat take on this.

You could have a minotaur using the labyrinth of abandoned subway tunnels.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Every once in a while, we catch fairly large (6'+) gators here in the Dallas area, and it takes them a while to get that big. Whose to say reptilian men couldn't blend in as well.

Also, check out Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere- much as Crothian suggests, there's a maze and a Beast below London- and the Second World RPG has some interesting stuff as well.

 

[Aberzanzorax]

How rural is the city?


By that I mean, there are several ski resort cities in Colorado that regularly have mountain lions.

Who is to say that these might not be disguised lamia, sphinx, or some other lion variant?

 

[Doug McCrae]

Many humanoid monsters would be taken for a deformed human or person in fancy dress – advertising stunt, urban attention seeker or TV show/movie being filmed. If you saw a lizardman would you think, “Aha, a lizardman, I'd better inform the authorities”, or would you think, “Nice lizardman costume”?

Water monsters could remain undetected in rivers or sewers.

Gargoyles/grotesques can easily pretend to be normal stone.

A satyr could probably disguise its legs and horns under clothing.

Dwarves and other little people could pass for, well, dwarves and other little people.

House helper spirits such as brownies largely stay hidden.

Fairy beings are invisible, save to those with second sight, and often look human.

Many monsters look like humans or animals - barghest, redcap, hag (such as Black Annis), Tiddy Mun, Hedley Kow, nymph, witch's familiar, fetch or doppelganger, kelpie (water horse), wild man, genie, swan maiden, possessor spirits (such as demons and dybbuk), huldra, shtriga, succubus/incubus, angel, banshee, blafard, nukekubi or rokurokubi

 

[Janx]

Little people (elves, brownies, etc) could live in duct work and crawl spaces.

Ghosts are probably right at home in any existing urban space.

cavemen have been doing car insurance commercials for years

 

[KahnyaGnorc]

Depends on where the city is:

In cooler climates, humanoids with distinctive features could cover up in public (trenchcoats, gloves, hoods/hats, etc).

In warmer climates, certain fae that don't cover up at all (and look/can look very human-like) could fit in (Miami, So Cal).

Cities near natural habitats of certain animals could hide monsters that look like those animals.

Nocturnal monsters can typically stay in the shadows at night.

Cities that are in decline or have large abandoned areas could hide all sorts of monsters.

Of course, shape-shifters, those that can go invisible or perform illusions or telepathic manipulation can hide in plain sight. (Add in magical items/advanced tech that could bestow these powers, and you could have a very wide selection of possibilities)