What supernatural creatures were once human

[Mark CMG]

What supernatural creatures were once human?

Why, DMs, of course. Once they pick up the books of Vecna, their fate is sealed . . .

 

[Dragonbait]

In Lovecraft, ghouls were transformed humans (or at least partially human) and not undead.

I don't know if he ever explained how people become ghouls, but I recall in Dreamquest of Unknown Kadath that one particular ghoul retained his memories and mannerisms from when he was human.

 

[Bedrockgames]

Curses are a good way to go. Think the beast from beauty and the beast (or anyone who failed a bunch of powers checks in Ravenloft).

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

1) Subjects of curses/exposure to too much magic: wendigos, lycanthropes & undead are the most famous. But people have changed into pure animal, plant or nature spirit forms via curses. (Especially in Greek legends.) Others get turned into purely magical beasts, such as in The Ring of the Neibelungs, LotR, and the Shanarra novels.

2) Subjects of weird science: Mr. Hyde, the Invisible Man, many Margel Comics atomic mutants and others lost much of their humanity. In addition, this goes both ways- see The Island of Dr. Moreau.

3) Creatires oathsworn to extradimensional powers.

 

[Dragonwriter]

Medusa was a human transformed into a gorgon

It depends on what version/translation you read (which can be unfortunately true with lots of the old myths)... The Gorgons have also been identified as a trio of sister-monsters, of which Medusa was the only mortal one.
But Arachne was definitely turned from human woman to spider. It's easy to tie that one to driders.

I think there are more stories of monsters taking human form than of monsters that were once human...

 

[Psychotic Jim]

What about hags, crones, and such?

Also, following the curse theme, there is Arachne - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia who would prolly be something like the aranea in d20 terms (minus the shapeshifting powers, of course). Monstrous humanoid type.

 

[Corathon]

I don't know if he ever explained how people become ghouls, but I recall in Dreamquest of Unknown Kadath that one particular ghoul retained his memories and mannerisms from when he was human.

That ghoul was named Pickman. The short story Pickman's Model talks a bit about the transformation from human to ghoul.

 

[tecnowraith]

I would like to take an obscure or uncommon yet popular in fiction type creature that were once human and say "it's our time to shine, deal with it" in my setting. Which creature for what I am looking for is the tough part.

 

[Corathon]

It depends on what version/translation you read (which can be unfortunately true with lots of the old myths)... The Gorgons have also been identified as a trio of sister-monsters, of which Medusa was the only mortal one.

I agree that myths are often inconsistent, but in this case I don'tthink that the two versions are necessarily at odds. Medusa was a woman changed into the only mortal gorgon. Stheno and Euryale were always gorgons (not transformed mortals) and were immortal.

 

[TheAuldGrump]

Why, DMs, of course. Once they pick up the books of Vecna, their fate is sealed . . .

Editors.

Echoes. (In myths from more than one region, though Echo herself was Greek.)

Dragons and trolls in some northern myths, typically transformed by avarice or envy.

The Auld Grump