Mythical beasts that need more attention

[Ry]

After Rakshasas got a pretty good treatment in Eberron I went back and looked at the Wikipedia entries on them - and that's when I realized there were lots of great ideas there that hadn't been really taken to their fullest in a fantasy setting (at least, that I've seen).

That got me wondering about other creatures of myth.

What creatures from real-world mythology would you like to see given a better treatment?

 

[Crothian]

All of them.

 

[Alzrius]

Gorgons. I know there's some story about how they became generic bull-like monster that can petrify people, but if there was ever a monster that should be redesigned like Eberron's rakshasas, it should be them.

 

[Brazeku]

Ogre Magi, which I guess would be Oni. I'd make them a player race too. Naga could use a do over as well, although... probably not as a player race.

 

[Ry]

All of them.

I think the dragon has been done pretty well.

Although, now that you mention it, I do have a few ideas of my own for doing them differently...

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I have to agree with ogre mages. I used to love them as a kid, during the 1E era, but the recent Ecology article just made me sad, since it really pointed out what a freaking mess they are. Starting with Mearls' version would be a good start, but they need a giant fluff upgrade to go along with it.

Paizo's goblins are pretty good, but I'd like to see hobgoblins and bugbears made to not suck, which is especially hard in the case of the latter.

 

[Huw]

I've been tracking down books about more obscure mythologies, beyond the Greco-Roman, North European and Middle-Eastern ones most FRPG monsters come from. So far I've got good stuff on West Caucasian (the Narts sagas) and Albanian mythology - many of Greek monsters have parallels in those mythologies as well. Gorgons, flying horses (i.e. Pegasus) and cyclopes (two-eyed, btw) seem to have origins in the Caucasus, and the Albanians are big on werwolves and dragons.

Having said that, I can't think of any D&D creatures which need overhauling. Eberron's Rakshasas were a nice surprise, as were Scarred Land's Gorgons and Manticores (trivia note: "manticore" is a mispelling of "marticore"). So I suppose that I'll just have to wait for the next world designer to have a flash of inspiration.

 

[Tonguez]

as were Scarred Land's Gorgons and Manticores (trivia note: "manticore" is a mispelling of "marticore"). So I suppose that I'll just have to wait for the next world designer to have a flash of inspiration.

What did Scarred Lands do with Gorgons and Manticores?

Originally Posted by Crothian
All of them.

I tend to agree with Crothian that pretty much all of the monsters in DnD would be greatly improved by going back to their mythological origins and reflecting these origins in the build and backstory rather than the generic cartoon creatures we have now
Even the dragon needs to be reimagined (personally I hate DnD's colour-coded dragons)

First up though I want to see reimagined Naga, Lamia and Manticore. DnD vampires are a joke and the fey are lacking. I also agree that Ogre Magi are shortchanged and bugbears suck.
NB IMC I used Bugbear stats gave them a climb speed and Neutral alignment and renamed them Mangani Beastmen

 

[Numion]

Some of real world mythological beasts are too wack even for D&D. The game with the gelatinous cube

 

[Huw]

What did Scarred Lands do with Gorgons and Manticores?

Gorgons come in two varieties - high and low. High gorgons look human, but have an opening in their stomachs, out of which come tentacle-like snakes. Low gorgons are more beastial, being reptilian quadrupeds. They serve the high gorgons.

Manticores have been made humanoid. They're tribal pack hunters with big claws and spikes.