D&D General Should D&D feature fearsome critters and other Americana?

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Edit: As far as that goes, you could write a thesis arguing that the entire style of D&D's polyglot approach to fantasy is quintessentially American, but I don't think that's what the thread was getting at.

Well, it's not not what it's getting at. I think the Star Wars cantina effect present in so many D&D games is due, in part, to the fact that D&D is created by a nation of immigrants where it's always been common to know people who speak different languages than you do at home, where the student at the next desk in school prays in a different way than you might, and where -- since modern restaurants became a "thing" -- it's routine to go out to eat the cuisines of wildly different cultures.

That kind of heterogeneity isn't uniquely American, but it's something America has to a greater degree than most places on Earth. (That said, D&D coming out of Singapore, which is also a nation of immigrants, would be amazing, but different in many other ways.)

 

[Gammadoodler]

I agree with that, yet his style of cosmic horror does not make a D&D plot feel American the way including Bigfoot or the Jersey Devil would.

Edit: As far as that goes, you could write a thesis arguing that the entire style of D&D's polyglot approach to fantasy is quintessentially American, but I don't think that's what the thread was getting at.

From the wikipedia for Jersey Devil:

The common description is that of a bipedal kangaroo-like or wyvern-like creature with a horse- or goat-like head, leathery bat-like wings, horns, small arms with clawed hands, legs with cloven hooves, and a forked or pointed tail. It is also said that it has a strange elongated body and a thick tail.[2] It has been reported to move quickly and is often described as emitting a high-pitched "blood-curdling scream"

What makes this "American"'?

 

[Paul Farquhar]

From the wikipedia for Jersey Devil:

The common description is that of a bipedal kangaroo-like or wyvern-like creature with a horse- or goat-like head, leathery bat-like wings, horns, small arms with clawed hands, legs with cloven hooves, and a forked or pointed tail. It is also said that it has a strange elongated body and a thick tail.[2] It has been reported to move quickly and is often described as emitting a high-pitched "blood-curdling scream"

What makes this "American"'?

Because it is, just as Lambton Worm is English. That doesn't mean other places don't have their own weird monsters, but that one is from Jersey (not the Channel Island).

Anything distinctively American about it? Well it's a bit over the top in it's weird hybridisation. In England, the mythical monster often takes the form of a comparatively mundane black dog!

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

From the wikipedia for Jersey Devil:

The common description is that of a bipedal kangaroo-like or wyvern-like creature with a horse- or goat-like head, leathery bat-like wings, horns, small arms with clawed hands, legs with cloven hooves, and a forked or pointed tail. It is also said that it has a strange elongated body and a thick tail.[2] It has been reported to move quickly and is often described as emitting a high-pitched "blood-curdling scream"

What makes this "American"'?

It's obsessed with Jon Bon Jovi, Bruce Springsteen and Frank Sinatra.

 

[Tonguez]

Anything distinctively American about it? Well it's a bit over the top in it's weird hybridisation. In England, the mythical monster often takes the form of a comparatively mundane black dog!

Is the hybridisation any weirder than A mix between a chicken, a bat and a snake that turns people to stone?

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Is the hybridisation any weirder than A mix between a chicken, a bat and a snake that turns people to stone?

source for that particular description? My understanding of most cockatrice stories it is at most two creatures: snake and cockerel.

 

[Gammadoodler]

Because it is, just as Lambton Worm is English. That doesn't mean other places don't have their own weird monsters, but that one is from Jersey (not the Channel Island).

Anything distinctively American about it? Well it's a bit over the top in it's weird hybridisation. In England, the mythical monster often takes the form of a comparatively mundane black dog!

Are the mystery creatures below..more..or less American? Why or why not?

1. It is usually depicted as a lion, with the head of a goat protruding from its back, occasionally depicted with dragon's wings, and a tail that might end with a snake's head.

2. Creature with the head of a human, the body of a lion, and the wings of an eagle

3. This creature has been depicted as a serpent, a lizard, and hybrid creatures generally composed of the head of a rooster, tail of a serpent, and sometimes wings of a dragon, though its appearance changes depending on the source.

4. They have the head of a dragon, the body of a lion, and historically sport on their heads either one antler (male) or two antlers (female).

5. Monster with the head of a rabbit, arms like a badger, legs like a bear, a skeletal middle and human ears. It is greedy for fragile human living creatures and sings a resonating tune to itself as it feasts.

Edit: the point being, I don't think its that easy for most people to discern a difference between different monsters' provenance based on the monsters' descriptions. As such, I'm not that worried about using monsters from outside a medieval context within a pseudo-medieval context.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Edit: the point being, I don't think its that easy for most people to discern a difference between different monsters' provenance based on the monsters' descriptions

Sure. But sometimes it is more interesting to lean into regional flavor, rather than churn out the same old generic fantasy.

 

[Clint_L]

Obviously there are "American" monsters that resemble folklore from other traditions. But that's because a lot of monsters are fairly generic, so I don't see using a monster inspired by American folklore or pop culture as an issue. For me, it would only become a distraction if it was identifiable as such. So if it was an obvious pastiche called "Jersydevilus" or some such.

 

[Gammadoodler]

Sure. But sometimes it is more interesting to lean into regional flavor, rather than churn out the same old generic fantasy.

Sure.

I think that's a different question though than "do these creatures fit in pseudo-medieval European setting?"

I think the answer to that question is "yes".. unless you are making a special effort to make that outside context obvious..both for good and for ill. Either way though it isn't really about the monster itself.