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Favorite Creatures in Fantasy

MauEvig

Minstrel
Wow! Sounds like you have an exciting take on the kitsune lore. I'd like to check it out!
A shapeshifting otter, that does sound interesting!
I absolutely agree!
Sky Kingdom does have a weird creature who is across between a kitsune and a cat called the nekune, who is also referred to as the dream walker spirit, and can access the world of the afterlife. The nekune is also something of a spirit guide for the main character.
 

MauEvig

Minstrel
Yes I am! Although the Nekune I'll admit does play a rather small part to the story, I still feel the creature is important to pointing the main character in the right direction and offers a bit of spiritualism/philosophical musings to the story and how it handles things like death and the afterlife.
 

MrNybble

Sage
I like to read about some sentient non-humanoid creatures. Seeing how humans or other similar shape creatures interact with say Centaurs. Creatures with tails, wings, extra limbs, or even aquatic present interesting challenges to read about.
 

Devor

Fiery Keeper of the Hat
Moderator
I didn't realize this was a necro thread. I always find it fun to scroll through and see old faces in a conversation. :)

I've got to say my favorite creatures are the household spirits in folklore, although some of that answer is because I'm writing about them currently and been looking into it a lot, so it's fun because it's current for me. Another part of that answer is from seeing the Domovoi in Quest for Glory IV, and how cool and different it was to see that kind of creature compared to most stories where we only see action/adventure creatures. And then there's the mischief maker part of it. I think a lot of writers overlook how much fun it can be to play with that. It's like having a tiny fantasy creature based on Fred and George Weasley. Why are writers passing that up?
 

MauEvig

Minstrel
Are the household spirits similar to fairies, sprites, pixies or spriggans by any chance? That's actually not a bad idea, assuming I go deeper into what living in Magicordia's world is like.
 

Insolent Lad

Maester
I included a bogart in my beginners' chapter book (The Contrary Fairy, written a few years ago) that lived unseen in a human home and generally helped out with the chores of house and farm. Someday, maybe a sequel...
 
Not overly organized:
Dragons
Elves (Tolkien version are the BEST)
Dragonborns
Kandra
Shapeshifters
Certain Vampires (JinYeong by Gingell)
Mindflayers (D&D)
Spren
Fearie Dragons...

That's all I can think of at the moment but I'm sure I've got more.
 

D. Gray Warrior

Troubadour
I like gryphons because lions and eagles are already cool, and a hybrid of two makes it cooler.

I also like centaurs, but I find their anatomy to be impractical, but you might could say the same about gryphons.

I don't really like elves except for the standard drow/dark elf and the Bosmer from the Elder Scrolls.
 
I really love Goblins. my favorite Goblins being the Night Goblins that ride Squigs and eat drug like mushrooms from the Warhammer universe. Squigs also are great. I imagine that Squigs taste like burnt marshmallows if eaten.
 

Cu Mara

Dreamer
Ohh yes, Kitsune!

I love the stories that include them. I have a world, not yet ready for storytelling, where there are nine varieties of fox (kit fox, fennec fox, swift fox etc) who guard wooded groves on an island continent. I'm seeing it as more of a graphic novel/comic so I have been making the nine figurines of the foxes for an artist to work from for me. In the end, it may be an alternate origin story of what we know as Kitsune though I won't use the term in the story itself, just the nine tails and foxfire. I also love the stories of Kawauso, the shape shifting and very mischievous river otter. :)

Japanese lore and Russian lore in particular are both so rich. Native American, of course, is very strong in animal lore as well. I can see your draw to it.

Oh I love the kitsune! My current work has a kitsune as a minor character. I was wondering which resources you all found most useful for getting a general idea on crafting your kitsune characters?

I am also intrigued by which type of creatures you were referring to when you mentioned Russian lore?
 

MrNybble

Sage
I do like to use kitsune. So many ways to represent them. They are main characters in a four book series I have been working on. Not really based on any set lore but barrowed ideas from many others.
 
Oh I love the kitsune! My current work has a kitsune as a minor character. I was wondering which resources you all found most useful for getting a general idea on crafting your kitsune characters?

I am also intrigued by which type of creatures you were referring to when you mentioned Russian lore?

Russian spirits I am drawn to are mostly the household and natural world based. Leshy, Rusalka, Olevoi and Domovoi.

As for animals, to my understanding, some Slavic deities were linked with Animal spirits like the wolf being linked with Veles.

There is Simargi, the doomsday hound. Raróg is a fiery Falcon spirit/demon. Sirins had the head of a woman and the body of birds. The Goldhorn is mythic white Ibex (I think that one is Slovenian) and you'll find foxes in tales as tricksters and witty foils in Russian/Slavik stories too. :)

For the Kitsune, I cannot cite a specific text. I've collected so many bits and bobs of information over the years, mostly from various entries in Japanese folklore books and online.
 

Cu Mara

Dreamer
Russian spirits I am drawn to are mostly the household and natural world based. Leshy, Rusalka, Olevoi and Domovoi.

As for animals, to my understanding, some Slavic deities were linked with Animal spirits like the wolf being linked with Veles.

There is Simargi, the doomsday hound. Raróg is a fiery Falcon spirit/demon. Sirins had the head of a woman and the body of birds. The Goldhorn is mythic white Ibex (I think that one is Slovenian) and you'll find foxes in tales as tricksters and witty foils in Russian/Slavik stories too. :)

For the Kitsune, I cannot cite a specific text. I've collected so many bits and bobs of information over the years, mostly from various entries in Japanese folklore books and online.

Wow, there really is a lot. The only one you’ve mentioned that I’d heard of before is a Leshy. So that’s awesome :) Now I have a ton of new leads to go track down.
 

Rogue

Dreamer
I'm about to show just how basic I am. Above all others, I love dragons.

I think it started with the Nordic hero Siegfried and his battle with the dragon Fafnir. As a boy, when I first heard the story, I was a little let down that this nigh-invincible creature was defeated by a mere mortal but I learned their true power when Siegfried bathed in Fafnir's blood and it made him invulnerable while also granting him knowledge otherwise unattainable by mortals. It was through this story that I learned that cunning was more important than strength when dealing with a dragon.

An anvil-cutting sword and battle tips from Odin help, too.

I remember artist Larry Elmore's cover of Dragons of Autumn Twilight introduced me to the dragons of Krynn well before I had even heard of Dungeons & Dragons. I can still perfectly picture the red dragon lurking behind a tree, stalking three of the Heroes of the Lance. If I read that book for the first time today, I probably wouldn't have a very high opinion of it but the Dragonlance Chronicles are to me what The Lord of the Rings are to so many others; my introduction to modern fantasy.

And that's just touching on Western dragons! Dragons in one form or another seem to connect all of the mythologies of the world and I can never get bored of them.

Aside from dragons, I have a soft spot for orcs, goblins, and werewolves. My love for orcs started with R.A. Salvatore's The Hunter's Blades, even if I was disappointed with the trilogy as a whole. It introduced one of my favorite orc characters and made me want to read other stories where orcs are more than just monster fodder thrown at adventuring heroes. While I don't know a whole lot about the lore, Magic the Gathering has some of the most memorable goblins in fiction, just from their art alone.

And I think I'll always be fascinated by the duality of werewolves in all their forms, from the popular bi-pedal beastie to the legendary rougarou. Not too long ago, I read Fool Moon, a book about Jim Butcher's popular Harry Dresden character and while I can't say that I enjoyed the story, I love how Butcher managed to fit in so many different types of werewolves from so many different folklores and mythologies.
 

SolLilja

Dreamer
My favorite creature, at the moment, is the Ogier in the Wheel of Time series. Maybe it's because I can relate to their love of forests, knowledge and peaceful ways. I don't know, reading about them just makes me smile a little :)
 
Dragons all the way. It doesn't matter from which book or universe they come from as long as they're not overly human, aka not humans-dressed-in-dragon-suits.

They're also the reason why I won't play Skyrim. I won't be able to bring myself to kill them, even if they're some pixels bunched together to form the image of a dragon.
You only have to kill dragons if you do the main quest or
if you get to the end of Winterhold's quest there is a skeleton dragon
 
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